Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

Socialize

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For July 2011

By

wikio
The July 2011 standings will soon be released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. Jeff, from Beervana, and I continued our do si do around the beer blogging dance floor, and I bow to my partner after our fourth consecutive month switching places. Perhaps we should merge our two blogs and create a formidable juggernaut, Brookston Beervana? Anyhow, here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio July 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1 Brookston Beer Bulletin (+1)
2 Beervana (-1)
3 The New School (=)
4 Brewpublic (=)
5 A Good Beer Blog (=)
6 The Stone Blog (+1)
7 Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (-1)
8 Washington Beer Blog (=)
9 The Daily Pull (=)
10 Drink With The Wench (+14)
11 It’s Pub Night (+6)
12 Seen Through a Glass (+9)
13 Oakshire Brewing (-3)
14 KC Beer Blog (-2)
15 The Session Beer Project™ (+4)
16 The Not So Professional Beer Blog (-1)
17 The Brew Lounge (-1)
18 San Diego Beer Blog (+27)
19 Craft Austin (-1)
20 Beeronomics (+10)
21 Brewer’s Log (Blog) (-10)
22 The Potable Curmudgeon (+4)
23 BetterBeerBlog (+4)
24 Beer at 6512 (+20)
25 Hoosier Beer Geek (+21)
26 Musings Over a Pint (+2)
27 Brewed For Thought (+2)
28 Seattle Beer News (-14)
29 Top Fermented (+12)
30 Beer in Baltimore (+1)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I included the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, fully half of the top ten stayed put, while in addition to Beervana and myself changing places, another pair — Stone & Stan — did likewise. Only one new blog cracked the Top 10, as the Wench rocketed up 14 spots into 10th place.

I’ve listed the top 30 this time, and will start doing so each month. One additional observation is that of all 30, 13 moved up or down in the rankings one spot or less, whereas nine out of ten did likewise in the top 10. That suggests there’s less volatility in the rankings nearer the top, meaning blogs move up and down more freely nearer the double digits. And the champion mover was the San Diego Beer Blog, who shook up 27 places. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Until next month ….

Moylan’s Wins Big at Australian International Beer Awards

By

moylans
Back in November, the call went out through the BA’s Export Development Program for brewers around the world to enter the Australian International Beer Awards for 2011. When my local brewpub Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant decided to enter some of their beer, they couldn’t have known how well it would turn out for them.

Moylan’s ended up winning two gold medals, for Moylan’s Moylander Double IPA and Hopsickle Imperial Triple IPA, a silver medal for Chelsea Moylan’s Porter and two bronze medals for both Dragoon’s Dry Irish Stout and Ryan Sullivan’s Imperial Stout. Those wins resulted in them being awarded more points than any other brewery and garnered them two additional bigger prizes: the “Cleanevent Trophy for Champion Small Brewery” and the “Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Trophy for Champion Exhibitor” for the Highest Scoring Exhibitor, which is the biggest prize awarded throughout the entire competition. Congratulations to Denise and everybody at Moylan’s.

P1050401
Yesterday, Dr. Peter Aldred from the AIBA — who’s at UC Davis for a few months — stopped by Moylan’s in Novato to present the Australian International Beer Awards Trophy to Brewmaster Denise Jones and Owner Brendan Moylan.

P1050394
The whole gang of brewers from Moylan’s poses with their trophies.

If you want to see the rest of the winners, they’re listed at Australian Brews News.

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For June 2011

By

wikio
The June 2011 standings will soon be released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. Machuca at Craft Austin got a sneak peak at the new rankings, so here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio June 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1 Beervana (+1)
2 Brookston Beer Bulletin (-1)
3 The New School (+/-0)
4 Brewpublic (+/-0)
5 A Good Beer Blog (+/-0)
6 Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+/-0)
7 The Stone Blog (Not in Top 20 for May)
8 Washington Beer Blog (+3)
9 The Daily Pull (+/-0)
10 Oakshire Brewing (+/-0)
11 Lost Abbey Brewer’s Log (Blog) (Not in Top 20 for May)
12 KC Beer Blog (+1)
13 I Love Beer (Not in Top 20 for May)
14 Seattle Beer News (+/-0)
15 The Not So Professional Beer Blog (+5)
16 The Brew Lounge (Not in Top 20 for May)
17 It’s Pub Night (-2)
18 Craft Austin (Not in Top 20 for May)
19 The Session Beer Project (-7)
20 Beer-Stained Letter (-1)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, 25% of the blogs are either new or have re-emerged in the Top 20. And a few of the dropouts were surprising, including such heavy hitters as Beer Therapy, Drink With The Wench and Lew Bryson’s Seen Through a Glass.

For the third time in as many months, Beervana and I switched places again. Congratulations to Jeff. I expected as much this time, as I was in South America for at least a third of the month, and access to WiFi was spotty at best and free time even less so. Over half of the top 10 stayed put, too. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Until next month ….

South Beer Cup Winners Announced

By

great-south-cup
Regular readers have probably noticed that my usual output has been diminished here of late, that’s because I’ve been in Buenos Aires, Argentina since Monday. I was fortunate enough to be invited to judge at the very first South Beer Cup, South America’s version of the Great American Beer Festival and the Craft Brewers Conference combined. It was put on by the Centro de Cata de Cerveza with support from the very active local homebrew club, Somos Cerveceros.

They had 280 beers from 72 breweries entered in 20 categories from four countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. Along with the local judges, made up of brewers and BJCP certified judges, four experienced judges from North America were on hand to help out. In addition to myself, there was Stephen Beaumont, Doug Odell and Pete Slosberg. The four of us also each gave a short talk during the conference portion of the event.

But more about that later, last evening at a gala awards ceremony held at the rooftop of the American Club. It was a great event, and perhaps the best part was seeing the enthusiasm and passion on display as the excited winners went up to accept their awards, all to some very dramatic music. So without further ado, here s the list of the winners for the first South Beer Cup:

great-south-cup

  1. Pilsner
    • Bronze: Colorado (Brazil)
  2. Oktoberfest
    • Bronze: Buller (Argentina)
  3. Pale Ale
    • Bronze: Davok (Uruguay)
  4. Golden/Blonde Ale
    • Silver: TIE: Duff (Argentina) / Eisenbahn (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Carmela (Argentina)
  5. India Pale Ale
    • Gold: Davok (Uruguay)
    • Silver: Fenicia (Argentina)
    • Bronze: Backer (Brazil)
  6. Amber/Red Ale
    • Gold: Yeska (Argentina)
    • Silver: Antares (Argentina)
    • Bronze: El Viejo Hobbit (Argentina)
    • Honorable Mention: Piltri (Argentina)
  7. Wheat Beer
    • Silver: Baden Baden (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Bier Hoff (Brazil)
    • Honorable Mention: Cabezas Bier (Uruguay)
  8. Dry Stout
    • Silver: Bodebrown (Brazil)
    • Bronze: TIE: Carmela (Argentina) / Kross (Chile)
  9. Imperial Stout
    • Silver: Montecristo (Argentina)
    • Bronze: Antares (Argentina)
  10. Porter
    • Bronze: TIE: Antares (Argentina) / Alumine (Argentina) / La Cruz (Argentina)
  11. Brown Ale
    • Bronze: Fenicia (Argentina)
  12. Barley Wine
    • Bronze: Davok (Uruguay)
    • Honorable Mention: TIE: La Cruz (Argentina) / Una Mas (Argentina)
  13. Smoked Beer
    • Gold: Gulmen (Argentina)
    • Silver: Bamberg (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Berlina (Argentina)
  14. Specialty Beer
    • Gold: Baden Baden (Brazil)
    • Additional Honorable Mentions [w/style]: Baden Baden [Golden] (Brazil) / Dowel [Grape] / Silberweizen [Weizen Bock] / Sixtofer [Scarlet] (Argentina) / Szot [Strong Ale] / Von de Brauer [Red Ale] / Jerome [Diablo] (Argentina)
  15. Honey Beer
    • Silver: TIE: Antares (Argentina) / Fenicia (Argentina)
  16. Kolsch
    • Bronze: Antares (Argentina)
  17. Dunkel
    • Silver: TIE: Bamberg (Brazil) / Eisenbahn (Brazil)
  18. Belgian Dark Ale
    • Bronze: Eisenbahn (Brazil)
  19. Munich
    • Silver: Bamberg (Brazil)
  20. Schwarzbier
    • Silver: Bamberg (Brazil)
  21. Bock
    • Bronze: Blest (Brazil)
  22. Old Ale
    • Silver: Bodebrown (Brazil)

Congratulations to all the winners.

And here’s all the participating breweries:
logos-great-south-cup

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For May 2011

By

wikio
The May 2011 standings will soon be released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. Stan at Appellation Blog got a sneak peak at the new rankings, so here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio May 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1 Brookston Beer Bulletin (+1)
2 Beervana (-1)
3 The New School (+1)
4 Brewpublic (-1)
5 A Good Beer Blog (+1)
6 Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (-1)
7 Drink With The Wench (+/-0)
8 Seen Through a Glass (+1)
9 The Daily Pull (+1)
10 Oakshire Brewing (Not in Top 20 for Apr.)
11 Washington Beer Blog (-3)
12 The Session Beer Project (-1)
13 KC Beer Blog (+3)
14 Seattle Beer News (-2)
15 It’s Pub Night (-2)
16 brewvana (Not in Top 20 for Apr.)
17 Beer 47 (+2)
18 Beer Therapy (+2)
19 Beer-Stained Letter (Not in Top 20 for Apr.)
20 The Not So Professional Beer Blog (-3)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, three new blogs made an appearance in the Top 20, some for the first time. Another curious change is that #1 & #2, #3 & #4, and #5 & #6 each switched places. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased to be back at #1 again. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For April 2011

By

wikio
The April 2011 standings have just been released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. I’ve been knocked from my four month reign at the top, and Jeff from Beervana has once again assumed the #1 Spot. Congratulations Jeff. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio April 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1 Beervana (+1)
2 Brookston Beer Bulletin (-1)
3 Brewpublic (+/-0)
4 The New School (+/-0)
5 Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+/-0)
6 A Good Beer Blog (+1)
7 Drink With The Wench (-1)
8 Washington Beer Blog (+/-0)
9 Seen Through a Glass (+2)
10 The Daily Pull (+5)
11 The Session Beer Project (+1)
12 Seattle Beer News (+1)
13 It’s Pub Night (+3)
14 Stone Blog (-4)
15 BetterBeerBlog (-1)
16 KC Beer Blog (Not in Top 20 for Mar.)
17 The Not So Professional Beer Blog (+1)
18 Yours For Good Fermentables (Not in Top 20 for Mar.)
19 Beer 47 (-10)
20 Beer Therapy (Not in Top 20 for Mar.)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, three new blogs cracked the Top 20 (though some had been there before) and three dropped off. Apart from #1 and #2 switching places, there was again very little movement near the top, with three through five staying put from last month and the rest of the top 20 seemed less volatile this month, too. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously.

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For March 2011

By

wikio
The March 2011 standings have just been released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. For an embarrassing fourth straight month, I’m still clinging to the top spot. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio March 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1 Brookston Beer Bulletin (+/-0)
2 Beervana (+/-0)
3 Brewpublic (+/-0)
4 The New School (+/-0)
5 Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+/-0)
6 Drink With The Wench (+5)
7 A Good Beer Blog (+/-0)
8 Washington Beer Blog (-2)
9 Beer 47 (+4)
10 Stone Blog (Not in Top 20 for Feb.)
11 Seen Through a Glass (+6)
12 The Session Beer Project (+4)
13 Seattle Beer News (-3)
14 BetterBeerBlog (-2)
15 The Daily Pull (Not in Top 20 for Feb.)
16 It’s Pub Night (-7)
17 Brewer’s Log (Lost Abbey Blog) (Not in Top 20 for Feb.)
18 The Not So Professional Beer Blog (-10)
19 Brewed For Thought (-5)
20 Jack Curtin’s Liquid Diet (Not in Top 20 for Feb.)

Ranking made by Wikio

I again added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, four new blogs cracked the Top 20 (though one has been here before but dropped off) and four dropped off. There was also very little movement near the top, as the first five blogs stayed in their same places from last month. And fellow curmudgeon Jack Curtin finally made the Top 20 this year. It will interesting to hear his thoughts on being successful and cracking the top twenty. Again, I will continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously.

Phil Farrel Wins 2011 Beerdrinker Of The Year

By

bdoty
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

Indianapolis Man Wins “Brew Your Cask Off” Contest

By

all-about-beer
A couple of weeks ago, All About Beer magazine conducted a contest, to win a trip to the “Brew Your Cask Off” beer festival hosted by Georgia’s SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia on March 5, 2011.

The winner had to write an essay explaining what type of cask they’d brew, in 300 words or less. The winner, Matt Robinson, from Indianapolis, Indiana, wrote a poem which won him and a friend a trip to SweetWater Brewery’s cask festival.

From the press release:

Matt will also be a honorary judge for the cask ale competition and be a server for a cask made from his hilarious and precise poem.

Without a doubt one of the most unusual, and clever beer events, SweetWater Brewery’s Brew Your Cask Off features 80 different cask ales made by a full range of celebrities and not so celebrities, including dignitaries from the beer media, non-profits and retailers from the metro Atlanta beer community. All About Beer Magazine publisher Daniel Bradford participated in making a cask named Adam’s All About Beer Ale, after the SweetWater brewer who guided the actual cask ale production. The cask ale festival features a judging of all the casks with the winner getting serious bragging rights, including being brewed by SweetWater Brewery, and the loser getting the much coveted, and highly decorated golden toilet seat.

Matt Robinson will join a collection of very talented palates as a honorary judge helping chose the best cask of the festival. During the festival itself, Matt will have the pleasure of presenting a cask made from the numerous clues he provided in his winning poem.

Runners up included second place finisher Steve Forbes who wrote a passionate sensory entry. Third place went to Michael Iris who described how his hound found an unusual cache of berries that would have made a wonderful cask. Both of these entries and the other finishers can be found at All About Beer.

The winning entry is below. Enjoy.

aab-cask-off

What Cask Should An American Brew? by Matt Robinson

What cask should an American Brew?
But nothing less than around 55 I-Be-Yous!
I would add subtle flavor with East Kents
Perhaps more for hop compliment
Throw in some fuggles and American C’s
Many will say it’s the knees of bees!
Powerful flavor will be most divine
Even with a gravity around one-thousand nine
The grain bill is full of Golden Promise Malt
This great American session cask has no fault
The hydrometer reading will need to state
Around 3.55% alcohol by weight
This may sound like an English creation
With bold American style is my summation
Lovibond sounds nice somewhere near ten
Many hours with our cask we will all spend!
Wyeast numbered Nineteen Forty-Five
Will make our cask come alive!
Gravity-fed like our English brethren
Cask beer please take hold for American beer drinking heaven
Deep in the south in town called Atlanta
Our cask brings so much joy we call it Santa!
All the people will come and stand
To sing play us a song you’re the piano man!