Yeah, I am from Joyzee, you gotta a problem wit dat? I moved to Charleston 25 years ago, but anyone who knows me will vouch for the saying: “You can take the boy out of Jersey…” You know the rest…

I grew up in pre-casino Atlantic City. It was a sadly depressed and abandoned seaside resort that was once known as “The World’s Playground”. Even though the summer throngs had gone, there were a few things no one could take from us, like the original and greatest Boardwalk and the absolute best submarine sandwiches in the world (Philly has nothing over our A.C. Cheese steak, I’ll address that later). Also, Don’t forget that this is the town that gave the world Salt Water Taffy!

I recently traveled back to “A.C.”, mixing business with a little “beery” pleasure in form of a beerfest. It was time for the 2^nd annual “Celebration of the Suds.” The event was held in the new convention center and featured more than 100 different beers. There is s bit of irony here since the new convention center sits right where a huge “Schmidt’s Beer” sign lit the city for miles around when I was a kid. I could see it day and night from our picture window. It acted as a night light in our living room even though our house was at least two miles away! Schmidt’s brewery of Philadelphia is long gone, but it appears that my former home town has become a “beery” destination; even if only for one weekend a year.

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Beer and wine are natural products, but they are also products of modern agriculture. This means that somewhere, sometime, during the growth or storage of the raw product, some pesticide or other chemical was likely used to “help” things along. With wine, it is pesticides on the grape crop and then a dose of sulfites right in the must (juice) to stave off wild yeast or bacteria.

Since beer is made chiefly from water, barley (sometimes other grains) and hops (an herb), every ingredient could be susceptible to some form of chemical adulteration. Water is really never an issue in modern breweries. The highest level of water filtration and treatment assure a clean and mineral-balanced supply to meet the recipe. The reason beer continues to remain relatively inexpensive is due to the low cost of the raw materials. Modern barley crops are extremely high yielding and meet the demanding specifications of the brewing industry. The only trouble is that the use of chemicals has been an essential part of this agronomic success story.

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What do the above items have in common? They are two things a real Irishman would not be caught dead doing…

Well it’s that time of the year again. ‘Hey Rich Ireland, this must be a special day for you!’ ‘Hey Rich, with a name like Ireland, are you Irish? I bet you drink green beer on St. Paddy’s Day.’

It does get a bit old for me. But what really wears me out is the way the industrial breweries market the hell out of Saint Patrick’s Day. When I see Corona being marketed with shamrocks and some cutesy tagline like “All the Green you Need” (referring to the obligatory lime slice), I want to puke green beer! On the day itself you may find me drinking beer, but never wearing a green leisure suit or even a button saying “Kiss me I’m Irish.” (In fact, I can’t even prove to you that I am!) So, with that rant out of the way, let’s talk about beer…

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After toiling for 5 or 6 hours over hot boiling liquid (albeit, while drinking a beer) and all of the hours of follow-up; checking, transferring, cleaning, kegging or bottling, I often ask myself the same question: ‘Why am I doing this?’ When you add the cost of the ingredients and your time, it doesn’t make financial sense to homebrew. Homebrewing is a labor of love. It’s a highly creative process coupled with a very rigid set of procedures. It’s a hobby where the creative side mingles with the technical side of our minds. Then there is the magical moment of finally tasting your beer. Ahhh! What a moment indeed!

West Virginians have even more reason to brew at home because our beer laws are very hostile to the free market for beer. We are very limited as to what we can buy in our state. I spend most of my retail beer dollars out of state, or make what I want at home. With a little bit of study and practice (and a little help from experienced brewers) you can make very good quality beer at home. I like brewing strong Belgian ales, some topping 9% alcohol. I have brewer friends who like to make very authentic German styles, some brew English ales. Brewing and drinking beer that WV State laws forbid us to buy is our way of “stickin it to the man”. I always know where I can find tap of WV contraband among my brew crew….

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I just recently visited one of my old haunts, this time looking at the place from the perspective of a beer writer. Sam’s Uptown Café is located at 28 Capitol Street. It has been a successful little place for quite a few years thanks to a mix of occasional patrons and a loyal cast of regulars. Sam’s is a true “pub” within the city of Charleston.

Sure, many bars are called pubs, but you just can’t put up a sign that says “Pub”, hang-up a dart board and just magically become one. A pub is a pub because of who and what is on the inside. The term comes from the British Public House; literally someone’s house that was opened to the public for the purpose of social intercourse over a pint of ale. The house quickly evolved into the special purpose buildings that we commonly call bars. The bar room is just the place, but the pub is the soul of the place…

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I have always been fond of Belgian witbier. In fact, I have 10 gallons of it fermenting right now. The refreshing tartness along with the spicy complexity (courtesy of coriander, bitter orange peel and sometimes cumin) make “Wit” a great beer to use in the kitchen as well as in your beer glass. Coor’s Blue Moon is brewed in the style of Belgian white ale or witbier. It is not my favorite example of the style, but it’s locally available and it continues to serve its purpose by introducing tens of thousands of macro-beer drinkers to the exotic style.

The modern witbier is derived from the way beer was brewed hundreds of years ago in many small Belgian and French villages. The essence of the style is the use of a large portion of unmalted wheat, giving the beer its hazy “white” cloudiness (hence the name, white beer) and also contributing to the essential spicy flavor. Malted grain was an expensive luxury in those early days and hops were not widely used in brewing until later centuries. The beers of the day were spiced with whatever herbs grew locally and others that were available from importation. Coriander was not native to Europe, but it could be grown there. The seeds of the coriander plant (Cilantro) are used to impart a very round citrus flavor to the beer. Many brewers use the dried bitter peel of…

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