Stan Hieronymus

There will be hops, but climate change is real

Hop picker delivers

Hop harvest starts in the Pacific Northwest in about a month; earlier in Europe and on the continent.

Yesterday, seven representatives from Yakima Chief Hops provided an update on how things are looking on the 50-plus farms that grow the hops YCH sells, recording it and making it available on YouTube. Interested parties logged in from Belgium, Catalonia, Russia, England, Scotland, Sweden and elsewhere.

Call it hand holding. Brewers have heard enough about the heat dome that settled over the Northwest about a month ago they are worried about if they will be able to get the hops they want following the 2021 harvest, and about the quality of those hops.

Steve Carpenter, chief supply chain officer, figures this is the 59th harvest that he remembers (starting when he was a 5-year-old following his father around). He talked about 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted in May, covering young plants with hot ash. “What I’ve discovered when these events happen, none are as bad as they seem initially,” he said. Given time, and there has been time, hop plants are resilient. “If you have a hop contract I wouldn’t worry at all. At least right now,” he said.

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The color of pilsner

The brewer describes which of these two beers as a Czech pilsner?

The color of pilsner

Wait for it.

(Suspenseful music playing.)

Wait for it.

Wait for it just a little more.

You probably figured out this is a trick question. Both are called “Czech pilsner.”

That’s Glass Castle Pilsener from Silver Branch on the left and Rocket Frog Žába on the right.

‘Wet river stones’ & other thoughts on tasting notes

This a take is from a wine guy, but perfectly relevant to beer:

“The best notes go back and forth, some sentences, some fragments, and this is right and proper.

“We are following the squirmings of an animated mind attempting to grope with the limitations of languages and with kinetic information that moves faster than it can be apprehended. Wine (Beer) doesn’t stay still on the palate! In fact the moment it enters the palate it starts to mingle with the taster’s saliva, and if the damn thing could just be inert for a second you might be able to say how it tastes. But it doesn’t work that way.

A few links to things you might have missed last week

– Should The Complicated Legacy of Worst Beer Blog and Craft beer’s “99% asshole-free” myth have made you wonder what the mythical Peter David sounds like you can listen to these two archived podcasts. a) Steal This Beer, March 30, 2020. b) Have You Tried The Hef? The Full Pint, Sept. 24, 2019.

– On Twitter, Em Sauter had a question. “Drawing craft beer heroes/pioneers today for the P&P book. Who are some of your craft beer heroes?” Good luck finding the bottom, let alone defining craft beer and pioneer.

– Finally: The Death of Keg.

– Pete Brown is is staring an online book club.

– Wine Influencers Inspire Strong Reactions.

Ales Through the Ages registration opens

Ales Through the Ages

Martyn Cornell will be talking about the origin of pale ale, from Sumeria via Norway.

Ron Pattinson will discuss the transformative story of UK brewing during World War I.

Pete Brown is giving the keynote address.

In person, in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, November 12-14.

Could there be a better reason to get vaccinated?

Registration is open now for 50 in-person attendees and an unlimited amount of virtual attendees. As more people are vaccinated, and travel and other restrictions ease, more in-person spots may open up. I certainly hope so. The first Ales Through the Ages in 2016 (read Cornell’s recap) would not have been as much fun without a larger audience.

Learn more about the conference here, links to register and the full list of speakers included.

(A bit of disclosure: I’ll be among the speakers, and the conference will pay for my travel and lodging, as well as providing an honorarium.)