Make no mistake about it; Soho’s restaurant is haunted.  But much to the chagrin of this beer-geek, nobody at Soho’s seems to know it! (Or maybe they just don’t care?)

My wife and I joined a few friends last Friday night for a bite to eat at Soho’s. As soon as I sat down, an eerie feeling came over me, we were not alone. Yes, I realize that we were in a crowded restaurant, of course we weren’t alone: I am talking about my small group of friends- at our table, there was a familiar “presence” that I have known before…

This time, I avoided falling victim to the “Headless Dead-Guy”; I warded off that spirit by ordering a gin and tonic, but my friends Joe and Bill weren’t so lucky. They ordered beer, Dead Guy ale to be specific, usually a great beer that is somehow transformed into something unappealing when served at Soho’s. The rattle of the chains, the hoof beats were deafening…

I didn’t really want to re-write my Headless Dead-Guy blog, (click here for the original blog) but this is too tempting and quite frankly, unfortunate. Why should beer drinkers have to put up with this? Would wine drinkers accept ice-cold red-wine served in plastic drinking cups for instance? Then why should we have to put up with paying 6 bucks for a pint a beer that looks more like a glass of iced tea. This should be a continuing embarrassment for restaurateur and trained Chef Bill Sohovich. I say get it right or just go back to serving Bud in frosted glasses!

Note: For answers to “why is the Dead-Guy Headless”? Read my original Blog explaining why head formation on a beer is important and how restaurants and bars manage to lop off the heads of these innocent beers!

Yes, I heard the great news (delivered by an angel perhaps?) “Hark! I bring you tidings of great joy! Unto you will be sold a lager, you will recognize this lager by its funny name, it will be wrapped in a swanky  (and very appealing) label and will be laying among the many other macro brands in the grocer’s cooler”… Yada, yada, you know the story.

I have never understood the hype behind this very average beer. Sure, Yuengling is a well-brewed and drinkable American lager, but does it deserve this sort of worship? It certainly isn’t worshipped by the beer aficionados that I know. This worship is almost Obama or Coors-like in nature (before Coors came east). Are we so desperate for decent beer that we accept Yuengling as the savior? Please…

I have read many of the comments posted on the WV Gazette website that followed the announcement article by Eric Eyre. Somehow these confused people have mixed up the currently stalled “craft beer” legislation as the reason for Yuengling becoming available in the state. How could stalled legislation have any affect? Facts are stubborn things… 

Here’s the fact. Yuengling lager has always been legally ready for sale in West Virginia. Yuengling is within the current 6% alcohol limit for beer. The only obstacles were labeling and commercial issues. Our market was just too small for the growing brewery to put in the effort to jump through the hoops at the state government, and then have to fight for mindshare from our feudal beer distribution system. Do you know how many great beers are approved and franchised for sale in West Virginia and are never carried by the disinterested distributors that have contracts to sell them? Plenty; and the brewer can do little about it short of taking the distributor to court to sever the contract!

Why do I seem so irritated by this Yuengling worship? It’s simple; I do not want this announcement to become a distraction to the real issues. The WV senate is sitting on the house-passed legislation that will be the first step in getting real, world class beer into West Virginia. And secondly, I am frankly quite disappointed with fact that most folks would be satisfied enough to proclaim “problem solved” for West Virginia beer drinkers now that Yuengling is coming; Allelujha!

Fellow blogger and beer geek Chris Workman put a positive, but very sarcastic spin on the announcement via his WV Gourmet Blog (www.wvgourmet.com). Chris says as Publius “West Virginians no longer have to bootleg mediocre beer.  Now all bootlegging efforts can be focused on bootlegging beers that are actually worth drinking.”

Come on folks; let’s keep our eye on the ball! Call your state senators and ask them to support HB-2719, currently stalled in the senate judiciary committee!

The inspiration to write this article came to me last week when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark checking out the very vibrant craft- beer scene. I was on the way back from a business trip in Sweden when I ran into a couple of local Danes who, while not real “beer geeks” certainly crossed over into the “beer-curious” column. Michael and Thomas jokingly told me they were breaking Danish protocol when they engaged me, a total stranger, in conversation at the bar of “Brewpub København”. The discussion somehow turned toward getting a bite to eat and then a request that I join them. Whatever plans they had previously made went out the window because tonight these guys were answering a call to national duty as Danish culinary diplomats. Their mission was to introduce me to the wonder of the traditional Danish Smørrebrød (open faced sandwich) and dare I say, Carlsberg beer.

Both men assured me that the Cafe Sorgenfri was the “real deal”. The smallish café was right in the heart of the old city, just a few blocks away from the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. The step down into the place from a corner entrance reminded me of many a seedy Atlantic City bar of my youth, though not smoky and dank at all and not one gaudy neon beer sign to be seen. In fact the place was brightly lit and quite cheery inside and out with family pictures and memorabilia donning the walls in every direction. The guys told me that the place has been an institution since the late1700’s and still family owned.

Carlsberg beer is also a Danish institution of sorts. Although a bit bland for my taste, Carlsberg beer has been the inspiration for most of the “euro-lagers” brewed today. It has become the “Budweiser for the rest of the world”, though a tiny bit more flavorful. The Copenhagen based brewery has quite a history in the world of brewing; in fact its founder J.C. Jacobsen was the man who hired Louis Pasteur to figure out exactly what caused fermentation. Mr. Pasteur’s discovery of brewing yeast was the result; the scientific name of which is Saccharomyces Carlbergensis, named after the brewery that funded the discovery. Although I am not a fan of Carlsberg or any other euro-lager, these beers do have their place, and especially Carlsberg when paired with the traditional smørrebrød fare of Denmark.

My Danish hosts ordered up the classic combinations of the meal, a round of Carlsberg beer and a bottle of an anise flavored akavit (a schnapps whose name is derived from “water of life” but I would like to see someone try to live off of this stuff!). The meal was served on a multi level tray like you would see at a typical buffet (smorgasbord, smørrebrød, are you getting the connection?). Everything is eaten with a knife and fork “open face style” on dark rye bread (instantly halving your carb-intake, brilliant!). 

Starting with pickled herring served with a pork-fat spread and then onward to liver pate, pot roast, chicken-asparagus salad and spicy shrimp salad, all were delicious. Red onion and other sides like cucumbers, beets and red bean sprouts added a range of very fresh and earthy flavors to the “protein” on the bread.

The Carlsberg beer surprisingly hung in there and dare I say “enhanced” the experience. This was no surprise to my hosts, as they believe the true success of Carlsberg beer is that it was designed to work with this very traditional and popular meal, to do otherwise would have meant sure death in the Danish marketplace. The sips of Akavit enhanced the dill and other spices and especially harmonized with the dark rye bread almost like liquid caraway seed. On the other hand, the spicy schnapps couldn’t upstage the relatively bland euro-lager at pulling this meal together; proving to me that every beer must have its place somewhere (except maybe for Miller-Chill).

There is an old saying which says that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I went to Copenhagen with no plans to drink even one Carlsberg beer, but alas I am a “beer-culture kinda guy” and I am really glad these two guys were willing to lead me to a Carlsberg beer paired with a great meal, creating an incredible beer-culture experience.  

Regular readers of this blog will recoginize Rob Absten as a frequent commentator of this blog. Rob recently posted an article on the BeerAdvocate website. The article is painfully true and to the point. I dont want to deflate everyone, but EVEN IF we pop the 6% ABV cap, there is much needed work still to be done. Our situation may not change until we overthrow the “feudal” system Rob refers to.

West Virginia is a beautiful state. It’s also a beer wasteland.

First, I want to apologize in advance for what’s going to be a depressing, negative rant. I try to be positive on [Beer Advocate], adhering to the spirit of beer advocacy. It’s why my review average is so damned high: I give beer the benefit of the doubt, try to find the upside, and if I can’t, I usually walk away. I’ve drunk a lot of mediocre to bad beers since joining this site; I just don’t, as a rule, review them. But today I’m going to review the entire, sorry state of West Virginia beer. And I can’t walk away this time. After all, I live here. If you like good beer there’s not a state in the union worse than Dubya-Vee. West Virginia, for want of a better word, sucks.First, we’ve got a 6% cap that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We had a brief glimmer of hope last year when a bill that would’ve raised the limit to 12% (it started out at 15% but it was lowered in committee) made it through part of the legislature, only to be tabled/killed. As the House Speaker told me, “No one’s raising the alcohol limit on beer in an election year.” Great. There’s an election every two years. And for this upcoming (non-election) year, the State Alcohol Beverage Commissioner has stated he’s planning to lobby against it. When the agency head comes out against something in this state, dollars for donuts it won’t happen.

Second, we have a Byzantine distribution system. Wholesale “Distributors” have exclusive geographical territories for each brewery. It’s positively feudal. And like a feudal system, the Lord of the Land can exercise his Will over his Dominion. Ergo, a distributor may have the exclusive right to carry one brewer’s line but elect, arbitrarily, to NOT DISTRIBUTE IT TO ANYONE. And the brewer is limited in its options to seek an alternate distributor. As in, No Option. So, even when you have a product that falls under the 6% cap AND a brewer that’s willing to jump through ABCC hoops to sell in WV AND a demand for it, the distributor with the rights to that brand can just say, “Nope, we’re not selling (for example) Rogue products in Huntington. Why? Because we don’t have to, that’s why.” How #$%&-up is that?

Third, even when someone gets past these hurdles he or she is faced with a drinking public that ranges from indifferent to outright hostile. This year has seen the closure of the only two bars in Charleston (the largest, most “sophisticated” city in the state) that could - under any definition of the term - be labeled “beer bars.” Both closed due to lack of business. These bars were “decent” by most any standard and positively beer Nirvana, relatively speaking. Both are now closed. One is an empty shell and the other reopened as a tapas restaurant. A tapas restaurant whose owner proudly states it doesn’t serve craft beer, instead offering “American favorites” like Bud, Miller, and Corona. Yes, so stupid is this place about beer that Corona is “American.” Meanwhile, he also crows about his awesome wine list (this fellow is supposedly the city’s premier restaurateur.) And the beer consumers in this state shrug and order their “premium domestic” Amber Bock. And pay extra for it. ‘Cause it’s premium, right?Worse, this past autumn saw the closing of the one, true place in West Virginia where good beer was appreciated. The West Virginia Brewing Company is no more. This leaves three on-premises brewers IN THE ENTIRE STATE. And two of them are within five miles from each other way out in the eastern mountains. Of the top ten markets in West Virginia only one, Parkersburg, has OPB and it’s not a very good one - it’s one of those places I’ve avoided reviewing in the spirit of “if you can’t say something nice…” WV Brewing was a good place to get a good, handcrafted beer and now it’s gone. Somehow, it managed to fail in a city - Morgantown - where almost everyone drinks. Of course, nearly every time I was there some yahoo came in and asked for a Bud or Lite draft and would get ticked when he found out it wasn’t available. RIP, WVBC. RIP, good brewed-on-premises beer in WV.WV does have one production brewer, Mountaineer, and it’s making a go of things. However, it’s laboring under the 6% cap and is difficult to find on draft south of Clarksburg (O’Kay’s, one of the late bars mentioned above, had 3 ‘Eeer taps. Those are obviously gone now). Bottles can be found pretty readily but are often stale due to low turnover. My guess is we’ll probably never get the Mountaineer 10-year Anniversary Brew. Or even the Five. In fairness, we do have one good event each year in the Bramwell Oktoberfest. It’s generally well organized and offers some good, and sometimes great, beer. But that’s one October day each year. 364 other days, WV blows.I’ll wrap this up now. Please, if you want to tell me I’m wrong, fine. Just let me know how I’m wrong. I’m looking for a lifeline in this morass of bad beer that is West “by-God” Virginia. I’ll try to be more positive next time. I promise. 

Robert Absten

Original post 12-07-08

Edit 03-07-09

View the post in its original form at Beeradvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1671995

House Bill 2719 has been introduced and is sitting idle in the House Judiciary Committee. This year’s bill is very simplified and to the point; West Virginia should raise the permissible alcohol limit to 12%ABV on “non-intoxicating” beer (Which defines all beer sold in the state).

I really hope this is the year! West Virginia stands only with Alabama (and Mississippi?) in proclaiming our utter ignorance when it comes to modernization of our beer laws. We can change this very easily and with absolutely nothing but a positive effect on consumer choice. There is no downside to this thing, unless you are a greedy, protectionist beer distributor; why would you support the idea of possibly cannibalizing a market in which you currently have 100% control? The distributors that still think that way are much fewer than just a couple of years ago. Most of them now realize that bringing craft beer to the market will expand their customer base and at a much higher profit margin to boot. The fact also stands that the major brands they sell are now owned by huge global beer producers that want an increasing market share of all of their brands, not just the low margin commodity brands that are sold into the most competitive sector of the beer market. The local boys are being pushed to sell wider portfolio of product, and I love it! Smaller craft beer brewers will ride the coat-tails of the big boys because they can command even a higher margin for their handiwork.

Please, let’s all keep an eye on this thing. Send a note to your delegates and also let Delegate Carrie Webster know that you want this bill to move out of the judiciary committee in time to go through the “Bill Mill” down there at the Golden Dome…

Read “How a Bill Really becomes law in West Virginia” by Phil Kabler

Check the status of HB2719

*** Note *** The Alabama Legislature is moving to pass a similar bill this session and very well may leave us standing alone and as ignorant looking as ever… Their bill is out of committe and on the way to passage!