Earl Gray Brown (again)

I have, once again made an Earl Gray Brown. The results are rather tasty. The nose has a chocolate and nut aroma, like a not quite as sweet version of Nutella. Having moment like that is always promising.

The beer itself tastes like a sweeter version of a brown ale. I’m just not familiar enough with Earl Gray tea to accurately say where it kicks in and I’m pretty certain I could’ve amped the tea mixture up even further. There is an orange flavor though, almost like what you’d get from one of those chocolate oranges. Good stuff.

Next time I’m just using the whole damn box of tea though. Overall, this is a pretty drinkable beer and at 5.2% it falls comfortably in the brown ale style pretty well. Good stuff.

A human condition

There is a drawback to having live-style posts, and it’s simply this; sometimes forces outside my control keep me from posting. In this case, I am not going out tonight due to illness, so I’ll just look forward to next week.

Holiday

Sorry everyone; things got busy and I just didn’t have any proper content. I’ll be back Monday. Have a great holiday.

Localization

So, after last week’s post on the Iron Horse Brewery, I got to thinking about the troubles Iron Horse may be having. In the comments someone from the brewery says that it’s a size issue and that they’re scrambling to supply the markets they already have. This seems like a good problem in some ways but I remember talking to someone from Ninkasi Brewing last year and having him tell me the same thing; they had a five year business plan that was being met in two years and they were desperately trying to keep up.

Again, this seems like a positive until one takes into account the potential difficulties with scaling up an operation quickly. In addition to having to suddenly build more of the basics: fermenters, chillers, etc, problems like storage and transport start to loom, but I have a guess what the biggest issue would be.

Quality control. The bigger you are, the harder it becomes to ensure that your product is what you expect it to be. Hell, just look at Microsoft: Windows has been plagued with issues for years and will likely never be an entirely smooth operating system. Yes, yes, there are lots and lots of reasons for this but certainly size and demand play into the difficulties of making a rock-solid operating system. So I think a basic question still remains; how do you meet the demand and satisfy the quality (which is the reason for your demand) in a timely fashion?

In the middle of all this I begin to wonder; does Iron Horse have any obligation to ensure their product gets to me?

No, they don’t. Their obligation, as I see it, is to produce the best damn beer they can. If that means that their beer stays local then good. Do I miss out on a tasty beer? Yes and that’s unfortunate. But there’s a silver lining too, in my opinion.

Now I have a reason to travel.

We’re pretty fortunate, as Americans, to have access to almost any kind of food we want, whenever we want. The more research I read about that, however, the more I think that maybe we shouldn’t have that luxury at quite the level we have it at. It’s bad for the environment, bad for your health, and frequently just doesn’t taste as good. Yes, bananas are good for your prostate but do you need them twelve months of the year? Perhaps it’s better to have local things as often as possible, expanding one’s diet based on what’s around wherever you go. Certainly an easy way to appreciate the local culture when you travel, too.

Granted, Ellensburg is a little over 200 miles from Portland so that’s not far. In the US that distance could certainly be called local-but how far does local go? Idaho? Sure. California? I don’t know; San Francisco or San Diego? Montana?  Vancouver, BC? I’ve pined for beers from Vancouver and Victoria ever since visiting last year; yes it’s international but could you call it local? Both those cities are closer than San Francisco.

It’s certainly more local than the beers I can get from Japan, England, Belgium or Germany. But what’s the cutoff distance? Is it Kansas? Mexico City? The Atlantic?

I don’t know and I certainly don’t wish ill towards Iron Horse’s attempts to satisfy the markets they are in. I like their beers and would love for nothing more than to find them at my local store. At the same time, if I had to go to Seattle (which I visit regularly) or Tacoma to find their beers, doesn’t that just increase the value of my trip?

My personal feeling is that it does. Yes, I have access to beers by Meantime and Brew Dog but the selections are limited. I’d have to go to England to investigate the depth of their selections.

Which I’m totally up for. Sure, it would be nice if all their beers were in Portland but if they were then what’s left to make England special?

And yes, I realize that’s a loaded question but I’m trying to ask it in a broader sense; if everything comes to you then why go anywhere?

If your reaction to that question starts with “Because…” then good. This is my point. We go to places to experience them and all they have to offer. On the other hand, if that means that I have to go without some things that I like then there can be positives to that as well. It gives me a chance to look around and see what is right in front of me and unearth the wonders of what’s right here. I doubt I would have found the Natian Brewery at all if I wasn’t in Portland so there are clearly new worlds to explore without having to go far from home.

I can wait for Iron Horse to make its way down to Portland. I believe their success is coming because they make a damn good beer and people like me are exhorting the praises of their efforts. If that means that I have to be patient so that they can grow their business in a smart, positive way that allows them to stay in business because they’ve been focused on making a damn good beer, then I will be patient. They can stay local and make my trips north more prized through their presence there.

52 Weeks 48: Hopworks Diabilto

In a rare moment, I have deliberately chosen a photo. Or perhaps better said; deliberately set up my photo. I didn’t quite get the star shaped light coming from behind my hat that I was hoping for but it still seemed more interesting than my typical photos. 

Fuz has come down to visit, and he’s reading a play by a man I’ve never heard of while I write. There’s a man behind him saying that he ought to take it easy tonight, because he has a presentation to give tomorrow but when his companion suggests no more drinks, he says “Are you kidding? I’m a fuckin’ professor of this shit. Another beer.”

Then he starts to sing Puff the Magic Dragon. 

Over my shoulder is a man in solid neu-hiking regalia; beaten baseball cap, REI raincoat, backpack, glasses. He’s all set for a hike in the woods. And he’s sleeping, chin to breast, slumped over crashed out. At 9 p.m. 

So it’s one of those nights. The day sucked in beer-related ways and I’ll be detailing that for everyone on Wednesday, but for now I have company and so things aren’t so bad.

The Diabilto (which I’ll just confess I got because of two parts name, one part lineage) is a bit doughy on the nose and then a thin, sweeter beer after that. It’s not bad but it’s very far away from the beer I feel like having. This is too fizzy, it’s thin in a way that I am not approving of. I’m wanting to act like Pac-Man, wakka-wakka-wakka-ing through my ales and this beer is not a power pellet. No monsters to turn blue here, just an ale I’m trying to drink to get through to the next one. 

Again; it’s not a bad beer but it has met me on the wrong night. 

Last week, I mentioned to Sparky that the end of this project was coming up. He and I began to talk about about going to pubs and our particular motivation to do so. He suggested that I should write about why I drink and while I’ll admit that it’s a tempting topic I’m wary of making some kind of definitive statement about such a topic. 

Humanity has been drinking for a long, long time and the subject is one that invites big, sweeping statements that should have wedges of human insight. Or are just the ramblings of a drunk and I don’t feel like doing either, so perhaps this is the kind of subject that requires a bit of pondering. 

Instead, I think I’m going to finish up this post and play some cards with my friend. While I’m all for asking questions, I am almost old enough to understand that questions don’t always need answers.

Dear cheapskate hipsters

Ha. Ha.

No really.

I have no issue with people drinking what they can afford. Certainly my own purchases have taken a turn for the cheaper in the past few months. But I wasn’t out there pretending that the beer I was drinking made me part of some kind of inner group; PBR, yeah, {and now we give the headshake}.

No. I like things that taste good and I’m willing to pony up an extra two quarters to get less beer if it tastes better.

Some people actually like PBR. I don’t know them but I am consistently told that they exist. Fine; your favorite beer has gone up in price because a bunch of idiots who want to be cool like your beer and the makers of PBR have decided it’s worth bilking them for it. Now you know how the rest of us feel when the really good beer we drink and want to share with our friends is shanghaied by people who are just drinking it ’cause it’s cool.

My weekend at PAX (guest blogger)

We met, the owner and I, at the Tap House Grill in downtown Seattle on the advice from Bill, who’d been there recently.  The food was decent enough, but the first thing I ordered was a seasonal sampler. And I got, among other tastes, Terminal Gravity.

Terminal Gravity is not a beer produced seasonally and all of my selections were like this. The beers weren’t bad but they didn’t feel very representational, especially considering the possible options! So instead here’s a photo of me with a headband.

(The company, however, was excellent and that’s always a good way to start off your trip.)

For dinner, the owner and I went to the Elysium pub. I’m told he always tried to make it there when he goes to Seattle as they have excellent beer that cannot be found in Portland.

We started off with the Bête Noel which looked like a cloudy amber. In addition to malts turbinado sugar was added and I found it to be oddly sweet-but it all made sense when I read it was brewed with Belgian golden ale yeast. Not cloying but I think the dark malts are keeping it in check.

I really liked the Bye Bye Frost; it was malty and hot, but I was surprised by the bitter finish. The description said it was dry hopped wit Amarillo but I couldn’t detect it in the nose at all. The drawback is that the Bye Bye does not play nice with food. Much to overpowering for the sandwich the owner was eating.

Finally we had the Reunion 09; a damn fine wheat beer. Coriander all over the nose but it’s gently tart finish played as an addition to dinner. The Reunion smelled like something old, faraway. The hat you found in the back of the closet at 10. Maybe this is the appeal of wheat beers. They take us back to the camaraderie of long working days (not that there are short ones) and an honest beer among friends.

Kratos part of the floating imagery behind the bar. Videogames have seeped into everything.

Tomorrow the cyclops maybe?

Yow the bye bye frost is malty and hot. Sackboy likes this one. I’m surprised by the bitter finish. Says it’s dry hopped w Amarillo but I can’t detect it. Does not play nice with food.

Reunion 09 is a damn fine wheat beer. Coriander is all over the nose. A fine addition to my dinner. Smells like something old, faraway. The hat I found in the closet at 10. Maybe this is the appeal of wheat beers. They take us back to the camaraderie of long days and an honest beer amongnfriends. Slightly tart finish, but not in a vile way.Noel at Elysium. Cloudy amber? At least visually. In addition to malts turbinado sugar added. It’s oddly sweet-but it all makes sense when I see it was brewed with Belgian golden ale yeast. Not cloying but I think the darkmalts are keeping it in check. Pic

Kratos part of the floating imagery behind the bar. Videogames have seeped into everything.

Tomorrow the cyclops maybe?

Yow the bye bye frost is malty and hot. Sackboy likes this one. I’m surprised by the bitter finish. Says it’s dry hopped w Amarillo but I can’t detect it. Does not play nice with food.

Reunion 09 is a damn fine wheat beer. Coriander is all over the nose. A fine addition to my dinner. Smells like something old, faraway. The hat I found in the closet at 10. Maybe this is the appeal of wheat beers. They take us back to the camaraderie of long days and an honest beer amongnfriends. Slightly tart finish, but not in a vile way.Bête Noel at Elysium. Cloudy amber? At least visually. In addition to malts turbinado sugar added. It’s oddly sweet-but it all makes sense when I see it was brewed with Belgian golden ale yeast. Not cloying but I think the darkmalts are keeping it in check. Pic

Kratos part of the floating imagery behind the bar. Videogames have seeped into everything.

Tomorrow the cyclops maybe?

Yow the bye bye frost is malty and hot. Sackboy likes this one. I’m surprised by the bitter finish. Says it’s dry hopped w Amarillo but I can’t detect it. Does not play nice with food.

Reunion 09 is a damn fine wheat beer. Coriander is all over the nose. A fine addition to my dinner. Smells like something old, faraway. The hat I found in the closet at 10. Maybe this is the appeal of wheat beers. They take us back to the camaraderie of long days and an honest beer amongnfriends. Slightly tart finish, but not in a vile way.

52 Weeks 42: Klamath Basin Cabin Fever (Guest Blogger)

Hi everyone! I’m a Sackperson. I say person because my silly owner hasn’t decided if I’m a boy or a girl. It seems like it should be obvious, but he doesn’t know, and I certainly don’t feel like telling him. Perhaps you have a suggestion? 

He’s taken to calling me Yo-Yo, because he carried me in his backpack all weekend at PAX just like Yoda, but that may not even be my name for Pete’s sake!  However, everything needs to be called something, so I suppose this will do for now. Maybe you have a better suggestion?

On the way here today, I was listening to Anthrax (don’t blame me, I needed a ride. My legs are too short to reach the pedals of the car!) and there was a line from ‘Stealing From A Thief’: 
“As a kid I played make-believe, as a man I play make-believe
As a kid I did anything, as a man I do anything”

I have to say, I like that line. The music is awfully loud for a Sackperson but my owner seems to love it, so I suppose I’ll get used to it.  But I like the line a lot. It’s good to remember that the world has possibilities, instead of just limits. 

Now let me tell you, as the guest blogger for the week I’ll mostly be recounting the tales from last weekend. My owner says it’s dangerous out there for a lonely sackperson and he can’t take me everywhere. My neck seems to be a little fragile and I don’t play well with liquids most of the time. So if I speak in the past tense, it’s not because I’m dead. I’m safe at home. But I had quite an adventure and this week is the time to tell you all about it!

Let me pause for just a moment though and tell you about this stout. That’s why you’re here of course and my owner is giving me very stern looks that say I shouldn’t dawdle or pause too much. You want to know if this stout is good. 

It is.

Now, let’s talk about–I have to do more? Really?

Why is that? Why can’t I tell you that it’s good, and you should try it? There are people to meet, and an entire evening to enjoy. Can’t you just take my word for it? 

You can? 

Why, excellent! Silly owner, all worried about what everyone will think or say. Sit, enjoy your beer. Tell me a story. Sackpeople LOVE stories. Perhaps not as much as we love jumping and grabbing, swinging to platforms over fiery pits, being dressed in weird costumes; like ones with lion’s heads with frilly neckpieces and coattails with green goggles and vampire teeth and orange boots, but we still love stories!  So come and sit down. Let me enjoy your company. After all, I only have a week.

On the road

Sorry about not posting on Friday; I’m at the PAX event in Seattle, and things are pretty crazy. I don’t even know if there will be a 52 Weeks post on Monday, as I’m not sure if Bailey’s will be open on the holiday. But I expect regular updates to begin for certain by Wednesday.

Oh yeah!

My friend has a blog now. Just want to p imp that out.