Victory brings you: Hop Terroir!

"Terroir" is a French word we usually think of in relationship to winemaking. It means "land," or "earth," and is shorthand for goût de terroir, literally "taste of the earth." Winemakers talk of terroir as the totality of the effect of place on grapes and wine: the soil, the altitude, the latitude, the surrounding topography, the climate, the local flora and fauna.

Victory's Ron Barchet got a wild bee in his bonnet about terroir once Victory got to the size where they could start working directly with hop growers in Germany. That was in 2007. Before then, they'd used a broker, like most small brewers; going to Germany isn't cheap, dealing with individual farmers adds time to the process. But as Ron told us at Victory's Terroir des Tettnangs event late last month, there's no middleman, and you get a direct connection to the hop growers. They went directly to Tettnang (you can see Tettnang below, at the center of the map, right near Lake Constance in Baden-Wurttemburg, south of Stuttgart.


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Why Tettnang? "Because I love Tettnang hops!" Ron explained, with the same huge grin you see in the picture above. "Prima Pils has always had a higher percentage of Tettnang, because using whole flower Tettnang hops is how you get that great pils flavor." The man is obsessed with pilsners, no doubt, and to the area's great benefit; while so many other breweries have been brewing up one single-hop IPA after another (single-hop double IPAs, too), Victory's Braumeister Pils series has been introducing local lager lovers to one beautiful Noble hop after another, including one of my top 10 pilsners ever, the beloved Spalt Spalter Braumeister from about five years ago.

Ron brought that direct connection to Downingtown: two hops farmers from Tettnang came to America for this, and one, Ludwig Locher, spoke quite eloquently -- in English, Gott sei dank' -- of the Tettnang terroir: mild climate, idyllic scenery, and deep, deep soil. They grow almost all aroma hops here: Tettnanger Tettnang, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Perle, and a couple others. Ron's obsession is quite focused: Ludwig explained that there are about 100,000 tonnes of hops harvested every year; about 38,000 tonnes come from Germany. Tettnang produces about 1,780 very special tonnes.

For the 'experience,' we were presented with six beers, two at a time. The beers were as identical as Ron said they could possibly make them, excepting only the hops used: all Tettnang, but from different areas and times. The first pair were from two different farms. We nosed, tasted, chewed...and thought. Ron called out at the beginning of the discussion: "There is not a right answer!" Both beers exhibited flowery notes, but the first seemed more distinctly bitter, with grassy notes and some dandelion, while the second had a hint of pine. The thing I noticed was how -- as always -- when we focused on the beers, looking for differences, I got more out of the beer, the subtle substance of pils shone like glad light on water.

The next pair was, for most of us, the most demonstrably different: hops from the same farm (Misselhardt), but from Day 1 of the harvest and Day 4 of what Ludwig told us was usually a 12 day process. Day 1 had a beautifully fresh aroma, a bit on the sweet side, where Day 4 had a distinctly lemony catch to it. Very interesting; the two fields harvested were separated by 200 meters of altitude as well. There was clearly something at work here.

Ron mentioned something at this juncture that I wrote down: "Harmonious bitterness." It's a German term, he explained, a blending and coming together of the hop notes in the aroma, the bitterness, the kettle hops and aroma additions, creating a whole that is, for him -- and for me, now -- the pils experience, a beer gestalt.

Ludwig talked about the soil at the same time. It is heavy clay, with quite a bit of stone and rock: hard to work, low yielding, but with a 'very nice aroma.' He laughed when someone asked him what he thought of the whole evening. "This was not so interesting as a farmer. Now that I taste it, though..." and he looked around the room at the obviously excited crowd, he turned and looked at Ron, "...we should talk." Hops might be costing a bit more next year!

We had two more beers to try. The Strass, another farm, had that same floral character, and the lemon zest, but also had a pleasantly buzzy pepper note. The last beer was made with a blend of the other five hops, the Braumeister Blend. This...had harmonious bitterness. While the aroma was not as precise as the others, it was beautiful and bright. Great pilsner.

We had a meal then, good German stuff (excellent dumpling, and I can't believe I'm saying that). I couldn't help agreeing with my old friend Uncle Jack Curtin: "Victory is an exceptional brewery which doesn’t get enough national attention and...this region is still the best beer making and drinking part of the nation."

Victory does make it great to drink beer around here. Once again: happy anniversary!

Do we want Philly to be Brussels-on-Schuylkill?

Philly is still in the running for New Belgium's east coast brewery, according to this story from Charlotte, N.C.'s WBTV. Crowing a bit over Sierra Nevada's decision to settle near Asheville -- and understandably so! -- WBTV noted:

New Belgium Brewing, known for its tasty Fat Tire beer, is also considering the Asheville area for a possible plant. New Belgium recently toured the Western NC area for possible sites. Both brewers want to expand beer output and to cut shipping costs with East Coast plants.
"Asheville and Philly are leading our short list of sites," New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson told the Denver Post last month.

Leading the short list. How does Sierra Nevada deciding on Asheville affect that? You could say -- as I'm sure many are thinking -- that New Belgium will now look away, since Sierra Nevada's in town. There's not room for two big breweries in town. That doesn't follow for sure; for instance, look at all the pharmaceutical industries around Philadelphia, look at Silicon Valley, or, if you prefer, look at Portland -- either Portland, where several good-sized craft breweries are in business quite close to each other.

This doesn't preclude New Belgium settling in Asheville at all. It's still attractive for the same reasons it always was, and now you've got an added attraction, in that having Sierra in the area will draw support industries, draw skilled workers, create an atmosphere even more supportive of craft beer. As our pharmaceutical businesses have learned, that's a tangible benefit.

However...Philadelphia is also still attractive for the same reasons it always was, and -- no slight to Asheville -- we've got more to offer. Let me enumerate:

• You want outdoor? Hey, mountain kids: meet The Shore. That's right, we have an ocean right over there. And if you want hiking, the Appalachian Trail -- you've heard of that, right? -- is right over there. An hour to the ocean, two hours max to the AT.
• You want fun? Philly's got music, restaurants, bike trails, all this historical stuff you may have heard of, and...unlike Asheville OR Denver, we're a quick train ride or drive from three other major fun towns: NYC, Baltimore, and DC (and I can tell you, Boston's not that much farther).
• You want infrastructure? Multiple major highways, rail nexus, AND a major port. Growing breweries already in place to pull talent and suppliers, and some of them already on-board with the whole green idea. And there's that pharmaceutical industry I mentioned, with lots of crossover (like the dairy business was in the early days). 
• You want beer culture? Again, no slight to Asheville, but...Philly Beer Week. The most recognized Belgian bistro in America (plus several others), and what is said to be the biggest market for Belgian beer in the country. Craft taps in a substantial percentage of area bars. A beer-savvy local government. And again...Philly Beer Week.
• You want to sell beer? Guys...look at the map. Are there more craft beer drinkers within 300 miles of Asheville...or Philly. Nuff said. 

But what about the other side of this equation? Does Philly want New Belgium? I suspect our local brewers -- several of whom make a good living doing just what New Belgium does --  would not necessarily be up for that, but...if I were a local politician, if I were a local business owner, if I were a taxpayer?  

Welcome to Pennsylvania, Kim Jordan!

New Belgium means jobs. Good jobs, vested jobs. New Belgium means green manufacturing. They are a model for low-impact industry. New Belgium means an even larger beer culture. It's true; yes, Philly, we can do better (I wrote that almost 5 years ago, and it's still true). New Belgium means better beer. Everything I wrote earlier this week about Sierra Nevada forcing Asheville's brewers to up their game? Holds true here, too.

Not to mention...our local brewers can definitely hold their own. I have no doubt of it. Our guys -- from Victory, to Flying Fish, to Dogfish Head (yeah, they're local enough), to Yards and Philly Brewing, to Iron Hill and McKenzie, to Nodding Head, and even our man Dick Yuengling -- can handle this. They're good. Real good.

And that's good, because New Belgium brings resources and cooperation, too. They're good citizens in many ways. I also guarantee you that they'd bring new excitement and beer tourism to the area...which is good for everyone in the game. Including we drinkers!

I hope Philly's still in the hunt, and I hope our local governments are smart enough to be helping things along.

Charity for the Animals (with beer!)

However you celebrate the season -- Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, New Year's, or just a secular feel-good-time -- this time of year traditionally brings acts of kindly charity. The economy has many people in terrible condition, and that's in the front of everyone's mind. But animals hurt too, especially in the cold, and our friends at the Khyber are making it easy, even tempting, to do something nice for them.

Firkins for our Furry Friends

Looks like it may be snowing cats & dogs tomorrow, but at the Khyber we've got something special planned. Saturday December 19th -- 1:00pm-8:00pm

A special fundraiser for our friends at P.A.W.S. (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, who care for abandoned and unwanted animals) featuring an array of cask conditioned bartop kegs of quality craft brews. $20 at the door gets you a bottomless cup of these delicious beers: Sly Fox Chester County Bitter, Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout, Yards General Washington's Tavern Porter, and a vintage PBC Shackamaximum Imperial Stout.

All proceeds go directly to P.A.W.S. to help them in their efforts to save Philadelphia’s homeless, abandoned, and unwanted animals. So come in, get warm, and help us help PAWS!
Brews graciously donated by Yards, Philly Brewing, Sly Fox and Stoudt's.

And might I remind you: the Sly Fox is a great drinkable session beer, the Fat Dog is an eye-opener, Tavern Porter has that lovely licorice bite...but the Shackamaximum on cask is the absolute shit. 'Nuff said.

The Stupid Drink: smart new college anti-drunkenness campaign

Don Russell's Joe Sixpack column in the Daily News today is about a new idea at Syracuse University to stop underage drunkenness: The Stupid Drink. It introduces students to the concept that they should stop drinking once they reach The Stupid Drink: the one that's too many, the one that makes you...stupid.

It's brilliant in that it admits that college students drink, often when under the legal drinking age; and it doesn't preach abstinence; and it avoids the stupid "binge drinking" phrase, which as currently 'defined' by the New Drys makes pretty much every college student who drinks a binge drinker. (Of course it does...that makes the problem look worse and keeps the grant money flowing (hey, if the New Drys can attribute everything the booze industry does to money-based hypocrisy, turnabout's fair play.))

Good idea; good piece. Go read it, there'll be a quiz tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Jennie Hatton!

Do you know this woman?

It's Jennie Hatton, and today's her birthday. It should be a holiday in Philadelphia beer circles so we could all go out and celebrate with her. We should all bag work, and have a big Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Jennie as the happy ringleader...now that would be a great day.

I met Jennie about 10 years ago, I think it was at Nodding Head. We were traveling in the same beer circles, and then she started working at Profile Public Relations, and she blossomed into a real genius for putting together people, venues, events, and media.

Her greatest triumph, of course, was this year's Philly Beer Week. Jennie worked this for Profile and got phenomenal press for it, put together people and venues (thanks, Jennie), and during the Week itself was, seemingly, everywhere, making sure events were attended, no problems were occurring (or getting fixed if they were), and generally ruling the world. And bless her heart, I gave her a ride home Thursday night of Beer Week, and she entrusted me with the Hammer of Glory. Wow. What a friend.

I'm very happy to call Jennie a friend, and a buddy (cuz they're not the same, and there's a very small group that I call both). She's awesome, she's great for beer and eats in Philly, she sure-hell knows how to have a good time, and it's her birthday. If you see her, buy her a beer!

Balance the Budget? End the War on Drugs

Talking to a beer industry person yesterday -- I'm going to skip their name for obvious reasons -- who dropped this bomb: instead of raising taxes on booze -- which historically results in lower tax revenues, not higher -- why not balance the budget by legalizing recreational drugs? Here's his thinking:

• Tax them and sell them in 'drug stores': source of revenue, safer purchase, safer drugs (meaning more money and less costs and no financial reward for drug dealers)
• Release all non-violent drug offense prisoners immediately; stop arresting new ones (huge savings in prisons, and more attention paid to violent and property crime...which decriminalizing drugs will also lower)
• Eliminate the DEA and drug enforcement arms of police forces, end Coast Guard search and seizure (huge savings, greater personal liberty, return focus to protecting the nation from terrorism)
• End the huge flow of money to criminal producers and suppliers (ends huge flow of money to destabilizing groups and terrorists and the Taliban...)

Talk about your win-win. Before you start to scream...think about how much the War on Drugs looks exactly like Prohibition enforcement, and how futile, expensive, and corrupt that was, and what a great thing it was for organized crime, and how that eventually wound up. And then think about how relatively harmless smoking weed is: the most dangerous part is growing it, selling it, or buying it! And think about the main reason we got Repeal: jobs.

Food for thought. At least for discussion. As Rahm Emanuel said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Let's talk seriously about legalizing drugs. And while we're at it, let's abolish the PLCB.

Better beer in PHL!

Steve Beaumont makes a very good point in a comment to an earlier post: the Phillies are great, as is the the food and beer in Citizens Bank Park...but our airport still sucks!

Who's going to do something about that? I don't mean the damned terminals or parking or baggage handling (which has gotten a LOT better in the past year, thank you!). I mean, why is it that PHL has nothing to compare to PDX in terms of BEER? What the hell kind of greeting to America's Best Beer-Drinking City™ is that?

Someone in the Philly Beer Bar Mafia (you KNOW who you are) has to step up to the plate and make this happen. We need a real beer spot at the airport, it's got to have a top-notch draft system, and all local beers. I can't do it, because I'm poor and stupid. Feather in the cap, guys, feather in the cap (and a great way to steer incoming biz your way...).