October 2009 Archives

Lots of interesting stuff happening this week in the New York beer world. One of the most solid editions of this week in blog yet, at least in my opinion.

Brooklyn Brewery Blog
The Scoop on Our Grant and Forthcoming Brewery Expansion
New York State awarded the Brooklyn Brewery $800,000 to jumpstart their $6.5 million expansion.  Plenty of details in this blog post.

New York Times: The Pour
Call It Stout, Though It Isn't
So what exactly makes a stout a stout?  Check out their list of top 10 North American stouts, too.  Keegan Ales is #10.  And if you haven't had Mother's Milk yet, maybe it's time to try it!

Elmira Star-Gazette
Rooster Fish Brewing takes top honors at beer fest
Recognition for a Watkins Glen brewery.  Watkins Glen, by the way, is a beautiful place to visit.  And now you know where to find the beer!

CNYBrew
Fermentation Friday for October - Why Brew?
A thoughtful post that looks into personal motivation for brewing.

Must Love Beer
Tasting Notes: Southern Tier Pumking
A bit late in the season, and yet, somehow I still haven't gotten a bottle.  Maybe I can dig one up in time for Halloween tomorrow... Nice photo with the tasting notes.

 

On this week's edition of the New York Brew Authority's Five Minute Beer Break we sample Saranac's 2009 12 Beers of Winter and discuss a recent visit to the FX Matt Brewery in Utica, NY.

 

 

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The New York Brew Authority recently had a special opportunity to go behind the scenes at the FX Matt Brewery in Utica, NY and get a special introduction to the lastest incarnation of Saranac's 12 Beers of Winter with other select beer bloggers and writers.

If you have been lucky enough to visit the brewery where Saranac is made, you know what I'm talking about when I say it's one of the most interesting brewery tours out there.


And while I wholeheartedly recommend making the trip to Utica and taking the tour for yourself, the true stars of the evening were the 12 Beers of Winter.

Saranac may have outdone themselves with this seasonal variety pack that includes four entirely new brews.  The Brew Authority was lucky enough to have a dinner pairing with the 12 beers, created by Chef Arthur Langdon.  The featured beers include:

Winter Lager - A malty German-style lager that is both smooth and flavorful.  At 5.95% abv this ties with the Rye IPA for the strongest of the offerings.  We tried the Winter Lager with Cracked Peppercorn Duck Breast and Sweet Potato Hash.  Delicious!

Rye IPA - Earlier this year Saranac released a rye pilsener that I enjoyed quite a bit.  This time the rye is back in an India Pale Ale.  This is a traditional approach to an IPA with an unmistakable and tasty rye kick.  This was paired with crab cake with arugula salad and roasted corn salsa.  The Rye IPA went nicely with the spicy salsa, and I could see it being paired with chili with equal success.

Belgian Ale - Brewed in the Trappist style, this Belgian-style ale is a seasonal inclusion you may have tried before.  A tasty, fruity beer that looks to hold its own with other Belgian beer powerhouses.

Big Moose Ale - This American Pale Ale is quite well-balanced, full-flavored and citrusy.  One of my favorites of the bunch.  The Big Moose Ale was paired with baby back pork ribs.  Very nice.

Black Lager - A German Schwarzbier reminiscent of Saranac's popular Black Forest Lager, with a subtler hop addition.  The Black Lager was paired with beef brisket and cabbage with white beans.  I'm partial to both the beer and cabbage, so this may be my overall favorite.

Maple Porter - I love porters and I love maple syrup.  The Maple Porter is an apt combination of the two.  The maple flavor definititely comes through. Best enjoyed sipped with dessert.  On its own it was a little much, but paired with the apple bread pudding, it was terrific.

The Brew Authority will be talking more about their 12 Beers of Winter Preview in an upcoming podcast.  Thanks to the folks at Saranac for another great-tasting (and affordable) seasonal offering and a chance to taste it up close and personal.

It's almost beer time in the 'Cuse.  Syracuse Beer Week will run from November 1 - 7 this year, and the calendar of events is beginning to fill up.

A sampling of highlights from the week:

Sunday: Meet and greet with Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver at Empire Brewing Co.

Monday - Wednesday: Free samples at the Middle Ages brewery

Tuesday: Saranac and Magic Hat samplings at Green Hills Farms

Wednesday: Empire Brewing Co. Home Brew contest

Thursday: Great Lakes Christmas Ale Kick-Off Party at The Blue Tusk

Friday: Duvel Day at the Blue Tusk

This is just a small selection of the many beer tastings, dinners and events happening throughout the week, and more are likely to be added.  For a full calendar of events and more information on Syracuse Beer Week, visit the official site. 

Microbrewed Adventures is an intriguing read for the casual beer drinker.  For the enthusiast, it's a joy.

Burning through the pages, one finds him or herself envious of Charlie Papzian as the protagonist of this On The Road inspired world-tour of craft beer.  Papazian takes us on a whirlwind, "lupulin-filled"  journey through craft beer's rise in the United States, giving us an insider's look at the individuals who helped fuel the fire with their beer-making passion.  But even the 50 states aren't enough to satiate the curiousity and adventure seeking, as we follow Papazian to beer cultures across the world.

For the uninitiated, Charlie Papazian is a well-known advocate for homebrewing and great-tasting craft beer. Some of his accomplishments include the American Homebrewer's Assocation, The Great American Beer Festival, the magazine Zymurgy , and selling over a million beer-related books.

Papazian's writing feels inclusive.  You're not an outsider getting a glimpse of a fantastic world; you're right there in the moment, practically tasting the brews and meeting the folks that populate the story.  I found myself thinking of Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie, or Kerouac's On The Road, only fueled by beer.

Seeing the birth of craft beer in the United States was fascinating.  Among the cast of characters (and breweries with character) were some of my personal favorites such as Sierra Nevada, Vermont's Otter Creek, and the Brooklyn Brewery.  And the journey wouldn't be complete without a detour through the mysteries of mead as well.  

While the writing helps make this book a success, so does the format.  Over 50 homebrew recipes are included in the back, comprising about a third of the entire book.  As you read about Papazian's adventures, he references different brews pertinent to the story, and provides the recipe so you can try it yourself.  Both all-grain and extract versions are provided.  Even though I might not attempt making all of the recipes, I still found them interesting to peruse, and they provided a unique context.

 

Disclosure: Some of the above links lead to Amazon pages where you may purchase the referenced material, including Microbrewed Adventures: A Lupulin-Filled  Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World's Great Craft Beers. Yes, I receive a small pittance if you purchase the book through the links.  I'll also probably direct that pittance back into buying more books to read.  I personally use Amazon to buy stuff, and feel comfortable suggesting others do the same.  

The revival of classic brands in an appeal to new, younger generations is nothing new, and now it's Genny's turn to take the spotlight.

According to the Daily Finance blog, the marketing effort will be turned up for the Genesee brand, out of Rochester, New York.

From the article:

It's the first time many of these brands will have been marketed significantly in nearly a decade, Bodenham says. "Genesee is a brand that a lot of people want to see win. People have connections or have heard of the brand, but because of instability of ownership, especially in the last three to four years, we saw a brand that was at one point making 3 million barrels a year go to one-half million barrels per year."

You probably won't see Genny marketed in the craft beer segment; this is a battle that will pit it against beer brand behemoths such as Budweiser and Coors.

Personally, I wish the Genesee campaign luck.  "Genny" has been a fixture in beer heritage in upstate New York and beyond, and I'm sure many have their own personal Genny stories.

Will we ever win?

A year ago the big story in the brewing world was a worldwide shortage of hops; a perfect storm of poor crops and high demand.  Prices for hops rose dramatically.

In response to that shortage, more acreage was devoted to hops.

Guess what?  Now there's too many hops.  Seriously.

Little articles like this one in the Seattle PI have been popping up declaring there are more hops than demand for them.  Some  blame the recession.  I'm sure the two hop plants I cultured this summer didn't help either.

So will this lead to lowered prices for homebrewers like you and me, and microbreweries in general?  Probably not significantly.  The unwanted hops will most likely  be left on the vines to rot.

You can't really blame the farmers; it doesn't really make sense to harvest a crop that won't cover the expense of the harvesting.

Still... it's a shame.  Maybe the unwanted harvest could be marketed as u-pick hops?  Let homebrewers come in and pick the hops they want and pay by the pound?  Wishful thinking, no doubt.

Better known as this week in blog.  Links to articles of interest on the Web concerning craft beer and New York State.  Usually.

Of course, there's a ton of stuff out there every week that slips through the cracks.  But so it goes.

 

New York Times
Marrying the Flavors of Beer and Food
I just learned a new word... gastropub!

Beer Info
Playboy's Top 10 Microbrews
Two New York State breweries on the list: Ommegang at #3 and Brooklyn at #6.  Looks like great-tasting beer is a secret no more.  The link at the Beer Info site will take you on to the article at Playboy, if you so desire.

Beer Bloggles: Official Saranac Blog
It's that time of the year... for beer and food!
Some food-pairing suggestions from the folks at Saranac.

Hop Talk
Southern Tier Creme Brulee Imperial Milk Stout
Get ready for some vanilla.

  Welcome to the pilot episode of the New York Brew Authority's first podcast.  Before you stumble into this new aural experience a few items to note:

* Our Five Minute Beer Break turned into over 20 minutes :)
* The podcast is first-run, unrehearsed and 100% organic
* There are a couple small warts, including me calling GABF "The Great American Brew Fest"

That said, we'd love your feedback, good or bad.


Episode 1: Tasting Brown's Brewing IPA (Troy, NY)   

Subscribe to the podcast here. Download the mp3 here.

An interesting link was emailed to me recently comparing beer consumption by country (see here).  Judging by the selective list of the countries included, and by a few of the reader comments, the list is far from a complete picture of world beer consumption.  But, it does give an interesting visual comparison.  The chart provided has US beer consumption at around 4.4 bottles a week, which is higher than some countries, and lower than others.  If the same chart were comparing vodka consumption, I'd have to guess Russia would be at the top.

That got me thinking about beer consumption by state.  Where does New York State fall?

According to the Beer Institute, in 2008 New York State's per capita beer consumption was 23.2 gallons per 21+ year-old, for a grand ranking of 50th out of 50 states.  Number one, according to the chart, was Montana, at a whopping 43.5 gallons per drinking age person.

However, just going by total beer consumed by state, New York jumps to 4th place.  So a lot of beer is being consumed, but I'm guessing there are significant differences in demographics and what types of alcohol are favored in New York vs. other more beery states.  New York has a robust wine culture, and I'm sure plenty of harder spirits are competitors too.  I'd be curious to see a comparison of beer consumption of downstate vs. upstate, though.

Of course, what this all doesn't take into account is what kind of beer is being consumed.  Being number one for having the most Budweiser consumed may be a dubious honor.

..Yep.  It's this week in blog.

Syracuse.com Drinks Blog
Syracuse's Empire Brewing Co. prepares a pumpkin ale for fall
Check out those pumpkins!  Fresh-picked and local with local maple syrup, too.  Looks to be delicious.

Brewery Ommegang
Look for Adoration Ale in November
Brewery Ommegang twittered today that you should be on the lookout for Adoration Ale in November.  Poured at The Great American Beer Festival, this ale is described as a "Belgian-style dark, strong winter beer, brewed with five spices: Coriander, cardamom, mace, sweet orange peel, and grains of paradise."  Note:  Above link just goes to Ommegang site (no updates there as of this posting).  Hit this link for a peek at the label.

FLOWBREWING.COM
Dundee Ocktoberfest
Yet more from Twitter, this time from Dundee Ales & Lagers.  Brevity is a good word for this review, but is it just me, or is it amusing the Dundee folks promoted a link that describes their beer as "much better than the ridiculous website they have."  Plus, it's October 1st.  Gotta have some Ocktoberfest love.

 The Foaming Head
Craft Beer Lookalikes: Garrett Oliver and Kenny Williams
More than just a passing resemblance between the Chicago White Sox General Manager and Brooklyn Brewery's Head Brewer?