I was going to write "wow" or something but that wouldn't quite capture my surprise at how good this beer is. Poured at a chilly cellar temperature, there is an immediate mass of dry cocoa that sits in such balance with that bit of hop, a little java and that little nod to dark plum that immediately lets you know this is no ordinary budget beer. Chalky soft water makes it particularly moreish. In fact, if I had not bought this as part of a $10.99 12 pack at the A-Bay Mart the other day I could have been quite happy to pay $4.99 or more for a 22 oz bomber of this stuff.
Definitely craft. Nothing near kraphtt. Perhaps the most surprising value in beer that I have come across so far. BAers rate widely.
Just for the record, I took no photo and took no notes but last night the look on the face of the guy at the kitchen party who said he didn't like beer across the street when I poured him half of my 750ml of Urthel Samaranth last night was priceless. "Most beer tastes like crap" he said. "Like plastic?" says I. "EXACTLY! Like plastic," he says, "...but this tastes good..." It sure did. Big and creamy and orange laden. BAers agree. Don't forget to share your good beer with those who need an introduction.
PS: more on my "Holland" policy here.
When I was a home brewer - as opposed to a person who has home brewing supplies and equipment in the house but never does anything with it all - I used to be concerned about flocculation. Flocculation is the word that describes the capacity of a yeast (or other stuff for all I know) to clump. It is a fancy pants word for clumpiness - but is more about the propensity to clump as opposed to the clump itself. I think. If a yeast strain floucculated too much it could cause precipitation leading to poor attenuation due to separation of yeast and wort. Yet if the yeast was under flocculating there would be difficulty in settling out and creating a bright beer. I think.
So, it is comforting to know that all my half baked understanding of yeast clump-a-bility is actually related to a massively important scientific moment:
A team of scientists at Harvard University reported last week that they isolated the single gene that allows yeast to stick together. That gene allows the normally solitary yeast cells to shield themselves from toxins in their environment by banding together in protective balls. Since one of those toxins is the ethanol that the yeast themselves produce, grouping together allows the yeast to survive in the alcohol-rich environment that results from brewing. What's more, the gene has a built in social value system that prevents yeast cells without the gene from taking advantage of the yeast flock's protective sphere. That social control mechanism is an example of how single cells can regulate function in larger units.
Excellent! I knew that something about beer was out there promoting social values...or is it promoting socialism!?!?¹
The point? As Kevin Verstrepen, one of the eggheads in white lab coats² - a Haavaad man no less - notes: "You can look at it as a model of how single-cellular organisms can cooperate, taking a small step toward multicellular life." A-ha! No, not the Norwegian 80's band...I mean "a-ha" as in light-klicky-on, as in "EUREKA!!!" So not only was the creation of civilization dependent on beer but the core zymurgystic fact of beer is also the same core fact of complex life as we know it. See? Without the making of alcohol, we are all single cell amoeba... amoebae... amoebas. I think. Which leads me to my amoeba joke: "two amoeba leave a bar and look up at a bright light. One says to the other 'is that the sun or the moon?' to which the other replies 'I dunno. I don't live around here.'" Get it? That is what we would have to put up with were it not for the flocculating powers of yeast. And nobody wants that.
¹Cue the theremin music!
²...and let's not have a repeat of the whole "sensitive yeast scientist" thing this time, ok?
You know, there was a time when I wrote posts about the history of beer. Then I got in a bit of a dust up with Ron Pattinson which then became quite civil when I said something like "if you are so clever about all this history stuff you should write a blog" which, we all know, he then did and now we are like two houses on fire. Without, you know, the skin grafts and reading of the life insurance policies.
The other great reason to not pretend that I need to or even can write about the history of beer is the fact that Martyn Cornell exists. He has this very day posted two
massive halves of one long essay on the origins of the term "India pale ale" - including this interesting passage on the response to his research by some beer gits:
If saying “the generally accepted story about the birth of IPA is almost entirely wrong” is nit-picking, that’s a bloody big nit. Someone else complained that...
“this guy is just going out of his way to poke holes in the common story about the ipa style … The point is that Hodgson was the first to brew ‘india pale ale’ (from everything i’ve read) and therefore brewed the first of the style”
which is entirely not grasping my own point, or points. The first is that the “common story” already has huge holes in it, and I’m not poking them, I’m just holding them up and saying: “Look – big holes!”.
Wow - real research and analysis presented without bias or the compromise of populism. What I think is most interesting is that the two focus on different sources. Martyn seeks his information from primary sources like beer ads, books of an age and other contemporary writings. Ron seeks his wisdom mainly through review of brewery archives and the actual brewing logs kept by those who made the beer at the time. When the power of their combined research is read side by side it is quite impressive - not to mention detailed and not to mention authoritative.
It boggles my mind that each of these gents are not subsidized to the full extent of the necessaries of their lives by brewers associations of one sort or another. Boggles my mind.
Let's see, we announced on Sunday and this is Tuesday so, yup, this is day three of the Christmas 2008 Beer Blog Photo Contest and so far, in addition to the six prize givers announced at the launch, we are now able to announce that we have added the following prizes to the swag bag:
- Ron Jefferies of Jolly Pumpkin of Dexter, Michigan USA - named one of that nation's top ten brewer's by Beer Advocate is adding a t-shirt. You will all know by now that I have a crush on Jolly Pumpkin so agreeing to joining in the photo contest is a great treat. I think that is going to be a global prize.
- Andrew Mason, brewer at Flossmoor Station Brewing, named best small brewpub in the USA at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival, has written an email and says "I'll make it a growler and a sampler when they come in". Andrew has also added an entry which makes him the only person to play both sides of the fence so far. That prize will have to go to someone local to the Illinois area.
- Widmer Brothers, makers of that new fine winter ale called Brrr has gone all over the top and has pledged SIX prizes of a t-shirt and a pair of glasses each which, I think, will be going to anywhere the planetary postal system can send them. Six! That is great.
- Last but not at all least, Jeff Cunningham of the Cracked Kettle beer store in Amsterdam has announced in the comments that they will provide a Cracked Kettle t-shirt and a bottle of Westvleteren 12 for one lucky winner. Famously named best beer in the world in 2005, that sounds like one very impressive offer of some "collectible glassware" that will be most welcome anywhere.
It's prize giving pandemonium these days! On my count that adds nine more individual prizes added to the ten separate prizes offered by six fine beery sources at the launch. We are well on our way to living the dream of a prize for every participant. If you want, send your precious jpegs to both me at beerblog@gmail.com and also Jeff at stonchblog@gmail.com before Sunday 14 December 2008 at 4:00:00 pm eastern Lake Ontario, North America time.
That is all it takes. Mike Stich of Toronto, Ontario did last year and sent the great shot above in. It is all so amazingly fulfilling.
Following up on a story we discussed last May, tomorrow's edition of The Independent tells the sad tale of how both BrewDog and the Orkney Brewery, makers of Skull Splitter, have had a ruling made against them by the shadowy Portman Group - described by The Independent as a self-regulating industry body. Which sounds a lot like another way of saying their competition. Their larger duller competition.
It decided Rip Tide's description as a "twisted merciless stout" would be associated with antisocial behaviour, while the claim that Hop Rocker was a "nourishing foodstuff" and that "magic is still there to be extracted" implied that it would enhance physical and mental capabilities.
The wisdom did not stop there. Apparently, Orkney's Skull Splitter "was associated with violence and also could be a reference to its effect on the drinker's head." However silly, these macro-saft makers with gavels actually have the power of persuasion and can use that power to affect the marketplace they and their powerless competition work within. Can you see a problem with that? Orkney has issued a press release that says this turn of fate may lead to the brand being pulled even though it is a former Champion Winter Ale of Britain. The BBC has more on the Skull Splitter story.
BrewDog is taking the even higher moral ground by calling for the shadowy Portman Group to be scrapped, according to this story. James Watt, managing director of BrewDog is quoted as saying '"[i]t is alarming that an unelected, unrepresentative industry cartel can simply crush the foundations on which our democracy is built." Can I have an amen? I believe reference to the Declaration of Arbroath is of comfort to we Scots in moments like this.
Full disclosure: James Watt writes me emails once in a while, is named after my Dad's hometown's favorite son and is giving prizes for the photo contest. And I like him and his company more than the shadowy Portman Group.
Hear Ye Hear Ye! Oyez Oyez!!! Ladies and Gentlemen and children of all ages! May we have drum rrrrrrrollllllllll if you please!!! Can I get a witness??? Bang the Gong, Get it On!!!
Once again this year, I am happy to declare the beer blog Christmas photo contest is on. Real on. Real on right now and it's the third annual. And for the second straight year, we are sharing oversight duties for the Christmas beer blog photo contest with our pal and co-master of ceremonies Jeff from Stonch's Beer Blog based in London England. Here is Jeff's post on the start of the contest. And that's last year's grand winner up there, from John Lewington. Called "Two Pints of Bitter" it's a candid photo John took of two old boys enjoying their Sunday afternoon ale in a 17th century pub in Aldbrough, Suffolk. Gorgeous. Here are all the entries from last year - Jeff's are available through a link at the bottom of the page. We are going to try to be more unified and centralized this year.
And the range of prizes gathered so far for the 2008 version of the contest are, I have to admit, already simply stunning. As in the past, remember the rules of beer are so weird that you can only get it shipped to certain places (where you are) from certain other places (where the people of the beer are) so you may not qualify for each of these but here is what we have so far:
- Roland + Russell, importers of fine beer into Canada, is offering gift basket with a variety of treats. This will be for a lucky winner in Ontario.
- Church-key Brewing of Campbellford, Ontario has provided lunch at their Stinking Rose pub as well as a VIP tour and tasting for four at the brewery. That should be a blast and will be provided to a winner who can get to the prize.
- BrewDog Beer of Scotland is offering a couple of cases of beer as well as some other goodies including a signed t-shirt. The beer will be a UK only prize due to shipping restrictions while the other goodies will go absolutely global.
- Flying Dog Brewery of Maryland USA wrote us a note and asked "how does a Barrel-aged Gonzo, Humphrey the Humper dog, Gonzo Poster and Gonzo T-shirt sound?" Sounds good to me. That one may end up as a USA only prize due to the gods of the border control unit.
- Beau's All-Natural Brewing of Vankleek Hill, Ontario has offered us a hat and t-shirt which will be forwarded to a lucky winner anywhere on the entire planet.
- Shipyard Brewing of Portland, Maine are back again this year with a new prize...or rather three separate prizes of a Shipyard travel coffee mug and a Shipyard aluminum water bottle. Fantastic. And a fantastically planetarily acceptable prize.
Fabulousness incarnate! What generosity and - be warned - we are on the hunt for more prizes and hope to have more announcements soon. Have no fear. I have every intention of wringing as much happiness out of this contest for each and every contestant so as to make your Yule (...and your Yule, too) as fantastic as possible. Jeff and I get nothing our of this but the warm glow of a good deed well done and a way to thank you all, our readers, as well as to thank the great brewers out there who do so much for all of us.
How does one enter? You may well be asking this very question as you read this. Just email photos to both me at beerblog@gmail.com and also Jeff at stonchblog@gmail.com. The announcements should start flying with your entries and hopefully even more great prizes. The deadline is Sunday 14 December 2008 at 4:00:00 pm eastern Lake Ontario, North America time. Well be figuring out a means for posting them on the web, maybe at Flickr and maybe even ClusterShot so that your work may itself give you something back. And remember - if you are a brewer, pub, author or purveyor of any other beer related stuff, join us by emailing your idea for more prize for the winners. It's all about giving...and taking photos...and beer...and, ok, having a happy happy Yule!
How odd. Those cases and cases of cheap ass Canadian Labatt Blue selling in upstate NY gas stations and grocery stores for about half of the price we pay up here have become an issue in the global InBev deal for A-B:
The Justice Department said Friday it will have to sell the U.S. Labatt operations because the deal could mean higher beer prices for beer in the New York cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. In those cities, Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brands and InBev's Labatt brands are the two biggest-selling beer lines, which means the merged company would be competing with itself.
The infiltration of Blue into upstate is quite a marvel and, if I was dedicated to the stuff, worth crossing the border for. But I had no idea that protecting the market in these cities was worth legal intervention.
Samples. Reason enough to beer blog, I'd say, and when things from Norway come in the mail all the better. I had the porter from Nøgne Ø last year and seem to have loved it so this 9% bigger sibling was a welcome sight. I've also had their Julesnadder, a Christmas beer, last year care of Knut the Swell and a surprise package in the mail but didn't even review it or take a note or nuttin'. I either failed as a beer blogger or was taking a stand. Can't remember.
So, it's darn good thing I can make it up to the gods of the tickers with this one. It pours inky with a mahogany rim all under the darkest mocha head yet. Maybe the colour of melty chocolate ice cream. Maybe the colour of the blood of a gingerbread boy. It is all mint and unsweetened licorice when near the nose. In the mouth, a huge creamy texture opens to blackened toast, espresso, dark chocolate with a long and increasingly bitter finish all framed by more of that minty hop until they fade leaving nothing but cigarette ash and mocha-cocoa, a surprisingly appealing combo. Thick and heavy. Concentrated. Like light beer syrup.
BAers lick the spoon and ask if there is any more.
The Beer Bloggers Alliance is about to be announced. But because I am the beer blogger with the best connections to Entertainment Tonight, I can tell you that the back room gossip I have heard is that the group plans to focus on (1) increasing retail and wholesaler red tape and related costs to the consumer, (2) creating a code of ethics for beer blogging that will be overly complex and will create dissension as well as finger pointing while also (3) reaching out to marco-brewers to find out how members can be co-opted into acting a mouthpieces for big business. Should be great when it gets a bit more traction. 
