Would you pay for better glassware?

Proper glasswareAndy Crouch writes Breweries And Bars Should Kill The Shaker Pint . . . which is a fine idea.

I posted a comment at hit site that economics could get in the way. At issue is not just the shape and size of the glasses, but the quality of the glass itself. Check out wine stemware some time, and you’ll see the lighter, easier to break, stuff costs more. While I would agree that Riedel seems to have a scam going by suggesting you need a different shape glass for every variety of wine grape I also agree that lighter glassware better serves flavor and aroma — of beer or wine.

Before I wander off on a tangent about how breweries could learn a little about glassware, because the Hoegaarden glass Pierre Celis is lousy for drinking Belgian Whites or that I’d rather drink Chimay from a Rochefort goblet than the Chimay branded one . . .

Although Andy’s comment about my comment would indicate he disagrees about the economic issue pleasure humor me. Pretend you are sitting in a pub or restaurant and your beer arrives in a shaker glass. You ask the server to put it into something better. Could be a glass reserved for other beers. Could be good wine stemware (obviously a hypothetical because plenty of restaurants stick with small, cheap, hard to break glasses).

You are told that will cost another quarter.

Is it worth two bits to you?

No, Supplication is not the ‘perfect beer’

Now that I have your attention. . . .

The folks at Chow.com seem to feel compelled to email me every time they post a story about beer. I find that strange because presumably what makes them different is they are discussing beer in an intelligent manner with an audience — folks who might be generally think about food and wine more than beer — that knows less about beer than the people who hang out here. So excuse me if I look at their stories and think “not enough new here to point to.”

The latest email is about a video in their “The perfect” series. We’ve had the perfect fried chicken, the perfect chocolate chip cookie. By god, let’s find the perfect beer.

The choice is Russian River Supplication. Maybe it is perfect, but I like Temptation better. So where is the the in the?

I should also point out that for a year I owned the domain name “myperfectbeer.com.” I let it go and as far as I can tell nobody claimed it. Does that mean there is no perfect beer? Certainly if there is one there must be two and if there are two . . . you can see where I am going.

Watching the video I had one other thought. There are different cherries in some of those barrels. So if Vinnie Cilurzo is still experimenting how could what is already in there be perfect?

Perhaps I’m just being crusty. But why would Lessley Anderson complain? She wrangled a link out of me.

 

Jackson honored; And what do British beer writers drink?

The British Guild of Beer Writers has renamed its Beer Writer of the Year Award the Michael Jackson Gold Tankard Award, in honor of the world’s greatest beer writer, who died two years ago.

The announcement was made at a guild gathering on the eve of the Great British Beer Festival. To celebrate the guild’s 21st birthday 21 beers were selected by some of the country’s leading beer writers and brewers. A fun list to look at.

Anchor Steam, Anchor Brewing
Explorer, Adnams
Brain’s Dark, Brains
Brakspear Triple, Brakspear
Chiswick Bitter, Fuller’s
India Pale Ale, Meantime
Landlord, Timothy Taylor
Liquid Sunshine,St Austell’s
London Porter, Meantime
London Pride, Fuller’s
Pedigree, Marston’s
Red Shield, White Shield Brewery
Ridgeway IPA, Ridgeway Brewery
Rivet Catcher, Jarrow Brewery
Russian Imperial Stout, Harvey’s
SA Gold, Brains
Scapa Special, Highland Brewery
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing
Spitfire, Shepherd Neame
Summer Lightning, Hop Back
Victory Ale, Bateman