Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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NAGBW 2020 Grants

The North American Guild of Beer Writers, with partner support from the CraftBeer.com website published by the Brewers Association, has chosen four winning writers to receive the 2020 Diversity in Beer Writing Grant.

Per, the press release, the writers and their projects are:

“Alessandra Bergamin will chronicle a cross-border collaboration between California’s Dos California’s Brewsters, SouthNorte Beer Co., and Tijuana, Mexico’s Lúdica Artesenal Cerveceria. The story will follow female brewers making a beer that will help fund scholarships for female peers in Mexico.”

“Stephanie Grant plans to report about the safety of women who work in the beer industry from a variety of roles and perspectives. Industry professionals will share stories and insight on the challenges they face at events, traveling, and more, as a way to give context to their experiences.”

“Louis Livingston-Garcia will tell the story of the leaders behind Minnesota’s Brewing Change Collaborative, a group made up of people of color and the LGBTQ+ community working to share beer with minority communities and support those who are trying to break into beer.”

“Jen Blair will connect plant-based food and beer to write about how these dietary options can work together to create a more inclusive environment at events and among those who love beer, especially among African-Americans, who have the highest percentage of vegans among all demographics in the U.S.”

Of those, the first sounds like the most interesting for me to dive into when it is published.

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AirBnB vs Can Release

I thought this was an Onion headline at first…

…nope. It apparently happened. A line of Other Half fans apparently got heckled and White Claw’d by a gun-toting person from a nearby AirBnB.

Here is my breakdown. If you are standing in line for special anniversary beers then you will be heckled and you have enough money to laugh it off. If you are staying across the street from a brewery, just laugh and enjoy whatever candy flavor of the Claw you have. No need to go back inside and get yo’ gun because there is only one way that ends. You in a jail cell.

Faith in humanity just lost a few points.

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Peel the Label – Ghost Kitchens

Ghost Kitchens keep popping up in the paper (L.A. Times) and the World Wide Weird (Eater) about the issues and ethics of Ghost Kitchens. Basically, a ghost kitchen just cooks food for delivery. They can be tied to one of the delivery services or be a central hub that prepares meals normally prepared at the restaurant proper.

So, how does this affect beer? If delivery becomes the norm, that means less people sitting down at a restaurant or sitting down at a bar waiting for their table. It could mean that the restaurant with the great beer list starts buying cheaper beer because they are being squeezed by PostGrubMates and their fees. It could mean that restaurants close. Now, here in Los Angeles, that would be less of a beer loss than in cities like Portland, Denver and Seattle where the two are interwoven unlike L.A. where they very rarely meet and breweries are creating their own restaurants.

It also means the potential loss of cheap space for breweries if this trend ramps up and ghost kitchens look for spots that will geographically work for the delivery swarms.

The last item that I see is that it will push more breweries to package. And ironically, beer will at least be the one thing delivered that will stay warm while the cheese congeals and fries become limp and cold. But these ghost kitchens might just become bulk buyers in a way that a stand-alone beer delivery wouldn’t work. That is, if they can move with the alcohol laws.

Then again, prepared food delivery is just going to be a no-go for many people especially rural but even in just a small city and their impacts will not ripple far or wide.

Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.

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The State of State Brewing

Sad news hit yesterday….

This was not the brewery that I thought would call it a day first in 2020. Not that I have a Arya Stark type list but State Brewing had both a quality of beer and a wide range of beer and enough hits in the top style categories that I thought would insulate them from financial trouble and keep them above the Mendoza line as it were. This is a blow for sure and even the most rosy hued (like me) won’t be able to wipe this away with a “this is an opportunity for another brewery” sentiment.

But this is not a triggering event. The competition is tough and capitalization is on a case by case basis so do not worry that a cascade of closures will ensue. Some times, you just have to walk away from the table.

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The Firkin for January 2020

Beware the beer snob who tells you that the beer that you ordered is not really beer. The truth is that: Beer is beer is beer. There are some beers like the industrial monolith really yellow cheap stuff that I just do not like and I think is a hollow imitation of a really great style of beer, there are pastry stouts that have enough sugar in them to ferment again and there are green beers that just didn’t reach take-off velocity.

All are beer, just some of it is better to my palate than others. And that, in a nutshell, is what happens. Enough palates get together and a style becomes popular but that hazy IPA you had a few years ago might not hew to the 2020 palate. The hops might be better or worse or just different. The brewer might be different. The brewery might have invested in a new cold delivery truck and now that IPA that you disliked is suddenly fresher and better and it could be because of all the above reasons combined or just the damn truck being cold.

So, we all need to get better at saying that this current beer is not working for us today and not the alternative of ripping it to shreds or dismissing it. Even though the latter may be more fun. This is not like a finished movie or song that can be objectively and subjectively judged, a beer is a moving target and will continue to change as the years pass by much like we all are. Because not only is there a “drift” in palates, there is a drift in beer styles and a drift in the beer industry and the unthinkable becomes common and then fades away.

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Hops on the Horizon

If you do not follow the BeervanaBlog, well, you are missing out. Especially if you want to be up to date on hops. Jeff Alworth has done the legwork on new and slightly new hop varietals so that you can sound so much smarter at the bar.

HERE is the extensive round-up. I am the most intrigued by the English and French hops since especially Endeavour and Barbe Rouge.

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Tiny Taps

I raise your tiny home and give you this….

…it needs a little love but that is where L.A. Beer Hop comes in. Per a recent Facebook post, “Our 2020 look. It’s a 1955 Aloha Travel Trailer that we’re converting into a MOBILE BEER BAR. 6 taps on the exterior. Surprises inside. Coming this Summer!” Now I have to measure to see if it will fit in my underground parking garage for a cool party.

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Science Grants

The Brewers Association has selected the 2020 recipients of its Research and Service Grants Program. This funding, which began back in 2015, funds research into science that will effect brewers and how they make beer. This year the Brewers Association parceled out 13 grants totaling $389,370 to thirteen projects (8) barley and (4) hops projects, and in a change one draught quality project which I found a pleasant surprise. Overall, in six years, this program has invested over $2 million for research.

Below are the (4) that I think will have the most future impact on consumers in the years to come:

Controlling Hop Enzymatic Potential – Hop Kilning and Brewery Treatments

  • Partner(s): Oregon State University
  • Principal(s): Thomas Shellhammer

Analysis of Various Metabolites in Hops as Potential Key Parameter for Thiol and Ester Release by Yeast During Beer Fermentation

  • Partner(s): Nyseos, Barth-Haas Group
  • Principal(s): Laurent Dagan, Christina Schoenberger

Deeper Explorations of Barley and Terroir Contributions to Beer Flavor

  • Partner(s): Oregon State University
  • Principal(s): Pat Hayes

Evaluation of Biofilm Growth in Chemically Treated Beer Draught Tubing

  • Partner(s): Montana State University, Center for Biofilm Engineering
  • Principal(s): Darla Goeres
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Bru-1

I think we will be seeing a lot of the Strata hop in 2020 but another hop that has momentum potential is Bru-1. It is a new experimental hop developed by John I. Hass and Brulotte Farms (hence the 3 letter initials).

Yakima Valley hops puts these descriptors on the hop, “aromas of pineapple and stone fruit that is backed by a soft spice” and it is being featured in a new IPA from Stone, Lupulin Loop so it must have enough inventory to be in an IPA from a bigger distribution footprint.

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Peel the Label – Ignorance?

Scrolling through Facebook, I read an exchange between two beer fans (one being a writer) about a craft brewery that is owned by what is left of Miller Coors. One side theorized that it is easy enough for people to know who is brewing your beer and the other somewhat admitted defeat to the tune of the majority of people don’t really care enough to look.

It got me to thinking because in beer circles, you hear the mantra of education. Get that newbie into the tap room and then you can give them the spiel and they will be turned to the Jedi way.

Personally, I think that the low hanging customer fruit has been plucked. If the hard seltzer craze has taught us anything is that people will drink what other people are drinking. You can posit that it is an effort to be cool, or maybe to put it on social media but I do not think so. I think it is easy. Plain and simple. The majority of alcohol drinkers will drink what is in front of them. If they are at a brewery tap room, they will drink what is on the menu board. If they are at a bar, they will drink something from the menu.

And trying to educate this group is kinda pointless. You can tell them that Golden Road is Anheuser-Busch but they will drink it if they are at a party and that is what is in the cooler. Factors like taste or price don’t really matter because the choice has been filtered down to location.

Not to say that you shouldn’t try but don’t expect that the person will seek you out and come to your festival. If you wonder why influencers have, well, influence, it is because there is a vast swatch of food and drink and clothing and etc. consumer who just wants to be told what to buy. If you can get that person’s attention, then they will more than likely buy if it is right there for them but if they have to move even a smidge or put out an effort, not gonna happen.

Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.