I encourage everyone to read CAMRA Vancouver President Paddy Treavor's post here:
http://eastsidebeer.blogspot.ca/2012/09/me-wuv-yam-fries.html
Much like Dennis Miller, I don't want to get off on a rant here... so I'll keep this short or I might blow a fuse.
Beer enthusiasts, we must not become like this. As much as we are not stereotypical pot-bellied, macro-swilling yokels (at least not all of us), we must not become socially exclusive, condescending, arrogant faux-sophisticates as the parallel wine stereotype specifies.
I don't think I can add much to what Paddy has already pointed out - the behaviour of this wine snob fellow speaks for itself.
Those who appreciate good beer also appreciate good wine and good food, and they tend to frequent establishments that provide the same. I am not much of a boycotter (except for The Brick, which I have not stepped foot in since 1997, but that's another story). I had heard good things about The Sardine Can in particular, and was keen to try it out in the near future. However, in good conscience I cannot attend restaurants whose ownership displays a negative or dismissive attitude to a huge demographic of potential customers, especially a demographic that seems centered around, well, me.
Ignorance is one thing. Vigorous, purposeful ignorance in the face of contrary facts, coupled with arrogance and elitism, is quite another to me.
Beer people: keep it friendly, keep it accessible, but don't for one minute think there is any less quality, versatility, art, romance or value in your chosen type of beverage than there is in wine or similarly fine tipples. Anyone who suggests all beer is swill either doesn't know what he/she is talking about (and thus presents an opportunity to be educated about beer), or is an aloof prick who drinks for status rather than sensory pleasure, and is best left to his/her insular world of appearances and insecurity.
That is all.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Some Thoughts on Tasting Room Beer Service
One of the unfortunate effects of the dominance and commoditization of macro lager (big-name light-coloured beer like Bud, Kokanee, Canadian, Heineken, etc.) has been a proliferation of bad serving practices. If you're serving less-flavourful and very cold beer with almost no head formation (i.e. macro lager), dumping it into any old glass isn't the end of the world. But if you want to make sure more flavourful beers aren't harmed or even ruined, you need to serve them properly. And that takes some knowledge and skill.
I can't provide a whole primer on proper beer service here. Though everyone - especially beer servers - should read and understand this very helpful tip sheet from the American Brewers Association draught quality website about serving beer. Excellent stuff. If you are a publican with a draught system, you should consult the full Draught Quality Manual.
But I do have a couple of thoughts on brewery tasting room practices. For example, here's a nice little tasting room. What could be better?
The three tubs are cleaner (soap) for washing, water for rinsing, followed by sanitizer for, well, sanitizing. Sanitizers are not rinsed - the glasses should be allowed to air dry for ultimate cleanliness. There are many types of sanitizer, but the cheapest/most common are chlorine-based (e.g. bleach). Chlorine smells and tastes quite strong, so unless your mix is very dilute, you risk having unpleasant chlorine aromas and flavours make their way into your beer.
In this case, the chlorine sanitizer mix was pretty strong. Beyond potential glassware issues, look at the placement of the sinks - right under the noses of patrons sitting at the bar. What is their beer going to smell like? Yes, chlorine. Plus, there was a lot of sanitizer dripping onto the glass drip trays, also right beside the bar, providing more surface area for the chlorine to evaporate and enter the beer drinkers nostrils. Also, it appeared that the bar might have been regularly wiped down with overly-strong chlorine sanitizer, also adding to the chlorine fumes. Further, the glasses were pulled off the drying rack and filled before they were dry. Even with a quick cold-water spray to remove residual sanitizer from the inside, the outside of the glass was still wet with sanitizer, which ran down the glasses and pooled on the bar, right under the beer drinkers' noses. End result? Unless you ran to the other side off the room, your beer smelled (and tasted) at least somewhat of chlorine.
Lesson? Spend money on better, non-chlorine sanitizers. Place your glass cleaning station at the back of the bar, away from drinkers' noses. Follow through on proper glass cleaning practices. Don't overdose on the sanitizer additions. To make your life easier, get an automatic glass washer and maintain it properly.
This tasting room sold growlers of draught beer to go. The growlers were clear glass, not the usual brown glass.
At first glance, this would seem to be a terrible practice, as beer in clear or green glass bottles is very quickly and easily skunked when exposed to ultraviolet light. (UV light reacts with hop chemicals, creating mercaptans - skunk aromas and flavours. Brown or opaque bottles block blue/UV light - clear and green bottles don't.)
But on second thought, I'm OK with it. You need to keep your growler cold and drink it within a few days, at most a couple of weeks. So you're going to take it right to your car and wrap it in a blanket in the trunk, or put it in a cooler - both dark. Then you're going to keep it in a dark fridge until you drink it. So there's really not much opportunity for the beer to skunk.
However, it doesn't matter what colour your growler is if your beer is already flat or oxidized (stale). Let's see a growler being filled at this tasting room.
The goals in filling a growler are to avoid foaming/splashing the beer much (you lose carbonation and it oxidizes the beer), and to push out all the air/oxygen you can (again, avoiding oxidation). In this kind of setup, you attach a tube to the draught faucet that goes all the way to the bottom of the growler. That way you fill from the bottom of the growler, minimizing foaming and splashing.
This tube didn't appear to quite reach the bottom, so there was some foam being produced. But more importantly, in a mistaken attempt to fill the growler slowly (and minimize foam production), the server only cracked the faucet open 1/2 way. This is a big no-no, as it causes turbulence in the beer stream and a lot of foam, as you can see in the above photo. The problem she was trying to avoid she was, in fact, making worse.
While the above growler is way too foamy, you want a bit of foam to rise at the end of the fill and overflow just a bit. This is "capping on foam," which is a good way of making sure that carbon dioxide bubbles (foam) push out all the air in the growler (air contains oxygen), avoiding oxidation. In the above fill, the server had a huge amount of foam overflow before the growler was actually full of liquid beer; in addition to the problems listed above, this is a waste of beer that will add up over time and cut into the brewery's profits.
Unfortunately, pints and especially taster glasses were being filled the same way - with a 1/2 open faucet at the end in an attempt to pour more "gently" and avoid foam, but which just created a lot of foam. To pour extremely full glasses of beer, the server was pouring off most of this head several times per glass - both wasting beer AND only providing a thin wisp of head (so the beers lacked aroma). Finally, to avoid producing "too much" head at the last minute (due to beer falling "too far" from the faucet to the glass), the server also dunked the faucet spout into the beer as it topped off - an unsanitary no-no that drives me nuts. Read the primer on beer service at the links above!
Lesson? Get a tube that goes from your faucets to the very bottom of growlers. Open the tap all the way, always. Create a bit of foam at the very end of the pour so that the growler just overflows, and cap on foam. Make sure the beer is properly carbonated. Make sure the beer and glassware are at the proper (cool, not freezing) temperatures.
If you want to see the ultimate in growler-filling technology, get a fill at the Parallel 49 tasting room in East Vancouver. They have a very high-tech growler filler, complete with lights and a blast shield. :-) Growlers are first purged with carbon dioxide, then counter-pressure filled (pressure inside the bottle is equalized with keg pressure, resulting in no foam). I've heard fills of properly-cleaned growlers on this system can be good for weeks if kept refrigerated, with no serious degradation in beer quality.
So, pouring beer isn't as simple as one would think, is it? If your beer isn't served properly, say something to the server or the manager. If they don't make it right, you should "vote with your wallet." In BC, craft beer is too expensive to tolerate substandard serving practices.
I can't provide a whole primer on proper beer service here. Though everyone - especially beer servers - should read and understand this very helpful tip sheet from the American Brewers Association draught quality website about serving beer. Excellent stuff. If you are a publican with a draught system, you should consult the full Draught Quality Manual.
But I do have a couple of thoughts on brewery tasting room practices. For example, here's a nice little tasting room. What could be better?
Glassware Cleaning
Let's look a little closer at the bar area. On the left is a three-tub sink for glass cleaning and sanitation. (See the section on glass cleaning in the Draught Quality Manual at DraughtQuality.org.)
The three tubs are cleaner (soap) for washing, water for rinsing, followed by sanitizer for, well, sanitizing. Sanitizers are not rinsed - the glasses should be allowed to air dry for ultimate cleanliness. There are many types of sanitizer, but the cheapest/most common are chlorine-based (e.g. bleach). Chlorine smells and tastes quite strong, so unless your mix is very dilute, you risk having unpleasant chlorine aromas and flavours make their way into your beer.
In this case, the chlorine sanitizer mix was pretty strong. Beyond potential glassware issues, look at the placement of the sinks - right under the noses of patrons sitting at the bar. What is their beer going to smell like? Yes, chlorine. Plus, there was a lot of sanitizer dripping onto the glass drip trays, also right beside the bar, providing more surface area for the chlorine to evaporate and enter the beer drinkers nostrils. Also, it appeared that the bar might have been regularly wiped down with overly-strong chlorine sanitizer, also adding to the chlorine fumes. Further, the glasses were pulled off the drying rack and filled before they were dry. Even with a quick cold-water spray to remove residual sanitizer from the inside, the outside of the glass was still wet with sanitizer, which ran down the glasses and pooled on the bar, right under the beer drinkers' noses. End result? Unless you ran to the other side off the room, your beer smelled (and tasted) at least somewhat of chlorine.
Lesson? Spend money on better, non-chlorine sanitizers. Place your glass cleaning station at the back of the bar, away from drinkers' noses. Follow through on proper glass cleaning practices. Don't overdose on the sanitizer additions. To make your life easier, get an automatic glass washer and maintain it properly.
Growlers
This tasting room sold growlers of draught beer to go. The growlers were clear glass, not the usual brown glass.
At first glance, this would seem to be a terrible practice, as beer in clear or green glass bottles is very quickly and easily skunked when exposed to ultraviolet light. (UV light reacts with hop chemicals, creating mercaptans - skunk aromas and flavours. Brown or opaque bottles block blue/UV light - clear and green bottles don't.)
But on second thought, I'm OK with it. You need to keep your growler cold and drink it within a few days, at most a couple of weeks. So you're going to take it right to your car and wrap it in a blanket in the trunk, or put it in a cooler - both dark. Then you're going to keep it in a dark fridge until you drink it. So there's really not much opportunity for the beer to skunk.
However, it doesn't matter what colour your growler is if your beer is already flat or oxidized (stale). Let's see a growler being filled at this tasting room.
The goals in filling a growler are to avoid foaming/splashing the beer much (you lose carbonation and it oxidizes the beer), and to push out all the air/oxygen you can (again, avoiding oxidation). In this kind of setup, you attach a tube to the draught faucet that goes all the way to the bottom of the growler. That way you fill from the bottom of the growler, minimizing foaming and splashing.
This tube didn't appear to quite reach the bottom, so there was some foam being produced. But more importantly, in a mistaken attempt to fill the growler slowly (and minimize foam production), the server only cracked the faucet open 1/2 way. This is a big no-no, as it causes turbulence in the beer stream and a lot of foam, as you can see in the above photo. The problem she was trying to avoid she was, in fact, making worse.
While the above growler is way too foamy, you want a bit of foam to rise at the end of the fill and overflow just a bit. This is "capping on foam," which is a good way of making sure that carbon dioxide bubbles (foam) push out all the air in the growler (air contains oxygen), avoiding oxidation. In the above fill, the server had a huge amount of foam overflow before the growler was actually full of liquid beer; in addition to the problems listed above, this is a waste of beer that will add up over time and cut into the brewery's profits.
Unfortunately, pints and especially taster glasses were being filled the same way - with a 1/2 open faucet at the end in an attempt to pour more "gently" and avoid foam, but which just created a lot of foam. To pour extremely full glasses of beer, the server was pouring off most of this head several times per glass - both wasting beer AND only providing a thin wisp of head (so the beers lacked aroma). Finally, to avoid producing "too much" head at the last minute (due to beer falling "too far" from the faucet to the glass), the server also dunked the faucet spout into the beer as it topped off - an unsanitary no-no that drives me nuts. Read the primer on beer service at the links above!
Lesson? Get a tube that goes from your faucets to the very bottom of growlers. Open the tap all the way, always. Create a bit of foam at the very end of the pour so that the growler just overflows, and cap on foam. Make sure the beer is properly carbonated. Make sure the beer and glassware are at the proper (cool, not freezing) temperatures.
If you want to see the ultimate in growler-filling technology, get a fill at the Parallel 49 tasting room in East Vancouver. They have a very high-tech growler filler, complete with lights and a blast shield. :-) Growlers are first purged with carbon dioxide, then counter-pressure filled (pressure inside the bottle is equalized with keg pressure, resulting in no foam). I've heard fills of properly-cleaned growlers on this system can be good for weeks if kept refrigerated, with no serious degradation in beer quality.
So, pouring beer isn't as simple as one would think, is it? If your beer isn't served properly, say something to the server or the manager. If they don't make it right, you should "vote with your wallet." In BC, craft beer is too expensive to tolerate substandard serving practices.
Playing Catchup - Summary Summery Brewery Encounters Part II
Summer brewery highlights, continued...
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a legendary night of hospitality, smoked meat and endless tasty homebrew and commercial beer at my friend Neil's place in Calgary. While there, another Calgary homebrewing friend Corey put me in email contact with the brewer at Jasper Brewing. Dave Mozel took a good hour out of his busy day to chat, share a beer and show off the operation.
Great beer and good people at Jasper brewing - a must-visit while in the park. They also own Banff Avenue brewing in Banff.
Even Smithers, BC has a brewery! Plan B started off as a two-man operation, and is now a one-man show: Mark Gillis does it all. How he still has time to play Ultimate and raise three kids with his wife, I'll never know.
Mark was very generous with his time, and poured sizable samples for Mrs. Hoplog and I to share. I particularly enjoyed the Brown Ale and the Stout. The IPA is on the sweet side, which apparently works well for many northern palettes (used to beer from Pacific Western Brewing, etc.) - I see it softening the hoppiness and bitterness of the IPA.
Plan B sells 1 litre swing tops, and is now bottling in 650 mL bottles as well. The beers are available at various restaurants in Smithers, and along Highway 16 in northern BC, including as far away as Prince Rupert.
I always assumed that people drink local craft beer because it tastes better than macro light lagers, and that the "local" nature of a brewery was a nice-to-have for people in big cities. However, Mark said that many people in Smithers come to the brewery saying, "well, I usually drink Canadian/Kokanee/etc, and I don't know if I'll like your beer, but you're local and I want to support people like you in my community so I'll buy some." Nicely done Smithers, keep it real.
Plan B is small enough that plastic wine-style fermenters are used. Despite their drawbacks, stainless steel would be prohibitively expensive at these volumes.
Kulshan is a new brewery in Bellingham, WA, just down the street from Trader Joe's in a largely residential neighbourhood. It appears to be seeing excellent local support, despite not having a kitchen. It is a brewery (not a brewpub) whose "tasting room" is pub-sized, with a large outdoor patio. They provide beer, and food trucks park there most nights if you want a bite to eat.
Port Townsend, WA is a very charming Victorian town on the west side of Puget Sound, well worth a visit. It also sports a small brewery down by the marina/shipyards.
Port Townsend Brewing has a beer garden at the back, and a nicely-appointed tasting room at the front. A constant parade of locals marched through for growler refills; they seemed to be doing a brisk business. The beer was decent, though service was clearly oriented towards locals and growler-fillers while touristy tasters (yours truly) seemed, well, tolerated. (Might have been the server on duty that day.) Growler-filling practices weren't the best (for that matter, neither were glass-filling techniques), but it was nice to taste the local flavour anyway. I'd probably try to hit a day when there was a band playing in the beer garden, as the lack of interaction in the tasting room meant I spent my time mostly staring at the wall.
I wanted Port Angeles, WA to be a pleasant surprise. But it wasn't. They're trying to get people to reverse-visit from Victoria, BC via the ferry, but aside from a couple of blocks of revitalized downtown, it's a pretty standard industry town lining the highway. The crowd of people waving placards reading "Illegal Aliens Are Illegal" to all the cars entering town also didn't make this non-American feel all that warm and fuzzy. (And since when is Port Angeles an epicenter of illegal immigration?)
However, it has at least two small breweries! Well done for a small and relatively remote town.
Mrs. Hoplog and I first visited Barhop Brewing (middle of September, 2012). The sign proclaiming Best Nano-Brewery 2011 (by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) was very promising - I've loved nanobreweries ever since visiting Hess in San Diego.
Even better, check out the below sign - I love homebrewers who make the leap to commercial production. (Maybe they got their start running the homebrew shop just around the corner on the same block?)
The brewery only had three beers on tap that day, so we started with a taster - their three brews plus a Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale. The room had a few people in it - moderately busy, a good sign.
Then I tasted the beers. Oh God. You've got to be kidding me. I strongly encourage everyone to brew regardless of their skill level, and I especially like the small guys. But you cannot charge people for beers in this condition.
Blonde: before even tasting, both Mrs. Hoplog and I could smell sourness. There was an obvious, out-of-place sourness that does not belong in a blonde ale - this is a crossover beer that is supposed to help macro light lager drinkers get into your beer, and they would not appreciate such a "surprise" sour beer. Likely a sanitation issue. You might get away with serving this to smokers or people who don't taste what they're drinking, but it's a risk.
IPA: obvious yeast health and/or sanitation and/or premature serving issue. Phenolic, slightly "green" struggling-yeast flavours mowed down most hop flavours. This beer had major issues, did not taste good, and should not have been served.
Brown: light chestnut colour, but completely murky and opaque. Very strong sick/struggling yeast flavours, lost of yeast taste and mouthfeel, almost certainly served very prematurely (before completion of fermentation) in addition to likely sanitation issues. I just can't mince words - this beer was horrendous, and there is no way it should have been served.
Deschutes Twilight: just fine, as always.
There must be some brewing skill at Barhop, but whatever quality control practices they have - if any - failed miserably around the time of our visit. I don't care what financial pressures you're under, or how rushed you are for new product, or whatever - you simply cannot serve severely flawed beer like that to the public. You might get away with it for a while, serving to people who are used to turning off their tastebuds and swallowing whatever is in front of them, but I can't imagine how most people could get through more than a few sips of the IPA or the Brown as I tasted them.
Plus, reputation is everything when you're a small brewer. What if the wrong people hit a couple of bad and/or premature batches that were served rather than thrown out? I wouldn't think you could afford to serve the bad stuff, though admittedly I'm not a commercial brewer.
Given the 2011 award Barhop won, either they are the only nano brewery in NW Washington, or they normally don't have the quality control issues I ran into. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, if I visit again, I'm going to make sure I get a free sample before actually committing to a purchase.
Next, we walked up the street to Peaks Brewpub. It's a bar that installed a wee brewery several years ago, and has been serving their own brews along with some other craft beer and macro beers.
This little place is authentic. Super blue-collar, dingy in a well-worn kind of way, off-colour jokes on the walls, a pool table and sports on the TVs. However, they have many of their own beers on tap - an amazing treat in such a traditional bar. And several middle-aged people hanging around the pool table were talking about homebrewing. (They spoke with great authority about incorrect brewing techniques, but still, they were brewers, and good on them. Let there be beer!) The staff was friendly and efficient, even the new 21-year-old female bartender who tried to graciously fend off the suggestive taunts of the old-enough-to-be-her-grandfather guys at the bar.
Peaks had some interesting beers, including a very gingery spruce tip beer, and an Old Ale style brew. The beers all tended to be a bit sweet, but maybe this is their "house character," or a side effect of the tiny brewing space/equipment at the rear of the bar.
Peaks has room to grow and improve, but they're doing a good job with what they have, and are worth a visit if you find yourself in Port Angeles. Their beers had no glaringly obvious fermentation or sanitation issues, which automatically meant it was a massive step up from our Barhop experience.
Jasper Brewing
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a legendary night of hospitality, smoked meat and endless tasty homebrew and commercial beer at my friend Neil's place in Calgary. While there, another Calgary homebrewing friend Corey put me in email contact with the brewer at Jasper Brewing. Dave Mozel took a good hour out of his busy day to chat, share a beer and show off the operation.
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| Lovely setting with views of historic Jasper train station and mountains |
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| Ingredients and vital statistics posted for all beers |
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| Grain room. Yum. |
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| Assistant brewer, Mrs. Hoplog and brewer Dave |
Great beer and good people at Jasper brewing - a must-visit while in the park. They also own Banff Avenue brewing in Banff.
Plan B Brewing
Even Smithers, BC has a brewery! Plan B started off as a two-man operation, and is now a one-man show: Mark Gillis does it all. How he still has time to play Ultimate and raise three kids with his wife, I'll never know.
Mark was very generous with his time, and poured sizable samples for Mrs. Hoplog and I to share. I particularly enjoyed the Brown Ale and the Stout. The IPA is on the sweet side, which apparently works well for many northern palettes (used to beer from Pacific Western Brewing, etc.) - I see it softening the hoppiness and bitterness of the IPA.
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| The sweet full-sized Blichmann brewing system, located about 8 feet from the tasting counter. Very small for a commercial brewery, but a homebrewer's wet dream |
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| Tasting bar |
Plan B sells 1 litre swing tops, and is now bottling in 650 mL bottles as well. The beers are available at various restaurants in Smithers, and along Highway 16 in northern BC, including as far away as Prince Rupert.
I always assumed that people drink local craft beer because it tastes better than macro light lagers, and that the "local" nature of a brewery was a nice-to-have for people in big cities. However, Mark said that many people in Smithers come to the brewery saying, "well, I usually drink Canadian/Kokanee/etc, and I don't know if I'll like your beer, but you're local and I want to support people like you in my community so I'll buy some." Nicely done Smithers, keep it real.
Plan B is small enough that plastic wine-style fermenters are used. Despite their drawbacks, stainless steel would be prohibitively expensive at these volumes.
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| In the fermentation/conditioning room. Only enough room (and temperature control) to do ales at the moment. |
Kulshan Brewing
Kulshan is a new brewery in Bellingham, WA, just down the street from Trader Joe's in a largely residential neighbourhood. It appears to be seeing excellent local support, despite not having a kitchen. It is a brewery (not a brewpub) whose "tasting room" is pub-sized, with a large outdoor patio. They provide beer, and food trucks park there most nights if you want a bite to eat.
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| An instantly-popular, family-friendly neighbourhood pub. Do you see this, NIMBY Vancouver people? It's not the Granville strip, it's a hub of community activity. |
Port Townsend Brewing
Port Townsend, WA is a very charming Victorian town on the west side of Puget Sound, well worth a visit. It also sports a small brewery down by the marina/shipyards.
Port Townsend Brewing has a beer garden at the back, and a nicely-appointed tasting room at the front. A constant parade of locals marched through for growler refills; they seemed to be doing a brisk business. The beer was decent, though service was clearly oriented towards locals and growler-fillers while touristy tasters (yours truly) seemed, well, tolerated. (Might have been the server on duty that day.) Growler-filling practices weren't the best (for that matter, neither were glass-filling techniques), but it was nice to taste the local flavour anyway. I'd probably try to hit a day when there was a band playing in the beer garden, as the lack of interaction in the tasting room meant I spent my time mostly staring at the wall.
Port Angeles - Barhop Brewing and Peak Brewpub
I wanted Port Angeles, WA to be a pleasant surprise. But it wasn't. They're trying to get people to reverse-visit from Victoria, BC via the ferry, but aside from a couple of blocks of revitalized downtown, it's a pretty standard industry town lining the highway. The crowd of people waving placards reading "Illegal Aliens Are Illegal" to all the cars entering town also didn't make this non-American feel all that warm and fuzzy. (And since when is Port Angeles an epicenter of illegal immigration?)
However, it has at least two small breweries! Well done for a small and relatively remote town.
Mrs. Hoplog and I first visited Barhop Brewing (middle of September, 2012). The sign proclaiming Best Nano-Brewery 2011 (by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) was very promising - I've loved nanobreweries ever since visiting Hess in San Diego.
Even better, check out the below sign - I love homebrewers who make the leap to commercial production. (Maybe they got their start running the homebrew shop just around the corner on the same block?)
The brewery only had three beers on tap that day, so we started with a taster - their three brews plus a Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale. The room had a few people in it - moderately busy, a good sign.
Then I tasted the beers. Oh God. You've got to be kidding me. I strongly encourage everyone to brew regardless of their skill level, and I especially like the small guys. But you cannot charge people for beers in this condition.
Blonde: before even tasting, both Mrs. Hoplog and I could smell sourness. There was an obvious, out-of-place sourness that does not belong in a blonde ale - this is a crossover beer that is supposed to help macro light lager drinkers get into your beer, and they would not appreciate such a "surprise" sour beer. Likely a sanitation issue. You might get away with serving this to smokers or people who don't taste what they're drinking, but it's a risk.
IPA: obvious yeast health and/or sanitation and/or premature serving issue. Phenolic, slightly "green" struggling-yeast flavours mowed down most hop flavours. This beer had major issues, did not taste good, and should not have been served.
Brown: light chestnut colour, but completely murky and opaque. Very strong sick/struggling yeast flavours, lost of yeast taste and mouthfeel, almost certainly served very prematurely (before completion of fermentation) in addition to likely sanitation issues. I just can't mince words - this beer was horrendous, and there is no way it should have been served.
Deschutes Twilight: just fine, as always.
There must be some brewing skill at Barhop, but whatever quality control practices they have - if any - failed miserably around the time of our visit. I don't care what financial pressures you're under, or how rushed you are for new product, or whatever - you simply cannot serve severely flawed beer like that to the public. You might get away with it for a while, serving to people who are used to turning off their tastebuds and swallowing whatever is in front of them, but I can't imagine how most people could get through more than a few sips of the IPA or the Brown as I tasted them.
Plus, reputation is everything when you're a small brewer. What if the wrong people hit a couple of bad and/or premature batches that were served rather than thrown out? I wouldn't think you could afford to serve the bad stuff, though admittedly I'm not a commercial brewer.
Given the 2011 award Barhop won, either they are the only nano brewery in NW Washington, or they normally don't have the quality control issues I ran into. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, if I visit again, I'm going to make sure I get a free sample before actually committing to a purchase.
Next, we walked up the street to Peaks Brewpub. It's a bar that installed a wee brewery several years ago, and has been serving their own brews along with some other craft beer and macro beers.
This little place is authentic. Super blue-collar, dingy in a well-worn kind of way, off-colour jokes on the walls, a pool table and sports on the TVs. However, they have many of their own beers on tap - an amazing treat in such a traditional bar. And several middle-aged people hanging around the pool table were talking about homebrewing. (They spoke with great authority about incorrect brewing techniques, but still, they were brewers, and good on them. Let there be beer!) The staff was friendly and efficient, even the new 21-year-old female bartender who tried to graciously fend off the suggestive taunts of the old-enough-to-be-her-grandfather guys at the bar.
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| Tasters! |
Peaks had some interesting beers, including a very gingery spruce tip beer, and an Old Ale style brew. The beers all tended to be a bit sweet, but maybe this is their "house character," or a side effect of the tiny brewing space/equipment at the rear of the bar.
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| Peak's wee brewing space |
Peaks has room to grow and improve, but they're doing a good job with what they have, and are worth a visit if you find yourself in Port Angeles. Their beers had no glaringly obvious fermentation or sanitation issues, which automatically meant it was a massive step up from our Barhop experience.
Playing Catchup - Summary Summery Brewery Encounters
Still playing catch-up with some point-form highlights of this summer's brewery visits...
Bend Ale Trail and Deschutes
- Bend, Oregon is a must-visit for any who loves good beer and great outdoor activities. It's sunny, a true outdoors mecca in the eastern foothills of the Cascades, and has at least a dozen craft breweries within city limits - though the population is only 80,000! Very highly recommended - you can stand-up paddle board or float on a tube down the lovely Deschutes river through the middle of town, parks and walking trails on both sides, and be in a craft beer pub seconds later.
- Mrs. Hoplog and I completed the Bend Ale Trail - a list of 10 craft breweries in Bend (one is in nearby Sisters), which is a great way to visit the beer highlights in the area. All are walkable from downtown (except for Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters, which is well worth the drive for their excellent beer and great food).
- Deschutes Brewing, the fifth-largest craft brewer in the United States, is located in Bend (just across the river and up the hill from REI). It has the best brewery tour I've yet been on: an hour long, decently in-depth without being overwhelming, knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides, free samples, and a wonderful, laid-back, inclusive feel while viewing the gleaming, bright new facilities. Oh, and the beer is fantastic, as is their large brewpub in downtown Bend. Deschutes is a large craft brewer that has it 100% together in my book.
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| Tasters at Deschutes' pub in downtown Bend |
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| Huge bales of whole leaf hops at Deschutes. They ship something like 3 million bottles of beer per week, yet quality remains excellent |
- Bendistillery, a well-recognized craft distiller, is midway between Bend and Sisters. It's worth a stop. The smell of fresh habaneros and bell peppers steeping in vodka is certainly unique.
- Trailerable meat smokers are a big thing in town. This one is parked (somewhat permanently) outside 10 Barrel Brewing:
- Bend is also home of mobile, pedal-powered craft beer bars.
Rogue: Brewery and Farm
- First, Rogue makes some excellent beer, and good on them for being craft beer pioneers.
- Having said that, after visiting Rogue, I came away with a worse impression than before I visited. Why? Many little things, but I think it can be summed up as "attitude."
- Rogue cultivates an image of being independent and going their own way. Unfortunately, that seems to extend to customers - if you're not happy to receive mediocre service and pay a significant premium at their brewery or Newport brewpub, you can take a hike, because Rogue is independent and you're either with that or against it. I guess I'm supposed to feel privileged to give them my money?
- The attitude also seems to permeate employees, who seem less helpful and more unhappy than at most craft breweries I've visited.
- If, after visiting the Newport headquarters, you give them the benefit of the doubt and take the time and expense to go all the way to Rogue's farm (where they grow many types of hops, among other crops - good for them!), you'd better hope you know what their very limited guest hours are, otherwise the employees will let you wander the grounds and avoid even waving hello, let alone offers of directions or any sort of communication or welcome. It's a working farm, and was not well set up for drop-in guests, despite what the marketing literature suggests.
- In my opinion, if you want to skip a major brewer in Oregon, Rogue is a good candidate. It's way off the beaten path, you'll pay much more for samples (yes, they charge for all samples) and pints than nearly anywhere else, and why risk spoiling your impression of them if you already like them?
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| Rogue Brewery main entrance |
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| Rogue Hops! |
Portland Highlights
- Recommendations from this visit:
- Upright Brewing as usual - their Levinator (barrel aged bock) was astounding, and the Flora Rustica a fantastic summer drink.
- Grain & Gristle is possibly one of the best-value meals in Portland, and that's saying a lot. My meal was further improved with a totally amazing Commons Brewing "Fleur De Ferme".
Commons Fleur De Ferme - possibly the best beer I had all summer
Merguez sausage; looks good, tastes even better - If you're a dog lover, or if you just appreciate extremely drinkable beer and tasty, reasonably-priced food, the Lucky Labrador brewpub is for you. Our very kind server even gave us our first pint free because it was our first visit. Go there!
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| One of the many four-legged patrons on the patio |
- If you can navigate the hipsterish bikers lining the benches, and the potentially long lineups for beer, Apex has one hell of a beer nerd tap list, and is worth a shot.
Crannog
Though Crannog is near to my hometown, I had never dropped by until this summer. It has a classic Shuswap-hippie vibe, a commune-farm feel which is very relaxed. Brian has some Irish roots, and did all of the Gaelic art on-site. There were event photos from Belfast in the tasting room.
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| The brew house |
I love Crannog's organic production, and their zero-waste, all-from-the-farm mission. If they can grow it on-site, they do. Their hops, potatoes and fruit all make it into their beer. Brewing leftovers get composted or used as feed. Very self-sufficient and homey.
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| Crannog hop vines |
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| Black pigs, fed by among other things, spent grains from the brewery |
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| Our tour guide and Crannog's wee mash tun. No wonder Crannog only sells kegs and growlers - they'd have to build a new brewhouse building if they expanded production. |
Barley Station
No photos - but if you're travelling through Salmon Arm and have a hankering for an incredibly tasty pilsener, you're in luck.Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Playing Catchup - NHC
It has been a long time since I've updated the blog - mostly because I've been lucky enough to spend most of summer 2012 in campsites and other fun places around the Pacific Northwest that do not have internet access. I've had some fun beer adventures, but I'm far enough behind now that I have to post abbreviated highlights in order to catch up. Here goes.
If you have any interest in homebrewing, you owe it to yourself to make a trip to NHC at least once. It's the most brewing-nerd fun possible, a truly great time. The 2013 conference is in Philadelphia - mark your calendars and get ready to pounce on tickets, as they sell out almost instantly.
2012 National Homebrewers Conference (NHC) - Bellevue, Washington
NHC is the annual conference of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). The AHA is incredibly well-organized and sophisticated, and has (I believe) around 30,000 members in the USA. In addition to offering beer information and discussion forums on the web, pub discounts across America and a very good homebrewing magazine (Zymurgy), they also assist states in lobbying for/crafting legislation to legalize or liberalize homebrewing. (Yes, there are still a few states where homebrewing is still outlawed.) We are sorely lacking an equivalent organization in Canada.
The AHA also runs NHC, which is held in a different host city each year. It is a massive effort, and is a true convention along the lines of other professional or industry conventions. 3 days and 1800 attendees this year (next year will probably be about 2400), seminars all day long by experts in various aspects of brewing and beer, an exhibitors hall, reception rooms hosted by local homebrewing clubs that provide beer during breaks and after evening events, and the evening events themselves. Night one is Pro Brewers Night, where the main ballroom essentially turns into a beer festival where commercial breweries pour their beer for attendees. Night two is Club Night, the highlight of the festival; 52 homebrew clubs from around the US (and now Canada, since this year VanBrewers was the first Canadian club to host a booth at NHC) set up outlandish, themed booths, dress in costumes, and serve their club's beer. The third and final night is the Grand Banquet, where a multi-course beer-paired dinner is served, and the results of the National Homebrewers Competition are announced.
Oh yes, one of the main events of NHC is the judging of the final round of the biggest beer competition in the world. The National Homebrewers Competition "qualifying rounds" consist of 10 major homebrew competitions across the US and one in Canada (the Saskatchewan ALES competition). Anyone who places 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any beer category in any of these competitions may submit a beer in the same category to the final round, which is judged at NHC by senior BJCP beer judges.
This year, about 7800 entries were judged at the 11 qualifying competitions, and about 880 beers were entered in the final round at NHC. Every one of those 880 beers were judged in one day at NHC, and each received a full page of scoring/feedback from three different judges. I was lucky enough (along with two other VanBrewers) to judge at this year's competition.
So other than the fact that free, interesting beer is available all day long and is an intergral part of the program, and that people aren't wearing collared shirts, it could be any other convention but is much, much more fun.
It all went by in a jet-lagged blur, but highlights for me included:
- BJCP judges reception and lunch, including presentations on the Alt beer style (with an incredibly Brettanomyces-infected keg of Zum Uerige, ugh) and the burgeoning Cascadian Dark Ale style (mistakenly identified as "Black IPA" east of the Rockies).
- Huge beer cellar list during dinner at Brouwer's in Seattle
- Judging the final round of the National Homebrew Competition with one of my brewing role models - author John Palmer, as well as beer author Stan Hieronymus. It was also a confidence-booster, since my evaluations were nicely in line with the other (senior) judges. Every final round beer was very good, so judging was difficult and often came down to intangibles and being very picky about the beers and styles.
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| VanBrewers. L-R: Danny Seeton, Aaron Peterson, Ari Giligson and yours truly. All except Aaron judged the NHC final round. [Photo credit to a VanBrewer, let me know if you know who took it] |
- Club Night, a beer festival consisting entirely of home brewers. Unbelievable.
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| Some of the kegs for just ONE of the 52 club night booths. This one (shown mid-setup) has a rock theme, plasma screens showing the tap list, video screens showing Seattle music performances, and a "backstage" area with special brews. |
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| And the tuning pegs on the big guitar are tap handles! |
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| A club from Arizona had an "Occupy NHC" theme, which was both topical and funny. Here there are "protesting" at the VanBrewers booth until we give them beer. |
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| The VanBrewers crew with the first-ever Canadian booth at an NHC Club Night. [Photo credit to one of the VanBrewers; let me know if you know who took the photo] |
- Great seminars on all manner of beer-related topics, from the biggest names in homebrewing.
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| Homebrewing stars: Authors Ray Daniels, Jamil Zainasheff, Gordon Strong, Randy Mosher, John Palmer. |
- Grand Banquet and awards ceremony featuring a beer-paired dinner by Sean Paxton, The Homebrew Chef.
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| VanBrewer table at the Grand Banquet |
If you have any interest in homebrewing, you owe it to yourself to make a trip to NHC at least once. It's the most brewing-nerd fun possible, a truly great time. The 2013 conference is in Philadelphia - mark your calendars and get ready to pounce on tickets, as they sell out almost instantly.
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