Jorge of Brew Beer & Drink It asked us all, for this edition of The Session, to write about this: "...what would you change to lead us into the Perfect Beer World? or how do you describe the Perfect Beer World?". Like Stan, I was struggling with the topic until I read a few entries posted earlier today from folk like Monsieur Noix and Win. I saw the light.
OK, maybe not the light but the point. See, I don't care for perfection seeing by definition we live in an ad hoc imperfect world filled with calamity, compromise and failure. But there is also beauty and success and change in there, too. Perfection sounds, well, a wee bit dull compared to all that. But, just so I won't earn the "Don't Not Play Nicely With Others" badge again I will admit to having had some experiences that lean heavily towards the good. Like finding Hennepin at a gas station near Albany for $4.99 a bomber. Like watching Stan drink a beer that he was thinking about. Like watching Ron watch a beer fest. Like having gueuze with a rib eye steak in my backyard. Like getting "Shakespeare's Local" in the mail this week or getting emails from Jeff back when he was Stonch as we planned the Xmas photo contest. Like sitting with old college pals in a Halifax brew pub introducing my first kid at 9 months old on a sunny Saturday afternoon in winter. Like working would ideas Albany's brewing history with Craig or figuring out for myself that the Hudson's Bay company was shipping, of all things, malt to the Arctic in the 1600s. Like having an 18 wheeler truck stop outside the house to deliver a six pack sample. Like once ranking #17 on Google for the search "beer" ahead of Guinness or, best of all, walking into a NY state beer store last week when over grocery shopping with my mom if only to see her face when the big guy behind the counter called out "HEY! HAVEN"T SEE YOU FOR A WHILE!!" when we walked through the door.
See, I am lucky. My life and the bits that include beer are too good to worry about perfection. I want not. The beer has been just fine so far. I have met too many good people, read too many good ideas and sipped too many tasty drinks to not be fine with how things are working out.
Comments
Gary Gillman - November 2, 2012 9:23 PM
Good thoughts Alan. In fact, I am just old enough to remember that in the pre-craft era, beer fans felt just as enthusiastic and had as many variegated experiences.
What seems uniform today (all big brewers' beers were alike) did not seem so at the time. There was Bock to look forward to in the Spring, Molson made a Super-Bock as I recall, tan-coloured, a little malty, different enough that we noticed. You could find Molson Porter in Hawkesbury. You could buy books (pre-Jackson) on beer, e.g. John Porter's A Book On Beer, Michael Weiner's world guide (very readable), and a series of popular histories by a gent called Will Anderson - I wonder if he is still with us?
Guinness was available in the pubs - a few anyway - and Labatt was making the bottled version that is still produced. Stateside visits produced a plethora of different beers: lightish, corny lagers, Ballantine IPA (amazing and an unexplained loss to American brewing), Penn State porters, Maximus Super from West End Brewing in Utica (now F.X. Matt), the hoppy Schlitz, the Piels Draft, the cream ales of Genessee and some other places. And Michelob, Andeker, and Augsburger, good versions albeit lighter of European lager styles.
Finally there were a few bottled imports: Whitbread made a grainy pale ale of light gravity, Bass was around in stubbies, Tuborg too which was delicious when fresh. and MacEwan's Scotch Ale with its smoky tang from roasted barley.
People held beer tastings, information was around. The palate range was much less than today but it seemed wide enough especially if you searched out beers.
In other words, there is a certain relativeness to the matter, I think it must be said. It is always a golden age, no pun intended. :)
Gary
Gary Gillman - November 3, 2012 8:52 AM
Memory plays funny tricks and I want to correct one thing: it was Schaefer, archetypal New York State beer at the time, that had a hoppy edge, not Schlitz. Indeed Schlitz was still going through what might be called a dumb period. (The formulation was changed in the late 60's and it started losing market shar
There are still enough surviving examples of these beers that a pre-craft tasting could be usefully organised Alan. Indeed you are well-placed geographically to find many of these for a U.S.-focused tasting, e.g., Piels (made by Pabst), Schlitz ditto (now to the original, or at least early 1960's, recipe), the Narragansett revival, Maximus Super and Utica Club, Yuengling porter, Genessee Cream Ale or the restored Genny 12 Horse, Ballantine XXX, and some of the mid-70's imports like St. Pauli Girl, MacEwan's Scoth Ale or Whitbread Pale Ale, and, well it goes on. If you ever can do this Alan let me know I'll come down!
Gary
P.S. I would set myself a project of trying to find something locally that is close to Ballantine IPA. Granite Best Bitter is quite close, I could bring a couple of jugs. I'm thinking possibly that this beer, blended with Wells IPA, might be the ticket.
Gary
Win Bassett - November 3, 2012 12:04 PM
Wonderful post, and I could not agree with you more re: "My life and the bits that include beer are too good to worry about perfection. I want not. The beer has been just fine so far. I have met too many good people, read too many good ideas and sipped too many tasty drinks to not be fine with how things are working out."
Tiffany - November 3, 2012 12:19 PM
Years ago I opened accounts on beer review websites only to leave them in neglect. To rate and score, to compare the beers to established standards, to research and evaluate.... I found decreased my enjoyment.
I love that you brought to light that the times, people, and places with the beer make it "the perfect beer." This is something I also feel true. There have been times where sharing beer, no matter how good or bad it tastes, it was the perfect beer for the occasion, creating indelible memories that still warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.