‘Top Beers’ . . . and none German?

Or Czech?

I think all the chatter about brewing innovation last week locked up my brain, but there’s nothing like a list of best beers to give it a kick start.

This time Wine Enthusiast magazine offers its (apparently first) “Top 25 Beers of 2009.” You can view the list in pdf form here and the introduction here.

To the credit of Lauren Buzzeo, whose byline is on the introduction, nowhere do I see the Enthusiast screaming BEST BEERS IN THE WORLD. In fact, I can’t really tell but it might be drawn only from beers the magazine reviewed in 2009 (did you know they review beers? I knew Stephen Beaumont sometimes wrote stories for them). And let’s remember the publication does cater to an American audience. However, if I wanted to be fair all the time I’d have to give up blogging, wouldn’t I?

So, let the ranting begin:

  • In his first Pocket Guide to Beer in 1982, Michael Jackson listed 42 5-star beers. Fourteen were from Germany. This list has zero. Same number as from the United Kingdom.
  • Five lagers, all from the United States. The Czech Pils? Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest. The bock? The doppelbock? The dunkel? Sorry, none of any.
  • Eighteen of the beers are from the United States, four from Belgium, one from Canada, one from Italy and one from Norway (a collaboration with two U.S. breweries).
  • Three Belgian White/wit beers, no German weizen beers. Is this a freshness issue? Then drink Schneider Aventinus.
  • No pale ales or India pale ales (although Avery Maharaja Double IPA makes the list).
  • Two pumpkin beers (sorry about that, Mike).
  • Only 11 styles (that’s using the magazine’s designations, with pumpkin being one of them) represented among the 25 beers listed, so not exactly showcasing a “wide range of styles” (see below).
  • Most popular style: Belgian Dark Strong, which might be why the average beer on the list is 7% alcohol by volume. Three beers less than 5%. The nine top-rated beers average 8.7%.

    • Hey, there are great beers on this list (and I can even buy almost 40 percent of them in New Mexico). My point is not that so and so brews a better such and such. I wouldn’t pretend my list of 25 would be any better (OK, I lied, you’d like mine better, and I’d probably over-represent America and stronger beers, particularly since I’d include at least one IPA.) So I better quit and let the author have the last word:

    “With so many selections currently available to the American beer consumer, it was important to showcase a wide range of styles produced in various countries and regions at all price points. From classic styles like American lagers and wheat beers to newer, more experimental styles such as American wild ales, this list demonstrates both the beauty and craftsmanship of a traditionally brewed beer as well as the excitement and cutting-edge adventure of the craft brewing scene today.”

    (The photo at the top was taken at Brasserie Caracole, which brews Nostradamus, No. 19 on the list, in the last wood-fired kettles used by a commercial Belgian brewery.)

     

    A reminder: Session #34 Friday

    The SessionA quick reminder that Jim at Two Parts Rye hosts The Session on Friday. The theme is “Stumbling Home.”

    Here’s the idea:

    It’s time to give a shout out to your favorite watering hole. How good are the beers? Any interesting cast of characters? What are your drinking buddies like? They probably need to be embarrassed on the internet. Now’s the time.

    There’s a catch. He writes, “This booze stuff has interesting side effects. That means, you can’t get behind the wheel. You gotta walk, take public transportation, or be a regular supporter of your favorite taxi company.”

    Driving issues aside I’m going to have to miss Friday’s gathering. It’s a busy week for our family. With school, show choir, turning 13 and student senate Sierra still has time (as long as her parents drive her to rehearsals) for all the preparations prior to Friday’s opening night performance of Beauty and the Beast Jr. (followed by two more on Saturday, plus Sunday, to be repeated to more weekends).

    And to think, a year ago on her birthday she was watching mom and dad drink Gose in Leipzig.

     

    Thank you, Molson, for stopping by

    Since most of you read this blog through a feed reader or perhaps only the most recent post I direct you to the comments that followed the one last week about Molson “microcarbonated” lager.

    Most particularly because a representative of Molson M stopped by with more information (then even more).

    By chance — and this is another sign I might not be normal — I was just reading notes from a presentation Tom Nielsen of Sierra Nevada made at the 2008 Craft Brewers Conference about how carbon dioxide can scrub out hop aroma. This isn’t Miller talking about “triple hopped” beer. I’m not guaranteeing you’ll love Molson M, just saying it’s a real issue.

     

    Book Review: The Naked Pint

    Alan McLeod totally nailed it with his review of The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer, answering the two biggest questions I had while reading the book.

    – First, why are there homebrew recipes in this book? Can’t even a book for beginners be a bit specialized or must every introduction to craft beer tell us a little bit about everything? Look, I’m not exactly complaining because (disclaimer alert) they recommend Brew Like a Monk and it’s a good thing when a book that is going to rank ahead of yours at Amazon.com says nice things about it.

    I like the analogy that Alan draws to The Yachtsman’s Week-end Book, writing that Naked Pint “harkens to a day when a book could purport to be an omnibus filled with everything you practically need to know to get from novice to pretty well capable.”

    – Second, were you to give this book as a present who would you give it to? Again, quoting Alan, “This is a book for beer nerds to give their friends. It will tell the nerds a lot about good beer but it will also tell them a lot about their beer nerd pal.”

    Indeed. Any copy coming from me would come complete with Post-it notes correcting a variety of niggling errors. I can’t help myself. I’ve already whined about “candi sugar,” though because almost everybody seems to get that crooked I’m giving them a pass. However you wonder who was in charge of editing when you see the phrase “bottom-fermenting ales.” Or why on page 130 they get it right in explaining misconceptions about dubbels and tripels after getting it wrong on page 23.

    So you probably aren’t going to use this book to study for the Cicerone exam. But it’s easy to like. Authors Hallie Beaune and Christina Perozzi write in a breezy and sometimes brassy manner. (“A 5% ABV beer can make you friendly; an 8% ABV beer can make you French kiss a tree.”)

    They consistently explain things about beer that can seem overwhelming at the outset. Consider their approach to presenting styles. They always begin with an easy-to-read blurb. Like this:

    Bitter, but Not Angry: Bitters

    This beer’s for you if you like: being surly but not mean, long discussions about Shakespearean themes. Notes of toffee. Staying on your stool. Evenings at the pub.

    Far more interesting than any style guidelines you’ve ever read.

    Alan got it perfect, but before you give it to your friends ready for a bit of beer education read it over yourself. You might find yourself better prepared to talk with them.

     

    Innovation defined: Microcarbonated(TM) lager

    Molson Coors has announced the launch of Molson M, the world’s only “microcarbonated” lager beer.

    Microcarbonization is a revolutionary process implemened by Molson Coors at the company’s brewery on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal, a process during which the beer is injected with CO2 through smaller, finer bubbles with a high level of precision and consistency.

    “The injection of smaller CO2 bubbles makes it possible to preserve not only the taste of the hops but also the delicate flavours generated by the yeast during fermentation,” explained Karine Brunelle, brewer with Molson Coors.

    A patent is pending.