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May 08, 2008
23:30
Vegetarian Rules the Night at José Pistolas with Iron Hill & Essene
» ‎ Brew Lounge : Beer Tasting Brewing and Culture, The

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While 2008 is shaping up to be the Year of Beer & Food (or Year of Beer Dinners, take your pick), a subcategory for trends of 2008 might include vegetarian restaurants and similarly themed dinners. Everywhere I seem to turn lately, I'm hearing of expanding vegetarian offerings, down to full out vegetarian menus. With several years of negative news related to animal production and consumption,

23:02
Sports concessionaires, blatant extortion, non-competition … but a good beer, anyway.
» ‎ Potable Curmudgeon, The

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Yesterday I accompanied good friends to Cincinnati to occupy seats in the lower left field stands at Great Western Ball Park and watch the Reds pelt the Cubs with seven homers, three by Joey Votto, who toiled last year for the Bats in the Louisville Slugger good beer ghetto.

Near our seats was a concession stand vending Bell’s Oberon Ale at a price of $7.75 for what I judged to be a 14-ounce pour. Without giving too much away, I’ll say only that it figures out to a bit more than $900 profit (before expenses) on a regular 15.5 gallon keg of beer.

No, wait: Let’s give it away. At that price and that pour, it’s more than $1,050 coming in for something that costs me about $120.

‘Nuff said on that topic. There’ll be more in next week’s LEO, assuming my Mug Shots piece isn’t too hyperbolic.

Anyway, after one Oberon, the concession stand either ran out or could no longer work the tap, so I was spent scurrying past the usual endless queues at Great Western, around the outfield, and to the place where I remembered good beer being sold last August. The beer there yesterday was called Southern Tier IPA, and after being assured by another customer that it’s a craft brewer and not the latest Anheuser-Busch mockrobrew, I bought one.

Good stuff. Not the best American-style IPA I’ve had, but just fine, with plenty of body and hops, and fully worthy of my coney cheese dogs beneath a rainy sky filled with crushed baseballs.

22:53
Quick Tip: Brew The Same Beer Again
» ‎ All-Grain Evangelist: A Beer Brewer's Blog, The

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Note: This post has been scheduled to post while we are vacation. We will be back May 10th.

One of the hardest things to master is consistency. As a result, one of the best things you can do to help this along is brew the same exact recipe over and over again. In doing this, try to match the flavors of the last batch. This can be difficult because of all the variables: mash temp, hop variation, grain variation, fermentation temperature, and so on. By brewing the same beer over and over again, you will learn a lot about your brewing process and how it affects your beers.

After that, try changing just one thing: an ingredient, mash temp, and so on. Learning how these changes can affect a brew can be invaluable.

22:15
#245 Dogfish Head - Raison D'Être
» ‎ Year of Beer

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Raison D'Être loosely translates from French to "Reason to Life". This is brewed with Belgian sugars and raisins using a Belgian style yeast.

There is very little aroma to this beer, just some hints of grain. The color is a light brown / mahogany that is very clear. The head pours medium and actively bubbles until it is gone leaving just a thin head of foam.

This is beer starts with a touch of sweetness, but drys out quickly. There is some malt grain flavor, and a little caramel and brown sugar taste. There is an aged beer, wine cellar earthiness flavor accenting the other flavors, similar to the J.W. Lees Harvest beers. There is a medium body and mouthfeel with plenty of carbonation. The finish is dry with the wine cellar taste.

I do not think very much of this beer. It's brewed with a plenty of sugars and a strong yeast resulting in light sweet flavors but a overall dry beer.

21:57
Scotsmen on the Moon
» ‎ Marcobrau Brew Journal

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Decided to stop by the Lunar Brewing Co. in Villa Park after work today, just to see what was new. I ended finding a mighty Wee Heavy, served in a giant thistle-shaped glass for $6. This chestnut-hued ale was rather straightforward, but tasty with caramel malts balanced by a judicious amount of hops and unusual spicy character. (The beer is pictured to the right.) There were many other treats at Lunar Brewing Co., including a 10 percent alcohol anniversary beer from Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Very intriguing. What monster could Surly have created? I was tempted, but after 21 ounces of the Wee Heavy (and remembering that I had another Scotch Ale at home) I decided I should probably just head home. However, I will back soon to the Lunar, to sample the house beer along with the fantastic line up of guest beers that included craft brews such as Two Brothers Hop Juice, Founders Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, Victory Golden Monkey and Three Floyds Robert the Bruce. Many other craft brews and imported lagers and ales were to be found in the cooler; some more reasonably priced than others. The other house beers included the popular Moondance IPA, Marzen, raspberry cream ale, oatmeal stout, a Maibock and a nut brown ale. Lunar Brewing has a page on Myspace, which is updated fairly often.

Once I home, I poured a bottle conditioned Arcadia Scotch Ale and decided to make the evening a mini-Scotch Ale tasting. I've had some Arcadia beers before and the brewery is a very interesting traditional English operation. The Arcadia Scotch immediately differed from the Lunar Wee Heavy. The color was a darker chestnut and it had a more powerful aroma of raisins. The carbonation, was good. I've found Arcadia beers to be fairly highly carbonated, so I gave the beer a more vigorous pour to help ensure a smooth mouthfeel. The bone white head didn't last too long and dropped leaving a tight collar of foam. The first sip was smooth and cleanly malty with some toffee character emerging towards the finish, which ends up being a mouth full of raisin character and alcohol laced with a roasted grain and hop bitterness. The heavy caramel malt flavors lingered on my tongue creating a long finish that was just short of cloying.

Arcadia Scotch Ale is definitely one of the good ones. The brewery is inconsistent: I've had good beers, outstanding beers and poor ones from them, but I have to congratulate them on the Scotch Ale.

21:48
Its Coming!
» ‎ Asheville Beer Blog

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It was almost a year ago when I made my first post about the upcoming brewery at the Wedge Gallery. Well, our wait is finally over. Almost. According to Tony Kiss, the Wedge has begun brewing beer and they hope to be open sometime by the end of the month. That could mean the end of this month, the end of June, or the end of September, but I'm hoping it is sooner rather than later. I myself have driven by more than once to take a look at the project, and until now the only thing I knew for sure was that they were working hard and they had signs on the bathrooms. The other thing I know for sure is that the beer is going to be great. Most of you are probably already aware that the brewer is Carl Melissas, former brewer at Jack and a lover of Belgian style ales. His first beer though is going to be an IPA, with a pilsner, bock, and the oh-so-good Gollum soon to follow. I hope to be able to talk to Carl soon to see if he has anything else up his sleeve.

I'm going to have a little bit of fun with statistics, and make the claim that Buncombe County has the most breweries per capita in the entire United States. Portland, Oregon has been making this claim, but they only have 30 breweries to serve the over 2 million people in the Portland Metro Area, for an average of 1 brewery per 66,000 people. Asheville/Buncombe has 1 brewery to every 37,500 people. Of course Black Mountain can claim one brewery to every 7650 people. Okay, so throw out the statistics, but I still like to think of us as the best small city for beer in America.

(picture taken from River Arts District webpage)

21:44
Oh, Messy Life
» ‎ Relentless Thirst

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Just to let you know, these posts may begin to...

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21:28
North Coast 2008 Old Stock Ale - Tasting and Cellaring Notes
» ‎ The Brew Basement

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Name: Old Stock Ale

Brewer: North Coast Brewery

Style: Old Ale

Vintage: 2008

Cellared On: March 30th, 2008

Original Tasting: May 2nd, 2008

Much like the 2007 version - okay, more like exactly like the 2007 vintage; North Coast’s Old Stock Ale pours a dark mahogany brown with streaks of red shooting through the beer. It was very cool looking.

Extremely powerful sweet smells were come off this brew. You could just smell the thickness here - there’s no doubt that the body on this one is going to be beyond syrupy. There’s no missing the very ripe dark fruits suggested by the sweet smell, or the brown sugar for that matter.

Just as advertised by the smell, the sweetness of this brew was almost overwhelming. The roasted malts had a slight port-like feel with suggestions of fig, raisin, and brown sugar. A bit of an alcohol burn comes in, but nothing too extreme. I also tasted a little burst of the brown sugar sweetness at the end that kicks off the long and sweet finish. A tiny bit of hoppy bitterness joins the party and lingers with the sweet malts. Do I even need to say the body on this one was thick and syrupy with almost no carbonation?

This brew was sweet, thick, and bursting with flavor. It’s not easy to drink, but the flavor kept me reaching back for more.

Cellar Outlook: Strong and sweet with lot’s of alcohol power, I have no doubt that this one is going to hold up well.

Next Tasting: April 2009

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com

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21:20
Old Friends…..We Drink Them
» ‎ Make Mine Potato

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Reaching into the back of the fridge tonight, I found her. The last Bell’s Java Stout. She’d been there for months. Waiting. How did I forget her? Pop. Cap off. Poured. Like a soda commercial. My head falls back. Ahhhh. In Waiting for Godot, no one shows up. For the beers of my fridge, no matter how far back you sit, I will show up. And I will drink you. Beers, you cannot run from me. You have no legs.

Don’t let the image on the label fool you. He cannot run. Look at that happy cup of coffee dancing around on the label. The coffee splashes out. He does a little dance. Dance away! Your days are numbered. In a good way. A good way for me.

Java Stout and I go way back: Michigan. Detroit. Merchant’s when it was in Royal Oak. Holiday Market. Those deep chocolate flavors. The heavy pour. The roast. This is a beer from the D. And I was from the D. For five years. I’m a kind of Detroiter, a Detroiter in spirit.

I’m grateful we can get Bell’s here in the Show Me State. Brewers, take note. We buy your beer here too!

Thanks for waiting for me Java Stout. I’ll catch you next winter when you get back on the store shelves again (though I think a few of you are still hanging around the HyVee still….). And I will drink you!

21:15
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer
» ‎ SevenPack Beer Blog

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Here’s the second offering from Boulevard that I’m trying out. Yesterday, I told you guys that this was a Hefeweizen but, actually, it appears that this is an American style wheat. Normally, this is a bummer for me, ’cause I really like the Bavarian style. However, this does also claim to be the best-selling craft beer in the Midwest, so there must be something to it, right? Let’s see…

This beer pours a lightly hazy golden color - about right for a wheat ale, but maybe a bit lighter. Also, there is a ton of carbonation in the form of tiny streams of bubbles - this is becoming a theme with Boulevard beers, and not a bad one. The aroma here is fairly non-descript. The main component is citrus, without much else rearing its head. In the mouth, this is actually much more flavorful than I expected. However, I can’t say I’m totally sold. There is a decent amount of citrus here, and a ton of sweet wheaty malt. Interestingly, the wheat flavor here is a bit mustier than I’m accustomed to, giving it a flavor that is akin to wet cardboard. Okay, now, I know that sounds terrible. It’s not THAT bad. This wet cardboard sensation is fairly fleeting, occurs near the middle of the tongue, and then transitions into a second burst of sweetness with a light tart flavor that is very good and flows into the aftertaste, slowly diminishing over several seconds. In fact, while I’m not into cardboard, it does make an interesting divider between the light early citrus and the late tart sweetness. Really, this isn’t a bad beer, especially for an American version. It’s big and flavorful and ends on a high note. I still wouldn’t take it over most any Bavarian wheat beer, but I consider this a good and interesting American take on the genre.

21:11
Ron Meets Zoigl And Zoigl Meets Ron
» ‎ A Good Beer Blog

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A Good Beer Blog --

Ron's plate o' meat
Ron's Spring '08 central European road trip with Andy has been fun to follow but today's installment has to be the best. In it he uncovers a local brewing tradition played out in one small German region, watches people eat a lot of meat, finds a new hop-based spirit to drink and decides to spend the night. But the traditions of brewing this one beer, Zoigl, is a little weird:
Back at our hotel, Andy has a chat with the landlord. Yes, he does have Zoigl on. Hooray! Even though the official Zoigl time ended on Sunday (it's Tuesday, if you've lost track). He has a little flyer with the Zoigl schedule for the year printed on it. They're very well organised. Each of the five brewing families in Neuhaus takes it in turns to sell Zoigl Thursday to Sunday. Like I said, it's Tuesday. Once a year (3rd of October in 2008), all five Zoigl families sell beer simultaneously. I'll mark that date in my calendar.
It's Zoigl-tastic! It's so Zoigl-tastic I suspect if this beer were called Neuhausbrau or, say, zblat or something else I would not be nearly as interested. But what really amazes me is that there isn't a TV crew following Ron around on these tours. Surely - if there is a golf channel and a world fishing network - there must be an appetite for a station that follows a group of eloquent middle aged beer hounds around rooting out the back woods beer traditions of small communities. And describing the local smoked meats that go with them. As they get snapped.
We need to put out nickels together and make this happen.

19:29
Less Energy, More Beer
» ‎ RealBeer.co.nz

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Less Energy, More Beer

19:28
USA Today Clip: The Best of Europe in America
» ‎ Mash, The

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By David Farley, ForbesTraveler.com

Fragrant flowers, half-timbered windmills and friendly attitudes are just a few of the reasons travelers hit up Holland. But there’s another, just as kind, just as gentle land where wooden shoes and tulips rule: Holland, Michigan. Check in to the Dutch Colonial Inn B&B, which blends Midwestern hospitality with Old World atmosphere in a cozy house built in 1928. Amble through downtown where Dutch-accented shops flank the tree-lined streets and then settle in to the New Holland Brewing Co. for a few pints of Red Tulip Ale. In the end, you’ll be wearing clogs too.

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[www.usatoday.com]

19:15
Victory, yes I was there too
» ‎ Brew Lounge : Beer Tasting Brewing and Culture, The

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Is there anyone who hasn't made it to the "friends & family," "soft opening," or official opening? The way the threads read at BA, or over at Lew's site, Jack's site, and on and on, you wouldn't think otherwise. Yesterday, May 7th, marked the official reemergence of Victory Brewing, the brew pub. But, nothing like you've seen before, at least not in Downingtown, PA. Congratulations to Ron, Bill,

18:39
Ontario Brewing Awards 2008 Winners
» ‎ Bartowel News

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The winners of the Ontario Brewing Awards 2008 were announced earlier this week. The full press release, including the list of winners, appears below: TORONTO, ONTARIO: May 7, 2008. They excel in the beer industry, exemplify creativity and are...

18:12
Happy Birthday!
» ‎ Knut Albert's Beer Blog

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I won’t be in Brussels on 7 June, but if I were, I would go for a birthday celebration! Happy birthday, Bier Circus, one of my favourite bars in the world! Sorry about the poster, I can’t get it right here.

18:07
Jolly Pumpkin Available in St. Louis
» ‎ stlhops.com

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As gross as this may sound, I’m literally salivating just hearing about this news. I don’t know why, but as soon as I start just thinking about sour beers I begin salivating like crazy. But anyway, one of the best breweries in America with one of the worst names is coming to St. Louis. Jolly Pumpkin out of Dexter, Michigan is now available at Starr’s Market.

Ben from Starr’s says they’ve received Mam Bier, Calabaza Blanca, ES Bam, La Roja, and Oro de Calabaza. If you haven’t figured out, I’m so extremely stoked about this.

17:41
Tomato sauce with beer - Yeah Right
» ‎ RealBeer.co.nz

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A shout out and high five to Nick Rogers, dude you are a marketing genius, I hope your golden run continues. The people buying this get what they deserve, and I can hear you laughing your ass off from here. Fraking brilliant. =============================================================== Tuimato Sauce - DB Breweries' take on the Kiwi bloke's quintessential condiment - is poised to hit

17:29
Swing and a Miss
» ‎ Beer Haiku Daily

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A beer my sole prize.
After heroic effort,
No joy in Mudville.

Written by Captain Hops.

References: Comcast took three weeks and three visits to accomplish nothing. Verizon started out strong using an impressive amount of dedication and ingenuity to delicately muscle through the first couple of problems. Things seemed to be going well. Visible work was getting done. Items were looking complete. When hurdles came up, they threw team members at it. No one gave up. But at the end of the day… still no internet, still no TV, and now no dial tone. They say it should all be straightened out first thing in the morning.

Sponsor: Beer Haiku Daily merchandise. Get the official T-Shirts here. They make great gifts!

17:17
Seder, with Brett
» ‎ RateBeer.com Weekly

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Posted by: Beershine. I almost didnt make it to the Lost Abbey. Some kind of bug knocked me out and was trying to get the better of me. It was egged on by more than 12 hours of traveling from Miami to San Diego and then waking up at 6:30 AM for three days straight to steward the World Beer Cup (WBC). On top of it all...
17:15
A Short Visit to San Diego
» ‎ RateBeer.com Weekly

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Posted by: Oakes. Id never been to San Diego before, and for a time I wasnt sure I was ever going to get there. You see, Miami is the gateway to Latin America and as such the Miami Airport strives to provide an authentic Third World experience. The décor is from the 70s, your baggage takes an hour to arrive at...

16:57
One for the road
» ‎ The Beer Nut

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The time has come for the second part of my Sunny Islands With Bad Beer series, or at least the research end of it. This time I won't be blessed by the gods of wi-fi so you'll be spared the real-time details of my agony. I'll just be concentrating it into one or two posts in a fortnight-or-so's time.

My send-off beer this time round came from an off-licence I complained about last year: D Six in Harold's Cross. A year on, they've definitely put the effort in on their beer selection. It's not Redmond's class, and the friendly staff clearly wouldn't know Kwak from Coors Light, but the selection is some-way decent, and they deserve credit for that when so many others just go for tray-upon-tray of Heineken and Bud.

The beer in question is 1488, another one from the enigmatic Traditional Scottish Ales Ltd of historical FK7 7NP. Associations are drawn on the label with the Tullibardine distillery, in whose oak casks it is matured, but once again there's no clear indication of where the stuff's actually brewed.

As Thom said, it's a beer of contrasts. I acknowledge and repeat his accurate detection of a sherry flavour in amongst the oak and malt. There's very little gas and a sweet/sour Jack-Daniels-and-lime sort of aroma. What Thom describes as a lactic tang I'd say is a tartness, resembling the more involved sort of lambic. It engenders a mouth-watering lip-smacking finish which rounds off a very smooth and flavourful beer which sinks surprisingly easy given the 7% ABV and the hard liquor associations.

So that's my lot for now, as the darkness falls on this sunny island with limited quantites of good beer.

16:37
St. Louis Brewers Heritage Begins Tonight
» ‎ stlhops.com

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the 2nd Annual St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival takes place this weekend. This festival was started last year to not only honor the longstanding brewing traditions of St. Louis but to also gather together the area’s brewers and showcase all of the talent we have in the area.
- The kick-off to this Festival begins this evening with a 5-course VIP dinner co-hosted by The Food Network celebrity chef Dave Lieberman and festival brewmasters.
- Friday begins with a new session, the “Business Man’s Special” which runs from Noon-4PM. This $50 event will not only allow you first crack at all of the festival beers, but the price also includes food as well.
- The grounds re-open on Friday for a session that runs from 6 - 10 p.m. and again Saturday, May 10, from noon - 4 p.m. and 6 - 10 p.m. Tickets for the Friday evening session and Saturday events cost $30 per person ($35 day of the events, so get your tickets now).
- This year will see a slight change (for the better in my opinion) of three tasting tents, instead of last year’s two. The three tents will be devoted to Ales, Lagers and also Specialty Beers.
- Restaurants participating in this year’s Festival are all from the St. Louis Originals group. Companion Bakery, Harvest, LoRusso’s Cucina, SqWires and Vin de Set have all created dishes designed to compliment the more than 70 beer styles available at the event.
- Not only will you be able to taste beer from 8 local breweries, but this year you’ll also have the chance to sample beers from a number of area homebrewers.
- The Heritage Festival Dark Lager recipe is back again this year, but we’re also privy to try Augie Altenbaumer’s Rye American Pale Ale recipe this year as well. The Suburban Journal recently featured an article on Augie and his beer, be sure to check it out.
The weather is looking wonderful for the weekend (a change over the last few weekends) with clear skies and 70°. It’s seriously looking like this year will be even better than last year. I’ll be attending tonight’s dinner, the Saturday Afternoon Session and maybe be attending part of the Friday Afternoon and Evening Session as well. I promise to provide plenty of pictures and hopefully a few interviews as well.

16:23
Farewell, My Lovely Pork Buns
» ‎ Pour, The

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The closing of Mei Lai Wah Coffee House is a great loss both to the Chinatown community and to occasional visitors.

16:13
The art of planning a [burrito] business
» ‎ Monday Night Brewery : Atlanta, GA

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We’re learning a lot throughout this whole business planning process, but it’s also interesting to see what our friends are up to. Specifically Wilson over at Brewvana, who will soon be opening his own Burrito shack called Electric Burrito.

Wilson, being a beer guy, spent some energy planning his beer menu recently. Sounds like he found a good balance between his natural beer-loving tendencies and the general headaches caused by adding a million taps. (He settled on 2 taps and about a dozen local microbrews.)

Granted, I rarely get out to Iowa. If Bryan Adams plays a farewell show there I might just have to make the trek.

16:13
Interview with Green Flash head brewer Chuck Silva
» ‎ Belmont Station Beer Forum

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By Angelo De Ieso II

On a recent trip to Southern California, I had the great privilege to sample some great beers in the San Diego area--Port/Lost Abbey, Stone, AleSmith, Ballast Point, and Coronado to name a few. Green Flash Brewing in Vista, California was one of the best, producing some palate-jolting brands that have been garnering acclaim all over the world of late. The company's West Coast IPA has become an industry standard and has placed the San Diego style IPA on the map. Winning several awards while finding new and exciting uses for the precious hop, Green Flash head brewer Chuck Silva showed me around the brewery and let me taste some amazing beers. He also was so kind as to shed some light on himself, the brewery, and the whole hop craze. If you are ever in the area, make sure to stop by the brewery and taste some of their wonderful offerings.

Angelo De Ieso II: When did the Green Flash company get its start?

Chuck Silva: The company’s been going on for over five years. I came on after the first two years, so I’ve been with the company for the last three-and-a-half years.

AD: What sparked your interest in beer?

CS: Oh, that goes back…beer itself, of course…the flavor of good beer as opposed to domestic, well, swill, I guess (laughs). But, I’ve always liked good beer, even when I was a teenager. I definitely had my share of Budweiser, but I’ve always leaned toward what imports were available, whether it was Heinekin or Lowenbrau or flavors that were richer and more interesting. I’ve always leaned toward flavors that were more interesting. Later on, there was a nice surge in homebrewing, and I became involved with homebrewing in ’94 and after about four years of homebrewing, decided to quit my day job and get an education in brewing sciences. It’s been ten years of commercial brewing since.

AD: Where did you study brewing?

CS: The American Brewers Guild, started by Dr. Lewis at UC Davis. It was in Woodland at the time. It was a nice facility that had a working brewery so you could brew and filter, and it had a lab and classroom all in the same facility.

AD: Where did the name “Green Flash” come from, and how is that representative of the beer?

CS: Green Flash got the name from the owner and some of the shareholders. In the beginning, they had their pads and pencils out trying to figure out what the name of this brewing company was going to be, and everybody had put down “Green Flash” on their pads, but nobody had it as their first choice. So, at sunset, they were on somebody’s deck and walked out to look for the green flash, and I think at that point, everyone turned to each other and said “Well, why not ‘Green Flash’?” So, it was spawned and accepted at that point. The green flash is something that occurs at sunset and at sunrise, too, if you can catch it. It’s when the light refracts like a prism. There are also blue flashes and red flashed, but a green flash is more commonly viewed at sunset for maybe a couple seconds in the right conditions at the right time. We feel like it is representative of our coastal origin, being on the West Coast in Southern California, but it’s also common in Hawaii. Aviators often get to see it, especially aviators looking over the ocean where they have a good angle for viewing…hence the Green Flash name.

AD: You’ve won some prestigious awards recently, including first place at the first annual NAIPAC (North American IPA Competition) with the West Coast IPA. This is perhaps the most popular IPAs around. You also won a medal for the Hop Head Red in the World Beer Cup this year. What has this been like, and what are some of your proudest moments as a brewer?

CS: The IPA is definitely a really nice feather in the cap, although it’s not at the level of World Beer Cup competition, which we actually did just win the gold in the American red and amber ale category for the Hop Head Red. Previously, just in September, we won the silver at the GABF (Great American Beer Festival). We also won the silver for the Tripel—a modern Belgian style. We also won a bronze. That was an amazing moment for us—to win three medals in one major competition. It was really amazing. It’s not all about just winning awards. It’s real nice to get that kind of recognition. When I created Le Freak—a beer that wasn’t an existing beer style, that was a special moment for me. It’s a convergence of styles and an emerging style. It’s our Imperial IPA meets Belgian Trippel. For that to come out as savory and flavorful as it did, to me, is a crowning achievement and special moment to have that creativity come out in a beer. It wows me still.

AD: Does the Le Freak draw any influence from the Houblon Chouffe?

CS: Sure. That’s a Belgian beer inspired by what American brewers are doing with hops. In tern, I was inspired to do it my way—West Coast Style. I used a lot of all-American hops and two yeast strains—Belgian and American and I still used a little bit of American hops for a little bit of dry hopping. So, it’s richer and a little more over-the-top with the hop bitterness, super zesty. So, I was inspired by Belgians being inspired by us. It kind of goes back and forth. We weren’t the first to do it, for sure. The Urthel Hop-It is another beer that was inspired by American brewing that has a Belgian flavor to it. Maybe even DeRanke or a couple other beers that are kind of in the similar realm. The Le Freak is an American beer inspired by Belgian tradition.

AD: There’s been a lot of talk about the West Coast or San Diego Style of beer. In your opinion, what does that mean and how does that differ from a Northwest Style?

CS: I would include the Northwest. That’s a really good question. I think just West Coast, period, is strongly inspired by hops and the great Pacific Northwest hops and American varieties that have developed from other varieties whether it be British or German origin. We’ve developed some really, really savory and pungent hops that are citrusy, piny, and floral, and more extravagant than Old World varieties. Those used in craft beer in elevated levels really define what’s going on with West Coast brews. Not exclusively, but certainly a tilt there. If we are talking about IPA, for instance, what would define a San Diego IPA versus a West Coast IPA versus a Northwest IPA…I think what you’ll see (with the San Diego Style) is a paler color and a lighter body but still a full alcohol level, still probably 7 percent (ABV) beer for a West Coast IPA but with an extreme emphasis on hop extravagance—hops throughout the brew, multiple kettle additions. Some people do mash hopping. Some people do first work hopping. Some people use hop backs. Some people do all of that, as well as dry hopping and then even a second dry hopping. We just did the Symposium IPA for the CBC (Craft Brewers Conference) and we employed all of those techniques, taking input from the brewers around San Diego. It was a paler color with mash hops, first work hops, multiple kettle additions, whirlpool additions, hop back, and then dry hops. But still, with the focus on balance, even though it has this huge hop emphasis, you still need to finesse the beer and make it very drinkable. With that little bit of lighter color and that lighter body, it allows the alcohol and the hops as opposed to just a straight malt and hop balance, which maybe is a little more Northwest or East Coast. But then also, the yeast selection is important, too—a yeast that accentuated the hops instead of just a British yeast fruitiness. So, there’s a few differences to look at.

AD: Do you have a favorite hop variety?

CS: We could say Simcoe might be one of them with respect to IPA. But I love most of the hop varieties because you can’t make different beers without different hops. Otherwise they’ll be too similar to each other. I can’t make the Trippel with the Simcoe. I need Saaz and Syrian goldings. Each hop has its place.

AD: With so many flavorfully hopped-out beers in the San Diego area, how has Green Flash managed to set itself apart from the others such as AleSmith, Port, and Stone?

CS: Another very good question. Just purely by flavor. We don’t have a kitschy marketing program. We don’t have fancy names, with the exception of Le Freak. When you see Green Flash’s West Coast IPA, it’s almost more of a style than a specific name, although we set out to make thee West Coast IPA when we made that beer. Obviously, there were a lot of nice West Coast IPA’s before we came along, being that we are only five and a half years old. Two years into it is when we first introduced the West Coast IPA, but when you set out to be a benchmark beer, you need to be the most extravagant and the top of the category if you look at the specific parameters of the beer. So, hop extravagance is the way we set ourselves apart with the West Coast IPA. That was really the beer that was a turning point for Green Flash and set the stage for us to make more extravagant beers like the Barleywine, the Trippel, the Imperial IPA, the Double Stout, and new beers to come like the Le Freak and the Summer Saison. We’re showing some range—not just hoppy beers but hoppy beers is what put us on the map to begin with.

AD: Judging by all the medals, it appears you are doing a good job so far. For a while Green Flash was contract brewing the Reaper Ales line of beer. We haven’t seen those beers for some time. What became with that relationship?

CS: (Reaper Ales) were doing some contract brewing and needed to find a new contract brewer. At the time Green Flash had some capacity and struck a deal with them. They took on the brand and I came on about six months later. I helped retool some of the recipes as well. But then we hit our ceiling as far as capacity and the West Coast was on fire. So we needed to make more West Coast IPA so we basically had to give them notice that we were going to discontinue the Reaper brand. They didn’t find a new brewer right away. They were thinking about opening their own brewery but found it to be a daunting challenge. They’ve been seeking another contract relationship. I think they may have found another facility in the Sudwerk (Privatbrauerei Hubsch) in Davis (California).

AD: We’ve heard so much about the hop shortage as well as other ingredient shortages. Does this have a significant impact on Green Flash? What do you foresee in your future with this whole hop crisis going on?

CS: It’s a tough time for everybody I would say. We have a good contract for this year. I am still working on contracts just for the ’08 crop year for next year’s brewing in 2009. I am probably 80% contacted (for next year) and probably have another 10% coming, and I am still working on the rest. That being said, the prices from this year to next year have easily doubled and tripled for me. Our prices increased this year, which translates to the consumer to at least a $9.99 six-pack of West Coast IPA. It’s a terribly expensive beer to make because of the ingredients and because of the packaging. A six-pack is much more expensive (to package) than a 22-ounce bottle. But we’re still committed to the package. We really like it and the consumer still seems to really want that beer even at that higher price. We didn’t increase our prices just to make more money, it was an increase to cover our costs. The malt prices went up even more significantly—about 40 percent. Of course fuel costs are up, too, so it’s the whole economic situation. I do see some relief a couple of years out. There are more plantings of aroma and high alpha varieties (of ho

really simple BEER syndication » May 8, 2008

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