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Session Five-0 Ponders The Philosophy Of “How Do They Make Me Buy Their Beer?”

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Our 50th Session — The Big Five-0 — is a monumental one and our host, Alan from A Good Beer Blog, is tackling it with appropriate seriousness, especially considering it’s on April Fool’s Day. He’s chosen as his topic How Do They Make Me Buy Their Beer? Alan elaborates:

What makes you buy someone’s beer? Elemental. Multi-faceted. Maybe even interesting.

  • Buying beer. I mean takeaway. From the shelf to you glass. What rules are dumb? Who gives the best service? What does good service mean to you? Please avoid “my favorite bar references” however wonderful. I am not talking about taverns as the third space. Unless you really really need to and contextualize it into the moment of transaction at the bar. If you can crystallize that moment of “yes” when the bartender is, in fact, tender go for it.
  • What doesn’t work? What fad or ad turned you off what had previously been turned on about some beer’s appeal? When does a beer jump the shark? When does a beer store fail or soar? When does a brewery lose your pennies or earn your dimes?
  • Go micro rather than macro. You may want to explore when you got tired of “extreme” or “lite” or “Belgian-style” but think about it in terms of your relationship with one brewery rather than some sort of internet wave of slag … like that ever happens.
  • What is the most you paid for a great beer? More importantly – because this is not about being negative – what is the least? I don’t mean a gift. What compels you you to say this is the quality price ratio (“QPR”) that works best for you? When does a beer scream “you would have paid 27% more for me but you didn’t need to!”?

So pull out your wallet. Stare at it. What beer makes you open it up and throw down your hard-earned cash? Then tell the world what it is for the next Session on Friday, April 1. No fooling.

Fairfax Brewfest This Weekend

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This Saturday in the city of Fairfax, in Marin County, the 16th annual Fairfax Brewfest will take place from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Along with festival sponsor Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, at least 17 breweries will be pouring their beer. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, for unlimited samples and full details, along with how to buy advance tickets online, can be found at the festival website. See you there.

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Celebrate Triple Rock’s 25th Anniversary Monday

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Geez has time flown. Twenty-five plus years ago you weren’t even allowed to operate a brewpub in the State of California. Finally in 1983 that finally changed, thanks to some hard work and a lot of meetings. Shortly thereafter, the first two brewpubs in California opened, Mendocino Brewing and Buffalo Bill’s. The third opened 25 years ago come this Monday, March 14, 1986. It was started by the Martin brothers — John and Reid — who had both homebrewed in college. It originally opened under a name you may not be familiar with: Roaring Rock. Unfortunately, the folks from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who brewed Rolling Rock, thought the name was too close to their own, and so the Martins had to pick a new name. Eventually they settled on Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse.

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Triple Rock when it opened in 1986.

This Monday, March 14, 2011, Triple Rock will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of opening its doors. Here’s what will be going on at the brewpub all day long:

In celebration Rodger has re-brewed “Brew #1,″ the first beer ever made in the Triple Rock system. Reid & John originally brewed it on Christmas Day 1985. On March 14th we will be pouring Brew #1 (a Pale Ale) all day for just $1.75 a pint (the original price for a pint in 1986). We will also tap a hopped-up cask version of Brew #1 at 5 pm. Kind of a “2011 hopping meets 1986 cask ale” beer. Come by and try both of them!

The kitchen will be serving some old-school items, such as our original Muffaletta sandwich. But no, you’re not going to have to go to the “window” to order your grub, like you did in ’86.

John & Reid will preside over the tapping of the cask, and maybe go for another round of arm-wresting (John lost to Reid at the Festivus celebration last Dec.) Join past & present TRB brewers, staff, and long-time regulars to toast The Rock’s 25 years of making beer!

We’ve also created a special anniversary tee-shirt that pays homage to our original name, ”Roaring Rock Brewery”. There will be just one small print run of this shirt, so you should get yours before they’re gone. But, if you are up on your trivia of the early days of Roaring Rock/Triple Rock — you just may win one!

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Help Alan Decide On The Next Session Topic

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Alan up at A Good Beer Blog will be hosting our 50th Session, which will be held — no joke — on April Fool’s Day.

But Alan is struggling to find just the right topic for “such a monumental moment in beer blogging history” and doesn’t “want to make it a case of Five-Uh-Oh.” He needs your help. He’s got a few ideas of his own but could undoubtedly use a few more. Got a great idea for a Session topic? One you’ve been hoping someone would tackle? Send it Alan’s way.

Personally, I’d hate to see the Session pass without having something to do with April Fool’s Day, but then I’m a devout Holideist.

Number Of U.S. Breweries Reach 1,700

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The Brewers Association just announced that the number of breweries in America has eclipsed 1,700 (and thanks to the other BA, Beer Advocate for the Twitter tip — a Twip?). According to the BA:

The count is at 1,701 operating breweries in the U.S. There are 9 percent more breweries in the U.S. than a year ago. As I blow the dust off the historical records, it appears that there were 1,751 breweries in 1900 and 1,498 in 1910. So we have more breweries than we have since around 1905. My resource for these data points is The Register of United States Breweries 1876-1976 (compilers Friedrich and Bull). There certainly are a lot more diverse brewing styles being offered today, particularly by craft brewers, and I’m betting quality is far greater now than then.

That’s great news. Two months ago when I needed a firm number for an article I was writing, the number was 1,677 so that’s nearly 25 brewery openings in less than sixty days. How cool is that?

Phil Farrel Wins 2011 Beerdrinker Of The Year

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When I saw Phil Farrel during SF Beer Week I congratulated him for being nominated once again for Beer Drinker of the Year and told him I thought “it was his year.” It turns out I was right, as earlier today he emerged as the 2011 Beer Drinker of the Year.

From the press release:

In his fourth trip to the Beerdrinker of the Year finals, Cumming, GA commercial pilot Phil Farrell landed the 2011 Beerdrinker of the Year title.

More John Elway than Jim Kelly, Farrell finally won his dream title today in a 2-hour finals event held before a standing-room-only crowd at Denver, Colorado’s Wynkoop Brewing Company.

Congratulations Phil.

Phil Farrell, 2011 Beerdrinker of the Year

Saturday Toast To Don Younger

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There’s at least one more worldwide toast to Portland Publican Don Younger. This one is set to take place at 5:00 p.m. YLT (your local time) on Saturday, February 26. It was organized by Phil Farrel, who you probably will recognize as “The Rubber Chicken Man.”

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Phil Farrell

Phil gave me a flier about the toast during SF Beer Week, and I’ve gotten several e-mails about the toast now, so I figured I should help spread the word, too. The BA’s CraftBeer.com also mentions it in a post by Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf entitled A Toast To: Don Younger 1941-2011.

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Don raising a pint with Jonathan and Robin Surratt during GABF in 2007. On Saturday we should all do likewise.

Brekle’s Brown Released By Anchor

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This evening at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, the brewery released their newest beer, Brekle’s Brown, named for the very first brewer at the brewery that would eventually become Anchor, Gottlieb Brekle.

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Mark Carpenter, Anchor’s brewmaster showing off his latest creation, Brekle’s Brown.

The beer is a beautiful bright mahogany, with a tan head. The nose is malty sweet, with nutty aromas that continue through to the flavor. With a dry finish, it’s nicely sweet on the palate, and belies its 6% a.b.v. Easily a session brown. Another great complement to the stable of Anchor beers.

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I’ll have more later on the event later, but with just another half hour to go, I’m going to go have another beer before heading on to the next event.

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.

Worldwide Toast, Virtual Wake For Don Younger This Sunday

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Don Younger, owner of the Horse Brass in Portland, passed away at the end of January. On Sunday, friends are gathering at his pub for a final send-off worthy of the man himself. My good friend Lisa Morrison — a.k.a. The Beer Goddess — has organized a worldwide toast to Don’s memory for 3:00 p.m. (regardless of time zone, your 3 o’clock) this Sunday, February 13. The details are below:

Whatever you are doing, and wherever you are at 3 p.m. your time on Sunday, Feb. 13, make sure to hoist a glass to Don Younger, the venerable publican of the world-famous Horse Brass Pub, who died Jan. 31.

“In his hometown of Portland, a wake will be in full swing by 3 p.m. at the Horse Brass Pub. Attendees at the time will be raising their glasses to Don. But hundreds, if not thousands, of people around the world who knew Don and loved Don aren’t able to be there in person,” says organizer Lisa Morrison. “So we are having a worldwide toast — a virtual wake, if you will — to help bring us all together, at least in spirit.”

The toast will travel around the world, because it will happen at 3 p.m. in all time zones.

“So, at 3 p.m. your time on Sunday, organize a gathering of your own or just stop what you’re doing. Pour a glass of something you think Don would appreciate. And raise a toast to one of craft beer’s biggest champions and most colorful characters,” Morrison says.

Younger, a true beer pioneer, took the Horse Brass from a one-tap tavern to a beer mecca, consistently named among best beer bars in the world. It is a favorite hangout for brewers, beer geeks, neighbors and visitors alike.

So this Sunday, stop what your doing at three o’clock, and drink a toast to Don Younger.

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A self-portrait of Don and me at the Falling Rock during GABF a number of years ago. Here’s to you Don.