Craft Beer Infographic (makes me thirsty)- Guest Post

I get a lot of emails for this blog. It surprises me every day, but I do. I get emails from talented and not-so-talented people. One of the recent emails I got was asking me to share an infographic on the growing business of craft beer. This is a subject that has recently been under discussion a great deal, both in my private life, and in my beer life. I thought that this was a nice contribution to share with you all, so I hope that you enjoy!

The rise of craft beer has been a noticeable trend throughout the last decade.  More and more people seem to moving away from the big 3 light beer companies in favor of locally brewed craft beer.  Those big 3 still have a strangle on the marketplace but the craft beer industry is on a steady rise. John Laloganes and Phil Mott, both Assistant professors at the Kendall College School of Hospitality along with the students at Kendall College helped to provide valuable insight into the craft beer industry as a whole which resulted in the infographic seen below:

Some key takeaways from the study and info graphic are as follows:

·         Craft brewers provide an estimated 103,585 jobs in this United States alone which includes serving staff in brewpubs.

·         Sales of craft beer nearly doubled from 5.7 billion in 2007 to 12 billion in 2012.  That number is expected to triple to over 36 billion in 2017. 

·         There are 2,403 breweries in 2012 which is the highest amount since the 1880s.

·         Irish Red’s pair well with burgers while Stouts pair well with deserts like Chocolate cake.

·         Nearly half of consumers would be interested in trying more craft beers if they knew more about the beers and where to find them.

·         Baby Boomers (32%) don’t enjoy craft beer as much as Millenials 43%

·         A total of 36% of consumers enjoy drinking craft beer.

The numbers don’t lie.  Get out and enjoy a craft beer with your fellow craft beer fans.  Cheers!

An Alcoholic Tour of St. Louis- Guest Post

As I have mentioned before, one of my favorite things about writing about beer is that it has allowed me the chance to meet some really awesome people. One of those very awesome people is Heidi from we're better suited for a fictional world (Make sure you check out this blog, Heidi is brilliant, funny, and has a great sense of humor). Heidi very kindly agreed to do a guest post for me on some of the brews found in St. Louis (Thank you again!!)

The last year that I lived in Philadelphia, the city was really starting to gain a reputation as a great beer city. We have a good friend who is a brewer at Yards, and he had gotten my husband Dan a part time gig there. Dan did some quality control, worked the bottling line, made those variety cases (they pack up cases of single types of beer, then swap them to create the variety packs - high tech stuff), and sat down with the boss at the end of every day to taste the current production. It was was his dream job. Breweries were cropping up all over the Philadelphia area, Philly Beer Week was starting to be an actual important event for the city, restaurants started to have these intense tap lists. It was exciting. And then we moved to St. Louis. 

I only knew of St. Louis as the home of Anheuser Busch. As a lifelong horse girl, I do love those Clydesdales, but even at my low points I didn't drink Bud. We were bummed, to say the least. All of these wonderful things were happening in our city, and although our reasons for leaving (grad school for Dan at a top university with a more-than-decent chunk of scholarship money) were great, we still felt like we were going to be missing out on something important. 

Before we left, our friends, including the brewer at Yards, gave us a gift card for the Schlafly Brewery here in St. Louis. Schlafly is the largest independent brewery here, and is actually known to people outside the area, mostly because it was the first to boldly step up and challenge AB, and the notion that this was a one-brewery town. I hadn't heard of them, but that isn't unusual, I'm not really dialed into the craft brewers news, and with limited distribution outside of the state, we hadn't had a chance to try any. 

So, after we lumbered into town and unceremoniously dumped the contents of a sixteen foot moving van into our new apartment, we headed to the Schlafly Bottleworks to use our gift card for dinner. They have a good restaurant with an outdoor patio, and my brother still says the pulled pork sandwich he had there was one of the best sandwiches of his life. It was a nice way to end a long drive, and to get acquainted with the neighborhood and the city. Our waiter had a shirt on that said "Bier trinkt man nicht nur zum Frühstück" which my dad, a fierce German, adored and bought immediately. Beer is not just for breakfast anymore. 

Schafly Bottleworks

The Bottleworks, which is where Schlafly does the majority of their brewing and packaging, is only a few minutes down the road from us. According to their website, they brew over twenty different styles in this brewhouse, and fill over 1600 cases and 240 kegs a day. They apparently built this facility to meet demand and keep the production local. Later I learned that there is a second Schlafly restaurant and brewery located more downtown. The Schlafly Tap Room brews the smaller batches, Belgian-styles, oak-aged reserve beers, and fills the larger, 750ml bottles. The menu in the restaurant here is more traditional pub-fare, and, according to my husband, the beer on tap is better. I tend to find something I enjoy drinking at either location because, while their beers don't really ever blow your mind, they are consistently good. Also, not a Bud clone in the bunch. 

Once we got tuned into the local news, we realized that St. Louis was in the middle of a craft brewing renaissance just as Philadelphia had been. Small breweries were popping up everywhere, and within the first year we'd discovered Urban Chestnut, O'Fallon, Augusta, and 2nd Shift. To date, that list has swelled to include: Civil Life, Perennial, 4 Hands, Six Row, Square One, Morgan Street, Trailhead, Exit 6, and Charleville. Anheuser who? 

Allow me to take you on a tour of some of my favorites: 

Urban Chestnut Brewing Comany

Urban Chestnut Brewing Company - Traditional German styles. If you're a fan of the more unusual styles, or "girly" beers (look, I like the Abita Strawberry Lager - shut up!), you might have a hard time here, although they do have a pretty smooth wheat beer that you could probably get behind - the Schnickelfritz comes to mind. These beers all remind me of my dad - the smell as a young kid and the taste as an adult, and so I love it for that. They have a nice tasting room with a good, simple menu, a new outdoor garden. As with many of the new breweries, they are committed to sustainability and their brew house boasts solar panels, composting, and water conservation capabilities. They have cool merchandise designs, and t-shirts in girls sizes (!!!). These guys bottle and keg, and this is the local beer that you are most likely to see out of state - we've seen it on tap in Philly. In more recent news, they've acquired a new, second location across town from the current. Once operational, they will ultimately be able to boost their output to 100,000 barrels per year. 

Perennial Artisan Ales - Possibly one of my favorites. These would be at the opposite end of the traditional spectrum from UCBC. They're unusual, creative, very good, and you are likely to find something for everyone. They have very few beers that remain consistently available, most are seasonal or small batch.

Perennial Artisan Ales

They focus on using locally sourced ingredients, such as the Black Walnut Dunkel from Missouri Black Walnuts, or the special run (and insanely hard to get) Sump Coffee Stout, brewed in collaboration with Sump Coffee, a local coffee house and roaster. These guys manage to create a massive amount of hype on some of these limited releases, with people lining up for hours, and paying people to stand in line and buy bottles for them when there is a bottle limit on the sale. Don't know how I feel about that. Anyway, the co-owner and brewer is a Missouri native who previously worked as a brewer at Goose Island. The building is an old converted factory in South City and is, unfortunately, quite a hike from just about any place else you might want to go. The menu, though, is worth it. It's simple, changes frequently, is locally sourced, and compliments the beer nicely. They have an outdoor patio with a fire pit for cold days. This brewery bottles (the label design is fantastic) and kegs, but the bottles are all the larger size and are, unfortunately, on the pricey side. Better to stop by the brewery for a taste. 

Civil Life Brewery - This is more fun than your average brewery. The space is interesting in that it's one large warehouse, but has a tasting room built into one side. The tasting room has been designed to look like an old-world pub, including the outside, which is brick and has faux gas lamps. There is also an upstairs portion where you can look down into the brewhouse, or into the pub.

 They also have a garden outside to sit and sip, and a window to order from without going back inside.

 I know this isn't making sense - it's hard to describe. You'll just have to visit to see what I mean. Now, for the fun stuff: The pub has an assortment of games available for you to play while you drink, including a wooden version of Connect Four for you to verse your bother in and relive your childhood (I did). Then, in the space between the pub and the brewhouse there is a wall with two dart boards, and a bulls head.

What's the deal with the bull, you ask? Well, there is a ring hanging above it from a string, and there is just enough length of string to get the ring over the bull's horn. So you swing the ring and hope for the best. It might be the greatest parlor game I've ever seen. When my brother was in town, we spent an hour on it at least (he's a guy who loves to throw things). When my brother came back to visit a year later with my mom, we even got her to play. I desperately want to show you the photos, but I think she'd be mad at me.

 But back to the beer. These are all leaning more toward the traditional side, 4-6% alcohol range, and are solid and consistently good. Not too many knock-outs, but better than Schlafly in my opinion. They actually have a pretty big selection, and the cool thing is that they sell them in 8-ounce sizes for a mere $2.50, which allows you to try them all. They have a good, simple menu with decent sandwiches. As a Philadelphian, I'm not often impressed with the sandwiches here, but these get the job done. Civil Life's Brown Ale is on tap all over town, and is one of my favorites, hands down. They currently don't bottle, so the distribution is limited. 

4 Hands Brewing Company - A small brewery all the way downtown, but within walking distance of Busch Stadium. On many summer days, the tasting room is full of people wearing Cardinals gear, which doesn't bother me unless it's a day my Philadelphia Phillies are in town. The selection here is smaller, but might be the best out of the ones that I've described. Again, they're a little more on the traditional side, but they do occasionally reach that mind-blowing level. They have a terrific menu in their tasting room. It is simple, affordable, and changes frequently. It was developed with a local restaurant owner, Dave Bailey, a guy who seems to be single handedly attempting to revive St. Louis's somewhat desolate downtown through food. All of his restaurants are pretty damn good. I should note that I have, on occasion, seen 4 Hands on tap in the Philly area, and was surprised, but excited. In talking to the bartender at 4 Hands one night I learned that it is because the brewer's wife is from the area, and they used to live there so they still have connections. Cool.

While the brewery isn't as entertaining as Civil Life, they do have a Foosball table, and they frequently host food trucks in their parking lot. Obviously I like the brown ale because that's my thing, but I also drink the Single Speed Session and love it.  

This concludes our tour on the up-and-coming world of brewing in St. Louis. I am sure that I could write another post in a few months time and I would have several new breweries to add to the list. Despite my frequent gripes about the city, great things are, indeed, happening here in terms of beer, and dare I say it - you should consider checking it out! 

**I have been asked to include this picture of  Connect Four at Civil Life, make of it what you will, I sense just a little sibling rivalry***

Russian River Brewery-Pliny the Younger

As Hoppy Beer Girl mentioned in a recent post...we are here to bring you all things “West Coast”! Just to give you a little background on “Beatnik and McMatherson”, we are a husband and wife team residing in the Northern California region. We were taken with the story behind HBG, and what it means to experience the pure artistry in beer making, as well making memories together with your loved one. So while we may not be 100% girl, we are elated to bring you new and exciting beers as the "Team HBG West Coast"...Our locale is 1.5 hours from Tahoe, 1.5 hours from San Fran, right in the heart of food and wine region near Napa Valley. Our hopes: To introduce you to new beers not often received east of the Rockies, as well as show you the exciting journey getting to these places. So let us begin with the grand fashion!

Speaking of journeys! We've all heard many times that it's not the destination but the journey getting there. Well earlier this month we were treated to both a journey and destination when we set off to sample what is regarded by many in the beer drinking community as “the best beer in theworld.” I'm talking about the unveiling of the 2013 batch of "Pliny theYounger." Pliny the Younger is a unique and heralded Triple IPA (by the by...anything hoppy is revered out here) brewed once a year by the gang at Russian River brewers in Santa Rosa, California. Santa Rosa is about an hour north of San Francisco up "the 101" [side-note: Google "SNLCalifornians" for a skit highly accurate of how Californians talk about their highway system]. Rolling hills and marshy wetlands line the highway framed by mountains on both sides north of San Francisco making for a beautifully scenic view. We had run off on a Tuesday morning, just so that drive would be mellow. We didn't sight-see much on the way up due to anticipating a crowd at the brewery (yes even on a Tuesday morning). We did however get to drive through the winding Sonoma area on the way back, stopping for some Fro-yo in Napa (but that's another story). When you arrive in Santa Rosa, it has the classic old town feel. Russian River brewery holds a prime spot right in the middle of it all.

 

Approaching RR we could already see the line formed for the establishment. We arrived right at 11am when the Brew-Pub opened and waited roughly 30 minutes to get a chance to stand at the bar. The people were diverse ranging from Mohawk to Business suit, from newly minted drinker to wise sage of all things hops. 

The Pub itself is a comfy and lively venue, offering food, swag, and a plethora of intricate brewed creations. 

We were compelled to order, and received two 10oz glasses of the enshrined brew. You could smell the floral hops wafting from the glass, even held at a comfortable distance. Color PTY was a nice rich golden hue. As for flavor, complexity is an understatement. This is considered a Triple IPA, yet the hops are controlled, floral, milky, and smooth. Unquestionably this beer has mammoth flavor and a commands respect while drinking (imagine that part in any movie when the stud or babe walk into the room and all eyes are on them). We aren't usually one to jump on the hops train, but this is one fine beer...by far the best IPA we've ever had. As for being the best beer in the world? There is no doubt that it is great beer, deserving of all of it's accolades. And there is no doubt it reigns in the top 5 beers I've personally experienced. I personally feel fortunate, to have had the opportunity to be within a short drive to an amazing experience. If the rest of our tenure goes like this, it's going to be one great journey...with several wonderful destinations.

Meet Beatnik and McMatherson The West Coast Beer Dude(s)

As I said last week, I am going to have a recurring feature on the blog (which I am very excited about).  I have two FANTASTIC people whom I love dearly, writing about their experiences with beer, now that they live out in California. I would like to introduce you (sort of) to Beatnik and McMatherson.  I wanted to make sure that you had some background on these two, so I sent Beatnik some questions.

Getting to know Beatnik and McMatherson (or the west coast team)

What was your first beer “a-ha” moment? When you decided you loved beer?

I think it was when I decided to order a Guinness ..I may be aging myself here, but back in the early 21 and up days of my life all that was available typically was your cheap domestic easy drinking beers.  Guinness was the antithesis of anything offered typically at the time.

What are your top 3 favorite beer styles to drink?

Dunkleweiss, Imperial Stout, and Dark Ale in that order...

Do you homebrew?

I've done wine, but I have yet to do beer...

What are your top 3 favorite breweries, either to drink, or to visit?

Right now, Russian River (Santa Rosa Ca.), Three Floyds (Munster In.), and Ayinger brewery (Aying Germany)

In your opinion, what are some of the best resources (books, websites, programs, institutions etc…) for people learning about beer and brewing beer?

BeerAdvocate is great for getting a bead on a beer, although it's ultimately your own opinion that stands the final test...I'm also a fan of reddit's homebrewing section.  If you type reddit homebrew in google it'll pop up.

What beer would you give someone to get them “hooked” on beer?

I would probably do "La Fin Du Monde" by Unibroue, or "Ayinger HefeWeiss" by Ayinger...both easier drinking varieties that are much more complex then your typical bar beer.

Any words of advice to people who are just starting to get involved with beer?

Enjoy the experience around the beer, just not the beer itself...look into the history, the people, and the notion of why they put those ingredients together.  It makes a great story.

What is the beer culture like in California? Is it much different from the Chicago region?

Well out here, they are all about the hoppy beers...it's the number one focus.  Although out here most of the hoppy beers tend to be less bitter and more floral...unlike many I've encountered in the midwest.  As for the people, they follow craft just as rabidly as those in the Midwest...but they do also share a love of wine as well naturally.  It's not the Beer vs. Wine battle royal I would have thought.  In fact, anything that pushes the limits be it wine, beer, or culinary cocktail...is rewarded handily.

How do you choose how to pair food with beer? (and will you share some recipes with us?)

There's one of two ways for a great symbiotic pairing.  You have the pairings that rely on choosing ingredients that may be similar in make-up (is there raisins in the beer and the dish?) or in volume (lighter beers with fish, darker beers with meaty items).  And then the more uncommon approach is you have beers that  balance the meal.  This takes much more time in the sense of menu preparation because you are counter pointing the menu and including the beer as one of the ingredients of dish...for example if you have an overly sweet dish, a hoppy bitter beer may bring a balance when married with this...Or if you have astringent items you may go with a more savory beer.

As for recipes....time will tell :)  

Brewmance

I am sure you all remember Matt from earlier guest posts... well I got him to write another guest post for me, because I am completely lost with this move.

So, enjoy!

I recently went up to Milwaukee for a little vacation. In between gorging on gigantic portions of ludicrously heavy German food, getting scolded at the Art Museum, and experiencing rush hour in downtown Milwaukee (all four cars), we took a tour of Lakefront Brewery.

As we walked up, a young couple asked us to take their photo in front of the brewery, to which the young woman laughed, “This is going in our engagement album.” “It’s so romantic,” the young man said. “Can you make sure you get the sign in the photo, too?” Man, I love these two! They turned and walked inside with us. I don’t remember seeing them after that.

On to the beer. For $7 you get a tour of the brewery, smart-ass, snarky comments and at times faux sexual innuendos/beer brewing terms from the tour guide, four 6 oz. samples of beer, and a commemorative Lakefront Brewery pint glass. I wonder where that couple went? Anyways, we start the tour, and there’s only 5 of us (the smallest group of the day). 

The previous tour had about 14 people. We were brought into a room where the Brewery Navigation Specialist (here’s his photo…it’s blurry to simulate that you’ve been drinking) explained the history of Lakefront Brewery, how beer is made, facts about beer, what’s in it, and several other things I completely forgot because I kept wondering where the hell those two went? There was nowhere else for them to go! Anyways, then he brought us out into the brewing area with the following warning, “Just because we’re in a brewery does not mean that any liquid on the floor is beer.” Noted.

He then explained the entire beer making process, showed us some hops, barley, where they keep their supplies, the vats they use to make their beer, how long it takes, how many barrels they make per year, and lots of other things which I can’t recall. Where the hell did those two go? Seriously? I’m getting concerned. Anyways, we play a quick game of “Stump the Tour Guide” for an extra beer sample, and we fail. Maybe they went into the bottling area? But how could they get down there? Anyways, he explains more about the beer shipping process using brewing terms that once again, are euphemisms for bedroom-related activities (I think the same person who came up with “ballcock” for the toilet then went into beer brewing). I would love to recall all the knowledge I gained, but I can’t. Did they leave right away? We walked back upstairs to the main bar area to finish off the rest of our beer samples.

We tried the Wisconsonsite Summer Weiss (our favorite…it wasn’t overpoweringly spicy, it had just the right amount of spice), Fixed Gear, Pumpkin Lager (awesome tasting, but I can’t imagine downing a six-pack), and another one which I can’t recall. Helpful, aren’t I? We also received an extra serving of the pumpkin lager because they were going to toss the rest of the pitcher out in back in the garbage. Dammit, where are they? Did they go out back?

So if you find yourself in Milwaukee and want to have a good time and learn about all the stuff I easily forgot about, Lakefront Brewery is great! The Fixed Gear and Wisconsonite Summer Weiss are fantastic! While you’re there, maybe you can check up on where those two ran off to. Seriously. I don’t know.

http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com

P.B."Our"

Since my lovely sister is graduating college in a few weeks (YAAAY!!!) I thought it was a good time to use one of her guest posts about beer, and reminiscing about college life. So, here you go:

PabstBlue Ribbon Beer is a Midwestern staple.  Founded in the bustling town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1844, PBR has stood the test of time and is synonymous with American brewing.  PBR’s “Blue Ribbon” was earned when it won a gold medal during the World’s Fair and Columbian Exposition in 1893, solidifying its place in American beer history as the stuff of legends.  While I could go on and on about PBR’s history, its innovative creation of the “Tall boy” can and the amazing names such as Shlitz and Old Style that have grown from its breweries, my story of PBR is more close to home.  That is to say, you can almost always count on finding it in my home. 

As a college student, a musician, and a Chicagoan, PBR has many attractive qualities to me.  It’s a cheap beer that can be found in almost any liquor store and it doesn’t taste like it was brewed from the scrapings of a factory floor.  I find it to be quite tasty, although I know there are those who would disagree.  For me it’s a taste that is familiar, refreshing, and timeless. 

In my short span of exploring the great world of beer, I have learned that I can always count on PBR.  Whenever I’m tired or indecisive, it’s always there, the perfect 6-pack of glistening Tall Boys individually wrapped in metallic blue ribbons.  More times than I can count I have found myself suddenly entertaining a rowdy bunch of thirsty friends and ended up grabbing a 30 rack of PBR to carry home in my arms like it were my big boxy infant.  Each and every time, it’s turned into a great night with great friends.  I dare not think of the numerous floorboards we’ve strained, stained, and danced on.  Somewhere, the floorboard gods look down on my friends and I with disgust and disdain. 

Summer time is great for PBR as well.  When it’s summer and my days are care-free, PBR can be found in a bucket of ice on my back porch while a guitar or two are being strummed in some aimless melody leading to nowhere in particular.  Where’s there to go when we’ve got all we need right here?

I was lucky to be blessed with a roommate who has shared in my familiarity with PBR.  My roommate Abby, comrade Zach and I once dedicated an entire day watching Tom Hanks films while we tried to find the best PBR bottle caps to make a card deck out of.  We also had the profoundly modest idea of inviting over 100 of our closest friends to our apartment for a party featuring 4 live bands, including our own. PBR was there to keep our guests happy and our show a success.  Together we’ve danced, cheered, and conquered the night with PBR, much to the discontent of several neighbors, a few members of the CPD, and countless unfulfilled obligations the next morning. 

Although the days of awarding Pabst golden medals for taste and innovation have long since past, I still would give PBR a blue ribbon for being PB”Our”.  It feels like our beer, the beer for the end of a long day, a music-filled afternoon on the back porch, or a night of restless youth and debauchery.  Here’s to you, PBR; you were there on my 21^st birthday, and you’ve been there for many $5 beer-and-a-shots since.  You keep my friends living wildly, and sweet home Chicago feeling like home.  Cheers.