Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Oregon Craft Beer Month Coming

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I’m glad to see Oregon has been keeping up with celebrating local and American beer during the month of July. The Brewers Association first promoted July as American Beer Month and encouraged events throughout the month, to mixed results. A couple of years ago, they quietly dropped it in favor of American Craft Beer Week in mid-May. And while I like the new May holiday, personally, I felt they abandoned American Beer Month too quickly without really giving it time to develop. Holidays normally take years and even decades to catch on. One that seeks to highlight a niche product in our society is bound to take even longer. That’s why I still continue to celebrate it each year, not that my lone voice will likely make any difference. Happily, the Oregon Brewers Guild, along with the support of the many beer enthusiasts in the state, have for three years made July Oregon Craft Beer Month. If we can’t have it nationally, at least we can have it in one of the best beers states in the union.

From the press release:

Oregon celebrates its profusion of good beer all year, but July is the state’s official Craft Beer Month. 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the Oregon Brewers Festival from July 26th to 29th. This year’s festival features 74 beers from craft brewers around the country along with educational displays and live entertainment.

Soft, pure water cascades down from the mountains, aromatic hops spring from the valley’s fertile soils, and barley thrives on the high plains over on the state’s dryer eastern side. Oregon beers are truly local and incredibly delicious. The state’s brewers produce traditional styles from pale ales to dark stouts, but they’ve also pioneered new beer styles, created organic beers, and breathed new life into the typical American beer style with handcrafted lagers.

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland provides the Willamette River and Mount Hood as backdrops for the Brewers Festival. At least 50,000 beer enthusiasts are expected at the Festival during its four-day run.

Other Craft Beer Month events include a beer and sausage fest, cheese pairings by the dean of American beer writers, Fred Eckhardt, an Oregon Brewers Guild barbecue featuring 24 special beers that you can’t get at the Brewers Festival, and a rousing parade of brewers strutting along Portland sidewalks to the beat of the March 4th Marching Band.

“We are proud to be the only state that has designated a special month to recognize our local craft brewers,” said Brian Butenschoen, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild. ”Beer is one of Oregon’s iconographic agricultural products and Oregon Craft Beer Month is a wonderful opportunity to stop and lift a glass to all the passion and success we have had here.”

America’s beer revival began in Oregon in the early 1980s, and the state, the second largest producer of craft beer in America, is home to 82 craft breweries. Portland has 29 breweries, more than any other city in the world. Industry pioneers such as BridgePort Brewing, Widmer Brothers, McMenamins and what is now Pyramid Breweries started in Portland. Full Sail Brewing, Deschutes Brewery and Rogue Ales also started in Oregon and now have regional, national and international distribution. Emerging breweries such as Terminal Gravity, Ninkasi and Cascade Lakes beers can be found all around the state and local breweries like Amnesia Brewing, Laurelwood Brewing and Roots Organic Brewing offer unique beers on tap at their neighborhood pubs.

Another big media coup surrounding the month-long festivities is a 16-pg. pullout in the Portland Oregonian. Co-edited by Lisa Morrison and Chris Crabb, with help from Don Younger and Brian Butenschoen (with the Oregon Brewers Guild) along with a handful of others. It was a special section of the newspaper and is also available online. It contains of wealth of information about Oregon beer and the various events going on throughout the state during the month of July.

 

Baby Sasquatch

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Sorry about the headline, but I’m pleased to announce that Yuko and Quentin Falconer, who founded the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation is honor of Quentin’s brother, have a new baby boy. Yuko gave birth to Colin Yuji Hay Falconer on the morning June 21. He was 6 lbs., 10 oz. and 19 3/4 in. According to the e-mail I got, “Mother and child are both doing well. Colin is a healthy baby who at any given moment can be found feeding, crying, or sleeping.” Join me in congratulating the proud parents on their happy news.

Yuko and Colin in the hospital.

Colin looking wide-eyed and adorable.

Wunder of Wunders

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It’s always cause for celebration when a new brewery opens, doubly so when it represents the resurrection of a long-dead brand. Wunder Brewing last brewed in San Francisco in 1909. So it’s been almost a century since it closed. There was another Wunder brewery in Oakland just after Prohibition ended, around 1934, but it lasted less than a year. So it is with great promise that this historic brand tries to make a go of it once more in San Francisco’s inner sunset district. The only downside to this story is that Eldo’s — and more importantly their brewer Joe — are now gone from the local brewing community. So I wish new owner Carl Durham well, and hope his new venture will be …, well, wunder-ful. According to the brewery’s website, they should be open the first week of July.


I love the tagline they used on this tray, “None Purer, None Better.”

The original Wunder Brewing was first known as Philip Frauenholz & Co. when it opened in 1852. Over the years it went through five more name changes, usually involving some form of Bavaria Brewing, before becoming Wunder Brewing in 1898. That was after John C. Wunder purchased the brewery, having arrived in California a few years before, either in 1895 or on March 15, 1896, depending on the source. The first thing Wunder did upon arriving was found the San Diego (California) Brewing Co. in San Francisco. He later bought out the Bavarian Brewery, organizing his two breweries under the Wunder name.

The brewery was originally a steam beer plant but it’s unclear if it remained so through its many incarnations, not to mention locations, which include Vallejo and Green, Vallejo and Montgomery, and Greenwich and Scott Streets. The brewery on Greenwich was still standing until 1990, when damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused it to be torn down. Sometime in the 1920s or 30s it had been turned into a residence and was made to look like a Spanish-style stucco home.

As for the new brewery, they started their first batch at 11:50 a.m. on Saturday, June 9. It was a pale ale, and they expect to also offer a brown beer, which is described on the website as like a Viennese lager, among others. That makes some sense, since Vienna Lager’s color is usually described as reddish brown or copper, with a pretty narrow SRM range (10-12). But there’s certainly no reason why a commercial beer can’t make something close to that style that’s slightly darker. I like Vienna lagers, they’re a little sweeter and toastier than pilsners, but are also clean and crisp like their more popular cousin. I’m looking forward to trying Durham’s interpretation.

I’ve been staring at this poster below for many years now, as there’s one hanging in the Celebrator Beers News‘ offices, so it seems more like a familiar friend than an antique. It’s interesting to note that it’s exactly 100 years old.

Auburn Alehouse Set to Open Thursday

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Brian Ford, the former brewer at Beermanns Beerwerks near Sacramento has been trying to get his new brewpub open for some time now. Finally, his new Auburn Alehouse Brewery & Restaurant will be opening this Thursday, June 21 in Old Town Auburn, California, which is also just outside Sacramento. I saw Brian and tried a pair of his beers at the Raley Field Brewfest May 12. Brian even invited me up this weekend to try things out but with Father’s Day it just didn’t work out.

Photograph by Ben Furtado of the Auburn Journal
 

 Yesterday’s Auburn Journal, the local paper, ran a nice introductory story on the brewpub.

Although I confess to a chuckle over this amusing understatement:

All beer is brewed using traditional ingredients like malted barley, hops, fresh water and yeast, as well as some specialty ingredients like wheat, maize, spices and regional fruits.

As opposed to …? When I first read that, it made me think the reporter was informing the reader as to what beer is made with, but to be fair, she copied this statement from the Auburn Alehouse’s website, but changed the first few words from “All beers will be brewed using …” to “All beer is brewed using …., which changes the meaning considerably.”

But that gentle gaffe aside, it was great to see Brian’s new venture get some local attention. Their website lists nine regular beers and will also be supplemented “seasonal or monthly special brew,” along with what they’re calling “Pub Brewed Special,” which sounds like very small batches.

Also the food to be served at the restaurant sounds pretty damn good. The chef is Luis Gomez, who is also a co-owner. He’s apparently been cooking for almost thirty years centering on “Mediterranean and Southwestern flare.”

The restaurant will also feature more than a dozen appetizers, including crab cakes, alehouse wedge fries and pub pickle chips, roughly 30 entrees including steak, fish and pizzas, soups, salads and desserts.

And the cheeseloaf sound pretty tasty, too. It’s described as a “[b]aked to order sourdough round loaf, stuffed with Gruyere, Parmesan, Swiss, garlic butter, and chives, served with balsamic and olive oil.” He’ll also be using as many local ingredients as possible. I’m looking very forward to the time when I can try Brian’s beer and eat some of the food at Auburn Alehouse.

 

Get Wise With Schneider Weisse

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Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s next beer dinner next year will feature the classic beers of Schneider Weisse from Germany. It will be a four-course dinner and well worth the $75 price of admission. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Friday, June 22, 2007, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. The reservations may be closed now, but perhaps if you call today they may let you in.
 

The Menu:

 

Reception: 6:30 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre
Schneider Edel Weisse

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Butter Poached Gulf Prawns with Hobbs Apple Wood Bacon Flan and Citrus Nage

Beer: Schneider Weisse

Second Course:

Trifecta of Duck Preparations (Three Winners)

Beer: Aventinus Doppelbock

Third Course:

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Hazelnut Sabayon

Beer: Aventinus Weizen Eisbock

 
6.22

Dinner with the Brewmaster: Schneider Weisse

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

Chicago Beer Society Tackles Beers Inspired by Belgium

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When Ray Daniels and Randy Mosher put on a tasting, I sit up and take notice. This should be a good one. If you’re in the Chicago area in early July, you should definitely try to go to this one.

Chicago Beer Society Tasting Features Flavor & Diversity of Belgian Cuisine

From mussels to carbonnade and risotto to artisanal cheese, Belgian cuisine was made to pair with its flavorful and often quirky beers. On July 8, the Chicago Beer Society showcases the variety of Belgian-style beer and food with “Inspired by Belgium” a tasting grounded in the gustatory traditions of the European lowlands.

“In the past ten years, Belgian-style beers have captured the hearts and tongues of sophisticated American beer drinkers,” said Randy Mosher, organizer of the event and long-time Chicago Beer Society board member. “The unique flavors of the beers go beautifully with the flavors of Belgian cuisine.”

On Sunday, July 8, the Chicago Beer Society celebrates this culture with a tasting of Belgian-style beers and food. The event will take place from 1 to 5 pm, at the Dank-Haus, the German-American Cultural Center, at 4740 N. Western Ave., in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. Ticket price will be $50, for member and $60 for non-members.

Catering by the Hearty Boys, an nationally known local firm, will include Belgian-style cheese, kriek-glazed chicken wings, carbonnade Flamande (beef in beer stew) and a beery risotto with sautéed shrimp and asparagus. In addition, The HopLeaf’s Michael Roper, will serve their signature dish: mussels steamed in beer sauce.

A range of beers from Belgium and innovative American brewers will allow attendees to experiment with flavors and pairings of this rich culinary culture. Attendees can expect to find everything from witbier to saison and abbey style to sour beers as well as the utterly uncharacterizable creations that define the Belgian approach to brewing.

As for the facility: “It’s a gorgeous room, with plenty of space for this walk-around event,” says Mosher. And since it is across the street from the Western Avenue stop of the Brown Line and steps away from the intersection of Western and Lawrence, public transportation is readily available.

Founded in 1977, the Chicago Beer Society is America’s oldest beer appreciation society. We are a not-for-profit, volunteer-run group dedicated to promoting great beer in the Chicagoland area. We have a reputation for producing well-run, creative and educational beer events. Our membership currently is around 450 persons. Our website is www.chibeer.org.

For more information and tickets, contact the Chicago Beer Society or call 773-905-ALES.

Bay Area Brewfest This Weekend

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The second annual Bay Area Brewfest will be taking place this Saturday, from Noon until 6:00 p.m., at the San Mateo Event Center. I went to last year’s event, which was pretty good for a first time festival, well-organized and with a decent turnout. So I have high hopes for their sophomore effort and the music lineup makes it look like it could be a lot of fun. Sponsored by the radio station, “The Bone” 107.7, all five bands are tribute bands. There’s The Unauthorized Rolling Stones, Zepparella (Led Zeppelin), Gator Alley (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Petty Theft (Tom Petty), and Texas Holdem (Stevie Ray Vaughan).

Tickets are @25 at the gate or $20 in advance and can be ordered online. See you there.

Welcome to the Bulletin’s New Home

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Welcome to the Brookston Beer Bulletin’s new home on the web. Please change your bookmark, rss feed or link to reflect the new address, which is https://brookstonbeerbulletin.com. If you’ve linked to a specific page on the old Bulletin, such as http://www.brookston.org/beer/specific-page/, please simply replace the “”brookston.org/beer” portion of the code with “brookstonbeerbulletin.com” and it should work just fine, since all the old posts have been moved here to the new server unchanged.

There are a few things left to do here to get us back to full strength, so to speak, so please bear with us as I tend to those. All of the links, for example, have not yet been put back due to a change in the way the newest version of WordPress — my blogging software — treats categories. Also, the calendar function needs to be updated so that will take me a few more days to complete, too.

Achouffe Turning 25

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Brasserie d’Achouffe, located in the small village of Achouffe in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It was August 27, 1982 that Brasserie d’Achouffe brewed the 1st batch of La Chouffe. From August 10-12, they’ll be a big party at the brewery, which they’re calling La Grande Choufferie, and they’ve set up a website just for the occasion, along with slideshow of thirty photographs that shows the brewery then and now, as well as photographs of the local countryside.

Oh, and did I mention their beer is quite excellent. I’ve got a magnum of the La Chouffe I’m holding onto, which I think I’ll open this August for their 25th anniversary.

 

Canned Monk’s

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This sounds like a fun one. Monk’s Belgian Beer Emporium and Restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be hosting a beer dinner with an “All-American Cookout” theme. Lucy Saunders worked with Monk’s chef Adam Glickman to create the menu, inspired by recipes from her wonderful book, “Grilling with Beer.” (Did I mention I contributed a chapter to her book?)

All of the beers served will be micro-canned beers, including Sly Fox (PA), Brooklyn (NY), Capital (WI), Butternuts (NY), Oskar Blues (CO), 21st Amendment (San Francisco), and New England (CT). Shaun O’Sullivan will also be on hand, so hopefully I can wheedle a report and photos of of him when he returns.

The dinner will take place next Tuesday, May 15, and the cost is $65 per person. Call Jodi at 215.545.7005 to make reservations.