Jack Curtin’s LIQUID DIET

No, I’m not talking about the world-class selection of beers, I’m talking about the chalkboard itself.

That’s the board above the bar at Teresa’s Next Door as of around 4:40 this afternoon, as clean and neat and readable an example as I’ve ever seen, done by staffer Carissa Just with something called a “chalk pen,” a concept entirely new to me. I find it astonishingly near-perfect.

I stopped in at TND after a heads-up call from fine human being Matt Guyer while I was on the train back from Philadelphia alerting me that Dogfish Head Bitches Brew had just been tapped.

There’s been a lot of talk about this one, created in honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis’ 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough. It is a big a bold dark beer which is three-quarters imperial stout and one quarter honey beer made with gesho root, an African shrub from Ethiopia which is used in a similar fashion to hops. I found it a nicely balanced and drinkable brew, perhaps a bit sweet on its own, but one I could imagine enjoying over a plate of fruit and cheese.

I’d been downtown to meet up with a new friend, the Rev. Kirk Berlenbach whom many of you have likely met and know as “Father Kirk.” We met for the first time at Nodding Head during Philly Beer Week and have been trying to get together ever since, finally pulling it off today right back where it all started.

We enjoyed a good conversation over two pints of Bil Payer Ale on cask (for me) and one of those and a glass of George’s Fault for him. We were joined for a stretch by main man Curt Decker and brewer Gordon Grubb. The later brought out a bottle of their Saison, an leftover from those packaged to send off to the Great American Beer Festival. Actually, as Decker explained, not really a left-over: “We always do some extra bottles to keep and open the week of GABF so we can taste what they are likely tasting at the judges’ tables in Denver.”

All in all, a good beery day, as good a one as I’ve had of late.

Tags: Beer Is Good, Brewers, Brewpubs, Cafes, Restaurants, Taverns, GABF by jackc
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Bad Karma, I would have said before today, would be having an internationally recognized spam king send out an email about your proposed new TV show about good beer ’cause a lot of people block emails from recognized spam addresses.

Now, I have to say that Really Horrendous Karma would be doing that on the same day that there is an announcement that a craft beer icon is launching a TV show about good beer.

But maybe not.

Fortunately, the concepts are different enough, the market is big enough and the spam guy is lovable enough in his own way that it’s probably not a game-killer.

Here’s a ten-minute trailer for Beer Appétit, the show’s working name. You’ll see that it is professionally done and features a host with a winning personality. It’s just a tad confusing at the start when it tells us they’ve come to Monk’s Café and then cut to an interview with Tomme Arthur of The Lost Abbey. The interview takes place at Monk’s and everything becomes clear a few minutes in and this is just a trailer. In a 30-minute (or more) complete show, all that would be dealt with in an introduction, but as it stands it could throw off a casual viewer.

That said, it’s a damned good sample of a show that I’d certainly want to see more of  if I were a big-time TV exec….

Tags: Beer Is Good, Media, Opinion by jackc
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About a month or so ago, the folks at Newcastle Brown Ale sent me a Newcastle DraughtKeg™, a 5-liter portable unit which uses an internal CO2 system and its own mini-tap and claims to keep beer fresh for up to 30 days after tapping. The idea, their PR people say, is that you can share “the pub experience” with friends wherever you are. I decided to share mine with my friends at The Beer Yard since the original email asking if I would be interested in their shipping me beer came through my email address there.

Side Note: I chuckle when I get the emails asking if it’s okay to send me beer. Really, it is. I’d like to see it mandatory, in fact, but that’s another issue.

To the right is lovable Mark Sauerbrey, Matt Guyer’s kid brother, pouring the very first pint from the keg, which I allowed him the honor of tapping. In doing so, he managed to send the first couple of ounces flying past his glass and onto the hindquarters of my dog, but having a dog smell like beer is not a problem here at Liquid Diet headquarters. Also, many Beer Yard customers and all the employees might not recognize Mark because he is smiling.

Yes, the beer does come remarkably close to what you’d expect from a pint pulled at your local. I cannot testify as to whether the beer would stay fresh for 30 days as the Beer Yard night shift killed it that evening. That’s the way we roll.

The DraughtKeg™ launched nationally last month and should retail for about $13, plus tax. The contents should come to around 10 pints (if you don’t spray some on the dog), so that’s a pretty good price. I don’t drink Newcastle much these days, but I can remember when it was exciting to find it on tap amidst all the Big Blands back before the craft revolution took hold.

Along with the keg, Newcastle sent a “Geordie Schooner,” a special glass “inspired by the brand’s English heritage.” Here’s the skinny on that:

Originally called the Wellington glass, it became so popular in the city of Newcastle that it was renamed the Geordie Schooner - a tribute to the local residents nicknamed “Geordies.” The city of Newcastle’s bartenders continue to serve Newcastle Brown Ale in the same glass, and now beer drinkers stateside can appreciate the tradition.

Finally, here’s Mark again. Many people warned me that his image would not show up on film (do we still call it film?) and it’s nice to prove them wrong.

Tags: Beer, Beer Events, Beer Is Good, Breweries, News by jackc
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Phoodie.info notes that at least one Philadelphia gay bar has bought into Philly Beer Week and conjectures that it is the first such to do so. I don’t know if that’s the case or not, but I do know that the idea is not new.

Well over a decade ago, somewhere around 1997, the inventive Jim Anderson was working with the owner of a downtown gay bar to try and develop a beer event called Beers for Queers, which would, hopefully, open the gay market to craft beers. It never happened.

That’s kinda strange, because it’s  a very logical concept given the perception (granted, it’s a stereotype but there’s a truth behind every stereotype or it wouldn’t work) that gays are so attuned to fine food and drink.

Mainstream swill or the best, most inventive beers in the world? The choice is obvious.

Tags: Beer Is Good, Philly Beer Week by jackc
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Stegmaier Pale Ale. Stegmaier India Pale Ale. Stegmaier Summer Stock Pils. All three arrived here at Liquid Diet World Headquarters over the past fortnight. I informed you about that here and here and promised to offer some opinions later. Sure enough, as it must to all men, later has come.

Here’s the basic fact to remember about Stegmaier: you may not always be excited but you will never find a bad beer under this label. The folks at The Lion take particular pride in the Steg line and it always shows. And these are all three quite good beers. That doesn’t mean full-out beer-geeky , blow-your-mind,  I-can’t-wait-to-get-on-BeerAdvocate-and see-how-many-gooey-adjectives-I can-cram-into-a-review beers; it means beers that are on the mark, enjoyable and worth the money.

As for that last, I’d argue without reservation that Stegmaier is the best bargain in the state, and, without too many reservations (albeit with a protective “perhaps”) ,the best buy in the entire country. The rest of the line includes, among other styles, the excellent Steg Porter, Brewhouse Bock and Winter Warmer. With that lineup. we could all drink quite well all year ’round at eminently affordable prices.

Before I have my say on the three beers in hand, here are the descriptions of same as written by Brewing Supervisor Darel Matthews and slightly edited by me for conformity’s sake (Darel is the fine gentlemen who arranged to send me the samples). Pay attention. as this will provide all the things you want to know if you are the sort who wants to know these things:

Steg Pale Ale - 4.3% ABV, 40 IBUs.  Malt bill is 2-row with some light crystal and high-kilned malts.  Hopping is Centennial, Amarillo and Ahtanum hops. Dry hop is Amarillo and Ahtanum.

Steg India Pale Ale - 6.8% ABV, 70 IBUs.  Malt bill is 2-row, some high-kilned character malts, and wheat.  Hopping is Galena and Centennial up front with a massive late hop addition of Cascade and Nugget.  Dry hop is Cascade and Nugget.

Steg Summer Stock Pils - 5% ABV, 25 IBUs. It’s our on a traditional Northern German pilsner.  Malt bill is 100% Cargill German Pils malt. Hopping is Perle, with Ahtanum added for a subtle, refreshing lemongrass finish.

On my initial sampling of the Pale Ale (I drank three bottles of each beer over the last week), I came away with the impression that it was somewhat maltier than might be expected. The second and third bottles adjusted my thinking. The malt backbone does become more obvious as the beer warms in the glass and I must have taken a long time to drink that first one so it was the lasting impression I had. This is not an exceptional Pale, but it is certainly drinkable.

The IPA was my favorite of the three (but on a technicality, see below) and is a more than decent representation of what has come to be considered the East Coast version of the style, going for balanced and drinkable rather than being a hop-bomb experience. You can have a couple of these without your taste buds screaming for relief and it went very nicely with a considerably hot and spicy Stir Fry I made the other night. I think it can hold its own with the vast middle range of IPAs out there.

The Summer Stock Pils is where the technicality comes in. It is the most complex of the three and clearly a well-made Pils. By personal inclination, it should be my top choice and it is very, very good. The thing is—and understand that memory is faultier the longer the time has passed and the more ancient the brain—it does not come across quite as crisp and clean as I recall the first release being. That little niggling feeling, erroneous as it might be, bothers me because I keeping thinking I’m missing something that once was.

Fortunately enough, a resolution to this conundrum is likely forthcoming. I assume all three of these beers were also sent to a Higher Authority—indeed, given his eminence, perhaps hand-delivered with each bottle on its own individual pillow. I know for sure the Pils was sent to that place on high we all call Newtown because that link 25 or some words back says so.

I await imprimatur or derision, knowing that it may take months and months, since The Man is all enamoured of Facebook these days. I, and you, have no choice but to be patient.

Tags: Beer Is Good, Beer Styles, New Releases, Tasting by jackc
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I hied on over to Wegmans this AM to get me some scallions, mushrooms, broccoli, sweet peppers and such, to go into the huge chicken stir fry I will be making for tonight’s (and days to come) dinner, even though I am tempted to grill outside, I admit.

On the way home, I stopped at Sly Fox Royersford to grab a growler for the afternoon and evening NCAA games and…

Voila!

Foxy Lady Kölsch, the beer brewed for  Lovin’ Cup in Rochester, was on the taps!

Is there any better “acorn” than the perfect beer and is there any more perfect beer for the day before the first day of Spring, when the sun is shining brightly and the temp will be 72 or higher, that a well-made Kölsch? I think not.

Of course, the basketball games will keep me inside for the heart of the afternoon except for a few forays onto the back porch, but that’s okay.

Other harbingers of spring: the guy upstairs has jumped on his big, shiny Harley and is off to his sister’s house in New Jersey and thence to the shore for the weekend’; long, leggy neighbor gal has pulled out the short shorts, always a good thing; everybody is outside walking around and cars are being washed by the energetic.

The only downer is that I called my daughter to set up dog-sitting services tomorrow so I can get down the Yards cask ale event and she answered in…Puerto Rico! She had hubby fled town early yesterday and are sitting by the pool drinking. Dunno yet what that means for Sunday; Buddy’s good for two or three hours, not so sure how he’d handle double that or more.

Also, Villanova had better not lose this afternoon and blow the day’s vibe completely. That would call for a lot stronger beer than Kölsch, maybe even whiskey.

Tags: Beer Is Good, Brewpubs, Personal by jackc
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Here’s a link to make you beer folks forgive Facebook for all its many sins. The people behind the scene are just like you, albeit with better benefits:

Since Facebook started on a college campus, it makes sense that they celebrate kegs. But did you know they actually have a Facebook application dedicated to the keg in their office? And they like to have fun with it.While Keg Presence isn’t an official Facebook app, it was created and is maintained by Facebook employees. So what does it do? The app is a steady stream of information about what’s going on with the Facebook keg. For example, Keg Presence sends out notices to let users (other Facebook employees) know what type of beer is in the keg. And when the keg is empty, it posts pictures of BevMo, where Facebook employees apparently go to refill it.Anyway, the application isn’t new, it has been around since sometime last year, but a humorous update from Keg Presence was recently brought to our attention. Announcing the “launch” of Keg Presence 2.0, one Facebook employee jokingly named it “Facebook Buzz”:At Facebook we move fast and have already launched Keg Presence 2.0 which we have named Facebook Buzz.80-some Facebook employees gave the update a thumbs up “like.”This is of course in reference to Google Buzz, the recently launched social stream feature that now resides inside of Gmail. Following its launch, much was made of Buzz as a potential “_____ killer,” including, naturally, Facebook. The social network doesn’t seem too worried though if their response is a keg application.Update: As former Facebooker Ryan Merket notes in the comments:You forgot one key part of Keg Presence. Employees swipe their RFID badge when they get there, which snaps a photo of them pouring their beer and updates their Facebook status.That’s just awesome. Viva la Facebook Buzz.

(Still should be working, but I keep running across this stuff)

Tags: Beer Is Good, Fun Stuff by jackc
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IT BEGAN WITH Mr. Sixpack’s column this morning, talking of cellaring beers for the long haul. Then came Mr. Beaumont rhapsodizing about 2010 Stone Winter Storm where he had just indulged himself.

No. Scratch that.

The real beginning was yesterday when a bottle of 2010 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine arrived on my doorstep, a sample from the brewery.

When I read those posts this morning, I looked at the still falling snow and decided that the bottle would not be laid down for another day but opening this very evening. Cold winds are blowing, the world is crisp and cold and the package containing the sample bottle also included an official Old Guardian glass into which to pour the beer….

All in all, I was faced with too many signs from the beer gods for me to ignore.

Many will scoff, I know, believing that all big beers needs must be allowed to grow and change in the bottle. That’s a good basic rule, to be sure, but I also hold to what I call the Covaleski Theory (named for some guy who told it to me; if only I could remember where I met him) that a well-made barleywine can also be very special when it is fresh and new.

The photo above is stolen from the Stone website and shows Old Guardian “in its natural habitat.” This one is the first pour from my bottle done here in my natural habitat. See how all this comes together?

Stone tweaks the recipe for this beer every year and  more so than ever this time, using “a new type of crystal malt made from a variety of British barley called Maris Otter” and dry-hopping with East Kent Golding hops. AS I tend to prefer the more malt-centric  British approach to barleywines (Stone calls this the “Anglophilic direction”), I was really interested in seeing how this worked out, especially as their notes on the website also promised the same big hoppy presence which is the brewery signature.

Because this has been a particularly annoying day, I’ve decided to open the bottle early, setting aside the other half an late evening nightcap.

And so we are off:

Old Guardian 2010 pours with a nice head and surprisingly strong hops nose, almost like an Imperial IPA. There is the expected sweetness on first sip, dark fruit and caramel very notable, then the hops come forward again. This an 11% beer and the alcohol, while it might not come across that strong, can’t be entirely hidden, so that’s there for sure. With really excellent flavors, not all of which I can pin down, this one is a definite keeper. It  is very much a Stone beer in the skill of blending of the traditional with a West Coast twist. I suspect it will only get better with age, but I am not at all unhappy that I opened it now.

But, it must be said, it is also way far from an Anglophilic interpretation.

By the way, have I ever told you that the Stone World Bistro is at the very top of my list of beer places I have never been and absolutely needs must visit? That’s because of beers like this one.

Tags: Beer Is Good, Beer Styles, Breweries, Tasting by jackc
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This Sunday’s New York Times will carry, in the Travel Section, this long, fun story about the emerging beer culture in Vietnam.

The key paragraph:

No beer tour to Vietnam would be complete without heading to Hanoi to sample the ultimate people’s beer, bia hoi. Consumed in frightening quantities by everyone from Vietnam’s newly rich to its hard-working street vendors, bia hoi, sometimes called fresh beer but literally meaning gas beer, is an unpasteurized, unpreserved brew made before the sun rises, and often imbibed before the sun sets. All throughout the day, motorcycle deliverymen can be seen carting the grog around in everything from 100-liter drums to smaller plastic jugs. Much of it comes from three huge breweries, but scores of smaller mom-and-pop operations flourish as well.

It ain’t exactly craft (some other brews mentioned in the story come a lot closer) but it sure is fresh.

Tags: Beer, Beer Is Good, Travel by jackc
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And it’s not just the bittersweet memories of Else, the gal who got away.

These students reaffirm my belief that the next generation might be able to save us. Their heads and hearts are obviously in the right places.

This battle of more than 50 years will bring a tear to the eye of most of you, given what I presume to be your inclinations. Speaking for myself. We never even thought of protesting in favor of such a great cause when I was an undergraduate. All we wanted to do was save the world, short-sighted bastards that we were.

Of course, our battle hasn’t ended yet either.

Tags: Beer Is Good by jackc
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