Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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The Firkin for March 2021

In a hopeful sign, I have started to think about how I would feel going back to a brewery and imbibing actually on premise. Obviously after I get my two shots (hopefully in April)

For me, it is going to be in stages. Like a cautious child dipping their toe into a cold lake. I will probably get a half pint outside and drink fast and be super watchful. Then it might be a full pint but still on guard. Then an outdoor taster tray.

Then and only then will I venture inside and take a stool at the bar where that same three step process will happen again.

I do not know how long it will take to feel secure. When I was younger, I was in a car accident where a driver left turned into my car and slammed into me. The passenger door behind me was crumpled. For a long while, when I saw someone turning near my lane, my heart would beat a little faster and my hands would grip the wheel tighter.

Now, that feeling is long gone. I am looking forward to this Covid crash feeling being a memory too.

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Which Shirt to Choose?

Seeing this jersey room (which probably doesn’t show a fraction of what Messi has) makes me wonder what would happen if famous brewers traded shirts with their brewing contemporaries. What would Julian from Beachwood display? Who is the Iker Casillas for Jeremy at Eagle Rock?

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Sharks

Fun fact – the ABC show Shark Tank has had two pitches that involve beer in back to back episodes. If you are a fan of the show, you know the format. Entrepreneurs hoping to make it big pitch their idea to a panel of investors like Mark Cuban or Mr. Wonderful. (Aka Kevin O’Leary). The hope is to get their expertise to grow their brand. Getting on the show is sometimes enough for at least a short-term boost in sales.

First is the good ol’ boy named Muff Waders. A piece of apparel that makes you into a walking refrigerator. Complete with a bottle opener and a place to rest your beer. No takers on that idea.

The second idea was hammered into the ground. A can and bottle chiller that could hold three smaller format cans or bottles or one wine sized bottle. It didn’t even have a misogynistic name to its credit. Yup, three cans. I guess that 4th IPA from the pack stays home?

Beer has popped up on the show before and products tangential to it will show up again but for those coming up, make sure you have two things. A pure love and passion for beer AND a product that’s actually helpful.

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Active

As I have shown in the past, I am up for experimentation in beer making and beer trying. So, if I see a can of Lion’s Mane Lager from the kombucha makers Flying Embers, I would certainly taste it. But I am wary soul as well so I see the adjectives “organic” and “super” in front of the words ingredients and I see puffery.

There is every possibility that you can make a healthy lager but it has yet to really happen without sacrificing the essential beer-iness. Maybe this beer will crack that code.

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A Different Madness

I didn’t fill out my 2021 March Madness bracket like usual this year because both the Ducks and Beavers are in and I had to give them some wins. But if you are not a basketball fan, you can upvote your favorites on Untappd.

“From March 18th until April 5th, use Untappd to check-in beers from your favorite participating brewery. During any given round, the brewery in each matchup with the most check-ins will move forward. The winning brewery will get their very own Sponsored Brewery Madness badge for all their triumphant fans to unlock!”

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Raffle Some Whales

Since 2015, Whales for Wishes has raised over $215,000 dollars, enough to grant 34 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Head right HERE between now and April 8th to buy your raffle tickets for the spring giveaway and to see the list of beers that will be given away to make some wishes come true. It is a fun, low cost way to help and to see how lucky you are.

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Come on Down, You are the Next Contestant on the Hop is Right!

First, I want you to hop (sorry) over to the Beervana Blog and read this POST and don’t give me any TL:DR guff.

OK, now that you are back, there are two golden nuggets in that piece. First is that a hop can have rum and caramel and banana notes. That is mind blowing. And second, is that a brewery can sponsor an up and possibly coming hop in exchange for dibs on the crop.

And the big takeaway that I want most beer fans to keep in mind is how veeerrrryyy long it takes for a seedling to be an actual crop. Hats off to the potent combo of science and farming that can do it that quickly while satisfying IPA fiends.

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Newly in Style

The 2021 style guidelines dropped at the end of February and here is the news people are tuning in for, what new styles have been added?

Per the Brewers Association press release…

“Hundreds of revisions, edits, format changes, and additions were made to this year’s guidelines, including updates to existing beer styles and the creation of new categories. New additions to the beer styles include:”

  • Kentucky Common Beer
  • New Zealand-Style Pale Ale and India Pale Ale
  • Belgian-Style Session Ale

I bet local Ten Mile Brewing will be sending their Common, Hidden Hollow on to GABF but this also helps the IPA focused breweries who now have less crowded main categories as the entrants shift to hazy. My interest lies in which of Kentucky Common and Belgian Session have more entries.

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Enough is Enough

In between folksy aphorisms, puns and calls to re-post even though they doubt anyone will, Facebook can offer up some actual thinking points. The needle in the haystack as it were….

Now how does this fit into beer? Well, there is no doubt that beer fans chase down, stand in line for, mule and trade beers in a quest to, if we are being generous, tick the trendy and famous beers but less optimistically one-up others.

Lately, I have fallen into Full Fridge-itis. Beer cans tucked into nooks and crannies leaving me with enough beer to last well through the rest of this month. I have enough beer but still find myself scrolling through what each bottle shoppe is posting and drooling over new releases.

And I think this not enoughness leads us to undervalue what we have right in front of us. I am not advocating a sudden buying freeze but rather, to stop and think about what enough is.

Thus ends the beer philosophy for today.

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Bone-chutes

Looks like two Bend, Oregon breweries are partnering…

Most SoCal beer fans will have seen and most likely had a few Deschutes beers but Boneyard does not have a footprint down here so will be lesser known. Think of it as the heritage brewer / older sibling getting together with the rough edged / younger sibling. You can read more HERE. But I expect that more neighboring breweries may combine forces. Some will work and some will divorce later depending on how well they can balance the union.