Blog #013 - Intro to Beer Tasting

On August 28th we had our first tasting group session. I invited everyone in the Fresno/Clovis area that I have met in the past 5 years that I thought might enjoy talking and tasting.

It was a Friday night and there were 6 of us total (I think that had to do with it being about a week's notice). The layout of beers included Hen's Tooth from GreeneKing-Morland Brewing, Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing, Freestyle Belgian Style Blonde from Black Diamond (which I can't find on BeerAdvocate), Sierra Nevada's Anniversary Ale, Lost Abbey's Carnevale Ale and an Duchy Originals English Ale from Wychwood Brewery.

Now I know that we had zero organization and the beers were not of a similar style or from a single brewery. But tonight we are going to spend some time discussing how to better organize future tastings and what the members want to achieve. I am bringing Paddy's Irish Style Red Ale from Moylan's and the next beer in the Coney Island series from Schmaltz: Human Blockhead. Thanks in advance to Zach Reinhold for offering to host tonight's mixer.

Blog #012 - Beer Summit?

I know that everyone and their mother has commented on last week's 'Beer Summit' at the White House involving Pres. Obama, VP Biden, Officer Crowley and Prof. Gates. Whether or not I believe this meeting was worth the hoopla or not, we can all agree the choice of beer was less than inspiring.

Bud Light, Sam Adams Light, Buckler Non-Alcoholic & Blue Moon. The Sam Adams & the Blue Moon are barely decent choices, both consumed by the Cambridge guests (Sam Adams was a last minute substitute for Gates' usual Red Stripe). The president disappointed millions of beer drinkers and home brewers by choosing Bud Light, not only because of its lack of flavor but because AB is now completely owned by foreign companies. And unless the Vice President has a health condition that will not allow him to consume alcohol, he might as well be sipping lemonade instead of Buckler; what a waste.

After a little research just to back this blog up, I discovered a plethora of beer stores carrying a multitude of beers in the Washington D.C. metro area, all right down the street from the White House. Some of my summer brew recommendations would have been: Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis Hefeweizen @ Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Allagash Fluxus 2008 (Witbier) @ Rodman's Discount Gourmet Grocery, Odd Notion (Summer 09) from Magic Hat @ The Wine Specialist, and Southern Tier Heavy Weizen (unfiltered Imperial Wheat Ale) @ Modern Liquors, Inc.

All delicious brews that would have caught the attention of beer lovers, brewers and teetotalers alike. I would like to personally volunteer my time to the president so that the next Beer Summit starts off on the right foot.

Blog #011 - The Mystery Purchase

I met up with someone last week that I had been meaning to see for a few months now. I decided in March to look around on BeerAdvocate for anyone in the Fresno area that might come close to appreciating beer as much as I do. My long term goal was to form a tasting group, the kind that exists everywhere else in the country, just not Fresno.

I never had an opportunity to meet up with Rich at the Boonville Beerfest in May, but he emailed me recently regarding a personal shipment of beer he had received from down south; the San Diego area specifically. Having just returned from a trip to Oregon where he secured several cases of Rogue and Deschutes, Rich was at the breaking point, within his storage closet and with his wife. I agreed to drop by and give him a hand with a few bottles. Here is the list of treats I now hold:

-Alpine BC - Alpine Ale 5.5%

-Great Divide - Titan IPA 6.8%

-Caldera Brewing - Pale Caldera Ale

-Ballast Point - Dorado Double IPA 9.1%

-Port Brewing - 3rd Anniv. Ale 10%

-Port Brewing - Brother Levonian 6.5%

-Deschutes - Red Chair IPA 6.4%

-Deschutes - Hop Henge IPA 8.75%

-Ballast Point - Victory At Sea 10%

-Avery Brewing - The Czar Imperial Stout 10.77%

-Lost Abbey - Carnevale Ale 6.5%

The only one I have had before is the Titan IPA from Great Divide but Rich threw that in the mix for free. I plan to have at least 3 tastings with Dad and more than a few hours of discussion on what makes these beers so sought after. Now if I could only get my hands on a Dark Lord.

Blog #010 - Stout & Panini Pairing

The other day I created what I believe to be a masterpiece of a sandwich that I paired with Stockyard's Oatmeal Stout. The recipe includes the following in this order:

• Tomato & Olive Focaccia Bread (top side)


• Spread of Grey Poupon Mustard


• (2)Kosher Dill Sandwich Sliced Pickles


• (1)Slice of Sargento Natural Pepper Jack Cheese


• (1)Slice of Columbus Italian Style Turkey Breast


• (1)Slice of Trader Joe's Provolone Cheese


• (1)Slice of Columbus Naturally Smoked Pastrami


• Spread of Giotto's Genova Pesto


• Focaccia Bread (bottom side)


• Butter for grilling

I grilled this on a Panini Press until the cheese melted and ran down the sides and the bread was a dark brown. What a great combo when paired with the delicious stout!

Blog #009 - The Soggy Trip to Boonville (part 2)

Now one might think that after a breakfast beer, 3 samples and 1-1/2 pints for lunchtime and a sharing of 3 true (16.9oz) pints for a mid-afternoon snack...one might be so inclined to halt the flow of liquids through the hole I call a mouth. No sir. Not this weekend. The 25 mile drive along the winding 128 did slosh around the contents of my belly, but as soon as we paid our $12/per person/per night entrance fee into the Mendocino County Fairgrounds...I cracked open an Anchor Steam.
The drizzling rain hastened the setting up of tents as Mike and Heather arrived from Chico, thirsty no doubt. Along with dad's six pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA and my additional 6 of Lagunitas IPA, Mike had secured a 12 of Pyramid's best (hefe, apricot, crystal wheat & IPA I believe).
We were lucky enough to snag a camping spot between members of the Hop Heads of Sacramento Beer Lovers Union, troublemakers I had met online at MeetUp.com. Daniel and Shawn were the representatives and we were lucky enough to share some of Daniel's homebrew. It continued to lightly rain as we cooked Carol's Dish and snacked on cornbread and chocolate muffins, washing it all down with shots of Goldschlager.
I do believe it rained all night, which as usual, did not keep some guests from partying into the wee hours. Breakfast was made up of cleverly fried eggs that were a perfect fit on toasted english muffins and sausage patties. Was there beer for breakfast? Oh yes...there was. Between sips of Lagunitas was talk of the great zombie uprising mixed with what our plan might be for attacking the quickly approaching beerfest. It didn't appear that the rain was going to let up...but we didn't care. We were ready to taste special craft brews from all over the country, as much as we could get our hands on. Would dad find the elusive sour beer he had been hunting for years? Would Heather's soggy pretzel necklace last the entire event? Would Mike trick Nikki into drinking the dreaded Chili Beer? And would Scott ever call us back? Stay tuned...

Blog #008 - The Soggy Trip to Boonville (part 1)

Our much anticipated trip to the booming town of Boonville, CA began bright and early Friday May 1st. After dad and I sampled (read guzzled) a bottle of Broken Halo from Widmer for breakfast, we chased it with a quick selection of baked goods from Yum-Yum donuts and hit the open freeway. Northbound on 99 and hopped up on chocolate milk we raced towards Concord, the home of the E.J. Phair alehouse.
I found our old friend and fellow beer drinker Mike Carr and his wife warming up a table in the middle of a crowded dining room...with a great view of the Belgian beer fridge. Unfortunately the beers were only for on-site consumption and not for take-out. And seeing as how I would end up 45 minutes later with a belly full of Blind Pig from Russian River, half a pint of proprietary hefeweizen, small samples of their brown ale and IPA, and a Ricotta cheese burger...and the prices were a bit high...as enticing as the selection was, I had to move on.
As the rain picked up, we passed by Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and headed northwest towards Sebastopol, outside of Santa Rosa. Wine country appears magical no matter what weather envelopes it.
The exterior of Hopmonk Tavern hints at the perfectly balanced interior setup. Dark wood and a deep orange accent contain just the right amount building so as to attract and invite without being presumptuous. If I were to design a classic tavern, this embodies all of my ideas. Heavy wooden beams, conversation focusing booths and a spacious outdoor beer garden that nearly drew me out into the deluge.
We all crowded into the booth and dad, Nikki and I ordered a pint of each of the house brews. Mike and his wife had ordered a house hefeweizen and what I thought I heard was Stone's Imperial Porter but after checking their web site I don't see it listed. Nikki and I fought over the house Dunkelweizen which presents such amazing notes of banana and cinnamon with just the right amount of sweetness on the mouthfeel. Wonderful beer. Before leaving I was fortunate enough to meet and photograph the manager, owner and chef. Great set of guys.
In the car, soaked from running across the street to take a shot of the location, we steered towards 101 north and our destination...Boonville.

Blog #007 - Of Wheelbarrows & Icewalls

We can say that life was at least interesting for brewers before the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century. Time consuming practices including delivery of kegs by way of wheelbarrow (full keg weighs aprx 170lbs) and refrigeration techniques that included filling chambers 25 feet tall full of ice that put 1,150 lb/sq ft of pressure on the holding floor.
It become increasingly easier to brew beer for the masses after the Civil War. Delivery of beer by refrigerated rail car helped fuel brewery expansion. New techinques in architecture allowed brewery buildings to maintain a lower overall temperature which saved money spent on ice and saw more brewers begin trying their hand at bottom fermenting lager beers which require lower temperatures during fermentation and storage. The life span of the brewery was also increased as steel and brick construction lowered the potential for destruction by fire. Louis Pasteur also gave brewers a leg up by providing information on yeast reproduction and its role in the creation of alcohol.
The industry was booming despite the looming shadow of prohibition and taxation following the Civil War. But technological advances would also cause a dramatic decrease in the number of breweries as we approach the turn of the century.

Blog #006 - 1873?

In attempting to understand why there were 4,131 breweries in the United States in 1873, I have been reading through BeerHistory.com’s chronology and several articles online. That number is more and more perplexing as I discover multiple states had in place their own prohibition laws during this period. Add to that the number of organizations under the Temperance movement where, although not originally created as a teetotalist idea, the goal was to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by society in general. The IRS started enforcing barrel tax stamps on all beer leaving the brewery, the first brewery workers strike is organized in New York City and a prohibitionist candidate by the name of James Black runs for office. With all the odds seemingly stacked against the beer industry, what was it that made brewing so attractive? I believe the answer is technology…

Blog #005 - BeerWarsMovie

I am still researching for my next blog which I hope to share more in-depth the story of the decline of brewing in America in the 20th century. In the meantime I want to give one last shout out to 

Anat Baron and her documentary? "Beer Wars'. I don't really care if this is a true documentary or not...I just enjoy the subject matter. The showing is at 8pm on the west coast and will be followed by a live (except west coast) interview session with craft brewery owners and brewers and moderated by Ben Stein.

This is also a reason for gatherings across the nation before and after to discuss the state of the industry, locally and nationally. (BeerWarsMovie.com) I plan on drinking some happy hour beer at the Me N' Ed's Coney Island pub about 20 feet away from the theater at 7pm this Thursday with dad and Eric. Hope you will do the same.

Blog #004 - The Change In Numbers

When summed up, the history of America's Brewing Industry appears to be quite a rollercoaster ride. The change in the number of breweries tells the story...from 4,000 breweries around 1870, when refrigeration made state to state beer transportation possible, down to a depressing 44 breweries in 1979, and then back up to over 1,400 breweries in 2008.

There is plenty of blame to go around, most of it landing on the United States government for its 'Great Social Experiment', aka Prohibition. I personally like to throw a little blame on the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy & Japan) for sucking us into World War II. In 1942, the only remaining brewers after prohibition were asked by the military to start brewing lower alcohol beer for the troops, thereby forcing men's palettes to become accustomed to light, near-flavorless piss water. Ok, so I am being a little dramatic. But can you imagine that there was a single soldier who returned home, saddled up to his local watering hole and requested a brown ale, marzen, witbier, rachbier, trippel, barleywine or even a pale ale? 

Most men just kept drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, Hamm's, Lowenbrau (the American version), Blatz and Miller High Life. It took almost 30 years for the country to snap out of it. And that is where the story gets interesting.

Blog #003 - Tasting #1

Last night I hosted a small tasting of wit (white) beers that included Samuel Adams White Beer, Allagash White, and Hoeggarden White Ale. This tasting was for a couple of newcomers to the beer world so I decided to start off on the lighter side of hops. The dinner was comprised of bar-b-qued steaks, italian spiced cheese bread, parmesian cous-cous and a mexican style green salad.
The Allagash Brewing Co. is out of Portland, Maine and has existed in its current form since 1995, spending most of its time focusing on perfecting the true Belgian brewing style.
Hoegaarden Original White Ale is brewed by Brouwerij van Hoegaarden in Belgium and I consider it to be one of the best examples of a classic witbier.
There were not too many comments on the Samuel Adams, but the Hoegaarden was thought to taste like Juicyfruit gum and the Allagash was thoroughly enjoyed by one member of the tasting.
We finished the night off with Lindemans Framboise Raspberry Lambic for dseesert along with a dish of peach pie and Breyer's French Vanilla ice cream.

Blog #002 - Beer TV

I have been watching 'Two Guys On Beer' everyday at work for the past 3 or 4 days. Of all the beer shows I have watched since I first discovered 'Three Sheets', these guys are the most focused and consistent. Usually the hosts are either too comedic (Three Sheets) or too boring (Still Crazy After All These Beers) or too sloppy (some kid on a couch that I can't seem to find now). Several aspects of TGOB that keep me watching are their push to upgrade their production equipment (HD video cam, boom mic), the research they do ahead of the show concerning the beers, brewmasters and breweries, and their relative consistency on making available a new episode nearly once a week for a year. It all comes down to..."I wouldn't mind having a beer with these guys". Catch all 60+ episodes at: http://www.twoguysonbeer.com

Blog #001

My first official blog (MySpace doesn't count). I have recently become obsessed with beer, brewing, pubs, festivals...the culture and social aspect of it all. The world of beer is filled with sciences such as chemistry, geography, and geology, technology including brewing methods and environmentally conscious energy usage, more history than I can even begin to summarize and great friends and good times. No wonder craft brewing continues to grow as an industry, not only in the U.S. (see GABF attendance numbers), but around the world (see Japan Beer Festival numbers). I look forward to spreading the word and having a drink or two while doing it!

Cheers,

Miles 'Beerman' Wilhelm