It seems we can’t rely on the weather this year to remind us that a new season is making an entrance. Fortunately for me, I can always seem to count on the arrival of yet another “Seasonal Release” sampler package from Magic Hat to cue me to the passing of one season to the next.

Magic Hat’s “Summer Scene Variety Pack” will feature three summer seasonal beers. Once again that beer which looks more like cheap blush wine than beer aptly named “Wacko” makes its appearance along with “Blind Faith”, a beer that was resurrected from the breweries original line-up and is described as a summer IPA. The summer “Odd Notion” beer for 2010 is a very interesting brew indeed, simply called “Wild Ginger Ale”.

It just so happened that the “Beers to You” distinguished taste panel found itself with a quorum and beers that needed tasting… Yes, it’s a tough job and the work needs to be done!

Attending this session was the slightly less irritable Rob Absten and the more optimistic “Veep” Alan Gore joined by yours truly on my back patio.

The panel dove right into the session by tasting the Blind Faith IPA. The slightly hazy beer showed some hues of very light specialty malts. The aroma was very pleasantly lemon-grassy, with low malt aroma. The beer was very light and refreshing yet hoppy. It reminded me of a slightly darker version of the recent smash hit in the UK called “Summer Lightning” by Hop Back  Brewing. This beer though, finishes with a nice pleasant biscuity finish. Alan really thought this was all about “refreshing” and could see quaffing this on the boat in full sun. Rob quipped that this is probably the first beer from Magic Hat that he would actually buy for himself! I think this is the best beer I have ever tasted from our magical friends. I want some of this for summer and I hope it will be available in Charleston area.

Next was the Wacko… After a few sighs, we all realized it was duty calling and nothing else. Not one of us likes this beer. In fact, I would rather drink almost anything else including the juice of  fermented herring (surstromming). Okay, it’s not that bad or is it? If you can get past the vegetal and DMS aroma (The beer is made with some beet juice added) you can probably go all the way. The collective feeling on this beer was “Why?” and for a second year in a row nonetheless!

After the Wacko assault, we were “prairie doggin it” on the next one simply called “Wild Ginger Ale”. Okay, so we poured, we smelled and… Smiled? Maybe it was out of relief that it wasn’t anything like Wacko. The beer’s aroma was laced with clove phenolics and surprisingly, very little ginger. The beer is 5.5% abv and pours light gold to blonde. The description tells us that the beer is fermented with a Belgian yeast strain and the spicy phenolic finish jives with that. There is definitely a very spicy ginger note in the finish. We all enjoyed this beer. Rob said “he’d drink that”. It reminded me of some of the saison farmhouse ales I have tasted in Belgian’s Wallonian region and mainly the spicy concoctions brewed up by Brasseries A Vapeur and Fantome. Alan noted the clovey similarities to a Bavarian Weissbier. Be warned, the busy spiciness of this beer could wear thin on the palate only after one or two of these, so I wouldn’t call this one a “Summer Refresher” but bring it the cookout for sure!

So a “job well done” for Magic Hat Brewing this season. I am going to keep my eye out for the Blind Faith IPA and I hope the folks at Proud Eagle will have the wherewithal to carry these beers instead of “collecting” craft-beer franchises and “sitting” on them instead selling the beers! (It had to be said…)

Beer Myth: Guinness is good for you
Beer Fact: Almost all medical experts agree that moderate consumption of beer and red wine provide a healthy dose of antioxidants via polyphenols (tannins). Bottle-conditioned beer has the additional benefit of high doses of Vitamin B6 from residual yeast. Dark beer such as Guinness, provide a higher rate of antioxidants to the body, than lighter beer or red wine. The antioxidants found in beer are more readily absorbed (due to smaller molecular size) by the body than those found in wine or even some vegetables! Roasted grain is the source of the antioxidants in beer.

The myth is confirmed, so drink up!!

UPDATE May 25, 2010

An article at BBC makes a stronger case that Guinness is in fact, Good For You!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3266819.stm

(Thanks to Bruce Alan Wilson who sent me the article)

Photo by Anthony Castellano/The Gazette

I wanted to pass on a story that appeared in an online newspaper in Maryland, current home for Charleston’s own Geoff Lively. Geoff is the brewer for Rock Bottom’s Bethesda location and makes some damn good beer; many of them medal winners at national competitions.

Geoff’s brother George remains in the area and is an enthusiastic beer-geek and beer activist. He is one of the main organizers of the Bramwell Oktoberfest. More importantly though, he has been trying to persuade his brother Geoff to come back to WV and set-up shop. So far, Geoff has remained steadfast at The Rock! (I hope Rock Bottom doesn’t ban George from the premises for trying though)

Click —>Here for the full story.

At first glance it would be pretty easy for skeptics and pundits like me to take on US Congress for for wasting its time on such frivolous issues as crafting a resolution proclaiming support of  “American Craft Beer Week”. House Resolution 1297 was introduced by Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey (D) and passed by the congress on May 18th.

The Craft Beer industry should be celebrated by all Americans due to the fact that it lives up to the true ideals of the spirit of entrepreneurship and the rugged individualism wished upon us by our founders. In these trying economic times, the craft beer industry has continued to grow, not only in the US but we have also become the beacon of brewing creativity around the world, with our beers and our creative fervor being  the catalyst for Craft-Beer revolutions in countries like Denmark, Sweden and even Great Britain!

There is real red-meat to this argument as well; the US Craft beer industry generates nearly 7 billion dollars in sales and employs around 100,000 people! Small business like this needs to be encouraged and supported. It’s nice to know that somebody in DC is noticing! Now let’s work on those other bills to lower excise taxes on small breweries!

Craft Beer Week 2010 is taking place RIGHT NOW! Let’s all make sure that our next beer is an American Craft Beer…

Feel free to download the full House Resolution PDF document HERE

Rob Absten "Mashing-in"

For years I have opened the doors at the garage brewery to host other brewers to brew along with me on “Big Brew Day” which takes place on the first Saturday in May. BBD is a home brewing holiday of sorts, celebrating National Home Brewing day as recognized by the U.S. Congress. The American Homebrewers Association encourages and supports all brewers to brew from the same set of published beer recipes on that day (we did not follow).

Unfortunately this year due to circumstances beyond my control, my wife declared the third Saturday in May to serve as “Big Brew Day 2010″; Okay, so we were a little late but will stillgot-er done!

I chose not to brew in lieu of doing a better job hosting and helping other brewers. This year we had three people brewing including two newbies! This was very encouraging to me especially now, since decent beers can actually be purchased here in West Virginia insteadof being home-brewed as before. Brewing is not an easy task, and is certainly not a “money saver” over just buying your beer at the store. It’s truly a labor of love at the “Home Brew” scale.

The other thing that happens on Big Brew Day is the celebration of the pig and bull… Not too long after the first grains were doused with hot water to make the mystical porridge that will render the sweet wort to make beer, hickory smoke was wafting from two smokers full of body parts that had been rubbed with the skill of a Swedish masseuse. Home brewers are usually pretty good in the kitchen as well…

We always start the day with a “Brewer’s Breakfast”. This year is was ramp and egg scramble along with homemade corned-beef hash and fresh ground coffee. For our second round we served veal weisswurst with pretzel bread and hefeweizen to wash it all down. No one brewed on an empty stomach!

The Brewers for BBD 2010:

Alan Gore – Brewed up a batch of Porter (and a smoked Pork-Butt)

Rob Absten- Made a Russian Imperial Stout and a “Small” stout from the second runnings. (And Three-bean venison chili)

Tim Lepley- made an experimental brew we are calling “PorterWeizen”.

Rob Scalise playing it "Slovenian Style"

Paulaner Brewing, one of Munich’s largest brewers has announced the upcoming availability of “Paulaner Wiesn” a blond lager that was only previously available in the Paulaner beer-tent at Munich’s Oktoberfest.

The press release goes on to say “now Germans, and their fellow American beer lovers, can celebrate the 200^th Anniversary of Oktoberfest in true style and flavour. Oktoberfest Wiesn will be available for a limited time and a few weeks earlier in the US, in order to boost sales. Wiesn will only be available from July through October in one-litre cans that are perfect for consumers to bring to a party or to create their own authentic Oktoberfest celebration”.

The name “Wiesn” refers to the nickname of the fairground in Munich where the 200 year old celebration is held annually. It is pronounced “Vee-zin”, not to be confused with the word used for wheat beer, which is Weizen (pronounced Vi-zen). It is short for Theresia wiesn or Theresa’s Meadow.

The 5.8% abv beer will only be available in 1-Liter cans from July to October. I really hope it becomes available in the Charleston area. The can will go a long way to delivering a freshly brewed taste over what we usually get when we delve into bottles of beer that have been shipped across the pond.

You may know that I am a fan of beer in cans, especially craft beer in cans. Modern aluminum cans are a superior container for beer, sparing the beer from light damage. Oxygen evacuation from the can before filling is more efficient than with bottling.

Cans however, do not make good bludgeoning instruments. Bottles have that natural weight and shape along with the “shock and awe” of the glass breaking which all adds up to be a great weapon!

Here is a video of an armed convenience store robbery being thwarted by our beer-bottle wielding hero (methinks a stupid hero…) Fortunately, the “shock and Awe” factor kicked in and the robber fled the scene but not without leaving some lead behind.
 http://video.ap.org/?f=WVCHG&pid=C2tQNFj…