Monday’s fermentation links: ‘It’s just beer news’

BEER AND WINE LINKS 04.16.18

I’m pretty sure Alan McLeod was lamenting the use of the term “deep dive” in his commentary on recent beer news last week. Fact is when I see the words “deep dive” I expect what follows to go deep less often than not. The good news is that several of today’s links are to stories that dig decently deep. I might also add that I’m in the midst of three separate dives myself (also known as a bid idea), so posting here will remain random indefinitely.

Has American Craft Beer Taken Over the World?
Lew Bryson asks important questions, including these, “Is the success of American craft keeping other countries from developing their own palate? Is this some kind of beer imperialism?” I also was in Chile to judge Copa Cervezas de América, although I arrived too late for that trip to the coast. Later in the week John Roberts of Max Lager’s Brewery and I made it to Cerveceria SpoH. It is located in a leather-making district, where the air is pleasantly thick with the aroma of tannins. Spoh is hops spelled backwards (because somebody trademarked the word “hops” in Chile) and, sure enough, the brewery is best known for Animal IPA. But we also tasted beers that made it clear brewer Max Ivanovic is good at subtle.

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Monday beer links: It’s personal & other single-sentence truths

BEER AND WINE LINKS 04.09.18

Larry Bell, circa 1995
Q & A: Larry Bell of Bell’s Brewery.
“We’re probably one of the few breweries that uses our family name. There are so many breweries out there but not necessarily a lot of family names. It’s personal — it’s our name on the product,” says Larry Bell (pictured at the brewery in the summer of 1995). And he isn’t shy about continuing to conjure up David/Goliath images. “They have the Death Star, and they are moving it into position. We rebel forces, we craft guys, have to keep sticking together and keep attacking.”

Not everything in Charlotte needs craft beer.
This story is full of tweet-worthy one liners. I chose this, “The rise of the brewery is arguably the biggest social trend of the past decade for young professionals in midsize cities.” Pretty bold. But there’s also this idea, “Tell people that it’s OK for people to meet for a run or to do yoga or to discuss religion or listen to music or linger over flowers without chugging $6 pints while doing it.”

Homage to Catalonian beer tourism.
A PhD in beer tourism. Let that sink in. But the part that intrigues me: Catalan brewers are “attempting to forge a truly local indigenous brewing culture, using locally grown produce – hops, barley, other grains, fruits, even grape must, to make ‘grape ales’ – and locally found wild yeasts, and using resources such as barrels previously containing local wine, sherry, local spirits and the like.”

A Culture of Confusion — The Process, Vernacular, and Challenge of Selling “Sour” Beer.
I can’t quit watching the conversations brewers are having as they try to establish a new beer vocabulary. Bryan Roth writes, “‘Sour beer,’ for its ease of understanding, is a double-edged sword.” Lauren Salazar, the wood cellar director and blender for New Belgium Brewing1, talked about this several months ago at a drinks conference in South Carolina. “Every day, I try to figure out how to break these words apart,” she said.

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The Session: Considering the 21st century beer garden

Augustiner Braustubl

Augustiner Braustubl

The SessionHost Tom Cizauskas has a rather sad tale to offer for the The Session #134, concluding:

“To us, a beer garden has a mythical ethos, like a German outdoor sibling to the coziness of a British pub. But there, that day, the fable seemed extirpated, the expectation denied. Had we been so wrong? Is a beer garden simply a place for beer drinking minus any trappings except for an outdoor setting?

“So, today, we’re enlisting the aid of others. Help vivify our myth.”

Boak & Bailey do just that in a delightful way.

I know there’s nothing mythical about places such as Augustiner Braustubl, the top two photos (in the second customers are rinsing out their mugs before having then filled). There’s something more than nostalgia that draws regular customers to them. They aren’t only tourist attractions.

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Lager diversity: Beyond pilsner and ‘lite’

The drumbeat supporting lager as the new new thing seems to be getting louder, but I’m pretty certain I heard such chatter before anybody suggested Juicy or Hazy IPA would become a defined style. And certainly before glitter beer began to glitter. Patience seems necessary. Nonetheless there is evidence of change almost hourly on my Twitter feed. For example (click on “talking about this” to read the conversations that followed):

But what comes after pilsners and light/lite beers? Burial Beer’s Ambient Terrain series looks encouraging. And there will be plenty of ideas to repurpose on display at the Urban Chestnut Brewing LagerFest in St. Louis.

Urban Chestnut Brewing Company LagerFest logo

Recipes for most of the beers that will be on offer came from Ron Pattinson’s wish list.

Firestone Walker Brewing, which you will recall makes a very popular pilsner (Pivo) and recently began shipping an all-malt lager (Firestone Lager) that is basically a helles, picked 1896 Munich Lagerbier. The only malt in the grist is Munich.

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Monday beer links: Whimsy, weed & whatever

BEER AND WINE LINKS 04.02.18

Two Jacksonian Scholars Debate NEIPA.
Frivolous in a refreshing way. Some weeks it seems like most of the stories I see related to beer pretty directly involve the business of beer (for instance this, or this, but also several below). “Jacksonian Scholars” is not one of those.

Ah, as so often he presents us with a mirror reflecting our own prejudices.”

How should beer types and styles be organized taxonomically?
You know this will not end well.

When Craft Breweries Bite Back | Summit Brewing’s Unique Approach to its UnTappd Reviews.

Next up from Summit Brewing: A Glitter IPA that files your taxes.”

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