musing

‘This beer sucks’ – Go directly to jail

Did you hear the one about the newspaper columnist who got tossed in jail in Hungary for criticizing wine from a state-owned winery? Fortunately, the European Court of Human Rights sprung him. From the original story:

Péter Uj trashed the celebrated TF1/LCI Sour wine, produced by the state-owned T. Zrt, in a column for Hungary’s daily newspaper. He said the wine was overly oxidized and used poor-quality ingredients, but “hundreds of thousands of Hungarians drink [this] shit with pride.”

After the column ran, he was convicted for libel in 2009 because the court found that Uj had unnecessarily insulted and infringed the wine producer’s right to a good reputation. His conviction was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2010.

The European Court of Human Rights unanimously held on Tuesday that Hungarian judges erred, saying Uj’s article was intended to “raise awareness about the disadvantages of State ownership rather than to denigrate the quality of the wine company’s products.”

Political commentary is one thing, wine criticism another, it seems.

But imagine if he’d been writing about beer in . . . well, pick the beer-loving country of your choice.

The good, the bad and the feel good

The good

First we’ve got the Chicago Tribune update: “The world of Chicago-made beer is expanding so quickly — at a rate unseen in the lives of modern-day beer lovers — that new entries arrive almost monthly.” A complete rundown.

There’s there’s the Boston Globe: “Region awash in new wave of niche breweries.” Includes the big question (and no answer), “How many will survive the long haul? No one knows.”

The other day I had a quick keep-it-to-less-than-140-characters exchange with a professional brewer not in St. Louis. He asked, in view of the number of relatively new breweries and additional ones about to open here, how many I think the region can support. I copped out and answered I’m too new to town to guess.

The answer is that a lot more [xxx]¹ beer is going to be sold annually. Will it be more Stone beers (just came into town with lots of fanfare), more Perennial beers (not open yet), more Schlafly (celebrating its 20th anniversary), more Urban Chestnut, Boulevard, Green Flash, beers imported by Shelton Brothers? Can’t tell you, but it will be a lot more. I hope quality makes a difference, but that won’t be the only factor.

¹ Insert whatever term you want: craft, boutique, microbrewed.

The bad

“America’s Finest Beer Festival” in San Diego was canceled rather last minute. There’s a joke in there involving the word “finest” but I sense some people might have got screwed here. A strange story.

The feel good

Stone Brewing has guaranteed that the Japanese Red Cross Society will receive at least $50,000 from its latest collaboration beer, Baird/Ishii/Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA. Toshi Ishii — a former intern-then-brewer at Stone and now owner of Ishii Brewing in Guam — contacted Stone brewmaster Mitch Stone Steele after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster about brewing a beer that would aid the recovery effort. Bryan Baird of Baird Brewing in Numazu made it a threesome.

The beer is “‘dry-hopped’ with Sencha, a variety of whole-leaf Japanese green tea.” Details are at the Stone Blog, but between the tea and various hops the beer certainly makes a green, herbal impression.

Beyond the obvious relief for Japan, hop growers in France may also benefit. After France lost Alsace-Lorraine to German in 1871 and nearly until World War I the region was second only to Bavaria in hop production in the Germany empire. Not all the hops grown in the Alsace had a great reputation, but Strisselspalter (or Strisselspalt, depending on the catalog you are using) is wonderfully aromatic and spicy.

Strisselspalter accounted for 82% of the hops grown in the Alsace in 2008, and production dove 53% in 2009. There are a variety reasons, one of which is that it’s a low alpha hop. Even at a time when [xxx]¹ brewers put a growing premium on aroma quality they want more alpha than the hop provides.

Aramis is a new variety from the growers in the Alsace, with about twice the alpha acids (8 AAUs, so not a heavyweight) and many of the same flavor and aroma qualities as Strisselspalter. According to the Stone Blog this might be the first commercial beer made with Aramis. Given the complex hop recipe and presence of green tea you wouldn’t call it a showcase for Aramis, but you gotta think it’s going to start showing up in other beers. Reason for hop growers in the Alsace to hope.

‘Sessionable’ & 8% abv? What would Lew say?

From Shanken News Daily:

Tenth & Blake, the MillerCoors craft beer unit, has begun testing Blue Moon Vintage Blonde Ale, a wheat beer produced with Chardonnay grape juice, in five markets. Tenth & Blake president Tom Cardella told Shanken News Daily that Vintage Blonde, which is packaged in 750-ml. bottles, is expected to be one in a “specialty series of higher-alcohol beers” marketed under the Blue Moon banner. Cardella added that Blue Moon Grand Cru, a limited-edition small-batch beer first launched in 2009 and retailing at around $10 to $11 a 750-ml. bottle, has received favorable consumer response. Tenth & Blake describes Vintage Blonde — which is being tested now through mid-September in Seattle, Colorado Springs, Chicago, Rochester and northern New Jersey — as “sessionable,” meaning that its profile is well-suited for several servings in a single occasion. The product is being sold in a limited number of grocery stores, liquor stores and about 20 on-premise accounts.

The label at beernews.org indicates the beers is 8.5% abv. Guess that is “sessionable” when you are a Chardonnay drinker, but not according to the rules at The Session Beer Project.

The role of the (beer) geek in modern society

On the heals of a conversation about record-store clerks and beer zealots, Building International Coalitions Through Beer and Pavement gives us:

“(T)en things geeks, nerds, snobs, and connoisseurs do that makes it hard to take their advice and opinions on beer and indie rock seriously.’ (The link, in case you hadn’t figured it out.)

I can’t pick which one I like best, I do know the conclusion really closes the deal.

Still, the backlash directed at beer nerds and indie geeks seems to resemble anti-intellectualism or anti-elitism that runs rampant through our political climate at the moment. These experts are valuable parts of our communities. They can connect dots and provide insight when it’s lacking. The trick is to not let that abundance of knowledge overwhelm or drown out enjoyment.

Well put, ZJE.

The $19.95 politically political bottle opener

Beers Not Bombs Bottle OpenerHow do you review a bottle opener?

It works. Or it doesn’t. This one works.

But $19.95 for a bottle opener? That must be a political statement. Really. I don’t think you buy a “Beers not Bombs” bottle opener unless you want to make a political statement or are enthralled by the story about how they are made. A company called War to Peace fashions jewelry from Peace Bronze, an alloy taken from copper previously used for wiring in nuclear missile systems.

The bottle openers are the newest addition to its catalog and 20 percent of profits are donated to peace and social justice organizations: The Hunger Project; Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières; and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Now the disclaimer: The folks at War to Peace sent me the bottle opener pictured. Had they simply sent a press release I likely would have mentioned “Beers not Bombs” in a bunch-o-links post rather than devoting 200 words to the topic. I’m passing this much along not to make a political statement or because I need another bottle opener, but because it’s an interesting story. One you might talk about over a beer, where discussions involving politics are encouraged.