Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
my humble and correct opinion
Podcasts like TV, film and music has its candy and good for you choices. I say that not disparagingly but to let you know that if you want to know more about the agricultural side of beer life, then I have the podcast for you from the Countryman Malt Group.
It’s called the Brew Deck and it is where you can turn for deeper dives into malt, hops and other beer topics. When you tire of the hot takes and beer snobbery, give this podcast a listen.
Washington’s Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) has a new frozen innovation for breweries “called Cryo Pop™ Original Blend. Since helping to pioneer and launch their advanced product line, Cryo Hops® four years ago YCH has learned a lot, this new hop blend uses groundbreaking research to solve the common brewing problem of how to carry raw hop aroma into finished beers.”
Quite a few acronyms later, YCH describes how their lab testing got them to this new product, “The data is utilized to engineer a hop pellet that contains high concentrations of the most beer-soluble compounds, or compounds that survive the brewing process. The result is a supercharged pellet that provides brewers with a dynamic solution for juicy, fruit-forward, highly aromatic applications, showing massive tropical, stone fruit, and citrus aromas.”
Now we wait to taste IPA’s that pop.
Many have dived in over the past week with their take on the unsurprising stories that have come to light via Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) about horrible treatment of women in the beer and beverage world.
I add my voice to the strident calls for this shit to stop. First stop for anyone is to check out Women of the Bevolution. It lays out what is happening with clarity and without rancor (though frankly it would be deserved).
Second, look into your behavior, men. When have you been an ass, when have you not spoken up in defense, when have you treated people poorly based strictly on gender?
Then, third, what are you going to change? The world is tentatively opening up again which means that more interactions will occur. Will you be better the next time you step into a tap room?
Lastly, encourage those with stories to tell them. One of the most frightening aspects of this sorry situation is that men are not only aggressing but then scaring women into silence. The more the stories circulate, the higher the possibility that consequences will arise.
We can do better. Treat people with kindness, it isn’t that hard.
This year Anchor Brewing unveiled a re-branding that didn’t pass muster in many people’s opinion and now another heritage NorCal brewery has done it, but I think that most people will be absolutely fine with the Anderson Valley design changes….
I think the antlered bear is playful and Pixar-ish and I like the forested landscape at the bottom of the label. Having chunks of educational material on either side works for me too. The only mid-step (and it is slight) is the font of the brewery name on the blue banner. I think it is a little plain to my eyes.
This refresh along with plans for a destination taproom shows, to me, that this brewery is giving a good effort to change with the times.
Support for minority owned businesses is crucial but figuring where to spend your beer money does require time, thankfully the Beervana Blog has a super handy spreadsheet.
Check it out HERE and if you know of a brewery missed, then add it in the comments section to make this even more helpful of a list.
I ever so wrongly predicted that hard seltzers would be a “Here today, gone tomorrow” fad. They are now part of the beverage landscape and being added to brewery tap lists practically daily.
But I am going to double down – die on this hill proclaim that I do not think FMB’s (flavored malt beverages) are long for this world.
Oh, they will still be around but you won’t see the land rush from every brewery to make them. And when they lose interest or too much market share, then the pullback will begin. The major problem will be that the little breweries will be fighting over a pie that the big players can easily add themselves into and dominate.
Right now, your SABInBev’s, your Coors and Miller do not want to spend money on ingredients and time to make beer that competes with craft breweries. They steadfastly refuse entry into the world of IPAs, dopplebocks and Saisons, so craft has the run of that playground. Not so with hard seltzer where they can brand extend and create hundreds of flavors that are not far off from artisanal products.
I have tried many hard seltzers. Sone way too candy like for me and others that are subtle but none yet have struck me as un-replicable.
Once shots x 2 have been acquired, I can begin thinking about going out and doing even mundane things like buying a bedside table that I can unleash a volley of curses at while constructing. That experience would be made better if I could have some Omnipollo beer first. Doubt that the Burbank megastore will be on the distribution list but a beer fan can dream.
I haven’t taken a peek at the highly rated beers for quite some time. So long in fact, that I felt a little out of touch with what the wider world was thinking and drinking.
Part of the reason why I had lost track was that I do my rating on Untappd (when I do tick) and that site is less into whale culture and is more on the wider net.
So it is of interest that Toppling Goliath is so highly thought of with three beers in the top 10. That is crazy. I was glad to see that both Pliny’s from Russian River were on the list and that Heady Topper seemed to be staying afloat despite a wider footprint than in the past. This especially since West 12 has dropped all the way out of the top 25. The other clear winner is Tree House with six hits in twenty-eight. I had expected to see Monkish or Other Half or maybe Jester King but all might have to dispersed of a line-up.
The full list is 250 beers long but I quickly realized that my mode I should not to follow but rather dabble here and there. I bet these beers are great and I do want that Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation (perhaps a sampler tray of the variants), but I do not feel driven to hunt these down.
I should have seen this seltzer coming from a long way off. Just look at the bottom of the cans of New Holland’s Dragon’s Share hard seltzer and you will see that it is aged in bourbon barrels. So you will get orange with bourbon, cherry without bourbon, blackberry with bourbon and original too. I don’t be think it is a great use of a barrel but I guess it is a true differentiation point compared to all the other hard seltzers.
A lot of space on this blog is devoted to grand openings and second (third) locations for local breweries but equally important are images like the one above. Long Beach Beer Lab recently unloaded a new Brewhouse into their growing space on Willow Street.
According to the brewery this upgrade means they can brew “at a capacity we’ll beyond what we have been. This will allow for more beer, more variety of beers and an even higher quality product for our drinkers.”
They also explained via social media that, “This expansion project is coupled with further beautification of our 500 block of Willow Street with plans for additional retail and creative social space.”
Congratulations on the growth and for your community support over the last year plus.