Random Friday post that has nothing to do with beer. This is what happens when you are taking a picture that your phone says will take 3 seconds and somebody behind bumps in to you. Cyril Neville on the bongos during “Life is a Carnival: The Last Walz Tour ’24” at Mission Ballroom in Denver.
You should read all of“Beer-Flavored Beer Can’t Save the Category on its Own,” but I am focused on the term beer-flavored beer and Dave Infante’s kicker:
“People like to drink stuff that tastes good, and beer can taste good even if it isn’t marketed as such. Convincing people to want beer-flavored beer is a vocation; brewing them the flavors they want in a beer is a business.”
I confess to typing beer-flavored beer in the past, and perhaps speaking the words out loud. And 13-plus years ago I when I hosted The Session I made the topic “Regular Beer,” a synonym for beer-flavored beer. (Those were the days. Three dozen bloggers chimed in on the topic. Warning: clicking on a link within that post often leads to a broken link.)
I was wrong to use the term. It can be used to exclude, wielded as a weapon by drinkers who imply they know something others do not. “I can appreciate beer-flavored beer, the complex flavors that result from the interaction of malt and yeast in a simple helles. You are not worthy.”
In the introduction to “Hopped Up,” author Jeffrey Pilcher begins, “In 2009, the PureTravel website imagined a United Nations of brewing on a map titled ‘Around the World in 80 Beers.’” I’m going to pretend that instead he referred to another book about beer new to the market, Martyn Cornell’s “Around the World in 80 Beers.” Both offer a “global history of brewing,” but, no surprise, in different ways.
First up, “Hopped Up.” Pilcher uses the “Around the World” map, which features each country’s most iconic brand, to illustrate the ubiquity of pale lager. In his words:
– In narrating the history of beer’s commodification and the triumph of pale lager, “Hopped Up” takes a global perspective.
– “Hopped Up” explores the social patterns of gender, race, and class that shaped the commodification of beer.
– The book examines taste as an agent in shaping the commodification of beer, both as an independent sensory experience and as an instrument of social distinction.
– The book examines taste as an agent in shaping the commodification of beer, both as an independent sensory experience and as an instrument of social distinction.
Thursday, Alan McLeod quoted Boak & Bailey (first paragraph) and then added his own thoughts, as is his habit.
B&B: The news of the return of the Great British Beer Festival did somewhat gladden our hearts, even though we don’t really like beer festivals, and haven’t always had a great time at GBBF. It just felt as if something was missing from the calendar this year when it didn’t happen. All the old problems will no doubt still apply, however: how do you make a big, drafty conference centre feel anything like as pleasant as a pub?
AM: Somehow I don’t believe they were thinking of “Lucha Libre Mexican Wrestling and Mechanical Bull Riding” as the solution to that conundrum. Yee. Haw. We shall wait on reports from these events before issuing our final condemnations… err… thoughts.
Not many hours later, Daria and I were at the Great American Beer Festival. We walked by the wrestling, but did not stop. We never saw the bull riding. If you were looking for a specific brewery, the layout was at times confusing. But I liked that the “Fright” area was dimly (very dimly) lit, that the National Black Brewers Association area was much more prominently placed than last year, and the proximity of “Meet the Brewer” to Homebrew Headquarters.
So I thought, maybe they should rebrand the event as the Great American Beer Experience. Looking back at what Boak and/or Bailey wrote, I did not think, maybe even include a pub experience into the festival. That would be foolish. Instead, I considered that one beer experience does not fit all, and I happen to have photos from the weeks since I last posted anything other than an out of office message here.
The basic “Guinness Experience” (there are add-ons) rises through seven floors, finishing with a pint at the top, which offers a 360-degree view of the massive brewery and the surrounding neighborhood.
Some patrons at Helen’s Bar on the Beara Peninsula arrived and left by boat. We came and left by bike, and Guinness Zero seemed like the best option.
Several pubs in Dingle serve more than beer. We particularly enjoyed Foxy John’s Pub & Hardware store, which also rents bikes. This photo is from Dick Mack’s Brewery & Pub, which also sells leather goods.
A sideways few of brewers in the National Black Brewers Association area. Nine breweries were serving beer. A tenth black-owned brewery, Tapped 33, poured beer in the Meet the Brewer area.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
– Because you might have realized there are still stories like this. Why beer is still changing and interesting. The kicker: “All that said, (Sarah) Real says she tries to keep brewing interesting for her across the board. ‘[It is about] where can I cross over [with my creations], or how can I say, ‘All right, I like what’s happening here. Should I tinker with it?’ Because I can absolutely tinker with a recipe forever. But I will also be like, ‘You know what? People like this one [as it is] or they like that one. Good. Let me start working on something else.’”
– “It is really the people here.” Why it makes sense for a brewery pub to close rather than pass into the hands of a new owner.
– Real ale as folk horror. “Beer loosens inhibitions. Beer puts people in touch with their animal instincts. Beer is magic.”
– 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 63. “Arguably the most famous state fair competition entry did not win a medal. It came from FOSSILS co-founder Barrie Ottersbach and was called ‘Smoked Spruce Ale,’ although some of the judges thought they detected Mr. Clean.”
– Un-diversifying. Tilray, the company which has been scooping up breweries that AB InBev and MillerCoors grew bored with, is planning to reduce the number of beers those breweries make. “We’re looking at how to take complexity out of our business.”
– What might Marcus Baskerville be up to? “An elevated bar and lounge experience with affordable cocktails and craft brews,”
* Should you wonder, the question in the title is a reference to a Todd Snyder song.
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