So you wanna be a beer judge?

After years of reading Ron's Corner and drinking many of the beers I have talked and visiting lot of brew pubs do you feel like you know enough about beer to become a certified beer judge? If so, I'll bet you think you're a pretty good judge of beer and have some strong opinions about which beers are good and which ones are bad. If you want to take your beer evaluation skills to the next level, an opportunity is coming up next month to become a card carrying member of a very elite group, and it doesn't look half bad on a resume either.

To become a certified beer judge you need to take a test administered by the Beer Judge Certification Program of the Association of Brewers. While most beer judges are homebrewers, you don't have to be one to be a beer judge. Although it certainly helps when taking the test but you can pick all the brewing stuff through books if you dedicate yourself although homebrewing is a lot more fun. There are many beer judges who are neither home, nor commercial brewers so it can be done.
There's a lot more to judging beer than taking a few gulps and pronouncing it great or not just quite right. To become a card-carrying beer judge, you must pass the test which is a 10 question essay test about beer and you must also judge 4 beers, all in the space of 3 hours. That doesn't sound too tough does it? The truth is that it is a very hard test because there is a lot to know about beer, both in how it is made, it's history, how it is supposed to taste and what any flaws in it are. In a former life I used to be a stockbroker and I had to take tests to become a stockbroker and then to become a supervisor and options principal and I swear that the beer judging test is probably more difficult than the tests I had to take as a broker. That is kind of scary when you think about it. It is probably easier to become a stock broker than it is a beer judge. I don't know how many stockbrokers there are in the United States but there are only 2000 beer judges who have passed the test in the USA. Naturally, an exam about beer is much more interesting and fun than an exam about securities regulations though.
By now you may be thinking that this sounds kind of hard just to get that card that proclaims you're "a real beer judge." And it is. But being a BJCP judge also has its privileges. Many brewers will offer you free samples just to get your opinion of their beers and you can go to beer competitions around the country and drink beer for free. Just think of all the great beers (and yes, some not-so-great beers) that you'll get to drink for free when judging. Additionally, learning more about beer in preparation to pass the exam will enable you to have a greater appreciation for the beers you drink simply for pleasure.
If you're still interested in taking your beer evaluation skills to a higher level, you can contact Ken Saxe at the Homebrew Depot in Mesa who is putting on the test on June 5th. His e-mail is ken@homebrewdepot.net and his phone # is 480-831-3030.
Prost, Ron

Do you have any shillings?

As mentioned briefly in the newsletter last week Four Peaks has now brewed their 1000th batch of beer. I'd like to congratulate them on their success and their longevity. Recently I had a discussion with Andy Ingram, the head brewer at Four Peaks about modern brewing and the fact that more and more breweries are making "extreme" beers, highly hopped and high alcohol that stray from the norm. Even though every once in awhile Four Peaks takes off on a tangent (such as with their date or pumpkin porter beer), Andy is in the camp of keeping with tradition and brewing beers according to their traditional style and not in the extreme beer camp. But is he really only brewing traditional beers on a day to day basis? You see, one of Four Peaks best selling beers since they opened has been Kiltlifter, a Scottish Ale. Even though this beer is considered a "traditional" ale now, at one point in time it was an "extreme" beer of it's day.

So why do I think a Scottish Ale like Kiltlifter WAS an "extreme" beer. Well, for one thing someone had to break the mold and make a beer with peated smoked malt. I'm sure that broke with tradition and made it taste different than other beers. Just by doing so it made it an "extreme" beer. Later in time, Scottish Ale became a traditional family of beers and it developed a subset of "extreme" beers within it's style family, much like a Double IPA is an offshoot of an IPA. The entire family of Scottish Ales are often referred to by "shillings." The common shilling numbers are 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 120 and 140. The concept of referring to the beers was a financial matter used sometime after 1880 when the previous tax on sugar and malt was replaced by a beer duty tax in Scotland. Under the new beer duty tax, ale was priced in shillings per barrel. Basically, the more alcohol the beer had, the more the shilling number was and so even though all Scottish Ales were are made basically the same way, the 120 and 140 shilling beers became the extremely "extreme" beers of their day by having more alcohol than the lighter, lower alcohol beers. Now Kiltlifter is by no means a 120 or 140 shilling beer but just being in the overall style of a Scottish Ale brewed with peated malt makes it qualify as an "extreme" beer in my opinion.
The "shilling system" started to die out some time after World War II. Scottish Ales began to be known as "Light", "Heavy" and "Export but every once in a while you'll run across a beer with the shilling number. When you do you'll now know that the bigger the number the more "extreme" that beer was in time over a century ago.

Wheat beers for summer

O.K. When the thermometer topped 110 I'd say we could say that the summer is officially here now. In the summer months our sales of wheat beer shoot up substantially because it is such a wonderfully thirst quenching beverage. Wheat beers typically fall into three different main catagories. American Wheat, Belgium Wit Beers and German Wheat beers which are predominately known as hefe-weizens.

Whereas the secret to the Belgian Wit beer resides in its grains and the addition of coriander and bitter orange peel, the key ingredient in the German wheat beer is its yeast, which is typically still present in the bottle and contributes both a slight haziness and multiple vitamins to the beer. The Bavarian yeast in question is a curious creature which, in addition to the expected alcohol and carbon dioxide produced in any fermentation, gives the beer aroma and flavor qualities which can be variously described as clovey, banana-like or shades-of-Bazooka-Joe bubblegum. A lot of people assume it is the wheat that gives the beer these flavors but it is the yeast. The recent popularity of the style has been such that certain New World brewers have even taken to calling any wheat beer they produce a hefeweizen or weissbier, both names that designate the German style. But if it doesn't have that characteristic yeast and its refreshing flavors it's just another light-tasting ale that really should be called an American Wheat.
Of the more traditional Bavarian Wheat beers, the prototype of all German Wheat beers belongs to Weihenstephan which just won a gold medal in the International beer competition in London. Weihenstephan not only produces the beer that defines the style they sell their yeast to over half of the breweries throughout the world that make the style. The yeast itself is very delicate and the difference of only 4 degrees can make the difference between the beer tasting either balanced or predominately clove like or like a banana. Myself, I prefer more banana than clove but it is a personal taste preference. To see the differences try a Weihenstephan then try some of the other Bavarian Hefe's such as from Hacker Pschoor or Erdinger.
Every summer since we opened Belgium style Wit beers have been popular and this year the prototype of Belgium Wit beers became available to us with the arrival of the famed Hoegaarden White that Pierre Celis re-introduced to the world after the style had basically died out. It is a great quench thirsting beverage.
While the taste of these beers can be surprising or even off-putting to beer drinkers raised on a steady diet of macrobrewed swill, many North American and international brewers have discovered that once acclimated to the different flavors and aromas of white beers and hefeweizens, the public reacts very positively to them. Bert Grant's as an example has created their own hybrid which is their Mandarin Orange Hefeweizen that is a year round favorite of Papago customers.
So relish the newly-ready availability of domestic and imported versions of wheat beers and look forward to quenching your thirst with them all summer long. For a real treat try some of the other wheat beers now available here like Japan's Hitachino Nest wheat beer of Ibaraki's Kiuchi Brewery or the Berliner Kindl Weiss that you can add Raspberry or Woodruff syrup to.
Prost, Ron

King of Beers

I'm sorry but every once in a while I need to go after the evil empire known by the initials of A-B. You all should know who I am talking about. They are one of the big macro breweries that call themselves the king of beers in their mass marketing brainwashing. Calling themselves the king of beers is just a bit of a stretch in my opinion since they aren't the #1 selling beer in the world anymore. The Belgium based In-bev conglomerate passed up A-B last year in terms of beer produced. But In-Bev doesn't proclaim to be the king of beers since they know who the real king of beers is.

The title of King of Beers really belongs to King Gambrinus. Gambrinus real name was Jan Primus which was the Flemish name for Duke Jean I. Gambrinus was born in 1210 to French royalty, he inherited and ruled over the provinces of both Brabant (in Belgium) and Lorraine (in France).

One day, at the end of a fierce battle, Jan Primus invited all the noblemen to celebrate the victory. During the festivities, he went to an inner courtyard where his soldiers and servants were partying. Determined to make a speech to these hearty fellows, he climbed on top of a pile of barrels and sat astride the highest one. With a foaming mug in one hand, he addressed the crowd by proposing a toast to his country and the health of his people. And this is how he became a legendary figure.
Gambrinus laid down the foundations for Brabant's brewing industry by allowing the deputy mayors of Brussels the right to grant licences for brewing and selling beer. He was also the honorary President of the Brussels Brewers' Guild which still exists to this day. Some even attribute the use of hops in beer to him although there is some conflicting stories regarding that claim. One thing that is known for sure is that Gambrinus was known for being very fond of a mug or two of beer. Legend has it that during a three-day banquet (probably the precursor of today's modern beer festival) he drank mug after mug of foamy beer and he was known forever after as the King of Beer. Another of his enthusiasms was taking part in medieval jousting tournaments but this proved to be his undoing. He died in 1249 from wounds he received during a tournament.
King Gambrinus, known as "the patron saint of beer," has long been a universal symbol of beer and brewing. Particularly during the late nineteenth century, the image of Gambrinus was used by countless brewers to promote their products and remind consumers of the rich heritage of beer-making. It's a shame that giant A-B felt that they should try and rob him of his title.
Prost, Ron

Cantillon St. Lamvinicus

Recently you may have noticed a new Belgian lambic in our cooler from Cantillon called St. Lamvinus. Lambics are often called the champagne of beers and this beer definitely tries to blur the line of wine and beer and one has to wonder on if it is really beer, or is it wine?
St. Lamvinus is actually a two-year-old Cantillon lambic fermented in oak casks along with wine grapes from France, and then siphoned directly into the bottles. The type of grapes used, and the wineries in France that supplies them, are different every year. Usually it is made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes. This years vintage however is made with pure Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The name St. Lamvinus is a small pun: 'lam' referring to lambic beer, 'vinus' is latin for 'wine,' and the whole thing, 'St. Lamvinus,' meant to remind you of St. Emilion, one of the most famous wine appellations in Bordeaux where most of the previous years vintages of grapes came from. A few years ago I spent a few days touring wineries in that region and I must say that the wines we had from that area were all fantastic. I had to drink wine because you couldn't find any beer but that is another story.
This is as close as you can come to a marriage of wine and beer, and even though it is not the only beer they make with grapes it is certainly the most special. One thing that makes this beer so unique is the care that they use when picking the grapes for it. It turns out the owner of Cantillon is also somewhat of a wine geek and has many French friends that are great winemakers. Cantillon puts in about 130 pounds of grapes in each oak barrel, which turns out to be over a pound of grapes per bottle. They also remove the stems from the grapes in a process called 'égrappage' by French winemakers – which makes the finished product considerably more expensive. They remove the stems because the stems contain bitter tannins, and their removal produces a more delicate wine. A rougher, more tannic wine would likely not have mixed well with some of the flavors in a lambic. This is in total contrast to other fruit beers, such as the Kriek, for which the entire fruit, including the pit, is added to the cask, lending a mild nutty flavor to the beer.
The two year old beer, which is thoroughly infused with the fermented grape juice is bottled right out of the cask. A small bit of sugar is added to each bottle to spark a little refermentation and carbonation. The result is a seamless blend of two-year (mid-aged) lambic – not as mild as a young lambic, and not as sour and acidic and strong-flavored as a three-year-old lambic– and a very fresh wine that would obviously, left on its own, develop a lot of character over time.
Unlike other Lambics that you can buy and lay down and age for 10 to 20 years you shouldn't do that with this one since St. Lamvinus will probably not hold up longer than a year or two. After time, the lambic beer will begin to get the upper hand, and the acidic lambic flavors will overwhelm the more delicate winey grape flavors. That's the theory, anyway and you want to drink this one to enjoy the great grape flavors so if you buy one, drink it.
The 2003 St. Lamvinus, which was bottled at the very end of the year, has just arrived in the U.S. I did taste it at the brewery in March this year, and can report that it is just fantastic. If memory serves me correctly (I did have a few beers that day), it had a more wine-like color than in previous years and much more winelike flavor.
This is probably the best St. Lamvinus yet, made only with the weightier, more intense cabernet sauvignon grapes and aged in old port casks. This beer has been shipped irregularly to the United States for a few years. This year there were about 70 cases shipped to the importer. A case contains 6 bottles so you can see that there isn't a lot of it to go around and the price reflects both the scarcity and the brewers love that went into the beer. It isn't cheap at $43.99 per bottle but it is one that the true beer and wine connoisseurs should enjoy.
Prost, Ron

Fun in the Sun

This past weekend I escaped the heat and headed over to San Diego to go to the 8th Annual Real Ale festival held at Pizza Port in Carlsbad. The fest was a 2 day fest going on Friday and Saturday that featured about 40 Real Ales that were served through a beer engine and a couple of beers that were served straight out of the cask. Real Ales in case anyone is unfamiliar with them are beers that are supposed to be unfiltered and naturally carbonated in the cask from which they get served. It is basically the way all beers were served before forced carbonation allowed for draught style beer. These days when someone speaks of Real Ales they usually think of British style beers like Bitters, Porters, Stouts, Pale Ales, etc. At this fest the majority of the beers also fell into these same categories although most of them were shall we say 'West Coasted'. By that I mean they were beefed up in alcohol and most especially in the use of hops.

And Hops there were...With names like Pure Hopiness, Hop Juice, Lou P Lin, Hop Ottin, Hop Knot and of course, my favorite, Hopfather anyone who considers themselves a hop head was bound to have a good time. Most of the brewers add extra hops to the casks which is called dry hopping. One of the biggest dry hopped beers was Stone's Ruination (Which we will be tapping the un-dry hopped version of this Saturday.) The beer had so many fresh hops in it that it was extremely grassy tasting, so much so that the only way I can describe it is to imagine putting in a handful of fresh cut grass in your glass. There were many good hoppy beers, Lagunitas Maximus and Russian Rivers, Pliney the Elder were two of my favorites. Granted, I am biased but I thought the Papago Hopfather was one of the best balanced and one of the better beers at the fest and I think the crowd agreed with me since it was one of the first beers to run out.

Surprisingly the first beer to run out wasn't a hoppy one, nor was it an ale but it was a Pilsner from Back Street Brewery. Back Street Brewing is the brewing arm of a California based chain called Lamppost Pizza. Another lager that was pretty good was brewed by an old homebrewing buddy of mine name Todd Peterson who is brewing for Craftsman Brewing in Pasadena who made a smoked black lager beer. The other thing I was surprised at is that there weren't that many beers that were aged in oak barrels but one that was that was excellent was an Imperial Stout from Santa Barbara Brewing.

Apart from the beers at the fest I had a great time visiting with other beer industry people. I ran into Gail Simon who is a Boston based beer distributor whom I had met in Belgium last March. When we start getting our Papago Creek beer from Belgium later this year she may start distributing it in Boston. Adam Avery was there and he agreed to come out to Papago again later this year to participate in a brewers roundtable that I want to put on with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Derek Osborne from BJ's and Tomme Arthur of Pizza Port. I had some interesting chats with the owners of a couple of other great beer places, the Liars Club in San Diego and Toranado in San Francisco. The three of us had a lot of things in common and it was interesting having the three owners of some of the countries better beer drinking establishments share stories and seeing how much we had in common. If you are going to visit Toranado I would do it soon, they just lost one of their better Belgium beer distributors so their beer selection may go down a little bit until someone picks up the brands they lost, I feel sorry for him and can't imagine what withdrawals we'd go through if Little Guy or any of our other good distributors went out of business. Oh, and if you go to the Liar's Club don't get the nachos (inside joke-sorry).

Prost, Ron