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What’s on tap at Whole Foods?

Posted in Beer culture, Just for fun on   

Would you shop some place that offered these beers? In growlers? At these prices?

Brooklyn Brewery Blanche de Brooklyn
Hazy, pale golden wheat beer. Refreshing palate with a fruity zing in the aroma.
$8.99 / 64 oz.

Sixpoint Brownstone Ale
Diverse blend of 11 different malt varieties creates an unmistakable chocolate flavor.
$8.99 / 64 oz.

Kelso of Brooklyn Hop Lager
A pale lager with a full, smooth flavor, spicy hop nose, and a crisp, herbal finish.
$7.99 / 64 oz.

Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold
Aromas of orange, spice and green grass. Clean malt-dominated flavor.
$8.99 / 64 oz.

Ommegang Ommegeddon
Ommegeddon is a strong blonde ale with a sharp citrus flavor and a dry finish.
$17.99 / 64 oz.

Bluepoint No Apologies Double IPA
Huge, earthy, dry hop aroma is followed by a pleasant caramel sweetness.
$9.99 / 64 oz.

This is the current list at the Whole Foods Market Bowery beer room in New York City, which features more than 200 different beers in bottles.

Based upon the comments to several stories at Racked New York the store has tried a variety of “gimmicks” to attract customers.

This looks more like good business to us than a gimmick.

More: About the Beer Room, Inside the beer room (with photos).

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Pub battle puts Greene King on hot seat

Posted in Beer culture, Breweries, News on   

The Norwich Beer Festival might ban brewing giant Greene King from an upcoming UK festival because organizers are concerned if Greene King is committed to maintaining the traditional city center pub or turning it into a wine bar.

Bosses at the Norwich Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) say they fear the Ferry Boat pub, on King Street, once a thriving live music venue which has stood empty since May last year, could be reopened as a “chic wine bar.”

A spokesman for Greene King said: “The pub is in consultation with the local authority and has plans in to develop a big family pub/ dining experience.”

CAMRA members remain skeptical.

Norwich pub historian Derek McDonald said: “It’s one of the last pubs in King Street and it would be a shame if it doesn’t open up again as a pub. I’m not sure a wine bar would really fit in on King Street.”

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What’s your beer pose say about you?

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CollegeHumor.com offers a list “revealing” what your beer of choice says about you. Stuff like . . . “Stella : I’m a pretentious prick.”

This sent to us the archives to find a 2001 study commissioned by Guinness about what can be learned from how people hold their glasses. Dr. Aric Sigman, a psychologist and biologist identified six basic drinking poses. As you’ll notice, the examples are UK-centric.

The six categories of drinking demeanor found in male drinkers aged 18 to 40:

Pose 1: Libidinous or sex-mad. Exemplified in the “firm erect grip” round the middle of the glass, coupled with an arched back, stretching pectoral muscles and a swaying pelvis, generally making grand gestures with the non pint-holding hand. Example: singer Robbie Williams.

Pose 2: Self-righteous. Glass held aloft, as if toasting a crowd of adoring acolytes (or himself), the spare hand rests limply on the hip. Example: Tony Blair.

Pose 3: Deep thinker. Demands that the drinker stare deeply into the head of the pint, occasionally fondling it gently with his fingers, giving the impression the drinker’s thoughts are elsewhere. Example: actor Jude Law.

Pose 4: Jack the lad. The glass is grasped like a weapon or trigger, the pint arm is outstretched, and the arms are often gesticulating. Lots of spillage. Examples: Oasis stars Liam and Noel Gallagher.

Pose 5: Anal retentive. Cowers protectively over his pint — arms crossed, shoulders hunched and on the defensive. Example: EastEnders character Ian Beale.

Post 6: Henpecked. The drinker holds the pint tilted inwards, near the chin, with the elbow tucked in as if protecting against unwanted advances. Instead of bringing the pint to the mouth, this drinker brings his mouth to his pint. The head remains tilted forward especially if there is an assertive or dominant admirer nearby. Example: David Beckham.

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Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter, dies

Posted in Beer culture, News on   

Michael Jackson, whose writing about beer literally changed what is in the glasses of beer drinkers around the world, has died. He was 65.

Jackson, universally known as The Beer Hunter, recently revealed that he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was battling other health problems. He remained active, speaking at beer and whisky events around the world and most recently addressing British beer writers before the Great British Beer Festival. He wrote about the past year in his last column for All About Beer Magazine, now available online.

Jackson began working for a local Yorkshire newspaper in 1958, when he was 16, having even earlier submitted news stories and jazz reviews. Working as both a writer and editor during the next 20 years he contributed to dozens of publications and also made documentary films. In his frequent travels he became deeply interested not only in drinking a wider range of beers, but how they were made and their origins.

Shortly after the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) rekindled interest in traditional beers in Great Britain in the 1970s, Jackson began to write more about beer.

He recalled in a 1996 interview:

“I had nothing to do with the starting of CAMRA, but I joined early on. I’d already traveled quite a bit as a journalist, and I’d tasted interesting beers in other countries. Particularly, I was very aware of the Belgian traditions and to some extent the German tradition. I thought, it’s very good that CAMRA is fighting for British tradition, but what about the tradition of these other countries? I think the motivation was almost like the motivation of some of those musicologists like Alan Lomax who went down to the Mississippi Delta in the ’50s and recorded old blues men before they died. I wanted to kind of record Belgian beer before those breweries didn’t exist anymore. I certainly didn’t see it as a career possibility, but I think all, or many, journalists have in them a sort of element of being an advocate.”

He published his first book about beer, The English Pub, in 1976, but it was his second, the World Guide to Beer (1977) that dovetailed with a quite young beer and brewing revolution in the United States. The book became a bible for both brewers and drinkers reconnecting with traditional beer.

In the 30 years since his books about beer and spirits – he was as authorative writer about Scotch as he was beer, but this is a beer publication – sold millions of copies. His television documentary called The Beer Hunter remains a cult classic almost 20 years after it was compiled.

He considered himself a journalist first, but also took equal pride in the words he put to paper.

They are only part of what he left behind and that list is endless. The tributes have just begun. It is the only topic of import today in beer blogs, on beer discussion boards and in various e-mail lists.

Expect the flow of words to continue for months.

They won’t be enough.

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Rogue Nation picks Turkey as official bird

Posted in Beer culture, Beers on   

With an eye toward Thanksgiving, the Turkey has been named the official bird of the Rogue Nation.

An e-mail missive from the Rogue News Service explains:

To commemorate this momentous occasion Rogue Juniper Pale Ale has been dedicated to “the turkey in each of us.” An axe and the dedication have been added to the serigraphed 22oz bottles and Juniper Pale Ale tap stickers.

The Pilgrims were ale drinkers and most likely enjoyed beer at the first Thanksgiving. According to the Nation’s Department of Agriculture turkey is not just for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s table but is honored daily by consumption. Even if some do not eat turkey the bottle is a perfect gift for their turkey friends.

According to Garrett Oliver, author of the “Brewmaster’s Table”, the question most often posed to sommeliers is “What wine goes best with turkey dinner?” The answer, he says, is beer!

Under those conditions it isn’t clear how turkeys might feel about this “honor.”

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Hops 401

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“It’s kind of like the Lollapalooza of every chemist, scientist and brewer.”
– Tom Shellhammer, associate professor of brewing and food engineering at Oregon State.

The first international brewers’ symposium to focus on the crucial role hops plays in beer-making began yesterday at Oregon State University.

Officially it is known as the 1st International Brewers Symposium Hop Flavor and Aroma the meetings include seminars on subjects such as What is an “IBU” and Where Did It Come From? and Humulene Oxidation and Its Role in Hop Aroma.

More from the Ashland Daily Times.

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Oregon Brewers Festival 2007

Posted in Beer culture, Beers on   

Posted by Banjo Bandolas

Oregon Brewers Festival

Don’t ya think every Beerfest should start with a parade? I’ve just returned from way too much fun at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and the parade really set the mood for me.

The OBF has begun with a walking parade for several years but due to excessive indulgence on my part at the brewer’s dinner and after parties the night before; I’ve never managed to drag my body from the sack in time to make it. This year I made myself a promise to join the parade.

8am Thursday morning: The birds were singing and children playing when I pried my crusty lids apart.

“Damn birds! Damn kids! Knock it off out there! Don’t you know some of us have sensitive nerve endings this morning? Noise pollution! That’s what it is! Now get out of here before I sick Michael Moore on you!”

There were a dozen or so people already at the Rogue Ales Public House on 14th & NW Flanders when I arrived at 9am for the special pre-parade Oregon Brewer’s brunch that was set to begin at 10am, and they, like me, expected a large crowd. We weren’t disappointed. By the time the doors opened I’d say there were a hundred people waiting. By the time I’d finished eating that number had doubled. Ah, there’s, nothing like a pint, a nice breakfast, and a big build-it-yourself Bloody Mary to get a growing boy off on the right foot in the morning.

Many of craft beer’s movers and shakers were in attendance. Tom Dalldorf of Celebrator, the Widmer Brothers, Jay Brooks, Fred Eckhardt, Rogue’s Jack Joyce, and Don Younger of Horse Brass to name a few. The air was filled with excited chatter as we donned our official parade T-shirts and tuned up our kazoo’s. Portland Mayor, Tom Potter, would lead our raucous band on a winding journey of 18 blocks through downtown Portland to the pot-o-gold at the end, the Oregon Brewer’s Festival at the Tom McCall waterfront park.

PBS was there to document the occasion as part of an overall piece on the entire event. Don Younger mentioned the folks from the Food Channel were also in town doing a piece on OBF.

Oregon Brewers FestivalMayor Potter and Event Director, Art Larrance of Raccoon Lodge Brewery led the way, followed by the wail of bagpipes from the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Pipe and Drum corps, the Monks carrying the symbolic opening ceremony cask, and then the rest of us playing our kazoo’s for all we were worth.

The walk was brisk and joyful; the people of Portland along the route came out of their homes and businesses to cheer us on. Before I knew it we were at the river gathered around the cask. Salivating as Mayor Potter gave his OBF opening spiel and tapped the cask. The opening beer was a tribute ale by Rogue dedicated to brewer Glen Falconer’s memory called Aged Glen Anniversary Ale. The ale was a dark amber color with a sweet malt aroma. A nice balance of caramel malt flavor and citrus hop with a mildly dry finish. Not bad guys . . . not bad at all, one of the best strong ales I tasted at OBF.

Oregon Brewers FestivalI worked down the list of the OBF’s most notable beers. Next year I’ve got to remember to bring some crackers or something. After the first bad big beer I was having a hard time tasting anything while my mouth recovered from excessive IBU levels. Sorry, I may live in the Northwest but I’m not a big fan of overly hopped beer with huge IBU’s. Hops have a place in my beer and my tongue begs for a little balance and diversity . . . but that’s just me. I don’t eat habanero chili’s either.

I cleansed my mouth with a nice pale ale and began again. As I worked my way down the line I found some exceptional beers that stood out from the pack:

Hopworks Urban Brewery; Christian Ettinger, formerly of Laurelwood Brewery is opening his own place in Portland. Now here I’m about to contradict my previous statement. Because even though the Hopworks IPA has an IBU of 71, I found the light amber beer to be balanced and enjoyable.

Flying Fish Brewery, a New Jersey brewery you don’t hear a lot about over on the right coast, brought a great beer to the table with its Flying Fish Bourbon Barrel Abbey Dubbel. This rich, complex dubbel was aged in bourbon casks. It exudes a fruity nose and generous malty body and has a dry almond-like finish with a little alcohol burn . . . gantastic!

Fifty-Fifty Brewery – Donner Party Porter. Tahoe (really Truckee) is the new home of renowned Midwest brewer Todd Ashman and the Fifty-Fifty Brewery (opened in May). I’m an unabashed fan of the porter style and the Donner Party Porter lives up to Todd’s reputation for well planned, impeccably brewed beers, I look forward to the aged porter that’s in Jack Daniels barrels now, but it’s hard to imagine how this could be a better.

Lompoc Brewing – SummerAid, a light golden ale, so easy on the palate, a perfect cleanser after too much big beer on a hot day.

There you have it, my take on the offerings at the 2007 Oregon Brewers Fest. No I did not try all 73 beers, but I did make a dent in that list.

Editor’s note: This was probably the most blogged about festival ever. The Beervana wrapup will lead you to more blogs or visit RSBS and look for OBF posts.

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Shiner Bocktoberfest canceled

Posted in Beer culture, Breweries on   

Travis Poling reports that the popular Shiner Bocktoberfest has been canceled after 13 years.

Gambrinus, which owns the Spoetzl brewery in Shiner, sponsored the festival – and it had turned into one of the most popular music festivals in Texas.

A letter to the Chamber from Gambrinus founder and CEO Carlos Alvarez said there will be no Bocktoberfest in 2007 because the brewery needed to focus on expanding its beer production. The event lost money for the last few years as it grew.

“It’s going to be missed, no doubt about,” said Shiner Mayor Henry Kalich of Bocktoberfest’s end. “It was a big part of our economy.”

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Portland International Brewfest

Posted in Beer culture, Beers, Just for fun on   

Posted by Banjo Bandolas

“The Greatest Beers You’ve Never Heard Of!”

Please excuse my late report on the PIB event last weekend. It’s been so long since we’ve had rain here in Oregon I believe my brain cells were drying up and flaking away. Today brought a blessed downpour and I feel like my brain is getting back to its normal, albeit abnormal by medical standards, functionality.

Portland international Brewfest

Oregon is at the tail end of a heat wave and the temperature was just a touch above my comfort level as I navigated the narrow one way streets of downtown Portland, to the Park blocks of the Pearl District. I looked forward to a wonderful evening of rare and unusual beer at PIB, the Portland International Beerfest. PIB’s advertising claimed “Over 100 rare beers from 15 countries!” That was enough to lure me up over a hundred miles from Hippytown (Eugene, OR) to the big city two weeks before Oregon Brewers Fest.

The Portland International Beerfestival, or PIB, is a smaller version of SIB, The Seattle International Beerfestival, a large and popular annual event held at the end of June in Seattle. I found SIB to be a huge, throbbing festival that reflects the amped-up Starbucks culture of Seattle, whereas PIB is small, laid-back, and very much a reflection of its host city. The event strives to bring you “The Greatest Beers You’ve Never Heard Of!” a bold ambition when you consider the attendee’s are residents of Beervana.

Portland international Brewfest

I was given 10 tickets and a 4 oz. sample glass for my $20 entry fee and I wanted to make the best use of them before resorting to buying the dreaded EXTRA tickets at $1 each.

I scanned the program. There was an impressive list of beers, and in some cases breweries, I’d never heard of. Each beer cost 1, 2, 3, or 4 tickets depending on “swank factor” (according to event organizers). The general consensus I and my fellow imbibers came to was the number of tickets had more to do with the AMOUNT of that particular beer the organizers had been able to procure rather than any “swank factor”.

I was happy to find no impenetrable throngs around the pouring stations. I didn’t see a line of more than two or three other people at any particular station. People were very relaxed, and many brought their dogs and came prepared to enjoy the fest with cards or backgammon sets.

I was driving and had to keep my intake within reason so don’t expect a long list of tasting notes here. I tried some great ones, some good ones, some bad ones, and some truly awful swill.

Portland international Brewfest

I selected a light beer to start off. I’d heard of Zatec, the new import from Merchant Du Vin, and made a beeline for the booth. Zatec bears the name of the region it’s been brewed in since 1004, Zatec Czech Republic, located in the world famous Saaz hops region. The beer, a bright and sparkling lager, was a light, well balanced blend of malt and hops with a very clean, slightly fruity, finish. This is my idea of a perfect summer thirst quencher. I rank it high with my other new favorite summer beer, Haymaker, an extra light ale by Portland’s Bridgeport Brewery.

Okay, now my palette was prepped for something a little more complex. Direction came from Alan Shapiro of SBS imports who mentioned his Brewer’s Reserve Signature collaboration ale by Tomme Arthur of Pizza Port Brewery and Dirk Naudts of DeProef Brouwerji. They designed the beer with four different malts, saccharomyces and brettanomyces fermentations, and some aggressive west coast hopping with three different varieties. The result was a delicious malty blend of citrus notes and hop bite with an underlying yeast tartness. It was the most unusual beer of the fest for me and I recommend it. I understand it will be available first thru Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club.

Moving down the line, I felt the old compulsion many of us fall prey to, beers with weird names. Being an Oregon Duck fan how could I resist a beer called “Sick Duck”? The full name is Sick Duck Rum-Barrel Imperial Stout. It’s an 11% abv barrel-aged Imperial Stout from Washington’s Flyers Brewery. The pouring at PIB was the first time Flyer’s beers had been available in Oregon. This special version of Sick Duck was a monster Imperial Stout that had been aged in barrels that previously contained French Oak and Pyrat XO Reserve, a 15 year old Caribbean rum. This is a big beer, not for the timid! Molasses and caramel notes complimented the strong bourbon nose and taste followed by an unexpectedly nice finish, in short quite enjoyable, but thank god it was only 4 oz.

The success with Sick Duck led me down a garden path, and I made a few missteps. Old Engine Oil lived up to its name as total swill. Another clinker was Black Boss Porter, a 9.4% abv Baltic Porter that could have, in my humble opinion, doubled for a pancake topping.

Portland international Brewfest

My next choice didn’t take a lot of thought, when I saw the Ommegang Three Philosophers on the list I went directly to the booth, cleansed my palette, and apologized to my mouth with two servings of that truly great beer. Though Brewery Ommegang is located in New York State, Three Philosophers actually has roots in Portland. There was a contest where readers of Realbeer.com were asked to describe the perfect beer. A Portlander came up with the winning words and Ommegang went to work bringing the description to life. Three Philosophers was born. Three Philosophers is a blend of Belgian dark strong ale and Lindeman’s Kriek. It produces a nose of sweet cherries, malt, vanilla and with slightly sour Kriek notes.

My double indulgence in Three Philosophers left me ticketless. I decided this was as good a stopping point as any. The two Portland police officers talking to a couple departing festival goers reinforced my decision and I said goodbye to the Pearl District and P-Town.

I came to PIB somewhat doubtful they could pull off the bold claims of their advertising, I’m happy to concede they hit their mark and look forward to next years list of “The Greatest Beers You’ve Never Heard Of!”

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Q&A with Great Divide founder

Posted in Beer culture, Beers, Breweries on   

The Denver Post interviews Brian Dunn, founder of Great Divide Brewing Co., “one of Colorado’s small brewers riding a national wave of demand for craft beers.”

And not without a little humor.

Q: Where do you see Great Divide in 10 years?

A: Hopefully we will have nicer office furniture. We will be quite a bit larger, but without a lot more geographic expansion. We will be doing what we are doing, maybe not in the same building, but we will still be Denver-based and hopefully making high-quality beer.

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Australian wineries woo ‘beer snobs’

Posted in Beer culture, Just for fun, Trends on   

New South Wales’s De Bortoli Wines, Victoria’s Otway Estate and Western Australia’s Woodsmoke Estate/Jarrah Jack’s partnership are all set to enter the beer brewing business.

University of Southern Queensland’s wine industry liaison Rob Learmonth said there is talk among the state’s wine tourism association about the growing market for boutique beers.

“At the cellar door, some people would prefer to have a beer than a wine,” Learmonth said.

Not everybody agrees the trend has legs, but meanwhile some interesting drinks might emerge.

Brewing expert at the University of Ballarat Peter Aldred said having brewers working alongside wine-makers would create some interesting flavors in their products.

“When you get brewers and wine-makers together there are definitely some interesting conversations,” Dr Aldred said.

Anyway, here’s how NEWS.com.au starts the story:

“A new breed of snooty beer drinkers is replacing chardonnay sippers in vineyards across the nation as wineries jump on the booming boutique beer bandwagon.”

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Lawmakers resolve: It’s Michigan Craft Beer Month

Posted in Beer culture, News on   

The Michigan House of Representatives has adopted a resolution officially designating July 2007 as Michigan Craft Beer Month.

It begins:

A resolution designating July 2007 as Michigan Craft Beer Month and commending the Michigan Craft Brewers.
Whereas, Michigan craft brewers are a vibrant affirmation and expression of Michigan entrepreneurial traditions, operating as community-based small businesses and providing employment for more than 1000 workers; and

Whereas, Michigan has craft brewers in every region of the state and more than 70 craft brewers statewide; and
Whereas, The Michigan Brewers Guild is celebrating its 10 year anniversary of its
Michigan Summer Beer Festival this July; and

Read the whole thing.

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In Oregon: Beer rich get richer

Posted in Beer culture, Beers on   

As we’ve already written, July is Oregon Craft Beer Month.

But they couldn’t wait.

On Tuesday The Oregonian featured an article by Lisa Morrison about the joys of grilling with beer. This is a spot usually reserved for wine, so even in beer-hip Portland it was a pleasant surprise to see Greg Higgins of Higgins Restaurant and Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog prominently featured.

And yesterday the paper published a 16-page Oregon Craft Beer Month Pullout Guide.

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Summit launches community for fun and obscure

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Summit Brewing in Minnesota has launched a website it is calling The Social Element. It is video-driven and designed to “show off the mad skills of the adventurous, outrageous, exciting, fun and obscure groups you thought may exist, but were afraid to ask.”

The web-based community project focuses on the kinds of outside-the-box activities seen on the streets of Saint Paul and beyond.

They’re the activities that make you say, “Say What?” It’s the double-tall bike makers and riders, nordic battle reenactment “warriors”, and the Lake Superior surfers who make thesocialelement.com what it is – a community of groups that share the common bond of passion for activities one wouldn’t ordinarily see or do.

Dozens of smaller breweries have tapped into Internet social networks, most often at MySpace. A few (with links to their MySpace pages, so you may want to turn down the volume on your computer):

– Flying Dog Brewery
– New Holland Brewing
– Boulevard Brewing
– Schlafly Beer