HOT TRUB@BEER
BASICS.COM
Vol. 03
No. 13 --- 15 May 2002
A
newsletter of special interest to brewers,
members of
the brewing community, chefs, restaurateurs,
and
members of the media that cover the beverage alcohol business.
If
you wish to be dropped from this list please respond to this posting to peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
Include the word “remove” in the Subject: line.
(The subscriber
list is the sole property of the publisher and will not be sold, given or
otherwise distributed.)
=================================
Editor: Claire
Zuckerman
LATEST NEWS:
============================
SPECIAL REPORT:
(This is the first of a series of monthly reports
from the “other side” of the bar.
Christopher M. Halleron is a professional journalist
and bartender.)
By Christopher M. Halleron
============================
COMPANY NOISE:
Great Divide Introduces Whitewater Wheat 6-Packs
Mendocino to Release White Hawk in June.
Pyramid Breweries Inc. Declares Cash Dividend
===========================
PROMOTIONS – EVENTS – DINNERS:
(All are invited to send events to be included: date,
event name, brief description, contact name & phone/web address.)
Published
by: Peter LaFrance peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
Journalist,
covering the beverage alcohol industry since 1985.
Author
of:
Beer
Basics (ISBN 0-471-11936-9)
Cooking
& Eating with Beer (ISBN 0-471-31879-5)
visit www.beerbasics.com
=============================
=============================
Please
welcome two new members of the HotTrub@BeerBasics
staff:
Chris Halleron – NJ Press Association award winner
journalist/bartender
Kurt Epps – North American Guild of Beer
Writers and NJ Association of Beer Writers award winner.
=============================
John Mallett Honored with Russell
Schehrer Award
The Institute for Brewing Studies (IBS) recently honored
John Mallett, production manager at Kalamazoo Brewing Co./Bell’s Beers in
Michigan, for his contributions to craft brewing with the 2002 IBS Russell
Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing.
IBS Director Paul Gatza presented the award April 13, 2002
in Cleveland at the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America® Grand
Banquet.
The IBS Russell Schehrer Award was created in 1997 in memory
of Russell Schehrer, an accomplished brewer and co-founder of the Wynkoop
Brewing Company in Denver. A committee comprised of members from the IBS Board
of Advisors selects a recipient every year that shows outstanding leadership in
the craft brewing community.
Past winners include John Harris, Full Sail Brewing Co.;
John Maier, Oregon Brewing Co./Rogue Ales; Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery;
Fal Allen, now with Anderson Valley Brewing Co.; and Mark Carpenter, Anchor
Brewing Co. Nominations for the award are accepted from IBS brewery members.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Association of Brewers Raises Funds for
2002 American Beer Month® Campaign
The Association of Brewers tapped off American Beer Month
celebrations by raising $3,800 at the Institute for Brewing Studies Craft
Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America® silent auction.
The funds will help finance American Beer Month’s promotions
and activities. The promotions and activities include American Beer Month
stickers, buttons, website developments and events.
John Mallett of Kalamazoo Brewing Co. made the largest bid
at $2,000 for brewing equipment donated by Optek-Danulet Inc. in
Wisconsin. The value of the brewing
equipment is $6,800.
Other companies that donated silent auction items were
Briess Malting Co.,
S.S. Steiner, Stone Brewing Co., American Society of Brewing
Chemists,
Master Brewers Association of America and the Association of
Brewers.
American Beer Month is a grassroots campaign to promote
American brewing and
celebrate the diversity and variety of American beer. The
Association of Brewers is a not-for-profit educational organization devoted to
making quality brewing and beer information available to anyone.
Contact: Cindy Jones - Association of Brewers
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Natural Prevention for Hangovers?
Living Essentials, a health-care products company, recently
launched Chaser in the Chicago market. The product is supposed to “help prevent
discomforts that can result from social drinking -- such symptoms as headaches
and nausea.”
According to the Living Essentials (Walled Lake, MI) press release: “Chaser is an all-natural, patent-pending formula of activated calcium carbonate and vegetable carbon. Its ingredients work in the stomach to attract and absorb hangover-causing toxins present in alcoholic beverages, and prevent them from entering the bloodstream. These toxins, known as congeners, are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process that give drinks their color, aroma and flavor. When released into the bloodstream, the immune system eliminates congeners by releasing cytokines, small molecular weight proteins that cause inflammation leading to headaches, body aches and nausea. Chaser stops hangovers by absorbing congeners and passing them from the body before they can cause these symptoms.”
According to the same release, “Chaser does not affect blood
alcohol levels, so people are encouraged to drink responsibly and in
moderation, and continue using designated drivers.”
On the market in Chicago, Chaser is available at select GNC
stores, White Hen Pantries, Clark On-The-Go stores, and several local
nightclubs and bars.
(I am offering all Chicago journalists the chance to report on this product.
Any one care to take up the challenge?)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
=============================
=============================
From: greg@stonebrew.com
The popular perception of beer was being discussed when he
told me, “The reason we consider it (drinking beer in moderation) a benefit (to
life) is that it changes our mental state. It is bizarre that no one ever talks
about that. Alcohol is a psychotropic substance and it has been for over six
thousand years. We don’t drink it as a thirst quencher by and large. We drink
it because it makes us feel good.”
Sure. It is that sometimes.
However, it is the FLAVOR of great beer that I really crave.
Actually, the NUMBER ONE reason that I STOP drinking beer on each beer-drinking
occasion is the psychotropic effects. In other words, when I start to
feel that I’ve “had enough.” The reality is that I really want more beer;
I just don’t want more alcohol effects. Knowing that the alcohol in the
beer is often such a major part of the flavor profile of a beer, I know that a
great tasting non-alcoholic beer will never be a reality. I would
however, happily embrace an alcohol-neutralizing pill that I could take with
beer. Hell, if that existed, I’d enjoy barley wines all day long!
Cheers,
Greg Koch - CEO & Co-Founder
Stone Brewing Co.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: jgraber@timberlinelodge.com
I was recently asked a
similar question, the converse of this one... "what inspires
me?" My answer was "...mild intoxication and happy, worshipful
customers". So, in answer to your question: to achieve
inspiration.
Jon B. Graber, Brewmaster
Mt. Hood Brewing Co.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
=============================
=============================
By Christopher M. Halleron
Perhaps one of the most neglected fields of study in the
realm of modern American higher education is the subject of bartending. The
reasons for this neglect elude me when I consider the staggering percentage of
bartenders who are college educated. Though I can't present that staggering
percentage as a fact, I can at least tell you that most of the many I have
encountered have received their “higher education.” Therefore, in the opinion of this writer it is the duty of
college and universities to adequately instruct their future alumni so that
they may be prepared for their forthcoming destiny.
The integration of bartending to a curriculum could be
handled in several different ways.
For liberal arts majors, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the lab science. Bartending, in its truest form, is a lab science. It involves the combination of chemical, often highly toxic compounds, to form ingestible compounds that one can “pound.” These compounds must be combined in a way that is arguably a science: that is, the science of making a good drink (though it is just as arguably an art, for my purposes here it will be treated as a science). The syllabus would start with the basics, like rum and coke, and then move through the genre ending with the more difficult types, such as Martinis, Manhattans, Long Islands, Pińa Coladas, and the like. Determining passage or failure in this lab science would be very easy. The instructor (that lucky bastard) would test the varied compounds for their effect. If the instructor tests a set amount of the compound and goes completely blind or paralytic, then the pupil responsible would summarily fail due to a lack of respect for the dangers and complexities of serving alcohol. On the other hand, if the instructor guzzles down a gallon without even the slightest hint of “silliness”, then the pupil would either fail or be recommended to take the lesser credit course: Expensive Dance Club Beverage Combination, where the objective is to simply combine wet, multi-colored liquids and sell them at outrageous prices.
The price aspect of bartending opens up another entire
subject, which would allow bartending to pass as an option to economics (yet
another stumbling block for some liberal arts majors). Bartending is a
microeconomics lesson in supply and demand. A patron demands a drink and a
bartender supplies it. A bartender demands a tip and the patron supplies it,
otherwise the patron doesn’t get another drink for a while. Even the
macroeconomics aspect can come into play. A bartender distributes goods from
many foreign countries, thereby affecting their economies and the international
market. For example, the amount of Guinness a bartender serves has an effect on
the gross national product of the Republic of Ireland, which in turn affects
Ireland’s economic standing. If a bartender pours a bad Guinness, the patron
may not like it and could switch to a Newcastle, thereby costing Ireland the
equivalent of 16 ounces of its gross national product. The trickle-down effect
of bad bartending can be quite staggering when one considers the sheer volume
of poorly poured pints in North America alone.
Tending bar also incorporates the use of mathematics. The
number of pints in a keg, the number of shots in a bottle, and the number of
pretzels in a bag are all-important figures in bartending. When taking money
for drinks, bartenders must be able to quickly figure out the price total in
their head. And at the end of the night bartenders must quickly add up their
tips, so that other bartenders, barbacks and bouncers don't have a chance to
get their greedy hands on them.
In dealing with the interpersonal aspects of bartending, the
course could be substituted for
philosophy (which would probably be helpful to the more
technical majors). Bartenders need a certain philosophy for approaching the
demeaning tasks that they perform, such as dealing with rowdy drunks, obnoxious
college students, and that small percentage of college graduates that do not
become bartenders--but rather become young urban professionals. Philosophers
cope with all aspects of life, as do bartenders. So it is essential in a
bartending course to deal with different philosophies. People go to bartenders
with various questions, from the meaning of life to asking what makes Guinness
so good for you. While each query is important in its own right, the answer to
both could simply be, “I drink therefore I am.”
Any really good bartender is also a good listener.
Bartenders are often utilized more than shrinks for advice, probably because
they are cheaper (though sometimes just barely). Therefore, a bartending course
could also serve as a substitution for psych courses. Analyzing others’
situations and suggesting viable solutions is the job of a psychiatrist, the
difference is a bartender is feeding you booze while you bare your soul. A
bartender has to deal with others’ broken relationships, bad days at work, and
various personal problems. For instance, bartenders must deal with a person’s
alcoholism. Granted, their job is to exploit it, but some comparisons can be
made based on the fact that psychiatrists exploit it as well, for even larger
amounts of money.
Whereas many different aspects of college education poorly
prepare a student for real life, one course in bartending would pragmatically
prepare a student in many areas. With the number of disillusioned college
graduates flooding an increasingly unrewarding job market, the call for people
to serve them drinks is bound to skyrocket. If nothing else, major colleges and
universities should prepare their students accordingly, since those students
are continually being told that the education they receive is worth very
little. Once these poor souls compare
the starting salary of their college graduate bitch job to that of a bartender,
they’ll know that they took the right elective.
###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPANY
NOISE:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Divide Brewing Company has announced the release of
their Whitewater Wheat unfiltered wheat beer in
six-packs.
“Within nine months of its draft release, it became our
second
best-selling draft beer after Denver Pale Ale,” said brewery
founder,
Brian Dunn.
The new Whitewater Wheat six-packs will make their debut at
retailers in mid-May. The beer’s packaging features a
whitewater
kayaker logo to emphasize Whitewater Wheat’s refreshing
character.
Contact: 303-296-9460.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mendocino Brewing Company has announced that it will release
White Hawk
Select IPA draft on Saturday, June 1st, 2002 in their
Brewpub.
Master Brewer Don Barkley says ”White Hawk is a traditional
IPA.
We’ve blended American West Coast Cascade Hops with a very
generous dose of English Fuggle Hops.”
White Hawk Select draft will be available in California
later in the month
of June, with 6-packs soon after at selected retailers.
The Hopland Brewery
13351 So. Highway 101
Hopland CA
707- 744-1015
Mendocino Brewing Company
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On May 9, 2002, Pyramid Breweries Inc. announced its Board
of
Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.044
per common
share, payable on July 12, 2002 to shareholders of record on
June 28,
2002.
Pyramid Breweries: http://www.pyramidbrew.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stone Imperial Stout, one of the highest rated beers in the
world, is now
available in limited release.
View the press release below. Or, the press release, the bottle label, a
photo of the bottle and the distribution list can be found
here
http://www.stonebrew.com/tasting/special/STOUT2002/index.html
Contact: Greg Koch - CEO & Co-Founder - greg@stonebrew.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
American Distiller
will promote distilling and discussion concerning Whisky,
Malt Whisky, Blended Scotch Whisky, Bourbon, Rye Whisky, Vodka, Gin, Grappa,
Eau de Vie, Schnapps, Calvados, Apple Brandy, Apple Jack, Liqueur, Cognac,
Armagnac, Rum, Tequila, Cordials, Perfumes, Tinctures, Distillation, Pot
Stills, Column Stills, Coffey Stills, and Aroma Therapy. American Distiller is
the journal of the American Distilling Institute.
It is published bi-weekly as an electronic
newsletter in PDF file format, and emailed to all ADI members and A-D
subscribers. A printed and mailed version of the newsletter is available for an
additional fee. The ADI is the collective voice of the new generation of
progressive beverage, medical and aromatic distillers, and is dedicated to the
mission of disseminating professional information on the distilling process.
The ADI has filed for a designation as a 501(c) Non Profit Corporation. Please
visit the Web site at www.americandistiller.com
.
Chairman
Bill Owens
Board of Directors
Stephen McCarthy
Clear Creek Distillery
Lance Winter
St. George Distillery
Lewis Harsanyi
Euroholding, Inc.
The American Distilling Institute
Box 510, Hayward, CA94541, USA
510-538-9500 • 510-538-7644 fax
To join: (800) 646-2701
Bill Owens, President
Karen Dolan, Vice-President
Steve Costello, Secretary/Treasurer
Alan Moen, Editor
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVENTS:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cocktails in the Country is a two-day, two-night bartender
training course
given by Gary Regan at Painter's Tavern, Cornwall-on-Hudson,
NY.
Dates:
June 10 - 12
June 24 - 26
July 15 - 17
July 29 - 31
August 19 - 21
$250 registration fee includes:
Transportation between Manhattan and Cornwall-on-Hudson.
Accommodation at Painter's Tavern.
All meals - including a four-course cocktail dinner prepared
by Chef Scott Palatnik.
Four seminars on the craft of the bartender by Gary Regan.
To apply for a scholarship contact: www.ardentspirits.com , or call 845
534 4298.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
June 20 - 22, 2002 at the "Beer Friendly" Wilson
World Hotel in Irving, TX.
The 2002 “Big Texas Toast” conference will be a fun,
educational gathering designed
to enhance home brewers’ brewing skills and knowledge and
increase home brewing camaraderie.
Event Highlights:
*Last-round judging of the National Homebrew Competition
*Three days of home brewing lectures and seminars
*Nightly events featuring beer made from clubs across the
United States.
Share good 'ole times and homebrews in Texas!
Visit http://hbd.org/nhc2002/index.htm or contact
the Association of Brewers at 888.822.6273 or
+1.303.447.8016 for more information.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Taste of the Midwest - 16th Annual Great
Olin-Turville Park, Madison, WI
10 August
2002 1-6pm
North
America's second longest running craft beer festival is
presented
by the Madison Home brewers and Tasters Guild and
features
about 500 different beers from 100 of the Midwest's
brewpubs,
micros, and regional breweries served in a beautiful
lakeside
park setting. Tickets, which go on sale
on May 1, are
only $20
and must be purchased well in advance.
No tickets are
sold at the
gate. Your ticket entitles you to a
beautiful
commemorative
glass, a detailed program book, and as many
two-ounce
samples as you can responsibly taste--no steeenkin'
pay-per-sample
tickets like many other festivals, because we
don't want
to deter our patrons from trying unfamiliar beer
styles.
Food from
local restaurants is available for purchase onsite,
and festive
musical entertainment is provided by strolling
musicians.
Be sure to book your hotel rooms well in advance because of
a
conflict with another large event visiting Madison on our
long-established
festival
weekend.
If you need
assistance with hotel availability,
contact
Toni Kraft at Kraft@mail.visitmadison.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
18 - Spring
Blues and Brews at the VE Club in Warminster, PA. Contact: 215-675-5380, or
Hatboro Beverage at 215-675-1078.
18 - Armed Forces Day Street Party, Portland, OR
Featuring a Military Presentation by Congressman Earl
Blumenauer to the 240th MI Company, HQ 41st Brigade, and
to the Oregon Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
The street party (at Rogue's Pub on Flanders & 14th NW in
Portland) is a charity event that benefits the Oregon
Families of Deployed Soldiers Fund. Noon until nightfall,
19 - PugCrawl 2002, Portland's Pearl District, Portland, OR Contact: http://www.pugcrawl.org
25-27 -
Rogue Memorial Day Weekend Bazaar at Newport Brewery, Newport, OR
8 -
Mountain Brewers Fest, Boise, ID Contact: http://www.northamericanbrewers.org/BeerFest.htm
20 - 22 – 2002 American Home brewers Association 2002 “Big
Texas Toast” National Home brewers Conference, Wilson World Hotel, Irving, TX,
Information: on the Web: http://hbd.org/nhc2002/index.htm or Call the Association of Brewers:
888.822.6273 or +1.303.447.8016.
26 - 28 -- 2002 Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland, OR.
13 – E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition, Fox, AK.
Information: http://www.mosquitonet.com/~stihlerunits/ScottsDen/Beer/Events/Events.html
16 –18 - American Beer Month Challenge Cup Contact:
http://www.realbeer.com/challengecup
10 – 16th
Annual Great Taste of The Midwest, Olin-Turville Park, Madison, WI
7 – 8 -- Tavern Days Celebration, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 800-656-1212;
Contact: http://www.belgianexperts.com/
13 –15 – 10th Annual
Oktoberfest/MacTarnahan's Brewing. Contact: www.macsbeer.com,
503-226-7623
21 - October 6 --2002 Oktoberfest Munich, Munich, -
Germany
21 – All About Beer
Magazine's 7th Annual World Beer Festival, Durham, NC. Contact: http://www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf
26 - Beer 2001, Brussels, Belgium, 32 (0) 2 474 85 38;
Contact: http://www.beerexportexhibition.com/
3 – 5 -- Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO, 303-447-0816;
Contact: http://www.beertown.org/
18 – 20 -- MBAA Annual Convention, Austin, TX, 414-774-8558;
Contact: http://www.mbaa.com/
8 – 9 -- The 6th Annual Great Northeast Beer & Cider Competition/ 9th Annual Great Northeast International Beer Fest, Providence, RI.
Contact: Competition Director: Gregg Glaser, 203-834-0800;
Contact: gregg@yankeebrew.com
Festivals of America: Maury Ryan, 401-272-0980;
Contact: ryan@lovecraft.com
#####
CHECK THESE OUT:
THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER
Food History, Trivia, Quotes, Humor, Poetry, Recipes
APRIL 10, 2002
Vol 3 #13 ISSN 1535-5659
James T. Ehler, Editor