Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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BSP Mid-Year Predictions

Time to unleash my prognostication skills on to the back half of the beer calendar year 2019 and unlike all the experts that predicted Kawhi would be a Laker, I will gladly own up to any faulty predictions.  Without ado, here are my five Nostradamus takes.

1. A new and non juicy/NE/hazy will make its bow before the year is out

2. “hard” seltzer will decline significantly in both Twitter mentions and sales

3. Openings will be eclipsed by closings by a thin margin

4. 8oz cans will start to make inroads in packaging

5. an intellectual property lawsuit will go to court

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No Bitterness

Science. Dumb people don’t trust it but it can do amazing things given enough money, intelligence and time. Obsession too.

A recent POST on NPR’s website discussed a new coffee product that is beanless and bitter-less. This is on the heels of explosive growth for meatless burgers that has left supplies low.

But, this is a beer blog, Sean. Yes, but the increase of alcohol-free beers is growing and probably will continue to do so. Hops have gone from pellets to cryo to who know what in the future so why not a fake engineered flavor that is close to hops? Especially if it can consistently provide a flavor that the brewer wants.

Beer is based on agricultural products but considering our stewardship of the planet so far, beer may need to science its way out of a possible problem.

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Please Share

I didn’t see this POST on the CraftBeer.com website getting as much attention as such pressing matters as Pabst Hard Coffee, so I am urging people to take a moment and click the link to Bottleshare.

The money is super important in this charity but the last part of this chunk of their mission statement is super important too, “When a fellow craft beverage worker is experiencing an emergency or extreme hardship, we not only want to help them financially, we want to lift their spirits, give them something to celebrate, and share our story in such a way that they feel their very own hope renewed.”

I am hoping to see some L.A. breweries join into this mission.

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VendMo Hops

I can’t resist a vending machine used in non-traditional ways and Yakima Valley Hops is doing just that. They are packaging hops for homebrewers in cans that will sell at homebrew shops.

Each can contains 8 ounces or 2 ounces of the hop on the label. The cans look to be an easier option in both opening and recycling than vacuum sealed bags.

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Keep the Context

Usually when I see a headline about alcohol, I brace myself for outlandish takes. Either, it helps you live longer or it is killing you. So when I saw this piece from a new series in the NY Times, I was pleasantly surprised because it looked at the issue scientifically.

Two sections stood out to me…

We shouldn’t not act just because all the facts are not in but we do need to make sure that our conclusions are in line with the real world and that some of the studies have limitations and can’t be translated into simple do / don’t do.

I know that alcohol has an effect on my body and that as my body ages that effect will change but like getting in an airplane or just driving in L.A., it is a risk that I will take because I like beer. Like a lot. I will be following this series to glean more nuggets of wisdom.

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Peel the Label – Seltzer

I have “tried” hard soda and hard kombucha but I will be avoiding even trying the hard seltzers of the world. Not because of some stubborn purity but because I really don’t see the point in anything that is hardened at this point. I am not looking at Mr. Pibb or Fresca and saying to myself that I wish they were the same but made me tipsy.

I have seen caffeinated water, water with hops, electrolyte filled water and probably a few other weird variants that I am forgetting. It is the brand extension marketplace that we live in. I totally get that. It was only a matter of time before all other forms of liquid were alcohol’d up. 5% carrot juice may be next for all I know.

To me, stripping the color, modifying the alcohol level and tossing in some fruit flavor is not what I am looking for when I want a beverage. Seltzer is seltzer, soda is soda. Add crazy flavor combinations all day and into the night, if you so desire. But “adult” versions to me are what cocktails are for.

If your brewery needs a line of seltzers to pay off the fermenters, then by all means, go for it. In the end, it is a business. And if they sell, then sell them. If people buy birthday cake Dr. Pepper or Ghost Pepper slushies then, I guess toss anything in a can and see what happens. I will not be buying them though.

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

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No Time for Beer

With the re-launch of the L.A. Times Food section, I hoped that more beer coverage would be in the cards but a few months in and I have to say that not much has happened. There was a hype article on Three Chiefs that seemed more social media skewed to me, then there was a domestic beer power ranking. Power rankings being the listicle of 2019. Other than that. Not much at all. L.A. Beer Week coverage? For 2017, yeah. Perhaps there is a beer-centric edition coming. Maybe they will cover the California Craft Beer Summit. Right now, maybe is the key word.

And maybe they need to get their obviously talented artist to do a beer version of this….

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Smog-urgy

In a case of in with old and out with the newer, Zymurgy Brew Works and Tasting Room in Torrance will be closing as of July 31, 2019. The space will not sitting fallow for long though as Smog City will be taking that space over with a projected 9/1/19 opening (don’t write that in stone).

I never visited the Zymurgy location. In ignorance, I thought it was a homebrew store only for a long time.  I did try their beers at the L.A. Beer Week Kick-Off  but never really learned more about them though they were on my too-long “should visit” list.

The space has “16 taps, a new long bar and a comfortable lounge area”, per the e-mail that announced the closing so that would seem suited to the full range of Smog City beers and not just wild and sours.

With space at SteelCraft in Bixby Knolls, selling at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and an upcoming stall at a Glendora Food Hall, this new space further expands the empire of Little Bo Pils.

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The Firkin for June 2019

There are still horrible beer names, pay rates which peeked into the news cycle for a bit won’t change overnight, gripes about beer styles predominate and more spiked seltzers seem to be the saving brewery grace.

So, you can take all this news as pure negative. Or you could see it as a maturing market that is grappling with moving up. I see it as a European soccer club that wins promotion to the top tier of competition. It is easy to become overwhelmed and the next season head back down a level bloodied from the experience. But you need to keep your head, spend wisely, brand yourself and forecast but not hold onto that forecast with a death grip in the face of change.

That change may mean going hazy or Kveik’y faster than you want. It might mean changing up which festivals you attend or the hours of your taproom. Maybe you slushy up that sour that is not selling or re-name it a popsicle sour and give it a fun, summery name. Or you can stand still.

Room is available for growth. big beer is still losing by dribs and drabs and that loss can be independent beers gain.

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Creating Traffic

File this under things I would love to see on the streets of Los Angeles. Well, actually, it would probably need to be safely stored on a bigger truck to avoid accidents from lookie-loos….

(picture grabbed from Twitter)