On a recent Monday evening while many of you were snuggled-up at home, probably staring into the abyss that is TV or Facebook, The Beers to You tasting panel was hard at work in an undisclosed (and unheated) location. Our mission was to try to make sense of this whole “grow your own” or “estate grown” trend that has influenced the seasonal craft-beer selections as of late.

Though the “Grown your Own” thing seems on the surface to be “Green” and sort of a “Slow foody” trend, we wanted to taste these beers for ourselves to see if the flavor matches up to the premium price they are commanding. For me, it all comes down to flavor… Beer will never be a “Green” product; the energy used to manufacture beer, from malting, mashing, boiling and chilling, makes beer production a huge beneficiary of the inventions and processes of the industrial revolution. You can thank brewing for refrigeration and pasteurization for instance and luckily so far, the brewing industry has been given a pass by environmental activists… Enough Said.

Both beers claim that the hops, Barley and water have been sourced, grown and processed on the grounds at or near the brewery and both breweries use“house yeast”. This is why the brewers say that these beers have their own “terroir” or the essence of their “Earth”. Winemakers have referred to terroir as a differentiating characteristic for centuries and in my opinion, terroir is more evident and effectual for grapes than it is for the ingredients in beer.  I think claiming “terroir” in beer is a stretch, except maybe for the characteristics contributed by the local water supply, but almost every brewer these days, treats the water for the desired effects of flavor and mash efficiency. I don’t believe the characteristics of the local soil carry through in the barley and hops, especially after malting and isomerization (extraction of the hop oils in the kettle); it’s torturous path through the brewery unlike the simple grape that is crushed and pressed to make wine.

The first beer on the list is the Sierra-Nevada Chico Estate harvest ale, a 6.7%abv beer that pours with a medium body and nice soapy head. The beer is fairly clear for a beer that is so generously hopped. The aroma of fresh hops is very evident. All of us noted that the aroma was not a typical Pacific Northwest hop aroma; the citrus was there but there were some earthy and woody aromas that blended in. BTY panel member Charles Bockway noted that the grassy, fresh-hop aroma that was so evident in Sierra’s “wet Hopped” ale was not evident in this beer. The same hop flavors that were in the aroma carried through the beer all the way to a bitter but balanced finish. The malt flavors in this beer played a bigger role than with Sierra Nevada ales of the past. The entire panel agreed that the malt complexity (Bready, caramel and slightly sweet) was really good and made this beer very, very drinkable.

Other Panel Comments:

Alan Gore-Very Balanced and Drinkable…

Rob Absten- A bit sweet up front (Had characteristics of Bigfoot Barley-Wine)

Tim Lepley- The aroma was a bit “catty” but the overall beer was good

On to beer number two, Rogue Brewery’s Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager. This beer pokes a bit of fun at the “Grow Your Own” concept by declaring that the beer reflects the “Dirtoir” of the growing area. This lager is extremely dark and pours with a creamy tan head. The beer appears to be very viscous and thick, in fact Alan Gore commented that it looked like motor oil. This 5.9% abv beer though, is surprisingly light to medium bodied but the dark beer actually coats the glass! One thing that has me scratching my head is that the ingredients list includes Carafa II dark malt, which is a patented process and a trade name of Weyermann malting in Bavaria, so this beer couldn’t be 100% “Chatoe” grown. The Carafa malt along with the chocolate malts used give this beer a distinct moch-coffee finish. This would be a very good beer to pair with dark chocolate desserts. The intense roasty flavors take their toll on the palate after a while, which leads us to think this is a one serving per night type of brew. Alan went as far as saying that he wouldn’t buy this beer and Tim and Rob both thought of burnt toast (With Rob Absten going as far as calling out “burnt Wonder-Bread”). I often find Rogue beers interesting studies, but many are “one-beer and I’m done” kind of beers.

Okay, so I have droned on and written a lot about a two-beer tasting, so what’s the verdict? I would say that these beers stand on their own flavor, regardless if they are “Chatoe” or “Estate” grown. I wouldn’t pay a premium on that fact alone. The Sierra Beer was especially expensive, I purchased the 24oz bottle at Whole Foods in Dublin, OH and it cost me nearly eleven bucks! It was a very good beer, but I would have to really think again about laying down that much dough for home-grown-liquid-bread…

Starr Hill’s founder and brewer Mark Thompson will be the first to tell you that he doesn’t often host beer dinners in such classy venues as the Bridge Road Bistro. So if you were sitting on the other side enjoying dinner at the Bistro on Thursday, the commotion you heard was just Starr-Hill’s brew master regaling us with plenty of beer information spiced up with a good dose of irreverent humor. I only hope you didn’t choke on your glass of wine when Mark’s call for a “Boo-Ya” resonated above the tame ambiance of the entire dining room (The dining area was sectioned-off for the Starr-Hill event).

There was some seriously good food served-up with all of the fun and beery pontification. Chef Robert Wong did his homework, tasting each beer far in advance so he could expertly pair his menu with the beer. The only beer he wasn’t able to taste ahead of time was Starr Hill’s award-winning dry stout called “Dark Starr”. The stout was harmoniously paired with a chocolate and caramel pot’d crème.

Based on an informal survey at my table of seven people, The Jamaican-jerk marinated skate wing served on top of plantain mashers was a favorite. The Starr-Hill amber, bready-malt flavors worked well with the richness of the plantains and cut through the jerk seasonings to pull off a very complex pairing.

The staff at the Bistro was very attentive to detail and the kitchen and service team leaders were very interested in mingling with all of us to hear our feedback and listen to what we had to say, including Chef Wong.

I hope we see more of these dinners from the Bistro in the future.

Ken Linch of Bridge Brew Works in Fayetville has posted some good news on the West Virginia Craft Beer Appreciation Society’s web-forum  www.wvcbas.com)

“I’m very happy to annouce that Bridge Brew Works will have it’s first two beers on tap at Pies and Pints this afternoon – Long Point (lager) and Bridge Brew (ale).  It is open mic night tonight at P&P’s”

Ken Linch
Bridge Brew Works

I will try to visit them ASAP and report back!

In Other News…

The Marietta Times is reporting that Marietta Brewing Company has been sold at auction. The buyer is local businessman Dave Broughton, whom if my memory serves me correctly, was an original founder of MBC. The Times has a quote or two from former Brewer Kelly Sauber where he indicates that he will return after the brewery re-opens. More good news indeed!

If you happened to read my column in Sunday’s Life and Style, you know that I have embarked on a mission to shrink my waistline. After three years of what I would say is pretty regular and sometimes intense exercise, I haven’t lost or gained a single pound. I came to the realization that I was simply taking in way too many calories; if I wanted to drop my waistline, I would have to cut-back on both food and drink. (Duh!)

The most successful and quickest weight-loss plan I have ever undertaken was the Atkins style, low-carb plan. I really lost a lot of weight, but at what sacrifice! I could often be found pathetically sipping a Miller-Lite in the corner of some dank bar as to not run up the carbs, which could knock me out of Ketosis. After a few months of that nonsense, I realized I could not live on “Lite” alone so I stopped the plan and eventually gained back some of the weight I lost. That’s where I find myself today.

A fellow beer writer in Philly named Lew Bryson turned me on to the Weight Watchers plan through one of his blogs. He had lost a goodly amount of weight and was still able to drink good beer in moderation. At that time, I chose to opt for my exercising and activity method to see if I could “jump-start” my ageing metabolism before I surrendered to a diet plan. Exercising didn’t work (though I feel really great!)

Okay, I surrender! I started the Weight Watchers online plan a few weeks ago and so far, it’s going pretty well. As a beer-geek, I can totally recommend this plan and here is why…

1.    The Online tools to track points for foods and activities are powerful and refined.

2.    WW has recently released an I-phone application that makes travelling on the plan easier.

3.    The plan rewards you (lower points) for low fat or high-fiber foods (Beer has zero Fat).

4.    If you are active, the plan rewards you with Activity points which can be swapped for food (or beer!)

5.    The Weight Watchers plan information resources always seem to be beer-friendly. Well, at least they have the correct facts about beer and even information on how to increase your beer drinking enjoyment. They encourage you to drink more flavorful, lower alcohol beers. They discuss enjoyment, helping to make drinking beer a Quality vs Quantity experience.

If you are like me, and want to have your beer and drink it too, but need to lose a few pounds, you can do it by signing on to Weight Watchers Online. No need to go to weigh-ins or meetings, just use the online tools. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

(And by the way… I am saving my Activity Points for The Bistro’s Starr-Hill Beer Dinner this week on Thursday!)

Folks… I am very pleased to report that Mark Thompson, Brewmaster of Starr Hill will be the Emcee at the upcoming beer pairing dinner at the Bridge Road Bistro. Not only is Mark THE best source of knowledge about his beers, he is one hell of a nice guy! Let’s turn out for this event!

The Bridge Road Bistro has put together what seems to be a wonderful list of innovative menu creations to pair with several of Starr-Hill’s fantastic beers. The dinner will be held on Thursday January 21st. The South Hills area restaurant has been trying to lead the way and is the only area restaurant taking advantage of craft beer as a wonderful enhancement to fine dining.

The Bistro hosted a similar dinner a few months ago which featured beers from Great Lakes Brewing Company. I was out of town on business and could not attend but heard comments from several of the attendees that it could have been better organized and that the Great Lakes representative was not as knowledgeable about the beers as should be expected at such an event. The other complaint was that the restaurant’s bar was in full swing (with live music) while the beer event was taking place, making it nearly impossible to hear the speaker or each other. I hope the Bistro staff do not repeat those same mistakes and doubt they will…

Please do not take my comments the wrong way; I put them out there to be constructive. I really want these beer pairing efforts to be a smashing success!

For a menu of pairings and for reservations, click here…

Blogging about anything worthwhile takes time and effort and there was a time when Gazz- Bloggers were paid for their services, but that stipend went away as print-media continues to struggle with finances. One of the main reasons I remain motivated to write and blog about beer is because it helps me fulfill my mission to spread my passion for beer to anyone who wants to listen. Unlike wine, beer has to fight its way into every event above and beyond a backyard barbeque. Wine is well-spoken for with excellent advocates such as our own John Brown spreading the word of the “fruit of the vine”. I strive to do the same for “the World’s oldest man-made drink”.

Recently, a few friends of mine attended an excellent educational series offered by The Clay Center titled “The Art & Science of Wine”. Hearing of this was all I needed to approach the good folks at The Clay Center and offer to do the same for beer. I submitted a course syllabus and they actually took-me-up on my offer!

I will be conducting a four-hour adult workshop that will cover a wide range of topics on beer. The workshop will be held on Saturday March 13th from 1pm to 5pm. We will also taste several beers as well as the ingredients that make beer. I am very excited about this opportunity and I have been working diligently on my presentation.

Many of you may be interested in gaining deeper knowledge of beer or you may know someone else who is. Please spread the word! We need to fill this class for the sake of beer!

For more details on the class click here…