May I Suggest an Outing

Some exciting events happening soon at the Brick Store:

Larry Bell Meet & Greet!

Tuesday, January 19th 2010
Join us on Tuesday January 19th and meet Owner/Brewer of Bells Brewery Larry Bell. Larry will be shaking hands,kissing babies, and talking about all of the wonderful beers brewed at Bells. We will be featuring Bells HOPSLAM and some tasty food pairings. See you at the pub!

Meet The Brewer from B.F.M.

Thursday, January 21st 2010
Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes, also known by the abbreviation BFM is a small artisanal brewery in Jura, Switzerland whose products, including barrel-aged beers, have drawn international acclaim.Founded in 1997 by Jerome Rebetez, who had formerly been trained as an oenologist, this tiny brewery has rapdibly become known for making beers that stretch traditional beer style guidelines and use unorthodox ingredients. Come on down to the pub and meet owner Jerome Rebetez and taste the rare cask offering He is bringing along! Food pairings as well as some vintage B.F.M. stuff will be available!

Meet The Bruerys Patrick Rue

Monday, February 22nd 2010
We will be hosting Owner/ Brewer Patrick Rue for a special meet and greet session. Food pairings and special rare beers will be available. See you at the pub!

Wow, count me in for the Bell's and BFM dates, for sure. Let's hope BFM brings the good stuff.

And, for old times' sake, here's an email conversation between Vargo and some dude who runs a blog called "This Peanut Looks Like a Duck."

First, Vargo wrote:

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 4:01 PM, vargo wrote:
Awesome blog! Wondered if you had seen this brewery from NC.

Cool logo and great beer

http://www.duckrabbitbrewery.com/index.html

So the guy responded:

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 11:11 PM, Marc H wrote:
This is interesting - how did I get this email? Where did you send it to?
Cheers,
Marc

Vargo wrote back:

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 11:44 PM, vargo wrote:
hmmmm.? I sent it to beerfoam@thispeanutlookslikeaduck.com

I got it at this post on the blog

http://www.thispeanutlookslikeaduck.com/quack/2008/01/08/this-beer-foam-looks-like-a-duck/

Vargo, did the guy ever respond to that?

Our Dumb Country

Any of you who know my jeremiads against bizarre state liquor laws will know that one question generally follows: "Who are these people who actively support these laws - spending lots of money to lobby for their preservation - and what do they want?" When I read my morning blog-papers over coffee today, I noticed this strange story about a ban on the "Boilermaker" drink in Nebraska. Ok, the back story: as if Sunday sale bans weren't dumb enough, Nebraska is considering revoking a law that bans the mixture of beer and hard liquor. And there are people who are spending time and money trying very hard to fight this. Yes. The story names one of the main groups lobbying to keep this ban in place, so I thought it would be a good time to look hard at their philosophy, goals and methods:

Project Extra Mile, which fights underage drinking, is one of several plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit that challenges the state Liquor Control Commission's decision to allow flavored alcoholic beverages, or so-called "alcopops" to be classified as beer instead of hard liquor. Flavored alcoholic beverages start out as brewed malt beverages but are flavored with distilled spirits. The plaintiffs use the current law banning the mixture of booze and beer in its lawsuit challenging the state rule that classifies the drinks as beer.

So, this Omaha chapter of "Project Extra Mile" is most interested in trying to classify Mike's Hard Lemonade as a liquor, not a beer, so that it would be taxed at a higher level (a few pennies more on each bottle). And this is because they think a few pennies extra will deter the "8th grade girls" (who they claim are the main drinkers of hard lemonade and the like) from buying the stuff and drinking it. Really. They are fighting in the courts and lobbying state officials to keep bartenders from putting a shot of whiskey into a glass of beer (not my thing, but that's a matter of taste) so that they can make 8th grade girls use a higher percentage of their allowance to pay their older siblings to get hard lemonade. Really. It's like a bizarre Rube Goldberg contraption where the chicken lays an egg, and the egg rolls down a ramp and hits a match that lights a candle, etc., until the mouse hits the alarm clock and the guy wakes up. Except their end game seems to me like the egg rolls off the table and doesn't go anywhere, because the 8th grade girls are already breaking the law to get hard lemonade; they will probably find a few extra pennies to do it. This is far easier than actually finding a way to get the alcohol. To me, this is yet another example of the crazy American attitude towards liquor politics, which has very little common sense involved and much wasted effort.

Now, if you want to try to curb underage binge-drinking, there are plenty of ways to do it. How about helping parents instill healthy attitudes towards alcohol from a young age, even letting children drink at the home (a small glass of wine mixed with some water for adolescents, like they do in many parts of the globe)? Teens who drink with their parents experience far fewer alcohol-related problems than teens whose parents follow a "total ban" of alcohol. This is different, however, from teens whose parents buy alcohol for parties that their kids throw; this does seem to lead to binge drinking. As Science Daily writes:

A previous study in 2004 by Kristie Foley of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina showed that teenagers who received alcohol from their parents for parties were up to three times more likely to binge drink within a month, while those who drank only with the family were less likely to binge. So the context in which a parent provides alcohol may be key.

So what context does Project Extra Mile want to create? This: "Underage drinking is not merely illegal and unhealthy, it's unacceptable. We change laws and policies to reduce youth access to alcohol."

Well, good luck with that mission. Oh, wait, their rebuttal to that is affixed to their web site:

"ExtraMile Motto: If you don't think it and dream it today, it will never become reality ten years from now."

Or, maybe the dream of kids not touching alcohol isn't ever going to become reality, and maybe that's a good thing. At some point, like a washed-up minor league baseball player, you have to start asking yourself if the dream itself needs some retooling.

This Little Light of Mine...

In the year-end wrap up of beer news in the City Paper (that also mentions a great article in the Atlantic about a new Allagash Lambic that is actually brewed with natural -i.e. random airborne - yeast), a link leads to the most ridiculous trend in beers - the "Light Beer Arms Race." Apparently, MGD 64 calorie beer wasn't enough; now Bud is making "Select 55," with only 55 calories. As the City Paper says: "At a certain point, you've got to just call it water." Well, that's true, because to make it this "light" they have to just add a lot of water, making the alcohol level around 2%.

And how is the taste? Let's just say that the RateBeer reviews have elevated hating on this beer to an art form. A sampling:

"Oh sweet Jesus this is bad. Total lack of anything resembling a beer flavor. Makes Michelob Ultra seem like Guiness Stout. Only redeeming factor is the calorie count because it sure ain’t the taste."

"I don’t know who shared this, but I hate them now. Looks like a dull nasty pisswater, light coppery hay straw with a thinning soda-like head. Aroma is nasty acetaldehyde- green apple skin, rice/corn adjunctiness, pisswater. Crackery dull rice paper flavor with more apple skin and almost as if you can taste some chemical that will give you a hangover- terrible."

"Skunky, light corn and very sweet smelling. Tastes like water that a beer came by and dipped its balls in. No flavor at all, finishing up the same way. Not undrinkable and not super offensive, but there’s really nothing going on here."

"official rating #1800 . . so why not with the lightest beer in the world!! light skunky hay aromas .. . medium head which disappears quickly .. . very watery, light metallic and water-like flavours..?? .. . has this weird slight fizz .. . i put it in your coat pocket .. . clean finish .. . transparent. .. . I’m not drunk! I just have speech impediment... and a stomach virus... and an inner ear infection."

"No flavor whatsoever. I suspect they skunk this beer on purpose just so it tastes like something. Blech. Only thing has going for it is that you can pound them back without getting drunk... tho I bet you’d get a hangover anyway just from all the chemicals."

"Not worth pouring into a glass, but you can see that its a pee yellow through the clear bottle. Not worth the money. But hey its another rating. Is this beer?"

"The only thing I can think of using this so-called colored soda water is, "A little song, a little dance, a little BS-55 down your pants."

"At colder temps, it was somewhat drinkable and not overly adjuncty or offensive. At warmer temps, it all fell apart and tasted like cum-stained bed sheets."

"my grandpa used to piss better brew than this."

"It initially does a good job of masking its castration, but quickly gives in, due to the dry, papery, barley malt water taste."

"Only 50¢ at Binny’s DG singles rack. Wow, less than a penny per calorie! That’s the sign of a great beer! Pop the cap and… Skunk Bomb! Lot of bad smells from being so light struck! Folks, I am trying to be nice, but even while pouring it’s armpit. Bubbly with color of a urine sample. Soda pop bubbles make for a thin, low powered head. This is in a Sam Adams glass, I’m giving it every chance I can. Unlike that homeopathic preparation called MGD 64, this actually shows a little body. Slight note of hops, a flavor that suggests it once went to kindergarten with some malts. There is a small ring of foam around the edge of what’s left in the bottle, so it’s at least a step above Zima. But reason they put this under the Bud Select moniker is probably similar to why Coca-Cola called its diet soda Tab: don’t want to taint the flagship Budweiser beer by association. I admit to liking a Bud on draft on a hot day, but this makes O’Doul’s taste like Orval."

Everything That Rises Must Converge

In the "odd parallax" category, the day I finally post about my Italian beersperience is the same day that Dogfish Head announces, surprisingly, that they will be brewing the 'My Antonia' beer that Sam brewed with Birra del Borgo, but this time for US release. I will be looking forward to getting my hands on some in April. How about Italian beers for the April meeting?

In other DFH news, we may be able to find Squall IPA.

On an unrelated note: I have some work set out for me.

Also...

Matthew McConaughey's brother (himself named "Rooster," I kid you not) named his two children Miller Lite McConaughey and Margarita Olympia McConaughey because he likes those beers.

Seriously.

Check out this quote:

Rooster, who is also the father of a son and a daughter, claims he isn't surprised that Matthew, 40, and Camila decided not to name their newborn after a booze, as their children's cousins are.

"I think I ruined it for him because I've already taken up that territory," Rooster says laughing. "I named my [3½-year-old] boy Miller Lyte because that's my favorite beer. And my [11-month-old] little girl is named Margarita Olympia ... I liked that beer, too, even though they don't even make it anymore."

Oak-Aged-Yeti Breed, anybody?

TCOB: Unfinished Posts, 2009 Edition

I know the new year baby has kicked old man time out of the picture for the time being, but for the life of me I can't let 2009 go quite yet - mostly because I have a handful of blog posts I wanted to put up, and just never got around to it. So... here goes.

Embarrassingly, I never finished posting about my trip to France and Italy. So... Here goes, lightning round edition. I think I got through telling you all about France. (Though check the name of this French lemonade: Psssschit. I think it is supposed to be onomatopoeia for opening a can, but it looks like something else.)

So as I remember, I petered out just about the time I got to St. Peter's home (Rome, of course). Catherine and I took a flight from Paris to Rome, and after landing, I decided to get on the good foot immediately: while waiting for the bus to the city, I picked up the best I could find - Peroni's Gran Riserva Doppio Malta, which is supposed to be a kind of bock, I think (at 6.6% abv). To be honest: I was surprised that Peroni could make anything this tasty. Not that it was great, by any means; just surprising... for an Italian beer. I'd give it a thumbs-sideways, though perhaps the heat (it was over 100 degrees) and the hours of travel made it seem better than it was. I remember it being really malty, with decent hops, but being rather thin.

Ok, so Rome seemed a bit more beer-tastic than Paris, actually, because you could find relatively local stuff quite regularly, whereas in Paris you were generally restricted to the big brewers. Even the well-known "beer joints" in Paris only served stuff you could find at Greene's liquor. But Rome offered several stores within a few blocks of our hotel that at least had Italian microbrews - though stuff you might be able to find over here if you look hard. I grabbed a couple of beers from Birrificio del Ducato (brewed in a small town north of Parma, which is north of Tuscany), which makes some good (not amazing) stuff. I tried their Strong Ale "Chimera" first (6.5%), and thought it was midway between a thumbs sideways and a thumbs up. Creamy, toffee-like sweetness, and spices made for a good beer - but on a hot, hot, hot day this was perhaps a bit too sweet. The light lagers were beckoning, but I kept my head down and powered through the more interesting brews.

So the next day I picked up another beer (I love how in Europe you can buy a beer and walk around with it - a beautiful thing): L'Orso Verde (Green Bear)'s Vertigo. Orso Verde is from Busto Arsizio, outside of Milan, and they seem to make some pretty interesting beers. Vertigo is a double lager (7% abv) that was surprisingly hoppy and refreshing, and spicy, as I remember (lost my notes for this one). I loved it, especially on another blistering day. I had this one while walking to a monastery to have a peek at some epitaphs; the brothers there seemed to recognize it as a good beer when I put the empty bottle in my bag. Thumbs up, for sure.

I next sampled AFO, a pale ale also from Birrificio del Ducato. Hoppy, fruity, flowery - this is a good beer. They call it "Ale for the Obsessed" - and I was seriously impressed; it was a genuine and uncompromising thumbs up. It didn't hurt that I ate this along with a lunch from one of my favorite eateries ever - Pizza Art, the amazing and not-to-miss artisanal pizza joint in the Centro Storico (and a block from our hotel, thank God). This beer is probably available in the US. It's a good one (think Dale's Pale Ale but coppery and with a subtler hop profile).

Ok, but this all paled in comparison to the place you CANNOT MISS if you ever go to Rome: namely, Bir & Fud (Beer and Food). Catherine and I walked in, and the dude at the helm let us sample every beer on tap (15 of them) and then we had two delicious pints. The bartender knewthe abv, ibus, and stories of every beer on tap, and was glad to struggle through all of them in broken English. Good food, too. It's like the Brick Store with exclusively Italian beers. Go there, seriously. Go.

So while there, my favorites were generally those on tap from Birra del Borgo, a fantastic brewery due east of Rome, about halfway across the "leg". From them, we got to taste the good Re Porter (7% Porter, smoky and delicious, bitter chocolate taste, smooth mouthfeel), the absolutely amazing Re Ale Extra (a 6.4% IPA style, delicious hop bite, a pineapple-bread flavor, and a nice finish), the not-that-different but still amazing Re Ale Anniversario (8%, supposedly Belgian but huge hops), and the delicious My Antonia, a collaboration with Dogfish Head (7.5% Imperial Pilsner, huge hops, pine needles and sage). We also had a couple of beers from Montegioco, which I highly recommend, and Panil sour, which you can get in the states (but damn is it a good sour). Also, strangely, beers from Port, which you can't even get in Atlanta. We sat down with a pint of the Re Ale Extra and the My Antonia (which is actually brewed with sage leaves, and just smells like a hop-and-sage bomb sitting there on the table). For the next hour or so we sipped beers and stared at each other in the streets of Rome. That, my friends, is the definition of a well-spent afternoon. Let me give you a taste:

Then, we simply had to leave the scorching temperatures of Rome to find solace in the cooler climates of Venice. While I love Venice so much (and am thankful that I have research to do there), it is most decidedly not a beer town. Nothing like Rome; the best I could do was a Birra Venezia, and even that wasn't good. It's brewed nearby, at least. Not really awful, I mean I enjoyed drinking it, but I certainly wouldn't saddle up to a bar and say, "man, I need one of those Birra Venezias." That's like saying, "I sure need a Corona." If you're playing volleyball, fine. But I wasn't, so I stuck to drinking wine and delicious Spritz, the Venetian drink of choice. Basically Prosecco and Campari. Mmmm. But take a look at the view:

So you have to give it to Venetians: they like their awful beer, but at least they don't go to ridiculous lengths to get it there. Oh, wait:

Ok, so that's our trip - and my Italian beer rundown. I think Italian beers would make a great beer club, since there are quite a few one can get at Greene's and Hop City.

Alright, I think I exorcised the blog demons. Let's try to get the flow back for 2010 (twenty-ten, right?)

Merry Beer Club Christmas

The Dirty South Beer Club has been spending a lot of time together recently (check out post on Chattanooga trip - HERE). Last week the Dirty South Beer Club celebrated the holidays as you might have expected; with a sampling of seasonal brews. But we also upped the ante by holding a beer-themed white elephant. The combination of the two resulted in a fantastic time had by all, though I regret to say that we did not get around to rating any of the beers we drank.

We started with a magnum of Anchor's Special Ale 2009. In ordering this at bars and bringing it to parties I have not heard rave reviews. Since we had no ship to christen, we embarked on drinking it. Birthday boy, Ajay, who brought the beer remarked that "we are never gonna finish this thing," and we did have a hard time getting through the huge bottle. This slight departure from our normal habits resulted in uneven pours for this first, and the next few rounds. Amelia was heard saying that she had, "a lot of the that," as she tried to share a large pour with others.

Second was Bruery's 2 Turtle Doves, provided by our hosts Brennan and Catherine. Someone was quoted saying that it "tastes like raunch beer." But I think it was generally well received. I also sampled their Autumn Maple on Thanksgiving and remember being satisfied.

Next was Weyerbacher's Merry Monks'Ale. It was described by the group as "fresh" and a "little bitter." Or as a "light seasonal ale" that was "more carbonated than normal."

The Heavy Seas Yule Tide followed that. This is part of their 'Mutiny Fleet' of imperials. Its Belgian Triple styling did not win the group over. One person said that "it smells like my towel when I need to wash it." Similarly the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale disappointed the group. The Special Holiday Ale Stone, Nogne-O, Jolly Pumpkin collaboration effort smelled great and received better reviews. The alcohol content was apparent as some mentioned cough syrup.

The next three all featured Santa and brewers that begin with the letter 'R': Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve and the Pickled Santa and Santa's Butt from Ridgeway Brewing in the UK. Santa's Private Reserve faired well last year when we tried it. Comments usually reflect its spruce flavors. The Pickled Santa sounds gross, but it was not special enough to merit much attention for being especially bad or good. Santa's Butt is a porter "so big it won't fit down the chimney." It was also said to taste like the reindeer's butt. Keeping with the santa theme, Mikkeller's Santa's Little Helper 2009 was next. This beer was hands down the favorite of the night. "It tastes like Christmas," said one secular sipper after a sample. Another (with a computer head) said, "crazy different wild conifers." (applejuice) Get this one while you can.

Next was the X-mas Zinnebir from Brasserie De La Senne / De Zenne Brouwerij. Despite its "funky surreal label" it could not stand up to the tastes left in our mouth by Santa's Little Helper. On person said it had a, "high traffic carpet aftertaste." There was also some frozen margarita in a bag purchased solely because it read "ALCOHOL is IN IT!" and a rather delicious barleywine (Uinta, from Utah) that appeared serendipitously. Finally, the night was capped with some Sparkling Ale from Bell's.



During all this beer drinking there was also the white elephant taking place. Some of the gifts included a Decatur bottle opener, a knitted DSBC coozie, a six-pack of Beck's NA, BSP t-shirt and Guinness Bell, St. Bernardus 4 pack and glass, bottle of Life and Limb, signed copy of Love at the Pub, pack of Burton Baton and glass, matching tuxedo pint coozies, glass made from old Stone bottle, a bottle of Ola Dubh Special 40 Reserve, and a box of beer themed and flavored NUNU Chocolates. The first 7 people opted for wrapped gifts but then the stealing began. The Ola Dubh bottle was highly sought after. The Beck's was not.

The whole thing was presided over by a polyester suit-wearing, martini-wielding, Will-Ferrel-impersonating-Robert-Goulet-impersonator played by Brennan. Additionally, the King of Beers(Club)--Ben--made 'Dirty Awards' for all of us. They included titles like the Best Baking, Beer Bringing, and Baby-Making Award. The whole night unwound into a mini Thursday night party, exacerbated by some whiskey tasting. This is common for DSBC. I think a new tagline for the group could be "Dirty South Beer Club: The third Friday of the month just got a lot less productive." This picture even appeared in the notebook to acknowledge the steady stream of hip hop bumping in the background. At some point, it was switched from Christmas music, the unofficial new anthem of DSBC, Fur in my Cap. Needless to say, DSBC is one of my favorite things.

Happy Holidays from Dirty South Beer Club

Chattanooga Beer Weekend

Just over a week ago the DSBC had an outing in Chattanooga. We rented a cabin just north of town where we spent Friday and Saturday night. We also made it out into town to sample the local brewery's offerings.

On the way up to Chattanooga we stopped off on the north side of the river to sample the city's finest hot dogs at Good Dog. They offer a variety of hot dogs including one topped with frites. I (vargo) opted for the Chicago Dog and a separate order of frites. For dipping they offer the traditional Heinz ketchup, as well as a wasabi and a curry ketchup, a spiced mustard, and mayonnaise. We got a second dinner down the road at Greenlife: the grocery store nobody doesn't love.

Upon arriving to our dear slightly suburban abode, we were quite impressed by the extensive variety of styles featured in decor. But the house became more and more special the more full it became as DSBC members trickled in. As we cranked the Lady Gaga and commenced a low-key beer tasting, we all sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed. We sampled the delicious (but unbalanced, as Ben says) Rogue Yellow Snow IPA, Anchor Christmas (many people enjoyed the spiciness--Katy thought it to be mediocre), Mt Carmel IPA from Cincinnati (Lauren enjoyed, some found it too malty and not hoppy much), Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, and perennial favorite Dale Pale Ale. Among others.

Saturday activities were kicked off with a fabulous breakfast and a lunch buffet to pack--so we could get on and do our thang. At that point, we split--one group went hiking up in the Chickamuga river bluffs, one to climb at Little Rock City, and one to urban hike in Chattanooga.

Fun was had.

Returning to our 'Nooga home was made sweeter by a quick dip in the hottub. Well, not exactly, as Katy started cooking her body in that hot whirly pool of hell. But eventually it cooled down and we dipped before spiffying up to check out BEA'S! Bea's is a great southern diner with circular tables and a simple menu. You pay one price and it is all you can eat. Servers constantly bring out plates of fried chicker, okra, peach cobbler, chicken and dumplings, pulled pork, and mashed potatoes, which are placed on a lazy susan and shared by everyone at the table. There is almost no waiting for food; you sit down and eat.

After dinner we headed over to the Terminal Brewhouse. This is a new local brewery in Chattanooga next to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. We battled the big crowd to find spots at the bar and stayed for a drink before heading back to the Sudworth residence. There we drank more beers like the Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale, Avery's DuganA, and the new Georgia favorite Bell's Two Hearted Ale. We also played games and talked about Jersey Shore and The Situation, but ironically we did not get in the hot tub that night.

Sunday morning was a busy one, as our check out time was 10:00. The kitchen was buzzing as Sam and Amelia prepared a bintl of latkes for us. We ate more breakfast and took our time cleaning up, and then headed in to town with packed lunches. We landed on the south side of Chattanooga's Riverfont in the Bluff View Arts District. We strolled around in the misty rain and took some pictures before getting back in to the cars and rolling down to Atlanta. All in all a successful DSBC outing.

Skull Crushing Power

Check out this story (link) in the The Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. It examines the structural integrity of the beer bottle and asks whether or not it is stronger than a human skull. Both full and empty bottles were examined. Here is an excerpt of a recap of the study by Pat Walters.

Bolliger, who is head of forensic pathology at the University of Bern, went to the store and picked up 10 half-liter bottles of Feldschlösschen Original — his nation's most popular brew. He emptied six of them, left four full and, using a precisely calibrated energy-measuring device, started dropping a steel ball on the bottles from various heights. Bolliger's conclusion: Full bottles shatter at 30 joules, empties at 40, meaning both are capable of cracking open your skull. But empties are a third sturdier.

I'd be interested to see how different bottle shapes and sizes affect this. But here at DSBC we, in no way, advocate using beer bottles as weapons. Beer is for drinking.

The Allegory of the Beer Cave

It's been a while since I've read Plato, but this McSweeney's piece -- THE ALLEGORY OF THE BEER CAVE by Craig Klein -- is still pretty funny.



I'm gonna go ahead and pretend that the author wrote it during his Introduction to Political Philosophy class.