How Have I Missed This?

There's a blog out there called Beer & Whiskey Brothers. That's right up my alley. Their tag line is "Keep in good spirits and keep good spirits in ya." Love it. They have some cute and funny graphics about craft beer people. People like me. You should check them out. I posted one on my brewing blog, French Street Brewery. My title is a silly question, really, as I just don't spend the time on the inter-tubes necessary to find all the cool stuff. I don't reddit, digg, stumleupon, or any of that. I don't have a smart phone. (I barely use the cell phone I do have). I only facebook a few minutes a day. I'm mostly disconnected. What time I spend blogging, reading the news, keeping up on the Giants, and doing email is more than I want to spend in front of a screen. After all, it's just time away from drinking beer and whiskey.

Cheers!

Death by beer

You don't usually see Death personified as a woman. Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series is a notable exception. Death, in those lovely comic books, is a scrawny-but-sexy goth with punk overtones. Very cool. Sierra Nevada Brewing has added another Lady Death with the label on their new Ruthless Rye IPA. She's in cape and cowl and is carrying a scythe, but she's dressed in dark brown, like a monk. And the hood is pulled back enough to show shiny black hair and a beautiful profile. High thunderclouds are behind her, with a farm house and sown field in the background. In the foreground are stalks of rye and what appear to be sunflowers. It looks like an Ingmar Bergman film, only in sepia tones and set somewhere in the Great Plains. It's a tasty beer, too. Full and sweet at first, then dry and hoppy on the tongue, finishing with a spicy rye flavor reminiscent of Canadian whisky. I've often said that the wonderful brews from Chico are like mother's milk to me. I've been drinking them since they hit the shelves way back in the day, and they are still great. The new Ruthless Rye IPA is killer!

Orange & Black Congrats Ale

Mi concuño Alberto sent me a beer in the mail. Now that's a true friend! Alberto is my sister-in-law's husband, that is, we are married to sisters. English just doesn't have as elegant a term as the Spanish for that particular relationship, so concuño it is. Moylan's Brewery in Novato made a special black ale to celebrate the Giants winning the World Series. That's what was in the mail and no one could appreciate it more than me. After all, I'm a crazy fan and a brewer who also made a beer to honor the champs. My lovely bride and I enjoyed the pint of Congrats Ale while watching Tim Lincecum destroy the Mets on TV. Supposedly Orange & Black had a bit of orange flavor to complement the dark grains, but I'll admit that neither of us detected that. Nonetheless it was a lovely and refreshing brew and was good luck for the lads as well.

Muchas gracias, amigo!

Estate Homegrown Ale

I've been drinking beer from the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico for nearly thirty years. The stuff is damn close to mother's milk for me, and I'm always happy to try a new batch. The latest to cross my lips is the Estate Homegrown Ale that features "wet" hops grown at the brewery site. The hops used in beer are the unpollinated flower clusters--called cones--of the female plant. They are typically dried in kilns before packaging or further processing. "Wet-hopping" is using the freshly picked cones directly from the vines and substituting them for dried hops both in the kettle and after fermentation. The result is a rich and spicy "green" beer with a massive aroma and fresh, garden-like flavors. In the hands of skilled brewers the effect is marvelous, and the Estate Ale is no exception. Despite the high alcohol content (6.7%), the beer was very smooth and had a refreshing, light malt flavor. The huge hop profile was not at all overwhelming and the ale was dangerously quaffable. Go out and get some, I say, and drink it up while you can.

Begob, I'm back at it

Knocked off another episode of Ulysses. This one has poor Bloom subjected to some racist abuse by a fellow known only as "the citizen." Bloom makes a pitch for universal love and speaks of the injustices heaped upon Jews worldwide. The passages describing events are told in over-wrought parodies of various writing styles, everything from traditional sagas to the society pages. Long lists of names, satirizing Irish mythology, Church saints, clergymen, royal families, and the like pepper the pages. How about this one: Senor Hidalgo Caballero Don Pecadillo y Palabras y Paternoster de la Malora de la Malaria. It's like Damon Runyon and William S. Burroughs helped Hunter S. Thompson write a chapter in a Donald E. Westlake comic crime caper. My favorite part is about brewing beer, and seems like just an aside (but you can never be sure with Joyce) when the bartender brings a drink ("a crystal cup full of the foaming ebon ale"):

For they garner the succulent berries of the hop and mass and sift and bruise and brew them and they mix therewith sour juices and bring the must to the sacred fire and cease not night and day from their toil, those cunning brothers, lords of the vat.

I like that--lords of the vat. Beats lords of the dance, eh?

Outstanding local brew

The Wild River Brewing and Pizza Co. in Medford, Oregon is another place here in the State of Jefferson to get great beer. We had a chance to partake on Saturday, and I had both the Kölsch and the Pilsener. Having never been to Köln or Pilsen I can't vouch for the "authenticity" so prized by micro-brewers, but I can tell you that both were delicious and drinkable. I found the Kölsch particularly lovely, with its clean, malty flavor perfectly balanced by subtle hop crispness. A perfect beer for a sunny spring day.

Bend beer

We visited our pals in Bend, Oregon this weekend and drank some primo brews. The Deschutes Brewpub is right downtown and always jammed, but we managed to slake our thirst with hand-pumped ales (Bachelor Bitter and Mirror Pond) before heading to dinner at the excellent but unpretentious High Tides Seafood Grill. There's nothing quite like the smooth creaminess of beers "from the cask." The Brits call it "real ale" and I can't argue with them. Later in the weekend we got a tour of the actual Deschutes Brewery (located in a huge building in the Old Mill district) which was very impressive. No beer was being made, but we got an up-close-and-personal look at the brew vessels: massive, gleaming, custom-made million-dollar stainless-steel tuns and kettles that had me swooning with brewer envy. The tour was free and low-key (only 6 people), but thorough, and the beer samplers were free, too. Who can argue with that? The Green Lakes organic has a clean, light maltiness, suitable for serious quaffing, while the Hophenge is its opposite, a massive humulone-soaked high-alcohol snifter-only brew. Both were excellent. After that we enjoyed a fine meal and some more outstanding Bend beer at 10 Barrel Brewing Company. The S1NISTOR black ale (on nitro) was dreamy, rich and satisfying, taking full advantage of the "de-husked" dark malts. The Apocalypse IPA was smooth and well-balanced, with just the right hoppiness. When we hesitated over our beer choices the waitress brought us samplers so we could make up our minds! That's how it ought to be--you don't want a full pint of a beer you won't enjoy. In fact, the only one I didn't like was their Dubbel, but I'm not particularly fond of Belgian-style ales anyway, so that's not a knock. All in all, a damn fine Easter weekend. Thanks, H & D, for the superb hospitality and the willingness to keep me thoroughly lubricated with the good stuff.

Shastafarian Porter

One of our local treasures here in the State of Jefferson is the Mt. Shasta Brewing Company in Weed. They make a range of tasty brews, but I particularly like two--Mountain High IPA and Shastafarian Porter. The black ale with the groovy name assaults your nose with chocolate malt right off the top, and the first taste is a massive dose of roast barley. But the the porter has a smooth, easy drinkability, too, and the hops, hanging in the background, finally assert themselves on the back of the tongue as it goes down, balancing it all very nicely. Shastafarian is both full-flavored and thirst-quenching, refreshing as well as satisfying. I can say the same about the IPA as well, another delicious ale for quaffing. But tonight the porter was the beverage of choice. The brewery has a lot of fun with its Weed locale--advertising the beers with "Try Legal Weed" and "Weed. A flavor yet to be discovered." They've even re-worked an old saw as "A friend in Weed is a friend indeed." It wouldn't mean much if they didn't make outstanding beer. Grab some Shastafarian and see for yourself.

IPA heaven

Those folks at Deschutes Brewery know what they are doing. They made killer beer "back in the day" and they are making killer beer today. The lastest special brew we got to taste (thanks, Andrei) was Red Chair IPA. I love coppery red beers--color like that is hard to do right. IPAs are an interesting "style" as they exhibit a great deal of variation. Here in the State of Jefferson we have two excellent brews with the tag "IPA." One is from Etna, and is a full-bodied, very dry reddish ale called Mossback. Mt. Shasta Brewery in Weed makes a floral, aromatic, very pale and silky beer called Mountain High. I think they are both well-crafted, delicious, and satisfying. Red Chair seemed to have the best of both worlds. It had the Mossback's manly flavor and the Mountain High's seductive scents. It was both richly-flavored and velvety-smooth, the very essence of the brewer's art. Deschutes also makes their superb "regular" IPA--Inversion. Tomorrow we are going up to Ashland and I expect to make a stop at the Standing Stone Brewing Company for their outstanding beers. I can already taste that lovely India Pale Ale they make!

Harvest Ale

In June? You bet, you just have to look south. The Sierra Nevada folks have a new brew, the 2009 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. It is part of a series, naturally, of fresh "hop harvest" beers, but the first I've come across. It was a rich, smooth, velvety drink, with a bright hop nose and lots of flavor. The strong, dry finish was not in the least bitter or astringent. Apparently they've discovered, like me, the joys of New Zealand hops. The Chico guys have been making killer brews since I was a senior at Cal, they are the "third leg" of my beer triumvirate along with Anchor Steam and Guinness. These are the drinks that opened my palate, and showed me there was more--much more--to malt beverages than Bud and Coors. Raise a glass, mates!

Mossback & Guinness

You might have heard the expression "mossy back" or "mossback" to refer to a stubborn, old-fashioned person who is set in their ways. According to Webster, a mossback can also be a large, sluggish fish. Presumably the fish is large because it is OLD. The term is applied to turtles that have lived so long they've collected a colony of algae on their shells. Old-growth conifers are often much the same--their trunks are covered with a thick, mossy pelt. In the west, a mossback is a deer or other large game animal like an elk or moose that has a rack so big the withers are shaded and the hide there can support a small forest of mosses! Which brings me to Mossback IPA from the Etna Brewery. (How's that for a segue?) I've blogged about these fellows before and their wonderful beer. I had a couple of pints of Mossback IPA at my local pub last night. It is my beer of choice these days. Dark amber, intensely hopped, yet smooth and drinkable, this brew is a local treasure, and Dave the Barman knows we get cranky when he doesn't keep it stocked. Last week we had a St. Patrick's Day fest at the pub, lots of Guinness and Celtic music, and my pal Jon M. came up with a new combo. He's not a Guinness man, but he got into the spirit of things by asking for a half-pint of the black brew to be floated on top of a half-pint of Mossback IPA. We looked at this lovely creation and thought about what to call it. We barely started brainstorming when the obvious answer sprung forth--simultaneously--from our lips :

'Back-n-Tan

Cruisin' for a Brewsin'

Cruising With Ruben and The Jets is the latest Mothers of Invention album featured on a bottle of Lagunitas Brewing Company beer. This one is a big, rich, black beer, somewhat like a sweet stout or porter. They call it "BoppaDooAyDoo Style Ale" and rate it at 8.6% abv. Yow-za! That's some kick-ass brew. (There's a note from 26 August 2006 on the Zappa website about the first beer in the series, Freak Out! I blogged about the Lagunitas--Zappa convergence on 23 Feb and 10 Aug of this year after we discovered Lumpy Gravy in the Ashland co-op.) "Cruising" is a potent drink, but not over-the-top undrinkable. I'm not a fan of high-alcohol beers, but I do like flavorful ones, and "Cruising" has plenty of flavor. We had to play the album and listen to the Mothers sing doo-wop. Songs like "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" and "Anyway The Wind Blows" are as timeless as anything else in the Zappa canon. The label celebrates the 4oth anniversary of the record's release--looking forward to the whole collection!

-- -.-.

Raise a glass . . .

. . . to Repeal Day!

Don't worry, this won't be one of those ponderous diatribes about government and morality and freedom and individual behavior and history and etc.

I'm keeping it simple: raise a glass for Repeal Day. The 21st Amendment was ratified on this date 75 years ago.

Cheers!

Prop. 2 brew

Free Range Red Ale was one of my birthday presents! It is a product of the Laurelwood Public House & Brewery in Portland, Oregon, the city most identified with the craft brew renaissance. These folks are doing the organic thing, which is cool by me. Over at French Street Brewery we are moving in the same direction. The beer had a dark amber color and a big tasty crystal malt flavor. Good stuff.

The growing interest in organic ingredients is good for all of us. I'm not a fool--the use of industrial chemicals to improve yields is one of the major technological achievements of the 20th century. The fact that less than 2% of our population can feed hundreds of millions of people is one of the cornerstones of our civilization. Agricultural science will continue to bring innovations to farming that will benefit all of humankind. The movement to "organics" is not a rejection of modernity--far from it. It is a recognition that dependence on any one technological scheme is a mistake. It is an attempt to unify progress with ecological stewardship. It is a bridge from the past to a future based on sustainability. In a decade, we won't be throwing that outdated and inaccurate word--organic--around because we will view all production through this new lens, that of a sustainable future.

At least I hope so. In the meantime, drink up!

Etna Brauerei

Over the mountain and down through the valley and you come to Etna. The Etna Brewery makes delicious beer, and serves a dandy lunch as well. We sat in the sun outside with our pals and had an afternoon festival for no reason at all. I had the Dunkel, a full-flavored, malty dark lager that impressed me with a clean, dry finish. It wasn't too sweet and that's to my liking. The Marzen--my second pint--was very mild and smooth, with a hint of hops. Lovely beers, both of them. Etna has always made great ales, their Mossback IPA and Old Grind Porter are particularly good. More and more craft brewers are adding Continental beers, and Etna offers a Pilsener to go with the other two lagers. I think that's a great trend. I'm not much for Belgian, but I really enjoy Bavarian and Bohemian! Word is the Etna Brauerei is no longer bottling--which means you'll only be able to get it at the bar. That will make the locals happy, they won't want any flatlanders drinking up our local treasure. As if I needed another reason to love life here in the State of Jefferson.

We're Only In It For The Money

We're Only In It For The Money is one of those records you play for someone when they say "who is Frank Zappa?" or "I've never heard any of that guy's music" or "is his stuff any good?" The album cover instructs you to read Franz Kafka's In the Penal Colony before you listen. I didn't, I'll admit, but I had read it, so I figured that was OK. I did however, read the story again after I spent some time grooving to the record. It is quite an adventure--there is nothing like FZ's music, and the early Mothers of Invention records still hold up 40-odd years later.

Earlier this year I wrote about the Lagunitas Brewing Company and their beer and bottle label tribute to Mr. Zappa. This summer the 4th in their series, the aforementioned WOIINFTM, hit the shelves. Of course we picked it up for quaffing. And for the collection. My lovely bride had the original LPs when I met her (she turned me on to this music). We've got the re-released re-mastered CDs. Why wouldn't we have the bottles for the French Street Brewery collection?

Alas, excitement was tempered by the actual brew. I'm one of the only craft brewers and microbrew drinkers who has NOT been bitten by the Belgian bug. I made some pretty funky brews in my early days as a beer-crafter. Stuff would come out with an over-the-top bitterness, a harsh, acidic carbonation, a rotted, cellary cheese flavor, and a deep musty-yeasty smell. It was like old socks had been tossed in the fermenter. I finally figured out that some souring bacteria had violated my carboy, or the fermenting temperatures had encouraged some off-flavors, or some other technical flaw had occurred in the process. Nowadays, with Belgian ales being "the heighth of fashion," brewers WANT THOSE FLAVORS. I was dumping the shit out! It may have been an acceptable flavor to a Belgian, but not to me. Those beers did not taste the way I intended them to taste. I've got no beef with Belgians, or their unique, complex, and fascinating approach to beer-making. But when beer tastes like a locker room, I'm not interested in drinking it. When we were in Holland, we had a chance to taste some Belgian beers. Some were lovely, some were passable, some tasted like moldy cardboard or rotten yogurt. Lagunitas' WOIIFTM tastes just like those old failed brews of mine from when I was a pup brewer. Needless to say, we dumped it. Sorry, fellas. I love your IPA and your tributes to FZ. But I'm not tuned in to the Belgian vibe.

Going for the gold

Summer is a great time to drink golden beers. My favorite this year is Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager. Our local pub has kept it on draft for the last several weeks, and I have done my best to make it worth their while! I've also picked it up at the store in bottles. Lovely brew, crisp, light, thirst-quenching, full-flavored. I love the beer from Sierra Nevada. It hit the shelves the same year I became of legal drinking age. The stuff is "mother's milk" to me. Another stalwart in the microbrew scene for many years has been Alaskan Brewing Company. Their Kölsch-style Summer Ale is a smooth, slightly sweet, very drinkable brew. Rounding out the trifecta is Mission Street Blonde Ale from Steinhaus in Paso Robles. Never heard of these guys before, can't seem to find them on the web. The beer was the lightest of the three, lacking the Summerfest's complexity and the Summer Ale's fruity character. I quaffed them greedily, nonetheless. T'anks to sister-in-law Amy for stocking up on them prior to our arrival. Lots of the people in my life are not beer drinkers, but the nearest and dearest of them make an effort to pack the fridge in anticipation of our visits. God Bless You All.

New Brews

Our stay in SoCal after México gave me a chance to see hermano menor J-O, who had a fabulous new brew. Reissdorf Kölsch is a golden ale from Köln (Cologne), a Roman city on the River Rhine in Germany. The beer came in tall, brown 0.5-L bottles, and poured clear and bright in the glass. It was light and refreshing, but had a satisfying fullness and clean finish. Eminently quaffable, especially in the summer. In Oaxaca, we found a Munich-styled amber lager called León. It had a lovely softness in the malt flavor, not too sweet, and finished dry. León is a Grupo Modelo product, the folks who bring you Corona. I have a great fondness for mass-produced Mexican beer, there's just enough variation from similar beers in the States to keep them interesting. The light lagers have a little more body and flavor, and there are actual choices of darker beers on the menu! Maybe it is just México, the state of mind, that makes all those beers--Dos Equis, Tecate, Pacífico, Bohemia, etc.--taste so good to me. Two new brews, one German, one Mexican of obvious German lineage! The Kölsch I would like to taste on draft in the city of its birth--the so-called "real ales" in the UK can only be properly appreciated at the source. Someday, perhaps, there'll be a beer pilgrimage to Germany. And someday, perhaps, there'll be a return to México, and I'll find a place with Léon on tap. Till then? Cheers, mates.

Beer without Buzz

I drank a Clausthaler Golden Amber this evening. This is an "alkoholfrei" beer. Rules vary from country to country, but "alcohol-free" means less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. This is way beyond switching to decaf. (I switched back, but that is another story.) Beer is pagan. Fermented grains and their spirits are the drink of shamans and druids. Beer without alcohol is a technological abomination, like GMO corn. Or not. Actually, the brew is rich with flavor and has a distinctively German nose. I don't know what a "golden" amber is, but the stuff is drinkable. It has a sharp, tangy finish. It tastes like beer. It would be nice to drink a beer now and then and not worry about getting too intoxicated. So, I took the plunge, crossed over into the evil darkness of social responsibility and healthy living. And survived. Now I need a beer.

Extra Special Brew

Sierra Nevada has a new one they call ESB, or Early Spring Beer. The label is particularly attractive, exceeding even their high standards, and the beer is nothing short of wonderful.

The press release talks about the "earthy" quality of the Challenger hops, and I believe it. The nose is reminiscent of the famously "earthy" Anchor Steam (which supposedly uses Northern Brewer hops), but the sweet maltiness is distinctively Chico-an (Chicoan?). These guys have such an amazing range of delicious beers, but their flagship Pale Ale is iconic. The stuff is mother's milk to a guy like me. I've been drinking Chico's Sierra Nevada beer since it first hit the shelves. When they put out a new one, I'm all over it. And this 2008 ESB is exceptional: rich and full flavored with fresh hops and a clean finish, expertly balanced. Go get some before it is gone.