This is part 4 revisting comments regarding my June 26 post, What is Good Beer?
David K. says: I think that the most important thing in defining good beer is the brewer. I think that the brewers' dedication, effort, and creativity really show in a beer.
Today there are many breweries that excel. You can feel the emotion, passion and dedication to beer the moment you walk into the brewery. I’m talking about the feeling when you know that without exception every single employee is working towards a vision that is ultimately to make beer not only with great character but also working to make enjoying it an ultimate experience. You can never know this feeling unless you visit breweries.
It’s not just about a good brewer. It’s about a passionate owner(s), who understand the long tradition they have chosen to perpetuate. It is not just about quality ingredients, equipment, science and a sense of art. It’s not about the business of brewing nor the quality of the beer. It is a gut feeling you get when you know that the owner, brewer, markers, customer service staff, packagers, designers, etc are all onboard the same journey. It shows when you set foot in these special breweries. It’s not a television . smile, a screaming billboard nor a cute packaging design. The message you feel is the one imbued into every aspect of the beer and brewery you experience. Truly great beer gets brewed in special places. It has nothing to do with small or large, ale or lager, American or foreign. You increase your chances of great encounters of the beer kind by seeking small, but that is my opinion. Life is short, especially the beer drinking part of it. Extraordinary beers are worth seeking. But it takes an effort. It’s more than just a journey to the pub or store to buy what tickles your fancy.
The average American lives within 10 miles of a brewery. Taking the effort to locate the brewery that’s beyond the glass at the end of your arm is an accessible endeavor.
Comments
I see you like beermapping.com as much as I do. That's a great look up tool for beer fans. See my write-up about that site at the Denver Examiner site.
http://www.examiner.com/x-390-Northern-Colorado-Beer-Examiner~y2008m7d12-Beer-map-points-the-way-to-your-favorite-drinks
I agreen strongly that everyone shoiuld know and visit their local brewery as part of their seasonal round. The brewers are great people and you can learn quite a bit about the process and the recipe.
Below I set out recommendations for brewers and for consumers.
For consumers I offer the following tips based upon extensive research and direct experience.
*Know why you are drinking prior to selecting a product. Products vary greatly and can clash with your main purpose. I suggest the following purposes as almost universal-perhaps you can add more but these keep standing out.
1 Drinking for flavor- The taste. Brewers often get carried away proclaiming this to be the be all and end all. It is important but not the only purpose of a beer. You want the flavor of a beer to go with food and not to clash. You want a specific flavor and body for each part of the meal. There are heavier flavored and lighter favored. You don't want desert in the middle of the main course. So do the research and test the tastes. This beer need not be suitable for consumption in quantity. A few during a meal.
2. Drinking for the mind. You don't need food for this. Just your mind and mental state. You are working on unwinding nerves. You seek a flavor that takes you somewhere. You want music and art more than food. This beer may not go with any food. No I am not talking alcohol content here I am talking with association, relaxation, unwinding. With my background in Newcastle upon Tyne I unwind best with northumbrian folk music and a pint of Broon (newcastle brown ale) To suit my Bavarian upbringing I love to consult a bottle of Augustiner Lager-I can put myself back in Munich at the Marrien platz where I spent years. Find a beer that brings the memories back, sooths the soul. This should be the sort of beer that you will like to drink in some quantity no matter what your body says just so your mind is at peace!
3.When you are out in the summer playing, working hard. Consult the Bavarians or for that matte the coal miners of the North East of England (see Newcastle Exibition or X) You need a beer which like motor oil lubricates and flushes out the body. You need to replace the bad trace elements with the good and get the radiator working. Alcohol cools the body (thats why it is not good when you are in extreme cold) Sometimes you need a beer for simple irrigation- but and most importantly it can not be tasteless or lacking in complexity. You do need to understand that you need to irrigate with a sufficient quantity of beer. This is where the craft beer industry is most challenged. You simply can not adequately irrigate yourself with most craft beers. Sometimes the alcohol content is too high. Next the beers are too heavy at times in flavor. They are often quite acidic so the stomach rebels. In other cases too yeasty. More than once while attempting to irrigate with a craft beer I have transformed my digestive tract into its own micro brewery. I am cleaned out but not irrigated in the way intended. For this purpose once again consult the Bavarians. And. Do not go for the exported oktoberfest beer go for the lager. Take a look at a few of the online videos of the Oktoberfest in Munich. Now there is proper irrigation. No measure other than THE measure or literally MASS or one liter. Never just one. With food I would generally do 8-9 and you dont irrigate for an hour-try 8. I have not yet found a flavorful craft beer that is right on the money. I need flavor- like a Spaaten or Augustiner Lager. One of the closest is Clipper City's McHenry which does well for irrigation.
Take the time to do it right. Remember- moderation is culturally defined. Moderation for the Bavarian cultured by the ruggid mountains, wandering and hard farm work is not the moderation we get preached at us around here. Be safe but get out there and irrigate.
Ok....that is my word for consumers...now on to Brewers.
1. Address the basic needs above with a brew or two each.
2. Stop worrying about profit. You will be successful and the beer world will be turned around when you produce a product that can be afforded by anyone. (I have a story about the man who first paid more than one $ for a beer who turned out to be the devil.) Aim for one dollar a pint or less. Find a way to gear up the volume and keep the quality. I don't want to see craft brewers relegated to a temporary fad- the way out is to sell your beer to everyone. One of the main problems is bars and eateries that jack up the price of beer so that people won't drink adequately. Insist that those who sell your beer keep profit taking down.
Ok thats about it. You can accomplish these goals only by going to your local craft brewery. Don't just listen to them tell them what your needs are. They should be in a position to react. Tell them how much you can comfortably pay for beer. Remember that you need to afford enough beer to irrigate properly. What then should the price be for that?
Another thing that you can do is to work on our freedom. The new rules insisting on food purchase at Lexington Market is just another limit to freedom which is intollerable- see...they just don't want you to drink properly and want you to cut back.
One way to fight for our freedoms is via support for the philosophy of walk to drink
http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/walktodrink/walktodrink.htm
Go to the web page for more. We need more local places in which to consume beer where we do not have to get into a car to do so. Visit me down at artscape this weekend and get a tour map and take a walking to drink tour of bars in the artscape area.
Conrad Bladey
cbladey@verizon.net
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