Dave Schlosser leaves High Falls

Just got a tip from a reader to check the Beercraft site (and yes, I've added it to the list, sorry I missed that one) for news of Dave Schlosser leaving High Falls in Rochester. I contacted Dave, and I'm sorry to say that it's true. He's left the building -- not necessarily his idea -- and will be thinking about where to go next.

Bluntly, this sucks. Dave made some very good beers there, like the Dundee Pale Bock and IPA, and was a breath of fresh air. He was a nice guy, very knowledgeable, and seemed like the right guy to put Genessee/High Falls on the Saranac path to regional craft brewery. I hope this is not a statement that High Falls is leaving that path. The other rumor -- which remains a rumor -- is that High Falls is prepping for a buy out. We'll see.

My apologies, by the way, for the low level of NY brewery news. I'll try to do better.

PLCB blog -- Reason #1

The new blog is attracting media attention already, and I just put Reason #1 up this morning. I'm going to be putting teasers up here for the Reasons; if you're interested, go look. Oh, and take the poll, too, first of a series.



Oh, where to begin?

I knew when I started this that the tough part would be picking the first reason to abolish the PLCB. Should it be the government retail monopoly, or the crap selection, or the loss of revenue to bordering states, or the 18% Emergency Tax, or the lack of service to retail accounts, or the costs of the State Store system, or the licensing system... The list just goes on and on, and they're all terrible.

But when you get down to the root of it, the base cause and source of the problems with the PLCB is that it reeks of the patronizing attitude of do-gooders. We, the itty-bitty wittle citizens of the Commonwealth, just can't handle our liquor -- or wine -- so the State has to do that for us.

Reason #1 on why the PLCB should be abolished:

We deserve to be treated like adults.

Long distance information, give me Memphis...Taproom

Memphis Taproom is open.

We've all been waiting for this, some longer than others. Brendan "Spanky" Hartranft and Leigh Maida, business and life partners (and sappy as that sounds, they make it work), opened the booger tonight. Was it early, was it late? "Brother, it was about as late as it could get," said Brendan. "I never worked so hard without getting paid!" Leigh laughed, really happy to see the door open.

I'll be honest: I think it was the first time I've ever been on Cumberland St., although I've crossed it plenty of times, it's not far from Yards -- er, I mean, Philadelphia Brewing. Both breweries were represented on the taps, by the way: Kenzinger and Philly Pale. O'Reilly's Stout was on, too, Sprecher Black Bavarian, Nodding Head Melvin (Melvin? I asked Curt Decker. "Yeah," said Curt with his constant wry grin, "one more in a series of one-offs." It was a pretty nice hoppy ale, one -- like most Nodding Head beers -- I'd be happy to drink all night), Popperinge Hommelbier, Ace Pear cider, Rogue Buckwheat, Monk's Sour, and one more I just can't remember. Curt told me the beer engine had just come in today, so that will be added soon.

We sampled some hush puppies, some french fries, but I wasn't really there to eat. I was there to catch the vibe, and it was live. Brendan's parents were there, Bill and Sheila, and just proud as could be. Everyone was happy to see the place open; as I said, some of us have been waiting for this a long time.

Brendan's about 30; I met him 12 years ago, when he was a waiter at the Blue Ox, and he was a hustler then, moving, learning, asking, offering, making the table happen. He found out I was a beer writer, and he asked me questions all night. I like to say I knew he was going places, and the truth is, I did. I followed his progress through various Philly bars -- he stayed in touch and made that easy -- and he reached that point at Nodding Head where there was only one place he could go: out on his own.

He's there, and in a perfect position for Spanky: Fort Apache. The neighborhood -- "Port Fishington," at the intersection of Fishtown, Port Richmond, and Kenzington -- is actually nice: small, neatly kept rowhomes, clean streets, families on the sidewalks (free parking, as I pointed out to Curt Decker). But it's Fort Apache for beer: he's an outpost, like the Grey Lodge has been for years. There's nothing else around (not quite correct: see the comment from Mr. Thursday, and a tip of the hat to him for it), and he's going to have to get local trade to survive. I don't think that's going to be a problem. Spanky will make it happen, and before they know it, Port Fishington residents are going to be drinking Kenzinger, and O'Reilly's, and Ace Pear, and not even blinking an eye (prices aren't bad for Philly, either: $4 for a pint of good craft beer).

He's got plenty of backup: note the crew on the corner (that's Jimmy Wiggins, craft beer guy from Origlio Beverage, Tom and Fergie of Monk's Cafe along with chef Adam Glickman, and the aforementioned Curt Decker, all taking a break from the hustle and flow inside). But this is going to be Brendan and Leigh, making things work. The place is a beautiful corner bar, the kind of place that makes me kick myself for settling in the suburbs. The menu looks great, the beer will be excellent, and the service will be top-notch, I promise. Get on down, brother (you too, sister), and you won't be disappointed.

Why the PLCB should be abolished: Reason #17

I see in the Inquirer this morning (in Michael Klein's Inqlings column) that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has sent a cease-and-desist letter to former PLCB chairman Jonathan Newman. What do they want him to c&d? Long story short...oh, hell, no, let's do the whole story.

Background: Newman got himself appointed to the PLCB board, educated himself on wine, then brought new power to the PLCB chairman slot, bringing PA's purchasing power to bear on getting the state stores some great wine deals, and then selling those (largely excellent) wines as "Chairman's Selections." He was also behind the state stores opening on Sundays. For reasons unknown (p*a*t*r*o*n*a*g*e), Governor Rendell appointed a PLCB "CEO" (a former state legislator who found himself out of work after the post-pay increase elections...), a new position with a $150,000 salary -- which would have been about "Why the PLCB should be abolished Reason #14," by my count -- and apparently no interview process, which knocked Newman out of the driver's seat. Newman, rightly pissed that he had not even been asked to interview for this job after arguably being the best PLCB chairman ever, resigned in protest. He rested a bit, then opened a wine brokerage business, a privately-owned for-profit business.

Well, the PLCB sent the C&D letter to Newman. It's Klein's story, I'll let him tell it:

On Friday, Newman got a 60-page cease-and-desist complaint from the LCB, sent by the Center City law firm Eckert Seamans.
The LCB grumbled about a graphic on Newman's Web site, which showed a mockup bottle bearing the tiny wording chairman's selection. The LCB also was irked that Frank's Union Wine Mart in Delaware had dared to put its own sign reading "xChairman's Selection" next to a wine display.

Can you say "petty bullshit"? I knew you could. Pennsylvanians, think about this. The PLCB, which has a whole damned troll-cave full of lawyers its ownself, hired a Center City law firm to draft a 60-page letter to get Newman to take down that graphic? (The graphic's gone, by the way: Newman as much as said that all they'd have had to do was call him about it.) That's what, at least 20 billable hours at around $300 an hour? And the PLCB's response to Klein's question about the incident? "The board's interest is in protecting the taxpayers; this is not personal." What exactly did you protect the taxpayers from? Free enterprise? Damn that attitude.

We are treated to the exhibition of a government monopoly suing a private business because that private business may slightly dilute the value of one of the monopoly's marks...a mark that was devised and built by the person who owns that private business. The letter of the law, yes, but... “If the law supposes that,” said Mr. Bumble,… “the law is a ass—a idiot." Thank you, Mr. Dickens.

I may just have to do a series of reasons why...in fact, I will. See my new blog: Why the PLCB Should Be Abolished. I won't be updating it often, but there should be plenty to write about.

Kennett Square Brewfest does "the right thing"

Kennett Square Brewfest is not taking free beer from brewers any more...kinda. Uncle Jack the Homeboy got it up first, as it rightly so: he is Da Kennett Square Boy. KSB is paying brewers an honorarium for bringing beer to the fest (they're also cutting down on the number of tickets sold, so less crowding, hurrah, hurrah).

I got an e-mail on this today from Jeff Norman, one of the organizers of the Kennett Square Brewfest who I've been harrassing about the beer festival taking free beer from brewers for a beer festival. For the record, Jeff's been working on this, and he's been hampered by the non-profit status of the group and the "community" image (which pisses me off; the "community" can't be seen to be making money off selling beer? They're doing it, aren't they? It's better because they're selling beer someone gave to them? But don't get me started...). But this is another feather in the cap for Kennett Square's beer festival. They're Doing The Right Thing. Here's to other festivals getting the right idea, and brewers holding them to it.

Speaking of which...as I noted over at Uncle Jack's site, The Cystic Fibrosis benefit beerfest in Harrisburg (largely done by Tröegs) is also doing this, and providing hotel rooms to brewers as well. Nicely done.

Otter Head Ale

I saw Otter Head Ale at the World Beer Festival last fall, and importer Jim Lientz (that's him holding the beers on the right) was very excited to have me try it. I'm not sure why, cuz at 5.8% ABV, it's sure not a session beer, but it was quite nice. We exchanged cards, and he said he'd send me a sample. Which he did, and...I put it in the fridge. That was in December.

When the fridge died two weeks ago and we had to get a new one -- a very nice black one with a fast ice-maker -- I came across that bottle. Whoops. I put it up front to be sure to drink it, and tonight was its turn.

Otter Head is an English strong ale, and it tastes it: it's solid and malty, a mouthful that puts me in mind of Young's Old Nick, a big beer that tastes like it could easily go higher than the ABV it is. I've seen people say it's not very hoppy, but I disagree: it is, but it's not Cascades or Centennial, it's Fuggles and Challenger, hops that a lot of the American geekerie just don't get, or even know how to notice (please, before you make a bunch of "I do too!" comments...I said "a lot," not "all"; assume I was talking about someone else. I probably was. As far as you know.), and they're very, very nice here.

But the malts are the stars, and no surprise: the label says they're using both Maris Otter (natch!) and Golden Promise malts, the favored malts of finicky Brit brewers (or so we've been led to believe). This is finely layered stuff, and the low carbonation really brings it all out. I long to try this on cask, I can only imagine what it must be like alive.

Definitely worth a spin. I don't know why people always talk about all the beers with dogs in the names and on the labels: I'm liking hell out of otter beers lately (tip o' the hat to the Gilded Otter in New Paltz, NY, too: be seeing you guys on my way to the Mondial!).

Another great reason for a longer primary season...

I've long been an opponent of the "front-loading" of primaries that the political parties have been pushing for years. Get it over with quickly, they say, and let's get on with beating our real opponents; the not-so-secret subtext being that the quicker it's over, the less time we spend beating up on each other, leaving a bruised and poorer candidate. All too often it leads to the selection of a candidate who may not be the best, who hasn't been tested, and to states like Pennsylvania, with late primaries, not getting a voice in the nomination process.

This "wisdom" has been shown to be bogus in this election, as the two Democratic candidates not only have become stronger -- Obama sharpens his positions and got a fantastic opportunity to make a major speech on race relations, Clinton loosens up a bit and gets a major boost from Chelsea (anyone remember the great job Mike Nutter's daughter did?) -- but they've continued to raise huge amounts of money.

Best of all, they've gotten so run ragged by the campaign that they're rolling up their sleeves and having a drink. See the great picture above (from today's Philadelphia Inquirer's, taken by Sarah J. Glover) of Obama at Bethlehem Brew Works, teeing up for a beer with Peg Fegley -- looks like maybe he's got an ESB? (Yes, that's what it was, according to an e-mail from BBW, and the Senator's reaction was "Now that's a good beer. I like that. That's good stuff.") Hillary had a photo op boilermaker in Indiana -- appropriate, in Purdue-land -- and is reported in today's Inky as being fond of Blue Moon with an orange slice (oh my, a Democrat, drinking a Coors product, that's made in Canada? Oh, the humanity!).

Kidding aside, folks, this is good. Everything that puts beer or whiskey (anyone know what whiskey Hillary drank in Indiana? Ruch, I'm not posting any comments from you...) in the mainstream, as part of a normal person's life -- which it is -- is good. Showing national figures drinking one drink without going on a mad binge is good.

And, well, Obama in a brewpub...that's freakin' gold, people.

Otter San

Otter Creek continues the World Tour -- to be honest, I hope they never stop, because this has been one fun ride. I thought it was a gimmick at first, but there have been some damned good beers in the series (unfortunately, what I thought was the best name -- Otterbahn, a weizenbock -- seemed to have packaging problems and was sour).

The latest is Otter San, a "Japanese-style beer brewed with sake yeast." And yes, it's brewed with rice ("of course," as the label says) and koji, the weird little fungus they use in sake.

There are Hallertauer hops, but they used a light hand: this is about layers of sweet, with just a leavening of bitterness that keeps it from being sticky. You drink this beer -- I had it with spicy tuna sushi, cliche maybe, but I like sushi -- and you'd swear there were flowers in it somewhere from the aromas' and flavors' light edges; they're sweet and a bit exotic. Very good job making this beer so interesting: there are twisting curls and veins of different sweetness running through this, it's almost like a napoleon of layers of grain character: first the malt, then the flowery edge, then the doughier rice sweetness, then a nutty-edged pastry note... Definitely deserving of some thought.

I like it more as it warms and as I taste more different flavors. Don't drink this too fast; let it develop, and you'll develop a liking for it.

Take a look at The Beer Brotha

I don't usually make an announcement when I add someone to the list of blogs/bloggers over on the left side there. I'm making an exception this time, because The Beer Brotha deserves some hits. It's a different take on beer and beer blogging, written by a black American from Texas, who goes by "The American Don." I wish the guy would post more often.

"Don" made a comment on my Cinder Cone tasting note, and Blogger automatically linked his Blogger profile to his name. So I clicked it. I liked the way he wrote, and what he wrote about, and when I saw he only had 45 hits on his visitor counter...I thought I'd lend a hand.

Yes, some of this is race-based. I only know three black beer geeks (Dell, James, Eric...yeah, I'm pointing at you), and about that many black brewers. I'd like to see more -- I'd like to see every part of America in the craft beer scene. So when I found The Beer Brotha, and liked it, well, you do your part to broaden, y'know? Do your part and check it out.

Don -- Heat's on, man, get blogging.

Back in Business

Long story short: My old Dell is finally crapping out on me after 7 years. No shame, really. But it's become excruciatingly slow, and the past three weeks it's been just unbearable. So I've been slowly porting things over to a new machine, and tonight I made the big move. I'm up and running on the new Dell. MUCH faster. Good stuff. More work done. Yay.