June 28, 2009 --  It's great to see you!!

If you're reading this on Sunday June 28, turn off your computer, get to your car and drive to Morven park in Leesburg to get a taste to the first batch of Tuppers' Hop Pocket from St. George-- it's worth the drive.  We have one and only one keg left.  We'll be pouring it starting at 11AM from an unmarked tap at the St. George brewery for about an hour -- so that those who know it's there will be sure to get some.   But at noon, we put up the sign and screw on the Tuppers' tap (and I put on my Tuppers' Tee Shirt) and I don't imagine it will take too much time to kill the keg.  After that you'll have to wait some more.  I'll keep you posted here when I know when the next public appearance will be.

A huge thank you to everyone who sought us out on Saturday to say hi and give us feedback on the beer.  We know we need to do a bit of tweaking, but what most of you are saying is "don't change much!" and we won't.   I can't tell you how lucky we were to find a brewery that was willing to take such care to bring this beer back.  And we also received a great deal of support from former Old Dominion brewers.  This is a wonderful community to be a part of. 

Stay tuned-- I should have more news about when and where we'll be back in regular production later this week.

CHEERS!!!!     --  Bob

 

IT'S BACK!!!!!     umm, sort of....

    June 20, 2009.   The first batch of Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale in over a year and a half is now in kegs.  But it's a single batch and there isn't nearly enough to begin regular distribution.  The good news is that  you can try some at a few festivals and special events, beginning with the Northern Virginia Beer Festival June 27 and June 28 at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia.  Click here for festival details.  Ellie and I will be at the St. George Brewery's tent pouring three kegs of this inaugural edition of Tuppers'.  But when it's gone, it's gone; unlike the old OD festivals (sigh), we can't send a forklift back into the warehouse to get more kegs.

    HERE'S THE FULL STORY---  Over the past two years we've had numerous discussions with brewers who were really enthusiastic about brewing our beer -- until they learned how our beer is brewed.  Instead of the usual 9 day journey to the kegs, ours takes 6 weeks before it's ready for market, tying up valuable tank space.  We not only dry hop, we insist on whole flower hops (more flavor and less edgy oiliness).  That dry hopping involves some of the toughest work the brewer does, and it's also hard to get right.  It's as if you were trying to make a pot of tea that holds 7360 cups-- it's just hard to figure out how to get the leaves to mix with the water and then get the leaves out of it when it's ready. 

Andy Rathmann, St. George's head brewer, said to us, "Brewery employees who object to that kind of hard, messy work must have forgotten why they wanted to become brewers," and welcomed the challenge.  And he did a simply beautiful job with the first batch.  Most of those with whom we've shared samples have simply smiled rather goofily at us.  But Andy knew when he took out the wet used hops that we hadn't gotten all the aroma we could have.  If the wet leaves are very aromatic, the full benefit has not been realized.  It wasn't a new story for us.  Old Dominion had to modify its tanks specially to allow Tuppers' to reach its full potential.

****  This sounds like a Michael Jackson digression, but bear with me.  We had a "blizzard rule" in our house when Laurie was growing up.  When there's a blizzard we know that someone is going to die shoveling snow and there are going to be some automobile accidents.  If I could stop that blizzard and save those lives I absolutely would do so.  But I can't.  So I get to enjoy making snowmen with my kid and get a day off school and enjoy it.  Feeling guilty about it does no good to anyone.

There's been considerable buzz on the Net about "vultures" who seemed to be joyously snapping up pieces of the Old Dominion brewery.  It broke our hearts when the Old Dominion brewery closed at Ashburn-- we have more memories tied up in that place than I could fit in a book.  But forces far beyond our control made that decision and we couldn't do a thing to stop it.  Blizzard rule.  With good sense, not joy, St. George's Brewery, with our enthusiastic encouragement, bought several of the tanks that were used to produce Tuppers' beers-- ones specifically modified to make the dry hopping more effective.  **** We now return to our narrative.

The new tanks will allow St. George's to begin regular production of both Tuppers' Ale and Pils.  The plan is for them to be installed and in use by the first half of July, which should mean we see sustained regular production of both beers in late August or early September.  (See paragraph #1 for how daggone long it takes to make these beers.)  We'll have kegs and bottles, and St. George is filling sixth-barrels which will allow some multi-tap bars who can't deal with the larger half-barrels to have it on tap.  When we get rolling, the next step will be to finally start working on those additional beers we've been promising you for years.

Thanks again for all your emails of support.  In the meantime, check this site for where you can get a preview tasting.  (Though there will be one event at which we will be a surprise addition.)

 

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REALLY!

      Now fermenting at a brewery near you........

        It happened!!   On Tuesday, April 14, 2009, Andy Rathmann and Conor Halfpenny brewed the first batch of Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale since October 2007.  The ale is fermenting even as you read this and pils shouldn't be far behind.  They should be available in early June at selected restaurants and taverns in the Washington DC area.

        Andy tells us that the brew went off without a hitch.  They used dozens of pounds of hops in the 25 bbl brew there are more hops just waiting for the dry hopping that will be coming later. 

      Thanks to our friends at HopUnion, we are able to brew beers with exactly the same hops we have always used-- including whole leaf Cascade and Mount Hood for the ale and whole leaf Mount Hood and Saaz for the Keller Pils.

       We've waited too long to hurry this beer -- it will be several weeks before it's ready, but it's on its way (the six week process was a major  reason so many breweries didn't want to do it.)  We'll keep you posted on this site

 

A "RETURN TO LIFE" CELEBRATION

BEER TASTING EVENT!

Sometime in late August to Early September----Keep an eye on this site for details about a special event to benefit one of the charities we have been supporting through sales of our beers.  Our checks to those organizations have been pretty meager lately (half of nuthin' is ... pretty close to nuthin') and we're hoping to make it up with a one-time tasting of FOUR Tuppers' beers in which every penny of the admission fee will go to support Samaritan Ministries.

 

 

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FINALLY!

            Tuppers' Hop Pocket Brewing Company and the St. George Brewing Company have agreed to work together to return Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale and Tuppers' Hop Pocket Pils to the market.  The tentative target date is late May.  The Ale will return first, followed shortly by the Pils-- both will be on draft before they return in bottles.  Initial distribution will focus on the Washington metropolitan area, but plans are to expand to the area in which the beers were formerly available and then expand to further markets.

            Brewmaster Andy Rathman and assistant Conor Halfpenny at The St. George Brewing Company turn out consistently excellent beers under the St. George and Olde Richmond labels.  Their skill and energy, and Andy’s remarkable depth of knowledge, ensure that those who have waited patiently for Hop Pocket’s return will not be disappointed.  Beers will be made according to the Tuppers’ original specifications when they were brewed at Old Dominion—plentiful hops, including huge amounts of whole flower Mount Hood hops, an unusually long conditioning period for smoothness, and bottle and keg conditioning for a fresher taste and additional smoothness.  The ingredients and processes needed to make Tuppers’ beers are costly and labor intensive, but Bob and Ellie Tupper’s intent was always to put beers on the market that no one else was willing or able to do.  The Tuppers will continue to bring you distinctively wonderful brews with even more extravagantly daring beers planned for the future. 

  

A personal note from Bob and EllieTupper

            Thanks so much to all of you who emailed us and continued to support us over the past 15 months of commercial inactivity.  We’ve been searching for a brewery that would fully commit to making our beers in the difficult and expensive way they have always been made.  In the end we had a choice between uncompromised quality or producing a quantity that would allow us to return at previous volumes and lower prices.  For us, it seemed a pretty easy choice.  Our day jobs continue to guarantee that we won’t cut a single corner to make an extra buck and your enthusiasm has reminded us that if we make it right you’ll keep us in business.

            The St. George Brewing Company is even smaller than Old Dominion was when we first started there, but they turn out wonderful beers.  We won’t have economies of scale, at least in the near future, and hop prices have skyrocketed since the last batch of Tuppers’ was brewed.  So it won’t be cheap and it won’t be easy to find for a while.  But you’ve probably noticed that no really good beer is cheap these days, and a beer just like Tuppers’ has been impossible to find for the last year.

            We’re excited beyond words to get back into the market.  We’ll be able to give some help to some organizations that really need it, especially in these tough times, and we’re looking forward to being able to drink a beer that’s brewed just the way we like it (how lucky can two people be?).  But most of all, we’re looking forward to the pleasure of sharing our beers with all of you.

            Keep watching tuppersbeers.com for updates and details of some special events when we return.  We can’t wait to see you.

             Cheers!

                    Bob and Ellie

 

 

New Beer from Tuppers!

           On January 31, we traveled to Roseland, Virginia, to the Devils Backbone Brewery to brew a beer with Jason Oliver.  We're calling it "Tuppers' Deep Pockets" (because in these hard times we all need deep pockets).  It's now on tap at Devils Backbone.   

    We made the beer with a variety of barley malts with just a touch of wheat and what we officially measured out to be "a whole bunch" of hops.  Jason drove through last week's ice storm to procure our signature Mount Hood Hops and a local farmer just happened to drop of a variety of local whole hops on the morning we brewed.  Much of the hop profile is similar to the original Hop Pocket Ale -- some Cascades, lots of Mount Hoods, and Willamette but we added some Amarillo to put just a bit of a different spin on it.  We used the whole flower mix in the whirlpool and we'll dry hop it with Mount Hood hops in the fermenter.

    We debuted it last night at the Strong Beer Tasting at the Brickskeller.  We also will feature it at the Brewers' Ball (click here for details of the event.).   We're holding a keg in reserve to feature when we return to the market with Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale and Tuppers' Hop Pocket Pils.

 see pictures below

 

 

 

WANT TO WORK FOR TUPPERS'?

    We're not growing so fast we need employees, but we do need to contract some services-- primarily secretarial and organizational-- to help us manage and monitor the new brewing arrangements.  We need someone who is very very well organized, and has internet access and a telephone answering machine that works.  We're guessing we'll need an average of about 4 hours a week, but it could be a bit more or a bit less.

 

 

Some pictures of brewing day for

TUPPERS' DEEP POCKETS IMPERIAL IPA

at Devils Backbone Brewery, Roseland, Virginia

 

Bob adds the first bag of malt to the mash tun.

 

An early small addition of hops for bittering

Ellie adds the big bucket of hops 30 minutes before knockout.

 

Ellie and Jason tie the sack that holds the whole flower locally grown hops.

 

Mount Hood, Amarillo and local whole flower hops are in the whirlpool ready for the hot wort from the brew kettle.

 

VETERAN'S DAY UPDATE

          I wish I had some real news to post, but our efforts to get back in the market the right way are just taking time.

             Contrary to some rumors, we don’t have a deal with anyone yet, and there is certainly no fixed price at which we will return, although it’s certain to be about 50 cents higher than “ouch” and it may even be 50 cents higher than “yowie!”  I promise you that’s as specific as we’ve gotten on pricing.

             But we are making progress.  We are in late-stage negotiations with two brewing companies, who together can meet any probable demand.  (Though at 50 cents higher than “yowie” we may not need as much capacity as we used to.)

             The core of any agreement we reach will include the following:

• Beers will be made to our specifications—no short-cuts to reach a price point.  The ale and pils recipes will not change except to adjust to changing flavors and intensities of hops and malts—adjustments we had to make several times when we were with Old Dominion.  Any agricultural product has to run hard to stay in the same place.
• The breweries will work with us to develop other beers including some seasonal and one-off products.

            Working with two breweries presents some legal complications that we did not have when we were permanently moored to the OD dock.  Right now we’re working through the details—trying to get a label that will work both in the short run and in the long run, change the way our corporation operates, contract for some quasi-secretarial assistance, and re-establish a distribution network.  We hope to have beer in the tank soon and return to the shelves sometime early in 2009.

THREE CHEERS FOR AMERICA

  I try to keep this site apolitical, but I can't resist shouting "hooray" from every rooftop I can find this week.  Left or right, blue or red, it's hard to deny that the American democratic experiment became at least a bit more inclusive this week and that's good for all of us.  Other reasons to celebrate include:

• The beginning of another peaceful transfer of power-- few in the world believed that John Adams would simply leave the White House when it was time.   Some still find American transitions quite remarkable.
• McCain's concession speech.  Losing candidates often seize one last chance to campaign for their agendas.  McCain chose to celebrate Obama's achievement and begin a healing process
• Obama drinks beer.  One of the dirtiest of all dirty tricks this campaign was a rumor that Obama only sipped a beer for show-- a falsehood Obama strongly denied.  Cheers, Mr. President-elect!

 

TUPPERS' INDEPENDENCE DAY UPDATE

 

July 3, 2008-- I remember how Uli Benewitz, who founded the Weeping Radish over 20 years ago, regaled us with stories about how much harder it was to actually brew beer than it should have been.  It hasn't changed much in 20 years even if you don't try to build your own brewery.   But for every step back there has seemed to be two steps forward lately.

We've been assured we can get hops, independently of any brewery.  We may not be able to get the exact hops we used at OD, but we and our source believe we can come very very close.  It will be expensive, but not as awful as we thought.  Our hope is to come so close that we won't be able to tell the difference.  If you can.... too bad.

But that means we're dealing with a different situation with the breweries we've been talking to and we haven't had a chance to see how this supply of hops will change whatever arrangements they had in mind.  So a bit more of a delay, but one that should ensure a product that's much closer to the original Hop Pocket than we thought we could do.

So as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, it has something of a special meaning for us this year.  The hops free us from whatever hops a given brewery has lying around and didn't want to use on their own products.  And, of course, we look back on the past year and some tough decisions--and continue to be grateful that when we do come back, we'll have our independence -- and full control of what is brewed under our name. 

 

ARCHIVES

 

TUPPERS' HOP POCKET ALE II

REVIVAL

June 20, 2008-- We believe that we will complete arrangements within a week to resume production of Tuppers' Hop Pocket Ale.  We cannot obtain at any price the exact hops we used at Old Dominion, but we have found a brewer who actually can obtain high quality hops and that's no small feat these days.   The new version of Tuppers' Hop Pocket will be bottle conditioned, as always.  It will be dry-hopped, as always.  And it will have our signature balance between malt and hops -- hoppy enough for Bob, smooth enough for Ellie.

We haven't been this close, but we have been close, and we're just not ready to give details until the ink is dry on the deal.  But keep looking here-- within a few days we should have it done.

Of course it won't be like the old days.  Expect to pay much more than you did when hops were cheap.  And depending on where you live, it may not be as easy to find, at least for a while.  But it will be, again, a beer like no other on the market

 

May 22, 2008-- Thanks to everyone who continues to remind us how much you miss the Hop Pocket beers.  We do too.  As the school year draws to a close I have more time to rattle more cages, so we'll see what turns up.  Someone we met recently asked what he could do to get Tuppers' back on the shelf and I rather flippantly replied, "Find us someone with about $3 million he like to use to finance a new brewery."  The reply was much more serious than my offhanded remark, so who knows, if we can't find a brewery maybe we'll make one.

But don't hold your breath on that happening.  The phone hasn't been ringing off the hook since and if it rang today there will be a long delay before the first bottle gets filled. 

There is long term good news.  Hops farmers are returning to hop plantings, apparently in significant numbers.  And there will be a couple of new breweries in the region for whom a Tuppers partnership would make good economic sense.  So I'm pretty sure we'll all by fine by, say, 2012.  Yeah, OK, I'll make some more calls this afternoon.

 

March 11, 2008 -- Thanks to all who have emailed support over the past few months.  You remind us that we really have to find a way to make these beers again.  We're looking farther afield than we had earlier and hope that will break the log-jam.  We're very lucky in that our bottle conditioned beers have to spend a week conditioning in the bottle before they are ready to be sold.  Those of you who went to the OD tours over the past few years probably saw huge stacks of Tuppers' piled on the floor next to the bottling line.  They sat there until they were conditioned and then were placed in the cooler.  But there's no reason why that week of conditioning can't be spent on a truck (think "India Pale Ale") while it's coming east.  We should be able to get you the beer tasting as fresh as it ever was.

For now, however, I'm afraid that the last sources of Hop Pocket are drying up.  Congratulations to those of your who cellared a spring's worth -- the last batch Old Dominion brewed is holding up as well as any they ever did.  It was a great final chapter to a very good book.

Meanwhile there are lots of good beers around.  We've actually been pretty regular about posting our favorites in the "Beers of the Week" section of this site.  Follow the link in the table at the bottom of our home page or click here.

     Questions?  Feel free to email us using the link on the home page.

        Cheers!

    Bob and Ellie Tupper

...

Coming Eventually!  -- ON TAP:  A listing of local craft beers on tap at brewpubs and specialty beer bars.

and...  The Random Rant -- Mostly we celebrate beer, but sometimes brewpubs and beer bars just ought to know better.