Geistbear Brewing Blog

Brewing on Science Friday

Thomas — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:15:21 -0700

It looks like they have a good lineup of people and it would be worth the listen.

Brew for Dogs

Thomas — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:22:58 -0700

I have heard a few breweries are looking at beer for dogs. While it may be beef flavored I doubt it will be my trusty hound's beer of choice. The reason is simple, my dog is a hophead if you don't believe me go listen to this old episode of Speaking of Beer (Listen closely during the Interbeer Interlude).

Hops Scarce, but the Beat, er Brewing Goes On

Thomas — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:27:01 -0700

Probably the beer blogger's most mentioned article of the week but this Wired article is a great review of the current state of the industry. It's also a great look at the 21st Amendment. Jeese Houck was a great host when we toured last year, I hope to visit again this year. Shaun's comment that the Watermelon Wheat "has virtually no hops in it" rings true with the prediction that adaption was the key to future success for brewers.

If you look at Jay's experiences at Boonville beer festival the Redwood tips beer made quite an impression on him.

Other brewers such as Sam Adams is using lemon zest and grains of paradise in their Summer Ale is another approach to brewing.

Hops may be scarce but brewers will find other ways to get a fine brew made. The fun is just beginning.

Why I Love Flagstaff

Thomas — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:09:34 -0700

You never know what you will get for weather and I am just fine with it. Saturday 98 in Phoenix and a few days later Flagstaff gets snow.

Review - Flying Dog Garde Dog

Thomas — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:13:18 -0700

Sshhhh, don't tell anyone but I got Flying Dog Garde Dog for free. Not from the brewery or even a distributor, but a retail shop owner who some how got an extra sample and decided I was worth the gift. No beer is taster than free, except maybe your own.

The appearance is a yellowish coppery color with good head retention. It is a brilliantly clear beer. A slight sour sensation in the nose with slight phenolic character. Falling somewhere between a Maibock and a Berliner Weiss in aroma.

Malt character dominates the palette, that slight funk in the aroma is gone in the flavor. The beer feels a bit heavy on the tongue with some sweetness apparent almost crystal malt like but it is not excessive or overly complex.

Looking over the Biere de Garde at the BJCP page it seems they hit the mark on the style pretty well. It is a bit light for the style at 5.5% ABV, but makes it to closer to the blonde with the hop levels. Though the color seems a bit closer to the amber to my mind.

Overall I enjoyed this beer, I could easily see it as a great Summer beer here in the mountains of Flagstaff. Enough flavor to keep one's interest, but not excessively heavy.

Announcing the Session #16 – Beer Festivals

Thomas — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:19:40 -0700

As Summer approaches we are in full swing of beer festival season, so it seemed the perfect topic for the June Session. Do you have a favorite beer festival you like to attend or a particular memory of inspirational moment at a festival? Or perhaps talk about what you would like to see out of festivals or perhaps the future of them. All is fair game, I look forward to seeing where people take this topic.

So what is the Session?
Is a monthly meme or writing activity by any and all interested beer bloggers. On the first Friday of the month the host selects the topic of the month and we share our experiences on the topic. This month’s posts should be on Friday June 6th. The Session originated by Stan Hieronymus of Appellation Beer and has been going on for just over a year. For more information check out Jay’s Session page.

Because of spamming I do have registration for comments enabled, but feel free to email me geistbear(at)gmail(dot)com your Session post if you don’t want to register and would like to participate in this month’s Session. Also if you using tagging on your posts please use 'beerfestival' in the tag.

National Homebrew Competition - First Round Results

Thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:26:38 -0700

I'd like to congratulate Eric Greene for his Silver Medal in Smoke-Flavored and Wood-Aged Beer and Keith Mycek for his Bronze in Amber Hybrid beers. Great to see friends doing well in the competition.

On the Road - Silicon Valley

Thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:08:22 -0700

William Brand talked a bit ago how the Silicon Valley beer scene wasn't very impressive and while I only had a limited exposure on a work trip the last few days I am inclined to agree.

I stayed at the Domain an upscale boutique hotel. It was generally a pleasant experience, great wifi, stylish rooms, and they even had a local wine happy hour for samples at the bar. That said for being in California the beer selection was rather disappointing.

Besides the generic list of mass produced domestics they had Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and Gordon Biersch Marzen. These are all very fine beers, but frankly very safe choices. If I had a hotel bar that had travelers from all over the country and probably the world. Why not expose these travelers to some of the best beers in the Bay area?

Start off with Speakeasy. They makes some amazing ales and lagers while they are starting to be seen in Arizona I don't think they are much known outside of California. Bootleg Black Lager is a favorite and the Big Daddy IPA and Double Daddy are great examples of the California brewing.

Or how about some bottles of Russian Rivers Belgian style ales Vinnie Curlizo just won the “Russell Schehrer Award For Innovation In Craft Brewing” award at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego. I don't know that Pliny the Elder is sold yet in bottles, but I would offer that or I am sure they can find a few unique things to offer.

The 21st Amendment is also not far and they sell beer their beer in cans, why not talk to Shaun and Nico about getting cans at your hotel, change people's perceptions about beer.

Or looking to the greater California Firestone Walker is one of my favorite breweries. I have been a fan ever since a buddy brought back a six pack of Double Barrel ale from California. I can now find it it down in the Phoenix area and I can't wait until it makes it to Flagstaff.

These are just a few examples that come to mind but there is a great opportunity to introduce people to something special and unique in a boutique hotel. From the Domain's use of local wines I suspect they see that, they just need to open their eyes that beer can function that way as well.

Big Brew Wrapup

Thomas — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:49:35 -0700

Big Brew turned out great. Zach, John, Jim, and the brewery were great hosts. I suspect they enjoyed seeing the individual homebrewer rigs as much as we enjoyed coming down to Oak Creek to brew.

We were able to sample their Imperial Porter and Rare Earth, a Saison that was aged in Oak Wine barrels from Page Springs winery. I had Rare Earth at this year's Strong Ale festival in Mesa so I was looking forward to trying it again as soon as Zach mentioned it would be there. The wood aging clarifies and added an interesting red color to the brew. The wine character is apparent in both the aroma and flavor so it was great to get to enjoy again.

The brew day went well for me I ended up coming up with my own partial mash recipe based on some scraps at the shop and a few things offered by Oak Creek. Among them was some of hops they had won in the Sam Adams raffle, so it seemed rather appropriate that Jim Koch's generosity was further passed along.

The brews went well for myself and everyone else, we look forward to sharing the finished beers with the guys at the brewery in the future. It was a great opportunity to teach some of the breweries customers that you can brew at home.

John, a brewer at Oak Creek, was the day's archivists with his photos and he has just started blogging so check them both out.

Review - Uerige Alt

Thomas — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:11:10 -0700

Uerige Alt is a Dusseldorf Alt beer. While the website states the alcohol at 4.7% my bottle listed at 4.5%. It has a reddish coppery color with good clarity. White foam with good head retention and a mix of small and medium sized bubbles. There was a slight alcoholic aroma with caramel notes apparent in it's malty aroma. Malty character dominant with bitterness to balance but no other obvious hop character present. The beer had a medium body with moderate carbonation.

On the website they mention they use umbel hops a variety I am not familiar with, but seems to be more a term about the way they are raised than specific variety.

The malt character definitely fits what I would consider to be a session beer because more than one seems to be the perfect idea as you finish your first glass. My only disappointment in buying three bottles I suppose is that I sent the other two off so that my BJCP classmates could enjoy a sample as well. I suppose I'll have to find more in Phoenix this weekend, I know just the place to find more.

Celebrate Big Brew

Thomas — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:35:59 -0700

A quick reminder that today is National Homebrew day aka Big Brew. I'll be celebrating with Northern Arizona Homebrewers at Oak Creek Brewery in Sedona. For those of you who aren't in the area check the AHA site and you can find where folks are participating in your area. It's a great way to learn how to brew for yourself.

The Session - How did it all start for you?

Thomas — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:11:17 -0700

Postscript: I forgot to say thanks to Boak and Bailey's UK beer blog for hosting this month.

It all started for me in college. I never liked beer really but all I saw was typical mass produced light American lager. I was in the middle of struggling with German as a foriegn language, I had walked past the foreign study section and noticed language classes in Germany. I had the thought how much easier it would be to learn German studying there. That week I got a postcard from my Father saying he was in Germany and that he thought it would be much easier to learn German if I was there.

So we made it happen.

Fast forward a few months and I am in Tuebingen about to start NAU's Spring Intensive Program. The first night before classes even started our group met for dinner in the Greek Restaurant near the dorms. My Father suggested I try the Dunkleweizen before my departure describing it's dark color and bready character. I had to give it a try. I scanned the menu closely looking for the beer and once I found it I had one of the class tudor confirm I was reading it correctly.

The flavor was wonderful, powerful and lingers in my memory. It hooked me on Hefeweizen as a style and the malty side of beers in general.

It's not to say I didn't in time develop a taste for hoppy beers, I do drink them fairly often, but malt beers will be my first love always. The majority of my homebrew the last 14 or so years has been the malty beer, I only brewed an American Pale Ale for the first time last Fall. For our BJCP class a few weeks ago we had Bock beers and they called to me immediately. So while I may wander to the hoppy side, it was that first taste of malt that hooked me for life.

Brew Blog Revisited

Thomas — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:16:12 -0700

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.

Great Google Beer Mashup

Thomas — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:20:33 -0700

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.

With All Due Respect to My Father...

Thomas — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:40:51 -0700

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.

Beer Blogging Ethics

Thomas — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:54 -0700

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.

Traveling Weekend

Thomas — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:06:39 -0700

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.

The Future of Beer....in Arizona

Thomas — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:02:41 -0700

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.

2008 is the Year of the Can

Thomas — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:58:15 -0700

"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.

Review - Flying Horse Royal Lager Beer

Thomas — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:21:16 -0700

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.

Review - Avery New World Porter

Thomas — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:48:38 -0700

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.

The Blog it is a Changing

Thomas — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:47:51 -0700

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.

Big Brew Day at Oak Creek Brewing

Thomas — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:55:42 -0700

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.

Surprise Visitors

Thomas — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:40:02 -0700

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

Speaking of the Future

Thomas — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:39:58 -0700

As I mentioned with the hop shortage and ethanol driving up grain prices I believe the future of brewing is in it's past. Those grains and spices other cultures used to make fermented beverages before cultural and industrial era factors made the pilsner style the global heavyweight. Charlie on the latest episode of Speaking of Beer takes us into a glimpse of that future with the beers of Cervejaria Colorado. This Brazilian brewery uses it's own local ingredients to give us a unique take on the craft brewery movement, ingredients such as cassava root and orange-blossom honey from killer bees. My only disappointment really is that I couldn't join Charlie and the Draco Vista crew in getting to try a taste of their beers, but hopefully they will soon be in the US market and I'll be able to resolve that problem. But if you are interested where craft beer is going give the show a listen.

Good News on the Hop Front

Thomas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:20:11 -0700

This little step won't fix the problem overnight but it does indicate that Professional and Homebrewers may see some easing in the hop shortage soon. I am sure the prices will remain higher, but if the farmers are getting a fair price I am okay with it. Just that we can get the hops we need is the more important point. (Via Appellation Beer)

Wingin' It Beers

Thomas — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:28:17 -0700

Saturday's great beer day didn't actually start at the Dogfish Head Off-Centered Experience it started at Draco Vista studios for Wingin It. One of the many reasons I enjoy going and participating at the studio is the great beers. Some of them I bring and then there is the Magic beer frig always filled with variety brews from around the country and the globe. This last weekend was no exception.

Two beers stood out to me this visit. The first was Skärgaards Porter from Nørrebro Bryghus. This Porter impressive with a sweet honey character that is balanced by it's roasted character. It was an interesting take on the modern Porter and one I hope to see more their beers here in the United States. I hadn't been planning to visit Copenhagen next time I get over to Europe, but now I am wondering if I shouldn't add Denmark to my plans and check out their beer scene.

The second was a vary random grab we were in the middle of the episode and we ran out of beer. I ran to the Magic beer frig and grabbed a couple of Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout. As soon as I popped the cap and discovered a cork inside I knew I had picked something special. A cabernet-like character was first evident in the cork and in the inital aroma. As the ale warmed though it transformed to more of a soy sauce character. It was only then that I looked to the bottle and realized it was 2001 Vintage, so this beer definitely ages well. If you want to find a classic example of the Russian Imperial Stout you'll be hard pressed to find a better example than this beer.

So check these beers out and if you enjoy geek humor and good beer give Wingin It a try.

Off Centered Experience

Thomas — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:03:00 -0700

Yes the photo evidence is true, second photo in the series, I was at the Dogfish Head Off-Centered Experience at Papago Brewing this weekend. The event raised funds for Brain Cancer Research.

It was a great experience. Ron Kioth, the owner, provided the perfect venue and environment for it to be a success. The tickets were limited to 100 each of the two sessions and while I know many others were interested in attending but couldn't because of it selling out early. The smaller group size provided a good balance of crowd, but not so much you couldn't move or enjoy yourself.

There was the best selection of Dogfish Head beers for the event that I have ever seen in Arizona. Of course there were the usual suspects one can find like the 60 Minute IPA or Chicory Stout. The more interesting were those we don't normally get to see like Chateau Jiahu, Johnny Rawton, and Olde School Barleywine. It was great to have the opportunity to taste those and I hope to see them in the Arizona stores in the near future. I'd love to elaborate on the many ones I was able to taste but sadly keeping indepth notes at any beer festival event is a losing battle, but a fun one to be sure.

I started with the Olde School Barleywine, small wonder I didn't keep excellent notes huh, while it had a strong alcoholic character it was well balanced with slightly Evergreen notes. I thought they were on the pine side, but a certain Food Geek thought they were more on the spruce/cedar side. I also got to sample the Burton Baton it was a very impressive Imperial IPA. It had a bit of a sweet wood component balance with a smooth, not hard bitterness. The Chateau Jiahu had an amazing delicate character, but I wasn't able to appreciate it properly because of the larger beers earlier I had tasted.

Last the entertainment it was well, Off-Centered. See the pictures I link to at the top of the post, but it was a unique experience and that frankly doesn't describe it right.

All and all it was great combination of great beer, people and entertainment, throw in that it was for charity and it was an experience that couldn't be beat. I hope the Off-Centered Experience returns to Arizona in the future.

Sam Adams Recall

Thomas — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:08:54 -0700

I have seen this post in many other beer blogs today, but consider the potential danger I am going to post it as well if one more person sees it who didn't know before it's worth the effort.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As a loyal supporter and fan of our beer, we wanted to get in touch with you about an announcement that we made yesterday. We have announced a cautious, voluntary product recall of some bottles of Samuel Adams. While there is no problem with our beer, we believe a small proportion of bottles from our outside glass supplier could contain some small bits of glass.

The bottles we've identified as being possibly affected are from one glass plant of the five that we get our bottles from. The issue affects less than 25% of our bottled beer and of that amount, we believe far less than 1% of the bottles we're recalling are actually affected. We have no reports of any injury from our drinkers related to this issue. But because the safety of our drinkers is of paramount concern to us, we are being cautious and issuing the recall for all bottles from this glass plant.

But not to worry, this doesn't mean that you have to stop drinking Samuel Adams! All draft beer is perfectly fine and most of our bottled beer is not in these possibly affected bottles. It's easy to spot the bottles we're recalling: they are all embossed to say "N35" at the base of the bottle below the label (see photo on web site). We are working with our wholesalers and retailers to ensure that the affected bottles are removed from stores quickly.

We wanted to be sure that our loyal Sam fans are aware of the problem and know that we are doing everything we can to address this situation quickly. We are disappointed that because of these bottles supplied to us, we didn't live up to your expectations as a loyal Sam Adams drinker. We believe that we are taking all the right steps to ensure that the bottled Samuel Adams beer out there meets our quality standards and your expectations. If you have any questions about the recall, we created a special website and a toll-free number 1-888-674-5159 to answer your questions.

As always, we appreciate your support.

Cheers,
Andrew & Bert

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Better safe than sorry to be sure. Between the Longshot competition, the hops shortage, and now how they handle this problem if anything is clear it's that Sam Adams is really making an effort to do what's best for the brewing community and be a good citizen. I think they really deserve due credit. Jim Koch may be known for referring to his brewery as "the biggest pygmy in the forest" I think it's his dedication to doing the right thing that makes him a real giant. So watch for those bottles in the recall, but otherwise go have a Sam Adams. They have expanded their production line and their holiday pack this last Christmas was really great so fans of craft beer should give them your support.

Review - Ten Fidy or The Beer That Light Forgot

Thomas — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:28:54 -0700

Sounds funny but when you hold it to the light you'll see what I mean. Special thanks to Charlie and Kris because of them I got the chance to sample Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues.

It's a beer so heavy even the aroma seems weighted down. It had subdued aroma with coffee notes and a thick, deep brownish foam when poured into a glass. Yes, the beer like all of Oskar Blues' beers come in a can but someone smart will pour it into a glass to get their beers full effect.

The beer was heavy and slick on the tongue, not to go all Gary Vaynerchuk in my description, but it reminded me of very thick chocolate milk, that chocolate layer at the very bottom of a glass that didn't completely mix into the milk. Coffee and chocolate with a bit of roast were dominant in the flavor.

Not a lightweight beer, not in the least. It demands your attention. It remained heavy and slick over your tongue. People like to say dark beer seems like motor oil, but Ten Fidy it's the real deal. Heavy, impenetrable, slick on the tongue. If not for the carbonation Ten Fidy's malt and sweet character would probably be too much.

Lots of residual sweetness, lactose? Maybe unfermented portion? I can not say but it's thick and rich, it could perhaps use a touch of bittering hops to better balance the equation. That said I think the unbalanced sweetness is the brewers intent, interesting choice for a brewery known for beers with a hoppy character.

It was one of the most interesting beers I have had in a long time. I hope to get more, next Winter when it gets cold here in the mountains again, because that is a beer to warm you on such nights and otherwise it's probably too heavy for someone.