Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Your Help is needed…

….to pound some sense into some Florida politicians and to keep Cigar City beer flowing to the people of Florida and beyond.

Read this short bit from noted beer writer Sean Nordquist:
“Cigar City Brewing, located in Tampa, Florida, opened a tasting room last year to much success. By being able to extend their hours of operation and sell and serve beer on-premise, this local business was able to increase their employee count from 2 to 22. Serving award-winning craft beer in a comfortable and friendly environment, they have operated without incident, which few other establishments can claim. In a short time, Cigar City has achieved national (and international) recognition for their creative and consistantly excellent craft beer. In a state that has been often referred to as a “beer wasteland”, the fact that their beers are highly sought after is a testament to what owner Joey Redner and head brewer Wayne Wambles have been doing.
Now they are facing a huge problem. For reasons known only to themselves, members of the Tampa City Council have voted to not make the wet-zoning (required to allow the serving of alcohol) permanent, which would essentially force the closing of the Tasting Room. As Joey has said, this means “no more special events, no more limited release parties, no beer for sale – at all – at the Tasting Room.”
So as the citizenry, we have a responsibility to make our voices heard. Tell the Tampa City Council not to vote for killing jobs. Tell them not to vote for limiting growth. Tell them to reward success and not punish it. Tell them that local businesses are watching. And so are those that might wish to do business in Tampa in the future.”

These are the three members of Council who voted against Cigar City:
Gwen Miller
Thomas Scott
Curtis Stokes – Curtis.Stokes@tampagov.net

These are those Council members who voted for Cigar City:

Mary Mulhern – Mary.Mulhern@tampagov.net
Yvonne Yoli Capin – yvonne.capin@tampagov.net
Joseph Caetano – Joseph.Caetano@tampagov.net

Finally, the member who was absent. Let Charlie Miranda know you support CCB and craft beer and are counting on his yes vote on December 2nd.

Go to Save the Cigar City Tasting Room!

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Beer on the radio

The fine folks behind the Dionicess events that have added immeasurably to the LA Beer scene got some well deserved press and recognition for their latest adventure during LA Beer Week.

Tom Leykis invited the DIO crew to the Tasting Room show to talk about craft beer in LA and what events are coming next.

Direct link to iTunes HERE:

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Session # 45


Our 45th Session will be hosted by Bruce Tichnor, who runs the Canadian BeerTaster.ca. He’s taking us back to our roots, to spend a cloudy afternoon with wheat beers, or has he describes it:

We wanted to get back closer to the roots of the Session and pick a topic which was simple and yet gives a wide range of interpretations so we chose, simply (or perhaps not so simply), Wheat Beers.

Feel free to take this topic in any direction you like, specific reviews, historical information, or any other twist you’d like to use. Wheat beers are a pretty wide topic and actually cover German style Weizen, Heffe Weizen, etc. along with Belgian style Witbier and even Flavoured Wheat beers.

There are very few guidelines here, just have some fun drinking Wheat Beers in the fall instead of the summer.

Whenever I see or hear the words “wheat beer”, my steel trap of a mind heads straight to the first beer that made me think that beer could be more than plain and watery. Thomas Kemper WeizenBerry which the RateBeer sites describes thusly, “This wheat-brewed beer is bursting with refreshing all-natural raspberry flavor.”

I drank a lot of that beer. Mainly because it was sparkly and fruity and low in alcohol. I did not care one bit of the Weizen part of the equation. It was all about the berry.

At the time it was probably one of the better NW beers out there. Nowadays, it would probably not rank high due to the prejudice against fruit beers and most wheat beers. And truth be told, if I was handed a bottle today, it probably would not taste or rank as well as I remember. Part of me is glad it is not made anymore. A treasured memory can’t be tarnished by your own self or made fun of by others.

Now, wheat beer conjures up a more complicated stream of thought. Which sub-style are we talking about? Is it German or American? Sessionable or not? All good questions and part of my evolution in craft beer but sometimes I wish I could go back to that first WeizenBerry and just really enjoy it, unencumbered by all the thought.

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The Firkin for October 2010

What’s in name?

Micro, nano, craft

This month’s issue of Beer Advocate magazine declaims the use of the word “craft” in favor of re-taking the word beer.

But why does it matter? Why not just call it beer? Let’s make Anheuser-Busch or MillerCoors (BMC) change the term for their industrial water lagers.

For one, they spill more beer (heck, their customers spill more beer) than the craft brewers make combined. And despite two distinct periods of phenomenal growth, most people in this country haven’t tasted Widmer, Stone or even Sam Adams products. We can’t fool ourselves that the fight is won. It’s akin to two Allstrom’s striding onto the field of battle (pardon the war analogies) and telling the huge army in front of him that they best walk away.

The BMC will continue to lose ground as customers taste beer with flavor. I have no doubt that people will keep switching. In ones and twos, maybe, but the tide has turned. But until the point when more people drink craft beer than industrial, the brand needs to stay differentiated. And don’t kid yourself that “craft” isn’t a brand. It is. It is a permeable border at times. But most of the time, industrial works in it’s yard and “craft” plays in it’s yard.

I can understand the argument if “craft” doesn’t convey the appropriate nuance for the growing yard it occupies. Then a new term should be brainstormed. I had no problem with abandoning the term “micro-brewery” when the movement had awesome beers made at all different levels of brewery size. In fact, size is probably not the best way to classify quality anyway. If it is needed, there can be size categories for breweries if it is helpful to measure the overall health or growth of our cottage industry.

I wish I could come up with a great name but Don Draper I am not. To me “craft” means made with pride. It is the opposite of economies of scale and tanker trucks. And until someone finds a better word in the dictionary, I will stick with “craft”.

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Mystery Brewing

Some days the mailman brings fun stuff. Today I got a package from >Mystery Brewing, the new brew start-up that I helped via Kickstarter.

That opener is a heavy duty wonder. And who doesn’t love getting a certificate? Especially one that says that I am a “patron” of craft beer!

I just can’t wait to try the beers!

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Woody

Taking the Hopworks bike one step further is the WOODY!

photo from Deschutes Brewery

Here is what the Deschutes people have to say about this new toy…“Who is this guy? Woody, the good-times-on-wheels mobile bar, is a giant wooden beer barrel featuring multiple delicious Deschutes Brewery beers, a stereo, and a disco ball. He is a natural gathering spot at any event for all thirsty individuals (and any misplaced members of your party). Woody’s lounge atmosphere, complete with bar tables, is as inviting as an undiscovered oasis in the California desert. So stop by for a tasty beer and create your own public house.”

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LA Beer Week – Final Report (and grade)

Entering the final weekend of LA Beer Week, I was excited to see how the closing festival turned out in it’s new location at Union Station. Very well indeed. Crap, I jumped the gun on my own post.

But first, I drove over to Eagle Rock Brewing on Saturday to try the LA Week beer. The aforementioned, Unity LA’s Team Beer. An imperialized California common. As well as the new lemongrass wit. They have been busy at ERB! (And I haven’t even talked about their coffee beer Stimulus)

Of the two, the Lemongrass was the winner. Distinct and vibrant notes of lemongrass that didn’t cloy on the palate. Why it doesn’t have a fancy name like the rest of the beers I don’t know. But it was delicious.

The Unity was solid and well made but not a style that I would normally go back to repeatedly. I think I just prefer the regular old fashioned common / steam beer. Amping up this style doesn’t add anything for me.

On to the FINALE!

I arrived early to volunteer and got to haul ice and do some general helpful things before getting my assignment for the four hour festival. I and Oregon Beer Festival veteran Richard would be manning the Wyder and Woodchuck cider booth.

Luckily that put us right in between Brian and Nibble Bit Tabby and Jeremy and Co. from Eagle Rock. And Craftsman was right across from us. Thankfully cider is easier to pour. Less finicky than beer. So we could watch the crowd ebb and flow and see everyone come to see Jeremy’s GABF medal.

It was a blast to be a part of something that put so many smiles onto people’s faces.

So now that the 2010 edition is in the books, I will be giving out two grades. One for the week+ of events and one for the Union Station festival.

EVENTS GRADE – B-
Why? – Plenty of events all over the LA. Diversity of events.
Why not higher? – Need more events in the mid-price range ($20.00-$30.00)

I always found something to go to. And if I didn’t have something new or spectacular, I did get to re-visit some places that I hadn’t seen in a bit. That is such a plus.

Here are my recommendation for improving on this years edition.
1. The ability to tag and get updates on those events that most interest you. This would have helped me considerably. I mentally jotted down what I wanted to attend and then didn’t really look to closely after that. If there was an e-mail update that told me that the Oinkster event was about to put tickets on sale for an event that I didn’t know required tickets, I might have made that event. Same for the Hot Knives and Cheese at the Verdugo. Information was on the calendar very fast but it changed too and it is becoming daily work to keep on top of things.

2. Official “HOME of LA Beer Week” banners for establishments holding events during the week. Who knows how many people may have wandered into a bar or brewery if they could easily see such a sign. (More on signs later)

3. Keep pressing for more press. KPCC was at the Float Showdown. Los Angeles magazine did a blurb. More is needed and will come if the momentum is tended to.

FESTIVAL GRADE – B+
Why? – Good amount of breweries. Wide ranging beer selection. Was not cramped. Great location.
Why not higher? – Needed more signage and toilets. Needed to display the Unity beer more prominently.

First off, I want to congratulate all of the people who dedicated alot of personal time and energy to put this on. These events are hard to put on. Logistically and stylistically. Then factor in that this was the first attempt at this venue and you add more hurdles. Anybody who starts complaining or whining without spending time congratulating and high fiving people first, is an idiot.

Now down to brass tacks. AKA, my personal recommendations for improvement.

Pre-Event
1. I could not for the life of me find the list of breweries. Maybe it was there and I missed it. Either way, it was not easily accessible.

2. Push the mass transit. Link up to the rail and bus time tables.

3. Have the LA beer bloggers start banging the drums about what they are itching to drink.

During the event
1. We need the mayor or a sports personality to tap the first keg and it needs to be the official LA Beer for the week. And that beer needs to be front and center and visible to all walking in. Even if it is in limited supply.

2. Signs. In the Union Station space, a map truly isn’t required. I could walk around in 5 minutes with a festival going on. But signs would be nice. A sign for the Spero Foundation booth. A sign for the water. Where to go for the food trucks? If that is too costly or time consuming, posting 5 or 6 volunteers around the festival with “Ask Me” pins or shirts would work wonders.

3. I don’t know what the breakdown of new to craft beer vs. old hands has been for the festival but we need an education booth or breakout session. Where we can distribute information about all of the great places to go here in LA. I know a map is in the works but even a simple sheet just names, address, hours of operation and website might bring more people after the festival.

Post-Festival
1. Pre-assigned breakdown teams. Before the event, put people into specific groups for cleaning. One group starts by kindly getting our guests out of the area. Another group does empty bottles. Another group moves kegs. Another strikes tables. Each group should have a leader. There is a great group of volunteers willing to help that could use more forceful direction.