Posts

Posted on

The Companion


There are beers to pair with record labels, Elysian with Loser fro Sub-Pop. There are beers brewed for city beer weeks. But this is the first beer made to pair with a book. But then it is Garrett Oliver the renaissance man of the beer world. Read on for more from Brooklyn Brewing….

“For the past four years, brewmaster Garrett Oliver has been working on a massive project. It’s the ultimate beer collaboration, but it’s not a beer. Published this September by Oxford University Press, it’s The Oxford Companion to Beer, the most comprehensive book on beer ever published, featuring 160 experts covering more than 1,100 subjects. It’s a momentous thing, so Garrett (Editor-in-Chief), Horst Dornbusch (Associate Editor, writer, scholar, man-about-town) and Thomas Kraus-Weyermann (writer and master maltster) hatched a plan. Together, they brewed our next Brewmaster’s Reserve beer, called The Companion.

Thomas created special new floor malts for The Companion, which is brewed in an old style called ‘wheat wine,’ a wheat-based equivalent to barley wine. The floor malts give this beer a juicy malt character of considerable depth, 55% malted wheat gives it a surprising lightness on the palate, while our house ale yeast lends a gentle fruitiness. The Oxford Companion will impart knowledge, while The Companion imparts conviviality. Maybe you really can have it all?”

I wonder how many people will read the book whilst drinking the beer?

Posted on

Chicago – Lake Bluff

Our first stop in the Windy City is Lake Bluff Brewing. Theirs is a common (and great) story about home brewing that grew into a brewery. I don’t know who is luckier? The people who received the home brew gifts and were the de facto R&D department or the people who now get to sample beers that are really dialed in and perfected.

A couple of the beers that caught my attention are…..
‘Tis the Saison
“No matter what the season, ’tis the season for our Saison. Historically a summer seasonal beer, ours is golden in color and flavored with coriander, cardamom and orange peel to give slightly spicy notes. Finishes nice and dry with the yeast providing much of that classic Belgian flavor.”

Softtail IPA
Hardtail’s little brother. Same great flavor and aroma, but easier drinking and not so heavy on the alcohol. A great summer beer.

Posted on

Book review – America Walks into a Bar

I am a sucker for beer history so when I saw this book pop up for instant Kindle download. I snapped it up.

I am glad that the author has focused on just America because there is a lot of history to be unearthed. The first few chapters though were a little dry and repetitive but with enough thought provoking historical facts to keep me going. Especially when it details the place that the tavern or saloon had in a community and how it evolved in different points in history.

I must say that I was mentally comparing this book to the wonderful Last Call by Daniel Okrent about Prohibition and in most instances it was falling short of that high bar. But that could be due to prohibition being such a juicy historical event vs a longer timeline of bars and saloons over 200+ years.

A warning though. Don’t go into this book hoping to learn more about beer. This is (as promised) about the place where drinking happens and the people that inhabit it. This is more a book that leads to reading other books. You will want to read about the Five Points in New York city. You will want to read more about Shay’s Rebellion and many other tangents.

Posted on

Look in the mirror for a fresh hop


Part of the Deschutes Bond Street Series comes this fresh hop version of Mirror Pond, “This noble, fresh hop version of our classic American Pale Ale arose from a single plot of heirloom Cascade hops, revived by our brewers from the original rootstock developed at Oregon State University, grown by Goshie Farms in Oregon.”
These may be some of the hops that I saw harvested during the beer blogger conference in August. Boy did they smell good.

Posted on

Two events for the short week – Los Angeles

at Far Bar in Little Tokyo:
“We welcome our friends from the beautiful Agoura Hills of North LA County for a eclectic Five Course and Beer Dinner and Meet the Brewer night.Ladyface is currently brewing some of the finest Craft and Belgian-Inspired style ales in Southern Ca and they’re still in their infancy mind you! (Under 2 years old). Come out and meet Co Founder/Brewmaster Dave Griffith and Co-Founder Cyrena Nouzelle for a night of great company, delicious food and outstanding beer!”

at the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica
“Put down your pencils and put on your drinking hats! Over here at the Library Alehouse we’ve been quietly building up a serious archive of Dogfish Head beer and with our recent receipt of a certain continuously-hopped, extremely high-ABV IPA, we thought we’d throw a party and put them all on at once!”

Posted on

Far Bar

Recently, I made my first visit to Far Bar in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.

Don't enter here, go a little further to the side entrance.

I like the chill outdoor vibe with the view of the sky above hemmed in by buildings. You feel hidden and out of the way, until you see the beer list and realize the most of the good breweries must know about this place too.
page 2 of the list.

I had chicken satay and ended the evening with Mach 10 Double IPA from Bear Republic but first I had to try the Pumpkin,sour,cranberry “Kick” from New Belgium. It was slightly sour and the cranberry was there all right. But no pumpkin or earthy squash notes came through. A fine beer but I was expecting more I guess.
the New Belgium Kick

My beer buddy Richard had the Stone 15th concoction and this uniquely served Belgian strong ale from Kwak.

If you haven’t been to Far Bar then add it your beer itinerary.

Posted on

The Big Board

One of my must stops during the trip to Portland for the Beer Bloggers Conference was Bailey’s Taproom.

Not necessarily for the beer or ambience (which it has both of!) but for this……

….an up to the minute beer list!

As someone who helps put together a weekly tap list of what’s pouring in Los Angeles (see FoodGPS if you are not already signed up). This is a godsend. Easy to read. It has all the pertinent information, from price to style to glassware and most importantly, the keg level!

To make life even easier, near the cashier is a computerized list of nearby bus lines with the times.

I am no technology apologist but this is something that I wish every bar had on the wall.

Posted on

Session # 55


Here is the topic du jour: “On September 2, bloggers from around the world will converge at HopHeadSaid to write about the fabulous world of beer art found on coasters, labels and caps. I am guessing that I am not so different from other beer enthusiasts – I like to collect beer labels, bottle caps and coasters. I think they are perfect souvenirs from beer travels or drinking sessions. Judging by the size of my collection you could say that I have had many enjoyable drinking sessions over the years!

Now it is time to dig through your stash and share your favorite label, coaster or cap art.”

I have a large stash of bottle caps. I have coasters and labels pasted into a scrapbook. So I could theoretically have gone through and picked out my favorites of all three categories and talked about why they caught my eye. Instead I am going to blatantly disregard a part of the instructions and talk cans.

Cans from Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon on the NW coastal tip of the state. I think the design of their Vortex IPA and 1811 Lager not only stand out in a crowd but they also impart visual and written information that you can enjoy while sipping the excellent beer inside. And in 2011, these are the designs that I would put at #1 and # 2 on my “best” of the year list.

First up is 1811 Lager…..

The light blue on this can is such a different hue from 99% of the bottles and cans you will see. Plus you need to pour it to see the writing correctly. It really makes you look at it and then want to pick it up to see it correctly. And it doesn’t stop there, then you are hooked into reading the dates and events around the rim as well as the story behind the beer and how it is honoring the Astoria Bi-Centennial. Brilliant. Before you realize it the 4-pack will be in your cart.

Second is Vortex IPA…..

Again, what a bold color choice. Brown and green with a shiny metallic tint to it. But this can brings the focus to a swirling hop tornado logo that ties into the story on the back of the can of how some of the brewing equipment was nearly lost en route to Oregon.

What is amazing is that despite the swirl of colors and mass of words. These do not come across as “too busy” or garish to me. I can’t wait to see further designs from Fort George.

Posted on

In the Tap Lines for September 2011


Here at BSP headquarters, we are working on these posts for September as we transition from summer to fall. And thanks to Charissa Santos, I will be rolling out some new logos for my recurring posts. Like the one above. If you like the look of it, check out her site HERE. She does branding, print and web design and she is easy to work with and she really made me take a hard look at where I am going and what my design does to help me get there.

~ e-visits to three breweries in Chicago
~ video reviews of beers picked up in Oregon at the Beer Bloggers Conference
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 55 will converge bloggers onto a single topic
~ plus many more posts about new beers, beer products and breweries

Here are two events to get your September started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) September 6th – Beachwood BBQ Sourfest
2) September 15th – Ladyface Ales Beer Dinner at City Tavern

Posted on

The Firkin for August 2011

In my internet beer travels I found this little nugget from the uniquely named Building International Coalitions Through Beer and Pavement:

“(T)en things geeks, nerds, snobs, and connoisseurs do that makes it hard to take their advice and opinions on beer and indie rock seriously.”

I won’t re-print the list here because what I want to speak about is the role of of the geek, nerd and snobs of the craft beer world and why they shouldn’t be lumped together. Follow the LINK for the clever list and a strong closer.

Now that you are back, not to go all Lion King here, but there is a Circle of Life. In almost every hobby and passion and business. And the craft beer industry is no different. You may despise the hyena (I’ll let you decide which beer people fit that bill) but they are a link in the chain.

So we are all important. Now what? What needs to be recognized by us devotees of the craft beer, is which category do we personally fall into? Because a beer geek needs to whip up excitement amongst those new to full flavored beer and a beer snob needs to stay as far away from the newbies as possible.

And I do not say that to demean the beer snobs. They have a purpose here on earth too. They critique with more barbed words and create an expectation that brewers and bars have to meet. They have the crucial ability to find faults that might be missed by others.

To switch movies and go to the High Fidelity analogy, we need the geeks outside getting people in the store, the connoisseurs inside the store guiding people to great choices and the snobs in the back finding the gems for the store to sell. We need all the different levels working in the roles where their individual skills are used the best.

So take a moment. Re-read the list. Are you a snob? Or are you a geek? Whatever “house” you belong to, remember that it’s about promoting craft beer to more people not scaring them away.