the butte of jokes

I couldn't resist sharing this article, because it seems like a joke unto itself:

Budweiser May Seem Watery, But It Tests At Full Strength, Lab Says



I've passed 500 beers on my list, which I have been pretty negligent in updating, but it looks like 500 goes to Black Butte Porter, if for no other reason than it was good, no, great enough to remember to add to my database. (In case you're not a geography geek, that's pronounced /byoot/.)

Deschutes Black Butte Porter, from Oregon, graced our refrigerator here in western Arizona, but it looks like the furthest east it's available is Illinois. Bummer. It was rich but wasn't heavy, with a really nice roasted flavor that nicely balanced the sweet and the bitter. This is one of the few beers I've seen on Beer Advocate with a rating of 100 from The Bros. I know the negligence has extended beyond my beer database, and to this blog (for both of us!), but this one was absolutely worth mentioning.

Other beer news: I am extremely disappointed that I was on the other side of the country for the release of FU Sandy, a beer produced by my beloved Flying Fish to raise funds for Sandy relief. Oh, New Jersey. I love you so much, even (especially?) when I'm far away. It was such a limited released that I understand it sold out everywhere within a few hours of tapping. Good news: there are rumors that it will be rereleased in six packs this summer. A girl can dream. I know at least two people who got to try this though-- one liked it, one didn't, but the one who didn't is not into wheat-related beers.

Drink anything good lately, anyone? Craft beer choices are limited in western AZ, although we've found some gems of breweries in our travels, most of which we'll be returning to during Spring Break in March with visitors, and checking out a new one recommended to me in Phoenix during Spring Training.

Gluten free beer?

I would be really sad if I had to quit gluten, 1. because I like good beer, pasta, bread and all the grains and 2. because that would make vegetarianism slightly more complicated (though not impossible, but I strive to be as un-picky as possible, since it's bad enough I don't eat meat. or olives.).

But I read this article from NPR about gluten-free beers, and what one Celiac disease sufferer deems the best picks. I like reading about food and beer almost as much as I like trying it myself.

The only gluten free beer I've tried is Red Bridge, Anheuser-Busch's widely available brew. It made me sad because it seemed to be the only choice out there for friends who can't tolerate gluten for whatever reason, but I guess it wasn't terrible if all you're looking for is a plain old beer. This was a few years ago. It seems there are more choices now.

Has anyone seen this Dogfish Head Tweason'Ale (or any of the others in that article, actually)? I generally like Sam Calagione's creative works. I'd like to try it.

Have you tried any of these beers? Are you living in a gluten-free world? I'm just curious about this stuff. I'm obviously on hiatus from brewing till I move somewhere in a more complete fashion (I really just brought the essentials to Arizona, figuring it'd be stupid to fully move here only to potentially turn around and move somewhere else entirely upon finding employment), but I still like reading and learning about beer.

Wait Wait! Pumpkin Beer Part IV

This week's Wait wait... Don't Tell Me! featured Randy Sprecher of Sprecher Brewery outside of Milwaukee. I am generally amused by this snarky radio game show, but now I want to visit Milwaukee!

Not My Job with Randy Sprecher


Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! from November 17

In other news, the pumpkin ale that Mike and I made in October apparently came out well. I have been sick for the past week, so it tasted pretty awful to me, but those who tried it have had positive reviews so far. Looking forward to tasting it myself when my mouth doesn't taste like bronchitis, and hopefully enjoying a few with friends this holiday season.

Oatmeal and Beer

I love oatmeal. It's true. I recently learned how to cook it for real, not just make packets of the instant stuff, and I am slightly obsessed. My favorite additives so far are probably either dried fruit and milk, or a little molasses plus a little bit of ground cloves, ginger and cinnamon (which I discovered in this blog entry which also includes a hilarious quiz about oatmeal).

However, what is actually relevant to this blog is that I also enjoy The Oatmeal and just discovered and read this cartoon in particular, which is somewhat of a crass crash course (say that three times fast) in beer.

I'll let you know when I figure out how to make oatmeal with beer. I mean, we all know I enjoy a good oatmeal stout, so why not reverse it?...

my first beer: The Earpeweizen

My home brew sat for two weeks carbonating. I opened one last night and had my first taste. I took a short video to send to the benefactors of this project, to share the moment with them. Here is the transcript:

"The time has come to open this. You're really watching this now. It sounded carbonated! Smells like beer... (sip)... THAT could pass for a beer! This is exciting."

Other reviews from the Earp household:

"Smells good... tastes fine, it's just a bit fizzy." -The Baby Brother (ok, not a baby, he's 23)

"Sounds like beer... looks like beer... tastes like beer... you know, for all that work, it came out like a beer!" -The Dad

and later-- "It tastes like banana pudding!"

Sort of. Despite no bananas occurring anywhere in the brewing process, my hefeweizen tastes ever so slightly banana-y. That's kind of typical though. I don't think it tastes quite like pudding, but that's just me. This might go nice with a slice of orange*. It is absurdly fizzy though. I'm going to have to read more about the carbonation process and figure that out.

So I hope you will join me for a quaff at some point! It looks like there will be a Dear Beer Friends staff dinner meeting next week, when I will share this with Paul and others and get their reviews. I'm really pumped to share this with friends and family. It's definitely not the most amazing hefeweizen I've ever had, but I think it's totally drinkable, totally passable as beer. How exciting!

In case you're interested in home brewing, here's a ridiculous article about how to take it a step further, kind of MacGyver style.


*I realize putting fruit in beer is totally against man law, but 1. I am a girl, and 2. a man who served as a marine who I went to college with said it was ok, so I'm pretty sure it's ok.

friends forever

Dogfish Head's brewmaster Sam Calagione and I are practically best friends.

After watching Beer Wars, I sent him an email, because he said in the film that people could do that. I told him about my love of Bitches Brew and World Wide Stout and how much I appreciated his efforts to make cool beers despite the challenges in competing with the behemoths. He wrote back!:

Thanks for the kind words and support Colleen. And thanks for taking the time to see the movie. Keep drinking the good stuff. Cheers, Sam

Just wanted that here for posterity, and also to show that we're on a first name basis. Awesome.

American beers

Taylor shared this with me today, and I thought it was neat:

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1102/beer-map/flat.html

I definitely was happy to see the results for New Jersey and Delaware in particular. I've tried beers from 17 of these brewers. I guess I need to travel more... Idaho, for one, has just moved up on my places I should visit sometime.

more from Virginia

Obviously this is a Colleen post. It isn't out of the ordinary for Paul to write about what's going on in Virginia.

I meant to tell you last time about Beer Wars, which Paul recommended a while back. While not quite what I thought it'd be, this was really good and I definitely recommend it. It was all about the ongoing battle between craft breweries and the big guys. I was really surprised to learn just how hard it is for small scale brewers to get their stuff out there. Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head was featured quite a bit, giving me even more appreciation for the unique stuff he's making and getting out there for beer dorks like me.

I'm generally a fan of smaller industries and more local endeavors, so it's no wonder I was more disappointed in the behemoth macrobrews after seeing this. I suspect if you're reading this blog though, you have at least a little love for the little guys out there. Watch the movie!

Movie Time

I will post about my vacation shortly, but in the mean time I wanted to let you all know about a movie that explains the microbrew industry fairly well. The movie is called Beer Wars and can be found via Netflix (among other places). My good friend and roommate Matt got a hold of movie, which he heard about through friends of ours. I'd like to credit him as the source of this post.

I thought it was an excellent documentary style look at the industry from the perspective of the little guy. I was familiar with most of the content from my brewing course in college, but if you want to get a look at how the industry works, this is the movie for you. If nothing else, you'll get an appreciation for the micro brewers out there and all they do for our taste buds. Check it out one night if you can.

Cheers,
Paul