Why the World Needs Lagers

Faster than a speeding pint of lager...

The Superman fans will see what I did there.

Okay, so I know I've been conspicuously absent over the past few weeks… kind of like I went to my home planet of Krypton and left humanity to its own devices for a spell. Yes, yes, the Superman references are flowing today.

It was Spring Break!!! Down in sunny southwest Florida!!! But I’m back now and rested… ready to bring the funk.

While I was visiting with the Floridians, an interesting topic came up. A local brewer was talking to my father about why they were offering a basic, bud light like, lager on their flight of craft-brewed excellence. Now, I am on the record as being pro-lagers in a flavor-driven ale world, so I support including lagers into a brewery’s flight… but not a bud light like lager.

Apparently, this brewer was convinced that he needed to make a light pilsner lager so that “people who drink bud light will have something to drink.” Or at least, that is how the episode was retold by my father, who I think agreed with the logic. If the brewer was making a light, flavorless lager so as to imitate Bud, Miller, Coors and all the other garbage water beers, than I completely disagree with the premise.

First of all, those light, fizzy, industrial assembly line, yellow, pseudo-beers are not made with proper techniques or ingredients, deliberately, in order to save money. Since we craft brewers are deliberately making beer the right way, using proper ingredients and proven methods, it will be difficult to replicate the crappy end product, especially at the same price point that big beer does. Not only that, we shouldn't be doing it, and we shouldn't even want to do it in the first place.

But what about those folks who refuse to drink craft beer because they “don’t like it?”

I've buried enough members of the
Wayne family

It still amazes me to this day that people like that exist, but they absolutely do. Some people don’t want to taste the amazing flavors that the spectrum of craft beer styles can bring them. Or to quote Alfred Pennyworth, “Some men just want to watch the world burn, Master Wayne.” (that one wasn't Superman)

For those people, there is no hope. They are stubborn, or something worse, and will never get on board. But they are a very small percentage of big beer drinkers. Most big beer drinkers have never seen the light. They live in a region that is still dominated by big beer, their parents drank big beer and their parents before them, or maybe they’re from a family that works for a big beer company. These unenlightened account for the vast majority of big beer drinkers.

Now let me ask you this: If you make big beer drinkers a light, low-flavor, pilsner lager similar to their precious bud light, won’t they order it every time? And if they order it every time, how will you ever break their unenlightened habits?

I’m not implying that a craft brewer’s mission should be to convert bad beer drinkers into good beer drinkers (though that is a delightful side effect more often than not). A craft brewer’s job is to make good quality beer that is made the right way, and if you do that, the customers will drink it, kind of like a “if you build it, they will come” kind of thing (also not Superman).

Take for example, New Belgium Fat Tire. Fat Tire is what I call a gateway beer. It is a properly made amber ale that is easily palatable for the inexperienced. But it’s still properly made. Nobody at New Belgium is giving up on their principles or fighting ethical battles when they make Fat Tire. They have packaged and distributed Fat Tire to the four corners of America, in bottles, cans and kegs, and people love it. Many people who only drank bad beer for multiple decades of their lives have become acolytes of the Fat Tire cult. This is a perfect example of people who don’t like full-flavored craft beers drinking a less-intense craft beer, because they like it.

Fat Tires everywhere!

My point is, don’t make them a bud light clone… make them a gateway beer. Make them something with a little bit of flavor (instead of no flavor) and made with proper ingredients so they can taste it. Don’t let them stay in their rut, but give them the opportunity to stretch their wings while staying in the nest. Once they realize, as millions have, that they like tasting their beer, they’ll come back to your brewery, and over time, they’ll work up their courage and curiosity to try a pale ale, or a wheat beer, or a Belgian style. Before long, they’ll be a bone fide hop head, scouring the earth for hop bombs and high gravity face melters.

Now I know I used an amber ale as my gateway beer example, but realistically, the better opportunity to make a gateway is in the lager family. As we craft beer lovers already know, lagers are so much more than those light pilsner lagers that AB-InBev and SABMillerCoors churn out. Lagers range in color, body and flavor from the bold dopplebocks and schwarzbiers to the pilsners and American light pilsner lagers… over a dozen different lagers to choose from. And contrary to the light American pilsner lagers, many properly made lagers are very flavorful and pack a punch.

Varieties of lagers

If you are a brewer and worried about whether the bud light drinkers will be happy with your beer, make a few of the lighter varieties of lagers – still properly made with proper ingredients – and sell them to those bud light drinkers. A Dortmunder gold lager, a Vienna lager and a proper pilsner lager should be enough variety to let folks taste the possibilities. If they still don’t like it, that’s okay too – you probably weren't going to convert those guys anyways.

But don’t feel pressured to make a garbage water beer clone just so bud light drinkers will be happy. If that is your reason for making a light lager, in my humble opinion, you've already missed the point of craft brewing.

And not only that, it’s impossible for a small craft brewery to make a bud light clone for as little money as Budweiser does, which means you’ll have to charge more – and why would someone want to pay more money for a product that is equally meh?

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Take Me Out to the Beer Game

An American past time

Opening day in Major League Baseball has come and gone for most MLB teams, and will be coming up this week for the rest. Around this time last year, I wrote how encouraging it was that many of the professional baseball stadiums were starting to offer craft beer in addition to all that corn-based, industrial, flavorless, yellow, fizzy pseudo-beer to their thirsty patrons. Now, in 2014, I’m ready to declare it… Baseball is officially a craft beer drinker’s sport!

Yeah, that’s right… I said it.

Take, for example, the local team in my neck of the woods… the Washington Nationals. The Nats have welcomed an invasion of local craft-brewed deliciousness into Nats Park this year, which will feature beers from Atlas Brew Works, 3 Stars Brewing, DC Brau, Mad Fox Brewing Company and Port City Brewing Company. The beers will be sold from four local beer carts scattered throughout the stadium, each with four tap handles on it.

Apparently, the folks from Nats Park held a draft a few weeks back with the brewers from these five breweries to determine whose beer would be available in which location in the stadium during which home stand throughout the 2014 season. The plan is that all five breweries will change out their offerings for every individual home stand – meaning different beers every time you go (unless you go to multiple games during the same series). They even came up with a plan to ensure that not all five show up with an IPA at the same time.

Beer, here!

You also have many options at the Red Porch (the restaurant behind left field) that include beers from Flying Dog, Starr Hill, Dogfish Head, Allagash, New Belgium, Terrapin and Foothills. There are also craft beer floats – icecream and beer together – available made with Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Stout and Boulevard Dark Truth Stout. The Red Porch also offers two cask beers of locally made excellence on Firkin Fridays.

Clearly, opportunities abound in Washington, D.C. - but what about the rest of baseball?

Here is a list of 12 stadiums (other than Nats Park) who are leading the way with good beer in their stadiums this year. This is probably not an exhaustive list, and there is a high probability that teams and stadiums are missing off of this list. Based on the limited (infinite) data available on the interwebs, the best ballparks in America for craft beer are (in no particular order)…

Progressive Field – Cleveland, Ohio – The Indians’ home field features plenty of New Belgium and Great Lakes Brewing Company beers to offset the presence of that hipsterish garbage known as PBR. Plus, they reduced the price of concessions this year, so… bonus!

Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, California – The Dodgers have seen a dramatic improvement this year. They are now incorporating two local craft beers - Golden Road Brewing and Fireman's Brew - along with other craft breweries into their mix.

Coors Field – Denver, Colorado – It might say “big beer” on the front door, but there are plenty of good beer options inside. Local beers that are not made by Coors are served up at stands all around the stadium. Rockies fans can enjoy brews from Colorado’s own New Belgium, Breckenridge, Oskar Blues, and Odells breweries as well as Samuel Adams. Coors has also been running their own small brewery called the SandLot within the stadium, where they brew Blue Moon and its many varieties – but with all that great beer available in the rest of the stadium, why even bother?

I wonder if I could drink this beer while sliding down that slide... challenge accepted

Miller Park – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Another stadium that says “big beer” on the door, but features delicious locally made craft beer on the inside. Brewers fans are treated to local brews from Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee Brewing Company, Sprecher Brewery, Horny Goat Brewing Company, and the popular New Glarus, a brewery with a cult following both regionally and across the country.

Citi Field – New York, New York – The Mets have managed to draw some local brews to their stadium, including Sixpoint, Blue Point, Brooklyn Brewery, and Brewery Ommegang. There are also other craft brewers from around the country, such as Abita.

Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan - Michigan hosts some amazing breweries and can indulge in an impressive list of beers. Beers from breweries like Bell’s Brewery, New Holland Brewing Company, Founders Brewing Co., Arbor Brewing Co., Atwater Brewery, Arcadia Ales, and Motor City Brewing Works are served on draft or in bottles all around the stadium.

A beer garden at the Padres stadium? That's just not fair!

Petco Park, San Diego, California – Considering San Diego is one of the biggest beer cities in America, it comes as no surprise that Padres fans are spoiled. Petco serves up an impressive list of California’s most delicious beers from a bunch of brewing companies, including Stone, Green Flash, Ballast Point, Karl Strauss, AleSmith, Pyramid, Anderson Valley, Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, and Knee Deep Brewing. Alaskan Brewing, Rogue, Kona Brewing, and Widmer Brothers are also served there.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland - The Orioles have tapped into local breweries to find beers their fans will love. Tap lines pour the likes of Heavy Seas Beer, Evolution Craft Brewing Co., Flying Dog Brewery, and Baltimore-Washington Beer Works. Beers from nearby Delaware, like Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Fordham Brewing Co., and Old Dominion Brewing Co. are also sold here. The park even has an on-site brewpub called Dempsey’s House Brews.

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The Pirates stadium has really good beer from Pennsylvania’s own Church Brew Works, Victory Brewing, East End Brewing, Penn Brewing, Tröegs Brewing, and Erie Brewing. Add to that Harpoon Brewery, Samuel Adams, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head Brewing, 21st Amendment Brewery, Flying Dog Brewing, Heavy Seas Beer, Lagunitas Brewing, Stone Brewing, Bell’s Brewery, and Anchor Brewing from other places and you're in for a good time, win or lose.

"What can I say? I love craft beer!"

Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Phillies fans drink beer from Tröegs Brewing, Victory Brewing, Sly Fox, Yards Brewery, Prism Brewing, and Philadelphia Brewing. The list continues with several out-of-state breweries, like Flying Fish, Goose Island, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Allagash, Anchor, Dogfish Head, Lagunitas, Ommegang, Samuel Adams, 21st Amendment, Oskar Blues, and Sierra Nevada.

AT&T Park, San Francisco, California - The Bay Area, a great region for beer, gives a lot to choose from. Local breweries like Lost Abbey, High Water Brewing, Anchor Brewing, Marin Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Drake’s Brewing, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, Russian River, North Coast, 21st Amendment, and AleSmith are served alongside brews from Victory Brewing, Stillwater Ales, Avery Brewing, Blind Pig Brewery, and Jolly Pumpkin Brewery.

Worth every penny... all $10 of them

Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington – Perhaps the most impressive list of beers at a baseball stadium, The Mariners home field features both locals and national breweries, including Alaskan Brewing, Big Sky Brewery, Boulevard Brewing, BridgePort Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Diamond Knot Craft Brewing, Dick’s Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Firestone Walker, Fremont Brewing, Full Sail Brewing, Harmon Brewing, Mac & Jack’s Brewery, Georgetown Brewing, New Belgium Brewery, Ninkasi Brewing, Pyramid Brewing, Red Hook, Sierra Nevada, Skagit River Brewery, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, and Widmer Brothers.

In other words, we've come a very long way.

But there’s still a long way left to go.

If you are fortunate enough to live near these ballparks and take in baseball games with all this delicious beer, good for you! If not, you need to spread the word and take to the social media streets to convince the rest of these teams to pull their heads out of their butts. Then again, as I indicated earlier, they may already be doing a great job with their beer, and my interwebs research just didn't catch it. Either way, go take in a game, and enjoy good beer while you do it!

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!