Matt Becker is the head brewer and co-owner of Brewery Becker. “I’ve been homebrewing since 1991, and have had the dream of owning a brewery since 1995”, Matt said, when I caught up with him tending bar. Part of that dream included making traditional styles, and the menu when I visited was a testament to that, with some unique styles I’d never seen in all my brewery visits. One of the most impressive was a style called Entire Butt, which pre-dates the modern stouts and porters, and is made with brown malt (which is the predecessor of the black malts used in stouts and porters). “It’s an English malt, that is floor-malted and hand turned”, Matt told me proudly, admitting it was a ‘bit of a pain to make’. Tasting the finished product makes all that work producing it worthwhile. It has a muddy brown look in the glass, but has amazing complex flavors of chocolate and coffee, even though neither of those were added to it. The menu also included a few other traditional styles- A gruit referred to as a ‘Scandinavian farmhouse ale’ (a beer based on a tradition Viking drink and flavored with bog myrtle and juniper instead of hops), a grisette, which the menu called “Saison’s little brother”, and two types of traditional ‘milds’, close reproductions of the original British Ales.
The brewery has a seven-barrel system. “All of our beers are cask-conditioned and pushed by a pump. This is real ale, naturally carbonated, with no gas added”, Matt explained. Sitting at the bar while talking with Matt, I also listened as his customers came in and ordered their beer. It was clear that he and his staff had done a good job of educating them about the unique styles.
A visit to Brewery Becker is a unique beer drinking experience, almost a stroll through the modern era of beer making. Adding in the beautiful taproom and spacious beer garden, downtown Brighton has a perfect spot for the beer enthusiast.
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Bar area Bar area
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Beautiful Beautiful
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Beautiful Space Beautiful Space
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Beer Beer
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Enter Enter
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Creating Beer Creating Beer
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Enjoy Patio Enjoy Patio
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Est. 1871 Est. 1871
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Gathering area Gathering area
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Getting ready for the day Getting ready for the day
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My favorite area to relax My favorite area to relax
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Smile Smile
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Stunning Stunning
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antique scrollwork antique scrollwork
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Games Games
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View from above View from above
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Welcome Welcome
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Wood features Wood features
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Delicious Delicious