musing

When somebody writes a big ol’ history of small-batch, micro, whatever-you-call it brewing Sierra Nevada will be a chapter and Rhinochasers a footnote. But what’s clear in retrospect isn’t always clear at the time.

So I love it when I see stuff like a photo Rob Tod referred to on Twitter. Here’s the link to the picture of Mike Dixon of the Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine, with the original handle that poured the first pint of Allagash White at the GLB on July 1, 1995.

Tod was a one-man brewery at the time. I sure as heck hope he knows where that tap handle is.

Working on a post about Stone 13th Anniversary Ale, that it measures 100 IBU and why that’s a story. Meanwhile I noticed this reading the text written for the back label on the bottle:

“No matter where you are, we are thankful and hugely flattered when you choose Stone. However, if you’re outside our region and you often choose a quality craft beer that is more local, we understand.”

Cheers to Stone. The 13th is supposed to start hitting stores June 29. Don’t know whether that includes Jackson, Wyoming, but even if it does we’ll be toasting Stone with a little Snake River Zonker Stout.

People who are predisposed to spend $95 to attend a beer and food festival say “high quality” is their main priority when purchasing beer, as opposed to low price or brand recognition.

Is this news?

Here are excerpts from the Brewers Association press release:

On Saturday, May 30, over 1,900 attendees enjoyed craft beer and food pairings from 68 craft breweries at the sold-out SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. A post-event survey conducted by the Brewers Association finds that demand for quality beer remains high despite the economy. An overwhelming 91.4 percent of surveyed attendees said the economy has not affected the quality of beer they purchase. In addition, 98.8 percent of respondents cite “high quality” as their main priority when purchasing beer, as opposed to “low price” or “brand recognition.”

When it comes to spending habits, over half (54.9 percent) of surveyed SAVOR attendees said they spend more than $50 per month on beer, while 36.6 percent spend between $25 and $50 and only 8.6 percent spend less than $25 per month. And contrary to popular belief, many beer lovers enjoy other fermented beverages as well. Nearly half of respondents (46.9 percent) claimed to look outside the beer glass and consider themselves to be cross drinkers (enjoying a combination of beer, wine and/or liquor), while 51.6 percent identify themselves as beer lovers exclusively.

Survey Methodology: The Brewers Association survey of SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience attendees took place online from June 1-2, 2009, with data derived from 257 respondents.

I find the idea that this survey of people who paid $95 to attend SAVOR (ticket details) was conducted and that the results might have meaning so strange I can’t think of anything flip to write.

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports on a topic that’s been simmering in the wine blog and wine discussion board world for a while: the ethics of wine writing, centering on Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Read it, and check out blog entries from Dr. Vino and Wine Enthusiast columnist Steve Heimoff.

Now to beer (and a couple more wine links). More than a year ago in looking for an excuse to use a lovely quote from Kenneth Tynan (“A critic’s job, nine-tenths of it, is to make way for the good by demolishing the bad”) I tossed up a post that generated a silly number of comments, leading to a discussion about the ethics of beer writing.

That probably doesn’t need to be revisited. But there is something else to think about. During the course of the Parker flap, the author at winesooth.com asked several prominent wine writers a variety of leading questions. Good reading. But if you check out just one response make it Jancis Robinson’s.

She answers questions not asked, including the issue of writing about people who turn into friends. She writes, “I cannot think of a single wine writer who has managed the sort of hermit-like existence that would be required of them if they were to ensure that they had no real human contact with anyone in the wine trade.”

The discussion about wine junkets and samples of ridiculously priced wines makes it pretty apparent how wine and beer continue to differ (thank goodness). But friendship, that’s universal. It’s one of the joys of writing about beer. Something for me to remember when I write and you to remember when you read.

By the way, if you read this far I applaud you. Despite the lengthy discussion’s at Parker’s website and all the words typed on wine blogs this is a subject I’m not sure how many wine or beer drinkers give a good burp about. Witness the rather meager 11 comments at winesooth.com.