Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Sly Fox has flipped canning 180 degrees with its 360 Lid. Instead of a tab to a small opening, the 360 Lid let’s you remove the top of the can completely, magically creating an aluminum cup for your Helles. (and later their Pikeland Pils!)
Now how will the foreign owned industrial water lager producers respond?
My mother is my Portland beer source and she acquired the two beers from Natian Brewery that I will review in April. We finish with Old Grogham Winter IPA…..
This is the short description from the brewery website, “Palisade hops were added throughout the boil and dry hop schedule, along with high alpha American hops for bittering, Noble hops for aroma and a few other varieties in-between to balance the heavy malt profile. Rum soaked Oregon oak spires added during the final stages of fermentation bring flavor notes of caramel and vanilla to complement the bitterness.”
Our next stop in Arizona takes us to Dragoon Brewing Company was founded by Bruce Greene and his son Eric “with a simple goal in mind: to increase the quantity and quality of local beer in the Arizona market.” And I say kudos to anyone who is brave enough to take the leap from home brewing to the pro ranks. It is hard leap and sometimes people who write about it forget that.
After Eric founded a homebrew club (Northern Arizona Homebrewers) and studied at the American Brewer’s Guild and Harpoon Brewing, he returned to Tucson and with Tristan White, another home brew member created Dragoon.
Stronghold Session Ale
This beer starts at a relatively low gravity, and thus finishes with a low alcohol content (about 4.8%). Make no mistake though, it is by no means a light beer. It is rich with roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, and a touch of herbal hop flavors. It is made from a blend North American and British base malts with rolled oats, chocolate, brown and caramel malts. We finish it with a great big dose of earthy American hops (Sterling, Willamette, and Northern Brewer).
There are quite a few English, German and Belgian beers that I need to re-acquaint myself with. I recently had Omer blonde ale and was reminded how great it was. Fantome is another brand that I should sample more of and this new sour offering is now on my watch list.
Bison Organic Beer has a tough road to navigate now that hops have to be organic as well to be able to label a beer as organic so it is good to see them tackle it head on with….
“The 2013 Hop Cuvée recipe includes Citra® and Simcoe, two new and exciting organic hop varietals not previously available as certified organic, as well the classic Centennial hop. This year’s hops were grown by Carpenter Ranches, Perrault Farms and Roy Farms—three family-owned farms in Yakima Valley, WA.”
When people talk about beer school, they primarily focus in on the brewing aspect but Portland State University now has a course to address the business side of the equation.
I have pulled some bits from the article on the Oregonian newspaper website that I think will pique your interest if you are pondering running a craft beer company.
“..Professor Mellie Pullman, who leads the new program for PSU’s Professional Development Center. “We’re focusing on the business skills that will make your brewery or pub more efficient and profitable. If you’re not already in the business, the classes will give you what you need to create a viable business plan for a startup.”
-many people don’t realize that craft beer is as much a business as any artistic endeavor. And a well-written plan is a guide map to being successful.
“And even if you don’t live here in Beervana, the courses are available online and can be accessed by anyone anywhere in the world.”
-so you can learn without packing up your bags and heading north.
Being in Portland means Pullman has access to a wide variety of industry partners. “We’ve already filmed a segment at Widmer Brothers Brewing and two at Hopworks Urban Brewery,” she said. The growing list of future partners includes Rogue Ales, a stalwart PSU supporter; Bull Run Distilling; suppliers such as Great Western Malting; equipment builders such as JV Northwest and Metalcraft Fabrication; and smaller breweries and brewpubs, including Captured by Porches and Migration Brewing Co.
-brewery tours alone will not cut it. You need to visit and talk with all types of vendors.
the class consists of four segments: Basic Business for Craft Breweries; Craft Beverage Business Management; Strategic Craft Beverage Marketing; and Finance and Accounting for the Craft Brewery; plus an optional immersion weekend spent touring breweries and suppliers.
-I, so, would have taken this class back in my college days
“Rural communities, and this country’s rural way of life, face unprecedented challenges. The country pub, which has been at the heart of village life for centuries, is disappearing in many areas. Providing services from the pub, such as a post office or a shop, keeps an essential service in the village.”
If you have a royal highness in your corner, that carries a bit of weight and the Prince of Wales seems intent on carving out a niche as a supporter of small business and keeping the flame lit in rural pubs. And what better place then where people gather to celebrate either a sporting event victory or a wedding.
Why is that important to us in Los Angeles? Well, firstly craft beer is being pushed forward here by the places that sell the beer and secondly, due to the economic downturn there are many storefronts that are empty and filled with dust. Why not have a bakery/pub/bookstore mix? Or a pop-up pub? Take a page from this organization and revitalize areas.
(If you do find yourself in the English countryside, check out one of the inns or pubs on the list on their website and pop in for a pint and support a good cause.
The Dudes‘ have been barnstorming across the southland. Taking their new beers to bars far and wide. I finally caught up with them at 38 Degrees in Alhambra and was finally able to try 5 of their offerings. I will detail that all tomorrow on FoodGPS but for now a couple photos from the night…..
Three things right off the bat before I review Clown Shoes Beer’s Clementine:
1. I do not like clowns. Ever since Stephen King’s IT. So, the name scares me off.
2. Not a fan of some of their beer names. Tramp Stamp, Muffin Top, Lubrication and Flight of the Pimp seem more attention grabbing than anything. On the other hand, I like Hoppy Feet.
3. The label art seems to feed into the attention grabbing and talk about me on Facebook good AND bad mode that says to me, that the beer can’t sell itself.
But, with that being said. I am clearing my mind and pouring this beer with a good name and nice-simple label into a glass.
Lot’s of bubbles here. Color is tinting towards orange though primarily yellow. Good amount of foam here. Aroma gives off a candied orange peel note of medium strength. The taste is straight up spicy. Lots of coriander going on here. But the orange taste sticks. Almost to the point of creamsicle orange before it pulls back. Those two competing flavor notes work well together in this effort. One of the better and punchier white ales that I have had in a while. I’m glad Sunset Beer Co. had started getting these beers in so that I can take stock of the beer inside.
And here is the info from the Clown Shoes website…..
“Light-bodied and crisp, this is a terrific White Ale with plenty of zest! Hazy in appearance and healthily carbonated, it utilizes Chambly yeast to energetically shape its wheat malt base. Incorporated in the brewing process is Clementine, sweet orange peel, a hint of Coriander, and Summit hops.”
Here is a peak at the pretty label for the latest anniversary beer from The Bruery. “Bois” is French for “Wood.” Each year the names of the anniversary ales correspond with traditional wedding anniversary gifts as translated in the French language. Though I don’t recall getting anything wooden on my fifth.
These are big blended beers that utilize the Solera method where each beer is partially comprised of a blend of past anniversary beers. So you will taste Fruet and Coton and Papier in Bois.