Drink Beer like a Professional

I'm thinking... I'm thinking... I'm thinking...

If you hang around beer nerds long enough, you’ll notice that they have a different way of drinking beer than most people. A normal person usually defers to the time-honored method of drinking, which is to hold the vessel up to your lips and tilt it just enough to cause the liquid to crest over the walls and flow into the mouth. Beer nerds, on the other hand, have a more structured and academic (some might say pretentious) way of doing things.

They’re not crazy. They are simply practicing the art of “beer tasting” or critically and deliberately scrutinizing the beer in order to a) learn more about it and b) appreciate it more. It is the way the professionals do things, but you don’t have to be a professional. Here are the steps to effective beer tasting:

1. Pouring the Beer

Releasing aroma

Pouring truly is the trickiest part of this whole thing. Your overall goal is to aim for about two-fingers-worth of head after the pour. Most people learned long ago to “sneak” the beer down the side of the glass when pouring in order to avoid head. You can do this, but remember to allow some head because the bursting bubbles of the head release the beer’s aroma, which is important for step three. I tend to pour straight down the middle of the glass until I have two fingers worth of head and stop the pour. You don’t have to fit the entire bottle of beer into the glass all at once.

Also, some beers contain visible yeast at the bottom of the bottle that is meant to be drunk with the beer. If this is the case, stop the pour with a bit of beer left in the bottle. Swirl the remaining liquid to lift the yeast sediment and pour it into your glass.

2. Appearance

After you’ve poured your beer, visually inspect it. Note whether the head is dense or thin. Heads are sometimes described as rocky if they are especially dense with dips and peaks forming as some of the bubbles pop. The color of the head is also worth noting and can range from pure white on Pilsners to light or medium brown on some stouts and porters.

Also examine the appearance of the beer itself. Hold the glass up to the light and note the color and whether it is cloudy or clear.

3. Aroma

Next, bring the glass up to your face so that your nose is practically inside the glass and sniff (It’s important that your nose is not in the beer itself during this phase – although that does happen more often than I’d care to admit). Note whether it smells primarily of hops or malt. Generally speaking, light colored beers will smell more of hops while darker beers tend to have pronounced malt, roasted, chocolate or coffee aromas. Many types of ale have a hard to pin down spiciness or fruitiness that comes from their yeasts.

Take your time with the aroma. Try to take three good sniffs before your first sip. If you're taking notes, stop to write your impressions before the first sip distracts you.

4. First Sip

When taking your first sip, try to note the initial sensation as the beer enters your mouth. Think about whether it is sweet, bitter or something else. Beer, especially ale, can be very complex. There can be quite a difference between the first taste and the finish.

5. Mouthfeel

This is the texture of the beer or how it physically feels in your mouth. Beer ranges from silky dry stouts, to thick and chewy Scotch ales to thin and fizzy Berliner weisses. This is an important characteristic of a beer.

Learn from the pros; drink like the pros

6. Finish

Note the lingering flavors after you swallow the drink. Often it can be bitter from the hops or a lingering malty sweetness.

Stop before your next drink and try to write down everything that you just detected. Try to confirm it all with your second drink or see if you need to rethink your conclusions.

Additional Tips:

1. Do not taste new beers with food or soon after eating. The lingering flavors from food can greatly affect your impression of the brew.

2. Cleanse your palate with water. Crackers or cheese are fine but you should remember that even these foods can affect the apparent flavors of the beer.

3. If you're tasting a number of different beers, let the color be your guide. It is best to taste from light to dark.

That’s all there is to it. As you can see, it’s very easy to drink beer like the professionals do, and you’ll find that the more you do this, the more you’ll appreciate the endless makes and models of beer that are out there! Plus, the next time your beer nerd friends start analyzing their beers, you’ll be able to keep up and join in the nerdiness.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

The State of the Brew-nion Address (ah-hah!)

We’ve been discussing the business side of things a lot lately, and it continues today. This blog post is designed to showcase statistics that shed a positive light on the craft brewing side of the beer industry. What you’ll notice is that, in spite of an overall sputtering economy, the craft beer segment of the market is growing.

US Breweries operating for some or all of 2011:
Brewpubs: 1,063
Microbreweries: 789
Regional Craft Breweries: 88
Total US Craft Breweries: 1,938
Large Non-Craft Breweries: 21
Other Breweries: 30
Total US Breweries: 1,989


US Breweries Operating in 2010:               US Breweries Operating in 2009:
81 Regional Craft Breweries                         71 Regional Craft Breweries
615 Microbreweries                                       505 Microbreweries
1,053 Brewpubs                                             1,020 Brewpubs
1,749 Total Craft Breweries                        1,596 Total Craft Breweries
21 Large Breweries (Non-Craft)                    21 Large Breweries
23 Other Non-Craft Breweries                      22 Other Non-Craft Breweries
1,793 Total US Breweries                            1,639 Total US Breweries


2011 US Openings:                                       2010 US Openings:
76 Brewpubs                                                   57 Brewpubs
174 Microbreweries                                        97 Microbreweries
                                                                        1 Regional Brewery


2011 US Closings:                                          2010 US Closings:
25 Brewpubs                                                    49 Brewpubs
12 Microbreweries                                          13 Microbreweries


Last updated on 3/26/2012


For more telling statistics on the state of the American brewing industry, go to http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/facts.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

The Ship Continues to Sink

Women and children first!

There was a line from the movie Super Troopers that went like this: “Desperation is a stinky cologne.” These days, the funk of desperation is emanating from the Anheuser-Busch headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri (or wherever in Belgium that Budweiser claims its headquarters is these days). Take this little article I found that was published 5 days ago:

Desperate To Turn Sales Around, Anheuser-Busch Tries New Beers And Bullying Wholesalers

Kevin Spak|March 29, 2012

Anheuser-Busch InBev is desperate to turn its sales around. Sure, it's still the biggest beer company in the US, but shipments have fallen for three straight years, thanks to the growing popularity of small, independent craft brewers.

But this year Budweiser's got a plan, president of North American operations Luiz Edmond tells the Wall Street Journal: It's going to produce more beers, while leaning on distributors not to carry the competition.

Anheuser will introduce 19 new products this year, its biggest roll out since the InBev merger.

Some will aim to compete in the craft market, like additions to its Shock Top line, or boast higher alcohol content, like the 6% Bud Light Platinum, which Edmond calls a "game changer."

Still others, like Bud Light Lime-a-Rita, will be malt beverages bearing little resemblance to beer.

At the same time, Bud has urged 500 wholesalers to distribute fewer rival beers, warning that it will act against those who don't.

An unapologetic Edmond says wholesalers must pick sides, and show "loyalty" to InBev.

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-29/strategy/31253200_1_anheuser-busch-inbev-independent-craft-brewers-beers#ixzz1r0ZrCHm0

You won't get away with it AB-InBev!

Give me few moments to stop laughing… okay, now I’m ready. I am actually encouraged to read that AB is admitting a) that they are losing ground to craft brewers and b) that they are resorting to underhanded tactics to try to turn it around. Of course, it was underhanded tactics by big beer that led to the premature death of Sam Calgione’s Discovery Channel show “Brewmasters,” but they won’t admit to that. Back in the day, AB built its empire by telling local pubs to stop selling their competitors’ beer in exchange for their rent being paid for them. Sleazy business practices are part of what makes Budweiser Budweiser.

Then there are the 19 new products, which I’m sure are all of the finest premium beer quality that corn can provide. The Shock Top line is, and always has been, a scam to trick the unaware beer drinker into thinking that he or she is drinking craft beer, when in fact, its Budweiser’s corn-based interpretation on proper beer styles. The 6% ABV Bud Light Platinum is a joke, in which AB is convincing less-informed beer drinkers that ABV matters and then praying upon their ignorance. 6% isn’t even that high if that sort of thing DID matter to you, though it is higher than their normal offerings. I’m curious as to what “game” he thinks this crap will “change.” And as for the Bud Light Lime-a-Rita… I think I just vomited in mouth.

The beer drinkers control the means
of production!

I suppose the upside to all of this is that it shows desperation. They’ve been trying to solve the craft-beer conundrum for years, and if this article is any indication, they’re still missing the point by miles and miles. The reason that craft beer drinkers drink craft beer is that they’ve chosen quality over quantity; premium over generic; pride over shame; happiness over blah; good over evil. These aren’t phenomena that can be reversed with ill-conceived gimmicks and threats. The die has been cast Bud… you suck! And soon the entire world will not only hear it… they’ll believe it too.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Something I Learned Yesterday

Wise men come in all shapes and sizes...
Some prefer Sioux City Sarsaparilla.

A wiser fella than myself once said, “you learn something new every day.” Truer words were never uttered.

Yesterday, while on the prowl for a delicious brew to sacrifice to my insatiable thirst for craftiness, I made a discovery (and what I mean by that is that my lovely wife alerted me to a reality that I wasn’t previously privy to). My local craft beer purveyor (Wegmans grocery store) has been hiding the “good” beers. Apparently, somebody who works at the grocery store was smart enough to segregate the $10 per bottle beers from the rest of the pack. Not only were they separated, they were squirreled away inside a locked glass case, away from the craft beers and in the middle of the wine section. I remember thinking that this was a very bizarre place to find premium craft beers, but then again, it might be a genius master stroke. This way, you won’t be able to accidentally fall into these really rare and highly coveted brews… you would have to be actively looking for them – otherwise why would you be looking in the restricted section? Although, now that I know it’s there, I’ll be sure to check it every time I go in there. Take that Wegmans.

A sketch of the secret beer holding area at the
Wegmans... I swear it looked like this.

How does this apply to you? Well, on the micro level for those of us who live in the greater Prince William County or Fairfax County regions of Northern Virginia, USA, now you know, if you didn’t already, that this blasted secret case exists. But on the macro level, and to the greater point, knowing that grocery stores are becoming savvy enough (or devious enough) to separate hard-to-find beers from the heard and keep them in a more out-of-the-way spot where the average craft beer shopper wouldn’t think to look is important. The odds of finding the rarities when you go searching for premium brews increase exponentially when you are armed with this knowledge. Now go forth and conquer!

The White Whale

Blogger's note: For those in the Prince William County and Fairfax County, Virginia, USA area who are curious as to what exactly was in the glass case of solitude yesterday at the Woodbridge Wegmans, it was none other than the white whale herself: DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY’S 120 MINUTE INDIA PALE ALE. And now, there will be a run on the Wegmans… you’re welcome beer world!

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!!!

Moo

Don't eat more chicken... Drink more beer!

Milk stout (also called sweet stout or cream stout) is a stout that has a larger amount of residual dextrins and unfermentable sugars called lactose which are derived from milk that’s added to the brew kettle. Because lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast, it adds body and sweetness that counters the roasted character of the finished beer.

Bernard Miles

Milk stouts have had an interesting history as far as beer styles go. The beer was originally brewed in Hythe, Kent, by Mackeson's Brewery in 1907. Mackeson’s claimed that their milk stout was nutritious, stating that "each pint contains the energizing carbohydrates of 10 ounces of pure dairy milk.” In Germany, milk stouts were given to nursing mothers as they were an excellent source of additional vitamins and nutrients. Other stouts, such as Guinness in Ireland, also made this claim. Years later, in the period just after WWII when rationing was in place, the British government required brewers to remove the word "milk" from labels and advertisements, as well as any imagery associated with milk. Once that blew over, Mackeson’s once again began selling their healthy beer with a long-lasting television ad campaign with actor Bernard Miles that contained the catch-phrase, “Mackeson - looks good, tastes good and, by golly, it does you good.”

Look at the size of the head on
that beer - its friggin huge!

Milk stouts have undergone a bit of a revival since the craft beer revolution began in the United States in the 80s and 90s. Most craft brewers in today’s arena with a decent sized catalog make a milk, sweet or cream stout. Some examples include the Left Hand Brewing Co’s Milk Stout, Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery’s Milk Stout, Bell’s Brewery’s Milk Stout and Lancaster Brewing Co’s Double Chocolate Milk Stout, to name only a few.

Pour hard, admire and enjoy

A particularly exciting trend with milk stouts in America today is the incorporation of nitrogen taps. Most beer is carbonated with either pure carbon dioxide or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, a blend creatively named “beer gas.” Occasionally, some places will serve a stout on a special tap that uses about 75% nitrogen or more. Nitrogen gas is a considerably smaller molecule than carbon dioxide, which leaves a beer with a finer, creamier texture and correspondingly smoother taste. And since milk stouts already have a milky/creamy aura about them, the injection of nitrogen during the pour creates an experience that is as close to liquid heaven as I’ve found (and I have been looking). Let me say that again… liquid heaven. While traipsing about the Dominion/Fordham brewery in Dover, DE, I was privileged to be offered their milk stout served from a nitro tap... like drinking a cloud. Rumor has it (though I’ve never had this beer) that the Left Hand Brewing Co’s Milk Stout Nitro has been carbonated in bottles with a similar process to the nitro tap, simulating the experience in a bottled brew. It’s on my list to be sure.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

A Real Life Beer Tasting

A few blog posts ago, I discussed hosting your very own beer tasting. In spite of your loyal readership and ability to digest my sage wisdom on the subject, the best way to learn how to host a beer tasting is to attend a beer tasting. That is exactly what I did last night.

The event was hosted by a local wine store in my neighborhood called Wine Styles. Interestingly enough, the owner of the store is a beer guy, who just happens to own a wine store. He gets very passionate about beer and it shows. There was no theme to the selections; just a collection of interesting beers (some local, some not so much) that he was able to acquire and share with the beer lovers.

The first beer in the lineup was a French blonde ale from the Brasserie la Choulette les Sans Culottes. It was expectedly Belgian, smooth and refreshing like a blonde ale should be. A good start to be sure.

I love me some collabo-brews

Next up was a collaboration beer by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, DE, Stone Brewing Co in San Diego, CA and Victory Brewing Co in Downingtown, PA called Saison du BUFF. This beer was truly a jewel, crispy like a farmhouse saison but with the clear hoppy influence of Dogfish and Stone. This is what happens when hopheads go Belgian. And the incorporation of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme into the beer was a nice touch. Very nice.

Third was a local (for Northern Virginia) contribution called New River Pale Ale by the Lost Rhino Brewing Co in Ashburn, VA. New River is a smooth, sweet and balanced hoppy American-style pale ale that is highlighted with citrus and pine notes. Quite good.

Hello, I'm Johnny Cask

Then there was another Dogfish Head contribution in the form of their 75 Minute India Pale Ale. This beer is excellent. It is made by combining their 60 minute IPA and their 90 minute IPA, along with maple syrup. It is bottle conditioned, dry-hopped and naturally carbonated. Take my advice – GO FIND THIS BEER!!!

After the 75 Minute, we were given Troegs Brewing Co’s (from Hershey, PA) Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale. The name won’t clue you in to this, but this beer is very hoppy. It’s a lot like their HopBack Amber Ale, but with more intensity in the malts and hops departments. For a hophead such as myself, this beer hit the spot.

The next beer in the lineup was the Boont Amber Ale by the Anderson Valley Brewing Co in Boonville, CA. This is a very well-balanced amber ale with mild hoppiness, but the real story is the beer’s color – a gorgeous deep copper color. Absolutely beautiful! (and delicious too)

Another Colorado craft beer

The finale was a Cocoa Porter by the Tommyknocker Brewing Co in Idaho Springs, CO. This was another delicious brew with sweet roasted malt and chocolate notes (and perhaps a touch of coffee too). It’s one of the better porters I’ve ever had – I highly recommend it.

Overall, the beer tasting was a success. These are the kind of beer events that make beer appreciation worth the effort. I am looking forward to the next beer tasting at Wine Styles.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Barrel-Aged Magic

As you begin your quest into the crafty universe, you may notice that there are a lot of brews that claim to be “barrel-aged.” Perhaps their name indicates something to do with an oak barrel or bourbon barrel, or even a wine cask. But what does this mean exactly? Are they actually incorporating wooden barrels into the brewing process?

Spoiler Alert! The answer is yes.

Barrel-aged craftiness inside the Bruery in
Orange County, CA

Beers are sometimes aged in barrels to achieve a variety of effects in the final product. Sour beers such as lambics are aged in wood (usually oak) barrels similar to those used to ferment wine. The wooden vessels allows for secondary fermentation to take place because wild yeast live in the wood and are allowed to join the brewers yeast in devouring the sugars and enzymes in the wort. The method of aging beer in used wine barrels has expanded beyond lambic beers in recent years to include saisons, barleywines, and blonde ale. Typically, the barrels used for this have previously contained aged red wine (particularly cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir).

The beer equivalent of the warehouse at the end of
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Other beers are aged in barrels which were previously used for maturing spirits. Porters and stouts are sometimes aged in bourbon barrels, which impart some of the bourbon flavors into the beer. Some breweries are experimenting with other varieties of beer and bourbon barrels, such as the Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine which makes a Belgian tripel that is aged in a Jim Beam barrel. Another common spirit-aging barrel that is commonly found in the brewing world is a rum barrel, which creates a very unique and complex flavor note when used to age beer. The Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado makes a pumpkin ale that is aged in a rum barrel, creating a spicy, pumpkin ale with candied molasses and delicate oak notes.

There are countless other examples of barrel-aged brews out there and one thing they all have in common is unique flavors that cannot be attained any other way. If you’re looking for something truly different to delight the palate, you cannot go wrong at the bottom of a barrel.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!