Beerjanglin' Presents: Our Brewery O' The Month

We have turned back the clocks and left Election Day in the rear view already, but this month is far from over. Certainly not too late to declare Southern Tier Brewing Company as our brewery of the month for November.

Southern Tier has only been around since 2004, but has already earned its place as one of the up-and-coming craft breweries in the Northeast. With a very solid lineup of year-round offerings, a full stable of seasonals, and an ever growing number of "big beers," Southern Tier has something to offer every discriminating beer drinker. Over the next three weeks, we'll attempt to give you a little taste.

In the interest of full disclosure we shall now note that Southern Tier is something of a "hometown" beer for us. It's located just outside of Jamestown, New York (home of Lucille Ball, NFL commish Roger Goodell, and the 10,000 Maniacs!), about 30 minutes from where we grew up. Sure, we'd been gone for five years by the time the brewery opened, but it still tastes like home. Or at least like damned fine beer.

Southern Tier was started in 2004 by Ellicottville Brewing co-founder Allen Yahn and his stepson, Phin DeMink, who had brewed the first batch of beer made at Ellicottville before moving on to work at Goose Island in Chicago. DeMink moved back to Western New York and, in 2003, teamed up with his wife, Sara, and Yahn to buy the brewing equipment from the former Old Saddleback Brewing Company in Pittsfield, MA and got to work. There were a couple of missteps to start, namely the failure of the original "flagship" mild and pilsner, but their IPA went over pretty well, and Southern Tier was off and running.

According to the Brewers Association, Southern Tier has grown 140% since 2005, and was the 39th largest brewery in the United States in 2006 with sales of 6,000 barrels. Beer Advocate Magazine named them No. 35 of the top 50 breweries in all the land. Not bad for a three year old business located in a rural corner of economically depressed Upstate New York.

Brewery tours are offered on Saturdays at 4 pm and cost $8. This price seems to include generous amounts of beer at their tasting room, the Empty Pint Pub, which is open on Fridays from 4 - 8 pm and Saturdays from 2 - 8 pm. The Empty Pint recently added an outdoor beer garden and always has eight brewery fresh Southern Tier beers on tap, including Chautauqua Brew, an amber ale brewed as a tribute to the brewing history of the region and available exclusively at the brewery and select locations within the county. Southern Tier is a definite must-stop destination for craft beer fans who find themselves anywhere near Jamestown. You can even drop in after a visit to the Lucy museum. Kinda ridiculous that we haven't made it to either the brewery or the museum yet.

You can read a bit more on Southern Tier here and/or here.

The Miller-Coors Merger

We admit to being a bit nonplussed at the news this week that Miller and Coors - numbers two and three in the U.S. beer market - were planning to combine their domestic operations. On the surface it seems to make some sense, at least business wise, in that they are better positioned to compete with the behemoth that is Anheuser-Busch; the combined MillerCoors now control roughly 28% of the market, while A-B commands 48%. Additionally, the portion of the combined $426 million marketing budget they spent competing against each other last year can now be aimed squarely at A-B (who alone spent $512 million on marketing last year) or utilized in other areas. You've also got the cliched reasonings that always pop up in these mergers between large companies: it will save millions through utilization of economies of scale, streamlining of production/distribution, elimination of redundancies, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Some of those things are, no doubt, true and this move shouldn't come as too much of a shock to the system of either company. Coors recently went through a fairly successful merger with Molson, and Miller has actually been a part of South Africa based SABMiller (one of the world's largest brewing conglomerates - the SAB stands for South African Breweries) since 1999. The bottom line here, to us anyway, is that this merger just doesn't work from a product perspective.

Miller Lite is the 3rd best selling beer in the country, followed closely in 4th by Coors Light. These two, obviously, make up a huge portion of the new company's sales. They are also disturbingly similar in another area - taste. Let's be honest, there's just not much difference between the two beers. Sure, you'll get some loyal followers who blindly swear allegiance to one brand or the other, but had this merger happened a couple of decades ago, either the Tastes Great, Less Filling Lite, or the Silver Bullet Light would not be in existence today. It will be interesting to see how MillerCoors markets their way around this.

The co-existence of the craftish brands of each brewer, Coors' Blue Moon and Miller's Leinenkugel will be a development to watch as well. Will a Sunset Wheat tap appear next to the Blue Moon handle at the local bar a grill? Will it be an either/or proposition? It does seem safe to say that this won't mean good things for fans or brewers of craft beers, at least in the short term. The most obvious initial development we see is the small guys getting squeezed out of a tap handle here and some shelf space there. You know, the things that these small companies really need to stay alive and sustain growth.

The best case scenario here is that the new MillerCoors puts a real scare into A-B and the two duke it out for pale lager supremacy for a few years, leaving the crafties to continue to do their own thing without interference from the big fellas. If you want a real dream scenario, how's this: Blue Moon continues its' rise in popularity while further developing it's seasonal line, Leinenkugel's solid offerings are expanded and more widely distributed, and Coors' recently announced line of "super premium" beers is rolled out to much critical acclaim. A-B responds by shifting their development of "craft" beers into hyperdrive and America is suddenly waist deep in the midst of a beer revolution, with all the big boys' watery yellow beers largely forgotten and these new brews serving as a gateway to the discovery of all the hundreds of wonderful beers that were right there in our backyards all along!

Realistically, our fear is that this move sets off another chain of acquisitions in the beer industry that eventually leads to the big players InBev, A-B, Diageo, SABMillerMolsonCoors, et al, madly buying up even some of the more successful craft brewers. With sales in the rest of the industry largely stagnant, and nowhere else to turn to acquire more market share, this may be a distinct possibility. The most successful craft breweries (we're talking in terms of overall sales and market share) like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, may be able to resist the overtures, but everybody has his price. If it's not one (or more) of these big fish in the small craft pond, it is likely to be some of the many slightly smaller fish. This may prove especially true with the impending cost crunch as the prices of hops and malts is predicted to soar over the next few years.

No matter what happens, the beers scene has evolved enough that we are still going to see a fairly good selection of beers in an increasing number of supermarkets and even chain restaurants. It remains to be seen, however just how diverse that selection will be.

• For an excellent take on the MillerCoors marriage, check out Lew Bryson's latest piece for Condé Nast Portfolio.

• The Boston Globe has an amazingly perceptive editorial on the subject (registration may be required).

• The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offers a cautionary word on smaller brewer's being left behind in the wake of the merger.

• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a piece on how A-B will handle the marriage of its' competitors.
  

Finally, we leave you with the wise words of the dearly departed Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson. This quote is actually in reference to the acquisition of Miller Brewing by SAB back in 1999, but the words ring even more true today.

"Quite simply, the bigger the major brewers become, the greater the number of consumers who feel left behind, even alienated. These people want the chance to exercise their individuality when they order a beer. They are potential buyers of imports, microbrews and the products of brewpubs."

Michael Jackson

Amen.

Hop Fests of Madison County

Not sure how it slipped by our collective attention, but we somehow missed that the 12th Annual Madison County Historical Society Hop Fest was held this past weekend in Oneida. Upstate New York was once the leading hop growing region in the country, accounting for nearly 90% of the nation's total hop production prior to the Civil War. Seriously, 90%! Check out this article for plenty more information. It's from 1996, and focuses mainly on Otsego County - still home to a couple of pretty solid breweries in Cooperstown Brewing and Brewery Ommegang - and on some fascinating history. It is well worth a read.

The Hop Fest is a wonderful idea and it's almost unbelievable that we've never heard of it over the past twelve years. Oneida, after all, is located just 30 miles from Syracuse and a bit over 100 miles from the Capital Region. The three day festival started off with a beer dinner at Bouckville's Landmark Tavern on Friday night. Saturday began with a food pairing session matching a brewery with a local restaurant at the Historical Society's grounds, followed by a three hour beer tasting that included over 20 (mostly regional) breweries. Sunday featured an all day hop tour of Madison County, with stops at several hop kilns as well as periodic pit stops for sustenance at local taverns.

Pretty interesting stuff. This article from the Oneida Dispatch gives a solid rundown of the events. It features a nice bit on Brown's Brewing Company's (Troy, NY) seasonal Harvest IPA, made with New York State hops. It's a once yearly wet hopped IPA made exclusively with hops from Seneca and Rensselaer Counties. We haven't tried this year's batch yet, but last year's was absolutely fantastic - fresh hop nose, great prickly body, bitter but balanced finish - a pretty perfect IPA. It's really a wonderful thing to see a local brew pub doing this. How is it that we only hear about it through an article in another town's paper? We may have missed out on the Hop Fest, but a visit to Brown's is still within reach. Developing...

Beer O' the Moment: Lagunitas Kill Ugly Radio

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa

The arrival in the Capital Region of the deliciously hoppy West Coast style beers from Stone and Lagunitas a year or so ago was one of the highlights of the beer year in these parts. Sure, Stone is from sunny Southern Cali, and Lagunitas hails from the Bay Area, but we tend to think of them in a somewhat similar vein. In addition to mighty fine beers, both breweries also feature some pretty unique marketing approaches. Other than zealous use of hops as an ingredient, Stone is probably best known for their silk screen painted bottles featuring gargoyle artwork. That and the over the top haughtiness of their flagship Arrogant Bastard Ale packaging (helpful hint: you're not worthy).

Lagunitas is slightly less in your face - both with the hops and the attitude - but they do feature some pretty out there stuff. Witness either Undercover Investigation or Censored Ale if you need proof (helpful hint: one is named after an attempted government drug sting at the brewery, the other formerly had a name eerily similar to a popular Dr. Dre album from the early 90's). Lagunitas founder Tony Magee also happens to be a big fan of Frank Zappa. A big enough fan that the brewery is planning on releasing a commemorative beer for the 40th anniversary of each of the his many albums. Slightly ironic considering that this is in memory of a guy who said, "I don't give a [expletive deleted] if they remember me at all." Still, kinda cool, eh?

Last year's tasty Freak Out Ale (an IPA) was first, commemorating the - you guessed it - Freak Out! album from 1966. Tasty beer, yes, but not really all that memorable. The second in the series, Kill Ugly Radio, actually honors the 1967 Absolutely Free album, but word is that name couldn't make it past the ol' government regulators. The really good news is that, according to our highly scientific calculations, Lagunitas is due to put out at least two Zappa tribute beers in each of the next four years!

Back to our beer o' the moment. Kill Ugly Radio is a fairly light pale gold, especially for a Double IPA (that's Beer Advocate's classification, anyway). It has a wonderfully fresh, hoppy nose and a refreshing, crisp mouthfeel. The taste is slightly grassy citrus hops - a sassy blend of Summit, Horizon and Cascade - and it goes down mighty smooth with a pleasingly bitter finish. Not a lot in the malt department, and the hops aren't overwhelming. Not that that's a bad thing - this recipe definitely works. Really well done. At a reasonable $3.49 for a 22 oz. bottle, and a not too unreasonable 7.8% abv, this beer could be a regular staple of our fall line-up.

Lagunitas, you've done it again! We're looking forward to the remainder of the series. Here's hoping there will be a beer for each of the two dozen or so albums. We're becoming bigger Zappa fans already.

Beer o' the Moment: Mendocino Black Eye Ale

We've mentioned the wonders of the Mendocino East/Olde Saratoga Brewing Company on a few occasions. Their Mendocino Black Eye Ale is an interesting take on a traditional bottled Black & Tan. Rather than blending a stout with a lager like the Yeungling or Saranac bottled versions -- or even with a lighter ale, as in the famous Guinness/Bass pairing -- this one blends Mendocino Black Hawk Stout with Eye of the Hawk, an 8% abv American Strong Ale. Hence the name Black Eye. Get it?

Black Hawk is a fairly run-of-the-mill stout, but mixed with the tasty (and strong) Eye of the Hawk, it makes for a pretty interesting brew with a bit more depth than many others of the style. It clocks in at a relatively high 6.5% abv, and there are some definite hot alcohol notes at the start, courtesy of the strong ale, but it is surprisingly thin and a bit watery feeling in the mouth. It is slightly sweet, with an almost dark chocolatey bitterness at the finish. Almost. Not a perfect beer, but plenty interesting.

Due to our close proximity, this is a beer that we have enjoyed almost exclusively on a brewery fresh basis. It is available as a blend when both the Black Hawk and Eye of the Hawk are on draught in the tasting room, and in 22 oz. bombers from their cooler or in stores nation wide. The best experience we've had with this beer was the incredible Jack Daniels barrel aged version that seems to make periodic appearances in the Saratoga Springs tasting room. Given Mendocino's broad availability, Black Eye may be on store shelves in many locales on a slightly more aged basis. It is usually sold at popular prices, and is certainly worth a try should you happen across it.

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye, why is it sad?
Makes us remember the good times we've had
Much more to say, foolish to try
It's time for saying goodbye

Don't want to leave, but we both know
Sometimes its better to go
Somehow I know, we'll meet again
Not sure quite where and I don't know just when

Sorry, didn't mean to get all emotional on you. Sometimes the Muppets just get to a man. It's like this. We lived in the Capital Region of New York for well over two years before ever making an actual visit to Olde Saratoga Brewing Company. We'd tried a few of their bottled beers from local stores, and read about the place, but had somehow failed to visit. Last summer, on one of our first visits to their exquisitely wonderful and fantabulous tasting room, they happened to have a "re-release" of their Mendocino 2005-06 Winter Ale, an Imperial IPA, on draught.

To make a long and ( heartbreakingly beautiful) story short, it was love at first sip. This was a fantastic beer. Hoppy as hell -- it was loaded Cascade, Amarillo and Simcoe hops, whatever that meant -- but with a strong base of malt to balance the taste and hide most of the 9% abv. Anyway, the stuff was delish, and we picked up a couple of cases from the brewery for only $25 apiece about a year ago. We'd enjoy a bottle or two now and again with friends, and the supply slowly dwindled...

The 2006-07 Winter release was an Oatmeal Stout. It was solidly enjoyable, a really good beer to be fair, but we lamented the demise of our beloved Impy IPA as our stash shrunk into the low single digits. Tonight marked the cracking of the last bottle. To put it bluntly, it wasn't great. The hops had softened plenty in other bottles over the past months, but this one tasted a little like cardboard, as if it had begun to oxidize [Note to self: vegetable crisper is not ideal for cellaring beer]. It should have been a pretty depressing occasion, but there was no rending of clothing or gnashing of teeth. Why?

We learned on a recent trip to the tasting room that Mendocino/Olde Saratoga is graduating from mere winter and summer seasonals to producing a limited release beer for every season. The fall release is a smooth and malty Oktoberfest. Oh, it's nice enough, and plenty of reason to visit the tasting room in its' own right, but the big news is the (very likely - at least according to the regular bartender) return of the Imperial IPA as Mendocino 2007-08 Winter Ale! We've got quite a bit going on just about now, but this still ranks as some of the most exciting news since who flung the chunk.

Why don't you people seem excited? Just trust us on this one. It may not get all the buzz, but this is a seriously good Imperial India Pale Ale. It's undoubtedly best brewery fresh, but Mendocino seasonals will be produced in both the Saratoga Springs, NY and Ukiah, CA breweries, and should be available across most of the country. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

Craft Beer at the Great New York State Fair

We must have beer festivals on the brain lately, or perhaps said fests are just in a New York state of mind. Over the past month or so...

The Empire State Brewing and Music Festival hit Syracuse on July 20...
Belgium came to Cooperstown on July 21...
Rochester's 11th annual Flour City Brewers Festival took place on July 29...
We recently mentioned Saratoga's (admittedly small time) 10th Annual Battle of the Brews, held on August 24...
As well as the inaugural (and very promising) Ithaca Brewfest, scheduled for September 8...
August 26 marked the 6th annual Buffalo Brewfest...

Pretty impressive run, no? It's been hectic enough that we probably missed an event or two in there, but you get the point; it has been quite a summer. Anyway, now comes word, courtesy of Rick Lyke, that the New York State Brewer's Association will have a booth at the State Fair in Syracuse. The stated goal is to "showcase the 59 breweries in the state and educate the public on the economic importance of brewing."

A different brewery will be featured daily, with 2 oz. samples from that brewery given to adults of legal age from 4 - 6 pm. Granted, it's a small step, but the New York State Fair does draw over a million visitors annually. In our experience, many of these folks are not opposed to free samples of just about anything.

It won't change the world (or even the state) over the course of a week and a half, but let's remember that craft beer is a segment of the market that currently owns about 5% of overall beer sales by dollar amount. Every little bit of exposure to the habitual Bud or Miller drinker counts for something. Seriously, this may prove to be a very good thing. Just one more reason to lament having been passed over a State Fair assignment at work again this year.

Ithaca Brew Fest '07

As long as we're on the subject of beer festivals, the inaugural Ithaca Brew Fest certainly deserves a mention. Scheduled for Saturday, September 8 from 4 - 8 pm at Ithaca's Stewart Park, this event promises "3 Live Bands & 30 Craft Breweries", which makes for a very promising base on which to build a brew fest. The event is co-sponsored in part by the Ithaca Beer Company, and looks to be a well planned event with a very nice roster of participating breweries.

For those not in the know, Ithaca is a pretty funky college town of some 30,000 or so residents located roughly an hour's drive southwest of Syracuse or northwest of Binghamton. As home to both Ithaca College and the Ivy League's Cornell University, it is the stereotypical example of the small, rural city whose culture is shaped almost entirely by the universities' presence. In other words, a beer festival sounds like a great idea for this town. Need more? Let us not forget that Ithaca is Gorges!

Breweries:

Avery Brewing - Boulder, CO
Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn, NY
Butternuts Beer And Ale - Garrattsville, NY
Chelsea Brewing Company New York, NY
Cooperstown Brewing – Milford, NY
Ellicottville Brewing Co. – Ellicottville, NY
Empire Brewing – Syracuse, NY
Flying Bison Brewing Company - Buffalo, NY
Harpoon Brewery – Boston, MA
High Falls Brewing – Rochester, NY
Ithaca Beer Company – Ithaca, NY
Keegan Ales – Hudson Valley, NY
Lagunitas Brewing Company – Petaluma, CA
Lake Placid Brewery - Lake Placid, NY
Magic Hat Brewing Company - South Burlington, VT
Market Street Brewing – Corning, NY
Middle Ages Brewing – Syracuse
Ommegang - Cooperstown, NY
Red Hook – Portsmouth, NH
Rohrbach Brewing Company - Rochester, NY
Roosterfish Brewing Co. - Watkins Glen, NY
Sackets Harbor Brewing Co. - Sackets Harbor, NY
Saranac/Matt Brewing Co. – Utica, NY
Smuttynose Brewing Company – Portsmouth, NH
Southern Tier Brewing – Lakewood, NY
Spanish Peaks Brewing Company - Polson, MT & Denver, CO

Excellent representation from New York State breweries, especially from Central and Western New York, as well as a smattering of others from the Northeast and a few nice West Coast entries. Tickets are $25 for advance purchase, $30 day of the event.

For a nice package deal including lodging, check this out:

Ramada Inn Ithaca Executive Conference Center
$139.00 + tax which will include a room, 2 tickets to the Brew Fest, a 6-pack of Ithaca Beer and Sunday Brunch for two.

Nothin' wrong with that.

Battle of the Brews at Saratoga

10th Annual Battle of the Brews
Saratoga Race Course
Friday, August 24, 2007
Noon - 4:30 pm

There is a tasting fee of $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Buy a commemorative glass for $5 in advance, $7 day of. Not sure exactly how the whole thing works, but any combination of brewfest and Saratoga Race Course can't be too bad. Proceeds benefit the Saratoga chapter of the Amerian Red Cross. Here's a link to a "postcard" of the event.

Late notice on this one, and there's not too much information out there. We can tell you that eleven breweries participated last year. You can probably expect a good number of entries from the following regional breweries:

Olde Saratoga/Mendocino
Cooper's Cave
Davidson Brother's
Adirondack Pub & Brewery
Lake Placid
Great Adirondack
Keegan Ales
Saranac
Cooperstown Brewing
Brewery Ommegang
Brown's Brewing
Albany Pump Station

Worth a look, especially if you're planning on attending the Travers on Saturday.

Craft Beer at the Local Grocery Store

We mentioned awhile back the upward trend of craft beer sales, particularly in supermarkets, which are stocking 20% more craft beer than a year ago, and increased craft sales by 18% in 2006. Judging by this article in the August issue of Progressive Grocer (What's that, you let your subscription lapse?), it looks like the grocery retailing industry is taking notice:

Craft beers have grown so much in popularity that just about any grocer could be missing a major opportunity by not exploiting the segment. They're the little powerhouses that can help the overall huge but nevertheless struggling beer business better compete with wine and spirits. For supermarket beer merchandisers, the question ought not to be whether to get involved, but to what degree.

How's that for a promising opening paragraph in a grocery industry trade mag? The piece also touches briefly on the history of beer in America, from the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, to Fritz Maytag's revival of Anchor Brewing and the current craft beer explosion. What may be most interesting, however, is this bit:

Over the 52 weeks ending June 9, 2007, 646 craft beer brands have sold at least 1,000 cases each in America's supermarkets. That's an 11 percent increase compared with 2005. By way of comparison, only 245 import brands have crossed the 1,000-case threshold in supermarkets over the same period. Import brand count has also increased over the past two years, up nearly 12 percent vs. 2005. As a result of all this brew brand proliferation, the shelves are growing crowded. Today the average American supermarket stocks over 23 different craft beer items. When balanced against the average number of items stocked for the entire beer/malt-based beverage category count of 195 items, craft beers appear to be a fairly small presence, yet they've increased their count by more than 33 percent over the past two years, exceeding the growth rate of import beers.

It's important to remember that those include national figures, both the craft beer hotbeds and macro-wastelands. Still, pretty encouraging numbers overall. We've noticed that the local grocery shelves have included more and more choices in recent months. Most are those tied to the big boys -- Miller's Lienenkugel, A-B's Redhook -- but regionals like Otter Creek and Long Trail and local stuff like Saratoga's Mendocino or Glens Falls' Davidson Brother's have become increasingly common.

Rochester based Wegmans grocery has a very impressive selection of beer, especially in some of their bigger stores. We used to buy single bottle's of Sam Smith's at Wegmans as far back as five years ago, and offerings now include plenty of 22 oz. bombers (including most of the line from Middle Ages) in Syracuse area stores we've visited. Wegmans is even leading the charge among supermarkets selling beer in Pennsylvania.

Obviously, there is still a long way to go. Wegmans is a pretty unique chain, and they are currently expanding to the southeast rather than in our direction. It looks like it will be some time before we're able to find more than a handful of legitimate beer choices with our weekly grocery shopping, but this grocery industry awareness of craft beer can only be a good sign.

The High Cost of Hops

An obsession with hops is something that seems to go hand in hand with the discovery of craft beer for many people. That tangy, bitter bite provided by the hops in a well done American style Pale Ale or IPA can be a real eye-opener for someone used to the typical watered down pilsners foisted on most of the population.

The US produces roughly a quarter of the world's hops, and nearly 75% of those come from the Yakima Valley in Washington state. Last fall, spontaneous combustion caused a massive warehouse fire that destroyed as much as 4% of the 2006 US hop crop. That incident, combined with last year's unusually poor growing season in Europe, has contributed to prices for some varieties of hops that are as much as 20% higher than a year ago. This has caused some brewers to tweak the hop varieties used in some recipes and delay the release of some beers. It has probably played a part in increased prices for some craft beers already, and some fear that the long term trend toward higher priced hops may even affect the big boys at Bud, Miller and Coors in future years - though obviously not nearly to the same degree.

The verdict is still out on the 2007 hop harvest in both the US and Europe, but here's hoping for a bumper crop. This Washington Post article by Greg Kitsock gives a nice account of what's hoppening (sorry, we're couldn't resist the urge any longer), as well as some interesting tidbits on the types of hops used in several beers and the qualities those hops impart. It even includes a throwaway global warming scare!

A Visit to Pittsfield Brew Works

Aside from its proximity, the factor that drew us most to the Pittsfield Brew Works was the discovery that the co-owners, Christine Bump and Bill Heaton, had met while working together at Victory Brewing in Downington, Pennsylvania. We made quite a pleasant visit to Victory last summer, and it had long been a favourite prior to that. They are probably best known for their flagship, Hop Devil IPA, but also make several other excellent beers that are widely available regionally: Prima Pils, Storm King Imperial Stout, Golden Monkey, et al.

The mere knowledge that there was a Victory connection this close to home that we had somehow neglected to visit for so long was enough to drive one to madness. Rather than giving in to the madness, we chose to investigate.

Pittsfield is a small city in Western Massachusettes, located about 35 miles east of Albany. Close enough that the latest issue of Metroland, the marvelously worthless, free weekly paper of the Capital Region, was stacked on a table just inside the door as we entered the Brew Works.

Despite the short distance, getting there was a bit of an adventure, as we had to negotiate throngs of yuppster hippies in Audis and Subaru Outbacks who clogged Route 7 (we can only assume they were headed for Tanglewood), but don't let that be a detractor. Once in downtown Pittsfield, we wandered just a bit, but managed to find our way to 34 Depot Street without much trouble (hint: it's near the train station). We parked in the spacious gravel parking lot under the row of windows along the side (back?) of the brewpub and headed for the main entrance under the distinctive 'black sheep' sign that serves as the brewpub's logo.

Once inside, we saw the aforementioned stacks of Metroland, surrounded by walls coloured yellow to match the background of the funky sheep logo. The dining room has a half dozen tables and roughly as many booths, with windows overlooking the brewing tanks. Pass through an arched doorway, and you're in the glassed-in bar area. Most of this room overlooks the parking lot and train station, but provides a decent view of what exists of downtown Pittsfield on the near end. The other end of the stretched, rectangular room features a large, three-sided booth with windows on two sides. During our visit, this booth was filled, curiously enough, mostly with gentlemen sporting matching Cats t-shirts.

The bar itself is dark wood, with room for perhaps 15 thirsty patrons along its length. Most of the beers on draught are listed on a large chalkboard above the expanse of the bar's back wall, with plenty of taps and some glassware occupying the foreground. There are televisions on either end of the bar tuned to one sporting event or another, but we were there mostly for the beer.

There were ten of their own on draught for our visit, along with a tasty-sounding Coffee Porter guest tap from nearby Berkshire Brewing Company. The sampler, which comes highly recommended, includes ample samples of all of the available house beers. On this occasion, these
included the following:

Dohoney's Gold
Rauchbier
Pitch Pilsner
Berkshire Weiss
ESB (on cask)
Geri Dog Stout
Legacy IPA
Warrior Pale
Summit Pale
Amarillo Pale

Cursedly, we did not take any notes, but rest assured that there was not a dud in the group. Predictably enough, the Gold and Pilsner were probably our least favourite, but still plenty drinkable. The stout was creamy smooth, and the IPA did nothing to betray its' Hop Devil heritage. It's always nice to see a brewpub with a cask offering. The cask ESB was good, but not quite as fine as we'd been led to believe. Perhaps most interesting, all of the P ales ( there is normally a fourth, Columbus, available as well) are made using the same recipe. The only difference is the type of hops used.

Distinguishing such nuances as one hop variety from another is an admitted shortcoming on our part. That said, this practice is simply fantastic. Each pale was sufficiently different from the rest that we did not realize the hops were the only difference until reading about it later. Perhaps the names should have been a dead giveaway. We may be alone in thinking this, but the varietal pales on their own merit another visit for further research.

Did we mention that the ten beer sampler only cost $6? As if that weren't enough, a follow-up pint of the pleasantly flowery Amarillo Pale only set us back $3.35. Why, again, had we never been to this place previously?

No brewpub would be complete without food, and the Brew Works did not disappoint in this department either. The menu is relatively inexpensive (we saw nothing over $15) and has plenty of appealing options. We stuck to the appetizers on this trip, and were not sorry. The Buffalo Chicken Tenders (6.95) were crispy and nicely spiced. A 1/2 order of Brew Pub Nachos (4.95) included tasty ground beef and pico de gallo, and were big enough that we worried that they'd given us a full order. Homemade Onion Rings (3.95) were beer battered and perfectly fried.

Pittsfield Brew Works proved to be quite a find; a really pleasant setting with solid pub food and great beers. All at very popular prices. It's worth a slight detour should you find yourself in the general area of Route 7 (or even I-90) in far Western Mass. We plan on going back on a fairly regular basis. Soon, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

Pittsfield Brew Works
34 Depot Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 997-3506

Closed Mondays

Beer o' the Moment: Ommegang Ommegeddon

Being only an hour's drive or so from Cooperstown, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (and quite a lovely little town in its own right) is a not unattractive aspect of life in the Capital Region of New York State. Proximity to the fantastic Belgian-style ales put out by Brewery Ommegang is no small part of that. Truth be told, we probably don't take advantage of either the town or the brewery nearly enough. We'd been hearing rumblings for awhile about the release of their latest creation, Ommegeddon, so you can imagine our excitement when a 750 ml bottle labeled "Batch #1, June 2007" was generously delivered into our hands.

Here's what the brewery says about it on their web site:

We are happy to introduce our newest addition, Ommegeddon.

It’s our new 8% abv Belgian-style ale with a wild twist- a dose of Brettanomyces yeast and a blast of dry hopping. Ommegedon is a strong blonde ale with a sharp citrus flavor that, like the other Ommegang ales has a dry finish. It’s dryness and funkiness begat the name of Ommegeddon-for the time when the forces of light and dark battle for world dominion. It’s time for you to pick your side.

We weren't really sure what to expect from this beer, especially given the line "Funkhouse Ale with Brettanomyces" on the bottle. Not knowing much about the wild yeast strain Brettanomyces (hereafter affectionately known as Brett), we did a bit of reading on the subject. A small bit, but still, give a little credit, eh? I don't claim to be anything but a novice in the ways of Belgian brewing, but, hey, I'm willing to work at it! Basically, Brett, along with Pediococcus and Lactobacillus is one of the "big three" beer (or wine - if you're into that sort of thing) spoiling micro-organisms. Most of the time, when of these bad boys is present in your adult beverage, it means something went horribly wrong with the brewing process.

Under a skilled hand, however, these bacteria can mean wonderful things. Brett, in particular, is at least partially responsible for the flavours of such luminaries as Orval, Rodenbach, and Liefmans. It is known for the "sweaty" or "horse blanket" qualities it can impart. In a good way.

To learn more, check out this article by Tomme Arthur, head of brewing at San Diego's highly regarded Port Brewing, and lead visionary of their Belgian offshoot, Lost Abbey. Alternatively, just try a few Brett-influenced beers. We plan to do both, perhaps repeatedly. Previous experience with Ommegang's five mainstay ales has taught us that they certainly know how to brew in the Belgian style. Well enough that they are now Belgian-owned and a portion of their line has been brewed in Belgium over the past couple years just to keep up with production. The Ommegeddon proved to be surprisingly easy to drink, and not nearly as "funky" as I'd hoped. Or was it feared? It certainly has that familiar smooth and slightly sweet Belgian quality to it.

We found it surprisingly similar to some of Ommegang's other offerings; almost a blend of Rare Vos and Hennepin, with just a dash of something unknown and earthy. It is faintly sweet and spicy, but with an oddly pleasant dampness. A little hoppy. Dry, bitter finish. There is a lot going on, but it definitely drinks lighter than the original Abbey Ale. This easy quaffability belies the 8% ABV. A 750 ml bottle of this stuff could easily disappear in a hurry.

A Second Opion - from (our very own) Bill:

Well from what I remember it seemed like a Saison or farmhouse ale.

It had that kind of strong Belgian taste which I can usually take or leave,
but in this case I did like it. It had a certain sweetness to it, too, like
a light cherry (this is all based on memory, of course). The thing that I
liked most about it was how smooth it was; it didn't have that champagne
fizz that most of those Saisons have. That made it a far more pleasant
drink for me. I wasn't blown away by it, and for $13 way overpriced. But it
was exemplary for the style (which is a style to which I am not
particularly partial).

The label does recommend that you should "Cellar 6 Months for maximum enjoyment of Brettanomyces funkiness." This one is crafted in such a manner that the mild funkiness in the beer now might turn into something George Clinton would envy in a year's time. Having grown up on a farm, we fear not a whit the "horse blanket" flavour, so aging this sounds like a good plan. It is hard to justify (at least to the wife) the $12-15 price tag too often, especially with most of Ommegang's other offerings available for less than half that, but this is certainly something we'd love to try again in six months or a year when those wild yeasts have had a chance to go about their work.

Capital Region Coming Attraction

If we were to tell you that coming soon to Wolf Road in Albany (well, technically, it's in Colonie) was a bar and restaurant specializing in Chicago style deep dish pizza that also features over 100 beers, you'd be at least a tad intrigued, right? Okay, so Old Chicago is a national chain, but it does have those two previously mentioned factors decidedly in its favour. We've never been to one of their locations, but have visited a Rock Bottom Brewery or two - they are run by the same company - and found them to be pretty solid establishments.


A cursory glance at the beer list is not all that impressive, considering the number available. We hear that just how good the beer selection is depends on the individual location, so here's hoping for the best. Want another check in the positive column? They also offer a beer tour:

Old Chicago World Beer Tour™
Travel the world, one beer at a time. For more than 20 years beer lovers across America have sampled the world’s finest brews with our famous World Beer Tour.
The tour includes 110 exciting brews -- some old favorites, others happy discoveries. Each one bringing another taste thrill -- and big prize potential.

It’s free to join with no obligation to complete the tour (but really, why wouldn’t you?). An electronic World Beer Tour card tracks every beer on your journey, from any Old Chicago location. It’s your ticket to quick validations and fabulous prizes.
Once you’ve tried all 110 beers (not in one day), your tour’s complete. On that proud day you get your name forever emblazoned on The Famous Hall of Foam and instant bragging rights for dear mom.

What better way to make your way around the globe than with a beer in your hand?

Sure, as beer tours go, this ain't exactly Mahar's, but it's worth checking out. Worry not, Dear Reader. We will, as always, do the leg work for you. Is elbow work more appropriate? Keg work? Anyway, a little bird told us that Old Chicago is slated to open on September 23 and that they will have up to 119 beers to choose from. Developing...

A New Brewery in the Southern Tier

The Southern Tier of New York State refers to the geographic area that runs most of the length of the state, from the edge of the Catskill Mountains west along the border of northern Pennsylvania almost to the shores of Lake Erie. It is some of the most beautiful country you could hope to find; full of rolling hills, valleys, rivers, and precious little in the way of population centers.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer raised the ire of some when he said much of Upstate "looks like Appalachia" during his election campaign last year. He was referring, of course, to the faltering economy in many Upstate locales resembling that of the stereotypically impoverished and rural "hillbilly" region. Deliverance imagery aside, he wasn't exactly wrong. Spitzer was referring to the depressed economic conditions, but most of the Southern Tier region technically is Appalachia.

Okay, enough of the geographic and socioeconomic drivel, we're here for the beer. The point we are so circuitously [not to mention clumsily - Ed.] trying to make is that, as wonderful as the Southern Tier is, there ain't a whole lot happening there, especially when it comes to the microbrewery scene. With the exception of Ellicottville Brewing and, of course, the aptly named Southern Tier Brewing, both of which are in the far southwestern corner of the state (and happen to have a shared heritage, but that's another story for another time), there really is not another brewery in the region. Until now, that is!

Horseheads Brewing opened its doors (well, technically, got its liquor license) on July 3rd. Owner and longtime homebrewer Ed Samchisen handles the beer making, while his wife, Brenda, runs the gift shop and designs all the beer labels. The brewery is new enough that there is not yet a web site, but they do offer beer in growlers and hand-filled bottles. If all goes according to plan, they will soon have kegs for sale and begin supplying their beer to local bars and restaurants. According to this site, there may be as many as six different brews, each of which is linked in some way to local history through its name.

The line-up:

Brickyard Red Ale
Iroquois Wheat Beer
Newtown Brown
Pale Expedition Ale
Peach Wheet Beer
Sullivan Stout

Horseheads is located just North of Elmira off Interstate 86 and takes its uniquely wonderful name from the number of bleached horse skulls left behind in the aftermath of the Sullivan Expedition (yes, as in Sullivan Stout - told you the names had history behind them). It's a bit out of the way, but is located off a major highway, and certainly sounds like it merits some field research. If only we knew someone who had recently moved to the Southern Tier and enjoyed inexpensive and thoroughly enjoyable day trips to breweries. Developing...

Quick Take: Pump Station Smoked Hefeweizen

When we read that the Albany Pump Station was offering a Smoked Hefeweizen, we had to visit. According to their web site:

This version of our Bavarian-style wheat beer is made with beechwood smoked malt, imparting a more than subtle flavor. The yeast-derived banana and clove characteristics are there, too. Our Brewmaster's favorite; in fact, I'm drinking it now! 5.6% ABV.

As it turns out, the Smoked Hefe is something they have offered twice previously in the past three months, and we'd actually sampled it before. The Pump Station's standard Hefeweizen is one of the best we have ever had the pleasure of tasting; it's crisp and refreshing without getting too yeast-y or over the top. There is a beautiful banana and clove spiciness going on as well. While we admittedly have not visited often enough lately (maybe once every three of four weeks on average), it seemed that either the Hefeweizen was not offered - they often have Evans' Wit, an excellent Belgian style beer in it's own right - or that the customary spice of the Hefe was just a little different.

In our ignorance, we had sampled the Bavarian Style (Smoked) Hefeweizen and simply assumed that their was a slight variance or tweak in the batch, similar to what seemingly has happened - for the better - with the Pale Ale recently. The Bavarian Style Hefeweizen sign on the tap list apparently is the same whether it's the smoked or standard version.

In our defense, the underlying smoke flavor is much more understated than the web site's description would lead us to believe. The smoke characteristic is fleeting at best; just a hint on the nose and at the finish. It is light, bubbly and solidly spiced, but, to our taste, not as clean and pleasant as their normal Hefeweizen. All in all, an enjoyable, easy drinker, but not one we'd choose over either the Hefe or the Evans' Wit. Still, any excuse to visit the Pump Station is a welcome one, at least in our book.

Revisiting Cape Cod

The beautifully summery weather this weekend brought to mind our trip earlier this year to Cape Cod, and in particular, to the Cape Cod Beer brewery. Other than some fine establishments in the city of Boston, and beers from Harpoon and Sam Adams, this was really one of our first experiences with the beers of Massachusetts. As we have been sadly lax in our picture taking for the site (especially since our only decent camera was stolen by a wanton criminal), we decided to post a few that were taken by an affiliated photog during our tour of the brewery in Hyannis. Rest assured, we are working on the camera situation and positive changes in that respect can be expected in the near future.

The outside of the brewery - it really is just a small warehouse in a light industrial park in Hyannis. This facility actually represents an expansion from their original downtown location.

Inspecting the tanks. I swear his head was in there just a moment before this was taken. One of the auxiliary holding tanks was actually acquired from the nearby Cape Cod Potato Chips factory.

One of New England's leading beer connoisseurs demonstrates a variety of different malts.

The local homebrewers club was brewing up a batch of undisclosed beer during our visit. We gave it the ol' sniff test. It passed. With flying colors.

Filled kegs biding their time in the cooler until their appointed time comes. So far, Cape Cod Brewing self distributes only to locations on the Cape. Too bad, we could go for a nice glass of their Hefe or IPA right about now.

Saranac's Next Big Beer

Word has it that the next entry in Saranac's High Peaks series will be a Russian Imperial Stout. "Our new High Peak Series line of beers," says the description on their web site, "are bigger, more complex and flavorful; beers that are meant to be sipped and savored." Their first foray into the world of "big beers" was the solid, tasty and well balanced Imperial IPA, released in 2006.

We have long held that Saranac (which brews a big chunk of Brooklyn Brewery's well-respected products under contract) is capable of much more than their standard line of brews. The Imperial IPA was a great first step, and the RIS will prove an excellent choice for the second. It is slated to be released in mid-September. And to think that I considered stopping by Utica for a brewery tour on Friday before passing it up to take the scenic route from Syracuse to the Capital Region!

Craft Beer Continues Upward and Outward Trend

"As sales of craft beers -- mostly local and regional smaller-batch brews -- continue to soar amid an otherwise sluggish U.S. beer market, arrivals of well-known but previously unavailable beers are becoming significant events. And craft brewers and retailers are going to greater lengths to stoke them."

In this article from Advertising Age, we learn that craft beer sales continue their impressive growth, up 18% in dollar sales in supermarkets in 2006, compared to 2.4% for beer overall. Likely as a result of this figure, supermarkets are stocking 20% more craft-beer products than a year ago. This strikes us an important sign, as the vast majority of beer drinkers are purchasing theirs at supermarkets along with the weekly groceries, not in specialty stores. Small steps to be sure, but important ones. Additionally, the launch of Colorado's New Belgium Fat Tire Amber in Minneapolis is compared to the hysteria surrounding the introduction of Apple's iPhone, Shiner Bock has a successful launch in Chicago thanks in part to viral marketing to displaced Texans, and craft beer's surging popularity is likened to that of Coor's in the 70's! It seems like more than a few things are happening in the Midwest. Sure, we've now given you the Cliffs Notes version, but the story is still a solid read (and not too long, ADD boy). Check it out.

Harpoon IPA Cheddar Cheese

Pairing craft beer with food has become almost de rigueur. Some of the foremost advocates of beer are predicting that it will be undergo a revolution similar to the one that transformed wine a few decades ago. No less an authority than Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver says "beer is a far better accompaniment to cheese," and compares matching beer with cheese to a "hug" while calling wine and cheese pairings a mere "handshake." If you're scoring at home, craft beer (1.) is in the midst of a revolution, (2.) pairs nicely with food, and (3.) may go better with cheese than wine does. But how about a cheese made with beer?


Two fine Vermont companies, Harpoon Brewery (they purchased the former Catamount Brewery in Windsor in 2000, in addition to their original Boston location) and Cabot Creamery, headquartered in Montpelier, have combined forces to help us answer this important question. We've long thought of Cabot in connection with beer (even before it became cool) because there is a Cabot production facility located right next to the Otter Creek brewery in Middlebury, VT. Cabot must feel pretty strongly about combining beer and cheese as well, as their web site has a page dedicated to comparing the similarities of their cheeses share with craft beers and some basic pairing suggestions. They even offer a Beer and Cheddar brochure! We especially enjoyed this bit:

Much like aging a premium cheese, or producing a fine wine, brewing a quality beer with a distinct personality is a craft unto itself. Today, there is no excuse for enduring bland, processed cheese or drinking mass-produced, watered-down beer. From rich dark stouts to refreshing pale ales, from spicy to fruity, smoky to herbal, somewhere out there is a brew for every taste and every occasion. To enhance the experience, Cabot offers a wide selection of tasty, all-natural cheeses to complement the new breed of American ales and lagers.

Amen!

The IPA cheddar acquitted itself nicely as part of a grilled ham and cheese panini (Black Forest ham, cheese, red onion, and our own blend of Whalen's spicy horseradish sauce combined with yellow mustard, on local Mastoriani Bros. multi-grain bread, which gets perfectly crispy on a panini press). Accompanied by a pint from a fresh growler of spicy Mendocino White Hawk IPA from Olde Saratoga brewery, it made for a better-than-decent quick meal.

A plate of sliced IPA cheddar and pretzel crisps paired quite nicely with a Cascazilla "Monstrously Hoppy" Red from Ithaca Beer Co. It's hard to screw up beer and cheese, and maybe it's just a mental thing, but this cheese does seem to go almost perfectly with a well-hopped beer. Harpoon IPA is not something that we typically keep on hand, but at some point we're going to have to try that pairing as well.

Harpoon IPA Cheddar is a bit spicier than the norm, presumably due to the flavouring process. The cheese is cut into blocks and then soaked in Harpoon IPA for 24 hours. It is then drained, packaged, and stored at 45º F for four weeks. In addition to the spiciness, it is quite creamy, and not overly sharp. We don't necessarily detect it, but Lady Bojangles swears it tastes a lot like beer. Overall, it's an excellent cheese, and fairly unique. It also makes one wonder - is this soaking beer in cheese thing something that we could try at home? It does sound fairly foolproof.

Cabot calls this effort their most innovative to date. You can read the press release here.