Wall Street Journal had an article on Miller's Brew Blog which isn't bad but then I wrote about it 2 years ago when it was getting started. I don't link to the site, but I have kept it on my RSS feed list and actively read the posts.

I think most of my points from my original review still apply though the site still doesn't have a blogroll, doesn't seem to be reading other blogs, and all too often covers things that aren't beer related. Mr. Schuhmacher of Beer Business Daily may not be a fan of the Brew Blog, but he ought to be as his publication is regularly referred as the source for much of the site's material.

In my original post I encouraged Mr. Arndorfer to use his platform like Scoble had at Microsoft to give the company a human face. Sadly this is still probably the biggest missed opportunity of the last two years. He could have done interviews with the brewers, quality control, and many other areas of the company given his access, but they haven't materialized. I don't know if Mr. Arndorfer hasn't thought to explore the topic or just company politics preventing it.

The interesting thing is the contrast of styles while Miller pays for the Brew Blog to operate, Anheuser-Busch has been actively talking and interacting with bloggers and podcasters at events, admittedly inviting and covering costs for many of these people. It will be curious to see over the next few years to see which method will be more productive.

Postscript - I just realized I learned more out of the one Wall Street Journal article about Mr. Arndorfer than in two years of reading his writing.

Friends and family have been sending me links to Beer Menus. It is a great mashup of beer and google maps technology. The only shame at this point is that it is limited to only New York City. But you have to start somewhere and for all the bars it's a great place to focus the idea, work out the bugs, then move to a larger scale. I suspect keeping the lists current as they scale will be the issue. There is a lot of data and updates necessary. In time I could see bars keeping a RSS list of beers that auto-updates their personal listing and while the technology exists I suspect it's still a few years from becoming common place. It's a site worth watching as a beer geek to see how it progresses, it certainly will be a handy tool in urban areas.

I'll take Charlie Papazian's opinion over his when it comes to the question of if beer is fattening. Like anything moderation is the key.

Oh yeah, Charlie is now blogging too, very cool news.

Bloggers have been talking about ethics for a while. It's nothing new really. That said beer bloggers have recently jumped into the fray and examined their position. Considering the recent talk among beer bloggers about the future of writing, a natural fact after the most influential writer passing it's not unsurprising to me. We have had time to mourn and now we are trying to figure out what's next and where do we go?

Beer writing is something I am interested in but I understand the reality clearly. The chances I'll ever actually be employed by this habit are slim at best. Travel is not cheap and we all have to pay the bills. If breweries offer to ship you beer or send you on a junket how do we approach it?

I look back to my Congressional experience and while I drooled over the trips I saw some coworkers get to make, mostly they were very work relevant and provided greater insight to their daily work. You can't understand the banking industry without going and experiencing Wall Street. You can't understand the military fully without seeing the equipment, training, and operations in person. You really don't want someone working on foriegn affairs issues unless they can understand the culture and people from another land and maybe used their passport occasionally. You couldn't understand policy locked in the beltway and likewise with brewing you can't sequester yourself.

Now yes obviously abuses can and will occur it can't be helped. But people who commit such abuses in time will be uncovered by their own admission or just their reputation catching up with them. It happens all the time.

Disclosure is my plain and simple answer. Ray Daniels had it right. As for the Bud hop trip I have heard people talking about them the last year or the current 'Here's to Beer' Exhibit, as long as people tell me Anheuser-Busch sent them on this great trip covered my travel, board, and expenses I am good. Declaration and honesty is the key. The reader is smart enough to figure out if you were biased by the experience. Furthermore as a beer writers I think we'd be remiss if we didn't take advantage of such a trip to see the origins of beer or some events. The more we get to see of the process the better we understand the final product.

PR and marketing, yes perhaps but with proper disclosure people can balance it out. Jeff Jarvis shows us a great example, if not a bit excessive on disclosure but I prefer too much rather than too little information.

Beer writing flows from a passion for the topic and writing without it would ring false. Honesty and perspective will show our love for the topic and let the truth of our voices shine through.

So I had some great beer down in Phoenix. Not a trip I had planned on making but I suppose it worked out well for all the good beer I found, tasted at Wingin It, and other good times. Blog about it soon.

I noticed and have been pondering the last few weeks, why Arizona doesn't have any breweries on the Top 50 list. It's not a lack of quality beer for sure. Oak Creek, Prescott, Four Peaks, and others all are brewing high quality ales and deserve recognition. But that Top 50 list is size oriented, so what will it take for Arizona's great breweries to get on the list?

Water. Arizona is a VERY dry state, even up here in the mountains so I think this is a major issue for any brewery considering growth. Towns like Flagstaff, Sedona, and Prescott while we can support a brewpub or small production brewery without enough water I doubt we can provided sufficient water supply a brewery on that list. The metro areas like Phoenix and Tucson on the other hand because they have a more reliable and larger water network to tap into may be the only places that a Top 50 brewery could be established.

So that said which breweries could develop out to that size? Four Peaks and Nimbus seem the only two obvious candidates. They are already bottling in the urban areas. They have strong brands with good quality. I have seen their beers in Cost Plus World Market packs, which while may be based regional is a good way to develop a reputation in larger markets.

However if Oak Creek, Prescott, or maybe even Beaver Street decided to open a production brewery in some place with more water or perhaps set up a contract brewing for their beers they have the quality and GABF reputation to make a play for the big time.

I don't see Arizona making the big time soon, but when we do they brewery will have certainly earned the title.

"That's Right Cans!" - Shaun O'Sullivan, 21st Amendment

This isn't news to any beer geek, cans have been on the upswing the last few years with Oskar Blues, 21st Amendment, and Mudshark all putting their brew into them. That said with the environmental factors and shipping costs cans are making other breweries take a second look at canning. Modern techniques have made it so you don't have to fear a 'tinny' flavor from a canned beer. Canning breweries will encourage you to drink from a glass to get the full aroma and impact of the beer.

With 21st Amendment doing a redesign of their can for a national launch, okay the national part is a bit of speculation on my part. But between what Shaun has said on the Brewing Network and some recent 21A newsletter hints I have a feeling having to go to California to get a can of the Watermelon Wheat or IPA may soon be a thing of the past.

Fat Tire is even getting into the act. Other breweries getting into the can are Santa Cruz brewery, Steamworks, and Newcastle.

So watch for craft beer in cans this year because they will be bringing fine crafted ale to whole new places.

After my long days when I work my day job and at the local homebrew shop I don't feel like cooking. From time to time I'll stop at Himalayan Grill next door to the shop to grab some food before going home. I get to try the Indian beers while waiting for my food to be prepared. The restaurant mostly stocks lager beers, but they are trying to expand there repertoire they even have added Oak Creek Amber recently. Great food too so if you are in Flagstaff and looking for Asian food give them a try. Tonight I stopped in and tried the Flying Horse Royal Lager.

It is a standard Lager pale, crisp with a clean finish. There was a clear hop character in nose at first but faded over time, it was not unlike a Czech Pilsner but not quite the spiciness of Saaz hops. It was very smooth and went well with the crackers and toppings they offer as appetizer at the Grill. Considering it was brewed in India in August of last year according to the bottle code and shipped here it had traveled in great shape. I noticed was the bottle was a bit larger than a half Litre bottle typically used internationally. Upon closer inspection it was actually a 650ml so they do deliver quite a punch in that sized bottle. The beer is owned by United Breweries Group but was brewed by Blossom Industries Ltd I don't know if Blossom is a subsidiary of UBG or simply has a contract to brew there beer. That said it would seem odd to me if Anheuser-Busch hired a small regional brewery to make a secondary label for them, but who knows for sure.

While I wouldn't reach for a Flying Horse everyday it does go really well with Indian food and worth trying at least once.

I was at the Flagstaff Quickstop for a Stone tasting this weekend*, that might sound weird but the little market's owner is working to make it one of the better beer shops in town. While I was there I noticed the Avery New World Porter and Out of Bounds Stout. Once I noticed the New World Porter was dry hopped I knew I'd be buying that first.

The beer has a very deep ruby color bordering on black. It was filtered at the brewery for while it was dry hopped it is a clear beer with none of the tell tale hop remnants in suspension. The chocolate and black patent malt make their appearance in the aroma and dominate, but the hop character is not really apparent. The flavor is really delicious, I am not a big robust porter fan normally but I'd make room in my frig for this beer again. The dry hopping gives is a bit of an herbal character and it balances out the stronger character of roasted character. The creamy brown foam of the head is long lasting in the glass and provides a pleasant creaminess to the palette. New World Porter is interesting in that dry hopping while not obvious in the flavor helps provide balance to make this a great sessionable beer.

* Just for the record I did also grab some fine Stone beer.

It's not really news that I have been increasing my beer blogging lately and minimizing the other topics. To that end you may already noticed changes in the site, more of a new look is on the way. First off as I had mentioned Bear Droppings while a funny joke hadn't really reflected the site so a new name is selected Geistbear Brewing Blog at Geistbearbrewing.com. It still points to this subdomain, but I now have my own url. I picked Geistbear because frankly it's an online name I have gone by for a long time and it's unique to me. Look forward to more beer, homebrewing and related content in the future.

Let's talk about some beer.

The first Saturday of May is National Homebrew Day and to celebrate this year Oak Creek Brewing and Northern Arizona Homebrewers will celebrate at the brewery. There will be brewing demonstrations, tours, and other fun so if you are in the area please stop in and join the fun.

Always nice to enjoy a few fine ales at your local town's best bars with out of town folks.