Top-selling craft beers revisited

In October I dug up a list of the best-selling “craft” beers in the country, according to Information Resources Inc. (the details). Now Brew Blog has the Nielsen numbers for the 13 weeks ending Dec. 1.

I thought it would be fun to compare them. The IRI figures are compiled for the Brewers Association, so don’t list brands such as Coors’ Blue Moon and Leinenkugel as “craft.” I inserted Blue Moon in my October list, but left out Leinekugel Sunset Wheat (now included).

Nielsen describes its numbers as “supermarket sales” while supermarkets dominate the IRI sample, although its figures include some drugstores and convenience stores.

Nonetheless pretty similar numbers. You can decide what they mean.

Although the current Samuel Adams seasonal is Winter Lager, the seasonal for most of the Nielsen period was Oktoberfest. I’m guessing the Winter Sampler packs are counted under variety packs. The Blue Moon seasonal would have been its Pumpkin Ale, now replaced by Full Moon Winter Ale, described on the label as an “abbey ale.”

NIELSEN – LAST 13 WEEKS
1 Samuel Adams seasonal
2 Blue Moon Belgian White
3 Samuel Adams Boston Lager
4 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
5 Samuel Adams Light
6 New Belgium Fat Tire
7 Shiner Bock
8 Samuel Adams variety packs
9 Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen
10 Blue Moon seasonal
11 Red Hook ESB
12 Redhook Ballard Bitter IPA
13 Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat
14 Pyramid Hefeweizen
15 Leinenkugel seasonal
16 Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale
17 Leinenkugel Honey Weiss
18 Leinenkugel
19 Alaskan Amber
20 Deschutes Black Butte Porter
IRI – FIRST HALF 2007
1 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
2 Samuel Adams Boston Lager
3 Blue Moon White
4 Samuel Adams seasonal
5 New Belgium Fat Tire
6 Samuel Adams Light
7 Shiner Bock
8 Widmer Hefeweizen
9 Samuel Adams variety packs
10 Redhook ESB
11 Pyramid Hefeweizen
12 Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale
13 Redhook IPA
14 Leinekugel Sunset Wheat
15 Alaskan Amber

Mephistopheles – A non-review

Mephistopheles

Château Petrogasm uses “colors, sketches, photography, and other visual media in order to convey both the intrinsic components of a particular wine along with a general impression of it. ” In other words, pictures instead of words.

That hardly seems necessary for the latest release of Mephistopheles’ Stout from Avery Brewing in Colorado.

A closeup from the label gives you a good idea of what’s inside. It also might traumatize young children and probably belongs in the Christmas Photo Contest.

I haven’t had the latest incarnation, Batch #3, but it checks in at 16% abv.

Firestone 11 and a ‘Tale of Two Matts’

Firestone 11I’ve already ragged on Firestone Walker for the Plane Jane names attached to spectacular anniversary beers. So to be constructive I should suggest a sexy alternative to “Firestone 11,” the beer they’ll be lining up to buy today at the Firestone Walker taproom in Paso Robles, Calif.

With apologies to Dickens let’s call it a “Tale of Two Matts.” And quote a bit from the opening of his similarly named novel: “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.”

The Matts are Matt Brynildson and Matt Trevisan, the brewmaster at Firestone and winemaker at Linne Calodo Winery respectively. The former had everything to do with brewing, aging and assembling the beer. The latter sat in on sessions that determined the blends for “10” and “11.” As important to me is how generous Trevisan was with his time in a long conversation that helped me understand what makes this beer different.

The foolishness? The labor and time involved compared to what income the sale of 500 cases will bring. The wisdom? It’s in the glass.

Coconut. Vanilla. Oak tannins. Texture. Bourbon. Brown. Chocolate. Dark cherries. Smoke. Earthy/herbal.

That’s how my notes begin. Then, Do we really need to deconstruct this beer?

My thoughts turned to a conversation with Trevisan about blending “10.” “I told them they didn’t have to sit there and pick it apart to find the best one,” he said. “You didn’t necessarily want the one you had the most to say about. Ultimately it’s a beverage to enjoy.”

So Daria and I were pretty much done chatting about our impressions of the beer, even if they did keep coming. For instance, when I poured out the last of the 22-ounce bottle and kicked up the head anew a sudden whiff of rose perfume appeared, recalling Rochefort’s beers. Where the hell did that come from?

We enjoyed the beer but we talked about how much we like the Christmas tree we cut Friday, how many days we should appropriate for the Canadian Rockies next summer, and more stuff you don’t give a hoot about.

Instead, you’re here to find out what makes this beer different, perhaps special. Could there be a one word tasting note?

OK. Texture. It’s rich and velvety on the tongue, but finishes with enough leathery coarseness that it doesn’t leave a sweet impression. I suspect that’s one of the reasons such a wide array of flavors come together so well.

Class dismissed.

The rest of a “Tale of Two Matts” is optional reading.

Matt BrynildsonFirestone 11 is a compelling beer with a captivating back story. I wrote about the blending of Firestone 10 in the current Imbibe magazine.

Also, check out Sean Paxton’s recently posted Blending Firestone Walker 11 with Matt Brynildson for photos far more illustrative than my words. Don’t miss the “Bourbon Dot.”

Before we get to the nitty gritty geeky details comparing “10” and “11” let’s back up a bit. When Brynildson hit upon having area winemakers help with the blend, Trevisan — who stocks up on a variety of Firestone Walker beers to serve winery workers during harvest — was one of of the first he called. Wine Spectator has characterized him as one of the “Young Turks” of the Central Coast.

Handed a glass of Abacus, a barley wine, that was a composite taken from several barrels Trevisan asked instead for samples from individual barrels. A conversation with him about wood makes the reason why obvious.

French Oak versus American Oak is just the beginning, because he’ll tell you about different forests around the world. He described two oak trees, each one on a slightly different part of his property, each developing differently in its own microclimate.

“It starts with how the cooper chooses his trees,” he says. Where the wood is dried (think Oregon Coast versus Mojave Desert) and otherwise how the cooper treats it make as much difference as variables that are more easily quoted, like the level of “toast” (when a partially assembled barrel is placed over a fire and charred). For instance, when a winemaker or brewer buys a new barrel it will be described along these lines: American Oak, Medium Aroma Toast, 24 months (the time spent seasoning).

Trevisan says too many winemakers want barrels with the same specs to produce the same flavors. “That takes the human element out of it,” he says. “If I have two barrels I like the idea of the left one and the right one tasting different.”

Assembling those flavors, of course, is why Matt consulted with Matt. “I always work off what I call liquidity. What’s the weight in the mouth? How to you want the wine perceived?” Trevisan says. He returns often to the word “viscosity,” and the importance of flavor at mid-palate.

That may mean something a little different in wine than beer but relates directly to the impressive texture of Firestone 11. A fair complaint about some high alcohol “extreme beers” is that they start with an intense blast of aromas and flavors, but there’s little depth by mid-palate. That’s not the case here.

Make no mistake, Firestone 10 and Firestone 11 taste quite different. We’re not talking about the difference between the 2006 and 2007 vintages of Pinot Noir from a winery. We’re talking the difference between a barley wine and a really big brown ale. The geeky details:

Firestone 11
– 82% Bravo (an Imperial Brown Ale brewed in August 2006)
– 16 bourbon barrels, 5 brandy barrels, 2 retired Firestone Union barrels (new American oak)
7% Rufus (a Continental Styles Imperial Amber brewed August 2007)
– 1 bourbon barrel, 1 rye barrel
7% Velvet Merkin (a regular strength Oatmeal Stout brewed October 2007)
– 2 bourbon barrels
3.5% Parabola (Russian Imperial Stout brewed February 2006)
– 1 bourbon barrel

Firestone 10
– Abacus (Barley Wine) 46%
– Bravo 16%
– Parabola 11%
– Ruby (Double IPA) 8%
– Walker’s Reserve (Oak fermented Robust Porter) 6%
– Hemp Ale (American Brown) 6%
– Double Barrel Ale (oak fermented English Pale) 6%

A 22-ounce of Firestone 10 sold for $9.99 when it was released last year. The suggested retail price on “11” is $16.99.

Beer, Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Beer Belongs at ThanksgivingWe’ve got turkey brining for tomorrow, using one of many recipes The Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton has generously posted at his web site.

If you’ve been procrastinating and are still looking for ideas about what to cook for Thanksgiving then you’ll find some different ones here &#151 although in some cases you needed to start preparations several days ago. You do have time to consider deep frying a turkey. Sean has instructions or here’s the recipe we use.

So Thanksgiving is looking beery. Now if the Brewers Association, which has done a fine job the last three years of getting newspapers and magazines to notice beer at the holiday table could turn its attention to Black Friday.

Why aren’t there flyers in my Thursday paper advertising a case of Sierra Celebration on sale at 6 a.m. for $6.99 for the first 50 customers? Shouldn’t somebody have a DOORBUSTER! featuring Samuel Adams Holiday Sampler ($2.99, at least 10 per store)? Hey, Borders, please e-mail some coupons for beer books.

For now I’d smile if I found a local event like Black Friday Fest in Durham, N.C. (Courtesy of The Beer Mapping Project.)

Bell’s Java Stout, Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter . . . hmmm. They need to start before 3 p.m.

Or if you are one of The Lost Abbey Patron Saints you can pick up your allotment from the release of three seasonal beers that otherwise go on sale at 11 a.m. Saturday. (When then the brewery is going to look a little like Best Buy at 5 a.m. Friday.)

Or you could save your money for Saturday, when the auction for a 2004 bottle of Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout closes. Current bid is $127.50.

Would you brave the 4 a.m. Friday crowd at Wal-Mart to get a deal on Dark Lord? (I’m sorta making the time up; the closest Wal-Mart to us is open 24 hours.)

Chicago awaits the return of Bell’s-brewed beer

Kalamazoo IPA by Bell's BreweryA Bell’s beer by any other name is probably still a Bell’s beer, right?

That’s why there’s excitement in Chicago that Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Mich., plans to start selling three brands of Kalamazoo beer in Illinois.

Rumors that this would happen have appeared on several Internet discussion boards (I first read it in the Beer Mapping Project forums) but a story in Crain’s makes it quite official.

The basics:

– Bell’s left Illinois last year after a dispute with National Wine & Spirits Inc., a distributor.

– Brewery founder Larry Bells says he is finalizing contracts with two distributors to bring beer branded as “Kalamazoo” to a few bars and restaurants. Each bottle will have a label reading: “Brewed especially for the people of the great state of Illinois.” And just to be clear, the labels state the beer is brewed at Bell’s Brewery, which used to be known at Kalamazoo Brewing.

– Bells says officials NWS have told him they will sue to stop the sale of Kalamazoo beers in Chicago.

“I think it will be a very interesting court case,” Bell told Crain’s.

My guess is that if Bell succeeds you’ll be able to walk into a bar, order “Two Hearted Ale” and get a classic American IPA without a bartender even asking “Did you mean Kalamazoo IPA?”