Change you can believe in

I am proud to announce  that, by unanimous decision, I am the undisputed champeen President of the Upstate New York Homebrewer’s Association for 2010 *cue Rocky music*.

I have a couple of cool things I would like to have the club do  in the coming year, or at least get the ball rolling towards having said things occur in the future.  It will be a fun time for all (no matter how crazy Tony thinks I am for doing this), and I am looking forward to getting right into the fray.  I don’t want to get too far into my plans or ideas here,  as this particular site is not entirely the proper forum for such things.  Just know that I have some good stuff rolling around in the large void between my ears.  As things get in the planning stages and whatnot, I will be sure to update, but for now it is neither the time, nor the place.

OK, so now that that is out of the way, do we all remember these guys?  This week marked another of their forays into beer journalism.  As many of you can tell by the lack of vitriol,  though, this article did not pertain to homebrewing.  Rather, this week’s article dealt with beer festivals.  To be completely honest, I really have no major issues with the article this week.

Actually, I will take that back.  I DO have an issue with the article this week.  Not with the content itself, but rather what it is lacking: that English Bitter recipe.

Let’s face it, we’ve  been hoodwinked.  They promised to not only guide us through the homebrewing process, but also the equipment and ingredient requirements necessary to brew an English Bitter.  So, what gives, Adam and Bryan?  I can only assume that one of two things happened:

1. They were limited to three articles on the homebrewing process, and were too verbose in the first two articles to complete the series and give the reading public what was promised.
2. They read blogs like mine, or have received many outraged emails detailing the failings of their tutorial and simply threw their hands to the sky in exasperation and futility.

OK, my arguments this week are very feeble.  Like I said, I really have no issue with their recommendations for how to enjoy a beer festival.  The only point I would probably broach is that they did not mention is the idea of doing a beer review based off of a festival pour.  My thoughts are quite simply, don’t do it.

Look, generally, if you are going to review a beer, you have a 12oz “sample” in front of you.  It is very difficult to adequately review a beer based off of a 2oz pour.  With a full 12 ounces, you can more fully experience the beer as it warms from serving temperature until the entire beer is gone.  As the beer warms, you will experience changes in aroma and flavor that are simply not present in a 2oz  pour that is very easily “shot” so your glass is empty for the next sample.  If you want to review beer that you drink at a festival, go about it this way:

• find the brewery that has piqued your interest and ask if they have any new releases or “festival only” beers on tap
• if it is a new release, ask if it has hit store shelves yet, and request this as your sample.  If you dig the sample, make a note of it and purchase a more suitable reviewing sized bottle at your local beer or grocery store.
• if there is a “festival only” beer, request that as your sample, and if the line behind you permits, request another sample when the first is finished. If you feel the need to revisit the beer later, head back to that booth and get a third sample.  It still won’t be a full serving size (12oz), but you will have a much better feel for the beer after a couple of samples than if you base everything on a 2oz  “shooter”.
• Don’t be “THAT GUY” that stands in the middle of everything plugging your review into Beer Advocate on your iPhone.  If you insist on writing notes down on festival-only brews, wait until you get home to upload them onto your computer.
• Realize that very often breweries will not send THE brewer to a beer festival.  While there are exceptions to this, it is very often a brewery rep or an intern that is at the taps.  And technically, in NY, brewery reps and employees are not allowed to actually pour the beer.  This is why you see so many people walking around in “Volunteer” shirts.  Stupid Draconian alcohol laws.
• Brewers are not impressed when beer geeks ask how many IBUs are in a particular beer, or when you (the all-knowing beer geek and self-righteous homebrewer) suggest that they use a different variety of hops.  And again, most often it is not the brewer behind the counter but a rep or an intern that will look at you like the RCA dog as you spout off technical data that makes no sense to the beer you are talking about….the only thing more sad than a sad midget clown is a drunk beer snob that thinks they know how a professional brewer should do their job.

That’s about all I have on this one. Like I said, it was pretty much a cut-and-dry article this week.  I would actually like to take a moment to display a rare moment of humble-ocity (yeah, it is a word, I just wrote it on the internet so it has to be true!!!!) and say that I harbor no ill feelings towards the Keg Lines guys.  Hey, anyone that is willing to write about beer in a newspaper and try to advocate for its movement away from the “unsophisticated man’s” drink deserves at least 1 thumb up in my book.  So they got some stuff wrong, it really isn’t the end of the world.

As the new President of UNYHA, I am sure that I will be having some correspondence with Adam and Bryan at some point.  Heck, I will even step right out and offer for them to join us at a club meeting if they are not already members of the club  (2nd Weds of every month at 7:30, Merchants St. Bar and Grill 2nd floor).

Yep, that’s it.  I’ve got nothing more.  I plan to brew this Sunday for Father’s Day (…oh yeah.  Hey Stacie, I am brewing on Father’s Day. Thanks,  love you!).  I am not completely decided on what I will be brewing.  I really want that IPA to get brewed, but I also owe a batch of Hippy Bro Nut Brown Ale to a friend.  Perhaps I will get to pull two batches out in one day.

Stay tuned for the fun-filled description of events yet to transpire.

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