What is a Summer Beer?

Summer beer is an awfully meaningless term. Fall and Winter have pretty well defined styles that go with them. It is a safe be that July and August are not the biggest months for Double Imperial Stouts.
The beers most suited for summertime use are generally made all year long. You won’t catch me buying many, but if someone brought me a Bud Light just after I mowed the lawn it would probably sound pretty good.
Since their beers are already suited to summer the big guys are forced to offer “lime” beers or other Mexican knock-offs. As a guy who loves nearly all beers, these are a few I could do without. There are a few decent ones out there. Sol comes to mind. Just don’t get me started on Corona. There is a reason all those urban legends started.
As difficult as it is to make a box that summer beers fit in they can be very interesting.
Many are light. Boulevard here in KC makes Zon, which is a very light Belgian. Many use fruit or fruit flavors to make wheat styles into their summer offerings. I think these can be refreshing. The tartness of cherry or raspberry could help out in the heat. The problem comes in when brewers add a bunch of syrup. Sweet just doesn’t go with sweat in my book. I would rather see brewers make a nice, light wheat and let drinkers flavor it themselves. I realize this is a sin to many beer geeks, but I think a well placed lemon, lime, orange or jalapeno can be a great addition. We all have different tastes. Most folks don’t consider someone an idiot for adding a bit of salt to some potatoes.
When we developed our SunRye’s Ale up here in Weston we were looking to pack a bit more into the summer seasonal. We used the guideline of dryness as a guide. We still wanted to use a bunch of malt (crystal rye in this case.) But we wanted to do it without the sweetness. This all worked out fine. It is one of our favorites and something to look forward to each year. Still it didn’t scream SUMMER! Then one evening a friend brought over a couple of fresh limes and started squeezing them into his beer. “What the hell are you doing?” we asked. He just smiled and handed over the glass. PERFECT. I need to remind you that this beer is already fruity. A dry ale yeast fermented at somewhat high temps and crystal rye make for a unique flavor. I would have never guessed this one could take the citrus without being disgusting.
I suppose the point here is to have fun with the summer beers. There are all kinds of shandies and the like. Slug your Oktoberfest when the time comes. Sip your Winterfest, but for the next couple months go crazy. Enjoy all the variety and raise a toast to the fact that you aren’t drinking Zima.

Beer Dinner in Weston

The only thing better than a great beer is a great beer with and in food. You can only imagine my delight at the opportunity to host the Weston Brewing Company's first beer dinner of 2009. The event is Friday, February 20th beginning at 6:30pm. The hosted dinner will be in the Upper Pub. Appetizers begin at 6:30pm with dinner starting at 7pm. The meal and Weston Brewing Company beer will be $25 which includes pub entrance for the evening. The first 75 reservations will be in the pub with additional reservations in the restaurant available at a variety of times. Join me for a great night.
Below is the delicious menu...

Beer Dinner Menu

Crab Bowl Dip - Start things off with this refreshing crab dip. Made with our own Leaping Leprechaun beer. Try our new seasonal with this one.
Caldo de Queso - OK, we lost the Irish theme for a minute but we don't think you'll mind. This one is made with our Emerald Lager and that one is the perfect match for this course.

Entree Choices:

Grilled Swordfish - This is our Lent special this year and we couldn't wait to show it off. This one is grilled with our special Drop Kick Ale brewed for the Kansas City Wizards.
Beef & O'Malley's - This is a twist on our traditional beef & Guinness served in the restaurant for years. This was part of our first beer dinner ever and one of our favorites. Ofcourse, you will want to enjoy this with a Cream Ale.

Chocolate Truffles - Finish with some truffles made with Flying Monkey Stout for a dark rich flavor.

Pabst Welcomes Hunters

It seems like many years ago when I first noticed beers signs in windows and in bars that welcomed and encouraged hunting. In my college days in Kirksville MO such signs were the norm. A huge orange sign with a deer head that welcomed the hunters into the bar or politely requested they procure a case was in every window.
I will grant that we always thought this was an iffy marriage. Lethal force, and a chemical that causes you to use it unwisely. We laughed at the joke, but never thought much of it. We were in the Midwest, get used to it.
A decade later I am an avid hunter and a beer guzzler. What used to seem ridicules now makes some sense. While there is no doubt the beer companies try to tie things together for profit, there really is a common note.
For most hunters that aren't hunting because they are hungry, hunting is leisure, recreation and social. There is nothing better suited to a social setting than beer. No one is encouraging a drunken hunt, but don't show up at the lodge without the proper refreshment. There is a lot of time between dusk and dawn. There is no way you need that much sleep.
My advice to all is bring plenty of beer to enjoy after the hunt. Nothing helps you celebrate or drown your sorrows like sweet beer.

Winter Warms the Soul

The end of the year and the beginning of winter brings all sorts of traditions and fun. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s are times of year that people remember for the rest of their lives. It always seems like this time of year creates memories that are even more vivid than other seasons. I can remember sounds and smells of these times like no other.
It is no wonder then that brewers take advantage of these sensory images to create some of the best beers of the years.
There are certain great seasonals all year long, but winter always brings out the most flavorful. It is very hard for a brewer to pack much flavor into a beer you will have to drink fast in order to avoid dehydration as in a Summer seasonal. Fall beers are a bit stronger, but brewers still have to keep in mind that many people are going to be at a festival drinking many beers at a sitting. If you brew a 9% beer this time of year there will be a good deal of cleanup.
That leaves winter as the brewer’s great white canvas. I remeber many years ago brewing a small batch of dark India Pale Ale. It was my first brew and it just seemed right in winter.
This is definitely the time of year to pick your favorite brewer and see what they have to offer. This is going to be the beer that should define them.
Sam Adams is one of the best examples of this. You can drink every one of the millions of Sam Adams flavors on the shelf, but you will never find one that beats Fezziwig Ale. It is hard not to be happy just looking at the bottle. Little Dickens characters dancing around on the front of the bottle. How could this possibly be bad. This beer blends all kinds of different flavors, but in the end they mix to make a warm feeling all their own.
This one tops my list, but there are many others. Here in Weston we brew our Festival Ale for the fall and winter holidays. A bit darker than an Octoberfest, this beer has a malty base that lasts into the cold nights.
Many brewers rely heavily on malt and alcohol to make their winter beers special. This is a great feature if you are relaxing at home in front of the fire, but can cause some problems if you have enjoyed very many of these treats at your favorite pub. This is not an overall problem as there are plenty of these beauties that are in the normal content range, but it certainly something to keep an eye on.
If you are not next door to Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams or any of the other producers of distributed winter beers, this is a great time to check out the local brewpub. Almost every small brewer is going to be trying their hand at something that is likely to be wonderful to sip with some food. Depending on the day, a stop by the Weston Brewing Company will lend you a chance to try one of Justin’s "Reserve" batches that are certain to warm the soul. These and many other reserve beers, are made with the first run off the mash of a standard beer. The result is a much richer flavor. These styles of beer are also a great way to enjoy the holidays.

The Low Cal Craze

There have been a bundle of fads in beer. We all remember such enduring sensations as "dry", "red" & "draft". Usually, one version of these fads endures and the rest fade away. The problem with fads is that it is hard to tell what to think of them while they are happening. Light beer was a fad that stuck. The malternative beverage fad is certainly lingering longer than most of us had hoped. (At least Zima faded.) The hardest one to call in a long time is the "Ultra" fad. Many years ago several brewers tried to make "super lights". Olympia made Oly Gold that had about 1 calorie and even less flavor. If memory serves Coors also had such a product. It wasn't until Michelob Ultra that it really caught on as a fad. We even had to start carrying the stuff in our Irish Pub.
Before I start to sound bitter or negative I must say that I often drink the stuff. Sometimes when I really should be drinking water, I will pick one up as a delicious water alternative. Unlike other bottled water, I know this has been boiled. I got really excited when Ultra Amber hit the shelves. The distributor brought me a couple samples and I was sold. Light and tasty. "I am probably using more calories opening this than it contains," I thought. Guess again. The damn thing has 114 calories. I don't know what the Ultra part stands for. Many beers have under 100 calories and many others are close to it. Even many stouts aren't much more.
I'm sure any true beer guzzler doesn't drink many beers based on the calorie count. A beer guzzler's diet should really be based on an overall number of calories per day. Simply subtract the number of calories you want to stick to per day and subtract the beer calories. That gives you the amount of calories left for food. If you intend to drink all your calories, just make sure you throw in a couple oatmeal stouts for nutrition.
I suppose there is no real revelation here. If you want to look like me or David Beckham you will have to join your Ultra Amber on the exercise bike plain and simple.

The Season of Cider

It's hard to tell who should be writing about cider. There are certainly more publications and articles about wine, and far more writers. I have to admit to not reading all that much wine literature, but I do scan the magazines enough to know that hard cider is very rarely a focus. I have read a cider article or two in the beer mags, but they seem afraid to do much more than a quick story.
The biggest reason for all this is surely the lack of cider quality and diversity. There are a few good commercial examples of cider, but they don't seem to be terribly popular. It is hard to say why. I would guess a new drinker takes down a few Woodchucks and wonders why they would ever drink another cider. Given the fact that most hard ciders have the flavor and sugar content of a green Jolly Ranchers, this is easy to understand.
Look for a cider with nothing but apples and yeast and I think you will have a different opinion. We were recently asked by a local cider maker to ferment some delicious juice. It was the first time I had cider with nothing but apples and I am sold. You can drink them all night. No stomach ache or diabetic shock. Just great apples.
Make it your goal as a guzzler this fall to find some great ciders. They are out there and they are worth the hunt.

RETRO?

I recently read a wonderful article in "All About Beer" magazine. It talked about the "Retro" beer movement. The article made the point that many younger people like to drink old canned brands in order to make a statement for or against something. They drink the beer to have something in common with a dad or grandpa and to give a big middle finger to snobs.
I am here to tell you there is no such thing as a retro beer movement.
There is a beer cycle that has been going on since I can remember, and I would have to guess it happened long before that.
I graduated from high school in 1992. My first can of beer was Pabst Blue Ribbon. It was the only brand of beer my cool friends would drink and it was a couple years before 1992. (Sorry Mom)
They drank only Pabst because it was better than Bud Light dammit and coincidentally less expense. Almost 20 years later the exact same thing is still happening. 20 years may be a flash if you are a mountain or rock, but it is a bit too long to be considered anything other than permanent in pop culture.
There is absolutely nothing for Freud to figure out here. I drank Pabst and many other "Retro" beers then and now because I don't like to drink the same thing everyone else drinks. I want people to come up to me and say, "Aw Jesus, you drink that!" So I can smile and say, "You're damn right."
I drink it so I can pour some in a Bud Light drinkers glass and laugh when they don't notice the difference.
During the last 20 years I have also learned a lot about the history of all the old brands and decided to make my living as a brewer and connoisseur, but that doesn't mean the 16 year-old rebel doesn't still get thirsty from time to time. When that happens I need a can of something obscure. Or, I guess, retro.