This weekend is the AHA annual Teach a Friend to Brew day. I'll be participating again this year with a brew session at American Brewmaster in Raleigh. Some of the CARBOY folks are expected to drop by and it ought to be a great opportunity to meet fellow brewers and pickup some interesting tricks from the various brew systems.

For those of you who aren't homebrewing it's a chance to find out more. Besides the Raleigh event I know that they will have events in Flagstaff and Mesa for my Arizona friends. If you live somewhere else and would like to participate you can find a location here.

So check it out, the homebrew horror story below notwithstanding it's a fun hobby that can teach you have to make something and introduce you to a community of interesting people.

First time trying the Fermentation Friday but I hope to make it more regularly.

My tale of homebrew horror is a rather simple one, I tell it working at homebrew shops often. But in it conveys the most important rule of working with another person while homebrewing.

It was about 14-15 years ago and we were in my friend Brian's apartment brewing our first Hefeweizen. We had both visited Germany in the past and loved the beer, but in those days finding a good Hefeweizen was a tough challenge in Flagstaff.

So we decided to brew our own. We found a local store selling us our ingredients and equipment. We had two cans of German Wheat malt extract but no grain, because it was still another year at least until Flagstaff had a proper homebrew supply shop.

All went well until I noticed the pot wasn't boiling enough so I turned up the heat. I turned back to my beer and homebrewing information which I was probably rereading for the sixth time at this point, to be sure I didn't miss some vital point.

Meanwhile Brian noticed that the pot wasn't boiling enough so he decided to put on the lid.

Two minutes later a shout and the stove-oven was covered in a thick pool of sweet malt extract and we learned the first rule of homebrewing.

If sanitation is the first rule of homebrewing, then communication is the key to group brewing.

It's a rule I need subtle reminder of from time to time, even this weekend in fact. I was doing a public homebrewing demonstration with another person. We hit strike temperature on our steeping grains and I shut off the burner. A few minutes later I looked up to see my coworker trying to turn on the burner I had intentionally shut off. I remembered the rule.

As an afternote even for our best efforts to mess the beer up, the Hefeweizen was great and a great hobby was found, one that continues today.

When I wrote my post on the Triangle and Beyond the idea was that it would help get me ahead of the curve so beer events wouldn't sneak up on me. This post shows I'll need to work harder on that idea.

Tonight at Dockside in Wilmington a free Flying Dog tasting from 4-6pm.

Also Brian Yaeger Author of Red, White & Brew: An American Beer Odyssey will be at Tyler's Taproom Wednesday October 20th at 6pm. Also it's Pint Night in Durham so they will have Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout.

I won't be driving down to Wilmington tonight, but I may be able to arrange my schedule to see Brian and sample the Black Chocolate Stout.

I was disappointed as I watched Iron Chef America tackle beer.

Both Alton Brown and Kevin Brauch misidentified beers, now I can accept Alton is a chef by training and not the biggest beergeek. But that the 'Thirsty Traveler' couldn't identify beers being used or where a style of beer originated was deeply disappointing.

Garret Oliver was on the episode as a judge, but he was the least shown panelist during the tasting portion which was a shame since he knew the most of beer food pairing.

It seemed that neither chef was particularly skilled in making food and beer pairings. Frankly I would have been far more interested in seeing what a Bruce Paton or Sean Paxton would have done in the situation.

The beer was more used as accent than main ingredient. Where was a decent beer soup? I can think of one with cheese immediately and I have a great one with sausage and cabbage I have had from Southwest Brewing News for years. Why not a nice beer sorbet?

In the end I didn't see the program doing a disservice to craft beer, but not any favors. They could have easily stayed with nothing but American brews and had far more interesting choices than the ones they presented. If I had picked the line up of beers here would have been my list

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - I haven't had it, but it was probably the most interesting beer they offered.

Ivanhoe Pale Ale - A good representation of the style from the sounds of it, but never had it, but a decent pale ought to be on the list, let's keep it. Sierra Nevada would have been an interesting choice, but I won't begrudge their choice.

Ommegang Hennepin - When I met Bruce Paton at The Trappist Belgian beer bar I asked him what is the most interesting beer style to cook with? After much thought he said (paraphrased) probably Saison because of it's unique flavor characteristics. So any beer cooking competition should have a Saison, Ommegang makes a fine one that is widely available.

A Lambic - The fruit character and sourness would be great for the chefs to play with, while Russian River brewery immediately comes to mind in the space but I really wouldn't mind whose was used.

Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen - Yes Shiner makes one and it's decent, but Dan Gordon is German trained and he shows what the style truly is like, it's a far more interesting beer.

I also would have liked a nice Hop Bomb like Hop 15 or say Stone's Ruination to highlight it's character, but I tried to stay within the 5 beer inventory like the show did.

In the end no the show was no disservice to craft beer, but not really any favors. So what beers would you have picked for Iron Chef America to explore?

After thought -Why Not Watermelon Wheat beer as a possible choice too?

This is a new, hopefully regular post on the beer world in the Raleigh-Durham area and beyond. Since I am digging into the new beer scene and learning about the events, people, and beers in the area I figure it's a way to share the knowledge. It will be hopefully a one stop post of the latest beer news and events. If you are a reader let me know what you think about the new segment or if you have something to dish about leave a comment or email me at geistbear[at]gmail[dot]com.

In the News
Boyton Bridge Brewery hires brewer Mark Fesche. Little details on where he brewed before, but I'll work on finding out more about Mark.

Stone coming soon to Florida. A friend in Florida was looking for Stone beer, so I asked for him. What I discovered is that by Thanksgiving you should be able to find your favorite Stone brews in the Sunshine state. No word to when exactly the release date is yet, but I am sure they will post details here.

Upcoming Events
Big Boss Celebrates Boss Day
Horniblows Tavern, Big Boss Brewery
Tonight, October 16th - 5pm
Link
For their Boss’ day party, Big Boss will be pulling some of their seasonal & specialty ales from the cellar. The beers will include Belle Wringer Double Wit, Coffee Stout (07), and Wooden Penny.

Lighthouse International Beer Festival
Hugh MacRae Park, Wilmington NC
October 18th
Link

Red Rocks Cafe Stone Dinner
Red Rocks Cafe at Birkdale Village
8712 Lindholm Drive, Huntersville, NC
October 22nd - 7pm
Link

Pig Stein Fest '08
October 25th - Noon to 8pm
Link
BBQ, Beer and the Outer Banks

Oktoberfest Wake Forest
Festival Park in Wake Forest
October 25th - Noon-7pm
Link
Homebrew demonstration provided by me in association with American Brewmaster. And since it's Oktoberfest of course there will be beer.

Stone Tasting at Flying Saucer
Flying Saucer Raleigh
October 30th - 7pm-Close
Link
They will have 2006 Double Bastard Ale so get there early, I suspect it won't last all night.

'Teach a Friend to Brew' Day
November 1st
American Brewmaster and CARBOY
Details To Be Announced

Skirmish in the Triad
November 1st
Link
Battleground Brewers homebrew contest

I didn't make the GABF this last week and that is where the most interesting things in beer were happening. So I like most beergeeks I spent some time watching online. For the five people who don't know the GABF is the Great American Beer Festival. It is an event to celebrate craft beer hosted by the Brewers Association. This is the 27th year of the festival with 2052 beers from 432 breweries (thanks William for the numbers). The GABF is held in October each year in Denver, Colorado. Perhaps next year I'll get to join in the fun.

As someone at home watching the web as the festival unfold it seemed that Twitter and the new technologies brought the festival to us more than year's past. The Brewing Network once again did a fine job of live broadcasts, but twitpixs, small handheld cameras, and blogs gave us a more personal feel of the festival.

Twitter while sweeping the web of late also was sweeping the GABF. I was constantly seeing updates from various attendees at the festival. You knew who was at the Flying Dog booth or heard about a great beer that someone was pouring.

I think the difference this year was Web 2.0 started to impact GABF and by extension craft beer. Ultimately, it is the perfect marketing tool for craft brewers looking for a way to connect with beer drinkers. Two reasons it's low cost and when someone subscribes to Flying Dog's twitter stream it's because they are really interested in what the brewery is doing.

But just like craft beer it has to be done right. It can't be done in marketing speak, but in a real voice when it works it shows, also when it doesn't work. Web folk, especially those who have been following the Cluetrain ideas, have always looked for real world examples to show the market. I think that craft brewing may provide the first regular case studies of it's implementation as an industry.

They make a quality specialized product that makes an emotional connection with it's customer base. You have to love the product to get involved, you might subscribe to a feed because someone is going to give away a free trip, but you stay if they offering a compelling story that you are interested in hearing.

A prime example is the Tour de Fat by New Belgium. It became a tradition in Flagstaff not just because of the beer, but because of the fun people had with the beer. The bike rides, the crazy festival spirit, it all came together. As Hugh MacLeod would say it's a social object.

The more I think about this today, the more clear it is to me, that the latest web technologies are the future of craft beer's success. Not in the bits, but in the stories those bits will carry. The InBev-AB deal may have some folks worried, but as I watched the GABF this year I realized the future is bright.

Cheers!

Not really the festival but they have a quick guide to the beers of Oktoberfest, I can attest to the Dogtoberfest goodness. Worth the listen.

Saturday I got to experience my first World Beer Festival and I'll surely be going back. Not just that it's my nearest festival, but also how well the event was ran. It had a good representation of regional and World market beers and a few unique offerings as well.

This is obviously a popular festival, so much so that the tickets had quickly sold out online and when I went to find tickets I had to drive to Foothills Brewery out in Winston-Salem to find mine. Sidenote: It was a great brewpub so that I had to go visit was not a bad thing at all, I intend to go back at my soonest opportunity.

The popularity was also clear as when we arrived shortly before the opening time we had about a 2 and half block line to the entrance. Those behind us went back for another block from the looks of it. But once the doors opened we moved at a surprisingly brisk pace towards the front door, I'd say only 10-15 minutes from once the line first moved until we were in the front door.

The first thing stood out was the white 3x3 plastic floor tiles that covered the outfield. They were obviously there to protect the new ballfield's turf, it felt a bit odd to walk on, but you got used to it.

There were three tents that held the various brews and then some food and other vendors along the back wall. There was no particular order to where the various breweries were, but the organizers did have a handy booklet grouped with both alphabetical and tents order based guides so you could quickly and easily find a specific brewery.

We started with a few random stops with solid beers, but nothing distinct of note until we got to Dogfish Head and I saw the famed Randall. The Randall held a spicy mix with peppers, coffee, and chocolate. It seems to be becoming a more popular option for beers, I tasted the Founder's Breakfast Stout through a Randall Thursday night at Flying Saucer and while they do have their problems, especially in pouring them effectively, it does present a new way for beer lovers to enjoy their favorite beers.

It was just after that I noticed David of Musings Over A Pint over by Flying Dog's booth. It was great to meet him in person. He also introduced me to Stephanie with Flying Dog. She seemed to be in for a busy week between this event and going to the Great American Beer Festival. I got to try the Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter and it was deliciously complex. I'll have to pickup some soon. Stephanie mentioned that the barrel version would be available soon and hopefully some of it will find it's way here, I'd love to see how that pumps up the beer's character.

Then I started to wander a bit and had Kuhnhenn Brewing Companies' Braggot which was every bit of smooth and sweet you would expect from such a mead-beer crossing. I also had a taste of the Fourth Dementia Olde Ale which was excellent as well, while I have never heard of them before yesterday I would keep an eye out for them, they had some wonderful brews.

Besides Kuhnhenn, Arcadia's Hopmouth Double IPA was also outstanding. They are from Michigan so is Bells, so while it's not thought of as a Beer Mecca perhaps there is more to the Michigan beer scene than meets the eye. Worth checking out further for sure.

Another surprise was New Belgium's attendance at the festival considering that Fat Tire and their other brews are not available in North Carolina yet. I had heard next Spring they would be making their arrival, though the festival volunteers seemed to think sometime in the next 90 days so I'll have to do some research to find out what the answer is exactly.

Of course the Big Boss crew was in attendance, I only briefly said hello as they were being swamped with people every time I tried to visit. They were a definite hit at the festival but then they had the Pumpkin ale and Blackberry ale in addition to the regular offerings I can't say I am surprised.

For all the discussion of AB's ownership of Old Dominion Brewing it seems they are not getting in their brewers way. Two of the more interested offerings I had that day were special beers the brewers had been playing with, so there is still a lot of interesting work going on there.

The festival finished with me running into Jay Brooks and Lew Bryson. It was great to see Jay again, he has been quite busy of late, but check his website I think he'll have some great stories to share shortly. Lew was quite a jovial sort and it was a pleasure to meet him.

If there is any sour note, I heard from a number of distributors both in the days leading to the event and at it that there are some folk stealing equipment at festivals, be it signs, ice tubs, and even keg boxes. Not just at this festival either it seems to be a problem throughout the region. Ultimately I can see this hurting everyone involved. So if you are attending a festival and see something that doesn't look right, find a festival staffer and let them know so they can do something about it.

Overall it was one of the better run festivals I have attended. The crowds were managed as well as one can expect. The variety of beers was great, it might be nice to see a couple of beers from Asia, Africa and Australia based on this festival's name, but any event with over 100 breweries isn't an easy job to organize. All About Beer is doing a great job of getting the word out on craft beer to it's community.