Month: April 2012

Nobody else gets to say ‘um’ this week

Brad Smith has posted an interview I did with him a little while back for the BeerSmith Podcast.

I’ve only listened to a bit of it — I was there, I’ve heard enough of my stories — but I was struck immediately by how many times I uttered the “um” sound. Perhaps I was trying to sound thoughtful. Mostly I come across as a person who should stick to the written word.

But if you want to hear how variations of “um” I can come up with or see what one of the walls in my office looks like, here’s the link.

Session #63 announced: The Beer Moment

The SessionPete Brown has announced the topic for Session #63 in May: The Beer Moment.

What is it?

Well, what is it to you? What does that phrase evoke for you?

That’s the most important thing here. Switch off and float downstream, what comes to mind? Don’t analyse it – what are the feelings, the emotions?

I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot recently, because I’ve been talking about it to various people who are working hard to try to improve the image of beer in the UK. Because whether we articulate it or not, whether we drink vile, sunstruck Corona or barrel aged imperial stout brewed with weasel shit, it’s about the moment far more than the liquid itself. The only people who disagree with me on this are people I wouldn’t want to share a beer with.

The first Friday of May falls on the fourth (thus a headline on the announcement, “May the fourth be with you!”).

Ballpark beer

Urban Chestnut Zwickel at Busch Stadium

That’s Urban Chestnut Zwickel in the plastic cup, raised to toast Jackie Robinson on Jackie Robinson Day. The thought occurred to me Sunday at Busch Statium that it is the ballpark that makes ballpark beer worth ballpark prices. Yes, I should have figured that out years ago.

The second photo, below, shows what’s on tap at Captain’s Corner, which is located behind Section 265 (loge level).

Beer lineup at Busch Stadium

Navel gazing Session #62 wrapped up

The SessionAngelo De Ieso has posted one of the most complete Session roundups ever for #62: “What Drives Beer Bloggers.” And as a bonus (or not, depending on your tastes) he included photos.

As far as navel gazing1 goes, Friday’s Session was above average (again, your mileage may vary). As he concluded:

“Lots of commonalities and dissimilarities amongst beer bloggers and why we elect to write and post about beer.”

1 See previous references to blogging and navel gazing.

Keeping The Session in Session Beer Day

The SessionTwo suggestions on Session Beer Day:

– If you are in the vicinity of St. Louis, a cask-conditioned beer listed as Session IPA on the menu at the Schlafly Tap Room (pictured at the right). This year’s batch is 4.1% ABV, perhaps 35 IBU, generously dry hopped with Galaxy and Simcoe hops. Very new world and juicy, smelling and tasting of tropical fruit.

The full name is House in Session Ale and it was brewed for the first time last year to send to Washington, D.C., to help draw attention to The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act, legislation that would reduce taxes for small breweries. Most of this year’s 15-barrel batch also went to Washington, with a few kegs and one cask remaining in St. Louis.

– It’s about the conversation. And if that’s going well, remembering when it’s your turn to buy the next round.

If you aren’t going to be in St. Louis, there’s a list of participating Session Beer Day establishments here. Lew Bryson’s Friday post at The Session Beer Project nicely recaps a discussion that’s been going on for-what-seems-like-ever about stuff like defining Session Beer and finding American beer culture. Might be more detail there than you want want or even need. Just skip to the end if you lose interest: “And while you’re drinking, let’s do what folks do while they’re drinking session beer: let’s discuss.”