Subject: Digest for the period 5/9/2005 - 5/10/2005 Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 01:03:56 -0400 Table of contents ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Judges Needed, BUZZ Off May 21st in West Chester, PA (Christopher Clair) 2. More American lager (George de Piro) 3. politics (Jeremy Bergsman) 4. Lawnmower beer: It should have HOPS!! (Bob Paolino) 5. RE: politics (Dwight Bradish) 6. mega brews (Jeff & Ellen) 7. Re: Mega-Breweries (Alan Hord) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Christopher Clair Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 07:15:38 -0400 Subject: Judges Needed, BUZZ Off May 21st in West Chester, PA BUZZ Is still looking for judges for the 12th Annual BUZZ Off in West Chester, PA. Please consider coming out to help, esp. if you recently took the BJCP exam (Feb. in North Wales). We will have a number of National, Master, even Grand Master judges for you to gain experience with. See details below. Thanks! Christopher Clair buzzclub verizon.net http://hbd.org/buzz Brewers Unlimited Zany Zymurgists (BUZZ) is proud to announce that the 2005 BUZZ Off home brew competition will be held on Saturday, May 21st at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in West Chester, PA. For another year we will be a qualifying event for the prestigious Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing (MCAB) as well as the Delaware Valley Homebrewer of the Year. All BJCP recognized styles (2004 guidelines) including meads and ciders are eligible for entry. For complete details and forms, please visit the BUZZ web site at http://hbd.org/buzz. Entries will be accepted between May 1st and May 15th. For drop off and mail in locations please refer to the BUZZ web site. Please, do not send entries to Iron Hill. BJCP Judges and stewards will be needed. If you are interested please contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on the web site). All judges must be BJCP certified (any ranking). Good luck and cheers! Christopher Clair buzzclub verizon.net http://hbd.org/buzz ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: George de Piro Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 08:16:47 -0400 Subject: More American lager Hi all, Norman Dickenson wrote: > I'm not really sure where George is going with his thread. It appears to be > critique of the validity of American Light Lager being called "real" beer. Please don't put words in my mouth. I am not disputing the fact that American lager is beer, or even "real" beer. I am saying that I am tired of hearing praise for mega-brewer's consistency. Consistent product is not necessarily good product, and consistency is neither that difficult to achieve nor the holy grail. Norman than says: >There is no room for inferior ingredients or process >error in brewing a batch of this stuff. While there is certainly less to cover a mistake in a subtle beer, no beer really holds up to flaws very well. Some of the most horrid examples of malbrewing I've encountered (both home and commercial brew) are big beers like barley wines. Mismanaged fermentation of high-gravity wort yields flavors that are akin to jet fuel, and are really easy to achieve. Norman also writes about brewing American-style lager: >You will discover that only the most savvy and experienced homebrewers are >able to come close. I don't quite get how making technically good beer should earn the industrial brewer's high praise. Sure, a novice hobby brewer might not be able to make a light-tasting lager, but industrial brewers are educated professionals with massive QA/QC budgets! Their beer had better be technically good at the very least! Jeff Rea writes a very interesting piece from a different point of view than many of us have. I think he can be summarized by the following line from his missive, but read the whole thing if you have not: >Much to our dismay, these guys don't necessarily find their beer "lacking", >"tasteless" or any of the other pejoritive adjectives we "connoisseurs" like >to toss around. I suggest that most people eat/drink/do the things that they do, not because they have tried everything and settled on what they found best, but because of habit. What first induced so many Americans to try light-tasting lagers? The sad fact that it was the only thing available for decades! Those of us in the craft brewing industry are fighting a very tough battle. We are not just charged with educating people about the marvels of the beer world, but we are trying to persuade people to change habits that have been held for decades, across generations. Most people are not terribly adventurous, especially when it comes to food. I see this all the time at our brewpub, where we sell only our own beer. People walk up to the bar and ask for the industrial lager they always drink without even looking at our menu. They just assume it must be there! The power of marketing is much stronger than many believe. Most people have chosen their favorite beer based on marketing, not taste. As an experiment, conduct a blind tasting with a group of people who do not drink beer. See if they can tell the difference between Miller and Coors. Heck, one year, while judging at the GABF, I was sitting next to the light lager table. With about 6 beers to go, I heard one of the judges exclaim, "These all taste the same! What are we supposed to do?" If trained professionals couldn't discern the difference, how do you think the average person will do? Have fun! George de Piro Brewmaster, C.H. Evans Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station 19 Quackenbush Square Albany, NY, USA 12207 (518)447-9000 www.EvansAle.com Brewers of Kick-Ass Brown: Twice declared the Best American Brown Ale in the USA at the Great American Beer Festival (2000 & 2002)! ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeremy Bergsman Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 08:39:01 -0400 Subject: politics Jeff wrote: > American prohibition was a fascinating, and frightening social > phenomenon. It was largely made up of rural, anti-immigrant, > anti-Catholic, conservative WASPs, but many others were swept along > in their fervor. Fortunately there's no movement like this today. -- Jeremy Bergsman jeremy`at`bergsman.org http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bob Paolino Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 17:49:34 -0400 Subject: Lawnmower beer: It should have HOPS!! > post, BTW) But down here in Satan...er... God's country, Texas, Saint > Arnold Brewery has actually used this fact of life to their advantage > with the appropriately named "Fancy Lawnmower Beer" which is, > stylistically, a kolsch. It's a one of their best selling beers. Now > speculate for a moment and consider how many Blondes, Wheats and > their ilk fail to describe exactly what they're best at, being > refreshing (but not overly inebriating) on a hot summer's day. Had > Saint Arnold named the beer for what it is, all they'd be getting is > puzzled looks from the average consumer. (Trust me, I've described a > Kolsch so often for Saint Arnold visitors that I can almost say it in > my sleep!) Sometimes marketing has its place. Interesting observation, Bev, but I wonder how many among this group actually believe in the idea that a refreshing hot weather lawnmower beer has to be a North American Industrial Swillsener (or Nilsener, if you prefer), or even a "fancy lawnmower beer," like a Kolsch. Personally, I find a nice, crisp, hoppy American Pale Ale to be the perfect hot weather beer. That's not to say that I can't also enjoy a wit, some weizens, or other commonly-accepted "summer" beers, but the clean bitterness and hop flavour of a good APA is incredibly refreshing in warm/hot weather. Ummm, that's not to say that I haven't recently consumed a standard American lager. Last week, I brought the post-game beer for my hockey team and it was a City Brewery (LaCrosse) variety 12-pack, supplemented by a few odd singles I had sitting around. Although my first beer of the evening was a Goose Island IPA, of the beers in the 12 pack, the City Pale Ale, Porter, and Fest got consumed first and all that was left were the three bottles of City Lager (the old Old Style recipe). The exertion in a hockey game exceeds that of lawn-mowing even in the hot sun, but I found that IPA to be more refreshing than the City Lager, well-made though it may be. Now go have a beer, Bob Paolino "Are Canadians just Americans who carry hockey sticks instead of guns, or is there more to it than that?" --"This Canadian Existence" Wisconsin Public Radio ( ) ASCII ribbon campaign X against HTML e-mail: / \ Friends don't send friends HTML-bloated messages! A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. Q: Why is top-posting frowned upon? ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dwight Bradish Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 16:49:16 -0700 Subject: RE: politics We have one that started right here in Sacramento called MADD. Originally called mothers against drunk drivers, now it has now become people against drinking alcoholic beverages here. I take offense when good whiskey making Presbyterian Scottish-American distillers and brewers who are indeed conservative WASPS are included in your observation of history. Prohibition was a highly female initiated movement that started before and happened at the time they got the vote. Fundamentalist protestants like Baptist and Pentecostals were involved, as well as Mormons, but male WASPS like male Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Methodists were not at all for it. To say it was against Catholics is somewhat absurd, some people participating may have been anti-Catholic, but if women wouldn't have gotten the vote, prohibition would not have happened, because they wouldn't have had the political power to put enough pressure on congress to pass the ammendment. I'm for women voting, but like my history professor said, the most important event of the 20th century was women getting the vote, they changed politics forever in the U.S. Just my educated opinion, Dwight Bradish, History, B.A. Social Science, B.A. -----Original Message----- From: judge`at`synchro.com [mailto:judge@synchro.com]On Behalf Of Jeremy Bergsman Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 5:39 AM To: JudgeNet - the beer judge digest Subject: politics Jeff wrote: > American prohibition was a fascinating, and frightening social > phenomenon. It was largely made up of rural, anti-immigrant, > anti-Catholic, conservative WASPs, but many others were swept along > in their fervor. Fortunately there's no movement like this today. -- Jeremy Bergsman jeremy`at`bergsman.org http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeff & Ellen Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 21:05:17 -0400 Subject: mega brews Jeff Rea has some very observant things to say about American beer drinkers. The most important and realistic of them is that most of these beer drinkers really do not want anything more beer-flavored than what they're already drinking. That's OK. Even if we don't respect the intellect of the average American beer drinker we still cannot assume that advertising and marketing are the prime influences in his choices. An awful lot of people really do like the flavor of Bud, Miller and Coors, and their lighter brothers. I also agree that it is difficult to consistently brew these beers well unless you have a huge beer factory. I was in Milwaukee last week and stopped by the Miller Brewery just about quitting time. Guys in hard hats were leaving for the parking lot after their shifts of 8 to 5 or 7 to 4 or whatever. This suddenly seemed a lot less like a brewery and a lot more like a factory. This contrasted with a side-trip to New Glarus where the owners were manning the gift-shop on a Saturday afternoon. Where does that leave us? In the top 6%. The few, the proud, the homebewers. I've stopped trying to convert every beer drinker to my "religion" and now only concentrate on those who show some interest in expanding their horizons. Getting back to what I think may have been the original thread (why do we say, "real beer"?), I think we should have this changed to "craft beer". Jeff Gladish, Tampa, FL (lots of Jeff's posting here of late, eh?) ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * ********************************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Hord Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 20:30:55 -0700 Subject: Re: Mega-Breweries Jeff Renner writes perhaps with a well-intentioned correction, but fumbled on good will. When I posted at 1:00 AM last Saturday I can guarantee that I was writing satire and much at my expense as I allow myself to do. But if we're going to launch into 'glaring' then it is in Jeff's reply that he missed it ~ my point, which was about the positions taken with regard to American Light Lager, and instead got mired in detail. So before we go any further, here let's make amends ... To your health! :o) I love History as well. Prohibition actually has its' roots as a rejection of social norm: Tolerance of excessive drinking, and seeking total abstinence, as in whiskey in America and gin in Britain. This Temperance movement began in Britain and Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century and rapidly organized under many banners, the most crucial of these were the churches, and it was successfully transplanted to the States in short order. Thus the real foothold began about century before the enactment of Prohibition, and Jeff has provided good referential links in support. I too have mine, though I wrote them in brief for the Beer History class I used to teach at Redhook Brewery about ten years ago: http://www.cascadebrewersguild.org/studygroup/sgHistoryAmer.asp#Prohibition When I said "Prohibition took everyone by surprise", I was writing concisely, and I can see now where someone would have critically interpreted my words different than intended. So let me restate precisely what I meant: "Prohibition (_passage_ of the 18th Amendment, the Volstead Act of October 1919) took everyone by surprise". Furthermore, after the passage, many people and breweries did not expect it to stand up to court challenge, but it did! Many did not think it would last for very long, but it did, and for an entire generation; that's the surprise. Some breweries were able to adapt over this period of time though sage investment in similar industries. Some, like A-B, had an ongoing program to update their brewing equipment for the eventual return to the primary business. That was clever on their part! Those breweries that didn't have a long-term plan ultimately failed. BTW - Gregg Smith has a book out (now out of print; ISBN: 0-380-78051-8) that covers the high-points of this topic pretty well; it's fun reading :o) I also wrote rather quickly: "...Afterwards, after 1932 when FDR was elected President, he asked Congress to amend the Volstead Act to raise the limit of beer to 3.2% which effectively killed Prohibition. But the World was at War..." I suppose I could have dropped in "With the crash of the Stock Market, the succeeding Great Depression, and the World at War..." but then I figured most folks are up to my speed and generally accept my concise notations, unless it was simply my "novella" (again my words I used to poke at myself) that is really bothersome. In that case, I have a solution: It's on the house, really ~ can't we all work together? :o) And now, back to my point... which generally is against talking down American styles and mega-breweries; that same old tired worn out useless banter: In the last two months I've produced two competitions both exceeding 200 entries, and I have heard a boatload of opinion from judges about interpretations of style, and from a select few on what they are willing to evaluate. I've also had the tremendous pleasure of entertaining guest judges from out of state, and the enthusiasm and genuine joy in the hearts and minds of these folk is inspiring! It makes me want to travel far and wide to judge as well :o) My take on the role of a beer judge is this: Give me any style and I will do my honest best to evaluate it. I serve the cause. Sometimes we have to make the hard choices and take styles that may present a challenge. I asked my fellow judges, and my new judges to do the same on both events. Sometimes the best-qualified person can't judge because they already have an entry in the category, or there's a scheduling conflict, or they have a cold. I have been very pleased to report that each time I've put a judge in a slot they'd otherwise elect to pass up that they have come out a happy judge, a better judge for the experience. The benefit I seek for them is that they have more tolerance to the unusual, are finding acceptance within, and then trusting themselves to use their ability to perform: Growth; willingness to explore. We recently complete a nearly 6 month BJCP Study Group and it was all geared to supply and nurture fledgling aficionados for both the Cascadia Cup and the AHA 1st Round NHC. When I last posted on this forum (Saturday morn), I had earlier that day filed my Organizer's Report and sent the information back to the AHA; I was very glad and in good spirits, jovial in fact, and taken to a bit satirical wit when I finally caught up all the past threads here. I had good reason to be happy :o) There is seldom a greater feeling for a teacher than to listen in on your former students evaluate any style without complaint, using the correct lexicon, mining the details, and coming together and a friendly consensus; it warms my heart and makes it all worth my time. And there was nary a horrible scoresheet in the lot :o) Tolerance begets peace begets friendship. We are kindred in beer are we not? Try anything, evaluate with an open mind, and be willing to learn new tricks. Let's drop the America-mega-brew-is-swill dogma; it's unfair to the folks that like to brew in that style. In the last year I have had some incredible interpretations of that style, particularly at the NHC Las Vegas. To Bev and hot weather: Man, I hear you loud and clear: You folks in the hot climes have my respect! Where I was at last month it got up to 91*F. The only microbrew I found there was Sierra Nevada PA and some from NYC; I know SN, but I also wanted to understand the local culture. So I explored and mined the local stores. That's when that Budweiser Select started sounding pretty interesting. Smooth, dry, crisp, a head that just doesn't go away, and I started forming a recipe about it and I suggest is could be a wheat adjunct as the source of its' character. Sir Bev, I would have drank a SAB Kolsch, er FLB if I found one! It also reminded me why Shiner Bock was my favorite in Austin, but it just didn't seem to have the same satisfying taste when I had it up here in the Northwest. Different beers for different regions: It makes sense; I'm learning, and I'm glad I got to explore :o) ~Alan, National near Seattle Judging next in Oregon, Alaska, California, and..and Baltimore! :o) www.CascadeBrewersGuild.Org ********************************************************************** * JudgeNet - the beer judge digest * * Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments * * Manage your subscription online: http://synchro.com/judge * * Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request`at`synchro.com * **********************************************************************