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Session # 9 Part One- 500 Miles from Nowhere

The Session
The Session

It’s August 1991. The weather in San Diego is unseasonably warmer than normal and it’s time to pack up and head out. I’m a seasoned 17 years old as I stuff my clothes, stereo and CD’s in my dill pickle green 1969 VW bus and point the compass east towards Flagstaff, Arizona where I will be attending Northern Arizona University.

Beer is not even a pimple on my oily butt at this point in my life. Sure, I knew what it was and what it tasted like, but I really didn’t know what “It” was. Now I most certainly do. And I have four years of college “studies” to thank for that.

1991 was a tempestuous year for me as my parents had recently separated and I wasn’t sure that leaving home for college was really the best thing to do. Maybe I was scared, confused or something. But leaving didn’t seem like something I should be doing. Turns out, I was very wrong.

With the van loaded and ready to go, I kissed my old life goodbye and we started the two Arthur car caravan. As many of you know, Volkswagen’s are moody little vehicles. My family owned 5 of them when I was in high school and they were constantly in need of our attention. As such, when it came time to leave for school, it was decided that we would take two cars to Flagstaff in case we needed to get parts for the van on the way across the desert.

My dad piloted the super pickle east out of San Diego through the mountains and down into the valley desert floor that separates San Diego from Arizona. For my part, I was instructed to follow the green machine on the ascent and descent in case my dad needed anything.

Deserts are desolate places and radios are pretty much useless. With this in mind, I made sure that I was stocked up on music. On the front seat of the Jeep I was driving was my stash of tapes (Cd players were very expensive still). As we headed out the mountains of San Diego, I reached over and grabbed a tape without thinking about it. It was Peter Gabriel.

Now, I remember the trip out of San Diego as clear as day. It was like I was leaving a very important part of my life behind. It was proverbially the journey from young man to just manhood. I never found any other way to describe it. For the first time in my life, I would be responsible for everything- without parental control everyday. Oh yeah, I was 17 years old too and more or less, on my own.

And little did I know it, I would “find” my new life in beer while I was in school in Flagstaff. On the second major grade out of town, I lost radio reception. I pushed the tape into the radio and sort of zoned out to the lyrics of Solsbury Hill as Mr. Gabriel refrained:

Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.

Understand of course that I was being pulled away from home. I was driving away from the life that I had known for 17 years. It was the only life I had known. Yet, there was something very magical waiting for me in Flagstaff. I just didn’t know it. I owe my now famous brewing life to that town.

It was a ten hour drive to Flagstaff that August. Volkswagen’s are like draft horses,very plodding and deliberate. They’re equally as famous for 0-55 in 6 minutes. Fast they are not. I must have exhausted half my tape collection on that drive and to this day, the only song that I remember listening to was Solsbury Hill.

This life that I am living right now owes Flagstaff everything and more. When I was in school, I met friends whose passion for beer convinced me that a life worth living necessarily includes beer. They are not mutually exclusive.

That was over 15 years ago. It’s crazy. Yet, those lyrics are still with me every time that I hear that song.

Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.

Music is a huge part of my life. I love lyrics. I love interpreting them. But most of all, I love it most when music and life align in a moment of clarity. It happens. This much I know. It happened on Interstate 8 East near Alpine that morning I left San Diego.

16 Years ago, I pointed my energies at a city 500 miles from home. In many ways, it was 500 Miles from Nowhere. You know, even Nowhere is a place if you never get there. It’s hard to imagine my life without beer. The thought of teaching high school English still appeals to me. Just not now. Right now, I am enjoying each and everyday surrounded by beer. I’m not sure I truly discovered beer; rather, I think beer discovered me.

Since that day I headed east with Peter Gabriel on my radio, the one constant in my life has been beer. And, every so often, a song comes into my life that reminds me of what music means to me as an artist. It’s about expression- just like the beers we brew.

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Session # 9 Beer and Music- The Message in a Bottle

The Session
The Session

Here are my last minute instructions for Session #9 Music and Beer- The Message in a Bottle.  It will be easiest on me if you post to please leave a pingback and/or a comment on your Friday post to www.lostabbey.com.  If this doesn’t float your boat, please email lostabbey@gmail.com” as the email address and we’ll collect from there.

I will be bottling our Lost Abbey Christmas beer known as Gift of the Magi on Friday while listening to the rado and will do a summary post round-up of allthe sessions on Friday evening so don’t worry if you’re late or I don’t have a collection of posts earlier in the day.

Get to it.  I expect to see an interesting collection of observations.

Tomme

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Session # 9 Beer and Music- The Message in a Bottle

The Session
The Session

Session #9 is titled Beer and Music- The Message in a Bottle.  Just about every brewery or pub I have ever walked into, there is music- Background, in the brewhouse or even live on the floor.  It’s everywhere.  There’s even beer enthusiasts, marketers and producers who play.

Personally, I have always loved music and its ability to serve so many different needs and roles.  In many ways, it’s like beer.  There’s seemingly so many different styles and interpretations and for me, there is always a great song or beer for every occassion.

For this session, I am looking towards my fellow bloggers to share a music and beer moment with.  It could be that Pearl Jam show I attended 7 years ago where I was forced to drink 5 Coronas to stay warm.  But more likely, it could be an album or song that you’re always listening to.  I, for my part, will be writing two blogs.  One will be about a particular memory and the other will be about musical stylings and my beers.

Mostly though, I would really like to see how others experience music and beer.  I have so many ideas that to only work with two seems crazy.  Music as an artform inspires me in so many ways.  I think it infuses my writings and brewing and I can’t wait to share that with you.  I hope you find this an agreeable Session…

Tomme

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And away they go…Port Brewing San Marcos+ The Lost Abbey

Hey,

It’s me. You know that balding guys ego. He’s asleep right now and he neglected to blog about his beers so I thought I would do it for him.

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, I don’t show up in Denver to loose. Sure that’s a hell of a statement but why wouldn’t you want to win? It’s the biggest and most prestigious event in the United States. Each year, we send 8 beers and every single time we enter, I expect that 50% of them will medal. Clearly, that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself. But hey, that’s what egos are for…

This year is certainly no different as we have again entered 8 beers. I’d like to stand here and tell you that all 8 are medal worthy but that simply isn’t the case. Tomme waited all week to post this because he thought some of the beers sent were incredible unique. That’s him you know- Fearless. I think he’s stupid too. But that’s just me. The ego keeping things real.

If you’re reading this, the judging sessions have all ended and all that is left is the awards ceremony today where we get to see how well breweries have done this year. This year, the Great American Beer Festival judged over 2800 beers in 75 separate categories. First up for Port Brewing Co will be category #7 and the place where we have placed Judgment Day. This is the Specialty Beer category and beers in this division require unique fermentables. Judgment Day is made with raisins and finds itself being measured against 16 other beers. This one made Jeff’s list.

He could be right! Three years ago, at Tomme’s insistance, Eric Rose entered a Belgian Style Dubbel with Raisins in this category and went on to win the Gold Medal. It was his first ever GABF Medal. The judges have shown an inclination to accept the merits of brewing with raisins as a unique ferementable and without a doubt, Judgment Day is a beast of a beer in that department. If we hit the board with our first entry, we may hit the ground running and never look back.

Up next, we have # 11 Experimental Beers with 35 Entries. Here, Tomme has entered one of his numerous small batch blends called Veritas 002.

He is very excited to be sending a beer in this category. When he thinks of all the beers and flavors he wants to create, this is what it is all about. Often, this is a wide open field with too many unknowns to handicap well. Veritas 002 is no different. It is a collaborative blend of sour barrel aged beer, Redstone Black Raspberry Nectar and Old Viscosity. This is a unique drinking experience. Even me, his ego, loves it!

Yet, not one of our tasting panelists picked this as a medal winning creation. As his ego, I was crushed. He tells me to get over it. I don’t know if I can. Each liked the creation for its perspective but none wanted to endorse it. I am personally enamored with its ego stretching boundaries and am thankful he sent it. Based upon last night, so are many of the beer drinkers on the floor.

After the Experimental Beers, we’ll catch our breath for about 30 seconds waiting for Category # 12 and the newly created category known as American Wild Ales with 12 Entries. A brewer friend of Tomme’s recently said they probably created this category with Tomme and Vinnie in mind. As his ego, I couldn’t agree more as this is exactly the sort of category that Vinnie and Tomme can do well in.

Cable Car has been called many things since it was released earlier this summer. John Hansell of Malt Advocate Magazine tabbed it as the “best American Sour ale I have ever had…” Since it was blended, I have watched Tomme tell people in no uncertain terms that he feels it is the best bottle of beer he has ever produced. And trust me, he ain’t taken to hyperbole often. That’s my job!

Cable Car was a special blend of three oak barrels which was created for the Dave Keene and the world famous Toronado at 547 Haight Street. Dave Keene will be in the audience today and should this beer medal, Tomme has promised to drag Dave Keene on stage with him. Tomme told me last night if is only going to win one award this year, he wants this one so that Dave can see the stage from another perspective. Both Vinnie and Bagby have stated the same. Let’s hope we go trifecta on the Toronado beers and give Dave an amazing day.

Once we have ridden the Cable Car to its destination, we’ll focus our efforts to Category 16 Wood and Barrel Aged Sour Beers with 20 entries including our world famous Cuvee de Tomme. The Cuvee has gone dark in the last few years lurking seemingly beneath a burdening shadow of greatness.

I’d like to see this one make like Lazarus and rise from the dead. It remains one of the most uniquely produced American Beers out there. This batch is the first batch we ever blended for bottling and it remains to be seen if the sum total is greater than any of its parts. This is another new category created for Tomme and Vinnie and it looks like we’re crapshooting here. I like this beer. I just hope we’re not left wondering how we’re ever going to get back on the podium with this one.

Post Cuvee, we’ll slumber through Lager Land waking only long enough to cheer for PBR and Mickey’s all the while waiting to see if Sandlot can go Big Time like before and sweep through the lagers as in the past. I don’t think it will happen. There are just getting to be too many beers for this to go their way again.

After the Lagers, we’ll watch Pizza Port make it’s stretch run through the Ale categories. Our next beer will be in Category #45 with Hop 15. This is the biggest Dog that we have sent. It will easily get its ASS kicked by better more deserving beers. I hate typing that but it’s true.

It’s a production nightmare to make this beer in San Marcos and we’ve been chasing this beer all summer. For those of you playing along at home, we promise to get Hop 15 back to the podium. It is a damn fine beer. But if you’re betting the farm on one of our beers, just remember with Hop 15, I don’t drive tractors either.

After Hop 15 gets trounced(by Jeff and Vinnie), we’ll sit back and cheer through Belgian Beer land as our friends pick up the slack. We’ll pause at Category 62 for Belgian Style Specialty Ales with 58 entries including and our Ten Commandments. This is our Anniversary beer made with Blackened Raisins and Rosemary. It doesn’t really fit a “true” style guideline and it really only “sorta” fits here.

At the tasting, this beer fired like an uncaged sprinter and never let up. The problem is, that even though this beer exudes confidence, like me, this category sets up more often than not of late to smash individualism. We’ll remain committed to making this great batch of beer even if we never find a home for it at the GABF.

It’s possible that we could catch a flyer on uniqueness and earn extra points for subtle spicing but in the end, Tomme’s pretty sure we’ll get passed over. If it wins, he’s promised to High Five Jeff for a beer finally getting its due. It remains to this day, one of their most inspired and well thought out beers even though it never seems to win anything. A vote for Myopia then?

Oh CRAP! He just woke up…I’m posting now without finishing this blog. I hope he doesn’t mind. Me, I love being his ego. It’s a pretty cool job with tons of fringe benefits. Sometimes, I wonder what life would be like if I had a sucky ego job?

give me money

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And away they go…Part two

As we move south from San Clemente, we make a short detour in Carlsbad to visit the 10 beers that Jeff Bagby is sending to the festival this year. My liver was threatening to go Screen Actors Guild on my ass and require a stunt double to get through this side of the tasting. My agent of liquid refreshment calmed him down. For those playing along at home, Jeff tallied 5 medals last year. Most expect that he’ll “fall” back resting on his laurels if you will to only 3-5 this time. I’m in the 3-4 camp myself.

First pony out of the gates for Carlsbad was:

Good Grief Brown Ale: This beer was on top of the world at the San Diego County Fair competition in June. A great English Style Brown Ale with loads of depth. Unilike little boy Chuck who never seems to actually make contact with that ball, Jeff booted this recipe straight through the uprights. Unfortunately, this one may find him more on his back this time. A great beer that lacks “La Cruda.” Ask me why…the psychiatrist is in. .05 cents please.

Port Truck Stout: This is essentially the same recipe as the Seaside Stout that is brewed in Solana Beach. It is an awesome Dry Irish Stout when it fires. This one is so close to being perfect. We loved the finishing power of this beer. This category can be quite the dog and pony show but I like some of Jeff’s other beers better. Would be in my Superfecta pix with a nod to sympathy and the recipe I love.

Great American Brown: This is a recipe that Jeff developed to send to the GABF for the first time last year. Guess what? It won. Seems to have all the properties required of a winner. It’s on my list of beers with ??? marks which is better than the ones I wrote nothing about. Maybe for some. I’m ambivalent which means I’ll pass at this time.

Sticky Stout: The beer that “shocked” the world last year. This is basically your Gold Medal American Stout winner. Anybody else remember the two headed monster of Noah on Jeff’s Shoulders across the stage? Don’t expect the monster this year. Noah moved on to San Clemente…Could this be Yiga’s Year? Me thinks so. Go for Gold.

Sharkbite Red Ale: Jeff has pretty much owned some version of the Red/Amber/Imperial Red category since he was with me in Solana Beach and then on his own at Oggis. The man knows Red Ales. Me, I am raising a Red Head. Either way, they’re both special and his beer shines. I’m reserving the right to say I told you so. But, I am not betting this one as I want to wager on other beers. A Sunday favorite with the others.

Beech Street Bitter: Jeff knows hops. Really, he does. This is an example of great skill with those little cones. An English Style IPA that brought home the eggs and bacon last year. I am calling for a two peat. A very tasty beer worthy of our judges attention this week. Bank on this one. I am.

Wipeout IPA: Your basic well hopped American Style IPA. I liked the taste of this beer. Hard to find ways to stand out in a sea of 120 beers. This one has potential. It has won in the past and is poised. Although, if I am betting IPA, I go San Clemente by a nose. A very small nose indeed.

Poor Man’s IPA: This was your runner up last year to Pliny the Elder in the double IPA category. Since Vinnie built in Santa Rosa, we’ve pretty much all been Pliny’s Bitch (even me once). That being said, I am staking my handicapping skills that this is the year that Pliny takes a half step back so that a Poor Old Working Man can bring home the goods. Gold Medal. Nothing else matters here.

Hop Suey: It’s a little known fact that a Pizza Port based Double IPA has won a medal at the GABF every year since they launched the category some 5 years ago. No other brewery can make that claim. This beer has never won but damnit it should. With that being said, Jeff wins two medals in the same category this year. Gold and Bronze. This beer wreaks. It wreaks like Fuzzy Bud. Very Fuzzy indeed.

547 Haight Street: The world famous Toronado had a 20th anniversary party this past summer. Perhaps you sampled this monster then? If so, you’d know like me, this is a WHOA Joey Lawrence sort of beer. I like it. I prefer the Shark Attack more. However, the sentimentality kicks in here. There are at least 3 of the Toronado 20th Anniversary beers entered in the competition. Would be pretty kick ass to see all three win. It could happen.

That’s it for Carlsbad. Jeff owned the Pizza Port Stage last year. I don’t see any reason for slowing down. It may not be 5…3 certainly wouldn’t suck. The cream rises to the top. Here’s hoping the Carlsbad boys have the ability to rise above the altitude one more time.

By my count 3-5 medals. I am taking the middle road of 4.

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And away they go…Part one

It’s that time of year. The Grand daddy of all brewing competitions is upon us. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your brewing engines. It’s fall and the kids are back in school. It must be time for the Great American Beer Festival.

If you are a professional brewer, chances are, you have had October 13th 2007 circled on your calendar since May. Today, hundreds of brewers, sales rep and owners will convene in Denver to see how well their beers stack up in what the late Michael Jackson once dubbed “the most well organized and professional of all beer competitions.” He’s right you know.

Each and every summer, brewers like me register for this grand spectacle wanting the same thing- to win and win big. It’s simple really. This is the olympics of beer and if you’re like me, you want to do well on this grand stage.

Each year, we are required to submit our bottled beers for evaluation by the judges. This year, the judges will sort through some 2800 beers in 75 different categories. It’s an arduous task to say the least.

It’s become a tradition for the brewers of Pizza Port and Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey to save extra bottles not sent for evaluation so that we can sample them before we leave to gauge our chances at winning. This past Sunday, October 7th (my birthday), we did just this.

As there are 3 Pizza Port locations plus the Port Brewing Facility, we were staring some 34 beers that needed to evaluated. These beers ranged from German Wheats, through a realm of IPA’s and finally culminated in Strong beers and Experimental Offerings all told, it was a crazy tasting.

I thought I would share with our readers the notes from our evaluations and offer what we think is a glimpse into the possibilities we envision for Saturday during the awards ceremony. In this role, I am acting like a handicapper at the track and giving you my thoughts on our beers and their relative chances of landing us in “the money.” So without further ado, here is the list of the beers and their chances.

Pizza Port San Clemente:

T Street Wheat– Nice beer with redeeming qualities. Tough category. Beer could use more body and yeast properties= We prefer others

Ba Donka Dunkel– Somewhat tired sample (brewed in May). At its peak, this had a chance. Will be running at the finish. Just not in the same direction as the medal winners.

Chronic– A perrenial favorite of Amber beer drinkers along the coast. I have never been a fan of this beer. It shows promise after getting a slight tweak earlier this year. Competition in this category is spotty and often sets up for the new guy. Me, not convinced enough yet.

Pier Rat Porter– A powerhouse beer with ample hops and interest. Should get very close to coming all the way with this one. I fear the hop presences but it might not be enough to trip up this black stallion. It gets a nod on my sheet as one to beat and will end up in the money.

Pig Dog Pale Ale– This one underwhelmed the tasting panel. Great recipe but out of sorts in the bottle right now. If you feel like going 75-1 to win be my guest. I’ve got others requiring my attention.

El Camino IPA– The biggest field in the competition with 120 entries. This is almost a never win proposition. Except, this beer has its merits. A very solid entry that would not suprise finding its way home.

DoHeny Double IPA– This recipe has proven in the past that it can play with the biggest of big boys taking home a gold medal 4 years ago. It certainly has that look in its eyes this year. I prefered the Carlsbad beers and somebody is going to have to take down Pliny. Looks promising but I think it will fall just short.

Way Heavy– Rough like a young colt. Given some more time to mature and seasoning, it’s a major score. We like this one for the spring edition of World Beer Cup. Not today. But you heard it hear first. April of 08 is when we’ll loosen the purse strings and take a chance that they too will be “way heavier” at World Beer Cup.

That’s it on the San Clemente Pizza Port front. When the dust settles, It is my opinion that Noah will have earned his first GABF solo medal and will truly come to understand the difficulty of this competition. I almost never put my money in first year head brewers to do well. It’s a brutal environment.

San Clemente Pizza Port equals one GABF Medal in 2007

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Session # 8 Food and Beer

You may not know it judging by the ingredients we use in some of our beers, but I am actually a fairly picky eater. In reality my beers are WAY more adventurous then my food preferences. It surprises many people when they hear this. This is especially true of my good friend Eric Rose who is the Head Brewer and owner of Hollister Brewing Co. For the record, he’s constantly giving me crap about it.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s get to Session # 8 Food and Beer. For the past 10 years, I have been fortunate to work alongside a very talented chef. His name is Vince Marsaglia. In many ways, he’s fearless, like my brewing style, when it comes to making food. The best thing about Chef Vince is his complete disregard for Conventionality as it relates to cooking.

Over the years, Vince has amazed us all with his skills. I have never seen anyone cook in quite the same manner as he does. Perhaps, years from now, they’ll be talking about cooking in the “Vince Marsaglia” style? Seriously, I have never seen anyone turn the back of a Toyota Tundra into a kitchen faster than Vince. Did you know he even fabricated his own barbecue that is custom designed to fill the tailgate of his truck? Who does that, Chef Vince that’s who!

I am seriously contemplating trying to build our brand around a new food network show featuring Vince Marsaglia staring in Junk Yard Kitchen. He’s got all the toys these days to do it. Do you know anyone else with a mobile Pizza Oven trailer? How about some body (anybody) with a propane fired deep fryer? And let’s not forget that custom barbecue that Vince built. He’s crazier than Crackhead Dave and Speedball Mitch combined. I swear I could have gotten him a show by now on Food Network if only Vince liked to talk. But when he cooks, he’s focused like Atila the Hun.

Yet, I am very blessed and consider myself lucky to work in the shadow of such genius. Over the last year, Vince was tasked with creating our “Proprietary Raisin Puree.” Lord knows I couldn’t have done that! On a side note, we’re equal opportunity branding whores here at The Lost Abbey. Look for the “Proprietary Raisin Puree” at a Whole Foods near you soon. However, as part of our building The Lost Abbey brand, I am always looking for places to showcase Vince’s Culinary skills.

Earlier this year, Vince and I had the pleasure of working with Chef Carlton on the very 1st beer dinner to take place at the Stone Bistro and World Gardens. Vince and I sat down and discussed a menu for the evening. It was my job to suggest items for the dinner as well as work with Carlton to ensure the pairings. Vince for his part, got the full assistance of the restaurant staff in executing a meal not cooked in the back of a Japanese pickup truck- WHO KNEW?

The beer list featured Avant Garde, Lost and Found, Red Barn, Veritas 001 and The Angel’s Share. I chose to write about this meal today as when it was all said and done, this was the best beer dinner I have ever orchestrated- with apologies to the maestro Tom Peters of Monk’s Café.

Over the years, I have participated in more beer dinners than I can recall. Yet, they always have at their root expression a desire to pair food and beer. (Sometimes, I forget that beer dinners are not necessarily vehicles for getting intoxicated. That is merely the end result AFTER dinners are complete). Our beers have been a part of so many great dinners that I struggled to decide which one to write about.

Then, I started thinking about the best ones and why the succeeded in ways the others didn’t. And, at the end of it all, I was reminded that inevitably, beers dinners have at least one pairing that goes Scott Norwood on our asses and misses wide left (or even right). But, this dinner that we did at Stone went straight through the uprights and was the most memorable 5 course beer dinner I have ever done (my ego’s too).

At the end of the meal, I stood back and marveled at the execution of Vince’s recipes, our pairings and the pure poetry of it all. It was as if for one night, it stopped raining in Seattle, there was no cancer in the world and we all walked on water. Seriously, I am not often drawn to hyperbole but that night was almost better than sex.

I’m guessing that most of you out there reading this weren’t there as I believe announced attendance was 47 people. With that in mind, I thought for Session #8, I would share the menu and pairings from the night so you could play along at home.

The weekend before the event, I sat down with samples of the beers and Carlton and I finalized some of the tweaks to the menu. Having done several dinners with Junkyard Vince, I have come to appreciate the simplicity and elegance of Spring Rolls on plates. For the Stone dinner, we rolled out the rolls (again) and started the dinner with finger food. I mean, who doesn’t like finger foods?

I talked Vince into developing a Chicken Mole Spring roll that highlighted the yeast qualities of our Lost and Found Abbey Ale. When the rolls hit the table, it was easy to see that the dark cocoa flavors and banana yeast esters found in our Lost and Found were going to match perfectly. The addition of sliced plantains in the mix really scored well with the patrons as well.

For the second course, we chose to feature Avant Garde. This has been a favorite of ours to pair with Cheese and as such, I asked the chefs to work around a framework of soup and cheese. I had envisioned something along the lines of French Onion Soup with a caramelized gooey cheese top. Carlton wanted something with a splash more levity. It was less hearty and in the end featured shavings of Asiago. It pretty much smashed. I watched the patrons slurp their way to the finish nodding in approval. The beer provided ample foundation and didn’t take a back seat to the robust flavors. They melded incredibly well and showed the grace of Russian Ice Dancers.

The third course is always one of my favorites. We always have a salad course when I work with Chef Vince on meals. It helps us feel better about all the meat we’re about to ingest. Over the years, we have always paired Saison style beers with salads. They always have great flavors and hooks. Our Red Barn Ale is no exception. It blasts forth with notes of Ginger, Pepper and Orange Peel making it the perfect companion for salads that highlight these flavors.

Our salad landed on the table that night with Spring Mix for the base. Sitting on top of these funky greens was some great goat cheese and an Orange Balsamic Vinegarette dressing. I did my best to make like a cow and be happy. And as we all know, happy cows come from California which is fine by me and especially by Vince who included Cow as part of the main entrée for the evening.

Chef Vince is known around these parts for his affinity to all things Pork and Cow based. I mean he does okay with fish but this guy owns Red and the other white meat too. Our non vegan plates arrived that evening with some of the most tender beef I have ever eaten. They were slow cooked in a sauce that featured our Old Viscosity and a pomegranate reduction sauce. Vince busted out the starch side featuring Potatoes Pave and this combination alongside our Veritas 001 was tear inducing.

The Veritas 001 was the debut for our Veritas series of beers. These are barrel aged and blended beers. They are ultra small scale (never to be replicated) and many of them will be used for beer dinners. The Veritas 001 was a blend of three different barrels of Cherry based beers. The tannins and fruit flavors excelled like red wine in handling the strong flavors of the short ribs. It was my favorite course of the evening.

I don’t know if there is a better after dinner beer than The Angel’s Share. At 12.5% ABV, it just screams “Pick Me, Pick Me,” like the Fat kid who always gets picked last for 5th Grade Dodgeball. But there is nothing flabby about The Angel’s Share. It is a man amongst the boys in this case.

I have consumed enough Angel’s Share since we released it know that the beer sports huge wood vanilla flavors and has a decidedly maple sugar finish from the residual sugars. We felt this would be an efficient assassin for any chocolate based dessert. We developed a ramekin based dessert and had it warmed prior to serving. As part of the finish for the dish, we infused it with Butterscotch and Maple glaze. It pretty much Sucked! I mean in a good way. It punctuated the meal perfectly.

Five course up, five course down. We left stone as satiated as that fat dodgeball kid. It was a fantastic night. I look forward to doing another one soon. Rumor has it, we may even be heading back in November for another round. Somehow, I doubt only 47 people will show up.

Bring on Session #9

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The Leader of the Band has Died

Today is one of those gut wrenching days. Michael Jackson our friend, our mentor and our nomadic Beer Hunter has gone to the heavens where the angels sleep. For the first time since September of 2001, I am sitting in eerily quiet brewery not really thinking about the production side of beer. Because days like today demand reflection, offer an opportunity to pause for moments and memories and the time spent with a legend.

I realize that there will be numerous forthcoming accounts of Michael’s contributions to the world of beer. 30 years of writing, traveling and consuming can’t go unnoticed. I just finished reading his last column for the upcoming All About Beer Magazine. Eerily, it talks about cheating Mort Subite or Sudden Death. As I was reading, I was struck by his voice in my head narrating that story. It was his very distinguished British voice that sticks with me.

Like many brewers, I had the pleasure of drinking with Michael on numerous occasions. Often, as judges at the GABF and World Beer Cup we would find ourselves at the same table. He was the epitome of a professional when it came to judging. As the world’s foremost authority on beer, he was never overbearing, certainly not egotistical and at the same time, he was inquisitive. I always liked that about him. He also cared about me the person. He offered his condolences when Noah passed away and was elated when Sydney came into my life. I suppose that is what it means to be a friend.

Several years back, Michael implored the judges at the GABF judges reception to consider the strength of American Beer. The world was looking at us for innovation and direction. He decreed we should all work together as judges to reward beers not deconstruct them. It was a very motivating talk. It was also the first time in recent memory where every single medal in every single category was awarded. The man just saw things differently than we did. But above all, he was a great story teller.

With that in mind, here is the one story from my life that I knew I was never going to be able to share with Michael but it’s one that I “think” he would appreciate on some level.

It’s 2005, we are heading from San Diego to Belgium with a brief stop in London. I email Mr. Jackson and let him know that if possible, we would love to stop by for a visit. I would be traveling with Tom Nickel from O’Brien’s Pub, Vince Marsaglia (owner of Pizza Port) along with Ken Allen (owner of Anderson Valley Brewing Company) and his head brewer Dave Gatlin.

Michael agrees and gives me the address in Hammersmith for his office. We arrive later in the afternoon (around 6-7 pm). His office is actually a converted garage attached to his house. Inside this narrow room is row after row of whiskey, beer and editions of nearly every book he has ever written and in each language they have been published.

Michael has been hard at work tasting and writing about whiskey for a forthcoming book. It’s everywhere in this little room. He’s talking to Ken Allen about Anderson Valley when I start playing a game of I spy in my head. I spy an 18 year old port wood finished bottle. I spy a 1973 Glen something or other. But right in front of me, I spied a 1963 Macallan that had been opened. Oh Lordy!!! Would you look at that?

It immediately hit me that this was one serious bottle of booze that I needed to taste. It also struck me that this was about as close to one of these bottles of Scotch that I was ever going to get. I salivated. I contemplated. I damn near stared that bottle down. Michael, to his credit, offers us a glass of some new farmhouse beer. We liked it very much. At this point, it becomes obvious to me that we are making a move towards heading to Andover Arms for dinner. But how can I beg/ ask for a dram of that spirit. Would it be rude to do so? What is the protocol at work here? I am clueless. Thirsty, but incredibly clueless.

That bottle is still staring me down and in no time flat, I might be walking away from what promises to be an amazing booze experience. I steel my nerves. I had been mulling over a plan in my head. Suddenly, Michael spins back around to his laptop to save his work for the night. I instantly grabbed the bottle of Scotch, rip off the cork and pull the largest swig I thought my mouth could handle. Ambrosia never felt so guilty, so good or so stolen. My amigos stared in disbelief as I calmly replaced the cork in the bottle, set it on the table and rubbed my now fiery belly to let them know I was satiated. 1963 Macallan. Yep! I could cross that one off my list. And it was AMAZING!!!

I am relieved as Michael turns around, oblivious to my actions (I hope) and casually mentions that he needs to go get a coat for the evening. He points to a set of New Belgium Globe Style Glasses in a box on the floor and says ” If there is anything in these bottles that interests you gents, please feel free to have a drink.” He no sooner closes the door to the candy store of Whiskey and us kiddies get our drink on.

Now, we head right for the glasses. There’s about 8 of them we line them up. I grab the 1963 Macallan and pour about 4 fingers. Tom grabs a bottle of 1958 something (it wasn’t very good). Ken, Vince and Dave all find bottles they want to try. Next thing you know, we’ve got 8 globes of Scotch 4 fingers high lined up in front of us. Time never went by so fast as it did that night. Michael left us to our devices for about 15 minutes. (The next morning we’re left wondering if we drank all of them. The consensus is that we were proper drunks and left no booze behind.)

He returns. We’re drunk and heading out for supper I don’t know how dinner went for Michael, it was certainly smashing for the 5 of us on the sauce. Sometime around 11:30 we waived goodbye and caught a taxi home.

You ever have one of those mornings where you forget what went on the night before? Yeah, me either. On the Eurostar ride to Belgium, the five us talked and were only then able to reconstruct what had occured the night before. It was spotty at best. We do know that we shared a meal with Michael in London after drinking ourselves silly in his office.

I doubt very much we were the only ones to ever over indulge in that candy store. Hell, I might not even be the only back woods brewer to ever pug 63 Macallan right from the bottle. I suppose, I should have told this story to Michael in the last year. Then, I could have popped the cap from a vintage Cuvee de Tomme and had him steal a swig or two from the bottle. Then we’d be even? Doubtful? He afforded me so much. For that, I am thankful.

Either way, when it comes down to it, life is about the moments we live, the beers we drink and the stories we share. I suppose stolen drams of Scotch probably need their own category as well. That night in Michael’s office ranks as an all timer. Just like him. Today is a sad day indeed. One that requires more than a few liquid refreshments. I only wish he was here to share.

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The Legend of Timmee Edwards

When I was growing up, my family made an annual visit to a small campground known as Limekiln State Beach just south of Big Sur, California. Each and every August, we would hitch my grandparents 5th wheel trailer to the back of my dad’s large pickup truck and go beach camping as our family vacation.

It was usually a week long trip punctuated by a short detour to Monterey, California so that my father could watch the historic car races at Laguna Seca. I suppose this yearly indoctrination into motorsports (with an eye on the classics) taught me about passion and a metalic vs fiberglass artform.

My father was and always as been an admirer of Ferraris. Many of the automobiles that we would go to watch race had been champion GT racers back in the late 50’s and 1960’s. It was an amazing experience to walk amongst these great cars and their storied legacies. And the Italians taught me a thing or two about passion.

I haven’t been back to Laguna Seca in years but to this day, I am still a “fan” of auto racing. I enjoy the speed, the crashes and the fantastic finishes. I don’t travel to watch races but I have been known to get caught up watching them on TV. Best of all, they are excellent companions to beer drinking. I should also point out, that brewing is a lot like racing. You get to drink lots of beer, there’s always danger and flames involved and you have to fix things that are always breaking down at the wrong time.

Last night reminded me of this. I spent 3 hours watching Jimmies, Bobbies, Elliot’s and William’s (err Bill’s) turn make left turns for hours on end. And you know what, I did it without a lite or extra cold beer in site. Although, I also dozed off for a bit and found myself in a NASCAR slumber.

Stretched out on the couch, and having nodded off, I had this reincarnation of sorts. I was no longer Tomme Arthur. Nope, my marketing gurus had shortened my names to something less Germanic and more marketable. In a flash, I had become Timmee Edwards. Now Timmee sounds and looks like Tomme. I even had a drunken female fan once call me Timmy at a beer fest so it can’t be that far off base. Edward is my middle name so they were keeping it in the “family” I suppose.

Now, in my dream, I was actually a brewer. And like NASCAR drivers, I was a figurehead. I was the front man, pitch man and spokesperson for a group of people known as Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. This meant that I had a team who supported me (not unlike a real brewery) and obligations to the fans and my sponsors…

Did I just say sponsors? Brilliant! This is what every brewer needs if we are going to take this Craft Brewing thing to the next level. Sure, I don’t think wearing a boil retardant jump suit is how myself or Brooklyn Oliver (Garret’s new more racing like name) want to go through life. Of course, he already has more patches than I do. But sponsors have their demands. And one of them is product placement. So we’ll have to wear the patches as badges of honor.

My new marketing guys drew me into one of their strategic meetings and I found myself being asked to work up a list of potential suitors. I started to imagine all of the possibilities for “financing” our operation here in San Marcos. It started with a title sponsor. Every big time operation needs one of these. You gotta think big when it comes to this. So, I started thinking. Well, on many mornings, I am known to throw back a Dr Pepper or two (leaded and unleaded I like them both) for sponsor sake. That’s pretty big time.

I could be the first Professional Brewer to be sponsored by a soda company. What sort of message would that send? Would it help me with MADD? Doubtful. Nothing short of being sponsored by a water company could help me there. A water company? Why of course, I drink water each and every day. But then again, most of them are owned by soda corps.

I watched a guy named Ricky smash up his Snicker’s Car last night. Maybe I could get me a Candy manufacturer to sponsor me? Sure thing. I like all kinds of Candy. How about we go after Mentos? They seem to be all the rage on the internet these days. We could use an internet presence.

Nope, tried the Mentos thing. They’ve already partnered with Diet Coke so Timmee Edwards is out of luck there. Well, how about a local angle? We could go and get WD-40? They are a local based company with national distribution. Besides, who doesn’t need a good penetrating lubricant? I hear old people even use it on their joints for their arthritis?

All of these options left my head spinning so I left the Marketing guys in their meeting and headed out to a brewer’s meeting. I’ve been on the circuit for quite a few years now so I know most of the guys pretty well. I know which way Robby Tod leans at the end of each night. I’ve come to the conclusion that Good Old Dickie Canwell was right in dropping that “T” from his last name. Can’t just isn’t in his vocabulary when it comes to brewing.

Some of the Brewers were grumbling as usual.Not everybody was happy when the Brewer’s Association signed that contract. A few felt that they would be slighted. Lord knows our “sport” should focus on everyone and not a select group of media darlings. They cried out.

It was a tough transition on some of the old guard. They weren’t ready to be placed in uniforms and drug through the pomp and cirmcunstances required by a move to the big time. A few of these old timers looked like Stay Puff Marshmellow Men in these Brewing Suits. I suppose that’s TV for you. It adds ten lbs too. But, that’s what happens when you sign a multi year deal with the network. They own you.

It sucks. Each and every year, we now have commercial breaks during the awards ceremony at the GABF. Didn’t use to be that way. What can I say? That’s the price we pay for dreaming big. Our Annual Craft Brewers Conference is now a Dog and Pony show more about interviews and autographs. Everything it seems is all about the fans. And now that we’ve taken this thing to the next level, we’ll have cool stuff like Timme Edwards 08 for Play Station. From the Marketing materials…

“If you’ve ever wanted to be like Timmee, here’s your chance. You’ll be given the same ingredients and budgets as Timmee. See if you can out manuever, outlast and out think a great brewer. Do you have it in you? Can you take down Cuvee de Tomme or The Angel’s Share?

There will of course be interactive fan forums. These will be up close and personal meet and greet sessions. Timmee will of course oblige the sensible fans and sign all manner of body parts from the most discerning of female fans. Male fans need not bother.

In order to create some interest and drama, we’ll all have to stop getting along. We’ll need a bad boy or two. Somebody who is always crossing over the line, flirting with the rules. “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t brewing.” That’s what they tell me…

We’ll have to develop a chase for the cup system. We’ll need an annual cup system to determine the ”Best” brewer. Of course the network will have a say in this. It will be in our best interest to let an outside organization tell us what we need.

And after 20 years of major sponsorships, network deals and in fighting, we’ll all be able to sit around as we enshrine the old guard and indoctrinate the new guard each year at a televised awards show. Someday, I will have a need to retire from this sport. I’ll be too old to Dry Hop Well. I won’t have the vision to create things like Cuvee any more. And each and every day, there will be some hot shot young Turk looking to get up in my grill and disrepect my knowledge of Brewing. It’s inevitable.

But when it’s time for me to retire from this sport, I want my plaque to read “This good old boy was a master at mashing left and but let’s not forget he was pretting good at hopping right as well…”

That my friends is the Legend of Timmee Edwards. It is neither fact nor fiction. What is true is that when I woke up from my nap last night, some guy named Jimmie had turned left for 500 miles and won the race. Not bad for another guy from San Diego.

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Cuvee de Fruit Beer?

Is it really already August? It feels like I just put my #5 session July blog to bed last week. Feels strange to be working on Session # 6. Today, we’ve been instructed to Blog about Fruit beers. YIPEE!!! I am sure most of you at home are saying.

Fruit beers, you either love them or hate them. Too often, these are not really good beers and back in the 90’s when I started brewing, fruit beers were all the rage. Everytime you visted a brewery, it seemed that somebody was a making a Raspberry something or other. I am so glad that trend went by the wayside. I can recall numerous brewpubs making base beers and then adding gallons of some sort of extract to make fruit flavored beer. Most of them Sucked. I know. I made one as well.

During the fruit beer explosion, I started snooping around trying to learn as much as I could about the production methods for Rodenbach and Lambics. Rodenbach had a beer called Alexander that was made with sour Cherry essence. It wasn’t my favorite of the three beers but it was still pretty damn good.

Sometime between 1996 and 1997, my mentor/boss at Cervecerias La Cruda, Troy Hojel acquired a rather exhausting disertation on the Acid Ales of Roselare (Rodenbach). It was an amazing body of work that detailed the production methods of Classic Rodenbach and Rodenbach Grand Cru. I spent hours each month reading and re reading this disertation. It inspired me to create the beer I am drinking now- Cuvee de Tomme.

I chose to open a bottle of the newest batch of Cuvee we released in May thus violating one of my last posts where I mentioned that I never drink beers such as Cuvee alone. But in the spirit of the session, I felt compelled to write about Cuvee de Tomme. Why, you ask? Well, it is perhaps the one beer amongst all others that I have created that has been written about the most. As such, it’s a known entity. It also has a pretty cool history that I felt like sharing as I am drinking this beer. So let’s travel back in time before we fast forward in the finish and I spill my drinking beer alone guts about how to make this beer.

In 1998, two monumental things happened enabling me to be bring Cuvee to life. First, I received a catalog in the mail which set my mind spinning. (And no, I was not at that time receiving Victoria Secret catalogs five times a year). I was flipping through the mail one day and a random catalog showed up. In this catalog were numerous fruits and vegetables. Many of the things in the catalog I could order locally but there was one line that caught my eye. It said “Fresh Frozen Sour Cherries.”

At that very moment, I began to devise a plan for those cherries. They would be part of my first Barrel Aged Belgian Style beer. The beer would bear my name (tongue and cheeky) and it would be a blend of old world barrel aging traditions and new world enthusiasm. Essentially, this is a fancy way of saying we would make it higher in alcohol.

Mind you, this was long before anyone started using the term “Imperial” to describe stronger versions of Traditional styles. As a side note here, I feel so very lucky that no one has ever described Cuvee de Tomme as an “Imperial Sour Red Ale. If they did, I might have to cue the Dark Side music from Star Wars.

Secondly, and equally as important as finding the right cherries, I developed a friendship with Mari Beth Raines. MB as she is known is a Micro Biologist specializing in yeast cultures. She is also a very knowledgeable homebrewer who had worked on her own methods of making Lambic at home. It was her understanding of Brettanomyces and early instruction that laid the groundwork for our Cuvee.

Now that I had the right type of fruit, the essential yeasts for secondary maturation and a pretty good idea of what I wanted to accomplish, I set out to brew the beer and got the project rolling.

The base beer would be known as The Mother of Beers. It was to be a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. The beer was fermented in stainless and then would be aged in oak. I really wanted to use French Oak but at the last minute, I acquired a bourbon barrel from Johnny O at Rock Bottom in San Diego. Every batch we have released so far has been aged in used Bourbon Barrels. We are now using a portion of French Oak in the aging of the 2007 Cuvee which will be released next year. This will be the first time we have used both Bourbon and French Oak

The Mother of All Beers was racked into the Bourbon Barrel and after that I topped up the barrel with three separate strains of Brettanomyces and some sour cherries. As this was an experiment, we made exactly one 55 gallon oak barrel of the original batch.

After filling, I did what any brewer of sour beer does, I waited. About 6 months into the process, I tasted the beer for the first time. It blew me away. I had no idea what to expect but from the first time I tasted it, I knew I was on to something. It had too much bourbon character for my tastes but there was an overwhelming Sour Cherry nose that I still marvel at each time I open bottles of Cuvee de Tomme. I am certain that we can buy cheaper Cherries but the smell is what keeps me paying through the proverbial nose and I don’t care.

In the fall of 2000, we took Cuvee de Tomme to the floor of the Great American Beer Festival and watched as consumers and brewers alike marveled at the depth of the beer. We even had consumers tell us they had taken samples over for Michael Jackson to taste. It was a sureal experience. On that Saturday, I earned my first solo GABF medal for the Cuvee in the Experimental Ale and Lager Category.

In January of 2001, we learned that Cuvee de Tomme had earned the Malt Advocate Domestic Beer of the Year Award. Man, that was some kind of honor. That fall, we sent the beer back to Denver and won another silver medal for the Cuvee. I’m still not sure how it was an experimental beer two years in a row because it had already been done before but I suppose that’s just semantics? Over the years, Cuvee has won numerous awards and continues to be one of the most desirable beers we make.

Now that I have the background information out of the way, let’s fast forward about how to make our Cuvee. First off, you have to have an ego maniac for a brewer. You can half ass this part if you like but it really helps if you have to butter his/her head each day before and after work in order that they might fit their dome through the door frame. If your brewer is successful in recreating this beer, they should be allowed to walk around arrogantly proclaiming their greatness. Lord knows I do. I also figure it’s my duty to share a little known secret that our door jams here in San Marcos are 2 inches wider than standard doors. I just got tired of having to rub Vaseline on my head each day.

Next, this brewer should have complete disregard for the “rules” of brewing. It helps a lot if they are ”fearless.” In Illa Brettanomyces Nos Fides it says over our barrel room these days. Loosely translated this means “In these wild yeasts we trust.” And over the years we have indeed put our trust in them. And we have been rewarded handsomly for our troubles.

By no means should your brewer even bother batch costing this beer. In actuality, they should not pay attention to yields, costs or even sell any of the beer. It will only make the beer less desirable. Is greatness expensive? Damn straight it is. Thank God life takes Visa! The grain bill on this beer is almost all imported malt and any brewer worth their salt wouldn’t consider cutting corners here.

Next, your brewer should select their 4 favorite sugar sources for brewing. In my case, this is malted barley, Dextrose, Raisins and let’s not forget since this is fruit beer day to throw in the sour cherries. You know the ones that cost $4 per pound and get shipped all the way from the East Coast!!!

Lastly, it helps if your brewer is elusive about the details of the beer. It’s like an enigma wrapped in an enigma shrouded in a side of mysteriousness. I’m not sure we have ever made the beer the same way twice. Probably just me being bored? Yet, I know that one of the best parts about brewing a beer like this is opening bottles of it in other places (like Belgium) and watching brewers inhale that first wave of Sour Cherries, dried leather and subtle barrel notes. Then, they take their first sip and the tart cherry flavor mixes with the vanilla and charred oak flavors. They swallow the liquid and a smile comes across their face. It is then and only then that they begin to ask the inevitable questions such as “how did you make this beer?”

So I tell them the same thing. Brew a HUGE Belgian Dark Strong Ale and when it’s done fermenting, throw all the remaining ingredients in a Bourbon Barrel and hope for the best. It’s pretty much what we do year in and out when it comes time to make Cuvee de Tomme.

There’s some serious vodoo going in in those barrels is all that I can say. I sold my soul to Lucifer himself years ago. It’s gonna suck when I leave this glorious world. I hear it’s hot in Hades. But, as long as I inhabit this earth, I am allowed to be proud of this Cuvee de Tomme I have created. Even if it is a damn fruit beer.