According to the Brewers Association…
“At a time when many of the giant beer brands are declining, small and independent craft brewers are organically growing their share and slowly gaining shelf and restaurant menu space one glass of craft beer at a time.”
Funny beer news to start your week
from the Associated Press…
Heineken cracks down on tiny Swiss “Keineken”
AMSTERDAM — Swiss police have seized 1,000 bottles of locally made “Keineken” beer after the Dutch beer giant Heineken NV complained its brand was being infringed.
The name “Keineken” appears to be a pun in German meaning “No Heineken.”
Heineken spokesman Jeroen Breuer said Tuesday a judge in the Swiss canton of Obwalden ordered police to seize the brew after agreeing Keineken infringed the Heineken brand.
Breuer said Heineken doesn’t consider the size of its opponents when its brand is being misused.
“Whether the name is a joke or a way of getting publicity — those are questions for them to answer,” he said.
A note on Keineken’s Web site complains that foreign companies have “swallowed” all Switzerland’s independent brewers.
“Our name says it all: Keineken.”
Beer distribution
If you haven’t picked up the September issue of All About Beer, do it now. There is a great article about trying to figure out the Byzantine world of getting beer to the people. There is also a section on crazy beer laws which is hillarious.
if it's Thursday, there must be….
…a new column by yours truly on FoodGPS. This week I talk about what to read when you want even more beer information to cram into your brain.
another beer book for the bookcase
A memoir and a history of beer from the Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Guild of Beer Writers in 2004. I will be ordering this from Amazon soon.
Co-Op Hop
from The Oregonian and Fort George Brewing…
The Fort George Brewery and Public House calls out to all who have hops growing in their yards & gardens, on fences, barns or houses and would love to see those hops get made into beer. Our second annual Co-Hoperative Ale wet-hopped beer will be made this Friday, so we need folks to pick and drop off their hop-vines Thursday, September 3rd.
We will have a pack of folks ready to sticky their fingers in a hop-stripping frenzy, collecting untold varieties of hops to be used for Friday’s brew. Those who have hops to contribute will be treated to some of the fruits of their agricultural prowess when the beer is ready. Call the brewery at (503) 325-7468 with any questions.
I have soured on….
…sour beer. The great Beachwood BBQ had quite the large selection of sour beers. 5 from New Belgium alone. I ordered Green Monster from Deschutes. A sour made from their organic Green Lake ale. I normally am a big fan of Deschutes. I love their new-ish pub in Portland but this was just too much. It was just sour from the start to the finish. I tasted some of the other selections but none that thrilled me and most made me pucker and then pucker more (except for the Lychee tart which had some fruit). The beers were just too punishing for my taste buds.
I much prefer the balance of a Berliner Weiss or the subtle flavors of the Marriage Parfait 2003. Let’s stop raising the bar and go for subtle.
Nitro taps
I was at Blue Palms trying to decide what beer to get when I saw the magic word, “NITRO”. I thought to myself, Why do I not see it more? Is it just a Portland/Seattle thing? Is it a dying fad?
I certainly hope not because some beers with the addition of a well poured Nitro can round out the rough edges of a beer and give it perfect balance such as the Rubicon Goldfinger Bitter. Rubicon is a brewery on the cusp. I like what they are trying to accomplish but was always left wanting a little more, oomph. Nitro did it. The creaminess and carbonation added extra layers to what could be a boring beer to us hop addled folks. It was like getting a In ‘n’ Out burger plated by Wolfgang Puck. There was a little pizazz.
My plea to everyone out there on the beer interweb is to keep asking for Nitro. Every beer spot worth its salt should have one.
Top 99 Bottles
One of my favorite magazines is Imbibe. They cover wine, coffee, cocktails and of course, BEER. And the current issue covers the best 99 bottles of beer broken up into different categories like Seasonal, Different but Good and Best beer with a burger.
Pick yourself up a copy and see how many from the list you have had.
To homebrew or not to homebrew…
…that is the question.
As you can tell, there is a lot of stuff going on in the world of beer. New bars, new beers, new blogs. So a case could be made that homebrewing is just too much “work” to stuff into a day. More than ever, you can find good stuff on sale that requires only whipping out your wallet.
And that is the easy way. But you would be missing out on a strange and wonderful world. Home brewing is what really kicked off the craft beer movement in this country. Without the dedicated club members, we would be thinking Bud American Ale was classy.
So check out the local club meeting. Talk with the people. Taste their beers and let them know your honest opinion, then decide if home brewing is for you. The answer may surprise you.