Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Homebrew DVD

A while back I was contacted about reviewing the Beginning Homebrew DVD. I jumped at the chance because…

A) I have tried to brew and failed (twice)
B) I find the process fascinating

I preface my review with the fact that I am not the guy to review this for detailed, step by step accuracy. I am reviewing the production and the way the material is presented from the standpoint of someone who has tried and would like to try again.

Overall the presentation was very good, for two reasons. First, it was paced extremely well. A tutorial with this many steps could easily bog down in the picky details to the point where people would lose track of what was going on. Each step was clear and led to the next one.

Second, the host had an approachable quality and was easy to listen to for the duration of the lesson. A little bit more comedic touches might have helped keep the proceedings more lively but he did a commendable job talking and doing at the same time which is not easy. Try making an omelette while describing it without saying “ummm” every other word.

Here are my constructive criticisms. At the beginning, I would have like to learned more about the host and his beer history. Maybe even a bit on what he was brewing now. A quick primer on tools and equipment and ingredients needed at the start would have been good too. Lastly, a bit more history of the beer that was being shown would have been fun and invested the viewer in the process some more.

Pop up information on the screen could have been utilized more without distracting the viewer. Information about the types of hops and yeasts could be conveyed to add a second layer of help to the home brewer.

The DVD comes with an instructional disc as well to help the beginner with the journey and adventure that is home brewing.

UPDATE: If you want to win a DVD go to the A Beer in the Hand website and try your luck!

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Bookshelf – Dethroning the King

I have added this book to my Kindle for iTouch and from the looks of the reviews, I will be e-turning pages very fast.

This is the story of how InBev took over the King of Crappy Beers. And it goes over the Busch legacy and the torch passing from father to son.

UPDATE:
I am part way into the book and it is telling that the beer itself is rarely talked about. A lot about Busch 3 and 4 and their conversions to adulthood and the damn Bud frogs have made an appearance but as I have told too many people to count. AB is a selling company, not a beer company.

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Session # 46

Mike Lynch of Burgers and Brews has announced the topic for The Session #46: “An Unexpected Discovery.” He writes:

I recently drove out to Colorado for a concert, and realized this was a perfect opportunity to stop at as many “beer destinations” as I could. I researched, plotted routes, looked at maps, and generally planned the entire trip around beer. What I was surprised to find was that despite all the amazing stops I planned, one of the best beer experiences of the trip was completely accidental. I found great beer in the last place I thought to look for it.

Has this happened to you? Maybe you stumbled upon a no-name brewpub somewhere and found the perfect pale ale. Maybe, buried in the back of your local beer store, you found a dusty bottle of rare barleywine. Perhaps a friend turned you on to a beer that changed your mind about a brewery or a style. Write about a beer experience that took you by surprise.

Well, there was the time in 1995 when we stopped at the Cat’s Paw Casino in Bozeman, Montana. Maybe I’ll write about that Dec. 3.

You would think that with a blog called Beer Search Party that I would be discovering all kinds of craft beer surprises or accidentally finding that stunning brewery that only the locals know about.

I would pose two reasons why that doesn’t happen to me. One is that I check out a lot of different beer blogs, I subscribe to (at last count) three beer magazines and I attend my share of beery events. So, breaking news rarely gets by me for too long before I hear about it. Second, like our gracious session host, I enjoy the planning stage. Especially when craft beer is on the agenda. I will plot out vacations based on beer destinations and I rarely stray from my targets. When I visited Boulder, Colorado for the Beer Bloggers conference, I knew I wanted to visit Twisted Pine and Oskar Blues and taste beer from Upslope Brewing and Odell’s. All four goals, accomplished!
Now, having explained how I am never taken off guard, here is my “unexpected” story. It involves sitting in the right place at the right time, twice!

During this year’s LA Beer Week, I was helping out at the Beer Float Showdown at the Verdugo. (If you visit Los Angeles, this is one of “must” the beer stops). After my shift was done, I took a seat with a friend of mine and a fellow beer geek to enjoy the imaginative beer float creations. Beer talk was flowing as I finished my last sample and our tablemate brought out a new beer from Green Flash Brewing, Silva’s Stout. Before I could say anything, my glass was filled! It seemed that Lady Luck was smiling upon me as it was a tremendous beer and a special limited release to boot. I figured this type of good fortune wouldn’t happen again soon but….

Lo and behold it did!

A couple of months later, sitting at the Blue Palms in Hollywood (another “must” for beer geeks in LA); I was tasting the 14th anniversary beer from Firestone-Walker. The place was packed. But in the crowded space of the bar sat another generous soul with a growler from Kern River Brewing. Because I and my friend were in the seats near some acquaintances of his, we also got samples of the famed Citra IPA. On aroma alone, that beer is one of the best that I have had all year. Another surprise based solely on where I was sitting.

I certainly hope I get surprised again.

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The Firkin for November 2010

Here is my firkin’ opinion for November…..

Let’s be thankful people.

There are issues that raise the ire and fire up the blogosphere.
~The high ABV race.
~Pumpkin beers
~Tickers
~beer blogger bashers

I’m sure everyone has their craft beer bugaboos to add to the list. But unlike the nightly news (which I hope no one watches), we in the beer community should always be promoting the positive more with a healthy dose of constructive actions and not get stuck in the stream of schaedenfreude.

Why? Because constant negativity reinforces the notion that craft beer is for snobs. If we are barking about problems more than we are praising the highlights, then why would people listen to us. No one likes the guy in the cubicle whose “always” bitching about the company. Eventually it gets old. What’s wrong with leading with what’s right in the beer world?

That’s why I only opinionize once a month. And sometimes my opinion is an idea that I think should be implemented and not some foaming at the mouth rant. I firmly believe that there is enough good craft beer news out there in the world to write and talk about.

That’s why you don’t see me on forums like BeerAdvocate. Too much griping. Too much whining. That’s why you don’t see me taking potshots at people from a beer snob tower. Whenever I feel the urge to complain, I open up my ‘fridge and the feeling goes away. Happiness from Pure Hoppiness from Alpine can do that. But some people seem to get off on being cranky.

You can label me a beer Pollyana. You can say that I am naive in the belief that one beer blog can stem the negative tide. I understand. But I prefer to think that I see the pint glass half full.

Of awesome craft beer.

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Put your beer in a pouch

What do you get when you mix Capri-Sun technology with craft beer?

You get Beer Pouches!

The canned beer evolution is still gaining steam and now more ways to hold our precious brewed liquid!

Check out these advantages (according to the Beer Pouch folks)
More protective of fine beverages than a bottle or can
Light weight, Reduced freight costs
Reduced Air Exposure
No Light Damage
Folds flat as a dime
No Bottling Line Needed
Easy to pack off a glacier
Less expensive than using bottles
Fresh flavor, stable shelf life of the product
Makes your fine ales stand out from the crowd

Here is a photo of the pouches in action from the Beer Pouch website:

Thanks to the Beer Goddess, Lisa Morrison for pointing this product out.

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Growlers

A while back you may have run across my growler post at FoodGPS. I have started reading up on California Beer Laws to see what I can do to make some effective changes to make craft beer culture friendlier in the Golden State.

So it was with great interest that I read this on the HopPress about working to change outdated laws on the other side of the country.

For 2011, I am planning on gaining support for creating a California Growler. Check back in January for an on-line petition and for updates about my education in legalese and in my progress of creating saner growler law.

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a mysterious IPA

A brewery that I had not heard of before is making quite the interwebs buzz. Buzzards Bay from Massachussetts has created a serialized beer with a mystery on the label.

““The Case of the IPA” is a hard-boiled detective farce printed chapter by chapter on 12 bottles of a newly released India Pale Ale. Each 22 ounce bottle not only has 22 ounces of brilliantly deduced IPA, but also 1 of the 12 chapters of the story. Each case has 12 bottles, which makes for the entire tale told in a case. And so, the Case of the IPA is indeed a case of the IPA.

Brewer Harry Smith proposed the idea to author Paul Goodchild and they quickly agreed on a format: a noir-ish detective serial. Smith brewed up a batch of hoppy craft brew whilst Goodchild penned the story. It’s a mystery of zany brewers and their intrigues; sure to tickle the ribs and please the belly of any fan of craft beer.”

And here is the first installment (not the beer, the mystery):

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Food Carts + Craft Beer =

In my usual better late than never style, I ran across this interesting bit of news from the New School Beer Blog.

Portland already has Prost! which is a lovely German beer bar located right next to a food cart pod so this next evolution sounds promising. Maybe the LA area can try this too! Verdugo and Eagle Rock invite trucks in but if you don’t care for that particular truck that night then you are out of luck (plus the lines can get enormous). A group of carts would minimize both problems.