I was going to post about tea. I have been drinking a lot of tea lately. Good tea. Good tea is one of the least expensive good things going. Even at $35, per portion so might be a sweet wine like this bottle I picked up last summer at the winery on one of our ice cream, beach and cheese curd jaunts into Prince Edward County. A half bottle like this can easily be shared at dessert or after with six or eight. And you might open one once every couple of months, right? So, OK, not quite great tea value but often a well placed addition to the end of a holiday meal like the one shared today.

Zero de Gris is made with all Frontenac Gris picked late but short of forming noble rot or freezing. As flavour packed as I would have hoped, there's honey and apricots on the nose. You can smell it with the glass sitting there on the side table. There's more in there as well. Fresh lemon, white grapefruit, honey and something thicker, earthy - maybe melon or beeswax? A small sip gives you tangerine, lemon juice, honey in a sharp acidity framing a sweet hefty mouth feel. The finish is light and grapefruit clean with a lasting nod to that beeswax note.

We had this with a lemon curd cream cake. It would likely go well with just spoonfuls of thick cream and a couple dozen butter cookies if that were your thing, too. Light at 9.5% and enough sugar that the bottle's drip leaves the neck sticky. Probably infanticide at three and a half years old. An award winner for Canadian late harvest wines in 2011.

I write a lot for my job. Likely three-quarters of what I do is based on typing a lot of detail that needs to be relied upon. I like it. Think I am good at it. But I have to tell you that co-writing this quasi-fictional narrative on good beer with Max - the one that flies through time and space - is more fun than I have had in a long time with a keyboard on my lap. Interestingly, as pointed out by Boak... or Bailey... or Boak and Bailey, we learn we are not alone:

-> Dredgie has his Craft Beer World: A Guide to Over 350 of the Finest Beers Known to Man on pre-order from Amazon in Canada, the US and the UK.

-> Ron announced his newest book entitled with characteristic brevity, The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer: Rediscovered Recipes for Classic Brews Dating from 1800 to 1950. It can also be acquired for an embarrassingly low price. You should buy it now.

-> Jeff has passed the 200,000 word mark for his monumental tome, the Beer Bible. That is about eight times what Max and I have written. That is nutty but, being a Bible, clearly having the Lord God whispering in your ear helps.

-> And Evan has also posted a new Kindle book of three stories entitled Triplebock which can also be acquired for an embarrassingly low price. You should buy it now, too.

I think what all these works may have in common is that they will not be as whacked as what Max and I are working on. Which reminds me. Miniaturization. We have not worked miniaturization into the story. "Look Max, up there... that's a grain of malt," said Alan. "It's huuuge!" said Max. See? That's the golden touch I am talking about.

But what is most curiosity-triggering for me... well, excepting my curiosity about what the heck I am going to write... is the book that B+B themselves appear to have been writing for exactly yoinks. They appear to be aiming to chronicle British beer culture from WWII to now. Just a wee topic. A little something to do on the side. Their recent post on Mass Observation has upped my interest.

Can't wait.

I think I only dislike one thing about the prospect of drinking this new beer. I have a strong suspicion that Jays fans made it. Have I mentioned I really dislike the Toronto Blue Jays? Years ago when I bounced in a bar in London, Ontario there was another bar down the road all done up with Detroit Tigers memorabilia except for signs that said "Jays Suck" which I loved. See, as an Expos fan since '67 when I was a toddler with a cap and '73 when I saw the Yanks lose at Fenway, I have had a dual allegiance. One sadly past. One present. Yet... I love baseball. The season starts this weekend. Spring, summer and fall all lay before me again filled with baseball. See, I have done this. I have hit doubles in America in recent years as a rather fat man off a better player than me. I have hand lathed bats. So, the baseball theme chosen for Toronto's new Left Field Brewery has me.

But how about the beer itself. Start with the bottle. Note the Mississippi mud hue of the label's background tone. I have a ball in that hue from the day I watched the Sox smoke the Jays. A one pitch knuckle ball with the Wakefield fingertip inprints and the Vernon Well's pop up all marked. Far defter branding than Coopertown's even if I do have the yellow t-shirt. The aroma is date and brown bread. Lots of molasses but something herby spicy, too. Verging on Abt 12 with half the alcohol. Mohagany ale with mocha cream lacing foam and rim. Lots going on in the swally. There is that smoothness one associates with oat but also enough placement points of hop over the arc of the quaff that you are aware this is not someone's take on Peculiar. Yet, that dripping brown malt. The blackstrap. The nut. The bread crust, dry cocoa and black tea. It is also a rejection of all those trendy needy nanos. It's, bear with me, reminding me of the intention behind the Whale. Beer for people who like the taste of beer. And a bigger beer than its strength. I had an oatmeal stout from Quebec's Le Castor earlier and was only disappointed with its heft. None of that here. Heft to lend.

I am given to understand from one young pup to my west that this bottle is not actually for sale but zooped up for samplin' and reviewin'. It can be bought around town on tap in the Big Smoke. I don't go there much. Next time I am there, I am finding me some of this.

Interesting piece on the impending decisions to be made in relation to Federal excise taxation for beer in the US over at MSN Money today:

...The Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief (BEER) Act, which is promoted by Washington-based beer industry group The Beer Institute, is expected to be introduced later this year and would reduce excise taxes on beer produced by brewers large and small. Past versions of the bill recommended cutting the tax from $18 per barrel to $9 for large brewers while also cutting the tax for small brewers from $7 per barrel to $3.50.

The competing Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce, or Small BREW Act, promoted by craft beer industry group The Brewers Association would cut the federal excise tax on beer from $7 a barrel to $3.50, which is placed on a small brewer’s first 60,000 barrels produced per year. After that initial 60,000 barrels, small brewers must pay $18 per barrel, which would be lowered to $16 under the bill. More importantly, it would expand the tax code definition for a “small brewer” from one that produces 2 million barrels or less to one that produces 6 million or less.

See, this is how relationships end. As the article describes, brewers like Boston Beer Co and Sierra Nevada are active members of both the Beer Institute and the Brewers Association which are lobbying for distinct and conflicting tax regimes. Not sure that this in itself is enough to create "a rift in the beer industry that could signal last call for the 'craft' title" as the author suggests but the implications are interesting. First, the government has to decide the matter one way or another. There cannot be two systems of the one excise tax. Second, the actual small craft brewers who make up the majority of the Brewers Association may soon have to decide whether being led by big craft brewers who look a lot like big macro brewers makes any sense. Either way, it won't be controlled by big craft.

It would be comforting to know that this question was actually being discussed at the Craft Brewers Conference but the Twitter feed for #CBC13 has all the diversity of first night at summer cult camp. Crazy kids. They just can't stop marketing - even to each other! One can hope that Congress's governing leaders will have the sense to reject the idea of including the expansion of 2 to 6 million barrel definition of "small". It is all fun and stuff but, given the state of the nation's finances, buying into that sort of belief system isn't very helpful especially given the clear focus offered by the Beer Institute's characterization of the implications as “a giveaway to a handful of brewers that each are worth more than a billion dollars.” A billion? That's a large number.

I find this beer "created civilization" line going around funny. Sure, it is an easy cut and paste story for bloggers needing to fill space. And, sure, it is an easy story for a newspaper to run. But really?

Hayden told Postmedia News that “there are lots of implications” of the team’s findings, and that “brewing was just part of the picture” during humanity’s pivotal shift to settled, stable communities with enough food supplies to foster more complex cultural developments. But beer-making, he added, was one factor “that we think was important in making feasts such powerful tools for attracting people and getting them committed to producing surpluses.”

Attracting people? Getting them committed to producing surpluses? Such verbs we choose for such things. How about rounding them up, enslaving them and forcing them into labour to provide an oligarchical hierarchy based on grain monoculture with the rich rewards of being the enslavers going entirely to the enslavers. How about the slaves were perfectly happy in their outlying tribal hunter gatherer lives beyond the fields of horror filled with barley they will never taste and certainly never chose to grow. It is lovely to hope and wish and, sure, springtime is upon us giving us thoughts of baseball and everything but is there any evidence that the step towards brewing-focused agriculture in any way formed the basis what we value today as "civilized"? Maybe it just occurred as a crop contemporaneous with, say, turnips.

Did turnips found civilization? Could well be. Like mostly anything could well be. Like shackles and whips.

This has to be one of the saddest examples of government control in the beer world that I have seen recently:

The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission is looking for a partner to start a new beer festival to be held in Charlottetown this fall. Jamie MacLeod, a spokesman for the commission, said it means that unlike last year, no one else will be able to hold a beer festival in P.E.I. “We won’t approve them,” he said. In September the province saw two competing beer festivals with similar names held only a few weeks apart: the P.E.I. Beer Festival and the P.E.I. International Beer Festival. Charlottetown businessman Campbell Webster ran the P.E.I. Beer Festival for a second year as a standalone event held at the Delta Prince Edward. The P.E.I. Brewing Company organized the international beer festival as part of the Fall Flavours Festival at the concert site in Charlottetown.

What a nightmare. Two beer festivals. Being a former resident of Canada's smallest and in many ways oddest province, I should not be surprised. One famous commentator from my neighbouring home of Nova Scotia dubbed the place too insular to be xenophobic. Wouldn't want to much funny beer coming into the province. Oh dear. Seems I have used that line before. And before that. And before that. Anyway, It is just fascinating to see that the decision is not to license one in the spring and one in the fall. Or one in one town and the other in another. Or let the market decide who wins out. It appears what is important is not putting too much work on the shoulders of the poor staff of the liquor commissions because "at the end of the day and even with a joint venture it’s still us, the liquor commission, who has to finalize and order the product listing that came in.” Precious darlings.

And a very nice touch barring by law the repeat of an effort to integrate of good beer with a food festival. No one will ever go for that.

I didn't buy this when we visited The Grange of Prince Edward County last August but maybe I should have. Found a bottle on a low shelf at the local government store. I sorta realized I had not been paying attention to this grape. I've probably been in a Côtes du Rhône rut now that I think of it. You know what that's like. So, I have been picking up bottles from a few regions where Pinot Noir is grown when I see a reasonable price. Like this one. The Grange appears to have six different vineyards totaling around 60 acres. Half the vineyards have Pinot Noir. The are located just south of the lake in the middle of Hillier township on this Victorian map, right by old Sam Trumpour's place. Lord Goog has the location, too.

I made a white bean and sausage stew in the slow cooker to go a long with this wine for tonight's family gathering. I threw in dried mushroom and celery root along with a good slug of a Niagara red blend. Earthy. Hopefully. Not sure if Pinot Noir earthy bears any relation to biere de garde earthy. Not sure I've thought about cross-referencing adjective from wine to beer at all, come to think of it. Whatever earthy means in relation to this bottle, it is defined by the Hillier Clay Loam that you can read all about at page 58 of this 1948 Government of Canada report on the soils of Prince Edward County. It's all about the dirt.

I took this advice and opened the bottle this morning. In the glass, the wine glows dark cherry red and gives off aromas like barky spices, alcohol, earthy berry... maybe red current? I agree with the idea of tastes of cherry and cranberry from this review but might add a little wintergreen and maybe strawberry as well. Some astringency from black tea tannins in the middle open to woodsy berry fruit at the end. Not the big and slap on the back wine like a lot of the Cabs, Merlot or Shiraz. A quieter drink.

Did I like it? Well, on the way come from dropping off the guest scurrying to get home before Earth Hour, I bought another. Stick it away for a bit to see what becomes of it. And, as we are not drinkers from fishbowls, half of this bottle is still around for leftovers tomorrow. And at well under $20 a good introduction to Prince Edward County Pinot Noirs.

The email from a, shall we say, noted brewer with this news was accompanied with an introductory statement which read "Say what you will about Sam- this will be hitting the papers tomorrow I'm sure!" And it is a news worthy press release from Jim Koch of Sam Adams about its new beer can which reads in part:

Our new can design required a million dollar investment in special equipment tooling along with time, research and testing and resulted in a patent-pending design. We think that the difference will be a subtle but noticeably better drinking experience than the standard beverage can. We anticipate having this can in the market in May or June, so you can taste for yourself to see if you think it provides a slightly better experience. We've decided to make the patent-pending design available, without any royalty or license fee, to all craft brewers who would like to use this can. We're still working out the details with Ball, our can manufacturer, but we anticipate that any craft brewer will be able to purchase this unique can from Ball sometime this fall depending on how things go at Ball.

My immediate reaction was not bastardly but, unlike the PR tone of beneficence, I do see upsides for Sam Adams. First, I am not sure practically speaking that Sam Adams could they do otherwise? I mean a can is a can and are you going to fight to protect a patent for a can design that with a 1% to 5% tweek becomes another can that avoids legal liability? And, if you think about it, there is more money in the deal this way. Ball, the can manufacturer, gets more customers and Sam Adams may get a volume break. Which is good. Smart business for both businesses. Sam Adams may also avoid an exclusivity fee from Ball. If Ball is part owner of the design and are forced to avoid maximizing the benefit to them, Ball would be entirely in the right to ask for compensation for a smaller market. Finally, Sam Adams gets to brand the can style used by its competition of any take up this offer. Not sure if I am a craft brewer in a marketplace where I am trying to set myself apart from a lot of competitors doing much the same thing as me that I will go out and use an aspect of a competitor's branding. Shape is brand as much as colour is.

This may be the start of beer can design wars. It was interesting to note that Pennsylvania craft brewer Sly Fox has also recently announced an new form of can, one that opens into a metal cup. I don't drink beers from metal cups generally so can't say how this idea or the Sam Adams one will actually affect taste or sales.

A pleasant surprise at the local government store at just $3.10 for 330 ml of 9% goodness. On the front it says "Grand Cru" but on the back "Belgian Special Brown Ale". Argue amongst yourselves on the fine points.

I do like those brown ales from Belgian with a certain special something. Nostradamus. Moinette. Brune Tradition. They taste like I want beer to taste and make me feel like I want a beer to make me feel. The one gives off a plummy, rum, hard seedy spice, brown sugar thing that I want in coffee cake. Steak sauce could take a hint, too. Mahogany ale under a foam and frothy mocha rim. On the schwizzle, the effect is soft. Milky even. Low acid. A bit of burn from the strength. Prune chocolate treats that you can find in health food sections in mid-range US grocery stores. Vanilla. Maybe even mintiness but mainly the good old brownness. Sweet brown. Maritime brown breadiness brown. Comfort beer. Cassoulet beer? Maybe. It would probably make a swell ice cream.

BAers have the love.