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Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For July 2011

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wikio
The July 2011 standings will soon be released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. Jeff, from Beervana, and I continued our do si do around the beer blogging dance floor, and I bow to my partner after our fourth consecutive month switching places. Perhaps we should merge our two blogs and create a formidable juggernaut, Brookston Beervana? Anyhow, here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio July 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1Brookston Beer Bulletin (+1)
2Beervana (-1)
3The New School (=)
4Brewpublic (=)
5A Good Beer Blog (=)
6The Stone Blog (+1)
7Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (-1)
8Washington Beer Blog (=)
9The Daily Pull (=)
10Drink With The Wench (+14)
11It’s Pub Night (+6)
12Seen Through a Glass (+9)
13Oakshire Brewing (-3)
14KC Beer Blog (-2)
15The Session Beer Project™ (+4)
16The Not So Professional Beer Blog (-1)
17The Brew Lounge (-1)
18San Diego Beer Blog (+27)
19Craft Austin (-1)
20Beeronomics (+10)
21Brewer’s Log (Blog) (-10)
22The Potable Curmudgeon (+4)
23BetterBeerBlog (+4)
24Beer at 6512 (+20)
25Hoosier Beer Geek (+21)
26Musings Over a Pint (+2)
27Brewed For Thought (+2)
28Seattle Beer News (-14)
29Top Fermented (+12)
30Beer in Baltimore (+1)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I included the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, fully half of the top ten stayed put, while in addition to Beervana and myself changing places, another pair — Stone & Stan — did likewise. Only one new blog cracked the Top 10, as the Wench rocketed up 14 spots into 10th place.

I’ve listed the top 30 this time, and will start doing so each month. One additional observation is that of all 30, 13 moved up or down in the rankings one spot or less, whereas nine out of ten did likewise in the top 10. That suggests there’s less volatility in the rankings nearer the top, meaning blogs move up and down more freely nearer the double digits. And the champion mover was the San Diego Beer Blog, who shook up 27 places. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Until next month ….

Best Beers In America 2011

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usa
The readers of Zymurgy magazine were asked to send in a list of their 20 favorite commercially available beers. With a record number of votes in the poll’s third year, 1,306 different beers from 433 breweries made the full list. The results were not exactly shocking, and most of the beers and breweries that got the most votes were what you’d expect, I think, but it’s an interesting list all the same. The results are also printed in the latest issue.

Zymurgy-2011

Top Rated Beers
(T indicates tie)

Six of the top ten are California beers, with sixteen making the list.

1. Russian River Pliny the Elder
2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
T3. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
T3. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout
5. Bell’s Hopslam
6. Stone Arrogant Bastard
7. Sierra Nevada Celebration
T8. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
T8. Stone Ruination
10. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
11. Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
12. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine
13. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
T14. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
T14. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale
T16. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
T16. New Glarus Belgian Red
18. North Coast Old Rasputin
19. Bell’s Expedition Stout
T20. Deschutes The Abyss
T20. Left Hand Milk Stout
T20. Odell IPA
T20. Samuel Adams Noble Pils
T20. Surly Furious
T20. Troegs Nugget Nectar
T26. Rogue Dead Guy Ale
T26. Samuel Adams Boston Lager
28. Anchor Steam
T29. Bear Republic Racer 5
T29. Ommegang Three Philosophers
T29. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
T29. Three Floyds Alpha King
T29. Three Floyds Dark Lord
T34. Avery Maharaja
T34. Dogfish Head Indian Brown
T34. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
T34. Three Floyds Gumballhead
T38. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
T38. Lost Abbey Angel’s Share
T38. New Belgium La Folie
T38. New Belgium Ranger
T38. Oskar Blues Old Chub
T43. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
T43. Great Divide Yeti
T43. New Belgium 1554
T43. Russian River Blind Pig
T43. Ska Modus Hoperandi
T48. Alesmith Speedway Stout
T48. Dark Horse Crooked Tree
T48. Green Flash West Coast IPA
T48. Summit EPA
T48. Victory Prima Pils

Brewery Rankings

Based on the total number of votes a beer from the same brewery received, the following list is of the top 50 breweries based on the voting. Seven California breweries made the list, with six from Colorado, and two apiece from Michigan and Oregon.

1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
2. Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, Mich.
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif.
4. Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif.
5. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif.
6. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
7. New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo.
8. Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams), Boston, Mass.
9. Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, Ind.
10. Oskar Blues Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo.
11. Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, Ill.
T12. Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, Calif.
T12. New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, Wis.
14. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore.
15. Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio
16. Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo.
17. Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo.
18. Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, Colo.
19. Victory Brewing Co., Downington, Pa.
20. Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
21. Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore.
22. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif.
T23. Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y.
T23. North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif.
T24. Bear Republic Brewing Co., Healdsburg, Calif.
T24. Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo.

Best Portfolio

They also determined which breweries got the most votes for different beers that they produce, and called that list “best portfolio.” The number following their name is how many of their beers got at least one vote.

1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, 28 beers
2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 23 beers
T3. Avery Brewing Co., 18 beers
T3. Goose Island Beer Co., 18 beers
T3. Lagunitas Brewing Co., 18 beers
T3. Boston Beer Co./Samuel Adams, 18 beers
7. Bell’s Brewery, 17 beers
T8. Founders Brewing Co., 15 beers
T8. Great Divide Brewing Co., 15 beers
T8. Southern Tier Brewing Co., 15 beers
T11. Brooklyn Brewery, 14 beers
T11. Odell Brewing Co., 14 beers
T11. Rogue Ales, 14 beers
T14. New Belgium Brewing Co., 13 beers
T14. Russian River Brewing Co., 13 beers
T14. Stone Brewing Co., 13 beers
T17. Deschutes Brewery, 12 beers
T17. Three Floyds Brewing Co., 12 beers
T19. Boulevard Brewing Co., 11 beers
T19. Dark Horse Brewing Co., 11 beers
T19. New Glarus Brewing Co., 11 beers
T22. Alpine Beer Co., 10 beers
T22. AleSmith Brewing Co., 10 beers
T22. Great Lakes Brewing Co., 10 beers
T25. Cigar City Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Flying Dog Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Harpoon Brewery, 9 beers
T25. The Lost Abbey, 9 beers
T25. Shorts Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Ska Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Sprecher Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. Summit Brewing Co., 9 beers
T25. The Bruery, 9 beers

Top Imports

With a lot of ties, a few imports also received votes as readers’ favorite beers.

1. Rodenbach Grand Cru, Belgium
T2. Fullers ESB, England
T2. Guinness, Ireland
T2. Rochefort 10, Belgium
T5. Duvel, Belgium
T5. Saison Dupont, Belgium
T5. St. Bernardus Abt 12, Belgium
T8. Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Germany
T8. Cantillon Gueuze, Belgium
T8. Chimay Grande Reserve, Belgium
T8. Orval, Belgium
T8. Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown, England
T8. Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Canada

Spirit of Homebrew

And finally, the “Spirit of Homebrew” list is compiled by taking the number of votes a brewery received and dividing it by their annual production. The idea is to reward smaller breweries for having big reach. I was amazed to see that four of the five are from California. Congratulations to Pat, from Alpine, for being the biggest little guy.

1. Alpine Beer Co., Alpine, Calif
2. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif.
3. AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif.
4. The Bruery, Placentia, Calif.
5. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Mich.

Dig, Drink And Be Merry

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archeologist
The current issue of Smithsonian magazine has an interesting article about archeologist Patrick McGovern, who’s at the University of Pennsylvania and his work uncovering evidence of early alcoholic beverages. His particular sub-field is molecular anthropology and he has a great book about his work titled Uncorking the Past. The Smithsonian piece is entitled Dig, Drink And Be Merry in the print version, but is called The Beer Archeologist online.

beer-archaeologist-Patrick-McGovern-6
Patrick McGovern

Also prominent in the article is his collaboration with Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head and their latest concoction, an Egyptian ale called Ta Henket, whose recipe dates back several hundred centuries. The ingredients includes Middle Eastern spices such as za’atar, along with chamomile and dried doum-palm fruit.

beer-Sam-Calagione-Dogfish-Head-brewpub-7
Sam Calagione

One of my favorite new beer quotes I discovered in the article, too. Walking the halls of the University of Pennsylvania, the article’s author — Abigail Tucker — details an encounter between Dr. McGovern and a fellow professor, Alexei Vranich (an expert on pre-Columbia Peru). After a short discussion, Vranich thanks McGovern for his research, and quips. “I keep telling people that beer is more important than armies when it comes to understanding people.”

Late in the article, there’s also a nice overview of the emerging “beer before bread” debate within science and the origin of fermented beverages generally.

beer-ingredients-520
A display showing the ingredients used in the ancient Egyptian brew Ta Henket. (All photographs from the Smithsonian article by Landon Nordeman)

Next Session Seeks Redemption, Beer Redemption

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Our 53rd Session takes us down a more spiritual path, the road to redemption … sort of. Our host, John Holl, of his eponymous Beer Briefing, has chosen the topic Beer Redemption, for which he offers the following confession:

One thing about drinking a lot of beer is that occasionally you’re going to have a bad one. Perhaps it was infected or spoiled by light. Perhaps the brewer or brewery was new and still working out the kinks on a particular style. Regardless, you couldn’t finish the beer in your glass and moved onto the next one.

John goes on to tell the tale of a beer that, in his youth, he found all but undrinkable and gave short shrift to ever after, only to discover — years later — that it wasn’t so bad after all. He continues.

In that moment I realized the foolishness of youth and how many earlier chances I passed up to properly taste this beer. These days it is not uncommon to find [his beer] of various styles in my refrigerator. I haven’t actually visited the brewery yet, but they are now high on my list.

So, what has been your beer redemption?

So drink three Bloody Marys (made with beer) and two Old Foghorns and seek forgiveness, my sons and daughters, just so long as you blog about it for the next Session on Friday, July 1. Your beer redemption is at hand. To start you down the righteous path, say the Beer Prayer aloud every night before retiring from the evening’s drinking:

“Our lager,
Which art in barrels,
Hallowed be thy drink,
Thy will be drunk,
(I will be drunk),
At home as I am in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
And forgive us our spillages,
As we forgive those who spill against us,
and lead us not to incarceration,
But deliver us from hangovers,
For thine is the beer,
The bitter and the lager,
Forever and ever,
Barmen.”

Beer Can Dads

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fathers
With Father’s day less than two weeks away, I thought I’d share this fun project done by the folks at Every Guyed, where they designed eight beer can dads.

fathersday-cartoondads

Here’s the idea:

To celebrate Father’s Day, EveryGuyed and Moxy Creative House have teamed up once again to deliver the second installment of the ‘Cheers!’. This time we had creative director Glenn Michael raise a glass — and his brush — to 8 iconic animated dads, re-envisioning them as beer cans.

When you were a kid, Father’s Day was a pretty boring affair. Now you’re of age, and all of a sudden you have the chance to do something with your dad that he’ll actually enjoy: share a cold one together.

See if you can guess all of the cartoon dads. The answers are below, just under the slideshow, where you can see the eight individuals posters for each beer can dad.

Now I want my own dad can. What would yours look like?

  1. Homer Simpson
  2. Peter Griffin (Family Guy)
  3. Fred Flintstone
  4. Papa Smurf
  5. Popeye
  6. George Jetson
  7. Mr. Incredible
  8. Mufasa (The Lion King)

You can even buy any of the prints as a poster at Moxy Creative House.

Hahn’s “Pioneering Beering”

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hahn-super-dry
Here’s a fun video forwarded to me by Push Eject, who’s both the Production Director with The Brewing Network and also involved in Heretic Brewing. The commercial is for the Hahn Brewery, founded by legendary Australian brewer Chuck Hahn, who today runs the Malt Shovel Brewery. The Hahn brands were bought by brewing giant Lion Nathan in 1993. In 2005, Lion Nathan launched Hahn Super Dry. I confess that I’m skeptical of any beer that calls itself “super dry,” but I love the notion in the ad that you can imbue the beer with the soul of different ideas by the way you brew it. If you just expose the beer to cool things, it will become cool, too, by osmosis. It’s not quite Rube Goldberg, but it has similar elements. And most importantly, it makes me want to try the beer, even though I know I probably won’t like it very much because I’m not a fan of this type of beer.