Author: Ken Carman

The Topic: Screamen Eagle/Matt’s Draft House, Inlet, NY

Written by Ken Carman

 If you have come here from Adirondack Weekly, welcome! This edition of Brew Biz offers a slightly different sense of the local color, expanded classic Ken humor and a lot more Screamen.

  Northeast of the biggest village in the Central Adirondacks: Old Forge, NY, there’s the tiny hamlet of Eagle Bay. On your left you’ll see a building being remodeled for the great Bay Cafe, which for now is on the other side of the road. Where Bay is about to move was where Jon, Matt, Doug and Sharon Miller had their Central Adirondack video/pizza shop the first time. Hence the “Eagle” in Screamen Eagle.
 Over the hill and through the wooded hills… no, not “to grandma’s house,” although Sharon Miller is a “grandma” …to Screamen Eagle we go. Please, dear readers, stop imagining me with a picnic basket, wearing a dress, and dancing my way to grandma’s house. It’s EMBARRASSING!
 Now we’re in downtown Inlet. There’s only one main intersection there: Route 28 and The South Shore Road. On the northeast corner you’ll see the oddly shaped, yet quite Adirondack-like, Screamen Eagle and Matt’s Draft House. The establishment seems a permanent part of the landscape, like it has been there

forever. Indeed, the old postcard to your right has a building about where Screamen is now.
 I can easily imagine my great grandfather; Andrew Carman, stopping there to do what he did so often: buy supplies for Adirondack French Louie, so Louie didn’t have to leave his trap lines. I can see, in my mind, someone knocking on a side door down near the marina and saying a pass phrase, “Prohibition gave my cat hives,” and the door opens to liquid pleasure, rot gut… or the guys, the ones with the axes, ever eager to bust open kegs.


Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

 I was about to head off to help judge the first year of the Syracuse Homebrew Competition; my last “gig” had been Plattsburgh’s competition, when a brainstorm arrived on my mental doorstep like a craft beer fanatic at a new brewery occuring in a former dry county. Or “parish.” No need in leaving out my Cajun friends, eh? PARISH… the thought!
 Over the years I’ve noted occasional low entry levels at some competitions. This year’s Plattsburgh (first year) comp had 27, Salt City’s slightly over 100, Music City has been down a little from time to time. I thought my own competition in Old Forge, NY; which predictably was on the upswing, was severely down at one drop off point due, at least in part, to a Facebook snafu. Also a site problem where the entry limit was reached when it really hadn’t been clogged the filter screen on my entry “mash tun.” And then we have the inability to contact the manager at one drop off point so fermentation couldn’t even start there. All these things can happen, especially when trying to help manage a competition long distance.
 What to do, what to do? Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: BRAINSTORM!”

 Like an out of balance beer, I admit I’m more than a tad unbalanced when it comes to remembering names. Faces? Yup. Names? I have a bottomless pit of forgetfulness. I judged at the NYS State Fair Competition when Salt City ran it. Been to a few meetings. But living in Nashville, and even though I’m in the Adirondacks 2½ months out of the year, it’s a bit embarrassing when so many say “Hi, Ken!” and I have to fudge my way through the conversations.
 So last Saturday, September 17th, I arrived at the Polish Home on Park Ave, ready for the inevitable forgetfulness. It was still fun, and a well run competition. Having seen how Salt City ran the Fair competition; despite snafus they had no control over, I knew they’d do an incredible job.
 Of course, my friend Brent Blanchard running it, along with Peter Woodworth, always helps. Upon entering I joked, “What, we’re only judging POLISH beers?” (Ironic, my first experience judging the new, 2015, BJCP style: Piwo Grodziskie, a traditional; Polish brew, was with Salt City at the Fair. Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Salt City Home Brew Competition”

 This weekend marked yet another Beaver River Beer Tasting. As I serve all kinds of exotic brews I also offered a circular providing some fun information, as well as telling visitors about the nature of what I was serving.
 I am willing to admit the list of just 10 of the brews doesn’t provide much education. As usual some of that is done while serving. Even then it’s kept on the light side. The object is to keep it fun and not get too beer geeky. It’s also to raise the knowledge level just enough to make them more curious. That requires me being entertaining rather than too technical.

 Over 30 years as a children’s entertainer? Yeah, I can do that.
 The marvelous Mark Franey brought his wine and brews that reflected the seasons, including a great strawberry light (color/srm) ale. He also brought lots of folks with him from Lowville area. Mark has been an incredible friend and is a great brewer who has helped make this tasting successful every year. He also has helped with my fall competition in Old Forge, the Old Frge BIG Beer and Odd Ale Competition, as well as won one year. My cousin Joyce and her daughters: May and Dorothy, and they brought many friends. And, of course we had plenty of fellow Beaver River-ites. This is a tradition I have been proud to start.
 I thought providing you, dear reader, with my list of only ten of the beers made sense… Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: 10th Annual Beaver River Beer Tasting”

  This edition is about two of the odder competitions I’ve ever judged at. One was “odd” due to what we were judging, one where. Let’s start with “what.”
  Like Plattsburgh, Can Can is in its first year. Millie and I drove to a rather spacious house, in a community slightly outside downtown Franklin, Tennessee, that reminded me of the sumptious preplanned communities like Seaside between Destin and Panama City, Florida, or Chautauqua in southwestern New York.
  Nice place, Nathan. Almost as nice as chateau Carman. Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Plattsburgh and Can Can”

 Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay, Salt City, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers, who has been writing on beer-related topics and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for over 15 years.

Written by Ken Carman

 Last year I wrote about a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where my wife’s family does a reunion every year. So Dogfish is familiar territory and always part of the plan. Last year we swung through Asheville. We wanted to stop by go to Wicked Weed.We wanted to addmore spice to the beer side of our journey, or maybe more “sour…” both in a grand way, and not so grand.
 Great sours, but the GPS royally screwed us up when we tried to escape Asheville and get back on track to Rehoboth… adding more miles than necessary. This year, on the way, we went to Purcellville, Virginia because I had been doing research about Virginia breweries and discovered Adroit Theory. It did not disappoint.
 Neither did Purcellville. A tiny hamlet, we were amazed there were four breweries, and especially one as unique as Adroit. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All… Purcellville, Damascus and Rehoboth”

The Topic: America! Yeah!????

 Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay, Salt City, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers, who has been writing on beer-related topics, and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for over 15 years.

Written by Ken Carman

 At least the new Dominos ad a few years ago came across as, “Hey, America, We don’t suck as much now!” GM has its, “Buicks used to be worse” ads.
 At least they weren’t so cynical as to just slap AMERICA! on the product in huge letters and hope people so stupid they might abandon craft beer for the summer.
 Wait. It’s an election year where accepting stupidity reaches new heights. Maybe I should rethink those last two sentences. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Our Winners
         1st – Keith Baker, Toledo, OH – Coffee Blonde
         2nd – Brent Fagan, Jeff Bellamy, Nowell Robbins, Murfreesboro, TN – Hint-O-Mint Chocolate Milk Stout
         3rd – Aaron McDonald, Nashville, TN – Pad ThaI.P.A.

Our Judges
         Bailey Spaulding
         Steve Wright
          Kat Schermerhorn
         Joe Kane
         Millie Carman
         Will Hadley
         George Talley
         Ken Carman
         Grant Ferris

Competition Organizer and Steward

       Kristen Westerbeck

Judge Coordinator

       Ken Carman

 The members of Music City Brewers were contacted a few months ago by the fine folks at Jackalope Brewing here in Nashville about having our National Homebrew Day at their brewery. Here’s the problem: alcohol in the parking lot? Nicht. Music City Brewers putting up our tents on a slant; taking up their parking lot so many members can brew on the premises? Non. Brewing inside wouldn’t have worked: we take up a lot of space and would have gotten in the way of production; especially on certain days when they package. We would have been in the way so much someone might have gotten…canned. On his busy way to brew Steve might have stumbled into a mash tun. Bailey might have been baffled when she felt even more roasty, toasty because so many pots were on boil.
 Oh, and then there’s the fact we delight in bringing in all kinds of beer to sample and make hot scotchies. Perhaps a metro policeman named Scotty might have put the kibosh on that as his kilt tilted in the wind as a few of us wished someone had beamed HIM up. Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Jackalope’s Let’s Get WEIRD”

First Round 2016 Nationals: Nashville @ Blackstone Brewery’s production facility

 There are many reasons many of the situations mentioned in this edition shouldn’t happen in a competition, but due to the very human nature of competitions readers need to be aware they can happen, and do happen.-kwc

 How many times have you received score sheets back from some competition and said, “What the &%$#?” While we can’t dismiss the possibility of poor judging, it’s far, far, far more likely there are other reasons including, well, the judges might be spot on with their assessments. Indeed, when you get conflicting comments it’s possible both judges are right. One judge may sense an issue with an entry and describe it one way, the other judge senses the same character but describes it differently. Or each judge senses some different issue and both may be a problem with the entry.
 You probably have heard many of the standard reasons for why judges aren’t “spot on:” last in flight, palate fatigue… both might be valid. While it should have no influence, being the last entry judged, or first, might have made a difference. Big high gravity flights can be tough towards the end. We do our best to pace ourselves, smaller samples… but judges are human.
 If judges have one problematic brew after another, and then what seems a phenomenal one, scores could get skewed. Dare I repeat, “Judges are human?” Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: The Balancing Act”