Bottle Conditioned

Just wanted to post a quick note on this beer, as I had it last night.

I had great hopes for this beer, as I tend to like Belhaven’s Scottish Ale (Bottle, not nitro can), so I figured this would be a nice one to try. Let me start by saying that I really love Scottish and Scotch ales. The smoky dryness combined with nice caramel notes are really nice in a lot of these styles. Unfortunately, this particular example fell slightly short.

This beer poured clear with a nice head. A nice aroma of caramel and light smoky notes (very light) was inviting. Taste-wise, however, the beer didn’t stand up to what I was expecting. The first item I noticed was a pretty thin body - a bit off putting for the style. Alcohol content in the beer was low (6.5%), but technically in style according to the BJCP. There were some nice kettle caramelized tastes with a slight tinge of smoke around the edges, but that was about it.

I drank the beer out of a brandy snifter, hoping for a beer that would have the body and flavor profile to support such glassware. Really though, this beer didn’t benefit much from this particular vessel, and probably would have been ok out of a pint glass - another thing that slightly bothered me.

Overall, this beer was a bit too easy to drink. Don’t get me wrong, I love beers that are easy to drink, but I expected this Wee Heavy to be a bit more of a late night sipper.

If you’ve had it, feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

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Well, our lovely legislature in this state has done it again. They’ve created yet another pointless and obtrusive law that will probably have zero benefit for the public.

According to this article, persons buying beer in the state of Tennessee will now be carded, regardless of age. So, whether you’re 21 or 71, it won’t matter. A few interesting points to note before I get into my rant.

• This law only applies to beer, not wine or liquor
• This law only applies to beer bought for off premises consumption, so it doesn’t apply to bars and restaurants

In a nutshell, this bill has been passed to try and curb underage drinking by requiring that all stores card all customers who buy beer, regardless. While I agree with the effort to prevent underage drinking, I certainly don’t see this as an effective method for doing so.

Let’s look at the actual implementation of the law. According to the bill, clerks selling beer must card everyone, and will be fined $1000 per infraction for underage sales.

Ask yourself this: Do you think that the passing of this bill is going to change the habits or actions of someone who is already irresponsible enough to sell beer to a minor? Already in this state, persons under the age of 27 must be carded (or 30, I can’t recall now). If a clerk that sells beer in a store now isn’t checking IDs of people who look under 27 (and most don’t), how is the passing of this law going to make any difference? Stupid people don’t change because the state capital tells them to. If anything, it irritates and inconveniences the older patrons who are clearly not underage, while making no difference in the areas where IDs already aren’t being checked.

Also, the restrictions on the bill are oddly puzzling. First, the bill doesn’t apply to wine or liquor, only beer. Aside from giving beer an unjustified bad name as the only thing that underage people drink, it also has zero base in logic. Why should a beverage that averages at 5.5% alcohol by volume be so strictly controlled, while 13% ABV wine and 40% ABV liquor are generally ignored? Don’t think that I’m suggesting that we impose restrictions on wine and liquor - I’m not. I simply want to understand the logic behind such a targeted measure.

In addition to the ‘beer only’ restriction, the restaurant and bar exclusion in the bill is even stranger. With this law, a 70 year old man will be carded every time he walks into the grocery store to buy beer, whereas a 22 year old (or perhaps worse, a 20 year old) won’t be carded in a restaurant. This is especially puzzling when you consider this fact: Under these two circumstances, which individual (the grocery store patron, or the restaurant/bar patron) is more likely to drive after they’ve consumed a beer? Rhetorical, I know, but somehow the legislators in the state missed this glaring error. If you aim to prevent underage drinking, and subsequently underage DUI deaths, then targeting the people who drink their beer at home seems to be a step in the wrong direction - just my opinion.

I know it sounds like I’m being unfairly hard on this bill, but I don’t think it’s without reason. If you’re interested in preventing underage drinking, it starts elsewhere than at the counter of a convenience store. Simply passing a measure isn’t going to deter folks who already break the law, it’s only going to irritate the ones who already comply.

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Short post here on Sunday night before I get some much needed rest. Mollie and I just rolled in the door from South Carolina where we spent a couple days doing the beach and golf thing.

Exciting stuff coming up this week. First off, this week’s podcast is the long awaited Bell’s Brewery spotlight. We’ve had a ton of emails in about Bell’s stuff, so we know how much people love it. For good reasons - it’s great beer. Make sure to download the show and give it a listen!

Also, I’ve got a couple other things swimming around in my head to talk about this week, ranging from random tasting notes to rants about beer and alcohol culture in this country.

Also, a final note. Be sure to subscribe to this blog by hitting the RSS button over there on the right hand side (the orange speaker/soundwave/radio symbol looking thing). You can use various blog readers (such as the Google Reader) to get new posts to this blog delivered to you automatically, for free. Can’t beat that with a stick.

Time to put this week’s show on the web and hit the bed. Talk to ya’ll this week.

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We’ve got a tough job.

As craft beer drinkers, we all probably come up against the wall of misconception about beer from time to time. What a frustrating thing. Unfortunately, in this country, beer equals a can of light golden fizzy junk that delivers alcohol in a (relatively) painless and enjoyable manner. Fighting that attitude is a pain in the ass.

Having a podcast and blog about beer has heightened my awareness of this. Typical conversations with someone about our podcast goes something like this:

Them: “So, what do you do”
Me: “Well, I have a podcast about beer and try to educate and inform people about better beer”
Them: “A podcast about beer?” *puzzled look*
Me: “Yeah, beer. But not crappy beer, good beer - craft beer”
Them: “What is there to say about beer?”
Me: “Plenty. There are tons of styles of beer as well as rich and diverse culture surrounding beer historically. What most people think about beer in this country is a sad and embarrasing representation of what beer really is”
Them: “Well, it gets me drunk, I like that.”
Me: “Nevermind”

Usually, when this conversation comes up, I end up reverting to comparing it to wine. “You know, how most people talk about wine, I talk that way about beer”. That generally garners a bit more understanding, a puzzled look, and a change in conversation.

So, why is it that beer has such a bad name in this country? Why do people associate wine with fine entertainment and associate beer with frat parties and gas stations?

I’d submit that part of it has to do with marketing. The major beer manufacturers in this country have dumbed down the product to such an extent where the only positive aspect of the liquid, for most people, is the fact is has alcohol in it. If that wasn’t the case, I doubt we’d see as many funnels. Since the herd of people (sheeple, as I’ve heard some folks refer to them as tend to follow the marketing hype, we’ve been left with a beer culture that is pretty poor.

The question then, turns to how to change this? I think it’s through relentless education. As craft beer evangelists, we’ve got to show people that beer is every bit as sophisticated, complex and demands as much respect as wine or good liquor (the liquor culture in this country has a similar problem, just not as bad). I think we need to organize more beer tastings, more beer and food pairing seminars and get better beer on the shelves of every liquor store, grocery store, and yes, gas station. We need to talk about beer in a different light. When you go home for a holiday dinner this winter, bring some nice Barleywines and Stouts to enjoy with dessert. Bring some Saisons to have during Thanksgiving dinner.

To a large extent, we’re simply going to have to show people that beer is different and better than they think it is. So, next time you go to eat with friends, or simply go to a party, bring some great craft beer and introduce your friends to it. Tell them you’ll worry about bringing the “bottle of wine” for the next dinner party, and show up with a 750 ml bottle of a nice Beligan Dubbel.

We can do it, it’s just going to take some time and some relentless education. Luckily, education mean drinking a lot of great beer. I’m up for that.

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This week, we’re going to be doing a show on Bell’s Brewery up in Michigan. I’m stoked about the show. Going to try some great beers including a homebrew clone of the Bell’s Hopslam. We’re recording the show this afternoon (Wednesday) instead of our usual Sunday, as we’ll be out of town this weekend. Still tho, the show will up ready for download at some point on Sunday.

So, what beers are going to be on the show this week? Looks like we’re going to do the Hopslam, the Expedition Stout, and the Porter. All great beers. Looking forward to it, hope ya’ll are too!

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There’s a right way to drink beer? You mean, drinking beer doesn’t involve plastic, aluminum or a headstand on top of a keg? For 75% of the beer bought in this country, and for probably the same amount of drinkers, beer is simply an alcohol delivery system in a can. Buy it cheap, serve it cold, and drink it fast – that’s the mantra of the average beer drinker in America. What most people don’t know (or refuse to believe), is that great beer is a beverage that requires care in serving and drinking, and it doesn’t involve aluminum.

Firstly, beer in this country is simply served too cold. Images of ice, snowy mountain ranges, and cold water dominate the mainstream beer ads, giving the impression that beer should be cooled to as low as physically possible before being consumed. In truth, most beer (good beer, anyway), benefits from being served warmer than you’d think, helping to bring out the flavors in the beer. Have you ever held an ice cube to some part of your body to numb it? That’s what ice cold beer does to your taste buds, shutting down any chance of you tasting anything pleasant in the beer. Anywhere from 45 degrees to 55 degrees is perfect, depending on the style. As a good rule of thumb, the higher the alcohol content, the warmer the beer should be served.

Secondly, beer is all too often served out of the completely incorrect vessel. No, an aluminum can is not appropriate to drink beer out of. I know what you’re saying: “Oh, well, I only drink it out of the bottle – it tastes better that way” – nope, sorry. Drinking beer through a 1 inch glass hole is a horrible way to experience decent beer, and you might as well save yourself a few bucks and drink water. Do yourself a favor – next time you have a beer, pour half of the beer into a glass, and leave the other half in the bottle and see which tastes better. You’ll never go back to the bottle.

So, what should you drink great beer out of? For me, there are four basic glasses that one should have on hand to accommodate most styles: pint glasses, pilsner glasses, brandy snifters, and champagne flutes. Most low alcohol beers, such as pale ales, amber ales, brown ales, stouts, porters and IPAs will be fine in a pint glass. As alcohol increases, such as in Imperial Stouts and Porters, Barleywines, and Strong Ales, a snifter is great. Pilsners (real, true pilsners) work great in the pilsners glasses, along with other like-flavored styles. Lastly, fruited beers and lambics are perfect out of a champagne flute.

If you’re going to drink great beer, make sure to drink it right. Put away the funnels and the solo cups and serve it how the beer wants to be served – from the right glass, at the right temperature. The only caveat is this: if you’re drinking cheap, mass-produced beer, don’t waste your money on glassware – nothing’s going to help.

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Why blog about beer?  Well, I guess it’s a two part question.  First, let’s start with “blog”.

As a podcaster, I’m already tapped into this whole social media thing.  Being able to record a show full of info every week and deliver it to people free of charge (basically) is a really cool thing.  Unfortunately, however, I can’t cover everything I want to cover in the podcast.  So, that leaves the blog.  Plus, it’s a nice place to just hang out and throw some thoughts down for awhile.  Pretty cool.  But, you already understand all this…or you wouldn’t be reading it.

So, onto part two.  Why beer?

This is a question I get asked quite a bit when I tell people I podcast about beer.  “Beer?  What is there to say about beer?”  Luckily, a lot.

I absolutely love great beer.  What people fail to understand is the breadth and depth of the beer scene out there beyond the supermarket American lager.  If I were to tell you that, very often, beer pairs better with food than wine, would you believe me?  Probably not.  How about if I said there were well over 80 different styles of beer that are recognized, and thousands upon thousands of brewers in the world?  Think I’m crazy?  What if I said that the average American lives within 10 miles of a microbrewery?  Nuts, eh?

See, people don’t get it.  We’ve been so brainwashed and set up by the mainstream beer market’s flashy ad campaigns, that we don’t even know when there is great beer right under our nose.  The great part though, is that once most people get their hands on great beer, they never go back.

Wine people understand this.  Wine people take pride (well, most of them - Boone’s Farm and Franzia buyers aside) in what they drink.  Many of them take an active approach to learning about wine, attending wine tastings and events, and exposing themselves the a variety of wines in an effort to expand their knowledge and experience with the beverage.  The vast majority of beer drinkers out there don’t, and that’s odd to me.

So, with this blog, I ask everyone out there to wake up and smell the hops.  There is great beer out there right in front of you waiting to be tried.  Porters, Stouts, IPAs, Dubbels, Tripels, Wheats and Wits… and the list goes on.  I’ll be writing a myriad of different things on this blog, from educational articles to thoughts on current beer news and trends.  I welcome your comments and hope you’ll also check out the podcast.

Cheers!

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