beers of conviction

Where in the beer world – special edition

Got to keep this short. I can tell you the Harry S Truman presidential library is outstanding, that I’m looking forward to learning all about Boulevard Brewing’s many wheat beers tomorrow morning, and that after that we’ll head off for Norman, Oklahoma, in a dead sprint. Because Wednesday we’re touring the National Weather Center. Cool, huh?

So before I forget to mention the pear beer (simply known as Pear Beer) I had last week . . . it was also brewed with elderberry flowers and quince. Pretty good, delicate but possessing enough character that it would likely be excellent with cheese.

Care to guess the brewery that made this beer?

Beers for Bracketology fans

So you are knee deep in numbers preparing your entry in the bracket competition of your choice.

And there are these words you keep noticing over and over. Are they about basketball or beer? A few lines from Jay Bilas, Seth Whatshisname and the others, then the beers or breweries that popped into my mind:

Body of Work: Alaskan Brewing.

University of Arizona: Blue Moon White.

Cinderella: Foothills Brewing.

Long (not sure what Mr. Bilas means, but I’ll guess): Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share.

Mid Major: Michelob.

Pure (another word I scribbled down and wondered what Hubie meant): New Glarus Brewing.

Bubble Teams: Organic beers.

The Little Guy (channeling Dick Vitale): Session beers.

Utah State (disrespected): Utah beers.

Tough matchup: Cigar City Brewing.

Team that will make you forget Princeton: Pabst.

The Top Line (but will they make the Final Four?): Firestone Walker Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Pelican Pub & Brewery.

Snubbed: Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

 

5 beer answers, questions included

First the answers, then the questions.

 

Poppycock.

Was IPA brewed strong so it could survive the journey to India?

 

No.

Michelob: The New Hipster Beer?

 

Not in my liftetime.

Do we need two new beer styles and a total of 141 (one hundred and forty-one)?

 

Let’s have one more beer.

What’s that Czech beer sign mean?

 

Carlsberg.

What should you give up for Lent?

 

Diacetyl: An assignment for you, Daniel Bradford

Jay Brooks lists his “Top 10 Least Favorite Defects” (part of an ongoing series he posts each Tuesday) and diacetyl isn’t in there. A bit of a surprise, until Jay explains he has a high tolerance for that buttery, butterscotch flavor.

Popcorn, diacytelIn this case he means diacetyl must be there at a pretty high level before he notices it. For some, many in fact, drinkers tolerance means they consider diacetyl desirable.

I am reminded of the presentation that Lauren Salazar, who oversees the quality control program at New Belgium Brewing, made at the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver almost two years ago. The “doctored” beers included Fat Tire dosed so heavily with diacetyl that it smelled like standing in front of the popcorn machine in a movie theater.

“Diacetyl is one of the first words you learn (in judging beer),” she said. “We are American brewers. We are paid to hate diacetyl. You know how much British brewers hate us for that?”

Anyway, this is a shout out to you, Daniel Bradford. For those of you haven’t noticed, the All About Beer magazine publisher has set out on a quest to become a beer expert. I have no idea how to define a “beer expert” but I think understanding diacetyl would be a step in the right direction.

Of course that means spending time in the countryside around Bamberg, Germany, drinking fresh lagers. Then heading across the border to the Czech Republic for more golden lagers. You’ll also have to down plenty of pints of cask ale in the UK, then compare those experiences with drinking cask ales in the US Northeast. You’ll encounter diacetyl, for sure. How tolerant should you be?

This is not simply a matter of understanding precusors, VDK and all that good stuff. Or arguing whether Northwest hops and diacetyl don’t like each other. There’s something cultural involved.

Looking forward to your report, Daniel.

 

Session #24: A tripel to Twitter for

The SessionThis is my contribution to The Session, today celebrating two years of beer bloggers (and now Twitter users) writing about the same topic on the first Friday of the month. Visit Musings Over a Pint for the roundup. To follow it “live” on Twitter head to that site and search for #thesession.

Today the theme for Session #24 is “A Tripel for Two.” Host Dave Turley asks that we pick a Belgian-style tripel to review, and to tell “us why it’s your pick to share with that special someone.” After all, Valentine’s Day is only eight days out, although I don’t expect it to be a beery day. We have reservations at Cochon in New Orleans and I’ll be surprised if their beer menu equals their wine list.

But a good tripel, or what I’d call a good tripel, matches such a range of dishes it works well at almost any table. Of course I like my tripels sneaky bold, without the obvious alcohol or lingering sweetness that some prefer, with spicy yeast character usually accented by noble hops. Earthy and dry at the finish.

Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold, for example even though it blatantly breaks the noble hop rule. I don’t have a glass of it in front of me, so my drinking notes are from the fall of 2007, when I wrote about the beer for All About Beer magazine’s Beer Talk.

Here’s some of what I wrote for AABM:

Were there orange or mango groves in the flatlands east of Antwerp you sense this is the beer the monks of Westmalle might have come up with. Appropriately sub-titled an “American Tripel.” Citrus aromas and flavors from Northwest hops blend seamlessly with juicy orchard fruits and a bit of candy sweetness. Bready and yeasty on the palate, standing nicely against substantial alcohol. Hop flavor throughout, though in no sense bitter, tart and dry at the finish.

That’s more than 140 characters, so I guess I have to work on the Twitter version.