The Beer Tap

World of Beer: Tampa Beer Bar

Last week for work I was on the road for a few days which sometimes offers me a chance to try new beers, breweries, or bars.  While in Tampa, co-workers took me out for a few beers at a local bar called World of Beer.  I had not heard of the place, but the name alone was enough to warrant a visit!  What can I say...I am a sucker for even just the potential of a large beer selection.  When we first arrived in the parking lot, I have to admit that I was a little pessimistic since World of Beer is tucked into a shopping center.  In my past experience, bars in strip malls have not been my favorites.  As we got closer to the front door, I realized that my concerns were totally unfounded.  The first thing you see as you walk in is an entire wall of cooler doors filled with singles.  Several doors of American crafts, a door of British imports, a door of German imports, two or three doors of Belgians, etc.  My time searching out beer in Florida is extremely limited, but I have to think that this collection represents probably everything available in the state or at least 90 plus percent.  But it only gets better...as you move back into the bar, you hit a wall of 30 taps.  Score!   

It was a Wednesday night so the crowd was not too large, but we hardly had the place to ourselves.  Definitely a relaxed vibe with all people of all ages including someone celebrating their 21st birthday.  The service was friendly, prompt, and helpful in selecting beers to try.  On a number of occasions I witnessed bartenders walking over to the cooler doors with several patrons to help them select their next beer.  If I lived in the area, I could see this becoming one of my favorite bars.  As you can see in the picture to the right, there are even a number of TVs for catching important games, but the focus is not purely on sports.  Beer is the main attraction here! 

I did not take any notes on the beers I tried, but one beer stood out as worth mentioning.  Even then, the beer was good but it was the way in which the beer was served that I noticed most.  My pint of Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale (Maine) was served with a small handful of tiny blueberries swimming in the glass.  A nice visual addition to a beer with a great blueberry aroma and subtle flavor.  According to their website, Maine wild blueberries are added to the beer during the brewing process.  The beer is a nice golden color so I am curious how they got all of the flavor and aroma without any of the blue coloring my hombrewed blueberry beers have displayed.  Also...the beer isn't the Belgian style wheat that most breweries are creating these days.  It was very clean and I suspect a very neutral yeast was used in combination with a relatively low amount of wheat.  All guesses on my part, though.

For a full list of the beers available at World of Beer, check out the following links:

                                 Bottled Beer                        On Tap

"The Device"

This is a classic example of having too much time and money on your hands.  Or maybe just being a gadget kind of person.  John Carnett, a staff photographer at PopSci, has built an all-in-one beer making and serving device.  It allows you to brew, ferment, store and serve all on one easy mounted skid.  Not exactly how I would go about spending money on brewing equipment, though.  I would compare this to a bread making machine...functional but lacking in the fun department.  Too much automation and its hard to claim "hand crafted" any more.  (Note: I am hardly one to talk about spending money on brewing equipment, so I won't knock them too much in that department.  I just think it would be more beneficial to buy something like a kegerator.  The beer keeps much longer when stored cold and not in room temperature kegs!)  Total bill for the project?  $4,315.  Yep...that's a decent chunk of change.  But as MasterCard would say...somethings are "priceless".

There is also a You Tube video out there, but I did not want to embed a link.  The details on the brewing process are presented in a manner that I think could lead to confusion.  Watch it at your own risk!  I found the story over at gizmodo.com through a Google search.  Thanks to Matthew Sparkes for posting the story.

Beer News Round Up

I'm headed out on the road for work for the next couple of days so here's a number of news items to report from the last week or two to keep you busy.

Sierra Nevada has taken their annual Anniversary Ale out to the masses.  In the past, it was only available at the brewery.  Since demand for the beer was pretty high (people road tripping to Chico!) they decided to bottle the seasonal and make it available at retail.  I am not going to do a full tasting write up, but I will give it a thumbs up.  If you like their signature Pale Ale, you will most likely enjoy this IPA.  It has that signature Sierra Nevada flavor but is a little higher on the IBU count.  Anniversary Ale is brewed with the same hop varieties as the Pale Ale and adds Munich malt to the recipe.  The final gravity of the IPA is also higher leading to a little more sweetness.

According to the Brewers Association, craft brews continue to grow.  In fact, volume is up +11% over last year and most of the US beer industry growth is coming from craft.  From their press release:

"Overall, the U.S. beer industry sold one million more barrels in the first half of 2007 compared to 2006, with 400,000 of these new barrels produced by craft breweries. This equates to 3.768 million barrels of craft beer sold in the first two quarters of 2007 compared to 3.368 million barrels sold in the first half of 2006."

Beer is also making headlines in the Wall Street Journal for a new trend to explore techniques and ingredients more common to wine (Here's the link to the story).  In fact the author goes so far as to call it "winey beer".  I'm not so sure I like the term since it makes it seem like brewers are merely trying to copy or become wine.  I would also argue that the large format bottles and pricing are not so much an attempt to mimic wine.  First, these beers are higher in alcohol which means that a larger amount of malt or sugar is required.  That adds to the cost and thus increases the price a brewer must charge to make money.  Second, these beers tend to be more labor intensive and take time to produce.  If you put beer into a barrel and have to wait for it to age or to complete a wild fermentation, you have money tied up in that product.  There has to be some sort of return to the brewer for all of this extra cost and effort.  With that in mind, its still worth a read.  Just realize that the author isn't necessarily an expert on beer and the industry.  Jay Brooks over at Brookston Beer Bulletin put together a more detailed response to the article that includes a few points I missed.  Definitely check out his post as well if you venture over to the WSJ.  As always, he puts together a passionate piece with great points.   

Rustic Canyon Summer Beer Bash: Los Angeles

A friend in LA recently sent me a press release for an upcoming beer dinner in Santa Monica.  I know a number of my readers are out there in SoCal so I wanted to pass on the details.  For those outside of the SoCal area, I think that there is still an interesting story about one of the the beer experts, Christina Perozzi, who is organizing the event.  You see, it is her mission to "dispel many misconceptions that women have about beer, and bring beer to the modern women's dining experience." (Quoted from her blog: Beer 4 Chx)  As far as I know, she is the only one out there specifically focusing on the female population with beer evangelism. 

Despite all of the great brands out there, beer still gets a bad reputation among both men and women with some of both sexes scorning the drink in favor of wine or spirits.  Something about sophistication is often quoted.  So is there a need for a focus on winning over just women?  In my years of obsessing about beer, I have converted a number of women over to drinking beer by showing them that there is a world beyond Light American Lager and all of its less than appealing marketing.  But let's face it...I think a woman can be more effective communicating with other women.  Or at least relative to me.  Understanding the nuances and deep inner thoughts of women has never been my number one skill (I think I am going to regret putting that in print).  So, I wish Christina Perozzi well in her mission and look forward to meeting her converts somewhere along the way.  After all...life is best enjoyed sharing a beer with others.  Male or female. 

For those interested in attending the dinner, here is a quick blurb from the press release as well as the basics on the event:

"The evening features a summer and beer inspired menu from Rustic Canyon's Chef Samir Mohajer paired with rare local beers hand-selected by Beer Experts Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune. The three stellar breweries selected are Craftsman Brewing Company, which hails from Pasadena, Telegraph Brewing Company from Santa Barbara, and The Lost Abbey from San Marcos."

• Location: Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen
• Date: Monday August 27th
• Time: Two seatings are available
• Link to reservation website

Unfortunately, the commute from the Midwest is little too far to make it to this event.  However, I sent the press release to Hair of the Dog Dave who blogs about beer out in LA.  I am hopeful that he will attend and report back on the tasting/dinner over at his site.  Or if one of my readers is feeling adventuresome and wants to do a guest post, let me know.

Stone 11th Anniversary

The email just came out today announcing the Stone Brewing 11th Anniversary celebration.  I went last year for their 10th and had a great time.  Lots of breweries on hand and it looks like this year won't be any different.  If you are in SoCal, you need to go.  Don't live there?  Now you have a reason to visit!

Date: Saturday September 8th

Session #1: 11AM - 2 PM

Session #2:  2:45 - 5:45 PM

Cost: $30 for charity

More details can be found on their website.

$500,000 for a bottle of beer

I was surfing yesterday and found this article about an eBay auction for an old bottle of beer.  The final price...$503,300.  The beer was supposedly brewed by Allsopp's Brewery (one of the first to brew IPA) in 1852 and still contains the original beer.  Of course now that the auction is complete, there have been a few questions about whether or not the beer is actually that old.  Between you and me...I don't care how good or how old a beer is.  I am never going to plunk down half a million dollars for it.  For that much money, I could buy 18,000 cases of micro at $6.99 a six pack.  That's a lot of beer!

Check out the original article by Geoff Kaiser over at Seattlest.com: $500,000 for 1 Bottle of Beer?

Lower legal drinking age?

On Sunday morning, I was reading the paper and was rummaging through the ads.  Every week this inner part of the paper also contains Parade magazine.  Usually I toss this into the "already finished" pile without even a cursory flip through its pages.  However, this week I was persuaded to dig in by the cover story: "What to do about underage drinking: Some experts think we're handling a serious problem all wrong"  I grew up in a family that would probably be considered a little more progressive when it came to alcohol so I was interested to see what the experts had in mind.

In summary, the article argues that if a person is old enough to drive, vote, die in a war, serve on a jury, and be held accountable as an adult that maybe they should also be allowed to drink at a younger age.  That by lowering the drinking age, they could remove some of the appeal for those under age to consume alcohol.  In essence, not being able to drink drives some of the desire and helps lead to binge drinking behind closed doors and in remote locations.  Without proper education and social experience drinking alcohol with older adults, the young adults are developing different drinking habits than those of past generations and that often includes binging or other unhealthy behaviors.  The article does provide a response from the CEO of MADD and of course they are completely opposed to any lowering of the age.  Since the age has been increased, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25,000 fewer Americans have died because of the change.

While the article lacks a really in depth look at the issue, it does raise an interesting point as far as I am concerned: young adults should be taught how to drink responsibly.  Growing up, drinking wine on special occasions was a normal occurrence in my family.  In fact, I think I had my first glass of wine at a holiday dinner when I was about 14 or 15.  I asked and my parents surprisingly said yes I could try some.  I did and of course I didn't like it.  Did my parents know I wouldn't like it and they just used this to trick me?  I can't honestly say, but I think more than anything they were trying to show how an alcoholic beverage can be enjoyed responsibly in the right environment.  There were several other times in the following years where I again tried whatever was being served.  It was an infrequent occurrence, but I think enough to keep me from seeking out ways to "get drunk" during high school.  I also remember numerous conversations about being responsible and not getting behind the wheel if I ever did drink with friends.  As I went off to college, they also warned me about partying too much but were realistic that I was going to probably drink beer before I reached 21.  They were right...I did.  But I think that I never pushed it to the extremes that I saw among some of my peers.  Yeah, I over consumed on occasion, but I also think that it helped me better learn my boundaries and understand the full effects of alcohol on my body.  Maybe I should have even tried a 6 pack before ever leaving home just to understand what that feels like.   

Ultimately I think that it is up to parents to shoulder the responsibility of teaching what they believe to be appropriate drinking behavior.  Some people object to drinking because of religious reasons, so they may choose to teach total abstinence.  That's their choice and I can respect that (although knowledge of how good an IPA tastes makes it difficult to think of going without!).  When I do eventually have kids, I think I will follow my parents lead of demonstrating the proper manner and place for consuming alcohol.  As a beer lover and home brewer, there will always be beer around.  I am hoping that I can pass on my ideas about enjoying a quality pint of beer for its taste and not simply the effects of the alcohol it contains.    

The online version of the Parade story also contains a poll where readers can vote whether or not the age should be lowered.  As I type this post, 51% have voted "No" with a total of 9,635 people participating.  Hardly a true representation of the total population, but it does possibly support further discussions on the topic.  In my opinion, the age will never roll back because its a politically loaded issue.  Who would go on record supporting such a change and risk the guaranteed attacks sure to follow?

So what are your thoughts?  Should the age be lowered?

Dance with the Devil

After tasting  number of fruit beers I decided it was time to step things up and get back to some hops.  Its been  busy week at work with a couple of late nights so I decided to go straight to the biggest dog in my fridge...Devil Dancer from Founders Brewing.  Back in the winter, I was regularly drinking their malty flagship Dirty Bastard and I just recently discovered the greatness of their Red's Rye on tap.  When I saw this 13% ABV "Triple" IPA, I knew I had to grab a bottle.  Why brew a double when you can brew a triple?  And if its a Belgian just jump up to quad!  So how does Founders describe this beer.  Check out this text from their website:

"Founders most complex, most innovative, most feared and yet most revered ale produced. Massive in complexity the huge malt character balances the insane amount of alphas used to create this monster. More IBUs than any brewery has documented, more than you would believe and dry-hopped for twenty-six days straight with a combination of 10 hop varieties. Dangerously drinkable and deliciously evil. We dare you to dance with the Devil."

Was my dance with the devil worth it?  Let's review my notes.

• Appearance: Dark copper with a bit of red; No head formed at all; Perfectly clear without any haze or sediment
• Aroma: Malt sweetness, pineapple, and some pine/resin/woody notes; Some alcohol comes through; Blends together to give a darker fruit impression; Not as much hop as expected based on the 26 days of dry hopping
• Taste: All hops on the tongue in the form of bitterness up front; Some sweetness becomes more apparent in the middle but fades quickly; Lingering bitterness and some hop flavor linger; Full bodied despite masked sweetness 

My first thought on this beer is that it has some similarities to a number of American barley wines.  For an IPA, the amount of hop aroma seems a low to me.  Maybe the beer has aged some and the hop aroma has faded as is natural with time.  However, the lasting malt sweetness of a barley wine is missing from Devil Dancer so its not a complete parallel.  In the end, it makes for an interesting dance across two the different styles.  (Sorry...I couldn't resist the play on words!  Must be the pint of 13% beer.)  Malt based aromas and assertive bitterness.  A really enjoyable beer for those who like to taste on the edge.

Session #6: Round Up

For those who are interested, the Session #6 round up has been posted over at Beer, Beats & Bites.  Looks like there was pretty good participation and variety in selections.  Looking forward to reading about the different fruit beers out there!

The Session: Fruit Beers

Well I missed last month's Session on Atmosphere so I made an extra effort to step up to the plate for this month's topic: Fruit Beers.  The topic comes from Greg Clow over at Beer, Beats & Bites:

"Aside from the stipulation that it be a beer brewed/augmented with fruit (or fruit juice or extract), there are no other rules or guidelines. Anything is fair game, from a tart and funky Kriek or Framboise, to a sugar-laden “lambic”, to a Blueberry Wheat or Raspberry Ale from your local brewpub."

I've tasted a number of fruit beers here at The Beer Tap recently so I needed to step out and find a few new brews.  I decided to ask for suggestions from a guy at work who is every bit the beer fan that I am.  In fact, the two of us together would make a crazy beer trivia team if I do say so myself.  He has an amazing memory for breweries, brands, and types of beer, especially here in the Midwest.  So after work on Wednesday I headed off to a new beer store specializing in singles to collect his suggestions (and a little more!).

The first beer I tasted was Blackberry Scottish Style by O'Fallon Brewery.  The beer was a deep copper/amber color with a thin head that disappeared early in the pint.  The aroma was primarily the blackberry fruit complimented with roasted grain and chocolate notes.  The flavor of the beer was much lighter than expected.  I think the blackberry flavor was at an appropriate level, but the Scottish Style was certainly lacking in malt flavor.  There were roasted flavors similar to a porter, but not nearly enough sweetness to even come close to the Scottish style beer.  Because of this, the beer was also thin which was only accentuated by a high carbonation level.  My first thought was that the beer had continued to ferment after bottling, but it appears that even when first released there were issues with body according to people over at Rate Beer. 

Second on the tasting bill was a Berliner Weisse brewed with peaches called Festina Peche by Dogfish Head.  I am sure there will be others reviewing this beer as well since it just recently hit shelves and Dogfish puts out so many well liked beers, but it came highly recommended.  The beer pours cloudy with a very pale yellow color that almost appears a little green.  The aroma matches bread and grain with peaches, both balanced and not overpowering.  When you take the first sip, you immediately notice tart and sour but never reach a point of extreme puckering.  As the tartness fades, peach and biscuit/bread flavors come through.  The peach flavor never dominates but rather supports the other flavors.  The carbonation is noticeably tight with small bubbles.  A unique beer that is surprisingly refreshing, especially considering peaches are not one of my favorite fruits.

Finally, I tried a year round offering from Dark Horse called Raspberry Ale.  This ale was also cloudy and somewhere between a dark yellow and a pale orange.  The aroma was definitely raspberry all the way from start to finish for this beer.  Despite the dominance in the aroma, the raspberry flavors were relatively light and not over powering.  As the fruit faded a more grain based flavor became apparent.  A decent beverage but not a stellar beer.  As I look at my notes from the other night when I taste the beer I notice that all I could summon was "OK" under the Overall category.

In general, I found each of the beers interesting but not necessarily worth a 4 or 6 pack purchase.  The Festina Peche would be good every once and a while, but I personally wouldn't want to drink it in large quantities.  I'm not the biggest fan of either sour beers or fruit beers but this one seems to find a sweet spot that I could enjoy from time to time.  Like many beers, it sometimes just depends on the mood and the occasion.  Bastardizing the old Almond Joy/Mounds commercials: "Sometimes you feel like fruit....sometimes you don't!"