Posts Tagged ‘Savor’
Beer Geeks vs. Beer Snobs
Don’t know the difference between a beer geek and a beer snob? It’s easy to predict (think Comic Book Guy), but Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, gave a pretty good explanation during his salon at Savor this year:
There’s beer geeks and there’s beer snobs, and I’m a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool member of the beer geek community. How I differentiate between a beer geek and a beer snob is this: they could have an equal amount of knowledge about beer; they could have equally awesome palates; [they] can articulate everything about the qualities of beer; [and they can] tell you the history of brewing styles. Their knowledge might be the same. But a beer geek loves beer because he or she loves beer, and they want to learn more always, try new beers, and share that with the people they love. Whereas beer snobs try to know as much as they can about beer as a power point and to lord it over people, or to stick out as an expert in a field of neophytes.
Later that very night, our “neophyte” friend Beth was insulted for mistakenly calling the beer she was trying a “Malbec.” The snob rudely commented, “That’s a maibock. It’s beer, not wine.”
What Makes a Perfect Beer?
Chow has deemed Russian River Supplication the perfect beer, a sour brown ale with sour cherries and three strains of wild yeast (including that Brettanomyces you may have heard of)…and oak-aged in Pinot Noir barrels. As part of their “The Perfect” series, which also crowns hamburgers, martinis, olive oil, and a host of other foods, Lessley Anderson tours the brewery with Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo and discusses the aging process as well as working with the wild yeasts that have made the name “Russian River” something of a rosary for East Coast beer nerds.
I’m not ready to single out the perfect beer — I haven’t even tried Supplication yet — but I will say that Consecration, also by Russian River, is certainly a perfect beer. I was reunited with this lush sour beer last weekend during a trip to San Francisco, where I sampled it on draft (repeatedly) and brought a bottle home. (Read on for the beer-porn description.)
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Imperial Beer: Fit for a Queen
According to old-school spellcheckers Merriam and Webster, the term imperial means (1) anything relating to an empire or emperor, or (2) something of superior or unusual size or excellence. The first definition was what British brewers had in mind when they started making Imperial Stouts, and the second is why many American craft brewers are using the term for a variety of beer styles today.
Sam Adams founder Jim Koch, current record-holder for the beer with the highest alcohol content (the 2009 Utopias at a whopping 27% ABV), has an Imperial Series of big beers. At SAVOR this year, he explained the origin of the term:
We call it an imperial because that’s become a brewer’s custom. It began in the 1700s when English brewers were favored by the Russian court. Catherine [the Great] wanted English beers and so the English brewed beers for her court, which at that time was in St. Petersburg. The beers had to survive the long shipping up through the North Sea, through the Baltic, up to St. Petersburg, so the English would make really big, highly-alcoholic versions of their beers. They called them Imperial, particularly Imperial Stout, because they were meant for the Empress of Russia.
Like Jim, many American brewers now use the term for any intense beer containing more of everthing–hops, malt, and most importantly, alcohol. Below are some popular imperial styles, examples of each you have probably seen, and your best bet for finding some featured during “official” DC Beer Week events. Got your own ideas? Throw ‘em in the comments.
Milk Stouts Are Milkin’ It
“Milk is for babies! When you grow up you have to drink beer.” So declares Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1977 film, “Pumping Iron,” (Seriously, it’s a classic. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your Netflix.) But the decision of whether to drink milk or beer now seems as anachronistic as Lou Ferrigno. The craft beer boom has injected new life into the milk stout, an English classic that withered with the advent of World War II and the milk rationing that followed. But today, the sheer number of milk stouts available on the shelves signals an industry trend not unlike the one that brought sliders out of White Castle and into fancy restaurants.
MADD is Mad at Flying Fish
It was inevitable that a brewery choosing to brand its beers by exits on the New Jersey Turnpike would come in for criticism. Even we were surprised by Cherry Hill-based Flying Fish’s decision, which carried with it the distinct stench of commercial suicide. But then we went to Savor and sampled the Exit 4 American Trippel. Tammy ranked it highly, and Bruce declared it to be the finest new beer at the entire event. It’s a perfectly balanced blend of bitter hops and malt, delicately flavored with hints of citrus that are just that: hints, not the overpowering tastes that often mar American attempts at Belgian styles.
But with the release of the series’ latest offering, a hoppy wheat beer dubbed Exit 11, the brewery has finally met opposition that will not be placated by a damn fine beer. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has attacked Flying Fish’s marketing scheme, alleging that linking beer to driving is, well, irresponsible. “The combination of a roadway and advertising for any kind of a beer doesn’t make any kind of sense,” says Mindy Lazar, executive director of MADD’s New Jersey chapter. “This is almost a mockery.” (It’s worth noting the New Jersey Highway Authority has also expressed unease at the possible perception that it’s in some way sponsoring Flying Fish’s beers.)
Another DC Beer Week?
Following on the heels of DC’s unofficial beer week in May, a string of local malt-swilling events that culminated in Savor, could we be in for another local beer blow out? According to Jeff Wells’ beer calendar, accessible via Facebook, the answer is yes. (Thanks to Tom at Yours for Good Fermentables for the find.) The so-called “DC Beer Week,” reportedly involving over a dozen breweries and 25 area restaurants, will kick off August 16th with a concert at the Rock & Roll Hotel in the Atlas District. But characterizing this as a “beer week” may be too generous; so far, the only other event on the calendar is the annual “Brew at the Zoo” on August 20th.
More exciting, perhaps, is a stand alone event scheduled for July 25th at the Brickskeller. Called “The Virginia Ale Trail: Brews in the Old Dominion,” this looks to be the event of the summer. From the press release:
Acid Trip: Savoring Sour Beer From the Golden State
Some call sour beer “an acquired taste.” But why should it be hard to acquire? The average American eats more than eight pounds of pickles a year, and in my summer-camp days I’ve seen kids with Fun Dip addictions clamor for salt and vinegar potato chips. And yet sour beer is considered extreme, or as Lost Abbey brewer Tomme Arthur put it, “the final frontier” of expanding your beer palette.
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Surviving DC Beer Week, We Bring You Savor’s Best
Last week’s beer madness is finally over. The Lagerheads, now tired and dehydrated, wound up attending five beer events in seven days, trying 64 (mostly) new beers in one week. This feat bests even the honeymoon we took through Belgium and southern Germany, but those were full beers and these were usually only 3-ounce pours. Even so, it was a marathon of cup swirling and mouth swishing that has left our palates in a state of confusion. The week certainly deserves multiple posts, and we’ll be providing those in the coming days. But to start, we’d like to reflect on some of our favorite pours from Saturday’s Savor event at the National Building Museum.
Here are the ones that bubbled to the top for each of us.
BRUCE’S PICKS:
- Legend’s Maibock: Richmond’s Legend is a regional treasure, an inventive brewery that has built a range of truly fine beers. Among those is the seasonal Maibock, based on the original German style. Tried this one after sampling the same style from Gordon Biersch. No contest. Legend’s packed far more flavor with a solid malt profile with strong caramel and nut flavors combined with notes of fresh fruit. It transported Bruce back to his college study-abroad days in a Bavarian beer garden.
- Left Hand’s Smokejumper Smoked Imperial Porter: Let’s be honest… Smokejumper is an awesome name for a beer, which is what invited our interest in the first place. (What’s a smokejumper? Read this book immediately.) The beer poured with a persistent tan head and was extremely dark in color. Its smoked flavor suited its name perfectly, with an almost rugged quality that actually could make you want to leap from an airplane… if you drink enough of it. But for all its unique character, the smoke was not overpowering, and the beer had a surprisingly smooth finish. A real find.
- Lagunitas’ Gnarly Wine: Again, how can you beat a name like that? Like the Smokejumper, the Gnarly Wine lived up to its billing. It was truly gnarly–in the best possible way. Packs a punch at 11% ABV. A super-malty, rich beer that reaches the limit of the style. Any stronger and sweeter, and it would not have been palatable. But extremes are the fashion these days, and Gnarly Wine charted new territory without becoming lost in the process.
- Flying Fish’s Exit 4 American Trippel: Bruce’s favorite beer of the night. Recently profiled on NPR, Flying Fish plans to create an entire line of beers named after exits on the Jersey Turnpike. If this first installment is any indication, we have much to look forward to. Brewed in the Belgian style, the beer stands up to any of the originals we’ve sampled from across the pond. Strong citrus flavors balanced with hops, but not overpowered by bitterness. A surprising and impressive beer that Bruce hopes to find somewhere for purchase in DC. (Anyone seen it around?)
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This Week’s Greatest Hits on the Young & Hungry Blog
As you can imagine, the news of Spike Mendelsohn’s eviction took center stage this week on the Y&H blog. No other item drew even a quarter of the readers. But now, there’s good news on the Spike front: The chef and his erstwhile roomie have started to pay back their landlord, with the promise of a full accounting soon. While we wait for that, check out the most-read posts of the week:
This Week’s Greatest Hits on the Young & Hungry Blog
The week started with the unexpected announcement that a genuine 1947 diner would be making its way to Trinidad, and it ended with the equally unexpected disclosure that Spike Mendelsohn and his business partner were evicted from their Capitol Hill rental home. In between, readers had tons of reasons to visit the Y&H blog. Here are the most-read posts of the week.
