This is what you see when you walk through the front door of the La Cumbre Brewing Company in Albuquerque. The brewery’s grand opening party was Friday, although it began selling beer six days before.
Just a cool photo to look at, so I am passing it along. Not really related to anything in the mission statement. But a bit more about the brewery when I finish what should be the next post, “Whatever happened to ‘regular’ beer?” “A few kind words for ‘regular’ beer, OK?”
I went to high school with a guy who wanted to be a sheep herder when he grew up (this was central Illinois, not Wales). He carried different varieties of wool in each pocket. He liked to pull a batch out and start telling you stories about the breed of sheep it came from. It seems like my pockets are full of bits of beer information. So here goes:
(As a point of order, Schlenkerla — one of two Bamberg breweries still producing its own smoked malts — does not enter these sorts of competitions.)
A source associated with Rock Bottom’s brewing department, who asked to remain confidential, tells us that it now looks like things with the RB-GB merger “aren’t going the way (the most of brewers) had hoped” telling Brewpublic “We’re less than a month into this thing and the new CEO has decided to start making changes to our beer program. He wants us to standardize at least four, and possibly up to six of our beers across the entire company.”
And:
“We’ve never had ANY standardized beers in the history of the company.” says one Rock Bottom employee. “Most of us think (the homogenization of branding) is a terrible idea for a number of reasons, and it most likely signals the beginning of the demise of Rock Bottom to complete irrelevance in the craft brewing world – a la Gordon Biersch.”
I wasn’t aware that Gordon Biersch is irrelevant in the craft brewing world, but this certainly merits watching.
The thought occurred to me that if I were to write about the beers I enjoyed most in 2010 that providing a list of every beer I tasted would make it more “useful.” Let’s say I put Boulevard Brewing’s Saison Brett on the “best” list and not Orval. You might wonder, “Did Stan drink any Orval in 2010 or did he just like Saison Brett better?” But you probably wouldn’t, which is why there’ll be no “best of” post from me. Want a list? How about the list of beer books I put together last year?
Too much to keep track of? Stephen Beaumont has been busy bragging about what he found in Brazil. And we’re headed to Austin, Texas, for the holidays and it seems there are at least ten breweries recently opened, or about to open, or at least beyond the wild dreams stage.
Given that we live in the most fantabulous time ever for beer in America, thought this might add a little perspective. Focus on the content rather than the writing style:
Statistical data show at a glance a progress in this branch of industry within a brief period, and especially in the United States, which is almost fabulous. Greatly prostrated not more than a quarter of a century ago, this interest has now become one of the leading ones, and in every respect deserves great consideration.
When was this written?
Take a guess before you peek.
It was taken from the Publishers Preface to Theory and Practice of the Preparation of Malt and the Fabrication of Beer, an English translation of a German text on brewing, somewhat modified in 1882 for American brewers.
The thought probably didn’t occur to those involved that American beer would once again be “greatly prostrated.”
Mike Lynch of Burgers and Brews has posted the roundup for The Session #46: An Unexpected Discovery. Be sure to read beer.bobarnott.com’s account of discovering Bir & Fud in Rome — a restaurant where your drink choices are Italian craft beer and water. One more suggestion: After dinner at Bir & Fud drift across the way to Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa’.
David Jensen of Beer 47 will host Session #47 (you can’t plan stuff like that, folks) on Jan. 7. The theme is “Cooking with Beer.”
This is the wood. And . . .
This is From the Wood.
Pretty nifty packaging, don’t you think?
The current Draft magazine features “The Top 25 Beers of the Year.” You can view the list here, but you have to pick up the magazine itself to see nice all the bottles and labels (The Lost Abbey Angel’s Share Grand Cru, Saboteur, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, et al.) in their glossy glory. Although From the Wood is among the 25 beer chosen it is not pictured. You can probably figure out why.
It was available on draft only, and there wasn’t really much of it. In that sense it stands as proxy for thousands of small-batch beers sold this past year in the United States. Some terrific, some terrible, most somewhere between.
Ted Rice, director of brewing at Marble, took a bit of From the Wood to the Great American Beer Festival because he likes to have something out of the ordinary to serve to attendees. That meant he was required to bottle enough beer for the Professional Judge Panel (the people who decide who wins GABF medals) evaluate. He packaged a few extra bottles to have to taste when the judge sheets came back. The bottle pictured was the last of those. The beer inside was good, but I didn’t take notes. They wouldn’t have been as evocative as those in Draft, so a bit of the description that appeared there:
“Figs and plum immerse the tongue before simultaneous waves of spicy bourbon and funky Brett wash back. Instead of battling for attention, the bourbon’s vanilla notes meld seamlessly into the flavor, achieving a stunning level of sophistication.”
This beer wasn’t just a happy accident. Rice put a strong dark beer brewed with a yeast strain that hails from Belgium in bourbon barrels he’d used twice previously, so the bourbon character was muted. He added Brettanomyces, but not with the intention of creating a “yeast gone wild beer.”
Curiously, or perhaps not, the beer did not advance past the first round at GABF, where judges evaluate a dozen beers and pass three on to the next level. Rice entered it into Category 12, Experimental Beers, because he decided the presence of Brett excluded it from the wood- and barrel-aged category, but that it didn’t qualify as “sour” (the alternative barrel choice).
One judge thought it should have been entered in the barrel-aged category, another in the sour barrel category. The third wrote, “. . . very drinkable for as much as it has going on.”
In the photo at the top Rice is taking samples of beer aged in “fresh” bourbon barrels, the contents of which will be blended into Marble Reserve (if they are ever ready, sigh). Then the barrels will be used again. Eventually, perhaps on third use, Rice might see about replicating “From the Wood.”
Beers that spend time in wood are a small percentage of a percentage point of Marble’s business, and Marble (which will brew a little over 8,000 barrels this year) is a brewery that few people outside the immediate area have even heard of. That makes it like most of the breweries (including brewpubs, obviously) in the nation. A GABF medal or a mention in a national magazine doesn’t have the financial implications that it does for nationally, or internationally, distributed brands like Dogfish Head and Duvel (also on the list).
But it validates the beers for customers (“I knew that was a good beer”) and makes brewers smile. So I asked Rice a totally unfair question: Which would you prefer, having a beer, specifically this one, win a GABF medal or be named one of the 25 beers of the year by a magazine on newsstands across the country?
He thought about it over night before emailing his answer:
“Having won several GABF medals, I know it’s a thrill. After reading the review of FTW in Draft magazine, it gave me chills and a certain glow, much in the same way a GABF medal does. What’s special about the Draft Top 25 is the colorful review for all beer lovers to see, that a judge’s tasting notes or gold medal could not convey. For this beer, which did not neatly fit in a style guideline, I’ll take the Draft Top 25. From the Wood was selected amongst the beers and breweries of the world, not just one style or country. That’s pretty special.”