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Browsing Tags brooklyn

Beer n’ Books – The Craft Beer Revolution by Steve Hindy

May 13, 2014 · by Oliver Gray

hindybrooklyn

Title: The Craft Beer Revolution
Author: Steve Hindy
ISBN: 978-1137278760
Pages: 272
Release date: April 22, 2014
Publisher:  Palgrave Macmillan
Genre: Nonfiction/History
Format: Hardcover
Source: Review copy

Growing up in a British expatriate household full of Oxford English Dictionaries and Encyclopedia Britannica, we playfully joked about our public school’s approach to teaching American history. My parents, products of northern England’s primary schools, found the way children were introduced to the political and social pedigree of early America both funny and fascinating. They’d look over homework assignments, amazed at how much detail was afforded to every battle, every colony, every document revision (as compared to British history), impressed at how thorough a retelling of events could be when it only had to cover a few hundred years, not a few thousand. But despite the depth they felt it often lacked applicability, that some of the history seemed forced, bloated to fill time and text book pages, with emphasis put on certain events to artificially inflate, not because of their influence of the founding of the nation.

They may have had similar concerns about Steve Hindy’s fresh release, The Craft Beer Revolution, which chronicles the rise of craft beer (defined as not the stuff from Miller or Coors or Budweiser) starting in 1965 and running up to present day. Forty-nine years isn’t an excessively long period of time to cover in 272 pages. The good news: their concern would have been misplaced. Although faced with the daunting task of sifting through pretty much all of modern America’s brewery, brewer, and beer-soaked history, Hindy manages to use his experience cofounding Brooklyn Brewing to condense and highlight many of the important aspects that led us to our fermented future. This is the journey of craft beer, told by one of its pioneers.

Those into beer know names like Jack McAuliffe, Fritz Maytag, and Ken Grossman, recognize that these men are the spiritual hop-wielding grandfathers of modern brewing. But to the layman, beyond a few photos, and a few too-often-used quotes, these men might seem two dimensional, spectres of a time when small brewing was as rare as organic labels in the grocery store. To the new beer enthusiast, these names might be completely alien.

While there are several other good reads that fall like wild yeast into the open fermentation vessel of “craft beer history” (namely, Ken Grossman’s Beyond the Pale, and Tom Acitelli’s The Audacity of Hops), Hindy gives a strong voice to the people who masterminded our current surge, connects the reader to them with quotes and anecdotes that color them as the decorated, dedicated brewers they were (or are). The strength of the narrative springs from the deep, insider knowledge of someone who was on the front lines of the transition from homebrewing and brewpubs to full-fledged breweries. Through Hindy’s research and interviews, a reader can feel like she’s standing right next to Charlie Papazian as he went from nuclear engineer to the head of the Brewer’s Association, and looking over Sam Calagione’s shoulder as he brewed the first of the beers that would eventually lead to Dogfish Head.

There are moments when my parents fears are realized, and Hindy’s content seems at odds with his structure; like a paragraph shoe-horned into the heel of a chapter solely because it was bristling with such potent information. At times, this gives a feeling of too much foot in too little shoe, description or notes inserted with little introduction or transition, just to round out a chapter. These sections, despite being clunky, do tend to add certain character to the narrative. It’s hard to fault Hindy for having too much good content, but it wouldn’t be a BJCP certified review to suggest I didn’t notice some defects in the body of the narrative.

These issues smooth themselves out by the middle of the book, just in time for the second act to dance onto the revolution stage: the politics of distribution and some infighting between regional competitors who should have, in a perfect beer-filled world, been allies. Some ire seems directed at Jim Koch of Samuel Adams; at one point Hindy calls him the “Harvard MBA-type” who seemed more concerned with marketing than establishing a local brewery, opting to contract brew in his early years, rather than establish physical roots. Later, he offers some admiration for Koch’s rise to commercial fame, but I’d venture that Hindy won’t be sharing a Utopias with Koch any time soon.

Ultimately, Hindy does an admirable job of writing a story that walks delicately between esoteric and approachable, telling the complex story of politics and law in beer in a way that wouldn’t completely turn off someone who didn’t already have a propensity for the bubbly stuff. The closing is cautiously optimistic, with Hindy suggesting (hoping) that Big Beer’s attempts to sneak in and snag market share with things like Blue Moon and Shock Top might actually lead to more business for smaller breweries, once the average consumer’s tastes evolve a bit more. Several jargon laden, industry heavy chapters might be harder reads for people who aren’t into beer, but by the epilogue, the book has done a fine job of capturing the inundation of American beer onto fertile consumer soil, and provides a deep, probing look at just how the river gained enough momentum over the past 50 years to successfully overflow its banks.

Pilsner Madness Round 1: Weihenstephaner Pilsner (7) -VS- Brooklyn Pilsner (8)

April 5, 2013 · by Oliver Gray

The first side of the Pilsner Madness bracket finishes up with the world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephaner, facing off against New York’s finest, Brooklyn Brewery.

Pilsner Madness Bracket RD1 - 3

The Contenders:

Weihenstephaner Pilsner (7) – Weihenstephaner, a name I can never seem to spell correctly, has claimed to be the oldest continuously operated brewery in the whole world. With documentation regarding local Bavarian farmers paying hop-tithes (the best kind of tithes) to the Weihenstephan Abbey dating back to 768, it very possible that this is the oldest brewery still around. Weihenstephaner has a pretty extensive line-up (comparable to a lot of craft breweries in the US) including a Festbier, A Hefe-Dunkel, and even a non-alcoholic hefeweissbier!

Weihenstephaner also has a very well designed and highly navigable website that uses an animation of a beer glass being filled as its page loading indicator.

Brooklyn Pilsner (8) – My love affair with Brooklyn Brewery started with a simple pint of Pennant ’55 Ale. Since then I’ve sampled a lot of their suds, often satisfied, rarely disappointed. This brewery is 1219 years younger than Weihenstephaner, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t done some great things since it was founded in 1987. Owners Steve Hindy and Tom Potter, encouraged by their success and love of beer, wrote a memoir/how to brewing book (titled Beer School) that details their experiences with starting their own brewery and all of the business challenges therein.

Brooklyn pilsner was brewed in a style reminiscent to the light golden beer that was preferred in New York prior to the prohibition. The recipe boasts two-row barely malt and both Perle and Hallertauer hops, making this a very faithful recreation of the classic German-style pilsner.

The Fight:

weihenvsbrooklynThe young Brooklyn pours a beautiful pale yellow with a twinge of amber, echoing the orange of its label. The old Weihenstephaner pours a perfectly clear pilsner-yellow with no off color, almost like liquid gold in a glass. Both bubble and billow into a large head as they’re poured, but retain very slight lacing that sends very subtle hop notes up your nose as you bring glass to lips.

A pretty even match.

Brooklyn’s flavor is enviable. Clean, crisp, surprisingly complex for the style of beer. Despite the overall quality, it has a very subtle carbonation burn on the tongue and the hops tend to get lost in the malty aftertaste. Weihenstephaner, somehow, is even more enviable. There is almost no acidity and the hops find a perfect harmony with the malt, making for lip-smacking refreshment. I felt it was very slightly under hopped, but that may just be an issue of personal preference. I guess nearly 1300 years is enough time to really get the recipe down.

I really enjoyed Brooklyn’s pilsner, but I have to give this one to Weihenstephaner, just because of technical brewing prowess and pedigree.

weinhwinner

How to Get A Free Beer at the Airport

August 18, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

Everyone knows that airport beer is expensive and of dubious age/quality.

Why pay retail? Follow these ten simple steps to free beer euphoria time:

1) Plan your trip so that you have a monstrous layover. Twelve to fourteen hours should do.
2) Find the sports bar in your arrival terminal (there WILL be a sports bar).
3) Order a Bass Pale Ale (or similar commercially available ale).
4) Taste the Bass. Using your keen, well trained beer diagnostic skills, determine that it clearly isn’t Bass. Report the details to the bartender. Explain how it is sour, so it is either a cheap lager, or a bad keg of Bass.
5) Refuse to send the beer back, claim you’re telling him out of pure courteousness to future patrons.
6) Drink the beer, whatever it is (honestly it tasted a lot like Yuengs). In the meantime the barkeep will be checking the keg/keg connections.
7) Order another beer, something local this time (Brooklyn Pennant Ale, mmmmmmmmmm)
8) Close your tab. Have the bartender apologize for the first beer and tell you it is on the house. Smile.
9) Enjoy the free beer that is now in your stomach.
10) Fly to your destination one beer happier.

JFK. Brooklyn Pennant Ale. FTW.

Review: Brooklyn Pennant Ale ’55

April 17, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

I never got into baseball.

I was born to be constantly moving. Modern medicine might diagnose me with “restless leg syndrome” or “fidgititus”. When I tried to play as a kid, I’d get easily distracted. I was famous for taking off my glove and wearing it like a hat, on top of my other hat. The only thing I was good at was running wildly towards a base, often knocking the baseman out of my path quite forcibly, and then being ejected from the game.

My mother often tells the story of when my dad had to literally drag an 11 year old me out of the house as I desperately clung to the stair rail, wanting nothing more than to not play baseball. I hated the uniform. Playing sports in tight pants just never sat well with me.

Baseball was just too sedentary. Too much standing and looking, not enough chasing and rolling. I needed to be running, jumping, falling, bumping. I know there is some movement in baseball, it just wasn’t enough for the amount of proverbial ants in my proverbial pants.

But! For the sake of this excellent beer, I’ll put on my baseball hat. Er, cap.

In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers thoroughly whooped up on the New York Yankees, taking the World series four games to three. This was the first World Series win in the history of the team, and put an end to the long-standing Yankee baseball dictator ship that had a chokehold on the game. In 1957, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, making the ’55 victory the only one to ever occur while the team was based in New York.

Easy to see why the geographical fanatics at Brooklyn Brewery named their beer after the historic event.

Baseball is as much a part of New York as street vendor hot dogs and militant taxi drivers. I think this is part of why I don’t particularly like New York City; it’s a world that doesn’t belong to me. I don’t get it, and I don’t think I am supposed to.

This beer though, I get this beer.  It may be that missing connection, the one thing that brings me closer to the Big Apple, closer to understanding the ravings of homeless people in Times Square, closer to realizing the appeal and wonder of America’s favorite pastime.

Pennant Ale ’55 pours into the glass like the wave passing through your section in the ballpark. It smells like that odor that hits you as you enter a stadium; fried food, newly opened beer, fresh, open air. It is a wholesome smell that primes you for an excellent drinking experience.

Its color is infield-dirt-brown, with a hint of red clay. The head settles quickly, leaving behind chalky baseline lacing just above the surface of the beer. The mouth feel is an in-field triple, the bubbles roaring like the crowd, hoping the runner will make it home. The taste is nothing short of a grand-slam.

9.5 out of 10.

Beer and barbecue - only second to beer and pizza.

Next up: Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale!

Review: Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

April 12, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

Friday, 9:29 p.m.

::Bzzzzzzzt:: ::Bzzzzzzt::

Oliver: Oh hey Yuengling! What’s up?
Yuengling: Hey Oliver…
Oliver: Are you OK? You sound weird.
Yuengling: Yea…I’m OK…hey I’m glad you’re around…we need to talk.
Oliver:  We do? What do you mean?
Yuengling: This isn’t working out. We’re growing apart. I feel like we don’t even talk anymore.
Oliver: Yuengs…baby…don’t do this. We can work through this…I’ve just been really busy at school, and…
Yuengling: Oliver…don’t make this harder than it already is. I think it’s time we go out drinking with other beers.
Oliver: No, no…we can’t…we’ve been through so much! I love you Yuengling!
Yuengling: Goodbye Oliver.

::Click::

Saturday, 2:21 a.m. 

::Riiiing:: ::Riiiing::

Yuengling: He…hello? Oliver?
Oliver: Yuengssssss baby! Hey! Hi! Sup? Sup yo! Yo yo.
Yuengling: Oliver. Do you have any idea what time it is? Are you drunk?
Oliver: Noooooooo. Nope. Maybe. You don’t know! I only had like four hundred and sixty THOUSAND shots. Hahahahahha.
Yuengling: You’re an idiot.
Oliver: And you’re a bitch! No, I’m sorry, I dinnnn’t mean that. I’m just druuuunnkkkk.  Hey. Hey. Can we talk? Like, about us?
Yuengling: I don’t think that is a good idea Oliver. Maybe we can talk once you wake up.
Oliver: You alllwaaays say that. You never let me say what I wanna say. I’m jusss trying to tell you words about stuff. About important stuff. Life stuff. Hey. Heeeey. You wanna go get Chipotle? You think they’re open? I’m so hunnnngry!
Yuengling: Go to bed, Oliver. Drink some water. Call me when you grow up.
Oliver: You cannnit tell me how I can do. What I can do. Do. Yea, I’ll be right there. I KNOW, it’s my ex. I KNOW.
Yuengling: Wait, who is that? Is that another beer in the background? I thought I heard the sound of a bottle opening.
Oliver: Whaaaa? Nooooo. No way dude. You so cray. Um, I gotta go or something OK byyyeeee.

::Click:: 

Saturday, 10:12 a.m.

::Bzzzzzt:: ::Bzzzzzzt:: ::Bzzzzzt::
              ::Bzzzzzt:: ::Bzzzz:

Oliver: Ugggghhhhhhh…hello?
Yuengling: Hey there champ, how you feeling?
Oliver: I can’t feel my face.
Yuengling: Did you drink any water? Do you remember calling me last night?
Oliver: I called you? Shit.
Yuengling: Yea, you did. It was pretty funny. Who were you with last night?
Oliver: Oh…just the guys. Some other people came over, I think. I remember someone with an abundance of bubbles and carbonation.
Yuengling: I thought I heard some other beers in the background.
Oliver: Oh, yea, I think some of Steve’s friends came over. I didn’t know them.
Yuengling: Oh, OK. Hey, I was thinking, maybe I rushed things…can we meet up tod…what was that? Did I hear a giggle?
Oliver: Huh? No…that was the TV…
Yuengling: I knew I heard other beers! Are you with that slut, Brooklyn East India Pale Ale!? Do you have any idea how many pint glasses she has been in? I know her type, everyone thinks she’s exotic with that “East” in front of IPA, but she’s nothing special.
Oliver: Hey, she was here with her IPA-like flavor and relatively subtle hopping. She cared about my opinions of what glassware works for what beers. Plus, I distinctly remember you breaking up with me.
Yuengling: You are such a pig. We were on a break.
Oliver: Sounded like a breakup to me. Anyway, me and Brooklyn are going to get some breakfast. Probably something that will help get rid of this hang over, and the bitter after taste she left in my mouth.
Yuengling: You were many things in our time Oliver, but cruel was never one of them.
Oliver: I’m sorry Yuengling, I never meant to hurt you…it just happened. I had an empty glass, and she was an open bottle. I hope someday we can work out our differences and be friends.

::Click:: 

9 out of 10.

Pretty, isn't she?

Next up: Harpoon IPA!

Bachelor (Party) Beer

April 9, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

This weekend, my best friends drugged me, threw me in the trunk of a car, and drove me nearly 4 hours from home to a mansion on the breezy shores of Deep Creek Lake. I woke up with a fishing rod in my hands and a fully stocked beer fridge. I thank them again for a very awesome weekend that outpaced any previous ideas I had about how much fun my bachelor party would be.

In the midst of the drunkenness and debauchery, I did my best to retain some level of professionalism. I was drinking good beer, it deserved attention, words, and proper glassware. Armed only with my DSLR and a Duvel glass, I set out to chronicle my bachelor party through the only means I know: words.

I grabbed 2 more samplers before we set out. One is an old staple, the other was a stab in the dark. I must have really good luck, because once again, I managed to have 8 fabulous beers at my disposal.

Sampler #1: Harpoon Brewery 5:30 Club Mix Pack

Harpoon IPA holds a special place in my heart. During the first business trip of my budding career, I had Harpoon on tap in downtown Boston, MA. I thought my taste buds were going to explode into kittens and magic jelly beans. In my calm, subjective opinion, I’m pretty sure Harpoon IPA is the best commercial IPA in the country. It is smooth, flavorful, light without being bland, and possibly brewed with unicorn tears.

I’m a tad biased.

The four beers in this pack were:

1. Harpoon IPA (need I say more?)
2. Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale (a strong, wheaty PA)
3. Harpoon White UFO (which stands for Unfiltered Offering, this is one of three varieties of UFO that I’ve had)
4. Harpoon  Dark Munich Style Lager (dark brown, malty, good)

Sampler #2: Brooklyn Brewery Party Mix

This was a random purchase as I was loading up the car for the trip. I wanted something I’d never had before, but didn’t want to get too adventurous in case my brethren weren’t as excited about beer with enough hops to put you in the hospital. My beer-telepathy was spot on. This Brooklyn, NY beer is very well done and offers a nice spin on a lot of traditional brews. The East India Pale Ale is particularly awesome and I highly recommend it.

The four beers in this sampler were:

1. Brooklyn Lager (a hearty, malty take on the boring old lager)
2. Brooklyn Brown Ale (a traditional, safe, but satisfying approach to brown ale)
3. Brooklyn East India Pale Ale (Phenomenal. Best beer in the pack. It’s not Harpoon IPA, but definitely took my by [good] surprise.)
4. Brooklyn Pennant Ale ’55 (a New England style  ale in the fashion of Sam Adams Boston Lager, but with a sharper front end taste)

Special thank you to John for holding the cases so elegantly.

First up: Brooklyn Lager!

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