Another beer from the SBS package: La Grande Blanche, a Belgian Imperial White Ale. Y'know... I see "Brewed & bottled by: De Proefbrouwerij" and I expect a beer that's at least going to make me stop, look at the glass, and say, "Well, all right." I'm tasting this and wondering why it's "La Grande" and why it's an "Imperial" white ale. It claims 7.5% ABV -- and almost certainly is -- but doesn't have the hit you'd expect. That could be an admirable thing, like the doublebock that slips under your booze radar, but in this case, it doesn't have the punched-up flavors and aromas and stuff that an "imperial" beer would lead you to expect.
Don't get me wrong: it's good, and I'm not going to pour it out. But when I want an imperial white ale, I'll go for Southampton's Double White or the impeccable Unibroue Don de Dieu.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Beer and women
My latest Condé Nast Portfolio column is up: "Half a Market Waiting." It's some New Year's resolutions for the brewing industry: try marketing to women, you dimbulbs. Women are estimated to be 25% of the American beer market, but you'd never know it from looking at beer ads (macro and craft, thank you).
Yet brewers run scared of wine and spirits taking sales away. Well, hell, boyo, you've pretty much rolled over on the whole female market, what do you think's gonna happen?! Who are these geniuses? Can I have their jobs?
Just kidding. I'm having too much fun with this one.
Yet brewers run scared of wine and spirits taking sales away. Well, hell, boyo, you've pretty much rolled over on the whole female market, what do you think's gonna happen?! Who are these geniuses? Can I have their jobs?
Just kidding. I'm having too much fun with this one.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Yards Report
I ran into Tom Kehoe at Tuesday's big Philly Beer Week meeting (more on that very shortly) and of course asked him what was going on with the new brewery. You know, the one that was supposed to start "some level" of brewing this month? Has any microbrewery ever opened on schedule?
"We're putting in screw piles tomorrow," he told me, with that "damn, I'm screwed, but hey, we're all screwed, right?" grin of his strung across his face. Screw piles? Big screws -- really big, like thirty feet long -- that get screwed down into the ground for support. "Then you put a steel haunch on top," Tom added -- Haunch? What? Look, suffice it to say, the Yards brewery right now is down to a dirt floor, and they're going to be building up on the screw piles to a heavy reinforced concrete (or "ferroconcrete," as the Brits call it, a much cooler word) floor to support the brewing equipment.
So, when? A while, looks like. Meanwhile, as was the backup plan, Kehoe is having two beers -- one being Philly Pale (the other I can't remember: ESA? IPA?) -- brewed under contract at The Lion. The other beers will be coming from stocks built up at the Kensington brewery, which is now, of course, Philadelphia Brewing (which has some interesting session-looking beers up on their 'coming soon' brews list).
"We're putting in screw piles tomorrow," he told me, with that "damn, I'm screwed, but hey, we're all screwed, right?" grin of his strung across his face. Screw piles? Big screws -- really big, like thirty feet long -- that get screwed down into the ground for support. "Then you put a steel haunch on top," Tom added -- Haunch? What? Look, suffice it to say, the Yards brewery right now is down to a dirt floor, and they're going to be building up on the screw piles to a heavy reinforced concrete (or "ferroconcrete," as the Brits call it, a much cooler word) floor to support the brewing equipment.
So, when? A while, looks like. Meanwhile, as was the backup plan, Kehoe is having two beers -- one being Philly Pale (the other I can't remember: ESA? IPA?) -- brewed under contract at The Lion. The other beers will be coming from stocks built up at the Kensington brewery, which is now, of course, Philadelphia Brewing (which has some interesting session-looking beers up on their 'coming soon' brews list).
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Is Pennsylvania better off WITH the case law?
My buddy -- and frequent STAG commenter -- Sam Komlenic sent the following as a response to my post on Pennsylvania's initiative to get rid of the case law; he's against it. Hear him out, he's got some interesting angles, interesting enough that I thought it would work better as a post than as a comment. I don't buy much of what he says, though: I'm going to insert my responses in the text, and then we invite you to join in.
OK, I've done my research; here goes. Those who have been paying attention know that some retail entities have been doing yeoman's work to get beer put into their establishments here in PA. The Sheetz convenience store chain and Wegman's grocery have both purchased PLCB "E" retail licenses (I think I've got that right, if not, my bad). These permit the sale of beer on-premise in restaurant-oriented operations.
Sheetz, in their huge Altoona location, is now selling six packs only, prohibiting on-premise consumption entirely, pending a PA Supreme Court ruling on the issue. Wegman's. in their State College location, applied for transfer of a license, purportedly to offer the "convenience" of on-premise beer sales as an option to customers in the restaurant area of the store. This has not yet happened, and I'll bet they're waiting for the court's ruling.
Neither of these entities really wants to assume the liability involved in on-premise consumption, as evidenced by Sheetz's intentional and blatant disregard for the parameters of the license they were granted, even though their initial intent was to provide customers the option of a beer with their hoagie (on-premise, to get the license, then let the court decide). They want to sell six packs, and six packs only, out the door.
I don't really see this as an issue. There are plenty of similar licenses already being used this way in the state's "bottleshops." People assume that there is a special license for places like this, my former state legislator did, he told me they had a "deli license": there isn't such a thing. They've simply bought a tavern license and made it a store policy that you can't drink on-premises, a way to make the state's laws allow a sixpack shop. It's an expensive way to do it in some areas -- these licenses aren't cheap -- but it's hardly new or particularly underhanded.
Now, take this a step further. Once distributors are granted the luxury of selling six packs, what's to prevent Wegman's, or Sheetz, or Weis, or any other retail entity to purchase a distributor's license? Keep in mind that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 distributor licenses in PA, many (most?) of which are not massive operations mastering the brands of large brewing companies. Many (most?) are small, mom and pop "D" distributors with little or no influence in the market, buying all of their beer from master distributors in their territory, and whose licenses would immediately be worth more than their entire business, property included.
As I understand it -- as you said, if I'm wrong, my bad -- D distributors are very limited in the items they can sell besides beer -- snacks, beer glasses and books/magazines, lottery tickets, soft drinks, and smokes, I think -- precisely to prevent grocery stores from 'back-dooring' their way in like this. If the grocery store went to the extent of setting up a separate corporation to buy the license, and put a beer distributor right next door with their name over the door...well, the state already encourages the co-positioning of distributors and State Stores.
One more step: what's to prevent the grocery/convenience chains from buying the more influential "ID" licenses, which permit importation of beer from out of state? This could potentially make Wegman's the master distributor for A-B, Miller, or whatever in your county(ies). Also note that it is not hard to convert any "D" license to an "ID" simply by applying for the change.
Why is a grocery store buying that ID any more threatening than a large and growing wholesaler buying it up? If one wholesaler had A-B for the whole state, would that be different than if Wegman's bought it?
I'll accept this legislation with one small and seemingly insignificant change that will NEVER happen: that it strictly prohibit sales of beer in grocery/convenience stores. That simple. It protects the distributor network as we know it without allowing the transfer of licenses surreptitiously, which has already begun to occur. It would also fulfill the intent of the law that is now being presented: to allow distributors ONLY to enjoy this privilege. These guys are already knocking on the door, the legislature is in their pocket, and they have the funds to beat this horse until they get what they want, and I don't want what they do.
You won't see that, you're right, but why not go whole hog: let's go to a package store system. Break up the damned State Store system and make ONE type of license to sell beer, wine, liquor and all alcohol off-premise, in any amounts, without artificial restraint. Put reasonable limits on the number of licenses per capita per county if you feel you have to -- and they will -- but give these guys a chance. I'd love to see a package store system in PA.
My craft distributor told me that if this law is passed, he will move toward selling by the six and twelve pack only. Space is a major issue, margins are another.
Is that all bad? If he doesn't offer case discounts, someone will. It's his business, Sam.
Let's also look at draft availability. Supermarkets in states that permit their selling beer, in my experience, place very little import on a good selection of kegs. If the distributor system diminishes significantly, where will you go for a good selection of halves, quarters, and sixtels? Pennsylvania may currently be the most draft-friendly state in the Union. Don't expect that to continue.
That's assuming that this will lead inevitably to supermarket sales. As I said above, I don't buy that premise, so I'm not overly concerned about this prospect.
For now, I stand by my initial observation, that this legislation is a back door avenue for grocery store sales in Pennsylvania, nothing more. Once this occurs, the majors will gain exponential influence in the market, which is WHAT THEY WANT.
Also keep in mind that PA is one of the only (perhaps THE only) states where distribution is granted in very small chunks, one (or a few) county(ies) at a time. The big guys HATE this! Many states have one or two distributors for the whole state. It's easier, more convenient (there's that word again), and more profitable for them. This legislation could easily begin the dismantling of that landscape, as well.
Many craft and import brands have granted rights to the whole state to one wholesaler...because it's easier and more convenient. Distribution rights CAN be granted in very small chunks; they aren't always, it's up to the producer and wholesaler. Most other states work the same way...but their wholesalers have consolidated and merged. Pennsylvania is a big, populous state, with a long history of geographic division: we've got chunks of population separated by a lot of open land. That's got more to do with it than laws.
Having been in beer sales in the past, it was my experience that even under the present regulations, when a new bottle shop was being opened, the distributors with clout called the shots. They would lay out the cooler placements for the retailer, to the point of minimizing or excluding the placement of minor brands they did not themselves represent. They buy equipment for the licensee, flaunting existing regulations. They get the tap placements they want. They control it to whatever extent they can. Think this will change for the better with even greater freedom?
This is all too true. I'd love to see more PLCB enforcement of these regulations, instead of looking for domestic animals on premises and registration of brands.
Call me a cynic (I am), but this whole thing is designed to look beneficial to the beer consumer, when in fact, it is only and entirely about convenience(!) and corporate influence, not selection and diversity for the consumer.
Be careful what you wish for...you might get it!
I'm fully behind that statement. We don't know what this law will eventually come out to, what all the effects will be: no one does. But I still don't see it leading directly or indirectly to supermarket sales.
Call for discussion!
OK, I've done my research; here goes. Those who have been paying attention know that some retail entities have been doing yeoman's work to get beer put into their establishments here in PA. The Sheetz convenience store chain and Wegman's grocery have both purchased PLCB "E" retail licenses (I think I've got that right, if not, my bad). These permit the sale of beer on-premise in restaurant-oriented operations.
Sheetz, in their huge Altoona location, is now selling six packs only, prohibiting on-premise consumption entirely, pending a PA Supreme Court ruling on the issue. Wegman's. in their State College location, applied for transfer of a license, purportedly to offer the "convenience" of on-premise beer sales as an option to customers in the restaurant area of the store. This has not yet happened, and I'll bet they're waiting for the court's ruling.
Neither of these entities really wants to assume the liability involved in on-premise consumption, as evidenced by Sheetz's intentional and blatant disregard for the parameters of the license they were granted, even though their initial intent was to provide customers the option of a beer with their hoagie (on-premise, to get the license, then let the court decide). They want to sell six packs, and six packs only, out the door.
I don't really see this as an issue. There are plenty of similar licenses already being used this way in the state's "bottleshops." People assume that there is a special license for places like this, my former state legislator did, he told me they had a "deli license": there isn't such a thing. They've simply bought a tavern license and made it a store policy that you can't drink on-premises, a way to make the state's laws allow a sixpack shop. It's an expensive way to do it in some areas -- these licenses aren't cheap -- but it's hardly new or particularly underhanded.
Now, take this a step further. Once distributors are granted the luxury of selling six packs, what's to prevent Wegman's, or Sheetz, or Weis, or any other retail entity to purchase a distributor's license? Keep in mind that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 distributor licenses in PA, many (most?) of which are not massive operations mastering the brands of large brewing companies. Many (most?) are small, mom and pop "D" distributors with little or no influence in the market, buying all of their beer from master distributors in their territory, and whose licenses would immediately be worth more than their entire business, property included.
As I understand it -- as you said, if I'm wrong, my bad -- D distributors are very limited in the items they can sell besides beer -- snacks, beer glasses and books/magazines, lottery tickets, soft drinks, and smokes, I think -- precisely to prevent grocery stores from 'back-dooring' their way in like this. If the grocery store went to the extent of setting up a separate corporation to buy the license, and put a beer distributor right next door with their name over the door...well, the state already encourages the co-positioning of distributors and State Stores.
One more step: what's to prevent the grocery/convenience chains from buying the more influential "ID" licenses, which permit importation of beer from out of state? This could potentially make Wegman's the master distributor for A-B, Miller, or whatever in your county(ies). Also note that it is not hard to convert any "D" license to an "ID" simply by applying for the change.
Why is a grocery store buying that ID any more threatening than a large and growing wholesaler buying it up? If one wholesaler had A-B for the whole state, would that be different than if Wegman's bought it?
I'll accept this legislation with one small and seemingly insignificant change that will NEVER happen: that it strictly prohibit sales of beer in grocery/convenience stores. That simple. It protects the distributor network as we know it without allowing the transfer of licenses surreptitiously, which has already begun to occur. It would also fulfill the intent of the law that is now being presented: to allow distributors ONLY to enjoy this privilege. These guys are already knocking on the door, the legislature is in their pocket, and they have the funds to beat this horse until they get what they want, and I don't want what they do.
You won't see that, you're right, but why not go whole hog: let's go to a package store system. Break up the damned State Store system and make ONE type of license to sell beer, wine, liquor and all alcohol off-premise, in any amounts, without artificial restraint. Put reasonable limits on the number of licenses per capita per county if you feel you have to -- and they will -- but give these guys a chance. I'd love to see a package store system in PA.
My craft distributor told me that if this law is passed, he will move toward selling by the six and twelve pack only. Space is a major issue, margins are another.
Is that all bad? If he doesn't offer case discounts, someone will. It's his business, Sam.
Let's also look at draft availability. Supermarkets in states that permit their selling beer, in my experience, place very little import on a good selection of kegs. If the distributor system diminishes significantly, where will you go for a good selection of halves, quarters, and sixtels? Pennsylvania may currently be the most draft-friendly state in the Union. Don't expect that to continue.
That's assuming that this will lead inevitably to supermarket sales. As I said above, I don't buy that premise, so I'm not overly concerned about this prospect.
For now, I stand by my initial observation, that this legislation is a back door avenue for grocery store sales in Pennsylvania, nothing more. Once this occurs, the majors will gain exponential influence in the market, which is WHAT THEY WANT.
Also keep in mind that PA is one of the only (perhaps THE only) states where distribution is granted in very small chunks, one (or a few) county(ies) at a time. The big guys HATE this! Many states have one or two distributors for the whole state. It's easier, more convenient (there's that word again), and more profitable for them. This legislation could easily begin the dismantling of that landscape, as well.
Many craft and import brands have granted rights to the whole state to one wholesaler...because it's easier and more convenient. Distribution rights CAN be granted in very small chunks; they aren't always, it's up to the producer and wholesaler. Most other states work the same way...but their wholesalers have consolidated and merged. Pennsylvania is a big, populous state, with a long history of geographic division: we've got chunks of population separated by a lot of open land. That's got more to do with it than laws.
Having been in beer sales in the past, it was my experience that even under the present regulations, when a new bottle shop was being opened, the distributors with clout called the shots. They would lay out the cooler placements for the retailer, to the point of minimizing or excluding the placement of minor brands they did not themselves represent. They buy equipment for the licensee, flaunting existing regulations. They get the tap placements they want. They control it to whatever extent they can. Think this will change for the better with even greater freedom?
This is all too true. I'd love to see more PLCB enforcement of these regulations, instead of looking for domestic animals on premises and registration of brands.
Call me a cynic (I am), but this whole thing is designed to look beneficial to the beer consumer, when in fact, it is only and entirely about convenience(!) and corporate influence, not selection and diversity for the consumer.
Be careful what you wish for...you might get it!
I'm fully behind that statement. We don't know what this law will eventually come out to, what all the effects will be: no one does. But I still don't see it leading directly or indirectly to supermarket sales.
Call for discussion!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Echoes of Thunder
Bill asked in the comments about the Baltic Thunder release at the Drafting Room, "how was the event?" Fair question. I'd add pictures, if my batteries hadn't gone dead on me as soon as I turned the damned camera on.
I got to TDR about 11:50, exchanged some pleasantries with various folk at the bar (Deuane, I finally realized who you were, my apologies!), said hi to Mr. & Mrs. BrewLounge (talked a little biz, too, we've got plans), and then got kidnapped by The Big One and The Other One (as Uncle Jack has dubbed them) and joined them at their table. They're right: the bar is high-voltage, but the table's the way to fly.
We sampled some of a long-hoarded keg of Seven Threads, the blended beer made by local brewers for the Craft Beer Conference held in Philly two years ago. A bit sour. "That's O'Reilly's contribution," one of us quipped (no, I'm not saying who), referencing the Sly Fox head brewer's chagrin at not being included in the blend. Then we sampled a surviving keg of Perkuno's Hammer -- sour -- and a surviving keg of Heavyweight Lunacy -- delicious.
I heard the keg of Baltus was much nastier, and we wondered if we were attending the First Unintentionally Sour Ale Festival... Hey, no slant on the Drafting Room at all. We wanted this stuff, and we were willing to pay for it, long after it would have been at its freshest, and to their credit, they warned us. And...like I used to say about bottled German beers: you could still definitely hear the echo of what these beers once were.
And then, yeah, I got a pint of Baltic Thunder. It was good, solid, and wickedly drinkable. If I had a complaint...okay, I do. No, a curiosity: I wonder what it will taste like when the total content is as lively as the August batches I tasted in December (see my notes on tasting the tank samples and blending). It's good now...but that might be even better.
More folks started showing up, but I had to run before the celebs got there: Tom and Peggy, Bill and Ron, and Uncle Jack. Sorry I missed you guys, would have been fun to have all of us together for a big old glass of Thunder.
But I had to get my butt down to Victory to pick up a case of Thunder for later. Talked to some STAG readers while I was drinking a glass of Donnybrook Stout at the bar (hi, guys!) -- still loving that beer -- then hustled home and headed off to a holiday party with the family. A good day, if a long one.
I got to TDR about 11:50, exchanged some pleasantries with various folk at the bar (Deuane, I finally realized who you were, my apologies!), said hi to Mr. & Mrs. BrewLounge (talked a little biz, too, we've got plans), and then got kidnapped by The Big One and The Other One (as Uncle Jack has dubbed them) and joined them at their table. They're right: the bar is high-voltage, but the table's the way to fly.
We sampled some of a long-hoarded keg of Seven Threads, the blended beer made by local brewers for the Craft Beer Conference held in Philly two years ago. A bit sour. "That's O'Reilly's contribution," one of us quipped (no, I'm not saying who), referencing the Sly Fox head brewer's chagrin at not being included in the blend. Then we sampled a surviving keg of Perkuno's Hammer -- sour -- and a surviving keg of Heavyweight Lunacy -- delicious.
I heard the keg of Baltus was much nastier, and we wondered if we were attending the First Unintentionally Sour Ale Festival... Hey, no slant on the Drafting Room at all. We wanted this stuff, and we were willing to pay for it, long after it would have been at its freshest, and to their credit, they warned us. And...like I used to say about bottled German beers: you could still definitely hear the echo of what these beers once were.
And then, yeah, I got a pint of Baltic Thunder. It was good, solid, and wickedly drinkable. If I had a complaint...okay, I do. No, a curiosity: I wonder what it will taste like when the total content is as lively as the August batches I tasted in December (see my notes on tasting the tank samples and blending). It's good now...but that might be even better.
More folks started showing up, but I had to run before the celebs got there: Tom and Peggy, Bill and Ron, and Uncle Jack. Sorry I missed you guys, would have been fun to have all of us together for a big old glass of Thunder.
But I had to get my butt down to Victory to pick up a case of Thunder for later. Talked to some STAG readers while I was drinking a glass of Donnybrook Stout at the bar (hi, guys!) -- still loving that beer -- then hustled home and headed off to a holiday party with the family. A good day, if a long one.
Pennsylvanians: Stand Up For Six-Packs
A message to Pennsylvania beer drinkers:
The case law may be in its last months, if your legislator votes for the right bill in the next few weeks. House Bill 606 is making its way to the PA House for a vote, very soon. It's a standard bill about liquor code enforcement, very technical, but an amendment is being attached to it that changes the case law. The changes:
The key to this is the word six-pack. If you want to break the case law, here's what you want to do. Contact your legislator (the link takes you to a screen where you can type in your ZIP code and get connected to your legislator's e-mail) right now and tell them that you support the amendment to House Bill 606, as written to allow sales of six-packs at beer distributors. Tell them you want six-pack sales; not limited to just 12-pack, 15-pack, or 18-pack sales.
Because that's the tricksy thing: some larger brewers are evidently trying to get the language in the amendment...amended to read "12-pack" instead of "six-pack." Guess which package many craft brewers don't have? Right in one. Your Pennsylvania craft brewers (and Yuengling and Anheuser-Busch, I've been told by people in the legislature and the PA Brewers Guild) want six-packs, and that's what you want to tell your legislator to vote for.
Why is this such a big deal? Pennsylvanians have consistently shown support for an end to the case law (polls show 85+% of Pennsylvanians support being able to buy six-packs at distributors/beer stores); even MADD supports an end to the case law. So why do we still have the case law?
Conservatism, mostly, and I don't mean the political kind. Retailers rarely like to mess with something that's in place, especially in a heavily regulated business like beer sales in the Commonwealth. It's not really fair to them, when you look at it: for over seventy years, the law required them to sell beer by the case, so their stores are set up for that: mostly concrete floors and minimal shelving, room for a pallet-jack, and not much in the way of "pretty." Now, in a matter of months, they're faced with spending a lot of money and labor to make their stores six-pack stores. Makes you think of the old adage: "Be careful what you wish for."
But I'm not talking to you as a friend of retailers, wholesalers, or legislators. I'm talking to you as one of us: Pennsylvania beer-drinkers. The case law is a ridiculous vestige of the early days of Repeal. We are the only state in the Union to have a case law, and it's never done a thing for the good of the consumer (okay, not quite true, but the benefits have all been incidental). This is the best chance we've had in years to kill it. Do your bit to put a stake through the heart of this most asinine of beer laws.
The case law may be in its last months, if your legislator votes for the right bill in the next few weeks. House Bill 606 is making its way to the PA House for a vote, very soon. It's a standard bill about liquor code enforcement, very technical, but an amendment is being attached to it that changes the case law. The changes:
* Before January 1, 2009: Restaurant, deli or tavern may sell one 6-pack, two six-packs, a 12-pack or 3-six packs. A beer distributor may sell any number of six-packs, cases or kegs.
* After January 1, 2009: Restaurant, deli or tavern may sell any configuration up to 18 cans or bottles totaling 288 ounces. Beer distributors may sell any configuration of a 6 pack or greater.
* Permit a holiday package prepared by the manufacturer containing 40 ounces of beer in one or more containers and at least two drinking glasses (mug, stein, etc.) to be sold at beer distributors only.
The key to this is the word six-pack. If you want to break the case law, here's what you want to do. Contact your legislator (the link takes you to a screen where you can type in your ZIP code and get connected to your legislator's e-mail) right now and tell them that you support the amendment to House Bill 606, as written to allow sales of six-packs at beer distributors. Tell them you want six-pack sales; not limited to just 12-pack, 15-pack, or 18-pack sales.
Because that's the tricksy thing: some larger brewers are evidently trying to get the language in the amendment...amended to read "12-pack" instead of "six-pack." Guess which package many craft brewers don't have? Right in one. Your Pennsylvania craft brewers (and Yuengling and Anheuser-Busch, I've been told by people in the legislature and the PA Brewers Guild) want six-packs, and that's what you want to tell your legislator to vote for.
Why is this such a big deal? Pennsylvanians have consistently shown support for an end to the case law (polls show 85+% of Pennsylvanians support being able to buy six-packs at distributors/beer stores); even MADD supports an end to the case law. So why do we still have the case law?
Conservatism, mostly, and I don't mean the political kind. Retailers rarely like to mess with something that's in place, especially in a heavily regulated business like beer sales in the Commonwealth. It's not really fair to them, when you look at it: for over seventy years, the law required them to sell beer by the case, so their stores are set up for that: mostly concrete floors and minimal shelving, room for a pallet-jack, and not much in the way of "pretty." Now, in a matter of months, they're faced with spending a lot of money and labor to make their stores six-pack stores. Makes you think of the old adage: "Be careful what you wish for."
But I'm not talking to you as a friend of retailers, wholesalers, or legislators. I'm talking to you as one of us: Pennsylvania beer-drinkers. The case law is a ridiculous vestige of the early days of Repeal. We are the only state in the Union to have a case law, and it's never done a thing for the good of the consumer (okay, not quite true, but the benefits have all been incidental). This is the best chance we've had in years to kill it. Do your bit to put a stake through the heart of this most asinine of beer laws.
(Somewhat) Back to Normal
A personal note. Some of my distraction and lack of focus (and missing deadlines; an apology to my editors) lately has come from a truly irritating toothache that had me popping 800 mg of ibuprofen on a regular basis. I found it hard to concentrate on most things requiring serious thought. It also made drinking cold beer extremely painful.
It was a cracked tooth, and I finally had it dealt with this morning. I've got about a day of pain to get through yet, and then I'll be good. Whew.
It was a cracked tooth, and I finally had it dealt with this morning. I've got about a day of pain to get through yet, and then I'll be good. Whew.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thumper
I used to be scared of some beers. Guinness Extra Stout shocked me the first time I had it. Heineken Dark, too. I got over it, and learned to love 'em. Old Peculier we laughed at and dumped. Dumped. I should do penance... Orval took some getting used to. Hefeweizen...that clove, that banana, what the hell was that? Now I buy them by the keg. Thomas Hardy's, wow, the first one I had was not a good experience, but man, did I love it once I got it.After all those realizations, there was still one beer that spooked me, intimidated me, "got the skeer on me and kept it on," to paraphrase N.B. Forrest. EKU 28 Kulminator Ur-typ Hell. EKU 28, the Malt Bomb, the icy German challenger to Samichlaus for world lager domination. It was like drinking a ghost, and if you've read Tim Powers, you know what I mean. Or Douglas Adams, for that matter: "What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."
EKU 28 was huge, powerful, a jackbooted sturmmann of malt and alcohol kicking me right in the teeth. I'd heard a definition of a "good" doublebock being one that gave you no clue of how strong it was until you tried to stand up: by that definition, this was very bad doublebock indeed. I used to keep a bottle in my fridge like some kind of life-affirming threat.
EKU 28 was huge, powerful, a jackbooted sturmmann of malt and alcohol kicking me right in the teeth. I'd heard a definition of a "good" doublebock being one that gave you no clue of how strong it was until you tried to stand up: by that definition, this was very bad doublebock indeed. I used to keep a bottle in my fridge like some kind of life-affirming threat.
Then one day, about thirteen years ago, after drinking pretty wild stuff over the course of the previous ten years, I got a wild hair up, and I cracked open that bottle. I poured it -- ruddy gold, thick-bodied, and cold as winter wind -- and tasted it anew. Whoa! Happy German! This was no storm trooper, no Teutonic Knight, this was a steamroller hauling an oompah band, eight fully laden Oktoberfest waitresses, twelve guys with pipes and steins wearing lederhosen, and a pipe organ on a big wooden wagon, Bavarian whoopee on wheels.
The beer, of course, hadn't changed; it was me. I was finally up to double-doublebock speed, a beer speed of approximately 7R, again referencing Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("R" being the maximum safe speed for a given situation). I could feel myself getting wazooed in the course of that single bottle and, seated in front of my computer and logged into the old Prodigy Online service, I proceeded to open a second one.
The beer, of course, hadn't changed; it was me. I was finally up to double-doublebock speed, a beer speed of approximately 7R, again referencing Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("R" being the maximum safe speed for a given situation). I could feel myself getting wazooed in the course of that single bottle and, seated in front of my computer and logged into the old Prodigy Online service, I proceeded to open a second one.
After I spent the next two days apologizing to people online that I'd insulted while marching through Oompah-Oompah Land, I realized that despite the consequences, I'd made a friend. The sumo style of EKU 28 was just the thing for some occasions; a need for anti-freeze, for instance, or a long snowstorm. I'm oiling up for a walk with the dog in cold windy weather right now.
I've become quite fond of deep-winter doppelbocks (and yes, I'm quite aware that someone, somewhere, is angsting something fierce that EKU 28 isn't a doppelbock... bite me. It's what I'm drinking today) as a tonic to push off the cruel cold, and the realization that January is upon us, the very depth of winter, with months to go before the leaves bud in green (and the pollen comes out, and the mud returns, but who thinks of that in January?). Doppelbock is an elixir of life squeezed from the malty sprout of birth, the green essence of spring in the quickening of grass. If there were household gods, if there were spirits, if a beer deity existed...surely this would be his potent ichor.
And it has god-like power, friends. For when I drink EKU 28, when it floods my heart and flashes all the lights in my mind, I know that I will live forever...today.
Wow. This stuff really got right on top of me. I'd better go walk the dog...but first, I'm loading Alte Kameraden and Wien bleibt Wien on my MP3 player. Damn. Does anyone else see something silly in writing about doppelbock and calling it "The Session"? Whew. Might have to have more when I get back.
The Session is all about doppelbock this month, hosted by Jay Wilson at Brewvana. When you're done here, double back and read the rest.
Baltic Thunder: Unleashed and Rolling
Yup, that's me and Bill Covaleski, in Victory's tank farm, tasting Baltic Thunder...as the tanks were being sucked to the filter. Historic, epic, and delicious.As Uncle Jack has already reported, Victory invited me and him and Don Russell to taste the Thunder in its last days of wildness. The dates, Dec. 26 or 27, coincided with my annual 'busman's holiday' of beer-hunting with some old friends, so all three of us went. We made a stop at Iron Hill North Wales, where brewer Larry Horwitz made us very welcome with a pre-opening session at the bar, arguing about ... well, about a lot of things, which is why I like hanging out with Larry; keeps your mind supple. Then we grabbed some Christmas leftovers for lunch at my buddy Les's apartment in Plymouth Meeting, and headed for Victory.
Brewpub manager Matt Krueger welcomed us, sat us at a table while he found Bill, and we got a round of Donnybrook Stout. Victory's really got this one in a nice spot, a sub-4% dry stout that drinks easy and fine, interesting but quaffable. We ate a pizza -- stuffing a bit, but when you're headed for the tank farm, laying in a base is always a good idea -- and then Bill showed up. Did we want to drink samples there at the table (surrounded by a loud and happy office party), or off the zwickel? Get serious! Off to the tanks we went.
We tasted four different brews of Thunder. The first, oldest one is, yes, the one I've been touting as extra-lagered, smooth, you'll-never-get-it-like-this-again...and it was tired. It was subdued, no dark fruit, barely any coffee, big, but a yawner. Bill smiled and led us to the August tanks. This was a much more lively beer, with big singing notes of coffee and dark chocolate, fruitiness but not the dark pit fruit I expected: a lighter berry character that my friend Rich Pawlak (food editor for MainLine Magazine) insisted was "blueberry." Okay. This was my favorite of the batches. The two September batches were almost too fresh, a bit sharp, not as well melded: good, but not the glory of the August batches.
Which makes it a good thing that Bill and Ron intend to blend the batches. I remember when blending batches used to be anathema at microbreweries, something those big brewers did. Please. Blending these batches evens things out, rough and smooth. There's a place for unblended batch, and there's just as much a place for blending. We blended four batches, even up, and it was very, very nice: smooth, with all the parts in place: chocolate, coffee, fruit, weight, and the craftily hidden 8+% ABV.
Is it Perkuno's Hammer? No, it isn't. The elusive prune notes that Tom Baker and I wanted to capture aren't there, the slight edge of burnt bitterness isn't there. However, Baltic Thunder has a captivating balance for such a big beer, a dryer edge (probably from Victory's mastery of German malts), and a liveliness that dangerously masks its strength. I've been quoted as describing Baltic porters as a trainwreck between a doppelbock and an imperial stout: Baltic Thunder perhaps leans more towards the doppelbock side. It is most definitely a winner. It is most gratifying to be connected, however tenuously, to this beer...which was never intended to be Perkuno's Hammer, but Victory's Baltic porter.
So I'll see some of you tomorrow at the Baltic Thunder launch at The Drafting Room in Exton. Thunder will also roll at Victory tomorrow, in draft and in 22 oz. bottles. One bright side of the long battles to get this beer out the door was Victory's discovery that their bottling line could indeed handle 22 oz. "dinner bottles." Expect to see more Victory beers in this package.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
I've decided not to do my "Best Of" posting this year, the "Lew Bryson Awards." It was getting a bit forced, especially the "Best of/Worst of" SE PA listings, and I have to admit to being a bit freaked out when Appalachian put my choice of them as best PA brewpub on the side of their building back in 2006...so I'm not doing it this year.
Instead, I'm making the following New Year's Resolutions about beer and whiskey.
1. If there's a hop shortage -- and there is -- screw it: I am going to grab all the super-hoppy beers I want and can get. Hopheads who got all defensive when I talked about hoppy beers being simple? Pile on, I can take it. Just don't get between me and the IPA taps.
2. Work for a week at a bourbon distillery...if one will have me. I want to get hands-on with whiskey, and I'm working out to get in shape for it.
3. I'm going to get more involved with the Pennsylvania Brewer's Guild -- again, if they'll have me -- and learn more about legislation, lobbying, and political action.
4. Re-dedication to the Session Beer Project. You know why: I've wandered from it, and that's bad.
5. More travel -- self-funded when possible -- to the places where classic beer styles are made, to Ireland for a whiskey trip, some days before or after Chicago WhiskyFest to visit breweries in the Midwest.
6. Visit and talk to microdistillers.
7. Question beer authority. More than I have been. Go and see it made, go and taste it there, go to primary sources, stop repeating stuff someone else just made up. Be a historian again.
8. Continue to re-connect to the local and Pennsylvania beer community. I got better last year, I'm going to keep it up.
9. Do better on Beer Blogging Friday. It's fun.
10. Put even more pictures of my dog in the blog. Starting right now. (Note the Triumph growler I'm using to water the tree.)
Join me! Make your own New Year's Resolutions on beer or whiskey -- like try some whiskey! -- and drop them as a comment.
Instead, I'm making the following New Year's Resolutions about beer and whiskey.
1. If there's a hop shortage -- and there is -- screw it: I am going to grab all the super-hoppy beers I want and can get. Hopheads who got all defensive when I talked about hoppy beers being simple? Pile on, I can take it. Just don't get between me and the IPA taps.
2. Work for a week at a bourbon distillery...if one will have me. I want to get hands-on with whiskey, and I'm working out to get in shape for it.
3. I'm going to get more involved with the Pennsylvania Brewer's Guild -- again, if they'll have me -- and learn more about legislation, lobbying, and political action.
4. Re-dedication to the Session Beer Project. You know why: I've wandered from it, and that's bad.
5. More travel -- self-funded when possible -- to the places where classic beer styles are made, to Ireland for a whiskey trip, some days before or after Chicago WhiskyFest to visit breweries in the Midwest.
6. Visit and talk to microdistillers.
7. Question beer authority. More than I have been. Go and see it made, go and taste it there, go to primary sources, stop repeating stuff someone else just made up. Be a historian again.
8. Continue to re-connect to the local and Pennsylvania beer community. I got better last year, I'm going to keep it up.
9. Do better on Beer Blogging Friday. It's fun.
10. Put even more pictures of my dog in the blog. Starting right now. (Note the Triumph growler I'm using to water the tree.)
Join me! Make your own New Year's Resolutions on beer or whiskey -- like try some whiskey! -- and drop them as a comment.
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