Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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The Firkin for April 2010

Crazy beer laws that affect what is brewed and where it is brewed are cringe inducing headaches. But if you truly want a whopper of a migraine then the world of craft beer distribution is for you. The only comparable source of hope squelching frustration is the political fillibuster.

Ponder this: Kansas, Nevada, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma are required to sell their beer through a distributor.

Or chew on this: Brewpubs in Texas can only sell their beer in house. A distributor or retailer can’t even touch it.

Lastly: Shipping companies will ship wine any time of day but now seemed scared by someone or something from shipping your favorite brew.

I am not a big fan of a large federal government. What I am a fan of is uniform and level playing fields. Wanna know why you can get Deschutes and Rogue in California but not Surly? Oregon has enlightened (in comparison) distribution laws. Minnesota? Not so much.

Here is my modest proposal:
1. Beer and wine allowed to be shipped anywhere in the country. There is no reason why anybody should not be allowed to buy a beer from any state in the US.
2. Each state can tax it as they see fit. Let’s do the math. No beer shipped X state tax = ZERO. Any beer shipped X state tax = revenue.
3. Breweries should be allowed to choose whatever form of distribution they want. If they want to be small and distribute to a few local stores, they should be allowed to. If they want to Stone it up to national levels they should be given that choice.

Right now distributors and states are getting in the way. The goal is not political viability or creating monolithic distributorships. The goal is for the brewer to get the beer into the hands of the drinker.
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Hot Knives – Greatest Sips

Have you ever wondered what cheese and what song go with Russian River Pliny the Elder?

Then you had better get this wicked cool book….
hot knives

It really has a DIY vibe to it. From the manilla folder recycled cover to the photos on the inside. But looking past that, you get some awesome ideas for beer and cheese pairings. You can see their blog and buy the book HERE

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Session # 39 coming soon

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Mario Rubio is hosting the May edition and here is the topic….
“The Session is collaboration of beer writers from around the world working on a common topic on the First Friday of the month. The Hop Press is a collaboration of writers from around the world working on a common site. As host of The Session for May, I thought it was only appropriate for the Hop Press to be a place for a gathering of posts about collaborations.

Feel free to have fun with the topic. Drink a collaborative beer. Who’s brewed some of your favorite collaborations? Who have been some of your favorite collaborators? Who would you like to see in a future collaboration?

As the topic is collaborations, working with each other is encouraged. Look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.”

I already have some embryonic ideas for this one, do you?

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A Little Bit softer now…

from K.M. Weaver at the HopPress blog
“Over the last ten years, about 30-40% of new international beers have had alcohol levels with 5.5%+ ABV, while the proportion of U.S. beers with this characteristic has steadily risen to nearly twice that. Today, more than 70% of new American beers are these bigger, bolder, less-sessionable beers.

In 2009, the average ABV of new U.S. beers rose beyond 7% for the first time. New non-U.S. beers, in comparison, have continued to hover around 5.5%.”

These numbers are sure to intrigue the beer geek crowd because they put a number to alot of anecdotal evidence seen at breweries across the country.

What I would like to see is the future of this graph. Because I think the peak has been reached. Numbers will drop because there is a ceiling to the ABV before it’s not beer anymore. (For me that is 31%). My guess is that the median will drop to about 6%. Session beers and extreme beers will occupy swaths to the left and right but the sweet spot in the middle will be the king IPA. A trend that I don’t see leaving anytime soon.

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World Beer Cup 2010

Looks like my adopted state of California ran away with 45 medals in Chicago and my home state of Oregon was 2nd with 13. With the Trailblazers beating the Lakers yesterday, I think we are even.

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For a great statistical (yes, numbers and math) round-up, check out the great Brookston Beer Bulletin HERE.

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Man Walks into a Pub

I have been reading Pete Brown’s excellent beer books in reverse order. Just to be contrary I guess. I have finished Hops and Glory and Three Sheets to the Wind and that leaves me with only…
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Even though Three Sheets traveled to my hometown of Portland, Oregon, I much prefer Hops and Glory because of the great history that was interwoven into the modern day IPA journey. We will see how is first book stacks up!

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1001 Beers

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First A Beer a Day, now 1001 Beers to try.

Why should you get another gargantuan coffee table book on beer?
A) We need to encourage more talk about craft beer
B) This is aimed at those on the fence who need a nudge into the world of craft beer.

Here is what one of the contributors and the editor had to say on a recent thread on the always enlightening Hop Press blog.

Mario Rubio
“I think people are missing why someone issues a book like this. It’s not for the people like us who use RateBeer and such (although many of us are interested in it). This book is for our friends, the ones on the outside looking in. They are the people who will flip through and say “I’ve seen that on tap” or “I can buy that at the grocery store” and start ticking off the beers in the book.”

Adam Tierney Jones
“this is for those who might be slightly intimidated by beer, who are ripe for moving on from Bud, enjoy Sierra Nevada occasionally but wonder what on earth is or who is Dogfish Head”