Bar Stories

2009-05-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's official, folks: I've retired Bar Stories for the time being. I just don't have the time these days to devote to this baby, and I'm not sure I have much else to add that can't be found elsewhere on the plethora of drinks blogs now out there. So, feel free to peruse the archives, and definitely check me out at the Roughstock Library, and thanks for reading—last round's on me.

Hoisting a glass in honor of Repeal Day

2007-12-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

The following is an article from the New York Sun dated September 6, 1930. It's the story of one family in the restaurant business—my family—and not only is it a fascinating look at hospitality and daily life in the first half of the last century, it also seems an appropriate way to honor Repeal Day.

"A recent transfer of a lease for a restaurant property in Chambers street, near Broadway, brings back memories of a family who for fifty years or more catered to the eating and drinking appetites of some of the best known men in New York. It was the house of Schmidt—headed by the father Louis, and his two sons, Ollie and George. They actually put the liquor or saloon business on the business map and conducted it as one might conduct a banking institution.

Louis Schmidt opened and ran for many years the place at 6 Center street and it was known far and wide as Pier 6. Just why this name became attached to the place is not of record. It was in this place that two sons were instructed into the mysteries of drink mixing. From the start they liked the business and stuck to it as long as Andrew Volstead kept his ideas to himself.

It must be conceded that the Schmidt menage was good when it had upward of a dozen competitors in the triangle on which now stands the Municipal Building. It was then bounded by Tryon Square on the south, on which the Staats-Zeitung Building faces; Center street, Chambers street and Park Row. In the newspaper building there was a famous rathskeller. Next door was Pier 6. Then came Leggat's hotel and bar. Two doors away was Humpy Hanover's Curio and on the corner Paddy Shea's.

While all these places were going full blast, the Schmidt boys and their father kept right on selling good things to eat and drink. George, the younger son, was born over the saloon on Center street and has been in business barely three blocks away from there during his life. Ollie, being older, took over the burden when his father died and continued the name of Schmidt in the purveying business.

Not far away from the Schmidt domicile was the home of the Stender family in William street, just around the corner from Spruce street. Ollie was a live wire and so was Emma Stender, the niece of the elder Kate, who established the famous Kate's, which ran until a few years ago and which went out of business because liquor was taboo in the premises. Good food could be had until the day the key turned in the door for the last time. Some years ago Ollie died. His wife, Emma, assisted by sisters, Kate and Frieda, tried to carry on. Many of the old customers stuck, although they had to forgo their accustomed whisky sour or the seductive cocktail or a schoppen of Rhine wine with their meals.

Ollie had died and Emma had followed in a few years and the load was left for Kate and Frieda. It was too much of a load with only a few hours of eating each day, and they closed the place.

But to get back to the Schmidt boys. Ollie had a following. The Center street place was not magnificent as far as appointments went, but the bottled goods were of the very best. The small priced luncheons were tasty and the free lunch good. So when the place was forced to close the boys looked about to see what could be had to take over the trade who constantly reminded them they should stay in the neighborhood.

The place at 81 Chambers street long had been an established place and they took it over. Then the difference of opinions of the two brothers became known. Ollie thought the place should be closed at 7 o'clock each evening. George thought a later hour would be better. But the hour was 7 o'clock, and if a customer happened to be in the bar at that hour he was asked to take a "nightcap" on the house and everybody started away from 81 Chambers street, but the records do not show they always went directly home.

From the start the Schmidt ownership prospered, but Ollie thought he should have a place of his own and he therefore opened on Park Row at the apex of North William street, one of the handsomest cafes then to be seen in lower Manhattan. It was not a success and Ollie lost practically all he had saved and dumped into a place that was not wanted on a street of people who were rushing to catch subways and elevated trains. Brooklyn Bridge terminal was in those days a wonderful railroad terminus, but the Schmidt place did not seem to appeal.

Ollie therefore took over the William street place made so famous by Kate. City officials and newspapermen of note of other days congregated here and pleasant hours of reminiscence often brought to light interesting news stories that found their way into print. The Schmidt boys as well as the Stender girls were known to writers and public officials generally, but their support was not adequate to pay the overhead when the Volstead law became a part of the dictum of the day.

But George Schmidt stood his ground. When the law against the sale of intoxicating liquors became operative he stood by the law and never sold an illegal drink. But he did try to make his restaurant stand up a little straighter and reorganized hi place with full restaurant equipment and with this he has gone along until he decided he had been in the purveying business long enough and barely a stone's throw from the place he was born.

The Chambers street place had a couple of things to its credit that did not call for the use of alcoholic stimulant. True the corned beef and cabbage on Wednesdays have tasted a little better with a glass of real beer, but George's customers knew the value of the food and were satisfied to forgo the stimulant. On Saturday's he had a dish of pork and beans that attracted men from far and near. Men who had never called except on Saturday could be counted in the throng, for such it was, during the bean season, which seemed to run the year round.

George Schmidt has not served a drink behind a bar for many years and he probably will never mix another, but he has fond memories of his lifelong experience catering to men in public life in New York city. He has known personally Mayors and their cabinets and the writers followed him around as they did Kate and Ollie. Now he plans to retire from active daily routine and take a rest that may eventually take him up to Connecticut, where he has his eye on a cozy place that will be his home for the rest of his days.

Many years ago the Schmidts—father and sons as well as sisters-in-law—wrote their names into the hearts of good eaters and drinkers. All sorts of men—and no women—found their way into 6 Center street and the other places. One of the customers wrote a piece of poetry of fourteen verses which he had printed on good paper and was distributed to the patrons of the place. The man was retiring enough to withhold his name, but the author was known to those on the inside. On the first page titld "Pier 6" is a cut of Ollie and George Schmidt. It points out that Ollie is the owner and that George and Fred and Ollie Curtis are 'a brave quartet of bartenders, who only serve the best.'"

Now please, go out and celebrate.

Pause...

2007-09-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's official. I am taking a few weeks off to recover, regroup and rethink what I'm doing with Bar Stories. I owe a huge thanks—THANKS!—to all of you for your incredibly generous thoughts, comments and emails.

As much as I love writing about (and drinking, of course) adult bevs, the accident has taken more out of me than I ever expected. I only have so much time and energy, and I'm finding that drinks writing just isn't where my head is right now. I'm not swearing this sucker off forever, by any means. But for now, I'll be focusing on some of my other projects until I find my energy levels and physical capabilities are back to normal.

If you're one of the few readers who visits Bar Stories for my sparkling personality and drop-dead good looks, there are two ways to keep me close:

The first is Blog! Blog! is the best representation of my interests and personality that you'll find on the web. It's a little bit dysfunctional right now (kind of like me), but I'm in the process of redesigning the entire site and it'll be sooo sexy when it's done, you won't be able to take your eyes off of it.

The second is to subscribe to the rss feed (up there, on the right). It's fast and easy, and it'll instantly inform you when I've updated Bar Stories. You can even subscribe via email.

So again, cheers for sticking with me and pretending to care about what I have to say! Stay tuned...

Raise Your Glass

2007-08-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

According to All About Beer magazine, beer critic and advocate Michael Jackson passed away last night. I've gotten maudlin enough on this blog in recent weeks, so I'll allow others to mourn this font of beer expertise and appreciation in my place:

The Potable Curmudgeon (Roger Baylor)
Appellation Beer (Stan Hieronymus)
Brookston Beer Bulletin (Jay Brooks)
Seen Through a Glass (Lew Bryson)

That said, I'd also like to point out that yesterday marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Our government's abysmal failure to prepare for such a disaster, to react to it once it happened, and to adequately rebuild such an integral part of our own country remains a stain on American history. I really believe the best way to honor those who've suffered (be it from natural causes or man-made) is to act, and to act with mindfulness.

How you choose to act is entirely up to you.

The Blink of an Eye

2007-08-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's easy to create drama on the internet, to make more of something than it really is. On Friday, August 3rd, I was in a car crash. I've called it an accident on occasion since, when discussing it with family and friends, but it did not feel like an accident. When a stranger so violently and deliberately steers a car through a red light, accident feels somehow an inappropriate word.

The moment itself was exactly like the movies—the noise, the telescoping of time, a car sailing through the air. The most incredible part for me, though, was not the drama of what happened but what didn't happen. I did not die. In fact, all three of us drivers involved opened our car doors, stepped outside, and made our way to the sidewalk where we were engulfed by a growing crowd.

The fact that I am, relatively speaking, okay—hurting, achy, bruised, swollen—but okay (that is, alive), still slightly surprises me almost a week later. I don't put it that way for the sense of drama, but because going into it I was sure I wouldn't be. As soon as it dawned on me that this woman was going to drive at full speed straight through her red light and into me, I braced for something I knew would happen. The impact came sure enough. But afterwards, looking up at that green light through my windshield, I had to double check to make sure it wasn't a symbolic green light.

The point of all this is nothing more than an explanation for why you haven't heard from me all week. And for why you probably won't hear from me for a while longer yet. The crash has raised some funny questions for me. Not questions about guardian angels or reasons for things happening, but questions about how I can spend my time now that I can't sit in front of a computer for very long. According to my statistics, there are a lot more of you readers out there than I ever would have expected and it occurs to me that I don't know you very well. I'd like to. Because although writing on the internet is often an exercise in egotism, for me it is also about the craft of writing and exploring ideas.

So now that my time online is limited, I want to make the most of it. Will you tell me what you think? About it all: your experience with this site, with the ideas I write about, with what you'd really like to read about, with all of it? There are all kinds of rules and tips and suggestions for writing on the net; much of it is either bullshit or common sense and I'd like to offer a little bit more than that. I would love for you to leave your thoughts below, or even to email me directly if you prefer.

[I've also posted this entry on my other blog, Small Failures.]

Happy Hour: Coattails of the Cocktail Edition

2007-07-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't go to Tales of the Cocktail for two simple reasons: not enough time, and not enough budget. Those of my fellow drinks writers and cocktail aficionados who did get to go, however, have generously shared their boozy experiences with the rest of us little folk:

Duggan McDonnell
A gleeful, if hungover, description of what it's like to spend a week drinking with some of the biggest boozehounds in the nation. Duggan is the creative genius and owner behind San Francisco's Cantina.

Camper English
His swag bag awards are perfect—so much crap handed out events like these! Check out his entire haul. In one of his other TOTC recaps, he also touches on a point that consistently bothers me about the hospitality industry: we're not all friggin' meat eaters, people!

Stephen Beaumont
I like a man who speaks his mind. Steven calls out the moderator of one particular session, which takes balls in an industry where everyone seems to fawn a little too much for my tastes. It's a shame when people pay good money to watch someone not do their job very well.

Paul Clark
Paul lets us in behind the scenes, and then lets out what looks to me like my new favorite cocktail: the Procrastination Cocktail. Nothing could be more perfect.

Wineries: You Need to Check This Out

2007-07-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

I know I have at least a couple of winemakers on my reader list, so this one's just for you. Direct sales can be a big boon to the indie winery, and if you haven't heard of Inertia Beverage Group, you should check them out. But aside from that little plug, I have bigger and more important one. They're about to launch a free service that allows you to generate state-specific compliance forms for your direct-to-consumer sales.

The tool will be available to any winery, not just IBG's customers, and it is compiled and maintained by what seems to be a rather reliable team of legal and wine industry experts. Just imagine what it would be like if you didn't have to wrangle with state-by-state conformance laws: you'd save time, money and headaches.

Now, I'm not affiliated with IBG in any way, shape, or form (in fact, I could consider them a competitor since I run a communications studio for a living). But I've been following their blog throughout the development of this program, and have been consistently impressed with their transparency and commitment to the industry overall. The little guys need more companies working on their behalf. This kind of tool is a great way to introduce themselves to the marketplace, while advancing the cause of direct-to-consumer trade.

Despite the controversy this is stirring up (some folks just don't trust free), I hope independent wineries give this tool a shot. No, it doesn't mean you can lose your lawyer, but it sure could help make your life easier overall. I'd love to hear what you all think of this.

A Bitters Booklet

2007-07-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Phil over Lamb Martini (best blog title yet) shares with us the scanned contents of his 1934 booklet, "Angostura Recipes."

This is very cool folks—there are a lot of drink book collectors out there, and it's very cool to see these treasures first-hand, if not in-hand.

More Wine-Beer Parallelism

2007-07-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

Regular readers of Bar Stories know that I find the continuing beer vs. wine debate among those who typically claim themselves to be educated drinkers to be consistently comic (and, really, just a load of...hooey. Poppycock? Okay, okay, it's a load of horsesh--).

As further proof that wine and beer share certain similarities, I point to the ongoing debate within each industry over hot wines and extreme beers, respectively. It seems that both wine and beer have a contingent of followers who absolutely love a highly alcoholic (and in the case of beer, highly hopped) beverage.

But then there are the "average" drinkers: the bulk of folks who don't know nor particularly care about the nuanced differences between a French Bordeaux and an American Meritage, who don't understand (nor care about) how an extra pale ale really differs from an IPA. These folks happen to be the bulk of the market, which means that when trends like "extreme" beer and highly alcoholic wines take off, there are a whole of people left out in the cold. Witness winemaker Randy Dunn's latest missive:

"The current fad of higher and higher alcohol wines should stop. Most wine drinkers do not really appreciate wines that are 15 -16. +% alcohol. They are, in fact, hot and very difficult to enjoy with a meal...I don’t believe the average person is so insensitive to flavors and aromas that they must have a 15% Cabernet, Chardonnay, or Pinot Noir to get the aromas and flavors."

Now compare this to Lew Bryson's exploration of the extreme beer backlash in February's issue of Beer Advocate magazine:

"...we are, as Independence Brew Pub (Philadelphia) brewer Tim Roberts reminds us, a very small group: 'While we might consider Sierra Nevada Bigfoot tame,' he says, 'almost everyone else in the world would disagree. It's a very small group of people that feel that those types of [highly alcoholic, highly hopped] beers are somehow standard now, and want something more over-the-top.'"

The fact is, the majority of the market doesn't want extreme. And this is equally true for both beer and wine. The funny thing about it, though, is that I suspect many extreme wine fans have discovered an appreciation for extreme beers through their very love of such...extremity, and vice versa. Those who seek out intense flavors and tongue-tingling ABV levels easily recognize such characteristics in other beverages, which can quickly open up a whole new world to them.

Now, I would never advocate limiting production of any particular kind of wine or beer. Instead, I think we'd all be better served if producers would keep taking risks, keep seeking out new audiences for their "fringe" products, and keep mastering the old standbys as well. It's all a matter of appreciating the various points on a single beverage spectrum.

Beer in a Box: The Answer to Keg Theft?

2007-07-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Stop the presses! Keg thefts are on the rise! An AP article making the rounds over the past couple of weeks reported that the going rate for scrap metal has climbed dramatically, and as a result beer kegs have been disappearing left and right. On the surface, this might not seem like a big deal, but for craft brewers it can be a significant blow to the bottom line. And consumers may be the ones who end up paying for it.

The problem lies squarely with the keg system: breweries send their beer-filled kegs to distributors, who sell them to stores and bars. The stores and bars must return the empty kegs to the distributors, who in turn send 'em back to the breweries to be cleaned and refilled. It's a great system when it works, because it ensures fresh beer for consumers and it's more environmentally conscious than single-use bottles and cans (kegs can last for decades). But consumers need only put down a small deposit (generally $10-$30) when "buying" a keg at, say, BevMo. This means they can turn it around and sell it to a scrap yard at a profit if the amount they get for the metal exceeds their deposit.

Even the big boys are feeling the pain. Molson Coors won't say how many kegs they expect to lose this year, but they've got 800,000 kegs in circulation and the number of losses doubled last year over 2005. Sierra Nevada chalks up about 3% of their kegs to the black market every year. Considering that a replacement keg costs around $150, that's a lot of money being pulled from their pocket.

So what's the solution? The typical short-sighted response being offered by the Beer Institute and other industry groups is to lobby for higher keg deposits and ID requirements at the scrap house. But let's face it: this ain't gonna do much. Even if we embark on a state-by-state mission to pass laws, who's really going to enforce them? And how effective is it really going to be?

But what if there were another solution? Turns out, there might be. But I highly doubt the industry is ready for it (and hell, it may not even be ready for the industry). The Beer-in-Box system dispenses with the keg entirely. Functioning exactly the way wine-in-a-box does, the system decarbonates the beer prior to bagging and recarbonates it at dispensing with a special tap.

There are, of course, hurdles to overcome. First of all, industry hates change. The keg system is nationally understood and dispensing outlets (i.e. bars) are already equipped to handle traditional keg lines. The cost of implementing a new system could, for some, be prohibitive. On the supply end, breweries would have to convince distributors to take on this new system (good luck with that), and distributors would have to then convince outlets to re-equip.

There's also the issue of consumer perception; one critic described the concept of beer-in-a-box as "the Velveeta of beer" (mmmm...processed cheese). But is this a significant hurdle? Wine consumers have long fought the notion that boxed wines could actually be of decent quality, but a quick look at the numbers (and store shelves) reveals that boxed wine sales are up 70% over the last two years (of course, boxed wine represents just 1% of wine sales but some have estimated that they could eventually account for 10-15% of sales).* I personally think we're going to see huge growth of premium boxed wines as environmental concerns (and fuel costs) continue to grow, knocking the perception issue on its ass. And as we know (though hate to admit), the typical mass-market consumer just doesn't apply the same standards of quality to beer that they do to wine.

But the Beer-in-Box system begs an even more significant question: what the hell does it do to the beer? Issues of flavor, appearance, head retention and temperature all need to be considered. According to the inventors, the beer is less prone to bacteria and spoilage. They also claim that the system produces a "more consistent, more compact head of foam."* And every bartender will tell you that consistent head is a really good thing. As for flavor, there is only one bar in all the world (from what I can tell) currently using the system, and they're in Germany. So I can't tell you if it affects the flavor or not. One concern might be the effect of the plastic bag, but I suspect if the wineries have figured it out, this is really a non-issue.

The benefits of the Beer-in-Box system seem like they'd be well worth the effort of convincing the beer trade to adopt it. Assuming that quality is at worst unaffected and at best improved, the system also leaves us better off environmentally. Although switching to disposable packaging seems like a bad idea, it needs to be weighed against the energy/fuel consumption created by keg production, shipping and cleaning (bag-in-box packaging can be produced using recycled materials which themselves are recyclable, and they require less volume/fuel to transport).

There are logistical conveniences, too. Sizing would be incredibly flexible; bars could easily stock twice the number of draft beers, offering customers a wider selection. Bartenders and their barbacks (not to mention the hard-working delivery guys) wouldn't have to lift an additional 30 pounds when hauling kegs.

And finally, Bag-in-Box would flat-out solve the stolen keg problem. Breweries end up with a lot of money tied up in kegs floating through the various lanes of distribution. It's hard to keep filling kegs if the ones you've sent out previously aren't coming back to you quickly (or at all). The system could very likely pay for itself in lost keg savings.

So is it viable? You'll have to ask the inventors. They use it in their bar now, and have applied for the appropriate patents. But if it is, then perhaps, someday, you'll be drinking beer from a bag in a box yourself.

Happy Hour: Video Cocktails Edition

2007-07-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

Though I would never belittle the skills of the incredibly talented mixologists below, I will ask one question: is it possible to make a cocktail video without coming off as a total dork?

As though merely writing about drinks makes me somehow less dorky.

The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess
Straightforward and informative, with fantastic background and historic details. Robert knows his stuff, and he does this for the love of the drink, clearly. You will learn something.

Cocktails on the Fly with Alberta Straub
I think there's a reason her stage name is "Flighty," but some of her recipes are rather intriguing. One caveat: she's quite the polarizing personality. I'm certainly not one to judge.

The Thinking Bartender's YouTube channel with George Sinclair
George doesn't actually say anything during these no-screwing-around vids, and he's got a nice balance of classic and trendier recipes. I'm not quite sure whether to bang my head, do aerobics, or light a cigarette and don a skimpy cocktail dress when viewing these.

Other drink videos I've mentioned previously but are worth checking out if you haven't yet: Stonch's Brewcam and Jimmy's Time Lapse Bartending.

Happy weekending!

Three Thieves Digs Mac 'n' Cheese

2007-07-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems as though I've been wrong all along: people actually like reading product reviews. Since I keep getting comments from folks who wonder why I don't write more of them, I've decided to throw up my hands, open wide, and toss back a drink or two—all in the name of providing my loyal readership with the valuable information you need to buy yourself some booze. Just one caveat: I don't give a hang about scores or reputations. Make that two caveats: I make no bones about the fact that I am one person with my own personal proclivities, however endearing or asinine they may be.

Those proclivities happen to include a fixation with both package design and mac 'n' cheese. The depth of this fixation was made abundantly clear to me the other night as I continued my pursuit of the elusive perfect homemade mac 'n' cheese recipe. As any good chef knows, the first step of any recipe is "pour yourself a glass of [insert adult beverage of choice here]."

Typically, I drink beer when I cook. But when I opened the fridge on this round, I was reminded that I had a box of wine that had been sitting there for a couple of weeks, waiting for that perfect moment when boxed wine would be an appropriate drink of choice (see how I brought it back to package design and mac 'n' cheese? I'm killer at that kind of thing).

If you're scoffing at the fact that I had boxed wine in my fridge, back off. Just look at this screaming green package and tell me you'd pass this up on the shelf. And I'm no dummy; I knew there was a decent chance that Three Thieves spent more effort on their marketing than they did on the wine inside the neat little box. And what a neat little box, indeed. It's technically known as a Tetrapak, and it's made by people who believe that "a package should save more than it costs" (and they mean both environmentally and financially). But Three Thieves has been known to produce some rather drinkable value wine.

So does the wine inside the box hold up to the niftyness of the package? Better yet, does it hold up to my latest incarnation of mac 'n' cheese? I'd purchased the 2006 Pinot Grigio and, on pouring it, caught a big whiff of tart green apple and citrus. That tartness carried through in the flavor—Pinot Grigio is typically fairly acidic and fruity, for those of you who aren't big winos. This was a good thing, because after ten minutes of whisking my Bechamel sauce over the hot stove, I was...hot...and the Three Thieves were kind enough to cool me down a little. (By the way, the secret to my mac 'n' cheese—aside from the ever-changing combo of cheeses—is Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale and Honey Spice Mustard. Oh my god, this stuff is incredible.)

By the time I got halfway through the second glass, the mac 'n' cheese was out of the oven and ready to eat (turns out, adding Gouda is a good thing). Again, the crispness of the wine was great with the creaminess of the dish, but in all fairness there really wasn't a whole lot else to it. I have to wonder if some of this is the nature of value wine: Three Thieves, like many value labels, basically buys overrun juice lots and blends them together until they get what they like. Is there something about a winemaker having a direct hand in the grape growing that inevitably makes a wine better? This particular batch didn't undergo a secondary malolactic fermentation and I was surprised to find I would have liked a little more creaminess to it. The dryness was nicely balanced, though, by the fruit (which gave it just a touch of sweetness without being cloying).

That said, for $7 a liter I was pleasantly surprised. Turns out the Thieves do know what they're doing. Putting a decent wine inside great—and ecologically responsible—packaging does good things for the value wine market. And even better things for my mac 'n' cheese.

Happy Hour: Friday the 13th Edition

2007-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today's your lucky day as this week's happy hour falls on such an auspicious date. So without further ado, let's get spooooky...

Lucky 13
Any Friday the 13th Happy Hour coverage would be sorely lacking if I didn't mention this San Francisco rock 'n' roll classic. This place has got everything (except a functioning website—bad omen?): red and black walls adorned with black cats, a huge craft beer selection, a tiny backyard, a pool table and pinball machines, and fantastic bartenders. You can read my full review on Beer Advocate.

Mike's Hard Lemonade Unleashes Some Bad Juju
I don't know about you, but I find malternatives a.k.a. alcopops pretty frightening. And apparently, I'm not the only one; the Cocktail Nerd took Mike's Hard Lemonade to task this week in response to their latest ad campaign. As Bill Hicks so kindly reminded us, marketers "are the ruiner of all things good" (warning: language). Thank you, Gabriel, for making me laugh my ass off.

We Are All Doomed
What's scarier than climate change and the whole earth heating up and frying us? Kudos to Dr. Vino for his continuing coverage of organic and biodynamic wines, which take less of a toll on our shared ecosystem. Take his poll, won't you?

Cocktails Kill Cancer
Who would've thought your cocktail obsession could help cure one of the scariest diseases out there? Enter your recipe in the Ultimate Cocktail for a Cure Competition to win cash and prizes, and help raise money for breast cancer research. Hurry though, as the entry deadline (July 31) is fast approaching.

Gary Regan Keeps It Real

2007-07-12T10:14:00.001-07:00

As far as cocktail experts go, Gary Regan lands squarely in the top tier. What's not to love about the author of The Joy of Mixology? But Gary's got a little advice for all those bartenders who take "cheap digs at others who work behind the stick." And when Gary offers advice, bartenders would do well to listen.

Gary's missive about grandiosity and big britches is exactly why I respect this guy—the man's got class. We can talk about culinary cocktails and perfect proportions till the cows come home, but professionalism goes beyond knowing how to mix a drink. It includes hospitality—in the truest sense of the word—and it includes respect for others.

So the next time you get all uppity about the way someone's acting behind the bar, remember what mama (and Gary said): "go spread some love the way bartenders are supposed to do, say nice things about people you admire, and keep your mouth shut if someone gets your goat."

What's That You Say?

2007-07-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

If you're having trouble leaving comments, please let me know. I seem to be having trouble on my other Blogger blog, but I'm not sure if it's going on here, too. Inquiring minds need to know...

Thanks!

What Sells Drinks?

2007-07-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

What influences a drinker more than any advertising or promotion when it comes to buying drinks in bars? Their bartender, of course! This earth-shattering revelation comes from a recent survey by the Adult Beverage Insights Group. And although it may seem screamingly obvious to many of us, the fact is that too many bar owners overlook the selling power of their own human capital.

So how can an owner help his or her bartender sell more? Stop stocking crap, for one thing. Quality tools allow the bartender to do a quality job; and when a bartender is proud of the drinks s/he's mixing, s/he'll be more likely to get the customer excited about it, too.

The other—and most important—way to help your bartender sell more and up is to give them the information they need to sell product. The survey's respondents support this idea that "familiarity and product knowledge are key influencers in what they sell at the bar." That means training them on proper mixing techniques, setting up regular tastings, and getting them involved in menu creation.

Sadly, there was one thing this study revealed that sent a chill down my spine: it turns out that a lot of bartenders actually prefer working with "fewer ingredients and convenient mixers." But perhaps this is less of an indication of laziness, and more of a cry for help. Maybe with a little extra training and exposure to higher standards, these bartenders will learn to appreciate the joy of freshly squeezed juices and carefully prepped garnishes.

The Session 5: Atmosphere

2007-07-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

[I haven't participated in Session Friday since the first one, mainly because I have enough deadlines. But this month's "atmosphere" session, hosted by Hop Talk, is a good 'un and I wanna play.]

Beer drinking locales are almost limitless: a long cross-country flight, your local watering hole, the comfort of your living room couch, a wedding, your neighbor's backyard BBQ, the ball game—I think you get the idea. But for my money, one of the most overlooked yet rewarding beer-drinking locales is the very brewery in which it was made. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is that you're getting the freshest damn beer you possibly can.

You also have the opportunity (usually) to talk with the brewers who are responsible for the pint of goodness making its way down your throat. When I visited the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT last year, I had already missed the scheduled tours for the day. Instead, I had a really good grilled cheese sandwich and a Harpoon sampler in their cafe, and then got to chat with head brewer Matt while he did his daily chores on the brewing floor.

Most breweries are casual workplaces, with friendly staff who love to talk about what they do. Matt was no exception, and he offered me a taste of the wort as we spoke. In an age where automation and marketing teams throw up a polished, impenetrable surface over the products we put inside our bodies and digest, this kind of hands-on interaction gives you a much better appreciation for food and drink.

With over 1,300 craft breweries operating in 2006, you'd be hard pressed not to find a local brewery or brewpub near you (seriously—go do a quick search for a brewery near you). And many of these joints offer weekend activities like barbeques and concerts, where you can enjoy fresh hand-crafted brews, meet the folks who make it for you, and hang out with your friends.

One of the best regular brewery events I've been to is the Speakeasy Saturday BBQ (although by regular, I mean semi-regular; get on their mailing list if you want to know about them in advance). Just like pretty much every brewery event, the flavor of the festivities directly reflects the brewery's own beer style. In Speakeasy's case, that means you'll get great rock 'n' roll, a down-home BBQ menu, and a family-friendly place to enjoy a local brew. Ten bucks gets you in the door with a pint glass and four drink chips, so this is pretty much the best deal in town. A couple of months ago I got to see some great pirate punk bands, and their last BBQ was all surf.

So the next time you're trying to find a new place to drink, or you're interested in broadening your weekend plans, think about supporting your local brewery. You'll end up with good conversation, a belly full of deliciously fresh beer and who knows, you just might learn something from the guy or gal running the place!

Bartender Heroes and Other Amazing Tales

2007-07-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Bartenders kind of hover between the super-cool rock stars of the blue collar workforce and the unforgettable peons who're there to serve the demanding public. Some days, obviously, are better than others. But we often forget that being in a customer-facing position of authority (and one that serves booze to boot) comes with a host of other responsibilities beyond mixing up liquid deliciousness or playing therapist to the after-work crowd. Robert Huegel recently scratched at the nasty underbelly of the drinks world when he discussed the absurdity of the new cocktail condom.

It seems the cocktail condom has been invented to prevent would be date rapers from drugging their unsuspecting victims. A noble cause, indeed. But is it effective? Robert handily dismisses such assurances, and I'm inclined to agree. The single most effective way to foil someone who intends to drug a victim is simple awareness on the part of both bar patrons and bartenders.

I've brought up the importance of bartender safety before, but there's another side to it that us bartenders like to conveniently leave out: we have a responsibility to our customers to provide a safe drinking environment. It's one of the reasons we can be personally held liable for serving underage drinkers, or serving intoxicated guests who then proceed to kill someone in a car accident. While I think much of the legislation holding individual servers accountable for potential problems often lacks the nuance necessary to effectively enforce such laws, I do feel strongly that bartenders have an obligation to their customers to do what they can, within reason, to maintain a safe drinking environment.

What does this include? Just how far should a bartender go to keep his or her clientele safe? I suspect that as a female bartender, I felt a little more protective of my customers than many male bartenders might (although I certainly know my share of chivalrous gentlemen barkeeps). I'll never forget bouncing a pool player one night when I discovered him lifting the skirt of a young woman—she couldn't have been older than 25—with his pool cue. The look on her face (kind of crestfallen, kind of scared) was enough to make me feel guilty. It was, after all, my bar. She really didn't know how to respond, so instead of confronting the guy she informed her friends in a low voice that she wanted to leave.

Rather than allow that to happen, I bought her a drink and asked if she minded if I confronted the guy (he was going to get ejected no matter what, but I wanted her permission to make a scene). I then promptly humiliated him in front of the crowded bar, letting him know that sexually harassing my customers was unacceptable. I made sure everybody in that bar knew exactly what he'd done (though not to whom). The look on his face was priceless, and I'd guess that he'll think twice before touching a stranger again.

This was a clear case of sexual harassment, in which the victim was well aware of what was going on and was visibly distraught; it was obvious that I needed to step in and handle the situation. But bartenders are trained to mind their own business—it's a fine line we walk between eavesdropping and "overhearing" conversations, for example. This is why I was careful to ask the woman's permission before getting involved to the degree I did. Take it a step further and you end up with many bartenders who simply turn their heads rather than deal with an uncomfortable situation.

Thank god cocktail waitress Karri Cormican and bartendress Hannah Bridgeman-Oxley don't feel that way. These two thwarted a potential rapist who tried to drug his date's beer. Twice. The waitress spotted the first incident when her female customer was in the restroom. Rather than pretend it was none of her business, she fed the couple a line about the beer being bad and promptly replaced it with a clean one (saving the adulterated beer for the cops). As the waitress was privately informing the woman outside about what had happened, the bartender caught him doing it again. This time they called the cops. The guy's been sentenced to a year in jail.

The woman, of course, was lucky that her hostesses were 1) paying attention and 2) felt an obligation to act. As this instance demonstrates, not every date rape case is the result of drunken stupidity a lá Girls Gone Wild (note: if you're ever in a bar that has actual signs posted on "How to Avoid Having Your Drink Drugged," that's probably not a bar you want to spend time in. And yes, I actually saw this sign in a bar once).

Which is all just to say:

Bartenders, pay attention! Your job doesn't end at mixing drinks and handing out change. You have an obligation to try your best to maintain a safe environment for your guests.
And drinkers, pay attention! Don't rely on others to save your ass; drink smart and make sure you're not opening yourself up to opportunists.

If we each took a little responsibility, we could probably prevent a lot of unsavory crap from going down, and you'd never need to utter the words "I'll take a pack of cocktail condoms" again.

[If you thought these bartenders were brave, you should read about my buddy J.]

Friday Happy Hour!

2007-06-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

So much for the weekly series! I missed last Friday so this round's on me:

Stonch's Brewcam
If you enjoyed Jimmy's time-lapse vid that I mentioned in the first Happy Hour, you ought to dig this one, too. Stonch has set up a time-lapse camera right up in his homebrew and captures all the foamy, delicious action. Mr. Wizard, alas, would be proud.

Doin' It For the Ladies
It's weird: the business of booze is filled with women. But somehow it's the men who like to write about it. Lady blogger Natalie Bovis-Nelson of the Liquid Muse points us to the usual suspects, but what about las chicas? I know there are more of us womanly drinkers and alcohol enthusiasts out there! Like Marleigh (?) over at Sloshed! and the three femmes anonymous working the stick (is that a triple entendre or menage a trois?) at Liquor and Libations. We also have Cocktail Jen, who is admirably working her way through Mr. Boston's, one drink at a time. I know there are more of you, so speak up!

It's Always Happy Hour Somewhere
In case you need some help finding cheap drinks, try Unthirsty. Or Happy-Hour.net (limited cities), or Urban Drinks (limited cities).

Individual city listings | Miami | Dallas | Washington DC | Seattle | NYC

If you have more to add, please by all means do!

Import Beers: Blurring the Lines Even More

2007-06-26T09:27:00.001-07:00

Imported beer is inevitably priced higher than domestic throughout both retail and on-premise outlets, thanks to that air of foreign exoticism that comes with overseas travel. But what if that import that you were shelling out an extra dollar or two for wasn't actually brewed overseas?

Beginning in November, Foster's (you know, it's Australian for beer) will be brewed by Miller's Texas and Georgia breweries. But do you think either customers or bartenders will realize that Foster's is no longer an import? Doubtful, especially because they don't seem to even realize that right now Foster's is brewed in...Canada. (And yes, I should qualify this: I'm talking about the Foster's beer sold in the U.S. market.)

Of course, this isn't a new dilemma for beer drinkers or their bartenders. The fact is, most folks don't realize where their beer comes from (or their food, or their clothes). But why does that even matter? Beer is beer, isn't it? Well, not really. If an establishment is going to charge more for an added value—in this case, some relative and intangible element of "foreignness"—they actually ought to deliver that added value, don't you think? Otherwise it's just false advertising.

Another reason why this matters, though not for the average drinker, is that sales numbers for the import segment may be skewed if beers that aren't brewed in foreign lands are counted anyway. It could be argued that this impacts how brewers large and small make marketing and operational decisions.

Then again, we are talking Foster's here.

Do you know where your import comes from?
A few beers that are not brewed in the country they're associated with:

Mackeson's XXX Stout —England: Brewed in Ohio (by Boston Beer Co.)
Kirin Lager—Japan: Brewed in Los Angeles (by Anheuser Busch)
Carlsberg—Denmark: Brewed in Canada (by Labbatt)
Killians Irish Red—Ireland: Brewed in Colorado (by Molson Coors)

Note: Many beer geeks insist that the U.S. drinks Guinness that's brewed in Canada but according to multiple sources (including Guinness' website), only Canadians drink Canadian-brewed Guinness. Supposedly, the U.S. market drinks Guinness imported directly from Dublin.

Another note: The beer origins listed above are for the versions sold to the U.S. market.

Squidoo This

2007-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this matters to any of you Bar Stories readers (Oh, but it should! It should!), but I've just created my very first lens on Squidoo. It's called Drinks, Drinkers and Drinking and it's about—I'll let you figure it out.

I am going to overhaul the content shortly, because I really didn't know what I was doing. I think I'll keep it narrowed down to drinks in pop culture so it has a little more focus (books, movies, music, etc).

If I see some results (i.e. If it seems to get any attention), then I'll probably build a few more lenses for the hell of it. Because, y'know, I need more projects on my plate.

Now, do any of you know what this del.icio.us thing is?! (Kidding—I just haven't gotten hip enough to use it.)

Happy Hour: The Good, the Bad and the Boozy

2007-06-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

This week has been insane for me, not least of which includes keeping up with some very interesting beer, booze and wine blogging.

The Good

Anheuser-Busch has opted to start using 100% organic hops in their organic beers (there is a lot of controversy over the USDA's potential decision to allow non-organic hops to be used in organic beers). Chris O'Brien, of the Beer Activist, has been covering this issue quite well. So, why is this good? Hopefully A-B will create the demand for additional organic hops, opening up the market for the smaller guys to get their hands on some, too.

The Bad

A couple has recently been jailed for chaperoning their 16 year old son's birthday party, where they served beer in limited quantities to attendees up to the age of 18. Jay Brooks has an eloquent analysis of the ruling.

The Boozy

Summer cocktail recipes at StarChefs
Limoncello recipe by Camper
Incredible fruity tropical cocktails at Cantina

Drink Trends: A New Semi-Regular Feature

2007-06-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

In my neverending quest to be a better blogger, I've been working on some new features for Bar Stories. As I mentioned on Friday, this includes recurring columns focusing on different drink-related subjects. Today I'm unveiling my drink trends column because, even though everyone claims to hate trends, everyone still wants to know about them.

Here are just a couple on my radar:

Flavor Trend: Pear
Last year's pomegranate explosion is now commonplace, and the new fruit of the day is pear. It's interesting to me, because I think of pear as a "grown-up" taste, somewhat gentle and not particularly sweet. I think this is indicative of a wider trend of consumers moving toward more sophisticated flavors. We're seeing it in almost every category, especially craft beer.

A bsolut Pears vodka
Grey Goose La Poire vodka
Clear Creek pear brandies
Scottish & Newcastle pear ciders (confirmed rumor)
Pheasant Valley Organic Pear wine

Non-alcoholic: Coke's Peartiser (UK only) | Nantucket Nectar's Pomegranate Pear
Press on pear: Honolulu Advertiser | Pear Bureau Northwest PDF | New York Magazine

Marketing Trend: 4-D Marketing
Also known as experiential marketing, 4-D marketing focuses on bringing the consumer into the marketing experience rather than just marketing to them. The internet certainly helps in this regard, as companies both inside the drinks industry and out leverage new technology to help spread their message. Examples include:

Samuel Adams' new beer glass: Specialty glassware isn't new among drinkers, but bringing it to the general public is. Sam Adams recently launched a specially designed beer glass intended to be used with their classic Boston Lager.

Brewing competitions: Several major breweries have been running nationwide (or regional) brewing competitions, in which consumers can submit their own homebrew recipes for a shot at having them mass-produced. Contests aren't traditionally very experiential, but when you get to create a beer and have it put on the market, it takes things to a whole new level. [Sam Adams' Longshot 2007 | Anheuser Busch's You Choose It, We'll Brew It '06]

Open Source Beer Project: Flying Dog has taken a totally unique approach to 4-D marketing by allowing consumers to help shape their next beer. Participants get to modify an actual Flying Dog recipe; we'll see what comes of hundreds of beer geeks fighting over flavors!

Interactive packaging: This one appeals to my designer sensibilities. In addition to the rise of alternative packaging like Tetrapacks and boxes, which aren't really experiential in and of themselves, some winemakers are going the extra mile. Rosenblum Cellars has started featuring a peel-off wine label that allows consumers to bring home information about the wine they enjoy (perfect for restaurants or dinner parties). Less experiential but equally flashy is Coors' new temperature label.

So there you have it, short and sweet. I don't know how often I'll run this particular column, but expect to see it at least once a quarter. Let me know if you dig it, and feel free to share any trends you seem to be noticing.

Happy Hour: A New Weekly Series

2007-06-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since beginning Bar Stories, I have deliberately refrained from using the standard blog crutches: lists, regurgutation of others' news stories, etc. I'm not entirely guiltless, of course, but I've tried to keep it genuinely useful. This stems from my distinct belief that meaning matters™. I'm not knocking the fun drink sites that post random "stuff," or new-fangled recipes, or researched histories of old-timey cocktails, or anything else, because I read all those regularly. But because there are so many good ones, I've tried to make Bar Stories something different, and I like to think I've largely succeeded.

So all that said, I've got some changes in store, not least of which is a serious redesign to make the blog more interesting to look at (I really have no excuse, since I make part of my living as a graphic designer). Part of the redesign starts today: Bar Stories will offer regular and semi-regular subject-specific "columns." The first of these is Happy Hour, which will simply be a way for me to babble briefly about random drinks stuff and start offering more link love to my fellow drinks writers out there. First up:

Make Mine a 007: Someone (self-dubbed the Minister of Martinis) has taken the time to compile detailed statistics on James Bond's drinks of choice. It includes all the films, and the novels. Having just watched George Lazenby knock back a shaken-not-stirred Martini, a malt whisky and branch water, a Dom Perignon '57 and a beer in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, I find it funny that the winning association with Bond is the Martini. [via Liquor and Drink]

Time Lapse Bartending: Here's a treat I thought would be boring until I watched the whole damn thing. Bartender Jimmy Patrick (Jimmy's Cocktail Hour) shares a video of a recent Tuesday shift, which was "not too busy, not too slow." Sped up as it is, it's easy to see good bartending in action. Note that he regularly checks in with each customer along the bar (spending more attention, presumably, on the solo drinkers while leaving the groups to chat amongst themselves), balances his service bar duties with his customer-facing ones, and generally uses his time to both chat with guests and get bar work done.

9,000 Martinis and Counting: Wowza. Robert Heugel over at Explore the Pour has compiled a list of branded Martini ingredients and then mathematically calculated the number of possible variations on the classic cocktail. Even he admits the list is not exhaustive, but smokes that's a lot of possibilities (not to mention anything approaching variations on measures)!

Pastoral Nostalgia or Blue Collar Chic? Enough of the Beer vs. Wine Debate!

2007-05-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wine and beer have traditionally garnered their own particular markets in the U.S., pitting drinkers into two camps: the wine and cheese crowd, the stereotype goes, sniff and spit and quaff, all while turning their noses up at the beer and burger set. You know, those red-necked working class nonthinkers who hang out at race tracks and frat houses.

This back-and-forth which is better, which is more authentic, which is worthier debate is hashed and rehashed all the time. Typically, wine drinkers demonstrate a misguided superiority complex, as in wine writer Natalie MacLean's recent anti-beer diatribe (scroll down to the 5/8 entry) in which she explains that "wine is bottled poetry; beer is a canned cliché." But sometimes it comes from the other side, too. Earlier this year, a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist railed against the growing "pretensions and airs" surrounding craft beer. It would seem that the bulk of drinkers (beer, wine, or otherwise) are simplistic thinkers who would prefer to keep the camps separated by a nice, clean class line.

Yesterday Slate.com published an interesting take on this beer vs. wine debate, adding a new if equally misguided twist. The premise goes something like this: wine wins its appeal thanks to a "pastoral nostalgia" that ties it to long-forgotten memories of rolling hillsides and deeply embedded terroir, while beer remains a populist, industrially-produced concoction that is now too approachable for our growing culture of connoisseurs. On the surface, this is an ingenious way to frame the debate. But it, too, is guilty of placing wine on a pedestal while implying that beer is somehow an inferior product.

The reality is that wine and beer are more alike than anyone cares to admit:

1. Wine and beer are both ancient arts.
I constantly read histories of beer and wine claiming that each is the world's oldest beverage. Truth is, no one really knows. What we do know, thanks to scientific analysis, is that both beer and wine were accidentally developed in ancient Sumeria around 6,000-4,000 BC.

By that point, humans had pretty much settled in the area, allowing them to grow crops like—take a guess—grapes and grain. And as might be expected back in the day, food storage wasn't all it's now cracked up to be. The theory goes that good grapes sat around for too long, allowing the wild airborne yeasts (which are all around us still) to do their thing. The result was fermented grape juice, a.k.a. wine.

Beer was discovered similarly, this time when someone's unbaked bread dough sat around and started to ferment:

"There must have been deliberate attempts to replicate the probably inadvertent dough brew from bappir, because eventually all Sumerian brewers would coarsely grind wheat or barley, or both, then moisten the grain and shape it into flat loaves. After gently baking these loaves in mud-brick ovens into bappir, they would it crumble it into crocks of water. Left to their own devices, the containers of thin bread gruel would eventually be visited by yeast spores swept into the crocks on a breeze and the content would ferment into beer. Our Sumerian Stone Age forbears would then take a straw or a ladle and imbibe. We know so, because the Sumerians left us not only the oldest description of beer-making, but also the oldest graphic depiction of beer drinking. It comes from a seal found at Ur. It dates from around 3100 BC and shows two gentlemen using straws to drink beer out of a common crock." —Horst Dornbusch

2. Wine and beer are both, at their heart, agricultural products.
Wine advocates would do well to stop using Bud/Miller/Coors as the poster children for beer, pretending that the adjuncts and flavor-freezing technologies implemented by these macro breweries is the way quality beer is brewed. Imagine how these same folks would bristle if I were to use Fred Franzia's Bronco wines as the pinnacle of the wine industry! If you want to adequately compare beer and wine, you must use brands that exemplify the real spirit of the product.

With that in mind, let's actually look at what goes into the artisinal, or craft, versions of these beverages (these stats are based on limited research and may not be all-inclusive—feel free to point me to additional sources):

No. of grape varietals used in winemaking: 150*/230*
No. of yeast strains used in winemaking: 16**
No. of yeast strains used in beer brewing: 15*
No. hops varieties used in beer brewing: 54*
No. of barley varieties used in beer brewing: 32*

Just to clarify these numbers: the number of grape varietals only includes the commerically significant varietals, and not hybrids and genetically bred strains of other varieties. Same with the yeast numbers: when it comes to organic organisms like yeast, most strains are just minor permutations of a single species. And, of course, you'll notice that wheat etc. varieties are not listed for brewing. So, as the above numbers demonstrate, all kinds of natural-grown goodness goes into both products.

3. Wine and beer both rely on an industrial manufacturing process.
Lest you buy Slate.com's romantic notions of barrel-aged wine over industrial packaged beer, don't forget that much commercial wine spends as much time aging in steel tanks as it does in wooden barrels. All those well-oaked vintages wine advocates are so proud of? Many of them get that oak from chips, not actual barrels.

I share this dirty little wine secret only because it's absurd to think that the majority of wineries are still foot stomping their grapes and hand bottling their wines. There are, of course, artisinal craftspeople to be found in both industries. But let's not kid ourselves that wine is somehow less processed than beer. Ever heard of fining? Both brewers and vintners do it, among other things, which makes both equally "guilty" of industrialization.

4. Wine and beer both exhibit a vast array of flavors, textures and appearances.
Beer snobs are sometimes accused of "lifting" the language of wine. I'm not convinced, though, that this indicates a lack on beer's part. Language is, after all, finite; just because beer advocates have until recently been loathe to sound like wine snobs, doesn't render their use of typical wine descriptors inaccurate or inappropriate.

We have sensory chemist Ann Noble and her Aroma Wheel to thank for some of the unusual terms that spill from the lips of wine snobs: a hint of horse blanket on the nose, or a touch of bell pepper and cut grass. These scents are due to the hundreds of organic compounds and esters found in wine. According to the Aroma Wheel, there are approximately 135 different aromas commonly identified in wine (keep in mind that smell accounts for about 75% of what we taste).

How does this compare to beer? If you think "grainy" is as descriptive as you can get when describing beer, think again. Noble's counterpart in the world of beer is a scientist named Meilgaard, who developed the Beer Flavor Wheel back in 1979. Meilgaard managed to identify 122 common flavors that a practiced taster can recognize, but all his hard work has been dashed by the Big Macros who insist on chilling all that good flavor out of the pint. No wonder wine drinkers think beer tastes dull and bland.

Can't We All Just Get Along?
If wine and beer are so alike, then why all the controversy among writers and critics? Clearly, the idea that these two alcoholic beverages share such common terrain just doesn't make for a good story. It doesn't sell newspapers, it doesn't build repuations, and it certainly doesn't help differentiate the products to drive sales. Truth is, the public likes a little antagonism to fuel our passions, because otherwise we'd have to start paying attention to nuance and complexity (and maybe even think for ourselves once in a while).

Yet there seems to be change afoot in the marketplace. Whereas typically wine drinkers were once clustered on the coasts feeding the "sophisticates only" vibe, we're now seeing the love for grape move inland and across lifestyle boundaries. Wine sales among NASCAR fans, for example, is up 22% over last year, thanks in part to the likes of drivers Jeff Gordon and Richard Childress. But NASCAR viewers aren't the only sports fans getting into wine: my beloved Boston Red Sox are launching a line of charity wines featuring Manny, Schill and Wake. Thinking about this crossover, I can't help picturing John Belushi in the Blues Brothers, flipping shrimp into Dan Akroyd's mouth in the fancy Chez Paul restaurant, finally leaning over to the table next to him to ask, "How much for your weemen?"

But just as wine pours its way into the hearts of those living in the heartland so, too, is beer finding its way onto fine dining menus everywhere. Craft beer poster boy Garrett Oliver, head brewer of the fantastic Brooklyn Brewery, is perhaps single-handedly responsible for the growing acceptance of beer among upscale chefs. His book, The Brewmaster's Table, is cited as a primary influence by beer sommeliers from coast to coast.

So perhaps there is hope after all. I'd like to think the sales numbers are indicative of a larger trend, one that includes the opening of minds and the broadening of palates. Maybe consumers are starting to realize that limiting what they imbibe only results in their missing out on a nice drink. Hell, maybe it even means they're willing to learn a thing or two about a thing or two. I just wish beer and wine writers would stop hindering them by spouting the typical party line. Is it really too much to ask?