Home Brewing in Seoul

    Long before coming to Korea, I had quite an enthusiasm for beer. I would never hesitate to cough up the extra money to get a well crafted artisinal ale instead of a yellow bubbly excuse for a beer. Then I moved to Korea and I was granted a whole new level of appreciation.

    Korea is a drinking culture. For some (locals and foreigners alike) it is a frequent occurrence to eat and drink until the sun comes up. While the food here is ridiculously delicious, the drinks (beer and soju) are not. Perhaps the intense flavors of Korean foods are thought to be well paired with an absolutely bland Korean lager. I like to think they just don't know any better. And how could they know any better when 99% of their market is cramped by just two companies? Hite-Jinro and Oriental Brewing are a duopoly here in Korea and their nearly identical line of boring beers have nearly every store and restaurant in this country on lock.

    It didn't take me long at all to throw in the towel and come to a point of refusal of these sad excuses for beer. If the mega stores like Home Plus or Lotte Mart didn't carry small selections of imported beers I probably would have fled to N. Korea (Microbreweries might be the one thing that North Korea is doing better than the South). I'll occasionally shell out the big bucks to purchase a bottle of the good stuff (a bottle of Rogue Dead Guy Ale is about $7), but the math doesn't add up when trying to quench my thirst and remain within my booze budget. When I've been asked what I miss from home, I have responded beer, family, and friends. If you wonder whether I ordered that alphabetically or by importance, I'll never tell.

    Thankfully, this all changed a few months ago. Jestine was looking deep into the future (a quality of hers I admire) and envisioning jobs for us back home. She showed me a job posting for a company in Seattle called Taphandles who make custom tap handles and offer branding services for breweries. Of course I didn't get the job, but it was this day when previously unfamiliar synapses in my brain were introduced to each other and I realized...

I am Bobby and I want to do beer.

    Make it, brand it, sell it, drink it, bathe in it. 

I no longer merely consume beer. Beer is beginning to consume me.

    I began researching the beer industry and the art of brewing. I don't think I've ever been as interested in reading about a particular thing ever in my life. I figured it would be impossible to brew my own here in Korea and I would spend the next year boning up on all of the details and hit the ground running when I got back to the States. Luckily, I didn't have to bottle up all of this enthusiasm. Amidst my research, I struck a rich vein of gold called HomebrewKorea.

    It turns out it is possible to make beer in Korea and their is a community of foreigners who are doing so. Most of the members are located in Seoul, but I got in contact with one of the few pioneers in Busan, Kevin. He graciously opened up his home/brewery to me and it was this night in late April that I lost my brewginity. That night we brewed Kevin's recipe Kobukson Pale Ale. My contribution was getting in the way, sampling his beers, barraging him with questions, and being a general distraction.

    HomebrewKorea also introduced me to a new friend named Graham. Before meeting him, I could see his passion in brewing. This guy was posting on the forum and asking questions months before he even came to Korea.

    Jestine and I planned a Beer inspired vacation to Seoul for our extended Buddha's Birthday weekend. On the final day of our excursion we met up with Graham to check out his set up and brew a batch with him. Graham went the extra mile and provided me with a list of his ingredients on hand and software to develop my own recipe based on what he had available. After bouncing a recipe back and forth, we solidified our game plan:

Bobby's IPA - American IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 23.000 L
Boil Size: 27.000 L
Boil Time: 0.000 s
Efficiency: 76%%
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6.0%%
Bitterness: 48.1 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 7 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
                      Name  Type    Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
 Weyermann - Pale Ale Malt Grain  5.250 kg    Yes   No  85%%   3 L
                   Carared Grain 400.000 g    Yes   No  75%%  20 L
          Wheat, Torrified Grain 100.000 g    Yes   No  79%%   2 L
Total grain: 5.750 kg

Hops
================================================================================
                   Name  Alpha   Amount     Use       Time   Form  IBU
             Willamette  5.0%% 30.000 g Dry Hop    0.000 s Pellet  0.0
                Cascade  6.0%% 30.000 g    Boil 15.000 min   Leaf  7.9
 Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus 15.2%% 30.000 g    Boil 60.000 min   Leaf 40.3

Yeast
================================================================================
        Name Type Form    Amount   Stage
 Safale S-05  Ale  Dry 11.000 mL Primary


    The following is an incomplete photomontage of our brew day with Graham.




Here is Graham's super scientific water measuring technology.

Doing work on the "motorized" grain mill.

No home brewing is complete without a few glasses of your own creation. This was a delicious coffee porter that Graham made a few weeks ago (even Jestine loved it).

I'm feeling it at this point.

Not only did I have the opportunity to brew a batch, but I also got to help finish up the end product. Here Graham is cleaning up the dry hopping process before we bottle a different IPA he produced.

Graham collects empties from a restaurant near his house for bottling.

Utilizing gravity.

Utilizing bad form.

Yummy Cascade hops (Shout out to the NW).

Mashing in.

Cooling the wort.

    As I write this blog post, I am enjoying my first bottle of the Kobukson Pale Ale I brewed with Kevin. It's composed of a wonderful blend of malts with a delicious middle-ground hop balance. The beer pours a beautiful copper color with a fluffy head. The body and carbonation are very refreshing. The aroma and hoppiness are a bit subtle for my taste, but it is supremely fresh and nothing has ever tasted better coming out of a Cass pint glass.

Cheers!

A Food and Beer Inspired Trip To Seoul

Over the last few months Bobby has gotten really into beer beyond (drinking it). We have decided that we are going to start home brewing when we get back to the States. He would LOVE to start doing it now, but the size of our apartment, how hot it gets here in the summer, and the amount of time we have left here (9 more months!!), makes it unrealistic to invest in the equipment necessary. Although Bobby can't brew now, he has started reading books, listening to podcasts and trying to get as much information as he can about beer and brewing. He found a Korean home brew blog and met two guys here in Korea who are passionate about beer and are brewing here in Korea! One of the guys, Kevin, actually lives here in Busan. Bobby has had the opportunity to go to his grain, hop and equipment filled apartment and help him brew a couple of times so far. Kevin has started selling his beer to foreigners and Koreans and Bobby is eager to help him produce, market and sell beer (Bobby's natural sales traits may get some exercise). The other guy Bobby talked to, Graham, lives in Seoul. We decided to devote our vacation to Seoul to good beer (drinking and making) and delicious food that we can't find in Busan.

So without further adieu, here is how our weekend in Korea's capital went:

We left Teacher's Seminar Day and made our way back to our apartment to grab our things. We went to the Busan Train Station and found our seats on the train bound for Seoul. I know this photo is cheesy, but I promised I would try to take more pictures... 

even if they are lame. =)

I got out my iPad to read the latest issue of Women's Health Magazine, while Bobby watched a few TV shows on his.

When we got to Seoul, we hailed a taxi and made our way to SP @Itaewon Guesthouse, our hostel in the middle of Iteawon (a foreigner district where all the microbreweries we wanted to go to were located). When we got there, we asked for an upgraded room and one of the super nice foreigner guys that works there said "no problem!" Sadly, I didn't get a picture of that room, but it had a queen size bed that was 10 times more comfortable than the one we have been sleeping on for the last year. Here is a picture (I should have taken one before our things got everywhere, but oh well) of our closet size, private, bunk bed room (and again, these beds were more comfortable than the one we have in our current apartment).

After we settled into our room, we decided to use the Starbucks gift card we got for Teachers Appreciation Day. I think I have only been to a coffee shop two times while in Korea. I always avoid them because they are so expensive here, but when someone gives me a gift card I am definitely stoked to treat myself to my old stomping grounds. I wish the Starbucks here were more like home.. I would have loved to have a soy misto, but the Korean lady behind the counter gave me a weird look when I asked for one. So I got an iced coffee instead. =)

I was pretty hungry and noticed there was a legit kabob shop next door. So while I was ordering my coffee, Bobby hopped over to the kabob place to surprise me with something tasty. Lets just say I was in heaven. Its been a long time since I have had a kabob or Starbucks (sorta a weird combo, but I didn't care!)

After we got filled up, we went to a Canadian Pub and saw a dozen or so comedians. Some were professionals, some were newbies (both of which were funny for completely different reasons). We met up with our friend Wassim, whom we had met in Jeju last summer. He introduced to some of his very entertaining friends. We actually ended up staying out until 4:00 AM! It was a great first night in Seoul!

The next day we decided to go look for a Forever 21 (one of my favorite stores and the only one in Korea is in Seoul) Sadly, the one in this area was closed. So we went to lunch, wandered around and did some people watching instead.

For dinner we decided to hit one of the microbreweries called Riley's Taphouse . Bobby treated himself to a few beers that he had never tried before and I just sat back and enjoyed my long island iced tea whilst we ate dinner.

I thought this was kinda cool. Since this place was pretty small the kitchen was upstairs (or maybe downstairs) so they used a small elevator for the food. Smart.

We actually weren't too impressed with the food at Reilly's, so on our way to the next microbrewery we stopped in at a teriyaki spot. Since the day I have met Bobby, he has loved teriyaki and I have fallen in love with it too! Actually, the night we got engaged we tried to go to a nice restaurant, but ended up getting take out teriyaki instead...so maybe it's OUR thing now.

Once we got in and ordered a dish of spicy chicken teriyaki, I noticed there was a sign on the wall that said this teriyaki was originally from Seattle! What are the chances of that?! We have noticed that a lot of the times when you get food in Korea that isn't Korean food it always has something that is Korean about it, if that makes sense. Like sweet pickles coming with your pasta at a nice Italian restaurant or corn on your pizza. However, this teriyaki had the perfect Seattle flavor and didn't come with anything out of the ordinary. It was legit!

After filling our bellies, again, we headed to Craftworks Brewery. Bobby ordered a Jirisan Moon Bear IPA, which he loved and I treated myself to a fresh peach pie with ice cream and Bobby chose a specific beer that he thought would pair well with my peach pie (a Beakdusan Hefeweizen). BOY OH BOY was he correct. The peach pie really brought out the flavors of the beer. It was probably the best dessert I have had since his mom last excited my taste buds over a year ago.

We found out online that there was a Forever 21 in a different district than we were in a few days early. I felt bad asking Bobby to go shopping with me again, but he said he was happy to treat me. We made our way to Garosu-gil (click the link to see pictures of this neighborhood), about a half hour away. It was a super cool neighborhood with a lot of character. It actually reminded us of Seattle. It might have been the cool, cloudy weather. Or the character of the shops, but it was a good feeling. We found Forever 21 and Bobby was really patient while I shopped and didn't act disappointed at the total price. 

So after a day of me shopping, we decided to go to High Street Market, an international market in downtown Itaewon. Bobby was stoked when he saw the beer and meat selections. However, in this photo Bobby isn't shopping for himself, he is looking at ciders for me.  I wish we had a market like this in Busan!

After buying a couple beers, we went to the roof top of our hostel and enjoyed our tasty beverages and  the pretty view of the city.

 I was craving Greek food. A friend of mine recommended a Greek restaurant near our hostel. It was a really cute place with opened windows looking out over the city. We snagged a seat by the window and did some more people watching. We even saw the Greek cook come out and talk to some Grecian tourists. I feel like this is a rare thing to see here as most business with an ethnic flair are actually operated by Koreans.

After the amazing Greek food, we went back to Craftworks to grab a beer to go and a few gifts for family and friends. This was Bobby's favorite beer of the trip and since it was a good price, we had to get another. This time we went big.

That night we went to Gangnam to meet some friends for dinner and a comedy show. I had to get a picture with the Gangnam Style sign (typical tourist shot).

All the new friends we met while in Seoul, getting Korean BBQ, Soju and Cass Beer.

After a second round of dinner, we went to a hookah bar called Rainbow. We ordered a few rose flavored hookahs, which was an awesome flavor, and a bucket of a vodka mixed drink to share.

We didn't know this place was going to have a live band two feet from us, so after about five minuets we couldn't talk anymore. To entertain ourself,  we grabbed a marker and added some Seattle artwork to the tables.

The comedy show was great. Afterward, we all went back to a friends apartment near Gangnam and made spam and eggs until the wee hours of the morning. The next morning we got up at 8:00 am to make our way over to Graham's apartment so Bobby could have a full day of hands-on brewing. 

More on that here.

I am still full from eating, drinking, and enjoying myself so much this weekend. It is weekends like this that make being here so amazing. I love exploring new places and meeting new people. 

This is what life is about. I look forward to our next adventures.

Cheers!

Teacher's Seminar Day

Thursday May 16th was Teacher's Seminar Day for all of the COREM schools. Last year (when we weren't teaching) every teacher had to do a presentation in front of all the COREM executives, which lasted all day. Thank god this year they decided to have more of a bonding experience which included hiking, lunch, and games (and we were done by 3:00) SCORE!

Since we knew we were leaving after the Seminar for Seoul (more on that here), we packed up all of our bags the night before and woke up at 7 am to venture to Oncheonjang to meet with the six other COREM branches.

We started the day off with a "hike" (more of a stroll on a paved path) and then we took pictures for a good half hour (typical Korean outing). The days leading up to Teacher's Seminar Day were perfect spring weather, sunny and in the 70s, but the Seminar was one of those cloudy cool days. Many people were excited to have the cooler weather for our "hike", although everyone was moaning and groaning when they were told to take their coats off for a picture of all of us wearing our bright blue COREM polos.

Our stroll through the luscious green trees was gorgeous and refreshing. It feels good to get away from the concrete city.

After about two hours of walking/standing around (bonding), we headed back to a small restaurant in the mountain. As we were waiting for them to make their way around the big group giving everyone pajeon and duck, we opened a few bottles of soju and beer. Oh, of coarse there is free soju and beer at a company seminar. How else are we going to bond? 

As I was sipping my gross Hite beer (eager to get our beer inspired weekend in Seoul started), I noticed this women going around with her hand in a plastic glove, scooping out meat from a large bowl and wearing her indoor socks. I tried to get my camera out as fast as I could, and this was the best picture I could get. We have seen this sort of barely-hygienic/wish-it-was-behind-the-scenes thing before, so it was about time to get a photo of it.

After our food was served and cooking before our eyes, I tried to get a photo of our COREM branch eating. I felt kinda dumb yelling to get everyones attention, but I was determined to get more photos. So this isn't the best photo of the group, but I wasn't about to make everyone stop eating for a second one. =)

The Korean women LOVED that Bobby was so eager to help carry the large platters. They can all see how sweet and considerate he is. It makes me feel like one lucky lady. I think Bobby enjoyed doing a little serving as well, since he used to be a waiter.

This is Minja. I work for her every Saturday. She is serving us more salad. I love how they are so efficient with how they serve things here. No fancy salad silverware, just an old plastic bowl. Perfect.

Of course we all had to take our shoes off before we came inside this outdoor seating area. The kitchen was across the road so every time the staff brought over a tray, they would set it to the side until they had a few and then they would take their shoes off and serve us.

After lunch, all the COREM schools split into groups of men and women. They women played dodgeball and the men played a Korean game that is a mix of soccer and tennis, called joku. Bobby actually played this last fall. You can see this here. The winning school got 100,000 won (about $90). Sadly (?), we decided to leave after lunch so we could venture back to our apartment and gather our things and head to the train station to catch our train to Seoul. Happy Teacher's Seminar Day!