Thoughts on Beer

I found out today from Brookston Beer Bulletin that the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, the main brewery that started the craft brewing growth in the US, was sold to The Griffin Group, and the conglomerate has been renamed to the Anchor Brewers & Distillers.  From the press release:

“Anchor Brewing Company has a long history in San Francisco and The Griffin Group is ushering in an exciting era while maintaining our proud, time-honored history,” said Fritz Maytag. “Combining Keith and Tony’s passion for the Anchor Brewing Company, their industry experience and expertise only means that Anchor will be enjoyed in San Francisco for generations to come.”

“Since 1896, Anchor Brewing Company has been an icon of San Francisco’s history and culture,” stated Griffin’s Founding Partner, Keith Greggor, “I am honored to bring Anchor Brewing Company into our family of craft beers and artisanal spirits through establishing Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC.”

It’s interesting nothing was said before the sale.  What do you think about the sale of Anchor Brewers?

Bell's Brewing Oberon

The great thing about summer is the beer!  I was able to pick up a 6-pack of Oberon, the summer seasonal from Bell’s Brewing.

At first, there is a strong orange/citrus aroma.  The taste is a sweet wheat and orange, balanced by a nice hop note.  It is very mild, and has generous carbonation.  It is nice, and light, and finishes clean.  Although Oberon has a slightly higher ABV (6.8%) than most wheat beers, it doesn’t seem like it.

Have you had Oberon?  What did you think?

You Live Here

Today, for Earth Day, let’s talk about some of the breweries that are green and are using renewable energy.

One of the more well-known green powered breweries is New Belgium in Fort Collins Colorado, who has been wind-powering their brewery since 1998.  Since then, they have expanded their green profile by recycling bottles, and even allows a nearby company to use their waste water for creating fish food.  Quite the small footprint for the brewery known for loving bikes.

Sierra Nevada in Chico California uses fuel cells for its brewery power and heat.  They also recycle glass and aluminum, along with the majority of its carbon dioxide from fermentation.  Each year, they continue to become more green.

The Kona Brewing Company in Hawaii powers their brewery with solar panels.  They stated that by installing the panels, they reduced their carbon output by over 7,000 tons.

Going green isn’t just for the craft brewers.  Anheuser-Busch has even started going green by installing alternative energy sources over the past few years.  By installing the sources, they reduced their energy independence by 15%.

What are you doing to be green?

Beer Styles

If you are new to beer, or haven’t experienced many beers, a great place to start is by exploring beer styles.

Peter Bouckaert, the head brewer at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado gets very upset when someone mentions beer styles because he sees beer as an art, and not to squeeze into small style categories.  This is true, but for a beginning beer lover, styles are the best guide to exploring the world of beer because it gives you a framework for interpreting the beer.

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), a division of the American Homebrew Association, there are 28 major divisions, with each major division containing 3-4 subdivisions, for a total of almost 100 different beer styles, and the number seems to grow every year.

So where do you start?

Many times, if you are used to lagers or light lagers, it may be to your advantage to try a few wheat beers or pale ales to expand your horizons.  Eventually, if you enjoy the hop flavor enough, you should try the IPA style.

On the other end of the scale, if you haven’t had many beers, it may be better for you to try several darker beers that have a lot of malt sweetness with little bitterness.  Some good examples include brown ales, stouts, or the seasonal Oktoberfest.

The key is to try several examples of each style.  There are prototypical examples of each style, for example Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the prototypical pale ale, but there are other examples that differ in body and flavor such as Magic Hat’s #9 or Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale.

So the moral is just because you don’t like a beer style, maybe it’s just the beer, and not the style.  Or even it’s the situation.  The first time I tried New Belgium’s 1554 Black Ale, I didn’t like it, but this winter, I tried it again and couldn’t get enough of it.

Keep diversifying, and enjoy!

7-eleven today rolled out it’s store brand beer, dubbed “Game Day”, perhaps to appeal to tailgaters.  Because of the current beer market, the stores plan on selling the beer at a discount, from $6.99 to $8.99 per 12 pack, and it comes in two varieties, Game Day Ice and Game Day Light.

Good luck, 7-eleven against the big guys.  You may own the stores, but they own the distributors.