Tag: 2016

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Drinking Stats for 2016

Since April, I have been keeping a basic set of beer drinking statistics. Not 100% coverage of all that I drank during the year, but a pretty good deep dive into what I have been pouring into my pint, tulip and other glassware.

Maybe it was seeing the numbers that started a self-fulfilling prophecy but pretty quickly the numbers in the (3) columns (ounces drunk, ABV and cost) collected to an average that did not deviate much.

Within three weeks, the weekly amount drunk settled into a range between 204-208. The high week was 288 and the low 163. The average ABV was even more constricted into an under 1/2 percentage range from 6.51% to 6.99%. The high ABV week was 8.96% with the low clocking in at 5.19%. Dollars spent per week was where the widest gulf was found going from $49.90 to $62.86 from Week 5 to Week 29. The low week was $31.75 and the high was $136.00.

Overall the average amount consumed was 204.31 at an average ABV of 6.74% spending $60.95 a week to do so.

Also, in utilizing my Excel skills, I was able to rank the breweries that I most drank from. Yes, it includes samplers but this list is meant to analyze more who I reached for than just quantity.

Eagle Rock 25 They are my closest brewery. No shock here.
Stone 24 Usually bought at Trader Joe’s
Firestone Walker 24 A blog favorite plus, Luponic Distortion
Mumford 22 Obviously my DTLA pick
Sierra Nevada 18 Beer Camp and Oktoberfest
Highland Park 17 I would have thought this would be higher
El Segundo 15 Day 1 releases, ’nuff said
Lagunitas 13 Tour of Azusa plant basically
Brewyard 10 My Glendale brewery. Will be more next year
The Bruery 10 Kind of surprise, cost should have impacted

I will keep you updated on how 2017 shakes out. Already pumping data into the new spreadsheet.

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Top Hops 2016

For all of the Citra this and Mosaic that, the classic “C” hops are the ones with a stranglehold on the Top 3 in production according to the latest 2016 figures from the Brewers Association (the 2015 rank is in parentheses). Despite the rise of wild hops and hip new ones like Idaho 7, there is only one newbie to the list and I was happy to see that Hallertauer the Noble was still up there (even though it is the biggest dropper of the year)

1. Cascade [1]
2. Centennial [2]
3. Chinook [3]
4. Simcoe [4]
5. Citra [5]
6. Amarillo [7]
7. Mosaic [not ranked]
8. Crystal [8]
9. Hallertauer Mittelfruh [6]
10. CTZ [10]

What will 2017 bring in the hop fields?

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The Firkin for November 2016

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2016 has been called out in general by Last Week Tonight and John Oliver….

…and it hasn’t been super great for craft beer either. I know there is a month left but I am left to hope that 2017 will be better.

Among the items that disturbed me this year:
-the unstoppable fruit IPA trend. I remember talking to the folks from 21st Amendment and they were dismissive of it, then they released one.
-SABInBev buying into homebrew supplies. Really? Trying to choke off innovation or just cashing in (late as always)
-rising prices. Each year it seems that I and other consumers need to be smarter shoppers.
-slow response to born on dating. Come on. If you are scared your IPA won’t sell because of it then you should make a better one.
-declining growth. Not that decline but the response to it. Why does everything have to grow double-digits every year. That’s how you end up chasing illusory dreams.
-whale hunters. I will have to add them to every frackin’ yearly round-up. And it irks me every time. But hey, some people like standing in lines.

Come on 2017. I like Canada but I don’t wanna do all that paperwork.

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GABF Winning Brewery # 2 – Lynwood Brewing Concern

Our second Great American Beer Festival GABF winner comes from the great state of North Carolina.
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Lynwood Brewing Concern started as The Lynnwood Grill in 2004 with the addition of a small craft brewery in the back of the restaurant in the “Triangle” in North Carolina.

Over 12 years, their reputation grew and they were forced to add space thus the move to a bigger facility in Five Points where they took over the space of a brewery that was itself moving to an even larger space. Now they have two brewing operations to produce their award winning beers. Such as Once You Go, a black ale that won gold or Drop Bear Australian Pale Ale that also snared gold.

Here is what I would order to start….
Lynnwood Light – Golden Ale
“Crisp, light-bodied, and easily approachable. This is what we call easy drinking. The pale malts and Perle hops give this ale a golden, straw color that simply begs to be enjoyed.”

Czech Yourself – pilsner
“Before you lump this in with watered-down, mass-produced pilsners, give it a try. Brewed in the German lager tradition with a pilsner malt character, it’s spicy, slightly sweet, and grainy, with a moderate bitterness to the finish.”

Mosaic Pale Ale – American Pale Ale
“There’s a reason the Mosaic hop is getting attention in the beer world. This hop-heavy ale brings aromas of mango, pineapple, citrus and tropical fruit balanced with a touch of caramel and lightly toasted bread from the malts.”

Kiss my Irish stout – Dry Stout
“This dark Irish style stout has some serious attitude. Like you’d expect, it’s hearty, rich and medium-bodied—and completely unapologetic about mixing hints of coffee and chocolate. Dry and moderately bitter.”

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OBF 2016

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It is hard to imagine but the Oregon Brewers Festival will turn 29 years young when the annual event takes place from July 27 through July 31 this year at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Since Beervana is also known as the Rose City, I consider this fest the Rose Bowl of festivals. Classy with history. (in this scenario the GABF is the National Championship Game – gaudy and for all the marbles).

88 beers will be pouring and what I like about this fest (which for some reason) has not been replicated here in Los Angeles, is that you buy a taster mug for $7 and then you can buy tokens for however many beers you want. You can show up each of the days the fest runs and have one beer or two and then leave. Plus the MAX transit line is right there so you don’t have to drive or find parking.

The other fun aspect is that there is an International Beer Garden which “will feature six breweries from Japan – Baird, North Island, Shiga Kogen, Shonan, Y Market and the winner of a national beer competition in Japan hosted by the Japan Beer Journalists Association; seven breweries from The Netherlands – De Molen, Frontaal, Maximus, Oedipus, Oersoep, Oproer and Van Moll; plus two breweries from Germany – Brauerei Nothhaft and Lang Bräu. The International Beer Garden was incorporated three years ago as part of a cultural exchange of ideas, knowledge and the worldwide celebration of craft beer.”

One of these days, I will plan my trips to Portland to coincide with this event.

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Days Off

I resolved, starting in mid-January (so as not to taint it with the failure of New Year’s resolutions), to embark on a plan to have two beer-less days each week for the rest of 2016.

At first, I thought I would rotate depending upon how the week was scheduled taking a Wednesday and Friday off one week and Tuesday-Wednesday the next. But I quickly settled on taking Monday and Tuesday off the last four weeks. Those being the days with the least amount of beer events on the calendar and it being easier to just have set days each week to set my internal body clock to.

There was no problem that caused the change and there were no goals for this plan of action. This was done to see if I would feel better, taste beer better and spend less money on beer. In short, a sociological and financial experiment on myself, by myself.

So far (granted small sample size) the changes have been negligible at best. I have felt better most days but that might be attributed to early morning walks with my wife or to getting a better night’s sleep. I don’t feel like my taste buds are sharper after a couple days off though I do notice that the first couple sips of beer on Wednesday night seem brighter and more alive.

The beer buying continues but I expect that I will soon have too much beer in the ol’ fridge and I will be forced to by space constraints to slow that as the year progresses. That said I was pretty discriminating to begin with. I hardly ever bought six-packs if I could buy one or two instead. I am big on buying orphan bottles. So the gain potential is smaller.

As the year progresses, I will periodically update the blog on how the experiment is going. Will I make it through to December? Will I become a super taster? Time will tell.

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Trends for 2016

What to look for in 2016…according to the Beer Search Party crystal pint glass / reading the hop leaves. (BTW: This is the positive post. You can read the negative side HERE.)

1. Nitro packaging
People scoffed at the Guinness Nitro IPA last year but with Left Hand and now Breckenridge leading a Colorado charge of nitro cans plus the national presence of Samuel Adams in the niche will push this packaging option to more people. I know that I love to compare and contrast and to be able to do that with the same beer and different dispense style and NOT have to travel to a bar will be tempting.

2. More than just grapefruit
There has been a bevy of grapefruit IPA’s hitting the market. But they will be trailing the curve. Ballast Point is already moving to the next iteration of fruited IPA and by the end of the year you can expect a veritable edible arrangement of breweries in this sub-style.

3. Beer and desserts
The bloom is off the beer pairing dinner rose and in its place is the more economical and still fun dessert with beer pairing. Ice cream and girl scout cookies as well as Halloween candy get the most press but expect a wider array of sweets next to pint glasses this year.

4. Gin and tequila barrels
Bourbon and Whiskey have long ruled supreme in the world of barrel aging and parity will not happen this year but the amount of Gin barrel-aged beers and/or Tequila barrel-aged will increase and be seen more frequently. Also look for lesser known spirits to pop-up on taps as well.

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In the Tap Lines for January 2016

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A new year. A new start. Time to resolve to be a better and more varied beer drinker in 2016. Hopefully, this blog will help you achieve that.

~ e-visits to three breweries from the pages of All About Beer magazine including Smartmouth Brewing Co., Saltwater Brewery and Black Mesa Brewing Co.
~ special featured reviews of IPA’s from Green Flash.
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer returns!
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 107 covers the topic, “Let’s Be Friends”

Here are two events to get your January started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) January 12th  – Founders Brewing Comes to LA at Far Bar
2) January 23rd  – Transplants Brewing opening