Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Boscos Supports Blues Music with “Blues & Brews”

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Today is the 11th birthday of Boscos in Nashville. They currently have three brewpubs in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis and Nashville, both in Tennessee. As a big fan of music, especially traditional forms, I was pleased to see that they’re supporting the Blues Foundation with a concert at their Memphis location in April. The concert will feature Grammy winner John Hammond and will be a benefit to raise money for the organization whose goal is to “preserve and to highlight the rich history of Blues through” a variety of ventures. A worthy eandeavor, at least in my opinion. If you’ll be in the Memphis area the first week of April, please consider attending. Great beer and great music. How could you go wrong?

From the Press Release:

The Blues Foundation and Boscos Squared, 2120 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104 in Overton Square are teaming up to host a fund raising event to benefit the Memphis based international blues organization. “Blues and Brews” will be held on Saturday, April 7, 2007 from 1 to 4 PM.

The Blues Foundation is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the home of the Blues. With more than 145 affiliated Blues organizations, and membership spanning the globe, the Foundation serves as the hub for the worldwide passion for Blues Music.

Blues and Brews will feature entertainment by acoustic blues master John Hammond. From coffeehouses to concert halls, festivals and beyond, John Hammond has spent forty years entertaining blues, folk and rock audiences around the world, performing intense solo-acoustic blues. A Grammy Award winner and four-time nominee, Hammond is also a multiple W.C. Handy award winner who has shared the stage and/or recorded with many of the masters.

Boscos, The Restaurant for Beer Lovers, will brew a special beer for the occasion. Hammond will perform on Boscos’ patio, consistently voted the best place for outdoor dining in Memphis.

Tickets for the event are $100 per person and will be available on The Blues Foundation website, beginning in February. The ticket price includes food, beverage and entertainment.

Blues musician John Hammond.

Eat Well with Urthel

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Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s first beer dinner next year will feature brewster Hildegard van Ostaden and the Urthel beers of Brouwerij de Leyerth from Belgium. It will be a three-course dinner and well worth the $80 price of admission. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Monday, January 8, 2007, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because the dinner should fill up fast and you don’t want to miss this one. I know I say that every time, but it’s true every time. I’ve met Ms. van Ostaden before and she’s a delightful speaker, not to mention her beers are uniformly fantastic. This will be the first big Bay Area beer event of the new year.
 

The Menu:

 

Reception: 6:30 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre
Urthel Hop It

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Salad of Assorted Fresh Shellfish with Warm Fennel Vichyssoise

Beer: Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel

Second Course:

Confit of Lamb with Truffled Potato Gratin, Wilted Bloomsdale Spinach and Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Beer: Urthel Vlaemse Bock

Third Course:

Tartare of Figs and Buddha’s Hand with Chocolate Sabayon, Vanilla Mascarpone and Cocoa Nib Cookie

Beer: Urthel Samaranth Quadrium Ale

Some of the beers that will be served at the Urthel Beer Dinner.

 

1.8

Dinner with the Brewmaster: Urthel

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

Michael Jackson Reveals His Battle with Parkinson’s

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To those of us who have been around Michael Jackson any length of time lately, we’ve know something was affecting his health, but beyond speculation, no one knew for sure what. Michael has been understandably protective of his privacy and naturally everyone around him has respected that desire to keep his private life just that. I have just learned that Michael Jackson will be announcing through his Real Beer Club that he is and has been suffering for at least a decade from Parkinson’s Disease. An old girlfriend of mine’s mother has it, as more famously does another Michael, in this case Michael J. Fox, who has helped bring awareness of it to the forefront. At present there is no cure but much has been learned about managing the disease through the use of specialized drugs, such as L-dopa. Many are also hopeful that stem cell research may offer an opportunity to learn more about Parkinson’s that could ultimately lead to a cure.

Michael will likely make a full press release available after the holidays with additional details. For now, let’s send positive thoughts Michael’s way and give him the love and support he so richly deserves. Michael Jackson has done more to support and nourish the craft beer industry, especially in its early days, than any other single person. I, for one, first learned about better beer from the first edition of his World Guide to Beer while living in New York City in 1978. Having first met him almost fifteen years ago, I feel very fortunate to know him. Though it may sound cliched, he is one of the most generous, gifted people I have ever known. The fact that he has written so much so wonderfully while at the same time he’s been battling the effects of Parkinson’s disease quite frankly makes his accomplishments all the more remarkable and laudable. Please join me in wishing Michael Jackson all the best this holiday and throughout the coming year as his private battle becomes a public one, with all the difficulties that will add to his daily life.

The following letter is being sent to Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club members today:

I have been asked to write to you by Michael Jackson — who is currently traveling and researching on behalf of the Rare Beer Club.

Michael is notorious among his friends for his passionate commitment to his work, and for the fearsome schedule he sets himself. What he has kept from us is the fact that he has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for at least a decade and perhaps twice as long.

During that time he has written several thousand tasting notes and several hundred articles and has also presented scores of tutored tastings, speeches and book-signings around the world. Further, Michael has produced new books such as Ultimate Beer, The Great Beer Guide, Scotland and its Whiskies, and Whisky — The Definitive World Guide which, incidentally, was named best drinks book of 2006 in the James Beard Award and also the recipient of three other international honors. He has this fall compiled an anthology of his writing for Slow Food and completed a further revision of the fifth edition of The Great Beers of Belgium; his Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch is also in its fifth edition.

Michael has great praise for the work of the medical profession in the development of treatments to combat Parkinson’s. He has recently been prescribed some new medication, and the calibration of doses has caused some problems, which are gradually being ironed out.

He tells us: “When everything is in place, I can run almost as well as I did when I played Rugby League. The problems arise when I become absorbed in writing, or in a conversation, and forget my medication. Even the slightest delay can make me very unsteady on my feet — unable to walk at times — and slurred in my speech. Understandably, people think I am drunk, especially given my profession. I am not. My wild days were long ago. My writing has always fostered the notion of tasting more and drinking less, and I am true to that philosophy. The Gods have a sense of irony in making me look drunk when at my intake of alcohol is at its most modest.”

As you can tell, Michael is in excellent spirits and very much looks forward to the next chapter of his life which he obviously expects to be productive. In addition to being a great example by the way he has lived with this disease, Michael is already talking about projects that will benefit others with Parkinson’s disease and you can be assured that we will be hearing a lot more from him in that regard in the future.

I know that you will all join us in wishing Michael the best during this holiday season and into 2007 and beyond as he continues to lead the discovery of exciting new beers!

Best regards,

Robert Imeson, President
The Michael Jackson Rare Beer Club

To learn more about donating to the National Parkinson Foundation, visit their website.

Grilling with Beer Author at Pizza Port Saturday

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My good friend, Lucy Saunders, author of the new fantabulous book, Grilling with Beer, will be signing her new book this Saturday, December 16, from 2-4 p.m., at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, California. If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello, buy a book or two or three — they make terrific Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice presents — and have some great beers at Pizza Port.

12.16

Grilling with Beer Book Signing
Pizza Port Brewing, 571 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad, California
760.720.7007 [ website ]
 

If You Happen to Be in Belgium …

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If you happen to be in Belgium next week, you should do whatever you have to to do to get to Essen for the 12th annual Kerstbierfestival. They’ll be tasting over 100 holiday and winter beers over the two-day festival.

And please note they use a cartoon on the poster. You know what would happen here in the U.S. if they did that, right? Neo-prohibitionists and state agencies would be falling over themselves to stop them from “appealing to kids.”

 

12.16-17

Kerstbierfestival (12th annual)
Heuvelhal, Kapelstraat 7, B-2910 Essen, Belgium
[ website ] [ in English ] [ Directions ]

Urthel is Cooking in San Francisco

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Save the date! Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s next beer dinner will feature brewster Hildegard van Ostaden and the Urthel beers of Brouwerij de Leyerth from Belgium. Hildegard made the first Imperial IPA in Belgium and as far as I know the first double outside of the U.S. It will be another four-course dinner, though Bruce is still working out the menu. I’ll get it up as soon as it’s available. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Monday, January 8, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because this dinner should fill up fast and you won’t want to miss this one. I met Bas and Hildegard in Denver a couple of years ago and they’re wonderful people, who make some very excellent beers. They’re part of a new breed of Belgian brewers who have taken some of their inspiration from their American counterparts.
 

Hildegard and Bas van Ostaden, owners of the Belgian-based Brouwerij de Leyerth.
 

1.8

Dinner with the Brewmaster: Urthel

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

InBev and AnBusch Hop Into Bed Together

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There aren’t too many details yet, but it was announced today that the long rumored — and just as long denied — distribution agreement between Anheuser-Busch and InBev will occur. What we do know so far is that A-B will take over distribution of all of InBev’s brands in the U.S., with the exception of Brahma and Labatts. I have already heard from InBev employees I know that they will lose their jobs as of the end of January next year. There’s no word yet how many people will be rendered redundant and how many, if any, will get to keep their jobs.

How this will effect the industry remains to be seen, but rest assured it will have a big impact on a variety of fronts. The deal is effective February 1, 2007.

Here are some early reports on the deal from a variety of sources:

 

From the press release:

ST. LOUIS – Brussels (November 30, 2006) – Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) will become the exclusive U.S. importer of a number of InBev’s (Euronext: INB) premium European import brands, including Stella Artois®, Beck’s®, Bass Pale Ale®, Hoegaarden®, Leffe® and other select InBev brands, the two brewers announced today.

Effective February 1, 2007, Anheuser-Busch will import these premium brands and be responsible for their sales, promotion and distribution in the United States. These InBev brands, which had sales volumes of about 1.9 million hectoliters (or about 1.5 million barrels) in 2005, will be available to Anheuser-Busch’s U.S. wholesaler network where possible.

InBev’s Canadian brands, including Labatt Blue® and Labatt Blue Light®, as well as Brahma®, are not included in the agreement. Working closely with Labatt Breweries of Canada, InBev USA will continue to market and sell the Labatt and Brahma brands through a separate distribution network.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“This agreement gives us highly-valued brands that appeal to beer drinkers looking for sophisticated imports in their beer choices,” said August A. Busch IV, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. “We live in a world with diverse cultures and lifestyles, and this provides additional variety for our consumers. These well-known import brands complement our company’s leading portfolio of American premium beers and enable our company to better compete. This is consistent with our stated strategy of enhancing our participation in the U.S. high-end beer segment.”

“By securing access to Anheuser-Busch’s world-class sales and distribution system, this agreement will enhance opportunities for U.S. consumers to experience the unique values of our premium European import brands, and further accelerate their growth,” said Carlos Brito, CEO, InBev. “This is another step in InBev’s mission to create enduring bonds with our consumers throughout the world.”

Doug Corbett, president of InBev USA, said: “InBev USA remains fully committed to the Labatt Canadian brands and to Brahma. These are great brands with a lot of potential and this agreement will allow us to focus on growing them in their markets.”

Pacific Coast Brewing’s Holiday Tasting Announced

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Pacific Coast Brewing’s 18th annual holiday beer tasting will be held at the brewery in downtown Oakland on December 9, from Noon until 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $40. Call 510.836.2739 for reservations. If you’re planning on going, make your reservations to be there now, because it will sell out quickly.

12.9

Pacific Coast Brewing’s Taste of Holiday Beers (18th annual)

Pacific Coast Brewing, 906 Washington Street, Oakland, California
510.836.2739 [ website ]

 

Chief Beer Officer: Dream Job or Best Promotion Ever?

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Simultaneously in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, on Monster.com and Yahoo’s Hot Jobs listings, Starwood Hotels’ Four Points by Sheraton posted a job listing for Chief Beer Officer, an intriguing job title if ever there was one. And with a job title so likely to get a record number of applicants, it made the news, too, as several news outlets ran stories about the position, such as Marketing Daily, BrandWeek and Hotel Chatter.

It certainly sounds like a job any beer geek would feel fortunate to get, and I think that’s why it sounds too good to be true. First of all, the stories about it and the online application itself are just a little too clever, too tongue in cheek to be a serious job offer. And you’re not actually hired by the company, but will be an independent contractor, a part-time consultant. The pay is unspecified (though apparently there’s a generous travel allowance) and requires less than one years experience yet is considered to be “Executive Management” and according to Monster.com is at the “Senior Executive” level, on par with the President and CFO.

The online application also includes a short quiz to test your beer knowledge but the questions are so telescoped that only the truly dull-witted could fail to ace it. For example, one question is “Which is not a variety of hop?” And your choice of answers is “Amarillo, Boy George, Fuggle and Williamette.” Another is “Name one of life’s joys that can accompany goat cheese?” And here the answers could be “Basketball, Acoustic guitar, or Beer drinking.” They’re all like that, so I can’t help but think this is just a clever promotion and whoever gets the job will be a random winner, not that that makes the new CBO position any less enviable.

Starwood did announce at the end of the award ceremonies at this year’s GABF that they were launching the “Best Brews” program at all of their locations, with the help of the Brewers Association. The program is designed to offer a better beer menu than the average chain hotel bar and restaurant. Four Points in L.A. has been hosting some wonderful beer dinners for some time now and I can only imagine their success with good beer may have been the inspiration for this program.

Here’s the job listing on Yahoo:

Help Wanted: Chief Beer Officer® (CBO)

Four Points® by Sheraton seeks Chief Beer Officer to act as independent, part-time consultant for their Best Brews Program. This fall, Four Points by Sheraton, purveyor of pie and champions of contentment, is launching their Best Brews Program. In addition to featuring over 200 domestic and imported beers, they are seeking a Chief Beer Officer. The successful candidate will have a passion for beer, a basic understanding of brewing and an interest in further educating themselves about this glorious libation.
 

CBO duties will include:

  • Act as a beer ambassador for the hotel at microbrewery tours, beer festivals and on bar stools across the country.
  • Develop an intimate knowledge of the over 200 domestic and imported beers that are part of the Best Brews Program (which will be supplied to the candidate)
  • Introduce these to the public through monthly blog reviews.
  • Brew eloquence and a bubbly personality are both a plus.

 
Are you ready to make your love affair with beer public? To apply please visit www.FourPoints.com/CBO. To be eligible, all one needs is a love for beer, a basic understanding of brewing, and an interest in learning more. You must be 21 years of age or older.

 

So what are you waiting for, apply now. Either way, it should be a hoot.

Fermenting a Book Signing

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Chris O’Brien, author of Fermenting Revolution, will be doing a book signing at The Book Shop in Hayward, California from 2:20-3:30 p.m. this Saturday, November 11. The Book Shop is located at 1007 B Street, right next door to The Bistro, who is hosting a Barrel Aged Beer Festival the same day from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Chris will have a reading and sign books for an hour or so, and then join us next door at the festival for a lively discussion of beer culture.

I’m looking forward to meeting Chris in person. Now that I’ve gotten my review copy of his new book and looked over the table of contents, it seems even more interesting. I can’t wait to read it. This is just one more good reason to come out to the Barrel Aged Beer Festival, not that you probably needed one. It should be a great time all by itself, but now you can tell people you’re going to a book reading and sound more like a normal, well-rounded person. At least that’s my plan.