October 2011
And Quiet Flows the OCBeerCommentary Wiki
Posted by on Monday, October 31, 2011 in - 8 comments
Well, I didn't expect to be called out - or, rather, have my suspicions confirmed - by the east coast media establishment. I did say that I expect this to be a slow project from day one. Nonetheless, Clay Risen's observations at The Atlantic today on the state of beer writing are well worth …
Stackpole Adds OH To NY, PA, MI, DE, MD, VA... And DC
Posted by on Sunday, October 30, 2011 in - 4 comments
With all the talk about recently released beer books your are forgiven when you forget there are even newer beer books out there. I ordered my copy of ATJ's new book CAMRA's Great British Pubs from Amazon.co.uk the other day. I see that there is a new book on Burton upon Trent by Protz, too. But …
And, Lo, A Prophet Proclaimed "Remember Knaust!"
Posted by on Friday, October 28, 2011 in - leave a comment
It is important to remember the unimportance of beer or rather its place as an aspect of pop culture that both pervades and yet lays below the surface. Jay reminds today us of both ends of that continuum. So, in another way, does Simon. Stan takes it one step further and tells the tale of Heinrich …
Thinking About The Yuletide Photo Contest 2011
Posted by on Thursday, October 27, 2011 in - 2 comments
Next week is November. Baseball will be over and somewhere it is snowing already. Somewhere like Albany, NY judging from Craig's Facebook post just now. Photo contest time. This will be the sixth annual photo contest. The winner in 2006 received this response in the comments: • Sorry, perhaps … read more »
Stuff Delivered By Mail, By Email, By Courier And By Hand
Posted by on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 in - 3 comments
It's been mad. Mad as in nutty crazy, not angry. Well, a bit of anger. And saucy retorts. How did it come to be that mild mannered beer fans had all this pent up emotion. I had no idea. Me, I'm not so much like that. Evan has it right. I'm just all about the whimsy. But its been busy and, you know …
Garrett Oliver on The Oxford Companion to Beer
Posted by on Monday, October 24, 2011 in - 62 comments
A few days after starting the OCBeerCommentary wiki, Garrett Oliver - editor, brewer and ambassador for good beer - emailed me and asked if I would like to have a question and answer session for my blog. The result is the response which you will find below under the extended text link. It includes …
Why Did A Brewer In Kingston In 1815 Want Rye?
Posted by on Sunday, October 23, 2011 in - 13 comments
The ad is from page 4 of the Kingston Gazette, 6 January 1816. You can see at the bottom that it was placed on 15 December 1815. So many questions. What were Messrs Robinson and Gillespie up to? Why is rye placed between barley and hops in the large font while oats sit down there with the peas …
Is This The Gold Standard Of Brewery Tours?
Posted by on Sunday, October 23, 2011 in - 1 comment
I have been on a lot of brewery tours. In Halifax in the early 1980s it was a euphemism for college kids being locked into a room at the brewery and given all the beer they could down in a Friday afternoon hour. More recently, it's the chance to hear craft brewers explain their processes. At one …
New York: Righteous Ale, Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn
Posted by on Friday, October 21, 2011 in - 2 comments
I don't really go much for packaging or even branding when it comes to beer. All that tiny writing on Stone bottles from some PR hack telling me I am not worthy? Yawn. All the millions wasted on design that gets unnecessarily added to the cost of my beer? Spare me. Yet... yet, there is this cube … read more »
Certain Thing I Would Not Do For A Beer #13720
Posted by on Thursday, October 20, 2011 in - 1 comment
I would have not thought Pakistan was ripe to become a beer exporting nation until I read this article... though I am not sure I would show up at the brewery growler in hand: • The brewery is next to the headquarters of the armed forces, which has helped to guarantee its security. "The best bars …
How Many Forms Of A Beer Leave It Still One Beer?
Posted by on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 in - 8 comments
Josh Rubin wrote a great review of Les Trois Mousquetaires Porter Baltique in the Toronto Star today. It's a beer I love, having had my first in May 2010 after a beer run to La Belle Province. But I noticed something on the bottle that accompanied Josh' article. The bottle said "Automne 2010" and …
Quebec: La Vache Folle ? Double IPA, Charlevoix
Posted by on Monday, October 17, 2011 in - 3 comments
Charlevoix is a favorite brewery of mine even if it was unknown to me just three years ago. I have loved their dubbel since April 2009. I picked up this one, along with some elk and wild boar sausage, at Broue Ha Ha a few weeks ago. • I was a little intrigued by the "?" Double IPA idea, the …
When There Is Too Much Going On Even For A Beer...
Posted by on Sunday, October 16, 2011 in - 9 comments
Between have a cold, having five kids and helping out with the fledgling North American Beer Writers Guild reincarnation... in addition to thinking about next year's Oktoberfest speakers series... in addition to the bright idea to start a web based concordance to The Oxford Companion to Beer …
A Commentary On The Oxford Companion To Beer
Posted by on Friday, October 14, 2011 in - 35 comments
You may recall that I had a first look at The Oxford Companion to Beer a few weeks ago. Comments have flown here and elsewhere. I am convinced that the book will be a great focal point for discussion for years. I am also convinced that by definition is it not definitive. Why? Well, it is a …
Quebec: Monseigneur D’Esgly, M'Brass' Île d’Orléans
Posted by on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in - 3 comments
What would he thought of it all? Monseigneur D’Esgly, the first bishop after the conquest of New France. Strong, black ale. Fitting? Fitting enough for me. I needed something richly purifying after all that mixed ethical talk. Who knew Joe won't accept samples? Win leaves it to the informed reader …
Pete Revives The Beer Blogging Ethics Question
Posted by on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in - 14 comments
We did this one in 2008 but it is good to visit this question repeatedly. Me? I like cash. Because, apparently, the people who run pubs, make beer and publish beer periodicals like it as well. There is an odd assumption that bloggers (and drinkers) participate out of "passion" - a catch all word …
Are Pumpkin Ales Really All That Divisive?
Posted by on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 in - 10 comments
Interesting article at the web site... the web presence... of The Atlantic about pumpkin ales. I have thought about these beers for years now and have a few ideas of my own. But I still appreciate these thoughts: • Some beer styles are loved, some are ardently despised, but none is more divisive …
In Kingston In November 1815 There Was Beer!
Posted by on Monday, October 10, 2011 in - 24 comments
Beer for sale! Hallallujah!! BEER FOR SALE!!! • Remember what I suggested before? That where there is peace there is beer? Well, on 27 November 1815, my town of Kingston was just nine months past the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent and five past the Battle of Waterloo. The proposed terms of …
Session 56: Thanks To The Big For Being Big... Maybe
Posted by on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in - 4 comments
Irish blog Tale of Ale posed the question for this month's edition of The Session: • I decided that I wanted to do something out of character for many beer blogs on the internet. I wanted to say thank you to the large multinational brewers and show that we are not all against them. • Seems … read more »
Your 1816 Albany Ale Update From My Home Town
Posted by on Friday, October 7, 2011 in - 8 comments
We have not found more Albany ale information for a while but this is your moment of zen. Just consider what it means. There is no Erie Canal. There are rapids on the St. Lawrence all the way to Montreal. There are about 4,000 people in this town. The War of 1812 ended one shipping season before …
Quebec: Aphrodisiaque, Dieu Du Ciel, Montréal
Posted by on Thursday, October 6, 2011 in - leave a comment
What better to drink for election night here in Ontario than a beer that the LCBO deemed too hot. Not the temperature or the level of alcohol but that label. Yes, the state owned beer monopoly is anti-cleavage. How the Quebecers who made the beer must have laughed. h/t markosaar. Ontario sometimes …
You Didn't Just Open A Random Door Into Beery Narnia...
Posted by on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 in - 11 comments
One of my favorite things about beer writing is how, ultimately, it is not very important. I say that as someone who has spent more than half his days over a number of years trying to get a decent bit of beer writing out the door. But it's the very lightness makes for a great opportunity to catch … read more »
More Great New Words To Describe Things Beery
Posted by on Monday, October 3, 2011 in - 2 comments
One of the more revitalizing things to come out of the weekend was the opportunity to listen to to people discuss beer. Whether in a conversation struck up with partying fans in the shuttle bus or more formally in the speakers' sessions, people were describing beer. We speak of beer as a social …
...Or How Beau's Restored My Faith In Beer Festivals
Posted by on Sunday, October 2, 2011 in - 5 comments
It happened in a field in eastern Ontario. Very eastern. So eastern, exit 27 to Vankleek Hill had a sign for one of the Montreal airports. The field is actually the fairgrounds. They've been there for a while, celebrating their 167th anniversary. • What was so great about it? Buses. Buses to get …
Off The Oktoberfest And Bringing Along My Empties
Posted by on Saturday, October 1, 2011 in - 1 comment
Like the laundry flooring? • That's eight growlers and 18 clay bottles that I am returning to Beau's today. Hoping that the deposit pays for the gas. It's about a three hour drive to the north-east where by all accounts fun is being had. This will be my first Oktoberfest and actually my second …
