Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Open / Shut – Anchor Brewing in Stasis

Some small good news from the crappy Sapporo handling of Anchor Brewing, per the NAGBW, “At the end of September, the National Museum of American History collected the business records and other artifacts from the recently shuttered Anchor brewery to preserve and make them accessible to researchers and the public into the future. The items include tools from the brewhouse and lab, a barrel that transported steam beer to 19th-century taverns, books from Fritz Maytag’s library, and more.”

Plucking those items combined with, the pluck and zeal of former employees and the recent book about Anchor’s history will go a long way to helping unfreeze the actual Steam Beer out of carbonite. More will need to be pried out of Sapporo’s hands if a new age of Anchor is to really happen.

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The Firkin for September 2023

I do not remember which brewery finally put me over the top but this month, I am officially done with photos and videos of spilled beer.

First is was the glamour shots of beer caught in freeze frame like a reverse waterfall flying up out of a glass, then it was the varied and sundry contests where beer ended up on the floor and lately it has been brewery staff drinking from a can but ending up with more on them and their clothes.

Maybe it is a sign of approaching geezerhood but as craft beer prices rise, wasting beer for a few digital thumbs up seems wrong. As a viewer, I wonder how many takes were needed for these videos. And as someone in a drought zone, I am heavily conscious of the amount of water it takes to brew beer and then add in the water needed to clean up after each Tik Tok stunt.

Then I break out my list of things breweries should do before uploading these videos like have an up to date tap list available, have your opening hours consistent on all platforms, keeping your website updated. Ya’ know, the basics.

I know that stuff is boring admin and doing video shoots is more fun and doesn’t seem so much like work but this beer fan is going to scroll right by spilt beer because that shit is sticky.

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GABF 2023 – Quick Recap

Here are the centered around Los Angeles winners from today’s award ceremony in Denver….

Golds

Common Space Sonrisa – American style lager

Highland Park Hand of Josh – International Pale Ale

Claremont Craft Ales Triple IPA – Imperial IPA

Highland Park DDH Pillow – Imperial Hazy

Silvers

Angel City Apple Pomace Puncheon – Experimental beer

Beachwood Hoppa Emeritus – American black ale

Bronzes

HopSaint Random Acts of Greatness – other Strong Ale

Firestone Walker Propagator Extra Pale Ale – International Pale Ale

Beachwood Glenlongbeach – Scottish-style ale

Angel City Trois Annees Cuvee – Belgian Style sour

IPA Winners

WC IPA – Westbound & Down Westbound Select

Hazy IPA – 1852 Brew Co Away Days

Best Beer Name

Ain’t Afraid of No Goats my favorite beer name – bock of course

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No Menu

Courtney Iseman who writes Hugging the Bar brought up an interesting topic on her substack recently about brewery taprooms having no menus.

And while there is nothing more satisfying to me, than flipping through a beer menu, the idea has some interesting benefits to it in my mind.

First, you won’t default as quickly to a safe beer or your typical order.  Secondly, you have to improve your descriptions of what you like.  You just can’t say hoppy.  You will need to give more specifics like grassy or peach or soft.  Thirdly, you just might find a beertender who is on your taste wavelength and you will be able to find a new favorite beer.

I think it would be cool if a taproom had a no menu Monday to encourage those three items.

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Peel the Label – All for One

There is discourse both illuminating and not about the push / pull of beer and wine and spirits and whom is in the lead. Who has the market share?

To me, the three work in concert. A distiller has to use a barrel once? Well a brewer will take that barrel. Wine spritzers beget hard seltzers beget RTD’s. Craft brewers spawned craft distillers. Heck, for a hot second, there was a whole wine / beer hybrid thing.

I wonder why the three alc players don’t push together? We could possibly see uniform state laws if that happened. Uniform tax rates too. But they often work against each other instead of being co-conspirators.

And consumers seem stuck in lanes too. Wine drinkers say beer is too complicated. Beer and spirits drinkers say the same but I say enjoy the banquet. I do not go for seltzers or wines but gin and bourbon are great. I sneer at beer slushies damn a mint julep tastes grand.

There seems to be sharp elbows out when welcoming high-fives should be the action. I want all the beverages on the menu.

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

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Elani

From a hop growing wild up in Idaho’s St. Joe River Valley, comes the now, newly named Elani hop varietal.

Per the hop growers at Yakima Hops it is “Clean and bright. Tropical-citrus and stone fruit.  Notes of pineapple, guava, lime, white peach, orange zest.”

And if you want to taste a commercial example head to a nearby BJ’s Brewhouse where Elani is featured in the seasonal Tropical Hopstorm IPA.

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Cali Distro

California is a large state and yet even in this behemoth 7, only 7 cover 90% of the entire state.  And those 7 have now formed an alliance under the California Beverage Solution banner. 

The 7 are: 

• Advance Beverage Company;

• Donaghy Sales;

• Heimark Distributing;

• Markstein Sales Company;

• Matagrano Beverage;

• Pacific Beverage;

• And Stone Distributing.

I will hold judgement but I will say that power eventually always corrupts and whenever mergers and collusion go to far, splintering will occur.  Independent and local distributors are always needed.

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Hops by Hand

Earlier this month, I made the drive to Fillmore, CA and the Sow A Heart Regenerative Farm to help harvest hops. Cascade hops to be precise and it was great fun to not only feel the cones in your hand fresh off the bine but to see harvesting done pretty much by hand because even the one machine used was nothing compared to the big growers of the NW.

More will be revealed in the September Beer Paper issue coming out soon but until then a few photos to whet the appetite…

Hop field with chicken
Goat eating spent brewing grain
In go the hops
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Angel Rare & Eagle Envy

Since the SABInBev take-over of Goose Island, lo those many years ago, the annual Bourbon County releases have grown in number and in the amount of flavors they cram into each bottle. This year is different though. Only one of the six variants is in pastry stout land, a bananas foster stout which I will slide away from. But two (see below) really lean into what I think is the core mission of this program. Bourbon and barrel-aging.

2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout  

“With a heritage rooted in authenticity and a commitment to craftsmanship, Eagle Rare captures the essence of American history with its Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Just as bourbon is a uniquely American product, Bourbon County Brand Stout is distinctly Chicago. From the carefully selected American oak barrels sourced from Eagle Rare in Kentucky to the distinct combination of our unique climate and original imperial stout recipe crafted here; Bourbon County Eagle Rare Reserve Stout epitomizes a proud American legacy. ⁠  
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Aged for two years in extraordinary Eagle Rare 10-year-old barrels, each sip is a culmination of our passion, intricately woven together with the nuanced flavors imparted by these remarkable barrels. Eagle Rare Reserve is an incredibly complex and boldly rich stout that celebrates the essence of American brewing at its finest.“

2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout  
“Introducing the newest addition to the Bourbon County family: our first-ever “Cask Finish” stout. Inspired by the innovation of our friends at Angel’s Envy, we embarked on a journey to further develop the complexity of barrel-aged stout by introducing never-before-used finishing barrels. The beer starts in freshly emptied barrels that once held Angel’s Envy Kentucky straight bourbon. After aging in those for a year, the beer was transferred to a second set of Ruby Port wine barrels where it patiently matured for another year. By replicating Angel Envy’s finishing process, we refined and amplified the flavors of cherry, spice, and cocoa within this aged stout. Bourbon County Angel’s Envy Cask Finish Stout is a testament to our legacy as the originators of bourbon barrel-aged stout.“