Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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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.

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Paperback on the Shelf

Last year, I put Paperback Brewing on the radar of readers and then, well, nothing really happened. I mean there was probably forward motion but nothing really concrete. Seems like 2020 might hold more news on this Glendale brewery….

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Trident

No, not the gum or the three-pronged spear. This is a new hop blend just released as of last week from Hopsteiner.

The blend is a mix of (3) Pacific NW hops. According to Hopsteiner, it “is a blend developed for those seeking a hop-forward punch to the nose – fruity, citrus, tropical, passion fruit combination to fit any beer style. Using Trident™ is sure to cast a much wider range of aroma and flavor characteristics than any single hop variety could generate on its own.”

That is not the most appealing image I have ever seen (why is there a tomato in the lower left corner?) but the point is strongly made that this will be a “fruit wave”. Now we wait to see how well this plays in the marketplace. Will it burst like Citra or have more of a slow boil like Strata?

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Irwindale

Barring a massive upsurge in PBR consumption, (Remember when it was the hard seltzer of a couple years back?) the large facility off of the 210 Freeway will probably go dark much later this year. Molson Coors already closed one facility in North Carolina as it restructures and sheds jobs and now Irwindale is on the chopping block.

Personally, I think the location should be re-purposed for housing. I don’t think that even an incubator of smaller breweries could make economic sense and at this point the beer ju-ju is probably so industrial that trying to make something creative there would be like putting on the Brady Tiki Amulet.

If nothing else, maybe some lovely street art can go up on the towers and make that stretch of traffic more bearable.

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Dry

About now, some who were on the Dryuary train may have gotten off while others are moving forward in their alcohol abstinence. Those in the middle should probably read this handy guide from NPR, HERE.

I have been taking (2) days off a week from drinking since 2016 which I feel works better for me but I understand the whole resolution side of the ledger as well. But I would say that January need not be the month that EVERYONE stops drinking be it a few days or full month.

Maybe, December is a better month for people to press pause to better deal with relatives over the holidays. Maybe Half of June and Half of July is better. The month doesn’t really matter as long as you are looking into your relationship with alcohol. Dryuary is handy as a reminder but is not the gospel.

Because the goal is not to drink everything as fast as you can but to enjoy what you have. I find that after beer two, subtle flavors are lost so I would much rather limit now and enjoy for my whole life than to go crazy in the present with diminishing results.