musing

Does anybody know?

What does “craft beer” mean to you?

Probably no need to start that discussion again. These links are just the tip of the iceberg.

But Charlie Papazian has a new poll and you should go vote your conscience.

Related, in my mind, are posts from Kelly Ryan and Mario Rubio.

Rubio writes about recent recalls by Goose Island, Bell’s and Avery and the fact that that Deschutes decided not to release Black Butte XXII in bottles. Quite obviously, quality control remains the elephant in the “craft beer” room. And I’m not necessarily talking about the four breweries mentioned this paragraph.

Ryan — in case you don’t know he’s one of the brewers of the perfectly lovely Thornbridge beers — begins his post with a discussion of whether size matters and goes here and there across the course of more than 1,800 words. I’d love to sit in a pub and chat about the full range with him, agreeing, disagreeing, clarifying, but as far as commenting I wouldn’t know where to start. Just go read.

Didn’t take long to find something goofier than the fact that Abita can’t sell its beer brewed to raise funds for oil spill relief in two of the states most damaged by BP’s negligence.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has made a decision that seems just about as anti-homebrewing as it can be in a state that until this week seemed to be the most small-batch beer friendly one in the country.

Lisa Morrison and Jeff Alworth have the details about how the OLCC ruling shutdown the homebrew competition for the Oregon State Fair. Among other things. Like homebrewers not being allowed to bring homebrew to homebrew meetings.

As it did after Katrina, Abita Brewing in Louisiana has brewed a beer to benefit victims of disaster.

This time 75 cents from the sale of every 22-ounce bottle of Save Our Shores (S.O.S.) Charitable Pilsner will will go to a fund that will be used to support those devastated by the BP oil disaster. But here’s the rub, via The Mississippi Brew Blog, Abita can’t sell the beer in two of the states most affect by the spill.

At 7 percent the beer is too strong to sell in Mississippi and the 22-ounce bottles are too big to sell in Alabama.

Think about it.

Abita first brewed Restoration Ale after Hurricane Katrina — a beer remains on the market — and also sold a variety of related items to raise money to benefit Katrina victims. Likewise 100 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of SOS gear will go to the SOS Fund. I’m pretty sure they are even legal in Alabama and Mississippi.

As my wife and daughter know I’m a sucker for a quick wink or even a half smile (from them — this doesn’t work for every one).

Hold that thought.

Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City recently began selling a new beer, Amber Ale. You can buy it in draught in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, or find it in bottles in Boulevard’s 12-Pack Sampler. I received a couple of bottles from the brewery and drank one last night.

I have a friend who does not approve of drinking beers named after colors. He gets around the fact that he loves Belgian Whites by calling them witbiers. I have no such problem, but I did taste at least one too many amber ales on brewpub sample trays in the 1990s and never quite recovered.

Too often they have a sticky sweetness that no amount of hops can balance (some being IPAs by name). No such problem with Boulevard Amber. Its biggest fault might be that the “sell sheet” describes it as quaffable. Because it is 5.1 percent abv I guess it doesn’t qualify as a “session beer” under the Bryson Rules, but it sure meets his other criteria.

Flavor when you look for it; doesn’t get jealous when you want to talk about something other than what’s in the glass.

And, for me at least, a bonus. There’s a bright, spicy note on the nose that yields to the malt, then returns on the palate. Looking at the list of ingredients I suspect the protagonist might be the Saphir hops (a relatively new variety from Germany’s Halltertau region). Bottom line, I don’t really care.

I’m simply delighted my beer winked at me.