Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Don’t put your tongue on it

Now that I have either intrigued you or disgusted you with that title. Here is worse news (especially for your palate).

Just read the website copy, “What is a Beer Froster? A beer froster is a specially-designed refrigerator (well, technically a freezer) that holds beer at 24 degrees… the absolute coldest temperature a beer can get without freezing! Not to be confused with any other appliance, the beer froster gets beer cold and holds it there at that exact, perfect magic temperature!

There are wine refrigerators for wine, and now beer frosters for beer. If you like chilled beer, and you like your beer at its coldest and most refreshing, a beer froster is your newest favorite appliance! For beer as it was meant to be!”

I like “perfect magic temperature” but the last line is the best “as it was meant to be”. Nope and nope. That line of copy is as brazenly wrong as the triple hopped whopper we’ve been served in too many commercials.

Just get a regular ‘fridge.

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Innovate everywhere but on the product

photo from CNN Money website

The continuing attempts to improve the bottle while not fixing what is inside continues at Budweiser, home of the industrial water lager.

You can use a coin or a key or heck even your fingernail to write your name or something unfunny on a bottle.

Now if they would just combine all the wonderful technologies together in a vortex, wide mouth etchable bottle.

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E-Bay

A truly fascinating study (with quite a few economic terms that I had to look up) was posted on RateBeer regarding auctioning of rare beer on E-bay.

What riled me up was right up front. E-bay policy or non-policy. Here is the summary according to the post:
1) The value of the item is the collectible container, not its contents.
2) The container has not been opened and any incidental contents are not intended for consumption.
3) The item is not available at any retail outlet, and the container has a value that substantially exceeds the current retail price of alcohol in the container.
4) The seller will take all appropriate steps to ensure that the buyer is of lawful age in the buyer’s and seller’s jurisdiction (generally 21 years of age).
5) Buyers and sellers both ensure that the sale complies with all applicable laws and shipping regulations.

All I can say is that E-bay might strain a muscle in their effort to look the other way. What a blatant way to say that we want the commission fee and none of the legal problems. I don’t know who wins the crass capitalism award more. E-bay or the sellers.

And all of this could be minimized with a simple national law that standardizes alcohol shipments between states. That way E-bay and other online sites, including the brewer could sell without worrying that they were “against the law”. The market would have an increase in sellers and that might push the prices below what makes it worthwhile for the rare beer seller who is it in for profit and not the taste of the beer.

Have any of you bought beer from E-bay? I would like to know what the experience was like.

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Helping the Longshot

Here is your second dose of Sam Adams related news…..

“(Boston, MA) – Samuel Adams today announced that it is expanding its philanthropy initiative, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, to home brewers and small craft brewers nationwide. Focused on helping up-and-coming brewers turn their passion for beer into successful businesses, the program will target funding of at least $100,000 to the craft brewing industry in 2011.

The initiative is part of the company’s Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, which supports small business owners in the food, beverage and hospitality industry by providing accessible financing, as well as business and financial literacy tools and assistance. Small brewers nationwide can apply for loans ranging from $500 to $25,000 to be used for a variety of business purposes including expansion, equipment, and marketing, with all loan payments recycled back into the fund.

Launched in June 2008 in partnership with ACCION USA, one of the country’s top not-for-profit micro-lenders, the broader initiative has already loaned $540,000 to over 60 businesses – largely in New England – with the goal of reaching $1,000,000 by the end of 2011.

“Our goal with the craft brewing component of Brewing the American Dream is to support small business owners in our niche of the industry who are facing the same hurdles around starting or expanding their nano or microbrewery that I faced when I started brewing Samuel Adams in my kitchen in 1984,” said Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams.”

It is actions like this that make me continue to write about and drink craft beer. What other industry helps out possible competitors like this? And they spent most of the fund money in their own backyard!

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Label talk

Every twice in awhile, I like to get a little nitpicky about labels. Why? Because there are indeed times when a label is the deciding factor between two unknown beers. Same for tap handles too, by the way.

So first, take a look at this label…

I like the color and the spareness of the label. It is very stark. And upon looking at other bottles in their line it sticks to the brand already established while also being separate from the rest. I like the sash across the top left as well. And the “message” on the far left is legible and nicely worded which some labels should emulate.

I am on the fence about the font. This is a Florida beer with a Louisiana tinge to the name and the modern font doesn’t quite match those two states of mind, as it were.

What I don’t like and what puts this label into negative territory for me is the logo. It matches the font but it goes way to arty for me and not modern but more shapes thrown together.

What do you think? Yea or nay?

(I still want to try their beer though, check out their offerings HERE)

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Ruby is 25

This McMenamin classic raspberry brew turns 25 this year and I thought I would offer up some thoughts about it.

But first, this is what McMenamin’s has to say about it: “One of our most popular standards, we still make Ruby with the same aims we had when brewing the first batch back in March 1986: To create an ale light, crisp and refreshingly fruity. Great Western Premium 2-row and 42 pounds of Oregon-grown and processed raspberry puree is used to craft every colorful every batch. Simple but delicious.”

Ruby Ale along with Weizenberry from Thomas Kemper were my gateway to beer geekery. Some may scoff at fruit beers unless they are aged or sour nowadays but whenever I am in Portland I usually have some Ruby. It’s a beautiful pink color and the taste is crisp and sweet at the same time. It is also my sis-in-law’s favorite so it is a special beer to me.

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Session # 50

Fifty. Five. Zero. That means something for Canadians… and guys like me in their late forties. It’s the balancing point. The line between passing and failing. Your share of the draw. What topic to pick for such an important moment in beer blogging history?

I posted a few days ago about the topic for this month’s session and gratefully received comments as well as emails in reply. While meta-blogging was discouraged, some themes were there. I like ideas around service, respect and good value. It’s the cornerstone of any healthy consumer-producer relationship as far as I’m concerned. And, interestingly, Mark Dredge wrote a typically well-written post this week that speaks directly to my interest in that intersection between value and obsession. So, based on all of that, here is where I am going: what makes you buy someone’s beer? Elemental. Multi-faceted. Maybe even interesting.

* Buying beer. I mean takeaway. From the shelf to you glass. What rules are dumb? Who gives the best service? What does good service mean to you? Please avoid “my favorite bar references” however wonderful. I am not talking about taverns as the third space. Unless you really really need to and contextualize it into the moment of transaction at the bar. If you can crystallize that moment of “yes” when the bartender is, in fact, tender go for it.
* What doesn’t work? What fad or ad turned you off what had previously been turned on about some beer’s appeal? When does a beer jump the shark? When does a beer store fail or soar? When does a brewery lose your pennies or earn your dimes?
* Go micro rather than macro. You may want to explore when you got tired of “extreme” or “lite” or “Belgian-style” but think about it in terms of your relationship with one brewery rather than some sort of internet wave of slag… like that ever happens.
* What is the most you paid for a great beer? More importantly – because this is not about being negative – what is the least? I don’t mean a gift. What compels you you to say this is the quality price ratio (“QPR”) that works best for you? When does a beer scream “you would have paid 27% more for me but you didn’t need to!”?

Just ideas. I hope you see what I am suggesting. Let me know if not and I maybe can refine it. It’s for the fifty. Half a century. The last real milestone any of us will ever hit.

Check out the responses today HERE

At first, I thought this would be an easy topic. What makes me buy THAT beer? Obviously it is because of….ummm. Then I went back to the question. Then I started to analyze the thought process of why I buy the beer that I do. Then I started researching the beers that I have imbibed this year. Then I found myself at Whole Foods staring at the beer selection for an uncomfortably long time. (I got so caught up with trying to answer the “why” that I haven’t even touched the “why not”)

Suddenly I was in a craft beer choose your own adventure. And confronted with a generous bounty of beer either on tap or bottle, I was often times randomly selecting either something new or an IPA.

That realization was a bit disconcerting because each craft beer purchase is a monetary vote for not only the store or bar you buy at or the brewer who brews it but for the myriad of people in between as well. It is a tacit, if temporary, approval of their work.

Now I’m not going to require anybody or even myself to know every last detail of the beers journey from raw ingredients to the glass before you can enjoy a beer. But I do need to figure out what I deem as most important to the present, past and future of craft beer and reward those brewers and publicans who are on the same wavelength as me with my precious beer money.

Importance can be many things. Too many to list here. For me, I want to support the local breweries and bars as much as possible. I also want to support brewers who take chances and aren’t stagnant. And most importantly, I want to sample a wide swath of beer styles. These items of importance hopefully won’t induce paralysis by over-thinking and will allow for spontaneity.

I could come up with a clever mnemonic device using the word firkin or mash tun to shoehorn my criteria into but instead I am going to go completely ego centric and say that I now (thanks to this session) am going to be more mindful of why I am choosing THAT particular beer.

It may take me a little longer in the store or at the bar now, so I apologize, in advance, to anyone stuck behind me.

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The Firkin for March 2011

I had a nice little opinion piece set for March. I was going to talk about constructive criticism. Then Goose Island happened.

First, all beer bloggers and beer pundits need to take a deep breath. (Except for Andy Crouch and the New School who have written well thought out pieces)

Because what happened is not the end of the world. The worst case scenario of ABInBev owning Goose Island is that their beers will become worse over time and a landmark Illinois brewery will fade away. Certainly sad and worth lamenting over. But is it going to derail the craft beer train? I don’t think so.

But why is that the first thing that people think about? From what I have read, you would think this is the beginning of the end. And anyone not willing to boycott Goose Island beers is glossing over the mercenary tactics of the Busch clan and does not understand the severity of the situation.

But I return to my initial question, Why is disgust and horror the first thing that people think about? And why isn’t it opportunity?

Yes, opportunity. Is it so in the realm of science fiction that the beers might be just fine? God forbid, maybe even improve! Yes, ABInBev has proven time and time again that they can’t make a decent beer. And even more damning it seems they don’t want to. I fully understand their money grubbing part in this equation.

But maybe this will get Bud to stop their horrible half-efforts at craft beer. Maybe Goose Island can get more and newer equipment and the ability to grow. Maybe together they can distribute more good beer to a wider audience.

All I am saying is that with each change comes BOTH positive and negative possibilities and we should take both into account before frothing at the mouth instead of the pint glass.

One last thought to take with you, my dad was fond of the corny, hillbilly sayings. Usually involving animals for some unknown reason. He said, on many occasions, “Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in awhile”. Maybe Budweiser is that squirrel.

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California Growlers

The March edition of my 2011 Beer Challenge is going to go all legal. I apologize if this puts anyone to sleep.

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 25200-25206

This is the main section that hurts the growler cause

25200. All beer sold in this State shall have a label affixed to the package or container thereof, upon which shall appear the true and correct name and address of the manufacturer of the beer, and also the true and correct name of the bottler of the beer if other than the manufacturer. No manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler of beer shall use a container or carton as a package or container of a beer other than such beer as is manufactured by the manufacturer whose name or brand of beer appears upon the container or carton, or use as a package or container of a beer a container or carton which bears the name of a manufacturer of beer or the brand of any beer other than those of the manufacturer of the beer contained in the container or carton.
If I am reading it correctly. The container must have the brewery name on it and the beer inside must be made by that brewer. Thus a growler is stuck. It can’t be blank. And once Brewery A puts the logo on and then only A brand beer can go in.

In my mind that leaves only one option. An addendum exempting Made in California growlers needs to be attached to this section of code.

25202. Manufacturers’ names, brand names, print, or markings first placed on returnable beer containers or cartons made of wood or fiber board shall not be obliterated, mutilated, or marked out without the written consent of the manufacturer whose name, brand, or printed markings is to be obliterated, mutilated, or marked out. This section does not apply to wood or fiber board containers or cartons of a beer manufacturer who has discontinued business and production and is no longer a licensed beer manufacturer.

This section rules out stickers as I read it. So the path of least resistance would be one standard California growler with a tag tied to the handle with the brewery name and beer name with ABV. That way we only need to amend one rule.

Let me know what your interpretation of these two rules are and what may be a good way to proceed. I am ready to hear all opinions.