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For The Love Of Beer

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I’ve known about this for a little while now, but it seemed like Thanksgiving was a good time to try to help spread the word about this project. For the Love of Beer is a film project by Alison Grayson to highlight, well I’ll let her tell you.

For the Love of Beer is a documentary devoted to the stories and the passion of the women at the forefront of the Pacific NW beer community. It’s not for feminism or equality … it’s for The Love of Beer.

Frankly, that’s something I’m very thankful for: women in beer. Beer had traditionally been a man’s world because beer was all the same, not terribly complex or diverse and didn’t add as much as it could to a food experience. Not to mention the big brewer’s advertising beginning in the Sixties became more focused on marketing to young males, alienating many women in the process. Craft beer changed all that and women have been a big part of that movement, especially in recent years. The fact that a growing number of women are brewing beer and enjoying beer is having a profound impact on craft beer and the direction it’s heading.

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Have you ever met a brewer or beer geek who’s significant other didn’t like beer? They always tell the tale with a sigh of resignation. Life seems better when your partner shares your obsessions. I know I’ve told this story too many times, but before I even asked my wife of 15-years out on a date, I took her to a brewery and ordered a sampler for her. At that time she didn’t drink good beer, but because of her positive reaction to the experience, I asked her out on the spot and we’ve been happily drinking together for over fifteen years. In fact, we spent our honeymoon touring breweries in Oregon and Washington, which is the geographic subject of Grayson’s film.

You can see more of her film work at her Vimeo page for Grayson Productions. But watch the trailer of the beer documentary in progress below. The film first caught my eye because my friend and colleague Lisa Morrison is featured in the trailer and, presumably the finished film as well. That’s reason enough to support it, but then there’s also Tonya Cornett, the terrific brewer from Bend Brewing.

For the Love of Beer Trailer from Grayson Productions on Vimeo.

Beer In Ads #250: Big D Makes The Big Difference In Fun

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Wednesday’s ad is for Drewery’s Beer with the hilarious slogan “Big D Makes The Big Difference In Fun.” Drewrys Beer of South Bend, Indiana was done in the 1950s. Drewrys was actually a Canadian brand, but for most of its history was brewed in Indiana. How about all those really happy people in what looks like the cleanest, most nondescript bar in the world. And I love the bottom, where it says “some beers are two heavy … some are too light … Big D is always just right.” A Goldilocks beer.

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Blue Laws In Decline

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USA Today had an interesting report that more and more states are finally relaxing their antiquated blue laws and allowing alcohol to be — gasp — sold on Sundays. In the article, entitled Sunday Alcohol Sales Are on the Rise in U.S., it is revealed that “[s]ince 2002, 14 states have joined the list of states allowing Sunday sales of [alcohol], bringing the total to 36.” But that means there are still 14 more states, plus D.C., that prohibit Sunday sales of alcohol.

According to Dvaid J. Hanson, author the wonderful website, Alcohol: Problems and Solutions:

A blue law is one restricting activities or sales of goods on Sunday, to accommodate the Christian sabbath. The first blue law in the American colonies was enacted in Virginia in 1617. It required church attendance and authorized the militia to force colonists to attend church services.

As Wikipedia adds. “Most have been repealed, have been declared unconstitutional, or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas,” despite the fact that Sunday is the second busiest shopping day of the week.

As Lisa Hawkins, with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, put it, “[b]lue laws … simply don’t make sense in today’s economy. They inconvenience consumers and deprive states of much-needed tax revenue.” But economy aside, you’d think people would recognize that the origin of these laws to it to force religious practices on everyone, despite principles of religious freedom and not all citizens following the same faith. Apparently, you’d be wrong. One naysayer, Bruce Beckman (a council member in Downers Grove, Illinois who voted against modifying local blue laws), is quoted as saying he voted against changing his community’s blue laws because the “relatively small amount of tax revenue this might generate isn’t as important as using Sunday mornings for family, going to church … and not sitting in a bar somewhere.”

To me that’s an unbelievable rationale. I can hardly fathom someone holding such an opinion in 2010. Nobody’s stopping him from attending church or spending the day with his family, but that he believes he has the right to force everyone else in his community to do likewise is deeply offensive. It’s absolutely none of his business how I choose to spend my Sunday and that he thinks he should actively keep it illegal to do something he personally doesn’t care for is a tyranny, no matter how slight or small.

Happily, such outmoded points of view are visibly in decline, as evidenced by the increasing number of states doing away with these old-fashioned laws. Below you can see which states, in white, are still behind the times.

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John Holl On Thanksgiving Beers

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My friend and colleague, John Holl, was fortunate enough to appear on his local cable television station in New Jersey, News 12 New Jersey. He brought along several beers to suggest for the holiday tomorrow, including:

  • Sam Adams Infinium
  • New Jersey Beer Co.’s 60 Shilling Mild
  • Saison de Buff (A collaboration between Victory, Stone, Dogfish Head)
  • Founder’s Breakfast Stout

“Open It!” Weekend To Be Held December 3-5

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Here’s a fun idea from UK beer writer Mark Dredge, who writes at Pencil and Spoon. He’s designating the first weekend in December — the 3rd through the 5th — as “Open It!” weekend. What that means is it’s time to open some of those special bottles you’ve been saving for … a special occasion that never comes. Instead, let’s open them now and, in the spirit of the holidays, start sharing.

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Here’s how he puts it in the initial post, Announcing Open It:

So here’s the idea: let’s create a special occasion. Let’s call this special occasion Open It! and let’s drink the good beers. Let’s find a bottle from the depth of the cellar and open it, drink it and then tell others about it (in blogs, blog comments or twitter or facebook).

Open it alone or open it with others; hold an Open It! party or take it to the pub to see what people think. Most importantly, get that bottle open and drink the thing and then tell everyone about it.

Open It! over the first weekend in December — Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th — and then blog about it in the week after. Use the #openit hashtag on twitter while you are drinking it and like the facebook group. It’s just about opening something special and enjoying it.

Which was echoed in a reminder posted yesterday. It certainly encouraged me to take up the cause and try to spread the word. I could see this becoming a fun annual event. I do a monthly tasting that’s somewhat similar, insofar as I try to share the samples I get every month so they don’t end up in the back of the refrigerator in the first place. But despite those efforts, I still have four of them, two of which are filled with beer I’m reluctant to open on a whim.

The first day of Open IT! weekend also coincides with December’s Session, and the topic is Unexpected Discoveries. There’s no reason that discovery couldn’t be that forgotten bottle hiding in your beer cellar.

But the key, I think, is letting everybody know what you opened. That should be the fun part, our collective stash. So just open it!

Beer In Ads #249: Blatz At The Peak Of Flavor

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Tuesday’s ad is for Blatz Beer from 1948. The ad shows a bottle of Blatz in a crate of raspberries with the slogan “at the peak of flavor.” Proving everything old is new again, inside the small red rectangle in the bottom right-hand corner it reads “Blatz, brewing better beer for the 97th year.” And here I thought the term “better beer” was a more modern term.

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Beer In Ads #248: Falls City Gives You More …

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Monday’s ad is for Falls City beer, a Louisville, Kentucky brand that was founded in 1905 that lasted until 1978. The ad shows a surreal cap-wearing bottle with arms piloting a boat, with the slogan “Falls City gives you more of what beer’s for.” At the bottom of the ad is this gem: “pasteurized and bitter-free.” Classic.

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Falls City re-emerged last year and is brewing beer again in Louisville.

Anchor Christmas Ale Day 2010

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Time was when today, the Monday before Thanksgiving, was the traditional day on which Anchor’s Our Special Ale — a.k.a. their Christmas Ale — was released each year. Every year since 1975 the brewers at Anchor Brewery have brewed a distinctive and unique Christmas Ale, which is now available from early November to mid-January.

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From Anchor’s website:

The Ale’s recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew.

Until recently, Anchor’s Christmas Ale was not released until the Monday before Thanksgiving each year. A few years ago they bowed to pressure from their distributors, who wanted to have it earlier to compete against all of the other holiday beers that are released much earlier. So while I can’t argue it’s a bad thing to have this wonderful beer both earlier and for a longer period of time each year, I do actually miss it coming later on a very specific date. There was something I really liked about having to wait for it — admittedly vague and unspecific, but the feeling was there all the same. And there was something I admired about their stubbornly refusing to release it until they were damn well ready. I think it added something intangible to the beer’s mystique, making it more special somehow.

I realize I sound like a sentimental fool, but beer (and many other things) used to be ruled by the seasons and their availability was something that created anticipation and deep satisfactions, too. To me fruit is a great example. Wait, hear me out. There was a time when you couldn’t get almost every fruit year round, but now thanks to agreements with growers in the Southern Hemisphere, we can get most of them all year long. But the very fact that they’re around all the time makes them less desirable. How much better did a strawberry taste when you couldn’t eat one all winter and they suddenly appeared each spring?

Of course, I don’t really think Anchor’s Christmas Ale will lose much — or any — of its specialness by being released a couple weeks sooner each year. I know I still wait eagerly to try the new one each year. But I really think there is something to building up demand and the perceived value that artificial scarcity brings. And there are beers that have suffered for going from a seasonal to a year-round beer. Mendocino’s Eye of the Hawk comes to mind. Back in the early 1980s they only brewed it three times a year (for the 4th of July, their annual anniversary and Oktoberfest). They released the strong ale in 22 oz. bottles in limited quantities and it sold out quickly like clockwork every time it was released. That went on for years until around 1999, when they made it available all the time and in unlimited quantities. Sales fell and although it sold steadily, we sold more in three bursts than when it was always there. Let’s also not forget that seasonals are now the number one craft category at mainstream outlets like grocery and liquor stores. It’s clear people like picking up something different. I don’t think we’ll see popular everyday beers going away, but it should be remembered that limited and seasonal releases can have their own cache and sell better in direct proportion to the difficulty in obtaining them.

Today I’m celebrating “Anchor Christmas Ale Day” and picking up some more today, I’ll drink some tonight, and also save some for my Thanksgiving Day meal on Thursday. This holiday will continue to be the Monday before Thanksgiving, to honor the idea that some things are worth waiting for.

But back to Anchor’s “Our Special Ale.”

Each year our Christmas Ale gets a unique label and a unique recipe for the Ale itself. Although our recipes must remain a secret, many enthusiasts save a few bottles from year to year—stored in a cool dark place—to taste later and compare with other vintages. Properly refrigerated, the beer remains intriguing and drinkable for years, with different nuances slowly emerging as the flavor mellows slightly.

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This year’s label has one more unique feature that makes it different from the 35 that preceded it. Take a good look at the label, you probably won’t notice it. I didn’t. Every other label included the Latin name for the tree. But this year’s tree was the Ginkgo biloba tree and our intrepid TTB would not allow the words “Ginkgo biloba” to appear on the label for fear that someone might think the beer contained the drug Ginkgo biloba, despite the fact that for the last 35 years having the Latin name has never been a problem. You’d think there might have been some precedent set, but alas, no. I’m told Anchor considered appealing the decision and fighting it, but in the end decided it wasn’t worth the effort. But it certainly feels like a bureaucratic snafu that serves no legitimate purpose. Oh, well.

Over the years, there have been 36 different labels and each year Anchor prints a beautiful poster with all of the past labels plus the current years’ label.

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Note: If this sounded familiar, I posted this same rant a couple of years ago, but decided it should be an annual thing.

The Chicago Beer Market

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Chicago Business has a lengthy, but interesting, article online about the beer market in the windy city. It’s entitled Pay-to-play infects Chicago beer market, Crain’s investigation finds, and was written by a trio of reporters: James Ylisela Jr., David Sterrett and Kate MacArthur.

Corruption, of course, infects virtually all business everywhere and while Chicago has an elevated reputation because of its history, it seems to me what is exposed here is happening in many places. When it comes to the smaller breweries, most just understand that they can either go along with it or not, based on their own individual company philosophy. I don’t think it makes any one of them good or bad, it’s just different responses to the markets in which they’re trying to sell their products. In a sense, there’s a trade off with the three-tier system. It has advantages and disadvantages that manifest themselves in different ways in different states. That’s what the film Beer Wars tried to expose, which is simply the uneasy way in which the beer industry actually works.

But give it a read and let me know what you think. Oh, and be sure to read all the comments, too.