Session # 110 – Reminder

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Here is my pitch for the April Fool’s Edition of The Session:

With the possible lifting of word sanctions on Twitter, the Dickensian multi-part tweets from the likes of Patton Oswalt may become a quaint relic of the past.

But in February, Ray Daniels, the man behind the Cicerone program used the platform for a thirteen Tweet theory about how many breweries, are too many and if craft beer could become like wine with consumers buying based on varietal and not producer. You can read his tweets HERE or if you have great eyesight check out the image below.
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So, before the 140 letter limit is lost, how about us in the beer blogging realm take one last crack at “original” Twitter.

Some possible routes to take:
-write your own beer theory in multi-parts. Be it 1/15 or 1/20
-use Twitter for your own craft beer April Fool’s Day prank
-channel your inner web troll and go all negative on a topic
-debate or applaud the points made by Daniels in under 140 characters
-talk about brevity and how it affects writing about beer

You can do it on Twitter or on your own blog or both. Just no Instagram.

The Session # 104 – Has Beer Blogging run its Course?

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Here is the writing prompt for the month, given kinda late in the game but here goes for me…Thanks to Alan at a Good Beer Blog for hosting last minute!

So you are going to write about this: if we just “take the philosophical approach, that the Session has run its course” aren’t we really admitting that beer blogging is a massive failure? I say no. I say this is a fabulous way to cover up problem drinking with anti-social internet addictions. Maybe you know of another reason we should keep writing and try to make some sense of the beer and brewing world. Well, goodie for you. Write about it. Explain yourself. Because if you can’t you are really admitting (i) you’ve wasted the best part of the last decade or (ii) you live in a fantasy world where think you are a beer writer and not a beer blogger and that’s soooooo much more important… as if your friends don’t share concerned messages about you behind your back:

Linda? It’s Barry. Yes, I saw him. He still pretends he writes about alcohol as a job… she’s the strong one… poor things… where will it end?”

I was out on drinking beer on Thursday and missed the announcement for this month’s Session. Now I am playing catch-up with the pressure of a tight deadline. (Self imposed.)

And it is those two words that I believe have put the state of beer blogging on the wane. Without a supervisor looking over your shoulder, there is no one to hold the blogger accountable. It becomes so much easier to just type in the beer name on the Untappd app and call it night. Besides, the spouse is calling for you, the kids need disciplining, work beckons the next morning and what’s left of a California lawn needs to be mowed.

Luckily, no kids and no lawn for me so I can use that time to set my fingers to typing. I have no pretension that I am a “writer” though I am technically writing just without a net / without an editor. I also don’t think the title of blogger is a pejorative that some in the paid trade make it out to be. I think they are simply different beasts in the wild. One may be a lion but you need the jackals and hyena’s too in a Disney Circle of Life way. I will let you decide which is which.

I continue with my two posts a day because of one multi-part reason. I want to be heard and I have a passion for craft beer that I think I can curate. Being the selfish creature that I am, I love having my opinions heard be it about current events, movies or beer. Those listening can choose to use or discard that information but I want to be in the mix of the discussion when my posts are of the bulletin board variety. That leads into the passion. Without a passion for what is being made, I don’t know if I could sustain the day-to-day requirements. And lastly, I think that I can narrow the focus of craft beer to a manageable level so that a new fan can get a handle on this crazy world without going crazy themselves.

A beer blogger needs to get past that first “I want to be heard” phase because literally everyone on the interwebs, is reaching for that. And blogging probably won’t give you that jolt unless you are Donald Trump, The Food Babe or even louder and annoying. I think many people stumble on the passion portion too because they mistakenly believe that drinking is the only part of it. Not visiting breweries, not researching or reading books and not reading other beer blogs or magazines. The last part is finding your niche. The Sour Beer Dude. IPA Hunter. Brewer interviews. The places that the passion drives you to. For me, I enjoy curating. Taking all the information out there and condensing it into the short posts that I think are most important. I want people to see my site as a greatest hits album.

Sometimes I succeed and other times I don’t. But I keep at it because the alternative doesn’t seem as fulfilling to me.

Session # 79

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Each month Beer Bloggers from around the world converge on one topic.  This month Ding’s Beer Blog has the hosting honors and has proposed this topic…

Anyone with any inkling of my online, in-person and blogging presence in the American beer world since 2000, will know that the whole of my beer experience in that time has been colored by, sits against the backdrop of, and forms the awkward juxtaposition to, my English beer heritage and what has been happening the USA in the last few years. Everyone knows that I have been very vocal about this for a very long time, so when it came to thinking about what would be a great ‘Session’ topic, outside of session beer, it seemed like that there could be only one topic; ‘What the hell has America done to beer?‘, AKA, ‘USA versus Old World Beer Culture‘.

This probably won’t be pretty, and you’re probably not gonna like it much, but hey, what’s new?

I didn’t quite know how to approach this topic.  Primarily because I don’t see American beer in opposition to any other type of beer.  I don’t see the brewers I know, “Doing things” to beer. Is the envelope being expanded and then crushed?  Yes.  But not in response to the good to great brewers in the rest of the world.

I reiterate that I don’t underestimate the impact that the craft beer scene has unleashed.  But I think that the “old World” is in a spot that the U.S. was in a few years back.  Stuck in a sea of Bud and Heineken.  And I think that Germany, Italy and Belgium as well as England will come roaring back.  Why? Because there is a gap of quality.  A gap of creativity.  And market gaps get filled.

That is why beers from here are so popular and so wildly inventive.  There was a yawning gap between the flavorless and what people yearned to taste.  Laws needed to be changed.  Competition needed to heat up and many other financial and brewing factors had to change.  You needed the rabble rousing and the Imperial IPA’s to open up the field.  And once it was open, it was OPEN and there was and is nothing that can’t be done.  I have had two beers which simulate the spice patterns in Horchata. You look up Mango IPA and get multiple hits.

And you see it in England with BrewDog and with breweries like Kernel.  You see it at Baladin in Italy. And you will see that creative spark lift the boat of World Wide beer to levels that you and I cannot imagine.

As long as the options remain open and brewers do not feel constrained to fit into a box then whatever beers are created will further the growth of craft beer.

 

Session # 77

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Justin’s Brew Review is the host for the July edition of The Session and he turns the focus to the India Pale Ale….

“For quite some time now, I’ve been wondering what makes the India Pale Ale (IPA) style of beer so popular. Don’t get me wrong–I thoroughly enjoy it and gladly participate in #IPADay. I’m just wondering, why all the hype? What is it about an IPA that makes craft beer enthusiasts (CBE) go wild? Is it because CBEs want to differentiate craft beer from crap beer? I don’t care if a watered-down pilsener is labeled as “triple-hops brewed”; it wouldn’t satisfy someone looking for an IPA.”

At a recent craft beer event that paired brewers with coffee roasters, I had the honor of pouring for Eagle Rock Brewery. Their special coffee tap was called Panama Pale Ale, a Panamanian coffee infused Rye IPA. Call it PPA for short.

By my standards it was not too bitter. More coffee and rye than hops and quite tasty with a lovely coffee bean aroma. And it was one of the more popular beers if the people I was pouring for were to be believed.

So, even at a coffee-centric beer event, an IPA took center stage.

I can see why amber beers were popular once upon a time when it was still called micro-brews.  They appealed to a bigger percentage of our small craft beer population.  They are usually not over the top in terms of ABV or IBU.  They showcase malt and thus have a little more sweetness (and we know Americans like their sweets).  They are certainly closer, taste-wise to the lagers that most people know than an IPA ever will be.

It is amazing how fast that the India Pale Ale has grabbed the spotlight in the world of craft beer despite what I would consider pretty major hindrances to that happening:

1.       Bitterness is considered by the palate as a bad sign.
2.       And even if that is not an impediment, some IPA’s still destroy seasoned hopheads palates
3.       Hops (especially popular varieties) can be hard to come by and expensive.
4.       The market for IPA’s is now extra crowded.
5.       May require extra equipment to dry hop.
6.       Really need to be drunk fresh.
7.       Sometimes confusing names like Black IPA or White IPA
8.       Sometimes confusing IBU levels.  A DIPA from one brewery may be a regular IPA to another.

Then add to the mix all the history behind how the IPA “style” became what it is today plus account for all the tiny to large regional American differences, and the rise of the IPA is even more amazing.

And I have no idea why it took off so much except for some half-baked theories:

1. I have heard from many brewery folk that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was a formative beer in their appreciation of craft beer. Maybe that is a root cause for the love of IPA’s.

2. IPA’s are the IBU opposite of the BMC industrial water lagers and doing the opposite of what the big 3 did is not to be underestimated as a reason.

3. America has developed a taste for different coffee’s (some quite bitter) so an appreciation of bitter IPA’s may be a side effect of that revolution.

My hope is that the brewers and drinkers don’t just lock onto mega hop bombs and search out XPA’s and dry hopped pilsners and pale ales that are actually hopped like a pale ale. Because a world with only arrogant palate wrecking bastards is only slightly better than a world with watery lagers.

Thankfully, barrel aged beers seem to be balancing out the craft beer scales amongst beer geeks, so I am not overly worried of an IPA take-over but I do wish there were more cask ales and Czech style pilsners out there and if I get a second wish, I certainly hope to see more non-IPA best sellers.  I will always see Fat Tire as the New Belgium flagship.  No matter how good Ranger is.

Session # 74

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“April’s topic from This is Why I’m Drunk is “Finding Beer Balance.” It’s a discussion I hope will offer a variety of responses as people consider their interests outside of finding the perfect pint.

Is beer your vice? Is beer your reward? Does beer really have to be either? Do you find lifestyle balance through work, hobbies, family or maybe even “Dry Days” like David Bascombe? There are a variety of ways to find balance.

These questions are simply a jumping-off point. No matter what your answer, I’d love for you to join us in April. ”

 I have employed many different tactics so that I don’t “burn out” either myself or my palate. 

– Beer Off-Days where I don’t have any beer.

– Having spirits (my favorite being gin) or wine instead of beer.

– Ordering lagers and pilsners instead of bigger choices on the menu board

And that doesn’t even take into consideration going to a movie or heading out to the beach or Farmer’s Market or other numerous (non-beer) activities.

But what I found works best is to simply curtail the amount of beer that I consume.  For example, I recently went to a “One Night Stand” featuring Beachwood Brewing at one of my favorite Los Angeles craft beer spots, Beer Belly.  Now, I could easily order three or four pints because Julian Shrago brews GABF winning beers. 

But instead, I will either order a taster tray or just get one pint.  When I do that, I leave wanting more and not not feeling like I had overdone it.  Plus, if I order a smaller amount, I can leave a barstool for the next customer sooner and get home and watch Parks and Rec.

The younger me would want to sample every beer on the list but now that I know that there is no way that I can drink ALL of the great beers out there.  And the side benefit is that I am now forced to slow down and really enjoy the craft beer that is in front of me and the more enjoyment I have the more “in balance” my life is.

Session # 44


“The 44th Session will be hosted by Ashley Routson a.k.a. The Beer Wench. In honor of Halloween month, she’s chosen “Frankenstein Beers” as her topic, which Ashley likens to Frankenstein’s monster, a creation that was “constructed of human parts and various other inanimate objects,” defying nature’s laws and ultimately “unlike anything the world had ever seen before.” She continues.

Many craft brewers are like Frankenstein. They have become mad scientists obsessed with defying the laws of brewing and creating beers that transcend style guidelines. These “Frankenstein Beers” challenge the way people perceive beer. They are freaks of nature — big, bold and intense. The ingredients resemble those of a beer and the brewing process might appear to be normal, but some aspects of the entire experience are experimental, unorthodox and insane.

An altercation with these beers produces confusion in the eye of the taster … is it a beer, or a monster?

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” — The Monster.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a blog post on “Frankenstein Beers.” There are no rules about how to write about this topic — feel free to highlight a Frankenstein brewer, brewery, beer tasting notes … or just your opinions on the concept.

So don’t be afraid, pull out the surgical tools and make a trip to the cemetery (or bar) for parts — just don’t grab the jar marked — “abnormal” — for your own post for the next Session, on Friday, October 1.”

It was a dark and stormy night…

Let’s rewind a little first. In the past year alone, I have imbibed beers with ingredients (prickly pear, ginger, pecans, figs, apricots, apple cider, lemongrass, mushrooms, chammomile, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) more suited, one would think, to ghouls and goblins than beer.

Before the first sip of these experimental beers, I would ask myself “Why?” and more importantly “I hope this works”. Then I slowly tip back the glass and voila, it does, (Eight times out of ten) because beer is a forgiving canvas upon which to paint. Dark and stormy becomes blue sky clear.

These fright inducing, sometimes cringe worthy ingredients are tossed into the kettle for many reasons. There are breweries raising nearly extinct beer styles from the dead. There are breweries pushing the ABV boundry. There are breweries that use brettamyoces just to add another note to an already great beer.

But this is no lab work in a castle on a hill during thundershowers creating monsters. It is a genuine craving (not for brains) but for big and brash flavors. I may not end up raving about each new mash-up of styles and brewing techniques, but none are unlovable monsters to be cast out to fend for itself. They are all logical extensions of one train of thought. Beer with flavor!

That’s right. In fact, the mad scientist who unleashed this bounty of crazy craft beers are the makers of the industrial water lager. Because of a lack of desire or understanding, they left a whole market open to our loved and admired demented fermenters of today. They created their own horror movie. And it is defintely in 3-D.

Session # 39

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Here is the May 2010 topic:
“Who’s brewed some of your favorite collaborations?
Who have been some of your favorite collaborators?
Who would you like to see in a future collaboration?”

For me, the first two are easy so let’s dispense with those right away.

Favorite collaboration is the John-John series. I know technically that both John’s work under the Rogue umbrella. But the brewer meets distiller meets the criteria for me. And the Rogue Hazelnut mixed with rum barrels is one of my favorite beers. I can’t wait to grab a bottle of the Juniper aged in gin barrels.

Favorite collaborators are the geniuses from Stone Brewing. I’m sure I will be joined by many others in voting for them just based on the Maui / Ken Schmidt porter collaboration but working with an all-star dream team of BrewDog, 21st Amendment, Firestone-Walker and Jolly Pumpkin is amazing.

Future collaborations is such a tough one. There are just so many choices. So I had to set some rules.
1. Breweries with different styles but not philosophies.
2. Breweries that haven’t collaborated with each other before.
3. Only three breweries and what beer style I would like to see.
With that groundwork in place, here are the three breweries and why I selected them + what beer should be made….drumroll please…..

Eagle Rock Brewery
Captured by Porches Brewing
Black Star Co-Op

First reason why – All relatively new. No preconceptions of what to do or how to do it.
Second Reason why – The first two are from my hometown (Portland) and adopted hometown (Los Angeles). And Black Star is just cool for doing this Co-Op style.

I would love to see them make a simple style with a twist. Perhaps a rye pale ale or a multi-grain porter.