beers of conviction

Hey, I think this barrel-aged beer thing has some traction. Festivals earlier this month in Chicago and the Bay Area and judging that accompanied them give us a shopping list . . . of sorts. Looking for these beers, many of which are sold only on draft and all of which are packaged in small amounts, feels a little like chasing ghosts.

You’ll find the results of the 5th Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beer here. And West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Festival here.

The Chicago festival attracted 80 beers from 29 different breweries, representing 10 states.

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in Chicago won BOS for the second straight year (and third time in five years) with Clare’s Thirsty Ale, an Imperial Stout aged nine months on raspberries in a bourbon barrel. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery won runner-up BOS again. This time with Wooden Hell, an English-style barley wine aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel.

New Belgium Brewing swept the wild ales category, with La Foile capturing the gold. La Foile also won gold in California.

Old Woody Barleywine from Schooner’s Brewery won BOS in California, followed by two beers from Lost Abbey. “It was so tough, I don’t think we’ll have judging next year, just a people’s choice,” Bistro owner Vic Kralj said told Bill Brand.

Firestone Walker Fine Ales won the People’s Award with Parabola Imperial Oatmeal Stout, one of the components in Firestone 10 released last year and in the soon-to-be-released Firestone 11.

Two other beers brewed for blending &#151 called Rufus and Bravo; isn’t it a little strange they come up with cool names for the parts and rather plain ones for the final beers? &#151 won medals in Chicago. I think those two will also be part of Firestone 11.

Details about that soon. I promise.

The easiest way to understand how malt and barley proved over several millennia that they are the best grains for brewing is to drink a gluten-free beer (no barley, wheat or rye).

That sounds harsh, but it’s hard to imagine choosing to drink a beer brewed for the gluten intolerant, most often celiacs, unless you have to. Maybe our brains must register the flavors of barley or wheat before they can think “hmmm . . . beer.”

But what if you grew up in sub-Saharan Africa, where sorghum and millet are more commonly used in brewing? Then you might feel the same way about what we consider traditional beers.

That’s why I really don’t understand seeing these beers “scored” against our standards at the beer rating sites. Part of the reason, of course, is that more smaller breweries are offering them, and therefore they get classified as “craft” and that means they are supposed to be judged to a special flavor profile.

Instead consider them an acquired taste. The slightly astringent, sometimes cidery, thumbprint of sorghum becomes part of their flavor profile. And despite how unappetizing that may sound brewers are finding different ways to produce an alternative for those who are gluten intolerant, want to drink alcoholic products and don’t want to drink wine.

(Just to be clear, being gluten intolerant is not like finding yourself a little stuffed up because you are mildly allergic to yeast. Celiac disease is a genetic disorder that causes stomach cramps and digestive problems and can lead to other serious health risks.)

Now a few examples:

– The easiest to find and the easiest to drink is Anheuser-Busch Redbridge, introduced not quite a year ago. It won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the new gluten-free category and deserved it. It knocks the rough edges off the sorghum profile better than any other beer, with some toasty sweet character.

– Merchant du Vin began importing three of the various gluten-free beers that Green’s in the UK has commissioned. All three of these are brewed at DeProef in Belgium, with Quest called a tripel and Endeavor a dubbel. Both have the bright esters you’d expect from the styles, a bit of perfume and certainly candy sweetness. (In the case of Quest, which is 8.5% abv, the alcohol is also pretty apparent.) Quest is spicier, while Endeavor has more fruit and caramel. Both exhibit what a beer judge friend of my calls “extract tang” that’s more noticeable at the start than after a few sips.

– Sprecher Brewing in Milwaukee has taken another approach with Shakparo Ale and Mbege Ale. They were first brewed for Milwaukee’s African World Festival and thus styled to be African. Mbege is made with bananas as well as sorghum and millet. I haven’t had it. Sprecher brought Shakparo, made with sorghum and millet to the GABF, where it won a bronze medal. It’s fruity, with some cider characteristics that seem more integrated than in other sorghum beers.

Depending on whose numbers you look at, there are between one and three million celiacs in the United States. Breweries aren’t making these beers as a public service, but it feels more like serving a community than exploiting one. According to Information Resources Inc., A-B sold about 21,000 cases in supermarkets in the first half of 2007, less than Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus and not even 5% of Miller Chill sales.

That’s why I would call these “beers of conviction.” A few months ago I began using that term and even created a category to file posts under. Perhaps I should further define what that means, but for now I know one when I see one. And these beers brewed for those who can’t enjoy barley or wheat qualify.

Apologies, because I really don’t plan to make this site all Southampton-Pabst all the time. But since the question was asked and I obviously did not make it clear before . . .

Strategic alliance means just that. Pabst did not buy Southampton Brewing or an portion of the company. Southampton owner Donald Sullivan explained via e-mail:

“Pabst has not bought any percentage of SHB. Southampton stays independent. The strategic alignment is affording SHB a well established distribution network with full sales and marketing and marketing support while allowing PBC to begin to offer it’s distributors a specialty brand that has legitimacy in terms of quality and reputation.

“SHB receives economies of scale with market penetration equal to most or all of regional/national competitors while PBC is able to access and offer the myriad of styles available through the SHB license agreement.”

Tomorrow will focus on actual beer, not business. Hope that’s not an empty promise (because I don’t have a clue what it might be about).

Prepare your knee.

Pabst Brewing announces that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Southampton Bottling to market and distribute its award-winning line of craft-brewed ales and lagers.

Jerk.

Oh my God, what are they doing? Selling out.

Those last words are from Southampton brewmaster Phil Markowski, saying out loud what he knows many in the beer loving community are thinking.

Let’s cut to the chase. Markowski is one of the most respected brewers in the country and many of the beers he’s brewed at Southampton Publick House in Long Island developed a cult following. They are beers of conviction (my words, not his).

Whether you figure Pabst abandoned conviction in the 1870s by joining the rush to adjunct brewing, in 2001 when it closed its last brewery and became a marketing firm, or sometime between I’m comfortable saying that Pabst currently doesn’t sell many, perhaps any, beers of conviction. That changes when this deal closes during the first quarter of 2008.

To be clear, I’m not calling the myriad of brands (remember we’re talking about Pabst, Schlitz, Lone Star and a host of others) Pabst markets bad beers. They are well executed, which is why Pabst was honored as Large Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2006 and 2007. Remember that what they choose to do they do well.

So what’s going to happen with the Southampton beers? Markowski discussed the future Friday while his car was on a ferry, taking him to his Connecticut home after he’d finished a day of brewing at the Publick House in Southampton. He lives pretty much equidistant, meaning 2½ hours, from the three breweries where he makes Southampton beers.

At Olde Saratoga Brewing in Saratoga Spring, N.Y., he supervises production of three year-round brands sold in six packs, as well as seasonal beers sold in 22-ounce bottles. At Sly Fox Brewing in Royersford, Pa., he brews beers packaged in 750ml corked bottles. And in Southampton he brews beer for the pub, with a part of a few batches sometimes ending up in bottles.

What changes? He won’t brew at Olde Saratoga anymore, because the brewery doesn’t have enough excess capacity. He’ll likely make Secret Ale, Double White Ale and perhaps IPA at the Lion Brewery in Pennsylvania, which is in the process of being sold. (Lew Bryson is the go-to guy for those updates). Nothing changes at the pub or with the 750s.

“I intend to be on site for every brew indefinitely,” Markowski said.

“I have the intention of being totally hands on,” he said a little later. “There is no thought of changing the product or the integrity of the product.”

Those are words of conviction. He speaks just as assertively when it comes to contract brewing and batch size.

Arguments about contract brewing have been going on for more than 20 years. “I understand the roots of that (“contract isn’t the same as craft”) thinking, but I think that is changing,” Markowski said. “As the industry is growing up some of subjectivity is coming out of it. … It’s more, ‘How does it taste?'”

Remember the off-the-wall commercials that Miller ran 10 years ago featuring a fellow called Dick? One for Miller Genuine Draft told us, “It’s time to drink beer from vats the size of Rhode Island.” That pretty well epitomized a notion of micro versus macro that continues today.

“It’s less romantic, but the perception that you can’t make good beer on a large scale is wrong,” Markowski said. Then why aren’t the larger breweries winning medals in the GABF categories micros enter?

“They often become timid with a beer flavor profile,” Markowski said.

So here we are back discussing conviction. When the this deal was announced last week, Long Island wine blogger Lenn Thompson wrote:

… how many times have we seen terrific craft brews gobbled up by big brewers only to see the distinctive flavors disappear, resulting in watered down beers that are mere shadows of their former selves? I’m worried, but I guess we’ll see how this plays out.

Other than the Celis Brewery, which Miller literally ran into the ground, can you think of another small American brewery ruined when it was gobbled up? (And, to be clear, Southampton is not being gobbled.)

I may have forgotten one, but I can guarantee the list of smaller breweries that ran aground by underestimating beer drinkers’ interest in distinctive flavors is far longer.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of conviction.

Exhibit A: At the recent Great American Beer Festival, Pabst Brewing Co. won four medals and Large Brewing Company of the Year. Southampton Publick House on Long Island won a silver medal for its Double White Ale and a bronze for its Saison.

Which do we think it cooler?

Exhibit B: Wednesday Pabst Brewing announced (you may have to give them your age, then click on “News” to read the press release) that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Southampton Bottling to market and distribute its award-winning line of craft-brewed ales and lagers.

Remember Exhibit A.

I’m sorry, but beyond that I’m not prepared to connect the dots. I do know that this does not mean that Pabst will be brewing a saison. Anywhere. Anytime. Pabst doesn’t own a brewery. It has Pabst, Lone Star, Pearl, Ranier, Blatz, Schlitz and a raft of others brewed under contract.

So a little more from the press release:

– The agreement is expected to take effect by year’s end with shipments to commence in the second quarter of 2008.

– “Success in the craft industry today requires three key components: High quality beers, a strong distribution network, and excellent marketing capabilities. This alliance combines all of these necessary elements. We are excited and energized by the prospect of working with a partner whose standards for quality and excellence are consistently recognized as world-class,” said Kevin Kotecki, CEO of Pabst Brewing Company.

– “The opportunity to distribute Southampton products to a wider base of consumers is something we have been interested in for quite some time,” Southampton President Don Sullivan noted. “Pabst Brewing’s extensive sales and distribution network and its ability to provide superior marketing support ensures that our brands will have the ingredients for continued success.”

– As part of the agreement, Southampton brewmaster Phil Markowski will continue to oversee production of their beers. He will work closely with Pabst Brewing’s Robert Newman. Markowski is author of Farmhouse Ales (pictured above), and one of the country’s most respected brewers.

Anyway, this it is doubly intriguing to pair this news with the rumor I heard at the Great American Beer Festival that Pabst plans to re-launch Schlitz using a throwback recipe.