Green Brewing

I've been really busy at work and home, so not much posting recently, and maybe a light load in the future.

Here's a piece from the Center from American Progress (a left-wing think tank) about environmentally friendly brewing practices at New Belgium, Brooklyn Brewery, and others. A lot of this we beer geeks have heard already, but I didn't know, for example, that Brooklyn pays farmers to pick up their spent grain to feed to their livestock.

Mel Kiper Drinking Game

For diehard NFL fans who intend to spend all weekend watching the draft (I would be one but the weather supposed to be great): the Mel Kiper Drinking Game. 

Some of the rules:

1) Anytime Mel says this player is productive take a drink
2) Anytime he says this player is great value take a drink
3) Anytime a general manager says Mel Kiper has never worn a jock strap take a drink.

The "jock strap" debate was over the Colts taking Trev Alberts over Trent Dilfer in 1994. On hindsight, I'm not sure who was right. Alberts had his career ruined by injury, Dilfer kind of sucked (the Colts seemed better with Jim Harbough), but then piggybacked his way to a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner went undrafted that year, so I suppose no one knew what they were talking about.

When my time is up...

Just so you know, when I go, if this woman shows up a my wake, let her stay: 

Sheriff's deputies said a Texas woman started a brawl at a wake in Arkansas when she arrived with a beer can in her hand. The woman, 52, faces a third-degree domestic battery charges, as does another woman, 46, over the March 29 fight. Deputies said the first woman arrived at the Christies Chapel Church with a beer can in hand and that she refused to leave.

People in Arkansas are just so prissy about stuff like this.  

NYT on Wine in Supermarkets

Eric Asimov has written about the governor's plan to permit wine sales in New York State grocery stores. Opponents to the measure includes liquor stores of course, but also both the Teamsters (who have a stake in distribution) and Baptist ministers. With supporters like that....

But Asimov makes a good point:

Nobody supporting the bill would begrudge some concessions to wine and liquor stores, which right now are not permitted to sell cheeses, bread and other foods that would naturally pair with wine. They can’t even sell beer, which is sold in groceries, delis and convenience stores. If groceries are permitted to sell wine, perhaps wine shops ought to be able to sell cheese and beer.

A few weeks ago, my local Wegmans was asking people to sign an in-store petition on this measure. I wanted to ask the guy whether they supported allowing liquor stores in New York to sell beer. Perhaps at this point, they would, as they're big enough not to worry about Joe's Liquors poaching their six-pack sales . Nonetheless, it's important to recall that no one's motives are pure. Liquor stores have doubt been harmed by their inability to sell beer. I don't begrudge them their complaints now.

St. Patrick's Day

I have nothing interesting to say, and to be honest, St. Patrick's Day is starting to grate on me as I age. FWIW, it currently loses to its evil twin (good twin?) Valentine's Day in a Googlefight, but it's close.

Beer Quiz

Trying to kill time at the office? Try the Pike Brewing beer quiz. Maybe this has been around, I don't know. It's 100 questions and I lost interest before I finished, but at least the questions aren't of the "what beer did Spuds McKenzie endorse?" variety.

Colbert on Beer Pong and Herpes

Stephen Colbert weighs in on the issue of beer pong and herpes (it starts about 30 seconds in).

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Beer Pong Herpes Outbreak

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Wordle of This Blog

Here's some fun: the most commonly used words in this blog (excluding a, the, and, etc.). I have a suspicion that it's only looking at recent posts for me (not including this one). "Conable" looks a bit big, and I know I've used it only in one post. I don't ever remember typing "welch." You can kill a lot of time at the office playing with the layout. 

Reason for Homebrewing

The libertarian publication Reason has an online piece on the legalization of homebrewing in the US. A few things I didn't know:

1. In 1872, there were approximately 17 times as many breweries in the US per capita as there are now. And "now, " of course, comes after a long boom in micro brewing.
   
2. Pre-1978, illegal homebrewers were never threatened by the Feds as much as by state law enforcement.
3. It was a supplier of beer-making equipment in Rochester, NY who asked Congressman Barber Conable to sponsor the famous 1978 homebrewing bill that Jimmy Carter signed. Asked about the importance of the bill decades later, Conable couldn't even remmeber it.

Lower Beer Taxes? / NYT on Hop Obama

With all this talk about increasing beer taxes in Oregon and New York, it's interesting to see a call for lower beer taxes in Britain. The Conservative Party has launched a campaign to lower beer taxes (and raise taxes on high strength cider and alcopops). The Tories are out of power, so I have no idea if it's going anywhere. It sounds like good politics in a place where you can associate beer with family owned pubs (not the case here in the States). 

Meanwhile, the New York Times has an article on Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales, formerly brewers of Hop Obama. The beer was already retired a few weeks before the feds told them to stop. Really, you can't just name a beer after a public figure like that. I'm skeptical of this:

What stung about the Hop Obama episode was the suggestion that the brewery had been trying to cash in on the president’s name. In reality, Mr. Welch said, Sixpoint felt an affinity for the former community organizer because the beer business thrives on grass-roots connections like camaraderie over a frothy pint glass and even artistic collaboration.

I don't doubt the sincerity of his feelings toward Obama, but I don't know if Welch (brewmaster of Sixpoint) really has any right to feel "stung" by the suggestion that he was cashing in. It was great marketing while it lasted.

High Falls Buyout

Rochester, NY based High Falls Brewing--makers of Genesee and Dundee--is the target of a buyout by KPS Capital.  KPS is also seeking to buy Labbatt's USA, which is on the trading block due to anti-trust regulations. According to the Wall Street Journal:

KPS likely sees an opportunity to leverage the brewing operation of High Falls in Rochester to win a deal for Labatt. The Justice Department settlement requires the buyer of Labatt USA to eventually brew the beers, rather than merely marketing and selling them.

So KPS needs an actual brewery to get its foot in the door in the US. Would this have any effect on the Dundee line, the closest thing to a craft beer is this story? It doesn't seem like it would. 

Super Bowl Prediction

I'm gonna say Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 17. 

The Cardinals are a bit of a question mark. The Steelers pass rush could wreak havoc, and Kurt Warner has been a turnover machine at times. At other times, however, he's like Dan Marino with his quick release, plus I don't think the Steelers can cover Larry Fitzgerald. On the other side of the ball, I think the Cards would do well not to blitz Roethlisberger. They seemed to play more for coverage against the Eagles (the announcers praised the Philly line, but Arizona was often rushing only three guys), and McNabb couldn't deal with it. Big Ben seems to be at his best when scrambling, so don't kill yourself by blitzing, I say, even though Ben is fumble prone. But maybe it all comes down to the running game after all.

I want Arizona to keep it close, but would be happier if the Steelers win. A Super Bowl team just doesn't play the way the Cardinals did versus the Patriots and the Jets in the first half. Oh, and I will be drinking and sharing homebrew.

Beer Too Much for Pure Youth

What a fantastic headline! Alas, it turns out that this Taipei Times article isn't about a BYU freshman kegger, but about a basketball game in which Taiwan Beer defeated Pure Youth Construction, 75-72.  Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh is "still struggling to find his groove," according to the piece.

AFC Championship Beer Bet

Per Rob Kasper at the Baltimore Sun's beer blog, the CEOs of Iron City and Flying Dog have wagered their beers on the winner of Sunday's game. Pittsburgh can do better than Iron City of course, but what about Flying Dog? I still think of that as a Colorado brewery. When I think of Bawlmer, Merlin beer, I think of Clipper City.  

Nothing against the Ravens, but I'll be pulling for the Steelers. I just prefer a matchup of an expected team (Pittsburgh's all we have after last weekend's carnage) versus a surprise team, rather than two surprise teams facing each other. Philadelphia-Pittsburgh would be a a great battle, but I kind of think Arizona would be more fun, provided they don't flake out.

Drunken Dogs a Bad Idea

In an article that reminds you that you're not reading the New York Times, the Boulder, Colorado Daily Camera informs us that it's not good to get your dog drunk. Apparently, you don't have to worry about cats though: 

"Cats don't usually overindulge out of their own volition," [Veterinarian Dr. Lee] Woods said. "But dogs want to join the party."

So score one for dogs. Also:

All the intoxicated dogs Woods has treated this season drank beer, except for one that had too much of a mixed drink and another that was given marijuana.

Apparently, college students are to blame for much of the wasted dog phenomenon. The piece quotes a 38 year-old former University of Colorado student:

"They used to blow bongs into their (dogs') ears," he said, referring to the irresponsible partiers of his youth. "I'm sure dogs got plenty of second-hand smoke in this neighborhood."

I'd love to now how the reporter tracked down this guy for the quote. He just pops into the article out of nowhere. Random man-on-the-street interview? Is he in her rolodex?

The whole piece strikes me as really funny.

Beer in New York Supermarkets?

There's been a bit of talk about Governor David Paterson's proposed increase in beer (and other) taxes in New York to try to fix the budgetary problems, but lost in the mix is his proposal to permit wine sales in grocery stores. In New York, you can't buy wine in supermarkets. Liquor stores fight to retain these protectionist laws, and supposedly local wineries do so as well, worrying that broader sales could drag more California wines into the state and hurt their sales.

I can't defend the protectionism, but I do believe that these laws have allowed great beer stores like Beers of the World and Finger Lakes Beverage to flourish. A corollary to the laws is that liquor stores can only sell wine and spirits, not beer, so beer retailers have a bit of space carved out for them. Then again, if supermarket giants like Wegmans could sell bottled wine, they might swap valuable store space from craft/imported beer to wine.


Two interesting (?) side notes. First, you can't buy bottled wine at Wegmans, but you can sit and drink a glass or two at the food counter nestled in between the bakery and fish department. Second, frustrated by their inability to sell wine, one member of the Wegman fanily recently bought out a local wine retailer and built a 45,000 square foot behemoth down the street from their flagship supermarket. I'm not sure if they would have done that if they had been able to sell wine in their stores all along.

High Falls Wins European Beer Star Awards

High Falls Brewing of Rochester, NY won three medals at the European Beer Star Awards in Germany. As you can see, US breweries did well; Deschutes, Stone and Firestone Walker were among the winners. High Falls won golds for Genesee and Dundee Honey Brown, and a bronze Dundee Porter. For some reason this reminds me that there are five teams from the MAC playing in bowl games this year.

Genny won for "Bottom Fermented beer with alternative cereals or field crops." More respectably or New York brewers, Ommegang won a medal for their eponymous ale, and Saranac won for their very nice Pale Ale (as the yanks swept the English Pale Ale category). Also, a Namibian brewery won a gold for a Mild Ale, while South American breweries won medals in the Dry Stout, Sweet Stout and Porter categories.

Over-Priced Beer at Sporting Event!

Shocking news out of England. Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion are being accused of over-charging their fans for a pint. Liberal Dem MPs are raising a fuss.

The figure is based on the difference between the price of a pint at the Villa ground and the national average for a pint of lager, which is £2.76. They say both clubs charge £3.20 for a pint.

That's like $4.75, which is, what, half the price you'd pay at Fenway? It's very quaint to see British politicians taking up such a pressing issue as beer prices at sports stadiums. US pols have more important issues to tend to, like college football playoffs. 

So you think you know beer?

From the Norwegian end of the beer blogging universe, Larsblog has a great post from last week about a course for becoming a certified beer judge. The blind tasting experiments described are fascinating and, I'm guessing, more than a little humbling.

Lars and his fellow would-be judges are given a variety of tests. A triangle test: which two of these three are in fact the same beer? Guess the style, dunkel or brown ale? And then a devious trick involving food coloring:

We were then given a batch of three unidentified black beers, and told to write notes on them, then attempt to guess the beer styles. After tasting the three we were asked one by one to read our notes on the first one, all of which went along the lines of "roasty, caramel, maybe a bit neutral". The shock was considerable when we were told that it was, again, Ringnes Pils, this time with some black colouring added to it. Every single one of the 10 participants claimed to taste roastiness in the beer, and not one of the 10 so much as came near the idea that this might be a pilsener. An interesting example of the sense of taste being affected by visual signals.

The guys undergoing the trials weren't neophytes either. Definitely read the full post.

Dogfish Head in the New Yorker

The New Yorker has a fairly detailed piece on Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head brewery. It's long and may be better to read in the magazine than online. It's also very good. One eyebrow-raising quote:

I asked the brewmaster, Jean-Marie Rock, which American beer he likes best. He thought for a moment, squinting down his bladelike nose, and narrowed his lips to a point. Then he raised a finger in the air. “Budweiser!” he said. “Tell them that the brewer at Orval likes Budweiser!”