Charlie P. has a blog!

Charlie Papazian's blog

That's right! The godfather of homebrewing has a blog. Feed added!

And just in case you're a complete n00b and have no idea who Charlie Papazian is, check out these links:

http://beertown.org/events/otr/aboutcp.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Papazian

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.beerbooks.com/

Cheers!

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MADD: Vestigial idiocy from the Women's Christian Temperance Union

Not too long ago my wife received a magazine subscription notice for one of her favorite mags.  The publisher had partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the subscription drive to which MADD would get a share of the subscription price.

Then about a week ago my wife received a phone call about the notice, to which she informed the caller that I refused to give money to any organization that supported MADD.  The lady was shocked, and my wife explained why I feel a formerly decent organization like MADD should not receive any assistance whatsoever and organizations that naively support it should be educated.

It's an established fact that MADD is more interested in the total prohibition of alcohol than simply bringing to light the problem of drunk driving (and reasonable efforts to cease it), rather than the warm-and-fuzzy "MADD" name would suggest:

"MADD generally attempts to mask its radical, neo-prohibitionist agenda in the veneer of sound science and sober statistics."Charles V. Pena, former MADD official. (1)

And even after the proven absolute failure of Prohibition, MADD and its cohorts still push the neo-prohibitionist agenda; every Presidential Election has a registered Prohibition party campaigning with a candidate.  Clearly, these people have never heard George Santayana's words, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

National Prohibition not only failed to prevent the consumption of alcohol, but led to the extensive production of dangerous unregulated and untaxed alcohol, the development of organized crime, increased violence, and massive political corruption. Although Prohibition was repealed in 1933, there are still hundreds of dry counties across the United States today. Amazingly, some people today insist that Prohibition was a success! (2)

Truly, alcohol, in moderate consumption, is no more responsible for killing than the spoon is responsible for making Rosie O'Donnell fat.  The Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have both published articles verifying health benefits of moderate consumption:

Moderate alcohol consumption, up to 2 drinks per day, was significantly protective for ischemic stroke after adjustment for cardiac disease, hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, body mass index, and education (odds ratio [OR], 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.67). This protective effect of alcohol consumption was detected in both younger and older groups, in men and women, and in whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In a quadratic model of stroke risk, increased risk of ischemic stroke was statistically significant among those consuming 7 or more drinks per day (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.05-8.29).

Clearly, the proof is in the pudding...er, beer.  Fanaticism rarely produces positive results.

Cheers!

References:

1.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving: A Crash Course in MADD
2.  Temperance Movement Groups and Leaders in the U.S., by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.

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Seen Through a Glass: Why the PLCB should be abolished: Reason #17

Why the PLCB should be abolished: Reason #17

This popped up on my Flock browser (love it!) this morning and I couldn't agree more with Lew.  It's very well written and quite an eye-opener for the uninformed.

We need t-shirts and bumper stickers!!  And logo pint glasses...definitely logo pint glasses.

Cheers!

2008 World Beer Cup winners

Just released are the 2008 World Beer Cup winners list.

From the Brewers' Association:

Brewers from five continents earned awards from an elite international panel of judges this week in the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup. The seventh bi-annual competition awarded medals to brewers from 21 countries ranging from Australia and Italy to Bolivia and Japan.

This year, 644 breweries from 58 countries and 45 U.S. states vied for awards with 2,864 beers entered in 91 beer style categories. The top three entries in each category won gold, silver and bronze medals.

In addition the competition gives “Champion Brewery” and “Champion Brewer” awards in each of five brewery categories based on the medals won by each brewery.

Brewers from the United States won 185 of the 268 style category awards and four of the five Champion Brewery/Brewer awards.

Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery
Small Brewpub Category
Bend Brewing Company
Tonya Cornett

Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery
Large Brewpub Category
Pelican Pub & Brewery
Darron R. S. Welch

Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery
Small Brewing Company Category
Port Brewing Company and The Lost Abbey
Tomme Arthur

Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery
Mid-Size Brewing Company Category
Privatbrauerei Hoepfner GmbH
Peter Bucher

Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery
Large Brewing Company Category
Blue Moon Brewing Company
Warren Quilliam

Again, the US took 185 of the 268 styles! Of course this competition was held in the US, but when you look at the international entrants and the categories the US won in, it instills pride.

I was happy to see some of my favorite breweries winning medals: Troegs won two, Rock Bottom in Bethesda, Sam Adams, Great Lakes Brewing, Bell's, Three Floyds, Flying Dog, Clipper CIty, Brooklyn Brewery...the list goes on.

There were some interesting categories as well, and some rather suprising results: Stone wins in the ESB/Strong Bitter category for Stone Pale Ale, for instance. And of course, there are some not-so-suprising: german breweries like Weihenstephan, Schneider Weisse, and iconic breweries like Allagash and Alaskan Brewing Company.

All in all, it seems to be a pretty good barometer of brewing in the US. Time to search out some Beer Cup winning brews!

Cheers!

Light at the end of the tunnel

Looks like hop price relief and availability may be coming a little sooner than expected. Thanks to Stan H. for the article.

Ralph Olson, general manager of grower-owned HopUnion of Yakima, a buyer who deals primarily with smaller craft brewers, thinks the figure may be closer to 8,000 acres by the time all is said and done. That would be a jump of nearly 25 percent in acreage in one year.

So supply is rushing to catch up with demand. At least this is one industry where you can count on prices eventually leveling out.

75 Years of Beer

Today is the 75th anniversary of the modification of the Volstead Act. On April 7th, 1933, Americans could once again drink beer! And it was the only legal alcoholic beverage allowed from that day until December 5th, 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. Tonight I'm celebrating by enjoying a pint after the kids hit the sack.

But my brew club did celebrate a little early this past Saturday by getting together and brewing up 30 gallons of beer for the National Homebrewer's Conference in Cincinnati. Brewing with others is always more fun, especially when they're your fellow homebrewers! It was a great day. About 60°F outside, light wind, sunny. Great beer on tap at fellow homebrewer Mike's house (his Classic American Pilsner was outstanding!), good food, and overall a really good time. I did 10 gallons of Schwarzbier which is currently bubbling away at 50°F in my lagering freezer. I did manage to get a little too much sun...didn't seem all that strong but with my complexion, it doesn't take much. My face was as red as a beet!

Wherever you are, take a moment to reflect and celebrate the beginning of the end of an era!