Converting Jerry

We moved into a new home a few years back. My closest neighbor was Jerry. He is now in his upper 70's. I asked what his favorite past time was and he said yard work and drinking beer. Cool, I thought. I have a drinking partner.  Not too long after that, he invited me over for a beer.  Cool, I thought. This could be the start of something big. When I got there, he said, now, what can I get you, a Busch or a Natural Light?  Panic overtook me. How was I to handle this? My hands were shaking and my knees were weak. I can't seem to st.....wait, I digress. I took a deep breath and thought, well anything is better than a Natty Light. So I took the Busch.
I managed to get it down without incident. Then he asked if I wanted another. Got to go, I said.

A couple of weeks later, I invited him over to my place. I told him I was fresh out of Natty Light and Busch, but I had this Mow Master beer from Ellicottville Brewing Company he might like. He tried it and he said he liked it. Couple weeks later at his house, Natty Light or Busch? Couple weeks later at my house, Warsteiner, from Germany. And so it went, the rest of the summer. Each time he came to my house I got him to try a different beer. Pilseners at first but eventually working up to some stouts.

Well, this past Christmas he stopped by the house. I brought you a present, he said. There was a mixed six pack of Samuel Adams.  He said he thought I'd like them. He said he had been buying them, some Heineken and a few other kinds.  He said, I never knew beer... and then he hesitated. I finished his sentence by saying - was supposed to have flavor. We both laughed.

Looking forward to going over to Jerry's house this summer.

Seasons of the Beer

Now, on to beer seasons.  Most people are at least vaguely aware that certain beers are offered only in specific seasons. Summer Beer, Oktoberfest Beer, Pumpkin Beer and Holiday Beer are some of the more common examples. Because I have over 100 beers rated as "A", I wanted to find a way that I can enjoy many of them, not just having a year round "go to" beer. I rarely try new beers at home anymore. What's the sense? At home I want to drink what I like. I use my travels to try new stuff, particularly at friends' houses. I figure if I have to waste beer, I might as well waste theirs, right? So, anyway, I developed a Beer Seasons Style list. Changing some, or even all of your beers each season helps to give you a great variety and maintain your interest in beers throughout the year. Not uncoincidentally, my "seasons" follow the major brewers schedules.

So, what am I drinking now? Well my "seasons" are each two months long. So, in January and February, I am drinking Winter Warmers (Strong Dark Ales), Barley-wines, Stouts and Imperial Stouts, Bocks and some of the beer I age in my beer cellar. Specifically I am favoring Firestone Walkers Walkers Reserve, St. Bernardus Abt 12, Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Delerium Tremens, Trappist Ales, Left Hand Milk Stout and Samuel Adams Utopias. I will update you late this month for my March and April "season".

Cheers!

Ramblings

I know I said I was going to comment on beer seasons next, but I've been getting some questions, so I just thought I'd just ramble today and, perhaps, answer some of them.

First off, my 1300th different beer is a Samuel Adams Cold Snap, appropriate for today. The label says it's an unfiltered white ale brewed with spices. Pretty good! The spices include orange peel, plum, pepper and colander. I thinks it's an A. I'll buy it again, soon.

When I taste a beer, I'm not necessarily judging it against other beers but more against the standard of the beer style. It's kind of like a dog show. The boxer is not judged against the collie but against the boxer standard. When I refuse to answer the question of my favorite beer (a previous post), the follow up I get is, well, what's your favorite beer style? Again, I am vague.  I will readily admit I prefer a beer that is balanced, but, I am more a malt head than a hop head. That is, very hoppy beers, generally, I rank lower than less hoppy beers.  BUT, beer styles are like people and music; there are good and not so good in all categories. Everybody has a different sense of taste, which is why I refrain from recommending a great beer. It may not taste great to others.

My wife and I are a mixed marriage, she likes grapes and I like hops. Still we get along. I tell her that beer is a much better bet. Wine is grapes, period. Sure sometimes other fruit is used, but, by and large, it's grapes. The taste of the wine, I'm told, is determined by the region of where the grapes are grown and the weather in that region at the time. Beer is water, barley malt, hops and yeast and then anything else you want to add! Chocolate? Dump it in. Fruit and/or vegetables? Add it. Want to burn the hops? Do it. Make it from wheat? Nice change! Add corn to raise profit margins? Accepted practice of the big boys. Nothing wrong with it, I guess, but it sure doesn't add flavor. Add spices? Yep. Beer ingredients are limited only by the imagination. Admittedly, I have wondered, "did anyone taste this before it went to market?".
But, someone must have liked it.

Finally, I was asked why I don't explain more about beer styles and beer term that I use.  That is what Google is for. If you are interested, seek out that which interests you. I don't want to bore the masses. A great source of that type of info is beeradvocate.com.   Cheers!

My Favorite Beer

It never fails that when the topic of my beer database comes up, someone will ask what my favorite beer is. It is usually put to me in a question like "if I put a gun to your head and said you had to pick one favorite, what would it be?". I usually say "I can't think with a gun to my head". The fact is, out of the 1299 different beers I have had, 176 are A's.  Now my grading system is: A's are beer that I can't wait to buy again. B's are beers that I would buy again but only if I couldn't find an A. C's are beers that I would not buy again but would drink at a friends house, if it was all he had. D's are beers that I would only drink if I was about to die of dehydration. And F's, well, I'd go ahead and die of dehydration. Fortunately, there have only been 3 F's and, I believe, they had gone bad. I'll try them again someday, maybe.  So, back to my favorites. My favorite would depend on what I am doing, where I am and what the temperature is. For example, sitting around a bonfire at night, listening to music or to nothing but the night, it would hard to beat a Samuel Adams Utopias. It may be the most complex beer ever made. It's 26% alcohol so you just kick back, relax and sip an ounce or two. It's also $200 a bottle, so I don't drink it often! Sitting around inside the house and reading, I may reach for a Belhaven Scottish Ale or an Avery's Ellie's Brown Ale. On a hot summer day, sitting out on the deck, I may reach for an Erdinger Hefe-Weizen or a Weihenstephaner Original. On a cold winter's day, inside, I may grab a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout or Taddy Porter.  So, you see, I could never pick a single favorite anymore that you could pick your favorite child, assuming you have more than one! I actually change up the beers I drink by changing with the seasons. That may be a good topic for next time.  Cheers!

Super Sunday 2014

I am going to try to post on Tuesdays, Thursdays and maybe Saturdays. But, today being Super Bowl Sunday, I figured it deserved a post.  Though I could care less about the game, I will watch it, but mostly because I enjoy the commercials. I am trying to decide between Stone Brewing's Arrogant Bastard Ale and Rogue Ale's Dead Guy Ale. My wife says that the former is a good choice for me and the latter will apply if I don't get my chores done before the game! Ouch!
ABA is a strong ale and DGA a Maibock, both very appropriate for the cold eastern weather today.

I also want to clear up a misconception about my profile picture. The picture is not of me offering my granddaughter a beer and, therefore, corrupting the morals of a minor, but of her giving me her beer and, therefore, corrupting the morals of a senior. Just wanted to clear that up. By the way, parental supervision was present during that shoot. No seniors or toddlers were alcohol abused.

Well, enjoy the game, or not.
Cheers!

In the beginning

About 5 years ago, I went to my doctor for a physical. He asked if I was a beer drinker. I replied that I drank a beer now and then but that was it.  He said that he wanted me to start drinking a beer a day, preferably a dark one and most preferably, Guinness, if I could acquire a taste for it. Naturally, I asked why. He said to Google the benefits of a beer a day. He emphasized that it had to be a beer a day, not seven on Saturday night! So, I did as he instructed and was quite impressed when I read the benefits. I had heard some of the benefits attributed to red wine but beer was even a harder worker. I told my wife that if I was going to do this, I would make an effort to try many different beers to see if I could find something that I really enjoyed. I set up a relational database and began to log in every beer I tried, entering the brewer, name, style, alcohol content, where brewed, notes on the beer and my ranking of A thru F. And so it began. It has been a great experience. When I began, I enjoyed Coors regular, then my go to beer became Yuengling Lager. Now, I don't drink either. My taste has changed to complex beers which are largely made by the craft brewers in America.  There are some very flavorable imports that I enjoy also. In fact, my "go to" beer in the summer is Weihenstephaner Original from Munich, Germany.  I really like the beer but it is also fun to sit and think that, as the world's oldest brewery  and headquartered in Bavaria, I am drinking the same recipe as my ancestors in Bavaria did. How cool is that?

Welcome

By popular demand, I am starting this blog on beer. It will evolve over the next few months. My first post has me enjoying a Worthington's Red Shields Blonde Ale. A nice session beer at 4.2 % abv. Just placed an order with my beer middleman and will soon be enjoying some offerings from Achel and Mikkeller. I'll keep you posted. By the way, the Worthington's was my 1298 different beer.
Cheers!