He’brew Marks its 11th Anniversary and
Bruce Paton Plans Some Super Beer Dinners

If you’re into beer, you’ve probably heard this quote. When I first saw it I was blown away:

“For we could not now take time for further search our victuals being pretty much spent especially our beer.” _ From the log of the Mayflower.

Bob Skilnik, a Chicago-based author who has become a beer historian during his lengthy research for his books, has this advice: Read the whole quote. Skilnik said he uncovered the truth while researching his latest book: Beer & Food: An American History, (Jefferson Press, 2007).

It’s a fragment, he says. Here’s the rest of the quotation. It’s from Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1622
“That night we returned again a-shipboard, with resolution the next morning to settle on some of those places; so in the morning, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolution: to go presently ashore again, and to take a better view of two places, which we thought most fitting for us, for we could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer, and it being now the 19th of December. After our landing and viewing of the places, so well as we could we came to a conclusion, by most voices, to set on the mainland, on the first place, on a high ground, where there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn three or four years ago, and there is a very sweet brook runs under the hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as can be drunk…”

About Mourt’s Relation: On the same Web site, Caleb Johnson, a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, provides this explanation:

Mourt’s Relation was written primarily by Edward Winslow, although William Bradford appears to have written most of the first section.

Written between November 1620 and November 1621, it describes in detail what happened from the landing of the Pilgrims at Cape Cod, though their exploring and eventual settling at Plymouth, to their relations with the surrounding Indians, up to the First Thanksgiving and the arrival of the ship Fortune. Mourt’s Relation was first published in London in 1622, presumably by George Morton (hence the title, Mourt’s Relation).

Photos: Artist’s version of the Mayflower, right. William Bradford, below.

Skilnik traced the origin of the fractured quote to post-Prohibition 1935. “Brewers were very concerned about beer sales, because people were turning to hard liquor,” Skilnik says. Times had changed. When Prohibition – the national ban on alcohol sales – began in 1920, America was still an industrial, blue collar society and men drank most of their beer in taverns, Skilnik says.
When Prohibition ended in 1933, it was a different America. People were working 9-5 jobs; you couldn’t drink at lunch or all day.

“This shocked the hell out of brewers; beer sales were skyrocketing, people were euphoric when Prohibition ended, but by 1935 sales were falling.”

The answer, brewers realized, was to put beer in take-home containers, in cans and bottles, and get it into the home, Skilnik said.

One tactic was a series of magazine ads, using quotes like the one about the Pilgrims to show what a great, homey thing beer was. So they snipped the quote a bit, Skilnik says.

It’s a nice story that the Pilgrims stopped at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer, but that famous quote is part of a longer account, ” Skilnik says. Off the ship the Pilgrims had no beer and could not make it. In England, water was fouled by thousands of years of habitation. People drank beer because it was boiled and safe, Skilnik said.

“The Pilgrims found water in America pure and clean and there was no pressing need for beer.”
He adds that beer remained on the Pilgrims’ minds and they made sure that the first relief ship from England a couple of years later brought along a good stock of beer.

More on this and a discussion of the flak Skilnik caught for being so audacious as to challenge a cherished belief can be found on his excellent Web site.

I also strongly recommend his book. Great recipes, many interesting factoids about beer in American history, all devoid of spin.

Caption: Schlitz advertisement celebrates the end of Prohibition.

Is there a bottled Pliny in the future? Don’t know, but Russian River co-founder Natalie Cilurzo in her regular newsletter says they’re moving rapidly on their new production facility at 1812 Ferdinand Court in Santa Rosa and hope to do their first brew by March, 2008.

Natalie and Vinnie bought a used 50 barrel Pub Brewing System from Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, DE. “They gave us the ‘West Coast Italian Brewer’ deal,” Natalie said. Explanation: Dogfish Head was founded by Sam Calagione. Russian River was founded by the Cilurzos.

“A big thank you to our friends at Dogfish Head - we could not be doing this without you!” she said. “The City of Santa Rosa granted us our permits ahead of schedule and we are moving fast with construction! Within two weeks, concrete was cut and poured, drains were delivered, cold box assembly began, and so much more it is dizzying,” she adds.

Personally, I can’t wait. Now about that bottled Pliny. County records show it’s 10,700 square foot warehouse and it’s leased by Russian River.The new facility’s less than two miles south of the pub on 4th Street, just off the Hwy.101 freeway.

Also, Natalie catches us up on something I wrote about back in October. The pub raised $8,800 for the Women’s Breast Care Center of Santa Rosa, including sale of “All Hopped Up for the Cure” t-shirts, all proceeds were donated. In addition patrons put over $3,000 in cash in a collection pitcher.

Photo: Greg Wiggins

Vinnie and Natalie at the Alpha King hoppiest beer in America contest in October at Falling Rock in Denver, CO. Vinnie’s Pliny the Elder won the Alpha King award.

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 5 p.m.
New Belgium La Folie on tap.
Schneider Night.

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m.
He’brew night, featuring He’brew 11 and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.PA.

How’s that for a full bill? David Keene, the Toronado’s proprietor says he has two five gallon kegs of New Belgium’s extremely hard-to-find, sour, Belgian-style La Folie and he’s going to put it on tap next Wednesday night.

Ever since La Folie won a gold medal in the sour beer category at the Bistro’s Barrel-Aged Beer Fest last month, I’ve been flooded with calls and emails from people trying to find it. I foolishly said it’s available in bottles and it is – at the brewery in Fort Collins, CO.

For the record, La Folie (French for ‘the folly’) is 6 percent alcohol by volume beer, brewed with bretanyomyces – wild yeast, then aged two years in a wooden barrels. It’s sour, from the yeast, but it has a real malt backbone that balances the sourness. Experts compare it to either a Belgian Lambic or the original Rodenbach, the sour red ale of Flanders. New Belgium’s brewer Peter Bouckaert worked at Rodenbach in Belgium before going to work for New Belgium – so there’s a connection there.

The big event next Wednesday night is the Schneider fest. There’s a story here. Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn is a Bavarian brewery specializing in wheat beer. The family-owned brewery outside Munich makes a range of wheat beers, but their special is Aventinus, a wheat beer double bock,strong, 7.7 percent and lively.

Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock is 12 percent, kind of an intense Aventinus. Schneider beers are imported by B. United International, which imports a number of quite exotic, interesting beers. The founder Matthias Neidhart, who is German, explains the brewery discovered 60 years ago that sometimes when shipping Aventinus, bottles froze. The freezing separated water from the beer, leaving a concentrated, stronger beer.

Now the beer is deliberately frozen, creating an entirely different product. Neidhart also ages Aventinus and sells the aged product. But it’s never been seen out here on the West Coast, sadly.

See you at the Toronado.

Hop shortage means no Pliny the Elder clone for Sam Adams Longshot homebrewer program

It’s official. Boston Beer Co., maker of Sam Adams beers, has canceled plans to produce Clayton,CA. ace homebrewer Mike McDole’s double India Pale Ale this winter as part of its annual Longshot Series of beers. The reason: Boston Beer found it impossible to obtain large quantities of the seven hop varieties needed to make the beer.

The good news: It’s going to be part of the 2009 Longshot series, which will give Sam Adams time to secure a supply of the hops needed.

Mike said Jim Koch, Boston Beer’s founder called him last Thursday and told him there was no way they could locate enough hops to produce the beer following his recipe. “He said they had an alternative recipe using different hops,” Mike said. “They sent me the recipe and I looked at it and it just wasn’t right,” he said.

Mike, a member of the Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts, based in Walnut Creek, CA., was one of two winners of a national contest that drew thousands of homebrewers. His beer’s a double IPA, 9.6 perent ABV,. 100 IBUs and (gulp) seven kinds of aromatic malts and a hefty malt bill for balance. It’s Mike’s version of a recipe for Russian River’s fabled Pliny the Elder furnished homebrewers by Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo. For perspective, I’ve posted my column about the beer just before this post.

Jim Koch called me late today (Monday, Nov. 19, 2007). He said the beer will definitely be part of Longshot next year. “It has seven different hops and a very unique hop character – that’s why we liked it so much,” Koch said. “Unfortunately, for our situation, they were hops we don’t normally use. They’re all American — Simcoe, Centennial, Warrior, Columbus…”

Sam Adams uses European hops, German Hallertau, English Kent Goldings and Fuggles.

“We spent a month pleading with hop dealers,” Koch said. “The basic answer we got was they were not available at any price. Some of them, like Simcoe and Centennials are not grown in huge quantities to begin with,” he said. “They’re typically grown on contracts.”

Koch adds that there’s never been a hop shortage like this before in his memory. “There was a shortage in the early 80s, but it wasn’t like this. It hasn’t been like this in people’s lifetime. We were willing to pay whatever it took and we were willing to trade, give ‘em some of our hops. But they jhust weren’t available.”

In the end, Koch said, it was Mike McDole’s decision. “He’s the brewer. We’ll make it next year.”

THE GREAT AMERICAN HOP SHORTAGE…

So what’s going on in the world of hops? I’ve talked to a number of craft brewers who are in a bind. One, Melissa Meyers, who brewed for several years with Rodger Davis at Drake’s in San Leandro,CA., has backing for a brewpub, so while scouting for a site, she’s also been talking to hop dealers trying to line up contracts a year or two ahead.

She’s stuck out so far. She said she’s shocked; hop dealers she’s known and dealt with for years haven’t been able to help her.

Jim Koch understands. There are a bunch of things happening, he said. “There’s been a big oversupply of hops for 15 years and prices were down and as a result farmers cut back their acreage. Brewers have been able to go out and buy fairly cheap on the hop spot market and take advantage of that,” he said.

Adding to that, farmers have been planting a lot of high alpha hops, meant for bittering. They have higher yields, you can get more hops per acre. A farmer can take out Hallertau and put in Hercules and get six times the hops.”

Weather in Europe, meanwhile, has been terrible for two growing seasons, Koch said and there has been one bad crop on top of another.

“All this time, the craft beer industry has been growing double digits,” he said. The spot market’s gone; hop supplies, especially the kind that craft brewers covet, have vanished.

My summary, not Jim Koch’s: It’s a bad situation and it’s going to take a while to correct and prices are going only one direction: up.

I also talked to an ag economist at the University of California, Davis, who said the barley shortage – another craft beer bugaboo this fall – is going to continue and the barley future’s market predicts much higher prices next year.

He is Daniel Sumner, director of UC’s Agricultural Issues Center and a professor of agricultural and resource economics. “It’s a long-term trend,” Sumner says.

He blames ethanol. “The price of oil went up and increased the demand for biofuel, ethanol made out of corn. So farmers have cut back on barley and soybeans and wheat and planted more corn. It also turns out that in Australia there was a lousy wheat and barley crop, so wheat and barley prices went way up,” Sumner says.

There’s more bad news. “Barley used to be a big cash crop here in California; farmers even grew a bit of malting barley,” he said. A great deal of that acreage went to wheat even more to wine grapes, he said.

And more: A lot of barley is imported from Canada, Sumner says. We all know what’s happened to the American dollar. It’s plummeted and for the first time since the 1950s, the Canadian dollar has reached parity. On Monday (Nov. 19, 2007), the U.S., dollar was worth 98 cents Canadian.

End of econ 101 lecture. Forecast: Beer prices gotta go up. Budweiser too, maybe. Professor Sumner says rice prices are way up as well as wheat and barley.

Here’s the column I wrong on Mike McDole’s Longshot winner

Clayton homebrewer clones Pliny,
wins Sam Adams LongShot
Article Launched: 10/24/2007 03:08:01 AM PDT

Are you, like me, a fan of Pliny the Elder****, the huge hop and malt bomb created by Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa? It won another gold medal earlier this month at the Great American Beer Festival. It’s in short supply and has not been bottled, but early this winter, you and I will have a chance to taste what is practically the same beer under the Samuel Adams LongShot label — thanks to ace homebrewer Mike McDole of Clayton, a member of DOZE — the Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts. His beer was one of two winners of a national homebrewers contest conducted for Boston Beer Co.

Out of more than 1,700 entries, a panel of judges in a blind tasting chose McDole’s beer and a strong German-style wheat bock made by Rodney Kibzey, of Chicago, Ill. Both will be released along with a beer from the winner of an in-house homebrew contest under the Sam Adams LongShot label. It will, apparently, be the first national release of a popular West Coast style known as a double or imperial India pale ale. Mike’s beer is 9.6 percent ABV, 100 IBUs — seven kinds of aromatic hops.

India pale ale’s a style that originated in England in colonial days. It was a beer strong enough to stand the four-month sea voyage to Brit troops in India. The double version, like Mike’s, is so strong, it could survive a trip to India by burro.

McDole, a computer consultant who has been homebrewing for more than a decade, says quite bluntly that his beer’s a clone of Pliny the Elder. It isn’t Pliny, he said. But it almost is. The difference is McDole adds one more hop, Northern Brewer, early in the process and he uses a malt extract, often used by homebrewers.

But otherwise, it’s Pliny — with its exquisite, multilayered mouth-feel. He explains that Cilurzo provided the recipe at a national American Homebrewers Association conference a couple of years ago. Mike says he won a big state contest last year, sponsored by the Maltose Falcons homebrew club in Southern California, with the same beer.

He adds that he told Vinnie about his Sam Adams victory, who delivered the news to Boston Brewing founder Jim Koch that he had chosen a Pliny clone as a LongShot winner.

One thing’s certain: This is a beer that will sell out. Watch for it this winter.

McDole, who is a widower with two grown sons, says he took up homebrewing after he discovered good beer. Homebrewers are great people, he notes. He became a fan of Pliny, so, when Cilurzo released the recipe, he went for it.

“I started making it and I started winning contests,” he said. He’s a popular guy around the area; when he goes to an event, a wedding, a party, he always brings a beer. Hey, Mike, you can come to my party. And, er, bring the Pliny clone, if you don’t mind.

By the way, his recipe is posted here. More info on the DOZE homebrew club can be found here. at Ratings
***** World classic.
**** A real star; don’t miss it.
*** Very good; worth a try.
** Good beer; no defects.
* Don’t toss it; demand a refund.

Talked to Craigh Wathen, proprietor of City Beer. He said response to Utopias shocked him. He got 15 bottles, sold 10 within hours at $167.50 per 24 oz. bottle. He’s keeping five back, still is thinking about pouring them at some point after Thanksgiving. Doesn’t know when.

About Morton’s, I finally got through to someone at the Morton’s in San Francisco. This will take your breath away: $27 for a two ounce pour. Gasp!. “Don’t blame me,” the person I spoke to at Morton’s said. “It was a corporate decision” All the Morton’s steakhouses in the U.S. are pouring Utopias. Whew.

Morton’s, in case you’ve just cashed in your Google stock options and feel flush is at…
400 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 986-5830

For the statistical-minded among us (that includes me), I just got the exact production/barrels shipped numbers for Widmer, Portland, OR. and Redhook Ale Brewery, Seattle.

According to the Brewers Association, the craft brewer trade group based in Boulder, CO., Widmer shipped 269,000 barrels of beer in 2006; Redhook shiped 148,000. If Redhook voters approve the merger announced this week, that would make the new company to be known as xx, the nation’s fourth-largest craft brewery, trailing number one Boston Beer (Sam Adams) with shipments last year of 1,613,000 barrels; number two, Sierra Nevada, Chico, CA. , 638,705 barrels, and number three New Belgium, Fort Collins, CO. 437,000 barrels.
The new number five would be Pyramid, Seattle-Berkeley, 198,047 barrels and Deschutes, Bend, OR. would be pushed to number six, last year’s shipments 159,268 barrels.

There’s one caveat, Julia Herz of the Brewers Association says. The group doesn’t count either Widmer or Redhook as craft brewers, because they’re each one-third owned by giant Anheuser-Busch. That’s their opinion. Both breweries, in my opinion, have their roots deep in craft beer history.

I made Sam Adams stunning 25.6 percent Utopias my Beer of the Week in my column on Wednesday, which I’ve posted below this post. Utopias also has a stunning “suggested retail price of $120-$140 for a 24 oz. bottle. Hey it’s in a copper colored aluminum box.

I’ve been deluged for requests about places to try it. One is any Morton’s Steakhouse. A pour, which I’m guessing will be 4 oz. is $8.95, or so they said. The beer’s not there yet, at least not in San Francisco or San Jose.

Here’s another: The City Beer Store, 1168 Folsom St. (Yes down the street from the leather bars, but in an entirely different neighborhood.) They’re getting the beer, haven’t figured out a retail price, but they’re going to crack a few bottles and sell it by the glass.

No they haven’t figured out how much, or when, but most likely late next week after Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.

Um, $120 for a beer, you say?
– Well, it is 24 ounces …

WILLIAM BRAND: WHAT’S ON TAP
Article Launched: 11/14/2007 03:03:45 AM PST

What do you say about a beer with a “suggested” price of $120-$140, which at the moment is the strongest beer in the world: a breathtaking 25.6 percent alcohol by volume? I say “Wow!”

We’re talking about the 2007 edition of Samuel Adams Utopias, coming to stores this month, and the price means that most of us, me included, won’t be buying our own sleek 24-ouncer in its copper-colored bottle shaped like an old-fashioned brewer’s kettle.

At least I won’t, unless somebody steeply discounts it — and I wouldn’t hold my breath. But if you’re in a restaurant that offers it or at some mogul’s house and have a chance to sample it, leap at the chance. That “Wow” applies to the beer, not the price, which is merely astute showmanship.

There’s so much hype about this beer that it would be easy to scoff. Don’t. This is an amazing creation. Sam Adams Utopias 2007 (****) is our Beer of the Week.

My first impression of a glass from the small sample bottle I got was so wild that I called a neighbor for a second opinion. Mike’s the perfect judge; he’s a big-time Port wine collector and a home brewer, so his tastes run toward extreme. Summing up his opinion: “Oh my, this is nice.” In real life, he’s a Ph.D. mathematician, no wows.

I agree: Nose like fine brandy, not as mind-blowing as a rare cognac but rich and intoxicating, unlike any beer I’ve ever sampled — hints of raisins, toffee, plums, almonds, apricots.

It pours flat, a copper color with brilliant ruby highlights. Jim Koch, Boston Beer’s founder, said they learned that when you get alcohol as high as Utopias, carbonation cannot survive, so the beer is flat.

The taste is complex: Initially there’s a bit of toffee, maple sweetness, then the familiar taste of beer: malt, hops, ripe fruit. But the beer note’s gone in an instant in a finish like vintage Port, explosive, expanding, leaving a mild warming alcohol tang on the tongue and finally a warming in the gut.

This is a beer that needs to be sipped with a good cigar after dinner, Mike said. I agreed, but I think a rich, dark chocolate would do the trick as well.

Koch says that when they started working on high-alcohol beers, Triple Bock, released in 1993, was 17.5 percent. “It felt like breaking the sound barrier,” Koch said. “Brewers for centuries had thought you could not ferment grain beyond about 14 percent.”

Over the years, they’ve developed a yeast strain that works at high alcohol levels — one of the fermentables is maple syrup — producing the incredible range of flavor in the beer. This is the fourth edition of Utopias; the first came out in 2001. It’s a blend of different beers — some barrel-aged as long as 13 years.

On a visit to the brewery in Boston last year, I got to taste samples of various beers siphoned off directly from the barrels, wine barrels and bourbon barrels. There were some wild flavors, but nothing approached Utopias 2007.

For the record, the basic beer’s a blend of pale, caramel and Munich barley malt, mildly spicy German Spalter hops, Hallertau Mittelfrueh and spicy Tettnang hops.
Want to try Utopias? Boston Beer says Utopias is being served at Morton’s steakhouse restaurants, including the Morton’s at 400 Post St. in San Francisco, 415-986-5830, and Morton’s San Jose, 117 Park Ave., 408-947-7000. A bartender at Morton’s in San Francisco said they’re charging $8.95 for a pour. However, he also said they don’t have it yet. Stay tuned. I intend to check back. I’ve always loved steak.

HAYWARD HOPS: The next day after sampling Utopias, I headed to the Bistro’s second annual Barrel Aged Beer Fest in downtown Hayward, curious to see if any of the 40 barrel-aged beers from brewers in California, Colorado and Alaska could approach Utopias. The answer’s obvious: Of course not.

But there were some awesome beers. Old Woody Barleywine, an 11-percenter, aged 12 months in a new American-oak barrel from Schooner’s Grille & Brewery in Antioch, won first in the oak-aged category. It was a splendid unfiltered copper that starts out dry but with a mounting sweetness and lots of vanilla from the oak in the finish.

No, it’s not on tap at Schooner’s, but I’m betting they’re gonna bottle what’s left soon, and the newest version is aging now, due to be released in December. Hats off to Schooner’s founder Shawn Burns and head brewer Craig Cauwels, who produced it. Their Barleywine won gold at the Great American Beer Festival in 2003, and Old Woody’s a fine successor. If you’ve never visited Schooner’s, it’s worth the trek: 4250 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, 925-776-1800.

Another beer I really liked and was surprised to find was Decadence 12 Cuvee Speciale (****), Valley Brewing, Stockton. It’s a sour beer that was fermented seven months with seven yeast strains, then aged six months in a brandy barrel. Brewer Steve Altimari has created a beer with a taste like the finest Belgian gueuze. Gueuze is usually a blend of old and young lambic beers, fermented with wild yeast.

They’re often mouth-puckeringly sour, but the best have a substantial malt presence: absolutely no sweetness, but the sour quality is refreshing, not pickle sour. That description fits Decadence perfectly. The beer won third place bronze in the port/brandy/wine barrel-aged category.

First was The Angel’s Share 2006***/****; second was The Angel’s Share 2007***, both from brewing wizard Tomme Arthur at Port Brewing, San Marcos. Both Angel’s Share beers were splendid — sweet with long, drying finishes, lots of vanilla and wood and bourbon from the barrels in which they were aged. The 2006 had a more complex taste.

Port’s Old Viscosity won the bourbon barrel-aged category. All three are available in bottles in the Bay Area. Decadence remains in a barrel, not on tap, sadly, in Stockton.
For the complete results of this merry little festival, check my blog: www.beernewsletter.com/blog.

FINAL OPENING NOTES: Talked to Chuck Stilphen, who says the Trappist Beer Cafe should receive most of its government inspections this week and they expect to open in about a week. It’s at 460 8th St. in downtown Oakland.

Also, J.J. Phair’s hard at work on his new E.J. Phair restaurant and brewery at 190 East Third St. in Pittsburg — right around the corner from the landmark New Mecca cafe. The building’s being retrofitted and they’re hoping to open in the spring. Finally.

Reach William Brand at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net or call 510-915-1180 and ask for his 2007 Retail Beer Store List or Good Pub List. Read more by Brand at http://www.beernewsletter.com/blog.Ratings
***** World classic.
**** A star; don’t miss it.
*** Very good; worth a try.
** Good beer; no defects.
* Don’t toss it; demand a refund.