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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Session # 48
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!)
More craft beer on the horizon
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.
G’Knight
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)
R.I.P. Don Younger
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.
The First Firkin of 2011
One of the enduring theological questions that cause great debate in the craft beer community is the theory that one can drink (insert industrial water lager) and still enjoy craft beers too.
This topic came up this month on the excellent BeerNews website in a rant from an East Coast brewer (amongst other rant targets) that I won’t attack as wrongheaded in this post.
I know that someone can drink the full gamut of beers from the lowliest malt liquor to the highest ABV beer stuffed in a squirrel.
I just don’t know how. My tastebuds do not have a reverse on them. Let me explain what that means. Once I had In ‘n’ Out burgers, I could not reverse and have McDonalds ever again. The taste of In ‘n’ Out is light years ahead of the golden arches. Same with coffee. I won’t be buying a tub of Folgers when I can have Stumptown or Intelligentsia.
I can anticipate the argument that comes next. Price. Yes, Stumptown costs more if you just look at dollars and cents. But if the gaze is widened to include how much more flavor and enjoyment you get then the equation changes.
The same for beer. Yes, you can slam more PBR’s for the same price of two of my craft beer bombers. But I am getting something that is full of complex flavors that keeps me interested. I get to sit and enjoy my beer slowly while the supposedly cost-conscious are spending more on aspirin.
Another argument I don’t buy is that it makes someone less pretentious if they are “seen” drinking the industrial water lagers of the world. You should drink beer because you love it or are curious about it. Not to sell the brand of you via the marketing dollars of a mega-brewery.
That is why no one can call you a snob or an elitist if you drink what you enjoy. I don’t drink Dogfish Head or Stone to be cool like Sam or Greg. (Which they are by the way.) I drink craft beer for the flavor.
2011 Challenge – California Growlers
Last year in a post on FoodGPS, I proposed the creation of a Brewed in California growler. This year I have challenged my shy self to raising awareness of what I consider an opportunity for the State of California to promote tourism and the craft beer industry. (And maybe help close a small part of the budget gap in the process)
As with last years challenge, this won’t be easy and may not be finished in one year. It is government after all. Putting things off is their specialty. But that’s why it’s challenging.
Two items to start:
1. I want to show you the actual wording of the California law so that alternate legislation can be crafted.
2. Get an online petition going (thanks internet) so that I can contact legislators with some muscle behind me.
Both items will pop up in February so keep your eyes peeled!
How Beer Saved the World
Quite the wink-wink, nudge-nudge trailer but it could prove to have some interesting beer info…..
One week from today on the Discovery Channel. (Thanks to the Brookston Beer Bulletin for the heads-up!)
from coasters to cans
The LA Times has been slowly covering more of the beer scene and in the Sunday paper a few weekends past they had this really cool page devoted to old timey beer cans…
(click on the link (twice) to embiggen the image)
My personal favorite is the Barbarossa.
Add to the beer bookshelf
What I don’t know about lambics could fill a book. That’s why I will be asking for this…
…for my birthday or Valentine’s Day whichever works!
Go to the great Books About Beer to pick up your copy.