Yours for Good Fermentables ™

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 17/18, 2013.

2013-05-20T06:19:00.000-05:00

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 17/18
21 April 2013 - 4 May 2013

2013.05.03
American 'craft' breweries pledge clean brewing and non-wastefull water strategies in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Via MSNBC.
2013.05.03
Income of Boston Beer Company —maker of Samuel Adams beers, and others— rises 20%, but brewery sees stock tumble 11% as earnings fall beneath analysts' expectations. Via CNN.
2013.05.02
After a 51 year absence, streetcars return to Washington, D.C. ... but they're not on the rails yet. Via WAMU Radio.
2013.05.01
Rogue Brewing, of Oregon, sues Washington, D.C. restaurant —Rogue 24— for trademark infringement. Via Tim Carman at Washington Post.
2013.05.01
Argentina: not just for Malbec anymore? Higher altitude vineyards found appropriate for chardonnay. Via Dave McIntyre of Washington Post.
2013.05.01
May is Mild (Ale) Month, in the U.K. More from CAMRA, the U.K. Campaign for Real Ale. Historical perspective on the campaign from blog Boak and Bailey.
2013.05.01
Justin Wilson —the 'Spirits' columnist of the Washington Post— writes his final column.
2013.04.30
Agronomist at John Innes Centre in Norwich, U.K., revives Chevallier barley, once Victorian Britain’s most popular malt variety. Via Martyn Cornell at Zythophile.
2013.04.30
R.I.P. Mick 'The Pirate' Kipp, Baltimore, Maryland, stuntman, hot sauce entrepreneur, and good beer advocate. Via YFGF.
2013.04.30
Anheuser-Busch InBev controls five of the world's top six beer brands, is world's largest beer company with a market value of $150 billion. Via CNN.
2013.04.30
The 2012 vintage was a "less than stellar" in Bordeaux, France, especially for Cabernet Sauvignon. Via Wine Spectator.
2013.04.29
First active professional U.S. male athlete comes 'out of the closet': Jason Collins, most recently of the Washington Wizards basketball team. Via Huffington Post.
2013.04.29
British winemakers credit climate change for boom in bubbly sales. Via Washington Post.
2013.04.28
Ten books from the 21st century every man should read. At least according to GQ Magazine.
2013.04.26
Nine-Thirty Club in Washington D.C. named by Rolling Stone Magazine as best best "big room for live music" in U.S. http://rol.st/11HVxBd
2013.04.26
Country music singer innovator George Jones dies at age 81. Via New York Times.
2013.04.23
Un, Kono Kuro: a Japanese beer made with coffee beans that have "passed through" an elephant. Via Fox News.
2013.04.23
One billion cicadas per square mile. Last seen in 1996, "Brood II" cicadas have begun emerging in the mid-Atlantic. Via WAMU Radio.
2013.04.23
Richie Havens, the folk singer and guitarist who was the first performer at Woodstock, has died at 72. Via Bloomberg.
2013.04.22
Three-tier system of alcohol production and sales affirmed in Illinois. Law prohibits breweries from owning any percentage of a beer wholesaler. Via BeerPulse.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and most are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.
The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Free to live the dream! Dominion Brewing Company.

2013-05-19T10:27:00.003-05:00

On this last day of American Craft Beer Week 2013, there's good beer news to report from the Mid-Atlantic area.

Yours For Good Fermentables has learned from a reliable source that Dover, Delaware-based Dominion and Fordham Brewing Companies have obtained release from their Master Distribution Agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev.

In 2007, When Dominion was purchased by Bill Muehlhauser of Fordham Brewery, with others, a distribution alliance was formed with the then Anheuser-Busch, which itself took a forty-nine percent ownership stake in the resultant company. Coastal Brewing, as it was called, was, in reality, an expression of the situation, rather than a beer brand. One never found Coastal beers on the shelves or on tap, but Fordham and Dominion.

A year later, AB would become Anheuser-Busch InBev. Preoccupied with its own big merger, the conglomerate became relatively hands-off toward day-to-day operations at Dominion/Fordham. Except for one major stipulation. Whenever Dominion and Fordham wished to expand distribution into new markets, ABIB had to sign off on that, which would be, of course, only to approved, existing AB wholesalers.

With this mutually-agreed abrogation of the Master Distribution Agreement, Dominion/Fordham is now free to choose those wholesalers it wishes, as it expands into new markets. According to Brewers Association statistics, Dominion/Fordham increased production/sales by 11% in 2011 and by 12% last year, to over 23,000 barrels.

And, here's the really big news, appropriate to American Craft Beer Week.

Since the initial deal in 2007, AB has reduced its ownership share to 37%. It may be on its way to selling back its entire stake. Lawyers must dot the i's and cross the t's, but, if so, the Coastal thing will be no more; Dominion/Fordham will be 100% independent, 100% free to live the (its own) dream. Small, independent, and traditional: an American craft beer company. Congratulations!

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I relied upon a source I trust to write this post, but, as in such things, let's wait for official word from the parties involved for confirmation.

Pic(k) of the Week: In the tasting room with a Downright Pilsner

2013-05-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

For Friday afternoon of American Craft Beer Week Friday, I drank a glass of Downright Pilsner —from Port City Brewing Company— at the brewery, located in Alexandria, Virginia.

Brewer Jonathan Reeves brewed the Pils —his late-spring limited release— with a Pilsner malt-only grist and hopped it exclusively with Czech Republic Saaz hops, often referred to as "noble' hops because of their perceived elegant aroma and flavor: over 30 pounds in kettle and an additional 11 pounds as 'dry-hops' after fermentation. 43 bittering units (BUs), 4.8% alcohol-by-volume (abv). Reeves used only Saaz hops in the Pils this year, because, he told me, the Czech harvest had been good, and the bittering compounds of the hops higher than normal.

The beer poured deep golden, with a tinge of chartreuse and haze (from the dry-hopping?). There's a wonderful aromatic surfeit of hops, but some sweet malt can be tasted in the background. Reeves describes the aroma and flavor as piney and woodsy, with the herbal heat of fresh ginger. I also tasted citrus like the twist of lemon. The finish is spicy, long-lived, and refreshing.

That I could drink a glass of the Pils at the brewery was itself a special thing. Only last summer, a law took effect in Virginia, which allowed the state's production breweries to sell pints to customers, much as Virginia wineries could already do (with wine, of course). To borrow the vernacular, this was a game changer: several breweries have opened in Virginia since the law changed, and several more are under construction or in planing. Neighboring Washington, D.C. allows its production breweries the same, and the Maryland legislature recently passed a similar law which will take effect 1 July.

At Port City's tasting room, I thoroughly enjoyed my taste of Downright Pilsner. I wanted another. I bought a six-pack to take home.

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Hops, an herb, contribute both bitterness and aromatics to beer, just as, say, oregano, would to tomato sauce. Hop aromas are derived from hop oils, whereas hop bittering from alpha acids. Saaz hops generally contain alpha acids in the 3 to 6% range. The 2011 crop was measured at an average of 5.8%. As comparison, Simcoe hops — found in many hoppy American IPAs— contain alpha acids from 12 to 14%. [Hieronymous: For The Love of Hops.]

A Pilsner is one type of lager beer, not an ale. As a comparison, Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser is also a lager, but not a pilsner-style lager. Downright Pilsner was measured at 45 International Bittering Units; Bud has been reported at about 10 IBUs. Flavor counts!

Brewer Reeves had an interesting observation about 'craft' lagers. Small and independent American breweries that produce lagers —a small subset of the American 'craft' world— tend to fall into one of two camps. Either they slavishly attempt to conform to perceived European styles or they brew something "experimental." He noted that his Downright Pilsner falls between the two extremes. Inspired by Bohemian Pilsners, it might differ from those in that it is dry-hopped, albeit with 'traditional' pilsner hops, Saaz.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

A modest proposal in honor of American Craft Beer Week: Bring back the USBA!

2013-05-13T06:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome to American Craft Beer Week 2013.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Brewers Association —the national non-profit association on behalf of small and independent (and 'traditional') U.S. breweries— has declared one week in May to be American Craft Beer Week® (ACBW).

This year, from Monday, May 13, through Sunday, May 19, 2013, American Craft Beer Week will provide an opportunity for small and independent brewers, craft beer enthusiasts, and better beer retailers to celebrate the ever-advancing beer culture in the U.S. Events include exclusive brewery tours, special beer releases, multi-course food and pairing dinners, collaboration beers, retail promotions, etc. A list of events is listed on the Association's website.

The Brewers Association was founded in 1983 by Charlie Papazian, founder of the American Homebrew Association and the Great American Beer Festival. It was known then as the Association of Brewers. At the time, the much larger United States Brewers Association was in existence, but Swiftian attrition was rapidly shrinking its membership as U.S. mainstream brewing companies and plants were being closed or acquired. Another organization, the Brewers Association of America had been formed in the 1940s as an alternative to the the USBA , to be an advocacy group for 'small' breweries. In 1976, the USBA and BAA jointly secured a tax differential, for breweries producing fewer than 2 million barrels per year, on the first 60,000 barrels they produced, a tax break that still exists today.

In January 2005, the Association of Brewers merged with the Brewers Association of America to assume its present composition as the Brewers Association. It defined the production limit for a 'craft brewery' as fewer than two million barrels per year. In January 2011, the BA, in danger of losing Boston Beer Company as a member as that brewery was approaching the limit, changed its definition of "small" to six million barrels.

The USBA was disbanded in 1986 —after 124 years of advocacy for American breweries— because of withdrawal of support from the then American-owned mega-breweries.

In his speech to the Craft Brewers Conference in March of this year, in Washington, D.C., Charlie Papazian never once referred to a brewery as a "craft" brewery. Rather, he pointedly, and repeatedly, used the phrase "small and independent" brewery, avoiding even the Association's own 3rd stipulation for a 'craft' brewery, "traditional."

An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional.
Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.
Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.
Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer's brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

For American Craft Beer Week 2013, here's my modest proposal. Scrap "craft." Scrap "small." Scrap "traditional."

The Brewers Association should re-convene next year as the reincarnation of the venerable United States Brewers Association.

What would the requirement be for membership in the new USBA? Simply put, a brewery would have to be majority American-owned. That's it (well, along with dues). With this, all American breweries —from family-owned Yuengling Brewery to the nano-est nano-brewery— could work together, barrel-by-barrel, toward their common interests. It could end the jumble of fungible barrellage requirements, ingredient self-righteousness, and convoluted arguments about what exactly "craft beer" is.

American Craft Beer Week began originally as American Beer Month. Not its duration, but the inclusiveness, produced an insalubrious side-effect of honoring the industrial light lagers of the brewing behemoths. Now that not one of those mega-breweries is independently American-owned, it is 'craft' brewers who hold the mantle of the true makers of American beer. So, let the international beverage conglomerates of Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller, MolsonCoors, and their ilk— fight among each other. For the rest of us: Long live American beer!

Anyone with me?

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For a list of ACBW events across the nation, go here.

History of the USBA and BAA from Amy Mittelman: Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer. Algora Publishing: 2008.

Because of the changing definition of the term "craft brewery," I usually enclose it in within quotation marks.

Drinking, Again! A beer for Mother's Day.

2013-05-12T10:55:00.004-05:00

Dear Mom,

If I were to choose one very special beer to share with you, today, on Mother's Day, it might be this: Serendipity Happy Accident Fruit Ale, from New Glarus Brewing (of New Glarus, Wisconsin).

New Glarus is known for its sweet-tart fruit beers, especially its Wisconsin Belgian Red, fermented with the equivalent of over a pound of Door County cherries in every bottle.

In 2012, however, brewing that beer would prove impossible, when ninety-seven percent of Michigan's cherry crop was destroyed by a freak weather pattern. An unseasonably warm March caused trees to bud early; that was followed by an April freeze that killed the blossoms. (Associated Press). But nature, with berry serendipity, compensated by delivering a bumper cranberry harvest. Here's how New Glarus' Dan and Deb Carey responded.

Severe Drought, we shared the farmers' horror as Wisconsin's cherry crop failed! Dan bought what cherries he could. The Apple crop fared better. Then joy! A grand Wisconsin cranberry harvest. What will Dan brew with Apples, Cranberries, and Cherries? Oh my! You hold the happy accident of Wisconsin's favorite fruit aged in oak with an almost magical wild fermentation. Serendipity is a wondrous celebration that sparkles your senses, and dances across your palate. A kaleidoscope of flavor discovered by accident in a sour ale! Cheers to the unexpected!

Serendipity Ale, a mere 4% alcohol-by-volume, but, oh, what zymur-alchemy, what a happy accident. Big sweet/sour, cherry/apple flavor and aroma. The cranberries magically seem to stretch the cherry character. At 4%, a magnificently flavored treat, sweet with fruit, but tart and dry and lingering in the finish. [Fie on all you 'session-beer' haters.]

I have to admit, though, Mom, that I drank the bottle already, in fact, on the very day that one of your other sons drove it down from Wisconsin. I hope that you'll accept flowers and home-cooked brunch as a substitute on this morning.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
Your son,
Tom

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“I’m more of a German-school brewer, so I think in terms of original gravity, and alcohol to me – I don’t even like talking about alcohol. It’s like asking a butcher to measure his steaks or hamburger in terms of percent fat. Alcohol to me isn’t important. When I brew these beers it’s about flavor.”
— Dan Cary, co-owner/brewer of New Glarus, as quoted by Jay Brooks (of Brookston Beer Bulletin).

Drinking , Again is a series of occasional reviews of beer (and wine and spirits). No scores; only descriptions.

Graphic created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the Week: Robin on a rock

2013-05-11T08:04:00.003-05:00

Its nest not far away, a robin keeps a wary watch on the photographer.

Fairfax, Virginia.
10 May 2013.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

(Good beer) history is made in Alabama and Mississippi

2013-05-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

From the American Homebrewers Association (AHA): For the first time, homebrewing is to become explicitly legal in all 50 states of the United States.

The Alabama legislature has passed a bill that, once signed by Governor Robert J. Bentley, will effectively legalize homebrewing throughout the state. Alabama will be the last state in the nation to legalize homebrewing. Alabama is the last state holding out against legalizing homebrewing. In March 2013, Mississippi became the 49th state to pass homebrew legislation. The AHA has been working with Right to Brew for five years in order to get the Alabama bill passed.

"Homebrewing has been an integral part of the history of America, so it’s thrilling to know that soon all 50 states will support this growing hobby and long-standing tradition," said Gary Glass, director, American Homebrewers Association. "We appreciate the backing of all of the homebrewers, the dedicated grassroots efforts of Right to Brew and the legislators who have worked so diligently to make homebrewing a reality in Alabama. We are especially grateful to Representative Mac McCutcheon who introduced this bill and has fought long and hard for its passage, along with Senator Bill Holtzclaw."

Homebrewing became federally legal in 1979, though the 21st Amendment predominantly leaves regulation of alcohol to the states. Therefore, even though homebrewing is federally legal, it is up to individual states to legalize homebrewing in state codes. Once the Alabama bill is signed by Gov. Bentley, it will be the first time since pre-Prohibition days that homebrewers in all the states can legally brew at home.

The hobby of homebrewing has seen exponential growth in recent years. The AHA estimates that more than one million Americans brew beer or make wine at home at least once a year. Alabama is home to an estimated 5,000 homebrewers who will soon enjoy brewing without the restrictions of a state-wide ban.

Congratulations to the AHA and the home-grown groups of homebrewers who were instrumental in achieving these victories. In Alabama, that was Right to Brew and Free the Hops. In Mississippi, it was Raise Your Pints.

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I got the geography wrong in the original draft of this post. Thanks to Craig of Raise Your Pints for the correction. And, congratulations!

Pic(k) of the Week: Asparagus & Merlot

2013-05-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

Asparagus with cheese and capers: the 1st course 'vegetarian' substitution for a 5-course dinner featuring the wines of Cade Winery (Howell Mountain, California) and its 'sister' winery, Plumpjack (Oakville, California), both owned by California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco philanthropist Gordon Getty.

The guest speaker for the evening was Danielle Cyrot, winemaker for Cade. "My father is French; my mother, Irish. I have the French nose for wine, and the Irish liver for its enjoyment." "Personally, my preference is for screwtops over corks. The wine in the bottle tastes just as I remember it from the barrel."

The asparagus was served with Plumpjack Merlot 2010, a wine that those who pooh-pooh the varietal (related to those who pooh-pooh Chardonnay) should taste. Ripe plum, dark berry flavors, with notes of sweet cooking spice and chocolate. In the finish, moderate tannic structure and refreshing acidity balance the 'California' suppleness of the fruit.

L'Auberge Chez Francois
Great Falls, Virginia.
24 April 2013.

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See more photos from the dinner: here.

See the menu for the dinner: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

VeggieDag Thursday: Quick Links for May

2013-05-02T18:27:00.000-05:00

VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on an animal-free diet and its issues.

Quick links:

Deborah Madison's new "Vegetable Literacy" is "must-have if interested in plant-based cooking," says Joe Yonan of Washington Post.
It's not only fat and cholesterol in red meat that clog arteries. Researchers finger carnitine.
How the food industry manipulates taste. Michael Moss, author of "Salt Sugar Fat," interviewed on National Public Radio.
Why use egg in aioli, when mustard & garlic can emulsify? Recipes via Vegans Eat Pencil Shavings.
Traveling to Indonesia to observe the fermentation of tempeh. Via National Public Radio.
"The icing is coming off America’s cupcake craze." Via Notions Capital.
What's the common ingredient between tabbouleh, bouquet garni, persillade, gremolata? Parsley! Via Washington Post.
Recipe for Honey Roasted Radishes: "ridiculously delicious!" Via Dan Clapson of Dan's Good Side.
"It's Spargel Season!" (That's asparagus, when in Austria.) Via Austrian Wine USA. Tips for grilling asparagus. Via Washington Post.
Bees, 'fish' peppers, urban farming, & the African-American agricultural heritage. A discussion with culinary historian Michael Twitty, and founder and farm manager of Five Seeds Farm and Apiary in Baltimore, Maryland, Denzel Mitchell. Via the Kojo Nnamdi Show.
Mushroom Stout Pie With Potato Biscuits. Via Post Punk Kitchen. Braised Cabbage & Kale Colcannon. Via YFGF.
Why do humans cook their food? Via YFGF.
The anti-Alzheimer, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric. Via Huffington Post. [And, by the way, it's tur mer rick NOT tumor ick!]
The Food Editor of the Washington Post's Food Section 'comes out' as a vegetarian.
Burkey Belser, the man who designed the FDA's nutrition facts label. Via Metro Connection on WAMU Radio.
Recipe for no-yeast Black Pepper Beer Bread. Prepare in one hour. Via POP Sugar Food.
R.I.P. Mick 'The Pirate' Kipp, creator of Whiskey Island Hot Sauces & Condiments. Via YFGF.

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Why the name VeggieDag? Here.

Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks welcomed! Here.

Mick 'The Pirate' Kipp

2013-04-30T08:23:00.002-05:00

He survived bouts with Hodgkin’s disease. He wore a bandanna after losing his hair while undergoing chemotherapy. He never took the bandanna off and it became his signature, 'pirate,' look. He created hot sauces, and said, "Eat My Stuff!" He endeared himself to a city. Mick 'The Pirate' Kipp died, suddenly, Saturday, at age 51, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mick Kipp (l) with Baltimore publican Ken Krucenski, in 2009.
Kipp grew up in Cleveland, became a film stuntman (sought out for personal pyrotechnics), and moved to Baltimore, where cancer ended his career. Not missing a beat, Kipp became a food entrepreneur, creating and hawking hot sauces via his Whiskey Island brand.

Kipp would bartend —and become famous for his pirate persona— at several Baltimore 'watering holes,' Pickles Pub, outside Camden Yards, for one. I first met him in the mid-1990s, when he was working at The Wild Mushroom a bar, in the Canton neighborhood, well ahead of its time. Kipp featured Belgian beers; he and I shared many a goblet and story.

His Whiskey Island hot sauce and catering business did well. He won prizes at the Fiery Foods Challenge, as well as garnering Scovies —the 'Oscars' of hot-foods. He was a regular at Baltimore farmers' markets and beer festivals, offering his wares. Kipp decided to remain true to artisan roots, deliberately keeping his business smaller in scope. The Baltimore Sun profiled him in 2006.

[A] passion for food, the artisanal side of the business, is what keeps Kipp going -- even as, in some ways, it's what holds his business back. "Unless I'm doing thousands and thousands of items, I make very little and everyone else makes very much," he says. Ramping up at that scale also might mean losing control of quality. He has known microbrewers who started with a passion for hops, grain and good beer, but became full-time marketers as their businesses grew. Kipp's brother tells him that he's "too attached" to Whiskey Island and that the business was "meant to be sold." Kipp instead identifies with the small farmers he works with every Saturday at the Waverly market and he wants to concentrate on building a strong local customer base.

Kipp was only recently in the news. For several years, he had volunteered as kitchen manager for "Empty Bowls," a soup festival fundraiser for Baltimore's homeless.

A soup tasting event allows people "to enjoy something that people who are homeless need," Kipp said. "Homeless people want something that tastes good and fills their belly, and nothing does that better than soup."

What struck anyone who would meet Kipp was his almost zany zest for life. This not-tall man had an out-sized personality, a powerful handshake, and infectious aura of enthusiasm. Baltimore writer and baseball historian Charlie Vascellaro has written a moving, personal tribute, at the Baltimore City Paper. One of the many comments posted there captures the man's essence:

He was a wonderful advertisement of the quirkiness of our fabulous Baltimore city.

Here's Kipp interviewed on National Public Radio in 2006. Follow his recipes; eat his stuff! Rest in peace, Mick Kipp: pirate, stuntman, hot sauce entrepreneur, good beer advocate, cancer warrior, and lover of life.

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"In addition to a buoyant, cheerful personality, the man could cook," said Rob Kasper, the former Baltimore Sun food columnist. Read more at the Baltimore Sun.

Sign the guest book at Legacy.com.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 15/16, 2013.

2013-04-29T05:18:00.000-05:00

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 15/16
7 April 2013 - 20 April 2013

2013.04.19
Police kill one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing; second suspect captured alive. Via CNN.
2013.04.17
Blaufrankisch: Austria’s silky, sour red wine. Via Dave McIntyre of Washington Post.
2013.04.13
American 'craft' beer catches on in Britain, inspires brewers. "There's a hipster cachet to it," says British beer writer Melissa Cole. Via BBC.
2013.04.13
"Small and independent American craft brewers ...are one of the country’s fastest-growing employment sectors." Bill Butcher of Port City Brewing, via Roll Call.
2013.04.12
Bordeaux 'first growth' winery Château Margaux experimenting with “voodoo” of biodynamics. Via The Drinks Business.
2013.04.12
Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. "We never really advertised much. I've thought it better to focus on the beer." Via Inc.
2013.04.11
The top 50 breweries, and the top 50 'craft' breweries, in the U.S. Via YFGF.
2013.04.09
"A dirty little secret of the craft beer industry is that we are growing on the shoulders of a beer style —IPA— that has a very short shelf life." Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing at Craft Brewers Conference. Via YFGF.
2013.04.09
Sly Fox Brewing, of Pennsylvania, is first brewery in U.S., large or small, to introduce the 'topless' beer can. Via Today Show.
2013.04.09
How Pabst Blue Ribbon won its blue ribbon in 1893 ... sort of. Via Mental Floss.
2013.04.08
'Craft' breweries ask Congress for tax cut: Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce (BREW) Act. Via New York Times.
2013.04.08
Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, has died of a stroke at age 87. Via Yahoo News.
2013.04.07
U.S. Senator from Maryland, Barbara Mikulski, joins the Senate Small Brewers Caucus. Via Maryland Brewers Association.
2013.04.07
On 7 April 1933, beer of 3.2% alcohol and less was made legal, although actual Prohibition wouldn't be repealed until 5 December 1933. Via YFGF.
2013.04.07
The State of Oregon poised to designate beer yeast as the state's official microbe. Via Beervana.
2013.04.07
Suspicious fire damages two New Belgium Brewery buildings in Asheville, North Carolina. Via BeerPulse.

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Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. Most are brief, and many are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.

The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the week: Cat & dog & stripes

2013-04-27T06:15:00.000-05:00

Spooks the Cat and Ethel Mae the Beagle find common truce in a snooze, as late afternoon sun warms through window-shade slats.

20 April 2013.

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Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Sublime, not simple: Pilsners and the Washington Post 2013 Beer Madness

2013-04-24T06:36:00.002-05:00

Since 2007, the Washington Post has run a beer contest paralleling the March Madness tournament of collegiate basketball. Post columnist Greg Kitsock selects a panel of 'laypersons' and 'experts' which winnows a field a beers —placed in divisions, similar to the brackets of the NCAA tournament— to one, champion beer.

For this year's Washington Post Beer Madness, he and Greg Engert —beer director for the Churchkey/Neighborhood Restaurant Group— selected a tournament line-up of 32 local beers —beers from breweries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware— and separated those into four brackets of Crisp, Fruit & Spice, Hop, and Roast.

Over successive weeks, the eight judges rated the beers based on their personal preferences, rather than adherence to any stylistic guidelines. Which is how the vast majority of consumers chooses its beers. Which is why I enjoy the contest, but why it might rankle a beer-style geek. Accept the results as subjective fun.

Last week the panelists had winnowed the field to two: the redundantly named Double Dog Double Pale Ale from Flying Dog, of Frederick, Maryland, and the succinctly named Pilsner from Legend Brewing, of Richmond, Virginia. And then, Kitsock wrote this:

Pilseners tend to be simple, straightforward beers.

No, no, no, and no!

At best, Kitsock's statement is dismissive praise, like saying that Mozart's String Quartet No. 19 —the Dissonance Quartet— is 'simple' music because the notes have been written down. At worst, his comment finds common cause with the major brewing companies in doing harm to their distant legacies of Czech and German lagers —and SAB/Miller Brewing, in particular, with its apostasy "true Pilsner" campaign: if we repeat something enough, it will be believed to be true.

I'm going to avoid quoting formalistic delineations of OG/TG/IBU and other alphabetic parameters. But I know a pilsner when I taste one: firm, slightly sweet, deep golden-hued malt; spicy, floral hops; crisp character, with a whiff of yeasty sulfur; gentle enough alcohol at about 5% to allow another sip, yet strong enough to make a statement; a long, dry, dare I say, bitter finish. And, above all, a clear, joyful declaration of the four ingredients of beer, unencumbered by ale's zig-zag riot of dank hop and and fruited yeast. No disrespect is meant to the world of ales. But if one fancies him or herself a beer lover, and 'simply' dismisses lagers out-of-hand, she or he leaves undiscovered an entire hemisphere of delicious choices.

Double Dog bested Legend Pilsner today, winning the 2013 Washington Post Beer Madness. A fine beer it is: a fine, strong, hoppy ale. Congratulations are due to Flying Dog Brewing. I have a bottle in the fridge. But, when the time is right ...

Pour yourself a Legend Pilsner, 'crank up' Mozart's 'Dissonance' Quartet, and take the time to taste and listen. That's not simple; that's sublime.

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Two of the Post's judges advanced Legend Pilsner into the final round because of complexities they described as Belgian beer-like and banana. In a formal competition, those flavors would have been deemed faults and the beer eliminated. In writing this posting, I tasted the beer. I didn't find those flaws.

With many iterations available, here are but two other U.S. pilsner-style lagers to try: Gordon-Biersch (nationwide brewpub chain), Victory Brewing Prima Pils (Pennsylvania). For more in-depth stylistic exploration of pilsners and other lagers, read the blog Fuggled.

I cannot claim authorship of the lager/string quartet analogy. That belongs to Washington, D.C. beer raconteur Bob Tupper, who compares an ale to a jazz quartet. Each member goes his own way, but all finish together. A lager, in contrast, is like a string quartet. It is a seamless composition.

Flying Dog's brewmaster Matt Brophy (and, again, congratulations) had this to say about the name of his beer: when Double Dog Double Pale Ale premiered in 2004, to celebrate the brewery’s 10th anniversary, there was no accepted stylistic designation for a strong ale with such a massive hop content. That has changed, and Brophy assures us that the beer will be relabeled a “double IPA.”

The fact that Kitsock and Engert were able to select thirty-two local beers —easily, with many excluded— is, in itself, a remarkable facet of the competition. Even five years ago, there weren't enough breweries here to do that.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 13/14, 2013.

2013-04-22T05:42:00.000-05:00

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 13/14
24 March 2013 - 6 April 2013

2013.04.06
DRAFT Magazine published a guide to cask ale in Washington. D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan areas. Written by Joe Stange, who, as Thirsty Pilgrim, reports from Costa Rica.
2013.04.06
India Pale Ale (IPA) is the fastest-growing beer style in U.S. restaurants and pubs. Sales were up 39% in 2012, while industrial lagers were down 5%. Via Just Drinks.
2013.04.06
A start-up Washington, D.C. brewpub has a poor experience with crowd-funding. Via Washington Post.
2013.04.06
How Piels Beer changed advertising in the 1950s with comedic spots from Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. Via WNYC.
2013.04.05
Film critic Roger Ebert dies. Via The Atlantic: "Roger Ebert Knew About Writing." Via The Atlantic.
2013.04.03
Jim Barrett and Mike Grgich —Napa wine pioneers of the 1976 "Judgement of Paris"— are honored. Via Dave McIntyre of Washington Post.
2013.04.03
The debate about contract/'Gypsy'/resident-brewing continues, unabated, post Craft Brewers Conference. Via Andy Crouch at Beer Scribe.
2013.04.02
Sales of higher-priced craft beers increased by 27% in 2012; lower-priced craft beers by only 3%. Via Just Drinks.
2013.04.02
Prices for beer at Nationals Park —home to Washington D.C. major league baseball team— are some of the most expensive in all baseball. Via Washington City Paper.
2013.03.30
This week's denial-of-service attack was a serious threat to the Internet itself. Via ReadWrite.com.
2013.03.29
The 2013 ProWein wine expo in Germany had 44,000 attendees. Via Just Drinks.
2013.03.28
Former Maker’s Mark master distiller Dave Pickerell distilling rye whiskey at George Washington’s excavated distillery at Mount Vernon, Virginia, using Washington's recipes. Via Washington Post.
2013.03.26
Gallup poll shows beer replacing wine as drink of choice for women 18 to 34. Craft beer is a crucial part of that. Via Detroit Free Press.
2013.03.25
Is beer Kosher? Maybe. Is it Kosher for Passover? No. Via Brews Brothers.

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The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the Week: Nitrogen fob

2013-04-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

Jets of liquid nitrogen vaporize out of beer bottles necks, during a demonstration of nitrogen bottle-fobbing, arranged at the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference.

Fobbing during bottling is important in forcing oxygen from the bottle before capping. As the bottle leaves the filler, foam rises to the top of the bottle, due to the drop in pressure, displaying the oxygen in the bottle's headspace. This is known as "capping on foam." Bottling lines will often employ liquid nitrogen or sterile water "jetters" [to create fobbing].
—The Oxford Companion to Beer

The 2013 Craft Brewers Conference —presented by the Brewers Association— was held the last week in March, in Washington, D.C. (for the first time in its 30 year history).

Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
28 March 2013.

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More photos from the conference: here.

More coverage by YFGF: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 11/12, 2013.

2013-04-15T05:38:00.000-05:00

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 11/12
10 March 2013 - 23 March 2013

2013.03.22
Brewing "standards and baroques," brewpub Right Proper Beer to open in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., next to the fabled Howard Theater, in October of 2013. Via Lagerheads at the Washington City Paper.
2013.03.20
Scientists determine that saliva chemically reacts with compounds in wine to unlock aromas. A possible similar pathway in beer, via hop compounds. Via Beervana.
2013.03.20
Wine on tap, served via a draft system. What’s working and what’s not. Via Wine Table.
2013.03.18
Several Virginia 'craft' breweries to can their beers using a 'rent-a-canning-line' Virginia company. Via Richmond Biz Sense.
2013.03.17
Maryland's good laws for good beer: production breweries could be allowed to sell beer by the glass in their taprooms, and other proposals. Via YFGF.
2013.03.17
Brilliant critical thinking, as always, from Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post: Is capitalism moral?
2013.03.17
"The best that can be said for Guinness is that it is the least worst of rubbish pub beer choices." Via The Guardian.
2013.03.16
"Ah beer, the perfect end to a day of tasting close to 50 wines." A Virginia wine shop visits Austria. Via VinesAdventures.
2013.03.14
Google to shut down RSS aggregator Google Reader. Via Huffington Post.
2013.03.14
An East West Coast IPA? San Diego, California brewery Green Flash to open $20M facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Via BeerPulse.
2013.03.13
Francis I: Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina elected first Pope from outside Europe in more than millennium. Via The Week.
2013.03.13
A wine glut is feared in New Zealand after a hot summer and large harvest, in contrast to the small harvest of 2011. Via The Drinks Business.
2013.03.11
Today, on 11 March 1990, Lithuania became independent of the Soviet Union. Via Central Intelligence Agency.
2013.03.11
The physics of beer skunking, and how the color of beer bottles can retard it. Via Wired.
2013.03.11
Scottish distillery accidentally flushes thousands of liters of Chivas scotch whisky. Via The Drinks Business.
2013.03.11
Alcohol may give heavy drinkers more than just a buzz. It can also fuel their brains, a new study suggests, boosting levels of acetate, an energy-rich by-product of alcohol metabolism. Via Science News.
2013.03.10
Think grammar doesn't matter? An airline deal is erroneously approved in India because of a superfluous comma. Via ‏Reuters India.
2013.03.10
Daylight Saving (no 's') Time began in the United states this morning. Via Time and Date.
2013.03.10
The oldest common human male ancestor yet discovered: 340,000 years old. New Scientist via Yahoo.
2013.03.10
The rat may be the common ancestor to ALL mammals? A 66 million-year-old rat. Via The Week.

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The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

It's on! Blodge vs. Gooch

2013-04-14T06:23:00.000-05:00

Is there a Maryland/Virginia beer rivalry a-brewing? The Blodge, aka Kevin Blodger —co-owner/brewer of Union Craft Brewing (Baltimore, Maryland)— has thrown down a gauntlet at the Gooch, aka Jason Oliver —brewmaster for Devils Backbone Brewing (Roseland, Virginia).

Union Craft Brewing opened in June of 2012, in the Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore. Blodger's Altbier took a gold medal a few months later at the Great American Beer Festival.

Devils Backbone opened in 2008 in central Virginia. Since then, Oliver and the brewery have consistently won medals at the Great American Beer Festival (including eight in 2012). In 2010, they were honored with Champion Small Brewpub and Brewmaster at the World Beer Cup.

Blodger and Oliver are good friends. Before their current positions, both had worked for Gordon-Biersch brewpubs in the Washington, D.C metro area. So, this is all in good fun. Yet, we'll wait for the results of the 2013 Great American Beer Festival will be held in Denver, Colorado, 10-12 October.

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Video courtesy of JT Smith.

Pic(k) of the Week: CBC13 Keynote Ballroom

2013-04-13T06:21:00.003-05:00

A panoramic view of the main ballroom at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C.

On the morning of 27 March 2013, the room would fill with nearly 6,400 professionals of the U.S. 'craft' beer business for the opening presentations, and keynote address, of the Craft Brewers Conference.

From March 26-29, 2013, America’s small and independent craft brewers will gather in Washington, D.C. for the 30th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America. Presented by the Brewers Association, CBC is the largest industry event, serving both brewpubs and packaging breweries. CBC joins brewers from across the country for over 80 seminars focusing on topics including sustainability, sales, packaging and export development, along with daily receptions, brewery tours and hospitalities. BrewExpo America is the premier trade show for brewers, with hundreds of vendors showcasing the latest and best products and services.

This was the first time the conference, in its thirty year history, held been held in Washington, D.C. It also was its largest gathering ever; ten years earlier, a tad less than one thousand had attended. The business of small and independent U.S. brewers is booming.

***************

More photos from the conference: here.

More coverage by YFGF: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

The top 50 breweries (and 'craft' breweries) in the US

2013-04-11T06:57:00.001-05:00

At the recent Craft Brewers Conference, I noticed something different in the welcome speech from Charlie Papazian, President of the Brewers Association (BA). I whispered to a friend sitting next to me: "He's never once said 'craft' brewery. He's using the term: 'small and independent brewery.'" A small detail, perhaps, but potentially a paradigm shift.
Papazian and the Brewers Association define 'craft' breweries using three criteria. Notice the third.

An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional.
Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.
Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.
Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer's brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

Yesterday, the BA published new statistics on the state of the industry of 'craft' breweries.

In 2011, 'craft' breweries accounted for 5.7% of the beer produced in the United States; in 2012, 6.5%, a 14% increase. In 2011, there were approximately 2,036 'craft' breweries in the U.S.; in 2012, there were 2,403, an increase of 18%. And, possibly most significantly, 'craft' beer's dollar share of the total U.S. beer market was $8.7 billion in 2011; in 2012, it reached $10.2 billion, a 17% increase. That marked a crossing of a beer Rubicon of a sort: craft beer sales in 2012 accounted for a 10.2% dollar share.

Note the use of "Small and Independent" in the above graphic from the BA. Of course, they also use the term "craft." Yet, still, it does seem a shift in tone and message.

Here, from the BA's press release is the list of the top 10 'small and independent' breweries (or 'craft', if you will), based on sales volume in 2012:

1. Boston Beer Company: Boston, Massachusetts

2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company:  Chico, California

4. New Belgium Brewing Company:  Fort Collins, Colorado

4. The Gambrinus Company:  San Antonio, Texas

5. Deschutes Brewery: Bend, Oregon

6. Lagunitas Brewing Company:  Petaluma, California

7. Bell's Brewery, Inc.: Galesburg, Michigan

8. Matt Brewing Company: Utica, New York

9. Harpoon Brewery: Boston, Massachusetts

10. Stone Brewing Company:  Escondido, California

Flying Dog Brewery —of Frederick, Maryland, n the Washington, D.C. / Maryland / Virginia region (in which this blog resides)— took the 29th spot. Rounding out the top fifty was Troegs Brewing, of Hershey, Pennsylvania. See the rest of the list of the Top 50 'small and independent' breweries: here.

Again, according to the Brewers Association, the top 10 breweries in 2012 in the United States, solely by volume, regardless of affiliation, were:

1. Anheuser-Busch Inc.: St. Louis, Missouri
2. MillerCoors: Chicago, Illinois
3. Pabst Brewing Company: Los Angeles, California.
4. D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc.: Pottsville, Pennsylvania
5. Boston Beer Company: Boston, Massachusetts
6. North American Breweries: Rochester, New York
7. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company: Chico, California
8. New Belgium Brewing Company: Fort Collins, Colorado
9. Craft Brew Alliance, Inc.: Portland, Oregon
10. The Gambrinus Company: San Antonio, Texas

Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors are not American-owned. Pabst owns no breweries; it is, in effect, a marketing company. Thus, the largest American-owned brewery is Yuengling, family owned and the oldest brewing company in the United States. Boston Beer —maker of the Sam Adams beers— is the second-largest. Yuengling Lager —Yuengling's flagship beer— is brewed with a hefty proportion of corn. As the BA does not consider corn to be 'traditional' —a stipulation that is historically fallacious— it refuses to recognize Yuengling as a small and independent brewery.

North American Breweries is a conglomerate comprising Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Magic Hat, and Pyramid brands. The Craft Brew Alliance comprises Kona, Omission, Red Hook, and Widmer Brothers brands.

Rounding out the top 50 overall breweries is Karl Strauss Brewing Company, of San Diego, California (which is also 39th on the list of 'craft' breweries). Maryland's Flying Dog Brewery comes in at #40. See the rest of the list here. Of those fifty, thirty-nine are defined by the BA as small and independent.

********************

The Brewers Association's full 2012 industry analysis will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, the trade journal of the Association. Read the press release: here and here.

A barrrel of beer is not a physical thing like a keg; it's a unit of volume measurement. A barrel equals 31 gallons, the equivalent of approximately 13.7 cases of beer (24 12-ounce bottles).

An alert reader noticed some fuzzy math above. The errors have been corrected.

Beer be Free! (80 years ago, today)

2013-04-07T10:24:00.001-05:00

In the 11th century, King Canute ordered the ocean's tide to retreat. He failed.

In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that a fruit was a vegetable. Nature stated otherwise.

And, on 7 April 1933 —80 years ago today— Congress, in its collective wisdom, decreed beer to be non-intoxicating... sort of.

The 18th Amendment to the U.S, Constitution —which was ratified on 16 January 1919— had prohibited the manufacture and sale of "intoxicating liquors ... for beverage purposes". The wording left it up to Congress to define "intoxicating". Congress did so later that year, via the Volstead Act, defining intoxicating as any beverage containing greater than 0.5% alcohol by weight (the equivalent of 0.634% by volume).

It would be a long, dry, fourteen years until, on 7 April 1933, Congress would pass the Cullen-Harrison Act, which declared, in effect, that alcoholic beverages of equal to or less than 3.2% alcohol-by-weight (4.05% by volume) were to be considered as "non-intoxicating". Saying, "I think this would be a good time for a beer," newly-elected president Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the bill into law. Beer, of a weak sort, had become legal, even though Prohibition still remained in effect.

Family-owned F.X. Matt Brewing, of Utica, New York, would obtain the first brewery permit in the nation to sell beer. Another family-owned brewery Yuengling, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, would deliver a case of beer to the President at the White House. And, throughout the nation, in celebration, 1.6 million barrels of beer would be consumed in a 24 hour period. If that had been just bottled beer - which it wasn't - the happy ruck would have consumed more than 529 million bottles of beer in one day.

Considering all that beer at the ready, a question begs to be asked. Since it had been illegal to brew beer before the stroke of midnight 7 April 1933, where had all that beer suddenly come from? Regardless, the day indeed was quite the national party, and contrary to the dire predictions of the 'drys,' relatively crime-free.

To be precise, it wouldn't be until nearly eight months later, on 5 December 1933, that the 21st Amendment would be ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment, and thus Prohibition. From that date on, beers of any strength, and wines and spirits, were allowed to be produced and sold, but only at the discretion of each state within its own borders.

Today, celebrate, yet be mindful of a milestone of U.S. beer history. Enjoy a beer brewed by an independent American brewery. You won't have to limit yourself to 3.2%.

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Despite being an important part of American brewing history, and despite being America's oldest brewery and, to this day, still family-owned, Yuengling Brewery is refused membership in the Brewers Association.

For an excellent history of the rise and fall of Prohibition, read Last Call, by Daniel Okrent. A lot of the above post was culled from this book.

Pic(k) of the Week: Red Hose & Black Shoe

2013-04-06T06:14:00.000-05:00

A brewhouse tableaux: a red water-hose carefully coiled in the brewery at the new Gordon-Biersch Navy Yard.

The brewpub/restaurant is located in 'near southeast' Washington, D.C. Photo was taken on 30 March 2013.

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More about Gordon-Biersch: here. See more pics of the brewpub: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Pic(k) of the Week: Beer Phones

2013-03-30T08:16:00.000-05:00

It was a full house at Meridian Pint in Washington, D.C. The largest ever Craft Brewers Conference had just concluded and many of its attendees had traveled uptown to this good beer pub in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. All 23 taps, as well as 23 casks, were pouring beers from 20 local breweries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

It was loud. It was boisterous. It was a celebration. Surrounded, this gentleman was able to tune it all out, and simply enjoy his beer.

Washington, D.C.
29 March 2013.

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See the list of beers he was perusing: here.

This was but one of many events throughout the city (and nearby suburbs) during the week of CBC. See more photos from the Craft Brewers Conference: here

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Destination: Washington DC. 2013 Craft Brewers Conference

2013-03-26T10:24:00.001-05:00

The annual Craft Brewers Conference has arrived in Washington, D.C., running today through Friday. Rather than a consumer beer tasting and brewery competition, this is a confab of and for brewers: the technology and science of beer, the business of beer, the selling of beer, the regulations of beer. And, of face-to-face networking. The peers of beer, if you will.

From March 26-29, America’s small and independent craft brewers will gather in Washington, D.C. for the 30th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America. Presented by the Brewers Association, CBC is the largest industry event, serving both brewpubs and packaging breweries. CBC joins brewers from across the country for over 80 seminars focusing on topics including sustainability, sales, packaging and export development, along with daily receptions, brewery tours, and hospitalities. BrewExpo America is the premier trade show for brewers, with hundreds of vendors showcasing the latest and best products and services.

It's important to understand what is meant by 'craft' brewery. This is not a legal, governmental, term. It is a definition of and by the breweries themselves, through their trade group, the Brewers Association, organizer of the event.

An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional.

Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.

Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.

Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

There is some controversy about that definition, which many have addressed (including me). This week, that's a discussion deferred.

This is the first time in its history that the Conference has 'been' to Washington, D.C. I myself have been to two Craft Brewers Conferences: one in Austin, Texas, in the early 1990s, the other in Seattle, Washington in the late 1990s. In the 'craft' beer world, that's a virtual lifetime ago: much has changed, the number of breweries ballooning to over 2,000, the most ever in the history of brewing in the United States.

Working for a wholesaler, I sell beer for a living; so I'll be at the CBC to drum up brewery business. But, as I wrote in this blog's masthead, I'm a lover of beer: not simply with its flavors —as delicious, complex, and varied as they may be— but with its history, science, lore, and evolving creation. Those are the reasons why this week will be, for me, a privilege and a treat.

The new breweries of Washington, D.C., and those of neighboring Virginia and Maryland, will proudly be playing host. The 'craft' beer bars and restaurants of the area will be pulling out all the stops with a multitude of events, most open to the public.

There will be telling of tall tales. There will be drinking of beer. Much.

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The conference has its own beer: Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company (Virginia), The Brewer’s Art (Baltimore, Maryland) and DC Brau (Washington, D.C.) joined forces to create Beggars & Thieves: Bürger Roggen Pils.

For information on public events, refer to the website DC Beer, and to these posts at the Washington City Paper: here and here.

At conference's end, I'll write summary posts. During the confab itself, I'll post a few daily Tweets at @Cizauskas, but more obnoxiously, I'll post many, many Tweets at a temporary handle: @YFGFdotUS. Follow many who are at the Conference, by searching for the hashtag #CBC13. As time allows, I'll post photos to my Flickr site.

Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 9/10, 2013.

2013-03-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 9/10
24 February 2013 - 9 March 2013

2013.03.09
Wynkoop Brewing releases Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout in cans. That's bull testicle stout. Via The Full Pint
2013.03.09
"Alcohol and its role in the evolution of human society" by Ian Hornsey. Book review by A Good Beer Blog.
2013.03.09
Bamberg, Germany, and its smoked beers. Via Roger Protz.
2013.03.09
The experiments with tradition at bourbon distillery Buffalo Trace. Via Queen City Drinks.
2013.03.08
The New York Times takes exception to the "wineification' of beer. The Beermonger takes exception with the New York Times.
2013.03.08
The 2012 wine vintage in Austria will be well below the yearly average, but the quality is predicted to be high. Via Austrian Wine USA.
2013.03.08
Twenty beer quotes that may deserve to be better known. Via Zythophile.
2013.03.08
The Stuff of Legends: a crowd-funded documentary about 19 year-old Legend Brewing of Virginia.
2013.03.04
The U.S. Brewers Association Association releases new Beer Style Guidelines for 2013: 142(!) styles.
2013.03.03
Anheuser-Busch InBev begins an ad campaign to combat charges of watering down Budweiser. Via Houston Chronicle.
2013.03.03
A summary of the rapid growth of the 'craft' beer industry in the Richmond, Virginia, area. Via Richmond Times Dispatch.
2013.03.02
Craft beer myths that, unfortunately, persist. Via Huffington Post.
2013.03.01
Is Twitter killing the beer blog? Via Beervana.
2013.03.01
The repeal of Prohibition came late to Washington, D.C.: 79 years ago, on 1 March 1934. Via YFGF.
2013.02.27
Barboursville Vineyards wins the Virginia Governor's Cup for the fourth time. Via Washington Post.
2013.02.27
The overreaction to Maker's Mark's proof dilution, and un-dilution. Via Washington Post.
2013.02.27
Five common draught beer mistakes. Via Micro Matic.
2013.02.25
What if Prohibition had never happened? Charlie Papazian —founder of American Homebrew Association and Brewers Association— proposes an alternate history of consolidation, tied houses, and little 'craft' beer.
2013.02.24
Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller own more than 200 brands in 42 countries, including 18 in the U.S. Via NPR.
2013.02.24
15 breweries and counting. "New York’s Ale Awakening: How a Cocktail City Learned to Love Beer." Via TIME.

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The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.

Pic(k) of the Week: The Heart(s) of the Run

2013-03-23T05:27:00.000-05:00

Rye whiskey being distilled at Catoctin Creek Distillery, in Purcellville, Virginia.

I visited the facility one Saturday in March, and took the tour, offered by co-owner/distiller Scott Harris. Here's what I learned.

Organic rye malt from Kansas is mashed, and the wort (sweet liquid) is boiled. Cooled to room temperature, it is fermented over a week's time in 310-gallon plastic fermenters. The resultant 'wash' is then distilled, vaporized in a 400-liter still. The distillate is cooled by a tap-water counter flow chiller. Alcohol condenses before water, and is collected as it streams from the still. The initial condensate, or "heads," is 'impure' containing such by-products as acetaldeyde. It is discarded. The end of the distillate, or "tails," consisting of fusel alcohols (such as methanol and acetate) and water, is also considered impure and is discarded.

Which leaves the "hearts" of the run, which is collected, and then aged or bottled. Harris told us that the contents of one fermenter is distilled down to the contents of only one barrel

The rye whiskey is bottled both un-aged as a "white' spirit, at 80 proof, called Mosby's Run, and as Roundstone Rye, which is aged for a minimum of two years in 30-gallon Missouri oak barrels.

Catoctin Creek is currently producing about 40,000 bottles per year: the above two and a gin infused with juniper, coriander, cinnamon and lemon peel. Additionally, the distillery produces brandy, distilled from Virginia grapes, the first ever in Virginia. At present, the spirits are sold primarily in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The volume sold in the District is more than that of the two states combined. Additional shipments go to Pennsylvania, New York City, and, soon, to Georgia.

Harris told us that the distillery has outgrown its digs, and will be moving during the summer months into a much larger building, an historic site in downtown Purcellville. Scott Harris and wife co-owner Becky Harris will bring along their current still, but will add a new one to the production, at three times the size. *******************

Photograph taken 9 March 2013. See more: here.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of personal photos, often posted on Saturdays, and often, but not always, with a good fermentable as a subject. Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL1.

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