Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Widmer & Redhook Discuss Possible Merger

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The Oregonian is reporting today that merger talks between Portland’s Widmer Bros. Brewing, the largest craft brewer in Oregon, and Seattle’s Redhook Ale Brewery were disclosed on Wednesday through a mandatory regulatory filing by both Redhook and Anheuser-Busch — who owns almost 40% of Widmer and just over one-third of Redhook.

Although Widmer is probably the healthier company, Redhook (because it is traded on NASDAQ) will likely be the buyer in the deal. Rob Widmer reportedly has said that because it involves a public company that much more will be in the open due to regulatory disclosure requirements. He also stated that it is much too early in the negotiations to say when or even if anything will come of the talks.

The Seattle Times also has a more in-depth article on the talks.

From the Field: Lisa Morrison at the Portland Holiday Ale Fest

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A couple of weeks ago the Portland Holiday Ale festival was held in the Rose City and award-winning beer writer — and Portland resident — Lisa Morrison was on hand to sample the holiday beers. Lisa filed this report along with a few pictures from the festival. Thanks, Lisa, for sharing the festival with us!

I don’t have a lot of detail on how well the fest was attended or anything, but I do know the “buzz” beer was called Jim, named after Jim Kennedy, one of the patriarchs of Portland beer and, really, one of the founding fathers of the good beer movement nationally. It was created by Preston Weesner and Alan Sprints (Hair of the Dog). It was conceptualized one day when the two were sitting around talking and enjoying some beer and cheese. Preston said Maredsous 8 was always a “Jim beer” for him in that he thought of Jim whenever he enjoyed it. They worked on a blend of some Hair of the Dog beers with a keg of M8 and Alan painstakingly aged it in oak barrels until the fest. Truly a one-time, one-of-a-kind beer that was appreciated and celebrated by all. A fitting tribute to a really great guy.

Fest-goer Eric Bressman shows off a T-shirt from recent travels while enjoying a beer at the fest.

Having some fun at the Holiday Ale Festival.

Chris Crabb, who does PR and is an organizer for the event, keeping chaos under control. With a smile, even!

Full Sail’s LTD Series

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Full Sail Brewing of Hood River, Oregon announced a new limited series of beers to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The “LTD Series” 01 will be released this month.

From the press release:

Hood River, Or – For the last year the Full Sail brew-masters have been working to develop a special line of beers to celebrate their 20th anniversary. “We are proud to announce our ‘LTD Series’ bringing to our customers new import-style beers in an elegant yet delightfully fun packaging,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s Founder and CEO. The LTD Series is Full Sail’s entry into the fastest growing craft beer category — Seasonal Beers.

“Our Seasonal line emphasizes and builds on our brand mantra – both the world class quality of our beers (LTD – Limited Edition) and our celebration of independence (LTD – Live the Dream),” continued Firmat. The LTD series will be available in six-packs and will begin shipping from the brewery December 2006.

The newly designed bottle labels describe LTD Bottling 01, as an easy drinking, albeit wicked awesome limited edition lager. Featured on the six-pack is a “Malt-O-Meter” that will tell you at a glance that LTD is a medium bodied, copper colored lager with subtle hop accents, and a caramel aroma, that goes down smooth. For the beer aficionados, or the aspiring ones, the bottom of the six-pack features an easy to read chart of “Today’s Recipe”, including hop (Czech Saaz, Hallertauer) and malt varieties (caramel, chocolate and wheat), plato (16 degrees), I.B.U. (26), alcohol by volume (6.4) and even secret sauce! Full Sail will follow up LTD 01 with another new limited edition bottling LTD Number 02, this spring.

“2007 is our 20th year of being fortunate to be doing what we love, brewing beer. So we are dedicating LTD to everyone who’s living the dream, whatever that dream might be. Our dream was to start our own brewery, run it our own way, and do it in an unreal place where all summer the wind pumps and all winter the snow dumps,” said Firmat. “If you’re living your own dream, then cheers to you!”

The “LTD Series” will be available in six-packs this month. I din’t know if you can quite read it, but the six-pack carrier reads “From Our Ace Crew of Libationary Wunderkinds” and also a “An Easy-Drinking Albeit Wicked Awesome Limited Edition Lager.”

The Brewster of Salem

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The term “brewster” for a female brewer was used as far back as 1308, according to my O.E.D., when it was common for beer to be made by the woman of the household. Like many early crafts, once the industrial revolution changed the way our society functioned, men generally took over as brewers with the rise of commercial breweries. There were, of course, many commercial beer ventures before that time, but it was the mid-1800s that sealed the fate for the majority of female brewers, and the term fell into disuse. I actually have always liked the word, and I know several women brewers who also prefer the term. Today, only about 10% of all brewers are female.

One of them is Jen Kent, who was named the brewer at Thompson Brewery & Public House in Salem, Oregon at the end of July. Thompson’s is part of McMenamins chain. According to a profile in today’s Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal newspaper, Kent is called “the brew goddess” by her fellow workers and customers. It’s a nice name too, and certainly implies more power than a brewster. Teri Fahrendorf is also quoted in the profile, though she’s referred to as “a respected elder,” a label I think she’d probably object to. I certainly don’t think of Teri as an elder, though I do have the utmost respect for her. All in an all, a pretty good article.
 

Jen Kent, brewster at McMenamins’ Thompson Brewery & Public House in Salem, Oregon.
(Photo by Andrea J. Wright, Statesman Journal)

King of Swill

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You’ve got to love Portland, one of the few cities where Budweiser is not the best-selling beer in town. On a painted wall advertisement at the corner of Third and West Burnside was the sign below, happily captured on film before it was taken down. Whether by an act of defiance or a happy accident, the new sign captured the rising spirit of dissent for people who love full-flavored beer. Reminiscent of the art of Ron English, it’s a simple piece of popaganda with a provocative message. Too funny. Of course, it’s no longer there, having been recently painted over.

Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing Profiled

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Jamie Floyd’s new brewery, Ninkasi Brewing, had a nice profile in the Eugene, Oregon local newspaper, the Register-Guardian. It was in today’s business section and titled, “Brewers Tap Into Trends.” It includes an overview of Oregon’s recent brewing history along with interviews with Jamie Floyd, Teri Fahrendorf and Jack Joyce. The paper also has an interesting article about the likelihood of Oregon raising the tax on beer called “Uncap Beer Tax?”

Jamie Floyd inside his new Ninkasi Brewery in Eugene, Oregon.

Black Strap Stout, Black Strap Cookies

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Today is BridgePort Brewing’s 22nd anniversary so I thought it was time to pull out the cookies they sent me that are made using their Black Strap Stout. This is the second year that Cougar Mountain cookies has made the “cocoa-based cookie with chocolate chunks” for their “flavor of the month.”

The stout is inky black with a thick tan head and subtle aromas of ginger, molasses and milk chocolate. The beer slides smoothly on the tongue with flavors of bitter chocolate, molasses and malt and just a touch of sweetness. The cookies are dry, soft and chewy with bursts of chocolate in the chunks. The chocolate notes and molasses in the beer perfectly compliments the cookies and even dipping them in the beer works nicely. The interplay of dry and wet, not surprisingly, leaves you wanting one and then the other almost as a tonic, but it has the effect of making the combination highly addictive.

From the combined press release:

The cocoa-based cookie with chocolate chunks accentuates the flavor profile found in BridgePort’s Black Strap Stout, specifically chocolate, molasses, and coffee. The alcohol bakes out of the cookie, but the flavors found in the beer remain, adding considerable interest to an already tasty cookie.

The combination is not as odd as it might seem. For years, beer lovers have explored the extraordinary flavors that come from combining malty, craft-brewed beers with fine chocolates and decadent desserts. Stout floats are dessert mainstay in brewpubs across the nation.

More from the press release

According to David Saulnier, president of Cougar Mountain Baking Co., the subtleties and complexities of the cookie’s flavor appeal to an adult audience. “Last year when we first introduced the Double Chocolate Stout, we had quadruple the normal number of customer comments, nearly all of those being positive. People were wowed by such an original flavor, and they thought the resulting cookie was great!”

Saulnier, who founded Cougar Mountain Baking Co. in 1988, enjoys collaborating with other Northwest companies who share his philosophy of producing high-quality, handcrafted products. He has been a fan of BridgePort Ales for some time, and the alliance between the two companies seemed a natural fit.

As Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, BridgePort has evolved over the past 22 years from a microbrewery to a regional leader in the craft brewing market, while remaining faithful to its commitment to producing high-quality, innovative craft ales that are true to their heritage. Its Black Strap Stout features a malty, caramel flavor up front with a distinctive dry-roasted bitterness in the finish. A generous dose of Northwest hops mingles with the sweetness of black strap molasses to yield a full-bodied ale that pours with a rich, creamy head.

Cougar Mountain’s Flavor of the Month item has been in existence for 15 years, and the company uses it as a way to experiment with flavors, take advantage of seasonal ingredients, and have fun. Like all of Cougar Mountain’s cookies, Double Chocolate Stout does not contain any hydrogenated oils or trans fats. Cougar Mountain Gourmet Cookies come eight cookies to a box, which is made from 100% recycled paper. Each of the regular varieties is named for Seattle-area neighborhoods, parks or landmarks. The cookies may also be purchased individually at select locations.

 

Here We Go a-WASSAIL-ing

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Today is the 18th anniversary of the first release of Full Sail Brewing’s holiday beer, Wassail.

Full Sail’s holiday favorite was inspired by the traditional English wassail, which is a “spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve.” The word itself’s origin is Old Norse and is a contraction of the Old English toast “wæs þu hæl,” or “be thou hale!” (“be in good health“).

The Wassail Page has some great history and information about wassailing. Their aim is to “seek the true revelry and rant so absent from modern celebration. [They] seek an older time when the human spirit shouted for joy in the winter creating a festive gift which could not be purchased and could hardly be wrapped.”

Traditional Wassail celebrations were most commonly associated with Twelfth Night Eve and Twelfth Night celebrations, though in modern times is has been expanded to include the entire holiday season. In addition to the wassail drink, there are numerous customs surrounding Wassail, including “singing, mumming, guessing games and begging to enter a house.” Three distinct celebrations involving the Wassail are known. In the first, the wassail is used like a loving cup and passed around inside a house while singing carols. Secondly, you can take the wassail from house to house in a group. And the third, though less common, method involves the blessing of nature.

Here’s an old wassail song from around 1833:

The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts downe all drinke when it is stale,
The toast, the nut-meg, and the ginger,
Will make a sighing man a singer,
Ale gives a buffet in the head,
“But ginger under proppes the brayne;
When ale would strike a strong man dead,
Then nut-megge temperes it againe,
The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts downe all drinke when it is stale-

From the press release:

“We have brewed Wassail every holiday season since 1988 and it’s now as much a part of the festivities as sharing a roaring fire with our closest family and friends,” reminisced Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail’s brewmaster. “Deep mahogany in color, Wassail is brewed with four different malts and a blend of imported hops, giving it a malty full body and a pleasantly hoppy finish that appeals to both hop and malt lovers alike. In other words, a Christmas miracle!”

Wassail was recently awarded another medal and was rated “Exceptional” at the 2006 World Beer Championships (WBC). It was described as, “Tremendously rich and dry – yet fruity and balanced – with rich roasted malt dry caramel, nuts and light spice… Perfectly balanced. Not too sweet; not too dry. Excellent!” Wassail previously won a platinum medal and a “superlative” rating at the 2005 WBC, a gold medal at the 2004 WBC, and three silver medals in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Beer Chips

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Also at the Anchor event for Maureen’s book, Ambitious Brew, I had my second encounter with Beer Chips, a new snack food on the market.

I first noticed them at their own booth next to the Sierra Nevada Brewing tent at GABF last month where, at $1 a bag, they were selling like hot cakes. Now I should make yet another confession here from the start. There are few foods I like more than potato chips. I am quite passionate about my potato chips. I can still get worked up about chips that have been off the market for decades; brands like Tommy Dale’s or Uncle Don’s. Where I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average grocery store carried at least a dozen local brands of potato chips, and some had many more. My favorite chips growing up were a brand called “Good’s Original Chips,” or “Good’s in the Blue” to distinguish them from a rival brand, “Good’s in the Red.” My “Good’s Potato Chips” could be bought only one day a week and, except for visiting the farm, at only one place on Earth, the Shillington Farmer’s Market, which was open every Friday less than a mile from my childhood home. They were made by Mennonite farmers who appeared to make just enough to sell each week (they never made more for the rush during various holidays) and when they sold out, packed up and went home. You could buy them in bags, but the best way was in a returnable can. Every Friday, I’d pick up a 5-lb. can, pay for the chips and a deposit on the can. The following week, I’d return the empty can and get a new one, this time paying just for the chips inside. It was a beautifully simple system, ecologically as well economically sound.

Sadly, they don’t do the cans anymore, not since the company was taken over by a nephew and moved from the farm to an actual plant. Happily, they still taste as good but I must say some of the magic in them is gone. But I bring this up only to illustrate that potato chips are one of the other things I know something about. So when someone makes chips with beer — combining two of my great loves — then attention must be paid.

The creator of Beer Chips, Brett Stern, who’s a native New Yorker, flew down from Portland, Oregon (where he makes his chips) with boxes of his chips in tow. That gave me a better chance to try the chips, and I must say my first reaction is that they’re very tasty and highly addictive. Of course, that may be the added sugar, itself an unusual ingredient in potato chips. Generally, there are only three ingredients in what I’ll refer to as “craft chips” — let’s call it the spudheitsgebot — which are potatoes cooked in oil (either a vegetable oil or lard, most commonly) with salt added. I’m told the beer used is a bock style that is reduced to a powder and sprinkled on the chips during the cooking phase. And for the most part it works. They do seem to have just a hint of beer flavor and happily it’s not overpowering the way it is in barbecue or some other strongly flavored chip. I brought some home for my wife to try and she loves them, as well, and has become quite addicted. Now if I can only get BevMo to get off their bureaucratic arses and carry them in my neighborhod …

Here’s another review of Beer Chips from Chipworld.

These potato chips had a kettle-cooked texture and were crisp with varying levels of crunch. They earned praise around the chip bowl for being quite tasty. Most of our tasters thought that the chips did taste like beer, though some thought the beer taste was most noticeable on first bite and faded away after that. The chips were generally smallish with wiggly, irregular shapes, some folded over.

The Beer Chips table at GABF.