This weekend is an epic marathon of beer events.  This afternoon I am heading to Chicago where my dad and I will be going to Dugan’s to see our favorite bartender Dorothy and will most likely enjoy some Schlitz.  With luck our Friend Bob will join us at some point this evening as well.  There is talk about making a stop at the Elmhurst Public House and maybe even Lunar Brewing.  Consider tonight to be the warm-up lap.

Tomorrow we head to the brewing Mecca of Milwaukee for the Riverwest Pub Crawl.  $10 nets you a T-shirt commemorating the event and the rest of the day is filled with over 15 bars with $1 draughts!  If I had to guess, we will probably cap the night off with a quick stop at The Bomb Shelter for some retro goodness.

The final leg of this odyssey is Sunday in Chilton, WI.  The 18th annual Chilton Microbrewers Beer Fest featuring over 30 Wisconsin breweries, most of which you haven’t heard of.  I have been to about 1/3 or so of the 17 past fests and they are legitimately about the best I have been to.  $25 for a 12oz commemorative mug and unlimited sampling of dozens of great beers.  Topped off by the largest grill I have ever seen constantly churning out beer brats and steak sandwiches for exceptionally reasonable prices. 

I brought up a question last week regarding the threat New Belgium’s relatively inexpensive bombers might pose to Brugge Brewings similar offerings.  Well this past weekend I did some blind taste testings to try and put some perspective on how the products actually stack up versus each other in terms of taste and price.  Specifically we tasted the Brugge White vs. New Belgium Mothership Wit and for fun threw in a bottle of Celis White on Friday night.  Saturday afternoon we tasted Brugge Black vs. New Belgium 1554 in a battle of the Belgian black ales.

I poured glasses of each of the wit beers in a side room and mentally marked which was which in my head before presenting them to my dad to sample.  After blind tasting each of the beers, he found the Mothership Wit to be the most enjoyable followed by the Celis White and lastly Brugge White.  Before revealing which was which, I posed a simple question to him.  Would he be willing to pay $7.99 for a large bottle of any of the beers he sampled?  Short answer… No.  He then repeated the blind pours for me to try.  After examining the beers by appearance alone, I felt confident that I could tell which was which without even tasting.  But this wasn’t about appearance only.  In the end, I was somewhat surprised to find the Brugge White to be in my mind far superior to the New Belgium Mothership Wit.  I think I would have gone so far to say that it was my favorite just barely over the Celis White, and then a distant third being the Mothership Wit.  But again, considering the price question, $7.99 just isn’t a real acceptable price for a bottle of wit beer.  For roughly the same price I can buy a six pack of Celis White which is very close in every discernible category.

Saturday we did the tastings with the Belgian Blacks.  We had my son’s birthday party starting soon so I made the executive decision to forego the blind aspect of the tastings and just poured glasses of each.  My dad again picked the New Belgium 1554 over the Brugge Brewing offering.  I on the other hand found the Brugge Black to be a definitive winner for my palate.  To me the aroma had the hints of Belgian funk present, just a touch of sour and sweet.  The 1554 smelled vaguely of chocolate and if I had not know what I was being handed, I think I would have said it was a light porter.  Flavor of the Brugge Black again exhibited the characteristics that you would expect from a Belgian style ale with a pleasant tart finish.  Going to the price question as to whether either was worthy of the price they are sold at, I felt the Brugge was worthy of it’s $7.99 price and the 1554 priced fairly as well.

So after all this, what was learned?  For me, I will stick with the Celis White for the price and drink the Brugge White while out and about around town.  The Mothership Wit is decent at $3.49, but I found it kind of bland and probably best as a lawnmower beer.  The black ales though were both worthy of their respective prices.  I don’t really think Brugge Brewing has too much to fear about losing the discerning drinking.  The problem comes when you can find the New Belgium easily at the grocery store at cheap prices. 

The summer blockbuster movie season is upon us officially.  Starting this past Friday with the opening on X-Men Origins: Wolverine and continuing this Friday with the opening of the Star Trek reboot film.  But this post isn’t about those franchises.  It’s about giant robots waging war across out planet.  Specifically Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen and Terminator: Salvation.  Both look incredible to me and will earn my hard earned money.  Check out trailers for both below:

And lest we forget another classic making a comeback this summer, I present the latest trailer for the live action G.I. Joe movie coming in August.  G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra

It’s going to be a fun summer at the movies I think. 

Two weeks ago Indiana was finally graced with offerings from New Belgium Brewing.  Specifically Fat Tire, Mothership Wit, and 1554.  New Belgium has a fairly rabid fanbase compared to other craft breweries and this was a very well hyped entry into the Indiana market.  The question is, what effect will this have on some of the other beers already available here?

More to the point, I find it interesting that 2/3’s of the New Belgium lineup available here has a direct competitor from Brugge Brewing.  Namely the Mothership Wit vs. Brugge White and 1554 vs. Brugge Black.  In recent times the idea to drink locally brewed beers has become a popular meme and catch phrase.  And Brugge beers are definitely brewed locally compared to New Belgium.  But here becomes the problem.  If the products are close enough in style and in quality, yet one is literally 1/2 the price of the other, who doesn’t reach for the cheaper alternative even if it isn’t the local flavor?

I haven’t tried a direct side by side comparison of these beers, but have had all four in recent enough time that I feel comfortable saying they are very close to each other.  I can buy a 22oz bomber of any of the New Belgium beers for $3.49 at the local Marsh grocery store.  The Brugge beers on the other hand run $6.99 to $7.99 at the liquor store.  There is the point to be made that the Brugge beers are in a slightly larger bottle (750mL, or a bit over 3oz more for those that don’t know their conversions), but in the grand scheme, you see the dilemma.   The New Belgium beers that we all wanted available in state could very easily eat away much of the market share that the bottled varieties of Brugge have built up.  Maybe the bottle sales are only a small percentage of what makes Brugge successful.  I certainly get the impression that the draught sales are more what the beer is aiming for, and I do see taps of Brugge beers at a number of watering holes.  Unfortunately for those of us who don’t get out bar hopping all that often, the bottles look like a bad deal when compared to New Belgium’s offerings.

I think it will be interesting to see how things are in about 6 months once the hype of New Belgium finally arriving has died down.

It is a sad thing to report the demise of one of Naptown’s finest beer stops.  Sadly, Saturday was supposedly the final day of business for The Hop Shop.  Anyone that was on their email list probably had an inkling that this was the case as the Inventory Reduction sale kept getting better and better.  So Friday night I made it in and loaded up on a ton of great beer, most of which I had never tried before, for a whopping 40% off.  Hopefully many of my readers made it in there as well to not only get a good deal, but to help Courtney move the remainder of his inventory. 

I personally considered the Hop Shop to be 1/3 of the Tri-force of beer in Indianapolis.  The other 2 in the coveted spots being Kahn’s and Parti-Pak.  This brings up an interesting question.  Does the closure of one of the finer boutique beer stores have any impact on the selection available in the area?  Many of the beers that were stocked at The Hop Shop were not really available except at maybe Parti-Pak and Kahn’s.  With one less outlet to move some of those products, do we face the potential that some of them stop coming to Indiana at all?  I would specifically be talking about some of the more obscure Belgian styles and other miscellaneous imports that you just don’t see at the plethora of liquor stores around town.  Hopefully this is not the case.

With all that said, I want to thank Courtney for running a great shop and for helping the cause of good beer around Naptown.  I wish you the best in whatever comes next my friend!

Finally available in Central Indiana and just in time to subvert the release of Flat Tire from New Belgium!  Should be in stores any day now and worthy of your hard earned greenbacks.  Quite possibly the best macro-style lager in the country now, and I say that with an eye on beers such as Yuengling Lager I may add.

*Hopefully someone got the Lebowski reference.  Lebowskifest is right around the corner after all.

Let's catch up shall we? This past weekend my dad came in to town to celebrate my birthday a bit early. So Friday we drank a couple Manhattans along with some Ballantine Ale. Threw in a few other odds and ends, such as Wabash Valley Gangster Pale Ale and some Southampton Double White Ale. But the real star was the bottle of Ballantine Burton Ale my dad purchased on Ebay.

For those that have never heard of it, Ballantine Burton Ale was a special beer brewed and then aged for years in oak casks before being bottled and then personally given to friends and associates of the Ballantine Brewery. So the bottle my dad bought was labeled as being brewed in 1946 and bottled in 1960 for a Mrs. Catherine Boggianio. You read that right.. we drank a beer brewed 63 years ago. How was it? Amazing sums it up nicely. Very very oaky, which I would guess 14 years sitting in an oak cask will do. And overall a fairly light bodied but dry finish. I will get a full post up on this later.

Saturday we went out on the town and started at the Broad Ripple Brewpub sampling their Pale Bock which was excellent. Moved on the Brugge Brasserie and had a Black and a Tripple de Ripple. Both fairly good but the stop was a disappointment.*  From there we went on to Chumley's where I had a Stone Arrogant Bastard and followed that up with a Boddington's (all on draught). Next stop, the Alley Cat for some can PBRs and the unexpected fortune of winning $200 for a pull-tab lotto ticket. So from there to celebrate, we crossed over to the Union Jack Pub and had some Johnny Walker Blue label at $17 a shot which was great to try, but to expensive to ever repeat. Had a beer there too but as one may guess, my memory at this point starts getting hazy. Left there and went to Connor's Pub for some more lagers, PBR if I remember. And finally wound up at the Red Key Tavern for a couple final PBR long necks. A long day of bar hopping and a bit of over doing it for sure, but fun nonetheless.

*Curious why Brugge never has anything other then the 3 beers they brew in Terre Haute available at the brewpub?  There was more selection BEFORE they owned a full scale brewery then after it seems.  Disappointing as the one-off brews were usually the ones that made me really want to walk in the door.

Spent a good chunk of my day talking about Manhattans with a co-worker and of course had to do something about it when I got home.  So a little pre-dinner cocktail has now turned into happy hourS with an Elijah Craig 12 year old Manhattan and a Bulleit Boutbon along with a couple well placed Ballantine Ales… in appropriate glassware which I just got this week from an eBay auction.  A good evening to be sure!

The Ballantine glass is really that effin awesome!

As I might have mentioned, I drank two Manhattans... and that got me to thinking:

Haven’t done a review in quite some time but that does not at all imply that I haven’t been sampling some great beers in that time.  Last night we ate at Rock Bottom at College Park and on the way home I ran in to Trader Joe’s to check out the beer selection I have heard about there.  Catching my eye was an entire line of beers bearing the Trader Joe’s name.  Apparently most of these beers are contract brewed by Gordon Biersch for Trader Joe’s.  Having a lineup that pretty much covered every conceivable style and a price of $5.59 for a six-pack, a reached for the Bavarian Hefeweizen.  The back label specifically talks about bubblegum, banana, and clove flavors imparted by the yeast indicating to me that this should be a true to style hefeweizen.

So tonight I am finally getting a chance to check it out.  Wondering will this be a hidden gem at an amazing price or just a dud that will be forgotten as soon as the last bottle gets finished off.  First impressions from the pour are promising as it comes out a bright hazy golden orange color with a stark white head.  So far so good.  I definitely can’t see through this just as I would expect from a true hefeweizen.  But does it pass the smell test?

A big whiff reveals some cloves and a hint of banana.  Not really much there that I would call ‘bubble gum’, but all in all a pretty close approximation of what I would call a true to style hefeweizen.  When it comes to wheat beers I can be somewhat of a snob dismissing almost completely out of hand the American Wheat category completely.  Why emulate a style if you are going to sanitize the best part out, namely the fruity esters produced by the yeast?  Anyway, back on track, the Trader Joe’s is so far hitting on all cylinders on a path to being a good hefeweizen.

The most important part of any beer is the taste.  And Trader Joe’s Bavarian Hefeweizen delivers in spades.  Full flavors that any fan of hefeweizen will instantly enjoy.  A soft banana flavor followed closely by muted clove spice that combines with a bit of a citrus twang on the tongue.  All enveloped within a pillowy soft mouthfeel and this beer is a total winner at the price.  If this is any indication how good the rest of the Trader Joe’s brand of beers is, I will be making very regular trips to there for beer instead of the local liquor store.

So does this compare to or even better some of the heavyweights brewed in Germany?  I would say the compete on the same playing field quite nicely but a in the end a Weihenstephaner or Hacker-Pschorr is going to be better.  The question then really boils down to whether or not those beers are $3 or more per six-pack better?  And for me personally, I can’t really say I would want to pay that extra for what is a fairly small improvement.  Trader Joe’s Bavarian Hefeweizen will be a staple of my summer, possibly replacing the annual brewing of a batch of hefeweizen for the season.  Totally recommend it!

How did I miss the news that a new brewing company was about to open in Indianapolis?  I noticed a blurb about it on IndianaBeer this evening and figured I would make a mention of it here as well.  Sounds like we may be seeing some beer flowing from Sun King Brewing as early as June.  The website mentions that they are setting up a 15bbl system.  Well I don’t have a great sense of how large that really is, but watching the video of them unloading the equipment, I am really excited to see how large a space they have and how big the setup appears to be.  Hurry up guys!  I’m getting thirsty!

Today is the day I teach everyone how to properly make my favorite cocktail… the Manhattan.  If you don’t like bourbon or drinks that use this noble spirit, then you might as well stop reading now.  If you look online for recipes you will find a pretty wide range of proportions to use.  I have seen anything from 4:1 bourbon to sweet vermouth to almost 1:1.  Which is correct?  Well that really depends on the bourbon and your personal tastes to be perfectly honest.  If you plan to make this with the cheapest rotgut out there, then you probably want a proportion with a higher percentage of sweet vermouth.  On the other hand, if you were to have one of those elegant and expensive single barrel bourbons, you would want to showcase the bourbon much more then the vermouth and a higher dosing of bourbon would be in order.  Seems simple really, yet I rarely find a bar that can make a worthwhile Manhattan.  So without further ado… let’s begin.

First off there is a list of ingredients and preferable paraphernalia that you would want to have on hand.  Most important is the bourbon or whiskey.  You aren’t making a true Manhattan without this crucial ingredient.  Rye whiskey is acceptable here as well, and I have had a good example with it recently.  Secondly you will need a sweet vermouth.  So for our example today I am using Bulleit Bourbon and Gallo Sweet Vermouth to cover our two core components.  You will definitely want a bottle of bitters.  I don’t know if there is any other brand than Angostura, but if there is I have never seen it and don’t really plan to deviate.  A stemmed cocktail glass is the preferred chalice to serve this in.  I have been served a Manhattan in a plastic solo cup which is a definite no-no. 

So do  you have your ingredients out yet?  What are you waiting for?  I mentioned some paraphernalia you should have on hand.  That would include the shaker glass or at least a method of getting the ingredients together and mixing them.  A jigger, which is the hourglass shaped contraption in the picture above and is the best way to measure out your ingredients.  And last but not least is the cocktail spoon.  Not required but it helps.  So to start you will want to get a maraschino cherry into your glass and 1 spoonful of the syrup from the cherries.  I see many recipes call for a stemmed cherry, but I prefer unstemmed myself.  It will look something like this:

 

Now it’s time to really get to work.  You need some ice in that shaker glass first off.  this is also the time you will need to know how much your cocktail glass can hold.  Mine are roughly 6oz glasses so my Manhattans are 3oz of bourbon and 2oz of sweet vermouth.  This is also the time to mention that not all jiggers are created equally so you need to factor that in.  Mine has a 2oz side and the opposite is 1oz.  So for me, I fill the 2oz side with bourbon and pour it into the shaker.  Then flip the jigger and fill another 1oz of bourbon and add that to the jigger.  Finally I fill the 2oz side once again, this time with sweet vermouth and add that to the shaker.

Now once the core ingredients of bourbon and vermouth are in your shaker, it’s time to add bitters.  I can’t offhand tell you a single other beverage that calls for this stuff.  And I can’t explain why Angostura cannot seem to print a label that actual fits appropriately with the bottle.  I have a replacement bottle that has a label pasted on and protruding well above the neckline of the bottle just as the picture below.  According to my dad, this has been the way of these bottles for as long as he remembers.  So if anyone knows, please feel free to drop me a line and explain.  Back to our drink making, you will need to give a few shakes of bitters into the shaker glass.  How many is really up to the imbiber.  The more you add, the more herbal flavor you will get.  I found for a single drink about 3-4 shakes treats me well.  You definitely get some of the flavor of the bitters but it does not dominate the drink.  Experimentation is good here.  This becomes a good excuse to make more Manhattans to find that perfect balance.

At this point it is all in the fast lane.  Close up your shaker glass and mix it all up.  If you don’t have a shaker, you can obviously stir or do what ever you need to do.  When it’s properly mixed, strain it and pour it into your cocktail glass over top of the cherry and the syrup.  I personally think you need to have the cherry in there first and not added in after the drink is made.  That’s a personal preference of course.  Some recipes will wholesale omit the cherry and most would not include the syrup.  For me the syrup helps cut that bite of the bourbon just a bit making the drink just a bit more pleasant.  It by no means dominates the flavor.  I would also insist that this drink MUST be strained.  I have seen recipes calling for it to be in a highball glass on the rocks.  NO!

Now I personally go one step further and pour myself a beer to go alongside this.  In this case, I chose a bottle of Ballantine ale.  Now if a World Class Beverage employee happens to read this.. please note I am offering free advertising in the below picture.  In exchange I want to see Ballantine Ale on Indiana shelves in the near future.  I for one am tired of having to get mine from Kentucky.

So now you know how to make a ‘perfect’ Manhattan.  Hopefully by this point you are enjoying yours as much as I am the one I made for this.  To end this, I am going to show one more picture of a Manhattan I made a couple weeks back.  I found the photos I took tonight seems to make the drink look a bit murky which is absolutely not the case.  This photo came out much better even if it shows a can of Schlitz served in a PBR glass. :)

I have seen many a person lately imploring readers to not make fools of themselves by drinking green beer this St. Patrick's day.  I guess I am wondering why though?  I see people calling green beer an abomination or mass marketed swill.  Or moaning about how St. Patrick's Day is tied to leprechauns and shamrocks and the color green.  So what?  Every holiday in this country is over marketed and distilled to the most common denominator.  Sit back and enjoy the day as you want and let your fellow beer drinkers enjoy it in the fashion they want.  I for one think green beer is a fun once a year tradition.  You're adding a drop or two of food coloring that doesn't affect the taste at all and that is somehow a great injustice to beer?  Of course I am seeing the majority of these comments on the craft beer blogs around the country and again it kind of makes me laugh.  why?  Because nobody is tinting craft beer green.  The bars that are doing this are tinting kegs of light beer.  You don't have to worry about a mug of green Sierra Nevada Pale Ale tonight.  Although now that I think about it.. just to piss all the snobs off I may tint a bottle of Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale when I get home.  Or how about a Brugge White Green?  My advice to everyone: Go enjoy the evening in any way you want. 

Sláinte

I have never participated in The Session, yet have been wanting to for months now.  So when I saw that this months was just put up and it was themed around lagers, I just couldn't resist.  I find myself to be one of the oddities in the beer community.  One of those beer drinkers who can truly enjoy and appreciate the rarest of beers from the 100+ IBU hop bombs to Belgian ales fermented with bacteria and just as easily love the simple retro lager beer like Schlitz and PBR.  I routinely find myself talking up the Pabst family of brands on various beer websites, and usually find my posts somewhat ignored or scoffed at.  Sometimes I find a fellow kindred spirit who can enjoy the simple pleasures of macro fizz.  Those that realize that not every drop of beer that crosses the threshold of your lips needs to come from an artisan brewery. 

Why do I love the retro lager beers like PBR, Schlitz, Stroh's and Olympia?  For one thing, I personally find them to be a refreshing thirst quencher.  These are the beers that I want on that hot summer day when you are enjoying the outdoors or going to an event like the Indy 500.  A beer that you can pound down and ask for another without worrying about palate fatigue or an immediate buzz from the first beer of the session. 

About a month ago I visited Chicago to hang out with my dad.  We were going to a bar called Brixie’s that was hosting a small beer tasting event.  $10 for unlimited sampling of roughly 50 beers from a large variety of breweries, both local craft like Two Brothers to imports like Kasteel Rouge.  We had a great time trying many of the beers in small samples of all styles.  After a few hours of sampling we left and went to one of our favorite dive bars, Belloumini’s.  There we proceeded to perform a retro challenge. Trying to determine in our minds which was the best retro beer out there.  In the end, after a fun beer fest, I think we both had a better time drinking what the beer snobs would thumb their noses at.  Which one won?  The new (60’s formula) Schlitz is a clear step ahead of the competition.

Just this past weekend I went to Cincinnati with my dad to check out Bockfest.  We spent the day drinking numerous great beers starting out with Hudepohl Bock and Moerlein Emancipator Dopplebock.  After a few hour hiatus for a tour of the Cincinnati brewing district, we were back at it trying Barrelhouse Brewing’s Bock as well as more Moerlein Emancipator.  Eventually we moved on to a bar that sports a stacked menu with $2 per bottle specials and I sampled Mendocino Bock and a couple beers from Abita.  Finally we went to a bar that looked like a biker rally was gathering out front complete with people milling around with cans of PBR.  We head in and check the place out, discovering a punk band playing up stairs and a healthy tap selection downstairs.  I finally got to try Troegs Troegenator Double Bock on draught and was pleased to see the other craft beers pouring well.  While sitting at the bar drinking the Troegs, I started to realize that I was at the end of the road for what I could handle in terms of craft beer for the evening.  Palate fatigue was officially upon me and it was a bit of a struggle to enjoy the remainder of my pint of Troegenator.  I then heard the bartender mention that they had $1 cans of PBR on special,.  So to end the evening, I drank a Pabst and found it to be the most enjoyable beer of the back end of the day.  Something about it just ‘hit the spot’.  We called it quits at that point but I could have easily drank a few more PBRs there, but was definitely done with anything more complicated then that.

When it all gets boiled down, I enjoy pretty much all styles of beer.  But in the end, to close out a session, it’s the lagers that I love.

I just read a post on Beervana, a beer blog I have recently discovered that I keep tabs on.  Apparently Oregon may be putting in legal measures to give consumers a way to ensure they are served a proper pint of beer when they order one.  Check out some of the salient details noted at Beervana:

Allows holder of full on-premises sales license or limited on-premises sales license to obtain verification of capacity of pint glasses used at licensed premises for draught malt beverages. Allows holder to obtain display sticker from Oregon Liquor Control Commission if glasses at premises hold pint of malt beverage under standard conditions....

SECTION 2. { + (1) If the Director of Human Services ... determines, based on a random sampling of the glasses, that the glasses used at the premises hold at least 16 fluid ounces of draught malt beverage when dispensed under standard conditions established by the director, the director shall provide the holder of the license with written verification of the measurement....

(3) The Oregon Liquor Control Commission shall design a decal that features the words 'honest pint' for display at qualifying premises.... Upon receiving a valid measurement verification, the commission shall issue the holder an 'honest pint' decal for display at the licensed premises where the director conducted the measurement verification.

I for one heartily applaud Oregon for even getting this far!  The blatant fraud perpetrated by most drinking establishments when they sell you a pint is something I believe should have been addressed long ago.  The industry standard shaker pint glass is a farce that only holds 16oz if you fill it with liquid to the very edge of the glass.  Usually when fans of craft beer start grading one beer or another, the discussion of head retention and lacing comes up.  If you get any head in a standard pint glass, you just got shorted on the pint you paid for.  Factor in the shape of the glass, which blooms out near the top so that 12oz probably takes up more then 80% of the height of the glass and you can see how even a minor drop in volume can translate to actually ounces you weren't served, yet you paid for.

Having traveled to Europe on a number of occasions and seeing how they handle this, I am always struck by how badly American consumers have allowed themselves to be treated.  For example, almost every, if not all, beer menus I have seen in Europe will list the size of serving, so when you place your order you know what size you will be receiving.  When it arrives, the glass has a marking on it clearly denoting the measurement and of course ample space above that for head.  You can easily see every time that you received an amount equal to, and sometimes over, what was promised.  Think about that the next time you go to your favorite bar and order an ever increasingly expensive pint of draught beer and it comes in the standard logo'd pint glass with 1/4-1/2" of head and realize you probably just got served closer to 12oz... 14 if your lucky.

I decided to hit the Brownsburg liquor store on the way home to pick up a 40oz of Olde English 800.  Never had a problem with this in the past but today I walk to the cooler and no OE to be seen.  GRRR.. again with the disappointment every single time I walk into a Brownstucky liquor store.  So as I am standing there the girl behind the counter comes over and asks if I am looking for anything.  I tell her what I am looking for and she gives me the sad face and tells me that they are trying to get more Olde English back in stock.. and then without missing a beat says "But we have Pabst.".  Not sure when Pabst became the standard replacement for 8-ball but I was dismayed and amused at the same time.  And wound up taking them up on their offered special of $1.99 for a 40oz of King Cobra.  All in all, it's not too shabby for a $2 ginormous bottle of beer.. oh sorry, malt liquor.  Have a good weekend!

This weekend is Bockfest 2009 in Cincinnati and I am heading that way with my dad.  Should be a fun time bouncing around the many events scheduled to celebrate the season of bock beers as well as the symbolic end of winter and beginning of spring.  We are going to be taking a tour of many of the old Cincinnati brewing sites and of course imbibing bock beer along the way.  So look forward to a post soon regaling our adventures in Cincinnati.

Speaking of bock beer, I was in the local Marsh in Brownsburg last night and of course had to take a quick stroll down the beer aisle.  They have a fairly nice selection of beer but one thing leapt out at me last night.  Leinenkugel's is now more expensive then Shiner Bock.  WTF?!?  Across all varieties Leinie's is priced at $8.49 per 6-pack.  Shiner Bock was sitting next to them for $7.99.  Seriously, that's insanity pricing.  2 years ago I was routinely picking up sixers of Leinie's for $3.99-4.99 depending on if they had a special going on.  About a year ago I think it was averaging more like $5.49 on sale and maybe on the rare occassion that it wasn't, $6.99.  $8.49 translates to an enormous "Do not purchase" sign over that brand for me.  Somebody at the corporate HQ of MillerCoors has their head where it doesn't belong on this one.

My dad recently went on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky and has written up a nice piece about his experience which I want to share here.  This will hopefully be the first of many contributions by him to the site.

Bourbon 101

By Perry Huntoon

The title of this essay stands for a basic primer on bourbon, but could well have been taken from my days in Houston during the early 1970s when Wild Turkey 101 was all the rage among the twenty-something crowd. This really had nothing to do with acquiring a taste for fine bourbon, but instead was regarded as a way to get blitzed quickly and easily with high (101⁰) proof alcohol. This was long before the days of downing shots of Jager or Patron for the same effect. Back then, I didn’t fall for the Wild Turkey craze as I had discovered bourbon a decade earlier and was already sipping Old Weller Antique 107⁰ proof bourbon in the form of Manhattan cocktails. And, despite the high proof, it didn’t hit you over the head. I remember once serving seven Manhattans to my father before dinner, each with 3-ounces of Weller, plus the alcohol from the sweet vermouth. He was still able to stand up, speak coherently and enjoy the dinner that ensued.

Bourbon had always been the whiskey style of choice for me, but it wasn’t until I immersed myself in a whirlwind visit to seven distilleries over two days that I finally developed much understanding of the product or the process of producing it. It was a glorious two days in northern Kentucky following the Labor Day weekend. After years of procrastinating, it was time to finally hit the Bourbon Trail and explore the renowned distilleries of the region. And that brief flurry of activity proved the old adage that the more one learns, the more one discovers there is to learn. My ignorance level was truly abysmal, but that made me realize that I was not alone in that regard. So, let’s share some common perceptions and dispel some misperceptions as to what bourbon really is and what makes it so distinctive from other whiskeys.

Most whiskey drinkers know that bourbon is unique to the United States. Many think it is only produced in Kentucky and some think it all must come from Bourbon County, Kentucky. But, only the first premise is true. By U.S. law, the term bourbon can only be applied to whiskey distilled in the United States. It got its name from early frontiersmen coming to Bourbon County, which, in those days was a vast county formed in 1786 in Virginia and covering what is now most of northeastern Kentucky. The present Bourbon County is now only one of 34 counties in Kentucky that once comprised the original Bourbon County. The sparkling limestone-filtered springs (for water), abundant oak trees (for barrel making) and arable farmland (for producing corn) all led to ideal whiskey producing conditions. Because of the distinctive taste through the use of corn, it was named bourbon to distinguish it from other regional styles of whiskey. Bourbon at one time was produced throughout the Midwestern states and, in fact, Illinois once produced nearly as much as Kentucky. But, consolidation of the industry has led to the abandonment of most non-Kentucky distilleries. Virginia has one remaining bourbon distillery.

The other legal requirements for bourbon are that it consists of at least 51% corn (with the remainder usually being rye, but sometimes malted barley or wheat), that it be distilled to no more than 160⁰ proof and stored (aged) in new charred oak barrels at not more than 125⁰ proof. It cannot be bottled at less than 80⁰ proof. To be labeled “straight bourbon,” it must be aged for a minimum of two years. In fact, most bourbon is aged a minimum of four years. With these requirements, it is a bit surprising that asking for bourbon at a drinking establishment can result in being served something else. Many times, when I ask for bourbon, I am offered Jack Daniels. Well, as fine as Jack may be, it isn’t a bourbon, but is labeled “a Tennessee Sippin’ Whiskey.” Why? There are those who think it’s not labeled bourbon because it’s not produced in Kentucky. But, as explained earlier, that’s not pertinent. The fact is that using sugar maple charcoal as a mellowing agent, as Jack does, is an additive not permitted for bourbon labeling. Or how many bars have used Early Times as the well bourbon? Again, look at the label. It is simply called “Kentucky Whiskey.” Why? It’s aged in used oak barrels; therefore it fails to qualify as a true bourbon. The bottom line is that all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.

One last basic is the distilling process; essentially all bourbon is “sour mash.” The “mash spill,” the mixture of corn and other grain, is milled and fed into a mash cooker where water is added. In addition, some “set back” (perhaps 25%) of the old mash from the previous distillation is included. That is the sour mash process which ensures the consistency of the bourbon from batch to batch. From the cooker, the mash goes to a fermenter where yeast is added. The yeast feeds on the sugar in the mash creating carbon dioxide and alcohol. The mash is transformed into what is called “distiller’s beer.” Following a further distilling process, the resulting liquid is aged in 53 gallon new charred oak barrels. The longer the storage, the more evaporation that takes place. A particularly long aged bourbon will lose over half of its volume. But, it is this aging in new oak barrels that give bourbon its distinctive color and flavor. You may ask what becomes of the barrels when once used. Most are exported for use in making Scotch and Irish whiskies as well as tequila and rum.

So, enough of the basics. What about the industry as a whole? If you visit a large liquor outlet, you will find shelf after shelf of bourbon implying a healthy industry with lots of players. In fact, the story is not as it appears. While the industry is generally healthy, it wasn’t always. A decline in whiskey drinking took place in America during the ‘60s and 70s with a younger generation turning to clear liquors, especially vodka. One bourbon producer, Brown-Forman of Louisville, attempted, unsuccessfully, to counter the trend with a clear whiskey named Frost 8/80. Whiskey drinkers wouldn’t drink it as they expected a darker color and vodka drinkers wouldn’t switch because of the taste being so unlike the other clear liquors. What did rejuvenate the whiskey business was the trend toward “boutique” brands, single barrel and small batch whiskeys. More expensive and trendier, they have captured the fancy of connoisseurs of fine whiskeys, particularly bourbon. More about them in future articles.

And, as I discovered on the Bourbon Trail, despite the great variety of brands, there aren’t all that many players in the game. As of September, the trail included only seven distillers, although an eighth, Tom Moore in Bardstown, has since been added. Shockingly, in Kentucky, there are, reputedly, only nine operating distillers and most are no longer small family operations, but part of larger corporations. We will feature each of them in future articles.

As a quick overview, here are the visited distillers and their locations:

Jim Beam – Clermont : Jim Beam, originating in 1795, is perhaps the world’s best known bourbon. It is the largest seller. In addition to its flagship brand, Beam has been an important player in the high-end market with its collection of small batch bourbons: Booker’s, Basil Hayden’s, Knob Creek and Baker’s. For convenience, Beam is also produced in cans mixed with cola or ginger ale.

Makers Mark – Loretto: A relative newcomer to the scene, Maker’s Mark, a distinctive handcrafted small-batch bourbon that has received great recognition, was first produced in 1958.

Heaven Hill – Bardstown: A leading distiller, Heaven Hill is the only family owned distillery remaining in Kentucky. Founded in 1935, it is the second largest holder of bourbon whiskey in the world. Among its brands are Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna, Evan Williams and Old Fitzgerald.

Four Roses – Lawrenceburg: Four Roses was the top selling bourbon for several years after Prohibition. However, some years after Seagram purchased the distillery in 1943, it was withdrawn from the U.S. market and found only in Europe and Asia. Under new ownership (Kirin Brewery) since 2002, the distillery now produces four high-end bourbons for the U.S. market. It received the 2008 Distillery of the Year Award in November at New York’s WhiskyFest celebration.

Wild Turkey – Lawrenceburg: While the distillery dates to 1905, Wild Turkey as a brand originated in 1940 and became wildly popular in the early ‘70s. An 80⁰ proof version was introduced in 1974.

Buffalo Trace – Frankfort: This is the oldest distilling site in the U.S. and was formerly known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. Its flagship bourbon, Buffalo Trace, was introduced in 1999. The distillery also produces the W. L. Weller line and has a joint agreement with Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery to produce its bourbons.

Woodford Reserve – Versailles: This distillery has been in operation since 1812 and was formerly known as the Oscar Pepper Distillery. With a name change in 2003 and ownership by Brown-Forman (also owners of Jack Daniels and Early Times), this distillery now produces a premium small batch bourbon.

Future articles will focus on the individual distilleries. First up will be Old Rip Van Winkle, a successor of sorts to the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery of Louisville. Stay tuned and, in the meantime, seek out a fine bourbon for your sipping pleasure.

Going by the newest trailer embedded below, the long wait for next Terminator movie may well have been worth it.  If I could get away with it, I would put this on infinite loop and sit back and waste the day.

Found this browsing through some blogs I read and couldn't resist posting it here too.  This is hilarious, but not real work friendly.

Ask any hophead who's reaching for a beer what the most important consideration is when picking said beer and they will probably respond with something about how many IBU's the beer has.  IBU's are the measurement of bitterness in a beer as a result from the hops added.  The higher the IBU number, the more bitter the hop flavor.  As a homebrewer, I have to rely on software to give me a best guess as to what the IBU's of a batch of beer I brew will be.  I have a red ale on draught now that according to the recipe, and the 7oz of Amarillo hops, should be close to 105 IBU's.  It seems though, that when a beer is sent to a laboratory to be tested for an accurate IBU measurement, it actually falls far short of the claims made by most brewers.  Check out this post on the Deschutes blog regarding their experience.  I give them a ton of credit for actually fessing up to the fact that their bottles were mislabeled once they discovered the truth.

Moral of the story, don't necessarily trust those big IBU numbers on the back of the label of your favorite double IPA.