Ready to settle down with one beer?

Research commissioned by UK brewer Greene King found “35 is the age at which British men typically settle on their ‘usual.’ ”

So I guess I’m a little slow. I don’t even have a “usual” style.

On the other hand perhaps I’m precocious, because “they trial an average of seven different brands before developing a loyalty to their favourite beer.” Only seven beers? Check out Luke Nicholas’ Twitter feed from last night. (And he’s from New Zealand.)

Obviously some across-the-pond cultural differences here. Nonetheless, more from the survey:

– One in five men try up to 14 different kinds of beer before settling on their favorite, and that is determined “on quality and taste above all other factors – including price, brand, strength and peer pressure from friends.”

– Peer pressure? Twenty-nine percent of those 18 to 24 order the same beer as their friends. Just 7% of men over the age of 35 are similarly influenced.

– While men in London are the most likely to rate quality as the key factor in their beer preferences, Londoners are also most influenced in their choice of beer by their mates (16%), and men in Yorkshire the least (4%).

More hops! More hops! More hops!

The Associated Press has good news for us:

Some Yakima Valley hop growers are pulling other crops to plant the beer-flavoring ingredient and planting new acreage in response to a worldwide shortage that caught everyone – brewers, dealers and growers – by surprise.

This story makes me giddy.

Growers are feverishly reconditioning yards and adding new land at an unheard-of pace. Growers are receiving multiple-year contracts with prices front-loaded to help them shoulder the estimated $6,000-per-acre cost to plant yards and also upgrade equipment.

The story further reports that hops acreage expanded about 2,000 acres at the end of 2007 and could grow by another 5,000 this year. Ralph Olson of Hopunion thinks the figure could be closer to 8,000 acres, which would be a 25% jump in acreage.

“It’s basic economics,” said Ann George of the Washington Hop Commission. “When everyone started making orders, we found we had a shortage. The price went crazy. People are willing to spend large sums.”

And she correctly points out that prices will abate (which doesn’t have to mean they will plummet to the ridiculously low prices of recent years) when supply equals demand.

“The big challenge is finding the perfect balance. How do we hit that and keep the brewers happy and not go into oversupply?” she said.

Meantime plans to revive London brewing history

Meantime clockMeantime Brewing Company in London has signed a £5m deal with the Greenwich Foundation to excavate, renovate and recommence brewing at the Old Royal Naval College.

“London is the home of India Pale Ale, Porter and Stout but – in time honored British tradition – we have allowed this rich heritage to be forgotten,” Meantime brewmaster Alastair Hook said for a press release.

“The pubs and breweries in our capital were once the envy of the world and in terms of commercial, industrial and social importance their impact was immense. The brewery exhibit and Meantime brewhouse, along with the cellars and bar will do everything possible to recapture and present the visitor with the full glory of this fascinating age.”

There was a brewery on the site of the Old Royal Naval College from 1717 until around 1860. Its function was to supply the retired and injured seafarers, inmates of the Royal Hospital, with their daily ration of beer. The current building was constructed in 1831, substantially altered in 1843 and subsequently all but demolished.

A press release states, “Meantime will produce its own London Porter that will replicate the beer produced by the brewery in the early 18th century.” And, “The defining character of these beers would have driven by Brettanomyces yeasts and Lactobacillus and Pediococcus bacteria harbored in the pores of the wooden tuns used to store the beer. The beers would have been stored for a minimum of 12 months.”

Meantime some time ago created mini-websites with the history of London Porter and
India Pale Ale, two of its beers that have been particularly popular in the U.S. market.

Well worth your reading time . . . and two beers equally worth seeking out.

If this is Beer Heaven, what are they drinking?

I was hoping that the new Miller Lite commercials would run during the NCAA basketball tournament because that’s the best chance I figure to have of seeing them for a while.

Turns out Miller has posted them at its website (you’ll probably have to do the age check thing along the way), but not at YouTube.com.

BrandWeek has the details:

The other effort, “Ultimate Light Beer,” features a man walking into beer heaven. It’s a bar where the bartender recognizes him by name and he has a monogrammed stool, which turns into a recliner upon sitting down. Two patrons are playing air hockey on a table that also is broadcasting a basketball game. Others are shooting pool at a table with moving pockets that catch any shot. When our protagonist orders two Lites, two waitresses deliver.

Beyond the theological questions the commercials pose they got me wondering . . . Why, if this is heaven, is there a need to drink low-calorie (i.e. light) beer?

Flying Dog Garde Dog: Thumbs up or down?


Let’s start with what the brewer has to say: Matt Brophy of Flying Dog Ales talks about the intent behind the seasonal Garde Dog, as well as the way it tastes to him.

Please notice that near the end he says, “We put our own spin on it.”

Not to duck Christopher’s call for less description/background and more guidance/criticism, but how you rate this beer depends in part on what you expect from it. Had I sampled it looking for one designed to replicate Lost Abbey’s Avant Garde I would have been disappointed and likely suggested “thumbs down.”

But I like the Garde Dog. If I could buy it fresh (many Flying Dog seasonals don’t reach New Mexico, and you always have to worry about how they’ve been treated) I would. So if we are treating this like a light switch, good or bad, this beer is good. Unlike the previous biere de garde I drank, Castelain Blond, a generally dependable beer that was old, lifeless and a bit sour.

Like many other beer bloggers (just do a Technorati search) I received a bottle directly from Flying Dog, assuring freshness. I prefer it that way.

It’s no wimp at 5.8% abv, but not as strong (and hence as complex) as more traditional versions. Perhaps the flavor is a bit fruity for the style, but it blends well with lager malt sweetness and spicy hops, leaving an impression of fresh bread. Maybe it’s going to taste earthier after some time in the bottle . . . although since it’s capped rather than corked there’s less chance it will take on a musty character (or is that TCA?) that would make it more “authentic.”

By then it will be up to somebody else to tell you it is good. And I may well not agree.