Adventures in brewing with Kris at Kognisjon lead us down to the thermocline in pursuit of our stupendous Czech pilsner.
Brew Day with Kris at Kognisjon Bryggeri
Kris (Thompson, head brewer at Kognisjon Bryggeri) might remember exactly. My recollection is that we’d recently talked with Nick Van Court (brewer/owner at Barrel + Beam) at the Detroit Beer Fest about doing a Life In Michigan beer (which you can get on Thursday, September 12, at Withington’s in Chelsea 🙂 ). I mentioned this to Kris, and he said something to the effect of, “Well, hey man, we should do a beer too!”
Kris is a master of collaborations. He’s done them with other breweries (North Peak, Ogma), with bands (Arctic Sleep), and we were on site when he was brewing a Sahti with Marquest (a Live Action Role Playing group). He is a soft-spoken lover of beer and music and one hell of a great person to call a friend. Over texts, we made plans to head into the Kognisjon brewhaus in mid-June of this year to brew beer.
It would be a misnomer to say we “brewed” with Kris. It would be more like we witnessed a master at work. Along the way, he shared stories and answered questions. Seeing the work that goes into brewing beer gives you a greater appreciation for the final product.
Michigan Saaz Unleashed
Kris mentioned that finding the time to brew was no problem. The issue would be what kind of beer to make. If you’ve been following our beer adventures on Life In Michigan, then you know that my drive for hop bombs has taken a backseat to crisp lagers. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a dynamite West Coast IPA, but there is something special about a pilsner that speaks to me. Perhaps it is my Czech roots calling toward the homeland. With that thought in mind, we decided on a Czech pilsner.
Since we wanted to support our exceptional Michigan hop farms, Kris ordered some pure Michigan Saaz from Hop Alliance. This hop has some herbal notes and adds just enough bitterness to craft that clean and crisp feel that you want in a pils.
Discovering Thermocline
As we were waiting, Kris asked about names for our brew. I started to think about the beer and how we hoped it would be crisp, cool, and refreshing. In some ways, like Lake Superior, that lake is not cool; it is cold. “Superior Shores” flitted about for a second but sounded weak. Then, I started to rummage for names that might be witty. “Czech This Out” or “Just Czeching Around” may have been said out loud, but soon drifted away unchosen. I could see Kris looking at his phone. As Brenda and I continued to fumble for names, Kris said, “What about Thermocline?”
This is how we learned Kris’s secret for naming beers. He often pays homage to bands and songs in the names of his beers. However, it is never a straight shot. The names follow a sort of six degrees of Kevin Bacon morphology where one notion leads to another and then another.
In the case of our Czech Pils, Kris heard Lake Superior, took it down to the level of a vast cold and water world, and then found a reference to the zone called the Thermocline, which marks the boundary between the warm surface water and the colder depths below. With that, Thermocline, the Czech Pils made with Michigan Saaz, was born.
Pick up a can of Thermocline
We took Craig Horky’s artwork for GIG—The Art of Michigan Music—and used it as the foundation for the label art. Kris, who, in addition to brewing, handles graphic design, added the distinctive Kognisjon touches to create this spectacular label.
Thermocline, our Life In Michigan and Kognisjon Bryggeri collaboration, is on tap now at the pub. You’ll soon be able to get cans of this beer, too. Those of you heading up for the U.P. Fall Beer Festival on Saturday, Sept 7th, can enjoy the beer at the Hop Growers of Michigan table at the fest!! If you’d like to pregame with us, we’ll be stopping at the Kog as part of Day with Jay and Andrea (Marquette) on Friday, Sept 6th. Be sure to follow our socials for updates/times.
Photos
We are so grateful to Kris, Jay, and everyone at Kognisjon Bryggeri for the opportunity to collaborate on Thermocline with them. Our gallery has some more photos from our brew day with Kris.
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