More on Innovation

When I wrote my semi-tongue-in-cheek “In Defence of Innovation” earlier this week, I had no idea the kind of reaction I was about to kick off. Hits climbed, the comments count soared, Stan weighed in, and, of course, everything deviated well off-topic.

All of which prompted me to wake up this morning thinking that I needed to offer some clarification. This is it.

In general, I think talk of innovation in brewing needs be separated into three categories: real innovation, contextual innovation and “innovation.” First, the real deal.

I believe there is still plenty of truly innovative brewing going on out there, just not nearly as much as people seem to think. Theo Musso of Baladin intentionally oxidizing his Xyauyù is, I think, an innovative move. (Sure the result is far from a quaffing beer, but so what? It’s delicious.) Van Roy père et fils creating the lambic-style Iris with 100% malted grain is, I think, innovative. (Jean-Pierre won’t call Iris a true lambic because it lacks unmalted wheat, so neither will I.) Sam Calagione building a maturation vessel of Brazilian hardwood for Palo Santo Maron is, I think, a pretty bold and innovative move. (Not the wood-aging per se, of course, but the aging in that particular wood.) And the year-and-a-half méthode champenoise treatment of DeuS by Brouwerij Bosteels is, again, something I think is pretty innovative. (Some would award that particular innovation to Malheur, but since I have never yet been served an uncloudy glass of that brewery’s Brut, I have to question the dégorgement part of the practice.)

To say there is no space still left for innovation is like saying that there is nothing new remaining in art. So long as there is imagination, there will be innovative advances and new works of original art. It may not all be to your taste of mine, but it will be there.

Contextual innovation, I believe, is just as legitimate because it advances a particular market. The rise of the co-called Belgian IPA, for example, is a definite innovation when taken within the context of that country, and since I can claim on only a handful of visits to have supped several ales of that style within the Belgian borders, I can say with a certain amount of conviction that its small-scale popularization has broadened the selection of beers available there. Ditto the blonde best bitter in the U.K., and even the chestnut beer in Italy.

Finally, we have “innovation,” which is my way of pointing to those beers that are often classed as such, but are not in reality terribly innovative. Is the aging of beer in whiskey barrels innovative? Not since Goose Island first did it with their Bourbon County Stout. Blending beers à la Firestone Walker Anniversary series? Hardly, although the argument could be made that it is a contextual innovation, as the practice was and remains rare in the United States. The recreation of historic or obscure styles? By simple definition, no.

This does not, however, suggest in any way, shape or form that the beers created through the practices listed above, or any of the myriad other similarly non-innovative practices, are somehow inferior to truly innovative beers, or even traditionally styled beers, for that matter. Some of them I have found to be quite excellent, and if being tagged with the term “innovation” helps their brewers sell a few more cases, or command a dollar more per bottle, well, I’m okay with that.

In Defence of Innovation

Alan and Ron (and, to a lesser degree, Martyn) have of late taken to calling out innovation in brewing as simply another way to separate the punters from their money. Which is their prerogative, but excuse me if I decide to chime in, too.

I am fond of innovative beers. One I like took pale malt and fragrant hops, brewed them up with soft water and fermented the results with a bottom-fermenting yeast. It’s called Pilsner Urquell these days, and in 1842 its innovation was nothing less than the commencement of what is today the world’s most popular, and most bastardized, style of beer.

Another pair of brews arrived on the scene within a few years of each other, showcasing a particular variety of American hop, called Cascade, and starting not just a beer style, but a whole movement in brewing. Yes, Anchor Liberty Ale and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale were pretty innovative in their day.

Hell, you could even say that in their respective day, all three of the above beers were, dare I say, “extreme”!

Palin Porter? Palinator Doppelbock?

I see that former political liability Sarah “Whack Job” Palin has released a new book today, entitled Going Rogue. Besides marvelling at why in the world anybody with sense would want to shell out their hard-earned cash to read the woman’s (surely ghost-written) ramblings, I’m left to wonder what might be the response of the real Rogues, those who live and brew in Oregon?

Will John Maier release a new beer “dedicated to the failed vice-presidential candidate in all of us”? Is a Palin Imperial(ly Ignorant) Pilsner in the planning stages? How about a special edition India Pal(in) Ale?

Surely the great minds at one of the west coast’s earliest and most rebellious craft breweries aren’t going to take this blatant co-opting of their name laying down? Well, are they?

I Agree, Joe, Vive Jean-Pierre!

In case you missed it – I know I did – Joe Strange over at the Thirsty Pilgrim offers a four paragraph tribute to Jean-Pierre Van Roy, a lion of a man and a hell of a brewer, who gave birth to his last batch of Cantillon lambic earlier this month.

There’s little I can add to Joe’s words, except to reiterate that, in addition to all he has done for the survival and betterment of traditional lambic brewing, Jean-Pierre also deserves credit for instilling in his son, Jean, the same sort of passion and tenacity that he has displayed throughout his brewing life.

Félicitations, Jean-Pierre! Et mille fois merci!!

Because One Does Not Live by Beer Alone…

I’m not in the habit of passing along press releases and special website deals, but this one I think is a little different. You may be familiar with Kegworks because of its great selection of draught equipment and beer supplies, including glassware, but the company also sells assorted cocktail supplies, too, including some stuff they’ve just put on feature.

For you gin aficionados out there, check out the Kegworks six-pack of premium tonic waters, featuring Q Tonic, Fever Tree and Fentimans. (Warning, though: you may never go back to Schweppes or Canada Dry after tasting these babies.) And for those who like a well-mixed cocktail now and then, the Fee Brothers bitters set is an absolute must-have.

Check it all out here.

 

 

 

Four Reasons to Go to Belgium

I’ve been wrestling with this for days. I profoundly want to return to Belgium before the end of the year, but I just can’t make the timing/finances/writing assignments work. So I don’t think it’s going to happen for me, but if there’s any way you can make it happen for you, well, you should. Here are just four of the many reasons why:

1) A new website, www.beerinflanders.bep to help English-speaking tourists plan their beer travels in Flanders, and it’s a pretty good one, too.
2) This weekend, the 3rd annual Brugs Beer Festival is featuring 278 beers from 67 breweries! That may not sound like much compared to the GBBF or GABF, but for little Belgium, it may be a festival record.
3) The new branch of Moerder Lambic, a long-standing, near legendary beer bar, is up and running in the center of Brussels. Reviews thus far have been outstanding!
4) One of my very favourite beer festivals in the entire world, the Kerstbierfestival in Essen, will take place on December 12 and 13. Featuring only seasonal and Christmas beers, this is a tremendous event and one I counsel every beer aficionado to attend at least once in their lives.

What the Devil Is This?!?

There has been some blog talk lately of the Devil’s Pale Ale 666 by Ontario’s Great Lakes Brewery, and I have been called out, erm, invited by Uncle Jack to offer my view. So here it is.

The Devil’s is certainly a dark pale ale, being somewhat coppery brown in colour, but I put little stock in the stylistic relevance of hue, so let’s proceed with the aroma. There is fruit there, as Martyn suggests is essential to Burton ale, but more so I get treacly caramel, which tarnishes the complexity of the nose with simplistic sugar notes. How this jibes with Martyn’s definition of Burton pale ale I do not know, as his post on the subject does not mention fragrant sugars like caramel, but it differs greatly from enticing, intriguing and, most importantly, wonderfully complex aroma of the Worthington White Shield I was supping last Friday.

On the palate, this beer certainly suggests a mix of fruit and hop, with dark and dried fruits like raisins and prunes holding the former banner and toasted nuttiness (walnuts, perhaps) standing in for the hops. On the finish, there’s a fair degree of bitterness, along with the roasted malt notes that arise in the second half of the taste and a whisper of smokiness.

What I like about this beer is its middle, the point where hops meet malty sweetness and begin the drift towards the bitter finish. What I don’t like is the clumsiness of that selfsame finish, which offers a coarse bitterness that stands in stark contrast with the softer approach of the front end.

As for the question of whether or not it might be in the Burton style, even if unintentionally so, I’d say not, or at least that’s what I’d say when comparing it to what I know of the classic Burton ale, it being White Shield. Which is not to say that the Devil’s is a bad beer – it’s a fine enough ale, if not necessarily one to get too excited about – but rather that the Worthington is an exceptional one.

Diageo UK Trying its Hand at Scrooge

While the global drinks industry may not have been hit as hard by the current recession as have many other industries, there is no doubt the economy is making its presence felt all over these days. Hence this latest announcement from Diageo UK.

According to a story by Janice Burns in the Daily Record, effective next year, Diageo will call to an end its practice of distributing Christmas hampers to its retired workers. Said hampers are said to be valued at about £30 and contain 3 bottles of Diageo booze.

Now, no one is saying that what is, after all, simply a kind gesture on the part of a very large company needs be continued indefinitely, but considering the £2 billion in profits the drinks giant is said to have made last year, this seems petty indeed. Coming on the heels of the company’s announcement of 900 Scottish worker layoffs, their timing must also be considered quite suspect.

Not clever, Diageo. Not terribly clever at all!

Uncle Jack Calling Me Out?!?

Now this is unusual. From time to time, in both the blogs I read and those I stumble upon, I come across a reference to something I’ve written, either recently or in the long-distant past. (When you’ve been doing this beer writing stuff for a couple of decades, there’s a fair amount of “long-distant past” kicking around out there.) But seldom do I get specifically called out, indeed openly challenged to provide a comment on some specific issue.

Yet verily, now is one of those times.

The usually redoubtable if occasionally sartorially suspect Mr. Jack Curtin has called upon me to weigh in on the subject of the Great Lakes Brewery’s 666 Devil’s Pale Ale, a beer with which I’m familiar, but which I have not to date reviewed. Jack likes it, Alan feels it might be quite Burton-like, someone posting under the initials “wk” (aka “silly moo”) doesn’t like it at all and I am now challenged to offer an opinion.

While I do not normally respond to provocation, as it turns out that I not only have a can of 666 in my fridge at this very moment, but was also by coincidence imbibing a classic Burton ale, Worthington White Shield, only a couple of days ago, I shall respond to Jack’s challenge. A little later on, though, as it’s not yet even 9:00 am. Stay tuned.

Food Flags

Nothing to do with beer here, but if you like:

• Clever advertising;
• The innovative and artistic use of food; and
• Cool renditions of national flags;

Then check out this photo gallery of 14 “food flags” crafted by a p.r. company to promote the Sydney International Food Festival.