The Beer Tap

Beer Fridge...that delivers!

One of my friends sent me this link and I found it quite humorous.  Not my normal posting material, but it does involve beer.  Some people have way too much free time! 

Beer Launching Refrigerator

Craft Brew Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Earlier this week, the Brewers Association released craft brewing sales figures for 2006.  Another year of steady growth with an increase of 11.7% across the category.  Within craft, microbreweries grew at a 17% clip.  That is absolutely amazing considering the beer category as a whole is more or less flat and maybe even shrinking.  Is this growth linked 100% to changing tastes with American consumers?  Or is it also the result of a healthy economy?  Could craft brews weather an economic downturn?  Has the "trade up" to richer, fuller flavor beer become the norm?

Now I am not an expert on consumer behavior within the beer industry, but I do analyze beer sales performance as part of my 9 to 5 job.  In my opinion, there has been a fundamental shift in consumer tastes that will continue even if the economy were to turn south (let's hope that doesn't happen though!).  It doesn't take an expert to notice that we now have hundreds of choices in soda flavors, isotonic beverages (Powerade and other sports drinks), bottled waters, teas, and even coffee varieties.  Americans have become accustomed to this variety and ability to try new flavors and even walk a little on the "wild side" with their culinary choices. 

In beer specifically, a new generation of legal drinking age consumers is entering the market with a plethora of beer, wine, and liquor brands on the shelf.  While value may drive their purchase choices 80% of the time, they are sure to experiment with some of the higher end offerings as well.  Who is more brand conscious and status aware within the legal drinking age community than people in their early twenties?  Drinking a high end craft brew shows sophistication and refinement among their peers.  Of course it helps that the beer tastes great and they actually enjoy the flavor!  As they then move into the work world and gain access to higher incomes, value may no longer drive their purchase decisions.  Why not treat yourself to a great beer after a hard week of work!

Craft brewing also has another advantage that will help protect current sales volumes: Innovation.  Pioneers at breweries across the US continue to create new styles, experiment with new ingredients, and push the limits of existing styles.  New beers excite consumers while also helping to build the reputation and brand value of a brewery. 

Craft brew is not completely recession proof or non-cyclical but these changes in consumer tastes will help retain a certain baseline sales volume.  Those breweries that are well established and have wide distribution would probably fare the best in a downturn.  Stores would want to make sure that every brand they stocked moved off shelves quickly and that would probably lead them to focus on the Sam Adams and Sierra Nevadas of the world.

With all of this growth within the craft category, what are the Big Three Brewers thinking?  Time to get in the game to try and capture the higher margins.  Can they effectively compete in this niche?  Check back for another article exploring their efforts and my thoughts on whether they will be successful.

Time to go try the 2007 Bigfoot I just bought at the store today.

Collaboration...not Litigation

Collaboration...not Litigation is a special seasonal offering from both Russian River and Avery.  I have always enjoyed beers from both brewers so I was excited to learn about this beer on my trip to San Francisco.  Memories of Hog Heaven, Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig, Old Jubilation, etc. started racing through my mind.  I also knew that Avery's Belgian beers were generally pretty enjoyable.  My general rule of thumb is that either the Russian River or Avery brands are worth trying even if it means committing to a 6 pack before trying.  So dropping $12.99 on a 22 oz seemed reasonable to me.  (Let's be 100% honest...I rarely steer away from a beer because of price!)   

So how do two brewers end up collaborating on a beer?  Each brewery was offering a Belgian style beer titled "Salvation" and rather than sue the pants off each other decided to get together to see how the two beers mixed.  The details of the experiments are documented on Avery's website.  The basic gist is this...they got together and mixed the two separate Salvation's in different proportions until they found that magic sweet spot and declared "Eureka!"  They even infer that lots of sampling went on.  But somehow I wonder if all that sampling did not lead them astray because bottom line I found this beer disappointing.  It certainly was not horrible.  Definitely not your average Belgian but in a very unspectacular way.  I wondered if maybe I was just having an off day or if the bottle I got had issues somewhere along the way.  So I hopped on Rate Beer to see what others had to say.  Sounds like others also preferred the two Salvations as individual beers.  So while a noble experiment, it sounds like Collaboration should have ended at "Experimentation...Hell of a lot of fun!".  But don't take my word alone...spend the $12.99 to try it yourself.  You just might love it and then you can tell me just how wrong I am.

My notes on the tasting...

• Aroma - Spicy, Some malt notes come through, Banana
• Taste - Not overly malty, Bitterness is apparent and lingers after swallowing
• Appearance - Creamy head, Cloudy brown to dark red
• Mouth Feel - Highly carbonated, Leads to a dry finish on the tongue 

In the beginning...there was beer.

Three guys in Atlanta have discovered the joy of brewing and have begun their quest to to start Monday Night Brewery, a brewery of their very own.  They are recording the process in a blog that includes them tasting beers, tweaking recipes, and it sounds like having a lot of fun.  Definitely some good entertainment so stop on by and give them a read.  I added a quick link on the right  to make it easy for my readers to check them out regularly.

Best of luck to Jeff, Joel, and Jonathan!  Call me when you start hiring or when you need someone to taste new products.

West Coast Beer...the San Francisco treat!

Over the weekend I made the trip back out west to Sana Francisco for a friend's birthday party.  And while Rice-A-Ronni may be your Sana Francisco treat, west coast beers are mine!  I landed at SF and within an hour I was at City Beer Store scouring the racks and talking with the owner (Craig Wathen).  Of course I had a pint of beer in hand to help bring me back to thinking beer after a long flight.

Based on Craig's recommendations, I ended up picking up 4 different beers: Milan's Kilt Lifter, Marin's White Knuckle Ale, Russian River's Temptation, and a collaboration between Avery and Russian River called...well, Collaboration.  All were new to me except for the Kilt Lifter which I had first had back in 2003 or so.  A splendid Scottish Ale with lots of rich malt flavors and enough alcohol to help warm you on a cold winter day.  The forecast was for rain all weekend and this seemed like an appropriate addition to the cart.  Of the new beers, I was only able to try the White Knuckle and Temptation before heading back East.  I did, however, carefully pack the Collaboration in my suitcase to try later this week.  Or maybe later tonight.  Life's to short to not enjoy good beer now!  Here are my thoughts on the two brews new to me:

Here's what Marin Brewing Co. has to say about White Knuckle:

“White Knuckle Ale” is a Double India Pale Ale. That’s right, twice the malt and twice the hops in one 14 barrel batch. It is named in honor of the exciting bike trail on Mt. Tam. If you’re a “hop head ”, this is ones for you; fat, chewy, resiny, and pungent! Pour into a wide-mouthed glass and get ready to rip!

My thoughts:

• Huge Cascade aroma
• Higher alcohol but still very smooth and not too over the top like some Double IPA
• The flavor definitely lingers on the tongue for a while and in a good way
• Not sure it lives up to "fat" and "chewy" and "pungent" but I would definitely drink it again.  Its bitter but definitely not harsh.

And now on to the gem of the two.  I have tried several Russian River beers before and have always enjoyed Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder.  However, I never realized how many Belgians they do as well.  The company was founded by Korbel Champagne Cellars back in 1997 and its interesting to hear about them combining wine/champagne and beer techniques.  If you have the time, I think its worth reading a little more about them.

Here is what I found about Temptation from their website.  Normally I would summarize, but I think its worth providing all of the detail:

"Aged in French oak wine barrels for twelve months with distinct characteristics of fruit and subtle oak" sounds more like a description of wine than beer. But, of course, Temptation is indeed beer. Actually, Temptation is a Blonde Ale Fermented with a special strain of yeast, then aged in French oak chardonnay barrels. Flavors of wine and oak absorb into the brew throughout twelve months of aging. During this aging process, a secondary fermentation occurs using a yeast strain disliked by most brewers and winemakers called Brettanomyces. The "Bret" gives Temptation intriguing characteristics and a pleasant sourness. Temptation is re-fermented in the bottle to create its carbonation--a process commonly used to make fine champagne and sparkling wine. Spent yeast forms a thin layer of sediment to remain in the bottle.

My thoughts:

• This bottle has a champagne feel about it...corked top with wire cage and the shape is definitely similar.  For some reason that made me a little festive as I opened it.
• Aroma includes some oak with similarities to white white without as much fruit or sweetness
• Very dry with a tart finish enhanced by the high carbonation
• Comparable to a few lambics I have had but I would choose Temptation over a lambic any day
• If I had a wine cellar, I'd fill a rack or two with this beer!

Wish I had been able to spend more time out there to hit up other favorites and even a few new places.  Just not enough time in one weekend for all the places I want to go to!  Up next....Collaboration not Litigation by Avery and Russian River.

Fort-ified

I was at a wine/beer store over the weekend and found another Dogfish Head seasonal, Fort, that I had not yet tried.  I was intrigued since the bottle says "Flavored ale fermented with over a ton of fresh, pureed raspberries.  This flavored ale was made to age with the best of 'em."  My first thought...this must be a strong one.  The price of $16.99 helped confirm this thought although I must point out that it is a larger format (1 pint 9.6 fl oz). 

And while it might have been brewed to age, I had no intention of waiting.  Here are my thoughts:

• Aroma - very natural, sweet raspberry; no hint of that artificial chemical like smell found in some fruit beers
• Flavor - a very nice balance of sweetness and the tartness of the raspberries; not really any hop bitterness; a very clean finish that leaves you ready to take the next sip

Overall, this might be one of my favorite fruit beers of all time.  I am not a huge fan of overly sweet fruit flavored lambics.  They are often similar to drinking Kool Aid with an extra cup of sugar.  Fort, however, was just sweet enough to over come the tartness from the berries.  I had no problem finishing the bottle...or did the bottle finish me?  I have not been able to find the alcohol content but I think it has to be on the higher end.  Maybe 7% or so? [Update...it's 18% according to grove over at http://blog.geirove.org/ See his comment] And while the price tag was a bit high, I think that it was worth trying.  I may even go buy another bottle to age to see how the beer matures.

Off to San Francisco this weekend so I hope to have some new West Coast beers to review next week.   

Living on a Prayer

A friend sent me this picture of the Beer Prayer to post here on The Beer Tap.  I thought it was pretty funny.  Now start praying and be saved!