Several weeks ago I conducted a beer and cheese tasting at the Wine Shop in the Capitol Market. This tasting guide is a result of my preparation for that event. Please feel free to download it, print it, use it and share it! I hope it helps you get more out of your beer!
Just click on the link and then print it!
The “BTY” objective beer tasting panel was asked to taste 3 fruit beers brewed at the former Melbourne Brothers in Lincolnshire England, now owned by Samuel Smith’s. The Brewery is described as a “gem” that has been nearly unchanged since it was built during the reign of Queen Victoria. I have tasted other “Melbourne Brothers” labeled beers that claim to be spontaneously fermented much in the same way as authentic Belgian lambic beers. These Samuel Smith’s labeled products are said to have been fermented with “complex multiple yeast strains” and do not have the tell-tale “barnyard” characteristics typically left behind by the organisms of spontaneous fermentation.
Unlike, authentic fruit lambics, the fruit in these beers comes from organic juice and not whole, macerated fruit and it shows…
When it comes to fruit beers, I tend to set the bar pretty high. In my opinion, the fruit should not detract or completely overpower the characteristics of the underlying beer. This is a tricky balance and the reason so many brewers cannot pull it off. Bushels of fruit in the aroma, is fine as long as I can still detect beer as well. When tasting a fruit beer, the first thing one should expect is pleasant acidity, and refreshing balance, not an all out assault of sweet fruity flavors. Subtlety and restraint is part of the fruit-beer brewer’s art. The drinker should also be able to taste the fundamental characteristics of the fruit, if it says cherry on the label, I should be able to detect “Cherry” in the flavor, but it shouldn’t scream it out to me.
The balancing act is more difficult to pull-off when the brewer opts to use juice in lieu of whole fruit. Let’s be honest, how often do you find even the best fruit juice that tastes exactly like the whole fruit? The juice is a homogenous blend of flavors, sure, but it lacks the subtle flavors imparted by the tannins and pectins from the skin and pulp, or the nutty flavors from the seeds or pits. Have you ever sucked on a cherry-pit? There is a definite nutty flavor there. It comes from “cyanide” and in small amounts it tastes like almonds and it is very good! These flavors are left in the squeezer when the fruit is made to juice.
Here are the beers: (more…)
This links comes to me via Shaun O’Sullivan, a craft brewer and Facebook friend from the 21st Amendment Brewing Company in San Francisco. I cannot add more to this than the video itself, except to say “Cheers!”
The Craft Brewers Conference was held this week in Boston…
I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of my lunch today. All the “good energies” were aligned; a fresh baguette from Charleston Bread Company, nice black forest ham, swiss cheese, garden grown pickled-peppers and a very decent canned British ale.
Tetley’s Pub Ale is smooth and creamy. The beer is part of the Carlesberg empire, but brewed in the UK. You can thank the “nitrogen widget” in the can for the creamy head. Those of you that read this blog regularly, know that I am really bullish on the use of cans for packaging beer. The can is like a little keg, keeping away the damaging effects of ultra-violet light and staving off oxidation better than bottles.
Also, not revert to pessimism, but simply to further prove my point about West Virginia’s ”Status-Quo” beer distributors. Tetley’s is a perfect example of a beer that is currently legal in West Virginia but I dare you to find it. I purchased this at Leo’s in South Point, OH. Why should I be optimistic about my future “in-state” beer selection prospects?
I am sitting in a nearly empty theater in Ashland,Ky. I am waiting to watch the new documentary called “Beer Wars”. A report will follow.
Man! It’s been a long time coming; since1919 to be exact (see correct date in readers comments below). West Virginia has finally (almost) popped the cap on its very outdated limitation of beer at 6% alcohol by volume. The Governor still has to sign the bill, but he has already said he would support modernization of the beer laws. So yes, West Virginia beer lovers, you can celebrate today if you want to. (Update: Looks as if the Governor will sign this on 5/26)
For most of us beer geeks, we realize the challenges that still lie ahead. I don’t want to rain on the parade or anything, but let’s examine reality here… If you would apply pure logic along with some common sense, it doesn’t take too long to realize that the 6% cap did in fact play a role in limiting beer selection in this state, but it also took on another role as “whipping boy”, bearing the entire blame for West Virginia being a beer wasteland.
The fact is there are so many great beers that fall under the 6% ABV limit; legal for sale in West Virginia today, yesterday and last year and we have seen nary a handful made available to us. Folks, there are fantastic beers like Victory’s Uncle Teddy’s Bitter, which I have had recurring dreams about and only weighs in at 3.8% ABV! Tell me why we haven’t seen beers such as this in WV.
The reason is complex, but it has a lot to do with our market’s size. There are distributors near Cleveland that can reach more beer drinkers in a 40 mile radius than one could if they covered every hill and dale of this beautiful state. This means that breweries weren’t exactly beating down our doors to get in. We are “noise” in the marketplace, especially when you boil it down to the people who will drink craft or specialty beers. I bet it’s less than 50,000 people in the whole state. Sure, the market is growing but so is the number of brewers competing for those palates.
Then there is apathy, mainly on the part of the wholesalers. Put yourself in their shoes. These guys have basically carved up the vast majority of the market into three brands, Bud, Miller and Coors. They have sized their entire operations around maximizing throughput of as much yellow fizzy flavorless lager that they can possibly push through. Why would they want to disturb that gravy train? Their quick remedy is to tease us with Guinness or Newcastle; or they might try to fool us with faux craft brands like Shock-Top or Leinenkugel. The incremental business for them is so small, they can care less…
The market conditions have not changed with the passage of this bill. We are still a state of less than 2 million people spread out in pockets over a rough-hilly and fairly big territory. And, most of us still like fizzy yellow water that they tell us is beer. What about those 50,000 I talked about earlier? Many of them think Yuengling is the second coming!
Oh well let’s hope against hope as we celebrate…. Yay!
(How’s that for pessimism, Workman?)
This thing is pretty self explanatory… (also, These folks have good taste in beer!)
For more info: www.octopustap.com
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