How to Explain It to My Parents -- Beer as Art

Artist and brewer Arno Coenen has brewed his own beer that "everyone will like" and created a branding campaign surrounding it. The trickiest part -- how do you explain to your dad that your beer is art?

(h/t Stewart Haddock)

Big Beer just got Bigger

Maybe you already know Avery's slogan, "small brewery, big beers" but they're walking the walk by producing beers like the Mephistopheles' Stout. This Imperial comes in at over 16% ABV (Denver Post, 15.1% at Avery Website). It is a part of the Demons of Ale Series.

Not surprisingly it is among the highest ABVs in beer; in the top 25 (according to beertutor.com). This raises the question of how high they should go and if, at some point, it stops being beer for most people. I'm not even sure how you drink something like that. Naming the beer after one of the seven princes of hell may not be the best way to win over those more conservative beer drinkers. The brewer's description for the second highest ABV beer - the wonderfully named Tactical Nuclear Penguin -states "This is an extremely strong beer, it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance."

Aging Beer with Style

We should check this guy out - he's got a blog called the "Brew Basement" about cellaring beer, full of helpful tips and interesting tasting notes. We need to put our Stout down for a while, so read up.

Are You Ready For Some Beer Commercials?

Oh, yes, ladies and gents, it's almost time for that magical night of football that gets in the way of beer ads: yes, the Super Bowl. From the halcyon days of the "Bud Bowl" to the amazing body of Will Ferrell, the Super Bowl has brought us, year in and year out, mildly amusing 30-second spots hawking tasteless fermented corn-water. What will it be this year? I can't wait.

And catch this: not only the worst-written article ever (seriously, your standards have fallen, Chicago Tribune), but the headline sums up the poor content, to match: "Purdue Professor Says Alcohol Ads Are Confusing." A professor (yes, someone who supposedly wrote a dissertation, etc.) says that beer ads are weird, because they always tell you to drink responsibly but they are trying to sell beer, so if you got drunk they would be richer. See the problem? Geez, Chicago Tribune, you don't need to teach at Purdue to know that beer ads are full of contradictions, the least of which is their "drink responsibly" message. How about the "guy who drinks lots of beer all the time gets the hot model to go out with him" motif for a more confusing one?

Hmm, That Gets Me Thinking...

...but the end of the story makes me think twice about the ruse. The kid's going to have to get his beer some other way.

Green Beer: Two Ways

St. Patty's and the Environment meet in Goose Island's Green Beer.

Drink Generously -- Today Only!

For today (Monday, February 1st) only, various Decatur businesses will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief in Haiti. You can see the full list of participants here.

Included are several of my favorite places to enjoy a beer:

• Brick Store Pub -- duh.
• The Marlay House -- formerly The Grange, they're donating not only tonight's proceeds, but those from this past Saturday's renaming party. Awesome.
• Twain's Billiards and Tap -- our closest brewpub -- plus they have trivia tonight at 8pm!
• Universal Joint -- sometimes I forget about them outside of patio season. I shouldn't.
  

Even more heartening for fans of beer (and Decatur)? All of the proceeds raised today will be matched by the Decatur Beer Festival. Impressive, no?

I hope everyone will take this opportunity not only to support the American Red Cross, but to encourage the generosity and kindness of our local businesses. Cheers!

HopSlam--not as elusive as we thought!

How does this story start? It starts out a year ago when Ben returned from Western North Carolina after a trip to our favorite Bruisin' Ales (yup, the third rated beer retailer in the world!) with one bottle of HopSlam (yup, the 16th best beer in the world) that Ben had saved to share with me. Lucky me! He told me that one tiny little bottle of beer cost about $4. I was almost Hoppin' mad at how much a dinky beer cost, that is, til I tried it. The floweriness of it, the crispness, oh mouth delight; a Midwestern IPA at it's very best. Something to compete with those big boys on the West Coast. In sum, I loved it.

But Bell's, and the HopSlam in particular, remained totally out of grasp. That is, until Bell's came to Georgia just a few weeks ago. No longer did we have to wait to go to Minnesota, Illinois, or even NC to get us some good Bells. Bells had finally come to us. Indeed, soon we wuz sippin on Java Stout, Cherry Stout, an occasional Expedition Stout, the Winter Wheat, and the beloved 2 Hearted Ale. Change was in the air.

In fact just last week Larry Bell was at the BSP and was supposed to bring the Hopslam, but something about it got stuck in I don't know where for what no good reason. Grrr...!

One night this week at the BSP, we saw bar tenders acting a bit sneaky. They kept pouring out of a tap that had some fake-a$$ sign on it into Bell's glasses. After a delicious Founders (also new to GA, and a very welcome addition!) Double Trouble, we finally asked our favorite bar tender (Brian( what was going into those cups. I said "It's not the HopSlam, right?!" and Brian lowered his voice and leaned into me and said "yes....shhhhh....! I would have told you but I just got here."

And there you go. The story of how we got screwed at the BSP. Luckily Brian spilled the beans and we came back another night they had it on tap, but apparently they aren't advertising it at all, you have to be in the know. Well we are now considering ourselves IN THE KNOW. They are due to tap another keg of it on Monday...but you will have to ask for it!

Regardless, I found HopSlam at Green's last weekend (at a pretty penny of $15 a 6 pack) and then we had it on tap at Octane, where it also wasn't on the menu yet but very clearly being served. The HopSlam won't be around for long, so drink it while you can, and make sure you ASK at your favorite bar establishment if they are serving it! Moral of the story: where there is a will, there is a way.

RateBeer Best of 2009

Though they call it "Best 2010", it seems better to think of this as a Best of 2009 list. I don't really get how they think they know the future, or whatever, but RateBeer's best of the year is now online.

Best Beers in the World: Imperial Stouts again dominate. How will ours stack up? Also, best beers by style. Founder's porter is the 5th best porter in the world? Wouldn't have guessed. Also, I feel vindicated that the best porter in the world was that one Matt Vivian brought to beer club last spring that I liked a lot (but it was a solid thumbs-sideways all around. Maybe we don't like porters as a group?)

Best Beer Stores in the World: Bruisin Ales is third, and Hop City is 23rd! Also, the Five Points Bottle Shop in Athens is 24th. I bet that stings when you lose out to a local newcomer by one point in a worldwide competition.

Viva Decatur: BrickStore gets #6 in the world for bars; not bad. The best in the world is Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa, which across the street from Bir & Fud - which I happened to blog about a couple of weeks ago. So, if you want to read about the bar across the street from the best bar in the world, check it out. (I thought they were like Leon's and Brickstore, actually - same owners - but to tell you the truth we went to Bir & Fud because it looked better). And check out the top 50 US beers - we need to get out hands on some AleSmith, Cigar City and more Three Floyds. WHere does your favorite beer rank?

Chad's Take on Cans

Here's an interesting article about the anniversary of the beer can - from someone who wishes they hadn't been born. Their basic point is that the beer can has been bad for beer and the environment. One interesting question is why Americans are the only ones in the world drinking from cans. Excerpt:

Seventy five years is a good retirement age. It is time to retire the beer can and the disposable bottle and switch to good local beer in returnable bottles. It is not only the green thing to do, but it tastes better. As Pablo noted in Eat Local, Drink Local Beer:

The best solution for keeping your eco-impact low is to drink local beer. Not only does this support your local economy, and support the art of craft beer making, but it is also a great way to enjoy creative and innovative new recipes and techniques.