Its been a while since we have had a blog post, and what better way to start back than to recount our trip to Europe. Some of you may remember that we take an occasional beer education trip to meet our suppliers and learn a little more about the world of beer.
We started with connections through Minneapolis and landed in Amsterdam around 10:30 AM, more or less well rested. A quick shower at the hotel and we set off to explore our new surroundings. Enough exploration, we found the Vildeman or Wildman bar. They had some great beer choices, so it seemed as good as place as any to stop. Very friendly bar tender who spent a good bit of time talking beer with us. Most of us started with La Trappe Dubbel but Ron, of course, had the Girardin Kriek. They also had a good bit of American beer and we were happy to see tap handles for Flying Dog In Heat Wheat, Left Hand Juju Ginger and Great Divide Titan.
We had a nice trip through the Heineken Experience and a soothing boat tour, although warm Amstels might not have been the best choice. Afterwards we had a casual dinner and some of us (mostly me) called it an early night.
Up bright and early on Day 2 for a trip to the Heineken Brewery in Rotterdam...okay, its not in Rotterdam, but thats where we ended up due to some faulty information. Once we got there we got a World Class (pun intended) tour including the Heinken Oud Bruin, which, sadly, we do not get in the states. We made it back to Amsterdam for some bar hopping...especially Arendsnest where they serve nothing but Dutch beer, although, the owner is opening a new bar in September which will feature nothing but American Craft beer. With a little luck, Ron could be a superstar at that bar.
After Joe lost his Vin de Cereale at the airport...a long and very sad story...we got on a plane for the Czech Republic. More details to follow on this leg of the trip.
On day 2 we were off to the He
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Summer Events
Usually we are pretty slow in the Summer, but that doesn't seem to be true this year. I have been updating our calendar and we seem to be pretty busy. Let's get you all the details so you can make your plans...but why not just do all of them?
Coming up this weekend, we have two big events, one traditional and one very new event. Either one should be great. First we have the Made in the Shade festival to benefit Sun Sounds up in Flagstaff at the fairgrounds. We'll have a decent little turnout there with some fine beers being served. Go to www.azbeer.com Down in Phoenix we will be pulling out the stops for the first ever DRAFT Magazine Craft Festival to benefit Public Television station KAET Channel 8. This event is at Turf Paradise (inside in the air conditioning) and will feature some food pairings to complement the beer as well as some more exotic stuff. We will be pouring Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Angels Share, The Bruery Saison Rue, Tripel Karmeliet, some special releases from Breckenridge and a whole host of other great beers at our various tables. Look for the "Beers of" tables to sample our wares. This is also our first event as the distributor for New Belgium and they will be there with four beers including 1554, Sunshine Wheat, Skinny Dip and Mighty Arrow. Go to www.draftmag.com for more information.
So much for this weekend, Zak from Shmaltz will be in town for Fourth of July and he will be hosting a traditional Coney Island Fourth party at Papago Brewing. Featuring the Coney Island beers on tap, and some surprises to make the day authentic, Zak will be the belle of the boardwalk. I wouldn't be surprised to see more from Zak that week either.
Tomme Arthur comes to town on July 15th and will be at Magnum's that evening to sample some Port Brewing and Lost Abbey products. The next day will find Tomme at Papago for a nice promotional event. Friday July 17th, Tomme hits the road to Tucson where he'll have a party at 1702. Knowing the guys at 1702, nothing would surprise me...much like following your favorite band, look for something special at this event. Finally, we wrap it up on Saturday July 18th, back up in the Valley with a very special beer dinner at Boulders on Broadway. If you've never been to one of their beer dinners, make a point of attending this one. They put out some great food and it always seems to hit the spot just right when paired with the beers. I haven't seen the menu yet, but it will be excellent. Nothing would surprise me at this event.
Okay, we'll have more stuff going on this summer, but you'll have to check our calendar at www.worldclassbeverages.com for all the details.
Coming up this weekend, we have two big events, one traditional and one very new event. Either one should be great. First we have the Made in the Shade festival to benefit Sun Sounds up in Flagstaff at the fairgrounds. We'll have a decent little turnout there with some fine beers being served. Go to www.azbeer.com Down in Phoenix we will be pulling out the stops for the first ever DRAFT Magazine Craft Festival to benefit Public Television station KAET Channel 8. This event is at Turf Paradise (inside in the air conditioning) and will feature some food pairings to complement the beer as well as some more exotic stuff. We will be pouring Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Angels Share, The Bruery Saison Rue, Tripel Karmeliet, some special releases from Breckenridge and a whole host of other great beers at our various tables. Look for the "Beers of" tables to sample our wares. This is also our first event as the distributor for New Belgium and they will be there with four beers including 1554, Sunshine Wheat, Skinny Dip and Mighty Arrow. Go to www.draftmag.com for more information.
So much for this weekend, Zak from Shmaltz will be in town for Fourth of July and he will be hosting a traditional Coney Island Fourth party at Papago Brewing. Featuring the Coney Island beers on tap, and some surprises to make the day authentic, Zak will be the belle of the boardwalk. I wouldn't be surprised to see more from Zak that week either.
Tomme Arthur comes to town on July 15th and will be at Magnum's that evening to sample some Port Brewing and Lost Abbey products. The next day will find Tomme at Papago for a nice promotional event. Friday July 17th, Tomme hits the road to Tucson where he'll have a party at 1702. Knowing the guys at 1702, nothing would surprise me...much like following your favorite band, look for something special at this event. Finally, we wrap it up on Saturday July 18th, back up in the Valley with a very special beer dinner at Boulders on Broadway. If you've never been to one of their beer dinners, make a point of attending this one. They put out some great food and it always seems to hit the spot just right when paired with the beers. I haven't seen the menu yet, but it will be excellent. Nothing would surprise me at this event.
Okay, we'll have more stuff going on this summer, but you'll have to check our calendar at www.worldclassbeverages.com for all the details.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Arizona Craft Beer
There was an interesting question asked yesterday on RateBeer.com concerning the status of the Arizona Craft Beer scene. Here were my thoughts on that:
The closest thing we have to a brewer putting a big beer in a bottle is Sonoran with their 100 Batch Series. The 200 will be out shortly and carries substantially more flavor than the 100, as well as a substantially lower price. Still expensive, but for a 19.37% ABV beer that has experienced 5 different fermentations, not too bad. Sonoran is also looking at out of state distribution. Papago is now working with Van Steenberge to produce Oude Zuipers, which is now available in bottles (as of this morning). Of course, Prescott (and soon Four Peaks)are canning their beers to add the the growing canned beer movement, which in AZ includes 5 products from Oskar Blues, 3 (the third as of this morning) from SKA, 2 from Big Sky, one from New Belgium, and possibly some others that I have forgotten. We have a fairly solid craft beer scene. We have always been several years behind California and Colorado, but we have been making progress at a good rate. Five years ago, most bar owners, even multi-taps, couldn’t spell IPA, now its one of the faster growing craft categories in the state, right behind seasonals and wheat beers. We have had a couple of new breweries open up in the last few years, we have had several existing breweries begin distribution, including Sun Up and San Tan. What we are missing is a defining entity, be it a brewery, a brewpub, an event, a beer style, or an area of the city. There is talk of a Phoenix Beer Week, which would be great. Imagine a week bookended by the Strong Beer Fest and the Great Arizona Beer Fest, with dinners and tastings every night, including major brewers...and enough interested people to attend them all. We, who already have this passion for craft beer, must continue to spread the word and induct others into our little cult of malt and hops so that we can obtain a critical mass of craft beer drinkers that will push the category over the last few hills. That’s when the fun begins.
So what else do we need? Really the most important thing becomes building a consumer mind set that demands great beer, and won't settle for less. At the Craft Brewers Conference, Greg Koch from Stone talked about "Being Remarkable", as he presented it he was talking about the craft brewers assembled there. But the more I think about it, the more that needs to apply to consumers as well. There's always a time and place for lighter beers, American Premium Lagers and the like, but when you want craft or specialty imports, then I have a message for you. Consumers, Be Remarkable, don't accept mediocrity, don't accept okay, make sure that you are asking for the best beer available, whether it be craft or import. We believe that most of the time those beers will be from our portfolio and that will make us happy. We will make the same committment back to you...we will Be Remarkable and do our best to provide you with the best product you can possibly get in Arizona.
The closest thing we have to a brewer putting a big beer in a bottle is Sonoran with their 100 Batch Series. The 200 will be out shortly and carries substantially more flavor than the 100, as well as a substantially lower price. Still expensive, but for a 19.37% ABV beer that has experienced 5 different fermentations, not too bad. Sonoran is also looking at out of state distribution. Papago is now working with Van Steenberge to produce Oude Zuipers, which is now available in bottles (as of this morning). Of course, Prescott (and soon Four Peaks)are canning their beers to add the the growing canned beer movement, which in AZ includes 5 products from Oskar Blues, 3 (the third as of this morning) from SKA, 2 from Big Sky, one from New Belgium, and possibly some others that I have forgotten. We have a fairly solid craft beer scene. We have always been several years behind California and Colorado, but we have been making progress at a good rate. Five years ago, most bar owners, even multi-taps, couldn’t spell IPA, now its one of the faster growing craft categories in the state, right behind seasonals and wheat beers. We have had a couple of new breweries open up in the last few years, we have had several existing breweries begin distribution, including Sun Up and San Tan. What we are missing is a defining entity, be it a brewery, a brewpub, an event, a beer style, or an area of the city. There is talk of a Phoenix Beer Week, which would be great. Imagine a week bookended by the Strong Beer Fest and the Great Arizona Beer Fest, with dinners and tastings every night, including major brewers...and enough interested people to attend them all. We, who already have this passion for craft beer, must continue to spread the word and induct others into our little cult of malt and hops so that we can obtain a critical mass of craft beer drinkers that will push the category over the last few hills. That’s when the fun begins.
So what else do we need? Really the most important thing becomes building a consumer mind set that demands great beer, and won't settle for less. At the Craft Brewers Conference, Greg Koch from Stone talked about "Being Remarkable", as he presented it he was talking about the craft brewers assembled there. But the more I think about it, the more that needs to apply to consumers as well. There's always a time and place for lighter beers, American Premium Lagers and the like, but when you want craft or specialty imports, then I have a message for you. Consumers, Be Remarkable, don't accept mediocrity, don't accept okay, make sure that you are asking for the best beer available, whether it be craft or import. We believe that most of the time those beers will be from our portfolio and that will make us happy. We will make the same committment back to you...we will Be Remarkable and do our best to provide you with the best product you can possibly get in Arizona.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Craft Brewers Conference - Day 3-5
Okay, so we've gotten Days 1 and 2 out of the way. Things may get a little hazy from here on out, but let's give it a shot why don't we?
We got a late start and enjoyed a couple of seminars before rolling into the main hall for lunch and the expo. More Black Folie and then an opportunity to drink beer from our newest supplier, The Bruery...great beers...sitting next to those beers I noticed Brookly Local 1 and 2...who could resist? We spent some time with some suppliers, both current and potential, and then ended the event in a conversation with Adam Avery, Jim Koch, and some others. Jim Koch is a fascinating man and seems well versed in more than just beer. We stayed for some time, because as Adam Avery said, you don't get an opportunity to have a conversation with Jim Koch every day.
Next up was a small reception featuring an incredible Bohemian style Pils brewed by a small brewery whose name escapes me. I enjoyed this beer with writer and all around beer historian, Horst Dornbusch and Wolfgang Burkart, managing director of Verlag W. Sachon, the publisher for nine different beer magazines in Europe and Asia. Horst explained how this Pils was based on the oldest know recipe using a special malt; and how it was likely the most authentic version of the original Bohemian Pils you would find. As always, Horst is fascinating and our conversation took us back to the 15th century and right up to modern times. Herr Burkart has promised to come visit our main warehouse when he is in the area and perhaps do a story on it for the European magazines.
A long cab ride to Deep Ellum where Shelton Brothers had some amazing beers from their portfolio on tap including a cask version of Dieu du Ciel's Vaisseau de Songes (Ship of Dreams) IPA, also the Rigor Mortis ABT from the same brewery. We also enjoyed Cantillon Vigneronne and a few others. The best part of this was that many of the brewers were in attendance. We had time for a great conversation with Jean van Roy of Cantillon, there on his first ever visit to the U.S. The whole time we were there, we were teased by a Russian River Pliny the Elder handle, however, it was not to be tapped without Vinnie in attendance, and we were long gone by the time he arrived.
Later that night we went back to Harpoon where they had 60 cask conditioned beers from across New England available. We didn't know where to start, and it ended far too soon. Back at the hotel bar, we ran into some folks from several breweries and enjoyed a nightcap with Larry Bell.
Friday was a real slow day, several meetings and a quick tour of Quincy Market including lunch at The Black Rose. There was a real nice closing reception and we ended up back at Harpoon for a New England Craft Brewers night featuring kegs from 10 or so local breweries. We spent most of the evening upstairs in the tasting room trying some wonderful treats that Harpoon had put on special for the evening. We bumped into Rick and Sean from Coronado, enjoyed a late dinner and a couple of final beers with them and called it a night.
A great conference from several standpoints, but the most exceptional was the incredible hospitality shown by Harpoon. For the entire week they erected a huge tent in their parking lot and offered up the space for attendees to enjoy local beers in the evening. The fact that they shared each and every opportunity to pour beer with all their New England brethren says a lot about what kind of industry this is, and what kind of brewery Harpoon is.
We got a late start and enjoyed a couple of seminars before rolling into the main hall for lunch and the expo. More Black Folie and then an opportunity to drink beer from our newest supplier, The Bruery...great beers...sitting next to those beers I noticed Brookly Local 1 and 2...who could resist? We spent some time with some suppliers, both current and potential, and then ended the event in a conversation with Adam Avery, Jim Koch, and some others. Jim Koch is a fascinating man and seems well versed in more than just beer. We stayed for some time, because as Adam Avery said, you don't get an opportunity to have a conversation with Jim Koch every day.
Next up was a small reception featuring an incredible Bohemian style Pils brewed by a small brewery whose name escapes me. I enjoyed this beer with writer and all around beer historian, Horst Dornbusch and Wolfgang Burkart, managing director of Verlag W. Sachon, the publisher for nine different beer magazines in Europe and Asia. Horst explained how this Pils was based on the oldest know recipe using a special malt; and how it was likely the most authentic version of the original Bohemian Pils you would find. As always, Horst is fascinating and our conversation took us back to the 15th century and right up to modern times. Herr Burkart has promised to come visit our main warehouse when he is in the area and perhaps do a story on it for the European magazines.
A long cab ride to Deep Ellum where Shelton Brothers had some amazing beers from their portfolio on tap including a cask version of Dieu du Ciel's Vaisseau de Songes (Ship of Dreams) IPA, also the Rigor Mortis ABT from the same brewery. We also enjoyed Cantillon Vigneronne and a few others. The best part of this was that many of the brewers were in attendance. We had time for a great conversation with Jean van Roy of Cantillon, there on his first ever visit to the U.S. The whole time we were there, we were teased by a Russian River Pliny the Elder handle, however, it was not to be tapped without Vinnie in attendance, and we were long gone by the time he arrived.
Later that night we went back to Harpoon where they had 60 cask conditioned beers from across New England available. We didn't know where to start, and it ended far too soon. Back at the hotel bar, we ran into some folks from several breweries and enjoyed a nightcap with Larry Bell.
Friday was a real slow day, several meetings and a quick tour of Quincy Market including lunch at The Black Rose. There was a real nice closing reception and we ended up back at Harpoon for a New England Craft Brewers night featuring kegs from 10 or so local breweries. We spent most of the evening upstairs in the tasting room trying some wonderful treats that Harpoon had put on special for the evening. We bumped into Rick and Sean from Coronado, enjoyed a late dinner and a couple of final beers with them and called it a night.
A great conference from several standpoints, but the most exceptional was the incredible hospitality shown by Harpoon. For the entire week they erected a huge tent in their parking lot and offered up the space for attendees to enjoy local beers in the evening. The fact that they shared each and every opportunity to pour beer with all their New England brethren says a lot about what kind of industry this is, and what kind of brewery Harpoon is.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Craft Brewers Conference Day 2
What an amazing day. We started out with a great opening ceremony which featured Eric Wallace from Left Hand and Ken Allen from Anderson Valley both receiving major awards. After that Greg Koch from Stone gave the keynote address. It was interactive, it was funny...and I will never be able to look at Adam Avery and Vinnie Cirluzo the same way. Greg talked about Being Remarkable and focused on ethics and collaboration along with some other critical ideas. For our opening toast beer we shared a bottle of Isabelle Proximus which makes an incredible breakfast beer. After a full year in the bottle, its getting pretty good.
Next up was the Exposition Hall...plenty of good beer, a lot of it from Allagash including some amazing brett beers. Also had the Black Folie which is a blend of New Belgium La Folie and Redstone Black Raspberry Mead. Afterwards we sat in on some really informative educational sessions (yes, we have to work here...which reminds me, we had a great supplier meeting yesterday and we may have some really exciting news to announce in a couple of months).
Finally, it was time to relax. We had several events scheduled, including a clam bake at Boston Beer Company, a Shmaltz night at Roadhouse and Global Imports at Brasserie Jo. The Global event was awesome. They had brewers from Bavik and de Halve Maan there and we enjoyed Wittekerke, Gulden Draak, Piraat and Bruges Zot in the proper glassware.
Somewhere along the line, I got an email from Natalie Cirluzo who was blogging from the event. I read her recent post and then immediately saw her...it was kind of weird. Any way, Russian River remains a top brewery, and at the top of our wish list. Nothing to report on that front, but I did my semi-annual grovelling, once again with nothing definite. I continue to try...mostly for the beer drinking people of Arizona, which includes me, so it is a little selfish.
I'm sitting here drinking an Anchor Steam while I type this. Anchor Steam was my first craft beer and this conference always makes me nostalgic. I'll tell you more about Anchor Steam some other time. This is always a great event and we have an opportunity to develop close relationships with our suppliers, as well as other folks in the industry. At the end of the week, those relationships are what matter...that and selling more beer.
Thanks for continuing to follow...more to come tomorrow.
Next up was the Exposition Hall...plenty of good beer, a lot of it from Allagash including some amazing brett beers. Also had the Black Folie which is a blend of New Belgium La Folie and Redstone Black Raspberry Mead. Afterwards we sat in on some really informative educational sessions (yes, we have to work here...which reminds me, we had a great supplier meeting yesterday and we may have some really exciting news to announce in a couple of months).
Finally, it was time to relax. We had several events scheduled, including a clam bake at Boston Beer Company, a Shmaltz night at Roadhouse and Global Imports at Brasserie Jo. The Global event was awesome. They had brewers from Bavik and de Halve Maan there and we enjoyed Wittekerke, Gulden Draak, Piraat and Bruges Zot in the proper glassware.
Somewhere along the line, I got an email from Natalie Cirluzo who was blogging from the event. I read her recent post and then immediately saw her...it was kind of weird. Any way, Russian River remains a top brewery, and at the top of our wish list. Nothing to report on that front, but I did my semi-annual grovelling, once again with nothing definite. I continue to try...mostly for the beer drinking people of Arizona, which includes me, so it is a little selfish.
I'm sitting here drinking an Anchor Steam while I type this. Anchor Steam was my first craft beer and this conference always makes me nostalgic. I'll tell you more about Anchor Steam some other time. This is always a great event and we have an opportunity to develop close relationships with our suppliers, as well as other folks in the industry. At the end of the week, those relationships are what matter...that and selling more beer.
Thanks for continuing to follow...more to come tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Craft Brewers Conference - Day 1
We survived our first night in Boston pretty well. We had a couple of Harpoon IPAs with some lobster bisque, followed by a trip to the Barking Crab. This was for a social with our fellow wholesalers from across the country. Drank a little Magic Hat #9, Harpoon UFO, Ipswich Ale, and a few other things. They served great crab cakes and shrimp. Overall we had a fun time. On the way back we stuck our heads in to the Atlantic Beer Garden to get out of the rain. Found the Rauchfetzen from Harpoon's 100 Barrel series on draft. A nice beer whose name means "a whisp of smoke" which is exactly what it was. A very light smoke flavor that allowed the hops and malt to come out and play as well. A lucky find for us. Also had a beer with Adam Avery and briefly saw Tomme Arthur.
The first couple of wholesaler meetings are out of the way and I will spending some time this afternoon meeting with some potential suppliers. No names right now, but they are breweries that we get a lot of requests for, so cross your fingers.
Tonight is the opening reception at Harpoon Brewery, so I'll write more later and will try to update regularly in case any of you care.
The first couple of wholesaler meetings are out of the way and I will spending some time this afternoon meeting with some potential suppliers. No names right now, but they are breweries that we get a lot of requests for, so cross your fingers.
Tonight is the opening reception at Harpoon Brewery, so I'll write more later and will try to update regularly in case any of you care.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Craft Brewers Conference
Another Scottsdale Culinary Fest is in the books. Always a fun crowd, not necessarily a ton of beer geeks, but a lot of people who are discovering the different flavors they can find in great beer. Most of them are very excited about being exposed to a Saison Dupont or La Chouffe. So that's always a winning weekend.
Anyway, Little Guy is off to the Craft Wholesalers Conference followed by the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston this week. My plane leaves at 9:00 and I'll be in town shortly before 5:00. After that its a week of trying to balance all the great opportunities to learn more about the business with all the opportunities to attend fantastic events and drink great beer. Somehow, I think we'll manage and come home better for it...at least profesionally, physically it could take a little more recovery time.
We'll update you throughout the week here on the blog. Given all the opportunities mentioned above, I trust you will forgive any late night typos or grammatical errors. Tonight its the Barking Crab for some quality time with our fellow wholesalers and then maybe a trip to Cambridge Brewing Company. Things start in earnest tomorrow so this may be the last coherent paragraph you read from me for a while.
Anyway, Little Guy is off to the Craft Wholesalers Conference followed by the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston this week. My plane leaves at 9:00 and I'll be in town shortly before 5:00. After that its a week of trying to balance all the great opportunities to learn more about the business with all the opportunities to attend fantastic events and drink great beer. Somehow, I think we'll manage and come home better for it...at least profesionally, physically it could take a little more recovery time.
We'll update you throughout the week here on the blog. Given all the opportunities mentioned above, I trust you will forgive any late night typos or grammatical errors. Tonight its the Barking Crab for some quality time with our fellow wholesalers and then maybe a trip to Cambridge Brewing Company. Things start in earnest tomorrow so this may be the last coherent paragraph you read from me for a while.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Just a night at Papago
What a great time yesterday afternoon was. Of course, Thursday was Hopapalooza and that was a lot of fun, but Friday afternoon was very enjoyable. Met several folks at Papago to sample a bunch of different beers and turn them on to what exists out in the world that isn't from a big brewery.
We sat at the table under the TV and just kept opening bottles, nothing particularly fancy, just 12 bottles or so of what a typical craft beer drinker might consider everyday beers. Not that Avery White Rascal, Breckenridge Agave Wheat, Ska Pinstripe, Anderson Valley Boont Amber and the rest are everyday beers, but they fall in to what I call "Tuesday Night Beers". You know what I mean, the beer that you always know is going to taste great, and you know so well that you can come home, pull it out of the fridge, and just relax while you watch TV or do the bills or make dinner, or whatever it is you do when you get home on a Tuesday. Beers that you don't have to think about.
Now Tuesday Night Beers are different from the weekend beers, the ones that you have been thinking about all week, and just want to sit on the porch and watch the sunset while you admire how well put together it is, and find all the nuances in the beer. Or a beer that you are waiting to pair with your favorite food, maybe a nice IPA with a favorite Thai dish, or whatever turns you on. Of course, Tuesday Night Beers can easily be weekend beers if you desire; and everybody's Tuesday Night Beers differ. For some it might be Coors Light or Corona or Heineken. For others its something a little craftier.
Any way, that's my concept of Tuesday Night Beers, maybe some other time I can expound on that (lucky you). But the point of my post was to tell you how nice just sitting around sampling beers with other people can be, especially if you are getting them excited about craft beers. The other great part was that we slowly worked our way up the flavor ladder and ended up with some Port Wipeout, which were were fortunate to have Matt Wells from Port and The Lost Abbey at another table. Matt and his friend Ryan came over and gave us some great background on Wipeout, as well as some discussion on the brewery in general. After a Tripel Karmeliet, Matt brought over the remainder of his bottle of Angel's Share (2008 Brandy Barrel Aged) and we talked about this big beer and all had a small sample...it was outstanding. We wrapped up with some Avery Brabant, and a bottle of Mikeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, which gave Ryan an opportunity to tell us all about the Kopi Luwak coffee that is used in making this fine beer. If you are not familiar with Kopi Luwak, I suggest you try the beer and then find out how the coffee is made.
By the way, I have noticed that every time I mention Port or Lost Abbey in a post, it shows up on the Lost Abbey website under Blogosphere. I find this fascinating, so I intend to find a way to squeeze that brewery in to every post as I know that they have more people visiting their web site than read this blog. I may get to be famous yet.
We sat at the table under the TV and just kept opening bottles, nothing particularly fancy, just 12 bottles or so of what a typical craft beer drinker might consider everyday beers. Not that Avery White Rascal, Breckenridge Agave Wheat, Ska Pinstripe, Anderson Valley Boont Amber and the rest are everyday beers, but they fall in to what I call "Tuesday Night Beers". You know what I mean, the beer that you always know is going to taste great, and you know so well that you can come home, pull it out of the fridge, and just relax while you watch TV or do the bills or make dinner, or whatever it is you do when you get home on a Tuesday. Beers that you don't have to think about.
Now Tuesday Night Beers are different from the weekend beers, the ones that you have been thinking about all week, and just want to sit on the porch and watch the sunset while you admire how well put together it is, and find all the nuances in the beer. Or a beer that you are waiting to pair with your favorite food, maybe a nice IPA with a favorite Thai dish, or whatever turns you on. Of course, Tuesday Night Beers can easily be weekend beers if you desire; and everybody's Tuesday Night Beers differ. For some it might be Coors Light or Corona or Heineken. For others its something a little craftier.
Any way, that's my concept of Tuesday Night Beers, maybe some other time I can expound on that (lucky you). But the point of my post was to tell you how nice just sitting around sampling beers with other people can be, especially if you are getting them excited about craft beers. The other great part was that we slowly worked our way up the flavor ladder and ended up with some Port Wipeout, which were were fortunate to have Matt Wells from Port and The Lost Abbey at another table. Matt and his friend Ryan came over and gave us some great background on Wipeout, as well as some discussion on the brewery in general. After a Tripel Karmeliet, Matt brought over the remainder of his bottle of Angel's Share (2008 Brandy Barrel Aged) and we talked about this big beer and all had a small sample...it was outstanding. We wrapped up with some Avery Brabant, and a bottle of Mikeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, which gave Ryan an opportunity to tell us all about the Kopi Luwak coffee that is used in making this fine beer. If you are not familiar with Kopi Luwak, I suggest you try the beer and then find out how the coffee is made.
By the way, I have noticed that every time I mention Port or Lost Abbey in a post, it shows up on the Lost Abbey website under Blogosphere. I find this fascinating, so I intend to find a way to squeeze that brewery in to every post as I know that they have more people visiting their web site than read this blog. I may get to be famous yet.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Events this week
A couple of good ones...Wednesday, April 7th, Chris Miller, Managing Director at Harviestoun's will be doing a very special tasting at Sun Devil Liquors in Mesa. Featured will be Old Engine Oil on draft, as well as Ola Dubh 12, 16 and 30 from the bottle. $10 gets you a sample of all 4 beers and face time with Chris. If you're not familiar with Ola Dubh it is Old Engine Oil matured in Highland Park scotch whiskey casks. Each cask imparts a slightly different flavor. This is a unique opportunity if ever there was one.
On Thursday, April 9th, Hopapalooza comes to Papago Brewing. You won't believe it until you see it, but Papago will be offering many hoppy beers on draft. That should be all you need to know, but if you want more details expect to see Moylan's Hopsickle, Houblon Chouffe, Racer 5, Hop Ottin, Trooper IPA, Thunder Canyon IPA and many others. Also, giveaways while they last.
On Thursday, April 9th, Hopapalooza comes to Papago Brewing. You won't believe it until you see it, but Papago will be offering many hoppy beers on draft. That should be all you need to know, but if you want more details expect to see Moylan's Hopsickle, Houblon Chouffe, Racer 5, Hop Ottin, Trooper IPA, Thunder Canyon IPA and many others. Also, giveaways while they last.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Lost Abbey
We had a surprise guest to our meeting today. Tomme Arthur showed up and discussed his beers. We talked about everything including the pending release of Angel's Share, the first time ever in AZ. I asked him about the carbonation issue and he wanted us to know that this is not a strongly carbonated beer, but is absolutely ready for release. The alcohol this year is higher and somewhat inibhited the growth of the yeast. Any way it is good to go and we will see it in Arizona next week. Enjoy.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Events Update
Some truly memorable events coming up.
April 2 -Corks and Forks at the Camelback Esplanade. Look for Little Guy food and beer pairings at Lon's, Blanca and Arizona Grand Resort booths. I think they will be particularly good.
April 9 - Hopapalooza comes to Papago Brewing. For those of you that missed us at the Great AZ Beer Fest, we will do our best to recreate the event at Papago.
April 14 - Another very special tasting at Enotria, Land of Wine, Scottsdale and 101 near Borders. Every couple of months we kick the wine folks out and do a killer event. Now they have doubled their seating, so I know we better bring our A game. This is always a sell out event, contact Enotria early for reservations.
More updates to come, don't forget to follow us on Twitter. We are LittleGuyBeer.
April 2 -Corks and Forks at the Camelback Esplanade. Look for Little Guy food and beer pairings at Lon's, Blanca and Arizona Grand Resort booths. I think they will be particularly good.
April 9 - Hopapalooza comes to Papago Brewing. For those of you that missed us at the Great AZ Beer Fest, we will do our best to recreate the event at Papago.
April 14 - Another very special tasting at Enotria, Land of Wine, Scottsdale and 101 near Borders. Every couple of months we kick the wine folks out and do a killer event. Now they have doubled their seating, so I know we better bring our A game. This is always a sell out event, contact Enotria early for reservations.
More updates to come, don't forget to follow us on Twitter. We are LittleGuyBeer.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Beer Birthday
Michael Jackson, famed beer writer who passed away in 2007, would be 67 years old today. Charlie Papazian has suggested that we all raise a glass in his memory at 6:00 local time. So at 6:00 today, I know I'll be lifting one for Michael. Please join me.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mexico
I know I promised you regular updates, but not much to report on right now. I'm on vacation in Rocky Point, and, despite all the warnings about the area, it is in great shape. No problems crossing the border or getting through Sonoyta, the road down is safe and the area is the same as ever...just a little less crowded.
Anyway, this isn't about my vacation, its about beer. Of course I am travelling with a small supply of good craft beer, and enjoyed a bottle of Left Hand Twin Sisters last night, but there is something about being in Mexico and drinking the Mexican beers. Sadly, I haven't been able to find Cucapa, but a couple of cold Tecates (in 24 oz cans for about $1.60 at the Super T) sure help an afternoon pass peacefully. Another great beer that you can only find in Mexico is Victoria. It is a Vienna lager and goes very well with some of the local seafood. Am I looking forward to being back home and drinking all that Little Guy has to offer? Of course, but in the meantime I am maintaining a vigilant watch on the Sea of Cortez with my friends Tecate and Modelo.
Anyway, this isn't about my vacation, its about beer. Of course I am travelling with a small supply of good craft beer, and enjoyed a bottle of Left Hand Twin Sisters last night, but there is something about being in Mexico and drinking the Mexican beers. Sadly, I haven't been able to find Cucapa, but a couple of cold Tecates (in 24 oz cans for about $1.60 at the Super T) sure help an afternoon pass peacefully. Another great beer that you can only find in Mexico is Victoria. It is a Vienna lager and goes very well with some of the local seafood. Am I looking forward to being back home and drinking all that Little Guy has to offer? Of course, but in the meantime I am maintaining a vigilant watch on the Sea of Cortez with my friends Tecate and Modelo.
Friday, March 13, 2009
New Suppliers
We are adding two new suppliers to the Little Guy portfolio. As I'm writing this, I am sipping on a growler of Trooper IPA, so you may be able to guess that our first new supplier is Sun Up Brewing Company....what's that you say...Trooper IPA is made by Brewers Den at the Sonora Brewhouse? Well right you were. They are changing their name to Sun Up and we will be offering three of their outstanding beers. Besides the Trooper IPA, look for Horizon Hefeweizen and Armadillo Red in about two weeks. Other than the name, the brewpub isn't changing, still great food, still many great beers...and hopefully we can all convince Uwe to let us sell a keg or two of his really special stuff from time to time.
Our second brewery is The Bruery. A great little craft brewery out of Placentia, CA. These guys are the real deal, specializing in Belgian styles served up in big bottles, always with a unique twist. The Orchard White was named one of DRAFT Magazines Top 25 Beers of 2008, and they have been hailed as "The Brewery to Watch" in 2009.
I would expect some more excitement over the remainder of 2009, so stay tuned, and keep drinking great beer.
Our second brewery is The Bruery. A great little craft brewery out of Placentia, CA. These guys are the real deal, specializing in Belgian styles served up in big bottles, always with a unique twist. The Orchard White was named one of DRAFT Magazines Top 25 Beers of 2008, and they have been hailed as "The Brewery to Watch" in 2009.
I would expect some more excitement over the remainder of 2009, so stay tuned, and keep drinking great beer.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
RateBeer Awards
Wow - two posts in one day. This one is about the World's Best Awards for 2009 from RateBeer (www.ratebeer.com). This is a consumer based rating site and every year they compile the top rated beers, breweries etc.
Of the top 100 beers in the world, 21 of them were, or are available in Arizona. Little Guy sells 15 of them.
Of the top 100 breweries in the world, 41 of them have at least 1 product sold in Arizona. Little Guy carries 26 of them.
In addition Papago Brewing (Scottsdale) was named the 12th best beer bar in the world; and Plaza Liquors (Tucson) was the 23rd best beer retailer, while Sun Devil Liquors (Mesa) was the 45th best beer retailer in the world.
Wow, what a great beer state we live in.
Of the top 100 beers in the world, 21 of them were, or are available in Arizona. Little Guy sells 15 of them.
Of the top 100 breweries in the world, 41 of them have at least 1 product sold in Arizona. Little Guy carries 26 of them.
In addition Papago Brewing (Scottsdale) was named the 12th best beer bar in the world; and Plaza Liquors (Tucson) was the 23rd best beer retailer, while Sun Devil Liquors (Mesa) was the 45th best beer retailer in the world.
Wow, what a great beer state we live in.
One Down, One to Go
If you missed the Strong Beer Festival, you missed a great event. Beer was flowing, music playing and people smiling. Its okay though, this weekend is The Great Arizona Beer Festival (www.azbeer.com) at the Tempe Beach Park. Saturday and Sunday there will be excellent beer and fine music.
Little Guy will be featuring Hopapalooza 2009, an incredible selection of well hopped beers from a variety of suppliers. Look for our truck for IPAs and Double IPAs from Thunder Canyon, Avery, Lost Coast, Flying Dog, Anderson Valley, Bear Republic, Great Divide, SKA, Breckenridge, Big Sky, Brasserie Achouffe, Shmaltz, Moylans, Abita, Speakeasy and Meantime. We also have a special keg of the yet unamed Breckenridge IPA just for fun. If you're not a hophead, we will have old favorites, Wyder's Pear Cider and Redstone Black Raspberry Mead.
Our suppliers will be there as well. Check out separate booths from SKA (introducing their new IPA, Modus Hoperandi), Big Sky, Breckenridge, Port and The Lost Abbey, Coronado, Left Hand and Alaskan.
Little Guy will be featuring Hopapalooza 2009, an incredible selection of well hopped beers from a variety of suppliers. Look for our truck for IPAs and Double IPAs from Thunder Canyon, Avery, Lost Coast, Flying Dog, Anderson Valley, Bear Republic, Great Divide, SKA, Breckenridge, Big Sky, Brasserie Achouffe, Shmaltz, Moylans, Abita, Speakeasy and Meantime. We also have a special keg of the yet unamed Breckenridge IPA just for fun. If you're not a hophead, we will have old favorites, Wyder's Pear Cider and Redstone Black Raspberry Mead.
Our suppliers will be there as well. Check out separate booths from SKA (introducing their new IPA, Modus Hoperandi), Big Sky, Breckenridge, Port and The Lost Abbey, Coronado, Left Hand and Alaskan.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Strong Beer Festival
Strong Beer Festival is always one of the best events of the year. Sponsored by the Arizona Brewers Guild and held at the Mesa Amphitheatre, this is a relaxed afternoon, perfect for true fans of craft beer.
The brewers like to do it up right, many have special beers just for the occasion. In our portfolio alone, we will see Lost Coast Olde Ale, a four year old keg of Wild Dog Weizenbock (still drinking great), Moylan's Double Scotch Ale, Moylan's Hopsickle Triple IPA (on draft), Big Sky Old Bluehair, Big Sky Ivan the Terrible, Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout, Lost Abbey Angel's Share and a whole bunch of others.
Remaining tickets are only available at the door. For more details go to the Brewers Guild web site.
The brewers like to do it up right, many have special beers just for the occasion. In our portfolio alone, we will see Lost Coast Olde Ale, a four year old keg of Wild Dog Weizenbock (still drinking great), Moylan's Double Scotch Ale, Moylan's Hopsickle Triple IPA (on draft), Big Sky Old Bluehair, Big Sky Ivan the Terrible, Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout, Lost Abbey Angel's Share and a whole bunch of others.
Remaining tickets are only available at the door. For more details go to the Brewers Guild web site.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Brabant
I just got an exciting voice mail from Adam Avery. We will be receiving a limited quantity of his new specialty release, Brabant. This is the first in Avery's Barrel Aged Series. Brabant is a province in Belgium which includes the capital city of Brussels and the area slightly north and south. It is divided into the Flemish and Walloon areas, as well as the multi-lingual capital area. It is also a breed of Belgian Draft Horse which appears on the label for the beer.
The beer is a dark ale fermented with two strains of wild yeast and aged in Zinfandel barrels for 8 months. Some of the pilot batches were made using Old Jubilation as a base and I had a chance to try those, and they were spectacular. The dark ale used for this is a new recipe. I am looking forward to, as Avery says, sifting through the vast layers of complexity of this beer.
Pricing should be in line with the Demon series, although availability will be much less. This is a must try beer, and I would suggest buying a couple of bottles to cellar as well. Look for it on the shelves sometime in March...and expect the return of Maharaja around then as well.
The beer is a dark ale fermented with two strains of wild yeast and aged in Zinfandel barrels for 8 months. Some of the pilot batches were made using Old Jubilation as a base and I had a chance to try those, and they were spectacular. The dark ale used for this is a new recipe. I am looking forward to, as Avery says, sifting through the vast layers of complexity of this beer.
Pricing should be in line with the Demon series, although availability will be much less. This is a must try beer, and I would suggest buying a couple of bottles to cellar as well. Look for it on the shelves sometime in March...and expect the return of Maharaja around then as well.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Proposed Beer Tax in Arizona
It has just come to my attention that Arizona legislators are considering a substantial increase in the tax on beer... about 2087% of an increase. Somebody in the legislature wants to take the tax on a gallon of beer from 16 cents a gallon to $3.50 for each gallon. That's an increase of $7.85 in tax on each case. Factor in the fact that retail pricing is ultimately based on the actual cost of the item, so a new tax would be factored into a retailer's profit margins and you are looking at a net increase of over $16 per case at checkout. That works out to $4 per six pack or 70 cents per bottle. On draft beer, the increase would end up raising the price of a keg by as much as $75, meaning that a pint of beer at your local watering hole would go up by about a dollar.
And what does this "luxury" tax pay for? Drug and alcohol treatment programs...at least that's what the proposal says for now. This is a misguided effort to tax millions of responsible beer drinkers because of the irresponsibility of a relatively small minority. I find this totally unacceptable.
Nationally, beer is already taxed 68.6% more than other purchases. Increasing these already high taxes another 2087%, can only lead to more downturn. The folks hurt the most will be the small breweries that will see a substantial drop in business as people can no longer afford to drink their products and instead turn to cheaper liquors. There are approximately 25 small breweries in Arizona that will be adversely affected if this bill becomes law. That's 25 breweries, and maybe 250 Arizonans that will be directly impacted by this proposal. Extend that out to distributors, retailers and other related businesses and this bill has the potential to devastate quite a few lives.
This bill, HB 2524 is set for initial discussion by the House Ways and Means Committee at 2:00 on Monday, February 23rd. For more details go read these two articles, one on this particular issue, and the other about the general concept of increasing beer taxes. http://www.examiner.com/x-241-Beer-Examiner~y2009m2d17-Proposed-state-beer-tax-increases-hard-to-swallow--impacting-jobs-and-beer-drinkers and http://www.examiner.com/x-241-Beer-Examiner~y2009m2d20-Arizona-legislators-trying-to-outdo-Oregon-with-a-2087-increase-in-beer-tax . Sorry about the long links, and the fact they may not be clickable (just copy and paste in to your browser), I haven't figured out this whole blog thing yet.
I encourage you to get involved in this matter and pass this on to other beer drinkers. The job you save just might be...mine.
And what does this "luxury" tax pay for? Drug and alcohol treatment programs...at least that's what the proposal says for now. This is a misguided effort to tax millions of responsible beer drinkers because of the irresponsibility of a relatively small minority. I find this totally unacceptable.
Nationally, beer is already taxed 68.6% more than other purchases. Increasing these already high taxes another 2087%, can only lead to more downturn. The folks hurt the most will be the small breweries that will see a substantial drop in business as people can no longer afford to drink their products and instead turn to cheaper liquors. There are approximately 25 small breweries in Arizona that will be adversely affected if this bill becomes law. That's 25 breweries, and maybe 250 Arizonans that will be directly impacted by this proposal. Extend that out to distributors, retailers and other related businesses and this bill has the potential to devastate quite a few lives.
This bill, HB 2524 is set for initial discussion by the House Ways and Means Committee at 2:00 on Monday, February 23rd. For more details go read these two articles, one on this particular issue, and the other about the general concept of increasing beer taxes. http://www.examiner.com/x-241-Beer-Examiner~y2009m2d17-Proposed-state-beer-tax-increases-hard-to-swallow--impacting-jobs-and-beer-drinkers and http://www.examiner.com/x-241-Beer-Examiner~y2009m2d20-Arizona-legislators-trying-to-outdo-Oregon-with-a-2087-increase-in-beer-tax . Sorry about the long links, and the fact they may not be clickable (just copy and paste in to your browser), I haven't figured out this whole blog thing yet.
I encourage you to get involved in this matter and pass this on to other beer drinkers. The job you save just might be...mine.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Lost Abbey Brandy Angel's Share
Here is some great news, we just got word from Tomme Arthur that we will get some allocation of this year's Brandy Angel's Share. No specifics yet, but we expect to have enough to get it out to all key accounts throughout the state. For those of you that are unaware of this excellent product, it is essentially a barley wine aged in brandy barrels. It is consistently one of the top ranked beers in the world. Previously this beer has only been offered at the brewery, so we are really excited about it being on the shelves.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Oskar Blues in Town
Marty Ochs from Oskar Blues is in town for the Skirt Chaser 5k to be held at Tempe Beach Lake on February 14th. A fun event from a fun brewery. Any way, it got me thinking about how many breweries are following the lead of Oskar Blues and putting their beer in cans. These guys should get a lot of credit for pioneering canned craft beers. We should see Marty from time to time which means more Oskar Blues events and more Dale's Pale Ale, Old Chub, Gordon and Ten Fidy. Also, Marty tells us to look for a new regular product, Mama's Little Yella Pils. I've had a chance to try it, really good stuff.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Festivals
Okay, thanks for checking us out. It only took me 4 days to figure out how to get back in to this thing and post again. Anyway, we were doing some planning for upcoming festivals and it sounds like we are going to have some fun.
The Strong Beer Festival is at the Mesa Amphitheatre on February 28 (www.azbrewguild) and we will be pouring some great stuff including a strong ale from Lost Coast, probably some Belgians and maybe a couple of other unique things. Besides that, Port/Lost Abbey, Coronado, Breckenridge, SKA, Big Sky and Moylan's will all have their own booths. Denise Jones, Brewster at Moylan's will be here for one of her first official visits and she is bringing some good beer with her. Think extreme hops and a double version of one of their classic beers, not available in AZ.
Little Guy presents Hopapalooza at the Great AZ Festival on March 7 and 8 (www.azbeer.com). We will be pouring virtually all of our IPAs, a couple of Belgian IPAs and maybe some other hoppy favorites. We also had to include Redstone and Wyder's because you folks all love them despite the absence of hops. SKA, Big Sky, Coronado among others will have their own booths as well. Don't know about you, but I am excited.
The Strong Beer Festival is at the Mesa Amphitheatre on February 28 (www.azbrewguild) and we will be pouring some great stuff including a strong ale from Lost Coast, probably some Belgians and maybe a couple of other unique things. Besides that, Port/Lost Abbey, Coronado, Breckenridge, SKA, Big Sky and Moylan's will all have their own booths. Denise Jones, Brewster at Moylan's will be here for one of her first official visits and she is bringing some good beer with her. Think extreme hops and a double version of one of their classic beers, not available in AZ.
Little Guy presents Hopapalooza at the Great AZ Festival on March 7 and 8 (www.azbeer.com). We will be pouring virtually all of our IPAs, a couple of Belgian IPAs and maybe some other hoppy favorites. We also had to include Redstone and Wyder's because you folks all love them despite the absence of hops. SKA, Big Sky, Coronado among others will have their own booths as well. Don't know about you, but I am excited.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Welcome to the Little Guy Beer Stuff Blog
Okay great beer fans. Little Guy is moving in to the 21st century. This here will be our beer blog where you can regularly check to see what's happening in our world. Occasionally there will be a nugget of good information, occasionally I will say something clever, most of the time you won't even understand why you bothered to check it out.
This stuff is pretty cool, if I do it right, you will be able to see this on the Little Guy Distributing web site (www.littleguydistributing.com) and you can even subscribe to it on Yahoo, Google and other portals. You can comment back to us (keep it clean) and we can share information on great beer. We may have some guest bloggers, maybe a podcast, a twitter feed and Facebook. I have no idea what any of that means, but my technology advisor told me to say that.
Stay tuned, more to come.
This stuff is pretty cool, if I do it right, you will be able to see this on the Little Guy Distributing web site (www.littleguydistributing.com) and you can even subscribe to it on Yahoo, Google and other portals. You can comment back to us (keep it clean) and we can share information on great beer. We may have some guest bloggers, maybe a podcast, a twitter feed and Facebook. I have no idea what any of that means, but my technology advisor told me to say that.
Stay tuned, more to come.
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