#15 of 1001 Brains S.A. by S.A. Brain & Company

I wrote yesterday about the differences between UK and American warning labels.  The label in yesterday's photo came from a can of Brains S.A..  Brains is the major brewery in Wales and apparently consumed like water by local rugby fans.  (Bro, a rugby player, attests to this.)  This beer is their flagship beer and personally I find it representative of what a pint of British beer should be.

Tasting Notes:
Poured from a bottle creating a amber with an appropriate head.  A malt nose, but a faint hop aroma.  A smooth ale with a nice balance between hops and malt, and a dry finish.

British vs. US Warning Labels

UK Warning Label

US Warning Label

Recently Bro made a journey to London and brought back Brains.  No, the Brits are not cannibals, Brains is one of the leading breweries in Wales.  One of the things we instantly picked up on were warning labels.  American labels tend to be, well wordy.  The UK labels are short and simple.  My personal favorite was the silhouette of a pregnant woman with the international no symbol over her.  The simplicity of this makes so much sense.  How many people stop to read or think about a wordy warning label.  Furthermore, those not fluent in English, illiterate or just ignorant quickly understand they should not be drinking this beer.

Both the British and American warning labels have two parts.  The British label does not warn you about driving or operating machinery.  The British seem to be more focused on how much you consume.  The label states that men should drink a maximum 2-4 units a day.  Now I only have a Brains can and bottle to base my analysis on, but it seems that UK craft beer is about 2 units.  I would assume something like Bud Light would count as fewer units.

I am making a personal note to look into this more.  Unfortunately, the imports sold in Chicago are packaged for Americans and lack the UK label.  If anything I think the American labels are likely weaker, or maybe different societies view labels differently.  If anyone has more insight I would appreciate you curing my curiosity!

Tough Topic: Should Bars Be Open During Blizzards?

We all know Chicago had a blizzard last week.  I started thinking about bars and safety as the blizzard started to hit Chicago.  I had a reservation for a beer tasting that night (Tuesday).  I called the bar and the hostess seemed surprised that I would think they would cancel the tasting.  By now the Mayor is on TV telling me not to leave my house unless absolutely necessary. I didn't think it was that off the wall to call the bar and ask.  I waited an hour and when visibility got so bad I couldn't see the nine story building down the block decided I to call and cancel.  They were nice when I cancelled, but by still holding the tasting were they doing the public good?

After cancelling I poured myself a beer, grabbed a hoodie and settled in front of the TV to watch the news coverage.  We all know news reporters are insane and drive around in crazy weather.  The only people they seemed to be able to interview were either stuck on Lake Shore Drive or in a bar.  Bar manager after bar manager touted their "blizzard specials" to the camera and invited people to come on over.  There seemed to be a party atmosphere with an attitude that if you are let out of work early you might as well go to the bar.

Bars were not just on camera touting they were open; they were also Twittering like crazy.  One place published numerous tweets that they would even deliver.  Sure don't go out in this weather we will send our minimum wage driver to you.

At this point, I was appalled.  While customers may be making a conscious choice to come out in what was a historic storm, employees do not.  The bars and brewpubs were forcing employees to make a choice; get in trouble at work or heed the advice of public safety personnel.  Furthermore, these establishments placed back on the streets intoxicated individuals who got in the way of city crews trying to keep the "City that Works" from being the "City That Is Perpetually Snowed In".  So Ladies and Gentlemen, next time we have Hizzoner or whoever follows in his footsteps telling us our civic duty is to go home and sit tight; please listen.  Sometimes civic duty outweighs making a quick buck, and to be honest we are lucky someone didn't get killed trying to head home from one of these irresponsible bars.

Glassware: The Tapered Pilsner

Of the glasses in my collection the Tapered Pilsner makes me feel the most sophisticated and the most clumsy.  The first one I owned promptly broke in 24 hrs.  Just the other day Beer Bitch wanted to sit with me on the couch, but upon seeing this glass ran away.  The Tapered Pilsner has been around since the Middle Ages, but did not take root until the Art Deco age of the 1930's.  The "V" shape supports a head which will keep aromas wafting to your nose.  Additionally the tall slender shape will showcase the color of the beer and you will likely see the bubbles floating to the top.

I recommend using the Tapered Pilsner with almost any Pilsner, Bock, Doppelbock or other Lager.

Store Review: West Lakeview Liquors

West Lakeview Liquors located at 2156 W. Addison Street, Chicago, IL is a small, but impressive store.  This family run store, around since 1988, has beer, wine, spirits, and a small specialty grocery.  The grocery side has a number of cheeses, a few beer books and a small glassware selection.  The store really focuses on good beer, wine and spirits.  There is no parking lot, but street parking in the area is ample enough.
Update: I am told there is a small parking lot off the alley.  A sign would be helpful, and if there is one I apologize for being blind.

Awards:
Upfront I think it should be noted that West Lakeview Liquors has been consistently one of the highest rated beer stores.  It is the only Chicagoland area store on the 2011 Best Retailers list published by ratebeer.com.  I find it somewhat surprising no other Chicagoland store has achieved this status, but West Lakeview Liquors definitely earned the title.

Beer Selection:
While the entire store could fit into the corner of a grocery store the selection is well curated.  Beer is organized by county.  A huge number of single bottle options are available here.  There is a cooler with six packs and only a three foot section of the cooler is dedicated to mainstream beer.  I felt the selection at West Lakeview is import heavy, but the import selection included several beers from Mikkeller and Nøgne ø.  This is the largest selection of both brewers I come across in Chicago.  It had a decent selection of American craft beer, but not as large as some of the stores in Chicago.  I felt the pricing was appropriate.  Some of the beer may be a dollar cheaper at bigger discount stores, but once you factor in traveling to get the discount and West Lakeview's awesome selection, it is not worth going somewhere else.

Website:
The website was a bit clunky, but searchable.  It is nice to see if a beer is carried there and whether it is in stock.  Beer is sorted by region on the site much like it is in the store.  There is no way to easily browse the entire selection or see what is hot, but does have a new arrival selection.

Events:
According to their website, tastings from one brewery or another seem to take place every Friday.  The website seems to indicate spirit and wine tastings are possible, but all I saw was beer.  I went to a tasting by Lefthand, and samples seemed to be in the 2-3 ounce range which I find appropriate.  I wish the tasting would have included a seasonal or a limited edition brew, but that may of been Lefthand's choice not the owners option.

Service:
Overall the staff was very nice and helpful, and did seem somewhat knowledgeable.  I was looking for a particular beer that day.  I asked the staff about it and they were unfamiliar with what I was looking for.  They took my name and number and said it would go to a staff member on Tuesday who would call me regarding the beer.  Tuesday was two days ago so I will update you if they do happen to call, but they did give me their email information and encouraged me to contact them if I did not hear anything.  I would also say the same Tuesday a blizzard hit in the afternoon and Wednesday was a big 'ole snow day.  Being this was the third worst storm in Chicago history my request being lost in the shuffle or at least put on a back burner is reasonable.

Overall I was happy with my experience and need to make a trip there this week to pick something up for a dinner I am preparing.  I really need to stop finding places like this as my budget is taking a wallop.

Beer Review: Infinium by Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams introduced Infinium as a limited run for the 2010 holiday season.  Infinium was brewed in partnership with Weihenstephan which has been producing beer just shy of one thousand years.  Infinium was promoted as a beer in a whole new style.  It has been some time since a new style was created that was compliant with the Reinheitsgebot law.  A number of bloggers, retailers and to be honest, even myself became quite excited about this beer.  We expected a highly sought after excellent brew, and what we got was a highly sought after mediocre beer.  What happened?  I can not speak with authority on exactly what happened, but I do have some theories.  Here are my tasting notes followed by some conjecture:

Tasting Notes:
I finally obtained a bottle through my brother after a debacle at Binny's.  Upon uncorking the bottle I noticed dried cork flakes around the rim.  This beer was not aged and I found it interesting that I saw the cork degrade and stick.  I had to use my finger to carefully knock the pieces away or I would of been drinking cork.  Poured into a champaign glass I saw a nice white head form upon a pale amber body.  A sweet nose with lots of fruit and spice to go with little bit of citrus and bitter flavor.  This beer came off very sweet almost too sweet.  Heavily carbonated which resulted in a tingly mouthfeel.  It could be described as a manly champaign.

What Went Wrong:
Theory #1:  It is beer, not champaign.  Infinium seemed to be brewed to be champaign.  Beer drinkers look for a balance between sweet and bitter.  When I drink champaign I expect sweet, but not with beer.  To be honest though, why the bias against sweet?  Almost no one I know criticizes an over aggressively hopped beer.  Seems to be a game between brewers on who can destroy taste-buds with hop flavor.  As for theory #1 I think this one has some merit, but it is possible sweet could be the next wave in brewing and Infinium could be ahead of its time.

Theory #2: Collaboration kills.  Collaboration is all the rage right now.  Infinium was co-brewed by two leaders in the brewing industry.  They had a thousand years of knowledge along with every scientific device needed and near unlimited resources.  Infinium was developed over a period of two years.  Two years of development probably led to a certain amount of group-think circa 1984.  It is possible the brew team got so caught up in the act that they convinced themselves this was the perfect beer.

Theory #3:  The PR people did them in.  This beer was hyped.  This beer was very possibly over-hyped.  People more than likely expected too much and did not have realistic expectations.  This caused people to be overly disappointed.

I think it was likely a combination of the three theories.  Each played some role in why this beer was not the breakout hit it could have been.  I think if it was not as hyped people would not of been so disappointed and in the end we would all have had a greater appreciation for this beer.

Book Review: Great Food Great Beer

Yes, it is a cookbook from the fine people who make you Budweiser.  What do I like about Great Food Great Beer? Almost everything.  Many beer cookbooks focus on beer as an ingredient.  This book is not like that.  Although some recipes include beer as an ingredient, many of the 185 recipes are plain old recipes.  Personally I have enjoyed cooking with AB products.  They are cheap and the flavor seems to concentrate as it boils down.  I would say if you want the beer to be a bold standout flavor then you will likely need to find a bolder beer.  I don't want to cry when I dump a bottle of AB in a pot like I would with some other beers.  Right now, my cabinet is typically stocked with either pricier beer or something so hard to find I cannot stand to sacrifice it for a meal.

Every recipe has a suggested beer pairing.  However, most cookbooks have a suggested pairing with a specific beer named.  This book states the style then the matching company product, allowing me to adapt to my preference.  Also, the suggestions go beyond just Budweiser and Bud Light.  The Michelob line of "craft" beer is also referenced in this book.

The recipes are for the most part not pretentious and easy to make.  It is a solid cookbook for novice to intermediate kitchen dwellers.  The beginning of the book contains a short history of Anheuser-Busch, and the basics on pairing, pouring and glassware to assist you in entertaining.  If you are just starting to cook with beer I suggest you purchase this book.