Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
my humble and correct opinion
…whenever you have had a bad beer or the barkeep is having a bad attitude day. Remember that it could be worse. You could be drinking….
Clear Beer. That’s right. The most unholy of abominations. The forerunner to Zima and all things bad about corporate beer.
Summer means outdoor beer festivals. So the following are my rules for getting the most out of the next beer fest you attend.
1. Research – Check out who is pouring and, if available, find out what they are pouring. This way you can plan what beer you MUST have versus what would be good to have. After five or six beers your palate may lose its edge and a really good beer that you taste after nine other beers may not taste as good as if you had drunk it first.
2. Water & Food – Have water after every beer. I cannot stress this enough. It will help keep you hydrated and clear the palate. And have food before you go and during, if possible, to keep you on an even keel.
3. Take Notes – Take a small notepad and write down your initial observations on aroma, color and taste. Trust me, you will forgot what beer was your favorite and what was good about it.
4. Bring someone new to beer – A festival with the small tasters is a great way to introduce someone to beer that they might never have had before and it will provide some great debates as you argue about which beer is the best.
5. Get there early & Wait to leave – You do not want to miss the popular beers and you don’t want to wait in line to get in. So bring a book or the paper and wait for the doors to open. On the flip side, do not leave until you are 200% sure that you are good to drive unless you have a designated driver. The book or paper comes in handy again here.
Let me set the scene, it is Sunday morning, I am a little groggy still and looking forward to the Maltose Falcons club meeting. I open up the Sunday paper and there on the cover BEER!
I am thinking this is great. Then I read the articles. The San Diego beer tour article is the best of the two but lacking much beer descriptions or interviews with brewers. And why column space was used repeatedly about getting drunk and unruly behavior is beyond me.
But it is a paragon of journalism compared to the other article about the beer scene on the central coast and San Francisco. Mike Pitsker and Don Erickson who cover this section of California for the Celebrator magazine could have written a more informative article in their sleep. The writer goes to Santa Barbara and passes on Telegraph and Hollister. He can’t even find Russian River Brewing! Then while in San Francisco doesn’t talk about 21st Amendment, Toronado, Lagunitas. The list of missed opportunities could go on forever.
I beseech the L.A. Times to use the guys who know beer to write about it.
… I walk into my local grocery store (o.k. it was Ralphs). On the way in, a couple is leaving and they are carrying (together) their beer for the party. I look down. Miller Lite. I cringe. Hopefully they did not see me make the “I am about to throw up face”. Then to add insult to injury. The person checking out before me has a case of Landshark Lager. In CLEAR BOTTLES!!!
When I get my business cards made, I may have to start handing them out to the clueless among us.
This is why I started this blog. People my age and younger should know better. No one eats Hot Pockets or pre-sliced cheese and likes it. So why do the same with beer?
Not to get all philosophical but we all need to honor the time we have on this earth. Don’t buy a McCafe latte when your local roastery can make you something out of this world. Go to your Farmer’s markets. Buy the organic meat. It may take more time and it WILL cost more money but I would rather have one FANTASTIC beer with a great hormone free burger than a case of MGD and a whopper.
Wherever you are there is a brewery that is local and trying HARD to make a great pint. Drive that extra mile and get it. Don’t be the lazy, Landshark guy!
This is a great tool if you want to stoke controversy at your beer establishment of choice or if you just want to antagonize your barkeep.
The Beer Gauge measures the perfect pint for you and makes sure you do not get less than what you rightly deserve.
I give a large shout out to the folks at Free the Hops. They finally got the restrictive beer laws in Alabama changed!!!
According to the NY Times, “..You see, until last week, merchants in Alabama were not permitted to sell beer with an alcohol content that exceeded six percent. Alabamians could buy all the bourbon, vodka and Thunderbird wine they wanted, but mildly strong beer? Forget it.” and furthermore “…But now that has all changed. Last Friday, Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama signed a bill that raises the alcohol limit to 13.9 percent, although the container-size limit will stay in effect.”
Have a great weekend Alabamians!! Roll Tide!!
“My competition is not the other brewers, it’s ignorance.”
Jim Koch
saw this in the Los Angeles Times, I fear for humanity
Beer belt Ah, Memorial Day: a long weekend perfect for hanging out in the backyard and catching up with old friends.
And who wants to miss a minute of the action by going back and forth to that pesky cooler? Urban Outfitters literally puts the hip in hipster with this balancing act of a solution: the Beer Belt. The plastic holders mean you can strap in and sling back a six-pack while slinging burgers at the grill.
Aside from the serious repercussions of too much alcohol intake, we also have to point out that there’s no cooler. In this climate, you’d have to drink fast in order to keep your PBR nice and chilled.
Want to belly up to this belt? It’s yours for $18 at UrbanOutfitters.com.
If you want to get interviews with important Oregon brewers, get excellent beer reviews or just listen to a fellow beer geek then I urge you to take a listen to Lisa Morrison and her Beer O’Clock radio show / podcast.
I personally think that every part of the country should have someone broadcasting the great things that are going on in each area’s brewing scene. Be it Portland or Asheville.
In honor of the not bad / not quite good new Terminator movie, I present McMenamin’s Terminator Stout. If I had a glass of this during the movie, I would have been more kind to the plot and direction.
This is a really good example of a stout. I especially like it when it is on the nitro tap.