Beer Can Blog

Despite being too busy to blog as often as I should, I have been able to keep up with my goal of trying at least 365 new beers (or this year's versions of seasonals).

May 20th is the 140th day of the year and I have tried 140 different beers. I got behind late in April, but have gotten caught up in May. The most recent ale that I tried was Thomas Creek Pump House Porter, from SC, which was pretty good, it could almost pass for a stout. I have probably a dozen or so bottles stashed in the pantry that I haven't tried yet, so if I don't get out to any brewpubs in the near future, that is OK.

A side goal was trying to visit a different brewpub every month, but I missed going to one in April, so I have 4 so far this year. If we get to travel after Memorial Day, I may get to go to one or two while on the road. Maybe TX, maybe OK, maybe KS. Maybe all.

I will try to get back to posting the individual brands tried for each month.

Later...

I fell a little short in March, but because of the 5 extra carried over from January, I am still up-to-date on my goal of trying 365 new beers this year. 90 days so far (through March 31) and 90 new beers (or this year's version of a previously-tried micro/brewpub seasonal beer).

For March:

Abita Christmas Ale ‘08
Allagash Black
Avery The Czar Stout
Ballantine Burton Ale
Bard’s Tale Dragon’s Gold
Coney Island Human Blockhead
Harpoon Celtic Ale
Kennebunkport Blueberry Wheat Ale
Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
Otter Creek Copper Ale
Shipyard Imperial Porter
Smuttynose Imperial Stout
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale
Smuttynose Robust Porter
Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
Terrapin Monk’s Revenge
Twain’s Heaven for Climate Golden Ale 3/09
Twain’s Honest Lender Brown
Twain’s Mad Happy Pale Ale
Twain’s Temperate Temperance Mild
Twain’s Thirty Days Belgian Black
Twain’s Three Lies Cocoa Stout
Uinta Wildfire Organic Pale Ale
Weyerbacher Heresy Stout
Weyerbacher Olde Heathen Stout
Yazoo Pale Ale

There are another 5 or 6 bottles in the fridge or pantry that I haven't tried yet, plus new brands on the market, when I can find single bottles.

When work permits it, I will try to visit another brewpub, to keep up with my goal of 1 different brewpub visit per month. Other than the one that is about 10 miles from here in Alpharetta, GA (already been there this year), most of the other ones are either in Athens (about 50 miles) or in Atlanta (25 - 30 miles plus traffic time), or Dahlonega (about 50 or so miles). There is a slight chance I might get to Big River in Chattanooga this Saturday after doing some geological photography in NW Ga.

were posted over at my other blog, on March 25. Because of my work schedule, I don't have time, right now to post it here, though I may try sometime soon. So, for the time being, skip on over there for my thoughts on this historic brew.

but to American beer historians/connoisseurs, it is. Here is but one story about Ballantine Burton Ale.

Ballantine Burton represents a unique bit of American beer history. It was produced by the Ballantine Brewing Co. of Newark, NJ and given away to sports celebrities, TV personalities, and other folks of influence as Christmas gifts. That in-and-of itself is not that unusual, but the way Ballantine Burton Ale was handled is unique. By enlarging the second photo, you can see that it was bottled especially for Bruce McGorrill, who was eulogized briefly in this obituary, in this way:

"Bruce McGorrill, 74, who climbed the ladder from announcer at WCSH-TV to chief executive of Maine Broadcasting Systems, March 28 in Portland. The Bowdoin College graduate moonlighted as a public speaker and Down East humorist."

You will also see that this particular batch (one of only two or three) was aged for 14 and 1/2 years. So one can surmise that Mr. McGorrill squirreled away at least a couple of bottles from the presumed case that he received as a gift. From time-to-time, full bottles of Ballantine Burton Ale appear on eBay as collectibles, if the labels are in good condition, they generally go for around $100 or more. Other factors not withstanding, the longer a beer/ale ages at the brewery, the longer it will last, if protected from light and excessive temperature variations.

The condition of the label, aside from influencing its collectible value, it an indicator as to how the ale has been "handled". Excessively faded labels suggest the bottles may have been exposed to too much light - if exposed on a shelf or mantle, perhaps. Light is not good for beer.

My friend Paul found this particular bottle at a recent beer can show in VA and paid $90 and my friend Neal and I each paid $30 for a 1/3 DI (Drinking Interest, to modify an oilfield term). That DI may be modified to 1/4 as Paul's dad (who worked for Ballantine and tried samples of it in the early 1960s) wants to try it, too. So when the four of us can get together, we intend to share this experience. Paul thought about buying a second bottle at the show, but $90 for a second 12 oz bottle of ale seemed a little too rich. This is to perhaps be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, not a habit, as the supply of full bottles is ever shrinking. Ballantine was purchased by Falstaff in 1967 and Burton Ale was never brewed again. For years, other Ballantine products were brewed at the Narragansett Brewery in Cranston, RI, then when that brewery closed, production was shifted to the Falstaff Brewery at Fort Wayne, IN.

More from the first link, a description of the vaunted brew:

..."Ballantine Burton Ale pours to a beautiful, bright, ruby red color with no head and no carbonation. I was amazed how bright this beer poured. When mailed to me they were quite hazy, but I cold stored them, the yeast settled to the bottom of the bottle and poured bright. I was also very careful when I poured to make sure the yeast sediment stayed in the bottle. The nose on this beer shocked me. I was expecting lots of oxidation, but I did not get that. Very pronounced aromas of oak, sherry, and alcohol flooded the nose. This beer matured in oak for 20 years, and is one of the reasons this beer has held up so well. The palate was full on the tongue, with flavors of oak, and a surprising amount of estery fruit flavors of plum and apple, paired with a nice back drop of caramel maltiness. Ballantine Burton Ale finished with more oaky and fruity flavors up front, and ended with a peppery, soothing, warming burn that lit a fire in the belly."...

Years of jalapeños, salsa, and picante sauce may have damaged my taste buds to the point of not being able to pick up all of these flavors. If the bottle survived well, I may just say "Wow".

[On a side note: A few years ago, Neal (aka mytmalt) tried a bottle of Ballantine Brown Stout, from around 1936 and he reported that it survived well. Aside from higher hop content and long aging, higher alcohol contents also help in the preservation process.]

This ain't a football beer, you would treat it more as a sherry or a port, with reverence for the history contained within. If we can scrounge up enough tulip glasses, those are best for this sort of adult beverage, similar to what you would use with Samuel Adams Triple Bock or Utopia. I will be satisfied with having tried it, Paul and Neal will probably flip a coin over who gets to keep the empty bottle and the "loser" will get the bottle cap (both are collectibles, too). We will probably chill it to around 50 to 55 degrees to enjoy its flavors.

So, second to waiting for my grandson to be born, I am awaiting this experience, too.

BTW, Ballantine Ale - now contract-brewed by Miller - is still available in select markets and it is still a decent brew, though having been separated from Newark from 40+ years according to mytmalt.

Some might consign such a treasure to a "tontine" status, wherein the last surviving member of the "three brewsketeers" would enjoy the bottle (if you remember that particular episode of MASH), but I would rather share the experience with appreciative beer connoisseur friends.

This was cross-posted yesterday at geosciblog.

As a part of my low-priority goal of trying an average of one new beer for each day of the year, I an continuing into February.

In February, I tried:

Choc Waving Wheat
5 Seasons (A) Belgian Trippel (2/09)
5 Seasons (A) Cask Belgian Dubbel
5 Seasons (A) Cowbell IPA
5 Seasons (A) Golden Number Ale
5 Seasons (A) Great Pumpkin Ale
5 Seasons (A) Sgt. Schultz Hefeweizen
Fordham Copperhead Ale
Fordham Helles Lager
Full Sail Ltd
Harpoon UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen
Holy Mackerel Imperial Black
Holy Mackerel Strong Lager
Kennebunkport Apricot Wheat
Kennebunkport Pumpkin Wheat
Lagunitas Gnarlywine ‘09
Lagunitas Juden and the Jets Ale
Lagunitas We’re Only in it for the Money Ale
Left Hand Jackman’s Pale Ale
Michelob Hop Hound Amber Ale
Rogue Oaked Santa’s Reserve
Shiner Celebrator 100
Smuttynose IPA
Smuttynose Shoal Pale Ale
Stone et al, Holiday Ale
Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster (GA)
The Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter
Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine

The boldface ones were the complete 12 oz (or 22 oz servings). The rest were samples.

No, I am not talking ice cream. I am talking about the goal of trying 31 different new beers, i.e., ones that I have not tried before.

Or sometimes they might be a different version of a yearly, seasonal beer, e.g., the Red Brick Winter Brew of 2008 was a different style that the previous year. 2007 was a Double Chocolate Porter, while 2008 was a Belgian-style ale. During a couple of years in the 1990s (1996 & 1997, perhaps), I tried at least 365 different beers over the course of the year. In 2008, I tried 220 different beers. It is just a side hobby.

As I have a new job, working from home on the computer, and normal chores, this is just kind of a fun thing. The master list of the beers that I have tried before 2002 is on an old, dead McIntosh SE, but I would guess that I have probably tried about 4,000 American beers since I started collecting beer cans in 1974.

When I try a beer, that doesn't mean I consume the entire thing. I may only try two or three "fingers" of beer in a small glass. [At the Great American Beer Festival, I hear they only give you a 1 ounce sample of each brand. Sometimes it takes a second sip to properly judge a beer, IMHO.]

During January, I tried 36 different American beers:

Allagash Grande Cru
Avery Karma
Bison Organic IPA
Boulevard ’47 Oktoberfest
Dogfishhead 120 Minute IPA
Full Sail Amber
Full Sail Pale Ale
JosephsBrau Winterfest Dark Doppelbock
Kennebunkport Porter
Kennebunkport Wheat
Lemp Lager
Minhas Craft Brewed Light
Old Auburn Ale House Mile High Pale Ale
Old Auburn Ale House The Last Dragon
Old Auburn Ale House Tiger Tail
Old Auburn Ale House Winter Nude
Real Ale Sisyphus Barleywine
Red Brick Winter ‘08
R. J. Rockers Bald Eagle Brown
R. J. Rockers Light Rock
Rogue 15th Paul’s Black Lager
Santa Fe Chicken Killer Barleywine
Saranac India Brown Ale
Saranac Vanilla Stout
Sea Dog Riverdriver Porter
Simpler Times Lager
Simpler Times Pilsener
Southampton Publick House Double White
Southampton Publick House IPA
Stroh’s (Miller)
Terrapin Dos Cocoas Chocolate Porter
Terrapin Oak-Aged Big Hoppy Monster
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale (GA)
Terrapin Sun Ray Wheat
Trinity Red Ale
Victory Donnybrook Stout

The ones in bold were the ones that I consumed the entire 12 oz. glass (properly pouring the beer from the bottle (or can) into a glass, then letting warm a little helps properly release the aromas and flavors), the others were ones that I tried small sample glasses or shared with friends.

Later, I may blog about certain noteworthy beers/ales, when time permits.

[mid-February update - I finished the month of January, having tried 36 new beers/ales. I will "carry over" the extras toward February's goal.

From Youtube user "xskax":



Other types of Tuesday Videos are posted over at geosciblog.

Labels: Beer Commercials, Tuesday Videos

I am looking forward to trying it, soon.

My "drinking buddy" Neal sez he read some favorable reviews on Beer Advocate and here they are. Most reviews are in the "B" range, better than most of the Anheuser Busch reviews. [IMHO, sometimes the Beer Advocate reviewers can be too harsh on anything other than a micro or craft brewer.]

While on the subject of Anheuser Busch, Neal and I decided that Bud Light Lime is a decent "lawn mower" beer, i.e., one to have right after you finish mowing the lawn. Or maybe a good excuse to take a break in the middle of lawn mowing. Having one shouldn't be a problem. Lawn mowing while drunk is not a good idea.

Beers of My Life and Tipsy Texan.

Both are listed in the blogroll at right, and both are informative and entertaining.

So if I don't post here as often as I should, go give them a read (in moderation, of course).

Labels: Beer Blogs, Beer Reviews

from Schlitz (actually contract-brewed by Miller). Schlitz High Gravity V.S.L. (Very Smooth Lager), 8.5% alcohol content.

While visiting a local liquor store, I was checking out some of the 24 oz. cans and I noticed a new brand. It is an attractive black, gold, and silver colored can, emblazoned with the Schlitz Malt Liquor bull motif.

When I opened the can (from the bottom), I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The beer was surprisingly smooth and drinkable and there was no "alcohol taste" that one might expect with a mass-marketed high-gravity lager.

My friend "mytmalt" said that at the Beer Advocate website, the sole reviewer of this brand gave similar reviews.

Labels: Beer Can Collecting, Beer Reviews

may have been noticed by those that visit this blog without visiting my science/political blog.

I explained the reasons in this post a short time back.

Now that I have rejoined the BCCA (Brewery Collectibles Club of America) and rejoined the Rusty Bunch Chapter of the BCCA and newly joined the ABC (Aluminum Bottle Canossieurs), I plan to be blogging more often on the subject of this particular blog. And I may add a guest blogger, if he is interested.

Labels: Collecting, Dumping

When I make any sporadic trips that pass through Athens, Ga., I make it a point to stop at ABC Package Store on the Atlanta highway (west side of town). The primary reason is that they have a selection of single 12 oz. microbrewery bottles. Not everything is represented in the "singles cooler", but I did pick up four new brands this last Saturday when I stopped there.

The first of those four brands that I have tried is Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout. I know it is still a little warm to be enjoying stouts and porters, but as I hadn't had a glass of stout in a few weeks, I gave it a try. After letting it warm to the proper temperature and then letting it breath in a "mixing glass", mistakenly referred to by some as a "pint glass", when 12 fl. oz. fills it to the rim.

I don't have the sense of smell nor the finely-tuned tastebuds to give you a detailed description of this ale, but I have tried enough different beers and ales, over the years, to say that this is a good one.

[I may add a link from BeerAdvocate later.]

Labels: Microbrewery, Stout

"The Beer Hunter". A former newspaper reporter, he used his writing skills combined with a love of fine beers and ales, single malt scotch, and fine foods. Not a bad way to make a living, as a well-respected epicurian raconteur. And he had to endure some teasing about his name.

All About Beer has an article, actually it is Michael's last column. In his memory, there is a message board from those that knew him, those that read about him and sought out "the better" and "the best" of his passions, and those that wished they had met him.

One of the messages is from Ed Chainey, of the fine Anderson Valley Brewing Co., in California (I wish they still sold their ales and beers in Ga. and South Carolina, as they did years ago).

"Michael Jackson has enlivened and educated the palates of millions of fortunate beer drinkers who have read his writings and heard his voice on radio and television.

More than a billion smiles have crossed the lips of thirsty beer hunters around the globe as a direct result of each glorious new beer tasted at Michael Jackson’s suggestion.

I started home brewing at college in 1978. But it was Michael Jackson’s first book that gave me a direction back in 1979 when I wanted to embark on a lasting and enjoyable career. As a result, I have been selling quality beer for the last 24 years.

Michael Jackson wrote me on 17 Sept ‘86, “Do I get credit, or blame, for your occupation?” Well, Michael, yes you do! And for that I will be forever grateful.

Rest in Peace, my fine old friend, eternally quenched by heavenly vintage ales."

Posted by: Ed Chainey, Anderson Valley Brewing Co.- Wednesday, September 05, 2007 at 01:36:32 (EDT)

From Mitch Steele, Stone Brewing Co., of California, also:

"I have 3 things that I'll always remember about Michael Jackson:

1. Shortly after Bill Millar and I had started the San Andreas Brewing Company, we were treated to a visit by Michael Jackson. We served him all our beers, and he seemed somewhat indifferent. We found out later that we blew it by not serving him some of our food to go with the beers!! A lesson learned, for sure. But, as he was leaving, he did pay us some very nice compliments on our beers, especially some of our special releases, like our Stout and Woodruff Ale. His visit was a very special thing for us, and it really made us feel like we had made it in the beer business.

2. The very first beer dinner I ever went to was hosted by Michael Jackson in San Francisco. This event drove the point home to me that good beers were meant to be paired with good food, it was a wonderful event.

3. Later, when I was with Anheuser-Busch, and we were just getting started with the Specialty Brewing Group, and trying to do some craft brewing, Michael Jackson visited the brewery headquarters in St. Louis. I remember him telling AAB III and the rest of us that to really be successful in brewing craft beers, the brewers should be the ones making the decisions on what beers we should be brewing! I could have kissed the man right there! The Senior Managers took his advice to heart....for about a day, after which the marketing juggernaut quickly regained control over what beers we would release to the market.

Michael Jackson's books have been my bibles for beer style information over the years, and I never hesitate to give praise to the man who, in my mind, is the primary source of inspiration for all the brewers of our generation."

Posted by: Mitch Steele, Stone Brewing Company- Saturday, September 01, 2007 at 18:43:21 (EDT)

So, go have a read on this message board. And perhaps enjoy a glass of something good while you read.

I didn't have any Sierra Nevada Bigfoot cold, but I did have a new bottle of Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale (I am curious as to the event that generated this name, it makes a reference to a 20-day suspension). It is a fine, bitter-style of ale, with a copper-hue - well, I just can't do justice to an ale review as Michael could. Here is his first column for All About Beer, in November, 1984.

Cheers, Prosit, and Auf Wiedersehen!

[This is cross-posted at geosciblog.]

Not the same list as the previous post, these are just my humble opinions and are listed in no particular order.

1. Budweiser - Among other things, Anheuser Busch grew to be No. 1 because of savvy marketing and innovations.
2. Miller Lite - Born as Meister Brau Lite (in Chicago), it wasn't the first low calorie beer, but it was the first nationally-distributed one in 1974.
3. Krueger Special Beer and Krueger Pale Ale - The first beer and ale in cans in 1935.
4. Christian Moerlein - the first regionally-marketed modern American beer by an established brewery (Hudepohl, from Cincinnati) that was brewed to the German Reinheitsgebot standards, containing only barley malt, hops, yeast, and water.
5. Anchor Steam - Anchor Brewing Co. was on the verge of closure when Fritz Maytag purchased it and began a decades-long resurgence. Among their offerings are a barleywine (Old Foghorn), a Christmas Ale, a Pale Ale (Anchor Liberty), and other seasonals. Though not of the "microbrewery" classification, Anchor products are well-produced craft beers and ales.
6. Coors Banquet Beer - the first fad beer which people would actually smuggle from the Western U.S. to the East, in large quantities. The Coors family was wise enough not to go into debt to continually add capacity to their Golden, CO brewery, during their fad growth period.
7. Ballantine India Pale Ale - this was the first hoppy American-brewed ale for most people of our age group.
8. Yuengling Porter - the lone, East Coast holdout of this dark ale style(I don't think Stegmaier Porter was brewed continually, but I could be wrong), by the oldest brewery in the United States. Other breweries had porters in the past or on draft, but most surviving breweries had dropped this style in bottles.
9. Samuel Adams Lager - Helped make craft brews more of a mainstream concept. Introduced people to a wide variety of beers.
10. Pabst Export Lager/Pabst Blue Ribbon - the first canned beer by a national brewer, in 1935. Pabst Brewing Co. was afraid to jeopardize their Blue Ribbon label as cans were still new, so they changed the name to Pabst Export Lager, until sales took off.
11. New Albion Ale - Among the first offerings of the first microbrewery in 1976.
12. Billy Beer - No, don't hate me for this one. The concept was not new, but naming and marketing a beer based on the President's brother was new. Blame it on the Falls City Brewing Co. of Louisville, KY and the collectors' headaches that followed on the MSM.

Any others to add?

From the Appellation Beer Blog post, here is the list with my own brief comments. In my own useage, "microbreweries" are among those small breweries (some of them not so small anymore) that were started after the first one, New Albion Brewing Co. of Sonoma, CA opened its doors in 1978.

You need to go to the source for the original "flavor" of the post. Comments in italics are from the original post.

Submitted for your consideration, here 'tis the list:

1. Anchor Steam - This is not a true "microbrewery" beer, as the brewery had been in business since 1865, but represents the preservation of an indigenous American style. The other Anchor brands were the first introduction to many Americans of holiday beers, barley wines, American Pale Ale, American wheat beer, American porter, and more.

2. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - This hoppy pale ale became a worldwide standard for its style, an American Pale Ale.

3. Samuel Adams Boston Lager - Some purists may quibble with this choice, as it began as a contract brew and in some locales, the Boston Brewing Co. brands are still being brewed at older, established breweries. Samuel Adams brands also introduced Americans to a wide array of ale and lager styles.

4. Fat Tire - New Belgium Brewing Co. - I haven't had this one is a few years, so I defer to the original post.

5. New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red - The words of the original post - "It seems unlikely there will be a pivotal moment for American beer like the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” was for wine. But Belgian Red besting beers brewed in Belgium in the 1996 Brewing Industry International Awards was a pretty big deal."

6. Pliny the Elder - "The first Double IPA, and now Double/Imperial IPA is an official style."

7. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - "A rarity in 1995, but if BusinessWeek is right then barrel-aged beers have reached the tipping point."

8. Dogfish Head World Wide Stout and Samuel Adams Utopias - These are examples of "extreme beers", of which Samuel Adams Triple Bock was the first in 1994. From the original post (first referring to Samuel Adams): ..."continued to brew stronger versions, but in 1999 Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head made a stronger beer. He held the record a few weeks before Sam Adams introduced Millennium (for the upcoming millennium). That morphed into Utopias, now stronger than 25% abv. The back-and-forth focused mainstream attention on the concept of Extreme Beers."

9. Cuvee de Tomme - "Michael Jackson’s review (the beer expert) in 2000 understates the influence this beer continues to exert." (Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea what this brand is about)

10. Dale’s Pale Ale - This very hoppy pale ale won (in a can) a blind tasting conducted by the New York Times.

Of these, I have had #1-4 and #10. As I don't get to travel as much as I used to, I haven't encountered some of these.