Goose Island Having Draft Line Issues?

I have heard from several people in the last few weeks that some beers at Goose Island's Clybourn location have issues.  One friend even sent her beer back.  The most offensive from what I gathered is the Harvest Ale.  Since I once fancied myself as an investigator I had a comparison done with the bottle version.  I asked people who had problems to have a bottle purchased in stores.  No Issues.

So is Goose not cleaning their lines or are we back to the Matilda quality control issue?  Another possibility could be that Jared Rouben is brewing a completely separate version for the pub.  Either way this is the second time this year I have come across a significant problem.

Ratings, Reviews and Why You Might Want To Ignore Them

Today the Chicago Tribune Online ran a story on tasting Trader Joe's beer.  They grouped the beer into the following groups: good, ok, less ok, and ick.  The article points out the little known fact that Gordon Biersch and Firestone Walker brew for Trader Joe's.  Both of these establishments are well known and regarded in the industry.  In fact, Firestone Walker took the Mid-Size Brewing Company award at both World Beer Cup and GABF this year.   The Tribune author only felt a few of these beers to be good.

Well knowing the background of these brewers and having decent experience with Trader Joe's beer I looked deeper.  One beer that caught my eye was Mission St. Pale Ale by Firestone Walker.  Well Beer Advocate's community ranking gives this beer a solid B with at qucik glance ratings from D+ to A+.  So I headed over to ratebeer and see its score of 65 and overall 50 for category.  Ratebeer's system generates a percentile score so it considers this beer to be at the dead center of it's style.

As far as I am concerned, with the exception of my own opinion only two other ratings matter.  World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival.  Both organizations use strict style guides and blind tastings by experienced tasters.  This pale landed a Bronze at WBC 2010 in American Style Pale Ale and Gold at this years GABF.  Not too shabby for a beer with mediocre reviews.

How could a beer be regarded as one of the top beers in its' style get mediocre reviews?  Personally I think it comes down to perception and taste.  When shopping in Trader Joe's for cheap beer you do not expect to find good beer.  Secondly there is taste.  Many people love mushrooms I can't stand the taste.  People need to remember what one likes another despises.

So in the end, take every review you read with a grain of salt.  If the review is very bad the beer probably is, but give things an open shot; mediocre might be your fantastic.  So many reviews are colored by brewery reps, people with vendettas or just plain poor taste.  Go out give it a shot, see what happens and maybe save some money making a great beer all the better.

Throwing a Party: Part 1

A Few Selections For This Year

Well since fall has some of my most favorite beers I am throwing my annual Oktoberfest Party.  How does one throw a beer party?

Step 1: Theme
Pick a theme you like and can work with.  Oktoberfest is pretty easy, but not your only option.  I have also done Ploughman Platter,  Christmas, and locavore parties.  Use your imagination.  A theme allows you to connect all the dots.

Step Two: Buy the Beer

Beer Pile

At my Oktoberfest party I buy in three categories Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, and Fall Seasonal. I usually figure about a six pack per person although for some crowds you may need a bit more.  For the Ploughman party the beers were all English stout/ porter/ ESB.  For locavore hit up your local brewpub for growlers.  I like to buy a wide assortment and a lot.  Get mostly six packs and buy only one of each.  Save your budget by getting a few 12 packs of less expensive beer.  For example at this years party I have Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest, New Belgium Hoptober, Sierra Nevada Tumble and Goose Island's Harvest Ale as the "cheap" beer.   I said less expensive not crappy.   Also buying one big bottle of something special adds a central event.  This year I will pour a bottle of Pumking from Southern Tier into my new tasters. (Thanks BB!)  This allows a central  event and provides an icebreaker if you have guests who do not know each other well.

Step 3: Menu
I try to make my food match my beer.  For this party the menu includes pumpkin, apple and off course German food. If your a person who likes to cook here is your chance to show off.  This year my guests will get snack sandwiches on homemade pretzel rolls, and Nelly is bringing some cake that she has be going on and on about along with my homemade pickles and pumpkin bread.

Step 4: Other People
I find it a nice touch to consider all guests.  For one Beer Bitch of course dislikes beer.  I occasionally have a theme cocktail, but at minimum have some spirits a few mixers and a bottle of wine.  A friend of ours has dietary restrictions so I set a turkey sandwich off to the side for her in place of the ham.  Doing this simple gesture really makes a guest feel welcome and you can see the appreciation immediately.

Step 5: The Sort
How do you serve over 24 varieties of beer in three style groups effectively?  YOU SORT!  This year Bro helped me because it can be time consuming and she enjoys being paid in beer.  First pile all the six packs from one style on the table.  Get an empty box.  Pull one bottle from each sixer and put it in the empty box.  Here is the dirty little secret of party throwing: that box that holds one of each beer is mine, and I mean all mine it is put away and not touched until after the party.  This is a great way to make sure you get to try everything you want. Now take the remaining six packs and mix them up.  This will ensure a constant variety throughout the night and forces guests into trying new beers.  Most people think this fails.  I have never had a guest who was not impressed.  All walk away trying something they have never had and a new appreciation for tastebuds.

Part 2 will feature the execution of the party.  Look for that next week.

Why your beer should be in a can.

Over the last few years there has been a push to can more beer.  In the Chicago market Ska was the first to arrive.  Nationally though Oskar Blues and 21st Amendment have been doing their part.  Recently we began to see New Belgium churning out cans on a national distribution level, and in Chicago, Half Acre.

I am a solid believer, much to others dismay, in the crafted can. Now I could claim to be a genius, but the bottom of 21st Amendment's packaging gives us six, yes six reasons to drink from the can:

1. Cans keep beer fresher because beer never sees light.
2. Cans are lined so they don't affect the flavor of the beer inside.
3. Cans weigh less than glass and chill faster
4. Cans are easier to recycle and more often recycled than glass
5. Cans use less energy to produce and transport than glass.
6. Cans go where no glass dare: beaches, parks, stadiums, boats, pools, golf courses......

Ok so now that 21st Amendment has given us some reasons, let us take a look at some of them in a bit more detail.

#1 Cans Keep Beer Fresher

 Most people do not realize that light is the biggest reason beer skunks.  According to Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink  blue wavelengths of light cause skunking.  This is normally screened out to some extent by brown bottles, but not green or clear bottles.  Tasting Beer even notes that brown bottles do not provide perfect protection.  Cans are 100% opaque providing perfect protection.

While 21st doesn't claim it, we should also discuss oxygen.  Many brewers believe oxygen in beer can hurt flavor.  In 2007 Sierra Nevada switched to pry-off caps with a seal inside. SOURCE The goal here was to reduce the amount of air getting in the bottle.  Twist-offs are even worse at keeping out air.  However, cans are sealed, again providing 100% protection.

#2 There is a lining dummy
So while we were touring New Belgium in Fort Collins the tour guide was talking about their new canning line.  One of the guys on the tour started talking about how stupid this was.  He was a former employee of Alaskan Brewing and swore by bottles.  I began to explain to him the lining was now present in cans.  He said when he drinks beer out of a can he always gets a metallic taste.  I quickly asked if he drank straight from a can.  OH BOY! First, beer should always come in a glass, and secondly your smelling the top of the can while you drink.

Reasons #3 and #5 Energy

Both of these reasons relate to energy consumption.  Cans do chill quicker.  Cans are also more compact.  This means the potential for smaller chillers in bars etc. which combined should lead to some savings.  While chilling is important what I found fascinating is shipping.

Beer requires transportation.  The weight difference is staggering.  A Bell's long neck comes in at 7.5 ounces while a Riverfront heritage bottle comes in at 6.75 ounces.  Both were measured on my kitchen scale empty with label.  However, 21st Amendment's and Oskar Blues cans came in at a measly 0.625 ounces.  From Kalamazoo (Bell's) to Chicago a UPS Freight estimate is $353.09 to ship 1,000 empty bottles.  Now if we look at just the weight of the vessel it would take 12,000 cans to equal the weight of 1,000 bottles.  Additionally, if we consider more cans can fit on a pallet than bottles and cans are less likely to break we begin to see some staggering numbers.  No growing brewery should ignore this as a future investment to preserve revenue stream.

Reason #6
Cans go more places.  If I was brewer looking to increase my market share I would definitely look at cans.  Think of all the places cans can go.  The more places your product can be sold the more places it will be bought.

In Conclusion
It is not rocket science cans are better.  They keep the beer fresher, cost less in many categories and by most accounts are environmentally friendlier.  There are drawbacks.  For one, breweries would need to invest in replacing bottling lines.  This does cause a capital outlay, however payback on the investment will occur.  The other issue is perception.  The idea that bottles are better is deeply ingrained in beer culture.  However, places like Oskar Blues, 21st Amendment, New Belgium, Half Acre and Ska are changing that.

Cooking with Beer: Budweiser Wings

Ok Ok I know your thinking "Budweiser?"  Yes I cook with Bud.  Why? Well for one its cheap.  Although it may lack flavor in the glass; it has flavor after being reduced at a boil.  It provides a simple cheap way to instill flavor in a dish.

6 Pounds of Wings
2 24 oz cans of Budweiser
2 Cups BBQ Sauce
1/4 to 1 Cup Hot Sauce

Open the cans and sit them on the counter a couple hours before you plan on making this dish.  I have heard beer can be prone to boil over if not flat.  Opening ahead like this flattens the beer considerably.  I am in fear of Beer Bitch so I will not test this.  To be honest, and in her defense, I am a sloppy cook anyways.

Put the (thawed) wings in a large stock pot.  Pour the beer in and bring to a boil.  Bringing to a boil took considerably longer than I thought they would.  I boiled for about 12 minutes until the wings had lost their pink.  I transfered them to a 9x12 dish into a preheated 475F oven.  Bake until crispy and brown. (You could also try grilling here)

While baking mix the sauce and hot sauce.  I used Sweet Baby Rays and Frank's Hot Sauce.  I would recomend adding 1/4 cup of the hot sauce at a time stirring and taking a taste.  Half a cup of Hotsauce made a perfect balanced sauce of spicy without being spicy for the sake of spicy.

 When the wings are done toss in bowl of sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing and celery on the side.

Served 4 for dinner although would do fine for more as an appetizer.  Also this recipe could easily be halfed.

Cooking With Beer: Backdraft Flank

Sometimes cooking with beer works sometimes it does not.  This is the first recipe I developed myself for the blog.  Developing a recipe involves a great deal of trial and error, but perseverance will result in success.  I know summer is now officially over but as football season is getting started a few of you may need a good tailgate recipe.

Here is a recipe I recently tried out that worked well:

1 Flank Steak

1 Bottle Hook & Ladder Backdraft Brown

Combine for 12 hours in zip lock bag.

Grill to desired doneness.  (I grilled it for about 20 minutes on low coals)

Make sure you rest your meat.  If you do not know how to do this, then you really should not be allowed in the kitchen.  Also, cutting flank steak across the grain will generate a better mouthfeel as you chew on it.

Paired with: Backdraft Brown of course!

#7 of 1001 Pullman Brown Ale

Another in the Series based off of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die (1001 (Universe))

Flossmoor is one of my favorite places to go in Chicago, unfortunately it is too far to just stop by for a quick drink.  I 

stopped by Flossmoor as part of my annual family pub crawl, and picked up one for the road.  The recipe was reinvented by Todd Ashman in 1996 and later tweaked by Matt Van Wyk.  A few years ago Bryan Shimkos took over, and I am not sure if he tweaked the recipe at all since then.  Although I suspect he put his stamp on it as brewers tend to do.

Tasting Notes:

First off, a very thin head,  which was kind of surprising because the picture in the book had a big thick foamy head.  A very malty nose with lots of chocolate.  First sip was like coffee and chocolate.  The label stated 27 IBUs which indicates a conservative hop flavor.  While the beer is balanced if you are a hop head you will dislike this beer.  Also, for reference sake the beer is labeled "Recipe No. 128."


Pairing Note:
After my initial tasting I had some chocolate covered coffee beans from Kona with it. The two went well together.

Beer Review: Sigda's Green Chili by Cooper Smith's of Fort Collins

Wednesdays are for beer reviews and I know I have been telling you all about the 1001 beers.  However, I had one of those beers that change perspective last weekend.

Sigda's Green Chili was light and crisp with a fiery chili side.  I found it not to be obnoxious like Cold Creek Chili Beer or even Rogue's which are so in your face its not worth drinking.  (I am sure some Rogue fans would disagree.)  It was an excellent example of what a brewer can do when a brewer puts his mind to it.  He could of just as easily just dumped a bunch of crap in a kettle and called it beer, however he did not.  The attention to detail resulted in a well balanced beer where the spiciness was an element and not the killer flavor.  I am assuming this drinkability (thanks for coining the phrase AB) comes from the use of Anaheim and Serrano chilies instead of chipotle like Rogue.  Although Cave Creek uses serrano so I have no idea.  I will caution you it is spicy, but if you like spice give this one a shot at least as part of your sampler.

Look for my full review of Cooper Smith's within a week.  Trust me it is good news I don't buy glassware from just anyone.