Growing Hops Outside the Pacific Northwest

This story from the Wall Street Journal is not the most informative article on hops you will ever have the pleasure of reading. Then again, it's from the Journal, not Beer Advocate. Little different audience they're appealing to, I guess.

Target demographic aside, it actually does make for a pretty interesting read. Apparently, given the recent meteoric rise in the price of hops, some newcomers across this great nation are trying their hand at growing the flowery devils on a commercial scale. The article gives a quick synopsis on the circumstances that led up to this turn of events before briefly profiling a handful of these farms, including one in particular that caught our eye:

Many new hop farmers are focused on selling to brewers in their region. Rick Pedersen, a farmer in Seneca Castle, N.Y., began growing hops in 1999 but wasn't able to start selling them until just few years ago, when the Ithaca Beer Co. in Ithaca, N.Y., became a customer. He is part of a budding revival of hops production in the Northeast, with farmers in states such as Pennsylvania also participating.

"It's not an easy thing to just start up from scratch," Mr. Pedersen says, adding he's still "not even close" to recouping his investment...

Until the 1920s, New York state was the nation's hotbed for hops. However, two diseases -- downy mildew and powdery mildew -- crippled production, and the industry began moving to drier Western climates less susceptible to mildew. Today, nearly all of the nation's hops are grown in Washington, Oregon and Idaho

The Ithaca Beer referenced is the delightful (and lamented) Double IPA, which I believe is on indefinite hiatus due to the current hops "situation". Pederson Farms has also supplied Victory with fresh hops for their harvest ale for the past few years as well as Brown's Brewing for their tasty New York hopped IPA. Brown's has since opened their own small bottling operation and planted over 800 hops rhizomes in Hoosick, New York with an eye to the future. More on that, hopefully, sometime in the uh... future.

Beer O' The Moment: Lionshead

Sometimes, the situation doesn't call for sipping a 10% abv imperial stout by a roaring fireplace or quaffing a nice Belgian quadrupel with King Albert II*. No, sometimes the temp is pushing 90 and you're on a glorious rooftop deck tailgating before a Phillies - Dodgers game in South Philly with a bunch of really good dudes, most of whom you've known for a decade or more.

*He's the king of Belgium, silly!

Times like these, when the sun is shining, and the laughs are flowing and you're all just riffing - maybe MC Hammer is on the stereo - times like these are what a beer like Lionshead was made for. Throw a couple of cases on ice. Twist the caps off a few of 'em. Maybe take a minute (possibly 15) to puzzle out the rebus under those caps. Fire up the grill. Enjoy.

Oh, the beer itself? It's a lawnmower beer. A rooftop deck beer. Again, those certainly have their place. It's highly drinkable, especially at icy temps. Fairly crisp, with some corn and a faint hop presence somewhere in there. It definitely cuts the dust. And the mustard. The Lion calls it a "deluxe pilsner", which may be a bit of a stretch, but there ain't nothing wrong with it.

It doesn't hurt at all that this stuff retails for thirteen bucks a case. Or that it's brewed at The Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, one of the few remaining old time regional breweries in the northeast. Oh yeah, if you watch carefully, you just might see it on an episode of The Office.

A Big Crazy Mix-Up

Since I feel like I'm running out of beers to try, I have decided to do something revolutionary. I had a six pack of Saranac and a twelve pack of Dundee and decided to mix it up a little. Literally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I took three beers and did a little "round robin" pouring half of each into a pint glass with half from the other two. The three beverages I used were Saranac Pale Ale, Dundee Porter and Dundee Wheat. Please note, I had intended to use Dundee Pale Bock but I screwed it up and poured the wrong one. Ah well, let's check the results...

SARANAC PALE/DUNDEE PORTER

The beer pours a mahogany reddish brown. It's slightly darker at the top. A finger of thick ocean foam head. It's thick, but also shiny and glassy.

In the aroma, the crystal malts of the Pale overshadow the roasted malts of the Porter, but only barley ... barely. The slightly piney hops in the pale do make a difference in breaking through the thick malt. It's a bit too sharp in the spiky malts.

The tastes are strange bedfellows. The pale flavors (hops, crystal malt) are the first flavors, and then a mild roasted, nutty malt kicks in. It evolves throughout the sip, but the flavors clash rather than getting along nicely.

The feel is thick and creamy, and chewy and chunky. Has some nice body, with a small bite on the way down. It's not the runaway success I had hoped for, but it's an interesting change of pace beer.

---

DUNDEE WHEAT/SARANAC PALE

The look is a hazy light orange. The thick head dissipates quickly. Leaves a nice icy lace. Overall the appearance is a nice cloudy thickness.

The smell is some bittering pilsnery hops floating atop a thick banana-ish wheat aroma. Some mild citrusy sweetness, which actually blends nicely with the clove in the wheat.

The sweet citrus and banana/clove taste give this makeshift brew a decent bubblegum flavor. And though the flavors are strong, they are disparate, thought it is a surprisingly decent mix.

The feel is thick and sticky. It's creamy, and the wheat beer definitely has the influence on this one. All told, it's actually a solid mix. The hops and wheat play nicely in the sandbox.

---

DUNDEE PORTER/DUNDEE WHEAT

This one was the real shocker.

The appearance is a thick, cloudy brown. The head disappears quickly. It looks very thick.

The aroma is, at first, an uneasy mix of the roasted malt and some wheat. It has the aromatic effect of a dark Belgian ale. The wheat and the roasted malt. It takes on a smoky quality.

The taste has a real, dark Belgian ale flavor, oddly enough. It's a really surprising mix of two good flavors. Not too shabby at all. The rich caramel flavors meet the wheat flavors, as well as a subtle tobacco kick.

The feel is milky but smooth. Really decent. Overall it's like a dark Belgian ale. A surprisingly good little concoction. Smoky, rich and deep.

None of these were the unmitigated triumph that I had secretly hoped for, but they were all drinkable, and were a decent change of pace idea when all you have is the same stuff you've been drinking for weeks on end.

Hopefully, we will become bolder and wiser in our choices, selecting brews that are unbalanced with other brews that are unbalanced. It is this attempt to bring together the yin and yang (the Yuen and Yueng?) of beers in those that are lacking that zen balance. I'm making a list as we speak.

Battle of the Brews at Saratoga Race Course

It's hard to find any real details, but the Adirondack/Saratoga chapter of the American Red Cross is presenting the 11th annual "Battle of the Brews" at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, August 22, from noon to 4:30 p.m. It will be held in the “Big Red Spring” area. This is the biggest weekend of the Saratoga racing season with the 139th running of the Travers Stakes, aka "The Mid-Summer Derby" on Saturday.

Tickets for the event are $25 per person. That price includes a commemorative 2008 pint glass. Last year, tickets went for $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and the glass would have cost you $5 or $7 depending on your ability to plan ahead.

Sixteen breweries will offer approximately three beers each for sampling and voting:

Adirondack Pub & Brewery

Anchor Brewing Co.

Black Dog

Boulder Beer

Brewery Ommegang

Brown’s Brewery

Cooper’s Cave Ale Company

Green Mountain

Harpoon Brewery

Long Trail Brewing Co.

Magic Hat Brewing

Olde Saratoga Brewing Co.

Paper City Brewery

Saranac Brewing Co.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Switchback Brewery.

Awards for People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice will be presented. Looks pretty solid, actually. Seeing as I will be at the track already, perhaps a little "field research" is in order.

You can get more information by calling the local American Red Cross Adirondack Saratoga Chapter at (518) 792-6545, or e-mail reehlc@usa.redcross.org. Proceeds benefit the Red Cross.

Head to Head: Saranac IPA vs. Dundee IPA

Today we are pitting against one another two of Upstate New York's premier mid-sized breweries' hoppier offerings in a new feature we like to call "Head to Head." I tried to think of a catchier name but let's face it, when your research involves drinking it sometimes takes you out of the zone.

The breweries discussed today are both going through a rebirth of sorts. Saranac (aka F.X. Matt) weathered a major fire in late May of this year. Luckily, the fire, while harmful, was not enough to keep Saranac from brewing for more than about a month.

Dundee Beer, on the other hand, while not having to endure any kind of blaze, has been going through a transformation of its own, dropping the "JW" from it's moniker and coming up with a whole new design and identity for its flagship brand. Dundee appears ready to be taking its rightful place among the major regional breweries, not only by making a concerted marketing effort built on beer tradition, but also by improving the quality of the beer itself (which you will read about in an upcoming post). The brewery is looking to shed its image of being the brewer of Genny and a couple of marginal microbrews. And the way it's been flying off the shelves in the Syracuse area, it appears that the eye-catching new designs are working.

Today we decide to compare the IPAs of these two proud, venerable breweries, and see which one can reign supreme as Upstate New York Mid-size I-90 Brewery Champ. Let us begin...

• The Look:
  
  Both beers have an almost identical golden color, though Dundee's is slightly darker. Saranac is more clear and see-through, while Dundee has a bit more haze on the glass. The head retention goes to Dundee by far, in that its head sits proudly atop the liquid, while Saranac's head is minimal and fades quickly. The Saranac looks more watery, and while they both sweat on the outside of the glass, Dundee just looks a bit thicker, like an ale. Both leave a decent Brussels lace on the glass, but again Dundee is thicker and more pronounced.
  
  Advantage: Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Aroma:
  
  Saranac's IPA has a fine pine-hop aroma, with some citrusy notes of lemon and lime. It's a more flowery and sweet-smelling hop. The hop on the Dundee side is also a woody smell, but the aroma comes through less, ironically because of the thick head that is blocking many of the scents from coming through. The malts are what makes these ales smell markedly different: the Saranac has pale, crystal malts bursting through, while the Dundee is more roasted. The Saranac is just more aromatic.
  
  Advantage: Saranac.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Flavor:
  
  Here is where the rubber meets the road, as they say. Both of these IPAs have very nice flavors, but they are decidedly different. The Saranac IPA has a woody, pine hop flavor, which is mild but does well with the sharp crystal malt flavor. There are sweet fruity and flowery hop flavors emerging. The malts in the Saranac are more "spiky" and sharp, giving the impression of a heavily-hopped pale ale rather than an IPA.
  
  The Dundee on the other hand, is more bold. It has a deeper "ale" flavor, with the malts deeper and more roasted than the sharp crystal malts in the Saranac. There are mild caramel and butterscotch notes coming through, giving off a more complex flavor than the Saranac. The malts are what separates these two beers.
  
  Advantage: Slight edge to Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Feel:
  
  The Saranac is more "spiky" and fizzy; it's got a sharper feel with more bubbly carbonation felt on the tongue. (Ironic because the Dundee looked much more carbonated in appearance.) The feel of the Dundee is thicker, more like a pub ale. It's more creamy and buttery than the Saranac. This one is based on personal preference I suppose, but to me...
  
  Advantage: Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Verdict:
  
  Both of these beers are very worthy, mild IPAs. The Saranac is really a pale ale that has been hopped a little extra. The Dundee is a milky, buttery ale with more balance and more pronounced malt flavors, which in turn make the hops shine through just a bit more. While both of these are worthy selections, I would have to declare...
  
  WINNER: DUNDEE

So in a nail-biter, High Falls just barely edges out the descendents of F.X. Matt on this one. To be sure, both are very solid middle-of-the-road IPAs, so please don't use this as a reason not to buy the Saranac IPA. In fact, if you get the chance, pick up a twelve-pack of each and help support both the local economy and the craft-brewing industry. The more you buy, the more they'll make

Brunswick Barbecue and Brew

There is a new brewpub on the scene in New York's Capital Region... almost anyway. Goose Gosselin, former headbrewer at Malt River in Latham and most recently an assistant brewer at Olde Saratoga/Mendocino*, has opened his own barbecue joint in Cropseyville (just outside of Troy). The barbecue has been getting good reviews so far, and Gosselin hopes to start brewing some time this fall.

*In addition to Malt River and Olde Saratoga, the Goose has also worked at Boston Beer Works, Union Station in Providence, and Buzzards Bay Brewing. Pretty solid resume, that.

We were never huge fans of Malt River's brews; they were hit and miss, mostly. How much of that was due to its location in a dying mall and the inability to turn beers in a timely manner is anybody's guess. We only visited a handful of times, probably not enough to make a true judgment of the brewer's prowess. Gosselin certainly has his fans, including one Mr. Lew Bryson:

7/30/08: Got an e-mail from Gary "Goose" Gosselin yesterday, formerly of Malt River: he's opened Brunswick BBQ & Brew in Brunswick, NY, east of Troy on Rt. 2 (3925 State Hwy 2, Brunswick, 518/279-9993). They're open but not brewing yet: he hopes to be brewing in the fall. Good to see him back at the kettle!

Pretty exciting stuff, really. Even an average brewpub is a wonderful place and good barbecue is always welcome. This makes for tantalizing possibilities of beer runs beginning at Brown's in Troy, heading east on Route 2 to Brunswick Barbecue and Brew and then turning for the Madison Brewing Company (where the beer is okay, but the food is scrumpshalicious) in Bennington, Vermont. Or Pittsfield Brew Works in, umm, Pittsfield, Mass. Or lots o' good stuff in North Adams, Mass. Hell, it could lead us anywhere really. The possibilities are dizzying!

Middle Ages XIII Anniversary Celebration

Hey, if you're in the area, it's certainly worth a stop. Cheers to one of our favorite breweries on making it into their teens.

The Session: The Golden Anniversary That Nearly Killed Me

For this month's The Session, we are taking a trip down memory lane to a time when Miller High Life and Genesee's Golden Anniversary were acceptable beer choices. This story is from October of 2004 on a trip to visit my friend Javen in Schenectady, NY. It has some graphic medical terminology, so if you are squeamish you may want to gloss over it a bit. Hope you enjoy.

Have you ever woken up with cotton-mouth? How about a sore throat? How about something hanging out of the back of your throat that feels like one of those sticky octopus things you used to get out of a vending machine that you would throw against the wall and it would climb down? No? Well, all you have to do is drink some beer that doesn't mix with your body or your internal food processing mechanisms and voila, you've got it!

This is a story of my swollen uvula. It's a story that's not for the squeamish, which means it's really not even a story for me. It only lasted but 6 hours or so, but friends, it was a six hours I'd like to forget.

The story starts this past Saturday. Visiting my friends, Javen and Justine (aka T.T., still don't know where that nickname came from), in Schenectady, NY, just a two-hour drive from my home in hardcore urban Syracuse, we had gone to dinner and watched a few innings of the Yankees-Red Sox blowout before heading back for a brief cocktail at the apartment and then out to hopefully more bars. Will was already bitter due to the Red Sox taking an 0-3 dive in the ALCS, and I was just happy to be drunk. We went to a small convenience store, where we looked for the cheapest possible selections. I chose my favorite, Miller High Life, the best cheap beer known to man. But what for our second selection? Which beer would serve a dual function as both an economically-prudent choice but also one that would please the tastebuds as well? The choice was simple: Golden Anniversary, proudly brewed in my hometown of Rochester, New York.

Sure it seemed like a great idea at the time, get some cheap brew to get lit up, then walk to the neighborhood watering holes and slow 'er down with the fancy stuff. As Javen and I embarked on a 6-hour political discussion, we began knocking back brew after brew. I started with the High Life, as is my custom. Even though it is summer no more, the best summer brew this side of Milwaukee was treating me just fine. Curiously, someone handed me a golden can of the Golden Anniversary, and it was just fine too. When you're as far in the bag as I was, you can't tell the difference. Interestingly, I felt no ill-effects while conscious. As 4:30 AM rolled around, Javen and I finally agreed to disagree about Bush and Kerry, and decided to fall asleep. I felt great, a little dizzy, but great.

After what I can only assume is the worst night of sleep in my entire life (the air mattress I slept on collapsed under my burly weight), I awoke around 8 AM and felt the curious sensation of having a deflated balloon attached to the roof of my mouth. I swallowed once and felt a large flap of something undulating in my throat. My first inclination was to assume William and Javen had played a mischievous prank on me by placing something in my mouth as I slept, and I briefly looked forward to the sure-to-follow digital photo documenting the hilarity at my expense. But when I realized everyone else was still comatose, I flipped the hell out.

I ran to the bathroom to check the inside of my mouth. It was too dark to see in the bathroom, so I had to turn the light on, but the marquee-style lighting was too bright for my sensitive eyes, so I had to pull of an idiotic-looking maneuver by which I tilted my head back, opened my mouth in the say-ahhh position, shielded my eyes like a visor and stared into the horrifying abyss that was my mouth. I saw two tongues: my actual tongue and the second one where my uvula (the little punching bag in the back of the throat) used to reside. But instead of the cute little cartoonish teardrop-shaped piece of skin or whatever the hell it is, I saw an elongated, misshapen blob that was resting on the back of my tongue. And if you think that's gross, imagine how I felt looking at the goddamn thing. I nearly passed out. In fact, I lied down on the bathroom floor momentarily to get my blood back into my head, and then wondered if blood in my head was good for my amorphous uvula. I actually considered taking steps to get blood out of my head. Not a good idea in hindsight, but this is how my affliction affected my thought-process.

So I did what anyone with such a medical condition would do: I went back to sleep in the hope that my condition would be gone when I woke up, or better yet that it was all a horrible dream. So I fell asleep for another 15 minutes, trying to dream my growth away. No dice. It felt like peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth, except in this case the peanut butter was my own flesh. Now, this didn't hurt, not at all. It was simply uncomfortable, and since I have apprehensions anyway about swallowing and my dubious gag reflex (no jokes, fellows!), it became incredibly irritating and somewhat frightening.

Most people might call a doctor for something like this. Since I hate doctors and hospitals, I did the next best thing and got on WebMD. I had remembered what a magnificient resource this had been when I had a bit of a hemorrhoid problem back in March of '03, and I thought, if anyone could help me, it would be WebMD. Double dang-it! The only thing it suggested to me was to get my tonsils out. I had been planning on doing that anyway, but not now, dammit!

Who is better than a doctor to cure this problem? Who? Think, damn you, think! Of course! My little brother, Mike, aka "Beach Justice." No, he is not a doctor, but he did graduate from SUNY Fredonia in 2002 or so and I remembered he had had a similar condition at one time. So I called him on my cellular wireless telephone. It was about 9AM and Mike is accustomed to waking up at ohhh about noon, so I wasn't expecting him to answer. The phone rang 4 or 5 times before I heard the glorious click and timbre of my brother's surprisingly alert voice answering his phone. I asked him to help me. "Please, brother, please!" He replied, "Calm down, my friend, let me walk you through it." In his most scholarly and medicinal voice, Mike gave me the clinical explanation. I've had a bad allergic reaction to some beer. Something about the wheat or the way they process it. Have I had this beer before? No. Did you drink at all last night? Yes, yes! Well there's your answer. Take some allergy medication and give it till day's end. Oh, thank you brother, thank you! TT, the absoulute peach that she is, drove to the store and got me some Benadryl. Though they didn't exactly perform open-heart surgery on me, Mike and TT saved my life.

I shouldn't have driven back to Syracuse after the Benadryl though. Future reference.

Wegmans Beer Upgrade in Syracuse: Confirmed

For those of you in the Northeast who are so blessed as to have a Wegmans in your neighborhood, there may be some exciting news. You may remember that a scant five days ago I reported that Wegmans was likely to be expanding their beer selection as of Monday, July 21. I finally made it to the Wegmans in Dewitt (Syracuse) New York to find out if this was a hoax or whether it was something that beer aficianados can believe in.

Hopefully, the pictures below speak for themselves.



Wegmans clearly has gotten the memo that craft beer is a popular -- and profitable -- enterprise, as they have transformed their already solid beer selection into a full-fledged craft beer department. Not only have they greatly expanded the variety of breweries and styles that they had previously offered, but they have doubled, if not tripled the floor space to which their beer is devoted.

Previously, Wegmans had a cooler area where you could find some popular macroswill choices such as Busch, Bud, Natty Ice, Miller Lite, etc. They had a walk-in cooler where local beers could thankfully be found (lots of Middle Ages in Syracuse, lots of Dundees and Customer Brewcrafters in Rochester). They would also go above and beyond by carrying not only regional brands (Souther Tier, Ithaca, Ellicottville, Saranac, etc), but also some find craft offerings from around the country (Stone, Dogfish Head, Rogue).



Today when I walked in, I found a grocery store section transformed into an excellent source for craft beers. They had some selections I had never seen previously (Flying Dog, River Horse, Stoudt's, Clipper City/Heavy Seas). They expanded the number of large bottles as well, carrying some more 22oz bottles of Rogue, Lindeman's and Stone.

Wegmans has also smartly decided to keep a large selection of craft beers in the cooler, and offering their counterparts on non-refrigerated shelves as well, so you can either buy for immediate consumption (like in the parking lot while loading groceries) or for storage.



Another encouraging developement is that Wegmans seems to be committed to furthering craft beer as a valid part of American culture. For a few months, they have had a whiteboard with beer/food pairings that I found quite positive. Today, they not only have beer books (some informative, some novelty), but also sets of Guinness pint glasses and sets of "international" glasses (an nonic pint, a pilsner glass, etc).

Furthermore, Wegmans has added small cards next to select beers, explaining more about them. For example, the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA gives a brief lists of food it is best paired with, as well as a "Mild" to "Extreme" spectrum, so novice beer drinkers can better select what they want. It explains the beer thusly:

A session India Pale Ale brewed with Warrior, Amarillo and "Mystery Hop X." Goes With: Spicy food, pesto, grilled salmon, pizza, vintage cheddar.

(Hopefully, even Busch-swilling frat boys will see the word "extreme" and pick up several cases.) Granted, the only three options on this continuum are "mild," "extreme" and in the middle, but it's a start. It even says what type of glass from which each selection should be consumed.

While none of these developments are going to blow the mind of the average beergeek, it almost brings a tear to the eye to see really good craft beers thrust onto the stage of a mainstream grocery store.



No, this isn't going to supplant specialty beer stores altogether (and why should it) and Wegmans is probably never going to carry true-school beergeek classics like Anderson Valley, Avery or Three Floyds, they do have Weyerbacher, Green Flash, North Coast and other semi-obscure offerings for this area, as well as expanding their Smuttynose, Victory and Otter Creek, to name a few.

The bottom line: While this still isn't Beers of the World in Rochester, Finger Lakes Beverage in Ithaca or Oliver's in Albany, it's a quantum leap in the Syracuse area, and hopefully one that will challenge the other beer stores in the area to step up their game. One thing, however, is for sure: the days of having to "settle" on the beer that's sold in Wegmans are over.

A-B's Turn Back Toward European Shores

Tip of the hat to my brother-in-law Scott for directing me toward an article at Salon.com called "The Rise and Fall of an American Beer," by Edward McClelland. It tells the story of how Budweiser overcame its mediocre product with its marketing acumen -- and ended up crushing smaller breweries along the way.

Imagine the Budweiser Clydesdale team on a cross-country rampage, with a decrepit, tipsy August A. Busch Jr. strapped to the lead horse, wearing a bright red St. Louis Cardinals cowboy hat. Starting on the West Coast, platter-hoofed horses trample a can of Blitz-Weinhard, spewing suds all over the streets of Portland, Ore. Moving south to San Francisco, they stamp on bottles of Lucky Lager. In their hometown of St. Louis, they crash through the wall of a Griesedieck Bros. brewery, rolling hundreds of barrels into the Mississippi. They're seen next in Cincinnati, kicking a Hudepohl taster to death. The Clydesdales' tour of destruction ends in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Busch orders them to urinate in a vat of Piels, cackling that no one will be able to tell the difference.

It debunks the myth that somehow Budweiser's legacy as "America's Beer" was a matter of divine right, but rather came out of a great deal of wheeling and dealing to get the Budweiser name out in the open.

From its very inception, Budweiser was a triumph of marketing over quality. Adolphus Busch, the dynasty's founder, called his beer "dot schlop" and drank wine instead. During taste tests, St. Louis drinkers spat it back over the bar. But if the Busches didn't believe in their product, they believed in their business plan. Adolphus bought licenses for tavern keepers and paid their rent. In exchange, they served Budweiser. On one of his frequent visits to Europe, he learned about pasteurization. That, and a fleet of refrigerated railcars, kept the beer fresh on cross-country shipments, allowing Bud to break out of St. Louis.

It also demystifies the dearly-defunct breweries of yore, pointing out that though it's sad they had to be run out of business by the A-B giant, they were producing pretty much the same beer as Bud was.

If anything, it is a clarion call to keep our loyalties -- and monies -- in this country by drinking domestic craft brews.

If ever there was a time to be patriotic, John and Jane Q. Nascarfan, this is it. Show your love of country with a Sierra Nevada, a Brooklyn, a Dixie, or any other beer that supports our economy and way of life. Craft beer drinkers have been supporting the American economy by keeping our money going to our fellow citizens; I ask Bud-drinker, will you?

Brooklyn Brewery Expansion?

The New York Times has an interesting article on the difficulties Brooklyn Brewery has had in its planned expansion in Brooklyn. The brewery has played no small part in the revitalization of the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn since locating there twelve years ago. The improved economic conditions of the surrounding neighborhood and in Brooklyn in general have been a mixed blessing, however, as brewery co-owner Steve Hindy has repeatedly been rebuffed in efforts to expand:

He and his partners are willing to spend $15 million for a bigger brewery that would employ at least twice as many workers as he has now and would have a beer garden where customers could sample his growing roster of specialty brews. But after four years of searching and two failed bids to be included in redevelopment projects in Red Hook and Carroll Gardens, they have not found a suitable building in the borough at a feasible price.

“We are the Brooklyn Brewery, and we want to be in Brooklyn,” said Mr. Hindy, who often bicycles to work from his home in Park Slope. “If we can’t find a place, then who can? We’re about as perfect an example of light manufacturing as you can get.”

The other side of the coin, at least in our eyes, is that the bulk of Brooklyn's beer is currently contract brewed at F.X. Matt in lovely, scenic Utica, New York. According to our fuzzy math, Brooklyn brewery currently sells somewhere north of 90,000 barrels of beer per year, 12,000 of which are produced in Brooklyn. Given the proper facility expansion, the locally brewed portion of that could increase to 40,000 barrels. Plus, they want to add a beer garden. We say get this done already! Matt Brewing can concentrate more resources on getting the excellent Lake Placid beers to the masses and Brooklynites get more local beer and a great place to enjoy it. Everybody wins. Let's do this thing!


Click here for some great pics of F.X. Matt.

Wegmans Beer Upgrade in Syracuse?

I have this on "good authority."

I was at a well-known beverage store in Syracuse today, and I heard the following proclamation by one of the people working there. And I paraphrase:

"We're gonna have some competition starting Monday. Wegmans is going to be revamping their beer selection."

[For those of you who don't know, Wegmans is THE best grocery store in these United States. There might be some better in other countries, but Wegmans is the best in America, and they already have a pretty solid -- if not spectacular -- beer selection.]

Now, I have seen no information either supporting or debunking this nugget of information, however we can only hope that Wegmans can raise the bar and force the other specialty beer stores in the Syracuse area to step it up a bit.

For a city of our size, we don't have anything approximating, say, a Finger Lakes Beverage (Ithaca), Glenville Beverage, Oliver's (both Albany/Capital District) or Marcy Beverage (Utica). And while I'm skeptical to think that Wegmans will start clearing the shelves of Busch, Keystone and Natural Ice for Dogfish Head Immort Ale or Three Floyds Alpha King, it is heartening to know that the savvy business people of the Wegmans chains could possibly be taking the lead on the Syracuse beer market.

There are couple of decent beer stores in the 'Cuse, notably Galeville Beverage in Liverpool, Brilbeck's convenience store on Tipperary Hill, and The Party Source on Erie Boulevard. Galeville and Brilbeck's are both surprisingly good places to get beer, given that they are housed in small convenience store-sized locations.

The Party Source, while probably the best place to get beer, is still underwhelming, with a major waste of space (more than half the floor space is empty) and beer that has a problem of being sold after the "best by" date, but at regular (ie. not-discounted) prices. Party Source still has the best selection, but that is by virtue of its size, and they don't rotate in new beers nearly often enough. Also, while you can get mixed six packs, they don't have some kind of "blue dot special" where selected beers can be mixed for something like $8.99, which every other store -- even the P&C supermarket chain -- is doing now. All beers in a mixed six pack are sold a la carte.

Hopefully Wegmans will recognize the value of craft beers and lead the local march to force craft beers to infiltrate Central New York. More information as it comes.

Regarding the InBev/A-B Merger

Despite our lack of any warm and fuzzy feelings for all things BMC, we knew we were vaguely unhappy about Anheuser-Busch being snapped up by Belgium based brewing conglomerate InBev, but we weren't quite sure how to express it. This is exactly how.



Hat Tip to Big Lew

6Pac June 2006 - Drinking Outside the Bocks

The weather in Syracuse, NY, in June of 2006 was worthy of actually being a month that took place in "Summer." I scooped up a sixer at Glenville (N.Y.) Beverage in the Capital District whilst on a sojourn to visit our editor emeritus and Albany bureau chief.

Since the weather prospects at the time were iffy, I decided to split my selections into three dark and three lighter. Among the "yellow sticker" beers (the ones that were eligible to be included in a $8.99 six-pack), it was hard to find six I hadn't tried before, but I was able to find a couple, even if some of them didn't exactly blow my skirt up at first glance.

Ultimately, here is where I landed:

1. Hook & Ladder Lighter
   
2. Mendocino Bock Beer
   
3. Erie Brewing Mad Anthony IPA
   
4. Abita Bock
   
5. Hook & Ladder Golden Ale

I know you're just dying to know, so I'll just dive right in.

• #1: Hook & Ladder Lighter. I have been seeing these Hook & Ladder six-packs all over the place lately, and I didn't quite know what the story was with them, so I haven't really been that eager to try them.
  
  Upon reading up on Hook & Ladder, they are based in Silver Springs, Maryland, and they donate a small amount of money to burn centers in communities where their beer is sold. So at the very least, if I didn't like the beer, I was giving money to a good cause.
  
  I was surprised by how much I actually liked this beer. It's a pale ale with a lagery look and feel. The reviews on Beeradvocate.com for this beer were savage so maybe it's that my expectations were so low, but it was surprisingly decent.
  
  The color is bright, brilliant gold. The heavy carbonation bubbles up like ginger ale. The finger of foamy head looks like Italian Ice. Looks like a light lager, but I won't let that scare me off.
  
  The aroma is real barley, with a very nice biscuity sweetness in the malt. The hop is ever-so-slight, and reminiscient of a pilsner. Again, even though this is a pale ale, you coulda fooled me. The smell is surprisingly solid.
  
  The taste is where I really was caught off-guard. The malt in this beer is so biscuity sweet, with none of the adjuncty corn & rice flavors I expected. Amazing how real barley makes all the difference. This is a very good summer beer. It's a little sweet and only a tad bitter.
  
  The feel of the beer is smooth to the touch. It's got a tiny nibble of a bite on the way down. Not chunky, not watery: just right. It's refreshing, and is a "respectable" summer brew. It's not off-the-charts incredible, but it's highly drinkable beverage, and one that didn't make me feel guilty for foregoing other, craftier alternatives.
  
  
• #2: Mendocino Bock Beer. One of my great joys is to visit the Saratoga Brewery, purveyor of the finest Mendocino products. This bock is one that I hadn't tried before, but given their track record, I'd bet dollars to donuts that I was going to like it.
  
  The color is a honey-colored orange, shiny like polished glass. The lace is spotty and the head is minimal and slushy. To take a whiff is to inhale a pale malt aroma with a mild but spicy hop. The malt is a roasted concoction in the nose, with a naughty splash of liqueur-like alcohol stinging the nostrils slightly. The aroma overall is very hard to detect, but what is able to be picked up by the olfactory glands is pleasant enough.
  
  The intial taste I sensed was a hint of roasted toffee in the malt, with a very conspicuous layer of alcohol therein. As it warms up, it becomes more burnt and more bitter. That's pretty much the story of the taste of this beer, other than the pale malt blooming toward the end as the clock runs out. Decent.
  
  The beer feels smooth and buttery; savory, for lack of a better word. There is a small sting on the way down. It's a mild and roasted bock. Not too bitter, but strong otherwise. A solid choice.
  
  
• #3. Erie Brewing Company, Mad Anthony APA. Although the idea of an "American Pale Ale" is becoming more and more popular, I rarely see beers that advertise themselves as such. Being a native Western New Yorker (yes, Rochester does count as WNY, Javen), I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the beers made west of the 315 area code.
  
  Erie Brewing has been one that I haven't really been blown away by, mostly because their Railbender is decent enough, but I never seem to be able to get it fresh. Also, it always seems that the labels on their bottles are always peeling off, as if they are applied by a kindergarten glass with Elmer's glue sticks.
  
  I was really nicely surprised by this beer -- even moreso than the Hook & Ladder Lighter. The look is a bright, sunny yellow; it becomes light orange when held up to a lamp. The head is thick, but not long-lasting. There is some minor icy lace. Clear for the most part, but containing a light haze.
  
  The smell is mild, somewhat hard to detect like the aforementioned Mendocino Bock. The only thing I can really sense is pale malt. Again, the aroma doesn't detract from the beer, but it's hard to find a hint of what to expect.
  
  The taste provided a nice apology for the coyness of the aroma. The flavor is a terrific citrus that goes beautifully with the spicy pale malt flavor. The spice in the hop is almost reminiscient of a Belgian White/witbier. What sets this apart from most mediocre pale ales is that fantastic citrusy hop, which injects it with a refreshing, summery dynamic.
  
  The beer feels a little on the fizzy side, but you can feel the carbonation making the flavors of the beer burst out and come alive. There is a nice thickness that came as a surprise. Overall I was really impressed by the citrusy, fruit-tinged flavor that was balanced by the pale malts. It's refreshing and easy to drink.
  
  
• #4: Abita Bock. Apparently honey-tinged orange is a popular color this year, because this bock exhibits that very look. In the thinner spots of the glass, it is closer to a dark yellow. The head is short-lived, but otherwise this beer is awfully attractive.
  
  The aroma gives off some very nice flowery pale-ish malts. There are hops, of the German (Hallertauer-esque) variety. A couple citrusy notes here and there but it's not altogether clear whether it's the hops or actual citrus.
  
  The flavor has more of that pale malt flavor, as well as the sweet, puckery citrus that we all so dearly enjoy. They two flavors go together very very well. There is a dry, semi-sweet start and a tart finish.
  
  All told this is a pretty good summery bock, with lots of tree-fruits and with a nice thickness that doesn't require choking down.
  
  
• #5: Sam Adams Double Bock. Not to be confused with the Sam Adams Triple Bock, this lighter, distant cousin didn't particularly tickle my fancy any more than the Triple Bock did.
  
  The color is a nice-enough ruby red with very little head. The look is hazy, but also shiny and glassy. It has the foreshadowing look of a winter ale. The aroma has the vague prsence of a mild barley, with some pale-ish malts. Moreso, however, there is the aroma of a sweetish berry or cherry; the smell is underwhelming, but the saccharine nature of the aroma comes through.
  
  The taste has the initial taste of sweet cherry at the initial sip, before turning to a darker and more burnt berry. It is dark overall, but has a Nutrasweet finish. Just as I don't love winter ales, this one isn't my cup of tea (figuratively speaking, of course). There is a slight Belgian ale spicy finish, but overall it's a double Winter lager.
  
  The bite on the way down is mercifully controlled. It is somewhat spicy and bubbly like Coca-Cola, but that doesn't quite salvage it for me. All told, the flavors skew far too much toward a puckery, cloying Winter ale sweetness. If you like that sorta things, be my guest.
  
  
• #6: Hook & Ladder Golden Ale. This is the final beer of the sixer, and it's a bookend of sorts, in that it's another of the Hook & Ladder series. This one is a golden ale, so naturally it has a dark yellow color. The head is thin and watery, but there is a hint of icy lace on the glass like frost on a window.
  
  The aroma is consistent with a golden ale or lager. It has the properties of a pub ale, but to a weaker, more watered-down degree. It's nothing unpleasant, just a tad wimpy. The taste is of a light English ale, a la Bass. The malt is actually of a decent sweet style; it's bready and with just a dollop of molasses. It does leave a bit of a malted aftertaste.
  
  The beer feels watery and leaves a minor, bitter film that is more like a lager than a golden ale. This beer is okay, but not awesome. Didn't hit me the right way like the Lighter at #1. It's drinkable, but should be priced among the BudMillerCoors instead of the crafties.

I have quite a diverse selection for July, so hopefully I can find the strength to trudge through all of them.

F*ck It, Let's Do It Live! Part Deux.

[Note: My baby sister decided on a late-night whim to do a liveblog of the beer we were drinking. I'm not sure she fully grasps the concept of the liveblog but we all have to start somewhere. You might find a deviation from the normally erudite and buttoned-up style to which we generally adhere. Still, every voice counts.]

So when my dick brother (bitch sister?) told me we'd be drinking something stronger, imagine my surprise (i always spelled that without the first R) when he whipped, pulled, brought out a LABATT BLUE LIGHT. Ugh. Like I said, I've been to college - not interested.

However, I'm a sporting gent(lewoman) and am up for the challenge of categorizing this delicious (?) brew. And seeing as how my bro drinks this to sober up before driving home, we have to give it up to our neighbors to the North. I was told not to bother sniffing out of our Sam Adams quote/unquote Special Glass. I did anyway. Bill thinks that....speechless so far....WAIT. "It's not the moose piss that I generally think it is. When I think of Blue Light I think of something awful. Something evil. But now that I know they make it in Buffalo (as their american headquarters) I find it drinkable. I wouldn't call it a pilsner, I wouldn't call it that. But as far as Northeastern Macrobrews go, it's only 107 calories, which is paramount because those numbers are essential in terms of what I put in my body. It's not horrible. Sub-par, ahhh, yes. But not horrible."

All of a sudden, he's worried about what I think of the beer. Let me taste. Ahhhhhhhh, gross. Okay. Let me shoot it to you straight. In terms of sub-par, shitty beers, this isn't bad. Better than Coors. And Bud. And Bud Light. However, it is no American craft beer (am I right?) so it's hard to think of it in terms of a smaller scale of beers that are much (MUCH) better.

Intrigued? Let me continue. I've pissed lighter, fizzier, more head-laden liquids than this. The smell is unremarkable and the taste is like what 5th year college students drank - classier than me, but not so much so that they won't try to bang an undergrad. (The Dixie Jazz is looking gooooood right now.)

So, the verdict? Eick. I wouldn't bathe a crack baby in it, BUT I would drink it to sober up at the end of the night, because let's face it, water is boring and drinking is cool. So, when I rap atcha again (November?) you'll want to know what's hot, what's cool, what's dope, what's fresh, with all the college kids. I'm not in college anymore, but I still love a good, delicious beer. Later my lovelies.

F*ck It, Let's Do It Live!

[Note: My baby sister decided on a late-night whim to do a liveblog of the beer we were drinking. I'm not sure she fully grasps the concept of the liveblog but we all have to start somewhere. You might find a deviation from the normally erudite and buttoned-up style to which we generally adhere. Still, every voice counts.]

Hello beer snobs and sassy pants. This is Kate Shannon, sister to the beer blogger and extradinary a-hole, Bill. We knocked back a few of our favorites, and after a few embarassing stories (look out Seventeen Magazine) we decided to enjoy a few brews and liveblog it. I am drinking Great Divide Raspberry Wheat Ale, and hoss over there is drinking Dixie Jazz Amber Light (don't worry about it). Out of our Sam Adams quote/unquote Special Glass, we are both...WAIT - he hasn't sipped it yet...I am enjoying my beer. (he is surveying the situation, much like you would while mail-manning (gooogle that shit).)

I heard a wow. "Look at the carbonation of that shit." I did. Not that impressed.

Back to me. The Great Divide Raspberry Ale smells....not great. However, the taste is delish (probably a new word for Bojanglers). Bill says the raspberry is overpowering, like a framboise, while the wheat takes a back seat (use it, abuse it). I think it smells like something I've smelt before (not helpful...I'm new at this, deal.) I just sniffed, but was told I did it wrong. Anyway, my serious (Two Coreys is still on? Silly 80s actors, talent is for Rob Lowe.) opinion is that this beer is alright. As far as fruit beers go (I'm an connassyeur...connoseiur...connaseur...expert at fruity delights) it's a little heavy. More syrupy than I'm used to. I do like how it's a little on the sweeter side, but not overpowering. It's dark complexion is not what I'm used to, but definitely holds its ground. There is something inviting about it - not light like Michelob's new brews, but not so dark that I don't believe it's fruit. I'd give this beer a solid thumbs up and definitely suggest the mature fruit beer palate try it out - not hoppy and scary, but dark and smooth.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand back to Bill. "Wonderful, lovely, golden hue. A thick swatch of lace, gracing the inside of the glass. A majestic jetsam of carbonation, blah blah blah, Billy likey. Don't worry about it. Even though it's Light, he seems to appreciate it. "It's not bad. It's okay." It's definitely a lager, with a watery aftertaste. It's not all that amber by our accounts. As yellow as it gets, I heard Bill say. I think it's down right watery, but the bottle will get you. The cool piano and inviting letters will make you pick it up. Bill said watery is appropriate for the style, but I think there are no excuses. For $1.60/bottle, at a 4.3%, this is quite frankly, bullshit. I drank 3.5% in college and it was not pretty. But before I get a lambasting (word?) from the brewer, I'm sure they have plenty of other fine ales that are worth their weight in gold - Bill just called it a "decent light lager."

I was just challenged to drink something a little more heavy. Will our liveblogging continue? Wait and see fair readers. I'm tired of blogging and am ready to drink more. Hope to see you soon lovelies.

Dundee Beer Revamped

Apparently dropping the "JW" from the name, Dundee Beer -- brewed at High Falls Brewery in Rochester, NY --has revamped their brand and changed their labels.

So sayeth Patrick Magallanes, VP of marketing for High Falls:

"If you look at our existing packaging, we sit next to Michelob and Rolling Rock in the premium beer section. Our beers are undervalued in the marketplace and we've created that undervalue. We should be next to Saranac and Sam Adams. Packaging is what sells."

While we are not sure that packaging alone is "what sells," we are glad to see Dundee stepping it up in the regional craft beer market. And I must say, their labels are gorgeous. Let's look at a couple, blatantly stolen from Dundee's much-improved website.

This label for the Pale Bock has a touch of tradition, and a touch of modernistic artistry. One internet site states that "bock" is German for "billygoat," which may or may not be true. (Any German-speakers out there? We're too lazy to Google it.)

The light orange color and attractive new typeface are the backdrop of a goat of some kind performing a fanciful, whimsical dance of some sort. The goat appears to be a dapper old-timey gentleman, wearing the garb of another era. The label makes us feel happy and thirsty.

Another nice touch is at the bottom of the label where it reads "Big and Malty." It's nice of a beer company to give a brief description of what the beer is like to give neophytes a glimpse into what they can expect. (For example, IPA reads "Bold and Bitter.")

If the Pale Bock harkens back to the Caprinae traditions and superstitions of German brewing, the Porter recalls the timeless image of a doorman -- in his traditional garb -- ostensibly counting down the minutes until he can get off of work and fill up his stein.

Modern beer mythology has always considered the porter to be the blue-collar working man's beer. It was said that porters were the beers that were too burnt for the bourgeouisie to drink, so they were given to the working class porters and servants who would drink anything they could get their hands on. This explanation is likely not grounded in any fact, however it's nice to see Dundee nodding toward tradition with this light-hearted and evocative label with this "Roasted and Robust" beer.

It should be noted, also, that the script of the new Dundee bottles evoke broadway posters of the 1920s through the 1940s: lots of serifs and flourishes. It gives us a nice, nostalgic feeling to look at.

While each of the six new labels (and the seasonals, such as the upcoming Oktoberfest) deserve equal scrutiny for their artistry and sense of history, the last one we will give a once-over is Dundee's Pale Ale.

This label is clever on a couple of levels. First, it depicts a frog on a lilypad, dressed as an English gentleman, with a double-breasted brown suit, cane and bowler hat. As Pale Ales owe much of their worldly success to their growth in England (the term was coined there in the early 1800s), so too does this label owe to the good-natured collective bloke across the pond.

And since so many of us are so enamored with beer and beer terminology that we can't see the forest for the trees anymore, the tagline on this beer is "Enjoyably hoppy." It took us a moment to realize that the term "hop" is also a verb, and doesn't need to necessarily be preceded by "dry-" to be used as such.

We checked Wegmans in Syracuse, NY today, but alas, the "JW" Dundee's beers there had the previous -- although not altogether unattractive -- packaging. Beerjanglin' and all it's beerjanglers hope that this marks a new foray for Dundee to the upper echelon of regional craft brewing.

[Update: Someone on Beeradvocate.com noted that the man on the Porter is a train conductor. Based on the size of the picture, I wasn't able to see the sign that says "Arrivals." I'm a bit of an idiot.]

The Session: Independence Day Two-Fer

[Note: We have been remiss in contributing to The Session for a while, so I decided to throw one out there regarding two decidedly un-summer beers I had on the 4th of July.]

I spent the 4th of July with a fellow beergeek by the name of Bruce. In the course of the weekend, he introduced me to two beers to which I had not previously been exposed. (Naturally, we were not confined to only two beers for the day, but two really stood out.) One of these beers was a tremendously nice surprise, the other was a crushing disappointment.

Early on in the day, Bruce forced me to down a beer that he had been trying to convince me to have for months: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine. It's not exactly barleywine season, but it really didn't matter with this beer.

First, let's see what the folks at Sierra Nevada themselves have to say about this beer (courtesy of RateBeer.com):

Gold Medal Winner, Great American Beer Festival (Ales: Brown, Bitter and Pale 1987, Barleywine 1988,1992,1995). Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is an award winning example of the English Barley Wine style. It boasts a dense, fruity bouquet; an extremely rich, intense, bittersweet palate; and a deep, reddish-brown color. This ale is superbly balanced between an almost overpowering maltiness and a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness.

Bigfoot is a strong beer, to be sure. It's got all the usual trappings of a barleywine: it's thick (the color of mahogany, in case you were wondering), it's got a major alcohol aroma and flavor, a hard liquor-like burn on the way down and a juice-like thickness. But to me, what sets Bigfoot apart are (and if you know me I'll bet you could have guessed this) the hops.

Where most barleywines are content throwing a bunch of burnt malts and alcohol percentages at you, Sierra -- as they always do -- makes an overture toward those of us who need balance in our beers. The hops make this beer, and they make it one of my new favorite barleywines (Brooklyn Monster Ale, you've got company).

There is a major citrus and grapefruit quality to this beer that I found not only surprising but necessary. The beer has a very high alcohol content (just a smidge below 10%) and strong liqueur and malt flavors. But the hops, while adding a bitter respite, also add a needed sweetness that takes the edge off. It makes a man thankful that the United States expanded to the west coast to get dibs on those wonderful hops. I don't think I could have more than one in a row of this one, but the one to be had is outstanding.

After spending the rest of the day sampling various other offerings (including some nice choices like Wychwood Hobgoblin, Victory Whirlwind and Erie Brewing's Mad Anthony, among others), the time was nigh to get ready to go to sleep. For most sane people, beers at the end of the night are mild and easy to drink, so as to send one off to bed with a pleasant memory.

Of course, my friend Bruce is not at all sane, so he decided -- after midnight, mind you -- to break out the Samuel Adams Triple Bock. I had seen this beer, with its strange rubber-looking cork and 8-ounce bottle but never thought much of it. I have been drinking a few bocks lately but had never really been too familiar with this particular beer.

Again, let's have the fine folks at Sam Adams tell you what they think:

Triple Bock is complex, elegant, and has the depth and complexity of a fine cognac, vintage port or an old sherry. Non-carbonated, ruby-black, and very special, Triple Bock should be sipped from a small snifter in a two-ounce serving. This is a beer to savor, and sip slowly. Triple Bock has a brandy-like warmth and a complex melange of fruity, woody, and toffee-like flavors. Let the aroma fill your mouth and nose with rich malt and fruit overtones. Savor and appreciate its enormous character. Serve Triple Bock as you would a fine sherry, at room temperature, in a small snifter. One bottle generously serves two or three. Recork and store standing up. Once poured into a small glass, the layers of aroma and flavor will continue to evolve as the deep ruby brew warms in the hand.

Before I tell you what I think, let me tell you a few things I read about Sam Adams Triple Bock after the fact:

• It is considered by some to be one of the first "extreme" beers.
  
• It's one of the 25 strongest beers by ABV in the world, at 17.5%.
  
• It was brewed in only three batches, in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
  
• It's one of the most controversial beers on BeerAdvocate.com.

Okay, so what could be a better idea than cracking open this baby at quarter-to-one to ease into sleepytime land? Nothing, that's what. The beers were poured into two 4-ounce tester glasses, which was perfect for two servings. I noticed a couple of things.

First off, there was no head; apparently this beer is not carbonated at all. The look of it is black as midnight. It was very clear that this beer is deep, murky and thick. It is completely pitch black, as if someone poured roofing tar into a sippy-cup.

The smell is what shocked me. There is a scene in the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where Brian Fontana wears a cologne called Sex Panther. Ron Burgundy eventually tells him, "I'm gonna level with you, that smells like pure gasoline." Had this beer come out after 2004, it may well have been renamed Sex Panther. Never have I taken a whiff of a beer that actually dared me to take a sip of it. I don't drink liquor because I don't like the harshness of the flavor. (Any beverage where you have to wince after you have you have a 2-ounce shot of it is not for me.) But this smelled like brandy or bourbon or whiskey. A lot of reviews say it smells like a port, so I'll take their word for that.

But there is one common trait that this beer has in both smell and taste, and it's been noticed by beer drinkers throughout the nation: Soy sauce.

The taste of alcoholic soy sauce permeates every sip, as does some hints of dark raisin and burnt fruit. It's not a pleasurable combination to my taste buds. I know that I'm probably supposed to like this, and admitting that it's not for me, is going to make me look like a bit of a pansy, but my taste buds don't like what they don't like. I hated it. If I had to describe it in one sentence, I would say the following: It's like drinking soy sauce mixed with blood.

One note: about a year ago I reviewed the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, and while I didn't really care for it, I was able to sort of appreciate where it was coming from, and why it existed. My taste buds didn't enjoy the complexities of that brew, but it did understand them. I cannot say the same for Sam Adams Triple Bock; it does not seem to me to have many complexities, but rather a "everything but the kitchen sink" ethos. I just can't pretend this beer is good to me.

The epilogue is that Bruce and I had considered going halfsies (or thirdsies or fourthsies or however many people we could get on board) on a $170 kettle of Sam Adams Utopia, the most alcoholic beer in the world. But after having this concoction, I can't see shelling out that much money for a beer, even if just to say I've had it. Nothing against Sam Adams -- and I'm sure Jim Koch could care less what I think, since he has said that he's sold every kettle of Utopia that he's produced -- but that Utopia plan has since been scrapped. (I am a frequent drinker of Sam Adams products, by the way, so this in no way a criticism of the brewery as a whole.)

Not that I need to mention this, but these are strictly my own opinions. Feel free to agree or disagree and leave a comment if you'd like. Am I brave for having the courage to admit I didn't like something that beer geeks everywhere should enjoy? Or was that bad smell I detected simply my own head being wedged where the sun don't shine?

Book Review - Beer, Edited by Michael Jackson

A trip to Border's or Barnes & Noble looking for books about beer generally end up being frustrating and fruitless. It isn't that there aren't a lot of books about beer -- although the wine-book to beer-book comparison has got to be ten to one. It's that so many beer books are between five and ten years old.

We are in the midst of a full-blown beer revolution, especially in the United States. So many of the books I have read are interesting and full of good information, but they are woefully dated.

When you have an insatiable desire to read about beer, this simply won't do. Beer culture is evolving right before our very eyes, and though books can be great for long-term history, the internet is by-and-large far superior in terms of getting current information. (That the internet is better for getting current information is certainly not breaking news, but the level at which the industry and the culture is evolving and emerging can make even the most well-intentioned book feel ancient.)

Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised to find a book simply called Beer, edited by the late great Michael Jackson, printed by DK Publishing (ISBN 9780756631550).

Now, this book may very well be quited dated in the next 2-3 years, but for right now, it's a very nice companion to a full fridge, giving lists of not only some of today's best breweries by country and region (try to find Stone or Dogfish Head in a book from five years ago), but giving them historical context.

While I love books with lists of great beer, they can often be frustrating since these lists are often arbitrary, and usually unavailable due to the regional nature of beer. Many of them came out when the craft brew culture was still in its embryonic stage. (Some might argue it is in the fetal stage right now, but I'd say the culture has really exploded in the last half dozen years especially.)

This book first gives an overview of beer, some of its different styles, and notable breweries. The information given regarding beer's history is not earth-shattering fro the most part, although I found myself learning a little bit of new information on every page.

But perhaps the best gift is that, being published in 2007, it is one of Michael Jackson's last offerings. As usual, his knowledgeable -- but never pedantic -- style is wonderfully readable and entertaining. As great as the internet can be for disseminating information, it will unfortunately not be able to give us anything new from MJ.

It's a great gift for a budding beer enthusiast, and a worthy reading companion for any beer drinker. When it makes you thirsty just by reading it, that can't be a bad thing.

A Quick Note as F.X. Matt Bottles Again

Just a month after a raging inferno nearly destroyed a production building and caused roughly $10 million in damage, the venerable F.X. Matt Brewery has resumed bottling their tasty wares and shipping said wares to a retailer near you, just in time for Independence day. If that run-on sentence hasn't already made you thirst for a Saranac, perhaps the thought of working one's way through the 12 Beers of Summer this weekend, or a simply sipping a couple of Pomegranate Wheats whilst taking in the local fire works show might do the trick.