Seen Through a Glass

Top Ten: Mid-Atlantic Drives

2008-07-05T09:28:00.004-04:00

Lew's Top Ten Mid-Atlantic Drives (unranked)

The monthly not-usually-drink-related Lew's Top Ten. I like scenic drives, usually on two-lane roads. When I'm faced with getting from here to there, and time is not crucial, I much prefer to go over hill and dale on secondary roads. You see more, and the diners and stores aren't so same-same-same. These are some of my favorite finds.

1. PA Rt. 44 from Jersey Shore, PA to Coudersport, PA. Classic upstate Pennsylvania: small towns, swooping curves and hills through the woods, and a hunting camp around every corner. Alternately, the run up Rt. 287 to Wellsboro is also very nice.

2. NY Rt. 20 from Esperance to Richmond Springs, then down Otsego Lake -- the Glimmerglass -- to Cooperstown. I first drove this when doing the research for New York Breweries, and the long vistas north of Rt. 20 were entrancing, while the run down to Cooperstown was both visually and historically breath-taking. Having Ommegang and Cooperstown Brewing so close doesn't hurt, either.

3. NY Rt. 28 from Kingston to Big Indian, through the Catskills. Nothing like it on a warm summer day, with big clouds building over the Catskills. The first time I drove this was just magical.

4. The Skyline Drive, from Front Royal to Waynesboro, VA. History unfolds: Jackson's Valley campaign, Phil Sheridan's destruction of the Shenandoah, and the healing of the CCC. Or you can just go for the view, which is tremendous, especially at 35 mph. Relax.

5. PA Rt. 22 from Lewistown to Mundy's Corner, then down to Johnstown on Rt. 271. Long runs along the ridges, and a few roller-coaster rides over them. Too bad Johnstown Brewing closed, it was a nice bookend to this trip.

6. From Fortress Monroe to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, up Rt. 13 to Rt. 175 and out to Chincoteague. The Bay Bridge-Tunnel is worth every dollar I've ever paid to cross it. The technological wonder, the isolation in fog, the excitement of seeing the battleship Iowa curving about at high speed in the bay and the quiet power of a nuclear attack sub slipping out on the surface one foggy afternoon. Eastern Shore is a world apart, and Chincoteague even more so.

7. From Kitty Hawk down to Ocracoke City on the Outer Banks. This is my idea of "going down the shore:" 20 people on the spotless beach, a fun little town to visit if I want, and a free ferry for moonlight cruises. Yes, sir.

8. North through Letchworth State Park, then up Rt. 39 to Geneseo. Wait till the Genesee is at high water and run this one: the falls are awesome, the winding roads exciting. The run up 39 to Geneseo will take you out on glacial plateaus that look over miles of lowlands.

9. The Lake Run in the Adirondacks: Indian Lake to Blue Mountain Lake, up to Long Lake and swing around to Tupper Lake, in to Saranac Lake and on to Lake Placid (then wind it up with a trot down to Keene Valley to the Noon Mark Diner for some pie...).

10. Along the Delaware River, from Washington Crossing State Park on PA Rt. 32/Rt. 611 to Easton, PA. It's great to do this scenic and historic drive on a foliage-lit fall afternoon, have dinner and a couple excellent beers in Easton, and then return at night with a full moon reflecting off the river. Beautiful.

The Session #17 -- Declaring my Independence

2008-07-04T18:08:00.004-04:00

It's The Session, beer blogging on a common topic, and this month it's "beer festivals." See all the links soon here.

Rob DeNunzio ("Pfiff!") declared that this month's Session would be about "Drinking anti-seasonally." Rob has a bit more than the usual beer geek's animus towards light lager, and I think he wanted us all to drink heavy in the heat.

Screw that. I chose to interpret this differently, aided by the calendar and Thomas Jefferson. Today is Independence Day in America, The Glorious Fourth of July, and I chose to celebrate for The Session by going to a brewpub owned by Englishmen and drinking English-type real ales brewed on an English-made system with English yeast. That's anti-seasonal, in my book.

My wife's brothers are here for the long holiday weekend. This morning, Carl and I loaded up our bikes and headed to Stockton, NJ, up along the Delaware River. We rode the Delaware & Raritan State Park trail 12 miles to Frenchtown, then 4 miles up a decidedly more dodgy single-track to Milford. We racked and locked the bikes, changed into fresh t-shirts, and parked our butts at the bar of the Ship Inn. We each got 20 oz. pints of cask Best Bitter, and got thoroughly stuck into them.

The Ship Inn is a Ringwood yeast brewery, a yeast that raises the hackles of many a geek. To use Mr. DeNunzio's title: pfiff. Beer is as beer does, my momma always said (no, she didn't, but what the hell, Tom Hanks never played ping pong with the Chinese, either), and this is good beer. So good we had another, and then got a 5 liter polypin to take home.

I'm a solid American, a patriot, and I'll be picking up my craft beer (Sierra Nevada Summerfest and Flying Fish Farmhouse) later today. But those pints of English ale, hard-won by a long ride and standing determinedly session-strength against a craft onslaught of "Bigger! Bitter! Stuffed with more flavor than you can taste!", were a counter-move that made my day. Glad we smoothed things over with the Limeys.

Just when you thought it was safe to have a beer...

2008-07-03T16:22:00.004-04:00

Hops shortage? Piff. Malt increases? Whoopee. Transportation costs? Hey, happens to everyone.

Major caustic shortage.

That should get your attention. Due to "facility failures beyond their control," the largest producers of caustics in North America are immediately cutting allocation to 15% of contract to all existing customers (more info on that here). Every brewer I know of uses caustic to clean their steel. Like the hops problem, big users (municipal water treatment plants...) are already locking down existing supplies.

One more disaster to cope with.

New Jersey Breweries Launch

2008-07-02T20:54:00.004-04:00

We've got the first of several launch events for New Jersey Breweries to announce:

Co-author Mark Haynie and I will do the Pennsylvania launch at the Grey Lodge Pub on Sunday July 27th, an 11 AM to 2 PM brunch affair. Scoats is going to have a number of New Jersey beers on, from Flying Fish (of course!), Cricket Hill, Climax, Ramstein, and River Horse...and maybe some others.

We would have liked to have our first event in New Jersey, it would have been appropriate, but...it's just how the schedule worked out. Watch for the official New Jersey launch, coming up soon!

A little speculation on skin and wine

2008-07-02T09:42:00.014-04:00

We went out to dinner last night to an Italian-themed BYOB here in Newtown, Florentino's (which is excellent, BTW: a great find for us, and it's become our celebration spot). We were celebrating Cathy's latest promotion; she's doing very well with the new company. I took along a bottle of wine I picked up last week (and I was surprised to learn that it's available by special order from the PLCB), "Drink 'n' Stick," from "Some Young Punks," an Aussie outfit we were introduced to at a wine tasting in Portland, ME, last year.

Drink 'n' Stick is a Shiraz blend, a type we've come to enjoy, and we enjoy the irreverent labels and attitude of the Young Punks, too. Drink 'n' Stick, for example, has a "paper doll" label with a young woman and a variety of plastic press-on clothes to dress her with. As you can see by the succession of pix on the right, you can undress her, too, right down to the skivvies she's wearing in the actual paper label. Woo-woo and ooo-la-la, eh? (I apologize for the quality of the other two labels: they're small copies of two of SYP's other wines from the back of the Drink 'n' Stick label, but you get the idea.)

I swear, that's not why I got the bottle. I got it because we'd had a bottle of one of their other wines, "Passion has Red Lips," and really enjoyed it (better than this one: it was a bit inky and thick, and the fruit and acidity were smothered), and they were both quite reasonably priced. (I've yet to have a bottle of wine that cost more than $25 that I really thought was significantly better than a $15 bottle. This troubles me.)

But as we were eating, Cathy picks up the bottle, looks at skivvies-girl, and asks me, "If this was a beer label, would they have approved it?" Good question! Given the stuff that has been banned on beer labels -- Santa, the Mannekin Pis statue, Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People" (and just why didn't Liberty take a minute to pin up her magnificent decolletage, anyway?) -- and then seeing this, it sure looks like a double standard to me.

Wine gets other breaks, too. For instance, wineries are often considered "farm" businesses, which gets them special considerations on taxes, permits, and sales...even when they have no vines on their property and buy all their grapes. Wineries are usually allowed to sell bottles of wine for take-home at festivals. Wineries in PA get to have stores to sell their products, other than at the winery. Brewers get none of that (don't even ask about distillers, the PLCB keeps a tight rein on spirits).

Fair? Well...no, but neither are the wildly different rates of taxation on beer, wine, and spirits: beer gets a huge break there. Federal's different, but most states are even more so: Pennsylvania, for example, charges only 8¢ a gallon tax on beer; wine is much more (and much more complicated, too). So it's not all one-sided.

Made for a fun conversation over an empty bottle of wine, though!

Flies, Skeeters, Michelob, and Noah

2008-07-01T16:26:00.002-04:00

Hey, I've been gone...case you didn't notice. We took a trip to the Adirondacks to go camping with my brother-in-law Chris and his kids. We love it up there, but...a ton of mosquitoes and bugs, and it rained and rained and rained. At one point Cathy said, "That's it, I'm not cooking in the rain any more. Lunch is on me, let's go into town." Good thing we did, because about halfway through lunch I was sure there was a big cow and a flat rock outside...

We salved our soggy pride with Sly Fox Phoenix Pale Ale, cans of that all-malt Michelob, some assorted Saranacs, Lake Placid Ubu, Long Trail IPA (really interesting hops in that one, and bursting with flavor), and one scary-delicious bottle of Blue Point Old Howling Bastard. It got clear and starry after everyone but me and Chris and the Bastard hit the sleeping bags, and that was pretty good.

We also had a great lunch on the way home at the Northampton Diner in Mayfield, near Great Sacandaga Lake. A hustling, bustling old classic diner, and we sat at the counter right opposite the grill. The food was good, and all I could think was how great it would be to be having coffee and pancakes there next winter.

The Gods Must Be Crazy

2008-06-26T11:03:00.002-04:00

I told you about "The Beer Brotha," the (mostly) beer blog written by a guy in Houston who calls himself "The American Don"...and then the dude promptly takes a month-long vacation from blogging!

He's back, and this post had me giggling. The Beer Brotha is a pisser...and some of the rest of us take ourselves way too serious. Do not MOCK THE GODS!!!!

New Dry outfit CAMY in the news: Good News, Bad News

2008-06-25T13:28:00.003-04:00

From an Advertising Age story: the Center for Alcohol Marketing & Youth, perhaps better known as CAMY, released yet another "study" on the number of alcohol beverage ads "youths" see. It's some scary stuff, too: "kids" see more and more alcohol beverage ads, according to CAMY, and over that same period, by any measure you look at, underage drinking is down! Oh...wait. CAMY didn't see fit to mention that last part. Kinda funny, huh?

Anyway, that's neither the "good news" nor the "bad news" in the post title; actually, far as I'm concerned, it's not news at all, it's just more poorly constructed, sensationalist blather designed to keep people scared so the grant money continues to roll in. The good/bad news came at the end of the article:

Citing the statistics, CAMY has called for the industry to tighten its own cap for underage viewers to 15% from 30%, but the group won't be around to see out that call.
The center is dissolving itself in response to a federal law that created a government entity charged with tracking youth exposure to alcohol advertising. "We're hoping the government picks up the slack from here," said [CAMY Director] Mr. [David] Jernigan, who added that he will remain involved in issues surrounding youth exposure to alcohol and food marketing.

Well, yay! It's like that wonderful day in 1962 when we were told "You don't have Nixon to kick around any more." CAMY won't be spewing their wildly skewed and twisted views of booze marketing anymore -- good news -- but there's going to be a another federal booze agency that will inevitably be infiltrated and turned by New Drys to turn out taxpayer-funded anti-booze propaganda. Bad news.

Me, I'm going to celebrate the good news and take on the bad news when it comes. CAMY was, with Joe "Crazy for Health" Califano's CASA, one of the most strident New Dry organizations, unconcerned with scientific rigor so long as the anti-alcohol message flooded the media. Ah, it's good to see the back of them. See you, CAMY, don't the screen door hit you in the ass on the way out.

First batch brewed at "new" Boston Beer brewery in Pennsylvania

2008-06-25T09:49:00.002-04:00

I just got an e-mail from Boston Beer: there will be a media event this Friday at their new Pennsylvania facility, the former Pabst/former Stroh/former Schaeffer brewery outside of Allentown (the location was variously tagged as Fogelsville, Trexlertown, Allentown, and Lehigh Valley; Boston Beer is referring to it as "upper Macungie Township," a description which would have tickled my late friend and homebrewer extraordinaire, Mark Johnston, a Macungie boy). We're invited to meet with Jim Koch and sample the first batch of Samuel Adams brewed at the plant.

I've said that this is a great move for Boston Beer; it gets them out of the contract brewing business and puts them in control of their destiny. It's also a brewery that was practically designed with Sam Adams in mind -- except for the obvious issue of not being in Boston (which keeps the costs down considerably!), this place is great: equipped for traditional lager brewing with big horizontal lagering tanks, built for the tours a company like Sam Adams would love to do, a display brewery right on I-78 for a company that's proud of its beer, and -- did I mention the I-78 location? -- positioned on two major Interstates (it's about two miles from I-476) and a rail line.

Unfortunately, I can't make the event this Friday; we're going camping with the kids. But I can't tell you how stoked I am to see Boston Beer get a real brewery; to see Jim Koch's plans come together; and to see this great brewery making beer again. Cheers!

Johnstown Brewing Closes

2008-06-23T23:05:00.004-04:00

Crap. Just saw on Uncle Jack's blog that Johnstown Brewing has closed; there's more here. Sounds like they had business issues when the road they're located on closed for an extended period due to rockslides. Tough thing to deal with, and I don't know what to say.

Johnstown Brewing had become a good place, a real outpost. We had some good times there, and some excellent food and beer. This is just bad news.

Join Me For A Firkin of Farmhouse!

2008-06-23T15:07:00.003-04:00

There's a nice old place not far from me, the Hulmeville Inn, that has been steadily improving their beer selection. I mean, a lot. Like, right now, they've got Southampton Secret, Weyerbacher Double Simcoe, Bell's Oberon, River Horse Double White (which I really shoulda told you about after trying it at the Iron Hill Media festival; the hit beer of the fest for me), and some other cool stuff coming up.

One of the cool things is a firkin of specially-hopped Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale that they're going to be tapping this Thursday, June 26th, at 7 PM. I'm going to be there hosting it, and we can talk Flying Fish, New Jersey beer, Philly beer, cask beer, whatever you want to yak about. I'll be there from 7 to 9, and I'll bet we can kick that firkin before the time's up.

Come on out and join us for this kickoff of Hulmeville Inn's summer cask program!

Old Charter 101

2008-06-21T11:11:00.005-04:00

I was in Kentucky earlier in the week, and as I always do when in Bardstown, I stopped by Toddy's Liquors to pick up stuff I can't get in Pennsylvania. I got a standard bottling of Four Roses (my favorite hot weather, throw in a handful of ice, sip and smile, bourbon), a bottle of Jim Beam Rye (last batch with the old sunflower yellow label, the clerk said; "You might not want to drink that one." As if.), some Russell's Reserve Rye, a Very Old Barton and a Heaven Hill bottled in bond (for my buddy Sam Komlenic), and a bottle of a new bourbon, Old Charter 101.

A confession: I've been delinquent on what we'll call...legacy bottlings and labels. Old Charter, I.W. Harper, J.W. Dant, T.W. Samuels....I haven't had many of them. I'm trying to remedy that, though, and when I saw the bottle of OC 101, it was a weird way of doing new and old at the same time: this is a new release, at a new proof. Besides, I'd just been at Buffalo Trace the day before, talking about Old Charter with the folks there, and I wanted to see if it really was good or if they were just talking (mind, I really like the whiskeys from the Trace).

I came home Wednesday, worked Thursday and Friday, and knocked off about 6:15 Friday. Went and picked up some hoagies for me and the kids (Cathy was out with some friends), lit a fire out back, and thought of the Old Charter. I popped three cubes of crisply cold ice in that glass, poured in about an inch and a half of liquor, and got down to it, right there on the deck.

No need for more suspense: this is good bourbon. I liked it from the first sweet, mellow sip, a rich taste of barrel-enhanced corn, just a hint of wood spice, and rolling vanilla. There's nothing terribly complex about it, no notes of blackberries or mint or leather, and a very simple label (with no age statement). This is not a contemplative bourbon, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a cocktail or a highball. I don't know that I'd reach for it in the heat, but on a cool June evening, it sure hit me in a real good place. I found myself thinking of what Angela Traver at Buffalo Trace had said Tuesday afternoon as we were gossiping about bourbon stuff: "I'm just drinking a lot of Old Charter lately. It's what I pick up." Yup.

Even if I can't find it at Toddy's price of $19.99 for this 101 proof 750 ml, I can see I'm going to have to find another -- closer -- source for more of this. I sense Christmas present purchases coming on; wonder what kind of price I can get on a case?

Penderyn gets into his food

2008-06-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

I did say I was going to post more gratuitous pix of my dog this year... Last night we introduced him to Chinese takeout.

(That's just steamed white rice in the box, about a tablespoon and a half, and he ate about half of it, so don't freak out.)

New Poll, New Reason at PLCB blog

2008-06-20T16:31:00.002-04:00

I've got a new poll up at "Why the PLCB Should Be Abolished," asking you how you feel about the fact -- fact! -- the State Stores have a better selection than the average liquor store in other states. There's also a new Reason why the PLCB should be abolished: their nebulous rules on growlers. A small Reason, but an interesting one.

Excellent piece on underage drinking

2008-06-20T10:12:00.006-04:00

Time magazine's website has this article on the consequences of draconian underage drinking laws, the "murky" science behind the New Dry's squealing about alcohol's effect on the "teen-age brain," and the promise of drinking with your kids. Really. A very well-done piece, and quite an example of the new, thoughtful wave of articles on underage drinking that are, I believe, being encouraged by the appearance of groups like Choose Responsibility.

Great piece. Go read. Spread it around.

Memorials: work to be done

2008-06-17T22:13:00.003-04:00

We need to get to work.

Beer writers need to get a Michael Jackson memorial scholarship put together. We have several ideas; let's settle on one and implement.

The loss of Jay Misson is still raw, but we should grab things now and create his brewing memorial. Jay taught a huge number of people how to brew (and how to work, and how to play, and how to live): why not a lager brewing scholarship? Probably under way, but if not...let's coalesce, people.

New poll at Why The PLCB Should Be Abolished

2008-06-13T08:10:00.002-04:00

There's a new poll up on my blog about abolishing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. This one's about the rather serious issue of what to do with all the employees of the State Store system when booze sales in Pennsylvania are inevitably privatized. I am not in favor of simply showing them the door; that strikes me as mean-spirited and shoddy. I'd rather see a solution that creates value for the taxpayer while subtracting substantially from the State payroll.

Take a look, vote.

Ithaca Beer, welcome to Philly!

2008-06-12T08:06:00.003-04:00

I've been drinking Ithaca Beer Company beers since before I started the research for New York Breweries, back in 2001. They started off with some fairly standard offerings, including the Apricot Wheat that's their best-seller (approximately 45% of total sales), but they've turned it up; Flower Power IPA is a blossoming beauty of hop flavor and aroma (and way too drinkable at 8% ABV), and their Excelsior series is awesome: White Gold, a slightly funky ("Ithaca wild yeast," executive brewer Jeff O'Neil told me, from a small pilot batch that was being carefully blended in) big spiced wheat ale; Caffeinator, a coffee doppelbock; and TEN, a massively whomped-up version of their Cascazilla red ale that took first place at the TAPNY festival tasting this year, propelling Ithaca into the New York State championship, winning the F.X. Matt Memorial Cup.

So it's not surprising that after a successful foray into the hot beer market of Pittsburgh, Ithaca decided to test the waters in Philly. They launched Tuesday night at McGillin's Olde Ale House, and I drove down to Standard Tap, unloaded my bike (free parking in NoLibs, baby), and rode down to have a taste. I was sweating in the 97° heat, but you know, there were a lot more bikes on the streets than the last time I did this. Interesting.

Anyway, it was cool in McGillin's, and though I was early, Jeff was good enough to hammer home the tap in a pin of Flower Power. It was a beautiful pour, a healthy billowing flower of foam over a cool apricot-hued beer. The aroma was mighty and wonderful, hop-twisted and estery, and deep under it was a beer that was West Coast-hoppy but East Coast-balanced. "I'm not so much on bitter," said O'Neil, "but I love hop flavor. Sorry it's not as "session" as you'd like, though." I managed to choke it down, quite quickly, and ask for a half-glass more.

I asked owner Dan Mitchell, why Philly? "We've done very well in Pittsburgh," he said. "We started talking to people (wholesalers) in Philly about two months ago...the guys at Penn (Distributers) seemed to get our beer the best." That's who they went with, and Penn was out in force at this launch. Dan was particularly impressed by the way Philly folks already were aware of Ithaca's beers, thanks largely to beer-trading efforts engendered by beer websites.

The market's ready to show some love to Ithaca's bigger beers, it appears, and we'll be getting regular -- small, but regular -- shipments of cask ale as well, starting with another pin of Flower Power and an Oak-aged Nut Brown (that Jeff says is spectacular) that will be at Friday the Firkinteenth tomorrow (only one in 2008, weather's looking good, whoo-hoo!!!).

I think that Ithaca may actually find a solid market for the Apricot here as well. Philly is well-known as a hot-spot for Belgian-type beers, and a love for lagers, but we don't have a regular fruit beer...and I don't think it's because there's not a market for it. I just think no one's offered it year-round. Apricot may go big here, in which case I suspect you'll see some local brewers bending to the buck and sniffing around the fruit. Could happen.

Anyway, I thanked Dan and Jeff for coming down and for the invite to the launch, strapped on my Camelbak (with two Excelsior bottles stuffed in there, Old Habit Rye and TEN, thanks again, guys!) and helmet, saddled up and headed north, eyeing the ominous clouds. They weren't quite ominous enough to stop me from nipping into Standard Tap for a quick cold pint of Kenzinger (and it was quick, I'm telling you, after that hot ride; it barely touched the sides on the way down) before strapping the bike to the back of the Passat and heading home. I beat the rain by about ten minutes.

Jay Misson Memorial Toast at GB SF

2008-06-11T14:27:00.002-04:00

I know most of the readers of this blog are in the eastern part of the U.S., but Jay's life touched people across the country, so when I got the following e-mail, well, sure I decided to put it up.

Dear Lew,

My name is John Tucci and I am the head brewer at Gordon Biersch San Francisco. I worked with Jay for several years at Gordon Biersch and remember him fondly.

I am planning a west coast get together at Gordon Biersch San Francisco in honor of Jay Misson. A bunch of us are getting together Saturday June 14th at 4pm to toast him and remember old times.

I'll be emailing the event details to all the friends in the area here I know that knew him, and will direct them to your blog for more info.

Gordon Biersch San Francisco
2 Harrison St. San Francisco, CA
June 14, 4:00 p.m.

Mainers take beer tax increase to the polls

2008-06-10T09:56:00.002-04:00

Maine's legislature recently raised the state tax on beer and wine, and added a "soda tax" on soda syrup and bottled soda. They were looking for funding for the Dirigo Health Program, a medical coverage plan for Maine's uninsured. They ran into problems raising the tax on cigarettes and putting taxes on snacks, so lumped the whole thing on beverages.

Now they've got a tax revolt on their hands. Mainers are going to the polls today and are faced with petitions to put voter initiatives on next year's ballot. Among the eleven facing them is one to repeal the drinks tax increase. Opponents are painting the petition as kicking the uninsured out of hospitals into the street, all for a cheaper glass of beer. They're also crying because the beverage tax petition makes no proposals for replacing the tax revenue.

Let's leave the controversy over Dirigo out of this; I'll just mention that there is controversy, and that, well, it's Maine and I don't fully understand it. Let's say Dirigo is indeed a good idea, which helping poor people in desperate need for health care usually is. If it's such a good idea, why couldn't the Maine legislature summon up the political support for a broader-based tax to fund it? A bump in the state sales or income tax? Why put it on the back of beer and wine drinkers, soda drinkers?

Why, because everyone knows that the folks who drink booze are all alcoholics and a drain on the state's medical resources. And everyone knows that soda-drinking leads to obesity and a drain on the state's medical resources. Why does everyone know this? Because the people who make a living off screaming about this have told them. Not that they'd be biased, or maybe present things in a slanted way to support their case...

Here's my view, the same as always. If Dirigo is a good idea for Maine, for all of Maine, then all of Maine should help pay for it. If the anti-tax petition makes no proposals for that, well, don't blame them, blame the legislature for using excise taxes when they should know better. Excise taxes on anything suck. They are inherently unfair. If I'm going to be taxed, it's only fair that I know everyone is being taxed; not at the same rate, but taxed.

So I'd tell Mainers to sign the anti-tax petition, then go home and write their legislators. Tell them that if they want Dirigo funded, man up and put it on the backs of all of Maine. Not just the people who like a drink.

Jay Misson

2008-06-09T13:01:00.003-04:00

I just learned that Jay Misson, head brewer for the Triumph brewpubs, died this morning. I'm terribly saddened and diminished by this, as is the beer community in Philly and New Jersey.

The beer community may not realize just how diminished they are. Jay was a thread running back to the very beginning of craft brewing in this area, and typically, it was a lager thread. After learning homebrewing as a high school science project in 1978, Misson came home from college and answered an ad for a brewer at Vernon Valley, the pioneering brewery within Action Park waterpark in northern New Jersey. Here's what I wrote about that in an Ale Street News profile of Jay:

Misson started working for German brewmaster Stefan Muhs, who had managed to install a classically traditional German lager brewhouse in the Action Park waterpark in Vernon Valley, a strange marriage of teenage thrills and thoroughly sophisticated beer. "We were putting out half-liter swingtops of unfiltered, organic-ingredient lagers, brewed to strict Reinheitsgebot standards," Misson recalled. It was a 30 hectoliter brewhouse, with open wooden fermenters, wooden casks, and an open, tower-style wort chiller.

"Everything was done the hard way, the Reinheitsgebot way," Misson said with a wry grin. "It was a great place to learn, because you HAD to be clean, especially with that open chiller. We grew up all our yeast from slants, we even made our own culture medium, and we cultured lactic acid to acidify the malt."

I tasted those beers twice: once at an early Brickskeller tasting of American craft beers with Michael Jackson, who lavished praise on them, and once at Action Park in the late 1980s. Both times I was impressed, though the Action Park beers were served ice-cold, something Jay was never happy about.

Jay remained a lager chauvinist, and wound up at Gordon-Biersch, training brewers. That's where he met Patrick Jones, who he would bring along back to New Jersey to brew for Triumph, first in New Hope and now in Philly.

Jay was always quick to pour a beer, quick to rhapsodize about a German style, and quick to quash any talk of lager being in any way inferior to or less complex than ale. He also loved having a good time, a big man, outsized in humor, knowledge, and passion. As I said to his wife Kelly today (they married in October of 2005; Misson got a call at the wedding to let him know Triumph had won four GABF medals), Jay was just such a big guy, it was like he didn't fit into this life.

Kelly said he'd had a great day yesterday, caught an enormous bluefish. If he had some good lager beer with it, and been with her, I can't think of any way Jay would have enjoyed his last day on earth any better. Oh, damn, but I am going to miss the man. Lift many beers to him, because that's how he would have wanted it. But please...lagers:

I told Jay about something (Hyde Park Brewing's) John Eccles told me once. "Ales!" John said. "I could teach a chimp to make ales. You have to know what you’re doing to make lagers." I asked Misson if John had heard him say that (when Jay was training him at Mountain Valley brewpub).
"No, he didn’t get that quote from me," Misson laughed, a big laugh. Then he smiled. "But the attitude – yeah, that he got from me."

Attitude, and lagers. One more quote:

I was relaxing after the meal with head brewer Jay Misson and part-owner Brian Fitting; Fitting was telling me how they kept getting inquiries about bottling their beer. “They just don’t get it,” said Misson, waving a dismissive hand. “It’s a brewpub. We make beer here, people drink it here. That’s what we do. That’s all we do.”

Passionate to the last. Fare well, Jay, auf wiederseh'n.

New Jersey Breweries delivery date

2008-06-09T04:02:00.000-04:00

I just heard from my editor at Stackpole Books: New Jersey Breweries arrives in their warehouses on July 25th. Mark and I will have it shortly after that, as will book stores. I've contacted Mark, and we're going to be deciding where to have launch parties at New Jersey breweries, brewpubs, and beer bars the following weekend, August 1-3. I'll keep you apprised on where you can find us. (If you're a New Jersey brewery, brewpub, or beer bar, and you're interested, drop me a line!)

Memphis Again

2008-06-07T15:15:00.003-04:00

Cathy's away at an all-day meeting, and the first hot day of the summer's upon us. Thomas mowed the lawn yesterday, and we're pretty well caught up on chores, so I took the kids down to Memphis Taproom for lunch. We went there because Spanky was tapping a firkin of Sprecher Black Bavarian at noon. The food -- we all got cheeseburgers -- was good as always, the beer was excellent (perfect condition/carbonation, deeply malty, but with that roasty/dark malt edge, and eminently drinkable), and I ran into an old colleague and friend, Craig Sheffler-Collins, who I have not seen since 1994. Great to cross paths.

Spanky waxed philosophical. He's not simply trying to have different beers than other folks in the city, he said, he's following his passion for beer. That is not, as a look at past tappings will show, the same ExTRemE! beer passion so many others have hared off after. He told me he's looking for brewers that are making good beer that don't market it that well. Penn Kaiser Pils would be an excellent example, he noted, and he'd have it if the supply were steady. I like the way he thinks. I get really bored seeing the same great beers everywhere I go.

Top Ten: breakfast places

2008-06-07T08:03:00.012-04:00

As I told you, I forced Uncle Jack to go to the Miss Albany Diner on the way up to Montreal -- which he admitted was a damned fine place, quite an admission for a guy who's an avowed "two over easy, sausage, and dry toast" breakfast eater -- and then I mentioned, as we drove past the Keene Valley exit on the way back through the Adirondacks, that there was another of my "top ten breakfast places" just up that road. Jack made fun -- as he's wont to do -- and then said I should do a top ten list every month, my favorite places for everything. He was jerking my chain, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like fun. So, for as long as it's fun, I'm going to do it. I make no claims for completeness, I do this in the sense of sharing, and if you've got suggestions, well, make them: because it struck me that one of the best reasons to do this is that folks may come up with new places for me to go. Yum. Thanks, Jack.

Lew's Top Ten Places for Breakfast (unranked)

1. The Roadhouse, Belchertown, MA. We found the Roadhouse early one morning back in 1989, just cruising around New England, and there was this place: rustic, kind of hand-made in appearance, and promising. We went in, and since then I've been detouring 50 miles out of my way to have breakfast here. Why? I've already said.

2. Moody's Diner, Damariscotta, ME. Plenty of folks have told me that Moody's is not really that great, or not what it used to be, or has lousy service. I'm sorry they feel that way. I haven't been going forever, just since 1986, but it's certainly held up over that time. Moody's is solid, real, and serves breakfast the way I like it: well-made, with both traditional and special breakfasts. I'll be stopping in every time I'm nearby.

3. Noon Mark Diner, Keene Valley, NY. Pleasantly eccentric, but in an old-fashioned, genuine way, not an art-school working-at-it way. This is one of the few places I'll eat pie for breakfast, because the pies (and the coffee) are so good. Worth the trip just for the scenery...but eat.

4. Miss Albany Diner, Albany, NY. Yum. Very creative breakfast specials -- when was the last time you had duck sausage with your diner breakfast? -- genuine Rhode Island coffee milk, some of the very best service you'll ever get, a pleasantly curmudgeonly owner, all in a beautifully-maintained Silk City diner, and only 5 minutes off the I-787 expressway (and only a 5 minute walk from the Pump House brewpub!).

5. Blue Moon Cafe, Baltimore, MD. The coffee alone is worth the trip, but the food I've had here has been top-notch, and the service is personal and friendly, if occasionally quirky. A great place after a long Fells Point night.

6. Dottie's True Blue Cafe, San Francisco, CA. Cathy and I found Dottie's on the last day of San Francisco WhiskyFest. It's small, busy, dedicated to local, hand-made food, and serves delicious breakfasts. A must-stop; we'll be there in October again.

7. Lawrence Park Dinor, Lawrence Park, PA. Long may it wave. I've pretty much said it all here; don't know if George has found a buyer yet.

8. Littleton Diner, Littleton, NH. I stumbled on this place during "The Beerhunt of the Last Free Man," a short rip through beery New England the weekend before I got married. I'd go just for the house-made corned beef hash, but everything else -- including the grilled blueberry muffins -- is great, too. They've got a wonderful attitude about small-town business; bless 'em.

9. Lynn's Paradise Cafe, Louisville, KY. Lynn's has booze, Lynn's has...stuff all over (and you can buy a lot of it in the gift shop, including the spark-spitting, wind-up nun seen at the top of this post), Lynn's is artsy and colorful and fun...but you know what? That's all well and good, but it's the excellent, outstanding food that brings me back every time I go to Louisville (and I might just squeeze in a trip when I go to Bardstown in a couple weeks). Delicious, on both the traditional and the innovative. Go out of your way to get here.

10. Hot Metal Diner, West Mifflin, PA. I've actually never been to the Hot Metal Diner...yet. I'm planning on correcting that in about 10 days. But I've been to Wendy Betten's previous diner, BOBS, a number of times, and I have no doubts that the breakfasts at the HMD are the equal of the fantastic breakfasts I've had (and led people to) at BOBS. Looking forward to making this official. (Ahhh...no longer true, I have been to the HMD, and things are just fine: attitude? Check. Woman power? Check. Great value for excellent food? Check. Massive breakfasts? Check. Go hungry, and with tongue in cheek.)

Whiskey Dinner

2008-06-07T07:30:00.002-04:00

We had some friends over for a whiskey dinner last night. Two couples, friends of ours, came over to have some drinks and dinner, and learn something about this wonderful booze. I ran around getting goodies at the local farmers' market and grocery store, the kids and I cleaned the house, and when Cathy got home, she made up a delicious salad from the bounty of lettuce we got from our CSA last Saturday. I had just showered and dressed when the guests arrived, and offered them a drink; two of them (and myself) started with rye presbyterians (generous pour of Pikesville Rye in a lowball glass full of ice, top with ginger ale, add slice of fresh lemon).

We set out smoked salmon with capers and onions, olives and cornichons with wheat crackers, and two nice cheese plates one couple had brought (which included the delicious fig preserves that have been showing up around here lately), and got started. I poured samples of Powers Irish whiskey and passed them around, and explained what a blended whiskey was, then explained how Midleton makes their whiskey (that David Quinn interview is coming, I promise).

To back that up, I then poured Jameson 18 Year Old, a balanced beauty that is simply one of my favorite whiskeys of any type. To my delight, Doug picked it up right away: "There's something different here, some note towards the end that's really nice." That's the potstilled Irish, with the lovely floral notes, and the 18's got plenty of it. I was going to get the Redbreast out and expand on that, but...it was almost 8:00 and I hadn't even started the pork chops yet.

We moved on to bourbon. I poured a little tot of white dog for folks to pass around and sip, then poured Jim Beam, the standard white label bottling. While folks were tasting, I got the pork chops going on the grill -- fresh-cut, 1" thick, brushed with olive oil, coarse salt, fresh-cracked pepper, and some Penzey's Pork Chop Seasoning, on medium flame. Just as they were done, I offered up a prayer to Booker Noe and doused them with Basil Hayden: flames shot up as I slammed down the cover, held it for five seconds, then pulled the whiskey-scented chops off the fire.

We served the chops with a couple mustards; sweet potatoes whipped with bourbon (more Basil Hayden's), brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spices; and the three-lettuce salad Cathy'd made, alongside Jim Beam Black, the 8 year old version that I think is one of the best deals out there. The chops were delicious, and Eileen liked the sweet potatoes so much we let her take the leftovers home.

I'd planned to serve Elijah Craig 12 Year Old during clean-up, but it was getting late and we hadn't even got to Scotch whisky yet. So we all jumped in, cleared the table and stuffed the dishwasher full for a quick run, and put the leftovers in the fridge. Eileen set out the very nice assortment of locally-made chocolates she'd bought, we brought the cheeses back for another appearance, and I poured The Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve, a very nice, soft and malty whisky with added wood/spice complexity.

That got some oohs and ahhs, and went well with the chocolates. But the surprise hit of the night was a bottle of Ardbeg 17 Year Old that Cathy agreed to pour -- that one is her bottle, and unfortunately no longer available, so hats off to my generous wife. Peat filled the air as I opened the bottle and poured, and people smiled and eyebrows raised. "Now," I said... "Try that with the chocolate." I wish I'd thought to pop out some straight-up 70% cacao dark, because that's the kind of thing that really sings with a peaty whisky, but the truffles were plenty good enough. Dark chocolate and peaty whisky works really well, surprisingly well.

A great conclusion to a good night of whiskey, and we all agreed we should do it again. I'm looking forward to that, and I'm already thinking about new choices...