Ramblings

Craft Beer Candles for your Beer Lover Lover

If craft beer is his passion, then he will love burning his Valentine’s Day craft beer candle this year! Barley & Hops Craft Candles come in 4 craft styles to satisfy even the pickiest of beer drinkers! If he loves a good, hearty stout then our Torn Label House Brew candle is the right choice. If he prefers something a little bit on the lighter side, check out our IPA candle selection.

We have many different flavors to choose from. If he loves a good, hearty stout then our Torn Label House Brew Candle is the right choice. If he prefers something a little bit on the lighter side, check out our IPA candle selection.

See the entire Barley & Hops Craft Candle collection!

Bonus gift for your beer lover this Valentine’s Day!

With every beer candle purchase, you get a FREE craft beer drinking glass! After he finishes burning down his new favorite beer candle, all he will need to do is run the upcycled beer punt under some hot tap water to loosen up the remaining wax, and then wipe it out with a paper towel! Concerned about rough edges? Our glassware comes from the fine folks at www.winepunts.com. The glassware we use was made to be used as actual drinking glasses! See the video tutorial below.

Please be kind, I am better at drinking beer than videography.

 

This unique Valentine’s Day gift idea for your beer lover is a gift that will keep on giving year after year! Just think about it, after 4 years of beer candle gift giving, he will have an entire set of craft beer glasses!

Choose your favorite artisan brewery candle now!

Beer Candles for your Beer Lover

Are you on the search for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your hopped-up honey? Does your baby drool like a toothing toddler when he discovers a new favorite craft beer?

If this is you, we’ve got the PERFECT Valentine’s Day gift idea for you!

Barley & Hops Craft Candles is on a mission to create the perfect gift for the beer lover and candle lover looking for something completely new and unique.

A 6-Pack or a Growler Built For Two & A Candle That Compliments His Favorite Brew

Step 1:
Barley & Hops Craft Candles has a beer candle for every kind of beer lover. Our candles are inspired by only the finest craft beers, most of which can be found in your local brewery. If your lover is more of the hoppy type, we have a fantastic selection of IPA style brew candles to make him smile. If he is more into the darker beer variety, we have some stout and porter brewery candles that will have him reading you poetry by candlelight in no time.

Step 2:
Take a trip to either your neighborhood liquor store or better yet, keep it local and stop into your local brewery!

If you aren’t sure if your city or town has a brewery, get to Googling! (Just click the link, we’ve done it for you!) You might be surprised!  If you have never been to a brewery, we highly suggest you take a little field trip. While you are there, take some time and read over the beer menu. If you aren’t a craft beer drinker, this is the perfect opportunity for you to do some research.

One of the most wonderful things about a brewery is a flight. A flight can either be 4 or 5 5-oz size beer samples of your choice. If you aren’t sure where to start, talk to your Craft Beer Specialist (bartender.) I have NEVER met a Craft Beer Specialist that doesn’t love their job more! They can walk you through how to read the menu, make suggestions on what you might like, and instruct you on the proper way to “taste” a craft beer. Once you have found a craft beer that you like, you can take it home in Growler form! Not only will he get an AMAZING beer, he will be able to share it with YOU!

Step 3:
Put it all together! Do your thing, get creative! Honestly, you won’t have to do much. Grab a couple of pint glasses (if you don’t have any, pick a couple up!), the Growler, and the craft beer candle of your choice. Put them together on the table of your choosing. Now wait….

What happens from there is all you. I CAN say, your love bug will NOT be disappointed.

Choose your brewery candle today!

Words Used to Describe Brewery Candles

Many of the words and phrases used to describe our brewery candles are borrowed from the beer tasters handbook. For our regular customers and craft beer lovers, many of these phrases and words will be very familiar. For those of you new to craft beer or craft beer candles, we hope this guide will be of good use and help for you!

Ale
An Ale is a type of beer which has a bitter flavor and higher alcoholic content. Ales tend to have a more fruity, sweet and full bodied taste and smell.

Azacca Hops
Smelling of mango; papaya; orange; grapefruit; lemon; piney; spicy; pineapple; grassy; tropical fruit; citrus.

Bready Malt
Full bready, almost biscuity aroma. Baked bread fresh from the oven.

Cascade Hops
Medium intense floral, citrus and grapefruit tones.

Columbus Hops
A bittering hop. Specific aroma descriptors include black pepper, licorice, curry and subtle citrus.

Chinook Hops
Specific aroma descriptors include grapefruit, spice, and pine.

Citrus
Orange, lemon and grapefruit most common.

Delicate Fruit
While not particularly malty or hoppy, these styles show a bit of fruit flavor—like green apple, berries or pear—from the employment of ale yeast.

Dark and Dry
The roastiest and driest of the dark brews; notes of burnt grain, tar, dark chocolate and espresso predominate. Fruit flavors emerge in the strongest versions, including plums, cherries, raspberries, and prunes.

Dark Fruit
Aromas like raisin, prune, plum, fig, date, berry, cherry etc.

Earthy and Dry
Lighter and drier profiles along with earthy, hay-like, grassy, and woody aromas.

Floral
Including yarrow, jasmine, hibiscus, lavender, chamomile, rose buds, elderflowers, calendula, nasturtium, and dianthus.

Fruit and Toffee
 In addition to a solid malt backbone, these brews possess mildly fruity aromas; caramelized, toffeeish flavors are layered with notes of dried fruit, red delicious apples, oranges, and plums.

Grainy
Tasting or smelling like cereal or raw grains.

Hefeweizen “hay-fuh-veyt-sssenn”
A south German style of wheat beer (weissbier) made with a typical ratio of 50:50, or even higher, wheat. A yeast that produces a unique phenolic flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum or notes of apples.

Mosaic Hops
Specific aroma descriptors include blueberry, tangerine, papaya, rose, blossoms, grass and bubble gum.

Porter
Porter is a dark style of beer developed in London from well-hopped beers made from brown malt. Sweet nose with chocolate and caramel malt presence.

Saison
This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.

Soft and Silky
Though these brews tend to be dark and malty rich, they do not show intensely roasted qualities; the profiles gravitate toward milk chocolate, hazelnut and latte. More intense styles exhibit dark fruit nuances.

Stout
Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malt or roasted barley, hops, water and yeast. Aroma is dark and roasty, often compared to a rich coffee or espresso.

Subdued Smolder
 The smoked flavor is more subtle for styles within in this category; prevalent toasty and/or roasty malt flavors balance against the woody, peaty, or spicy smoked notes.

Toasty and Nutty
These brews tend to combine a mildly crisp quality with full bready malt flavors; think biscuity, nutty and toasty accents. Stronger versions can show a touch of caramel, while the biggest begin to display raisin and fig nuances.

Tropical
Pineapple, mango, pomegranate, and acia most common.

Wheat Beer
Wheat beer is a beer, usually top-fermented, which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley.

Willamette Hops

Specific aroma descriptors include floral, incense, and elderberry.

REFERENCE:

https://www.splendidtable.org/story/the-7-flavor-categories-of-beer-what-they-are-how-to-pair-them

The Barley & Hops Craft Candles #GETWAXED Campaign

#GETTINGWAXED in Fort Collins, CO

Barley & Hops Craft Candles is setting their sights on Colorado for 3 very good reasons.

1. 

   Colorado’s Craft Beer Capital. Fort Collins produces 70 percent of Colorado’s craft beer and seven percent of the United State’s.

2. Won’t you be my neighbor? Colorado lives straight west of Kansas. Colorado is where my little brother lives. Colorado is where my family vacationed while I was growing up. Colorado is where I now take MY family to vacation. My entire family either ski’s or snowboards. I plan on moving to Grand Lake, CO when my children are out of high school. Colorado is home to 3 of my favorite breweries, and every day I am learning about even more Colorado breweries!
3. You’ve arrived. For some reason, in my mind, I sort of feel like if we can make it in Colorado, we can make it anywhere. This kind of ties back to my number 1 but, really folks…Colorado is known as the craft beer capital!
4. Odell Brewing Co. Ok, so I said 3 but I just have to share. Before we even had 3 Kansas City breweries, Ms. Lynsey Bates of Odell Brewing Co agreed to give us a chance! One month after contacting Lynsey, she requested we scent-match their IPA. On November 23rd, we delivered 60 Odell IPA candles to their Fort Collins, CO location. Not only were they extremely hospitable and giving, they gave us a chance! One month later, Lynsey told me they had sold all but 10 and that she would be reordering soon.

In conclusion, Barley & Hops Craft Candles is starting the year of 2017 with a couple of goals, our #getwaxed campaign, and a long list of craft beers to try and breweries to visit!

Eric Martens, owner and head brewer at Border Brewing Co, knew from the minute  I walked in which one his brews he wanted to wax.

The story behind the Border Brewery Co. Campfire Porter brewery candle is an interesting one.  My first conversation with Eric was by phone. He was very excited to meet up and discuss a Border Brewery / Barley & Hops Craft Candles brewery candle collaboration.  I believe the first conversation was on a Friday morning. We decided to meet the following Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, as I was getting ready for our meeting, I received a text. It was Eric. He had to postpone our meeting. He told me he had left a message on my phone and he just wanted to make sure I got it.

I listened to his voicemail. His truck had been stolen and he had to file a report with the KCPD. He finished his message with a major apology and said he would call soon to reschedule our appointment. Later that week, we found some time to meet-up again. Sadly, the truck hadn’t been found and his lovely wife Tracey had fractured her wrist jogging. Jeesh!

As soon as I met Eric, I could tell he was a very particular kind of person. He had a distinct look of determination. Later, after our meeting, I did a little research. This is what I found.

Martens has a chemical engineering degree from Kansas State University and has been in that industry for five years. But he also has been a home brewer for seven years and wanted to make that a career.

Made total sense! I knew IMMEDIATELY that Eric knew exactly what he wanted his Campfire Porter brewery candle to smell like. We had a nearly 30-minute conversation about the Border Brewing Co Campfire Porter. It was such an amazing learning experience!

I also met Border brewer, Kelly Wing.  Kelly and Eric had a fantastic rapport.  They shared a passion for craft beer, beer brewing, and  Kansas City. Kelly is also just one of those guys that you can’t help but smile around!

This was my personal Campfire Porter sniffing and tasting experience:

Pours a dark, dark, dark espresso brown topped with dainty caramel colored head. The aroma was a combination of roasty malt, dark chocolate, subtle oak wood, coffee, and just a smidge of smoke. It tasted almost exactly how it smelled! I really love it when that happens!

In the end, I think the Campfire Porter brewery candle used a combination of 8 aromas. The result? A warming, exotic, complex, roasty, woody and smooth brewery candle. To complete the campfire theme, we used a wood wick to add a natural woody aroma. Eric had suggested the wood wick. How could we say no?