Beer links for the last days of Spring

Spring sprang. Summer shows up this week which means summer ales and lagers, just in time for thirst quenching refreshment from the heat and humidity.

In the News

Single Beer Ban: D.C. Officials Want To Broaden Controversial Policy (Huffington Post)
I'm pretty sure this policy will not work to the expectation of the council.

Original here

10 Best Vacation Cities for Beer Lovers (The Street)
Surprises: Portland, Maine 

The one that shouldn’t have been a surprise but was: Burlington, VT
The one that was missing that will be on their next time: Washington DC.

Pennsylvania debates new beer flow (philly.com)
Distributors will eventually have to give way and come up with a better model.

Rising African tide floats global brewers’ boats (Reuters)
This is a good thing for the craft beer movement in the United States. It provides opportunity to continue to entrench in the minds of America of what beer should be while the big breweries are treasure hunting for profits overseas.

Northwest beer drinkers more likely than most to prefer local brew (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)
Who would have thought that an area with a boatload of craft brewers would have a population that enjoyed their products.

New craft beer company brewing in Jackson County (WDAM – Channel 7)
Expect more of this type of story coming out of Mississippi.

Craft beer finds growing US fan base (GMA News)

An interesting article but the lede frankly sucks as bad as the ones I normally write.

NY finds way to cheer beer brewers by restoring special tax break, keeping costs lower (Washington Post)
Which is a good thing right now for the one of the economy's shining stars. 

New 'Beer' Has Dogs Barking for Brews (ABC News)

I wonder if I can check into this brew on Untappd...

Fun flavours, local brews abound at Ontario Craft Beer Week (Metro News)

If you are hanging around the province this week then check out some of their craft brews, you could unlock the badge on Untappd!

In Site News

Now that SAVOR DC is out of the way, we will turn our attention back to Iceland. Look for the interview with the fine brewers of Borg Brugghus. In addition we will take a closer look at a few summer seasonals.

Remember you can always find us on Twitter, Facebook, Untappd, and Google+. Thanks for stopping by.

SAVOR DC 2012 - Photo Catalog

Our host

Before the Madness

It begins!

The simpleness of greatness

Someday.

A special guest?

The Lineup

Oyster madness!

The shuck

Pin mania

Enjoyment

Laid out

The exchange

The set up

The show off

In the middle

Coming soon to a store near us

Ready for prime time

Dessert

Cheers!

Beer links for the week of June 11th.

We are getting so close to summer I can almost taste it. Here are a few beer links to satisfy your cravings.

In the News!

Finally, gluten-free beer that tastes like beer (St. Louis Post-Dispatch by way of The Republic)
In a few months we will be looking at new arrivals on the gluten-free scene. 

This is a dual purpose picture, one to
inform you about Minnesota's local
craft scene, and the other to remind
you to go read my awesome
SAVOR article!

Beer-lovers to push for homebrewing law (Jackson Clarion-Ledger)
Mississippi beer lovers had a huge win a few weeks ago, here is hoping they soon have another.

To Grow A Craft Beer Business, The Secret’s In The Water (NPR)
Yes it is. It is sort of the rug that ties the whole room together. 

Beer maker asks commuters to give up four wheels for two (WTOP 103.5 FM)
No surprise this comes from New Belgium, sustainability and environmental stewardship are a big part of their corporate culture.

Beer, Wine Now Sold In Lincoln Sundays Before Noon (WOWT Channel 6 News – NBC)
Another blue law steps aside.

Where local beers are King: Patriotism or great taste in Minnesota and Wisconsin? You be the judge (The Dickinson Press)
I vote Wisconsin though in this election we all actually win. 

Secret to being thin hidden in your beer (iol)
Science!

Craft Breweries Take Off In Region (WUSA Channel 9 – CBS)
The DC metro region is starting to take off!

‘Queens of Beer’ to open first LGBT brewery ever in San Diego (Los Angeles Times)
My first thought was, "I thought this would have happened sooner." Needless to say though this is a positive for the industry.

Bill would allow small breweries to expand sales (readingeagle.com)
This is a good thing for small brewers but I find the distributors' response somewhat puzzling. You need to change your business model to reflect the times. 

No limits on local beers as brewers expand (Houston Chronicle)
If I have to move to Texas then this blog won't lack for material.

Beer makes hay while sun shines (Daily Pioneer)
While I read this article I had a little daydream of starting a craft brewery in India.

5 refreshing canned beers to beat the summer heat (MSNBC)
Get prepared for summer! Want other options to bring to the beach or lake where bottles and glass are prohibited? Then go check out www.craftcans.com!

Tom Kitchin: ‘That’s the essence of these artisan beers – the best of the old with the best of the new’ (Scotsman)
That is probably as good a statement for craft brewing as any.

Beer Glasses (New York Times)

Remember the importance of glassware for beer!

In Site News!

Look for more stories from Iceland, pictures from SAVOR, and another piece about New York. I'll be honest I have more content than I can shake a stick at.  As always you can follow us by clicking on the widget in the top right corner. Thanks for stopping by!

The Iceland Beer Saga: Chapter 1, A Bottle's Journey

A six pack of Port City Monumental IPA made the trip to Iceland, one bottle though had a much more epic adventure. This is that bottle's tale...

s

The bottle first journeyed down the coast to see the Seljalandfoss...

...then climbed to the top of the Stóra-Dímon...

...and took in the scenic views.

The bottle journeyed up along the coast of the Þingvallavatn...

...picnicked out at the Öxarárfoss...

...visited Þingvellir and learned about the Alþingi.

On the final day it took in the majesty of the Gullfoss, 

trying hard not to blow over and tumble down the cliffs...

and stood tall before the Hallgrímskirkja...

The bottle was last seen heading off with its fellows in the hands of a cool and gracious Icelander to have one final adventure. That story has yet to be told. 

Stay tuned for Chapter Two of the Iceland Beer Saga: These Few Good Brews

The Legacy of Pilsner

We stepped out of pilsner month on Thursday but before we leave it too far in our rearview mirror we should take one final look at its legacy. The impact of pilsner beer cannot be understated; it is still being felt today, I posit that our current craft beer revolution owes a huge debt of gratitude to pilsner beer.  

First a bit of history, pilsner gets its name from Plzen, Czech Republic, a small town in the Bohemia region. Plzen had a few advantages in creating pilsner beer.  It has ridiculously soft water compliments of the limestone, a distinct style of noble hops, Saaz, located just down the road, fertile land for growing barley, and caves that will keep things cool. The brewing community was also properly motivated. A few years prior vats of beer had to be dumped because of their horrible taste. Quite a scandal for the local brewing scene so there was an impetus to change it up and prove some brewing competence in Plzen. 

(Original here)

What they introduced, in 1842, (with an assist of a smuggled Bavarian yeast strain) was a beer unlike anything scene before. A crystal clear, golden colored, high carbonated, white fluffy headed wonder. A beautiful filtered lager built for refreshment. It was a smash hit…and that may have been the end of the story, but here is where the pilsner story gets a whole lot more interesting. 

In my view the most fascinating thing about pilsner isn't the beer itself but its popularity explosion around the world. If pilsner had been introduced 50 years, maybe even 30 years earlier it may not have risen to the heights it did, it may have stayed a regional novelty. The timing of pilsner's arrival could not have been better. It was to be the beneficiary of technological, industrial, and social convergence. 

By 1842 the industrial revolution was in full force in the German states and railways were rapidly connecting cities and all points between. In addition communication channels were also improving, (newspapers, telegraphs) News of this new beer spread across central Europe pretty quickly. With reliable transportation it became possible to ship it and once modern refrigeration arrived on the scene it became possible to store it for longer periods of time. With a beer as novel as pilsner once it showed up on the scene it was soon copycatted. 

The 1840s were also a period of upheaval in central Europe, notably 1848, where revolutions spurred massive immigration to the United States. German immigration brought along with it a strong brewing culture and a thirstiness for pilsner beer. German brewers quickly established brewing strongholds throughout the United States but most prevalent in the midwest in places like Milwaukee and St. Louis. The seeds for pilsner's rise and decline would be sown here. Americans were thirsty for this brew and it caught on quick. 

The Germans in Europe were also doing their part to spread the pilsner word. 

Once the Prussians brought about unification they then turned colonization in Africa and parts of Asia. Where the Germans went so did their beer. Since pilsner didn't travel well it became necessary to brew it in the colonies. 

Part of why pilsner caught on like wildfire was that it was refreshing and great at quenching thirst but still light on the palette. While it is a lager and tastes been when chilled with the advent and proliferation of modern refrigeration these issues became moot. So what happened? How did a beer that had reached stratospheric heights in popularity end up with such a mediocre reputation. 

It is interesting to note that reputation only really holds true here in the United States, pilsner's reputation in other places is not as poor. In fact it soon had inspired a variety of responses and competitors like Kölsch, Kristallweizen, and Belgium tripel, to name a few. 

Craft brewers work to rehabilitate
pilsner's reputation.

In the States though we had Prohibition, over a decade of poorly thought out temperance that thoroughly devastated the American brewing industry. The most aggressive of those survivors were soon national then global in scope. Making money became the most important factor, not necessarily brewing the best product, but brewing a product that will fly off the shelf the fastest. Once that became the focus pilsner changed to pilsner-like and it's reputation declined accordingly. 

It was this lack of creativity and homogenization of beer that helped fuel people's desire to drink and try other brews which has led to our current burgeoning craft brewing revolution. It should be no surprise then that it is in this arena where pilsner as a style has started to gain its credibility back as a delicious and refreshing beer that when brewed with care and inspiration shows us how it managed to soar to the most popular beer in the world.