Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Don Younger Memorial

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don-younger
Sadly, the date chosen for Don Younger’s memorial last Sunday meant I could not attend. There were too many long-standing obligations with SF Beer Week. Happily the Bay Area was well-represented, with several friends in attendance, including Dave Keene and Jennifer Smith from the Toronado, Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing, and Tom Dalldorf, publisher of the Celebrator Beer News. Tom took a lot of photos and was kind enough to write a guest post for me, giving his account of the day. He also has a great piece up on the Celebrator website entitled Don Remembered. Thanks Tom.

Don Younger Memorial, a Guest Post by Tom Dalldorf

A memorial for the late Don Younger, renowned publican and ultimate beer industry character, HAD to be held at his world famous Horse Brass Pub in Portland. The only question was how. Everyone even remotely connected to the beer industry knew him and respected his many contributions to brewing and beer culture and would want to be there.

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Tom Dalldorf posing with one of many Don Younger life-size stand-ups at the memorial.

Close family and HB staff decided to hold two gatherings on Sunday, February 13, to celebrate his life and times. One would be by invitation only and held inside the pub starting at 11 am and the other would be open to the public and start at 2 pm under tents erected in the parking lot behind the pub.

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Gary Fish (from Deschutes), Kurt Widmer (from Widmer Brothers) and beer writer Fred Eckhardt.

The usual Portland rain seemed to mercifully hold up while the set up and arrivals took place. Beer industry veterans and personal friends from as far away as England arrived to celebrate Don’s many accomplishments and tell outrageous Don stories late into the afternoon. The small but tightly knit PNC (Publican National Committee), of which Don was a founding member, gathered with Tom Peters, Monk’s Café in Philadelphia, having traveled furthest to be there. Others included Matt Bonny, Brouwer’s Café in Seattle; Chris Black, Falling Rock in Denver and David Keene, Toronado in San Francisco.

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Lisa Morrison, Chris and Cheryl Black (from the Falling Rock) and Tom Peters (from Monk’s Café).

Around 1 pm a toast to his memory was offered in the pub with an amazing number of shots of his favorite Macallum 12 year old Scotch distributed to the guests. Yet another toast took place inside and in the tent set up in the parking lot packed with Younger fans. This toast was picked up at pubs and beer joints all across the Pacific Coast time zone promptly at 3 pm. Jay Brooks led the toast at the Sour Beer Fest at Triple Rock in Berkeley. Others toasted at 3 pm in their own time zones.

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Lisa Morrison — a.k.a. The Beer Goddess — leading one of the many heartfelt toasts to Don.

Brookston Beer Bulletin is offering up some space for selected photos from the gathering in Portland. The beer world has lost a champion but his inspiration and dedication to the beer culture we all love will live on.

— Tom Dalldorf

Below are a few more of Tom’s photos from the memorial. Thanks again, Tom.

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Natalie Ciurzo, John Maier (from Rogue) and Vinnie Cilurzo.

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Longtime friend Joy Campbell with Dave Keene’s wife Jennifer Smith.

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The crowd inside the Horse Brass pub.

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A collage of memories for the man of the hour: Don Younger 1941-2011 R.I.P.

SF Beer Week On ABC 7 TV

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On Monday, Rich Higgins (Director of SF Beer Week) and I went on the local ABC affiliate’s afternoon show, 7 Live, to promote SF Beer Week. Rich brought two of his beers from Social Kitchen & Brewery. First, his White Thai Affair (9.5% a.b.v., an imperial Rapscallion with galangal and lemongrass) was paired with a Kale salad with clementines and a ginger garlic vinaigrette. Then his Giant S’mores (10.5% a.b.v., a Belgian Imperial Stout) was paired with Point Reyes Original Blue cheese. Lastly, I picked up some beer ice cream from Humphry Slocombe made with He’Brew’s Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. and brought bottles of the beer so they could taste the beer the ice cream had been made with.

It was a quick 3-4 minute segment, as is the nature of these things, but overall I think went well. Of the three 7 Live hosts, our segment was with Lizzie Bermudez, though both of the others did get into the act with Brian Copeland snagging one of the beers of the table and Jennifer Jolly trying the ice cream, too. We got the message out about SF Beer Week and, I think, opened their eyes a bit to beer with food. The cheese pairing went over particularly well and the ice cream was a big hit, too. And it was great fun for us.

The Profitability Of Craft Beer

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Like several people tonight, I also got a press release from Greg Koch of Stone Brewing. Stone Brewing has “made a video called ‘Craft Beer Profitability’ that lays out the business case for selling craft beer. [They] believe, and early feedback affirms, that it will be a valuable tool in educating restaurant and bar owners about the benefits of selling craft beer.” Their goal “is to help restaurant and bar owners understand why it is in their best interest to offer great beer choices.”

The video is below, but can also be found at Selling Craft Beer. And you can also download it from there, too, along with a few companion videos that expand on the information in the main one.

If you’re already a beer geek, you’ll probably know and agree with much of the video, but it’s aimed at bar owners who may not yet understand what all the fuss is about craft beer and hits them where they live: profitability. I think it’s a great idea, and hope many bar owners will watch it. The time is right. The numbers definitely bear that out. In some better beer communities, people get it — Philly’s a good example of a place that gets it — but in my experience most do not. In many cities, even in San Francisco, there is a good number of better beer bars, but a majority still don’t carry much, if any craft beer. And that, I believe, needs to change. What’s your take? What would you do differently?

From the website:

This video explains why craft beer can be a better, more profitable choice for bars and restaurants. From higher margins to more loyal customers, craft beer is the best use of valuable draught real estate and bottle lists. Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch explains why switching from mediocre brands — which can sometimes rely on illegal giveaways and unethical incentives — and switching to quality craft beer will improve the bottom line.

Next Session Defines A “Regular” Beer

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Our 49th Session brings things full circle from the very beginning of the Session, first proposed by Stan Hieronymus four years ago. Our fifth year of monthly Sessions will start with the original first three hosts, Stan, Alan (from A Good Beer Blog) and myself. The first of these blasts from the past has Stan, from Appellation Beer, taking on the topic A “Regular” Beer. What is a “regular” beer, you may be wondering? Take it away, Stan:

In March of 2007 I couldn’t have guessed the topic March 4, 2011 might be “regular beer.” How vague is that? But when in December I was motivated to post my defense of “regular beer” the course was set.

Please write about a regular beer (time to lose the quotation marks). You get to define what that means, but a few possibilities:

  • It might be your “go to” beer, brewed commercially or at home. The one you drink regularly.
  • I could be a beer your enjoy on a regular special occasion. When in San Francisco I always like to start with draft Anchor Liberty Ale. But it might be your poker night beer.
  • It doesn’t have to be a “session beer,” but it can be.
  • It probably shouldn’t have an SPE of more than $25 (that’s a very soft number; prices may vary by region and on premise further confuses the matter). Ask yourself, is it what somebody in a Miller High Life TV commercial in the 1970s could afford? Because affordability matters. I’m all for paying a fair price (which can mean higher than we’d like) to assure quality and even more for special beers, but I’m not ready to part with the notion that beer should be an everyman’s drink.
  • Brewery size, ownership, nationality do not matter. Brew length doesn’t matter. Ingredients don’t matter. It feels a little strange typing that last sentence, since the Mission Statement here says ingredients matter. But I hope you get the point. I prefer beer that costs a little more because its ingredients cost more, because there’s more labor involved. You don’t have to. Beer should be inclusive.

Still not clear? Consider this a sample post. It mostly illustrates you can write anything you damn please.

So put on your thinking cap — or should that be drinking cap? — and let everybody know what you think a regular beer might be for the next Session on Friday, March 4.

Arizona Beer

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Today in 1912, Arizona became the 48th state.

Arizona
State_Arizona

Arizona Breweries

Arizona Brewery Guides

Guild: Arizona Craft Brewers Guild

State Agency: Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control

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  • Capital: Phoenix
  • Largest Cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale
  • Population: 5,130,632; 20th
  • Area: 114006 sq.mi., 6th
  • Nickname: The Grand Canyon State
  • Statehood: 48th, February 14, 1912

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  • Alcohol Legalized: June 16, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 31
  • Rank: 20th
  • Beer Production: 4,708,088
  • Production Rank: 14th
  • Beer Per Capita: 22.5 Gallons

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Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 42.8%
  • Cans: 47.1%
  • Kegs: 9.9%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.16
  • Per Case: $0.36
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $4.96
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $4.96

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $114,644,602
  • Direct Impact: $968,605,366
  • Supplier Impact: $646,575,797
  • Induced Economic Impact: $645,915,749
  • Total Impact: $2,261,096,912

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: 6 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon.-Sun.)
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Sales of any type of alcohol are legal at any store that has an off-premises liquor license, including but not limited to convenience stores and grocery stores. Bars may sell closed containers of alcohol for consumption off the premises. Drive-through liquor stores are allowed. Everclear Grain Alcohol Proof 190 (95% alcohol) is legal. A large percentage of the land area of Arizona is in Indian reservations, many of which have liquor laws considerably more restrictive than state law, up to and including total prohibition. “Beer busts” (all the beer/liquor one can drink for a set price) in bars are illegal. Persons 19 years of age or older may work in bars and liquor stores serving and selling alcohol. Patrons may not have more than two drinks in front of them at any time, or one large pitcher of beer. DUI penalties are some of the most severe in the nation. A person convicted of a DUI (even first offense) must have an interlock installed in his or her car for one year. Arizona has an ‘Impaired to the Slightest Degree’ law that can convict a person even if his or her BAC is less than .08%.

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Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

Oregon Beer

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oregon
Today in 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state.

Oregon
State_Oregon

Oregon Breweries

Oregon Brewery Guides

Guild: Oregon Brewers Guild

State Agency: Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC)

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  • Capital: Salem
  • Largest Cities: Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro
  • Population: 3,421,399; 28th
  • Area: 98386 sq.mi., 9th
  • Nickname: Beaver State
  • Statehood: 33rd, February 14, 1859

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  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 105
  • Rank: 4th
  • Beer Production: 2,824,072
  • Production Rank: 26th
  • Beer Per Capita: 23.1 Gallons

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Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 34.9%
  • Cans: 49.7%
  • Kegs: 15.3%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.08
  • Per Case: $0.19
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $2.60
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $2.60

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $295,945,708
  • Direct Impact: $1,019,694,095
  • Supplier Impact: $763,029,556
  • Induced Economic Impact: $535,686,085
  • Total Impact: $2,318,409,736

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
    Off Premises: 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Liquor, all of which is state-owned prior to sale to consumers, is sold in private liquor stores. These stores are approved by Oregon’s Liquor Commissioners to act as sales agents on the state’s behalf.

oregon-map

Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2011

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Firestone Walker‘s Double Jack was chosen best in show at the 11th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full winner’s list is below.