Tag: beer bloggers

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Session # 63


This month is being hosted by Pete Brown and here is the topic at hand….
“My approach to beer writing is by no means the only approach, but I write to try to encourage other people to share the simple joy of beer as much as I do, to switch on people who drink beer but don’t particularly care about it that much, to suggest to them that there’s so much more they might enjoy. No one says you have to do it this way, and no one ever made me the spokesperson for beer. It’s just how I decided to write, in the same way others decided to write in an opinionated way about what they love, and what they hate.

So in that spirit, my choice of topic – with 62 topics already covered – is this: simply, the Beer Moment.

What is it?

Well, what is it to you? What does that phrase evoke for you?

That’s the most important thing here. Switch off and float downstream, what comes to mind? Don’t analyse it – what are the feelings, the emotions?

I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot recently, because I’ve been talking about it to various people who are working hard to try to improve the image of beer in the UK. Because whether we articulate it or not, whether we drink vile, sunstruck Corona or barrel aged imperial stout brewed with weasel shit, it’s about the moment far more than the liquid itself. The only people who disagree with me on this are people I wouldn’t want to share a beer with.

The moment – for me – is relaxation, reward, release, relief and refreshment. It’s a moment to savour, a moment of mateship, potential, fulfilment, anticipation, satisfaction, and sheer bliss.

It’s different from the moment you drink wine or spirits – it’s more egalitarian, more sociable. It’s not just about the flavour, nor the alcohol. It’s about the centuries of tradition and ritual, the counterpoint to an increasingly stressful life, and the commonality, the fact that it means the same thing to so many.

At least – I think it does. What does it mean to you?”

There are so many individual moments related to specific beers or brewery tours or craft beer events where it seems like time stops and all of the thoughts pinging around my brain, all of the stresses and world events are shut down and focused on the here and now. Probably akin to meditation if I had the patience to practice that art form.

That pinpoint of time, to me, is not limited to craft beer. It is embedded into life. Some last longer and either “embiggen” the soul as the Simpsons would say or make my heart grow three sizes in the words of Dr. Seuss.

Unfortunately, the watched kettle does not boil (to keep using allusions) and to expect or try to manufacture these “moments” decreases the chances of experiencing one. Barring sunrise at the Grand Canyon or being courtside for a Portland Trailblazer NBA championship which are flat out automatically awe inspiring and thus “moments”.

But back to the point before I wander too far off. Filed under great beer moments in the old memory cabinet is a sub-folder that I treasure the most. Those magical beer surprises. Be it stumbling upon an old train station in Leipzig and having my first Gose or sitting on a bus near Greg Koch as he texted Sam Calagione. But the one surprise that I sometimes look too hard for is when a beer hits that sweet spot and all of the flavors and aromas just explode and all I want to do is buy a case of the stuff that minute.

The most recent example of that is Wookey Jack from Firestone-Walker. I am not a big Black IPA fan. Nor do I have a horse in the naming race that is attached to the style. But I had seen it recommended and Firestone-Walker is no brewing slouch so I popped the cap and was greeted with a big vegetal, grassy, grapefruit rind aroma. My first thought was that it was just too much. But I bravely soldiered on. And for about five sips, that burst of aroma calmed and the rye spice and citra hop lept to the forefront and I was stopped in my tracks. The cat, the TV and the nightly chores all faded to white noise and I was in the eye of the moment.

The last tastes did not reach those sublime heights as the maltiness chimed in and pushed the lemon and spice to the side but for 1/2 a bottle that beer was golden.

There will be more moments like this in the future and I will remember each fondly for that fraction of peace that was given.

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Session # 62


Angelo from Brewpublic is the host for the April session (#62) and here is the topic….
“The title question really gets to the heart of the matter: “What Drives Beer Bloggers?” It is apparent that blogging in general serves the authors in a variety of means. First and foremost, it is important to look at what a blog really is. A portmanteau, or a blending of two words, “Web” and “log”, blogging is defined as “a Web site containing the writer’s or group of writers’ own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.” Sounds a tad narcissistic to some. In fact, the popular, often humorous collection of modern day colloquialisms and turns-of-phrase that offer a somewhat democratic glance into our culture known as UrbanDictionary.com has an interesting series of takes on the matter. Submitted definitions on the site are rated by readers and ranked according to popularity. Here, the most popular definition of “blog” is: “A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life. Consists of such riveting entries as “homework sucks” and “I slept until noon today.” You can see what we mean.”
….AND…..
“But why do people decide to start a blog (Okay, so not all “blogs” are personal. Many breweries have recognized the value of social media in modern society)? One thing seems true of most blogs: they are easy to start. All you need is a a computer and a rudimentary understanding of the Internet to initiate your meanderings. The difficulty resides in keeping up with content and reaching an audience. What draws folks to your site? And, what makes you think people want to read what you write?”

Willfully ignorant. That is what I am when it comes to my readership. I know that there are some but that is as far as I will peer into the void. And that should be in no way construed as anti-reader or above it all. Far from it.

But I started this blog for me. Partially so that I would not bore my non-alcohol drinking wife to tears with news of this collaboration beer or what she thought of this brewer starting a new place. The other partially was that I was unemployed. I had time on my fingertips to type away or simply post a photo of a beer or L.A. craft beer spot that I frequent.

But the big partially in all this was that I wanted to talk about what I love about craft beer. Me. Selfish, I know. I wanted control. And even though this blog has evolved in quality (hopefully), in look and in other areas (again, hopefully for the better), the constant is me writing about what has caught my eye. Not the eye of a search engine that will reach a huge audience.

I do not have it in me to write a blog post simply to attract readership. I am not adding words that are SEO’d. And I am not going to write something inflammatory just to start a word riot. That is not my joy or my strength. And if there is a life lesson that I have slowly learned is that there are already enough to-do’s on my list that are not my joy or strength and why add another one to the pile. I would like to compare my blog to a beer that wasn’t made for a target market but was made with love and because the brewer liked that beer.

I simply want to express the large role that craft beer plays in my life. Because that is so much more invigorating than the random flotsam and jetsam of a normal day. So to answer the question. Content for me is easy. Sometimes it is a photo and a “This beer looks great”. Some days, I am promoting some beer event in Los Angeles. And other times I talk about the label artwork. The process of hitting the enter button is the final burst of fun that starts with a kernel of an idea for a post. Anything after that is just gravy. Maybe a gravy with a nice porter in it.

Which could be a post for next week.

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Session # 57


Here is the topic from last minute host Beer’s I Have Known

“One of the things I most enjoy about blogs and personal writing in general is the ability to have a window into another’s life, in a semi-voyeuristic way. So I’d like to know your beery guilty secrets. Did you have a particularly embarrassing first beer (in the same way that some people purchase an atrocious song as their first record) or perhaps there’s still a beer you return to even though you know you shouldn’t? Or maybe you don’t subscribe to the baloney about feeling guilty about beers and drink anything anyway?

You’re also welcome to write about bad drinking experiences you’ve had as a result of your own indulgence or times when you’ve been completely wrong about a beer but not yet confessed to anyone that you’ve changed your mind.

Its fairly wide open, take your pick. Variety is the spice of life as they say (and I hope there’s more than 57 of them…)”

I am going to make a confession that just might lower my craft beer street cred.

I sometimes drink craft beer straight from the bottle.

Yup, I will read an article about proper glassware or how to pour a pint correctly and I feel a tinge of shame because of the bottle sitting next to me. The bottle that I could have easily poured into one of many pint glasses that I have in the cupboard.

I know that the bottle (or the can) is just the conveyance for the beer and to properly enjoy the aroma and to see the beer and listen to it as Fred Eckhardt instructs, I have to pour it into the glass. But after a day of work that includes Los Angeles traffic that is akin to hand to hand combat, I just want to enjoy a beer.

I refuse to drink the industrial water lagers but I empathize with the joy of sitting down with a bottle and just relaxing with a beer. Not caring about putting the beer into the glass, or what the correct type of glass I need, or the proper serving temperature or what food is goes with. Sometimes, I just want a beer and not savor a craft beer. Maybe it is some DNA coding from caveman days.

I have been caught red handed on a few occasions and at first, I would equivocate. Try to explain that the beer was not super aromatic or some other hogwash. Now I just take a long pull and say that I just wanted to have a beer.

This isn’t all the time of course, in fact it is in the minority. And there are some beers that I would never, ever swig straight up. And I will continue to tell people to always drink from the proper glassware with my one guilty caveat being the exception that proves the rule.

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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.

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Session # 54

Here is the topic from this month’s host, The Brew Site…..

“…we’ve had Sessions covering Summer Beers, Fruit Beers, and Wheat Beers already (all which could suitably cover summertime beer enjoyment), it occurred to me that the topic of Sour Beers fits well within the season and (surprisingly!) hasn’t come up yet.

I’ve been gradually exploring Sour Beer and finding myself seeking out and trying various beers which fit into the “sour” realm (yes, I’m purposefully avoiding the word “style” here as it is entirely too loaded): beers inoculated with wild yeasts, soured with fruit (often in conjunction with those wild yeasts and barrel-aging), lactic acid beers like Berliner Weisse-influenced beers and the rare Gose, and so on. It’s a challenging area, both in acquiring a taste for soured beer and in brewing them—fortunately many brewers are being adventurous and branching out these days, giving us many more options.

So that’s our topic for August: Sour Beer…..”

We are not talking this type of sour…..

…we’re talking about what I consider the final step in complete craft beer immersion.

If you are not scared off by sour, if you have Festina Peche in your ‘fridge like I do right now or you attend SourFest at Stone in California or Puckerfest at Belmont Station in Portland then you have probably tried the length and breadth of the craft beer world.

You are truly assimilated into this culture because, in my mind, sour beer is truly the farthest from the industrial water lager as you can go. DIPA’s and Whiskey barreled beers may take getting used to but they have an essential beer-ness that newbies can still readily identify (even if they are put off by the taste). Sours don’t do that. That is a major generalization but think about it. Most people have had a Guinness so they can take that experience and apply it to Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout like connecting one actor to Kevin Bacon in a few steps. Ballast Point’s Sculpin is a bitter bomb but even PBR drinkers could make the leap from their fizzy, yellow beer to it.

Sours have no easy beer or alcoholic touchstones that your sense memory can use to link up. Wines are tannic or sparkly but sour no. Cocktails come close but the most popular tend away from sour. So you truly are a blank slate when you start exploring the world of tartness. And if that isn’t enough to make sours one of the last beers that people get obsessed with, then the price of some of them surely will. A Cascade Kriek (excellent beer by the way) is going to set you back some coin. Consumers will pick-up many other brews before that because of the cost.

One more thing sets the sours as the final frontier. Fruit. Beers made with fruit are overcoming the stigma of being the “light” version. But much like cans being re-cast as a container for not only crappy beer, true beer nerds do not see fruit as wimpy. And lo and behold you can end up with a sour flavored with prickly pears.

All of us who have been initiated into the club of sour beer need to push, pull and cajole the others into it so that, one day, we will look back and see everyone alternating between IPA’s, cask ales and sours as if there were absolutely nothing amiss at all.

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The Firkin for June 2011

There seems to be a lingering resentment of beer bloggers by some of the “old guard” of beer writers and I do not know why.

Let me back-track, just as the 1st Beer Bloggers convention was getting underway in Boulder last year, Andy Crouch asked “to what end” in relation to beer blogging. Where he made some good arguments but as the title suggests did not know WHY people would blog about the world of beer. In my mind, I heard Woody Allen complaining about kids today and their “technology”

Then this month two separate items caught my eye that again seemed to again reinforce a negative vibe.

First, Tim Webb in his BeerAdvocate column in Issue # 52 proclaimed boldly in the first paragraph about an article on gypsy/roving brewers “do not blog”. Whether tongue in cheek, it sent the wrong message to me and colored for the worse, the rest of the column. Especially at the end when he basically said gypsy brewers would ALL eventually have their own breweries. So I chalked it up to either crass overgeneralizations on two separate counts or someone looking to pick a little verbal fight.

Then I read on the Pencil & Spoon that the chairman of CAMRA slyly dug into the “blogeratti” as well. Again, I tried to reason that maybe he was like a republican trying to say what the Tea Party wanted to hear. Please the rabble rousers type of language.

But I get the strange feeling that their are certain people in the craft beer world who are unwilling to jump into beer in the year 2011 with both feet. I should know. I eschewed Twitter for a long time and rather proudly. But denigrating keg beer for cask as CAMRA seems to do frequently or taking potshots at bloggers from your perch as a beer book author or magazine writer seems one of those desperate hold the Alamo ploys. I know that I cannot snark Twitter out of existence but I can come to a negotiated peace with 140 characters. But some people, I fear, think they can stop the computerized tide with verbal potshots.

I have come to realize that ANYONE involved in craft beer that tells you that blogging is useless or trivial or filled with bad writing is flat out wrong. Are some blogs useless, trivial and filled with bad writing? Yes. And there are days when this very blog harvest all three. But blogs as well as Twitter and Facebook are simply not magazines or books or organizations. They are transient bursts of information that convey instant moods and feelings but that also sometimes transcend the now and become fully formed snapshots. I firmly believe that art can be made from Polaroids as well as paintbrushes.

To the doubters, I say, I do not want to go back to one style of beer. And I don’t want to go back to one vehicle for conveying beer information.

All of us share a mission. To share our love of craft beer. Let’s all work to that end with our varied talents, shall we?

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Session # 52

As host of Session #52, I’ve decided not to focus on the substance of beer, but the material that plays a supporting role. Bottles, coasters, cans, labels, ads, tap handles, church keys, hats, t-shirts, tip trays, glassware and signs have been collected by fanatics ever since beer has been sold. These objects constitute the world of breweriana, a term that surfaced in 1972 to define any item displaying a brewery or brand name. The majority of highly prized objects are from the pre-prohibition era, but ephemera from every period in brewing history, including craft beer, finds a home with each beer drinking generation.

So what old or new beer related items do you collect and why? It’s that simple. This is your opportunity to share the treasured objects your wife or husband won’t let you display on the fireplace mantle. You don’t need to be a major collector like this guy to participate. In my mind, just a few items constitute a collection. Maybe you have mementos from a beer epiphany or road trips? You can focus on a whole collection or tell the story behind a single item.

I saw this topic and thought to myself that the craft beer ephemera that I hold onto is pretty pedestrian.

I have a big bowl holding a bunch of bottlecaps for a possible future project. Maybe a table like the ones at Saraveza in Portland, where the caps are displayed in colorful patterns under glass. I just need to keep collecting caps to bring that project to life. Also I need to learn how to be handy as well.

I have some empty bottles around. A Laurelwood Deranger Red. A traditional Gose bottle, some of the Stone Brewing collaboration bottles. But since I hate to dust and my wife can see it, hear it and smell dust particles, I keep the bottles to the minimum to avoid having to spend time dusting instead of drinking.

What I spend the most time on are my books of brewery coasters and beer labels. Each page organized by location. So there are multiple California pages, Oregon pages and the like. It will eventually be quite the pictorial chronicle of my journey through beer.

So that is it. No man cave with neon signs. No signed bottles. No framed photographs of me with beer luminaries on the walls. Just a full fridge and memories.

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Session # 50

Fifty. Five. Zero. That means something for Canadians… and guys like me in their late forties. It’s the balancing point. The line between passing and failing. Your share of the draw. What topic to pick for such an important moment in beer blogging history?

I posted a few days ago about the topic for this month’s session and gratefully received comments as well as emails in reply. While meta-blogging was discouraged, some themes were there. I like ideas around service, respect and good value. It’s the cornerstone of any healthy consumer-producer relationship as far as I’m concerned. And, interestingly, Mark Dredge wrote a typically well-written post this week that speaks directly to my interest in that intersection between value and obsession. So, based on all of that, here is where I am going: what makes you buy someone’s beer? Elemental. Multi-faceted. Maybe even interesting.

* Buying beer. I mean takeaway. From the shelf to you glass. What rules are dumb? Who gives the best service? What does good service mean to you? Please avoid “my favorite bar references” however wonderful. I am not talking about taverns as the third space. Unless you really really need to and contextualize it into the moment of transaction at the bar. If you can crystallize that moment of “yes” when the bartender is, in fact, tender go for it.
* What doesn’t work? What fad or ad turned you off what had previously been turned on about some beer’s appeal? When does a beer jump the shark? When does a beer store fail or soar? When does a brewery lose your pennies or earn your dimes?
* Go micro rather than macro. You may want to explore when you got tired of “extreme” or “lite” or “Belgian-style” but think about it in terms of your relationship with one brewery rather than some sort of internet wave of slag… like that ever happens.
* What is the most you paid for a great beer? More importantly – because this is not about being negative – what is the least? I don’t mean a gift. What compels you you to say this is the quality price ratio (“QPR”) that works best for you? When does a beer scream “you would have paid 27% more for me but you didn’t need to!”?

Just ideas. I hope you see what I am suggesting. Let me know if not and I maybe can refine it. It’s for the fifty. Half a century. The last real milestone any of us will ever hit.

Check out the responses today HERE

At first, I thought this would be an easy topic. What makes me buy THAT beer? Obviously it is because of….ummm. Then I went back to the question. Then I started to analyze the thought process of why I buy the beer that I do. Then I started researching the beers that I have imbibed this year. Then I found myself at Whole Foods staring at the beer selection for an uncomfortably long time. (I got so caught up with trying to answer the “why” that I haven’t even touched the “why not”)

Suddenly I was in a craft beer choose your own adventure. And confronted with a generous bounty of beer either on tap or bottle, I was often times randomly selecting either something new or an IPA.

That realization was a bit disconcerting because each craft beer purchase is a monetary vote for not only the store or bar you buy at or the brewer who brews it but for the myriad of people in between as well. It is a tacit, if temporary, approval of their work.

Now I’m not going to require anybody or even myself to know every last detail of the beers journey from raw ingredients to the glass before you can enjoy a beer. But I do need to figure out what I deem as most important to the present, past and future of craft beer and reward those brewers and publicans who are on the same wavelength as me with my precious beer money.

Importance can be many things. Too many to list here. For me, I want to support the local breweries and bars as much as possible. I also want to support brewers who take chances and aren’t stagnant. And most importantly, I want to sample a wide swath of beer styles. These items of importance hopefully won’t induce paralysis by over-thinking and will allow for spontaneity.

I could come up with a clever mnemonic device using the word firkin or mash tun to shoehorn my criteria into but instead I am going to go completely ego centric and say that I now (thanks to this session) am going to be more mindful of why I am choosing THAT particular beer.

It may take me a little longer in the store or at the bar now, so I apologize, in advance, to anyone stuck behind me.

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Session # 48

Here is the topic posed by the Reluctant Scooper:

The method of beer dispense often raises the hackles of even the most seasoned beer drinker. Some evangelize about living, breathing cask as being the one true way. Others heartily support the pressurized keg. The humble tinny has its fans. Lovers of bottled beer, either conditioned or pasteurized, can be equally vociferous.

Perhaps you think that one method magnifies a beer’s impact. Perhaps you won’t try a beer if it’s dispensed in a way you don’t agree with. Perhaps you’ve tried one beer that’s been dispensed every which way.

The question is simple but your answer may not be: Cask, Keg, Can, Bottle: Does dispense matter?

I guess I would have to fall in the slut category. That may not be the most politically correct term but if the beer is good the beer is good.

Yes, a cask may bring out all of the flavors of that English ESB or a nitro may add notes unseen to an Irish stout but I think those are isolated examples. The pale ale is not going to be appreciably (and I am talking the average beer geek not the ciccerone or brewer) different be it from the bottle or can or tap. If (and you knew this was coming) the same care was shown by the people in the supply chain from Brewer A to Beer Merchant Z.

Some taps may be fresher but you have to deal with clean lines. Bottles may sit too long in harsh light. Cans may be set out in the sun too long while being delivered.

A recent example reinforced my idea. I had a Sierra Nevada sampler tray at the wonderful Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank, California. On it was Hoptimum. It was too harsh for me on the tip of my tongue and too boozy at the back end. But I also had a bottle in my ‘fridge. The next day, tried again and got the same result.

If the beer is good and it arrived to my pint glass in peak condition, then I do not care. (But I am willing to have people buy me a beer to make their point!)

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Session # 47

The first session of 2011 is hosted by Beer47. The topic? Cooking and Beer.

I wish that I had grand culinary exploits to wow the crowd with. Sad to say but my cooking skills are limited to following directions on boxes. So no Imperial porter foam on a beer soaked flourless chocolate cake nor IPA infused garlic mashed potatoes. (though I do have that Sean Paxton recipe printed out on my desk).

And since I do not have many beer dinners under my belt either, I can’t really comment on what works really well and what doesn’t. I do know a good amount about beer floats (but that really doesn’t involve cooking).

That leaves me with proposing my ideal and still unrealized dream beer dinner. Not all choices may be winners or even work but I would certainly like to try it.

So here goes….

APPETIZER
Sharp cheddar quesadillas
BEER TO USE:Strand Brewing Atticus IPA
I like the combo of cheddar and IPA and would like something bold to wake up the tastebuds. The Strand pale ale would work here as well if a lesser hop kick is warranted.

MAIN COURSE
Kobe Flank Steak in a Flanders Red spiked sauce.
BEER TO USE: Cascade Brewing’s Kriek
I don’t know how to make a sauce for steak and it might be sacrilege to use this Kriek but I would to see the contrast between the sour and the butter.

DESSERT
Apple Pie a la mode with an apple beer ice cream
BEER TO USE: Unibroue Ephemere
A double shot of apple. Scoops in Los Angeles makes great beer ice creams/sorbets and I would to have two wildly different forms of apple on the palate.