The stats are coming in.  The American Homebrewers Association is still in the process of tallying Big Brew results staged on May 3.  So far American Homebrewers Association reports 240 locations around the world brewed up 602 batches, 4777 Gallons of homebrew and the numbers keep trickling in, “I’d expect the Big Brew numbers to go up quite a bit from what’s reported so far, since it looks like around half of the sites have not yet reported results” reports AHA director Gary Glass (photo right). 

So, as a homebrewer myself I’m figuring that just about now primary (initial) fermentation is subsiding.  Ales and lagers will soon be transferred to a second fermentation vessel for cellaring and lagering for the thirsty days of June.  I can’t wait for my own Big Brew’d “Time 4 A Beer Helles Lager” to get ready, which I brewed the week before (I was travelling on Big Brew Day).  It’s always nice to know that as a homebrewer, you know that the situation on the home front is always improving, even when you are away. 

But the fun doesn’t stop there.  Check out youtube and search with “AHA Big Brew” for dozens of links showing ecstatic homebrewers; having fun, brewing beer and enjoying past successes.  Great stuff and visual statements about the joy of homebrewing, if I don’t say so myself.  Relax. Don’t Worry.  Have a homebrew.

            But there’s one woman who is finding less time these days to have a homebrew as she manages the American Homebrewers Association (Inter) National Homebrew Competition.  Janis Gross (photo left), American Homebrewers Association competition director recently confirmed that first round winners have been determined at 10 different judging locations around the country and in Canada.  It’s the largest biggest meanest most awesome beer, mead and cider competition ever in recorded, unrecorded, imagined and unimagined in the history of the galaxy – with over 5,600 entries!  Wow, now that’s a boatload of beer.  Each and everyone of these entries gets judged individually by several qualified judges (Beer Judge Certification Program) with the contestant receiving their judging forms back to receive an assessment of their beer.  The first round results are up.

The final round of judging will be determined at the already sold out American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference which will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio June 19-21.

            What’s Janis’ favorite beer these days?  “My favorite beer right now is the Chiswick Bitter recipe for Big Brew that I brewed in early April to serve at the National Homebrew Day Kick-Off Party we had on May 2nd.  I'm intrigued by the character the beer gets from the three dry hop additions of English hops; plus, even though it snowed here yesterday, this beer is one to savor in the warmth of summer days which are coming soon.  I can't wait”

What’s in my glass?

I’m away from home, but not ever far from beer.   You’ve read about my experience in the Lupulin Reunulin at the Brickskeller in the previous blog.  Here’s the two beers I was sharing with New Belgium Brewery’s “Guru of Goodwill” J.B. Shireman.   First a legendary Oude Gueuze Boon Marriage Parfait at 8% a superior blend (“perfect marriage”) of wild fermented Belgian lambic beers. From the legendary and award winning Boon Brouwerij N.V., Lembeek, Belgium.  One of the best gueuze lambic beers I’ve ever had.  Tart, crisp, refreshing.  Doesn’t assault the palate with acidity.  Balanced acidity with plenty of blended beer flavors.  An excellent accompaniment with food.  Worth seeking and paying good money for.  Then Dave Alexander treated us to a 10 year old bottle of St. Louis Brewery (Belgium) Gueuze Fond Tradition.   Another sour wild beer with plenty of character.   I’d recommend having this beer with some hearty food.  It is quite acidic and a bit overdone on the acidity, though with food the flavors would emerge in balance with the dining experience.   Another brew shared by Gordon Biersch, DC brewer Jason was Brewery Ommegang Ommegeddon’s Farmhouse Ale fermented with the addition of Brettanomyces yeast. At 8% the Brett character was new and soft spoken.  An intriguing spicy wintergreen type aroma and flavor contributed to by an unknown hop, I imagine.  Quite floral and reminiscent of the Witbier style, but peculiarly unique.  Nice foamy lace on the glass.  Refreshing and devilishly deceiving.

The evening of May 13 (and a scheduled repeat perfomance May 14).  Legendary Brickskeller owner Dave Alexander calls The Lupulin Reunulin.    5 Brewers.  12 beers.   Last night was the first of two nights running at the Brickskeller in Washington, DC.  Calling the beer lineup extreme would be an understatement.   The brewers?  There was nothing understated about their 3 hour dialogue.   From left to right, Greg Stone, founder and owner of Stone Brewing, San Diego, Adam Avery, owner and founder Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colorado, Rob Tod, owner and founder Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, Maine, Sam Calagione, owner and founder Dogfish Head Brewing Co., Milton, Delaware, Tomme Arthur owner and founder Port Brewing Company and the Lost Abbey Brewery, San Marcos, Calif., with Daniel Bradford, publisher All About Beer as moderator.

           The beers:  Allagash White a Belgian style wit (wheat) beer – yeasty, smooth, spicy and award winning balance of hops and good stuff; Port Brewing Moon Lit Sessions Black lager – very smooth lager with roast malt bite, refreshing black malt acidity, great hop balance of flavor and bitterness;  Stone’s Vertical Epic 2006, big, alcoholic, banana fruity, Belgian yeast enhanced with slight roast malt character; Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche – “neo Berliner Weiss style” fruited with peach, lactic fermentation, tart, fruity at over 7%; Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus – I hope I have this right – A lambic, brettanomyces yeasted ale that was barrel aged in barrels contributed by the aforementioned breweries, then blended by Tomme Arthur, will continue to age well for years, refreshing brett character, liking biting into a very crisp, hard green apple; Avery’s 15^th Anniversary Ale – 100% Brettanomyces yeast, nice malt balance at about 8% abv; Allagash Brewing Oak aged triple with Roselare micro orgasmic culture of yeast and bacteria, aged over one year in French oak wine and bourbon barrels then blended, 9%; Avery’s Hog Heaven barleywine ale – pure hop wine, intense deliriously hopped barley wine, 100% Columbus hops – a real trip!; Lost Abbey’s 2^nd Anniversary beer – “a hop bomb of double IPA, to match Avery’s Hog Heaven, but different; Stone’s Oak Aged Bastard 2007 – I’m not worthy, woody, vanilla, Arrogant Bastard, smooth; Dogfish head Palo Santo Marron – aged in wooden vats made of Paraguayan Palo Santo wood – resiny, smooth, subtle vanilla-like, roasted malt, cocoa notes, hop balance not extreme, well balanced very drinkable brew; Avery’s Samuel Oak Aged Ale 2008 – sorry by the time I go to this one it was bedlam and I didn’t take any tasting notes.

What’s in my Glass?

Are you kidding me?   All of the above.  Please pardon any typos.  Beer is my business I was working late.

There are lots of reasons to be in Washington, DC this coming week, May 12-17.  It’s American Craft Beer Week, so you guessed it, beer is the reason I’ll be in the Capital from Monday through Saturday for lots of business, great beer and food.   Let me start at the end of the week and work backwards.

            On Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and then again on Saturday evening the Brewers Association will be hosting SAVOR; Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience.

            Enjoy a reception-style sampling of your choice of 35+ sweet and savory appetizers and 96 craft beers from 48 American small craft breweries. Converse with the luminaries of the craft beer industry - brewery owners, brewers and representatives will be on-hand - serving you your beer.  Meet and listen to presentations by an A-list of beer and food personalities, including Boston Beer founder and brewer Jim Koch, Dogfish Head founder and owner Sam Calagione, award winning California brewing legends Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River Brewing Co.) and Tomme Arthur (Lost Abbey Brewing Co.) as well as Senior wine editor at Food & Wine magazine, Ray Isle, Dave Lieberman, chef and TV host on the Food Network and Marnie Old, award-winning sommelier and Director of Wine Studies at the world-famous French Culinary Institute in New York City.

            The event is surely to be a food and beer lover’s paradise and I’ll be there for all three sessions helping to host and toast America’s beer drinkers.  Savor will be held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW. Times: Friday, May 16 from 6:30 to 10 and Saturday, May 17 from 12:30 to 4 (this session already sold out) and 6:30 to 10 in the evening. Admission: $85; Click to link to ticket information and event details. No tickets will be sold at the door. Event information also call 1-888-822-6273.

            The Brewers Association is also a hosting a reception for Congressional members and their staff on Thursday afternoon.   Not open to the public, this event is a widely attended event which will feature several of the nation’s top craft brewers and their beers in an effort to promote awareness of the 1,400 small American brewers (and their beers), their business challenges and the contributions these small businesses make to their local communities.  Did you know that the average American lives within 10 miles of a brewery?

            Monday through Wednesday I’ll be participating in a Legislative Conference with the nation’s brewers and beer distributors.  With all this stuff going on it’s easy to confuse the issues and the reason why all this is important.   In my eyes it’s all about the beer drinker.  Creating value and helping assure that Americans are able to enjoy the flavor and diversity of America’s great beers.  Brewers are one of the most heavily regulated types of business in the country.   Misconceived regulations, fees, rules and taxes can dramatically and quickly threaten the operations of a small brewing business.   That’s why I and hundreds of others are in DC the earlier part of this week, helping to make sure that our congressional leaders are aware of the challenges of making great beer and offering a choice to beer drinkers.  It’s not all hops, malt, yeast and water.   But I’ll be enjoying some of the best.  Just as you can this week.

            Just to mention a few other activities, check out the Brickskeller and RFD’s events calendars for their line up of beer personalities and beers.  Also offering some special beers and brewers is Rustico Restaurant and Bar and Birreria Paradiso.   

What’s in my glass?

Last week I was in the German town of Hohr-Grenzhauesen to present the World Beer Cup awards to the European winners.  Hohr-Grenzhauesen was once a historical center for the countries ceramic industry.  Now with Chinese imports at a lower price (and quality) the town’s ceramic industry has evolved to host a world center for beer glassware design, production and distribution.   A tour of the Sahm Glassware facility provides a fascinating insight into how beer glasses “happen.”   The sight of tens of millions of empty glasses in their warehouse and their production facility is impressive and to tell you the truth, thirst provoking.   I filled one of those glasses with one of my favorite German Pilseners, Bitburger.  

Freshness and “local” is a virtue I embrace.  The fresh Bitburger Pils I enjoyed in Germany had a lively freshness which imported bottles in America don’t come close to replicating.  It’s a long way from Germany to America.  No brewer will disagree when I say the closer you get to a brewery the better their beer tastes.  So although there are great reasons to enjoy local beer where ever you are, there is justification to travel the world to try other local brews.  I was working late. 

        Bitburger Pils, topped with an attractive and lasting dense white head of foam, lacing the sides of the glass.  Served at a cool 55 degrees F (by my educated guess) and not at taste numbing near freezing temperatures orchestrated perfectly between sweet malt character and the floral and earthy signature of hops.  I was intoxicated more from the flavor and aroma than the alcohol.   Never ever drink beer with value out of a bottle, always pour into distinctive glassware.  Glassware enhances the enjoyment of beer more than most people realize (more on this in another essay).   A little exercise I always execute whenever I enjoy beer is to inhale while taking the beer into your mouth.  The mingling of beer aroma and flavors is music unto itself.  Gotta go.  Beer time.

What Americans do with malt, hops, yeast and water is so remarkably different than what the Scottish, English, Germans, Australians, New Zealanders, Japanese, Thai, Latin Americans, Africans and the rest of the world do.   Thank you for all this diversity.  It’s not only about the ingredients, but so very important it’s also about the process, environment, marketplace conditions, excise tax rate, climate, and most importantly attitude.  

            I’m in Scotland and sampling the local beers and it strikes me that even when English malt and American hops are combined in a fashion that is reminiscent of the American way, the beer has a completely different attitude to it.   It’s partly because I believe beer is alive.

            On the very north end of Loch Fyne there is the Fyne Ales Brewery.  A farmhouse brewery if I ever have seen one producing about 4,500 hl of real ales and bottled versions of the same each year.  Since 2001 they have developed their beer and their customers all over the UK and actually export a limited number of kegs of real ale to New York City.  Johnny and Tuggy Delap (photo right) were contemplating what to do with their estate and farmhouse to keep them involved with the community.  Tuggy suggested a brewery to the boys one evening as they gazed into the fireplace embers.  “Crazy” was the initial reaction.   She says, “I guess we’re all still “crazy” 7 years now.

            They’ve managed to convince champion brewer Will Wood to move away from Oakham Ales Brewery in England.  He brewed the Great British Beer Festival’s Champion Beer of 2001 – JHB.  Now he’s happily brewing on the shore of Loch Fyne in Argyll, Scotland and already has taken a few prizes with some of the Fyne Ales at recent GBBFestivals.

            We tried Inishail at 3.6% abv brewed with Mt. Hood, Cascade and Liberty hops, an all American hop bill.  Also Somerled brewed with Challenger, but late hopped with New Zealand Hallertauer and German Spalt..  On the darker side there was Vital Spark a refreshing fruity, toffee/currant-like brew with American Amarillo and Cascade hops.  The list went on and the brews were hoppier than the traditional malty Scottish ales a beer enthusiast might expect.  But today’s beer drinkers are demanding new frontiers in beer experience and Fyne Ales are certainly helping to provide them.

What’s in my glass?
Our favorite was hand-pumped real ale called Highlander Ale also brewed by Fyne Ales served at The George in the small port town of Inverary.  A good malt base and flavor with a smooth hop bitterness and flavor.  Served with a hand pump and offered with a creamy head.  Brisk and refreshing at 4.8% abv.   A great session beer and not like any real ale I’ve had in the U.S.A.  There’s a difference that I might discuss if the question arises.  Yes I’ve had real ales that have been brewed in the U.S., but like I said earlier, the brewing attitude and environment are different.  So are the beers.  (Photo left: Brewer Will Wood)

I’ve been living out of a suitcase the past few days with little time to reflect between pints of English Ale.  I’m presently waiting in Heathrow at infamous Terminal 5 for our flight to Glasgow.  I pause for a moment of coffee, croissant and reflect on our recent visit with David and Louise Bruce.  For veterans of the beer revolution both in the UK and U.S.A. in the 1980’srecall that they helped kick off the American brewpub revolution (see “The Brewpub that started a world revolution,” in my book Microbrewed Adventures, HarperCollins, 2006).  David and Louise live west of London, but David frequents London often while managing as CEO a group of pub/restaurants called Capital Pubs.   Back in 1981 or thereabouts he reestablished the first brewpubs in London with the Goose and Firkin and Fox and Firkin.   This was at a time of  The Campaign for Real Ale’s backlash at the “keg beers” which defined the direction which many British brewers thought they were heading.

            Needless to say brewpubs became popular in the London area, kicked off interest in other parts of the UK and in 1982 at the American Homebrewers Association Conference in Boulder, Colorado David gave an inspiring presentation about what he was up to.  This resulted in the concept of “brewpubs” taking hold in the U.S.A. shortly thereafter.  

            Now we live in a different world, yet brewpubs remain an important vanguard for presenting innovative beers a quality food.

            I enjoyed a few pints of real ale in London on our first day of arrival and a few pints at a local inn in the countryside.   Both the Bruce’s and my wife and I shared stories of our 25+ year parallel beer journeys.   And when there’s beer involved we discussed the state of the world from the perspective of pints of bitter.

What’s in my glass?

Good real ale is an art to find.   Not all is kept in good condition and served properly.  I was fortunate to be accompanying David who has standards I can trust.   Great stuff I tried, every pint different, though I seemed to settle into Adnams Bitter.  Why?   Because I’m attracted to hop character both bitter, flavor and aroma and while Adnams was nowhere near American levels, there was a subtle enough level that I enjoyed my pints, while yearning for more hop aromatics.

            My favorite so far was a bottle of Badger Champion Golden Ale, a “premium strong ale with a light fruity flavor” at 5% a.b.v.  The label explained the “elder flower” aroma, which I attributed hopefully to hops.  Though the aroma was also reminiscent of jasmine.   Quite well balanced and hoppy.    Brewed by Hall & Wood house in Dorsett.