Don Feinberg of Vanberg & DeWulf Presents: GREAT CHEESE DESERVES GREAT BEER

February 8th, 2010 · Beer & Food

I’m not sure there are two things that I love more than beer and cheese. Head over to Brouwer’s Cafe tomorrow night to sample some of Vanberg & DeWulf’s great beers paired with some special cheeses. The owner of Vanberg & DeWulf, Don Feinberg, will be on hand to talk about his beers and answer your questions.

Tuesday February 9th 6pm and on
Don Feinberg of Vanberg & DeWulf Present:
GREAT CHEESE DESERVES GREAT BEER

In the Middle Ages, the term Flanders was applied to an area in Western Europe, the County of Flanders, and spread over what today are parts of Belgium, Northern France and the Southern Netherlands. This area has long history of beer and cheese production, many of which originated in the in the Cistercian monasteries of a Roman Catholic religious order often referred to as Trappist Monks. Tonight we will take inspiration from these monastery traditions and explore several artisinal Belgian beer styles, paired with cheeses originating in Flanders, and a few surprises!

We will be offering 10 Beers from Vanberg & DeWulf Paired with a special cheese to compliment. Owner of Vanberg & DeWulf, Don Feinberg, will be in to talk about his beers and breweries that he imports.

Will will be pouring each beer in a 4oz portion with the cheese pairing. Order one or all 10!

Dupont Avec les bon s Voeux ‘08
Dupont Avec les bons Voeux ‘09
Dupont Avril
Dupont Farmhouse Saison
Dupont Bier du Miele
Dupont Moiette Bruine
Scaldis
Scaldis Noel
Witkap Pater Single
Witkap Pater Dubbel

The fun starts at 6pm and runs until 10pm

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Indiana vs. Louisiana – What About the Beer?

February 7th, 2010 · Beer Travels, General Beer News

There is plenty of coverage for the big game, but I thought it would be interesting to do a little last minute primer on each state’s breweries.

I’ll admit it: I’m from an Indiana town, but I’m not an Indiana boy. I grew up in Munster, IN, which is located in the very northwest corner of the state. But, we were only about 30 minutes from Chicago, and we officially qualified as part of “The Chicagoland Area.” That would explain my brutal loyalty to the Chicago Bears, and my complete apathy for the Indianapolis Colts. I did go to Purdue, which happens to also be the alma mater of New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees. In fact, Brees and I graduated just one year apart and with the same major, Industrial Management (he ain’t no dumb cookie). So, my loyalty in this year’s Super Bowl leans heavily towards the Saints. I have some great memories of watching Brees from his days at Purdue, and I’d love to see him grab a Super Bowl ring. The Colts’ backup, Curtis Painter, is also a former Purdue Boilermaker, so I’m really hoping for Manning to go down early so that it’s an all Purdue QB showcase (which Brees would dominate). After all, Purdue is the “Cradle of Quarterbacks”. But, enough of that. I love sports, but this is a beer blog, after all.

Even though I’m from Indiana, I lived there before the craft beer craze had really taken hold. Not to mention, I was a poor college student when I was of legal age to drink. I have zero knowledge of Louisiana breweries, so I’m relying solely on the Google and other websites to see what they’ve got.  In other words, this will be far from a comprehensive post on Indiana/Louisiana beer, and most of this little post is going to be about Indiana beer, because that’s what I know. Someone else can feel free to post some thoughts on Louisiana brews, if they are so inclined.

Indiana Breweries

Three Floyd’s Brewing – My hometown brewery. Located in an obscure industrial park in Munster, Three Floyd’s has managed to impress beer drinkers across the country, and even the world. If you’ve been lucky enough to try some of their beers, you likely understand the hype. They like hops, and they aren’t afraid to use them in beers like their Alpha King and Dreadnaught. Their Dark Lord Imperial Stout is one of the most sought-after beers in the world, and hundreds of people line up each year at their annual “Dark Lord Day”; the only day this beer is available for sale, and only at their brewery. They were recently named the #1 brewery in the world by RateBeer.

Lafayette Brewing Company – Located just across the Wabash river from Purdue University, I spent quite a bit of time here during my college days. I haven’t been in a long, long time, but their Oatmeal Stout was always my favorite. Their Old Eighty-Five (with 85 IBUs) was probably my first introduction to a high alpha beer, and I was in love. Doug Ellenberger, who recently opened Everybody’s Brewing in White Salmon, WA, was a brewer here for over 3 years when I was at Purdue, and I guarantee I’ve enjoyed much of his handiwork in the past.

Upland Brewing Company – Located in Bloomington, IN, home of the arch rival Indiana Hoosiers, Upland has made quite a name for themselves with craft beer drinkers since I’ve left the state. I always remember drinking their Wheat Ale when we’d head down south, and I really enjoyed it. These days, they are especially known for their Lambic ales. They have made Lambics in Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Cherry, Blueberry, Peach, and Kiwi.

That’s the extent of my real knowledge of Indiana beer. RateBeer shows that Indiana has 30+ breweries, but I sadly can’t comment on the rest. Maybe it’s time for a Indiana beer tour? For more info, check out Hoosier Beer Geek.

Louisiana Breweries:

Sadly, my ignorance of Louisiana breweries probably isn’t uncommon; RateBeer lists them as having just eight breweries currently in business, and of those it seems there is only one that distributes much beer from what I can tell.

Abita Brewing Company – I’ve seen their beers around, and I know I’ve had their popular Turbodog brown ale in the past, and maybe their Purple Haze wheat beer with raspberries. You can find them in Seattle using this page on their website. They were founded in 1986, and I get the feeling if you’re a beer drinker in New Orleans you’re happy to have them around.

So,there it is. Pretty one-sided, huh? I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences with either Indiana or Louisiana breweries, so feel free to leave a comment.

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Beer Hunter: The Movie

February 6th, 2010 · General Beer News

This movie about the late Michael Jackson is set to release in September of 2010 in conjunction with the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Beer Hunter: The Movie will tell the story of Michael’s life, from his start as a television journalist, to his unparalleled contributions to the world of modern-day beer and whisky. For those of you that have read Michael’s books and followed his work through much of your life, you understand what Michael meant to the craft beer community. For those of you that are not familiar with Michael, this movie will be a perfect introduction to the person who helped to shape the world of beer that we live in today.

http://www.beerhuntermovie.com/

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Beer Porn: 3 Year Vertical of Schlafly Reserve Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

February 5th, 2010 · Random Beer Pics

This is why I play in the RateBeer fantasy football leagues…

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Grab A Beer: Redhook Copperhook

February 5th, 2010 · Beer Reviews, Washington Breweries

Redhook Copperhook
Alcohol by Volume: 5.8%

Intro: This popular spring seasonal from Redhook is now available year-round in the Western U.S. (Still only a spring seasonal out East). It is brewed in the German Altbier style, but it is a bit stronger than traditional Alts and I would have guessed that it fit into the catch-all Amber category.

Description: Pours a clear copper with medium head and I pick out caramel malt flavors in the aroma, but not much in the way of hops. The taste is dominated by smooth, lighlty sweet caramel malt. A bit of bready malt picks up towards the end, and a light balancing bitterness finishes things off. It’s an easy drinker with a light to medium body that’s perfect for having a few. This spring seasonal is definitely refreshing, and it will pair well with a variety of foods. They sent some smoked salmon along in their PR package, and they went together just fine (not mind-blowing or anything). I’d be pumped to see this somewhere like Safeco Field for a Mariners game, as it would make for a great baseball beer.

Verdict: Worth trying, especially if you’re looking for a cheap sixer for a party or BBQ
Availability: This will now be available year-round in Seattle for about $7.99 to $8.99/six-pack.

Brewery Website
Ratebeer Info

Commercial Description/Press Release:

Today is the perfect day to enjoy a cold, crisp pint of Copperhook Ale. This brilliant copper colored ale has distinctive caramel notes and a clean refreshing finish. The light maltiness and pleasant noble hop aroma make it the perfect beer to satisfy all your cravings. Here’s to celebrating today.

Copperhook Ale is ideal with seafood, grilled chicken and salads.

Available year round on the West Coast.

Available January through April on the East Coast.

Style: Copper Ale

ABV: 5.80%

Malts: Pale, Carapils, Caramel

Hops: Willamette, Saaz

Color SRM: 10.7

Bitterness Units: 25.0 IBU

Original Gravity: 13.25*

Brewed Since: 2001

In the interest of full disclosure to satisfy the FTC’s law, this review was of a sample bottle received from the brewery.

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Russian River Pliny the Younger Is Coming to Seattle

February 4th, 2010 · Beer Releases, California Beer

That’s right, all you hop heads. Russian River Brewing will be tapping this year’s batch of Pliny the Younger at their brewery tomorrow. They’ve actually timed the release party perfectly to be one of the first official events of San Francisco Beer Week. But, you don’t care about that…you people just want to know if and when it will be hitting taps in Seattle, right? Right.

According to their website, the Seattle area will be receiving “a tiny bit” of this hopped up elixir. No word yet on the exact when and where, but they note that “if you are familiar with these markets you can make an educated guess” as to where it will be pouring. Last year, I remember that Brouwer’s, Collins Pub, Uber Tavern, and Naked City all had kegs of it, which should give you a clue as to where it will be again this year.

For those of you not familiar with this beer and all the hype surrounding it, here is a description from the brewery’s website:

11.0%ABV, 1.098 O.G, GOBS of IBUs
Pliny the Younger was Pliny the Elder’s nephew, in the case of this beer, the “Younger” is a triple IPA. Pliny the Younger is hopped three times more than our standard IPA, and is dry hopped four different times. Seasonal release (February) available at the pub and for distribution

People go crazy for the stuff, and I’ve received several emails from people asking about it already. In my opinion, it is interesting to try and worthy of the hype, but most days I’d take a regular Pliny the Elder and definitely a Blind Pig over the Younger any day. It’s just a damn big beer.

Here is the full update from Russian River:

Well, just a few more hours until we finally release this year’s batch of Pliny the Younger, which I sampled a bit of today and it was tasty! We are ready for the festivities this Friday, February 5th, for the official release party, and, apparently, it has become one of the first official events for San Francisco Beer Week. That was not on purpose- it just worked out that way! So let’s go over the details:

* Pliny the Younger is NOT available in bottles!
* Younger will be tapped when we open at 11am on Friday the 5th! Please follow this link for directions and parking suggestions. We suggest you park in the garage on 5th Street to avoid those unpleasant parking tickets. There are also hotel recommendations if you are going for the Full Younger Experience! http://russianriverbrewing.com/web/visiting.html
* Half-gallon growlers of Younger are $35 NEW, $29 for a refill (I did my math wrong on the last blog- too many Blind Pigs, I guess!).
* We do not and will not fill ANY other breweries growlers. It is against the law in the state of California. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
* Younger will be served in a 10 oz. glass at our pub with NO Happy Hour prices and certainly NO pitchers.
* I don’t know how long it will be available at the pub. However, I venture to guess less than one week and more than one day!
* We are delivering Younger to select accounts in the Bay Area and sending a tiny bit to our distributors in Southern California, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and Philadelphia. We do not know where exactly it will be available, but if you are familiar with these markets, you can probably make an educated guess!
* Pliny the Younger is still NOT available in bottles.
* We have NEW Pliny the Younger t-shirts available in our on-line Gift Shop at this very minute or at the pub! Be the first on your block to own one! Available in blue, green, and natural, which I am wearing right now.

In addition to the Younger this Friday, we will have about 17 other beers on tap, including 3 barrel aged sours and our annual Valentine’s Day Belgian Black Ale, Rejection. Of course, there will be plenty of Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder, too! Batch 4 Supplication is also newly available in a 375ml bottle with NO limits for $12/bottle. They don’t need to be kept chilled and travel pretty well for those of you coming from afar.

Vinnie, our staff, and I look forward to seeing you this Friday if you are in town and planning to stop by our pub! And a big thank you for your continued support, whether or not we see you Friday!

Cheers!

Natalie and Vinnie

Thanks to the appropriately named Hophead22 on Flickr for the photo.

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Are You Ready for Seattle Beer Week?

February 3rd, 2010 · Events, Washington Breweries

 

It’s coming….

Last year’s inaugural Seattle Beer Week was quite the party. But, this year the organizers are promising to deliver even more beery goodness during the second annual celebration, which starts Thursday, May 13, and runs through Sunday, May 23 (yep, it’s really 10 days).

What is the goal of Seattle Beer Week?

The goal of Seattle Beer Week is to celebrate and showcase the tight-knit beer community of the Northwest, especially the Seattle beer market. We have world class beers being brewed here as well as imports that are found nowhere else. We have world class bars and restaurants that specialize and care about the beer and food they serve. What better way to showcase this passion and love than to celebrate it for an entire week!

You should expect multiple events per day during the celebration, ranging from larger beer festivals at places like Brouwer’s to small tastings at local bottle shops like Full Throttle Bottles. You’ll want to make sure you start the week well-rested and make sure to bring your drinking shoes.

Here are a few things of note about this year’s Seattle Beer Week:

  • Seattle Beer Week has officially partnered with the Seattle Weekly for advertising. This will give them access to a wide audience of readers outside of the usual craft beer circles, and it should really help in getting the word out about the week to a large % of the general Seattle population. One of the highlights of this partnership is that there will be a Seattle Beer Week program guide that will be included in every distributed copy of a certain issue of the Seattle Weekly.
  • Hale’s Brewing will be crafting this year’s official Seattle Beer Week Commemorative Beer, and it will be an Imperial IPA of some sort. I’m a fan of their Super Goose and Aftermath Imperial IPAs, so this is definitely something to look forward to for. The opening ceremony will also be held at Hale’s this year. Last year, Pike Brewery unveiled their Double IPA as the first official Seattle Beer Week Beer, and it was a wonderful beer that will be released again this year (with more hops, according to Head Brewer Drew Cluley).
  • They are looking into having the closing ceremony be a beer festival that would feature one-offs and unique beers from all over the world. There are no other details at this point, but more info should  be available soon.

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Customer Service and Dealing With Modern-Day Beer Geek Expectations

February 3rd, 2010 · Notes

These days, we drink in the modern-day world of technology such as Twitter feeds, Facebook updates, and real-time tap lists on brewery/bar websites. And like it or not, expectations have changed for some consumers (not all) when it comes to getting information from breweries and drinking establishments. Not all businesses are equipped to deal with these types of updates, and some businesses have no desire to provide these updates, which is just fine. Customers are also not always aware of the different ways a business distributes information. Regardless of how a business does or does not communicate to their customers, many businesses have to deal with more frequent direct email and phone requests from customers looking for up-to-date information.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go perfectly when businesses deal with customers. This thread on BeerAdvocate is a perfect example of things gone wrong (if that link doesn’t work, try here). The exchange is between a BeerAdvocate user and the owner of Cigar City Brewing, located in Florida. Essentially, here is a summary of what happened:

1) A customer sent an email asking the brewery if they know what beers will be on tap in the next 10 days because he had a friend visiting the area that was going to fill a growler or two for him.

2) The owner of the brewery, who is understandably very busy, wrote a simple response six days after the original request was sent: “Unfortunately we can’t project that far out.”.

3) The customer then replied with a passive aggressive email pointing out that since it took six days to respond, there were only 4 days left in the time frame he was asking about and he finds it hard to believe he can’t tell him what’s going to be on tap in the next 4 days. The tone of the email was enough to bait the owner.

4) The owner then took the time to write an almost six hundred word response about how he was sick, the company is not equipped to deal with the large amount of email requests they receive, and how busy they are in general. Additionally, he finished with, “If you can’t continue to support us because your email got returned 6 days after you sent it, I certainly understand.”

5) The customer then replied by pointing out exactly how bad he thinks the owner’s customer service is, and he gave him some pointers on how he can improve. He finishes with, “So again work on the customer service a bit and keep up the excellent brewing.”

6) The owner responds by telling the customer that he does not want his business and that he should buy his beer from someone else. He manages to work in a shot at Redhook as well.

I’m no expert, but here are just a couple brief suggestions for beer geeks and people who handle customer service in the beer industry:

Customers: We are not entitled to anything. Most breweries are happy to answer questions, but sometimes they just don’t have the time; they are indeed busy doing things like making us beer and running a business with minimal resources. Sometimes they have a short fuse. Telling you what is going to be on tap probably isn’t near the top of their list of priorities, especially if they really don’t know at that moment in time. Do it the old-fashioned way; just show up and see what is on tap. It’s quite fun, really. Or, use other resources such as message boards on RateBeer and BeerAdvocate to ask your questions. Many local users on those sites are really on top of things.

Owners/Brewers: We understand you are busy. But, if you are going to reply to an email, a one-liner with little info is not really the way to do it. Craft yourself a few template responses for popular questions you receive so that you can start with those and then alter them in order to cut down on the time it takes to respond. I’m not saying to send out a generic corporate email, just give yourself something to start with. Take the extra seconds to put a little more care into emails; it may save you from later writing a six hundred word, pissed off email. Something similar to the Cigar City owner’s ”opus of dickish customer service replies” (in the owner’s own words) would obviously be ill-advised for most companies, but if you are confident you can continue growing your business and be a dick to people if you want to be (and they deserve it), then more power to you. An original response with just a little more information could have avoided the situation altogether.

Here is a great quote for business owners to keep in the back of your head when dealing with customers: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

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Cooking With Beer: Alaskan Smoked Porter Braised Short Ribs

February 2nd, 2010 · Beer & Food

After the amazing short ribs we had at the Corson Building Belgianfest beer dinner, I knew that I had to try and recreate that dish myself. Thanks to a comment from Tim Nichols over at the Seattle Beer Pairing Examiner, it was brought to my attention that the Alaskan Smoked Porter would be a perfect beer to use for braising some short ribs. I used his suggestion, and then loosely followed a recipe on Phoo-D which they adapted from All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking. The result could not have turned out much more to my liking, and I’d like to think my ribs were pretty darn close to as good as what we had at Corson Building. Best of all, this was not hard to do. Time is the toughest ingredient. I opted to try my hand at making some homemade gnocchi to go along with it, and those were a perfect accompaniment to the ribs. One thing I might change for next time is to add more vegetables into the braise. The carrots tasted wonderful after braising in beer for almost 4 hours. If you missed my review of the Alaskan Smoked Porter yesterday, check it out.

Ingredients:
4 lbs meaty bone-in short ribs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 whole cloves of garlic
2 large yellow onions, sliced in 1/2″ thick rings
1 carrot, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
22oz bottle of Alaskan Smoked Porter (don’t forget more for drinking!)
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 rosemary sprig (3-4″ long)
2 small bay leafs

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Season ribs with salt & pepper.

Pour the olive oil into a shallow dutch oven or wide oven-proof skillet with lid (4-6 quart capacity or larger; I used a large oven-proof stock pot). Heat over medium heat. Brown short ribs in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the meat. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side until nicely browned. Transfer seared ribs to a platter and keep aside until all ribs are browned.

Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add in onions, garlic and carrots. Season with salt and pepper and cook until just softened and beginning to caramelize – approximately 5 minutes.

Add the beer into the pot and bring to a full boil. Cook for two minutes. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge any remaining food. Pour in the stock and bring liquid to a boil again. Reduce heat to a simmer and place ribs in the pot in a single layer. Pour any juices released from the ribs into the pot as well. Tuck the rosemary sprig and bay leaves in between the ribs. Check the liquid level of the pot to make sure the ribs are all partially submerged in the liquid. If necessary add more beer.

Tightly fit lid in place. Place pot in the oven and cook maintaining a gentle simmer for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours (until ribs are fork tender). While braising, gently turn the ribs with tongs, as not to tear up the meat, every 45 minutes until done.

When the ribs have finished braising, carefully transfer the meat using tongs and a slotted spoon to a flameproof shallow baking dish big enough to fit the ribs in a single layer. Do your best to keep the bones and ribs intact, but if a few slip out don’t worry – just discard them. Scoop out the vegetables with the slotted spoon and place around the ribs. Cover the dish with foil and keep warm.

Tilt braising pot to gather juices in one end and skim off as much surface fat as possible with a big spoon. Pour the remaining liquid into a medium saucepan and reduce by simmering strongly for 10-15 minutes. Reduced sauce should be syrupy. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Heat the broiler on high. Place the dish under the broiler and watch closely. Remove after about 4 minutes once the ribs start to sizzle – this is a step to be watched closely or you risk burning the ribs.

Transfer the ribs to serving plates and spoon the liquid around the ribs. Serve immediately with more Alaskan Smoked Porter.

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2010 Puget Sound Pro-Am Homebrew Competition

February 1st, 2010 · Events

The Puget Sound Pro-Amis a unique opportunity for all of you homebrewers out there. If you have ever dreamed of winning a medal at the Great American Beer Festival, this is your chance to have one of your recipes scaled up on a professional system and have the beer submitted for judging at GABF.

On behalf of BEWBC, the Impaling Alers, and WAHA, we are happy to announce the kick-off of the 2010 Puget Sound Pro-Am! This is the country’s largest GABF Pro-Am qualifying competition with 14+ breweries selecting homebrew recipes to scale up (more breweries still being added!) Last year the PSPA sent 12 of the country’s entries into the GABF Pro-Am and brought home the gold medal in 2008!

This is an AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition aimed at providing award winning homebrew recipes to be brewed by Puget Sound breweries with the goal of capturing a medal from the Great American Beer Festival’s Pro-Am Competition. The Puget Sound Pro-Am is unique in that it will have at least FOURTEEN breweries selecting their favorite homebrew beers from the best of show round to scale up and brew on their systems. Winning beers of AHA members may be sent on to the GABF for a shot at national glory! Not from the Puget Sound area? Out of state entries are more than welcome (the 2008 GABF gold medal winning entry was from a Colorado brewer). Non-AHA members can still enter the competition and win other awards and prizes (the Powerhouse Brewery will not be submitting to the GABF and will be free to pick any entry).

Start dreaming and brewing up your entries today! We want you to have plenty of time to brew up that perfect beer! The brewers are not just looking for stylistically accurate beers, but they will be looking for damn tasty beers. This is a perfect shot for that hybrid beer you make. You’ve got plenty of time to brew up entries specifically for one of the slots!

Check the competition website at http://www.bewbc.org/pro-am for the latest details including participating breweries, desired styles, contest rules, and links to online registration. Entries (three 10-12 oz brown bottles) are due April 20th with an entry fee of $6 per beer submitted online (several drop-off locations accepting entries beginning in early April). Judging will be held on April 24th at Larry’s Brewing Supply in Kent (if you are interested in judging, stewarding, or helping with event execution, contact Mark Emiley at markemiley@earthlink.net or register online). Winners will be selected in the weeks following. Check the website frequently for updates on participating breweries and contest details as the competition grows. To have the best shot of having your beer brewed, you need to be an AHA member by the time of the competition, so join today! Invite your friends to join the AHA and submit beers as well (all beers will be judged and ranked regardless of AHA membership). Good luck, and may your wildest brewing dreams come true!

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