Author: Sean Inman

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Beer Advocate – Best of 2010

When I saw that issue # 48 of Beer Advocate had the tally of Top 25 Beers of 2010, I had to say that I braced myself for mostly monster stouts. And yes there are 5 in the top 10 alone and 10 overall (not counting the 5 strong ales, which fall under the same BIG BEER rubric for me). What surprised me was the strong showing of # 2 for the Kern River Citra DIPA one of my favorite beers of 2010 and I had only a teeny glass of one. The second surprise was 2 rye beers making the cut, one from Summit and one from Boulevard (granted in the 20-25 section).

SO I am pleased that anything broke through the Stout barrier of the top 10 and I like that rye is gaining acceptance. But still the list is tremendously one sided. Nothing in the top 10 is below 8% abv. Amazingly all but 2 beers are above that 8% mark and 14 of 25 beers are above 10% abv. It is almost as if a beer geek can take most of the year off and come cold weather time start drinking because that is where the great beers are apparently. No session beers to be seen. No brown ales. No hefeweizen. It’s really a turn off.

Click on the image below to see the full list and let me know what you think of the group. By the way, not to boast, but I sampled 7 of the top 25.

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Untappd

What do you get if you cross FourSquare with beer?

You get Untappd.
Take a look…..

It allows you to check on what others are drinking (right now) as you input what you are drinking.

The only downside other than being pretty addictive to watch the beers scroll by is when an industrial water lager pops up. So sad that people would waste time and money on that and then proclaim it. It’s like tweeting that I aerosoled some Cheese Whiz into my mouth. (I would never, ever do that)

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Really?

Take a close look at this picture….

The garish colors and bold graphics are Colt 45’s brand extension into the vast and lucrative fruity malt liquor market.

All kidding aside, this looks to be the winner of the worst beer idea of 2011 and we are hardly out of the starting gate.

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Beer on the TV

The trend of craft beer on the TV continues. Here is another show that I heard about from a friend of the BSP.

“Who doesn’t like craft beer? Well, the folks at New York-based indie production company Overcrest Media are betting you do. Last month they launched their first original series, The Brewery Show, which dives into the craft beer movement, one microbrewery at a time.

“We explore the greatest microbreweries, brewpubs, and craft beer houses this country has to offer. From interviews with the trendiest brewmasters, owners, technicians, and home brewers, we find out what’s brewing in the world of craft beer and beyond,” says the series’ fledgling YouTube page.

For the uninitiated, The Brewery Show provides an excellent introduction to the process and philosophy behind craft beer production. And for those well versed, it provides a thorough behind-the-scenes look at some of the East Coast’s top artisinal breweries.

The first episode takes us to Pleasantville, NY’s Captain Lawrence Brewing Company—famous for their ‘Liquid Gold’ brew—and features interviews with Owner and Head Brewer Scott Vaccaro and Cellar Operator Justin Sturges. Vaccaro offers a piece of advice you homebrewers won’t want to hear: “I’m the last person to tell you not to follow your dreams, but remember it’s a business first, and it’s not just about making beer.”

Following episodes take us to Keegan Ales, Brewery Ommegang, Thomas Hooker Brewing Company, Cavalry Brewing, and Sixpoint. Thirsty yet? New episodes are released every two weeks.”

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Birthday Beer

Only one post today, too busy celebrating the latest birthday with……

Here is the description of this North Coast beer, “Old Stock Ale Cellar Reserve 2009”

“In an exercise of humanitarian charity and to demonstrate just how very much we care about our friends, North Coast brewmaster, Mark Ruedrich, has just now released an exceptional batch of 2009 Old Stock Ale that has been aged for 18 months in oak Bourbon barrels. In this latest example of the cunning of his hand, Brewmaster Ruedrich has set new standards for the brewers’ art. To say that it’s amazing would be an understatement. Look for Old Stock Cellar Reserve in the special decorated bottle, as they say, wherever fine beers are sold. There’s not much, and it will go fast, so be vigilant.”

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Odd Animal labels

Label Art is subjective. I generally side with the less is more school. I think the Bruery does a great job with their style choices. I like the distinctive B of Brooklyn Brewery. Just two examples off the top of my head.

In my interwebs beer travels, I come across other labels and wonder what the heck is going on? So intermittently, I will post up some labels and make my snarky comments then let the readers take over, if the muse of commenting strikes.

Here is the Craft Beer label discussion – Animal Edition

First up is Bitter American from 21st Amendment

I get the whole monkey and space thing. But I can’t quite make the leap from Bitter American to outer space. I am sure there is an explanation but I can’t imagine that it is a simple one. Plus the monkey looks damn old. It looks like the same artist did Fireside Chat and that also looked a little off. Makes you look at it twice. Maybe that was the aim.

Our second label is from Captured by Porches with Cuddly Panda Porter

I like the bright color palette that CbP uses. But the traditional bird morphed into a bear strikes me as off. Seems a little shoe-horned to me. As in trying to stick with a theme (birds) when maybe a little more change like just a bear drawing would have worked better.

That’s my cockeyed opinion. What say you?

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Drink Deck

I heard about this beer-y product on the fabulous Beer O’Clock radio show and am now finally getting around to sharing it with you. Drink Deck are a combination of playing card and bar coupon. It started with a Chicago deck then to Portland and later this year San Francisco and New Orleans among others.

These are bar-centric as opposed to all beer but here is what you get…
“featuring 52 – $10 gift certificates (no expiration) rolled into a deck of poker sized playing cards that celebrates the best bar scenes in PDX!”

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Let’s Tour – Mac Brewing

Our second beery stop in New Zealand is at Macs.

I heard about this brewery from one of my friends parents who was traveling there and just raved about the stout and asked me if they could buy it here in America. Alas, I have not found it here, yet!

Here are some of their signature brews:
Black Mac – they call it a dark beer. a porter
Currant – yup, made with currant berries
Sassy Red – English style bitter.
Hop Rocker – you would think IPA but it’s their pilsner

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Building a better beer future

First I want you to click HERE for this Sacramento Bee article.

Whenever people bemoan what may become of craft beer in the future. I point to articles like this or the one I did about OSU. Innovative beer is always lurking on the horizon.

Kudos to Rich Rosen for alerting me to this article.