Beer in Movies – The Shawshank Redemption

Movie Poster for “The Shawshank Redemption”

This past weekend I got caught by what I call the “6 or 7 film barrage”.  That’s where a TV channel will take a film and show it at least 6 or 7 times over a span of several days.  The pattern will usually go something like this, once on Thursday, once on Friday, twice on Saturday, and twice on Sunday, sometimes with one more broadcast tossed in somewhere for good measure.  On top of that, one of the days where they broadcast the movie twice, it will be shown back to back.  The movie this weekend was Frank Darabont’s  The Shawshank Redemption.  After stumbling across it several times channel surfing, I finally landed upon it at it’s begin and decided to give it a re-watch (I guess that’s part of the network’s master strategy, toss it at you enough times and sooner or later your resolve will break down) even though I’m not usually a fan of the cuts and edits network TV will normally do to films.

Released in 1994, The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of an intelligent banker named Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and sentenced to 2 life terms in Shawshank prison.  Once there, he meets Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) with whom he begins a friendship with along with Red’s circle of inmate friends.  The movie is filled with themes of man’s attempts to find hope and dignity in an impossible situation; which Andy finds himself in when he’s pulled into service by Warden Samuel Norton who uses Andy’s expert banking skills to launder money Norton is receiving for using the prison inmates as skilled labor in the public sector.

The movie has a couple elements that make the it note worthy.  First, it was based on a novella by Steven King entitled, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” that was published in his 1982, “Different Seasons” collection.  Also the movie began what I call, “the Morgan Freeman” narration.  The scenes of the movie are tied together by a voice-over performed by Freeman’s character Red.  Freeman’s deep, non-wavering voice throughout the movie has become iconic and has been parodied on everything from TV commercials to Family Guy.

One of my favorites however is Clancy Brown who, as Chief of the Guards Captain Hadley, delivers one of the best profanity laden performances in a movie by a non Drill Sergeant character.

The movie  benefits from a stellar cast.  Robbins and Freeman are both excellent in their respective rolls, and Bob Gunton is superb as Warden Norton.  One of my favorites however is Clancy Brown who, as Chief of the Guards Captain Hadley, delivers one of the best profanity laden performances in a movie by a non Drill Sergeant character. Sadly, you miss out on this on network TV as most of Brown’s tirades are either cut or overdubbed.  The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for seven Academy Awards including best picture and best actor (Freeman) but sadly went home with none having been over shadowed that year by Forrest Gump.

As I mentioned, a common theme through the film is man’s constant struggle to find dignity in the brutal environment of prison.  This theme is very well depicted when, tarring the roof of one of the prison buildings, Andy over hears Hadley bemoaning to the other guards about a large sum of money he’s just come into and how the I.R.S is going to take a large portion of it.  Andy informs him (while Hadley is about to push him off the roof for ease dropping) that he can keep all the money tax free if he gifts it to his wife.  This exchange really shows off cinematographer Roger Deakins at his best.  When Hadley pushes Andy against the edge of the roof the camera shot is over head looking straight down Andy’s back to the ground below.  The camera then pans over head and down behind Hadley, catching Andy in his first line of the shot and then swings around along side the two for a dialog exchange and then ends behind Andy on Hadley’s face for his last line of the shot.  Andy offers to do the paper work to set up the gift for a price – three bottles of beer for each of his co-workers who are tarring the roof. The next scene shows Andy’s co-workers (and the guards) sitting on the roof of the building enjoying what Red’s voice tells us was, “…ice cold Bohemian style beer.”

“Bohemian style” beer, was (back in the time frame of the film) a common term used in America to describe pilsner beer.  Pilsner gets its name from Pilsen, a city in Bohemia which is in today’s Czech Republic. Brewers in the city of Pilsen started producing beers with bottom fermenting yeasts rather than the more commonly used  top fermenting yeast and aging the beer in caves to produce a clearer, better quality beer.  The beer type can be considered the father of the early American lager beer as many of the beers initialed brewed back then (and still brewed today) came from a Bohemian style background and indeed, used the term “Bohemian” as a description.  The best example today is probably National Bohemian Beer (or Natty Bo, as it is known in the region) which has been brewed since 1885.  Another brand known for its Bohemian label is Stroh’s which started brewing in Detroit in 1850.  Other examples that have long since faded into time (or prohibition) are Knapp’s, Burger, Duluth, Weideman, Old Tap, Forest City, Prager, Dorf and Cooper’s out of Philadelphia

So which beer are the men supposed to be drinking on the roof ?  The movie never says.  But if you compare the images below, I think we can make a strong case for what the movie makers thought was Andy Dufrense’s  “bottle of suds” of choice.

Left and Center: Screen shots from Shawshank Redemption.
Right: Post 1950’s Stroh’s beer bottle label.

While The Shawshank Redemption might not be for all people with its hard look into prison life and rough language, I highly recommend it.  Its gripping story, excellent acting and Oscar nominated cinematography make it a definite American classic.  Just make sure you have some ice cold Bohemian style beer to go with the popcorn.

Time for another beer.

The Local Tap – Argilla Brewing Company

[Edit:  Not long after I posted this I checked up on Argilla’s social media and found that they were hustling to make more beer because their initial demand was so great.  Way to support a local brewery Delaware!  Keep it up!]

[Edit: Thanks for stopping by.  If you want to see my review of our most recent stop at Argilla’s, you can find it here.]

I’ve talked a couple of times on this blog about how some things go well together but one of the best pairings I can think of is pizza and beer.  So when I found out that local pizza maker Pietro’s was opening another location (2667 Kirkwood Highway Newark DE, the site of the old Gray Fox) in my area AND that they were dropping in a 1.5 barrel brewery named Argilla Brewing (Facebook : Twitter), well of course I kept my eye open.  After several miscues Tracey and I (along with my daughter) finally got a chance to stop in and check them out.

The day we showed up at Argilla they had three of their own beers on tap; an IPA, a cream ale and a rye stout.  First, let me say that I found all the beers clean with no off flavors.  It’s important with a place first starting out that their process is tight and clean, and at this point Argilla’s seems to be.  There’s also nothing earth shattering here.  The beers were good, straight forward interpretations of their style, none of which blew me away.  However, I won’t take that as a negative.  They’re just starting out so brewing consistently clean beer is the goal at this point.  They can tweak and play with the product later, once they’re comfortable with their new set up.  And with a 1.5 barrel system, I hope they tweak and play often.

The IPA I ordered was cloudy (expected, Argilla isn’t filtering at this point) with a nice hop aroma but could have benefited from a little more bite in the back end and a tab bit more carbonation I thought.  Normally I believe nitrogen should only be used for stouts.  However the cream ale Tracey ordered reminded me that it works very well with that style as well.  The ale definitely had that creamy, smooth mouth feel and tight head that you’d want in a cream ale plus a nice flavor.  Of the three, the rye stout was my favorite.  The brewery describes it as having chocolate and coffee notes, and indeed they’ve hit that perfectly. I don’t like coffee, so I normally don’t want big coffee flavors in my beer but this wasn’t over powering and played well with the chocolate.  Like I said; three decent, clean beers with not a clunker in the bunch.  Good first impression.

My daughter gave the pizza thumbs up.  She ordered a meatball, roasted garlic and spinach pizza and it arrived promptly and hot.  She thought the sauce was good and that the crust had a nice crunch to it.  But she also felt the pizza was a little thin on the toppings.  What can I say, my daughter loves her toppings, lol.

Sadly this was just a quick stop.  I hope to get back in there soon and hang out a little longer and maybe get a look-see at their set up.  If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know.  In the mean time if you’re in the area, give Argilla Brewing Company a try.  Watching a young brewpub grow into its own is one of the fun things about watching the craft beer scene.  Having one growing in your own backyard is really fun.

Time for another beer….and maybe a slice of pizza….

The Dogs of Beer. That’s our in-house pizza reviewer in the back.

 

Max’s 2012 Belgian Beer Fest

Lisa, Me and Tracey. Notice all the glasses in front of Tracey! And look at me being good with the water (Ok, I don't know where the water came from)

Finally getting around to posting a few words about Max’s Belgian Beer Fest (it was a month ago, man). Don’t know what Max’s Belgian Beer Fest is?  Over 100 Belgian and Belgian style inspired beers on draft.  Over 200 bottles.  Five hand pumped casks.  Three days.  Open to close.  No entrance fee.  Do I need to say more? Good!  See you there next year.  Let’s continue.

As usual Tracey and I arrived Thursday night to enjoy our customary “calm before the storm” night on Fell’s Point. A nice tapas dinner at Adela’s (we’d recommend it although some of the serving sizes would work better for four people than two), and a little bar hopping.

The next morning it begins.  Doors open at 11, but you have to get there a little early because the line to get in can get long.  I woke up and found out via Twitter that the first guy got in line at 6:45.  Yeah, that’s a little TO early.  For most people, standing in line waiting for the doors to open would seem like hell.  But to me after doing it for 5 years it’s actually become a nice time to catch up with fellow beer lovers (DOB Co-founder Chuck was on hand with his group) and make some new friends.  After all it’s a group of beer lovers, it’s pretty easy.

Brian Strumke (right) from Stillwater with his 9L bottle of As Follows.

Not long after securing our place in line we were greeted with a nice surprise.  Some of the staff members came out before opening and handed out a packet to everyone in line.  Each packet contained a draft and bottle list for the three bars, a postcard and a pen.  I almost tossed the card, until the guy explained to me what it was.  On the back was six lines, and next to each line were three boxes you could check; one for sampler, one for glass, one for bottle.  Write the beers you want, check the box for the size you want and hand them to the bartender.  For those of you who might be wondering why this is great, let me paint you a picture of beer ordering in the past.  You’re in a crowded bar, very  crowded, Pamplona running of the bulls crowded and you need to get a beer.  So you wait patiently 5 people deep from the bar until you finally get a bartender’s attention.  “What do you want?” he screams over the drone.  You shout out the beer you want across the masses.  He nods, turns and in a minute brings you your beer.  Easy right?  Yeah, maybe if you’re ordering a Bud but try it with a T’gaverhopke Koerseklakske!  Ummmmm, can I have a few more of those cards, please?

Once the doors opened we were greeted with a second surprise.  Stillwater Artisanal Brewing was there at the door handing out samples of their As Follows poured from a 9L bottle.  With beer in hand we made our way back to our usual spot, the back bar.  It’s actually to the side as you walk in, but whatever.  Surprise three…it’s gone.  Wait..not gone, moved.  We hadn’t really noticed when we were in line, but Max’s got a hold of the small tobacco store next to it and pushed the bar one room back from where it was.  So we got our place at the back bar and let the fun begin….almost….

The only problem with Max’s overall game plan was they didn’t label which bar list was for the upstairs bar and which one was for the back bar (the length of the one for the main bar makes that one obvious even for someone like me).  Add on top of that the fact that there was some overlap between the beers on the two lists and it made for a few rounds of confusion on our bartender Norris’ part.  But once he finally got us all on the same page (see what I did there?) it was indeed time to begin, and the cards worked great – especially at the main bar.

Now for those who have been playing along at home, you know that I do not take detailed notes at beer festivals.  That goes double for a beer festival where I’m not familiar with the beers, don’t have a shot at pronouncing their names and probably won’t see many of them again until next year at Max’s.  Running down my notes and checking out my Untappd feed I can tell you that I enjoyed beers with weird names like: Canaster Winter Scotch by Kleinbrouwerij de Glazen Toren, Zeezuiper by Scheldebrouwerij, Belle-Fleur india pale ale by Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar, Tsjeeses Reserva by De Struise Brouwers, DeGlazen Toren Jan De Lichte, Oud Beersel Framboise, and Noel de Silenrieux.  The only two that I had that I knew were Draak 9000 Quad and Delirium Tremens.  As a side note, Delirium is the beer I always get first when I’m in Max’s while I figure out what my first beer is going to be.  And no, I didn’t type that wrong.

After spending a good portion of the afternoon in Max’s it was time to get out of the crowd and enjoy Fell’s Point.  Bars like Cat’s Eye, Leadbetters, and The Horse You Came In On awaited.  Random fact: the header photograph for this blog was taken by Tracey that day outside the Cat’s Eye.  I’m standing on a set of stairs just outside of a dutch door that you can’t enter the bar through.  I’m enjoying the sights and sounds (and an Acid Marado Maduro cigar) of Fells Point while  my beer is perched on a ledge on the inside of the door for easy convenience.

So if  crowds and unpronounceable beer names don’t scare you, come down to Baltimore next  year for President’s Day weekend and join us.  We’ll be there Friday morning at the back bar.  If you’d like to get a better idea of what to expect, you can check out pictures from this year’s event on Max’s facebook page where the two photos above came from.

Time for another beer…one I can pronounce…

The new card system.

Singing and Drinking – Here’s Good Luck! Good Luck to the Barley Mow!

Let’s be honest here shall we?  Drinking and entertainment just go hand in hand.  Whether that entertainment is music, movies (the sooner my local theater takes my suggestion and puts in a bar, the better off they’ll be), sports, etc, there aren’t many times where the experience can not be made better with a beer in your hand.  But trust those Irish to put a different spin on things.  See, they didn’t gravitate to some form of entertainment and then figure out how to incorporate beer into the equation.  No quite the opposite really, they started with the drinking, and then found a form of entertainment that fit well with it.

While that statement can be said with a little tongue inserted into cheek, the basic premise is true.  In Ireland’s history the focal point of everything was the public house,or pub.  Here men would gather after a busy day and discuss everything from politics to farming to the weather.  Wisps of pipe smoke would circle up to the ceiling while behind the bar, the landlord would fill glass after glass with frothy beer.  But something was missing.  Something that the men could collectively participate in that would bring them together.  Sadly, the flat screen TV and the NFL Network were hundreds of years from being a reality (and not of interest to anyone who lives in Ireland anyway), so they came up with the next best thing – the traditional Irish drinking song.

Now let’s take a moment to reflect on the simplistic brilliance of this.  We’re drinking, and to keep us entertained while we drink, we’re going to sing songs about – drinking!!  It’s like peanut butter and jelly (ok, it’s not).  And although the Irish Drinking Song has not taken the musical world by storm like Adele, there are plenty of examples out there.  Songs like Beer, Beer, Beer; Mountain Dew; Jug Of This; Drink It Up Men; All For Me Grog; The Jug Of Punch;. The Juice Of The Barley; Whiskey You’re the Devil; Johnny Jump Up; Wild Rover; Nancy Whiskey; Seven Drunken Nights; and The Olde Dung Cow all pertain to drinking either beer, whiskey, cider or the hazards associated with consuming them.

One popular drinking song, Whiskey in the Jar (although to be fair the song doesn’t pertain to drinking Whiskey), has even broken into popular music.  The first time being in the early 70s when it was being performed by the Irish rock Band Thin Lizzy.  In 2000, a cover version of the tune won the Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance for the band Metallica

One of my favorites however is the traditional song “The Barley Mow”.  Unlike the rest of the songs in the genre, it’s not simply a song about drinking.  No, it’s a song that causes you to drink while you sing it. The song is cumulative in structure, that is to say each verse is built by adding a new line to the previous verses, think “The 12 Days of Christmas” or “Old McDonald”.  At the end of each verse the line rings out, “Here’s good luck!”  To which the audience shouts “Good luck!” and takes a sip from their drink.  By the time the last verse of the song rolls around, your glass should be near empty because you’re required (yes required damn it, we have strict laws about these things!) to finish whatever is left in your glass.  The subjects of each verse are varied and contain everything from old alcohol measurements to people who work for the pub.  They are as follows (in order they’re used, but grouped for easy explanation):

• the barley mow – Mowed or stacked barley, used in beer production.
• Nipirkin and a round bowl – Nipirkin was 1/8 of a gill.  A round (sometimes song “brown”) bowl is just that.
• gill pot, half a gill, quarter gill – A gill is an outdated unit of alcohol measurement that equals 1/4 of a pint.
• gallon, half gallon, quart pot, pint pot – These should need no explaining.
• barrel, half barrel – Again, these should be obvious.
• the daughter, the landlady, the landlord – The landlord is the owner of the pub. The landlady is his wife.  Daughter should be self explanatory.  She would be a barmaid in the old public house system.
• drayer – The person who transported the beer on a horse cart.
• slavey – The person who worked the odd jobs of the bar.
• bookie – The accountant.
• brewer – The guy who makes the beer.
• company – The brewery.  Although some people like to interpret this as the people gathered in singing the song.

The song requires a touch of that “Irish eloquence” you get from kissing the Blarney stone.  And I’m not going to lie (I’m going to lie), having a few beers before hand to get you started doesn’t hurt (it hurts, you just care less).  So I’ll leave you to practice this song (oh good, homework on a weekend!) so that you’re ready by Saint Patrick’s day.  And I can think of no better person to leave you with than Irish performer Seamus Kennedy, the man who I first saw perform “The Barley Mow”.  Here’s Seamus!……..

Click on picture for video of Seamus Kennedy doing "The Barley Mow"

Beer in Movies – The Quiet Man

Movie Poster for The Quiet Man

It’s March, which means one of my favorite days is coming up – Saint Patrick’s Day.  But not, as you might think, for the same reason that many others enjoy it.  Oh don’t get me wrong, I’ll be getting my drink on but unlike many I shun crowded bars filled with outrageously clad people drinking green beer.  No, my day will be filled with lots of Guinness, traditional Irish music, lamb stew and end as it always does, with a screening of the John Ford classic The Quiet Man.

Released in 1952, The Quiet Man stars John Wayne in an uncommon non-western or non-military role.  The film was such a departure for Wayne and Ford in fact that Republic Pictures only agreed to back the film if they (along with co-star Maureen O’Hara) agreed to do a Western for the company first – Rio Grande.  Another departure from the norm at the time was that the film was shot on location in Ireland and used locals in supporting roles.  The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning Best Director for Ford and Best Cinematography.

Red retaliates by “putting him in his book” (kind of an old Irish version of being on someone’s shit list) and proclaims that Sean will “regret it till his dying day. If ever he should live that long”.

The film tells the story of Sean Thornton, a man born in the Irish town of Innisfree who moves to America as a small child with his mother.  After his mother passes away (and an event happens to him that I won’t spoil for those who have not seen the movie) he decides to return to Ireland to live out his life in the peace and beauty he remembers.  Well it wouldn’t be much of a movie if that happened now would it?  Sean soon comes to odds with ‘Red’ Will Danaher, “a man of Innisfree, and the best man” when Sean outbids him for the right to purchase the land that Sean’s family once owned.  Red retaliates by “putting him in his book” (kind of an old Irish version of being on someone’s shit list) and proclaims that Sean will “regret it till his dying day.  If ever he should live that long”.   Sean’s attempts to find peace are complicated further when he falls for Red’s sister Mary Kate (O’Hara) with whom he attempts to enter in to an official courtship with the assistance of the town character and “match maker” Michaleen Og Flynn (brilliantly played by Barry Fitzgerald).  When Red refuses to let Sean court his sister the movie swings into a series of comical plots and adventures from the locals in the town in an attempt to change Red’s mind.  Tensions continue to build until Sean has had enough, dragging Mary Kate across the Irish country side to finally have it out face-to-face with Red.  A confrontation which culminates into one of the most classic fight scenes ever filmed.

Cinematographers Winton Hoch and Archie Stout are nothing short of brilliant in taking advantage of the movie’s location for the exterior scenes.  Sprawling green (it was the only film Republic Pictures filmed in Technicolor) country sides with stone walls and buildings weave seamlessly with village scenes shot at Ashford and Thoor Ballylee Castles.  All of which are tied together by Victor Young’s stirring sound track which references such lovely melodies as “The Ilse of Innisfree”, “Kerry Dance” and “The Rakes of Mallow” (Fighting Irish fans will recognize this as the Notre Dame fight song) along with traditional songs “Wild Colonial Boy” and “Galway Bay”.

Sean Thornton (Wayne, left) and ‘Red’ Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) engage in a “friendly” hand shake as the men of Innisfree look on.

I love The Quiet Man because it paints a picture of a simpler life.  When a man would work hard all day, and then retire to the local public house, there to enjoy some company, a pipe, and a beer.  And beer figures prominently in the film.  In one scene, after Sean re-introduces himself to the men of Innisfree, he buys a round for everyone in the pub.  First time watchers might miss the funny moment during the scene where Flynn continues to steal pints of porter from the bar as Sean passes them around to the men.

The scene concludes with Flynn having downed several pints, and Sean standing perplexed with an empty glass in his hand.

The scene concludes with Flynn having downed several pints, and Sean standing perplexed with an empty glass in his hand.  And yes you read that sentence correctly; the beer that takes center stage in the movie is porter – not stout.  John Ford must have know that the beer most associated with Ireland, stout, actually got it’s name by the shortening of “stout porter”.  Or indeed, one of the locals may have told him, no one seems to know.  The use of the term in the movie is unusual however because in the time frame that the film takes place the term stout was already widely used.  Maybe it’s simply a matter that Ford thought the word porter sounds better rolling off the tongue of the Irish locals than stout does.  This is not the only reference you’ll find to stout’s roots in Irish media.  In the traditional drinking song “Drink It Up Men”, there’s a line that states, “It’s Guinness’ porter that has me this way.”

Anyway, if you find yourself with nothing to do on St Paddy’s day get yourself a copy of The Quiet Man.  Whether you love the lush Irish countryside, enjoy the humorous characters or are just a John Wayne fan, you won’t be sorry.  Oh, and don’t forget the Guinness (Murphy’s or Beamish can be substituted if you wish) of course.  I usually make sure I have 6 to 8 handy.  But your mileage may vary.

Time for another beer.

Coming Up : Everyone needs a drink for the next post as the purpose of the song I’ll discuss is to consume one whole drink.  I’d recommend a pint of Guinness or such.

Top 10 Myths From DING – and My Thoughts on Them

One of the fun things about beer blogging is reading blogs written by other craft beer fanatics.  You quickly learn that there are many different perspectives on beer, brought on by a  myriad of experiences and backgrounds from the bloggers themselves.  Probably one of the more interesting perspectives you can come across are the citizens of Great Britain who for whatever reason, find themselves transplanted into our country.

One such blog that I come across often is DINGSBEERBLOG.  An English citizen currently “marooned in the beer culture desert that is ‘The South’ of the USA”, he brings an interesting perspective to what can obviously seem like a beer scene running out of control due to American excess.  Back in December he posted an article entitled, ‘Top 10′ myths that the US craft beer fad has perpetuated amongst the newbs, and (most disappointingly), even…amongst those that should know better.  I found his list an interesting summation of current (and sometimes misguided) trends in the craft beer scene and thought I’d add some of my own (unsolicited) thoughts to it.

Let’s start.

10. All craft (non-macro) beer is good, and all local beer is good.

HIM: “Simply put, it isn’t. This of course comes partly out of the general, green mantra surrounding ‘local is always better’ (and as such is not confined to beer), but it is something the newish beer crowd has latched on to and won’t let go.”

ME : I have to agree.  The quality of beer  has no bearing on its proximity to your location.  And as awesome as it is to have a local brewery that you can call your own, don’t automatically assume that beer coming out of it is good.  One of the best examples by me was the now defunct Brandywine Brewing.  Area beer peeps would beam with pride about this brewery.  But their beer sometimes didn’t taste any better than bad malt extract home brew, and when you went to the brewery there would be more people drinking cocktails than beer. tDoB TRUISM #7 – if there are more martini glasses than beer glasses on the bar at  your local brewery, it’s probably not making good beer.

9. It’s wonderful to have more beer in cans.

HIM  :”In short, the container should not overrule the contents – it seems as though too often recently that’s exactly what happens, as people settle for lesser beer simply because it’s canned.”

ME: Disagree.  It IS wonderful to have more beer in cans.  In my mind, Oskar Blues. 21st Amendment, Sierra Nevada and others have greatly increased the availability of GOOD beer in cans.  If people out there are choosing a “lesser beer” just because it’s canned that’s the fault of the people picking the beer, not the canning movement.  Let them pick a better beer, which they can probably still find – in a can.

8. It’s limited, it must be great!

HIM: “Obviously this has been going on for years, but I believe it’s now totally out of control. Hype has reached new levels for countless numbers of beers, that can be replicated and bettered, by simply walking down to your local store and taking something comparable off the shelf.”

ME: I call these “buzz beers”,  beers that create an instant buzz among craft beer drinkers when the brewer announces a release date.  And none of the ones I’ve had have ever really blown me away because let’s face it, at the end of the day, it’s just a beer.  The machine runs well because its got two drive chains behind the hype: the select few who get to gloat that they got one of these beers, and the hoards who are jealous that they did not.  Let the trading begin.

7. Session beer is now gaining popularity in the USA.

HIM: “Errrrrrr, no it isn’t. There’s STILL virtually no, 4% and under beer that you can buy on a regular basis in the USA.”

ME: As I’ve said in comments on other blogs, I’m a little shocked at the recent “war” this topic has started.  CAMRA defines a session beer as anything with an ABV of 4% and under [EDIT: Read DING’s comment below and his post on his thoughts on the definition of session beer].  And (probably sadly) here in America we’re going the “bigger is better” route with our beers.  Lew Bryson in his SessionBeerProject wants to redefine session beers in America as anything with 4.5% or less.   Muddying the issue further is the GABF who, in an act that I believe is pure stupidity, actually defined “session beers” as a beer style – with a top ABV of 5%!  America seems more interested in changing the definition of beer terms rather than brewing good beers that fit within the already existing ones.

6. More is always better (number of breweries and number of beers).

HIM: “The level of growth in the craft industry in the US is simply unsustainable. It’s flooding the market with mediocre and poor beer and shelf space is at a premium more than ever.”

ME: I want to disagree.  I want to. I want to. I want to.  I dream of a world where craft beer owns 95% of the market share.  Where every city, town, and village has a brewery they can call “their own”.  And I wanted a pony for Christmas one year.  And I didn’t get that either.  The only thing I’ll argue with in the above statement is that it’s not poor or mediocre beer that’s making shelf space limited where I shop.  It’s all these people that prefer alcohol lemonades, ice teas, juices and waters.

5. More is always better (taps in bars).

HIM: “Sure, if you want low turnover, and indiscriminate selections. Another old myth that is hanging on, and really says as much about the US psyche of ‘more is always better’ as it says about the beer scene here.”

ME:  It says “always” so I have to agree but let’s focus the blame where it belongs – at the people who run the bars. One of my favorite bars, Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore has 100+ taps and I’ve never had a bad beer there.  That’s because they take their beer very seriously.  Lines are frequently cleaned and if a beer has been on the line too long, they either special it to move it, or remove it if they can’t.   And if they can do it there’s no excuse for a bar with 25 taps not to be able to do the same, especially in the craft beer scene where many beers come in 1/6 kegs, so slow turnover should not be a problem.  Indiscriminate selections?  Again, let’s blame the guy stocking the cellar not the number of taps.

4. Imperial and highly hopped = better.

HIM: “An old, old, old myth in US beer circles that just won’t go away.”

ME:  God I hate the whole “Imperial” crap.  I recently had an Imperial Helles that tasted like hop tea.  No depth, no nuance, just hops.  If in fact it is the brewers who are selling this notion to beer drinkers is far more a testament to their marketing skills, not their brewing skills.  However, having said that I sometimes wonder which tail is wagging which dog.  Are brewers pitching that highly hopped beers are better, or just responding to craft beer drinkers demand for hoppier beers?

3. British beer is undergoing a massive revolution inspired by American brewers.

HIM: “the overwhelming majority of magnificent beer drunk in the UK is traditional in its style, ABV and brewed by low-key brewers that still put substance over style.”

ME : From this side of the pond it must be easy to see a brewery like Brewdog and think, “Man, breweries like that must be popping up all over the UK!”  In truth, on a recent trip to Scotland I only recall Brewdog being predominantly featured in one pub.  In the rest, I found the normal array of traditional beers brewed by traditional breweries like Caledonian and Belhaven; along with well known smaller breweries like Harviestoun.

2. If it’s from a country with a (relatively) new brewing tradition, it MUST be great.

HIM: “First it was Italy, then it was the Scandinavian countries now it’s New Zealand. The fawning over incredibly expensive, ordinary beer is a really only a symptom of the lack of discrimination mentioned above.”

ME: ????  What is this  you speak of?  I guess I’ve fallen out of the foreign beer loop because I’m totally unaware of this.  New Zealand?  Really?  I got nothing….

1. You can put ANY beer in a cask and get a good result.

HIM: “No, no, no, no. NO! The whole POINT of cask presentation is to accentuate the subtle, gentle nuances that occur over a 1, 2 or 3 day period. This relies upon beers being low-hopped, malt forward and relatively low ABV. If you put a 10% Imperial IPA in a cask, you’re missing the WHOLE point.”

ME: I love cask beer.  And I’ve had some nice ones here in America, several of which I’m sure DING would say do NOT belong in a cask.  But, have they been cask beers like you can get in England – no.  And I would say, few people in American who have not traveled outside the states have experienced the awesomeness of true cask beer.  The closest thing I’ve ever had was at the now defunct Highlander Brewery in Manhattan.  When the city told them they couldn’t put brewing equipment in the old building they purchased, they got their beer from Middle Ages Brewing.  They had three beers on cask, a bitter, an OSB and a brown ale.  The bitter just took me back across the pond.  The best example of cask beer I’ve had in America, and most probably as DING points out, because it was a beer who’s profile allows it to work well in a cask. That all being said, Dogfish Head’s 75 Minute IPA is  something I love on cask, and that isn’t going to change.

Well that’s it.  Just some thoughts on another man’s thoughts.  I find DING’s perspective on the American beer scene interesting.  I encourage you to seek out him and other beer bloggers (especially if they’ve come from other countries) to gain a better perspective on how others view the US world of craft beer.

Time for another beer….

The End of Season BBQ Review

Last Season's Shredded Brisket

Ok, I’ve been promising to write this one for awhile, and I thought I’d better get on it before it turned into the “Beginning of the BBQ Season” post.  For any of you keeping score out there, I think of my BBQing in seasons.  The simple reason being that where I live in Delaware, the winters get to cold for me to drive my smoker to the 225 degrees I need to do BBQ.  It’s far easier to do it in the summer when my smoke box is 120 degrees in the sun with no fire in it.  Let’s run down some thoughts and things I’ve learned last season.

First, I seem to have pretty good control of the basic stuff.  Smoking sausage, chicken (especially wings), pork loin, turkey legs and the similar are pretty straight forward.  I still have things I can learn about seasoning and wood selection, but the basic process is pretty straight forward.  Tracey even came across a recipe for smoked round eye that’s now a regular in my smoking rotation.  As to the big stuff like pork shoulder and brisket…

The oven is my friend.  Ok, the thundering noise you hear in the distance is all the BBQ purists running over to my house to beat me to death with a bag of hickory chips.  And look, nothing is more amazing to me then watching BBQ Pitmasters and seeing Myron Mixon pull off a perfect piece of brisket that he’s been cooking all night in the smoker.  But the reality for me is that I don’t have the time or fuel to run my smoker for the 12-15 hours that’s needed to pull that off.  I’m not blessed with groves of hickory or apple trees at my disposal.  The bottom line for me is meat will stop taking smoke around 140 degrees, and with the smoke box at 225, the delta T dictates that to get the meat from 150 to 190 (especially brisket which “pauses” around 154 when cooking) will take more wood than getting the meat from room temp to 140.  I’m sure there is probably a way I could be more effecient in my wood and charcoal use, but I haven’t stumbled upon it yet.  So in the mean time, I start my meat the night before at around 6pm, smoke it till I need to and then place it in a 225 degree oven over night.  By early morning, it’s done and the house smells amazing (take that Yankee Candle Company).  As for those mentioned pieces of meat….

I’ve got the pulled pork thing pretty well down.  I can get two very nice sized pork shoulders in my smoker.  A generous amount of rub and apple wood smoke and we’re good to go.  The oven method above works well, and it’s usually falling apart on its own by the time I pull it out.  I’ve been spritzing the shoulders with apple juice during the cooking, but a bartender at Two Stones, suggest I try apple liquor.  Not only is the apple flavor more intense, but the added sugar makes the pork bark a little sweeter.  It’s on my “to try” list for sure.  Then we move on to….

Brisket.  This is the king of kings here, and I’m close.  The oven method works well here, but when I do it I wrap it in aluminum foil with a little beer or apple juice inside to keep things moist.  What’s been haunting me is controlling the presentation of the final product.  Most times when you see BBQ shows on TV, the brisket is sliced like a london broil.  But in some places where I’ve had it, it’s shredded like a pulled pork (note : not chopped).  The first couple of times I’ve tried it, I ended up with a very nice slicing product.  However, the last time I tried it I let the meat finish at 200 degrees instead of 190.  I found this shredded a lot better.  Whether I’m on to something or it was a happy accident I won’t know till I try it again, so that will be a topic for a later post.  But as we all know, when it comes down to BBQ…..

It’s all about the rub.  I really liked my rub this year.  I made two varieties, my basic (recipe here) and an “island rub” I use for ribs which is my basic rub with some McCormick Grill Masters packets (baja citrus and mojito lime being two of my favorites) in it to give it some citrus flavors.  I’ve tended to change the basic recipe from season to season and I’m sure this year will be no different.  Where I’m going with it I have no idea yet, but I’m thinking of adding some cumin to it and also maybe some type of sugar – which is something I’ve never put in my rubs.  Oh, and did I mention ribs….

This still seems to be my Achilles heel.  Oh, I cook an OK rib.  But the process is inconsistent and they never seem to get done in the time frame I think they should.  Tracey takes this in stride, joking “It’s ok, I’m used to eating ribs at 11pm”, but it would be nice to have this down better.  This is the one case where I try to finish them totally in the smoker (or maybe a little toss on the grill) and leave the oven out of the equation.  This season I may have pass on the pork shoulder a few times and focus on getting my ribs down.

Well that’s about where I am coming off of last season.  My rubs are almost gone (I use them in just about everything) and I recently took stock of my left over charcoal/wood supplies.  Nothing to do now, but wait until spring comes.

Time for another beer….

Absinthe – It Makes the Heart….Oh, Skip it…

The Pirate Alley Cafe and Absinthe House

Ask people if they have heard of Absinthe and a good portion will probably respond, “Isn’t that the stuff that was banned?”  And of course, that’s true.  Absinthe was banned in much of the EU, most notably France in 1914 and banned here in the States until 2007.  But the story behind this fascinating drink, as you may guess, is much more than that.

Absinthe, which traces its origins to Switzerland, is a distilled spirit which can either be green or clear.  It is produced from several plants and herbs, including anise, fennel and grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium).  It is believed to have started as a medicinal drink much in the same way as Jägermeister (and many other herbal drinks) and at one point was given to French troops as a preventative for Malaria.  From those beginnings the popularity of Absinthe spread, especially catching on with the French artisan crowd.  Artists Troulouse Latrec and Vincent Van Gogh were frequent imbibers.  The popularity of the drink grew until by the 1860s, the hour of 5 p.m. was called l’heure verte (“the green hour”) in bars, bistros and cafes across France.  By the time the drink arrived in America in New Orleans, famous people like Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Franklin Roosevelt, Aleister Crowley and Frank Sinatra were drinking it.

Much has been written about the ban of Absinthe.  And to be blunt, most of it is BS.  The popular scapegoat for its ban is a chemical compound called thujone.  In the 1970s the journal Nature published an article that compared the shape of the molecule to that of THC, the primary psychoactive in marijuana.  That’s like saying that a house cat has the same shape as a lion, so both are equally as dangerous.  It’s true that thujone at high levels can cause seizures.  But modern science has shown that the amount of thujone in pre-ban Absinthe was well below harmful levels.  In fact, most were around or below the current FDA mandated 10ppm limit for all imported Absinthes into the USA.  As an aside, another common herb, sage, has far more of the compound in it than wormwood.

The real reason for the ban is far less mind altering.  French wine makers, fearing the rising popularity of the drink, along with backers of the temperance movement started a smear campaign against it (people who have followed the history of marijuana will see some similarities here) blaming it for alignments in drinkers ranging from hallucinations, to seizures, to epilepsy and tuberculosis.  The bohemian writers and artists that enjoyed the drink did not exactly help their cause any by partaking in other activities who’s side effects could be used to support the case – mainly chewing on paintbrushes covered with lead paint and contracting syphilis.  Unfortunately the campaign proved successful, and the drink (specifically any drink made from grande wormwood) began being banned in countries at the start of the 1900s.

And it remained banned in the US until 2007 when the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau lifted it allowing the import of Absinthe into the country – as long as the thujone level was below 10ppm as set by the FDA.  Up to that point the closest thing on the market was a product called Absente, which showed up in 2001.  This product was originally produced with a different variety of wormwood and contained added sugar.  This classified the drink as a liqueur, which is different from the originally produced spirit.  In 2009, as a result of the ban lift, the producers of Absente began making their product with the original grande wormwood.

Our Bartender Demonstrating The Absinthe Fountain

Part of the allure of absinthe is the ritual way in which the drink is prepared, often referred to as “the French method”.  A special slotted spoon is placed on top of a glass and one or two (depending on the absinthe) sugar cubes are placed on the spoon.  The absinthe is then poured over the cubes and allowed to run into the glass.  Once that’s done ice water, usually from an ornate “fountain” with little faucets, is allowed to drip over the sugar and into the absinthe.  The water turns the drink cloudy as it forces compounds in the absinthe that are not water soluble to come out of solution.  This is called the louche, and the fluttering appearance as it first starts is what attributed to the drink being referred to as “the green fairy”.  This release of compounds enhances the herbal nose and taste of the drink beyond that of the neat absinthe, much in the way scotch drinkers will add a little water to their drinks to “open them up.”  This ritual can have slight deviations depending on the absinthe and the bar.  At the Pirates Alley Café and Absinthe House, in New Orleans where Tracey and I were given a master’s class in absinthe drinking, they follow the more bohemian style of preparation by lighting the sugar cubes on fire after the absinthe has been poured and waiting for the flame to extinguish before adding the water.  They feel this gives the absinthe an extra depth of flavor.

The resulting drink is said to be an uplifting tonic that gives you a far more appealing buzz than other alcoholic beverages.  I’m not going to tell you that it’s ready to replace Five Hour Energy Drink on your convenience store shelves, but I will say that we were feeling pretty lively after our studies of this intriguing drink.

So the next time you’re in the mood for something different, seek out the Green Fairy.  Who knows, it may inspire you as it has done so many other great artists in the past.  You may find yourself painting the next great masterpiece.  Just use lead free paint.

Coming up, Chasing Hurricanes around the French Quarter and The Year End BBQ Review.  And yes, I haven’t forgotten that this is a beer blog.  So I’ll be giving some thoughts to DING’s Top 10 Myths on Beer, doing a play by play of the upcoming Belgian Beer Fest at Max’s in Baltimore and, oh what the heck, why not a beer review or two.

Time for another beer….

Ed

The Not So Local Tap : Avenue Pub, New Orleans

Down in the Big Easy for some vacation and fun. And of course it wouldn’t be either without checking out the local beer scene. Every time I did a search for anything beer related one place keep popping up – The Avenue Pub.

Located a bit outside the French Quarter, the Avenue Pub still has the outside appearance of what you’d expect from a French Quarter bar. The building has an old time rustic look with a second floor balcony reminiscent of those in the FQ. And for the most part the feel of the place is the same once you step inside – almost.

Avenue Pub sports 50 taps. Most of them downstairs with 9 or so up on the balcony. It’s one of those places that takes you a few minutes to figure out how things work, but once you do it’s all good.

The draft list is very good, with a balanced selection of local beers and craft beers from around the US. I couldn’t get a great sense for the norm in that area however, because the day we walked in a good portion of the taps were taken up by a Swedish beer tasting. Yeah, that’s right, we traveled to New Orleans and walked into a Swedish beer tasting. But that just confirms what I suspected, that the Avenue Pub is doing beer right.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, just look around and go to the big sign that reads “Order Food Here”. The menu is chalked full of southern classics and a few items with a twist to them. When your food is ready, they shout your name to come and get it. Napkins and cutlery? You didn’t see the two tubs and the roll of paper towels by the door when you walked in? Like I said, the place takes a minute to figure out.

As for the beers, you’ll have to check out my Untappd or Twitter feed for those long complicated Swedish ones. I’m currently typing this from a deck chair on a ship sailing for Jamaica, so I’m not taking the time to look them up. Of the NOLA brewing beers we tried, the Blonde was really good but I thought their 7th Street Wheat could have had a little more flavor, but was still good. But I really enjoyed their Channel Stout with its dry roasty finish, in a “to go” cup as we walked back to the hotel. Because after all, this is New Orleans!

I’d highly recommend a stop to the Avenue pub if you’re staying in New Orleans. If you’re staying near the French Quarter it’s a bit of a trip, but the St Charles Street Trolley car will take you down to it.

Time for amother beer.

The Bar at the Avenue Pub

To Die For Fries – Waffle Fries with a Cheddar Beshamel Sauce with Jalepenos.

Overrated?

Overrated? Me? Seriously?

On January 8th a user on Beer Advocate posted a question in their forums: “What brewery out there gets too much hype for what they bring to the table? My money goes to Dogfish Head. Their IPAs are solid but most of their “big” beers really aren’t anything special and some are downright bad.”  From this post began what started out as an interesting discussion on breweries people thought were overrated.  And most of the comments were focused on the only metric I believe you can rate a brewery on when having this discussion – price.

After all when it comes to flavor, no brewery gets it 100% right.  People have different tastes, and different opinions on what they’re looking for in certain beers.  And although you might think a brewery’s IPA nails it for you, their porter might leave you lacking.  But if others are drinking it, can you honestly say they missed the mark on it?  Maybe from a BJCP point of view if the beer truly isn’t a porter, but for the every day craft beer lover who just has an idea what flavor profile he likes in a porter, I don’t think so.

The debate continued to escalate as well known breweries like Founders, DFH, Avery, Rogue, Stone and Southern Tier got thrown onto the pile.  Comments like “…that’s not what I’m looking for in a DIPA” and …”their big beers are a mess” started to pop up.  And the thread continued to grow until one man decided he’d had enough.  And that man was Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head brewery.  You can read this post here.  And I encourage you to do so.  Because although I don’t agree with some of the comments he makes up front, the basic message of, “That doesn’t mean the one you didn’t prefer sucked. And the breweries you don’t prefer but are growing don’t suck either. Respect Beer.“, is a damn good one.  Let’s face it, most people in craft beer world are pretty knowledgeable so if a brewery truly sucks it probably won’t be around very long, let alone grow into well known entity like Rogue or Stones.

Reading through the thread at Beer Advocate I believe some people have lost sight of why they started drinking craft beer to begin with.  It’s supposed to be fun, the joy of finding new things, or as LyricsLibationsandLife says, The Thrill of the Hunt.  But I think some people have gotten to caught up in their own ratings.  It’s all become a numbers thing now.  If a popular brewery puts out 6 beers and they rate one of them a 5 and the rest 2’s, some seem to focus more on the low ranked beers rather then talk about the one they like.  However, I can’t completely dump on the negative responders.  After all, the question was asked.  It’s only natural to answer if you have an opinion on the subject.

So is DFH (or any other craft brewery) overrated in my mind?  I’m on record with my friends as not being a strong DFH fan so it would be easy for me to fall into that trap.  But I prefer to look at it another way, if DFH were NOT around then I definitely would miss not having Theobroma, Burton Baton and 75 minute IPA on cask.  I’ll leave the “overrated” debate to the masses over at Beer Advocate.  I’m just here for good beer.

And on that note – time for another beer.  Probably one from one of those “overrated” breweries everyone is on about…