Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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The Firkin for September 2010

Here is a rant that you may have seen on my other writing outlet, the wonderful FoodGPS. I brought it over here because it got the most comments of all of my posts.

I am growlin’ mad about growlers.

Let me backtrack a little and set the scene. I live in Southern California. I have ONE brewery near me and two or three that are drives to get too under the best freeway conditions. Secondly, I am what economists term as “underemployed”. Not complaining but not swimming in steady cash. Lastly, I do not have unlimited shelf space. I have a small and growing “beer cellar” but I am reaching overload in pint glasses and bottles.

Now I can return to my rant. I would like to have one growler. A growler that I can fill at my local (Eagle Rock Brewing) but that I can also fill at Ladyface in Agoura Hills or Hangar 24 in Redlands or at Nibble Bit Tabby downtown. I don’t A) have the space for separate growlers and B) can’t afford them anyway.

I know that current law is against this. They want growlers labeled in a similar fashion as to labels on beer sold conventionally in stores. It is a pure CYA choice. But why do we want something similar to the sometimes comical and irritating label laws in place? Can the state cover it’s … with a different approach?

Here is my idea to solve the problem and boost the economy:

Step 1 – a “Made in California” growler. It could be sold by Chambers of Commerce or by the California Brewers Association or other outlets. I would refrain from having the breweries themselves sell them so as not to impinge on their own growler sales.

Step 2 – Create a label / sticker that can be filled out on the premises at the time the growler is filled with a link to the beers information on the brewers website. (Maybe via a barcode?)

A California growler would be accepted by whichever brewery wanted to make a $10 sale vs. a sale of $0.00. At least from my standpoint. I couldn’t buy (though I was tempted) a growler from Hangar 24 to bring home some of their Polycot beer (which was great) but if I had a California growler at home, I could have and Hangar 24 would have received $15.00 from me. The same at Stone in Escondido or 50-50 in Truckee. And for those establishments that cannot afford to get approved growlers, this would be entree to a new customer set.

It would also be a great way to promote the great beer you can find in this state. You could do a a great promotion about a growler tour of California breweries. The beer community makes pilgrimages to Russian River and The Bruery. Why not incentivize them to stay a little. You can even promote a design contest for the growler (see my design below). So many possibilities.

That’s my two cents. Poke holes in it. Add to it. Let’s get a discussion going.

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Cheers: A History of Beer in Canada

Here is what the press release has to say…“The author of Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It’s Necessary is back. Nick Pashley brings his wit to bear on beer’s illustrious history in Canada, from Prohibition (and who thought that was a good idea?) to the beer that turned Quebec City drinkers blue and actually killed sixteen of them in 1966. Where else this season will you find a book that includes Prince Charles, Paris Hilton, Ron Keefe, and Rocco Perri, the great Hamilton bootlegger of the 1920s (you may be able to find him today encased in cement at the bottom of Burlington Bay)?”

From that description, it looks to be a fun book. I have recently read two history books. Both great topics. One was as dry as day old toast. The other is bright and lively. I certainly hope this book is more of the latter. You can find this at Amazon. (And to digress, shouldn’t Amazon ship beer?)

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Museum quality beer

Thanks to the Celebrator magazine, I saw a great to expand anyone’s beer horizons.

A museum exhibit on BEER!

Here is what the City of Fullerton (in the OC) has to say about it:
“Kegged, Casked, Bottled or Canned: 10,000 Years of Beer
Open to the public through October 10, 2010

This exhibition tells the story of beer with with advertising material, tap handles, metal signs, prints, beer steins, and fixtures from the home brewing industry.

Bottle Cap Treasures: Art Workshop for Adults!
Tuesday, September 14
7:00-9:00pm

Turn old beer bottle caps into fun magnets and jewelry! Bring your own bottle caps or use some of ours for no additional charge.”

$12 general/ $8 museum members

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back to the beer bookshelf

I am still working through my Beer a Day book from Jeff Evans and now another book shows up to chronicle breweries and offer practical advice. How am I supposed to stay caught up?

“Great American Craft Beer takes readers on a passionate and informative journey through the most palate pleasing ales and lagers produced in America today. Built on the inalienable truth that there is a beer out there for everyone, the book directs readers to focus on the flavors they already enjoy tasting, such as sweet fruits, roasted coffee, or bitter hops. More than 80 styles and 340 beer profiles are accompanied by full-color photographs and illustrations of the beers and beer labels. This unconventional approach allows drinkers of all experience levels to step right up to the bar and order their next pint with confidence.

If you like the taste of . . .
fresh oranges
tangy lemons
ripe raspberries
creamy pumpkin
toasted caramel
rich espresso
bananas
dark chocolate
smoked meats
Try . . .
Address Unknown IPA by Willimantic Brewing
312 Urban Wheat Ale by Goose Island Brewing
Raspberry Tart by New Glarus Brewing
Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Anchor Bock by Anchor Brewing
Speedway Stout by Alesmith Brewing
Hefeweizen by Live Oak Brewing
Black Chocolate Stout by Brooklyn Brewery
Smokestack Heritage Porter by East End Brewing
Both a personal guide and companion to the exciting world of American craft beer, this unique book touches upon several subject areas, including not only beer, but food, travel, history, and the stories and personalities of those who brew America’s best beers. It includes 25 perfect pairing recipes and profiles of some of the best brewpubs in the country.”

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Local Associations

A great way to stay involved and up to date in the world of Craft Beer is to follow (either on FaceBook, if that’s still cool, or on internal blogs) the small brewers guilds and associations that look out for the financial and legislative well being of their members.

Since I am LA based that means following the California beer news from The Small Brewers Association of California. Most people just want beer news. Where is the next festival? What new brewery opened? But part of being a dedicated supporter of well made beer is to pitch in your voice at the non-drinking level too.
csba

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Session # 43

The Beer Babe has announced the topic of The Session #43 (Sept. 3) and “Welcoming The New Kids” challenges bloggers “to seek out a new brewery and think about ways in which they could be welcomed into the existing beer community.”

How does their beer compare to the craft beer scene in your area? Are they doing anything in a new/exciting way? What advice, as a beer consumer, would you give to these new breweries?

Take this opportunity to say hello to the new neighbors in your area. Maybe its a nanobrewery that came to a festival for the first time that you vowed to “check out” later. Maybe it’s a new local beer on a shelf on the corner store that you hadn’t seen before. Dig deeper and tell us a story about the “new kids on the block.” I look forward to welcoming them to the neighborhood!

All bloggers are welcome to participate. Just leave a link below The Beer Babe’s announcement.

Being a transplanted Stumptowner living in Tinseltown, I see new breweries opening in Portland with an envious eye and palate. Wishing that the same pace was being kept in the much larger market of Los Angeles.

Alas, I have to make do with two small but exciting breweries. Eagle Rock Brewing (which is 10 minutes away as the traffic flys) and Nibble Bit Tabby (which is downtown and in limited release). I have blogged about both too much as I search the past postings on my blog so I thought I would do a general three rules for the new brewer in the neighborhood.

1. Location aka “Where do I park?”
I have been to two community hearings and it seems that parking is the only thing that really pisses people off. You could sell beer anywhere if you have ample parking that doesn’t impinge on nearby homes and business. Why this is the most important thing to people is still a mystery but wow does lack of parking raise a ruckus.

2. Give me options aka “Please give me a growler”
People love to visit breweries so don’t be locked up all day. People love to buy the local beer at the local bar so be on draft near the brewery. And for homebodies who like to sit and watch TV on the DVR, the growler is a must if canning or bottling is too expensive. You get the point. Don’t restrict people from your beer. Most of the country ain’t gonna get to taste your beer so make sure that your immediate circle is fulfilled.

3. Charity is Cool aka “But don’t give it away”
You don’t have to give beer away to every Tom, Dick and beer blogger but make sure you supply ANY worthy cause in your vicinity. Especially now, no charity is going to turn away money because it is alcohol funded. And most love having adult only functions with a local vibe.

I am sure there are other golden rules not to be violated but from my experience, my three really need to be looked at.

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The Firkin for August 2010

I often try to live by the credo, “don’t complain, construct” Of course I just made that credo up right now but it’s a nice little bit of wordplay.

So instead of bashing ABInBev, MillerCoors and the rest of the industrial gang for their insipid tasting water lagers, I am going to lay out how they get back into the game and stop their downward sales spiral.

1. Stop the actual beer talk in your commercials.
Stick with selling beer to guys with ridiculously hot girlfriends. Stick with humor. Hell, stick with drinkability. But stop the hop talk, don’t mention malt or even discuss the brewing process. All you are doing is confusing the people already mesmerized into buying your beer and seriously pissing off beer geeks who know better.

Case in point – Triple hop brewed. The clever person who thought that up should be demoted. Leaving aside technical discussions of how a lot of better beer is triple hop brewed, why even bring hops into it, let alone three times! Your beer tastes NOTHING of hops. My tap water has more hop flavor than your beer. You are a selling machine, what you are selling, in essence, doesn’t matter.

2. Brew local
Each of your mammoth, gargantuan plants should brew a local beer for the area. A beer that is available only in that area. Beer Geeks LOVE rarity. How about actually setting aside the notion that you have to make a billion bottles of your beer. West coast operations should do an IPA, maybe a wheat beer in the midwest, a saison in Florida. It will instill pride for each facility and could be expanded. Each branch could have a stable of local only beers.

It won’t bring back the craft beer fans who have long since abandoned you but you might slow the attrition rate amongst the disaffected and searching.

3. R&D
You have great equipment, state of the art computers, access to whatever ingredients you want, great brewers. And you have them all doing the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, to make a consistent beer all across the world is an impressive feat. But you are not getting the full talent and benefit of your staff. Cut them loose to do special brews for company functions or trade shows. Unshackle your full potential!

Somehow you all have mistaken colorful mountains or vortexes for innovation. It’s not. It’s packaging and each time you chase it you get a bump then a dip back down. It’s like crack to you people. Innovate with the product instead.

There you go! Salvation. Free of charge.

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Stealth Industrial beer

tenth-and-blake-beer-co

Cool hipster logo. Looks like a brewery to check out. Until you dig further to see that it is a autonomous unit of MillerCoors. Purportedly made up of great brewers that won’t be influenced by corporate drones.

“MillerCoors LLC announced Thursday a new name for the company’s craft and import beer division: Tenth and Blake Beer Co.

The name refers to the company’s Milwaukee brewery, at 1515 N. 10th St., where the Leinenkugel’s craft beers are made, and to Denver’s Blake St., home to MillerCoors’ Blue Moon Brewing Co. at the Sandlot.”

They currently make some pretty good beers Blue Moon, Leinenkugel’s, Pilsner Urquell. They brew the remnants of once great brands competently if not with imagination Peroni, Killian’s, Henry Weinhard’s, Grolsch. And they do the new Colorado Native and Sandlot beers for the Rockies ballpark (Brewmaster’s Special, Ski Brews, Barmen, Championship Amber Ale, Right Field Red, Slugger Stout, Power Alley ESB). None of which I am too inclined to try.

The industrial water lager makers can’t compete on flavor but they aren’t going to sit down and watch market share drip away. They will buy what they can’t make, make poor copies of what they won’t make and if all else fails will distribute good stuff to at least be near the heart of beer.