Mythical poster at The LTS Good for What Ales You Beer Journal. Loves good beer. Hates same old, same old. Muses that Bud and Miller might as well be brewed in urinals. Drinks lagers too, if they are complex and interesting.
Anchor to Pier 48 (San Francisco, CA) – The Anchor Brewing Company has big plans in the works that include opening a new waterfront brewery that will increase their capacity by 400%. The SF Gate is reporting that Anchor “will occupy what is now Pier 48 with production and distribution facilities, a restaurant, museum, and other public attractions. The 212,000-square-foot space is an addition to Anchor Brewing’s existing plant on Potrero Hill, and will quadruple the company’s output from 180,000 barrels to 680,000 barrels.â€
MYTH #1: Beer is best served as cold as possible
FACT: Flavor emerges with a bit of warmthÂ
We’ve been duped by the Big Beer’s ad campaigns. Consider the ice-frosted mugs, ubiquitous use of the phrase “ice cold,†or—perhaps most obnoxious—Coors Light’s “cold-activated†bottles and cans. (When the beer is cold enough, the mountains on the label “activate†by morphing from white to blue.) Fellas, this is ruining otherwise good beer.
“You lose aromatics when you serve beer too cold,†says Dave Engbers, co-owner of Founders Brewing Co., adding that beer is best consumed between 46 and 50°F.
“Typically beer is dispensed from the draft line between 38 and 42 degrees,†he says. “So just cup the glass for a couple minutes with your hands and you’ll warm it to the right temperature.â€
Then you’ll actually taste beer—not the taste-bud numbing effect of near-frozen liquid.
MYTH #2: Bottled beer is better than canned beer
FACT: Nothing maintains freshness as well as a can
There are two primary concerns with storing beer in bottles: oxygen and light. “Bottles aren’t perfect,†says Charles Bamforth, Ph.D., author and professor of malting and brewing sciences at The University of California-Davis. “With time, oxygen coming in under the cap will make your beer taste like cardboard, and light coming in through the glass will turn it skunky.â€
The worst bottles are those with clear glass (like Corona’s) and twist-off caps (like nearly every mass-market American lager). “Sealed aluminum is just better at keeping out oxygen and light,†he says.
Don’t like the feel of the can? Fine—just pour the brew into a glass. That’s the best way to consume good beer anyway.
FAIRHOPE, Alabama — On Nichols Avenue, it turns out that two’s company. That’s how many opening celebrations the new Fairhope Brewing Company has held since the first week of January and now, the brewery is operating at full tilt.
Like so many independent businesses, growth happens in real time and in front of as many customers as they can muster. And in terms of service, organization and capability, the contrast between FBC’s soft opening on Jan. 8 and its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 16 was staggering.
If the January opening — which was the first time customers could sample the taproom and a few choice selections of beer — was a home run, then Saturday’s 4 p.m. event was a grand slam. View the gallery of images from the Feb. 16 event here.
Miss RheingoldThere’s big money in an established brand. That goes double for any established beer brand with a history, low price point, and no small amount of subtle marketing. The right combinations can result in a scheme to mint liquid gold.
There’s an untapped goldmine of long lost lagers. Brands with breweries that were shut down but whose intellectual property and capital got bought up or mothballed until some enterprising company looking to cash in on nostalgia or a vintage, perhaps even a craft appeal, or all of them, decides to revive the brand or expand it. (e.g., The recent national push by MillerCoors to bring Henry Weinhard’s to the country.)
Let it never be said that I don’t admit my mistakes, or that I don’t try to be fair with beer. That is one reason why I always give any particular beer at least two tries. Beer is so easily spoiled that it is almost a miracle to find it in the right condition upon drinking.
Some time ago, I had written the following:
“Our second AleSmith encounter was during lunch at the Stone Brewing Bistro and World Gardens in Escondido (more on the Stone experience later on). Unfortunately, this resulted in my tasting the first AleSmith beer I didn’t like. It was a red/amber ale of about 6% ABV called My Bloody Valentine, but it should have been called “My, What a Bloody Mess”. The first hint of trouble was the beer’s appearance. While it was the proper hue of red for its style, it had a cloudy, turbid look that was disturbing, and absolutely no head. It had a very strong grapefruit hop aroma. The mouthfeel was like mud, and quite off-putting. The flavor had a decent malt backbone, with resiny, grassy hops dominating the aftertaste. All in all, it was a thoroughly unpleasant drinking experience. I would like to give AleSmith the benefit of the doubt on this one, and attribute the faults with this beer to Stone’s shoddy keg maintenance. At some point, I shall have to give My Bloody Valentine a second chance.”
So, one would obviously grasp from that paragraph that I usually love the beers of Alesmith, but that My Bloody Valentine was somewhat less than stellar. I am now happy to admit that my initial impression was probably due only to some hygiene issues with the keg and/or lines when I initially had the beer on tap. The bottled version was fantastic!
I had some trepidation when I first saw this bottled in my local liquor store early in February. Nonetheless, having a “two tries” policy, I felt I had to give My Bloody Valentine another shot, and am I glad I did.
This was the first bottling of the beer, it having only been available on tap before now. And I do think that Alesmith has changed the recipe a bit, too, and worked out a few bugs.
On the pour, this beer is now more of a reddish-brown, with a small head (about a finger-and-a-half) appropriate for an English Bitter. The head dissipates somewhat quickly which isn’t unexpected for a beer of (honest to dog) 6.66% ABV.
The aroma is still hoppy, but not as potent as on my first try of this beer. Now, it smells not floral, as the label states, but still somewhat grapefruit-y. In fact, if you are familiar with Anchor’s Old Foghorn Barleywine, it is almost a dead-ringer for that beer, aroma-wise.
The flavor is much improved, as well, and starts with a toffeeish, bready malt, followed by a mellow and pleasant resiny hop bite. I want to say these are Noble Hops, but this version of the beer is so well-blended, that it’s difficult to tell.
Finally, the greatest improvement lies in the mouthfeel. It is no longer muddy and disgusting. It is still a bit on the “chewy” side, but not overly so, given the overall structure of the beer.
The finish is pleasing, balanced perfectly, and fades slowly.
All in all, I am greatly pleased I gave this beer a second chance, and wholeheartedly give it a 4 Glass rating.
Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “prefecto.”
Anchor to Pier 48 (San Francisco, CA) – The Anchor Brewing Company has big plans in the works that include opening a new waterfront brewery that will increase their capacity by 400%. The SF Gate is reporting that Anchor “will occupy what is now Pier 48 with production and distribution facilities, a restaurant, museum, and other public attractions. The 212,000-square-foot space is an addition to Anchor Brewing’s existing plant on Potrero Hill, and will quadruple the company’s output from 180,000 barrels to 680,000 barrels.â€
FAIRHOPE, Alabama — On Nichols Avenue, it turns out that two’s company. That’s how many opening celebrations the new Fairhope Brewing Company has held since the first week of January and now, the brewery is operating at full tilt.
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