Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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CA-1K

If it weren’t for the 1000 number in the middle, you could spend some time counting all the orange dots on the map to get to 1000.

Isn’t that crazy? Think about it. At one point it was a handful scratching out an existence on used dairy equipment and now you can find spots where you can walk from brewery to brewery or try to set a low Lyft fare record.

Of course with that number comes re-calibration. And that is for everyone in the independent California beer eco-system. Customers have incredible choice and need to wield it with care. Media needs to stop focusing on their influence and start working on enlightening. Breweries need to keep raising the quality and creative bar higher and those who move the beer need to do so fast, cold and in control.

The inevitable refrain of bubble may arise because some like singing that particular song but I think that it is more of a constant search for the right size of the industry. We had too many years of way under and no one really knows where the sweet spot is so maybe we should enjoy this time of plenty if it is indeed over that spot.

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Scanners

Are you ready to be scanned when you enter a taproom?  Is speedee ordering worth it? I have read articles where license plates can be scanned to speed drive-thru ordering and now there is a new company that will take camera technology and add it to a bar to film customers as they enter so that the bartenders know who was in line first.

The company is DataSparQ and they began bar testing in London in June with more tests trials to come.  More than facial data will be compiled as the company is selling how to track busy and slack times amidst other data points.

Seems just a skosh intrusive to me.  Enough of my personal data is being stored in server farms enough as it is.  I would rather come back to a bar at a less busy time rather than having my face be my ticket like I am at a busy deli. Serving # 90 now, the gentlemen with greying hair is next.

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Weed Meet Beer

First I want you to read this highly entertaining article, OK, now that you are back, are you more or less likely to buy a weed infused beverage?

I was on the no side and that article did nothing to move the needle for me. Then again, I am merely a very little curious about the whole edible and drinkable section of this possible business niche.

For me, it comes back to wanting to enjoy a drink. I don’t drink to get buzzed or drunk. I overwhelmingly drink beer but I will indulge in spirits and wine but chasing a high is not for me. And when I want to enjoy a glass of Pinot Noir or a G&T, that is enough for me. I don’t need weed if the drink in front of me is tasty. And besides whatever mind altering aspects do appear seem to me to be contradictory or just an additional layer.

Toss in the fact that I would have to specifically go to a dispensary to find, that it won’t be at a local bottle/can shop, and this becomes something that will operate in a different world than the one I frequent.

I still believe that the whole let’s make a product alcoholic or lets make a product THC filled are just edge products. The frontier for marijuana is probably down the medical path to my guesstimate.

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Sultana

The hop formerly known as #06277 now has a trademarked name Sultana™.  It is a three-way split of 50% Nugget, 25% Zeus, and 25% USDA male (un-named? Or just agricultural science speak?) When you start seeing it in beers look for pine.  According to Hopsteiner it is a big pineapple hop with pine notes in the background.

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Notice That it is “Kings” of Beer

First clue the series “Kings of Beer” is bad is obviously, Budweiser, the second is that it is a competition show.  Now I doubt this will be as positive and transformative as say the Great British Bake Off or Queer Eye.  My bet is that they are looking for drama as evidenced by the press release which states that “elite brewmaster from 65 breweries and 23 countries BATTLE it out…”  and “Judged by… experts who are “SEQUESTERED DEEP” within the walls of Room 220 in St. Louis.

All to create a mediocre beer in the best light. I wonder if a brewer from Platform Brewing will win?

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Not Whole

Not that I was spending a lot of beer money at Whole Foods but I will be taking that number down to $0. It’s not due to that “whole paycheck” catchphrase, I never bought into that. You can spend a lot at any grocery store. It is due to the direction that the company has taken since being swallowed up by Amazon.

Suddenly, there were Echo’s everywhere, Prime deals and lockers. And, yes, the company points to how they pay everyone $15 an hour but they paid for that by reducing hours and expanding work duties. And each time that I get asked if I am a Prime member at check-out makes me feel like I am being watched and that Amazon is cataloging what is being bought.

Other grocery stores are tracking my purchases, I know. But when I buy a Pilsner Urquell at Trader Joe’s, I don’t feel like that company is going to do anything nefarious with that data point. But with Amazon, I feel that they would really like to converge that purchase to sell me more and more stuff.

This could change. Maybe Bezos diverts his spaceship company money to NASA or espouses a Wealth tax and I will be swayed back. But for now, beer shop local.

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The Slow Pour

Amidst the lactose and pastry and god forbid boba out in the beer world, it is really nice to see that beertending technique is coming back, in the form of the slow pour.

I first encountered it at Cellador Ales which smartly has a pilsner on tap amidst its fine sour collection and my first thought was that it was an Instragam beer moment for sure.

But I just read on a newsletter from the magazine Craft Beer & Brewing the following from renowned brewing legend, Charles Bamforth, “Maybe there is a flavor difference; maybe it has lost a bit of its fizzy nature, and you get a mellower mouthfeel, depending on how much of the CO2 has dropped out of the solution. But, I think the visual triggers are more important than the taste ones.” 

So maybe that pretty top hat of foam is just show, but it is a cool one that might even give you a different flavor perspective on that pils in your glass.

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The Firkin for July 2019

I may have to petition that some emojis be struck from use. I have a list but right now the top culprit is the popcorn emoji. First and foremost because that stuff is way overpriced in movie theaters.

Seriously, when I see that emoji on a Facebook post or re-tweet, I know that someone behind it is just trying to stir the pot. And yes, sometimes that pot needs to be stirred, but most of the time, does it really?

It is far too easy to trigger someone these days. So I don’t know what thrills can be had by eliciting a response on Twitter. I don’t tweet often and since I do not like confrontation rarely post inflammatory ideas. I responded to a tweet about hard seltzers with the preamble of “in my opinion” and got a response questioning why someone would marry me. I had to get up and walk around because I was laughing so hard that someone got that worked up. Maybe other people get energy from it in a way that I cannot fathom.

Also, most of the popcorn posts don’t offer any solutions and most don’t post anything but negativity so all they end up being is basically a sewage pipe of lewd labels, questionable word choice and everything from barely rude to extremely offensive. It may start out as funny but eventually it becomes wearying.

I listen to a podcast called Dumb People Town. If it were not for the humor and the actual friendship between the hosts and their comedy guests, all it would be was a catalog of human stupidity and sadness. Beer social media needs that addition. I don’t know what emoji that would be but maybe something like and fun, like a beer emoji.

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Farm Label

Every once in a while, I shout out cool label designs and Cloudwater of England gets the nod this month with the simple but agriculturally effective photos of hops and the fields that grow them that also includes the hops used in big enough type to read. Below is a closer look…

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New Model – Reviewing

We have all seen the reviews that start with, I hate this style of beer. Part of me wants to scream. (see above tweet) But part of me wants to give some credit for trying a style again and again. It would be so much easier to just give up.

But maybe as we wait for the Untappd app to load up and find your beer, we need to press pause and really think before starting to type. I know this is a Tweet First, Ask for Forgiveness later society but just stopping for a moment or three will make all the difference. A new flavor might pop out as the beer warms, that descriptive word you had on the tip of your tongue might reveal itself or you might overhear what another tap room patron is saying about that same beer.

Use that time to find a way to describe the beer that does not involve a preconceived notion. Maybe use only three or only five words to best illuminate the aroma and flavor and mouthfeel. Hell, just use emoji’s if that is your jam. But find a way to inform the person that stumbles upon your mini-review about the beer. What about the grapefruit is rubbing you the wrong way? Too much pith? Does it taste like grapefruit candy and not actual citrus? Are the hops muted by the fruit?

In that downtime before typing, remember that people may be reading who aren’t reading to learn about YOU but about the BEER.