Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

Socialize

Beer City USA

By

all-america-city
A few weeks ago, Charlie Papazian, at his Beer Examiner blog, launched a poll in conjunction with the upcoming American Craft Beer Week to have people vote for their choice for Beer City USA. The results are now in:

beer-cities

The Top 10 Vote-Getters

  1. TIE: Portland, OR / Asheville, NC
  2. Philadelphia, PA
  3. San Diego, CA
  4. St. Louis. MO
  5. San Francisco/Oakland – Bay Area, CA
  6. Seattle, WA
  7. Denver, CO
  8. Portland, ME
  9. Milwaukee, WI
  10. Fort Collins, CO

It probably goes without saying that the results are hardly scientific, but that doesn’t render them meaningless. They do, I’d suggest, indicate which local communities care deeply about their local beer culture and also have a very well-developed online presence that is able to motivate that community to action. To further clarify, I mean both conditions have to exist, both pride and performance for a particular community to be high in the rankings.

The results were, I’m sorry to say, tainted somewhat by some early ballet-stuffing that somehow got around the one vote protocol in the polling software. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that quite a bit of it came from the Bay Area, after all this is Silicon Valley. But I was shocked all the same, and not a little embarrassed that some bad apples in my region thought cheating was the way to win, not that we were the only ones. I commend Charlie for putting a stop to that early on and decisively. I suspect that some votes that were legitimate probably didn’t get through or were discarded, but that’s what happens when you try to game the system. But I still can’t shake those lingering feelings that cast a shadow on the efficacy of the results, despite the good intentions of all the parties involved.

Still, despite that, it was a fun idea and very interesting to see which communities stepped up with swelling pride for their own local beer scenes. Congratulations to all the winners, but I’d say we’re all winners to have so many great beer destinations around the country. That wasn’t true as recently as two decades ago, maybe less. We’ve come a long way, baby.

But maybe we shouldn’t stop there. Remember all the “All-American Cities” that the National Civic League has been declaring since the 1950s? Actually 1949 was the first year the award was given to ten American communities and they’ve continued to do so each year since. “The award is the oldest community recognition program in the nation and recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results. Since the program’s inception in 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed and over 500 have been named All-America Cities.” Winning cities get to put up the sign below at the entrance to their community.

all-america-city

So here’s what I’m thinking. It’s a pie-in-the-sky idea, but what the hell. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. How cool would it be if there was an organization like a “National Beer Community League” that each year accepted nominations from communities who believed they were worthy of the title “Beer City USA”? There would have to be some criteria like breweries, brewpub and defined “good beer bars” per capita, the number of local festivals, beer dinners and other events, and things like that. Then maybe five communities each year get the “Beer City USA” award and are allowed to put a sign like this up.

beer-city

Next Session: Thinking and Drinking Globally

By

Brian Yaeger, from Red, White & Brew, will be hosting next month’s Session and he’s announced his topic, which will be Think/Drink Globally.

In honor of Global Craft Beer Forever, I propose everyone writes about the farthest brewery (including brewpubs) you have visited and specifically the best beer you had there. Again, not your favorite or any old brewery you’ve been to, but the one that is the longest haul away, be it by airplane, car, ferry, rickshaw, whatever. (If you blog about beer but have never been to a House of Brewing, get on it!)

Then, the last part, since this exercise gives us an excuse to drink beer, do one of the following:

  1. if you brought home a bottle while visiting the brewery and have it secreted away, crack it open.
  2. if you don’t have any left from that visit but the particular beer is available where you live (or if not your fave from said brewery, another brand from it), go get one.
  3. otherwise, find a local beer of the same style and do a little compare and contrast.

Time to log into Google Maps and figure out which place I’ve visited is farthest from home, though I’m betting New Zealand is probably the winner. See you on D-Day, June 6th.

 

The PNC Beer Dinner 2009

By

After the day brewing Publication, a beer dinner was held Monday night right in Russian River’s barrel room for the Publican National Committee, whose members include Brouwer’s, The Falling Rock, The Horse Brass, Monk’s Cafe, and the Toronado. Sean “Zane” Paxton cooked another of his fabulous 12-course monstrosities for about 24 people. The beer dinner began about 7:00 p.m. and finished up roughly six-and-a-half hours later at 1:30 a.m. In between there was much merriment, many beers, barrel tasting and delectable food. You can see the entire beer dinner unfold, in three parts, including video, by starting at Part 1 in the photo gallery.

The PNC Beer Dinner in the Russian River Barrel Room.

 

For many more photos from the 12-course beer dinner held in the barrel room of Russian River Brewery, start with Part 1 (of 3) at the photo gallery.
 

Russian River’s Newest Beer: Publication

By

Yesterday, the members of the Publican National Committee, consisting of Brouwer’s, The Falling Rock, The Horse Brass, Monk’s Cafe, and the Toronado, assembled at Russian River Brewing’s production facility to brew a collaborative beer to be sold exclusively at member pubs. The new beer will be called Publication, and will be an 8% a.b.v. Saison.
 

Brewing at Russian River, from left: Dave Keene (Toronado), Chris Black (Falling Rock), Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River Brewing), Matt Bonney and Matt Vandenberghe (Brouwer’s Cafe). [not pictured; Tom Peters (Monk’s Cafe) and Don Younger (Horse Brass)]

 

For more photos from the brew day at Russian River Brewing, visit the photo gallery.
 

UPDATE: I recently bought a MinoHD Flip Camera and have started playing around with it. I’ve now added two short videos from the brew day to the gallery.

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Most Influential Beer People

By


This week’s Time magazine is a special double issue featuring The Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People.

time-100-09

So that got me thinking about my 15th Top 10 list, and the fact that there are no beer people in Time’s Top 100, not that I necessarily think there should be. In Time’s list, everybody listed is still alive, but I didn’t feel the need to limit myself. They also chose from the entire world of human endeavor, from Leaders & Revolutionaries, Heroes & Icons to Scientists & Thinkers. In our rarefied beer world, certainly there are people who have had more influence than others, but I’ll just concern myself with people whose work changed our perceptions of beer and allowed the ball to be moved forward, so to speak.

So here is my list of the ten most influential people in the craft beer world, who have helped shape the world of beer as it looks today. And by craft beer world, I’m talking primarily about the American market, without trying to ignore the rest of the world, that’s just the world I inhabit and know best. Without their assistance it’s quite possible the state of beer today would look very different, and possibly might not exist at all, who knows. There are probably a few pioneers from the very early days that I’m forgetting, but these are the ones I remember. I’d love to hear your choices or who you think I left out that I shouldn’t have. Anyway, here’s List #15:

Top 10 Influential Beer People

TIE: Stephen Beaumont & Garrett Oliver Besides being a terrifically talented brewer, and an early and prodigious collaborator, perhaps Garrett’s biggest contribution to craft beer is his championing beer and food together. Through seminars, tastings, beer dinners and the publication of his magnum opus, The Brewmaster’s Table, he forever changed the way people view beer’s relationship to food. But Stephen has also been writing about food and beer for nearly two decades and spread that message in such mainstream publications as Saveur, Wine Enthusiast and Playboy. He’s also worked behind the scenes training staff at restaurants and bars to be more beer knowledgeable.
Fred Eckhardt Through hs support of homebrewing and the publication of The Elements of Style in 1989, Fred inspired a countless number of amateur and commercial brewers, plus he pioneered the idea of pairing beer and chocolate together.
Pierre Celis Belgium’s brewing rock star. Pierre single-handedly revived a dead style when he began brewing Hoegaarden again in the 1960s. Even in a country known for iconoclastic brewers, Pierre Celis stood out among giants, whether brewing in Austin, Texas or aging beer in caves.
Jim Koch The consummate marketeer, who could have predicted a decade ago that Koch’s beer company would today be the biggest American-owned brewery, a remarkable achievement in twenty-five years.
Ken Grossman Though not the first brewery to use Cascade hops, Sierra Nevada took their signature aromas and flavors and built an empire on Pale Ale, Barley Wine and Celebration. They’ve also made countless technical innovations, been very supportive of the craft beer community at large and managed to grow larger while retaining a small company outlook.
Bert Grant Grant opened the nation’s first brewpub in the heart of hop country and challenged consumers with some of the first unfamiliar beer styles.
Jack McAuliffe Jack was undoubtedly a man ahead of his time, opening the country’s first modern microbrewery in 1977. Even though New Albion only lasted until 1983, its influence was very important to many of the very first microbreweries that started in the early 1980s.
Charlie Papazian Besides inspiring a homebrewing explosion with the publication of his Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie founded the American Homebrewers Association, the Institute of Brewing Studies and the Association of Brewers, which today as the Brewers Association is the largest existing trade group for breweries.
Fritz Maytag When he bought the ailing Anchor Brewery in 1965, Fritz could not have foresaw the revolution he helped usher in. All he wanted to do was save his favorite beer. But after several years studying English breweries, Anchor debuted some of the first examples of styles in the U.S. and even helped save certain styles from extinction. With Liberty Ale, Old Foghorn, Porter, Our Special Ale coming in rapid succession in the 1970s, Fritz Maytag truly is the Godfather of Craft Beer.
Michael Jackson People tend to ignore or forget Michael’s early influence on craft brewing in America, but it’s worth remembering that he helped redefine the very notion of beer styles, tirelessly championed the new microbreweries and lent them legitimacy when few took them seriously, not to mention the countless burgeoning better beer fans he reached through his writing.

time-100-beer

As is always the case, it was pretty hard to keep the list to ten, and a great many wonderful people just missed being on the list. Here’s a few more that would have made the list had it been longer:

Todd & Jason Alstrom, Tomme Arthur, Judy Ashworth, Charlie Bamforth, Don Barkley, Fred Bowman, Bill Brand, Matt Brynildson, Lew Bryson, Daniel Bradford, Sam Calagione, Dan Carey, Vinnie Cilurzo, Tom Dalldorf, Ray Daniels, Alan Eames, Charles Finkel, George Fix, Paul Hadfield, Pat Hagerman, Stan Hieronymus, John Hickenlooper, Greg Koch, Michael Lewis, F.X. Matt, Bill Owens, Roger Protz, Mark Silva, Pete Slosberg, and Carol Stoudt

Let me know who you think deserves to be on the list, and why.

Also, if you have any ideas for future Top 10 lists you’d like to see, drop me a line.
 

Looking For Porters in Porter Square

By

Last Sunday morning in Boston, I had a number of hours before my flight left for home. My plan for the day was a trip to nearby Cambridge where I was going to hunt for some toys for my kids. But as I was early getting out and had over an hour before the stores opened, I stayed on the subway a few more stops for no better reason than I wanted to see Porter Square, a neighborhood near Harvard. And the only reason I went there was because Porter is my son’s name and it was good a place as any to kill an hour sightseeing. So there’s no real ebeer to speak of in this gallery, but if you’re interest in seeing a lot of signs with word “Porter” on them, by all means click on the link to the gallery below.

Outside the Porter Square subway station.

 

For more photos from my trip to Porter Square in Masschusetts visit the photo gallery.
 

The Devil Made Him Cook It

By

The next beer dinner by the Beer Chef will feature the Classic and Contemporary Beers of Duvel Moortgart USA. It will be a four-course dinner and well worth the $80 price of admission. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Friday, May 22, 2009, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations by May 14 to insure a seat at the dinner.

 

The Menu:

 

Reception: 7:00 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre Selection, including Marinated Lamb Chops with Yellow Bell Catsup, Tartare of Sweet Scallops with Truffle and Hobbs bacon, English Pea Shooters with Pimenton Creme, Crab Louis Deviled Eggs, Asparagus Spring Rolls with Citrus Aioli, Kobe Beef Poke with Ponzu and Chiles

Beer: Mared Sous Blonde

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Butter Poached Halibut Cheek, Truffle Nage, Pea Tendrils

Beer: Ommegang Ommegeddon

Second Course:

House Cured Duck Prosciutto, Confit of Asian Pear, Cambazola Cheese, Micro Celery

Beer: Duvel

Third Course:

Slow Braised Shoulder of Marin Sun Farms Grass Fed Goat, Confit of Fingerling Potatoes, Artichoke in Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Beer: Houblon Chouffe

Fourth Course:

Stroll Down Chocolate Lane

Beer: Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence

Duvel, of course, is Flemish for Devil.

 
5.22

Dinner with the Brewmaster: The Classic and Contemporary Beers of Duvel Moortgart USA

Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]
 

Boonville Boontstock

By

The lucky 13th annual Boonville Beer Festival turned into Boontstock this weekend as several inches of rain poured down on the Anderson Valley. The mud and rain didn’t seem to deter anyone, either from camping or going to the festival. I really thought the turnout would be lighter this year with the virtual certainty of rain all weekend. But from what I could see, this year’s festival was as well-attended as any, with festival-goes showing great ingenuity in their attempts to stay dry.

While the rain continued to pour down most of the day, the brewers were under tents, animal stalls or wooden stands wth makeshift plastic roofs.

Like a dry and surprised Brian Hunt, from Moonlight Brewing.

In the old festival area, this year brewers were inside the Lamb Palace, where though it was crowded, at least everyone could stay dry.

 

For many more photos from this year’s Boonville Beer festivalt, visit the photo gallery.
 

21A Smackdown: Putting Trash In Cans

By

I’m still going through all the photos from Boontstock this weekend, but one cries out to be posted immediately, It’s too hilarious to wait. When I arrived at the Boonville Beer Festival grounds on Saturday while brewers were setting up, one of the first people I ran into was Brian Hunt, from Moonlight Brewing. “Look at this,” he beckoned, pointing out to me a sign affixed to the end of the wooden booths in the center of the festival, though this one was on the back. “Shaun O’Sullivan [from 21st Amendment Brewing] needs to see this,” or words to that effect.” So I took a photo using Brian’s camera phone so he could send it directly to Sully. But I took one, too, so you could see it, too.

“Hey Shaun, at least you’re not helping them! You’re not “putting trash in cans!” Hilarious.

 

Beer In Art #26: Brewing Traditional Beer In Zimbabwe

By

Today’s works of art are more depictions of traditional, pre-industrial brewing, these ones from Africa, specifically Zimbabwe, in southeastern Africa. The title of the first painting is Brewing Traditional Beer and was painted by Morgen Chandomba in 2007.

Click on the image above for a larger, more detailed view.

There is very little information about the artist, Morgen Chandomba. At Absolute Arts, the only place I could find mention of him on the internet, there is a small galley of his work, which is primarily depictions of everyday life, along with the occasional abstract. His biography only gives very basic details, such as the fact that he’s only 24, single and enjoys “watching movies, painting, socializing, and hanging around with guys or drinking.”

 
Chandomba lives in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the second-largest city in that African nation. And while there is industrial beer in Africa, the primary type of beer for centuries has been millet beer, which is also known as “Bantu beer, kaffir beer, or opaque beer, [which] is an alcoholic beverage made from malted millet.”

As one website tells it:

Millet beer has been brewed in Africa for millennia. It is one of the staples of religious and social life. No prayer to the ancestors can begin without an offering of millet beer, no funeral can be held without copious amounts of millet beer. Very few visitors to Africa have ever watched beer being brewed, or know that it is safe to drink in rural villages.

To buy a DVD on Brewing Millet Beer in Africa or to watch the trailer, check out CreateSpace.

There’s also an interesting story on homebrewing in Zimbabwe on Michael & Doria’s Travel Tales. And check out this Weya Story Quilt depicting beer brewing (it’s at the bottom of them page).

But not all beer in Zimbabwe is only for personal use. Some Millet beer is made to be sold, as can be seen in this painting, Brewing Beer For Sale by Milcah Mashonganyika.

On the reverse of the painting, is the following legend to help explain what’s going on in the artwork.

Two women are carrying sacks of millet.
They are putting the sacks of millet in the river.
They want it to germinate.
Mother is putting the germinated millet on a flat stone to dry.
Mother is winnowing the millet.
Mother is grinding peanut butter.
Tendai is paying with a ball.
Two women are brewing the beer in the big drum.
Now they are filtering the beer.
People are drinking beer.

It looks like she did at least a second painting by the same name, though showing more detail and brighter colors.

As for Milcah Mashonganyika, there’s slightly more information at her biography:

Born in 1966, Milcah was raised in a family of 6 children. She was married in 1982 and has 5 children. Her husband died in 1994, at the age of 32. She is now the sole support for her children.

Milcah learned to paint at the Weya Community Training Centre in 1988. She moved to Harare in February 1998, to paint on hand-thrown pottery at Ros Byrne Pottery. She says she moved to the city because “every week there was money,” thus enabling her to “give my children a better life.”

Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe and its largest city.

Here’s the Wikipedia summery for Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe, (officially the Republic of Zimbabwe and formerly Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia) is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. The official language of Zimbabwe is English; however the majority of the population speaks Shona, a Bantu language. Its other native language, Sindebele, is spoken by the Matabele people.

Zimbabwe today is under the reign of President Robert Mugabe. Human rights abuses[2] and economic mismanagement leading to hyperinflation and impoverishment have increased popular support for newly sworn-in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai.

It’s interesting that wherever cereal grains grow, native populations have figured out how to make beer with them. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a beer brewed with Millet, but now I’m extremely curious to get my hands on some. Does anyone use millet in homebrewing?