Brewer Confessions

New Jersey beer goes here

2006-06-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

The Garden State Craft Brewers Guild (GSCBG) just hosted their 10th annual beer festival this past Saturday. Around 1,000 people came out on a rather gloomy day to taste some NJ craft beer. I ask myself if it was a success? In terms of the gate and given the weather, I suppose it was. But as a member and president of our organization, I see it as a failure as well.

Of the 16 members in our guild, only 12 brought their beer to the fest. Given that we have only one festival per year, that is disturbing and quite frankly unforgivable. The purpose of our group is to bring awareness to the great beer being made in our state. If the breweries don't believe that, how can we possibly hope that beer drinkers will? I know that some members view each other as competitors and are reluctant to do something that they feel may benefit another business. But what they fail to see is that good beer begets good beer, and good beer drinkers. If they took the time to come out to these festivals, they would see that.

I've been president of the GSCBG for a few years now. I never wanted to hold that office and only did it because no one else would. I know that this organization (if you can call it that) is probably no different than many others. There's little participation from the members and I fear that the group has lost it's vision and purpose.

Since Heavyweight is closing this summer, I'll be leaving the guild. I am sad for the future of the NJ beer scene for I fear that no one else has the time or inclination to keep the guild going. I hope I'm wrong. I hope there is another festival next year. I'll be there, with all the other beer lovers, to support NJ craft beer.

Here's to little beers and big flavor

2006-06-18T09:43:00.000-04:00

Show of hands ... who is just bored with high-alcohol and ridiculously-hopped beers? That must sound rather strange coming from someone who named his brewery: Heavyweight. But the truth is if you look at the beers that have come out of Heavyweight, few were over 8% abv. The intent of Heavyweight was to produce beers that were bold and flavorful and when I look back on some of my favorites, I realize that they were mostly lower gravity brews. The Juhlia (a sahti), Black Ocean (black lager) and the current Slice-of-bread (rye beer) are all bold and flavorful and all under 5%. I also believe that it's much easier to create a 9-10% beer than a 3-4%.

Don't get me wrong, strong and hoppy beers can be wonderful and complex. But all these double and triple pales/reds just make me yawn. It's easy to understand the attraction of hops in beer, they are a powerful flavor component. But I would much rather drink a well-hopped ordinary bitter.

As I've stated, making smaller beers is a challenge. Well, making them taste full-bodied and flavorful is the challenge. Anyone can brew beer, just like anyone can make bread. They're both simple processes with simple ingredients. What separates the men from the boys is the technique, passion and art of the process. And that's what keeps me brewing and happy: trying to expand my knowledge of process and continue to develop the art.

As many people already know, Heavyweight will be closing at the end of June 2006 after seven years. The good news for folks who like what we do, is that my wife Peggy and I will be channeling what we've gleaned and achieved with Heavyweight into a new brewery/pub project. As for me, the best thing about this new venture is that I'll be able to make lower gravity beers without some folks raising an eyebrow and asking "You are from Heavyweight, aren't you?".

Here we go again

2006-06-01T21:41:00.000-04:00

Well, here's another post about RATEBEER. It may seem as though I exclusively pick on these folks and their reviews, but the truth is, there's just so much to pick on. I admit that I'm a troll. I don't post there and I've given up looking at the reviews, but I do like to see what folks find interesting.

The latest is a piece by some dude called OAKES. He may be mr. RATEBEER or perhaps just a member, I'm not sure. His spiel is about 'Ten beers you don't need to try'. Now, while this may be his opinion, and he's entitled to it, in my opinion, posts like this are just stupid. Like .... 'here's my favorite five beers to get a girl into bed' or 'top ten beers to show your boss that you have what it takes to succeed'. It doesn't matter which beers mr. OAKES selected, because the mere exercise is a kitchen full of useless gadgets.

Beer is a wonderful thing. Do I get upset when my sister orders a Bud Lite when I take her to a brewpub? Sure, but I wouldn't chastise her for ordering the brewery's Golden Ale.

Beer with flavor is the key and in my book if you drink flavorful beers, I want to drink with you, cowboy.

Festival season

2006-05-15T21:05:00.000-04:00

We are about to do our last couple of beer fests, ever. When we first started our brewery, we did all the festivals we could. You know, on the road, promoting the brewery. It's been exhausting at times although we do enjoy seeing other brewers and friends. For the past few years, we didn't feel like we were introducing our beer to a new audience. So we decided to do only charity events. You would think that good causes would attract good beer drinkers. Why? Well, the ticket prices are usually higher and the events seem to attract better breweries. But I don't really think that's true anymore. I think that the majority (there are exceptions) of the fests attract drunks. Most of them want 'our light beer' or just something really cold. My wife's got a stare that could freeze them. To be fair, there are some good fests. The BA fests are well run and there are several in the Philly burbs that are good as well. The thing is, I'm just tired of them. Offering food and lodging to the participants are great but in my opinion, offering to pay for the beer sends a better message. Even if it's a charity cause, it demonstrates that the beer and the brewery are important to the success of the event.

The other thing is, most of even the well-run fests are no longer sampling events. They are merely opportunities to get pie-eyed on 35 dollars. I don't know, maybe I've just gotten grumpier and crotchety in my old age. I just long for the days in my myopic memory, when festival attendees asked about the beers and styles and also asked me to pour a smaller sample so they could enjoy the rest of the fest responsibly. Or maybe that was a dream I had last night.

Words make the (wo)man

2006-05-09T18:23:00.000-04:00

I've been really trying lately to think about the words that I use in conversation and attempting to stop using all the useless cliches and 'likes' and 'you knows'. It's not easy to do, but when you hear yourself speak on a recording and you sound like a moron, you can do nothing but try.

Two words, when used in a brewing context, derive a similar 'nails on a blackboard' reaction in me. They are 'drugs' and 'infection'. The first one bothers a lot of folks in our industry. Equating casual beer enjoyment with drug use is just plain stupid. Although I hate when people make this analogy, it is a rather easy one for me to ignore.

But the second word is a bit more caustic to my ears. Wikipedia defines infection as:
"An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. An infection is, in effect, a war in which the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources in order to multiply at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning and perhaps the survival of the host."

It's been well documented that human pathogens cannot grow in beer. People know and understand that, yet they still insist upon saying "that beer was infected, and not in a good way". Of course they're referring to the 'good infection', as in lambic. Using the word 'infection' when speaking about beer is somewhat similar to using the word 'drug'. It conveys something negative and erroneous. Of course, what people mean to say is 'contaminated'. Beer does get contaminated. I've packaged beer that was contaminated and for that I'm sorry and ashamed. Maybe beside being linguistically correct, for me, 'contamination' just sounds better. Contaminated beer will never harm you and perhaps it will never even get beyond your nose. So the next time you try a beer that smells like a horse blanket, ask whoever brought it, 'is this beer suppose to smell like ass or is this contaminated?'.

Radio is dead

2006-05-02T21:18:00.000-04:00

I hate my local public radio station. I want to like them, I really do. It's WBJB and I just can't listen anymore. I love when I go to Philly and get to Listen to WXPN - that's just a wonderful station. And I just returned from a beer gig in Staten Island and got to listen to WFUV (Fordham) - that's also a cool station.

What I dislike most about 90.5 (WBJB) is that it's the most commercial public radio station on my dial. They play the same music over and over. Ok, so it is some cool music, but you do hear the same tracks over and over again. Do they have the album (CD)? Can't they play an alternate track? It is at this essence, a programmed station. They also throw in so much sponsored spots that they have to have enough money to buy a few extra CDs. I will never join this station unless they shut up and play some good music. I really wouldn't mind listening to some commercials, if they played some decent music. I used to think Rich Robinson was a good jock when he spun tunes on WHTG. Truth is, he's a dinosaur. Plays the same shit he's been playing forever. I guess the sad truth is that radio is a dead medium. You'll hear nothing new on it, commercial or otherwise. Man, I'm depressed. Guess I'll go listen to some Junior Kimbrough.

More reasons to drink beer

2006-05-01T09:33:00.000-04:00

So once again I would like to share some deep and thoughtful beer ratings that I discovered on ratebeer.com. I didn't include the names of the beer being evaluated because I didn't see the point. Only one of the beers are from Heavyweight - see if you can find it. Thanks to Kevin from Paducah, Kentucky for the entertainment.

"dark brown pour with a sticky brown head. smell is nice:cognac, peanut butter and grape jelly. taste is overly attenuated red grape taste. ashy pressboard taste with an unhappy caramel finish.grrrr. for some reasoni wrote "jesus shit waffles" i don’t know what that means."

"muddy black brown pour with a grey head. roast peanut aroma. dry unswet tea flavor with the taste of model airplanes. a biting carbonation level. a lingering bittersweet berry taste."

"pours a urine tainted neon yellow with a white head. yeastastic aroma of grains of paradise or corriander or something, a really great spicy nose. first taste bites me then i compensate for the crappy mouthfeel of pine needles. lemon pear and blueberry come out in this in an bad balance for me."

"amber body with a grey white head. nose is loose and hard to catch. a bit of honeysuckle. flavor is astringent pear and balsa wood. apricot finishsomehow still smooth."

"nice fiery gold body with a lacadaisacle ring of grey head(some weird scribbles about big beer and upsetting something and trying something else are in my notes, someday i’ll figure out what i meant)penny and donut flavor with a glaze. i also wrote "jesus shit out a waffle" here too. some candy corn here."

If you guessed 'muddy black brown with the grey head' was from Heavyweight, you're correct. That is my Black Ocean.

Let's talk about cobbing

2006-04-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

I know that when you start a small business that consumes a great deal of your time and passion, you typically end up in the evening exactly where you began the day - thinking and talking about IT. That's an occupational hazard I guess.

But what I've grown to dislike about this particular business is that even if you can put IT aside for an evening or weekend, some people cannot. If I were a carpenter, I doubt whether folks I run into at the market would ask me about the last load of lumber I used. Well I don't think they would. Don't misunderstand, I appreciate the genuine interest and concern, but frankly I'm often tired of discussing beer and brewing.

It's funny, but I was so proud of our little project when we first started it (I'm still proud today btw), that I was a little upset if my friends didn't ask me how things were going. I still love brewing and beer and the friends they have introduced to me. But do me a favor, the next time you see me, let's talk about cobbing.

Four brothers

2006-04-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness. With apologies to Dickens, I would like to tell you a story of four brothers. I know these brothers, some better than others. They're not all related, well, at least not all to each other. The first two own a heavyweight beer importing company (which shall remain nameless). Their names are not important, but for now, let's just call them Dan and Will. These are the brothers that we have to thank for access to some of the best beer in the world. They are passionate knuckleheads, these brothers. They also know more about beer than almost anyone else I know. They have been called arrogant and pigheaded (not by me). Myself, I prefer to overlook any negative aspects of these brothers and instead focus on the good, and there's lots of good. Except for a perceived weakness for hoppy beers (except XX Bitter), these brothers are one of the best things that ever happened to us (the thirsty beer lovers).

The other two brothers started a little internet community which also shall remain nameless. This little community changed the better beer world and made it amazingly tiny (not a simple feat). Let's call these brothers: Todd and Jason. They are also some of the most passionate folks I know regarding beer and its appreciation. They are also, like the previous siblings, stubborn and opinionated. But again, the good they have done and inspired far outweigh the failures of the mammal human. I like this community and the people who frequent it.

Maybe it's because these two sets of brothers are very different, or maybe very alike, that they do not seem to get along with each other. There are undoubtedly issues and circumstances that I do not know or understand. Some wrongs were probably done. Oh, so big deal. For me, the guilty truth is that I don't give a damn if these guys get along. As long as I keep getting great beer from Europe and I'm able to talk and share these beers with other beer lovers, I'm happy.

'No expectations'

2006-03-30T08:31:00.000-05:00

Did you ever have a book, CD or movie laying around the house with the intention that you'll pick it up someday? Months, maybe even years later you finally get to it and it's fabulous. It's a problem when the thing in question has been loaned to you. My friend Scott the Dude loaned Peggy and me a video some months back. Since we plan to see him this Sunday at a beer/food event, we figured we should finally watch it.

The video is called 'The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus' and it is simply amazing. I've never heard of this recording and discovered that it was made in Dec. 1968 and unreleased until 1996. Along with the Stones (including Brian Jones), it features The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, The Dirty Mac (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell (JHE)), Jethro Tull (including Sabbath's Tony Iommi). The show was originally recorded for a TV special that never happened. If you haven't seen this, you're missing something historically significant. It's highly recommended.

Cheers.

Cask-confession

2006-03-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

Cask-conditioned beer is all a buzz now. Many pubs in the NYC and Philly areas have installed beer engines or pumps as they're known. Cask beer can be great, but in my opinion, what makes the beer special is two things: temperature and conditioning (carbonation). When a beer, or water for that matter, is warmer it's easier to sense the nuances of flavors and aromas. Similarly, without all those bubbles getting in the way, the beer is easier to drink.

But here's what sticks the potato in my exhaust pipe. The claim to fame of cask-conditioned beer is a 'secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed'. That usually means that near-still beer is racked into a cask and some yeast+sugar or fermenting wort is added, the cask is sealed and allowed to re-ferment. This produces the signature mild conditioning.

That's great but guess what? This is completely unnecessary and it creates other problems. Cask purists will argue against this, but just think about it. This secondary fermentation is the same thing that happens in primary. No new mysterious flavors develop, only a touch more alcohol, lots more yeast and carbonation are created. Now the alcohol and subtle carbonation are welcome, but what do we do with all the yeast? The answer is finings; that usually means adding gelatin or isinglass to settle the yeast. All nasty stuff in my opinion. The other problem is that if the beer is fined and the retail customer doesn't cellar the beer properly, you will end up drinking yeast and maybe even the finings. Now while I agree that natural carbonation is best, I don't think this needs to be developed in the cask.

The confession: I have packaged 'real ale' that has not undergone another fermentation in the cask. This beer is unfiltered (I don't filter any of my beer) and hence still alive. I have a way to rack reasonably cold, moderately conditioned beer into a cask without losing a lot of the carbonation (no finings and little yeast). When the beer warms, the carbonation increases and with a bit of venting, voila, wonderful 'real ale'.

I have had my beer both ways (primed/fined and via the confession) and I cannot tell the difference. Given the shortcomings of the first method, especially in those 'Real Ale' fests where the beer is loaded into the Jeep and trucked 85 miles, slapped up on a table, tapped and dispensed, I prefer the second.

The other thing that bothers me (mildly) about cask beer is what ends up in the cask. Now I know I've been guilty myself, but cask lagers and all these insanely high-alcohol beers have no business in cask. I've decided that from now on, I'm only doing casks that showcase what this form of beer was meant for: lower alcohol, tasty ales.

I guess I've been a bit of a hypocrite about these beers. But the truth is, I do love cask beer and whether it's the so-called genuine article or not, I just want it to be served correctly; bright and modestly carbonated and at cellar temperature.

Things to be desired

2006-03-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

I usually feel a sense of hope and wonder when I leave the restroom at the brewery. Wow, that's a strange line. A gift from my wife, a copy of Max Ehrmann's 1927 poem 'Desiderata' hangs from the wall. Every time I read this wonderful poem, it fills me promise. The poem is a road map offering direction to attain happiness in life. If you're not familiar with it, it begins:

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit."

I know they are only words, but the ultimate aim of prose is to move you and perhaps to make you think differently about yourself or others. I admit that I'm not well-read, unless you include brewing texts. But I've never read a poem that speaks so clearly and simply about the qualities that constitute a happy existence. My only complaint with my copy is the last line, 'be careful' , I think it's a typo, it should read 'be cheerful'.

I believe that the poem is now in the public domain, so if you don't have a copy, I urge you to get one. The bathroom seems a good place for it. You can read it each morning and evening and remember where your going and where you've been.

Peace.

Do you need room for milk?

2006-03-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

I like coffee. I really like coffee. My wife says I'm a snob, but the truth is that I merely like good, strong coffee. As someone who avoids the Wal-marts, McDonalds and Millers of the world because they trample on the little guy, Starbucks is a bit of an ethical speed bump for me. On one hand, it's a giant corporation with shops popping up like stink weeds all over town. On the other, they have the best coffee I can wrap my hands around in the morning (and evening). There's many things I don't like about the place. The silly fountain drinks, the droning lite jazz soundtrack and the 'tall, grande or vente?' all bother me. I order a large drip and yes, I usually do have a great day.

Many people I know think Starbucks coffee sucks - it's too bitter and too expensive. As for the expense, it's just like beer, people pay a premium for what they perceive as quality. And the thing about it being bitter, well I think these people probably like the brown water from other so-called coffee shops. I could say that I would much rather give my business to an independent coffee house if there were one close and convenient to me. But the truth is, I like the coffee at Starbucks.

This makes me think about beer and whether I would buy it from a conglomerate if its products were as ballsy as its marketing campaign. It doesn't seem possible that AB or Coors can suddenly made big, roasty imperial stouts without their board of directors flipping out. But why? Starbucks offers an edgy product that is certainly not in the mainstream ... and they make a lot of money. The reason is, like a large oil tanker, the macro brewer in today's world is too big and moving too steady to enable it to change course. But it's an interesting supposition. Small brewers have nothing to fear from AB. Personally, I would love to try a Miller Russian Imperial Stout.

But, alas, we all know that smaller is better. It allows for distinction and diversity. It fosters new ideas and improvements. And ultimately, it is the reason the entrepreneurial spirit lives here today. I believe all that, I really do, but I still like Starbucks.

Yes, we have no brewmaster

2006-03-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

When friends of mine introduce me to others, they often say, "He's a brewmaster". That's funny, because when I was a computer analyst, no one ever introduced me as a programmer. This makes me think that brewing is still a somewhat mystical thing to many people. Many folks who visit the brewery have no idea how beer is made and I'm constantly asked 'how did you learn to do all this?'. Of course like many other professions, brewing is an easy and simple process and one that has been around forever.

The thing that bothers me is being called 'brewmaster'. It's not about modesty I assure you. In Germany, it takes many years of classical study and apprenticeship in order to be called a master brewer. I know brewers who use the term brewmaster to describe their jobs and I'm ok with that situation. But for me, when someone calls and asks to speak to the brewmaster, I tell them that we don't have one but will the brewer do?

The more the merrier

2006-03-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

Although I consider myself a social person, I do admit that when I'm in the brewery alone, I relish the solitude. I enjoy moving at my own pace and insuring that things are done properly. I don't mean to suggest that I'm not grateful to the wonderful people that lend a hand at Heavyweight. We have the best volunteers anyone could ask for. I love their interest in what I do and the passion they share about beer.

And it's the sharing that's the important thing. Sharing and collaboration in brewing seem so natural and comfortable to me. I have collaborated with let's see ... beer writers, beer advocates, other brewers, a beer store manager and homebrewers. The product of these efforts have yielded the strange and interesting beers that really define Heavyweight Brewing.

My latest project (in the OTOP label) is a series of beers brewed with area homebrew clubs. The first was a bigger Pils-style lager made with the Princeton-based PALEALES. They brought twelve members to the brewery along with the suggestion to use a bunch of rye malt and helped me make 'Ivy League Pils'. The next group, the WHALES from Woodbridge, will join me at the brewery tomorrow to make a Scotch Wee Heavy. I plan to involve another one or two groups in future brews.

It's no where near as much fun to drink or make a beer alone. As much as I enjoy quiet times at the brewery, these group-brews remind me why I started a brewery in the first place and why beer is such a perfect social beverage.

Never losing focus

2006-03-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

I don't know, is it a cliche to say that 'it's just about the beer'? Now, I know that marketing is important, but I've always believed that if you made a good product, you will reach the folks who matter most. Yes, I said it ... PRODUCT. All manufacturers make a product. Is it art?, passion? or maybe creative expression? Maybe, but in the end we're still trying to sell something. And sometimes the quality and perception is just not enough.

We recently had a restaurant take our beer off their tap selection because, get this, our marker/handle was too sophomoric and cheap-looking. Do people really judge the merits of a beer by the cool-looking tap-marker or label on the bottle? Well, I don't know or care; I never got into this business to make a lot of money, my focus is and will always be on the beer and the people who appreciate it. I don't make the beers I brew just to be different, I make them because I have to. It's what I do. Heavyweight is not about gimmickry, it's about brewing beers that expand the wonder and boundaries of style and definition. Sometimes, the focus of the beer supersedes the availability of a cool tap-marker, sorry Witherspoon Grill.

Folks tell me I should make a regular Pils or Pale ale to drive most of our sales. From what other breweries do, this seems to make a lot of business sense. I realize that after six plus years at Heavyweight, I have very little business sense. I shamefully admit that I am only a brewer, brewing what I want (and hoping that others want it too), and when I want and above everything else .... never losing focus.

Talk about the passion

2006-02-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we were involved in two festivals that make me proud to be in the beer biz. The first was a three day cask ale festival held at The Brazen Head bar in Brooklyn, NY. Brooklynite Alex Hall is the main reason this is the best cask fest in the NY/NJ/PA area. He is so passionate about real ale and truely understands how to handle and present these delicate beers.

The other event we attended was the Slow Food beer/food tasting at Triumph Brewpub in New Hope, PA. Slow food is one of my favorite organizations with extremely passionate members. The tasting included 12-13 local breweries along with many bakery, cheese, meat and seafood purveyers showcasing their creations. For those that don't know of Slow Food, it was founded in Italy in 1986 and aims to protect the biodiversity of agricultural and gastronomical cultures around the globe. It's membership is over 80,000 strong from over 100 countries. Find out more from http://www.slowfood.com.

These two events remind me once again that good beer is good food and an integral part of enjoying life and what it has to offer. And as for the folks devoted to its creation and enjoyment . . . "talk about the passion".

Why I like the Jehovah's Witnesses

2006-02-23T20:33:00.000-05:00

Not being a spiritual person, I have difficulty understanding organized religion. In the Islamic variety, one that seems to take its faith deathly serious, my lack of understanding borders on nescience. The current Sunni/Shia attacks are a fresh reminder how much pain and suffering religious causes, struggles and movements have unleashed on our history. I was raised Roman Catholic and I have seen some really arrogant and bigoted Catholics in my time. I know that I don't understand anything about Islam, but I have heard about Jihad, so I thought I'd find out what it means. Here's what I found:
Jihad translates as "struggle," and in Islam there are four types:
JIHAD OF THE HEART:to purify oneself and try to live as the prophets did.
JIHAD OF THE TONGUE:to speak out in support of social justice, to educate.
JIHAD OF THE HAND:to touch others with dignity and respect.
JIHAD OF THE SWORD:to fight, as a last resort, against economic and social injustice.
It appears to me that many Muslims have skipped the first three.

Which brings me to why I like the Jehovah's. A couple of months ago, I answered a knock at the door and confronted two gentlemen from Jehovah's Witness. They were soft-spoken, articulate and listened intently to me while I revealed why I am faithless and extremely happy. They still wanted to leave their pamphlets and left assuring me that God still loves me. Not once did they tell me that their God was better than any others'. Now this is the kind of religion that the world needs: passionate but tolerant.

By the way, I had an Orval the other day and it was fantastic. The Abbaye's website describes "the calling to follow Christ along the way of the monastic life" and that brewing 'liquid bread' was a humble way to fund the needs of the monastery and it's charitable endeavors.

Huh, maybe I was wrong about the evils of religion.

Greetings from the fringe

2006-02-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Those of you that know me, know that I like a lot of BEERADVOCATEs and RATEBEERians. They are the reason we are still brewing. They are some of the most passionate beer people that I know. My main criticism though, is that many lack a sense of humility. Rating beer is great fun, but if I want to try a new beer, these websites would be the last place I'd look for insight and confirmation. Let me shed some light. I particularly love the reviews that disclaim, right off the bat, that the reviewer doesn't like the beer style he/she is reviewing but, "here's what I think .......". Another good one is the reviewer that's not quite sure what style the beer falls in, "so, I'll just review this as a weizenbock". Yeah, that's a favorite of mine.
These websites (www.beeradvocate.com and www.ratebeer.com) should be about beer and appreciation (which the founders had in mind, I'm sure), instead of rating the most beers.
Beer is a wonderful thing. But dumbing down the drinking pleasure to: aroma (smells like my wife's corn cobbler) or color (looks like a lemonade sitting on my grammie's front porch for 4 hours) does little to advance understanding. That brings me to another point. How many adjectives do we need to describe maltiness? Do all these reviewers sit in front of the PC with a thesaurus? I heard Michael Jackson once describe a beer's flavor as "the burnt currants on the edge of his mother's fruitcake." That was a wee bit of prose that I could relate to, but when someone writes "Copper, pepper, caramel and butterscotch lead the aroma, reinforced by apple spice, dates rolled in holiday spice pipe tobacco, and maple nut fudge.", well, come on, get a grip.
Wait, did I state how much I like the BEERADVOCATEs and RATEBEERians? I love these folks, so keep those cards and letters coming.
>