Kasper On Tap

Bombers grounded by a mutiny

2009-07-10T15:16:18Z

This just in: Clipper City's new bomber series, the subject of an earlier Friday post, has a new name.

In keeping with the nautical, Heavy Seas theme, the series of brews in 22-ounce bottles is now called The Mutiny Fleet.

Name changing is part of American culture, especially among celebrities. Here are few examples that worked.

Cheryl Ladd - Cheryl Stoppelmoor

Ted Knight - Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka

Ben Kingsley - Krishna Banji

Groucho Marx - Julius Marx

Demi Moore (at left) - Demetria Gene Guynes ...

Meg Ryan - Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra

Winona Ryder - Winona Horowitz

Tina Turner - Annie Mae Bullock

Alica Keys- Alicia Augello Cook

What do we think of Clipper City's name change from bomber to mutiny?

Does it matter?

Will the new name, like the celebrity name change, seem natural over time?

Photo: Associated Press

Clipper City's Bombers have landed

2009-07-10T12:48:04Z

The first of Clipper City's Heavy Seas bomber series has landed in local stores.

The Big DIPA or Double India Pale Ale appeared in 22-ounce "bomber" bottles. The Maryland distributor is Republic National. I found it in local liquor stores at $6 a bottle.

Clipper City's Hugh Sisson said the line began as pet project. Brewers made small batch experiments for folks who worked at the brewery. Now they are bottling these pet projects.

In addition to the DIPA, the brewery has plans to release a Heavy Seas Imperial Octoberfest, a Heavy Seas Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and Belgian triple to be named later, in the bomber bottles.

I tasted the Big DIPA Thursday. It is gorgeous, a rich copper body and creamy head. The brewers say they use 5 pounds of hops ber barrel, and the hops make themselves known both on the nose and the palate. It is a bit sweet, and its 10.5 % ABV stands up and says hello. This "bomber" does pack a wallop,too much firepower for me.

Why is this bottle size called a bomber? I heard it came from the B22 bombers of World War II.

Anybody else hear that?

Any other theories?

Any other opinions on this bomber?

Beer Belly: It's the genes not just the beer

2009-07-09T13:30:48Z

Drinking a lot of beer can lead to a weight gain, but it won't necessarily give you a beer belly. That is what research published recently in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found.

German and Swedish researchers looked at some 20,000 men and women, studying among other things, the relationship between the change in their beer consumption and the change in their waist circumference.

They concluded that heavy beer consumption leads to weight gain, but that not everybody who drank beer and gained weight, developed a beer belly.

Where that weigh showed up had more to do with the "natural variation in fat patterning." Our genetic makeup, I guess.

I read an abstract of this research, not the full article. It was written in technical language. Here, for example, is the phrasing of one of its beer belly conclusions. "This study does not support the common belief of a site-specific effect of beer on the abdomen, the beer belly."

This seems to contradict common sense. If you gain weight because you drink a lot of beer, where does the weight gain show up on your body?

In your feet?

There are, however, people who drink a lot of beer and never get fat. What, I wonder, is their secret?

Why do some of us spread out like Fat Albert, and others remain bean-pole thin?

Why does this happen. Any ideas?

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Taking beer rather than wine to a dinner party

2009-07-08T12:24:46Z

Recently my wife and I got invited to the home of one of her Hopkins colleagues for dinner. Rather toting the usual bottle of wine, I instead took two 750-milliliter bottles of beer.

The beers I carried were two from Dogfish Head, Squall IPA and Sah'tea.

Shortly after we got in door, the host popped the lids and poured the five of us some small servings of beer.

The Squall IPA was hit. Unfiltered and bottle conditioned it went well with a lime-infused guacamole. It was pungent yet smooth, and hid its 9 percent ABV. The tasting notes describe it as a brew to enjoyed at a sunset bonfire on the beach. It was pretty good company in a Mount Washington kitchen as well.

The Sah' tea was a bolder beer and received less of a welcome. This beer, the tasting notes said, was an update of a ninth-century Finnish brew. The wort was caramelized by dropping hot suana rocks in it. A German Weizen yeast was used. Juniper berries from Finland andblack tea and spices were added for flavor. It was quite a brewing adventure as the above video shows.

The brew's tea flavor and the lingering aftertaste were not well received by my fellow diners. Too harsh, one said.

Nonetheless the beer tasting prelude to dinner was a happy experience. As we sipped, we shared stories of our favorite beers. One fellow, a university administrator, said a friend was "educating" him by bringing him various Belgian beers to sample Friday nights after work.

I had been reluctant to tote beer rather than wine to this gathering. But I think I will do it again.

Anyone else carry beer to the host and hostess?

What was the reaction?

The Sah' tea might have been a little far out, perhaps I should have stuck to more straight-forward beers. But these folks were world travelers and appreciated sampling something different, even if they didn't love it.

What are some good beers to present a host and hostess?

From the beer blogs: Drinking songs

2009-07-07T16:54:21Z

As I cruised the blogosphere this week looking for inspiration for this post, I found a list of the Top 25 Country Drinking Songs. It was great fun, although wide open to debate as to whether they're the best out there. I soon discovered that lists of favorite or best drinking songs exist for almost every musical genre.

Another discovery involved the mere definition of a drinking song. Is it a song about drinking or is it a song to be belted out while drinking? Or does it matter? The following lists include both.

There's no shortage of drinking songs in country music and winnowing down to a list of any manageable size is a chore and opens the door to endless debate. The country music list I chose came from AOL Music's blog, The Boot. Most of the songs are contemporary country, which ignores many of the great classic songs including my all-time favorite, Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass." What I like about this list, though, is that each entry offers "Cheers-worthy lines" from the song. What I wasn't crazy about is that each of the 25 songs is a post unto itself, meaning you have to click through page after page to digest the entire list. Good for traffic, I suppose. Yahoo Music's blog, The Y! Radish, offers a list of the best hip-hop drinking songs, complete with clips of each of the 12 songs. Be forewarned that these do not make for safe family-friendly listening. Included among these picks is Snoop Dog's "Gin and Juice II." Personally, I prefer the original "G&J," particularly a version done by the Austin, Texas band The Gourds, which could just as easily be part of the country song list. This next list falls into the category of songs not about drinking but good to shout while you're drinking. The Rock and Roll View blog offers its list of Best Beer-Drinking Songs for Hell Raisers. The list is heavy with heavy metal bands like Metallica, Kiss, Motley Crue, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. Listen to it loud and make sure you stretch out your neck before doing those violent head bobs. Any list of drinking-song lists must include Irish drinking songs (remember, this is Sullivan writing today). The old sots on the old sod when not putting glass to lips were putting pen to paper. Blogger Marc Gunn, who describes himself as a Celtic American musician and podcaster, doesn't try to put a limit on the number of Irish drinking songs, but instead links out to many other sources where readers can find treasure troves of the songs. Included in Gunn's list is a link to a group of his own recordings, and also the strangest thing I found, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. I guess if you're drinking and singing, anything will do. Do you have favorites of your own? Let us know in the comments. I'm going to leave you today with my aforementioned favorite, which was excluded from the country list, Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass."

More news on Baltimore Beer Week

2009-07-07T11:37:06Z

I am on the committee planning Baltimore Beer Week, Oct. 8 to 18. Here are the latest developments.

Ten days of celebration will begin with a VIP opening tap event on the Constellation in the Inner Harbor on Oct. 8. Specific information and a limited number of tickets will soon be available on the Baltimore Beer Week Web site.

After the initial cask has been tapped on the ship, beer will flow at a number of beer dinners and tastings held throughout the Baltimore area, according to Joe Gold, the week's chief organizer. A detailed list will appear on the site, he said.

In other developments:

* Clipper City Brewing Co. will serve as the flagship sponsor of Baltimore Beer Week, and Flying Dog Brewing Co. has become a gold sponsor of the week.

*Sponsorships, starting at $50, are available for anyone interested in being a part of the inaugural Baltimore Beer Week event, Gold said. (Contact info@baltimorebeerweek.com for more information.)

* The Brewers Association of Maryland Oktoberfest will take place during Baltimore Beer Week on Oct. 10 at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Details here.

* The Chesapeake Real Ale Festival put on by the Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood will take place during Baltimore Beer Week on Oct. 17 at the Pratt Street Ale House. Details here.

*An embellished Baltimore Beer Week Web site is scheduled to go live next week. To get on the e-mail list and to receive Facebook and Twitter updates, visit the beer week's Web site.

Logo courtesy Baltimore Beer Week

Are we crabby about the "theft" of Natty

2009-07-06T14:56:01Z

Apparently, the new nickname of Natural Lite, the InBev light beer, is Natty Light.

Stuart Elliot asks in his column in The New York Times today if fans of Natty Boh are upset that this nickname is very similar to that of Baltimore's once favorite beer.

In other words, can you call a beer Natty if you don't go "down the ocean."

Is this an affront to our local argot?

Is this another example of corporate marketers twisting local loyalties?

Or is it just one thin beer using the clever name of another thin beer to gain market edge.?

Whose your Natty?

Photo: Capital News Service

Big weekend for canned beers

2009-07-03T11:00:00Z

There are going to be a lot of get-togethers at the swimming pool this weekend and during the rest of the summer. Pool parties call for canned beer.

Bottles and any other glass containers are banned at most pools and other spots where folks run around in their bare feet.

It used to be that the selection of canned beers was pretty dismal. But now with the Oskar Blues lineup of canned beers from Colorado in this market , you can have your canned beer and quality, too.

My favorite is their Dale's Pale Ale at 6.5 percent ABV. Their other canned beers, Gordon at 8.7 percent, the Old Chub at 8% and Ten Fidy at 10 percent, are too a bit much for me when I am wearing a swimming suit and am reminded of my ever-expanding middle.

From time to time, I have seen Pilsner Urquell in cans as well.

Guinness and other stouts come in cans, but they don't strike me as pool beers.

Stephen Beaumont named his top 5 canned beers on Epicurious. They are Fuller's London Pride, Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Gordon and New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale. Of that group, only the pils strikes me as beer to drink in your swimming suit. Drinking a Fat Tire would encourage too many unpleasant references to the waist line.

What is your favorite canned beer?

What is your strategy for carting beverages into a glass-free setting?

I pour wine, for my wife, into empty club soda bottles, and cart them to the pool.

Photo: Getty Images

Are you ready for some sour?

2009-07-02T13:19:26Z

Interesting piece on sour beer in the Los Angeles Times yesterday.

Joshua Lurie writes about beers that he acknowledges can "smell like a barnyard." But, he adds, these beer usually taste better than they smell.

Most of these beers are unblended lambics that ferment in oak barrels.

They present some challenges.

First you have to get past the aroma and get to the taste. Even the fans of sour beers admit that this can be a leap. Lurie quotes Mark Jilg of Craftsmen Brewing Co. describing sour beer's bitter notes as "the final frontier of the palate experience."

Brewing a sour is tricky, the article points out. The fermentation can be long and expensive. Moreover, the microbes that essentially make the beer are aggressive and unpredictable. Sometimes they become sour quickly, sometimes not, one brewer told Lurie.

Then there is the acidity. Sour beers, like Deschutes Brewing Co.'s The Dissident, which I tasted at Savor event in Washington last May, can really make you pucker. I was not wild about it. But the tasting group I was a part of rated it as their fave.

I did appreciate the sour that Ben Schwalb of Severna Park served at the SPBW home brewers crab feast last fall.

Where do you stand on sour beers?

Are they all about the brewing mystique?
Just because they are difficult to brew does that make them good?

Any brewers have tales to tell about trying to make a sour?

Or do sours deliver unique, acidic flavors, harkening back to the beers that brewers made centuries ago?

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Ain't the beer cold? Sipping at Camden Yards

2009-07-01T15:20:57Z

Yes, I was at Camden Yards Tuesday night , sipping beers as the Os battled the Red Sox. Yes, I left before the comeback.

Early in evening, when the Red Sox built a big lead, the only joy was in the beer drinking.

Started with a Wild Goose IPA, moved on to a Flying Dog Old Scratch.

Somewhere along the way, a wad of chewing gum landed on my seat in the right field bleachers.

The gum then got on the seat of my pants.

An usher tried to remove the gum from the bleacher seat. She failed but summoned a seat maintenace crew. They worked hard, using a substance I was afraid to apply to my pants. The usher found me another seat. I was still gummed up, and the Os were getting pasted.

Then the rain came.

It rained hard enough to scare Noah.

My buddies and I took shelter in the Bud Lite Warehouse. I sipped a Stella Artois.

It rained even harder. The Os were behind 10- 1. After one beer in the warehouse, we punted and headed home.

Later at my home, I listened to the Os dramatic comeback as I worked on removing the gum from my pants, ironing it onto a piece of cardboard.

As midnight approached, the Os won 11-10, with Brian Roberts scoring the winning run, and my pants were gum-free. Life was good.

The beer is pricey, $6.75, at the ballpark. But it is flavorful.

Anybody else drink beer and run last night? What do you drink at the ballpark?

What's on the seat of your pants?

Photo: Baltimore Sun

Beer drinking co-pilot "waters" a tree and is grounded

2009-07-01T11:35:08Z

A Japan Airlines co-pilot who Hawaiian police caught relieving himself behind a tree ended up causing the cancellation of flight from Hawaii to Toyko.

The Japan Times reported yesterday that an unnamed 53-year-old co-pilot was detained for urinating in a public place. The co-pilot said he had downed about 5 small bottles of beer at a restaurant near his hotel on the night before the scheduled flight.

He then took a walk outside the hotel, felt the urge and relieved himself behind a tree.

He was then arrested, underwent a brief trial and was fined $25

Since his detention made the co-pilot unable to show up for the flight , it was canceled, affecting 297 passengers.

The co-pilot did not violate the airline's regulation that bans drinking 12 hours before flying. But the airline said it is considering disciplinary measures.

Does this prove that you don't buy beer, you just rent it?

What is your advice to someone caught in the great outdoors with a full bladder?

Ever got in trouble for "watering" the landscape?

Photo: AP

Drinkers to recession: We don't care

2009-06-30T14:30:24Z

Drinkers don't seem to care that there is a recession.

That is what a recent Gallup Poll on the nation's drinking habits says.

"The recession may give people more reasons to drink, but less money to do it with," the Gallup pollsters report. To the extent this is true, the effect seems to be a wash. Gallup finds no major changes in the percentage of Americans who drink alcohol (now 64%), in how much drinkers consume, or in their preferred drink -- which, by a modest margin, continues to be beer."

Other interesting findings ...

1. Beer continues to rule. It is the favored alcoholic beverage. Four in 10 drinkers say they prefer beer, compared with 34% naming wine and 21% liquor, the poll reported.

2. Beer is the preferred beverages of men, especially young men. The majority of men (54 percent) say they most often drink beer; half of women choose wine. There is also a significant generational difference in preferences, with younger men strongly favoring beer: 66 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds prefer it. This compares with 46 percent of men over 50 who list beer as their preferred drink.

3. Younger women like beer more than older women. Twenty-five percent of women 18-49 say beer is their preferred alcoholic beverage, while only 15 percent of women over 50 list beer as their No. 1 choice. In both age groups, wine beats beer as women's top choice.

4. 64 percent of America's adult population drinks alcohol. This percentage has remained virtually unchanged since 1947, Gallup says.

5. People told the pollster that the average number of drinks they consumed in the past week was 4.8.

Do any of these poll results surprise you?

How do you consume .8 of a drink?

In your experience, does the gender divide hold? Or as the Gallup folks put it, "On Mars, They Drink Beer; on Venus, Wine." True or not?

Graph courtesy of Gallup

In the land of Arlo Guthrie, a great beer.

2009-06-30T11:00:01Z

I saw Arlo Guthrie this past weekend. He was one of a crew of talented performers who appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prarie Home Companion radio show at Tangelwood in Lennox, Mass.

It was quite a lineup. In addition to Arlo, Steve Martin was there playing his banjo, and Martin Sheen did several hilarious sketches.

Arlo sounded terrific, his voice is even richer and more textured in person than in recordings.

He lives in the area and his famous song, "Alice's Restaurant," was inspired by an incident at Trinity Church in Great Barrington. Arlo does not own a restaurant in the area, but he did buy the church. Called The Guthrie Center, it functions as a social center for the community.

There is no Alice's Restaurant in the area, but there is Cafe Adam in Great Barrington.

There during a Sunday brunch with relatives, I had a terrific pale ale, Berkshire Steel Rail EPA.

The EPA stands for extra pale ale. This beer, at 5.3 percent ABV, is unpasteurized and unfiltered.

It is made by Berkshire Brewing Co. in South Deerfield, Mass., in a building that used to be a cigar factory.

Great stuff, but unlike Alice's Restaurant, where as Arlo says, "You can get anything you want," here in Maryland we can't get Berkshire beers. Their distribution is confined to New England.

Has anyone else enjoyed this brewery's beers? Anyone else a fan of Arlo?

Photo: AP

Milwaukee man drinks 10 beers, drives golf cart home

2009-06-29T11:00:09Z

Milwaukee natives are known for their fondness for beer. They once were the center of America's brewing universe. They named their professional baseball team The Brewers who play in a new ballpark called Miller Park .

In the old ball park when a member of the home team hit a home run Bernie Brewer, the team's mascot. used to celebrate by sliding into a mug of beer. He also outruns sausages as the video shows.

But recently another Milwaukee beer drinker appears to have set a record for the longest drunken drive in a golf cart.

According to the Associated Press, a South Milwaukee man was accused of driving drunk last week after trying to use a golf cart to drive home nearly 40 miles away from the golf course where he had been drinking beer.

The man told police that his relatives had left him behind at the golf club.

So he got in a golf cart and headed home down Highway 167 .

When the sheriff caught up with him, the man said he had drunk about 10 beers, but did not consider himself intoxicated.

The 10 beers might explain why his relatives ditched him.

But this leads to other questions. Is it true that Milwaukee, as Forbes magazine said in 2006 article, is America's drunkest city ?.

Anyone have tales of drinking beer with the natives of Wisconsin?

Is their capacity exceptional?

Could this golf cart incident have happened anywhere other than Milwaukee?

Easier to buy a case than a six-pack in Pa.

2009-06-26T11:45:37Z

I am just catching up with the recent decision of Pennsylvania Supreme Court that seems to makes it easier for Pa. beer drinkers to buy a case of beer than a six-pack.

The court ruled last week that a Sheetz convenience store in Altoona could not sell six-packs of carry-out beer because it did not also sell beer consumed on the premises. Sheetz contended that its license allowed on-premise beer drinking but did not require it. The court disagreed.

CEO Stan Sheetz has since issued a statement saying the state's "outdated" liquor laws need to be changed.

The way beer buying works in Pennsylvania, as I understand it, is that you can purchase a cold case or a keg at a liquor store. But if you want to buy a six pack you have to go to a bar.

I read an hilarious piece about this conundrum written in 2003 by John Grogan, who was then a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has since left the paper to write books including the best-seller about his dog, Marley and Me.

Anybody buy beer in Pennsylvania?

Is this how it works?

Is it a pain, or do you work around it?

Photo:AP six packs of IC Light