Another busy week

Yet another busy week.

When it's 95° outside, the only thing to do outside besides mow the lawn is sweat. So, indoor projects return to the forefront. I've been slowly working on finishing my basement. In particular, I want to get my "brew room" done so I can get things organized. Just a little more drywall to hang, then it's time to tape, compound, and sand. Thought a little brick wall look would be cool...who knows.



Hopefully by Fall we'll be ready for carpet. And a wood-burning stove or pellet stove. Propane prices are going nowhere but up!

Late last week in my local travels I stopped by my fav bottle shop looking for some Avery Hog Heaven barleywine.  They searched the back room for me, knowing they had some but couldn't find it.  They then figured out that the last time they got some in, someone came in and bought the whole case!  So I asked them to set a few aside for me and a few days later returned with these 3 sisters.  It is by far my favorite barleywine!  Already down to two after the first night, the remaining two snuggled together comfortably in my vintage box for later (as long as I can hold out, anyway).

Last night I decided to hit a local case-and-keg store seeing as how I'm dangerously low on beer; the vintage box is, afterall, for rainy days.  I grabbed a sampler case of Bell's, formerly which wasn't available short of a drive to Ohio or Michigan itself.  And at these gas prices...

Wherever you are, cheers!

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Week in Review

Lots of chit has happened over the past week. Sadly, my keg of Maibock is almost gone. Good and bad really. Bad, obviously, because it's malty yumminess is almost gone. Good in that Maibocks tend to get sweeter over time, which of course is what you don't want. Some sweetness, yes. Cloyingly sweet, definitely not. So it's just as well. I did take 1st place at a club comp with it (head-to-head with some very good brewers, I might add) and 2nd Best-of-Show at last year's Montgomery County Ag Fair homebrew comp (out of 107 entries).

This morning I got a PDF of the scoresheet. 42/50 isn't bad! Hopefully later today I'll have some Dunkelweizen brewing. Need to get more beer on tap ASAP. Besides the brewing prospects, the last few days have been eventful. On Saturday we met some friends at the Virginia Wine Festival in Centreville, VA. Being my first wine festival, it was quite a bit different than the beer festivals I'm used to. Samples are limited to a few drops, but you can buy a glass or the whole bottle to enjoy there or take home---something that you don't see at beer festivals. But the samples are MUCH bigger at beer festivals. It was a good time overall, even after the 3 hour drive that should've taken 2 hours except for rain and traffic on I-495 and Rt. 66 in Virginia. Worth it to have a few glasses of wine with friends though.

Lastly, yesterday was our 7-year anniversary. We dated for 3 years before that, so last night we went out to dinner at Mealey's in New Market, MD to celebrate 10 years of not killing each other. I'd been going there since I was a kid and they never cease to impress. Started off with some Cream of Crab Bisque with a glass of Sam Adam's Boston Lager. Then it was Stuffed Rainbow Trout and a glass of Dogfish Head Pale Ale. My wife had the Crab Imperial. Of course dessert was too good to pass up, I had a slice of their Key Lime pie and she had the Crème Brûlée. Perfect.

After picking up the kids from the neighbors' and putting them to bed, we watched the Penguins and the Red Wings. Bunch of BS calls, I might add...high sticking? Tripping? Interference for just barely touching the goalie? Even the announcers said the referees were being inconsistent. Hope they had a police escort home. At any rate, I topped the evening off with a bottle of Victory Baltic Thunder Baltic Porter. Very good, hadn't had it since a few years ago at Victory Brewing in Downingtown. Which reminds me, a roadtrip to the remodeled Mecca of Victory beer is long overdue. Time to grab the calendar.

Cheers!!

This beer's for the dogs!

via the Daily Mail

Yes, this canine concoction actually has malt extract. Whether is has brewer's yeast or not remains to be seen. Of course, no hops, as some instances have suggested that hops can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs.

Either way, it's interesting. I'm sure my two mutts wouldn't waste a drop, nor time in consuming it.

Cheers!

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Pleasant surprises

So far a good week for beer, only to get better by the weekend (Friday's my birthday and it's going to involve enjoying good beer of course).

Monday night was my brew club's meeting night and quarterly competition. The style this time: bock. Traditional bock/Helles bock/Dopplebock/Eisbock, take your pick. I brewed up 5 gallons of Jamil's Angel Wings Maibock and took 1st place! Enjoyed a pint or two after the meeting downstairs in Brewer's Alley as a victory dance of sorts...brewmaster Tom had a great selection on tap. The dunkelweizen and Pils on tap were both very good.

Then, tonight after running some errands, we decided to visit one of my fav bottle stores. The wife grabbed two bottles of local wine while I perused the beer selection (mind you, I have 5 gallons of Maibock on tap and a half-case of Bell's Two Hearted Ale as well). I hadn't before noticed the small beer fridge in the back containing a few 22oz bombers; nor did I before notice the shelves immediately to the left of the fridge that were FULL of 22oz bombers! Stone, Southern Tier, La Chouffe, Allagash, Arcadia, Victory...beers that I was previously picking up 500 miles away while visiting family. I grabbed a 22oz of Southern Tier Barleywine and a 500ml bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch.

They know their stuff and the staff is friendly and helpful. By far my favorite bottle shop.

Stay tuned, Friday is going to be fun!

Salvation

Homebrewing requires a lot of patience at times; especially in the case of lagers. Lagers take time and the ability to slow down and pay attention to what's going on. Rushing a Munich Helles is like trying to bed Melissa Theuriau by saying voulez vous coucher avec moi: the result would most likely be futile and humiliating. (you're welcome) My Maibock requires the same level of babying.

Luckily, with a club bock competition coming up Monday, it was absolutely necessary to pull a pint to check for...erm, flaws etc. No other reason. Really! After a slight hiatus, it's nice to see the taps flowing again.

Meanwhile, work on my man-cave (ok, so it's not just mine) has resumed. The brew room has come to resemble the aftermath of an F5 tornado, making brewing that much more difficult.

In times of great stress and multiple irons in the fire, the reward of patience and vigilant respect in paying homage to one of the greatest brewing styles in the world is in itself greatly gratifying, first sip to last.

Prost!!

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!

Self-serve taps

Interesting concept...

Table Top Beer Taps
Uploaded by neither_Bug_nor_Crank

Time to break the seal

Last night found me with a serious thirst for barleywine. And unfortunately, the closest bottle shop that actually has barleywine in amounts less than a case is 25 minutes away. Not feeling like stepping out and dropping an hour to get a six-pack, I broke into my vintage collection.

Amongst all my gadgets, gear, and ingredients on the shelf in my basement brew room lies a box with a little more than a six-pack's worth of beers I've squirreled away over the past few years. A 2001 bottle of Samiclaus, some Victory Storm King '03, and some Anchor Christmas ale '05 to name a few. The two that made it out were a bottle of barleywine made in 2003 from a fellow FOAM guy for the 2003 FOAM Iron Mash competition, and a wax-sealed one-liter bottle of DuClaw Devil's Milk '06.

First out was the Iron Mash barleywine. I chucked it in the freezer to drop the temperature quickly...unfortunately, in between chasing children and cleaning, it got left in the freezer just a little too long! Luckily I caught it in time and only the top inch or so started to freeze. It still poured into a snifter well, the head being mostly a barleywine slushy. And I'm a huge fan of 7-11 Coke Slurpees, so it was a welcome suprise. It didn't affect the flavor or beer at all and soon warmed by my hand's grip on the glass. The beer was well-done, no oxidation, begging for just a little more hop bite...but what can you expect from a 5 year-old barleywine?

Tonight I'll break out the 2006 Devil's Milk and after tomorrow's Easter dinner, little if any will be left. Do I really want to bottom-up a two year-old bottle of some of the best barleywine I've had, leaving no barleywine left?

You bet your ass I do! Nothing lasts forever and nothing tops off a holiday with family like a good glass of beer. Besides, it makes more room for barleywine to cellar for a few more years.

Wherever you are, Hoppy Easter!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

It's March 17th. That means the ubiquitous beer, Irish fare, and wearing o' the green! While corned beef and cabbage may be not a true Irish invention, it's still pretty good and an American St. Patty's Day standby. For me, a plate of homemade Shepherd's Pie, Soda Bread, and a pint of my own dry stout will fill the bill nicely tonight.

And if you're interested in Guinness' petition to make St. Patty's Day an "official" holiday, look here and sign up. I just want to know if that means I'll get holiday pay in the future...

Slainte!!

Cast your vote!!

Time for some voting where you can vote for the best of two; not the lesser evil!

The Philadelphia City Paper ran an article on the Philadelphia beer scene and is looking for your feedback. It's a little late in the game, but Round 3 is still open.

While I can't agree with all the results (a fruit beer beats out a dopplebock?!?!?!), taste is very subjective. Most of the flights are very close, near 48%/52% splits. Either way, it looks good for Philly's beer scene!

Maryland Senate puts the screws to Maryland homebrewers AND winemakers

Hot off the presses this morning, here is some legislation aimed at requiring those who teach homebrewing in Maryland to acquire a $250 license, in addition to some other fees:

1. $50 for a solicitor's permit, an individual storage permit, a nonresident winery permit, or a commercial nonbeverage permit;
2. $75 for a public storage permit, a public transportation permit, or an import and export permit;
3. $100 for a public storage and transportation permit, a nonresident dealer permit, or a bulk transfer permit;
4. $400 for a family beer and wine facility permit;
5. $10 for a direct wine seller?s permit; AND
6. $250 FOR A HOME BREWING INSTRUCTOR'S PERMIT."

With the introduction of Governor O'Malley (aka Martin the Teflon Leprechaun), it seems Maryland residents have had a new tax to pay every week.

Want to let 'em know your opinion? Email the sponsors:

TODD L. SCHULER, Democrat, District 8, Baltimore County
JOSEPH C. BOTELER III, Republican, District 8, Baltimore County
ERIC M. BROMWELL, Democrat, District 8, Baltimore County

I may not be a Maryland resident anymore, but my family, friends, and homebrewing brethren are. Enough is enough!

Another brewer adjusts to keep beer on tap

Being a fan of DuClaw's fine creations (and for having a home base in my native Harford County, MD), my email patiently awaits their newest releases. This email today is another example of the hop shortage and what it means to craft brewers:

Loyal DuClaw Patrons,

As you have probably already noticed, our beer prices increased in January. A combination of low grain supplies and a worldwide hop shortage (that has left many varieties of hops completely unavailable) has lead to an industry wide price increase for beer. When grain prices double and hop prices triple, beer prices must follow.

The hops shortage has had other sobering effects (no pun intended) on the brewing industry as a whole and DuClaw specifically. The hops used in the recipe for Venom are simply no longer available. Rather than offer you a pint of something called Venom, that looks similar but tastes nothing like your favorite APA, we’ve decided to pull it from the lineup until the hops are once again available. This wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, we’re angry about it. Angry enough to raise some hell…

COMING SOON: HELLRAZER, our new American-style India Pale Ale. HELLRAZER boasts a light amber color, citrus aroma, smooth hoppy finish, and devilish 6.2% abv. This new IPA will more than fill the void for you hop heads out there during Venom’s absence, but we promise, Venom will return with the hops.

So, to recap: prices are going up, Venom is going away, and we’re going to an old axiom: when life hands you lemons, RAISE HELL!

Cheers!

Their Venom Pale Ale uses Cascade and Columbus hops, which by some estimates are completely unavailable (at least to homebrewers; presumably craft brewers as well).

It's going to be a long year. Fortunately there are a few carrying the torch for us.

Boston Beer Hop Sharing

Jim Koch never fails to impress and demonstrate his support for the homebrew and craft beer segment, as shown in this email:

From: Jim Koch/Hop Sharing [mailto:Hop.Sharing@bostonbeer.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:22 AM
Subject: Boston Beer Hop Sharing

For a couple of months now, we've all been facing the unprecedented hops shortage and it's affected all craft brewers in various ways. The impact is even worse on the small craft brewers--openings delayed, recipes changed, astronomical hops prices being paid and brewers who couldn't make beer.

So we looked at our own hops supplies at Boston Beer and decided we could share some of our hops with other craft brewers who are struggling to get hops this year. We're offering 20,000 pounds at our cost to brewers who need them. Specifically, we are able to spare 10,000 pounds of East Kent Goldings from Tony Redsell, a top English grower featured by Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's Beer Companion (page 75 has a picture) and 10,000 pounds of the German Noble hop Tettnang Tettnanger from small farms in the Tettnang region in Germany. These are both type 90 pellets from the 2007 crop and are the exact same hops we brew our own beers with. We're not looking to make money on this so we're selling them at our cost of $5.72 a pound plus $.75 a pound to cover shipping and handling for the Goldings and $5.42 per pound plus $.75 a pound to cover shipping and handling for the Tetts. They're packed in 22# foil bags, boxed four bags to a box in 88 lb. boxes and will be shipped from cold storage.

The purpose of doing this is to get some hops to the brewers who really need them. So if you don't really need them, please don't order them. And don't order them just because we're making them available at a price way below market. Order them because you need these hops to make your beer. We're not asking questions, so let your conscience be your guide.

A few mechanics--until we know how much need there is, we've put a maximum out there of 6 boxes per brewer, which is 528 pounds. You can order less in 88 pound increments. You pay shipping. If we get more orders than the 20,000 pounds, we'll have a lottery. We will be putting the basic information to order, some faqs and the actual offer on our website www.samueladams.com in the next day or so, probably no later than Tuesday. Look for "Hop-Sharing Program" on the front page of the site.

We hope this will make brewing a little easier for those hardest hit by the hop shortage.

Jim Koch, Boston Beer Company

Now that's what you call class!

So go buy some Sam Adams and support those that mutually support the craft brewing industry.

Cheers!!

Boycott Anheuser-Busch

For the third legislative session in a row, thirsty residents in Alabama have been trying to do away with the state's 6% alcohol limit, which excludes about 1/3 of the world's beer.

Barleywine? Uh uh.

Double IPA? No way.

Chimay? Fuggetaboutit.

It's not all that much of a suprise when old laws linger, but to find a major brewer like Anheuser-Busch in the background, playing their chips and using their muscle to keep the law in place to protect their market share is reprehensible. Anheuser-Busch certainly doesn't care about consumer choice or supporting the industry.

Anheuser-Busch likes to tout their supposed passive coexistence, but really they're no better than they were in the mid-'90s when their "100%-share-of-mind" campaign sought to clear liquor store shelves of craft beer:

The action goes on to quote an address by August Busch III at the 1995 NBWA convention, in which he stressed the need to focus on flagship brands, and continues: "In March 1996, August Busch III announced that he decided that A-B distributors should not distribute craft beers any longer, and that A-B distributors should give '100% share-of-mind' to the Budweiser family of products. In fact, A-B launched a 'share of mind' campaign headed by a 'share of mind' team... The purpose of this nationwide effort was to eliminate as many non-exclusive distributors as possible, and thereby deprive the plaintiff and the members of the class a material part, if not all, of their distribution network.

What can you do?

Help out by calling/emailing A-B's corporate offices to express your opinion about Birmingham Budweiser's efforts to thwart consumer choice in Alabama.
1-800-DRINK-BUD
https://contactus.anheuser-busch.com/contactus/email.asp

You can also call and email Birmingham Budweiser (keep trying if it's busy!)
205-945-4893
customerservice@bhambud.com.

Lastly, support the thirsty beer lovers in Alabama. Check out Free The Hops.org.

Spread the word!

Pop Quiz, Hotshot!

Test your brew know-how! Go to http://www.pikebrewing.com/, click on "History" in the middle of the image, then click on "Pop Quiz - Test Your Beer Knowledge" on the right.

I got an 86...I don't know much about Pike Brewing Co. and I don't know everything about brewing either; the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.

Cheers!!