Author: Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: Worst Beer in the World?

There has been a lot of noise on the net about Olde English 800 3.2 being the worst beer in the world. Why am I suspicious? The full 800 is merely a mediocre’ malt liquor: a style that was marketed at first in an attempt to encourage young Blacks to show their manhood by becoming alcoholics in the 70s. For some odd reason this pissed off the African American community. Go figure. Some smaller brewers got burnt by that campaign despite the fact they offered sans the racist marketing, simply because major brewers, who weren’t sensitive enough to promo without racist assumptions, screwed it up for the other brewers. Go figure again.

The term “malt beverage,” just so you know, is not the same. It’s all gotten very legal where malt beverage is a term brewers must use for various reasons that go far beyond the focus of this edition of Brew Biz. Malt liquors from those days, and those still around like 800, tend to use cheap ways to pump up the abv. Corn. Rice. Squeezed kidneys from diabetics that just ate a whole box of donuts.

Kidding.

They tend to be a bit harsh and not a lot of complexity. Kind of like very weak Ice Bocks without quality ingredients: essentially instead of brewing quality, freezing, removing water, you just put it up with sugary crap.

A 3.2 Malt Liquor is an oxymoron.
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When Professor Goodales told me what he had planned for the 31st I asked if I could contact Vicki Noble and get her response to the commentary and “news” stories that appear on this site. I can’t imagine a more perfect response…

In case anyone is wondering why I would even care about this, it’s actually right up my alley. For decades I have been researching women’s history and the roles women have played in human cultural evolution. Brewing medicinal ales is one of the earliest and most widespread functions of the shaman-priestesses from all around the world. You have to think about ale or beer in a completely different way, in order to understand the sacredness it has represented for indigenous people everywhere. It has to do with ritual and primordial religion, drawing down the wild yeasts into a sacred cauldron and allowing them to do their alchemical work. Sometimes the local fermented beverage provides the only real nutrition people get during certain seasons; it’s full of vitamin B and other nutritious substances, all of which is enhanced and amplified by the fermentation process. It was always women who brewed the magical beverages, from Egypt to Sumer, from the Greek Maenads to the India Yoginis, and finally right down to the “witches” of medieval Europe. It was the Catholic Inquisition and the Protestant Reformation that put an end to women’s centrality in the brewing of the magical medicinal beers. The abbeys took over the brewing and changed the contents of beer from psychotropic to narcoleptic; the powers-that-be decreed that hops would be the only herb allowed in the beverages (because they don’t activate a sexual charge, but instead put you to sleep). And now, in the last decade, breweries in the United States and other places are bringing back the ancient recipes and processes for “microbrews” and fancy nutritious ales. Lost Abbey is one of those breweries, and they take a particularly ironic approach to the presentation of their various ales. I think someone just stepped over the line with Witch’s Wit and didn’t even realize it.

If you want to read more about the wondrous history of sacred fermentation, read Stephen Harrod Buhner’s Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation. The chapter on bees and bee products is one of my favorites.

The Goddess is Alive and Magic is Afoot! This is, after all, her most riotous season as we approach All Hallows Eve and enter the dark (winter) time of the year. Salud!

-Vicki Noble

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

Written by Ken Carman

Topic this edition: Witch Beer Really Isn’t Witch?

I usually love creative names. But I think Lost Abbey was wise when they decided to repackage Witch’s Wit…

When Professor Goodales contacted me and told me what he was planning for Halloween, I couldn’t resist. He knew as a Unitarian I might have the panache’ to contact those who complained about this label and offer, in advance, the site’s misgivings about using this story as portrayed by the media.

I must start by mentioning that I don’t believe any actual ill-intent exists towards Wicca or Wiccans on the part of the brewery. With the pun, multiple meaning, name “Witch’s Wit,” it has all indicators of being a joke: a bad one, admittedly. Should we therefore have a German style beer named “Lampshade Lager?” How about “Whipped Slave Bock?”
Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

Written by Ken Carman

Topic for this edition: Extreme Brewing

This is a tough edition for me to write. I don’t think you’ll find a bigger fan of extreme brewing. But sometimes enough is enough. I think the idea for this column slipped into my cortex when the Professor posted Brew Dog’s 55% beer bottled, literally, in dead animals. Hey folks, there’s “extreme,” there’s boring Miller time and then there’s stupid gimmick time, and I don’t just mean Rocky the Squirrel’s gut filled with beer.

Before (Courtesy wii60.com)………….. After?
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Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

Written by Ken Carman

Yazoo Brewing Company
910 Division Street
Nashville, TN 37203
(615)891-4649

My wife Millie and I have spent many hours at the old Yazoo tasting room in the far older Marathon Auto manufacturing building,

Marathon ceased production in 1914. One must wonder how the building lasted this long; especially with Marathon painted on the side: but we’re grateful. It definitely provided an interesting atmosphere for sipping quality beer.

When we first met Linus, in the late 90s, Yazoo was but a fantasy. As an entertainer who dreamed of living off my talents, and built a business touring the east coast, I know the magic and the hard, hard work it takes to make any big dream come true. We were all members of Music City Homebrewers. I believe we met during our annual competition where Linus had, once again, submitted Dos Perros. Beer Advocate has it listed as an American Brown. That isn’t quite right, in my opinion. If I remember right, Dos Perros started as a version of Dos Equis, only with an ale yeast. From their site…

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Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: An Emerald Coast Beer Fest Story

Shortly after the sun sets, the crazies come out. No: not goblins, nor gremlins, not even Godzilla’s second cousin Oilzilla who; some claim, has been feeding on oil spill eating bacteria and haunting the Emerald Coast. No, I’m referring to crazies like me. Barley Wine and Big Beer People. We raid our fridges for any beer 10% and over…

And then Gabriel blows his horn…
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Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

Written by Ken Carman

Topic: My Summer Brew Ventures

Since the late 90s I have been interviewing brewers, reviewing brew-based businesses and generally making a nuisance of myself all over the east coast at pubs and such. I’m especially good at the “nuisance” part; being winner of the 2002 Most Annoying Beer Geek Who Haunts My Brewery Award.

I’m kidding, of course.

Sort of.

Maybe.

Many of these reviews are lost. I could blame my various editors: I’ve had a litany of poor ones, really bad ones and a few good ones. But, to be honest, I could have gone out of my way to save the damn things myself, so in that regard I blame, well let’s see… me! And, as a caveat to that admission, I also didn’t have the ability to post pictures like I do now. So every year I will endeavor to take pictures of brew related businesses, at least those who are still in business, featured in past reviews in at least one edition of Brew Biz.

I will start out with one of the main attractions in this edition, David Wollner’s Willimantic Brewing.

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Without intent, I have collected well over 1,000 beer bottles since the early 70s. When something finally had to be done about the cheap paneling in this old modular, I had a choice. Tear down the walls while, oh, so carefully, replacing the often rotted 1X3s. Or: cover them with… The Bottle Collection.

Written by Ken Carman

Scanning the web, I was glad to see that Shipyard seems to be still brewing Chamberlain. It’s been many years but I remember it being a pale ale with a nice hop undercurrent and balanced a bit more towards the malt: for an American version of the style. Nice copper tone, plenty of rocky head and a nose of malt and hops spells out taste before a single sip. Clarity is nice and I’m guessing there’s enough cara-malt in here to provide a bit “chew” to the texture.

The sites I’ve scanned as I wrote this seem to find more of a hop focus. Though I admit I am doing this from memory, after that caveat I still think I would disagree. But I have been more heavy hop focused than some for quite a while. After falling in love with IBUs well over 100 at a brewpub south of Cinci in the early 90s, and then enjoying my taste buds being whacked by The Hop Tyrant’s beer in my Nashville hombrew club, maybe it just takes more to impress me enough to suggest a beer is “hop focused.”

I haven’t seen it in the stores… of course Yankee Spirits is my main New England source, but that may change by next year. Stay tuned.

If the picture remains on site, the bottle below isn’t as nice as mine. I have a green labeled 22oz brown bottle, also pictured below. Named after a famous Civil War hero: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who famously defended Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

Written by Jay Brooks for The Brookston Beer Bulletin

Alton Brown, from the Food Network, recently handed down his choices for the Nation’s Top Ten Sweets. Making the list for the “Best Beer-Spiked Cupcake” was the Bay Area’s own Miette. With two locations in San Francisco (the Ferry Building & Hayes Valley) and one in Oakland (at Jack London Square), here’s how Brown describes them:

A former dot-commer started this mini-chain after a successful stint at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, and her gingerbread cupcake might be the reason for Miette’s popularity. Made with a dark stout beer, it’s super moist and topped with lightly sweetened cream-cheese frosting and a candied orange flower.

Continue reading “Miette’s Stout Cupcakes”

To all homebrewers, judges, stewards, and beer enthusiasts, I personally invite you to the 15^th Annual Music City Brew Off.  We are continuing our efforts to make our competition the finest in the South East.  Our competition this year will be held at the Courtyard Marriott in Goodlettsville, TN (865 Conference Drive, 37072).  Room rates for Attendees are $79 (2 Queen room or King) or $99 for a Suite.  Please use the link on our website:  www.musiccitybrewers.com or call the hotel:  615-851-3000.  This year’s special guest will be Dave Miller, author of ‘Dave Miller’s Homebrewing Guide’, and AHA style series:  Continental Pilsner’

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