This one seems pretty easy to me, so no hint.
For those uncertain about what’s going on, check out the Where in the beer world? archive.
For the first time, no reader knew where last week’s photo was taken. In Douglas, Alaska, of a building that could have been the first home of Alaskan Brewing.
Not sure if the seagull adding a pastoral note to this photo taken at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia is the culprit, but yesterday we got dive bombed by a gull determined to eat some of our ice cream.
First it swept over me (and missed), but it doubled back and nailed Daria’s cone as well as a bit of her finger. Right near this spot.
She’s got the whole story on the Slow Travelers blog.
Beer bloggers have proved adept at breaking news of upcoming beer releases by tracking label approvals. Only thing is, that not all labels turn into beers. We’re still waiting for the Faust Dubbel from Anheuser-Busch.
And perhaps we may also be waiting a while before we see the Kirkland beers from Costco.
We stayed in and RV park not far from Costco headquarters when we were in the Seattle area (a short beer report will be coming), and I heard an interesting but unsubstantiated rumor that the private label beer project currently is on hold. Not sure what that means, now it’s the weekend and we’re headed into Canada.
Sorry about the lousy job of reporting actual facts, but perhaps somebody else in the beer blogosphere will pick up on this and track down more information.
Did you hear the one about an Illinois man who plans to be buried in a coffin designed to look like a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon?
Bill Bramanti, 67, isn’t in a hurry to use it — for now it makes an excellent cooler. Saturday he threw a party for friends and packed the future coffin with ice and cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Am I the only one who finds it creepy he got in to see if he fit?
– JPD (Just Plain Dumb). The world’s 10 most disgusting beers, Florida style, does not need further comment.
– Enough silliness. So here’s a quick quiz: What do Rob Gerrity, Scott Kerkmans, Ron Kloth, Andrew Waer and Neil Witte have in common? Beyond the fact none of them is likely to be buried in a PBR coffin.
They are the first five to pass Certified Cicerone exam. Since January, 115 individuals have passed the online Certified Beer Server but these are the first to move on to the next level (Certified Cicerone, obviously).
The exam (conducted in San Diego during the Craft Brewers Conference) took three and a half hours and included 200 fill-in the blank and short-answer questions followed by three essay questions, a demonstration and 12 beer samples presented in the tasting portion of the exam.
Kerkams, as you may know, is the Chief Beer officer for Four Points by Sheraton. As you may not know, he grew up in Albuquerque .
Kloth, as you may know, is the driving force beyond Papago Brewing, the Scottsdale, Ariz. beer establishment that’s as good as its considerable reputation. The beer there only gets better over a game of chess on the set Ron first used as a kid (really). As you may not know, Ron is the only one of the first five Certified Cicerones to have spent a night or three in our guest bedroom (the one with dozens of vintage hop boxes).
Just something to think about if you are considering taking the exam.
– I like this idea. Five-word beer reviews. Not that it was to be via Twitter.
More adjectives: 107 words to describe hop aroma and flavor.
Until robots take over our tasting world we’re left to consider how to communicate the aromas and flavors we experience with beer.
A review of “Perfumes: The Guide” in the current New Yorker magazine makes that point.
The words and the references are really useful only to people who have had the same experiences and use the same vocabulary: those references are to a shared basis of sensory experience and a shared language. To people who haven’t had those shared experiences, this way of talking can seem like horse manure, and not in a good way.
The book was written by Tania Sanchez and Luca Turin, and since Turin was the protagonist in the delightful book “Emperor of Scent” five years ago it gives me an excuse to quote this vaguely relevant passage:
“Look at beer, which is a very interesting cultural product. Beer smells like a burp. Gasses from someone’s stomach. Lovely. Again a product of fermentation, which is to say decay. Decay enhances smells and flavors, yet we have a sharp ability to identify decay, because decaying things will kill you. Bacterial and yeast decomposition.
“Which can give you ‘I wouldn’t touch that in a million years’ and, at the same time and in the same culture, mind you, ‘I will pay great sums to consumer Rodenbach,’ which is a miracle of a beer from Belgium. A miraculous, powdery apple flavor. Those Rodenbach yeast have an I.Q. of at least two hundred. Fucking genius yeast.”
Returning to the point. A shared tasting vocabulary serves a certain purpose. So I pass this along to do with as you please. It comes from the Merchant du Vin newsletter.
1. Words to describe malt flavors: Malty, biscuity, breadlike, grainy, rich, deep, roasty, cereal, cookie-like, coffeeish, caramelly, toffee-like, molasses-like, malt complexity, smoky, sweet, autumnal, burnt cream, scalded milk, oatmeal, rustic, layered.
2. Words to describe hop flavor and bitterness: Piney, citrusy, grapefruity, earthy, musty, spicy, sharp, bright, fresh, herbal, zippy, lemony, newly-mown lawn, aromatic, floral, springlike, brilliant, sprucelike, juniper-like, minty, pungent, elegant, grassy.
3. Words to describe fermentation flavors deriving from yeast: Fresh-baked bread, clovelike, bubblegum, yeasty, Belgiany, aromatic, tropical, subtle, fruity, clean, banana-like (and for some sour or extreme beers) horseblankety, earthy, musty.
4. Words to describe conditioning (carbonation): Soft, effervescent, spritzy, sparkling, zippy, pinpoint, bubbly, gentle, low carbonation, highly carbonated.
5. Words to describe body & mouthfeel: Rich, full, light, slick, creamy, oily, heavy, velvety, sweet, dry, thick, thin.
6. Words to describe warm ethanol (alcohol) flavors from strong beer: Warm finish, heat, vodka, esters, pungent, strength.