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One too many Degrees

 

A few days ago, I received this e-mail.images
” Two days ago it was brought to my attention via Twitter and The Patch Carlsbad that 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill was opening in Carlsbad Village at the former “The Catch” location.  This is in no way affiliated with my company.  I had “The Patch” change this info as soon as I was aware.  I am very concerned with the unauthorized use of my brand 38 Degrees as I have put all my passion, blood, sweat and tears into developing what I believe as one of Southern California’s top craft beer bars and New American restaurants.  The owner Mayur Pavagadhi has built the façade with an almost identical logo using Orange color as I and Tan/Brown signs stating Craft Beer & American food.  My brand 38 Degrees has symbolized and represents an enormous amount of good will in craft beer culture and our community since 2009.  Confusion of the proposed Carlsbad location and mine is inevitable as folks were already mislead and commenting on “our arrival” into Carlsbad Village on internet sites.  We have made personal contact with Mayur Pavagadhi and he was not accommodating in wishes for him to change name and look in Carlsbad and in fact stated he would seek legal action to up hold his rights to open as a craft beer focused restaurant using 38 Degrees Carlsbad as the DBA.  I am writing all of you to consider helping me persuade Mr. Pavagadhi to dis continue this route of business.  I do not have an e mail address yet for him but the 38 Degrees website now under “The Catch” Carlsbad will soon be live.  If anyone personally knows this person, I strongly urge you to reach out ASAP.  I will reach out to many of you via phone as I am very concerned.  Let me know if you can have comments or disagree with me in any way.”

I know and repect Clay Harding who wrote this and I totally agree.  It appears the whole “name” and “brand” issue is rearing it’s ugly head again.  Coronado sues for the name Idiot IPA, not cool.  The name Shift is being grabbed and re-used, not cool.  Anyone with a grasp of recent craft beer history knows that the bandwagoners fall by the wayside when the boom and growth falter.  LIFO in accounting terms.  Last in, First out.

Here is the deal.  If you are in the same market or same state.  Don’t re-use names.  If you do and it is an accident, apologize and then collaborate with the person who you wronged (that is called good PR).  If you are a nano in California and won’t compete with a similarly named project in Georgia or Mississippi, then ask first (again, good PR, sense a trend?).  Maybe it won’t matter and again, you should  collaborate.  There are many, many, many beer terms that you can use to name your bar, brewery or gastropub.  Check out the Oxford Companion to Beer and you can probably find a cool brewery name or two.  Due some diligence and don’t be a Mayur.

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This may be one of those beers that I hope to score a taste of before buying. I don’t know how the malty and a little hoppy 60 Minute IPA will fare when adding the tannins of red wine to the mix. But here is the full story for you to make a decision about….

“Sixty-One, Dogfish Head’s first new core beer since 2007, was born at the crossroads of serendipity, experimentation and brotherhood.

Whenever Dogfish Head President Sam Calagione and his neighborhood friends gather for drinks, they give each other a big ol’ man-hug and order a round of 60 Minute IPA. A few years ago, Sam also ordered a glass of his favorite red wine and poured a little into each pint of 60 Minute. They all dug the combination of fruity complexity and pungent hoppiness, and the blend became a beloved tradition.

dogfish bonnie prince billy 1Sixty-One captures that tradition in a bottle and marries two Dogfish Head innovations: beer/wine hybrids — which Dogfish has focused on for well over a decade with beers like Midas Touch and Raison D’être — and continually-hopped IPAs.

The name Sixty-One is a reminder that this beer is Dogfish Head’s best-selling 60 Minute IPA plus one new ingredient: syrah grape must from California. The label, painted by Sam, is a twist on a typical watercolor. Rather than using water, Sam mixed the green pigment with beer and the red pigment with wine. And because Sixty-One pairs so well with chocolate, he painted the browns on the label with melted chocolate.”

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32 Via dei Birrai

I have been seeing some new Italian beers at my Whole Foods….
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“32 Via dei Birrai is an artisan brewery. Its philosophy follows the movement of the circle that contains the logo: a curved line that outlines the cycle of the traditional craft of brewing and leads on to discovering as yet unexplored paths.

32 Via dei Birrai represents the perfect equation between taste and design, between research and method without ever straying into industrial standardisation.”

Has anyone (with a bigger beer budget) bought any of these $14 beers? And if so, were they good?

Of the beers on offer, I would probably be most likely to have the Nectar because I know Italian’s brew up some great chestnut beers.

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Fermented Tees

I am going to make a blanket statement. Most beer shirts (barring brewery logo offerings) are a bit juvenile. Representing the we are here to get drunk segment. Frankly, I do not need to see any shirt with any innuendo about beer goggles, ever again.

Thankfully, I was recently contacted by the folks behind Fermented Tees and they make quality designed shirts that would make great gifts for the home brewer in your life.
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The site is in it’s infancy with hopes of adding more designs, so check it out now and bookmark it for quick reference the next time you need a shirt that says, “Add more hops!”
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Sean Suggests for February 2013

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This month’s selections invert my whole light to dark spectrum a bit. Usually, I go by ABV. But this month the medium choice has a higher alcohol than the dark choice. But after tasting all three, the order that I chose works better.

Now get shopping!
February 2013
Just double click and download the PDF to take on your next craft beer run.

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Beck’s Sapphire

Not to be outdone by the Black Crown and “Taste Makes and Entrance” from Budweiser, Beck’s is now going the night club design route with their Sapphire.
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As the website describes it, “…our new pilsner brewed with rare German Sapphire (Saphir) hops for a distinctively smooth taste and brewed to 6 percent ABV. Beck’s Sapphire represents a new standard for beer.

To serve this uniquely smooth pilsner, our engineers spent over two years developing an exclusive, sleek black glass bottle. This bottle not only protects our beer from light better than common brown bottles, it also provides a distinguishing image for Beck’s Sapphire.

As with all Beck’s beers, Beck’s Sapphire is brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516 and uses only four natural ingredients.”

I, for one, hope it tastes better but I am curious that they are just now reading up on which glass color protects beer more when they have been green bottled for a large chunk of their existence. Maybe the marketing folks didn’t read up on the other Beck’s products.

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An Incubator for Craft Beer

One of the reasons why I am fascinated by the craft beer movement is that new stuff keeps popping up that makes me wonder, “Why didn’t I think of this?”

Add this to the file: A brewery business incubator. One of my beer spotters, Steve found this article on Fast Company and I was kicking myself that I hadn’t written about it until now. Check it out HERE.

Considering the start-up costs and equipment scarcity and permitting and all of the rigamarole that you have to go through in Los Angeles. One place where up and comers can test out their craft seems like a no-brainer.

Check out the (fully funded +) Kickstarter video and I think you will agree:

If I win the lottery tomorrow (or the day after) this is something that I would love to pursue.

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FoodGPS Teaser – Anaheim Beer Day

As much as I try to promote the L.A. Beer Community, there is also a greater California community to also to talk about.

With that in mind, I visited the soon to open Valiant Brewing and Noble Ale Works in Anaheim and you can read about it tomorrow over on FoodGPS.

For now, these photos will have to do….
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The taps and beer menu at Valiant
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The Valiant brewing system
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The initial tasting flight!

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A Noble tower!
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The taster tray!
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The new look of Noble labels.

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Review – Speakeasy Betrayal

I first had this Speakeasy beer in 2011 before the Limited Series was re-branded and more beers were added to the portfolio with the likes of Butchertown Black. The beer is described as “Deceiving, double-crossing, and treacherous, Betrayal strikes a chord in the deepest shade of red. At first glance, she’s sweet and seductive, yet at the last sharp enough to curl your tongue. The allure of her dazzling caramel sweetness and scintillating aromatic hops is enchanting.”
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This beer does not betray it’s name. It pours a vivid red with a nice (nitro looking) head to it. The aroma comes at you with an Imperial IPA bite which does follow through in the taste. Big malt and big bitterness vie for supremacy which each sip. And it do warm the palate. This is a strong beer to compete with the biggest of Imperials or doubles or whatever they are being called these days.
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Back in 2011, I reviewed this beer with the following words, “Certainly big and boozy. I get more hops out of this than I expected. Also getting a touch of sweetness at the back. A slow sipper that you can dig and find many flavors in.”