Friday, August 29, 2003
We bought homebrewing equipment last night. Let the games begin.
Actually, a couple of things have to happen before the games begin:
* Attend free homebrewing class next week
* Clean closet, air it out, keep the door open, take the temperature in there
* Purchase stainless steel 5-gallon pot
The homebrew shop/club (they're closely linked) continues to be cool. After our purchase, we had our ear talked off about local drinking places we can't afford to visit right now, but I wrote them down.
Meanwhile...carboy! Malt extract! Yeast in the fridge! *geeks out*
Actually, a couple of things have to happen before the games begin:
* Attend free homebrewing class next week
* Clean closet, air it out, keep the door open, take the temperature in there
* Purchase stainless steel 5-gallon pot
The homebrew shop/club (they're closely linked) continues to be cool. After our purchase, we had our ear talked off about local drinking places we can't afford to visit right now, but I wrote them down.
Meanwhile...carboy! Malt extract! Yeast in the fridge! *geeks out*
Thursday, August 28, 2003
From Realbeer.com: "Greene King has launched what the brewery calls Britain's first "fem-ale." This comes after Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) chair Paula Waters said brewers are missing an opportunity by failing to produce a female-friendly beer that could attract young women to the bars."
I don't really know what to think about this. Yes, I've gotten frustrated watching beer commercials that cater to men, thinking, "No wonder so many women think beer is for guys." But I'm not sure marketing to women is the answer. The type of beer marketing I like focuses on the taste, like the Amstel Light commercials ("Nobody told us light beer was supposed to suck.") Now if only I liked Amstel Light. (Real Amstel from the Netherlands, though? Yum). And, as beverage marketing to women goes, pitching fruity beer in something that looks like vaguely like a wine bottle isn't half as bad as that horrible Vinergy caffeinated-wine shit they were selling all over Boston last year.
There may not be much good righteously denying that women like fruit beer, at least at first. It tastes more like the good stuff (cocktails) than the icky stuff (Bud, Coors, Natty Light). The lucky women among us eventually discover that there's even better stuff and we'd better hurry up and get some before the men drink it all.
I'd argue, though, that it's up to the beer crowd, not the marketers, to sell beer to women, wine drinkers, and Bud Light fans. You convert a friend, and then she converts a friend, and then he converts a friend, and so on, until the whole world is drinking craft beer and the watery adjunct stuff goes out of business. (Okay, wishful thinking). People respond better to education and genuine good intentions than they do to advertising. I've got friends who only like malty beer or only like fruity beer or only like Guinness, but you know? They aren't making that pucker-lemon face and saying, "I don't like beer" as though beer was only one thing, like Coke.
Some people may never like beer. Maybe more of those people will be women than men. I certainly know more women than men who don't like coffee or spicy food (arguably some gender conditioning is at work with the spicy food, too, but that's another crusade for another day). But you don't know until you try, and you're more likely to try based on a friend's recommendation than based on a brewery's creation of "fem-ale."
Fem-ale. Perish the thought.
I don't really know what to think about this. Yes, I've gotten frustrated watching beer commercials that cater to men, thinking, "No wonder so many women think beer is for guys." But I'm not sure marketing to women is the answer. The type of beer marketing I like focuses on the taste, like the Amstel Light commercials ("Nobody told us light beer was supposed to suck.") Now if only I liked Amstel Light. (Real Amstel from the Netherlands, though? Yum). And, as beverage marketing to women goes, pitching fruity beer in something that looks like vaguely like a wine bottle isn't half as bad as that horrible Vinergy caffeinated-wine shit they were selling all over Boston last year.
There may not be much good righteously denying that women like fruit beer, at least at first. It tastes more like the good stuff (cocktails) than the icky stuff (Bud, Coors, Natty Light). The lucky women among us eventually discover that there's even better stuff and we'd better hurry up and get some before the men drink it all.
I'd argue, though, that it's up to the beer crowd, not the marketers, to sell beer to women, wine drinkers, and Bud Light fans. You convert a friend, and then she converts a friend, and then he converts a friend, and so on, until the whole world is drinking craft beer and the watery adjunct stuff goes out of business. (Okay, wishful thinking). People respond better to education and genuine good intentions than they do to advertising. I've got friends who only like malty beer or only like fruity beer or only like Guinness, but you know? They aren't making that pucker-lemon face and saying, "I don't like beer" as though beer was only one thing, like Coke.
Some people may never like beer. Maybe more of those people will be women than men. I certainly know more women than men who don't like coffee or spicy food (arguably some gender conditioning is at work with the spicy food, too, but that's another crusade for another day). But you don't know until you try, and you're more likely to try based on a friend's recommendation than based on a brewery's creation of "fem-ale."
Fem-ale. Perish the thought.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
I attended my first west coast beer festival on Saturday, the Stone 7th Anniversary Open House. Stone is one of those cult breweries where the marketing would sell a fair amount of brew even if it tasted like motor oil, which it doesn't. The marketing just wants you to think it tastes like motor oil, essentially daring you to try some.
It was a well-organized festival; all it needed to fully satisfy my anal-retentive nature was a map, so I could plan my attack. Plenty of California breweries were represented. Shade and water were conveniently located. The porta-potties could have been worse. The food did not suck.
Here are my tasting notes, which, as always, I tried and failed to keep both short and legible. You won't be interested unless you're a masochist, but I'd better get this down for myself before I lose the piece of paper. Notes may contain mistakes due to bad handwriting and eventual unplanned drunkenness.
* Stone 7th [Anniversary Ale] - would buy. [To expand: as one of my fellow drinkers pointed out, this is one of the few Stone beers that is not only good, but balanced. Hoppy and malty but not in the knock-you-on-your-ass way. It's limited-edition, so I'd better pick some up soon. As another side note, the only Stone beers that distributed to Boston when I was there were the Arrogant Bastard and Smoked Porter, and I meant to try the IPA at this festival, and never got the chance. Damn.]
* Russian River Damnation - strong golden ale, 8%. would buy. Russian River IPA (Rick) - not bad. but their double IPA *might* be too much
* On Tap Double Alt-er Ego - nice people. Not bad but loses it on the finish. Poured out. [The only beer I didn't like enough to finish that day.]
* Papago (sp?) (Rick) Hazelnut Brown - =P [Yes, I drew a little face with the tongue sticking out. That's my classy tasting notes for ya]. Poured out. [The only beer Rick poured out. We both happened to order clunkers at the same time]
* Craftsman - Pasadena - visit! Tripel - sage Grateful Dead beer, yum! [Rick; I only had a sip but drew a big star next to it. There really was an aging hippie customer there expounding on how this beer tasted like a Dead show. Nice image (ew). Meant to go back later for my own taster but the keg was kicked and I wound up with a second serving of hefeweizen - can't complain, really.] Orange Pale Ale - good, but still OK [I said I didn't like fruit beers but they made me try it anyway. Well-done, as in I'd give it lots of points at a competition, but still not to my personal taste.] Hefeweizen - =) Smooth but not bland.
* Coronado Mermaid's Red (Rick) - dry [that's a compliment. This is also where, despite the yumminess of this red and the one I was having at the same time (see below), I had a painful nostalgia for Watch City Brewing in Waltham, MA, which makes a *killer* red]
* BJ's 25th Anniversary Red - not bad, worth a visit for further exploration. [BJ's is a multi-state chain, which always makes me nervous, despite Rock Bottom (in Boston, anyway) actually being quite good.]
* Ballast Point double red Tongue Buckler (Rick) - would buy! [comments on Rick's samples are necessarily brief due to the fact that I only had one sip of them.]
* Avery from Boulder, CO - investigate further! Has "groupies." A barleywine and a super-hoppy. Hog Heaven Barleywine - =)
* Rad 5, "knock you on your ass" [as described by someone I chatted with in line]. Red Rocket Ale, a bastardized Scottish red [as described by the brewery staff], hoppy, 6.[illegible] [I drew a star next to this one]
Rye (Rick) - =)
* Alpine (Rick) Mandarin Nectar [I preferred Craftsman's orange stuff]
* Alesmith, San Diego - awards! Speedway Stout [I drew a star next to this one. The stars were useful because deep into the festival, when I was a little swoozy but still got asked hard questions like "What were the standouts, in your opinion?" I could just look for the stars on my tasting notes.]
* [illegible] [This is about when I realized I had somehow progressed from discerning sampling to being too drunk to count my toes. I took a break, chatted with some people from the homebrew club, and drank a lot of water. Then went in search of something light, and did not find it]
* Rogue Imperial Pilsner [Pilsner, light and not too alcoholic! Ooh. Rogue, though. 8.something ABV. Duck and cover]
We left soon after. Whoa.
It was a well-organized festival; all it needed to fully satisfy my anal-retentive nature was a map, so I could plan my attack. Plenty of California breweries were represented. Shade and water were conveniently located. The porta-potties could have been worse. The food did not suck.
Here are my tasting notes, which, as always, I tried and failed to keep both short and legible. You won't be interested unless you're a masochist, but I'd better get this down for myself before I lose the piece of paper. Notes may contain mistakes due to bad handwriting and eventual unplanned drunkenness.
* Stone 7th [Anniversary Ale] - would buy. [To expand: as one of my fellow drinkers pointed out, this is one of the few Stone beers that is not only good, but balanced. Hoppy and malty but not in the knock-you-on-your-ass way. It's limited-edition, so I'd better pick some up soon. As another side note, the only Stone beers that distributed to Boston when I was there were the Arrogant Bastard and Smoked Porter, and I meant to try the IPA at this festival, and never got the chance. Damn.]
* Russian River Damnation - strong golden ale, 8%. would buy. Russian River IPA (Rick) - not bad. but their double IPA *might* be too much
* On Tap Double Alt-er Ego - nice people. Not bad but loses it on the finish. Poured out. [The only beer I didn't like enough to finish that day.]
* Papago (sp?) (Rick) Hazelnut Brown - =P [Yes, I drew a little face with the tongue sticking out. That's my classy tasting notes for ya]. Poured out. [The only beer Rick poured out. We both happened to order clunkers at the same time]
* Craftsman - Pasadena - visit! Tripel - sage Grateful Dead beer, yum! [Rick; I only had a sip but drew a big star next to it. There really was an aging hippie customer there expounding on how this beer tasted like a Dead show. Nice image (ew). Meant to go back later for my own taster but the keg was kicked and I wound up with a second serving of hefeweizen - can't complain, really.] Orange Pale Ale - good, but still OK [I said I didn't like fruit beers but they made me try it anyway. Well-done, as in I'd give it lots of points at a competition, but still not to my personal taste.] Hefeweizen - =) Smooth but not bland.
* Coronado Mermaid's Red (Rick) - dry [that's a compliment. This is also where, despite the yumminess of this red and the one I was having at the same time (see below), I had a painful nostalgia for Watch City Brewing in Waltham, MA, which makes a *killer* red]
* BJ's 25th Anniversary Red - not bad, worth a visit for further exploration. [BJ's is a multi-state chain, which always makes me nervous, despite Rock Bottom (in Boston, anyway) actually being quite good.]
* Ballast Point double red Tongue Buckler (Rick) - would buy! [comments on Rick's samples are necessarily brief due to the fact that I only had one sip of them.]
* Avery from Boulder, CO - investigate further! Has "groupies." A barleywine and a super-hoppy. Hog Heaven Barleywine - =)
* Rad 5, "knock you on your ass" [as described by someone I chatted with in line]. Red Rocket Ale, a bastardized Scottish red [as described by the brewery staff], hoppy, 6.[illegible] [I drew a star next to this one]
Rye (Rick) - =)
* Alpine (Rick) Mandarin Nectar [I preferred Craftsman's orange stuff]
* Alesmith, San Diego - awards! Speedway Stout [I drew a star next to this one. The stars were useful because deep into the festival, when I was a little swoozy but still got asked hard questions like "What were the standouts, in your opinion?" I could just look for the stars on my tasting notes.]
* [illegible] [This is about when I realized I had somehow progressed from discerning sampling to being too drunk to count my toes. I took a break, chatted with some people from the homebrew club, and drank a lot of water. Then went in search of something light, and did not find it]
* Rogue Imperial Pilsner [Pilsner, light and not too alcoholic! Ooh. Rogue, though. 8.something ABV. Duck and cover]
We left soon after. Whoa.
Monday, August 25, 2003
I've got these two 22 oz. bottles I can't decide whether to recycle (leave in the alley and wait for homeless people to pick them up) or save for homebrewing (I have several cases of bottles but it can't hurt to think ahead).
Black Eye Ale from Mendocino Brewing Company: this is one of those wack hybrid beers, a mix of their Black Hawk Stout and Eye of the Hawk Select Ale. I'm not familiar with either of the base beers so I judged it on its own, and liked it. Often experimental beers are just too weird -- too much gimmick, not enough craftsmanship. But like Dogfish Head India Brown, this one held up. The stout was the main flavor but it was well-balanced; I'm sure there's more to say but this was weeks ago and I didn't take notes.
Bagel Beer Poppy Seed Pale Ale: This is another gimmick; they call beer "liquid bread" for a reason (similar ingredients). I chose this over the other Bagel Beer on the shelf, Plain Pilsner (now there's a redundancy), and they also make intriguing varieties like Pumpernickel Porter. Anyhoo, this was a pretty generic pale ale, with the poppy seed coming in for a quick hello in the finish. What would I do if I was a genius brewer with orders to incorporate bagel flavor? Cinnamon-raisin. Maybe in a tripel, or just go artisinal and make up a new style. Gimmicky? Yes. Vomitous? Perhaps. Generic? No.
Black Eye Ale from Mendocino Brewing Company: this is one of those wack hybrid beers, a mix of their Black Hawk Stout and Eye of the Hawk Select Ale. I'm not familiar with either of the base beers so I judged it on its own, and liked it. Often experimental beers are just too weird -- too much gimmick, not enough craftsmanship. But like Dogfish Head India Brown, this one held up. The stout was the main flavor but it was well-balanced; I'm sure there's more to say but this was weeks ago and I didn't take notes.
Bagel Beer Poppy Seed Pale Ale: This is another gimmick; they call beer "liquid bread" for a reason (similar ingredients). I chose this over the other Bagel Beer on the shelf, Plain Pilsner (now there's a redundancy), and they also make intriguing varieties like Pumpernickel Porter. Anyhoo, this was a pretty generic pale ale, with the poppy seed coming in for a quick hello in the finish. What would I do if I was a genius brewer with orders to incorporate bagel flavor? Cinnamon-raisin. Maybe in a tripel, or just go artisinal and make up a new style. Gimmicky? Yes. Vomitous? Perhaps. Generic? No.
