Beer Comedy Part III
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.
The Topic: Category Conundrums
I judged beer in Lexington, Kentucky a few weekends ago. I also entered a Braggot, but an odd one.
Who me? Brew odd? Who woulda guessed!
Anywhosie…
The judging went well. I enjoy judging as much, or maybe more, than brewing. It’s like a very specific, directed, tour through styles of beer and the differences in judge’s palates. I swear I learn more practical information about beer from judging than I did studying to pass my BJCP exam, because it relies more on diving into a style on a one on one level with other judges… less with memorization that sits in the brain and rots, or flows out the other end sooner or later.
Beer Comedy, Part II
Beer Comedy Part 1
Brewer Profile: Steve Wright, Jackalope Brewing
Brewer Profile by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net
We read of success stories: brewers who strike out on their own and build their own breweries. Locally, here in Nashville, Linus Hall and Bailey Spaulding come to mind, or David Wollner at Willimantic Brewing in Connecticut, Andrew Mankin at Barrington Brewery in the Berkshires.
Then, of course, we have the regular fare’: not so “regular” brewers who brew grand, “crafty,” brews for owners of pubs, micros, nanos. They brew incredible beer, for sure.
But what about those brewers who may have never brewed before, but they are awakened by tasting the brews of a professional brewer to the grand world of craft beer? Then it becomes an almost holy mission to be part of Craftbeerworld when, at that moment, they tell that brewer, “I’m going to work for you…” and wind up riding a brew coaster: having an adventure of a lifetime?
Continue reading “Brewer Profile: Steve Wright, Jackalope Brewing”
Beer Profile: Fire Rock Pale Ale, Kona Brewing, Hawaii
Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net
The nose is nice citrus with a hint of grapefruit, caramelized malt with hop more upfront “by a nose.”
Mouthfeel nice caramelized malt with hops lingering. Carbonation light in mouthfeel but not in appearance.
However, once you get to the taste the sense of this beer changes. This is not just your typical citrus/American/grapefruity pale. There’s some hop spice back there and a slightly more specific sense of caramelization, almost like hot granite was used in the wort.
In a market where American Pale Ales have saturated the shelves, this is a bit unique. Give it a try!
The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part III
Note: This is an archive edition, chosen by The Professor to highlight some of the best from PGA. Also… Lost Coast pictures courtesy yelp.com. Beer and first logo courtesy Jennifer Moline and feedgrids.com. See article posted after this.
Written by Tom Becham for Professor Goodales
The last leg of the trip my wife and I took to NorCal brings us to Humboldt County. Now, many beer afficionados who read this may be critical that we did not stop at some of the places along our route. After all, well within our reach were brewers like Marin, Lagunitas, Russian River, Mendocino, North Coast and even Mad River. Those are all 
fine brewers to be sure, but this trip was about family so we had to forego all those stops.
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When we finally reached our destination of Eureka, we made good our family obligations. We even managed to squeeze in a quick lunch and beer sampling at Lost Coast Brewing.
 Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part III”
The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part II
Written by Tom Becham for Professorgoodales.net
Note: this is an archive edition from The Professor, featuring some of the best articles that have appeared here at PGA.
Our first beer-related stop was at the Magnolia Pub and Brewery. Located in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco, the neighborhood around the Magnolia still retains a bit of the old funky, hippie-ish vibe it was known for in the 60’s and 70’s, but with a more tourist-centric aspect now. The interesting people watching on the streets could fill a volume on its own. Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part II”
The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part 1 of 3
Written by Tom Becham for Professorgoodales.net
This is an archive edition from The Professor, featuring some of the best featured here at PGA.
Due to some family considerations, January saw me and my wife traveling to Northern California by car. While I did not, and could not make this entire trip about beer, we did manage to visit a couple prominent breweries and/or their taprooms while on the road.
The first of these places was Firestone-Walker. Their actual brewery is in Paso Robles, but their taproom – with 
nice attached restaurant – is just off the highway in Buellton, California. As Firestone is located smack in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country (and since the Firestone family is also involved in wineries), the brewery’s fondness for barrel-aging beers seems natural. Combined with Firestone’s fondness for barrel-fermenting and aging beers, is their effort to make beers that are as English in character as possible. The results tend to be ales that one could easily find in a pub in Yorkshire or Kent, but with a unique twist.
Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part 1 of 3”
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