A bad hair day, and a good whiskey day

I'm in Manhattan for WhiskyFest New York (it's tonight, and it's sold out!). But things could be better. For one thing, I got a haircut this morning, and I'm seriously unhappy about it, especially the way-too-tight beard trim. I feel nekked. Second, about six hours after I took this death-mask shot, I broke the templepiece on my glasses, so I'm in NY, working WhiskyFest in my old glasses, which really sucks, for reasons I explained here.

Whiny bitch. I'm still in Manhattan for WhiskyFest, after all. And I think I may go out for a pint after lunch. The options are staggering...but I only have 90 minutes. Decisions!

Happy birthday, Uncle Jack!

According to his own Facebook profile, today is Jack Curtin's birthday. (That's Jack on the right, in red, with the Beer Yard's Matt Guyer at -- I think -- last year's final Sly Fox IPA Project. (It was.))

Jack and I have tried to remember when we first met, and failed: it was almost certainly at Copa, Too!, but nothing's certain. That hasn't stopped us from slinging crap at each other (it's there, page down) for years with vigor and joy. It's almost all in fun, and I've dubbed him Uncle Jack and he's dubbed me "America’s Most Beloved Beer Writer (© Jack Curtin’s Liquid Diet 2009)". And when we do stuff like this on our blogs, everyone wonders why we waste our readers' time. Well...there aren't a lot of beer writers, and we're largely solitary types, so maybe we get a little odd. Live with it, and if you see Uncle Jack today, tell him how good it is to see him. He likes that.

(You just have to wonder about this guy, though; especially since his middle name appears to be Lew.)

And the seasons, they go round and round...

I was thinking of Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game" today. The change of seasons has set in hard, finally. We had a stiff frost this morning, and a temperature of 26°F. It is definitely November in Pennsylvania.

After some other work, I got Thomas to work on mowing the lawn. Only...about ten minutes after he started, he comes in and tells me the mower quit and it's smoking. Damn. Burning oil? I go out...and the damned thing's still smoking, curling right up out of the spinner. WTF! I tried starting it, and it fired right up. Okay...and then smoke poured out. Dammit. I'm picturing buying a new mower, and this one only three years old, I was not a happy camper.

Then I stopped, and smelled the smoke. Smelled like autumn, like...burning leaves. "Thomas," I said, "we've got a mouse nest." Sure enough, once we got the plastic hood and the metal shroud off the engine, the space inside, up against the cylinder head, was stuffed with dry leaves, shreds of cardboard, and pine needles. The heat made it smolder. Half an hour later, he was mowing happily away -- well, I was happy -- and when he finished up, we went to Austrian Village for lunch (and a nice glass of DAB). A good fall day.

The Session #33: Framing Beers

I'm not really completely clear on what this month's assignment, from Andrew Couch at I'll Have a Beer, is. Or rather, I'm fairly sure I get it, but I'll be dipped if I can state it concisely. So...go read it. Meantime, what he did mention was blind tasting, and I do a lot of that, have for years, and I've enthused about it. It's kind of standing this idea on its head, but that's what I'm going to do.

I've had this bottle, an unmarked 22 oz. brown bottle with a plain gold cap, sitting in my Dedicated Beer Fridge for...years. I don't remember where I got it, whether it's homebrew, or brewpub sample, or a commercial beer the label fell off; I have no idea. So...nothing is giving me any expectations on this beer. There is no 'framing.' I don't even know if it's light or dark. This is the beer I'm going to open, drink, and write about...blind.

As you can see, it's a nice amber/copper color. The aroma almost confirms it's an ale: fruity beyond hops, although there's clearly some hop character there, which is pretty impressive, since I know this has been in the fridge for at least three years. It actually smells like it might be a barleywine or a DIPA. There's some sherry character too, oxidation, which makes it more likely that it's homebrew or brewpub hand-bottling...but not definite. The aroma's strong enough that I can smell it clearly from a foot away.

Wow. It's big in the mouth, too. Hoppy, but not overly so; I'd peg this as a barleywine rather than a DIPA, because it's for sure got the power. There's bitterness spined down through it, but the malt's playing the winning hand. Actually, the oxidation's winning...and for me, that's not all bad: I like the sherry character, because this one's big enough that it doesn't go over the top. But I can't help thinking it would have been a real cracker when it was fresh. Gotta start drinking 'em when I get 'em!

What's this tell me about framing? Dunno. What's it tell me about blind tasting? It sharpens the senses and the brain. Not only do you not have the shortcuts that labels and styles deliver, you don't have the work of trying to objectify those inputs, leaving you free to focus on the beer, and nothing else. It kind of puts "style" in the backseat -- or the trunk -- which is where it belongs when you're drinking beer. All in all, a good exercise. Thanks!

A Little Help with PA Breweries 4?

Pennsylvania Breweries 3rd edition came out in 2005. I'm working on the 4th edition now, writing the sad section I call The Boneyard: what happened to all the breweries that were in the 3rd edition that didn't make it to the 4th: the John Harvard's, Iron City (still can't believe that), Johnstown, Independence and Red Bell, and -- woohoo! -- Gettysbrew!

What I'm looking for some help on are the breweries that opened after the 3rd edition came out, but didn't stay open long enough to make it in, like Destiny, Hereford & Hops...and who else? There HAD to be others. Didn't there?

Anybody think of other Pennsylvania breweries that opened after September 2005 and closed before, well, today?

Booze Politics News and Thoughts

I've got a bunch of booze politics things that came in this week; rather than put up a bunch of posts, I'll just address all of it here. It kind of hangs together.

First, the Commonwealth Foundation study about how Pennsylvania's liquor "control" system does nothing to make the state safer from alcohol abuse, drunk driving, or underage drinking (like I didn't know that already?!) has been all over the state newspapers. I got my comments here, on the PLCB blog, go read. Meanwhile, Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, made privatizing Virginia's ABC stores (the state sells liquor; wine and beer are in private stores) part of his campaign platform, stressing the windfall. Maybe he should have talked more about how stupid and backwards it makes the state look, and what a pain in the butt it is? And North Carolina's legislature is considering an internal report that found the state's ABC store system is outdated and needs to change. I tell you: it's time to push, and push hard.


Second, the real problem with the PLCB is The Almighty Liquor Code, which needs a total re-write. That's exactly what Frank Cagle is calling for in Tennessee in his latest "Frank Talk" column in the Knoxville weekly Metro Pulse. Tennessee's liquor code, says Cagle, is too broke to fix. "Sometimes a thing has been patched so many times it’s better to throw it out and start over." One look at The Almighty Liquor Code will convince you that it's time to throw it out. The twisted, tangled lawyerese that it is written in damns it to constant tinkering. The PA Liquor Code should be scrapped, and rewritten, in simple language, with consumer oversight, as a model of simple common sense in alcohol policy. First thing to go? All such Repeal-era language as this, the opening justification for the Code:

for the protection of the public welfare, health, peace and morals of the people of the Commonwealth and to prohibit forever the open saloon, and all of the provisions of this act shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of this purpose.

Are you kidding me? In the trash with it, and we need never soil our minds with it again. An alcohol code should establish taxes -- of a reasonable level, based on pure alcohol content, not whether its wine, beer, or spirits -- a licensing facility for producers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers that benefits the state, not lawyers or speculators; provide rules for operation that are not based on moral or religious grounds, punishments for breaking those rules, and an enforcement procedure for dealing with this in a prompt manner; and puts the Commonwealth out of the booze business completely. Sheesh. How hard can it be?


In the New Dry section, there's this revamped informational site. It shows just the kind of inertial, pie-in-the-sky policy-driven stuff drinkers are up against; specifically, the continuing march of keg registration laws, after even the New Drys have admitted that they don't actually work. I'll say it again, for Google: Keg registration laws don't work, and PIRE confirms it. Why do 31 states have them? The same reason we got national Prohibition: someone thought it was a good idea, and would work, if only we had the whole county/state/country under control. Sorry. Turns out this one's wrong, too.


Finally, when 0.08 BAC laws were slammed through during the Clinton Administration, we were told that MADD -- the major supporter of the laws -- didn't want to go further than that, that they were not a prohibitionist group. True colors, folks: MADD Canada is recommending 0.05 BAC in Quebec. When do they stop?

So. Good, bad, interesting. That's the booze policy news this week.

Exit 1 & Harvest From the Hood

I dropped down to the Hulmeville Inn last night for a couple quick beers; not just any beer, but the new Flying Fish Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout (thanks to big Tom Linquist for the tip on the Flying Fish Exit 1 firkin). I had dinner ready when Cathy got home at 5:45; 'Look, dear, casserole's ready in 20 minutes...but they're tapping a firkin of Oyster Stout at Hulmeville at 6 and those firkins never last long do you want to come along aw come on you can go oh gotta pack for Scranton okay see ya bye!' (If you talk fast enough, you can be out the door while the sound is still hanging in the air...)

So I walk in the door and there's big Tom sitting at the bar right across the room: Hey! I joined him, and the rest of the friendly pack of beer lovers at the Inn, and got a pint of Exit 1 off the gravity-pour firkin (you can see Tom tapping -- er, mostly -- the previous firkin, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, below; in Tom's defense, I'd use a bigger mallet). First off, the stuff's very dark, close to black. It was not what I'd call 'rich,' though there was a nice hint of bitter chocolate to it; this was dry stout, with a good nip of bitterness on the end, a kind of bite that did not get in the way of having another at all. Nice beer...exceptional beer? Maybe not, but a real good pint. Good enough that I had another (and paid for this one, thanks for the first one, Jeff!).

Then Jeff (Lavin, the owner) brought out some small glasses and a 12 oz. sample of harvest from the Hood, Philadelphia Brewing's new fresh hop beer, using hops grown at the brewery and Greensgrow Farms, Philly's urban CSA (just down the street from Memphis Taproom). The hop aroma was huge -- it oughta be, the label cheekily notes that it's "Sextuple Hops Brewed" -- but not what you'd call 'delicate' or 'refined,' more like "big." This one's about as subtle as the label: Hey, sailor! It's quite hoppy, and a bit rough around the edges, which I think fits the beer's Kensington roots perfectly. This beer's got terroir, dammit! Looking forward to trying it on tap (don't look for bottles, there were only about two cases made for bar samples).

At that point, I decided to go home and get some of that casserole. I sweet-talked Jeff into filling a 12 oz. "growler" for Cathy (a brown-glass flip-top I use for sampling; quite handy) -- thanks again, Jeff -- and headed up the hill to home.

The Naked Pint book launch dinner at Fork

November 16th will see author Christina Perozzi in town for a beer dinner at Fork (6:30 PM, $55 for all the food and beer you see below...and I have never come away from an event at Fork feeling like I'd gotten anything but full measure) to celebrate the launch of her book The Naked Pint, a beer book that opens up beer's feminine side. That's not to say this is all cliches about fruit beers and chocolate beers; far from it. Perozzi and her co-author, Hallie Beaune, are experienced beer sommeliers and presenters, and love beer deeply and fully. The book is more about proving beer is okay for women. Can I get a big "Hell yes!" (I'll be reviewing the book here soon; I got a copy a few weeks ago and I've been reading it.)

Anyway, to match this woman of beer from the west coast, Fork has invited some of the cool Philly-area women of beer: Suzy Woods, Philly Beer Week maven Jennie Hatton, Megan Maguire from Ommegang, Tracy Mulligan from Victory, Seb Buhler from Rogue, and possibly Jodi Stoudt, Whitney Thompson from Victory and Wendy Dormant from Dogfish Head. Quite a line-up, and a lot of experience. But check this menu!

Menu

Spicy tuna confit with capers on focaccia toasts · Grilled flatbread with artichokes and saffron aioli

Victory Prima Pils, Stoudt’s American Pale Ale

Chef’s selection of tapas: grilled house made chorizo with spicy white beans · salmon rillettes · grilled shrimp with grits and smoked tomato jam · vegetables à la grecque · marinated olives

Sly Fox Saison Vos

Seared sea scallops with coriander, caramelized brussels sprouts, meyer lemon jam

Ommegang Rare Vos

Lightly smoked duck breast with spiced croutons, caramelized onion, bacon, parsnips

Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre

Chocolate caramel tart with lemon-thyme chantilly cream

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Wet Hop Rodeo at Johnny Brenda's

It's that time of year: hop harvest and wet-hopped beers, those wonderfully aromatic beers made with hops fresh out of the hopyards. I've been loving them this year, and there's more coming at Johnny Brenda's Wet Hop Rodeo.

Here's the deal:

A Round-up of Local and National Wet Hopped Beers

Saturday, November 14, 2009 11am-2am
We will be featuring 8 wet-hopped beers on tap, including, for the first time at Johnny Brenda's, craft beers that have not been brewed locally [JB's is all about the local]. The line-up includes:

Victory Harvest Pils

Victory Harvest Ale

Weyerbacher Harvest Ale

Philadelphia Brewing Company Harvest from the Hood

Manayunk Brewing Hop Harvest

Port Brewing High Tide

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale

Rogue Wet Hop Ale
plus a firkin of wet hopped ale from Iron Hill

Can't say I'll see you there for sure -- it's a busy week afterwards, and Friday the Firkinteenth the day before -- but I'm hoping to make it.

"DUH!" of the Week...

Check out this headline from the BBC:

Heavy drinkers seek out bargains

This study found that people who drink heavily bought cheap booze: vodka, mostly but "White cider is the beverage to which our patients appear to have particularly cheap access, along with whisky." (Really? Whisky? Why the hell is whisky cheap? It's because distillers dump it to 'own brand' schemes in stores for quick cash; incredibly short-sighted, because it keeps the price of better whisky down as well).

Did anyone really think most drunks -- all the people surveyed were being treated for alcohol problems -- bought high-end booze-o? Heck no! These are the folks who skew the numbers, the 20% that consumer 80%, and they buy the cheapest buzz they can get, something the UK government has made even easier by mandating "units" of alcohol per bottle/serving being shown. Makes it easier for the drunk to spot the bargain, y'know?

So the study is supporting the government's latest plan, which goes beyond raising the UK's already stiff drink taxes: minimum booze pricing. Raise the price per unit to a higher minimum price. Wonder who pockets the difference? Bet it's not the booze producers...