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.

Bailey’s 2nd Anniversary

Thanks to everyone who worked Bailey’s 2nd Anniversary. It was a long day, and I know you worked hard. Special thanks to Geoff for getting all these amazing beers for us to try. Now onward to mayhem!

Fuz was able to join me, along with his partner so between the three of us we were able to have a sip of every beer. However sips make impressions only, so I’ll be focusing on the beers I actually got samples off.

My first beer was Fish’s Leviathan, a barley wine kept in oak barrels but I thought it was kinda blasé. There was a vanillaish flavor that probably came from the oak, but I just didn’t find this beer that compelling.

Double Mountain Terrible Two brown aged in bourbon barrels was next. I got the bourbon nose and the malts took a back seat to them in the flavor, but not gently. In the photo my beer is on the right, Cascade’s Bourbonic Plague on the left, and mine Lompoc’s Pagan Porter in the background.

I had the Bruery White Oak wheat wine after this. Orangy and delish, this was one of my favorite beers of the event. A white wine dryness and hint of that flavor and it was awesome. Reminded me of champagne but without the sucking part that tends to go with champgane. This was also the first beer that light could escape from, so that distinction may have contributed to my love of this beer.

Lucky Lab’s Beljamin was a belgain golden and I found it tasty but not amazing. It was kept in Chardonnay barrels, and after the killer White Oak my expectations were high. Not a bad beer, but maybe one to have with some distance after the Bruery’s beer.

My notes say this: Had Firestone (Parabola) and liked it.
Fuz initially tried this beer and he thought it tasted like play-dough. I thought it was a great bourbon touched stout.  I didn’t dwell on the beer much; Fuz and I were debating the drink and it came down to: It tastes like play-dough. No, it’s awesome.

That there is some first rate analysis, baby.

I went for Deschutes Streaking the Quad after that, a quadrupel kept in bourbon barrels. It was very good and quite balanced. I didn’t get hit with the bourbon flavors, but I think that was because they were keeping a reign in on the quad’s sweetness. This was also a highlight for me, a quad that I thought reached across the isle to people who are turned off by the sweetness of traditional quads.

At this point, I was able to sip a bit of Block 15’s Super Nebula. I loved the name, but there were smoke and antiseptic flavors so I avoided getting any more.

Hopworks DOA followed this up, and I thought it was  solid but at this point it was getting a little bit late in the beer tasting day. My notes got a little less detailed.

Full sail amber came afterward, and I thought it was just tasty all round. I liked it enough to get a photo at least. The bourbon elements certainly boosted the beer beyond the traditional amber flavors, and made it noteworthy from Full Sail’s regular amber.

My final beer was Rogue’s John John. I’d had it a week before at the Belmont Station and liked it then so I thought it would be a good finisher. It was; some subtle whiskey elements, that as with Full Sail’s brew, elevated this from Rogue’s Dead Guy to a different but excelelnt beer.

Finally, I met a fella named Justin who recognized me from the blog. I hadn’t had a stranger recognize me from the blog before, so that was pretty cool. Thanks for reading man! (and to all the other readers too; thanks!)

OBF And Me

So, here I am pouring the Double Mountain India Red Ale. 

I heard many praises about this beer over the course of Saturday night as I ached my wrists, flexed my fingers and poured pitcher after pitcher for thirsty people. I did not get to drink it that night. Frankly, I was too busy. I’m told there were something like 40,000 people there and I’m pretty sure 20,000 wanted a beer from me. The plus side is that my shift went very, very fast. And it could have been worse: the people next to me were having trouble with their tap lines. Pouring beer for them looked like this:

Since it was pure foam coming out, I tried to help when I could filling empty pitches. Pitchers would sit for five minutes or more until things settled enough that there was pourable beer. The people serving it kept a good humor though and I’m sure that helped.

Personal rules for next year:
1) Eat. They don’t feed you, and after five hours I needed a double cheeseburger so bad I would’ve considered assassination for one.
2) Comfy shoes.
3) Silver bullets.

Now I can see you out there, looking at me like wha? so let me explain. Every so often, say every twenty minutes or so, a howl would start from somewhere on the grounds. No reason; the moon wasn’t even full that night but a howl would come up nonetheless.

I am taking the stance that it was werewolves, and next year am bringing precautions. Or, it could’ve been drunk assholes who thought that raising up their fists, one empty, one with their mug of beer and howling out a big ol’ WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO is ‘cool’ somehow. Assholes that look like ‘person’ in red in the pic on the left.

If you see someone who looks like this, do not approach him! He may be a werewolf instead of an asshole. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with drunks. Lycanthropy is just too much to ask of any volunteer and let’s all just admit that biting is uncalled for in at least 95% of all public situations. However, because it was daylight I think the disease can be ruled out, and he was just drunk.

Rules for going to the OBF as an attendant:

1) If you’re a lass and  have cleavage, thanks.
2) If you’re a guy and have cleavage, the opposite applies. Please button up your shirts. No, we don’t care how hot it is. 
3) If you are smoking a cigar at a beer event, you need to leave. You’re fucking it up for everyone else with the brown cylinder of cat ass coming from your mouth.
4) Never ask for a ‘good pour’. You’re being an asshole because you’re assuming that we’re out to short you, and trust me which we aren’t. We are being watched by security  though so maybe you could cut us some slack?
5) Complimenting your server when you get a nice pour is greatly appreciated.
6) When we say there’s no more beer for you, deal with it.  Don’t throw a fit or shoot us dirty looks, even if you can clearly see beer on the back tables. We’ve been our our feet for 4+ goddamn hours without food OR a beer, and the leftovers kept there are for us. We deserve a beer after our shifts are over, and you giving us some kind of attitude is pretty much shitting on people who have put out a lot of effort to make your experience enjoyable.  

Overall though the experience was fun, and went by really quickly. Thanks to the people who served around me and the supervisors for keeping their sense of humor, and thanks to everyone who was friendly or even just civil. I appreciate it.

Did I get to drink beer? Yes; I went back on Sunday.

Scrimshaw lager from North Coast brewing was a solid lager with that faint lager skink at back end. Very refreshing though, after I’d walked a mile to get to the festival.

3 Creeks Stonefly Rye had an OK nose but a very, very bitter back end. This, coupled with the rye malts made it quite unappealing for me. But I got a photo of it.

I also got to try the Double Mountain IRA. I found it to be crisp and easy drinking but it couldn’t wash the rye tastes out of my mouth so I’m didn’t find this beer to be that tasty. I want to try this when my palate hasn’t been torqued so badly.

Old Market Kraken IPA was my favorite beer and I wish I’d had enough tokens to buy a full one. It was an imperial IPA that was pretty well balanced, and from a brewery that apparently is in Portland but somehow I’d never heard of before. Time to look them up.

My last beer was Redhook’s tripel, which was the biggest surprise of the event for me because Redhook isn’t known for beers this adventurous, but it was a good tripel with just enough sour to keep the beer from going overboard. I hope Redhook continues with these kinds of interesting beers–I’ve always liked the brewery but they’ve gotten lost in the shuffle for me as of late.

As I was leaving the OBF I overheard: “They serve the best beer over there; it tastes like lemonaide!”

Sigh.

Loser

I don’t care what it takes. I need this beer. Not just because I like Elysian’s beers, or because I like grunge music, but because Tad’s Loser holds a special place for me. 

So gimme, damnit!

/final note: found out this beer was made awhile ago,and I have no chance. Very sad.