Head brewer Cameron Schubert is putting the pedal to the metal for the upcoming launch of Red Rocker Brewing in Detroit.
Red Rocker Brewing – head brewer Cameron Schubert – photo courtesy of Red Rocker Brewing Co.
Red Rocker Brewing in Detroit
On October 23rd, Sammy Hagar and The Circle will host a celebration at the Fillmore in Detroit. Sammy has teamed up with Eric and Cameron Schubert to open a new craft brewery called Red Rocker Brewing. Their first beer is aptly named Red Rocker Lager. Described as a medium-body Mexican lager with a hint of sweetness, Red Rocker Lager clocks in at an easy drinking 4.3% ABV.
Recently, I spent a few minutes talking with Red Rocker’s head brewer Cameron Schubert. You can check out the full interview here.
Red Rocker Head Brewer: Cameron Schubert
Cameron has been brewing for 13 years; however, this is his first commercial brewery launch. I was curious what that transition was like for him. Cameron shared, “It was definitely a learning curve. All the big professional equipment can be run by a tablet, started from home. So it was huge because when it first started, my mash tun was a five-gallon Gatorade cooler, and I was keeping temperatures in a bathtub filled with ice. Everything’s professional now, it’s huge equipment. Push a button…definitely a lot easier.”
Sammy Who?
If, for some crazy reason, you don’t know who Sammy Hagar is, he’s the stellar voice behind “Bad Motor Scooter” by Montrose. He also has a slew of hits from his solo career, such as “Can’t Drive 55” and “There Only One Way To Rock.” And, of course, he re-ignited Van Halen with “Best of Both Worlds” and “Right Now.” In the world of beverages, Hagar is best known for his award-winning tequila and rum. Now he’s jumping into craft beer.
Red Rocker Lager
While Red Rocker Brewing does not currently have a taproom, they plan to open one as soon as possible. For large-scale production, Red Rocker Brewing is working with Brew Detroit. Cameron creates his recipes on a three-barrel development system in Canton. It is here where he started on the path to create Red Rocker Lager with Sammy Hagar’s taste buds as the guide.
The recipe for the Red Rocker Lager was driven by first finding out what Sammy was looking for in a beer in terms of style and taste. Cameron provided Sammy with a variety of styles to try before they settled on a lager.
Regarding the dial-in process, Cameron said, “So every time we brewed a batch, we’d send it over to him (Sammy), he’d be like “Oh, you know, a little less sweet, a little more hoppy flavor, a little less aftertaste.” And then we finally came up with Red Rocket Lager, and it was exactly what he wanted.”
While Red Rocker Lager isn’t currently using Michigan malt or hops, Cameron isn’t opposed to using Michigan products in the future, saying, “You know that would be ideal to have a beer with all local Michigan hops. So definitely sometime in the future, I would love to do one like that.”
Red Rocker Coming to You
Cameron mentioned that they are working hard to get distribution setup across the state for Red Rocker Lager. The beer will be available at the Fillmore during the October 23rd release party; however, it isn’t clear whether canned beer will be available in stores before that date. Ultimately, Red Rocker Brewing would like to expand sales across the country. In addition to Red Rocker Lager, they will have five other beer styles, including a hazy IPA. These beers will have their release dates after Red Rocker Lager on October 23rd.
Red Rocker Lager can – photo courtesy of Red Rocker Brewing Co.
Brewhouse Playlist and Favorite Beer
I know that many brewers enjoy music on brew days. The same applies to Cameron. The question is, what music is he listening to now? Cameron replied, “It’s honestly, it’s to get into that little, that moment. I’ve been listening to Sammy Hagar, Montrose, Van Halen, everything Sammy related just to get more in tune with that. So that’s what we got jamming all the time.” Cameron’s favorite Sammy Hagar song is “Father Time,” which he found very relatable as a father of two.
Everyone has their go-to beer style. Asking Cameron for his, he says, “Brown ales. First recipe that I’ve ever created. It was a brown ale, and just the smell that it creates is just biscuity, you know, caramelly. It just makes my mouth water. One of my favorites to brew, and I mean, you can mess around with it in so many different ways. Make it taste totally different. You could do basic all the way up to, you know, marshmallows.”
Detroit Rock City
Detroit has a long history of excellent music, including rock. My hope is that Red Rocker Brewing helps to shine a light on the magnificent music being made every day in the Motor City. We also have an amazing craft brewing scene in Michigan and, in particular, in the Detroit Metro area. It will be interesting to see Red Rocker Brewing joining the ranks of excellent breweries in Detroit. Here’s to seeing some one-of-a-kind collaborations between Red Rocker Brewing and other Michigan craft breweries in the years to come.
Red Rocker Brewing Company – Bogus Otis – photo courtesy of Red Rocker Brewing Co.
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