Yours for Good Fermentables ™

Pic(k) of the Week: Brewster Fashion

2012-01-28T06:12:00.000-05:00

A brewery is a high moisture work zone. Boots are de rigeur as protective wear for brewsters and brewers. Likewise at beer festivals, such as here, at the World Beer Festival, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 28 April 2007.

The terms brewster and brewer may have been, for a time, at least in northern England and Scotland, interchangeable terms, feminine or masculine, for one who makes beer.

From the Oxford English Dictionary (as quoted by Martyn Cornell at his beer history blog, Zythophile):

In northern M(iddle) E(nglish), perh. owing to the frequent adoption by men of trades like weaving, baking, tailoring, etc., the suffix [-ster] came very early to be used, indiscriminately with -ER, as an agential ending irrespective of gender.

It is probable that “-ster” was often preferred to “-er” as more unambiguously referring to the holder of a professional function, as distinguished from the doer of an occasional act [emphasis mine]. In Scotland, baxter and webster survived as masculines down to the 19th c.

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All About Beer Magazine organizes three World Beer Festivals: in Raleigh and Durham, in North Carolina, and in Columbia, South Carolina. The Columbia festival occurs today, 28 January 2012. The Raleigh festival is scheduled for 4 April 2012; the Durham event has no 2012 date listed as of today's post. A fourth festival, in Richmond, Virginia, is no longer held.
The Pink Boots Society is an association of and for women brewers and beer professionals: pinkbootssociety.org.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

VeggieDag Thursday: Quick Links

2012-01-26T07:43:00.000-05:00

VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on an animal-free diet and its issues.

Some thoughts on whether or not to promote veganism as a weight loss diet. Via The Vegan RD.
The latest research on weight management —some of which was highlighted in a recent article in the New York Times— raises questions about the pursuit of a slender body. ¶ The evidence suggest that the majority of people who lose weight regain as much as 95 percent of it within five years. <...> People who diet may have to exercise more and cut back more stringently on calories to maintain their weight loss compared to same-weight people who haven’t dieted. <...> For many people, however—especially those who have dieted unsuccessfully numerous times—resolutions that focus on healthy lifestyle rather than on dropping pounds could be the best and smartest option. <...> Go vegan, or at least get started on the transition. Eating more plant foods can improve your health no matter what your body size.

A new 'crop' of farmers in the Washington, D.C. area. Via Flavor Magazine.
There’s a crisis in farming: The average age of a farmer in the United States is between 57 and 59. Thirty percent of our farmers are beyond retirement age. And the USDA says we need 100,000 new farmers a year – that’s right, every year – to continue American food production at current levels. ¶ Meet the new generation of farmers in the Capital Foodshed. The 29 local farmers under 40 on these pages combine a love for good food and hard work with scientific inquiry, bountiful philosophy, and, in most cases, a finely honed aversion to cubicles.

Bugs are developing resistance to GMO corn (up to 60% of US crop). Via Yahoo News.
One of the nation's most widely planted crops — a genetically engineered corn plant [Bt corn introduced in 2003] that makes its own insecticide — may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected. ¶ The U.S. food supply is not in any immediate danger because the problem remains isolated. But scientists fear potentially risky farming practices could be blunting the hybrid's sophisticated weaponry.

One of the features of Atlanta, Georgia's Botanical Garden is a year-round 'Edible Garden.'
The garden boasts colorful vegetables to eat 365 days a year, from orange cauliflower in spring to purple beans and burgundy okra in the summer to a kaleidoscope of apples, pears, persimmons, figs, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and muscadines in fall [to cabbages in the winter].

The garden includes an Outdoor Kitchen where Atlanta's top chefs present Cooking Classes, and, every weekend May through October, the Garden Chef showcases seasonal recipes using ingredients harvested from the Edible Garden. Any harvested food not used in educational programs is donated to local charities.

From the New York Times' Recipes for Health: Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger, Leeks, Apples.

A beer blogger has an edible New Years' tradition of Black Eyed Pea & Jicama Salad. The recipe, via Musings Over A Pint.

Prince Fielder, a baseball slugger, is a vegetarian (most of the time). How about vegan bodybuilders? Via New York Times.
There is little official data on competitive bodybuilders who are vegan, though the Web site veganbodybuilding.com has more than 5,000 registered users. <...> Nutritionists and bodybuilders have argued that a disciplined vegan diet, consisting of things like hemp-based protein supplements, peanut butter, nuts, vegetables and legumes, can yield similar, if not better, results than a meat- or dairy-filled diet. Carefully monitored, vegans can get the same amount of protein with less fat or toxins, they argue.

An exasperated mother admonishing her children, as overheard in a supermarket: "No! Olives are NOT a food group."

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VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here.
Prior VeggieDag Thursday posts: here. Follow on Twitter: #VeggieDag.
Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks: welcomed!

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 2/3, 2012

2012-01-23T05:38:00.000-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 2/3
8 January - 21 January 2012

2012.01.21
Mac McGarry to make his final appearance on "It's Academic", the longest running quiz show on TV. Via NPR.
2012.01.20
Remembering Etta James, stunning singer. 1938 – 2012. Via NPR Blog Supreme
2012.01.20
British Parliament challenges brewers to produce 'session' beers, with reduced duty. Via BeerNews.org.
2012.01.20
A gloomy worldwide forecast for barley grown for brewing. Via Brewers Association.
2012.01.19
LewBryson's "American Beer Blogger" video project reaches its Kickstarter goal to fund a pilot episode.
2012.01.19
After FIFA insists that the 2014 World Cup soccer events must have beer, Russia and Brazil reconsider their stadium alcohol bans. Via Washington Post Sports.
2012.01.19
No Mo Poe. The mysterious 'Poe Toaster' fails to appear at Edgar Allan Poe's grave for 3rd year in a row. Vigil of over fifty years to end. Via Yahoo News.
2012.01.18
Virginia wineries cop 22 medals in San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition; Maryland wineries, 2. Via Dave McIntyre at Washington Post.
2012.01.17
At 2.5 million barrels produced in 2011, Yuengling is now the largest US-owned brewery, surpassing Boston Beer (Sam Adams) at 2.4 million barrels.
2012.01.17
Wikipedia to go off-line Wednesday at midnight for 24 hours as protest againat SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act bill in Congress. Via Slate
2012.01.16
Draft Magazine reveals its list of 100 Best US Beer Bars for 2012.
2012.01.16
Anheuser-Busch InBev has NOT acquired Budvar. It HAS acquired the trademark for the name "Budweiser." The Budvar Brewery remains independent, brewing in Budejovice, Czech Republic. As reported by beer writer Stephen Beaumont at his Twitter feed.
2012.01.16
On this day in 1919, the 18th Amendment —Prohibition— was ratified. The Amendment would take effect one year and one day later, and continue for nearly 14 years until repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. More from Wikipedia.
2012.01.13
"The Beer Hunter" —a film about Michael Jackson the late beer writer— has reached its Kickstarter funding goal. More at the film's website: www.beerhuntermovie.com.
2012.01.13
Turn the damn cellphone OFF. What the conductor of the New York Philharmonic did when, while he was conducting Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony, a cell phone began to chirp. Via Yahoo News.
2012.01.10
Brewery Ommegang says planned fracking —hydraulic fracturing extraction of natural gas— will pollute its well water, forcing the uptate New York brewery to relocate or close.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Drinking, Again: Bitter & Twisted (review)

2012-01-22T06:24:00.000-05:00

An occasional series of reviews of beer (and wine and spirits).
No scores; only descriptions.
From Harviestoun Brewery in Scotland: Bitter & Twisted. Here, served, hand-pulled cask-conditioned —across the ocean— at Rustico Restaurant, in Alexandria, Virginia. 20 January 2012.

In an interesting cultural cross-pollination, Rustico served this Scottish cask ale in a Stange, a 0.2 liter German glass (just under 8 fluid ounces), traditionally used to serve kegged Kölsch beer.

Harviestoun itself engaged in a bit of cross-pollination. It bittered and flavored Bitter & Twisted with with Styrian Goldings and Hersbrucker, two noble hops from central Europe, more commonly found in lagers. In 2003, the beer was crowned Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival.

The hops gave a bright lemony character, minus the overwrought grapefruit juice 'blunderbuss' of so many U.S. cask ales. The aroma is chased by a fresh yeasty flavor, a hint of biscuity malt, more of that lemony flavor, and a firm finish (again from the hops). At 4.2% alcohol-by-volume, Bitter & Twisted is quite 'sessionable' but still more-ish.

Full-flavored, but elegant. Hops part of the flavor, rather than the only flavor. Alcohol at a level which invites another. Now, that's what I wish more U.S. cask ales would aspire to be.

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A past official of the Ford Motor Company founded Harviestoun in 1985, in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. In 2006, the brewery was purchased by Caledonian Brewery. It became independent again, two years later, when Caledonian was purchased by Scottish & Newcastle, itself owned jointly by by Heineken and Carlsberg. The international conglomerates wanted nothing to do with small Harviestoun and its cask ales. Our gain!
Read more on the practise of cask ale in the U.S. at CaskAleUSA.
Drinking Again is a series of occasional reviews of beer (and wine and spirits). The graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the Week: Fountain, Glass Sculpture, & Lights

2012-01-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

In December, the Nepenthes Chandelier —by glass sculptor Dave Chihuly— sits atop a fountain at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

During an annual December tradition —Garden Lights, Holiday Nights— the Atlanta, Georgia, park is illuminated by over one million energy-efficient LED lights strung throughout the flora of its 30-acres.

30 December 2011.

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A slideshow of photos from the exhibit: here.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Birthday in Beer: Steve Jones

2012-01-20T08:42:00.000-05:00

In 2011, there were 1,927 breweries operating in the United States. Relatively few of those emphasized the production of cask-conditioned 'real ale.' And, of those, even fewer fermented their beers in open fermenters.

One member of that exclusive double subset is Oliver Ales at the Pratt Street Alehouse, in Baltimore, Maryland. The brewer there, for over a decade, has been Stephen 'Steve' Jones.

Jones is on the left.

Jones is a degreed British brewer, a tireless proselytizer for cask ale, a vegetarian (!), and a charming fellow. In a melieu of hard-working 'craft' brewers, he is harder working. Today is his birthday. Here is his story, in his own words.

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Follow Jones on Twitter at @oliverale.
More Birthdays in Beer: here. The Brookston Beer Bulletin maintains a much more inclusive beer birthday list: here.
The statistics on breweries were compiled by the Brewers Association, an advocacy and lobbying group for U.S. breweries producing fewer than six million barrels of beer per year. The Association does NOT track cask ale production of its member breweries.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Oliver Ales.

"American Beer Blogger" needs your support

2012-01-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

He's the man with the best laugh —an infectious from-the-belly guffaw— in the craft beer business. And, now, seriously, Lew Bryson needs your help.

That's Lew on the left..
Bryson is managing editor of Whisky Advocate magazine; a regular writer on beer for Ale Street News and Massachusetts Beverage Business magazine; the witty, sometimes hilarious, and always insightful writer of beer blog Seen Through a Glass; and the author of four regional brewery and good beer guidebooks: Pennsylvania Breweries, Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Breweries, New York Breweries, and New Jersey Breweries. And, that's not to mention his campaign for session beer and his campaign against arcane alcohol laws.

As if that weren't enough, Bryson has a new project. American Beer Blogger, a television/internet/DVD series on the American 'craft beer' scene. He's the host and writer; a company called Green Leaf is the producer.

AMERICAN BEER BLOGGER is a half hour television series dedicated to all facets of the ever growing craft beer market. From home brewing, to micro beer; viewers will experience the very best of the craft beer culture. In each episode, Lew will visit a different brewer, each of which has their own sets ofquirks and ways of doing things. Lew will talk to these brewers, get to knowthem, will show us first hand the various methods and techniques used in creating a craft beer. From the tiniest bottler to the largest manufacturer, Lew will get his hands dirty. Topics such as bottling, food pairing, manufacturing,distribution, history, technique (and so much more) will all be touched uponas Lew spends a day with these brewers. <...> Through humor and a charming, hands-on host, our show will not only be entertaining for the microbeer enthusiast, but also enjoyable for the average viewer as well.

The funding for American Beer Blogger is enabled by Kickstarter, a so-called 'crowdfunding' micro-funding medium. Investors —really contributors— are given a limited amount of time in which to pledge. If the chosen amount is not gathered by that deadline, no funds are collected. If it is met, Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds raised; Amazon, facilitating the actual on-line payments, takes an additional 3-5%.

Originally, Bryson was asking for $60,000, just enough to finance 6 episodes. That goal was not reached. Now, he's re-tooled the project, looking to fund only one pilot episode, for $6,000. ~~He has two weeks, until Sunday 29 January, to reach his goal.~~

UPDATE: As of later in the day, 2012.01.19, the goal had been reached. But, Bryson adds, more funds are always welcome: travel expenses, etc.

So, I throw down a challenge for the beer blogging community. Let's demonstrate support for one of own. Lew Bryson has done more than many of us, and for longer than many of us —for over two decades— to support good beer. Now, he wishes to take his efforts further. American Beer Blogger would be a series I would be eager to watch, and, knowing Bryson and his body of work, I believe you —and anyone interested in good beer— would be, as well.

The website for the 2012 Beer Bloggers Conference counts 853 blogs as "Citizen Beer Blogs" in North America. Let's do the math. Of the $6,000 dollars needed to be pledged, fifty-three backers, as of this morning, have already donated $4,157. That leaves $1,843 to be raised. Just for this conceit, if we were to assume the 53 donors to be beer bloggers, 800 bloggers have yet to be heard from. If each of those were to contribute only $2.31 —that's TWO DOLLARS AND THIRTY-ONE CENTS, less than the cost of one draft craft beer at your local bar— Bryson would meet his goal. To sweeten the deal: for contributions of slightly to much higher, there is schwag, DVDs, and public acknowledgment.

Fellow beer bloggers, craft brewers, importers, wholesalers, beer bar owners, beer store owners, and beer drinkers, let's pay Bryson's efforts forward. Contribute to American Beer Blogger: here.

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Another Kickstarter project —Michael Jackson: The Beer Hunter— has already achieved its goal, but still needs additional funds for post-production work. It's "a documentary film about the British journalist and author Michael Jackson, whose books and television series about beer inspired the global phenomenon that is the craft brewing renaissance. An intimate portrait based on over 60 hours of rare, recent video footage." part of the project will be the endowment of the "Michael Jackson Memorial Foundation, with the "goal of organizing annual fund-raising events in Michael's memory, with proceeds to benefit Parkinson's Research."
The Beer Blogger Conference site defines a Citizen Beer Blog as one not designed to promote a brewery or other business, but allowing "media-based" blogs.
The 2012 U.S. Beer Bloggers Conference is scheduled for 13-15 July in Indianapolis; in the U.K., for 18-20 May, in Leeds.
Caveat Lector: I am mentioned in Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Breweries.

Protest FOR Internet Freedom

2012-01-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

Rather than going 'black' today in protest against SOPA and PIPA, Yours For Good Fermentables joins the chorus against these bills: respectively, the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House of Representatives and Protect IP Act in the Senate.

Read more at the Electronic Freedom Foundation, including ways and means to contact your Congressman —Democrat or Republican— to protest against these bills.

And, once you've done that, read this chilling piece by Jonathan Turley: 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free. The danger goes much further than the internet.

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The above embedded video was prepared by a non-profit organization called Fight For The Future. Like many such advocacy groups, its financial backers are not listed. Considering its goals, I wouldn't be surprised if Google, Ebay, Facebook, etc. were among them. Its webpage does mention EFF as one of its friends. That organization being a force for e-freedom, and the simple yet fairly honest depiction of the dangers of SOPA/PIPA in the video, were powerful enough reasons for me to re-post it here.
Although Wikipedia is preventing searches of its database throughout the day today as a protest against the bills (and as a foretaste of what a severely controlled internet could look like in the future), its mobile site remains functioning.

Pic(k) of the Week: Victoria by candlelight

2012-01-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

Candlelight illuminates a glass of Allagash Brewing's Victoria Ale.

The occasion was a 7-course beer dinner at RedRocks Pizza Napoletana —in Alexandria, Virginia— featuring the beers of Allagash Brewing Company —of Portland, Maine. Seven different beers were paired with seven different courses. The brewery's National Sales Manager —Naomi Neville— and its area representative —Suzanne Woods— presented the beers.

Rather than attempt to shout over the clamor of a busy restaurant, the two walked table-to-table, talking one-on-one with the customers, as the beers and food were served. This made a 'big' event seem much more intimate.

This was only the first 'full-bore' beer dinner at the restaurant. (RedRocks has hosted prior beer 'tastings,' at which small-plate pizzas were served, but not with specific pairings.) General Manager James O'Brien, pleased at evening's conclusion, promised there would be more.

Alexandria (Old Town), Virginia.
11 January 2012.

FIRST COURSE
Allagash White
Belgian-style Wheat Ale (ABV: 5.0%)
Served with:
Charcuterie plate: an assortment of house-made cured meats and vegetables.

SECOND COURSE
Allagash Tripel
Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale (ABV: 9%)
Served with:
Wood-roasted sea scallop salad.

THIRD COURSE
Allagash Odyssey
Oak Aged Dark Wheat (ABV: 10.4%)
Served with:
Wood-fired eggplant parmesan, basil, grana cheese, house-baked bread.

FOURTH COURSE
Allagash Victoria
Belgian-style ale fermented with Vidal Blanc white wine grapes. (ABV 9%)
Served with:
Gulf shrimp wrapped with prosciutto in a black truffle sauce.

FIFTH COURSE
Allagash Dubbel
Belgian Style Dubbel (ABV: 7%)
Served with:
Lamb meatballs al forno served over soft polenta.

SIXTH COURSE
Allagash Black
Belgian Style Stout (ABV: 7.5%)
Served with:
Gorgonzola with honey drizzle.

SEVENTH COURSE
Allagash Curieux
Bourbon barrel aged Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale (ABV: 11%). The brewery pronounces it "CURE ee oh."
Served with:
Panna Cotta with fresh berries.

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More photos from the beer dinner: here.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Allagash.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 1, 2012.

2012-01-09T06:20:00.000-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 48/49
1 January - 7 January 2012
[and some from Weeks 50, 51, 52 of 2011.]

2012.01.06
Feb. 15 to be official opening for the Heavy Seas Alehouse in Baltimore, Maryland. Via The Original Beer in Baltimore blog.
2012.01.06
Announced: the jazz nominations, in four categories, for the 54th annual Grammy Awards. Via Elements of Jazz.
2012.01.05
On the heels of the bankruptcy of Washington, D.C.-based Penn Camera, comes word that Kodak itself may declare the same. Via Reuters.
2012.01.05
OnTap Magazine highlights nine new breweries to open or already open in the Washington D.C. / northern Virginia area.
2012.01.05
Bugs developing resistance to GMO corn (up to 60% of US crop). Via Yahoo News.
2012.01.05
Long-time St. Louis craft brewery Schlafly Beer is sold; stays local. Via Pro Brewer.
2012.01.05
Celebrator Beer News has 'gone' digital, beginning with the Dec '11/Jan '12 issue. Back issues to follow. Via Brookston Beer Bulletin.
2012.01.04
New multi-tap beer bar coming to Arlington (Ballston), Virginia. World of Beer to feature 50 drafts, 500 bottles. To open in July 2012. Via ARL now
2012.01.03
A 1913 NY Times article on portmanteaus includes the word "alcoholiday": defined as leisure time spent drinking. Via @mental_floss.
2012.01.03
A 'craft' beer pioneer, Fal Allen celebrates his birthday today. More about Allen, via Brookston Beer Bulletin. 2 Jan
2012.01.02
Google has created an elections synopsis page: here.
2012.01.02
The Year in Beer: 30 stories that shaped 2011. Via BeerNews.org.
2011.12.28
A British beer blogger on what's wrong with the cask real ale scene in the U.S. Read Myth #1 from Dings Beer Blog.
2011.12.24
Alan McLeod of A Good Beer Blog announces the Grand Champion Beer Photo of 2011: a photo of Cantillon Brewery by Jeff Alworth of Beervana beer blog.
2011.12.19
Scientists set Internet speed record. Via NPR News.
2011.12.17
"It matters not what you think, but how you think." Essayist Christopher Hitchens dies at age 62. 1949-2011. Via Washington Post.
2011.12.15
Without public fanfare, Sierra Nevada Brewing begins to can its Pale Ale. Via Beer News.org.
2011.12.15
Actor Will Ferrell does TV ad for Old Milwaukee Beer. Via Huffington Post.
2011.12.13
James River Brewing to open in early 2012 in Scottsville, Virginia. Via Beer Advocate.
2011.12.12
The 'Beer Activist' Chris O'Brien speaks on breweries and sustainability.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Blessings for Heavy Seas

2012-01-08T10:53:00.000-05:00

Heavy Seas Brewing may have crossed a 'craft' brewery Rubicon in 2011.

The brewery was known as Clipper City when it opened in 1995 in an industrial park just south of Baltimore, Maryland. Fifteen years later, in 2010, Heavy Seas sold just north of 20,000 barrels of beer. That's the equivalent of 6.6 million 12-ounce bottles of beer on the wall.

To put things in perspective, however, the brewery failed to even crack the top 50 U.S. 'craft' breweries list that year, as compiled by the Brewers Association —an advocacy group for most U.S. breweries of less than 6 million barrels annual production.

It was another Maryland brewery that did, and which has for several years prior. Flying Dog Brewery (in Fredrick, Maryland, but originally from Denver, Colorado) produced 60,827 barrels in 2010, placing it at the 28th position.

Now, 2011.

To facilitate its growth in production, Heavy Seas increased its physical plant size by 50%, expanding into the adjoining building, adding an additional 10,000 square feet. Prior to that, the brewery packaging staff would daily move hundreds of cases of beer from the brewery outside to a separate warehouse down the street.

In the expanded space, Heavy Seas has 17 fermenters (twelve 100-bbl., five 150-bbl. tanks), 5 bright beer tanks (four 100-bbl, one 200-bbl tank), and four 150-bbl. horizontal 'lagering' tanks (in which Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA —the brewery's flagship beer— is dry-hopped and matured), and, of course, a bottling line and brewhouse. Additional space is utilized for packaged beer, offices, tap room, laboratory, casks, and oak barrel-aging.

To further handle the surge, the brewery is selling the space-hogging lagering tanks, and installing three new 200-bbl fermenters and another 200-bbl bright tank in their place. Future plans include expanding into yet another adjoining building and replacing the original 50-barrel kettle and brewing vessels with a new 100-barrel system.

When the 2011 numbers are officially released, Heavy Seas' volume will be seen to have increased by 50% —a hefty rate of growth in a dismal economy— to approximately 30,000 barrels of beer for the year. With that, there is indeed the possibility that Heavy Seas will crack the Top 50.

Here's Hugh Sisson —the founder and Managing Partner of the brewery— delivering his hilarious blessing of the beer. After watching, you'll believe that Sisson's degree in college was theater ... which it was.

***************

Heavy Seas has licensed its name to a restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland. The Heavy Seas Alehouse will open on 15 February 2012. More from the blog, The Original Beer in Baltimore here and here, and from CityBiz, which has news of the restaurant's award-winning chef (but no menu, yet).
According to the Brewers Association, the largest U.S. 'craft' breweries, at Nos. 1,2,3, respectively, were Boston Beer Company with 1,868,471 barrels, Sierra Nevada at 786,288 bbls., and New Belgium at 661,169 bbls., The Association doesn't consider American-owned Yeungling a 'craft' brewery (because the brewery uses a lot of corn in its beer). If it did, however, Yuengling would rank first. At #50 was Ninkasi Brewing Co. with 30,310 bbls.
A barrel is not a keg; it's not even a physical container. Rather it's a unit of measurement used by breweries, oil companies, etc. In beer's case, a barrel equals 31 gallons, or 13.78 cases (at 24 bottles of 12 fluid ounces per case). More volume equivalents: here.
A bright beer tank, from the Oxford Companion to Beer, is a "dish-bottomed pressure-rated temperature-controlled tank used to hold beer in preparation for packaging. The term "bright" refers to "bright beer," beer that has been rendered bright (clear) by filtration, centrifugation, fining, and/or maturation."
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

Pic(k) of the Week: Wake up and smell the coffee

2012-01-07T17:52:00.000-05:00

An abandoned kitten, rescued, and happy in his new home: George Bailey sniffs the coffee.

Decatur, Georgia.
2 January 2012.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Pic(k) of the Week: Hops and Beer on Wooden Pallet

2011-12-31T17:43:00.000-05:00

Still life: fresh hops and fresh beer on a wooden pallet.

Is the glass half empty or half full? For my friends, family, and all of my readers: Wishing it to be the latter in 2012.

Laimingų Naujųju Metųu!

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In case you hadn't surmised: "Laimingų Naujųju Metųu," translated into English, means "Happy New Year." The language is Lithuanian.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Cool Yule #5(b)! Beer Books for 2011: Brewing in Baltimore

2011-12-29T06:47:00.000-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of 12, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts. I was planning to reveal my selections between 20 November and the ~~Winter Solstice~~ New Year's Eve. Now, I'll be posting my final choices in the new year. Delayed, but still valid.

So ... cue Five Go-old Rings.

Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011
#5(b)

Brewing in Baltimore
(Images of America)
Maureen O'Prey
Paperback: 128 pages
Arcadia Publishing, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0738588131

For Cool Yule beer book suggestion #5 (a), I reached out for fellow Virginia beer blogger Eric Delia, who reviewed the book, Richmond Beers. Staying regional, Brewing in Baltimore is a bookend to that.

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I recently read a review of George F. Kennan: An American Life, a biography of the creator of the U.S. Cold War containment of the Soviet Union strategy, by Yale historian John Lewis Gaddis. That does not have much to do with the book Brewing in Baltimore, except for this quote from the book concerning Kennan:

He saw what others saw but in different colors. . . . He had a historian’s consciousness of the past, which gave him a visionary’s perspective on the future.” That is as good as any description of an historian.

Author of Brewing in Baltimore, Maureen O'Prey is indeed an historian. She holds a Masters in Historical Studies from the University of Maryland, and is a professor of history at Baltimore City Community College, Maryland. And, she loves a good beer.

Ms. O'Prey began her research with Brewing in Maryland, a self-published book in the mid-1960s by William J. Kelley, a local beer aficionado and amateur historian. Then, serendipitously, Catherine Scott, the archivist of the Baltimore Museum of Industry alerted her to a treasure trove: original documents dating from the late 19th century of Baltimore Gas & Electric, then known as Consolidated Gas & Electric. Why would this be crucial? Because the breweries were among the first industries to switch from producing their own electricity with coal-fired generators to purchasing power. And Consolidated kept detailed records. Addresses, names, brewers, officers, equipment, production, energy requirements, photographs, etc.

From there, she found leather-bound ledgers for early 20th century breweries and one mini-conglomerate in Maryland. The latter failed, in part, because of local consumer antipathy. After repeal in the early 1930s, there were 75 breweries in Maryland; by the late 1980s only one, and that one just outside of Baltimore City. Support for local breweries had become severely diminished.

O'Prey lists the names and tells the stories in the roll of the departed Baltimore breweries: such as Maryland Brewing Company, Gottlieb, Free State, Bauerenschmidt, Globe, Arrow, American, and, of course, National (Natty Boh, hon!). She tells us that the company which almost single-handedly invented bottle enclosures as we know them today —Crown, Cork, and Seal— was a Baltimore company.

Ms. O'Prey has discovered another truly fascinating resource. As Prohibition would loom in the 1910s, the United States Brewers Association published several Anti-Prohibition Manuals. These snapshots into society at the time compared, for example, the relative lesser crime rate in a 'wet' state such as Maryland versus a dry state such as Kansas. Prohibition-backers, such as the Anti-Saloon League, would constantly tout the nirvana that would be achieved if alcohol were banned. These published statistics showed otherwise. Not enough folk listened: a cautionary tale in the face of today's neo-Prohibitionism?

There are no brewery recipes in the book. Ms. O'Prey laments that these may be permanently missing, or may require greater sleuthing to be unearthed. In the UK, brewing historians such as Ron Pattinson and Martyn Cornell have done yeoman work in doing just that. Like a zymurgic Jurassic Park, the recipes they are uncovering literally can be used to bring the efforts of those long-lost breweries back to life.

The publisher of Brewing in Baltimore is Arcadia, South Carolina-based. Its series Images of America consists of pictorial books of American history. The books re all exactly 128 pages, the areas they cover must only be cities or small regions or jurisdictions, and oddly enough, no footnotes or endnotes are permitted. Thus, Ms. O'Prey was limited to only Baltimore, and to a pre-determined format.

Despite the marvelous photographs on almost every page of Brewing in Baltimore, the life of the breweries is sometimes subsumed by the litany of names. Arcadia limits documentation to a bibliography. The format also denies room for more analysis into the reasons for success and ultimate failure. That WWII soldiers —who had been supplied weaker beers made possible by improving technologies such as canning— may have desired those less flavorful beers when they returned from the war-font is insufficient to hang a theory of the demise of smaller breweries making more flavorful beer.

Brewing in Baltimore concludes with a brief look at the brewing renaissance in Baltimore, the almost 25-year old microbrewery scene. (One of the pioneers of that movement, Hugh Sisson —the owner of Heavy Seas Brewing of Baltimore— wrote the forward to the book.)

Brewing in Baltimore is an entertaining and visually fascinating introduction to the rise, and crash, and re-birth of brewing in the city. It's a valuable lesson on what happened there (and elsewhere) and what could happen again, whether via neo-Prohibition or through neglect of local community support in the battle against larger, outside concerns.

The colorful history of brewing in Baltimore serves as both a reminder of the city's strong heritage and a testament to the craft brewing industry's ability to persevere with local support [emphasis mine], despite the odds.

Ms. O'Prey has plans to write a much more exhaustive history of brewing, not just of Baltimore, but of the entire state of Maryland: the full story of Maryland's breweries and brewers, their beers and recipes, and their economic and societal impact and legacy. With a historian's pride, she grins: "There'll be extensive footnotes!"

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Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#5(a):Richmond Beers
#6: Under The Influence
#7: Designing Great Beers
#8: The Best of American Beer & Food
#9: Beer & Philosophy
#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

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Maureen O'Prey will be signing copies of Brewing in Baltimore at Heavy Seas Brewing Company on Saturday, 17 January, between 11am and 5pm. Hugh Sisson will also be present for signing. Registration is required: here.
Follow more about the book on Twitter: @BrewBalt.
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Part 2: "What we can learn from the wine expert’s perspective on Craft Beer."

2011-12-26T09:47:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Nick Anderson —The Beermonger— guest-hosted here at YFGF. His piece —"What we can learn from the wine expert’s perspective on Craft Beer."— was a review of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's list of Top 25 Beers for 2011.

The post elicited a surfeit of hits; it was selected by DCBeer.com as one of that blog's favorite beer blog posts for 2011; and it engendered an interesting give-and-take on Facebook between Anderson and Paul Hill, the On-Premise and Specialty Retail Sales Manager at Select Wines Inc, a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virginia. I've copied the entire exchange, below, with permission.

Things to take note of:

Lists are inherently non-inclusive. The utility of a list will be directly related to its sample size, but, regardless of data, many beers, a priori, will have been left untasted or unmentioned.
The omission of brewpub beers on most beer lists. To review them would be Sisyphean: there are many, and there are many that open and close, seemingly weekly. The omission of brewpub beer —a non-trivial portion of the beer produced in the U.S.— leaves truly fresh beer prejudicially unheralded.
Not all wine geeks disdain good beer; not all beer geeks are ignorant of good wine.
Follow the link at the end of the discussion to a different selection of the 50 Best Beers: a 'geekier' list, as Hill points out.

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Paul Hill
I agree with a lot of what you've written. I actually had a discussion the other day on how I thought it was odd that when talking to winemakers they will expound endlessly on the brix, soil, slope, rainfall, multiple grape clones used, age and type of oak, porosity of said oak, filtration systems, fining agents, chemicals used or not used, trellising styles....etc.etc. But you ask them about the yeast, and unless it is a wine made with' native yeast' you'll usually get a "huh?" Or a "why?". But anyone that's ever brewed knows the decision on yeast is as important to the final result as your hops or grain choices. That being said, I disagree with your claim that wine geeks tend toward ...
December 7 at 10:43am

Paul Hill
... Macro lagers.
There's plenty of us out there who can appreciate the"balance" or cleanness of a Montrachet as well as the wild character of a geueze. The only problem with brett is when its where it shouldn't be. If its not appropriate for the style...its a distraction and a flaw. Thats as true for a pils as it is for a pinot grigio. Admittedly I don't know of any wines where its appropriate, but I've had wineries who almost embrace their"infections" a house character...of course I hated the wines. Another thing about the list. The WS Top 100 list is out of usually 6 to 8 THOUSAND wines they tasted. This top 25 is out of the 131 beers they reviewed for the year. I'm pretty sure we've all had more than that this year. So, I thought it was a reasonable list considering only 31 non US beers had the possibility of making the list, and obviously not only hundreds of breweries were excluded, but multiple states had no representation in their sample pool. Ya kind of have to take the list with a grain of salt when that means at least almost 20% of the beers they tried scored 92+. Maybe they only tasted 4 sour beers on the year. Whatever...beer geeks, and wine snobs...we all know lists if any kind only exist so we point out their flaws.
December 7 at 10:57am

Nick Anderson
Good points. I was admittedly painting with a broad brush with the macro thing, but it's something I've noticed over the years. A LOT of wine people drink nothing but Miller Lite, Corona, etc when they turn to beer. Those folks tend to be the ones who're the most sensitive to brett so that's where I went.Also: I really liked the WE Top 25 which is why I commented on it in the first place. I too wish we'd hear more about the yeast strains used in winemaking. Maybe it's just the beer geek in me, but I'm awfully curious about who uses what and what characteristics which strains may impart.
December 7 at 11:03am

Paul Hill
True, but I've always been amazed when dealing with winemakers and brewers around the world, that after they leave work...more often than not the wine makers want to go out and drink a beer(beer geeky beers), and the brewers very often talk more passionately about the wines they have cellared at home. I guess that can be chalked up to"one is work, one is fun". But its all about taste sensations regardless of where it comes from. Maybe all the BG's and WS's dancing around your hippy campfire should just be called flavor junkies!
December 7 at 11:07am

Nick Anderson
Yeah, I think so. The whole difference between people into beer and wine is choice of beverage; in the end we're all looking for something interesting.
December 7 at 11:44am

Paul Hill
Just looked at the list again. To show how small a sample we're dealing with here. Saw that allagash triple was#10. Love the beer, but allagash is definitely in the upper echelon of us brewers that embrace brett, oak, and are blurring the line between wine and beer. Why weren't any of their other beers on the list? The allagash black was#1 last year. Oh, because they only tasted one beer from Maine this year.
December 7 at 11:58am

Nick Anderson
True, but it's not Beer Enthusiast magazine. Another aspect of the list I found interesting was seeing what they picked out to feature to their (primarily) wine-centric readership from the relatively small sample of beers sampled.
December 7 at 12:17pm

Paul Hill
What about this list? The Fifty Best Beers: Guide to the world's best beers. Definitely raises the "beer geek" factor.
December 8 at 10:03am

Nick Anderson
That's a pretty damn good list right there.
December 8 at 10:08am

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Caveat lector: I am employed by Select Wines, Inc.

Pic(k)of the Week: Jack Frost

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

A touch of Jack Frost creates wispy patterns on an old window.

Merry Christmas to all.

Linksmu Kaledu!

Cool Yule #5(a)! Beer Books for 2011: Richmond Beers

2011-12-22T14:14:00.000-05:00

Richmond Beers:
A Directory of the Breweries and Bottlers of Richmond, Virginia
Danny Morris and Jeff Johnson
Hardcover: 240 pages
Self-published
Contact the authors at facebook.com/RichmondBeers
ASIN: B001QMPXCG (no apparent ISBN)

For the beer book suggestion at #5, I reached out for fellow Virginia beer blogger Eric Delia. He may write at Relentless Thirst, based in Richmond, Virginia, but he often addresses beer 'issues' of well beyond those borders. In this case, Eric stayed 'in-town', reviewing a book on the history of Richmond Beers while offering reasons as to why even such a regional history has further import. I've labelled the review as #5(a), because I'll be reviewing another regional history —Brewing in Baltimore.

Thank you Eric (and be sure to read his blog)!

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At first glance, Richmond Beers may seem like just an extensive collection of breweriana, a tangible vault of bottles, cans, and labels that have been archived in print. Even still, those labels and advertisements can say a lot about the brewing industry through the years. Despite the sometimes unwieldy statistics and timelines that Danny Morris and Jeff Johnson were tasked with putting into written word, the book offers more than just old images on new pages. It provides an insight into Richmond's not-so famous brewing past.

What many may not realize is the impact that immigrants from Germany had on Central Virginia, giving the River City a decidedly Teutonic trait. With names like Rosenegk, Yuengling, Stumpf, Bergner & Engel, even the mighty Anheuser Busch, Richmond was an early East Coast outpost for brewing based in the German tradition.

Not only that, but the interconnectedness of markets becomes evident as brewing giants from Philadelphia tried their hands at satellite breweries and bottling companies in the South. One prominent example is the James River Steam Brewery, opened by none other than Pottsville's own D.G. Yuengling, Jr. with partners from Philadelphia. Another is the introduction of canned beer in the United States by the Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, New Jersey, which first occurred in, you guessed it, the Richmond market.

Outside influence in Richmond was not taken lightly by resident brewers, which led to the formation of the Home Brewing Company. The brewery selected its name not as encouragement for locals to start homebrewing, but to distinguish itself from breweries that came from "away." It was essentially advertising itself as the local brewery in town with emphasis placed on its Richbrau beer, and through several incarnations over the years it lived on as the Richbrau Brewing Company, which ultimately closed its doors in February 2010.

As Morris and Johnson dole out the straight facts, the reader can get a feel for the expansion and contraction of the brewing industry in Richmond as it follows the contours of depression and boom times, then is effectively killed by Prohibition only to be resurrected in the years after the Noble Experiment ended. The authors have compiled records from the distant past to the recent past, highlighting the long history of brewing in Richmond. And they included a lot of visually stunning images to help tell the tale.

I'm not going to lie -if you're not a collector of breweriana, a beer historian, or someone mildly into beer facts- Richmond Beers may not be for you. But, if you've got the slightest interest to take a glimpse into the world of a mid-sized American city and its brewing legacy, it's worth it to take a look.

***************
Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#6: Under The Influence
#7: Designing Great Beers
#8: The Best of American Beer & Food
#9: Beer & Philosophy
#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

***************

Eric Delia has compiled a comprehensive listing of breweries and brewpubs in Virginia at his site: here. Follow him on Twitter: @relentlssthirst (without an e between 'l' and 's').
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Cool Yule #6! Beer Books for 2011: Under The Influence

2011-12-21T15:31:00.000-05:00

Under the Influence:
The Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty
Peter Hernon and Terry Ganey
Hardcover: 461 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (US 1991)
ISBN: 0671690248

The Busch family was dysfunctional: from shootings to philandering to poor decisions making to losing the family jewels. All of us —consumers, distributors, competitors —believed that these guys were on top of the beer world. For quite a while their company, Anheuser-Busch, was indeed. But now, they aren't, and it isn't.

From humble beginnings in the mid-19th century, Anheuser-Busch built itself into an American totem, as American as 'apple pie.' How could America itself, to stretch the point, be sold? But it was, and to a foreign conglomerate, InBev, itself cribbed together from smaller breweries in South America and Europe.

Under the Influence follows the story from the progenitor, Adolphus Busch, a German emigre to St. Louis, Missouri, who, in 1861, married the daughter of Eberhard Anheuser, a wealthy brewer, and thus entered the brewing business. Even with his quickly growing success, however, Busch

preferred wine to his own beer, which, according to one published account, he called "dot schlop."

Under the Influence ends with the stewardship of August Busch III, who in the 1970s into the early 1990s, achieved the dream of controlling the majority of U.S. beer sales. Anheuser-Busch achieved a 52% market share. That was its pinnacle. The loss of independence would come rapidly.

BeerBooks.com points out:

Since its release in 1991, this New York Times Best Seller has become increasingly popular among beer enthusiasts, and has become very difficult to find as it has gone out of print despite ongoing demand.

But if you can find it, it's a valuable read.

At a recent seminar on the state of the craft beer business in Washington, D.C., one person asked the panel why the American mainstream breweries became non-viable, and then, with Anheuser-Busch's sale in 2008, lost any American ownership. There were the usual tropes offered: lack of flavor, lack of quality, etc. The questioner was dissatisfied, and persisted with a followup question. "But if they had been so successful, why did they fail?" Find some of the answers, in this book.

Midwestern breweries, such as Anheuser-Busch, eventually eclipsed the larger East Coast breweries, because, in part, the Midwesterners were forced to ship greater distances and open more breweries. Population was concentrated in the large cities on the East Coast; breweries there did not have to be as aggressive for a customer base. Anheuser-Busch just was more ruthless in its marketing and sales than its competitors ... and luckier.

The level of family dysfunction, of profligacy, of seemingly arbitrary decisions at home and work is a shock to read about and often flies in the face of the company's ruthless success. But Anheuser-Busch did manage to market itself amazingly well. The brewery became the beer brand of America. Budweiser was an icon of he nation recognized throughout the world.

As to the quality of the beer, so often derided by 'craft' beer makers and drinkers?

The science and technology of modern breweries was developed by the large breweries, and especially so, after Prohibition, when under-capitalized breweries couldn't keep up. To deny the quality of the mainstream breweries —whether one likes the flavor (or lack thereof) or not— disregards the technology and business of beer. And small breweries today ignore quality control and sales to their peril.

For the story afterward —the seemingly doomed leadership of August Busch IV and the consequent buy-out of the brewery by InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate, in 2008— read Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon, by Julie McIntosh, a reporter for the Financial Times. It's available from BeerBooks.com and as a Kindle eBook.

Dethroning the King:
The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon
Julie McIntosh
Hardcover: 408 pages
Publisher: Wiley (2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0470592700

The sale of AB occured during a perfect storm of business circumstance. In 2008, the financial situation in the U.S. had begun to seriously crash, but the contagion had not spread completely: InBev was able to secure the 50 billion plus dollars in financing it needed.

Despite controlling 52% of all beer sold in the U.S., Anheuser-Busch was experiencing declining sales by 2008. The real growth was in foreign beer markets, and in the U.S., craft beer, although that, at 5% of the market, was small beer, so to speak. The company had just begun to conduct serious cost-cutting and to investigate foreign mergers and acquisitions, but it was too little too late.

There are two real shockers to this story. The Busch family only owned 3% of the shares. Thus, when InBev tendered its offer of $65 per share, CEO Auggie Busch IV and his retired father could not put up a stock fight.

The second shock is that A-B had actually devised a plan to remain independent. A-B owned 50% of Modelo in Mexico. They offered to purchase the remaining 50% of the stock with A-B stock, and install Carlos Fenandez Gonzales, CEO of Modelo, as the new CEO of a re-christened Anheuser-Busch Modelo, headquartered in St. Louis. August Busch IV wold have been forced out, although still on the board.

But ... AB's board rejected the plan, even after asking for it, and even after the closely-held Modelo board had agreed to it. Ms. Martin's implication is that the fix was in. Some anonymous sources suggest that several AB board members privately signalled to Carlos Brito of InBev that $70 per share would cinch the deal. InBev quickly agreed, and Anheuser-busch was American owned no more. InBev recognized the power of the Budweiser brand name however. It attached the name to the new company —Anheuser-Busch Inbev— and kept brewing operations and headquarters in St. Louis (even though some offices and managerial positions were moved to New York City.

The book concludes with Auggie Busch IV's sad personal decline after the sale.

None of the former great names of American brewing exist as brewing entities or as American-owned breweries. Coors is owned by Molson. Miller is owned by South African Breweries. Pabst is a marketing company, most of tis beers brewed by SAB/Miller. There is no more Schlitz, Shaefer, Stroh's, National Brewing. And, as of 2008, Anheuser-Busch InBev was (and still is) the world's largest brewery. That means that Yuengling —the oldest brewery in the United States (1829) and still family owned— is now the largest American-owned brewery in the United States, or it's Boston Beer, the publicly-owned maker of Sam Adams. That depends on what stats you're looking at.

A man walks into a bar. "Do you have any Belgian beers," he asks? "Sure do," the bartender replies. "How about a nice cold Bud Light?"

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Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#7: Designing Great Beers
#8: The Best of American Beer & Food
#9: Beer & Philosophy
#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

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The statistic on brewery ranking comes from the Beer Association: Top 50 Overall Brewing Overall Brewing Companies. At No.1 is Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Belgium. No.2 is MilleCoors, a US-only cooperation between SABMiller, based in England, and Molson/Coors, based in Canada. Pabst is at #3.
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Cool Yule #7! Beer Books for 2011: Designing Great Beers

2011-12-18T10:36:00.002-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of 12, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts.

Between 20 November and the Winter Solstice, I'll reveal my selections.

Then, on Christmas Day: put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Or, better yet: give a friend the gift of a beer and a book. December 22nd may be too late to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless available as an e-book), but it's time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar —and book— store.

So ... cue seven swans-a-swimming.

Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011:
#7

Designing Great Beers
The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles

Ray Daniels
paperback: 404 pages
Publisher: Brewers Publications (US, 1996)
ISBN: 0937381500

My previous selection, The Best of American Beer & Food, was a cookbook. Cool Yule #7 is a recipe book as well ... of beers.

Designing Great Beers was written by Ray Daniels, highly regarded as the brains behind the Cicerone Program, a certification for restaurant servers on beer knowledge, just as sommelier programs train servers of wine. But Mr. Daniels has quite the extensive resume in the furtherment of good beer. From his website:

Author, editor and publisher of more than a dozen books on brewing and beer
Diploma graduate and senior faculty member at the Siebel Institute of Technology
Internationally known beer judge
Organizer of scores of beer tasting events including Chicago’s Real Ale Festival (1996-2003)
Experienced beer marketer, past director of the Brewers Association Craft Beer Marketing Program

His Craft Beer Institute was and is integral to education on real ale. From one of his "Perfect Pint" sessions in the 1990s, I still have a pencil packed away from an even earlier run of his for Chicago-land political office. That unsuccessful campaign was good beer's gain!

Designing Great Beers is divided into two sections. The first is recipe formulation. This is not a how-to for brewing step-by-step. There are other books for that. But, even for beginners, these chapters will reveal the reasons why they are following those simpler steps and procedures. Daniels provides formaulae and charts for determining extract, water adjustment, hop bitterness, yeast attenuation, etc. I would wager that even professional 'craft' brewers have used these chapters for reference.

There's one quite valuable formula that Daniels has created just for the book —the BU:GU. Technically, it's the ratio of bittering units of the hops used to the gravity units (the amount of fermentable sugar present before fermentation). In plain English, it's the perception of the bitterness of a beer. Simply because a beer contains a lot of hops doesn't mean it will taste bitter; just because a beer is not of high alcoholic strength doesn't mean it won't pack a hoppy punch. It's the perception of bitterness —the balance between malt and hops— that the BU:GU addresses. Great stuff, and useful for those reductive "How many IBUs?" conversations about beer.

The second part of Designing Great Beers is about brewing to 'style.' Daniels' definition of 'beer style' is one of the better I've read.

A beer style comes into being when several brewers, often in close geographic proximity to each other, create beers that share a similar set of distinctive traits. These traits include body, alcohol content, bitterness, color, and profile. In the end, the traits of a style incorporate the variation seen from brewer to brewer [emphasis mine] while still defining a formulation that is generally distinguishable from other styles of beer.

Perhaps the most important function of style is beer flavor. <...> This shorthand is very useful for communication between brewers, retailers, and consumers. It allows brewers to tell others what they have brewed without long, drawn-out explanations.

In today's milieu run amok of 140 or so 'styles,' it's quaintly refreshing (pun intended) to find only 14 chapters of styles. That the book was published in 1996 in very little way outdates its style information. Quite the contrary!

Daniels started with published guidelines as a baseline, but rather than relying on them unquestioned, he researched actual historical commercial records and homebrew competitions, identifying and quantifing style parameters. Daniels' work predates and anticipates, by more than decade, much of the current style revisionism of such historians as Martyn Cornell and Ron Pattinson.

As valuable as this book might be for brewers of avocation or profession, the wealth of information in Designing Great Beers will help anyone —even a non-brewer— appreciate the flavors in beer and more easily identify them. For a proto-brewer, Designing Great Beers can help provide a practical understanding of brewing; for a beer consumer, the skill involved. For all, it can provide an historical understanding of styles, and why and where they developed. By gaining an understanding of all of this, the reader will better enjoy the next well-made beer she brews or drinks. And the next.

And, after reading, consider taking the next step, by becoming accredited as a Beer Cicerone.

Anyone can call themselves an expert on beer. [Emphasis mine.] But when consumers want great beer they need help from a server who really knows beer flavors, styles and brands. They also want to buy from a place that understands proper storage and serving so the beer they drink will be of the highest quality. Too often great beer is harmed by improper service practices.

The website is: www.cicerone.org. You can follow Ray Daniels on Twitter @Cicerone_org.

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Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#8: The Best of American Beer & Food
#9: Beer & Philosophy
#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

***************

For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Cool Yule #8! Beer Books for 2011: The Best of American Beer & Food

2011-12-17T13:28:00.000-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of 12, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts.

Between 20 November and the Winter Solstice, I'll reveal my selections. Then, on Christmas Day: put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Or, better yet: give a friend the gift of a beer and a book. December 22nd may be too late to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless available as an e-book), but it's time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar —and book— store.

******************************

So ... cue eight maids a-milking

Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011: #8

The Best of American Beer & Food
Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer
Lucy Saunders
paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Brewers Publications (US, 2007)
ISBN: 0937381918

Lucy Saunders —the BeerCook— released The Best of American Beer & Food in 2007. It's just as fresh today.

The book is divided into roughly two sections. The first reminds me of Real Beer And Good Eats by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly. Ms. Saunders interviews chefs, restaurant owners, and other beer celebrities. As well, Ms. Saunders writes several extended essays on beer styles, matching beer with food, on beer and cheese, and beer and chocolate).

Please don't dismiss Pilseners as being unworthy of being served at the table with lighter or simpler fare, as many craft-brewers are restoring the brightness and luster to a style that suffered commercial debasement in the last century. A bready yet crisp Pilsener tastes outstanding with a freshly grilled burger - it's simple and very good.

That said, some of the recipes included in this book are far from simple and could only be termed ambitious. These time-consuming recipes show that craft beer can pair with complex foods just as well as with burgers, sausages, and pizza.

Lucy Saunders indeed knows food ... and beer.

The second section features recipes from those chefs and celebrities, reminding me of a similar format in Cooking & Eating with Beer by Peter LaFrance. Some of the recipes include beer as an ingredient; others suggest appropriate pairings. Considering that many of these recipes come from brewpubs, those pairings make great sense: they have worked well and repeatedly. A partial listing of the folk featured includes Carol Stoudt, Diane Alexander, Lisa Morrison, Tom Peters, Garrett Oliver, Chuck Skypeck, Brewchef Tim Schafer, Larry Bell, Rob Tod, Natalie and Vinnie Cirluzo, Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch, Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, Jim Koch, Tomme Arthur, and Barton Seaver.

Lucy gives props to some Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, area restaurants (home to this blog): The Brewers Art, Brasserie Beck, Restaurant Nora, Birreria Paradiso, Rustico, R.F.D./Brickskeller, Tuscarora Mill, and Royal Mile Pub.

There are two recipes from Diane Alexander of R.F.D., including Chicken and Artichoke Hearts in Anchor Steam Beer. Chef Patrick Dinh of Tuscarora Mill contributed his Asiago Soup with Smoked Ham. Royal Mile Pub's past owner/chef Ian Morrison provided his recipe for Lemon Thai Basil Sorbet.

Saunders offers a recipe from Chef Barton Seaver, well known for his work for sustainable seafood. It's not seafood, but Grilled Lamb Top Round Steaks with Caramelized Tomato Risotto, which he prepared for a Clipper City Beer Dinner several years ago when he was chef at Washington, D.C.'s Cafe Saint-Ex.

When the book was first released, some reviewers complained about the complexity of the recipes. These aren't as simple as bratwurst boiled in beer, one seemed to grouse. Yes, that's true. The Best of American Food & Beer is not a cookbook about technique. It's about, what else, beer with food, and about beer in food. But too complicated? If one is even a fair at-home-kitchen cook, most of the recipes are well within that skill set. Take this one, for example, which Ms. Saunders prepared for a Washington, D.C. morning news broadcast.

Creamy Cavatappi with Fresh Corn, Fennel and Wild Mushrooms p.106
Chef Bruce Paton of the Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA, pairs this warmcreamy pasta salad with the Twist of Fate Bitter from Moonlight Brewing of SantaRosa, CA. You could pair it with your favorite ESB.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and sliced very thin
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears)
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and diced
1 cup cremini or chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed and diced
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups light cream
1 pound cavatappi pasta, cooked al dente
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and minced
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add crushed pepper and garlicand cook, stirring often, two minutes. Add corn and diced fennel, stir well andcook 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, ground fennel, salt and pepper and cook untiltender, about 5 minutes
2. Add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Drain pasta and toss with vegetables and cream. Garnish with red bell pepperand freshly ground black pepper
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

The Best of American Beer & Food is a special and usable cookbook, very usable: I've prepared several of the recipes. But therein lies its only demerit. The binding for this 'hard' paperback is not good: it falls apart after only a few uses. I hope that Brewers Publications releases a second edition in better condition.

Ms. Saunders maintains a website at beercook.com (with links to her other cookbooks: Cooking With Beer and Grilling with Beer. Follow her on Twitter @LucyBeerCook. And, cook with this book!

Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#9: Beer & Philosophy
#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

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This review has been plagiarized. I admit it. I've cribbed it from ... MY earlier review, written in 2007, when the book was first released.
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: High Kräusen

2011-12-17T06:24:00.000-05:00

At Oliver Breweries at the Pratt Street Alehouse, in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, the beer is fermented in open vats. Viable yeast is skimmed from the uppermost, spumous, layer of the fermenting beer —called kräusen (pronounced KROY [like boy] zen) —and used to ferment the next batch of beer.

Here, the fermentation, although still quite active, has already passed the most active stage of fermentation called high kräusen. Notice the yeast and protein crust on the side walls of the fermenter, above the active yeast layer.

Open fermentation is traditional method of fermentation, unlike the current practice of almost all breweries in the U.S. —and worldwide— of fermenting beers in closed vessels, and collecting the yeast after fermentation in cone-shaped sections at the bottom of the fermenters.

Oliver Ales
Baltimore, Maryland.
11 February 2011.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject.
Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons. For non-commercial purposes, no permission is required (but kindly link back).
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virginia— I sell the beers of Oliver Ales.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 48/49, 2011.

2011-12-12T06:12:00.000-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 48/49
27 November - 10 December 2011

2011.12.09
Flies are genetically predisposed to the taste of glycerol in beer, scientific study determines. Via Science News.
2011.12.09
A U.S. District Court judge in Portland, Oregon, rules that bloggers are not protected -as are journalists- by 1st Amendment 'shield' laws. Via cnet.
2011.12.09
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to pay for blues great Hubert Sumlin's funeral. Via Rolling Stone. More about Mr. Sumlin, who was well-known for playing guitar for Howlin' Wolf, via Notions Capital.
2011.12.09
Hewlett-Packard to keep webOS alive by making it open source. A potential rival to Android? Via TechCrunch.
2011.12.07
Harry Morgan, Colonel Potter on TV's M*A*S*H (and appearing on Dragnet, to name another program), dies at 96. Via NPR.
2011.12.07
Pearl Harbor attacked: A witness remembers, 70 years later. Via Washington Post.
2011.12.06
FDA approves Blowfish, a hangover pill (caffeine, aspirin, stomachic). Via Washington Post.
2011.12.05
Intoxicating beverages became legal again today in the US in 1933, after 18 'dry' years, with the 21st Amendment. Via CraftBeer.com.
2011.12.05
New cidery to open in Nelson County, Virginia: Bold Rock Cidery & Brewpub.
2011.12.04
Twenty-nine breweries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia currently post to Twitter. The list, at YFGF.us.
2011.12.04
Charm City Brewing to open in Baltimore, MD. Collaboration between The Raven Beer and Oliver Ales. Via BeerInBaltimore.
2011.12.04
Republican candidate for U.S. President, Herman Cain, "suspends" White House bid. Via CBS.
2011.12.04
"If beer isn't fun, it isn't beer anymore." A clever re-telling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," as a cautionary tale for the beer business. Via British blogger The Reluctant Scooper.
2011.12.03
The British Guild of Beer Writers honor their best. Via Stephen Beaumont.
2011.12.03
According to one measure, Chrome surpasses Firefox to become second most popular web browser (behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer). Via NPR.
2011.12.02
AB InBev to sell off US operations? [An October 2011 analysis, but still worth pondering.] Via BeerNews.org
2011.12.01
Wine Enthusiast Magazine selects it top 25 Beers of 2011. Analysis by beer blogger The BeerMonger.
2011.12.01
Video shows secret software on millions of Android phones logging everything, installed by company called Carrier IQ. Via Wired.
2011.11.29
Study determines "Women Like Men Who Smell of Beer." Via The Sun.
2011.11.29
Sierra Nevada and New Belgium may setup East Coast breweries near Asheville, North Carolina. Via BeerNews.org.
2011.11.29
BeerBloggersConference.org counts 810 "citizen" beer blogs in North America, and another 358 throughout the world.
2011.11.29
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, in Berlin, publishes online about the origins of Sumerian brewing. Via Brookston Beer Bulletin.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Cool Yule #9! Beer Books for 2011: Beer & Philosophy

2011-12-11T16:30:00.004-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of 12, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts.

Between 20 November and the Winter Solstice, I'll reveal my selections. Then, on Christmas Day: put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Or, better yet: give a friend the gift of a beer and a book. December 22nd may be too late to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless available as an e-book), but it's time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar —and book— store.

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So ... cue nine ladies dancing

Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011: #9

Beer & Philosophy
The Unexamined Beer Isn't Worth Drinking
Various; Stephen D. Hales, editor
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (US, 2007)
ISBN: 978-1405154307

Three philosophers walk into a bar. What beer do they order? The eponymous choice from Ommegang, of course, says Stephen D. Hales —Professor of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania— in his book, Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn't Worth Drinking.

My brother has an ice cream theory of happiness. For true pleasure, should a person commonly consume daily gobs of low-fat, low flavor ice cream? Or should she instead occasionally go for the fullest-flavor all-the-fat real ice cream and all of its satiating gustatory pleasure?

Joe Six-Pack, otherwise known as Joe Russell, beer columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, put it this way in a column of a few years ago:

IF YOU HAD $30 to spend on beer, would you be better off spending it on a single case of Pilsner Urquell or two cases of Miller Lite?

Ah, that is a question for the ages - to enjoy a little of something that brings you great pleasure, or more of something that is not quite so fine.

According to Steven D. Hales ... there's really only one person a beer drinker should turn to for advice on this topic.

No, not your bartender. It's John Stuart Mill, the 19th-century British philosopher and formulator of the "greatest happiness" principle.

Bringing Mill's stricture down to a mundane level (as if Miller Lite or low-fat ice cream hadn't done that already), the greatest happiness principle could easily be a tool for a personal diet. Eat flavorful things, but in smaller portions. That's the essence of Mireille Guiliano's delightful book French Women Don't Get Fat. She says, "Savor great food and wine [in moderation]".

John Stuart Mill, as seanced through Stephen Hales might riposte, "Enjoy great food and beer ... in moderation." Hales' book Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn't Worth Drinking is a collection of essays on that and other philosophical topics, as seen, so to speak, through a beer glass.

As editor, Hales divides 15 essays by 15 academics, professionals, and brewers among four chapters: The Art of the Beer, The Ethics of Beer, The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Beer, and Beer in the History of Philosophy. Brewers Sam Calagione and Garrett Oliver, among others, contribute to the first more beer-oriented chapter.

It's in the essays of last three chapters that the book really entertains, such as the piece by Canadian beer blogger Alan McLeod of A Good Beer Blog. In Beer and Autonomy. McLeod, a lawyer, addresses the Canadian government's limitation and control of alcohol. The contradiction of those actions with the Canadian constitution's declaration of personal liberty could be thought of as a mirror to the United States, where the 21st Amendment codifies a like contradiction.

There is a message underlying the taxation of and restrictions on beer movement. It is that the individual in a way doesn't really fully own beer like one owns a hammer or a loaf of bread. <...> One might question the vision the state has of its own citizenry. The law of beer is used to redefine the marketplace, control communication, restrict mobility, and even dispossess the population in its relation to the otherwise commonplace product that is beer. And, to what end? In large part it would appear only to sustain government control and the source of revenue it represents.

Neil Manson —an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mississippi— has written a somewhat whimsical Socratic dialog between three characters wondering if the fact that beer exists might be an indication of Intelligent Design. Whimsical, but enjoyable.

Editor Stephen Hales, in addition to writing the book's introduction, contributes a chapter on Immanuel Kant, Transcendental Idealism, and ... Beer Goggles. Is it beer-fueled illusion or reality when that person at the end of the bar becomes more attractive in the wee hours of the morning?

"We ordinarily distinguish quite well between that which is ... valid for every human sense in general, and that which ... is valid ... only for a particular situation or organization of this or that sense."

[Hales brings Kant, quoted above, to the example of Fiona and Dwayne who meet at a bar late one evening, and find themselves, together, the next morning.]

What would Fiona conclude when she realizes that Dwayne's added attractiveness comes and goes with beer goggles? ... Yet if you are true to holding that the beer-goggles enhanced attractiveness is a real quality of Dwayne, you might be inclined to argue that Fiona's morning-after realization should instead lead her to a more practical conclusion, such as it's time for another pint of Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout! Well, who could argue with that?

And, of course, there's that chapter on John Stuart Mill and epicurean utilitarianism.

Finally (or should that be, initially) the Forward was written by beer author Michael Jackson. It's an essay that could easily have been a literate stream-of-consciousness conversation over beers at a bar.

Among the gifts of the Greeks were translations of the Christian gospels from the original Aramaic scrolls. The Greeks interpreted "strong drink" as "wine." I wonder, did they think Jesus turned water into Retsina or Riesling?

The Saxons were in no doubt. Their version of the miracle is much more exciting: "Suddenly, the room was filled with barrels of beer." Lest you suspect my own theological agenda, I should make clear that the translation from the Saxon was provided by a Jesuit priest, Ron Murphy, who was at the time Dean of Georgetown University and Head of its Department of Germanic Languages. Ron and I have a pint of Salvator together now and then, but I am sure my certainties have not influenced his verities.

Do we have the Greeks to blame for the elevation of wine and the subjugation of beer? It seems to me that they started it, but the Romans followed; Tacitus said that the Germanic peoples drank beer, and that it made their breath smell. I don't suppose he ever rode the Paris metro.

Gloriously witty: possibly some of the final words written by this since-deceased writer.

Professor Hales inscribed the following on the title page of my edition: "May your beer never go flat." In the spirit of this entertaining book, I might add: figuratively and literally.

Cool Yule for 2011, so far:

#10: Evaluating Beer
#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

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I've cribbed my review from another —mine— which I posted in December of 2007.
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The entire list of Cool Yule Beer Books for 2011: here.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: Afternoon Tipplers

2011-12-10T06:30:00.001-05:00

Beer quintessence: three blokes sampling and talking beer. "If beer isn't fun, it isn't beer anymore."

l-r: Andy Carlsen (then assistant manager: Rustico Restaurant Alexandria);
Ken Hadley (then representative: Otter Creek Brewing of Vermont);
Ted Curtis (Beer Director: Select Wines, Inc. of northern Virginia)

Rustico Restaurant
Alexandria, Virginia.
9 December 2009.

UPDATE: "For capturing ye olde pub in a modern setting, " the photo has been awarded second place in the Yuletide/Christmas Beer Photo Contest of 2011, sponsored by A Good Beer Blog. One of 22 (!) placing second, that is, out of 291 entered. More about the contest: here.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject.
Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons. For non-commercial purposes, no permission is required (but kindly link back).
Caveat lector: I am employed by Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virginia.

"What we can learn from the wine expert’s perspective on Craft Beer." —Guest blogger

2011-12-07T06:17:00.001-05:00

Wine Enthusiast Magazine has released its list of Top 25 Beers for 2011. Here's how editor Lauren Buzzeo described the winnowing process:

The domestic craft beer boom is still in full swing, and there is a growing interest in imports. That’s what made the selection of our Top 25 Beers so difficult. The beers presented on the following pages are among the best- reviewed selections we tasted over the past 12 months, exhibiting extraordinary quality at prices that still represent affordable luxury.

The list is all about balance—the balance of countries, brands, styles, prices and production sizes. This year’s Number One beer is a perfect balance of all the elements considered when compiling this list: high score, reasonable pricing, brand buzz, hot style and superb availability. In addition, however, you’ll discover a couple of high- scoring items here that might not be distributed to your area or are extremely limited in production; these are beer treasures that are definitely worth the hunt.

After reading the list, I Tweeted about it, and received an intriguing response.

CizauskasThomas Cizauskas

Top 25 Beers of 2011. Via @laurbuzz of @WineEnthusiast Magazine: http://t.co/DggnSboy [Spoiler alert: #1 is Unibroue's Don de Dieu. ] #beer

Dec 01Favorite RetweetReply

in reply to @Cizauskas↑

@The_Beermonger
Nick A@Cizauskas Very much a beer list by a wine mag. I think it's an interesting perspective. #WineEnthusiast #Top25Beers
Dec 01 via Twitter for iPhoneFavorite RetweetReply

Nick Anderson is the beermonger at Arrowine, a wine, beer, cheese, and charcuterie shop in Arlington, Virginia. He's never reticent about his points of view on beer, wine, and life, which he expounds at the shop, and via Twitter and his blog, the BeerMonger.net.

I asked Nick what he meant when he wrote that the list was very much a beer list from a wine perspective (other than the obvious, that it was created by Wine Enthusiast). Here is his response, and it's a thoughtful look at what it should mean to be true fan of anything, whether that would be beer or wine.

The Wine Enthusiast Top 25 Beers for 2011
What we can learn from the wine expert’s perspective on Craft Beer

First off, I’d like to thank Tom for having me here. Tom’s been a partner to work with over the years, and I appreciate his opinions and outlook on both beer and wine, so it’s a true honor to be invited. As I work with both beer and wine in my job, I keep an eye on the numerous lists that seem to arrive near the end of every year. Not long after I’d noticed the Wine Enthusiast Top 25 list released, Tom sent a tweet out and it seems we had much the same reaction: We both thought it was very much a beer list from a ‘wine person’. Tom asked me to guest here to explore the list and what it says about what wine pros look for in Craft Beer, and what we might be able to learn from that.

A quick note: I use the terms “Wine Snob” and “Beer Geek” pretty liberally. As both, I take ownership of them and actually don’t mean them in any derogatory way. Ok, then. Let’s do this.

There’s always been a disconnect; a rivalry between beer and wine. The perception of Beer Geeks and Wine Snobs is one that’s separated us and led to distrust where we should really all be supporting each other. You know; holding hands, skipping through fields of wildflowers and hanging all our clothes to dry on the line outside of our co-op Utopian hippy booze fan conclave. Seriously, though, we have much more in common than we think. It’s just that our preferred beverages lead to some very different desired qualities; those qualities can lead to conflict when we don’t understand them. I myself have this conversation several times per week not only with the mostly wine-oriented customers of Arrowine but with our Wine Department staff and my bosses. Above all else, there is one thing that truly separates Wine and Beer Geeks—Brett.

Read through the Enthusiast Top 25: I mean read every one of those reviews and see if anything jumps out at you. This first thing I noticed was that in seven reviews, WEs’ Lauren Buzzeo uses the word “clean” in describing a beer. “Clean” is an obsession with the experienced wine palate; I think most Beer Geeks don’t appreciate just how intensely brettanomyces is derided in wine, and how strong a turn-off any hint of it or anything else construed as not “clean” can be. My boss is hyper-sensitive to brett and it is extremely difficult to find beers that he enjoys. I believe that this is the main reason so many highly polished Wine Snobs with blessed palates choose to drink macro-Lagers, which us Beer Geeks tend to take as an insult to the brews we love and feel deserve respect from our Big Important Establishment Wine Brothers. You can say what you want about BMC and the like, but those beers are consistent and clean. They’re made to be as clean as possible under the idea that “clean” equals “refreshing”. It just so happens that cleanness coincides with the greatest desire of the wine-focused palate.

Another factor in the Top 25 that merits exploring is style. Breaking the list down, the most dominants styles are Pale Ale/IPA (8 beers, counting Birra del Borgo’s Extra Re Ale) and Belgian-style Tripel (5 beers). These are styles that lend themselves to brews that refresh, are clean and in their best examples have balance. The key here is to look not just at the style but at which examples of those styles were chosen. #1 beer choice Don de Dieu from Unibroue and #3 Westmalle Tripel both feature creamy textures balanced by spicy yeast and citrusy hop notes, and both are clean. Smuttynose IPA, New Belgium Ranger IPA, and Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale all get nods from Wine Enthusiast; three beers that most Beer Geeks likely wouldn’t put on their list (hell, I have issues with Smutty’s IPA as a beer in general but that’s from my own experience…) but at their best they are crisp and clean, with a fine balance between hop and malt. Even beers that don’t fit into the IPA, Pale, or Tripel categories reveal something; Harpoon’s UFO White and Baladin’s Isaac are clean Wheat Ales that emphasize balance. Elements in harmony is a must when analyzing wine, and that transfers to the beers Wine Snobs look for—remember, they’re usually going to beer for refreshment rather than one more thing they have to think about. Balance makes for refreshing beer that is easier to kick back and enjoy.

That doesn’t mean the Wine Snob’s ideal beer is boring, however. #2 on the list is the outstanding and robustly flavored Founder’s KBS, one of four stouts making the list. Looking further, we find Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout, Ninkasi Tricerahops DIPA, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Rochefort 10, and Odell Friek among the Top 25. These are all beers that are sought after and respected by Beer Geeks —hell, four of those are among my favorite beers ever. So what are they doing here? You think wine folks are all Snobs with no appreciation for the brewing arts, don’t you? You think everyone with a wine rack in their home is a Wine Snob who couldn’t possibly enjoy intense, robustly flavored beers, don’t you? Well it looks like the Wine Snobs aren’t the only ones pre-judging, eh?

The fact is —and I may be saying too much about my wine-drinking brethren here— some of the most well-regarded wines on the planet are big, robust fruit bombs with tons of oak and spice to them. Look at the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines of the year, and you’ll see phrases like “lush fruit”, “hedonistic”, “buttery”, “rich”, “extracted”, and more. The key is to find a wine or beer with intense flavor that isn’t a caricature of itself. Even Sour Ales or beers with brett can be appreciated by Wine Snobs as long as they make sense to them. It all comes back to cleanness, balance and flavor; the way these three factors come together in the glass makes all the difference.

For those with a the wine-focused palate, their expectations in a drink don’t change simply because they’re taking a night off from wine to have a couple beers. The criteria used by enthusiasts and pros alike to form opinions on wine carry over to their judgments of the beers they try, and how could they not? Beer fans do the same thing; I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve had friends and beer customers speak of how “boring” some of the most elegant and exquisite wines on the planet are —not simply in the “different strokes, different folks” sense but because there weren’t any of the exaggerated flavors or intensity seen in the typical DIPA, Imperial Stout, or Belgian-style Ale.

There is one way, and only one way, to properly approach beer if you’re coming from a wine background and vice versa: Open-mindedness. I use the term Wine Snob with the same love I use the term Beer Geek, but the fact is that there are those out there on both sides who take these things far too seriously. I shy away from the term “expert” and reject out of hand the word “connoisseur”; they imply an opinion that is in some way more “correct” than another (though I can live with “expert” in the right context, I much prefer “professional” as it’s at least accurate).

I’ve said this to hundreds if not thousands of customers over the years, so I’ll say it here: There are only three things you need to know as you explore wine, beer, or any other interest for that matter:
What you like.
What you don’t like.
Why you like or don’t like something.
That’s it. It’s really that simple. Every wine/beer professional, sommelier, Cicerone, and Master of Wine you’ve ever met has acquired their knowledge because of their interest in the subject. There is no certification or job title that says someone’s opinion is to be the Lord of anyone else’s; rather, when we’re at our best, it’s our job to understand and be able to relate to the palate of whomever we’re speaking to at that moment. I think a bit more of that from all of us, in relation to all of our hobbies and loves, can go a long way toward bridging this gap that doesn’t need to exist between wine and beer folk. The next time you try something that doesn’t float your boat, ask someone who it does work for why they enjoy it. When you hear someone rave about a wine or beer, ask them why they love what they love.

The great irony is that the reading of reviews and lists is a pretty blatantly black and white approach for answers in an environment where context is everything. So many people are too easily intimidated by what they think they ‘should’ know, and look to others to tell them what they should like. Too many people think they don’t have the time or the ability to learn about beer or wine: the truth is that everything you need to know is right there in your mouth already. Trust your palate, and never fail to ask a question. You don’t need to know everything about everything; you only need to discover what it is you enjoy, and why. When you do that, you’ll see patterns emerge that will make it easier to discover things on your own. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll all find peace at our bars, if not in our time.

Thanks again to Tom for asking me to fill in here.

Cheers,
Nick Anderson
www.beermonger.net

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UPDATE: The commentary inspired a lively give-and-take on Facebook. Read that: here.
YFGF is always open to a guest post. Contact me to contribute.
The full list of the Top 25 Beers of 2011 is available online at the Wine Enthusiast: here.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell wine and beer to Arrowine ... but not Unibroue Don de Dieu.

A lump of coal, chocolates, & a stein of beer: Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

2011-12-06T20:24:00.001-05:00

My siblings and I grew up in Germany in the 1960s, children of U.S. Foreign Service parents. (My two older brothers had other, earlier, foreign postings with my parents, but that's another story.)

Every year, on the evening of the 5th of December —the evening before St. Nicholas Day— we would put a pair of wooden shoes outside our bedroom doors. Overnight, an unseen, be-sainted visitor would fill our shoes with chocolates and other goodies ... if we had been good. If we had been bad, we might receive only a lump of coal.

My brothers had a Märklin model train set. Once (just once!), I found my shoe filled with a lump of coal. Unperturbed, little Tommy put it in the coal car behind the toy locomotive. He was ecstatic. It was the coolest thing. It was "ace"! To my parent's (err, St. Nicholas') chagrin, I wasn't chastised.

In a —not so 21st century politically correct— postscript, a sidekick of St. Nicholas was to abduct mischievous children and take them to Spain. If you know northern German winters, this threatened punishment, in retrospect, was not so bad.

Years later, in Baltimore, Maryland, on the evening of the 24th of December, my stepdaughter would leave Santa Claus, not a shoe, but a beer by the Christmas tree. As I remember, old St. Nick, by morning, seemed to have drained that stein.

St. Nicholas has became the inspiration for our American Santa Claus. Maybe, we should re-examine the original. In the Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of brewers. The reason why, however, is not so clear. David Turley at Musings Over A Pint has posted this explanation:

Tradition states that Nicholas [Bishop of Myra] was having a beer at an inn where the inn keeper had murdered three boys and packed their bodies in a barrel of brine. Nicholas was offered some salted meat with his beer. Due to a local shortage of food, Nicholas became suspicious, found the bodies, and brought the boys back to life. He died on December 6, 345 A.D. or 352 A.D.

In fact, the Catholic Church has several patron saints of brewers.

A few years ago, The Brews Brothers —Steve Frank and Arnold Meltzer, writers for the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and the Gazette.net— researched this in an article called Saints of Suds ("When The Saints Go Malting In"). I've re-printed it here with permission.

How did important religious personages become the patron saints of suds? Thebishops of brewers? The apostles of ale? Both universal and local Saints havereportedly performed miracles, either during their lives or afterwards, that involvedthe working class people and beer. Other saints were designated because theyrepresent beer producing and consuming regions.

Centuries ago beer was the daily drink of the people, both because plain water wasoften polluted and due to beer's inexpensive, nourishing qualities. Monks brewedbeer for themselves as a safe source of hearty sustenance. Monk's meals werefrugal at best, particularly during fast periods. However, consumption of liquids didnot break the fast. Without widespread hotel chains, monasteries served as inn's fortravelers who shared the monk's provisions, especially their robust, sustainingbeers. Eventually, the monk's were able to also sell their beers at pubs calledklosterschenken, and a flourishing trade developed. To build brand loyalty, thenames of the monastery's patron saint was used. To this day many beers bear thename of a saint.

The procedure which the church uses to name a saint, called canonization, has onlyoperated since the tenth century. Prior to that, since the first century, saints werechosen by public acclaim. While this may have been fairer to the general public, itincluded information that was both legend or fictitious, and eventually the Vaticanassumed the authority for approving saints.

Among the patron saints of brewers, four are extremely well known: Augustine of Hippo, Luke the Apostle, Nicholas of Myra (also known as Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus) and the Good King Wenceslas, the latter two also providing a linkage to the winter season of merriment.

Augustine of Hippo, now part of Tunisia (born 354 AD, died 430 AD) was knownn forwild living and significant alcoholic beverage consumption prior to his conversion.His complete turnaround and life of moderation contributed to his becoming apatron saint of brewers.

Nicholas of Myra, Turkey is believed to have lived in first half of 4th century, anddied between 342 and 350 AD. St. Nicholas is associated with the legend of theThree Clerics, a drama about 3 church scholars who stopped for lodging at an inn,where the innkeeper slew them for their money. A disguised Nicholas invoked God'shelp to resurrect them and, by doing so, became a protector over travelers andbrewers. [I don't quite get the connection here with brewers!]

Saint Luke (first century) is widely regarded as a patron saint of brewers althoughthere is no obvious reason. Possible connections include his being a physician andknowing that the beer of the time was healthier than the water of the time, and hisability to mix various herbs together for medicines just as they were mixed forbeer.

Other saints who are considered patron saints of brewers but for which we have notfound any apparent connection are Saint Barbara (d.235); Saint Medard of Noyon(b. 470, d. 560); and Saint Adrian (b. 303) who is widely recognized as a patronsaints of beer and his feast day is celebrated with reveling throughout Europe. St.Veronus reported to be a patron saint of Belgian brewers, does not appear in thechurch liturgy. St. Veronus, the patron saint of Lambeek, a town famous for aunique style of beer, is a local saint who gained national appeal.

Saint Wenceslas (b. 907, d. 929) promoted the spread of Christianity inCzechoslovakia. Wenceslas became famous through a Christmas carol by J.M.Neale, "Good King Wenceslas", which has little to do with history but more withVictorian ideals. Because Bohemian hops were so valued, Wenceslas ordered thedeath penalty for anyone caught exporting the cuttings and obviously endearedhimself to the local hop growers and brewers. He became the patron saint ofBohemia and Czechoslovakia and his crown became the symbol of nationalism forthe Czechs. By extension he became a patron saint of Czech brewers. There alsowas King Wenceslas II in the 13th century, who convinced the Pope to revoke anorder banning the brewing of beer, again endearing the Wenceslas name to localbrewers.

King Gambrinus is revered by many brewers as a patron saint. According to folktales, Gambrinus was King of Flanders. Reputed to have invented hopped, maltbeer, the legendary Gambrinus may have actually been Jan Primus (John I,1251-1294), Duke of Flanders, Brabant, Louvain, and Antwerp. Primus, according tothe Encyclopedia of Beer, is credited with introducing the toast as a custom. Someothers attribute Gambrinus to Jean Sans Peur (John the Fearless, 1371-1419) ,known as Ganbrivius. Although there is no evidence of him among the churchlistings of saints, Gambrinus, called the "King of Beer", continues to be celebratedby brewers as a patron saint.

Probably the best known Irish saint after Patrick is Saint Brigid (b. 457, d. 525).Known as "the Mary of the Gael," Brigid founded the monastery of Kildare and wasknown for spirituality, charity, and compassion. St. Brigid also was a generous,beer-loving woman. She worked in a leper colony which found itself without beer,"For when the lepers she nursed implored her for beer, and there was none to behad, she changed the water, which was used for the bath, into an excellent beer, bythe sheer strength of her blessing and dealt it out to the thirsty in plenty." Brigid issaid to have changed her dirty bathwater into beer so that visiting clerics wouldhave something to drink. Obviously this trait would endear her to many a beerlover. She also is reputed to have supplied beer out of one barrel to eighteenchurches, which sufficed from Maundy Thursday to the end of paschal time. A poemattributed to Brigid in the Brussel's library begins with the lines "I should like agreat lake of ale, for the King of the Kings. I should like the family of Heaven to bedrinking it through time eternal."

Saint Amand (b. 584, d. 679) primarily operated in the regions now considerednorthern France and Belgium. He established a score of monasteries, many ofwhich probably produced beer. Considered the father of Belgian monasticism, he isassociated with the centers of wine growing and beer brewing. Because of hisreputation for hospitality, Amand also is a patron saint of beer and wine merchants.Another patron saint in Belgium, Arnold of Soissons (b. 1040, d. 1087) is specificallyconsidered the patron saint of hop pickers. He often is confused with Saint Arnold ofMetz and the same miracles, therefore, are associated with both of them dependingon the source. Other names for the various Arnolds include Arnulf, Arnou, Arnulphus, and Arnoldus, depending on the language in which the name is spoken.

Following the collapse of the roof of an abbey brewery in Flanders, the good SaintArnold of Soissons asked God to multiply the stores of beer which were left for themonk's consumption. When Arnold's prayer was answered in abundance, the monksand townspeople were prepared to canonize him on the spot. While Arnold ofSoissons is best known for his miraculous provision of beer, he is also credited witha most practical improvement upon the brewing process. While weaving bee skepsfor the abbey's apiary, the abbot realized that the straw cones could be used as afilter to further clarify the brother's beer. In remembrance of this contribution tothe brewer's art, the good saint is often portrayed--as on the certificates of theBelgian Brewers Confederation--in the company of bees with one hand resting upona bee skep.

Arnold of Soissons also is considered the patron saint of hop pickers because of theregion in which he preached. Hops originated in Brabant region of Belgium. Theybecame more widespread when a Belgian princess married a Kentish prince and thedowry included land across from the Affligem brewery. Belgians reportedly sent thefirst hops to England for use in making beer.

"Don't drink the water, drink beer" warned Saint Arnold of Metz (b. 580 AD, d.640), concerned about the dangers of drinking impure water. He believed that thepolluted water caused illness, while the boiled and processed water used for beerwas a safer alternative. According to legend he ended a plague when he submergedhis crucifix into a brew kettle and persuaded people to drink only beer from that"blessed" kettle. He is reported to have said "From man's sweat and God's love,beer came into the world".

There are multiple versions of a tale about his providing beer to the people. Thestory is told of porters moving his body after building a tomb for his relics/bones forpeople to visit. A tired porter overcome with heat uttered a plea to God for a coolrefreshing beer. No sooner had this request been made than copious amounts ofcold beer shot out of the casket they carried, drenching all and quenching theirthirst.

The third Saint Arnold connected to beer is Arnou of Oudenaarde. St. Arnou's mainclaim to beer fame is that he successfully appealed to God for cold beer for thesoldiers to drink during a battle in Flanders in the 11th century. Certainly a personwe would want on our side. He also is said to have been able to multiply beer intovast quantities through blessing and prayer.

Saint Benedict (b. 480, d. 547), the father of Western monasticism, is best knownfor establishing the Benedictine order and monasteries, and for a set of rules whichdefined the standards for life in a monastery. These rules, which were followed bymost European monasteries, included providing for visitors or passersby who wouldeat or drink what the monks did. Eventually many of these monasteries sold theirbeers to the public, and retained the names of the saints from the abbeys.Saint Boniface of Mainz (b. 680, d. 754) is also known as Wynfrith or Winfrid. Hewas born in Devonshire, England but spent most of his religious life teaching andpreaching in Germany, especially in the areas of Bavaria, Thuringia, Franconia, andHesse where he founded a number of monasteries. He became a patron saint ofGermany and, by extension, of brewers.

A missionary to the Germans in the areas near the Lake of Zurich, St. Columbanus(b. 612) came upon an assembly of pagans making ready a sacrifice with a largetub filled with beer in their midst. He asked them what they intended to do with itand they answered that it was an offer to their god Wodan. St. Columbanus blewupon it (possibly with a beer breath), and immediately the vessel burst intosplinters with a great noise and all the beer was spilled. The barbarians weresurprised, and said he had a strong breath. He then explained to the assembledthat they were wasting good ale and his God loved ale, but only when drunk in hisname. He exhorted them to forsake their superstitions and return to the faith. Manywere converted and baptized; others, who had been formerly baptized, and hadapostatized, returned to the obedience of the gospel. He is known for saying "It ismy design to die in the brew-house; let ale be placed to my mouth when I amexpiring so that when the choir of angels come they may say: 'Be God propitious tothis drinker.'"

While not yet considered a patron saint of beer, Saint Cuthbert (c. 636, c. 687),Bishop of Lindisfarne, may be the best option for a patron saint of maltsters. Duringhis final years, in retreat on the Island of Farne, Cuthbert was only able to sustainhimself by growing barley. He also became a protector of the barley by invokingthe name of God to disperse the birds who hungered to consume the barley.Saint Florian (b. 700) is reputed to have saved Nurnberg, Germany from burning ina great fire in the 8th century. It is not clear if he used the beer or the stored waterfrom a brewery to extinguish the fire. Fires often happened at night, when peoplemade fires for warmth. A nearby brewery would have been an obvious source ofliquids, both water and beer, since water would have been drawn to settle out forthe next day's brewing.

Hildegard von Bingen (b. 1098, d.1179) was a benedictine nun, the Abbess ofDiessenberg, and a well known herbalist, mystic and musician. Although she hasnot yet been canonized, she has been beatified and is considered a saint by manypeople. Hildegard was a highly enlightened woman who overcame social, cultural,and gender barriers and became an advisor to bishops, popes, and kings. She usedthe curative powers of natural objects for healing, and wrote treatises about naturalhistory and medicinal uses of plants, animals, trees and gemstones. Her writingsinclude the earliest known reference to using hops in beer "(Hops), when put inbeer, stops putrification and lends longer durability."

Saint Lawrence (d. 258) was an archdeacon of the Roman church during the reign ofPope Sixtus II in the third century. According to the Brewery Museum in Bamberg,Germany, which has Lawrence as its patron saint, his putative method ofmartyrdom is the reason for his relationship to brewers. Lawrence was strapped toa gridiron and slowly roasted over an open flame. This made him a patron saint ofvarious occupations that use fire including cooks, bakers, innkeepers, laundresses,and firemen. Brewers have a particular affinity for Lawrence because his method ofmartyrdom reminds them of how malt is dried. In Bamberg, the brewers' guildrequired young brewers to carry his likeness in processions and make donations tothe church on his feast day. Saint Dorothy (d. 311) of Cappadocia, now part ofTurkey, is another patron saint of brewers who was similarly tortured by beingstretched on an iron bed over flames.

For many centuries, brewers have invoked the names of patron saints to bless andprotect their beers. Since the early brewing process was not well understood, oftentimes the batch of beer was not fit for drinking. The poor quality was mysticallyblamed on evil spirits and specifically on "brew witches" or "beer witches." The lastknown burning of a beer witch was in the late 1500s.

Now that we have vastly improved beer quality, when you quaff your next pint, consider the saintly companywith which you are associating and who may be looking over you. May the Saintsbless your pint.

Pic(k) of the Week: Cask Love

2011-12-03T09:15:00.001-05:00

Demonstrating his appreciation, Justin Harbin, then bartender at Evening Star Cafe, a restaurant and pub in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, hugs an oaken cask of Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA, brewed and casked by Heavy Seas Brewing, of Baltimore, Maryland.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving may be the busiest shopping day of the year, but the evening before Thanksgiving can be one of the busier bar-drinking nights of the year.

In 2007, on Thanksgiving Eve, the Evening Star served its first-ever cask-conditioned ale, Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale. The pub would go on to establish a tradition, for four more years, of tapping the same cask-conditioned ale that same night, through 2010 when this picture was taken.

24 November 2010.

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The Evening Star was closed for renovations in November of 2011, and thus couldn't continue the Thanksgiving Eve tradition.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject.
Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons. For non-commercial purposes, no permission is required (but kindly link back).
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virginia— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

Christmas Time in New Orleans: Abita Beer Dinner in Alexandria, VA.

2011-12-01T22:56:00.027-05:00

My friends at Del Ray Pizzeria, in Alexandria, Virginia, are throwing a New Orleans Christmas party, a couple of weeks early, and one thousand miles north, Tuesday, 13 December 2011.

Del Ray's Chef Eric Reid, has designed a 5 course/6 beer dinner, pairing New Orleans-style fare with beers from Abita Brewing, a brewery located in Abita Springs, only 30 miles north of the Big Easy.

Abita has been celebrating its 25th anniversary of operation this year. They're sending their local representative, Nick Smith —himself, a past brewer for the brewery— to co-host the dinner.

Here's Chef Reid's menu:

SALAD

Smoked Duck Salad

with currants & figs, blood orange vinaigrette

Served with Abita Amber Ale

Munich style lager brewed with crystal malt and Perle hops. the brewery's first beer and still its top seller. 4.5% alcohol-by-volume (abv)

FIRST COURSE

Red Fish Étouffée

Sautéed Redfish served over rice
Smothered in Crawfish Étouffée

Served with Abita Jockamo IPA

"Jockamo is named for the tribes of dancing, singing, chanting “Mardi Gras Indians” who have marched in New Orleans for over 250 years." An India Pale Ale made with pale malt and light crystal malts that give the beer a copper color and malty flavor. Hopped and dry hopped with Willamette and Columbus hops. 6.5% A.B.V.

SECOND COURSE

Oysters Bienville

Oysters baked with bacon & cheese crust.

Served with Abita Save Our Shore Weizen Pils

For every bottle sold, Abita donates 75¢ to the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This unfiltered Weizen Pils is made with Pilsner and Wheat malts, hopped and dry hopped with Sterling and German Perle hops. 7% abv.

THIRD COURSE

Grillettes & Grits

Sautéed Veal Medallions
In a Creole demi-glace over creamy grits.

Served with Abita Christmas Ale

Generally a dark ale, the recipe changes each year. This year, a hoppy brown ale. 5.5% abv

DESSERT COURSE

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

Chocolate Raisin Bread Pudding, topped with Bananas Foster.

Served with Abita 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog

Abita's 'standard' brown ale —Turbo Dog— is the inspiration for a 7% abv version. Brewed with pale, caramel, and chocolate malts, and Willamette hops. Whole natural vanilla beans are added during maturation.

BONUS BEER

Abita Select Honey Rye. Brewed with pale malt, 4 different caramel malts, wheat malt, rye malt, wildflower honey, and Willamette hops. Limited, and draft-only. 7% abv.

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UPDATE: Photos added to this post, after the dinner. More pics: here.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Abita.

Cool Yule #10! Beer Books for 2011: Evaluating Beer

2011-11-30T23:40:00.036-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of a dozen choices, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books were published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts.

Between 20 November and the Winter Solstice, I'll reveal my recommendations. On Christmas Day, put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Or, better yet, give a friend the gift of a beer and a book. December 22nd may be too late to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless the book is available as an e-book), but it's time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar —and book— store.

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And, so ... cue ten lords, a-leaping.

Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011: #10

Evaluating Beer
various authors
Brewers Publications, US: 1998
ISBN: 0937381373

Several years ago, a friend of mine, who had been in the in the business of selling beer and wine for over a quarter of a century, was struck by a moving vehicle. He suffered a fractured skull and spine. Over an 18 month period, he recovered his health and most of his mobility. Other than the pain of physical therapy, what vexed him most, he told me, was his loss of his sense of smell.

Here he was, in the business of beer and wine, and he was unable to taste the very things he was describing to his customers. The few aromas he could sense were inappropriate to the beverages. He knew what Bordeaux wines should taste like; yet, when he sipped them now, they tasted like liquid plastic bandages. He knew that American IPAs were hoppy; when he tasted them now, they smelled like, ahem, fecal matter. But over the course of his recovery — knowing from 25 years years professional experience what things were supposed to taste like— he was able to figuratively re-train his mind to recognize flavors as they should be. He is 99.9% back to normal. A Beautiful Nose, if you will.

Under 'normal' circumstances, I believe most people have good palates, that is, the ability to sense taste and aromas. What they need is the vocabulary to describe those sensations. A book such as Evaluating Beer can help begin that development.

The book is a series of short essays by numerous experts in the fields of beer, brewing, and flavor complied by the Brewers Publications, an arm of the Brewers Association (a lobbying and advocacy organization for U.S. breweries producing fewer than six million barrel of beer annually). As homebrew guru (and BA founder) Charlie Papazian puts it in the first chapter, "beer tasting is a learned skill." The 17 chapters go on to discuss flavor profiles, sensory evaluation, training methods for tasting, sources of flavors, identifying flavors in a real-time brewing environment, etc.

Three chapters were written by instructors at the Siebel Institute of Technology, in Chicago, Illinois Flavor Profiles by Ilse Shelton Origins of Normal and Abnormal Flavor by Ted Konis: '101' classes in the flavors that should or shouldn't be in beer. Ron Siebel's chapter is a how-to on creating taste panels for evaluating beers for quality, rather than for style.

I was fortunate enough to have studied under them in the early 1990s (and still have voluminous notes). Ron Siebel, and his brother Bill, are great-grandsons of the German brewer who founded the school in the 19th century. They have since sold the school.

Two chapter are contributions by food and brewing scientist Morton Meilegard, the lead creator of the famous Beer Flavor Wheel. One of those is a very useful primer on setting up consumer tasting panels.

Charlie Papazian ties it all together and discusses the 50-point scale that is used by the American Homebrewers Association (and the Brewers Association) to judge beers according to style designation.

I recommend Evaluating Beer to anyone who wants to increase their enjoyment of beer, or who wants to sell or make beer —for fun or profit, or both. It's a valuable introductory reference with a useful list of other source materials. Although some chemical and biochemical terms are used, none of the chapters are too technical in scope for a non-scientific layman.

The next step would be to apply the discussed principles while actually tasting beer. More than that, one could take courses on beer flavors offered by various beer schools and educational institutions. One such is the Siebel Institute, which I mentioned earlier [pronounced SEE bull]. Others include the zymurgy department at Cal-Davis and the American Brewers Guild. Online coursework is available.

Another route would be through the Cicerone Certification Program [pronounced SIS sir rone], run by Ray Daniels, as beer server training and accreditation. The syllabus includes the study of beer flavor: 'normal' flavors —and their derivation— and 'off' flavors —what they are, how they occur, and how to prevent them.

Evaluating, while drinking. Tough studies, wouldn't you say?

Cool Yule 2011: so far.

#11: Windows on The World
#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

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For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Click a photo of beer. Submit. Receive acclaim. Win schwag.

2011-11-29T23:31:00.030-05:00

Ah, the ignominy of a mass email!

Alan McLeod —he, of A Good Beer Blog, indeed a good beer blog, one that I read quite frequently, as Alan posts, in fine fashion, quite frequently— has sent an email, addressed to me and many others, chastising us, gently, for inaction.

Dear Past Beer Blog Xmas Photo Contest Prize Winners ... Just letting you know that the 2011 contest is on:

http://beerblog.genx40.com/archive/2011/november/dayninenowthat.

Please consider entering again this year. Happy to have repeat winners.

So, it's the the Yuletide/Christmas Beer Photo Contest of 2011. Just to be clear: it's a Christmas contest, but only because that is the season in which it's held.

The rules are simple and few: the photo must be of beer, it must NOT be of beer-and-food nor a drunken photo, so to speak. Entries must be limited to eight. The contest began on 18 November and continues until Sunday, 10 December, at noon, EST. Send photos to beerblog@gmail.com.

For the record, I won an honorable mention a few years ago with the above photo. I haven't been as lucky since, but you could. Click and submit!

Here are just a few of the prizes for victory (and there will be several awarded, including consolation and "crappiest"):

Jeff Alworth of Beervana: a bottle of Westvleteren 12 and glass.
Adrian Tierney-Jones and CAMRA have offered two copies of Great British Pubs.
Martyn Cornell: a copy of his book Amber Gold and Black.
Creemore Springs Brewery: brewery schwag.
All About Beer magazine.
TAPS The Beer Magazine.
Ron Pattinson, beer historian: copy of one of his books.

... the list grows.

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UPDATE: "For capturing ye olde pub in a modern setting, " my photo below has been awarded second place: one of 22 placing second, that is, out of 291 entered.

Afternoon Tipplers
Three blokes tasting beers at Rustico Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia.

l-r: Andy Carlsen (assistant manager, Rustico)
Ken Hadley (representative, Otter Creek Brewing of Vermont)
Ted Curtis (Beer Director, Select Wines Distributing of northern Virginia)
9 December 2009.

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More rules, prizes, etc., at A Good Beer Blog.
Send photos to beerblog@gmail.com.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 47, 2011.

2011-11-28T22:56:00.021-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Week 47
20 November - 27 November 2011

2011.11.27
New 'nano-brewery' to open in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 2013. Adroit Theory Brewing to brew "ridiculously hoppy," barrel-aged, and sour beers.
2011.11.26
Support small (and local) businesses everday, not only on #SmallBusinessSaturday. Learn more at 3/50 Project.
2011.11.26
Christmas gift? NBA owners, players reach tentative deal to start the 2011/12 season on Dec. 25th. Via The Huffington Post
2011.11.26
Charles Mingus jazz documentary, "Mingus On Mingus," to be funded by small contributions at the Kickstarter Project. Read more at Elements Of Jazz.
2011.11.26
Tom Wicker, journalist and author, dies at 85. Via New York Times.
2011.11.25
A controversy about #FridayReads recommendations on Twitter raises issues of paid promos and transparency. Via the Washington Post.
2011.11.24
Happy Thanksgiving! Correcting the record on Benjamin Franklin, and the Pilgrims.
2011.11.23
Sour beers "are the easiest beers for sommeliers to sell, because they’re so used to talking about acidity and its interplay with food." A description and review of 'sour' beers, via Eric Asimov in the New York Times.
2011.11.23
Contract brewer Holy Brew invests in Virgina brewery Lost Rhino, to produce its 'Belgian' inspired beers. Details via VACraftBeer.com.
2011.11.23
'Session Beer' defined as beers of alcoholic strength below 4.5% alcohol-by-volume, by beer writer Lew Bryson.
2011.11.23
Composer & 'free' drummer, Paul Motian, has died at 80. Played with Bill Evans, and fronted his own groups. Via Yahoo! News.
2011.11.21
Portner Brewery, hailing back to 1869, to be reopened as a brewpub, in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2014, by great-great-granddaughter of founder. Via BostInno.com.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Cool Yule #11! Beer Books for 2011: Windows on the World

2011-11-27T19:10:00.006-05:00

Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011
Not a list of the dozen best-of-the-best books about beer of 2011, but, rather, my list of 12, some personal delights, others of unique or deserved merit. Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts.

Between 20 November and the Winter Solstice, I'll reveal my selections.

Then, on Christmas Day: put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Or, better yet: give a friend the gift of a beer and a book. December 22nd may be too late to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless available as an e-book), but it's time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar —and book— store.

So ... cue eleven pipers piping.

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Cool Yule Beer Book for 2011:
#11

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition
Kevin Zraly
Sterling Publishing, US: 2009
ISBN: 1402767676

Well, okay, this isn't a book about beer. But for a determined beer lover to pretend that things other than grains cannot be fermented to good effect would be self-delusional. For flavor, history, sales and economic impact, and influence, that 'other' good fermentable would be wine. Fermented grapes.

A lot of beer folk seem to have a love/hate relationship with wine. They say they don't like wine, or its perceived haughtiness, yet they often compare their beers, falsely, to it. Better to understand wine —its flavors, processes, fermentation science, and marketing— and take what you can from it. Or, try it, and actually like it.

Sommelier Marne Old and Sam Calagione, charismatic owner of Dogfish Head Brewery, have a book out called He Said Beer, She Said Wine. It's a breezy set of arguments about pairing beer and wine with food that reads almost like ad copy. Cal-Davis beer professor Charles Bamforth's Grape vs. Grain is a much more informative comparison between the two beverages.

But for a real introduction to what wine is, and isn't, choose Windows on the World. The nearly 350 page book is a tremendously useful and educational introduction to the flavors, regions, styles, grapes, traditions, wineries, and, yes, brands of wine. It's told in a bullet-point manner but without bullet-points, with full sentences and paragraphs. A reader could do much worse than Kevin Zraly, the author, as his wine instructor.

Zraly was the wine director for the Windows on the World Restaurant for 25 years until 11 September 2001, when the restaurant, on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was destroyed when terrorists brought down the building and its twin, murdering thousands. Zraly was not at work that day; many employees and breakfast patrons were. He pays tribute to them in his book and at the wine school of the same name, which he re-opened elsewhere. In May of 2011, Zraly was awarded a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.

The chapter on the Physiology of Tasting Wine ("You smell more than you think!") is one that anyone —cork-dork, Epicurean, or beer geek— can learn from and apply. It moves from specific to poetic.

No two people are alike in either how they smell or the smells they perceive. It is deeply personal and experiential. Wendy [Dubit of The Senses Bureau] says Puligny to herself, simply because she loves the word nearly as much as the wine. It serves as homing signal that brings her to self and center —to a time and place and a wine she loves, and to the kind of bonds that endure.

Kevin goes out on his porch with a glass of some favorite special vintage and looks into the night sky. Embodied in every sip is all that he treasures and honors about Windows on the World, and a reason to look up at stars.

Sounds like beer, sounds like life, doesn't it?

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#12: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent
For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: Happy Man

2011-11-26T06:18:00.002-05:00

This fellow was feeling quite gleeful after attending an East Coast beer Dinner at Summits Wayside Tavern in
Cumming, Georgia, in February of 2007. Maybe his glee was the result of all the liquid 'schwag' he was absconding with (with permission).

Yesterday saw quite a few hits at this photo, as posted at Flickr. Why, all of a sudden, after nearly 5 years, I don't know, but enough for me to 're-notice' it as this week's Pic(k) of the Week.

Might be worthy enough for transmittal to A Good Beer Blog's 2011 Xmas Beer Photo Contest?

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, usually posted on a Saturday, and often with a 'good fermentable' as subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Small BREWERY Saturday

2011-11-25T19:10:00.015-05:00

Yes, it's ironic that a very big company —American Express— is sponsoring Small Business Saturday, tomorrow. Nonetheless, if one 'buys' the set of statistics that —

for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures, whereas if spent in a national chain, as so many are doing today on so-called Black Friday, only $43 remains locally, and if on-line, probably nothing

—supporting your neighbors would seem to be a mutually beneficial cause.

According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses of less than 500 employees account for around half the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) and more than half of the employment in the U.S. More than 75% percent of those small businesses have fewer than 10 employees.

But why stop there?

Why not, tomorrow, on Small Business Saturday, support your LOCAL BREWERY, be that at the brewery (if it has an open house) or at a brewpub, or at an independently-owned beer shop, or at a locally-owned restaurant or pub that itself supports local beers. According to the Brewers Association, 90% of the more than 1,600 breweries in the U.S. are small and independent. Their retail dollar value in 2010 was an estimated $7.6 billion.

The buy-local-food movement (often unfortunately affixed with the ugly portmanteau of locavore ) is strong and growing stronger, if still relatively small. As strange as it may sound, I wish I could say the same for the buy-local-beer movement.

The 'craft beer' industry began about 30 years go, in part, as a reaction against the lack of choice of local beer. If it's not available, we'll make it, said those pioneers. Now, however, a lot of love seems to go to beers of scarcity and, shall we say, elsewhereness. If it's made here, it's not so special. I'm damning with a broad brush, and there are many exceptions, but, to a not insubstantial degree, this is, unfortunately, a truism. And, it's an ironic one, since, again, as the Brewers Association points out, every American alive in 2011 lives within 10 miles of a brewery.

"But, what if the local beer isn't good," I hear. With all the choices available, I find that a weak argument. And, even if it were so, a consumer living in the same community as a small brewery does have influence. Importune the owner: tell him/her what's wrong (or what's right). You can't do that with an international conglomerate. Likewise, if the choices are limited at your local shop or restaurant, ask the owner why —since you're supporting him/her, a local business person —he/she isn't supporting local breweries. Or, if they are, thank them.

Beer that is local won't have come from hundreds or thousands of miles away. That, indeed, makes a huge difference: carbon-wise, employment-wise, and tax-wise. And flavor-wise, the beer will be fresh.

Tomorrow may be Small Business Saturday. But, don't stop there. Make tomorrow the first day of a long commitment. Continue to buy local, to support local, to drink fresh, to drink local. Locally-owned breweries, independent beer shops, and restaurants may not always offer the absolute cheapest prices for their products, but their success is vital to the vigor of your community.

Don't misconstrue my intent to be a diatribe against imports and other 'craft' beers. Far from it: the beer world is a marvelous universe. It is, however, a plea to support the home brewery first. That matters.

**************
There are several on-line resources for finding local breweries, brewpubs, and beer shops and restaurants which support local and 'craft' beer. One of these is the Brewing News chain of bi-monthly newspapers —yes, old-line media, which has finally carved a niche on the web.

Here are its listings for breweries and good beer shops in the mid-Atlantic area:

For some more good-beer resources, consult the links in the sidebar of this blog.

Simple pleasures

2011-11-24T07:46:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, we take the simple pleasures in life for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving

VeggieDag Thursday (Wednesday edition): What's a vegetarian to do tomorrow?

2011-11-23T06:23:00.030-05:00

It's a special 'Wednesday edition' of VeggieDag Thursday: What is a vegetarian to do, tomorrow, when the turkey is brought to the table?

VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on an animal-free diet and its issues.

The Washington Post has reviewed several faux meats for the Thanksgiving table: here and here.
Great Sage Restaurant in Clarksville, Maryland, asks:
Are you preparing for a vegan Thanksgiving? Our blog would love to represent some of the delicious dishes you make. Send a photo and description of a dish (or more!) and we will feature you in a story devoted to Thanksgiving delights! Feel like writing an entire post? Even better, and you just may find yourself with a dessert on us!
The Washington Post's Going Out Gurus have a short list of restaurants open on Thanksgiving, serving vegan meals.
Beer book author Stephen Beaumont, Blogging at World of Beer, writes, "All You Need to Know About Beer for Thanksgiving" ... is "dry, tart, sparkling gueuze."
Rob Kasper of The Baltimore Sun was Talking Turkey and Beer for the Holiday, in 2003.
I offer my choice for beer at Thanksgving - saison- while Talking Turkey and Beer, also from 2003.
Again, from the Washington Post, wine reviewer Dave McIntyre, refutes several myths about Thanksgiving and wine, when he asks: What do you pair with baloney?
The New York Times' WELL blog has run a series of posts on vegetarian cooking for Thanksgiving.
Tom Philpott, at Mother Jones, writes:
Here on the farm, we have a gorgeous crop of winter squashes in storage, and are still harvesting delightful hearty greens like kale and collards. I've been saying it for weeks now, and it's still true: leafy greens are at their utter peak now, as morning frosts concentrates their sugars and make them sweeter.
From 2007, here's my Thanksgiving vegetarian menu, and, from 2009, my recipe for Veggie Beastloaf. Well, actually, that's seitan loaf with wild mushroom gravy.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz —one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors— has posted her recipe for a Seitan Loaf, but with a leek and shitake mushroom stuffing.

Even the breweries are joining the feast. Heavy Seas Brewing, of Baltimore, Maryland, has posted a few recipes for Thanksgiving side dishes. All but one are vegetarian, and all have beer as an ingredient. (Tip from Sandy Mitchell at The Original BeerinBaltimore blog.)

Whatever you'll be enjoying tomorrow at table, don't forget the cranberries!

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Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.
VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here. All prior VeggieDag Thursday posts: here.
Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks welcomed!

Thanksgiving Eve Tradition Continues (with an assist)

2011-11-22T10:16:00.059-05:00

Thanksgiving Eve is one of the busier bar nights of the year. The folks who are leaving town have left. The folks who have stayed put —finished with work, shopping, and cooking— go out to play.

That's how I set the scene, five years ago, in 2007, when the Evening Star Cafe, a restaurant and pub in the cozy Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, served its first-ever cask-conditioned ale on the night before Thanksgiving.

The cask was a firkin (10.8 gallons) of Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale.

The brewery —Heavy Seas, of Baltimore, Maryland— describes the Loose Cannon as a thrice-hopped American IPA (India Pale Ale). I describe it —especially served still fermenting, fresh, from a cask— as aromatic, juicy, fruity (think melons and citrus), and well-structured.

The tapping was a success. So much so, that the pub has continued the tradition each Thanksgiving Eve since. But, alas, this year, Evening Star has closed, temporarily, for renovations, re-opening in December.

So, for this Thanksgiving Eve, the five-year Del Ray, Alexandria, tradition moves a block up Mount Vernon Avenue, to ...

... Del Ray Pizzeria: a good-beer bar and, of course, pizzeria.

Like the Evening Star, Del Ray Pizzeria is a newbie to cask-conditioned ales. So, I and Jonathan Mcintire —the local representative of Heavy Seas— will be on-hand at 5pm this Wednesday to lend a hand, and a mallet, to tap the Loose Cannon.

And, it's a special cask of Loose Cannon for Del Ray. Heavy Seas' cellarman has dry-hopped it with U.S. west coast Simcoe hops, which were flown to the brewery within days of being harvested. Additionally, he's infused the beer with hand-toasted chips of Red Maple, White Oak, and Birch.

There is no overall fee for admittance ... simply pay for the the pints you order. A cask contains 86 U.S.-sized pints, give or take.

***************

UPDATE: Photos from Del Ray Pizzeria: here.
The past tradition (at Evening Star Cafe)
- 2007.
- 2008.
- 2009.
- 2010.
Dry-hopping is the addition of hops to beer AFTER fermentation, such as directly into a cask. The process infuses beer with fresh hop aromatics, which would be otherwise lost during a kettle boil. Wet-hopping, on the other hand, is a term denoting the use of just-picked hops. The cask above was dry-hopped with wet-hops. Learn more about cask-conditioned beer at CaskAleUSA.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 46, 2011.

2011-11-21T23:03:00.006-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Week 46
13 November - 19 November 2011

2011.11.19
Devils Backbone's new production brewery in Rockbridge County, Virginia, nears completion. Video tour, via Musings Over A Pint.
2011.11.19
What's bad, what's good, with "The Oxford Companion to Beer." Wait for the 2nd edition, says this Glasgow beer blogger.
2011.11.19
An update on the Small BREW Act: the Congressional proposal to reduce the federal excise tax on small breweries. From a North Carolina point of view.
2011.11.19
On this date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
2011.11.19
Beer author Lew Bryson proposes video series on craft beer. "American Beer Blogger" to be funded by small investors via Kickstand.com.
2011.11.19
For the first time, foreign hackers have targeted AND successfully damaged a US water plant in an apparent malicious cyber attack. Via Washington Post.
2011.11.19
A second experiment confirms faster-than-light neutrinos, in apparent contradiction to one of Einstein's postulates. Via Washington Post.
2011.11.19
The cloud music services of iTunes vs. Google vs. Amazon. A review from Mashable.com.
2011.11.18
Another study shows that beer, consumed in moderation, has health benfits similar to those of wine. Via Huffington Post.
2011.11.17
Anecdotal evidence that more women are drinking craft beer. According to Tuscarora Mill, in Leesburg, Virginia, more than 70% of their beer dinners are filled by women.
2011.11.17
Congress declares pizza a vegetable. Via Notions Capitol.
2011.11.17
It's full circle for Hugh Sisson, owner of Heavy Seas Brewing Company. The Heavy Seas Ale House to debut in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, in spring 2012. Via Beer in Baltimore.com.
2011.11.16
NPR’s word-game program, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," to make TV debut in December. Via Washington Post.
2011.11.16
Doyle Bramhall Sr., Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborator and drummer, has died at age 62. Via AOL Music.
2011.11.16
Alan Mcleod at A Good Beer Blog announces The 2011 Xmas Photo Contest. Submit your photos by 10 December.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Cool Yule #12! Beer Books for 2011: The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent

2011-11-20T10:36:00.013-05:00

Around this time of year in 2009, I compiled a list of 12 Beer Books for Christmas. Here's how I described the project:

This is not a Top 12 list. It is my list of 12 beer books, personal delights. On Christmas Day: put your feet up, pour yourself a good beer, and read a good book. Better yet: give a friend the gift of a beer and a book.

I would still recommend any of those books, but I have created a new list this year, with different choices (including a guest blogger's selection). Some of the books have been published this year, while others are worthy chestnuts. I'll announce my choice for this year's #1 Cool Yule Beer Book on the Winter Solstice, 22 December 2011. That's time too brief to arrange shipping by Christmas (unless available as an e-book), but time sufficient to pay a visit to your local brick and mortar, and book, store.

And, so, to begin ... cue 12 drummers, drumming.

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Cool Yule! 12 Beer Books for 2011: #12

The Story of Brewing in Burton on Trent
Roger Protz
The History Press, UK: 2011
ISBN: 0752460633

When beer writer Michael Jackson was still with us, his fellow countryman Roger Protz was often thought of as 'that other' British beer writer, prolific and well-spoken, not really an historian but more of a reporter. He's taken some bashing recently for misstatements of beer history, which were the result of repeating stories from non-original source materials. Something we all do, from time-to-time.

The story of brewing in the small Midland, England, town of Burton-on-Trent truly is in the water. From the time of St. Modwen, who noticed the curative aspect of the waters and would later save the future Alfred the Great from scurvy, to the time of Pale Ales for India —ales of pale color, great hop-infused flavor, and clarity— the town of Burton-on-Trent, Protz writes, was known for its water, rich in dissolved sulfates.

He tells the story of the town's rise to a brewing metropolis in the 19th century, small in population, but giant in industrial influence, to its demise, in the 20th century as a brewing behemoth, and finally, to the 21st century, when a few remnants of its brewing heritage are thriving and a small-scale revival has begun.

At Marston's, they call the union rooms ["nothing to do with trade unions"], with due reverence, the 'Cathedrals of Brewing'. It's the last brewery to use a system that singled out Burton in the nineteenth century as the citadel of pale ale. The unions cleanse fermenting beers of yeast but, along with the Trent Valley's singular waters, also help create a unique aroma and flavour: a powerful waft of sulfur that gives way to a complex palate of biscuity malt, spicy hops, and a hint of tart fruit. While Bass' old union sets now languish in a car park alongside the National Brewery Centre, Marston's remains true to a method of fermentation that it believes is critical to producing true Burton pale ale. The unions survive at Marston's not for reasons of nostalgia —they are expensive to maintain, requiring top-quality oak and resident coopers to repair the casks— but because they create fine beer and give the brewery its now iconic status.

Protz repeats some tropes, but generally adheres to recent beer-history scholarship. As one example of error: hops are not grown in the US Pacific northwest because the climate is wet, as Protz writes, but because it is dry, providing an inhospitable environment for hop-hurting micro-pests.

But, these are only quibbles. Protz writes in a straight-forward, non breathless manner, telling a good story. Re-read his paragraph above on Marston's in Burton. It gives you history and description. As good beer writing should do, it makes you thirsty for the beer.

Cool Yule 2011: the full list.

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For on-line purchasing, I link to the Brewers Association book store, or to the marvelous resource, BeerBooks.com. When not available there, or if published as an ebook, I link to Amazon.com.
The 12 Books for Christmas 2009: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: Fog at National Airport

2011-11-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

Drizzle and mist enshroud Washington National Airport. The photo was taken looking north from Daingerfield Island (which is not an island), in Alexandria, Virginia. Note the raindrops on the camera lens.

16 November 2011.

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I prefer to refer to the airport by its earlier, less unwieldy name.
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission,as per Creative Commons.

No longer a secret: Heavy Seas Ale House to open in spring of 2012.

2011-11-18T22:08:00.002-05:00

Hugh Sisson can sure keep a secret.

Sisson is a loquacious fellow, the founder and managing partner of brewery Heavy Seas, in Baltimore, Maryland. I sat next to him Wednesday evening, as he hosted a Heavy Seas beer dinner at Wildfire Restaurant, in Tyson's Corner, Virginia ... but he dropped not one hint about his big news. A theater major in college, Sisson delivered a hilarious oration of "Our Beer, who art in heaven." But, not one clue about his upcoming announcement.

It was not until the following morning, that I would read this press release, as reported by Brad Klipner at his Beer in Baltimore blog:

A new and unique restaurant is on the Baltimore dining horizon, the Heavy Seas Ale House. The 4,900 sq. ft. space is located at The Tack Factory, 1300 Bank Street, convenient to Harbor East, Little Italy, Fells Point, and the Inner Harbor.

Heavy Seas Ale House will allow patrons to tap into the Heavy Seas Beer experience in a brick and mortar extension of the pyratical brand. Developed by Patrick Dahlgren, a Baltimore City restaurateur and stepson of Hugh Sisson, the concept is a natural extension of the Heavy Seas locally brewed beer. Hugh Sisson is the owner of Clipper City Brewing Company (the brewer of Heavy Seas Beer) and former owner of the much beloved Federal Hill institution, Sisson’s, which was also Maryland’s first brewpub.

Other points of interest: a 40 foot bar, 8 taps (and a cask line), a full kitchen for lunch and dinner (including a raw bar), and an outdoor beer garden. The projected opening is early spring 2012. Read the rest of the press release here.

It's a full circle for Sisson. He got into the beer business at his family's eponymous Baltimore, Maryland, restaurant, in the early 1980s, after graduating from college.

He recounts the story of how, on only his first day at the pub, his father, Al, tossed him the keys at the end of the evening, and said: "It's your baby, now, Hugh. Don't f*%^$ it up!"

A few years later, after successfully lobbying the Maryland legislature to change the law forbidding brewing in restaurants, he would add brewing equipment, establishing Sisson's as the first brewpub to operate in Maryland (and, in fact, preceding any in Virginia or Washington, D.C.). In 1995, he would sell his stake back to his family, and open Clipper City Brewing (now known as Heavy Seas).

The soon-to-open Heavy Seas Ale House is not a franchise. Although headed by Sisson's stepson, it is a wholly independent operation, separate from the brewery, but granted a license to use the Heavy Seas logo and branding. This is similar to the Dogfish Head Alehouses, licensed to use the name by the brewery, but owned and operated separately.

Maryland law prohibits Sisson from owning a retail operation because of his large stake in Heavy Seas Brewing Co., previously known as Clipper City Brewing Co. But he said licensing his brand will enable him to have the retail operation to help better brand his beers.

“I have for years wanted to have some sort of retail branding platform, many breweries do,” Sisson said. His company will sell beer to Heavy Seas Ale House. “They don’t get any additional perks,” he said. Sisson said he could expand the licensing of his brand if it’s successful.

Baltimore Business Journal

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Website: heavyseasalehouse.com
Twitter: @heavyseasalehse
Facebook
Other mentions of the opening include those at Baltimore Beer Guy and at "The Original" Baltimore Beer.com, where Alexander D. Mitchell IV, as a good journalist, 'sat' on his inside information, until the story was released. He is sleuthing stories on other potential openings.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

VeggieDag Thursday: Waiter, there's NO animal in my beer.

2011-11-17T23:06:00.005-05:00

VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on an animal-free diet and its issues.

A Washington, D.C. restaurant recently announced that they would present a "five course vegan dinner paired with five vegan craft beers." [emphasis mine] A dietary vegan consumes no animal flesh, or food derived from an animal. Is beer vegan?

Beer, at its essence, is brewed simply from four things: water, barley malt, hops, and yeast. Barley malt is a cereal grain that has been sprouted and dried. Water, well, it's a ubiquitous liquid. A hop is an herb. Yeast is a unicellular fungus. There's no animal in that recipe. Occasionally other things make their way into beer: cereal grains, such as rice, corn, wheat, sorghum, etc.: sugars; fruits; vegetables; spices. But, even so: there is no animal in beer. It is, indeed, vegan. The restaurant's promotion appears to have been redundant ballyhoo.

Or was it?

Animals can, at times, slither into a beer, but only during the processing of the beer. Fining agents are ingredients used to assist in the clarification of beer. Three common finings are gelatin, isinglass, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone. The last, PVPP for short, is a nylon-type powdered plastic that bonds to haze-forming compounds. Not an animal!

Gelatin and isinglass are, however, animal derived: gelatin, usually from pigs' hooves, and isinglass, from the swim bladders of various fish, usually sturgeon. Both are positively charged, yeast is negatively charged. The collagen 'attracts' yeast which sticks to it. Then by the 'dust-bunny' principle (otherwise known as Stokes' Law), the clumps get larger and larger, and fall to the bottom of the vessel, pulling along haze-forming proteins for the rid, clarifying the beer. The beer is racked (transferred) from over the sediment, and then, often, filtered. Thus, finished beer contains NO ANIMAL product.

Furthermore, the use of gelatin is very rare these days, and isinglass, increasingly so. Most small breweries rely instead on gravity and filtration, or only the former, while larger breweries employ centrifuges.

There is one, major, exception. From Ian Ward, in The Oxford Companion to Beer:

With the advances in centrifugation and filtration technologies, the use of isinglass [and gelatin] has declined and today it is largely confined to cask-conditioned ales, although some American craft brewers also use it to clarify beer without the use of filtration.

So there you have it. Beer is vegan. Except in unfiltered cask-conditioned real ale. Or, is it?

In August 2011, ten brewers from Washington, D.C, Maryland, and northern Virginia brought cask ales to the District Chophouse, in Washington, D.C. for Cask Night, a festivity that was part of DC Beer Week. That confluence gave me the opportunity to ask many brewers the same two questions. Are your beers vegan? Are your cask beers vegan?

The breweries present were:

Capital City Brewing Company, of Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.

District Chophouse, of Washington, D.C.

Du Claw Brewing, of Bel Air, Maryland, etc.

Franklin's Restaurant & Brewery, of Hyattsville, Maryland.

Gordon-Biersch Brewery & Restaurant, of Rockville, Maryland.

Heavy Seas Brewing, of Baltimore, Maryland.

Lost Rhino Brewing, of Ashburn, Virginia.

Mad Fox Brewing Company, of Falls Church, Virginia.

Oliver Ales, at the Pratt Street Alehouse, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rock Bottom Brewery & Restaurant, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Sweetwater Tavern, of Centreville and Merifield, Virginia.

Brewers from all except one confirmed that they use NO isinglass (or gelatin, or any other animal-derived product) during the brewing and fermenting of their beer. And, all, except two, use NO isinglass (or any other animal-derived product) in their cask-conditioned beer.

The exceptions?

Mad Fox Brewing —a brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia— does fine its cask ales with isinglass. But, brewer Charlie Buettner told me, the brewery uses NO insinglass in its non-cask-conditioned beers.

Steve Jones —brewer for Oliver Ales at the Pratt Street Alehouse in Baltimore, Maryland— couldn't be present at the event, but a cask of his ridiculously delicious Strongman Pale Ale was. On a different occasion, he told me that he does, indeed, proudly, use isinglass in both the brewery and in his casks. Proudly, because Jones is a British ex-pat, and the use of isinglass has a long tradition in British brewing and cask ales.

In an ironic twist, Steve Jones is a vegetarian. Does he drink his cask ale, clarified with isinglass? "Of course," he replied. "We all draw our lines somewhere, but I don't draw that line to exclude cask ale."

So, drink assured, vegans! Beer is a vegan beverage ... most of the time. Do brewers proffer a sacrificial lamb before each brew to propitiate Nikasi and the other gods of beer? No!

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The sample size of this survey is of course quite small. Unfortunately, neither the Brewers Association —a trade association for US-owned breweries of less than 2 million barrels annual production— nor any other entity keeps statistics on cask ale and such things.
Other animals have been used in beer.
- "Cock ale, popular in 17th and 18th-century England, was an ale whose recipe consisted of normal ale brewed inside a container, to which was later added a bag stuffed with a parboiled, skinned and gutted cock." [rooster].
- Oyster Stout can simply be a strong dark ale which a brewery will recommend to be drunk while eating raw oysters, or less frequently, be a stout actually brewed with the mollusk. These days, the former is no longer brewed (!), while the latter is occasionally seen.
VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here.
Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks welcomed! Here.

More than half way there!

2011-11-16T09:01:00.002-05:00

Thirty days hath November, the month also known to some as NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. The idea is to post at least once per day, substantively.

I attempted the feat last year, but survived only through Day 15. With this post today (admittedly, somewhat of a place-holder), I'm one day further along than I was in 2010. Fourteen posts remain. As I wrote: There's beer yet to be drunk, stories to be told.

In the U.S., toasting Belgian Beer Royalty today

2011-11-15T10:46:00.004-05:00

Today is the King's Feast ...

the country of Belgium celebrates its King, the monarchy and the sovereign. This holiday was first established in 1866, roughly 35 years after achieving independence from Holland, the last of the 13 overlords that dominated the country. Even though they were ruled by so many other countries, they never absorbed into them and were able to hold onto things that were culturally important, one of them being beer.
CraftBeer.org

Celebrate here in the U.S., today, with an organized coast-coast toast.

Well, actually it's a virtual toast with Wendy Littlefield and Don Feinberg, but you might easily consider them beer royalty. Thirty years ago, the duo founded Vanberg & DeWulf to import Belgian beers. Try to remember a thirsty time without much Begian beer in the US, and 30 years ago would be just about right. Before Wendy and Don, there was no Duvel here, no Scaldis, no Saison Dupont.

Since then, Wendy and Don have been enthusiastic proponents of biere vivant, of good living with beer. Check their website for cooking with beer, for example. They were the original importers of the gorgeous sour red ale Rodenbach. And, they were the founders and original owners of Ommegang, a beautiful farmhouse brewery in Cooperstown, New York, one of the first breweries in U.S. to exclusively brew Belgian-style ales.

Nearly 400 restaurants, bars, and beer shops across the U.S. are participating. Go here for the list. (Be sure to click on "more" at the bottom of the page.) Follow on Twitter at @belgianexpert, and on Facebook.

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Participants in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland, area include:
Aida Bistro & Wine Bar
Alonso's Restaurant
Brasserie Beck
The Brewer's Art
Churchkey
Hudson Street Stackhouse
Max's Taphouse
Metropolitan Cafe
Baltimore-based Belgian beer guru Chuck Cook will celebrate at The Brewer's Art, in Baltimore, Maryland, airing a video he's produced on Brasserie Dupont.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 45, 2011.

2011-11-14T22:59:00.020-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Week 45
6 November - 12 November 2011

2011.11.11
Veterans Day proclamation and observances. Via U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
2011.11.11
Major League Baseball Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos freed from kidnappers in Venezuela. Via TIME.
2011.11.11
Frederick, Maryland's Brewers Alley opens new 20,000-bbl production brewery: Monocacy Brewing.
2011.11.11
Baltimore, Maryland's National Premium beer to be revived -again. New owner looking for local brewery to brew it. Via Baltimore Sun.
2011.11.11
Craft beer volume grows in 2100, but slightly slower than 2011, due to higher pricing (based on supermarket sales). Via Brewers Association.
2011.11.11
Evolution Brewery to open in Salisbury, Maryland, in 2012. The restaurant to open in January; brewing to start in February.
2011.11.10
Scandal continues. Joe Paterno fired as head coach of Penn State football team. Via ESPN.
2011.11.10
Wet weather in Canada to drought in UK: malting barley prices to rise as harvest hopes wane. Via Agrimoney.
2011.11.10
Steak or Veggie Burger: Which is Greener? Via Mother Jones
2011.11.09
National Emergency Alert System does not perform well in first test. Via Mashable.
2011.11.08
British beer writer Roger Protz reviews "The Oxford Companion to Beer" as "hard to put down."
2011.11.08
Farmers and 'farm-breweries' attempting to revive hop industry, beer 'terroir,' in upstate New York. Via New York Times.
2011.11.08
Fire put out at Colorado's New Belgium Brewery in old grain silo. No injuries.
2011.11.08
"The problem with guides to beer drinking is that there just aren't enough." The Atlantic reviews "The Oxford Companion to Beer".
2011.11.07
Rare Belgian Trappiste Abbey beer, Westvleteren, coming to the US in April 2012. Via Brewbound.
2011.11.06
New signs that Maryland wine is being taken seriously. Via Washington Post.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Fresh-hopped is not Nouveau

2011-11-13T23:01:00.022-05:00

Fresh hop beers —sometimes called wet hop beers— are named for their liberal infusion with just-picked hops, still wet from the fields, rushed to the brewery. Those U.S. breweries close to hop fields —such as in Oregon and Washington— can arrange timely pickup and delivery. Those further afield will pay the postage.

In an essay posted at CraftBeerMuses.com, here's how Andy Sparhawk describes them:

Fresh hop beer (FHB) comprises a loose category of beers that utilize "green" hops of the yearly harvest. Adding fresh hops to a recipe produces a character in beer that cannot be duplicated at any time other than during the hop harvest. Often the freshly picked hops go into the brewing process within a few short hours, depending on the source of these hops.

Fresh-hopped beers show a juicy grassy 'greeness' that is quite striking. Beers brewed with 'standard' hops —cured for storage and shipping stability— have less that and more a spicy and floral tone (and citrusy, in the case of US hops).

Some farmers and 'farm-breweries' are attempting to revive small-scale hop-growing in areas where it has become moribund, such as the mid-Atlantic and upstate New York. Fresh-hop beers there will be true harvest ales, rather than expected commodities, Sparhawk points out.

So far, so good.

But then, Sparhawk pulls out a nonsensical trope. Maybe, it's not his fault: I've heard other 'beer' people do the same. He equates the rush of hops from field to brewery to the rush of Beaujolais Nouveau wine from wineries in Burgundy, France, to wine shops here and elsewhere.

Like the Beaujolais Nouveaux, fresh hop beers are best experienced fresh, the brewing process itself though, depends on the brewer.

The beer, yes; the wine, no!

To be clear: Beaujolais (without the 'Nouveau' appendage) is a red wine fermented from the Gamay grape, fully matured in fermenter or barrel. It is a wine of bright acidity with hints of dark cherries in flavor. From good Crus, it can be a wine of great character and depth.

Beaujolais Nouveau —literally translated as "new Beaujolais"— is wine that is rushed, immature, just barely fermented, with little maturation, and often sourced from inferior grapes from lesser vineyards. It is thin and acidic, and without much flavor, depth, or complexity. It is a pressing of grapes for a quick Euro, a marketing gimmick, albeit a successful one (if less so, recently). To make any comparison between fresh-hopped beers and Beaujolais Nouveau is imply that the rush of freshly picked hops to breweries is a similar attempt to make a quick buck.

To even seem to imply an equivalence between marvelously aromatic and complex fresh-hopped beers and insipid Beaujolais Nouveau is, at best, silly. At worst, it is wine envy.

Coming as it does from Andy Sparhawk —who is the (U.S.) Brewers Association's Craft Beer Program Coordinator, a Certified Cicerone®, and a BJCP Beer Judge— it is distressing.

Stop it!

***************

Sparhawk does go on to nicely review several commercial fresh-hopped ales, and interview brewers about the process.
In my neighborhood, northern Virginia brewpub Mad Fox brewed an IPA of 7% alcohol by volume (abv), they called 2 Hemispheres. They purchased freshly-picked Australian Galaxy hops through their hop merchant, paying a premium cost for them. For the 'second' hemisphere, they purchased freshly picked Oregon Citra hops, and paid the freight themselves. The hops cost $825; the shipping almost double that at $1500.

Pic(k) of the Week: 3 Lions Lass

2011-11-12T11:47:00.005-05:00

Quiz:
The heraldic 3 Lions is:

1) The Royal Coat of Arms of England.
2) The standard of the England national football team.

or ...

3) The name of a brown ale brewed by Oliver Ales at the Pratt Street Alehouse of Baltimore, Maryland: 7.5% abv, brewed with British pale, crystal and roasted malts, and British Bramling, First Gold, and Challenger hops.

Answer:
All three.

Above, at the Pratt Street Alehouse, a representative for Cortez Cigars, exhibits her Oliver Ales 3 Lions Brown Ale temporary tattoo.

Baltimore, Maryland.
8 October 2011.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject.
Photo courtesy Derek Davis —the assistant brewer for Oliver Ales at Pratt Street— who applied the tattoo with a steady hand.
See more 'beer' tattoos: here.

2011 barley harvest down; 2012 beer prices up?

2011-11-11T23:24:00.028-05:00

There's bad news for brewers worldwide, and beer drinkers. From Agrimoney.com (a website for agricultural business and commodities news):

Malting barley is expanding its premium over wheat amid waning hopes for world supplies, with wet weather holding up Canada's sowings and drought denting prospects in Europe, where the UK set for its weakest harvest in more than 40 years.

The UK's Home Grown Cereals Authority has forecast that, even with benign growing conditions from now on, "overall malting barley availability is likely to be tight in 2011-12".

Contrary to often overwrought hang-wringing over hop availability and its effect on beer pricing, it is barley —specifically barley for malting, which, at lower yields, costs more than 'feed' barley— that, with water, is the primary ingredient cost of beer.

According to Agrimony, whereas Scotland had a bumper barley crop (most of which will go to its native whisky distilling business), most of the rest of the world did not. Including the UK and Canada (the principal supplier to the US brewing industry), harvests were low in Australia (a major barley exporter, but where many farmers have switched to wheat), Russia and Ukraine (a late spring sowing season), and France (drought). Exports may increase from Argentina, but will not be enough to offset the worldwide harvest deficits.

Whenever the price for malting barley increases, it's the smaller breweries that pay much more than the conglomerates, lacking the latter's purchasing power. If the bleak predictions hold true, scarcity will increase pricing and, it follows, decrease availability.

On Twitter, Massachusetts Notch Brewing noted that its English malt supplier has announced that Maris Otter malt will not be available per se, but blended with Spring barley, and at a higher cost. Maris Otter is an 'heirloom' variety of 'winter' malting barley, often floor-malted, and regarded by traditionalists (including me) as one if the best malts for its flavor and low nitrogen levels (less haze in cask beers). Even without a bad growing season, Maris Otter is already low-yielding, and not grown by many farmers.

The price for 'craft' beer at the consumer level has continued to increase (2.64% already this year, according to the Brewers Association), despite the ongoing economic downturn. Anticipate a bigger jump in 2012.

Most breweries adjust their pricing in January or February. Buy those 'imperials' and barleywines ... now.

VeggieDag Thursday: Beer dinner review (and the fare was vegetarian).

2011-11-10T22:03:00.004-05:00

It's been 2 months, 17 days, but who's counting? Well, I suppose I just did.

Back on August 24th, 2011, Mad Fox, a one-year old brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia, hosted its first ever vegetarian beer dinner. As a post for VeggieDag Thursday —my occasional look at an animal-free diet and its issues— here's my review.

AS the evening began, Mad Fox's side Stammtisch room was quickly filled to capacity. The more than 40 attendees comprised the largest crowd for any of the four (three, carnivore) beer dinners the pub had held. Welcome and introductions aside, executive brewer and co-owner Bill Madden would describe the beers while executive chef Russel Cunningham would describe the meals. Both would discuss the 'pairing' of flavors.

The first beer was a Kölsch, a style of 'lagered' ale that Madden told us he has been brewing, here and at other breweries in the northern Virginia area, for over 15 years. He has won several awards for it. Madden imports a yeast from Weihenstephan in Germany, specific to the style. The beer was golden in hue, 4.8% alcohol by volume (abv), with a soft floral hop presence, and a slightly grain-sweet flavor. It finished dry with a floral aftertaste.

With the Kölsch, Chef Cunningham served a Chilled Fruit Soup of cantaloupe, papaya, ginger (a lot!), a non-dairy yogurt made from coconut, and a lecithin foam of grapefruit and pineapple.

Separately, the beer and the soup, were delightful. Together: neither complimentary nor hurtful.

Next up was English Summer Ale and an Heirloom Tomato Salad.

Madden explained that Summer Ale is a new 'style' of beer popularized in the UK by newer craft brewers who brew a lighter-colored 'bitter' ale, using American hops. The pub's version was golden and 5.4% alcohol-by-volume, brewed with German Pilsner malt and a bit of wheat malt, and hopped with citra hops, a new U.S. varietal that many find to have an orange taste and aroma.

The salad was arranged with multi-colored heirloom tomatoes from Hummingbird Farms, of Ridgely, Maryland, grilled hearts of palm, and 'micro-greens,' all tossed with a house-made vinaigrette of pumpkin-seed oil and Orange Whip, the pub's IPA, brewed with Citra hops.

I'm not a fan of Citra hops: I find their aroma and flavor to be a weird mixture of artificial orange scent and anise, but I'm in the minority. This pairing of salad and beer, however, demonstrated the ineffable character of such things. Together, there was no single point of pleasure or displeasure, but a tasty melding of citrus and tomato.

The third course served was a Quinoa and Black Bean Cake and a Saison ale.

The 'cake' was deliciously 'meaty' tasting, topped with a spicy green onion sauce. The tempura vegetables were sparingly battered, just right. Another sauce —pureed bell peppers, curry powder, garlic, cilantro, and orange juice 'gelled' with agar-agar (not the yogurt as the printed menu stated)— was served on the side. Both sauces were terrific. The tandem was one flavor too many.

Madden's Saison was a good foil for all the spiciness. 6.1% abv, crisp, yet medium-bodied, with a spicy and 'lemony' flavor and finish, derived, Madden told us, from the French yeast he uses to ferment the beer.

For the fourth course, Madden served his Big Chimneys Robust Porter. He named it for the first permanent building in Falls Church, erected in 1699, and noted for its two chimneys. A porter is a dark ale, not quite as roasty as a stout. And Big Chimneys indeed was that: 6% abv, a character of bakers chocolate, toasted bread, and a hint of dark fruit and earthiness. Madden told us that the yeast he uses drops quickly out of the beer after fermentation, yielding a 'bright' beer without filtration. He hops the porter with First Gold, a favorite varietal of his, he told us. First Gold, grown in England, is a dwarf hop, its bines half the height of 'standard' hops. Madden likes its earthy, woody flavor that he finds similar to another English hop, East Kent Goldings.

Cunningham created a Vegetable Wellington to accompany the Porter. He filled a puff pastry with couscous, zucchini, squash, and local mushrooms (button, cremini, shitake) soaked in cognac. He finished it with an apple-carrot/ginger puree, and flash-fried spinach shreds, with grilled local white asparagus, and a crscent-shaped streak of tomato 'water' set in agar-agar, on the side. For two vegan diners, he served a similar Wellington but in a phyllo pastry, containing no egg or dairy.

When talking about pairing beer and food, descriptors can become somewhat fanciful. Suffice it to say, that this pairing 'worked.' The flavors of the porter and the Wellignton did not overwhelm each other, but were similar enough (roasty, earthy) that they complemented each other, creating an experience greater than the sum of the two. This was my favorite dish of the evening, and a consensus favorite of other diners. When one asked if it might be added to the pub's 'regular' menu, Cunningham concurred: "Soon."

Then, it was time for dessert: Wee Heavy Scotch Ale with Chocolate & Berry Crème Brûlée.

"It's pure joy for me to brew Wee Heavy," Madden told us. He first brewed it in 1996 for Capitol City Brewpub in Washington, D.C. There, an inefficient kettle required a long day. The boil would last for more than six hours. Madden pointed out that he's married now. (His wife Beth is a co-investor. Her maiden name —Fox— is half the pub's name: "She's the fox; I'm mad," Madden laughs.) The better equipment at Mad Fox has reduced the boil time by half. Shorter brew days are more conducive to a successful marriage, he said. The beer has garnered Madden several awards, some of which are displayed at the pub.

The Wee Heavy was 8.6% alcohol by volume, hopped with First Gold; the grist was English pale malt with only a "touch" of crystal and roasted malts. The result was marvelous: an ale, deep reddish-brown, with flavors of chocolate and dark fruit (think Concord grapes and plums). There's been so much demand for the beer, which has won Madden awards in the past, that he brews it throughout the year, where he once offered it only as a 'Winter Warmer.' Madden told us that some of the Wee Heavy he also matures in oak barrels that have held bourbon and whiskey. These can be seen in the main dining room.

Chef Cunningham's dessert was the Brûlée, a caramelized chocolate custard finished with a reduction of blueberries, raspberries, a and strawberries. For vegans, he brought out a chocolate-ginger cookie, topped with chocolate/soy milk foam, and with a dollop of coconut milk ice cream on the side.

Unfortunately, the dessert simply overwhelmed the Scotch Ale, surprising for a beer of such strength and depth of flavor. There was, fortunately, a simple remedy. Take a taste of the Crème Brûlée. Wait. Take a sip of the Wee Heavy. Wait. Repeat.

At evening's end, Chef Cunningham brought out his sous chefs. They and Madden, and the serving staff, received strong applause. It was a delicious dinner, and I and others made a point of thanking them. A vegetarian beer dinner is a rare thing. Being a non-animal eater, I can only hope for more!

Here, Cunningham (l) and Madden (r) relax afterward.
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More photos from the dinner: here.
An earlier post about the dinner, with a reference to another vegetarian beer dinner: here.

The ... Worst ... Beer ... Bar ... In ... The ... Country

2011-11-09T23:37:00.001-05:00

My friend Russ, a retired engineer, lives north of Baltimore City, Maryland. He loves tinkering on his cars. Ten years ago had a 25th birthday party for Sunshine, a Alfa Romeo, still roadworthy. He loves 'session' beers —milds and bitters— served cask-conditioned.

With an engineer's love of detail, he recounts great stories in a deliberate manner of speaking. One such, Russ left as a message on my voice mail. Granted his permission, I've transcribed it below, word-for-word.

Tom, there's no need to call me back. I just wanted to tell you that I have found a pinnacle, or, actually, a nadir.

It is very tough to find the best —and tough to define the best— beer bar in the country. But, at present, I am sitting in the worst ... unquestionably, the worst beer bar in the country. It can only be a question of magnitude.

There are six taps at **** Bar on **** Road. All ... six ... taps ... are ... Miller Lite. It cannot get any worse than that.

Oh, yes, it could! All six could be Natty Boh Lite —if there is such a thing.

***************

This reminds me of the Cheese Shop episode from Monty Python.
I've redacted the name of the bar (located north of Baltimore) to protect the guilty.

Full house for casks in Falls Church, Va.

2011-11-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

The 'quiet' cask festival got quite noisy this evening at Mad Fox Brewing Company.

Even when it's not a festival at this brewpub, in the heart of Falls Church, Virginia, there are six hand-pump beer engines arranged behind the bar for serving house-brewed cask ale. Bartenders pour from three of the lines, while allowing additional casks to come into 'proper condition' on the other three. Serve no cask ale before its time.

But, from 4-11 November, brewmaster/owner Bill Madden and brewer Charlie Buettner have invited other breweries to send their cask beers as well, to be served through the pub's cask system, as part of Mad Fox Cask Week.

Tonight, the pair invited local brewers to attend. I saw representatives and brewers from Dominion, Flying Dog, Gordon-Biersch, Growlers, Lost Rhino (who arrived in style, in a stretch limousine), Port City, St. George, and Sweetwater Tavern.

Pictured above, are:

Bill Butcher (l), owner of Port City Brewing, of Alexandria, Virginia;
Kevin Blodger (c), brewer for Gordon-Biersch Brewery & Restaurant, of Rockville, Maryland;
Bill Madden (r).

The cask ales were:

Oliver Ales, Baltimore Maryland: Cask Punk (dry-hopped with Cascade hops)
Old Dominion Brewing, Dover, Delaware: Baltic Porter (dry-hopped with Perle and Bravo hops)
Lost Rhino Brewing, Ashburn, Virginia: Face Plant IPA (dry-hopped with locally grown Columbus hops)
Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, North Carolina: Brown Ale
Mad Fox Rye Baby Pale Ale (80 IBUs)
Heavy Seas Brewing, Baltimore, Maryland: Winter Storm Imperial ESB (wet-hopped with West Coast Cascade hops)

The pub was filled to capacity. I'd like to say everyone was a real ale fancier, but a large continent was comprised of Democrats, celebrating the local election returns and lamenting the Virginia results. I didn't ask if they were real ale fans.

There is no entrance fee for Mad Fox Cask Week; simply pay for the beer you order. Casks from other breweries have been served before tonight; several others will be tapped through the end of the festival on Friday, the 11th. For more details, go to the website or Facebook page.

***************

See more photos: here.
IBU is an acronym for International Bittering Unit, a measure of the bittering power of hops in beer. Just as sweet can balance sour in cooking, so the sweetness of malted barley can balance hop bitterness in brewing. 80 BUs, however, as in the Rye Baby Pale Ale from Mad Fox, does indicate a beer with a healthy smack of bitterness.
Dry-hopping refers to a process of adding hops to a finished beer rather than during boiling. It's akin to a cook adding basil to a pasta sauce on the plate rather than when cooking. Hops, like basil, are an herb.
Wet-hopping refers to using very fresh hops within days or hours after they have been picked, rather than after having been cured and stored.
I was in attendance, not only as a fan of real ale, but in my 'official' capacity as a representative for Select Wines, Inc., the distributor of the beers of Heavy Seas Brewing and Oliver Ales, in northern Virginia.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 44, 2011.

2011-11-07T06:46:00.002-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Week 44
30 October - 5 November 2011

2011.11.05
Andy Rooney, longtime 60 Minutes commentator, has died at age 92. "Andy Rooney was a cranky old curmudgeon who did not suffer fools gladly." Via Jack Curtin.
2011.11.05
The end of an era: crabcakes, beer, & big hair. Baltimore, Maryland's famous Obrycki's Restaurant closes its doors. Via Baltimore Sun

2011.11.30
As of today, 7 billion humans live on the Earth. Via MarketPlace Radio.
2011.11.03
A Wharton School analysis on cores of beers at RateBeer.com. Why certain beers and breweries do better than others. Via Washington Post Food.
2011.11.03
The California wine-grape harvest occurred later than usual this year. The growing season was relatively cool with spring rains. Yields per acre were smaller than usual. Predictions are for wines of higher quality. Via Reuters.
2011.11.03
The Washington Post review of The Oxford Companion to Beer: a comprehensive tome, but it may need a Fact Checker for its 2nd edition. wapo.st/uJvAnn
2011.11.03
From Baltimore, Maryland's Oxford Brewing Co, to The Beer Factory in Petah Tikva: Israel is experiencing a craft beer movement. Via The Jewish Chronicle.
2011.11.03
Female brewmasters are busting stereotypes in the 'craft' beer world. Via Slate.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Elevating cask ale

2011-11-06T10:30:00.001-05:00

Most pubs and brewpubs in the U.S. serving cask-conditioned real ales keep their casks in refrigerated units under the bar counter or in a a cold room, out-of-sight from most of their customers. The beer is pulled to the bar spigot —without extraneous carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas— via a handpump known as a 'beer engine.'

There's, of course, nothing wrong with a beer engine, but there's no magic connected with its use either. It does nothing to preserve or protect the beer. In fact, it's not a powered engine at all, but a simple conveyance: a hand-operated piston pump that pulls beer from one location to another. When a 'sparkler' is attached to the spigot, the beer engine helps create a pretty head on the beer. It does so, however, at the expense of the carbonation (already scant) in the beer.

Sitting at the bar among 'standard' CO2 taps, the lever of a beer engine can appear to the cask-uninitiated to be just another tap, if a tad unusual. But at The Great Dane Brewpub —at its downtown Madison, Wisconsin, location, within sight of the state's Capitol dome— even a casual glance reveals its elevated casks to be something apart.

Four firkins (10.8 gallon casks) of Black Watch Scotch Ale sit behind and above the bar, in full view of customers.

Yellow arrows
No lifting of full casks over one's head. a winch and pulley system is used to raise and lower the firkins.
Red arrow

A tap has been hammered into the keystone of the firkin. The bartender simply gives the tap a quarter-turn and the beer flows out. This is called a gravity tap.
Notice that only beer from that one cask is being served. The other casks are coming into condition, that is: the the cask has been vented to bring the the level of carbonation to a proper equilibrium and to give the solids in the beer (yeast, protein break, hops) time to settle below the tap so that the beer will be 'bright' and unmurky when served. A shower of beer out of the shive bung might be dramatic but is poor cellarmanship: wasteful and injurious to he quality of the beer.
Not 'arrowed' is an ash mallet which is used to hammer in the taps. It can be seen resting, waiting, between the 2nd and 3rd casks.
Orange arrow
A copper drip bucket sits under the tap. No muss, no fuss! By the way, there could have been casks of other beers set in place on the shelf. Cask-conditioned real ale is a method of serving a beer, not necessarily of any particular beer style. Great Dane serves Black Watch only as real ale, not 'standard' draft.
Blue arrow
Part of the appeal of cask-conditioned real ale is that no extraneous gas —be it CO2 or nitrogen— is added to the beer. It is served as it was when it fermented.
When a cask is vented, air is allowed to enter the top shive bung of the cask so that beer can be poured from the tap in the keystone. If a cask is emptied within 24 hours, that is not a problem; longer than that and the beer may become sour from airborne contaminants and go flat, lose its carbonation.
The arrow points to the cask end of a device called a cask breather: a diaphragm valve that provides a blanket of protective carbon dioxide over a cask ale but at zero additional pressure. One end is connected to a tank of carbon dioxide; the other to the tut in the top shive bung. When beer is pulled or poured from a cask, the valve opens allowing an identical volume of CO2 to flow into the cask —at barometric pressure, thus, at 0 psi— and sit atop the remaining beer. The beer gains no additional pressure.
Yellow arrow
A pernicious, if common misconception, is that cask-conditioned real ale is served at room temperature. This is so not true. Doing so would be quite un-refreshing. Real ale is served at what is known as 'cellar' temperature: 50-54 °F. Not as cold as draft service, this temperature allows the fuller flavors of the cask ale to be expressed. But it is definitely not warm!
The yellow arrow points to a coolant line. It runs to twisted copper saddles which straddle each cask underneath their black insulated jackets. The coolant keeps the beer inside the firkins a cool cellar temperature.
White arrow
The firkin sits on spring-loaded trestle known as a 'auto-tilt.' When the cask is full, it depresses the spring and sits nearly horizontally. As it is drained, the spring releases accordingly, allowing the cask to tilt at an ever greater angle. A publican wouldn't want to serve the final dregs from a cask, but there is a substantial amount of beer which is still bright and clear sitting beneath the level of thekeystone and tap which she would want to serve.

Oh, and the Black Watch Scotch Ale itself? Dark russet in color, with flavors of dark fruit (almost Concord grape), bourbon, and caramel malt. 6.2% alcohol-by-volume (abv). Great Dane also offers a cask ale pulled via beer engine. See more photos from my August 2009 visit to the brewpub: here.

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Fobbing at the Tut

This post is one in a series on Cask Ale: Fobbing at the Tut.

Pic(k) of the Week: Haiku for an Autumn Afternoon

2011-11-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Lothlorien's lamp
Illuminates gloaming's tree.
One last glance. Then, gone.

northern Virginia.
24 October 2011.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Commercial use requires explicit permission,as per Creative Commons.

The beer I didn't want to like (Beer Blogging Friday)

2011-11-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

The Session is a monthly event for the beer blogging community begun in March of 2007 by Stan Hieronymus of Appellation Beer and Jay Brooks of the Brookston Beer Bulletin.

On the first Friday of every month, one beer blogger hosts The Session: Beer Blogging Friday. He or she chooses a specific, beer-related topic, invites all bloggers to write on it, and posts a roundup of all the responses received.

For more information, view the archive page.

For November 2011, Steve Lamond —at the blog Beers I've Known— hosted the 57th iteration of The Session. His topic was "Beery Confessions: Guilty Secrets/Guilty Pleasure Beer".

One of the things I most enjoy about blogs and personal writing in general is the ability to have a window into another's life, in a semi-voyeuristic way. So I'd like to know your beery guilty secrets. Did you have a particularly embarassing first beer (in the same way that some people purchase an atrocious song as their first record) or perhaps there's still a beer you return to even though you know you shouldn't? Or maybe you don't subscribe to the baloney about feeling guilty about beers and drink anything anyway?

You're also welcome to write about bad drinking experiences you've had as a result of your own indulgence or times when you've been completely wrong about a beer but not yet confessed to anyone that you've changed your mind.

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In the early aughts, I vacationed in Colorado, and drank Fat Tire —an amber ale and the flagship beer of New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado— on draft and in bottle at several rural bars far removed from urban attitudes. I wasn't impressed with the beer —it was a quotidien amber ale, after all— but I was impressed that Fat Tire seemed nearly as prevalent as was Coors, the behemoth of Colorado. In other words, Coloradans, with all their choices of 'craft' beer, were embracing Fat Tire as their own.

It took another decade, not until August of 2011, for New Belgium to begin to distribute its beers here in Virginia. In the intervening years, one would hear paens to Fat Tire's excellence, whispered in hushed tones of reverence. Or loud sarcastic put-downs from 'craft' beer snobs: "Flat [sic] Tire, it's nothing."

I may have been in the latter camp. There were too many choices for full-flavored beers, imported and local — here in the mid-Atlantic U.S.— for me to have given a drinker's whit for yet another 'amber ale.' I was turned off by all the hype about Fat Tire's advent. Furthermore, I am a representative for a wine and beer distributor in northern Virginia that does NOT sell the beers of New Belgium. Thus I had an occupational reason to dislike the beer.

But, in an attempt to maintain a beer blogger's unbiased credibility, I dutifully purchased a bottle of Fat Tire, popped it open one evening after work in early September, poured it in a glass, and sipped. And ...

"Hey, Mikey, " I liked it.

Why? Because the beer tasted fresh.

Despite having been shipped a couple of thousand miles, despite sitting in a wholesaler's warehouse and on a supermarket floor, this Fat Tire tasted as fresh as an amber ale might in a local brewpub. An initial aroma of piney hops and sweet fruit —not overpowering but assuredly evident. Then flavors of gently toasted bread sprinkled with brown sugar. Finally a dry —but again, not assertive— finish of piney hop bitterness.

I cannot emphasize enough the startling freshness of the beer in the bottle. There are many 'craft' breweries that produce much more assertive beers —including New Belgium itself, which brews several Belgianesque beers. But there are very few 'craft' breweries with the acumen —that obviously New Belgium has— to preserve that just-brewed-at-the-brewery freshness in a bottle, opened many miles and days removed from the brewery.

New Belgium can be lauded for its technological 'greenness' and for its benighted treatment of its employees. But, don't forget its beers.

***************

Fat Tire Amber Ale
New Belgium Brewing: Fort Collins, Colorado.
The brewery's description: "toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness. 5.2% abv. Serve at 7 °C (45 °F)."
Bottle purchased at a northern Virginia supermarket: 4 September 2011.
Eric Delia at Virginia blog Relentless Thirst looked at the market power of New Belgium.
Irony alert: Note the beer glass into which I poured the Fat Tire. It's been turned around, but the top of another brand's logo peeks out over the foam. That's a beer I've liked since first tasting it in 1994.

A November Wildfire on the Heavy Seas

2011-11-03T23:19:00.001-05:00

Hugh Sisson, the founder and general partner of Heavy Seas Brewing, out of Baltimore, Maryland, has plans to brave the heavy traffic of Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Wednesday evening, 16 November, he's co-hosting a five-course dinner at Wildfire Restaurant. Sisson's co-host is Wildfire's Executive Chef Eddie Ishaq, who has designed a menu of five different courses, each to be served with a different Heavy Seas beer. Sisson and Ishaq will discuss the nuances of food-with-beer pairing, for each course specifically, and in general, as a how-to.

RECEPTION

Oven Roasted Chestnuts

Fig & gorgonzola phyllo tart, balsamic reduction drizzle

Served with Heavy Seas Winter Storm 'Category 5' Ale

The brewery styles this as an 'Imperial ESB,', that is, a ruddy-hued ale of 7.5% alcohol-by-volume (abv), balanced between a toffee-like maltiness and a blend of citrusy U.S. hops and earthy English hops.

FIRST COURSE

Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast

Acorn squash, bacon, onion confit, and a Loose Cannon glaze

Served with Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA

7.25 % abv, golden-hued, with a rich citrusy hop aroma, derived from being hopped at three different times in the brewing process, including in a hopback, in which the hop leaves are steeped as would be tea leaves in a teapot.

SECOND COURSE

Smoked Pork Shoulder

Cherry & porcini au jus, sweet potato hash

Served with Heavy Seas Smoke On The Water Imperial Smoked Porter

8 % abv, a rich and complex porter ale, dark chestnut in hue, with barley-derived flavors of bakers chocolate and roast. A subtle smokey flavor comes from the use of smoked malt. Named in tribute to the 1970s Deep Purple song with its famous guitar riff.

THIRD COURSE

Selection of Artisan Cheeses

Aged Gouda, Aged Cheddar, & Stilton.

Served with Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

A 'softer' iteration of the Imperial stout style: 8% abv deep mahogany in color, with aromas of roasted coffee, molasses, and dark chocolate. Subtly imbued with the citrusy character of US-grown hops.

DESSERT COURSE

Pumpkin Spice Soufflé

Topped with a Crème anglaise, a light custard house-made with The Great Pumpkin Ale.

Served with Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin Ale

Pumpkin pulp added to the barley mash; 125 pounds of 'pumpkin' spices (ginger, cinnamon, etc.) added to the kettle boil. 8 .5% abv.

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This post has been edited to include photos taken at the dinner. See more: here.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 42/43, 2011.

2011-11-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 42-43
16 - 29 October 2011

2011.10.28
"The most preposterous, fabulous, thrilling, all-around unbelievable World Series game of this generation." St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Texas Rangers in Game 6. Via Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.

2011.10.25
Alan McLeod of @agoodbeerblog creates a Wiki-Space for comments on, and reviews and errata corrections of The Oxford Companion to Beer.
2011.10.24
Texas based Jester King Craft Brewery sues the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for violating its 1st & 14th Amendment rights. Via BeerNews.org
2011.10.24
Benjamin Franklin did NOT write that quote attributed to him about beer. In fact, he was praising wine.
2011.10.24
More Virginia cider! In Nelson County, Bold Rock Cidery is expected to produce cider by Christmas.
2011.10.24
Yet more Virginia beer! Over 1,300 turn out for Hardywood Park Craft Brewery grand opening in Richmond, Virginia. Via VACraftBeer.com.
2011.10.24
More Virginia beer! Blue Mountain Brewery breaks ground on its new production facility in Colleen, VA. Via MusingsOverAPint.com.
2011.10.24
A slideshow of photos from the 8th annual Chesapeake Real Ale Festival, 15 October, in Baltimore, Maryland, co-organized by the Society for the Preservation of Beer from the Wood (SPBW, Chesapeake chapter) and the Pratt Street Alehouse, where the festival was held.
2011.10.23
A warning about a cellphone scam called "smishing." Via ABC News.
2011.11.21
An insider's comment on the very wet Virginia wine harvest: "There's going to be a lot of rosé in 2012."
2011.10.20
Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years until he was ousted by rebels in a bloody civil war, has been killed. Via Yahoo News.
2011.10.20
Wild Wolf Brewing Company to begin brewing at new brewpub in Nellysford, Virginia. Via MusingsOverAPint.com.
2011.10.20
Some brewpubs and non-brewing restaurants are opening separate brewing facilities to supply their growing beer needs. Via Washington Post.
2011.10.20
Photos from Baltimore Beer Week (6-16 October, Baltimore Maryland) on Flickr.
2011.10.18
1st ever Washington D.C. Wine Week: 15-22 October.
2011.10.18
Twitter reaches 100 million monthly active users; 50% log in every day. Via Mashable.
2011.10.17
"In Defense of Language: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Black IPA." Via Greg Koch of Stone Brewing.
2011.10.17
The Oxford Companion to Beer: good but flawed, say British bloggers Boak and Bailey. It lacks original source documentation, and has a U.S. slant.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from: twitter.com/cizauskas.
Clamps and Gaskets returns after a 28 week absence.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Fresh-baked ... beer

2011-11-01T23:58:00.000-05:00

As even a casual reader of this blog may notice, I am an advocate for cask-conditioned ale. Real ale, as it's also called, is a method of serving beer as fresh as it should be, almost as if the beer were being poured for a drinker directly from a brewery's fermenter.

Here in America, there is a nascent style of Real Ale, different in several respects than that brewed and served in the 'mother' country of the UK. That's a post for another day, but it might be summarized as:

Low emphasis on clarity.
High carbonation rate.
Innovative (if sometimes heavy-handed) addition of hops and other ingredients into the cask
Used solely as a serving method rather than one beholden to beer styles deemed 'appropriate' for casks

Is this good; is this bad? Taste being relative, that's open for debate.

But as to point #3, those extra-cask ingredients often mask the the just-baked breadiness derived from fresh yeast, still active within the cask. That's the marvelous aroma that pervades the air in a brewery, but which is often not transferred to the finished bottled or kegged product. So why hide it in a cask?

I was recently present at Eventide Restaurant, in Arlington, Virginia, for a tapping of a firkin of Smoke on the Water, a so-called Imperial Smoked Porter, brewed by Baltimore, Maryland brewery, Heavy Seas.

The 8% alcohol-by-volume porter — according to the US Beer Judge Certification Program, porter is a style of ale that is dark brown, with flavors of bakers chocolate and a touch of roast)— had only a faint wisp of smoky flavor from peat-smoked malt.

But — there it was! A toasty, fresh-from-the-oven baked bread aroma, indicative of fresh, active yeast. Yes, there were hop aromas, floral and citrusy, and a slight smoky character from the peat, but neither were invasive enough to obscure the heady aroma of a brewery's freshly fermenting beer.

Delicious! I ordered a second round.

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More photos from the evening's tapping: here.
Caveat lector: As a representative for Select Wines, Inc. —a wine and beer wholesaler in northern Virgina— I sell the beers of Heavy Seas.

Just say no to Twitter: NaBloPoMo

2011-10-30T10:06:00.001-05:00

November is National Blog Posting Month. Write at your blog once a day, every day, for the 30 days that hath November.

The whole thing started off as a goof based on National Novel Writing Month, the challenge of which is to try to write an entire novel during the month of November. Not everyone can commit to an endeavor of such magnitude, though, and so National Blog Posting Month was born.

The time has finally arrived: it's November's NaBloPoMo, the birthday of this blogging project AND its first month being in its new space on BlogHer.com. We are so glad that you've joined us. If you're new to NaBlo, you can learn more about its history here. Now, let's get this blogging party started!

November is the only month that doesn't have a separate theme. Instead, the theme for November is blogging for blogging's sake. As we always do in November, there will be prizes for participants who are writing daily. We have prompts lined up from writers and bloggers. And we'll be posting writing advice to cheer you on (sort of like water tables at a marathon) throughout the month.
You can currently sign up for November's NaBloPoMo by adding your blog name and url to the form. The blogroll is open until 11 pm EST on the 5th, at which time it will close to new entries.

I signed on last year. I enjoyed sixteen straight days of inspiration, and, then, crashed and burned, suffering a mighty case of blogger's block. Beginning this Tuesday, I will try again, and with gusto. Twitter, and Twitter-length (140 characters) posts, I won't count.

I challenge my fellow beer, wine, and spirits bloggers to join me on this 30-day blogsmith marathon. Once a day, every day this month, post to your blog: inspire, challenge, question, inform, ruminate, investigate, infuriate, drink! Just do it. Say no to Twitter (or at least allow the blog and it to co-exist for the month).

Pic(k) of the Week: Sonnymoon 'rainbow'

2011-10-29T05:54:00.000-05:00

A 'rainbow' appears above the moon, Monday evening, 10 October 2011.

That night, Thelonious Monk —jazz pianist and composer, now playing for the angels— would have been 94 years young. As it was, that night, Sonny Rollins —octogenarian jazz composer and tenor saxophonist who is still playing for us terrestrials— performed at The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C.

A reviewer from the Washington Post utterly failed to comprehend the excitement, the vital energy, and the musical brilliance of Mr. Rollins' performance that evening.Regardless, I considered the evening a "Sonnymoon for Two", which also happens to be the title of one of Mr. Rollins' several brilliant composition/improvisations: in this case, a distinctive 12-bar blues.

Mr. Rollins has been selected as a 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject.Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

An Imperial Session of Session Beers

2011-10-27T10:57:00.001-05:00

If you choose your beer because of its alcoholic strength, don't. Beer is an inefficient alcohol-delivery system. Skip the beer and drink Everclear. It's a distilled spirit, and nearly 95% alcohol.

There are many beer drinkers —and a large subset of 'craft' beer drinkers— who choose only so-called 'Imperial' beers (those of more than 8% alcohol by volume). Their reasons range from more bang for the buck to disdain for perceived lack of flavor in less-potent beer.

Any cook can add more salt to the pot. Any brewer can add more hops or more malt to the kettle. But those brewers, who produce beers full of flavor but of less than 5% alcohol by volume (abv), have real skill. It's not the amount of ingredients used that necessarily yields flavor; it's the creative use of the ingredients.

Sam Fitz and Tim Prendergast are the first certified cicerones in the city of Washington D.C., beer sommeliers, as recognized by the Cicerone Certification Program, after rigorous testing. Fitz and Prendergast are also the managers of The Meridian Pint, a beer -forward bar and restaurant in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

They are celebrating their mutual birthdays tonight, throwing a party at the Meridian Pint, everyone invited.

So that all attending will have unfuzzy heads the following morning, all twenty-five beers they will be serving will be of 5% or less in alcohol content, by volume. That's a 'style' of beer, if you will, referred to as 'session beer' as in, make a session of the evening and still walk, coherently, out the door. That's good for you, and that's good for the publican.

There are many in the U.S. —again, principally in the 'craft' beer ambit— who think that low alcohol beer is low-flavored beer. They will tell you that only 'Imperial' beers of prodigious alcohol levels can deliver intriguing and satisfying flavors. But if alcohol were indeed the primary building block of flavor, would not Everclear be the most flavorful alcoholic beverage? Ah, but alcohol, by itself, is flavorless. The fruit of skillful brewing isn't.

Session beer, for various reasons, is more prevalent in the United Kingdom, than here in the United States, especially served as cask-conditioned 'real ale'. Full-flavored lower-alcohol beers are, however, beginning to garner interest here, from both brewers and drinkers. Beer author Lew Bryson maintains a website wholly devoted to the topic: The Session Beer Project.

Here are the details of tonight's celebration, as described on Facebook. Call it an Imperial session of Session beer.

Sam and Tim , the folks who maintain the beer program at Meridian Pint, decided to celebrate their birthdays by putting on a celebration of flavorful, low-alcohol, and eminently drinkable session beer. All 24 draft lines and one cask will be pouring beer 5% and under. In keeping with Meridian Pint's commitment to local beer we are proud to say that 11 of the 24 beers being poured are produced at 5 breweries within 40 miles of DC. There will also be a pig roast on the patio featuring a Tamworth Pig from the Bella Terra Family farm in Montgomery County.

We will be debuting two beers including the ONLY KEG of an American Dark Mild brewed by DC Brau on their Pilot system and the release of the latest Meridian Pint/Oliver Ales collaboration, MP4, a 4.5% boundary straddling English-American Pale Ale. Anyone with facial hair, real or fake, gets a free 4oz taster of the cask!
We'll also have beer from two brewpubs whose beer doesn't make it to DC: Mike Roy brewer at Franklin's Brewery in Hyattsville graciously agreed to bring his Stonehenge English Dark Mild and we couldn't be more excited to announce that we'll be pouring beer from Mad Fox Brewpub in Falls Church who recently brought home two medals from the Great American Beer Festival including a gold for their Keller Kolsch.
The rest of the draft list is rounded out by a slew of high quality and hard to find session beers by breweries including Jolly Pumpkin, Epic, Schlafly, Brewer's Art, Bell's, and Lost Rhino.
Draft list:
Oliver MP4 Cask and Draft
Oliver Dark Horse- 4% English Dark Mild
Oliver Pagan Porter 4.9% English Porter
Oliver Blonde Ale- 4.3% Blonde Ale
Oliver Bishops Breakfast- 5% Oatmeal Stout on Slow Pour
Bell’s Third Coast- 4.8% American Blonde Ale
Epic Hop Syndrome- Hoppy American Pale Lager
Fox Kolsch - 4.4% German Kolsch
Lost Rhino Navigator- American Amber Lager
Brewer’s Art Proletary- 5% Belgian Dark Ale
Schlafly English Pale- 4.4% English Pale Ale
Ommegang Witte- 5% Belgian Witbier
Franklin’s Stonehenge- 4% English Dark Mild
Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam- 4.5% Barrel Aged Farmhouse Hefeweizen
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere- 4.5% Barrel Aged Saison
Festina Peche- 4.5% Berliner Weisse
Stoudt’s Heifer-in-Wheat- 5% Hefeweizen
Bear Republic Double Aught- 4.2% Czech Pilsner
DC Brau American Dark Mild- ~4.5% American Dark Mild
Port City Optimal Wit - 5% Belgian Witbier
Heavy Seas Pale Ale - 4.8% English Pale Ale
North Coast Scrimshaw - 4.4% German Pilsner
Schlafly Kolsch - 4.5% German Kolsch
Victory Headwaters Pale Ale - 5% American Pale Ale
Bluepoint Blueberry - 4.6% Blueberry Ale

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UPDATE
Notes from the evening

Of the beers I sampled, two really stood out for me (and, there were many, of course, I didn't even get to). MP4: a 4.5% abv 'best bitter' from Steve Jones of Oliver Ales in Baltimore, Maryland. Served both on draft and on cask, the latter was a bracingly hoppy beer. Its (non-grapefruity) aroma and big structured finish could put many 'Imperial' beers to shame.

From Franklin's in Hyattsville, Maryland, the 'mere' 4% abv Stonehenge, an 'English' Dark Mild, was a dark-chocolate malted milkshake of a delight, with dark fruit flavor thrown in for good measure.

There were lots of good beer folk and lots of good beer conversation. Photos: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: If it isn't Scottish, it isn't worth a ...

2011-10-22T06:17:00.001-05:00

Bruce Williams —brewmaster/owner of Williams Brothers Brewing of Alloa, Scotland— emphatically makes his point to kilt-wearing representatives * for BrewDog Brewing of Fraserburgh, Scotland.

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Dateline: 15 October 2011.
Pratt Street Alehouse, Baltimore, Maryland.

Brilliant October weather, live music, a large crowd, and 50 casks of real ale:

Beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide.

This was the 8th annual Chesapeake Real Ale Festival, co-organized by the Chesapeake branch of the SPBW (Society for the Preservation of Beer from the Wood) and the Pratt Street Alehouse. Since 2009, the CRAF has also been a 'bookend' festival for Baltimore Beer Week.

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More photos from the 2011 Chesapeake Real Ale Festival: here.
* To be precise, these two gentlemen are not actually representatives of BrewDog, but instead are U.S. fans of the brewery, who, when not talking with Mr. Williams, were volunteers for the festival, pouring samples from the BrewDog cask for festival attendee. [Thank you to Alexander D. Michell IV for that clarification. Mr. Mitchell was the 'official' photographer for Baltimore Beer Week.]
Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as subject.Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.