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my humble and correct opinion
One of my favorite shows is Community. Part of the NBC comedy block on Thursdays. Of course only 4 of those 6 six shows are funny to me but that leads to this great post on the RateBeer HopPress about beer blogging.
Now that you are back from reading there, I want to add my two cents. I love having an opinion (see above) but what I am learning is how to listen better to other’s words. Because the more I listen, the more I learn. AND if I disagree, it teaches me how to frame an argument. I may have been too scared to enter a debate class in high school but the beer world is filled with opinions and I love to talk about them.
Because apathy leads to a world of cheez whiz, white bread and water lagers. Let’s get the discussion going. It can be heated but at the end of the night it should lead to both sides learning something and buying each other a beer. SO keep talking. In bars, during brewery tours or online, it doesn’t matter as long as you are discussing and not hurling words at somebody.
Last month, I visited Strand Brewing and there on the desk in front of me as I drank 24th Street Pale Ale was this old beer can…..
The back of the can had this wonderful copy on it. “Our beer is packed in this modern container for your protection and convenience. This container is designed to afford all possible protection to the quality and flavor of this brew, which is the result of the use of choice materials and many years of brewing experience.” And it had this crazy cone top.
To learn more about the history of Los Angeles Brewing and the fate of Eastside beer click HERE
Ugh! Politicians make me want to scream.
Mississippi (home of the fabulous Lazy Magnolia Brewery) is losing the ABV restriction battle it seems. Check out this ARTICLE for the info.
All the politicians have to do is raise the limitation. And it isn’t even a big ask. from 5 to 8%. Mississippi would still be excluding alot of beer (if that is their goal). But more breweries might open if the cap was at 8% and Lazy Magnolia would be able to brew and (gee whiz) sell more beer too!
So check out the website for Raise Your Pints and support from wherever you are.
A quick video on what went down in Whitefish over the weekend….
Colbert is just too funny. And he occasionally focuses the humor onto beer. So watch this short clip. It’s after the bit on the new Superman.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Tip/Wag – British Superman & Big Flats Beer<a> | ||||
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Here is the topic posed by the Reluctant Scooper:
The method of beer dispense often raises the hackles of even the most seasoned beer drinker. Some evangelize about living, breathing cask as being the one true way. Others heartily support the pressurized keg. The humble tinny has its fans. Lovers of bottled beer, either conditioned or pasteurized, can be equally vociferous.
Perhaps you think that one method magnifies a beer’s impact. Perhaps you won’t try a beer if it’s dispensed in a way you don’t agree with. Perhaps you’ve tried one beer that’s been dispensed every which way.
The question is simple but your answer may not be: Cask, Keg, Can, Bottle: Does dispense matter?
I guess I would have to fall in the slut category. That may not be the most politically correct term but if the beer is good the beer is good.
Yes, a cask may bring out all of the flavors of that English ESB or a nitro may add notes unseen to an Irish stout but I think those are isolated examples. The pale ale is not going to be appreciably (and I am talking the average beer geek not the ciccerone or brewer) different be it from the bottle or can or tap. If (and you knew this was coming) the same care was shown by the people in the supply chain from Brewer A to Beer Merchant Z.
Some taps may be fresher but you have to deal with clean lines. Bottles may sit too long in harsh light. Cans may be set out in the sun too long while being delivered.
A recent example reinforced my idea. I had a Sierra Nevada sampler tray at the wonderful Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank, California. On it was Hoptimum. It was too harsh for me on the tip of my tongue and too boozy at the back end. But I also had a bottle in my ‘fridge. The next day, tried again and got the same result.
If the beer is good and it arrived to my pint glass in peak condition, then I do not care. (But I am willing to have people buy me a beer to make their point!)
One way to gauge the health of the craft beer industry is to check the stats on breweries in the planning stages. Here are some states to pique your interest…
Connecticut – 6
Alabama – 6
Iowa – 9
Tennessee – 11
New York – 26
Colorado – 29
I delved into the California numbers and came up with 23 in the planning stages. Berryessa and Aztec were two with names attached. And LA had it’s fair share.
I also perused my home state of Oregon, twelve breweries are in the planning stages. Among them Charlatan Brewing, Dexter Brewing, Dragon’s Gate, Noble Brewing, Occidental Brewing, Sasquatch Brewery, Workshop Brewpub.
Thanks to the Brewers Association for keeping up this massive list.
Now that the furor has died down over the newly extra corporate Gordon Biersch has cease and desisited Oskar Blues from using the name Gordon, it would be a good time to pick up some cans from the Colorado brewery and toasting to their continued success.
I wish that the GB owners could have worked out a compromise with Oskar Blues. Maybe Gordon in non-GB states and G’Knight in GB states?
End of small rant. (I am now going to hide the Gordon cans I have in case any lawyers come around)
One of the greats of the craft beer revolution has left the bar.
Don Younger passed away but I firmly tell you that his legacy will live on. He was the first beer booster and without him places around Portland might not exist and I sure as hell wouldn’t be writing about beer.
Craft beer is diminished today but without him it would be a shadow of what it is right now.
This is blatantly taken from Jay Brooks’ wonderful Beer Bulletin: take a listen with a pint in your hand.
