2008-The Year in Beer
It’s that time of year once again when we become more contemplative, looking back and evaluating everything from our accomplishments and failures and even our personal growth (sometimes more physically than spiritually, at least for me anyway…); but alas, this blog is about beer! So what was 2008 like for beer? Let’s pop the cork on a fine bottle of bubbly Belgian tripel, take a sip and look back in contemplation… (In no particular order, I give you “The Year in Beer”)
WV Legislature drops the ball on craft beer- The year started off with much hope that WV consumers would see a change in the current 1920’s era beer legislation. HB-2934 made it about half way through the house before being “tabled” for fear of election year backlash (From who???) Meanwhile wine flows freely through the WV hill and valleys.
“Beers to You” goes to Belgium- Yours truly leads a group of ten thirsty beer travelers to Belgium for a week of sudsy fun, taking in three major beer events in one weekend! (See you in 2010!)
The first “Cicerones” get Certified- The new program offers many levels of “Beery” certification for professionals in the food and beverage industry. Certified Cicerones function similarly to Sommeliers, offering and serving the proper beer for the food or the occasion at hand.
Philly Beer Week- The home of the American Revolution once again raises the battle flag, this time for beer; proclaiming itself America’s best beer-drinking city and no one has proved them wrong as of yet…
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? - “Savor” a Celebration of Beer and Food was held by the Brewers Association. The event raised a flag of revolution in the Nation’s capital, proclaiming beer to be equally appropriate and sometimes superior to wine at the dinner table. Move over wine because beer ain’t going away, anytime soon…
Stupid is as Stupid does- West Virginia Alcohol commissioner Dallas Staples embarks on a mission to get beer distributors to sell beer over 6%abv (currently banned from sale through normal distribution) via the state’s liquor system, driving up the price of that beer as well as doubling the tax levied on each bottle. This idea is floated as a “fix” for the legislative failure cited previously in this post. (Only one beer called “Witches Brew” has been sold this way that we know of, and is still sitting on the shelves of retailers)
Okay’s Pub calls it quits- A real bummer… Okay’s was one of the best beer-bars in West Virginia, while not on the same scale as beer bars in “free” states, Kay did a fine job with her offering. Kay just had too many bad things happen in her life in one short period that had nothing to do with the business.
“In-Bud”- American staple “Anheuser-Busch” caves into a somewhat hostile bid from Belgian brewing giant Inbev, selling out for an approximate price of 65 bucks a share, leaving Pabst as the only truly American macro swill!
Bud goes “good”- It was either a macro-brewed accident or a brilliant “last-gasp” for the swallowed-up American brewing giant. Budweiser releases “American Ale”, with a huge campaign during the Olympics. The beer is actually pretty good, especially when you consider who makes it.
Montgomery Oktoberfest- Yes, you read that correctly… The celebration was held this past October in the sleepy coal & college town of Montgomery. Real German beer was served as advertised along with Bratwurst, Pretzels and a fantastic pig roast. The music was quite varied; from Oompah to Latin. Oh well! Nothings perfect! (No offense meant toward Comparsa)
Jeff’s New Brewery- It took a lot of planning over many beers, but my friend Jeff bit the bullet and went way overboard with his new brewing system. Inspired and motivated by fear of running out of beer, and also his quest to make brewing easier and more consistent. The system is also energy efficient due to the use of filtered hot water on demand, making mashing very easy. “I like to watch”…
West Virginia Brewing Company ?- Currently the doors of West Virginia Brewing Company in Morgantown are closed and there was a sign posted some time back that stated it re-open soon. We have not seen a re-opening or even beer from its brewer/owner Ned Strauser. I have not been able to contact Ned to ask him the real story as I always called him at the brewery.
Rich goes to GBBF London- This was a “real ale” experience I will never forget. I really increased my knowledge of British beer and pub culture. It felt like I was having an out of body experience when I could regularly hear a Paul Weller tune casually playing in a pub, something that wouldn’t happen on this side of the pond. (I am a huge Weller fan!)
“Booty” award for best beer available in WV 2008- Usually I rely on my “select panel” of judges for the results. This year I simply ran out of time and will go it alone.
The Best beer Available to West Virginians 2008- Sierra Nevada anniversary Ale
The Best beer made in West Virginia 2008- Mountaineer Pale Ale
The Worst beer in the State 2008- I will go with Green’s Discovery Ale. The beer is made by a great brewery, but it is Gluten Free. That’s like asking Tiger Woods to play golf with a tennis ball…
So how did 2008 stack up as a “Year for Beer”? If you are a West Virginia beer consumer, I would say you took two steps forward and one step back. The craft beer market in the U.S. did well once again, outpacing all other beverage sectors in volume growth. The Savor event took on wine as a dinner-table staple and gained the attention of many leading food editors. I can only hope that 2009 will be the year when for once West Virginia moves to modernize its beer laws, leaving Mississippi as the only state left mired in 1930’s post-prohibition mentality. If you were are a stockholder in Anheuser-Busch, I hope you took your tidy profit and ran; because if you left it in the market you are probably somewhere crying in your Stella right about now.
December 30th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Mississippi will be working on it in 2009 too!! Hopefully we can move beyond our stupid prohibition-era laws too.
January 1st, 2009 at 3:00 pm
WOW!! I’ll have to see about what’s up with Ned!!
We still have to get that article done about our trip.
Hopefully we can end this stupid 6%ABV law.
Thanks for the summary Rich!!
Later!
January 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Nice roundup, Rich. Here’s hoping against all hope 2009 beats ‘08 beer-wise. Or, well, everything else-wise, too.
The Sierra Anniversary was probably the best in ‘08. It’s a damn shame we can’t get the barely over the limit SN Celebration (6.2% this year), but having the Anniversary kinda makes up for it. Kinda.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I agree, SN Anniversary is great. I’ve never tried their Celebration, though.
On a related note, my wife recently pointed out to me an online article from Men’s Health that named the nation’s ten un-healthiest drinks. Good ‘ol SN Pale Ale was named the unhealthies beer (calories). The article went on to say that one should instead have a Guiness, due to the fact as rich as it tastes, it has about the same claorie count as some macro light beer and therefore is healthier for you.
Don’t get me wrong–Guiness has it’s place. But, when I want a SNPA, Guiness just doesn’t cut it!
January 7th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Thanks Rob for all of the feedback last year and You too Mike; it helps keeps the blog interesting. There is alot of good beer out there and it’s a job bigger than one man.
As for the article in Men’s Health, I dont think most of those writers would recognize a good beer if it was standing behind them in the mirror at the gym…
By using that logical progession, Mich Ultra is even better, but water is the only thing you should really be drinking.
Not everything we do has to make sense, healthwise or any other. If that were the case, ice cream would have never been invented. There is a “right time” and place for every beer in the world, just as there is a time for pushing yourself away from the dinner table or going to the gym to workout or pose, whatever turns you on.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
How right you are, Rich! Honestly though, is there much difference Mich Ultra and water? My wife isn’t much of a beer drinker, and even she says MU has no taste.
She got one at a WV Power game last summer, took a couple of sips, and went back for an Amberbock. Still not the best, but at least it has a little bit of taste.
Rich–have you tried Red Hook ESB? I had never heard of it until this past summer. I had it (draft) in North Carolina and it was pretty good. A couple of weeks later I found it in bottles at Kroger. If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. It’s pretty decent. (I don’t care much for RH’s Black Hook Porter, though. It has, to me anyway, a very sour aftertaste.)
Keep up the great work!
January 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am
You’re welcome, Rich. If you’re ever so inclined, I’d be up for writing a guest post or two. And, despite my twitter feed to the contrary, I actually CAN go more than two paragraphs without dropping F-bombs. Unless I’m discussing sports.
@Mike: Red Hook used to be one of my favorites. Back in the dark ages of 1990-91 it was about as crafty as beer got in the 304. It was also prominently featured in the classic William Least-Heat Moon feature “A Glass of Handmade” which ran in the Atlantic Monthly in 1986 or so (Google it; it’s well worth a read today.)
Today I find Red Hook’s products a bit bland but that’s likely more a function of my tastes expanding and not anything the brewery did, them getting into bed with A-B notwithstanding. (See also Goose Island and Old Dominion for craft/A-B partnerships). Unlike you, I find the Black Hook to be their best, the IPA decent, and the Blonde and ESBs to be merely okay. That sour aftertaste you mentioned can be a problem, especially if the bottle is old. Thankfully, Red Hook prominently embosses its best-by date on each. Get some that aren’t stale and give it another try.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Rob: I think that Black Hook was the last bottle in the six pack, so I can’t check the date. Granted, it has been in the fridge for a while, but not too long. I had it with an excellent pork loin that my wife cooked for dinner. If I’d had an Edmund Fitzgerald in the fridge, I would have opened it instead. But, to be fair, I’ll give it another shot one of these days. I like porters and stouts with pork, but maybe BH just doesn’t cut it swine flesh.
I haven’t tried Blonde and haven’t even seen their IPA. The ESB on tap was better the bottled version, but I still like ESB, though not as well as Great Lakes Moon Dog ESB.
It’s my understanding the Red Hook/AB realtionship is for distribution only. Do you know something more about it?
William Least Heat Moon–I haven’t read anything by him since “Blue Highways-A Journey Into America.” His views of WV and his descriptions of the good citizens of Sutton pissed me off mightily. I’ll google that piece and read it, though.
I appreciate your comments. Thanks!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Rob: I just finished reading tht piece by WLH Moon. It was very interesting, to say the least. I had no idea of the relationship of Red Hook to Starbucks. Pretty interesting comments by Fritz Maytag about Anchor’s product line, too.
Speaking of Anchor, I have to give a nod of thanks and appreciation here to my step-daughter, Sara, for bringing me some Steam and some Liberty Ale fron Morgantown when she came home for Christmas. (She knows of my love of them and the fact that we can’t seem to get them here in the Kanawha Valley these days.)
January 9th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
So, when do we get the yearly cap-raising bill for 2009, and what are the prospects now that we’re not in an election year?
January 9th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Mike,
Yes, the Blue Highways WV parts always irked me too.
As for Red Hook, the way I had it explained to me years ago was the distribution deal with InBud necessitated them increasing production beyond the point where they could maintain the original quality level. I don’t know if that’s true, just what I heard. It still makes good beer, I’ve just grown out of it. Still, I’ll stand up for the Black Hook as my favorite of theirs. Of course, nothing beats the E.Fitz. - best porter in America, closely followed by Sierra Nevada, Rogue, and Anchor. Shame you didn’t get some Anchor porters from Mo’town as well. Tasty stuff.
As for other InBud/craft distribution deals, it’s seemed to work out for Goose Island but not so well for Old Dominion. Well, it may be working out for OD too, but it’s hurt a number of other Virginia craft brewers. OD has dropped all of it’s contract brewing and as a result, a couple of really good beers are not being made - Tupper’s Hop Pocket, for example. That well and truly sucks.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Rob: E.Fitz is the best I’ve tried, too. SN is very good, too, but I’ve not sampled the offerings from Anchor or Rouge. Unlike the folks mentioned in WLHM’s piece, I was wa-a-a-y past thirty when I started branching out in the world of beer. I have a lot of catching up to do, I guess. I’ll put in an order for some Anchor from Mo’town the next time Sara comes home. For the record, other than Leo’s, the closest place I’ve found Anchor products is at the liquor mart at the Flatwoods Outlet Mall, and all they carry are Steam and Liberty.
What you said about Red Hook/InBud makes sense. I guess it’s just another example of quantity not always being better than quality.
Speaking of Moon, it isn’t that I dislike him. I obviously don’t even know him. He is a very insightful writer and I like his style. I just didn’t care much for his commments about the Mountain State and it’s people. I may try to find a copy of “Blue Highways” and re-read it, though. I read it when it first came out, so it’s been quite a while. I’m sure that when he wrote it he was still pissed over losing his teaching position and his packing up and leaving, and that will leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth for while. Been there, done that, and even though I was the one who wanted the divorce, it still sucks and takes some time to get over. Again, to be fair, I’ll try to re-read it and be more objective.