Category: Beer Culture

Drinking with BAs

Some enterprising BeerAdvocate members put together a Portland meet up this last Saturday starting at Concordia Ale House, then moving to a fellow member’s beer mecca. I joined briefly at Concordia to meet some of the other BAs from the community (and have some delicious beer) and had a good time. It was interesting to see the degree to which many BAs agree on some beers, and disagree on others.

There was some confusion over the tab, which happens with large groups. I think I dropped $12 on 2 pints of local craft. 90% tip! woohoo!

Liquid Diet

Last winter my dad and I were walking along a beach north of Roads End, Oregon talking about the legend of some Bavarian city that was under siege that converted all it’s grain to beer instead of bread because it had more calories. We figured it was mostly BS but a great story none the less. We also discussed what that much alcohol would do to your body. From his experience as an ER physician, he said it was entirely possible to last long periods of time on just calories from alcohol. The human body is an amazing thing.

The discussion left us with some amount of uncertainty as to how long the feudal village could actually last under siege. Thank god for the Internet, because some crazy Atlantan is actually going on a Liquid Diet consisting of beer and water.

My only suggestions – watch your blood pressure too. And keep the posts coming. In the name of Science!

Anheuser-Busch tries organic

It looks like the big AB is trying an organic brew. It’s currently just a pilot in California, but it could mean good things for organic brewers. I suppose it could also mean bad things for organic beers and farms. The corporatization of organic foods has basically undone much of the benefit of organic farming by creating “organic” factory farms and dairies. Let’s see what happens with the pilot.

Hops and Prostates?

According to Yahoo:

“A main ingredient in beer may help prevent prostate cancer and enlargement, according to a new study. But researchers say don’t rush out to stock the refrigerator because the ingredient is present in such small amounts that a person would have to drink more than 17 beers to benefit.

“Oregon State University researchers say the compound xanthohumol, found in hops, inhibits a specific protein in the cells along the surface of the prostate gland.”

I’m going to assume those 17 beers would be Bud Light, which has an IBU in the neighborhood of 10 bittering units. Is it safe to assume then, than 17x that would equate to two pints of a beer with 85 bittering units? Maybe even three pints of a beer with 60 IBUs? That’s within reason – right?

North American Organic Brew Fest

Three years ago Scott and I stopped by the first Organic Brew Festival at Port Halling in Gresham. It was cool, and there was an indication that organic beer was getting better.

Organic Brewers FestThree years later, the second organic brew festival finally happened. This time word got out and there was a tremendous turnout. I rode downtown, caught the MAX to Washington Park, then rode home afterwards. It was a great place for the event and transit options were excellent. There was a great fusion/jazz band early in the day and some other groups playing through out the afternoon. Our CSA driver was there handing out produce and enjoying the beer, some classmates were also there, as well as a few other home brewers and pro-brewers, and fellow BA Ned and a couple random people that I’d seen elsewhere in the community lately. The vibe was pretty cool too – nicer than OBF on a Saturday.

The beers were only marginally better than 3 years ago. I’ve expressed confusion over the quality of organic beer before, and there are several brewers that have made great strides in the end product, but on average, there’s just something different. Wrong isn’t the right word, but I can’t quite get behind the taste. The economics, politics, and karma of organics is something I really believe in, so this is a strange conundrum.

Yesterday I think I realized what makes organic beers taste like organic beers. The range of ingredients available is increasing, but still relatively limited. I think the malt specifically is the one ingredient that defines the taste of these beers. I had an IPA from one brewer and a pilsner from another that had an almost identical malt profile and aftertaste. It’s the flavor I often associate with old beer or British bitters. There’s a certain dirty funk to the flavor that can be nice when subtle, but it shouldn’t come across in every beer. Maybe I need to adjust my paradigm, but I’m not ready yet.

I don’t know what difference could exist in the process – maybe it’s in the malting, maybe in the storage time, maybe the grain just tastes fundamentally different – but it is different – and it is probably one of the few products where you can almost always pick out the difference between the organic and petrol versions.

There were a couple beers that stood out though. I should mention that I stuck almost exclusively with IPAs. That’s my meter-stick for beer. Both Laurelwood (no surprise) and Alameda had good IPAs – the hops were vibrant and balance nice. Butte Creek, whose beers I generally dislike, had a great imperial IPA – but I think the high alcohol content (and flavor), the extra hops, and the residual sweetness overpowered some of the malt flavors I dislike. Bill’s from Cannon Beach had a Spruce ale that was excellent as well.

The festival itself was great – the people, the music, the food, and the vibe were worth the trip – and plying people with a little beer on a great day rarely hurts. I’m glad the Roots brewers are committed to the cause and to the festival, and I expect them to keep pushing things in the right direction.