Event: New Vista Community's Brew's Best this Saturday!

Well its that time again.  The Winter Edition of New Vista Community's Brew's Best is this Saturday (11/10) at Lake Las Vegas from 2-6 pm.  Don't miss the chance to sample hundreds of different beers from a huge variety of craft breweries.  Its a beautiful setting as the festival takes place right off the lake at the New Vista Community.  There will be great food, great beers and a great time!  This event is also for an awesome cause as the proceeds benefit the disabled community that is New Vista.  So come on down and contribute to a great cause while drinking excellent craft beer.

Pricing goes as follows (all tickets include unlimited samples):

$25 for tickets purchased in advance (www.BrewsBestLV.com).

$30 for tickets purchased at the door.

$40 for VIP Tickets (includes early admission at 1 pm).

Its a bit of a drive from the valley, so it might be a good idea to get a hotel room if you are planning to attend and don't have a designated driver.  Check out BrewsBestLV.com for more information on the event. 

Pumpkin Beers: The New Beer Trend

Its the last day of October.  A month symbolized by Halloween and pumpkins.  Not only are pumpkin patches on every corner or in every super market, but pumpkins have managed to find their way onto beer shelves as well.  Much like you now see pumpkin coffees and pumpkin muffins everywhere, over the past few years, there has been a huge increase of pumpkin beers.  It is a style that has been around since the 1600s.  Much like the recent explosion of the IPA style, pumpkin beers have suddenly become the new trend and are becoming far too common.  It is also possibly over-saturating the market.  You used to have the handful of breweries who started the trend of pumpkin beers, such as Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale, Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale and Brooklyn Brewery's Post Road Pumpkin Ale.  But now they are seeming to come from every brewery these days.

Why are pumpkin beers becoming more popular?  Pumpkin beers bring people to the good times of eating pumpkin pie, especially during Thanksgiving.  Pumpkin beers resemble that experience very well.  Pumpkin pie is a soothing, comfort food in most people's taste buds.  Heck, they are even using the same ingredients as your mom's pumpkin pie.  You have the pumpkins, of course, in addition to breweries using nutmeg, cinnamon, yams and other ingredients that are synonymous with pumpkin pie.  Sounds like a pretty good pie if you ask me.  So its not surprising to me that more and more people are taking to the style.  But is that reason enough to flood with market with it?

Whenever a beer style becomes trendy and popular, it becomes over-produced, less distinct and mediocre (similar to the IPA style, which I will not get into right now).  Pumpkin beers used to be something you had to search for because it was nothing the beer world had even seen before or even thought of producing.  Now when I go to a liquor store or super market, all I see are pumpkin beers, pumpkin beers and more pumpkin beers.  What this is doing is taking away the mystique of this uniquely crafted beer.

Not only is it becoming popular with micro breweries, but macro breweries are also getting in on all the action.  Shock Top, an Anheuser-Busch product, released a pumpkin edition of their well-known Belgian Wit.  I mean, seriously?  Talk about pumpkin overkill.  And I do believe Blue Moon, a MillerCoors product, also produced a pumpkin version.  I hate to say it, but I believe the sudden rise of popularity may eventually do in the great seasonal beer forever.  I mean the pumpkin editions from breweries have been out only a couple months now, and I was already bored of it after the first 2 weeks.  Too many breweries are brewing too many mediocre versions.  I can't tell you how many bad pumpkin beers I have had over the last couple years.

If this style introduces and turns consumers to the craft beer world, that is great.  We do need them on our side.   Its sweet, comforting and synonymous with the Fall season.  But, in my opinion, if the beer world wants this style to last, breweries need to slow it down and make sure they are producing something special before just throwing it out on the market just because it is the latest trend.

Happy Halloween and enjoy the MANY pumpkin beers available!

Does Limited Availability Hype Up Beers Too Much?

Since Pliny The Elder is the reason why I am writing this post, I'm focusing on it.  Though this is also meant for the other beers that have the same level of hype as Pliny.

I went on a trip to Los Angeles this past weekend and as usual while I am in Southern California, I look for beers that aren't distributed to Las Vegas, nor the other half of the country.  More specifically, I am a hophead and am always on the hunt for Pliny The Elder by Russian River Brewing Co.  Pliny The Elder is on the top of most beer rankings around the country and even the world, and is widely considered one of the best Double IPAs on the planet, maybe the best.  Not to mention, it is one of only a few Double IPAs on Untappd that is given 5 out of 5 caps (stars) by those who are lucky enough to try it.  (Another one is Pliny The Younger, also brewed by Russian River and only available on tap for a few months out of the year.  But I'm not going to touch that beer and its crazy hype.)  While calling around Los Angeles liquor stores and supermarkets that are on it's distribution list, Whole Foods told me that they only receive one case, 2 times week and have a waiting list of over 100 people looking to purchase it.  At another local liquor store, it has a purchase limit of one bottle per person.  I called 5 or 6 other stores that were completely sold out of it.  This got me thinking.  Are beers with limited availability gaining underserved buildup?  Pliny The Elder is obviously one of the best Imperial IPAs out there, but is it worthy of its almost cult-like following and reputation?  Or is it a product of the old hype-machine and limited availability or is it really just that good?

What if Pliny was brewed by Sierra Nevada or New Belgium?  Two breweries who can brew it on a larger scale, increasing its availablity and distribution areas.  Would Pliny have the same reputation if it could be found anytime you want in supermarkets, liquor stores and bars without a waiting list or a limit on how much you can purchase?  Would it still be at the top of the same people's beer rankings?  I don't know if it would be.  But, my guess would be no.  It would still be regarded as a great Double IPA, but would not receive the praise it currently has.  It would be more like the subdued hype of Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA and Stone's Ruination.  But then again, they could easily scale down production on their best brews and limit its distribution.  But I'm sure they are more concerned about wide availablity to please their loyal fans.

The United States is a big country and an even bigger one when it comes to beer.  You have these great breweries in the east, midwest and west that only distribute to their respective regions for various reasons.  Some of those reasons are different state laws, a lack of resources and funds to move beyond their regions and/or not having a desire to grow and just stay local (much like Russian River claims).  You have Hopslam by Bell's Brewery in Michigan, Dark Lord by 3 Floyds Brewing Co. in Indiana and Heady Topper by The Alchemist in Vermont, just to name a few.  All three beers have reputations for being world class, yet cannot be tasted by others in the other regions of the country.  So word of mouth grows.  But when it comes down to it, can any beer measure up to the growing hype it receives over time?  With so much hype, a lot of beer drinkers may feel let down when they finally get their hands on them because their expectations grew to an unreasonable level.  This brings me back to Pliny.  I have heard from so many people who were dying to get their hands on some Pliny.  When they finally did, some were disappointed.  They thought it was great but wondered what all the hype was for and definitely didn't think it was worthy of it.

Is a beer like Pliny that much better than the next Double IPA from another brewery?  It depends.  But the gap isn't as wide as you would think judging from the demand for it.  In my opinion, Pliny The Elder is overhyped, but not overrated.  I have also wondered if Russian River and other breweries are taking advantage of the hype machine by refusing to increase production of their popular beers.  They know the demand for it is high, so you would think they would find a way to brew more.  Whether it be adding more equipment, contracting another brewery, or simply dropping a less popular beer from their lineup.  This may be a great ploy by them to keep the hype high by refusing to grow and continue to limit its availability.  If it is true that Russian River honestly wants to focus on quality instead of quanity, I salute them. In any case, it deserves it's praise because it is a great tasting Double IPA, even if the hype machine adds to it.

Blog Name Change: The Hophead Report

Hey everyone!  I've decided to make a name change to this blog.  Starting immediately, the name is being changed to The Hophead Report. However, I am going to keep the same web address (www.brewmansbeerreport.blogspot.com) for another week so my visitors without knowledge of the change can still access my blog.  In a week, the web address will become www.thehopheadreport.blogspot.com.  Thank you!

This Blogger is Officially a Certified Cicerone®

After weeks and weeks of waiting, I finally woke up this morning to an email declaring me a Certified Cicerone®!  What is a Cicerone?  A Cicerone is the beer equivalent of a wine sommelier.  Basically, you need to be an expert in beer styles, beer and food pairing, the brewing process, sanitation techniques and the history of different beer styles.  It is a grueling test to say the least, but after studying for months, I can officially call myself a Certified Cicerone®.  If you have an interest in becoming certified or just want to learn more about beer, check out the program's website at www.cicerone.org.

Coronado Brewing Co. is Coming to Nevada!

The San Diego brewery, Coronado Brewing Co., is finally distributing their awesome beer to Nevada, most notably Las Vegas!  Their well-known and staple beers include Orange Avenue Wit, Coronado Golden and Islander IPA.  Coronado Brewing Co. is a great brewery that gets overshadowed by their more popular and established San Diego neighbors, Stone Brewing Co. and Green Flash Brewing Co.  I was lucky enough to hang out with the owners and other brass of the brewery last night during their initial Nevada launch party.  They are great, down to earth guys who know their craft beer.  So start looking for their beers in bars and liquor stores.

If you want to be part of Coronado's launch into the Nevada market, head on over to Aces and Ales (3740 South Nellis Blvd.) tonight!  Reps from the brewery and Nevada Beverage Co. will be hanging out as well.  And it happens to be T.N.T. tonight.  So you can have 6 tasters and some food for only $20! Plus, the first 72 Coronado beers ordered will receive free glassware.  The brewery will be taking over 7 taps with the following brews:

• Idiot IPA
• Stoopid Coffee Stout
• Red Devil Imperial Red Ale
• Orange Avenue Wit 
• Islander IPA
• Orange Avenue Wit
• Mermaid's Red
• Coronado Golden

My Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia Brewery Trail

While spending three weeks in Southern Jersey I got to visit a few small, local breweries in the area that I would like to share with everyone.  Below are the breweries I visited in order:

1.  Cape May Brewing Co.:  Cape May, NJ

As we were driving to the brewery, I kept thinking the GPS was steering us the wrong way because it was leading us toward some small warehouses right near the tiny Cape May Airport. Come to find out that the GPS was leading us in the right direction as we spotted the brewery.  This place is tiny, working out of a small warehouse the size of a two story apartment, maybe 1200 sq. ft.  Their pricing went as follows: $11 for a souvanier pint glass and 4 samples or $5 for 4 samples in a plastic cup.  My two siblings and I opted for the $11 deal.  In order to make room for the number of visitors, they opened the back garage door, which lead to an open area covered in grass and a food truck.

 

The first sample we had was the Cap May Wheat, an american pale wheat.  It was a decent wheat, although I never understood the point of pale wheat ales.  If you are looking for something light and refreshing, why not just pick up a good lager/pilsner or a kolsch.  Like most pale wheats, the flavors and aroma were subdude, but I could pick up some banana and coriander.

The next sample was their Honey Porter.  I know I wouldn't be too fond of this brew right off the bat since I am not a fan of honey.  But to much of my surprise, it was a delicious porter.  I ignored the honey taste I was getting and just concentrated on the other ingredients.  It had nice roasted malt, strong coffee notes with a little bit of chocolate.  The hops lingered throughout, but came through towards the end as it finished dry with some tart and bitterness.

Inside Cape May Brewing Co.

The third sample was their Centennial IPA.  This was a beast of an IPA, weighing in at 100 IBUs!  This beer was a hop explosion.  Sharp, resiny pine needle hops hit right away with strong cirtus and flowery hops in the background.  While the malt did a decent job of balancing the brew, the brewers clearly wanted the centennial hops to shine.  This beer was on the border of being a double IPA, in my opinion.

The last sample was their Beach Plum, or so we thought.  This was yet another american pale wheat with added plum flavoring.  We were then informed that the keg was kicked, so they let us have another sample of their other three beers.  Me being a hophead, opted for another sample of their IPA.

2.  Tun Tavern and Brewery:  Atlantic City, NJ

I am not going to comment any more than listing their beers.  The food was supbar, the beer was atrotious and the environment was depressing.  Stay away from this place if you ever visit Atlantic City.

1.  Devil Dog Pale Ale

2.  All-American IPA

3.  Leather-Neck Stout

4.  Bullie's Brown Ale

5.  ESB

6.  Crimson Ale

All watery and lacking flavor.

3.  Tuckahoe Brewing Co.:  Tuckahoe, NJ

And I thought Cape May Brewing Co. was small.  This place was half the size.  It too was set up inside a small warehouse about 800 sq. ft.  Since we visited during week, we were the only ones there for the tasting/tour.  So we got to sample their beers while having a conversation with them as they were in the middle of brewing. They are four high school teachers that decided to team up and start the brewery, all while still teaching full time.  I loved that!  All of them couldn't be nicer people. The best part: samples were free.

The first sample was their DC Pale Ale.  A medium-bodied pale ale with slightly bready and caramelly malt.  Hops were grassy and floral with moderate bitterness.  Mouthfeel was a little too carbonated, but otherwise a decent pale ale.

Inside Tuckahoe Brewing Co.

Next up was their Porter.  The night before, I had their porter for the first time at a local restaurant/bar and it was not good.  Not at the fault of the brewer, as it was very phenolic (tasted like band-aids and plastic).  The restaurant either didn't rinse that draft line or glass after cleaning it.  Boy, was it better at the source.  Creamy and full-bodied with very sharp, almost burnt malt, with more chocolate notes than coffee.  Finished dry and roasty, similar to a stout.  I let them know about the poor quality of their porter at the restaurant.  Hopefully they will do something about it.

The last one was their Wit, a Belgian pale wheat.  This one was pretty good.  Medium body with notes of honey and lots of orange.  The Belgian yeast spiciness was subdued, which I welcomed.  I wasn't really in the mood for the strong Belgian yeast of a typical Wit.     

4.  Yards Brewing Co.:  Philadelphia, PA

Last but not least was Yards Brewing Co.  Now this is a real microbrewery.  Huge tasting room with pool tables, shuffle board, fresh food and a full bar.  The enitire room was covered in wall paper consistining of all their beer labels.  They had a total of 9 beers on tap.  Four of their base beers, 4 specialty beers and their pale ale on cask.  First up was a flight of their 4 base beers:

1.  Brawler, an English dark mild ale.  It felt as if I was sitting in a pub in London while drinking this one.  Loads of toasty, sweet, caramel malt and mild fruity hops.  Medium-bodied with a slightly sweet finish.  A good session brew.

2.  Philadelphia Pale Ale.  The name says it all.  Lightly-flavored pale malt with a hint of sweetness and unexpectedly hoppy.  Hops were citruisy, floral and somewhat tropical with a pretty light body.

3. India Pale Ale.  A good, balanced IPA between bready, caramely malt and citrus hops.  Hops start citrusy, but then turns into more of a pine flavor.  The finish is dry with a bread and pine on the palate.  Medium body with pretty good head retention.

Yards Brewing Co. Tasting Room

4.  Extra Special Ale (ESA).  Again, floral and earthy hops blended well with the toasted malts, caramely malts and dark fruits.  A pretty flavorful bitter ale.  It has a creamy, medium body with light carbonation, like a bitter should be.

Flight #2 (These are their specialty, limited beers)

5.  General Washington's Tavern Porter.  Tasted toasty, malty and bittersweet with a big molasses punch.  It then progressed to a more bitter taste with roasted coffee and chocolate at the finish.  

6.  Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale.  As you would expect, it is malt forward with buttery caramel, toffee notes and some nuttiness.  Despite having a nice dose of hops, this beer is pretty sweet. Relatively thin body for the style, but it wasn't thin at all taste-wise.  What is interesting about this one is that it is based on Thomas Jefferson's real beer recipe.  Yes, Thomas Jefferson did indeed own a brewery and created his own recipes.

7.  Love Stout.  Dry and roasted with abundant chocolate adding sweetness to work against the roasted malts.  Its a small, sessionable stout, so its not going to have huge flavor profiles.  But it is a simple, straight froward and balanced stout. Served on nitro, so it is undoubtably creamy and smooth.

8.  Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale.  The taste is sweet, tart, and really piney with some notes of molasses and wood.  The body is light with moderate carbonation.  I'm not big on herb beers, so this one was my least favorite from Yards.

9.  Philadelphia Pale Ale on cask.  

Inside the brewery.

(For those of you who do not know what cask beer is, I'll fill you in.  A cask is a wood barrell, like wine casks, which were used in English pubs to serve beer in the 1800s and early 1900s, before direct carbonation came into play. Instead of waiting for the beer to completely ferment and condition before bottling and kegging, like most beers today, brewers fill the cask with beer and let it continue fermenting inside the cask.  So this creates light carbonation and a cloudy appearance from the fermentation taking place within the cask.  The beer is then hand pumped from the cask when serving, which creates a decievingly thick, creamy head. Casks are also never refrigerated, but served at room temperature.  Cask beers are the best! But you have to love beer in order to enjoy it.)

Back to the beer itself.  The cask edition of their pale ale included an edition of grapefruit zest.  Man, this beer was good.  You have pretty much the same flavors as the draft version of the pale ale, but the malt sweetness and hop bitterness stand out more and are more pronounced.  The grapefruit zest added even more bitterness and tart to balance the malt, and contributed to the dry, tart finish.  Body was creamy and lightly carbonated (see previous paragraph) with a thick, one finger head.

And that concludes my Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia beer trail.  Next time I am in the area, I plan on visiting Victory Brewing Co., Dogfish Head Brewing Co. and Flying Fish Brewing Co.  Man, this is a great time for craft beer!

Event: Aces and Ales' 3rd Annual Strong Beer Festival This Weekend!

Aces and Ales is hosting their 3rd Annual Strong Beer Festival this weekend.  The breweries appearing in the festival include rare beers from local breweries Tenaya Creek, Big Dog's and Joseph James, Dogfish Head, Stone, Firestone Walker, Ballast Point and a bunch more.  Beers include Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, Firestone Walker Wookey Jack, Joseph James Habanero Hop Box, Left Coast Hop Juice and many more.  For a complete list of breweries and their beers, check out Aces and Ales website at acesandales.com.  This festival isn't for the weak as no beer is less than 7% ABV.  Even though I will be out of town this weekend and unable to attend, I encourage everyone to check it out and know that I will be envious and incredibly jealous of anyone that gets the chance to drink these incredible beers.

Prices go as follows:  $15 for a commemorative Aces and Ales taster glass and your first taste, then just $4 per taste then on.  If you don't want to pay the $15, goblets are available at $8 a fill. Sounds like a bargain to me! So check it out, send me pics and then watch me weep!

Aces and Ales is located at 3740 S. Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89121.  Just two blocks away from Sams Town Hotel and Casino.

Commentary: Beers to Celebrate IPA Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year, International IPA Day!  This is when brewers and beer lovers celebrate the unique and historic beer style known as India Pale Ale.

First, a little history on the style.  It originated in England in the 19th century from the booming and wildly popular Pale Ales.  England began shipping pale ales to India on the demand of the British soldiers and citizens.  As they came to learn, the pale ales could not survive the spoilage and infections that came from the long, hot and humid boat trips from England to India.  Brewers then had to find a way to keep their beer fresh for longer periods of time and stave off infection.  In a time without refrigeration, London brewers altered their popular beer in two ways.  The first change was adding more hops to the beer.  Hops naturally have anti-bacterial properties and would help fight off infection.  The second change was increasing the alcohol content.  Alcohol, much like the hops, helps fight off bacteria and micro organisms and helps prolong the freshness of the beer.  As a result, the beers were aggressively bitter with less malt character and higher alcohol content.   The brewers fittingly called the beer India Pale Ale.   Eventually, the people in London got wind of the new beer and it became wildly popular in its own country.

To celebrate the occasion, I put together a list of 10 American IPAs that are affordable and pretty easy to find for those that would like to commemorate the day by drinking an IPA.  I ranked the beers based on availability and ease to find, and in no particular order of quality because they are all great IPAs.  These beers are ones that you will most likely find in gas stations, supermarkets and liquor stores.  You won't go wrong with drinking any of them.  Keep in mind, since I live in Las Vegas, these beers are ranked according to the Las Vegas beer market, though you can find most of them nationwide.  Below are my recommendations, and I hope you enjoy them!

1.  Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

2.  New Belgium Ranger IPA

3.  Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA

4.  Stone IPA

5.  Tenaya Creek Hop Ride IPA (local beer)

6.  Lagunitas IPA

7.  Green Flash West Coast IPA

8.  Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

9.  Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

10.  Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA


(TIP:  FOR THE FRESHEST IPAs, BUY THE ONES IN THE REFRIGERATORS)

*If you would like recommendations for Double IPAs or harder to find IPAs, please email me.  

Commentary: Things That Crush My Barley

Rant #1:  BEER RETAILERS NOT STORING IPAs IN COOLERS!

IPAs are delicious and distinct beers.  What makes them unique compared to other beer styles is their high hop character, balanced by a nice dose of sweet malt.  Without their aggressive hop flavor and aroma, you might as well call them pale ales.  IPAs, more so than other beer styles, are perishable products, just like milk, orange juice, lemonade, etc.  So my question is, why do most retailers leave them sitting on the shelf in room temperature?!  They wouldn't keep milk and other dairies in room temperature, so why would they think its satisfactory to not keep IPAs cold?  

In fact, there was a bottle of an organic IPA sitting on the shelf that I was looking over at Lee's Discount Liquor a couple days ago.  Right on the bottle it said, "This beer is perishable.  Keep refrigerated."  What part of that do the retailers not understand?  They are not like jars of peanut butter or jelly, where you can keep it at room temperature until the first time you open it and then have to stick it in the fridge afterwards.  IPAs must be kept cold at all times, even if they haven't been open.  I mean it says it right on the bottle and they still don't store them in the cooler!  The main reason they have to be stored cold is to keep the hops fresh.  The longer it sits in heat or room temperature, the faster the aroma and taste of the hops fade and eventually become undetectable, essentially turning it into a pale ale, or even causing them to spoil faster.  Don't get me wrong, there are a limited number of IPAs that sit in the front coolers, but instead of storing the extras in a back storage cooler or something, they just the throw the excess bottles on the shelf and sell them.  And sometimes this bigger question is: "How long have they been sitting there?"

The ones that really suffer because of most retailers' improper care and storage aren't just the consumers, but the brewers themselves.  These guys worked hard to craft great IPAs and make sure their hoppy beverages leave the brewery in peak condition, in both taste and aroma, only for them to be ruined by the distributors and retailers.  The problem is the average beer drinker doesn't know all the intricacies of IPAs.  So when they buy and drink a retailer-caused mediocre IPA with faded hops right off the shelf, they assume its the lack of talent from the brewer.  For example, "Oh man, this is a crappy IPA.  Its too sweet and not hoppy enough. This brewery sucks!"  It never enters their mind that it might be the fault of the distributer and/or retailer they bought it from.  If you don't believe me, go buy a local IPA from a store that is sitting on the shelf and try it.  Then go to that brewery and buy a bottle of the same beer and drink it.  I guarantee you 9 times out of 10 that it will taste completely different.  That's because they know how to take care of their beers.  Being a hophead and IPA-lover myself, I have drank subpar IPAs, despite them being fresh and handled/stored carefully.  I am not here saying that every IPA that tastes mediocre is the result of poor handling habits by retailers.  There are a bunch of average and sometimes even poor quality IPAs I have drank onsite of the breweries.  I'm not saying its a bad thing that the average drinker doesn't know or think about this, but it is not fair to the breweries that can actually does produce quality IPAs.  As a result, the good breweries lose customers, beer sales and profits, all because retailers don't bother to learn about the products they carry or even bother to read the care instructions on the bottles themselves.  It just really pisses me off!  Well, that's my rant for the day.

Video: Hangout with the Brewers

Yesterday I joined in on viewing a live "hangout" with the brewers from Stone Brewing Co. (Greg Koch), Dogfish Head Brewing Co. (Sam Calagione) and Victory Brewing Co.  It is an interesting conversation, especially when they start talking about how the collaboration between the three breweries to creat Saison du Buff came about.  Check it out!

Commentary: My Experience With the Certified Cicerone Exam

(I can't believe it has been almost four months since my last post!  Man, time flies!  But I am finally back  and happy to be blogging again.  I apologize to my followers who have been waiting for new postings during the last 4 months.)

I would like to mark my return by talking about a beer exam I took a couple months ago called the Certified Cicerone exam.  Let me start with a little background information on the Certified Cicerone Program.  It was started by Ray Daniels, a beer enthusiast and author of several books about beer.  Due to his strong involvement in the craft beer movement, he is widely respected throughout the craft beer industry.  He felt those in the beer world are not taken as seriously as they should and did not get the recognition they deserve.  Seeing as wine experts are known as sommeliers, why not have the equivalent of that for the beer world?  So that is what he did.  He pitched the idea to various people that make up the craft beer world and agreed with the idea.  So that was the birth of the Cicerone Program.  The term cicerone is an old term for one who guides visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc. and explains matters of historic and artistic importance.  Ray Daniels believes a beer cicerone guides people into the world of beer and shows them all the intricacies of it all.  And thats why he decided to use the title Cicerone.  There are three levels in the program:  Certified Beer Server, Certified Cicerone and Master Cicerone.  You must pass the Certified Beer Server exam in order to take the Certified Cicerone exam and must pass the Cicerone exam to take the Master Cicerone exam.  Each of the three certifications are on extremely different levels.  FYI, the Master Cicerone exam is insanely hard and my hat goes off to the 3 or so Master Cicerones in the country.

After taking and passing the Certified Beer Server exam with ease, I decided to take a shot at the Certified Cicerone exam.  A Cicerone must have expert knowledge in the various areas of beer, including brewing, beer styles, the history of different beer styles, draft systems, food and beer pairing, beer off-flavors and much more.  It is a grueling exam to say the least.  The exam consists of 4 sections: Short answer/fill-in-the blank questions, a few essay questions, a tasting section and a demonstration.  I do not want to give too much away or go any more specific than that because I respect the test and what it represents.  Anyways, I took the four hour exam in San Diego, CA after studying for about two months.  It took place during the World Beer Cup that was being held at the same hotel and the exam. (I tried to sneak into the World Beer Cup after the test to no avail).  There were about fifteen of us taking the test.  The occupations of the test takers ranged from brewers to beer representatives and beer distributors.  I did well on the written and demonstration parts of the examination, but struggled with the tasting portion, as did everyone else after discussing the exam with them after we finished.  A score of 80% overall (and at least 70% in the tasting portion) is required to become a Cicerone.  Overall, it is an extremely tough and humbling test. While I came up just short of becoming certified, I am scheduled to retake the tasting section hoping to improve a few percentage points to nudge my overall score into the passing range in a few weeks.  So that is my experience with the exam.  It was a fun thing to do and I enjoyed every minute of it, even the studying. I mean, how can I not enjoy studying when the topic is beer?!  If you are interested in the Cicerone Program, visit www.cicerone.org.  

Review: Baba Black Lager

Uinata Brewing Co.

Grade:  C+

Appearance:  Pours black with a cream white head that disipates quickly and leaves mediocre lacing.

Smell: Smells similar to a porter.  Strong chocolate with notes of coffee, brown sugar and a touch of roasted malt.  Smells great.

Taste: Not near as sweet as the smell lead on.  Dry, roasted dark malt with a little bit of dark chocolate and breadiness.  Finishes slightly roasty and smokey.

Mouthfeel: Light body with moderate carbonation.  Light and crisp, which a lager should be.

Drinkability: An easy drinking organic lager that is easy to have a few, and the modest 4% ABV doesn't hurt.

Overall: This is like a thin porter.  There is nothing wrong with it, but nothing exciting either.  Its a good sessionable alternative to more robust dark beers.

Review: Brewer's Reserve IPA

Squatters Brewery

Grade:  B+

Appearance: Pours slightly hazy with the standard golden orange color.  The white head doesn't last and leaves minimal lacing.

Smell: Strong pine and citrus hops and dose of caramel malt.  There are notes of apricot, pineapple and melon.  Smells good.

Taste: Starts off with caramel sweetness and fruit notes of pineapple, apricot and slight melon.  The hops are a combination of citrus and a little bit of pine.  Finishes hoppy and citrusy.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and medium carbonation. A perfect mouthfeel for an American IPA.

Drinkability: Pretty good.  There is nice caramel sweetness with the hops toned down, making it more palatable to have a few.

Overall: A good IPA.  Its balanced and smooth and the 6.5% ABV is masked very well.  It has all the elements of a good IPA.  Squatters knows what its doing IPA-wise.  Their Hop Rising Double IPA is awesome as well.

Commentary: Why I Love The Craft Beer Business

Outsiders look upon craft beer brewers as uptight, snobbish and competitive.  Yes, the craft beer business is super competitive, the most competitive it has ever been due to the recent explosion of craft breweries all across the country.  With all the new breweries popping up trying to be successful, there is also a mutual respect for one another.  The entire craft beer business takes care of each other.  Craft breweries don't take cheap shot each other or put down another brewery just to sell a few more bottles of their beer.  There is one thing they all have in common and that is to see the growth of craft beer as a whole.  I "Like" a lot of breweries on Facebook and every day I see craft breweries promoting the beers of another brewey.  For example, today Tenaya Creek Brewery promoted the fact that they now have Pallete Wrecker by Green Flash Brewing Co. on tap at their brewery on their Facebook and Stone Brewing Co. last week were not shy in making it known they are now have Pliney The Elder by Russian River Brewing Co. on tap at their brewery.  Almost every microbrewery I have been to has guest beers on tap, which are beers from other breweries, along with their own.  It shows they are not concerned about their own success per say, but getting consumers familiar with the art of craft beer all together.  When have you ever seen Budweiser serve Miller or Coors in their establishment?  How many commercials have you seen from Miller putting down Budweiser and Coors?  I've seen so many it makes my head explode.  These companies only care about the mighty dollar and will do whatever it takes to take down Miller and Coors. I don't see any craft breweries doing that.  Every commercial from Samuel Adams talks ONLY about what makes their beer good and the qualities of a good beer.  They have never once put down the BMC companies on a commercial or on the internet.  Samuel Adams can also make it harder for smaller breweries to grow.  But instead they encourage the growth of new breweries by giving money every year to the best amateur brewers in the country so that they can start their own breweries and by lobbying congress to lower the tax rate that smaller breweries get hit with in order for them to survive.  Brewers could easily put down another brewery just to make a few more bucks, but they are not interested in that at all.  Their sole mission is the create awareness of craft beer in this country.  By trying to cheap shot other craft brewers, it only slows down that goal and destroys what a lot of people love about craft beer, which is variety, originality and integrity.  Sorry if this is cheesy, but this is why I love the craft beer business.

Review: Red Tail Ale

Mendocino Brewing Co.

Grade:  C+

Appearance: Pours a cloudy pale brown orange with a weak dirty white head that leaves thin lacing.

Smell: Light and sweet toasted malt with some citrus and grass.  Also hints of pine hops and light fruits.

Taste: Toasted caramel malt up front with grassy hops and a touch of citrus.  This bitterness if pretty forward and lasts throughout each sip.  That's all I really picked up.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation.  The carbonation really intensifies at the finish.

Drinkability: This brew is easy to drink.  The flavors are simple and not cloyingly sweet, unlike most ambers.

Overall: I am surprised how bitter this beer is for an amber, almost like an English Bitter.  There is a rugged, manly feel to this brew.  You get toasted caramel malt and a good dose of hops and that's it.  What else do you need?  It doesn't care about being complex or well-rounded.  It is not a great amber, but who cares?

Review: Damsel Blonde Ale

(I can't believe it has really been two weeks since my last post.  Time flies!)

Metolius Brewing Co.

Grade:  D+

Appearance: Pours a golden straw color with a receding white head and average lacing.

Smell: Light pilsner and wheat malt with grassy, floral hops.  Some bread and honey notes and a hint of lemon.

Taste: Light lemon tartness and a slight bready note from the pale malts.  Then transitions to herbal, grassy notes with moderate bitterness.  Finishes watery with pale malt and slight bitterness on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation.  Light and crisp, then turns pretty much to water.

Drinkability: This light-bodied, barely there beer is easy to put down and quench your thirst.

Overall: A really boring and bland beer, even for a blonde ale.  It has no flavor or personality and is just plain dull.  On the bright side, it is a good thirst quencher.  I won't be buying a again.