Clever new beer tool for NYC

Normally I’d bemoan the fact that this new site has no coverage of SF, but BeerMenus already has so much hype going for it that I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they make it out here.

It’s a Google Maps mash-up that allows you to search within NYC for:

• A listing of bars that carry a particular beer
• A list of beers currently being carried by a particular bar
• A list of bars in a particular neighborhood
• A list of upcoming beer events

I was a bit skeptical about this new tool at first because wouldn’t it just be better as an application within the BeerAdvocate site?  Then it could be linked in to their established network, and all of their ratings.  The best example of the redundancy this creates is the Beer Events portion of the Beer Menus site, which is completely redundant to BeerAdvocate’s beer calendar, which has the added functionality of allowing you to RSVP to an event to let your BeerAdvocate friends know you’re coming.

However, I was quickly won over by a few features:

• The mapping functionality is key.  While BeerAdvocate lets you narrow your search by zip code or city, etc., there is no map mash-up, which means that when I’m traveling and want to find a good beer bar I can look up likely candidates on Beer Advocate but have to switch back and forth between their site and Google Maps to figure out which will be easiest for me to get to.
• They have price information.  I’m not sure you can get this information anywhere else, including at many of bars home pages.  While I’m sure a lot of bar owners (especially those in higher end places who charge extra to cover their fixed costs of high-rent locations and a snazzily designed sites) are cringing, this is obviously a great benefit to consumers.  Now we’re armed with information about what beers cost at different places and can decide for ourselves whether a higher priced bar is worth the premium.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this also helps out the brewers and/or distributors.  If they can see what retailers are charging and that the market might bear a higher price than they expected, they might be able to charge a little bit more themselves.  So, all around bad news for bar owners, I guess, unless all this extra information in the hands of consumers means more patrons.
• I prefer the Beer Menus style and layout to Beer Advocate.  This may change as BeerMenus grows and necessarily becomes more complex, but right now it has a very clean user-friendly layout.  BeerAdvocate seems a more cluttered to me, probably due to the side bars, ads, and black background for all but the center pane. 

So, I’ll definitely still use BeerAdvocate for its massive database of beer reviews and probably for beer events as well.  I don’t think Beer Menu’s maps offers much of an advantage over BA’s beer calendar. 

However, this might spell the beginning of the end of BA’s Beer Fly and Beer Menus for me.  I’ll use both for now since each provides something the other doesn’t (BA has reviews, BM has maps, prices, and lists of beers on tap now).  But, if either one can integrate the features of the other, I’ll commit to that one. 

Weed beer not so legal after all…

I’m not generally ‘a fan’ of Fox News (possibly the biggest understatement of the year), but I saw this article and thought it was pretty funny.

I thought it was going to be about Humboldt Brewing Company’s Hemp Ale, but nope!  It’s about Mount Shasta Brewing Company, based in Weed, CA, and their decision to print “Try Legal Weed” on their caps. 

Apparently this is illegal for not for the drug reference per se, but for consumer protection reasons: we might all be misled about the “characteristics” of the beer.  Really???  Doesn’t the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau have better things to do?

At least it sounds like the writers of the article had some fun with it.  My first favorite quote:

Once, Dillmann said, his wife, a former teacher, was delayed on a field trip to San Francisco as tourists clamored to pose next to the school bus, which said “Weed High.”

My second favorite quote:

And he can’t understand how his label has run afoul of federal alcohol regulators who must surely be aware of one of the most famous advertising slogans in American marketing: “This Bud’s for you.”

Score one point for Dillman!  But did the Feds not notice his other beer is called the Shastafarian Porter?  Let’s just hope he doesn’t have a brewpub called ‘The Joint’, then they’ll really be after him. 

Deschutes to open Portland pub!

I am so excited about this!  I love Deschutes‘ beer and couldn’t be happier to see them expanding. 

You can take a virtual tour of their new facilities, read this article about the new brewery from John Foyston of the Oregonian, and/or attend their Pre-Opening Extravaganza on Saturday, April 26, from 7:00pm - 10:00pm.  Note that tickets are $50 and benefit Oregon Trout. 

John’s write-up contains a lot of pictures and a wealth of information, so I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a sneak peak at the new brewhouse.  My favorite parts of the new place:

• The wood carvings over the “dining cubes,” as they call them.  These are totally unique pieces, give the restaurant a regional northwest flavor, and are rough hewn so that they anchor the restaurant with a cozy, down to earth feeling.
• The bar made from a single piece of wood salvaged from a building torn down for a condo tower.  It’s a good symbol and reminder of where Portland is headed, and about mindful expansion.  The building housing the Deschutes Brewery is a historic building that Deschutes saved and renovated. 

 

Tasting The Grains of Wrath

 

It’s ready!  We’ve been drinking the homebrewed Grains of Wrath IPA all week, and it’s not bad!  Well, this is actually a matter of debate.  The first time I tasted it, I thought, “Yeah, it’s beer, but it’s bad beer and if I tasted this elsewhere I wouldn’t have another.” 

The most obvious problem was the color, it was way darker than it ought to have beer.  An IPA ought to be light amber to light copper in color.  There was nothing light about this beer, it was a dark amber to light brown color. 

The second problem was the bitterness.  It definitely had a sharp bitter kick that was somewhat harshly astringent rather than fragrant citrusy, resiny, or flowery, as it ought to have been.   

The good news is that despite both of these faults, it is still definitely drinkable.  My roommate has even gone through a couple of bottles this past week.  I was nervous that I’d never be able to pass off 5 gallons of beer (even if it were really good beer) on my friends, but I’m almost out already and it’s only been a week. 

Plus, the good news is that I think I know what I did, or at least two of the things I did, that contributed to both of the problems above.  So, this means I can fix these the next time around.

1) I squeezed the grain bag.  I steeped my specialty grains in my brewing water before I added my malt syrup.  I know that lots of sugars cling to the grains and the inside of the bag, and it’s important to get as many of those sugars into the wort as you can.  So as I pulled the waterlogged grain bain out of the wort, I squeezed the bag to return as much of that sugary water to the wort as I could.  The problem is, this releases a lot of tannins from the grain husks, giving a bitter astringent flavor to the beer.  I don’t know for sure, but I suspect this also added some darker color to the beer.

2) I boiled the wort too long.  My directions said that if my wort foamed as I boiled it that I should remove it from heat, let it calm down, stir it to let the foam dissipate, and then return it to the heat.  The directions said to repeat this cycle as necessary until the beer no longer foamed when reaching boiling, and to then start my 60 minute boil.  This meant my beer had already been boiled and reheated several times before I started my official boil.  This darkens a beer, kills some of the hop acids that give a beer the good hop flavors, and draws astringent flavors out of the hops.  I have new directions from Brewcraft that don’t even mention foam, so hopefully this won’t be an issue next time around. 

However, despite my reservations about the beer itself, I am unconditionally excited about the new labels Danthony designed!  They are gorgeous and they make the beers look so professional.  Thanks so much for all the hard work, Danthony!

 

New Toronado location (!!!) in San Deigo

I don’t know how I’ve missed this for so long, apparently it’s been in the works for over a year but Toronado is opening a location in San Diego! 

I found out while reading my Russian River Brewing Company newsletter that was announcing Vinnie’s award at the CBC (see previous post).  Of course, as usual, there’s no news of this at the Toronado homepage.  I know the word of mouth about Toronado and its events is so strong that they probably feel like they don’t really need to post things on their website, and maybe even actively avoid it to weed out the tagalongs from the true devotees, but I wish I could corroborate stuff like this at the source.  As it is, here is what I have to offer you:

• Old BeerAdvocate post from a patron who said he heard it from a Toronado bartender back in late 2006
• A San Diego Union-Tribune article about San Diego beer bars saying that it would open by the end of 2007
• The RRBC Newsletter from today reporting that they had a pre-opening private reception today and that they will open within a month at 4206 30th Street, near University Avenue.

So, it’s definitely opening, and soon too.  The timing couldn’t be better since I’m just starting to plan the San Diego beer tour I’m going to take in July while down there for the company retreat.  i had been planning to hit up breweries, but now I can add a beer bar to the list.