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my humble and correct opinion
Recently the beer ticker app Untappd unveiled a new badge, the Century Club. You would earn this commendation when you checked into the same beer 100 times.
I might be close via Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but other than that, I cannot name another beer that would even threaten that triple digit number. I reckon that over 20 would be a high number for me.
I think it is both a sign of my reduced use of the app and my curiosity that will bar me from getting this badge and I think I am OK with that.
As we have seen in Arizona most recently, there be a lot of just batshit crazy laws on the books and nowhere is that more true than when it comes to alcohol. Anything with a whiff of fun must be morally wrong for others to do.
Case in point, in the 1950’s if you boarded a plane you probably got a free drink and as many as you needed. But, if you were flying over a dry county or municipality, you could not be served a drink even though you were up in the air.
The rationale being that the dryness extended all the way up into the sky. Even though a few minutes later you could get a drink. Flight attendants then, and now had to deal with oddness.
Big news from our neighbors to the north, San Francisco came in right at the end of May as, Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani founder and CEO, announced the purchase of the whole kit and kaboodle of Anchor Brewing. All of Anchor’s assets, the steam beer recipes, the brewing equipment and the building and warehouses too. The yogurt business must be good.
THIS SF Gate piece has a lot of good bits to it but what struck me was this quote paragraph… “Brands like Anchor don’t come that easy. How do you value something like this? Do you value it because it’s been here 127 years?” Ulukaya said. “Do you value it because of how much love and passion goes into creating something like this? The ingredients and knowledge and tradition and yeast and secrets? Do you value it because of how much loyalty people have for it? Or do you value it for how much money it makes?”
That sounds atypical of most owners, looking at you shady Sapporo, as the focus seems to be the product and the legacy and not financials. It might be too late for beer from Anchor Brewing this year but 2025 is a possibility.
What makes a great beer bar in 2024? It is an interesting thought experiment. With the imminent closure of Seattle’s famous Brouwers Cafe, it is something to ponder anew.
Is it number of taps? Neighborhood? Festivals? None or all of the above? Or is it just the economy stupid?
To me, all of that matters, and any wise suggestions can be blown to shit by a generation that drinks less and doesn’t want to drink what their parents did, is to have the past – present – future on draft on any given day.
The past can be a cask ale or slow pour pilsner, the future can be all the IPA you can get in the door and the future, well that is the hardest part of the equation but also the most fun to play with. A few years ago, it may have meant pastry stouts or Brut IPA or sours (remember them?).
Having a retail component is crucial in my book, especially singles. It can be hard to convince someone to spring $20+ bucks for a four-pack but a pair of singles that gets me thinking. And if you can tell a customer that the beer they like is also to-go, you might just double the sale.
For you and other beer fans, other things may take precedence but I can help but think that as sad a closure is, it also means opportunity.
Brewing history is important and that history includes both the knowledge and the equipment. And earlier this month there was some positive news on that front as Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company has announced that they are taking some old Burton Unions and given them to Thornbridge Brewery and will also help with the set-up to get them going.
Burton-on-Trent was the Portland / San Diego and Asheville of its time. Basically the brewing town. You can go HERE to read all about Burton Unions. (Firestone Walker used a modified tiny version up in Paso Robles.) Like most bespoke items, it was not modern day efficient and thus not being used by Carlsberg.
I have a feeling that Thornbridge will be able to make good use of the Unions.
News broke this month that James Watt has stepped down as the CEO of the embattled Scottish brewery, BrewDog. How that will, if at all, the problems inside the company will play out but I fear since Watt will still be involved as “captain” and co-founder, while also serving as a non-executive director means that this is not a vast shift in direction.
But, maybe, this is just a first step of many that are needed at the once groundbreaking brewery. Until substantive changes are made, this beer fan is staying away from their beers.
Whale Hunting. It was a phase of craft beer that we remember either fondly or with white hot hate for people hiring people to stand in line for beers or those mercenaries who were only buying to sell.
Now pick your side before reading this short Punch article.
And we are back, with the hindsight of 20/20 vision, I would have put all the FOMO in a box and set my energies to selecting those beers that I wanted to hunt for vs the ones that if I tasted, cool, but that I wasn’t going to be out running for and then sat back and watched the show.
To an extent, I did that, I had a next best beer available mentality for the most part. But I did chase afield sometimes when I could have drunk local and done almost as well, if not better.
My other regret was not being strident enough in my denunciations of the re-sellers. I was clearly against them but I probably could have said harsher words and maybe even pranked them a bit as well.
My gut does tell me that craft beer whales will be back and I will get a second chance with it. Collecting is a unique American vice that never goes out of style, see Stanley Tumblers, see Bourbon now.
If I had to pick a state that The Bruery would add a location to, Idaho would not have made the list. But apparently, this summer (or thereabouts) there will be a Bruery in Boise.
I would have thought that anywhere in California might be easier, or Las Vegas but Idaho it apparently is.
In brewing, it is important to be in the right size home when it comes to equipment, space and beer in the tanks. It is the Goldilocks Conundrum.
I have been thinking about this since the news broke that Ballast Point Brewing had released its Miramar facility to a new owner and that they were going to determine what the best brewing size fit would be for them. And while that hunt is under way, some beers will contract brewed for them.
But how does one know what capacity is needed? And also be flexible enough for minor fluctuations up or down? I theorize that it was harder back when growth was flying upward because as the accelerator is pressed, you don’t know when you will run into traffic. Not wanting to miss out on sales, you press down on the gas in the form of second locations and more tanks and more people power.
Now, in opposition, is a bit easier to predict because the growth has flattened and you can see a truer demand than before. A local brewery can figure out how to keep 6-10 taps filled while canning a bit and selling kegs when there is not a block long line out the door.
But too big can be good overall as it provides contract homes for those breweries that are testing proof of concept or do not have the full funding needed for their own space so a little wiggle room is beneficial.
It is an interesting question and we will see in the next few years who played their cards right especially if Ballast Point turns a corner.
Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.
Russian River Brewing does some really cool things for the craft beer industry. Their latest is….THIS
..which is just a cool way to help an up and coming brewery. An if Pliny is brewed on that kit, there are some good vibes coming from that for sure.