Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Mikkeller (as usual) has been busy. They have a new IPA out on the market….
with the odd moniker of a Double Imperial pale ale.
More importantly, according to the interwebs, Mikkeller might do some of his brewing right here in California at Drake’s facility. That would be a boon to us in terms of availability and freshness because I know that some of his beers probably suffered taste-wise on the voyage from Europe to my ‘fridge.
Here is the topic from last minute host Beer’s I Have Known
“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 embarrassing 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.
Its fairly wide open, take your pick. Variety is the spice of life as they say (and I hope there’s more than 57 of them…)”
I am going to make a confession that just might lower my craft beer street cred.
I sometimes drink craft beer straight from the bottle.
Yup, I will read an article about proper glassware or how to pour a pint correctly and I feel a tinge of shame because of the bottle sitting next to me. The bottle that I could have easily poured into one of many pint glasses that I have in the cupboard.
I know that the bottle (or the can) is just the conveyance for the beer and to properly enjoy the aroma and to see the beer and listen to it as Fred Eckhardt instructs, I have to pour it into the glass. But after a day of work that includes Los Angeles traffic that is akin to hand to hand combat, I just want to enjoy a beer.
I refuse to drink the industrial water lagers but I empathize with the joy of sitting down with a bottle and just relaxing with a beer. Not caring about putting the beer into the glass, or what the correct type of glass I need, or the proper serving temperature or what food is goes with. Sometimes, I just want a beer and not savor a craft beer. Maybe it is some DNA coding from caveman days.
I have been caught red handed on a few occasions and at first, I would equivocate. Try to explain that the beer was not super aromatic or some other hogwash. Now I just take a long pull and say that I just wanted to have a beer.
This isn’t all the time of course, in fact it is in the minority. And there are some beers that I would never, ever swig straight up. And I will continue to tell people to always drink from the proper glassware with my one guilty caveat being the exception that proves the rule.
After winning the Canfest 2011 trip and I reading this article about ethics by Pete Brown, I was reminded that I need to re-iterate the standards of this blog to either re-assure or horrify whoever is kind enough to read it.
1. I do receive the occasional free beer. But ALL beers get reviewed on their taste ALONE. I will endeavor to always note if I have received a beer for free but if I forget or am too hasty on the publish button then note that the default applies.
2. The same goes for any beer event I cover. Due to the kindness of the people in this industry and the fact that I blog for free (at this point), expensive events that are out of my financial reach are sometimes accepted in order to attend and write about them. But they do not get free passes if poorly run.
3. All editorial decisions are mine and mine alone. No one holds sway over anything I write. If there seems to be more positive coverage about a brewery or a beer it is due to the fact that I like what they are doing, they are in close proximity to me and I visit them regularly or that they have regular PR that I feel is important or noteworthy.
4. Currently, the advertising on this site is a test to see if it generates revenue. How I utilize ads may change in the future or they may disappear all together. Whichever way the winds blow, I will make sure that ads look like ads and are not hidden or embedded anywhere.
5. I also write a weekly post for FoodGPS about beer and I compile the Weekly LA Beer Blast for that blog. I carry all of my standards to wherever I write. I do this and my blog simply to educate people about craft beer and to promote it as much as I can.
6. There is blatant “homerism” to where I grew up – Portland and where I live – Los Angeles. You, as the reader, will have to read between any lines when I post about either place.
Thank you for wading through the boilerplate. We can now resume regular posts.
Ninkasi will be coming out with another new 4-pack that should be hitting stores soon that include the above labeled beer. (I scored mine at the Glendale BevMo) I will be trying that stout for International Stout day!
I liked the summer pack (though not the music) and I am sure this one will be impressive one too even though I will have to hold onto Sleigh’r until after Thanksgiving because I believe in celebrating one holiday at a time.
Looks like Dogfish Head is heading into unconventional territory even for them…..
“What’s the No. 1 thing Dogfish lovers ask for at our pub, in our brewery and on our website? Gluten-free beer. But not just any gluten-free beer — they want gluten-free with gusto.
“It seems as if lots of folks who have gluten-tolerance issues are pining for an interesting beer,” says Dogfish founder and president Sam Calagione. “While there are a few well-made examples that mirror traditional beer styles, there aren’t any off-centered offerings.”
Enter Dogfish’s fruit-forward Tweason’ale.
For our first new 12-ounce 4-packs in nearly half a decade, we replaced the classic barley foundation of beer with a mild, high-maltose sorghum base. The hints of molasses and pit-fruit are balanced by vibrant strawberry notes and a unique complexity that comes with the addition of a malty buckwheat honey. We believe health-conscious beer drinkers and the millions of Americans who suffer from Celiac disease can cut back on gluten while relishing the distinction and drinkability of this very special brew.
Tweason’ale has been among the fastest-selling pub batches in our 16-year history. Thanks to the off-the-charts excitement, we are dedicating significant resources to the wide release of this beer. The 6 percent abv Tweason’ale will be distributed quarterly throughout our national network.”
This November will feature CanFest! Smack dab in the middle of the month, I will be in Reno and you will be able to follow along right here.
Also, again thanks to Charissa Santos, for the above logo. If you like the look of it, check out her site HERE. She does branding, print and web design and she is easy to work with and she really made me take a hard look at where I am going and what my design does to help me get there.
~ e-visits to three breweries that can their beer
~ video reviews of three beers from Escondido’s own, Stone Brewing
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 57 will converge bloggers onto a single topic
~ plus many more posts about new beers, beer products and breweries
Here are two events to get your November started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) November 5th Homebrew Demonstration at Eagle Rock Brewery
2) November 11th – Four Points LAX Beer Appreciation Night
I was inspired by the home brew column of Beer Advocate (the magazine) written by Drew Beechum about keeping it simple in beer recipes and I have taken it a step further to the professional side of things.
(I apologize in advance if I sound like Andy Rooney in this post but the topic this month lends itself to that tone of voice.)
So what’s the deal with all these strange ingredients in craft beer? What happened to plain old malt, hops, yeast and water?
Hear me out. I am all for experimentation. Add lemongrass, put it into a wine barrel and use an heirloom hop. Cool. Let me have a glass. I certainly do not want to return to the days of monoculture beer. But recent Bruery beers have pushed past my level of disbelief. (Sorry to pick on you Bruery, if it is any consolation, Humulus Wet is one of the top three beers I have had this year)
I mentioned in an earlier post this month that Dogfish and The Bruery got together and added all level of new Japanese ingredients to their earthquake relief beer. Then the Bruery creates Birra Basta with roasted zucchini used in the mash, and fennel seeds, lemon peel, and Spanish cedar in the fermentor. This is on top of their Salt of the Earth gose(?) that had truffle oil in it.
I know that I don’t have to buy it if I don’t want to. And I know that by posting about it, I am bringing more attention to them. But…
There are three issues that arise for me when yet another oddball beer comes down the pike. And I will repeat, I do not want to discourage “goin’ crazy” but rather taking a deep breath before deciding to “go crazy” because which beer that I enjoy got pushed out of the schedule to make room for fenugreek or hatch peppers? Many craft breweries are running at maximum capacity so to produce these beers means another beer gets a smaller batch or brewed later.
Secondly, it stokes the obsessive collector disease that causes people to temporarily lose their sanity in pursuit of a rare beer. Need I say Founders and a certain stout?
Third, the unwashed heathens who still don’t drink craft beer are not gonna jump in at the deepest end. I appreciate that I am in a consumer minority and that I am reaping the benefit of some of these experimental beers but if we want to get more and more people excited about what we are excited about then we need more beers that allow entrance to our club and not scare them away.
Leave the running and screaming for Halloween movies.
The last beer of the Halloween season is the Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard Brewing.
Just when I think the craft beer world can’t come up with any more new ideas, someone comes along with another great one.
Odell’s of Colorado has used an ingredient from each of the states it sells in to create Footprint. Puts all the states and ingredients on the label too. And the sub-name is region-ale. Brilliant.
Coming to a mixed 6-pack near you next spring are the newly crowned winners of the Sam Adams LongShot competition.
Russian Imperial Stout by Joe Formanek of Bolingbrook, IL
Munich Dunkel by Corey Martin of Round Rock, TX
Derf’s Secret (Sticke) Alt by Fred Hessler (employee)
Personally, I am looking forward to the last two, especially the Sticke.