Craig Pinhey's BruBlog

More on Growlers, Hello Sammy, and Microcarbonation?

First, a follow-up to my article last month about Growlers. I spoke to Sean Dunbar of Picaroons about why he doesn't sell them.  He had a revealing angle on the story, that speaks to the frustration that we beer lovers often have with bureaucrats. "The growler question is still up in the air," said Dunbar,  "as somebody has the idea that a bottle can either be recyclable or refillable, but not both, or either."  He further explained that he could sell growlers, but the customer cannot bring them back to a brewery store to refill them. That's, of course, silly, as the whole point of growlers is to refill them, and that is why they are both economical and environmentally friendly in jurisdictions that use them properly.  "In order for us to refill growlers," he added, "we would also have to set up a program of travelling around to every individual recycling center in NB in the off chance that someone might bring a growler in.  If we list the growler as recyclable but not refillable, we would not have to do that, but we would also not be allowed to refill them at our store, thereby pretty much defeating the good things about using growlers."

All the booze business needs is some common sense, but it is in shorter supply than American craft beer in New Brunswick..

Speaking of which, let's move on to some pretty good news. Moosehead Brewery recently announced that they are partnering with the US's Boston Beer Company and will be the representative of their brands in Canada.   I spoke to Moosehead's spokesman Joel Levesque about this, to see if we might have access to all those really interesting brands. I really like Sammy (Samuel Adams Boston Lager) but I know they have a bunch of other goodies, including 7 different Seasonal Brews (Noble Pils, Summer Ale, Winter Lager, Oktoberfest, Old Fezziwig Ale, Cranberry Lambic and Holiday Porter), their Brewmaster's Collection (13 beers including Boston Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Hefeweizen, and the list goes on),  3 strong "Imperial Styles", and 6 Extreme Beers, such as their groundbreaking Triple Bock, Utopias and Millenium. 

Levesque explained that, in addition to the flagship Boston Lager, which is already on tap in several NB locations, and in bottles at the ANBL, they will be listing the Sam Adams Summer Ale in 6-packs, hopefully by May.  The Summer Ale is a seasonal American Wheat, with additions of lemon zest and grain of paradise.  As for other brands,  Levesque says there are no immediate plans, but "if the two listings do well, we will enter into some discussions with Boston Beer about bringing more of their portfolio to the Great White North."    Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Finally, the newest brew to hit the market is the Molson M, a so-called "microcarbonated" beer. I couldn't make it to the press event at their Moncton Brewery, so I still haven't tasted this, but I can't help being skeptical. Firstly it has ridiculous ad copy: "A highly drinkable taste."  That means nothing. Who is writing this crap?   Anyway, the idea is that they have a process that makes for smaller CO2 bubbles, which should make the beer less fizzy and smoother to drink. A common problem with mass marketed beer, which has CO2 injected, is the carbonation is too high. It fills you up too much,  is coarse in the mouth and can give a carbonic acid impression.   The interesting thing is that good, naturally carbonated beer, done in the bottle ( the best example being English real ale) already has these beautiful fine bubbles, making them far smoother and easier to drink.  It's all done naturally, in the bottle, like for Champagne. No new technology was needed, except perhaps a time machine.

 Cheers!

Craig 

Craig Pinhey is a Sommelier, Certified beer judge and freelance writer. Visit him at frogspad.ca. Follow him on Twitter as frogspadca.

Growling for Growlers

I've been drinking 100% Growler beer at home the last few days, and I'm loving it.  On a recent trip to Nova Scotia I hit up Halifax's Granite Brewery (Atlantic Canada's oldest micro, going back to ~1984) to refill my Growlers with some IPA, Ringwood Ale and Best Bitter, then, the next day, picked up a couple of Sea Level Brewery Growlers, from their location attached to The Port Pub in Port Williams, near Wolfville, overlooking the Cornwallis River.

If you've never "Growled" and have no idea what I'm talking about, a Growler is the term for a jug of fresh draught beer bought from a brewery, brewpub or bar to take home.   According to a story published in The Beer Advocate, "the term likely dates back to the late 19th century when fresh beer was carried from the local pub to one's home by means of a small-galvanized pail. It is claimed the sound that the CO2 made when it escaped from the lid as the beer sloshed around sounded like a growl."   

These days Growlers are sold in various sizes, from quart bottles to 2 litre jugs that look like the ones marked XXX that you remember hillbillies drinking from in old cartoons.  Some are screwcapped and others have swing-topped closures like the stopper-type used on Grolsch bottles. Sea Level's beautiful 650 ml bottles are this type, while Granite uses the screwcapped 2 litre jug.  If not carefully packaged (picture beer being splashed in from a draught tap - that beer won't keep long), this may only last a week or so, but, if sealed properly, like they do at the Granite, with care to prevent oxygen introduction,  beer stays fresh in a Growler for a month or perhaps quite a bit more, but once opened it loses carbonation fairly quickly. I like to drink mine within 3 days. The first pint is the best, though.

New Brunswick beer lovers can be forgiven for not knowing what a Growler is, since no brewery or bar sells them in New Brunswick yet. For one thing, bars are not allowed to sell off-license here.  As for brewpubs and microbreweries, apparently it is legal, and can be part of certain liquor licenses, but nobody is doing it, not that I've heard of, anyway.  Picaroons is planning to offer Growlers from a new downtown store in Fredericton, but there's nothing yet.  Pump House originally planned to sell Growlers from their store at their brewing locations, but never got around to it. They will sell you a keg, though. Charlottetown, PEI's Gahan House brewery sells 2 litre Growlers; between those and their off-sales keg sales (to private parties) this accounts for about 10% of their annual sales. Significant!  I enjoyed their IPA is this format while camping on the island last summer.

Personally, I think anyone should be allowed to sell draught beer in a properly sealed Growler from their pub or brewery. The idea is that people will take their party home, instead of trying to chug a bunch of beer before closing time.  This would increase sales for pubs, and they need it. As for public drinking, we've all learned that certain people will drink in public no matter the laws, and I've always held the position that you shouldn't punish the many (us responsible people) for the stupid actions of the few.

 Cheers!

Craig 

Craig Pinhey is a Sommelier, Certified beer judge and freelance writer. Visit him at frogspad.ca. Follow him on Twitter as frogspadca.

Disclaimer: Craig Pinhey is a freelance writer. The views expressed in BruBlog are that of the author.

Fresh Pilsner At Big Tide and The Pump House 2010 Specialty Line-up

BruBlog, January 2010 

It was great to get back to New Brunswick after a family holiday in Halifax over Xmas and find Sandpiper Pilsner on tap at Big Tide in Saint John.  Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos was a lager specialist brewing out in Canmore, Alberta, so it is no surprise, really, to see a pilsner here.  This was her second go at brewing one with the new Big Tide equipment. The first one she brewed, back around the time the pub opened, didn't meet her personal standards so she didn't put it on tap (I wish all brewers had this discipline). This one, though, is great.  My first whiff of it made me think of Creemore from Ontario, but the hopping is a bit more German.  It has a really nice malty nose, not caramel, just malt, along with the floral European hop aromatics. In the mouth is is quite bitter - I'm guessing around 30-35 IBUs - but the beer has good body, and holds that bitterness easily. It has a clean dry finish - very European in style. Wendy uses decoction mashing, the way they make lager in Germany and Czech republic. Most microbreweries and brewpubs do not do this, as it is more work. I'm not going into the details of this here, but it involves various steps in temperature in order to extract all the subtle flavours from the malt, working the various enzymes that convert starch to the various sugars that are later fermented (or not fermented, in some cases) to give beer its alcohol and slightly sweet malty flavours.  Small breweries don't generally do it, but if they have a brewer who is a purist, they do. Some homebrewers use this technique too.  Enjoy the Sandpiper Pilsner while it lasts. I've been popping in every week for a dose so far this year!

Speaking of other breweries, I was just sent the planned seasonal specialties for Pump House from their brewer Glenn Kervin. These are not written in stone, but it gives you an idea of the way a brewer's mind works. He's trying to match beers to the season, to a certain extent.

The current beer, a Winter Warmer, has just finished up its run, although there may be a few on tap at various pubs. Next is a Biere de Garde, until February 13th. This is a strong French ale made to keep (de garde). It is one of the few "good" beer styles associated with France. From Feb 13th-25th  Kervin plans an Apricot Stout and Strawberry Ale, which sound pretty wacky. Next, until March 25th, is an Amber Ale, which I'll assume is a pretty standard session brew.

March 26th will see a Maple Ale, which is timed to use fresh maple syrup from New Brunswick, I would assume, if the trees co-operate. From May 15th-September 15th is the annual run of their popular summer wheat beer specialities:  Weizen, Thai Wheat, Raspberry, and Tropical Weizen. The fall and early winter are lager brewing season for Kervin, and we'll  see their annual Oktoberfest lager on tap, just in time for the accompanying festivals, up until Halloween. Then he has a Schwarzbier planned, a black, full bodied, German style lager.  The year finishes up with the Baltic Porter, a strong dark lager which will be available all through December.

That's a year in the life of a craft brewer!  And craft beer drinkers too,  I guess.

Cheers! 

Craig 

Craig Pinhey is a Sommelier, Certified beer judge and freelance writer. Visit him at frogspad.ca. Follow him on Twitter as frogspadca.

Please note that Craig Pinhey is a freelance writer and the views expressed in BruBlog are that of the author's.

Christmas Beers Put the XXX in Xmas

It's Ho Ho Ho season, and no that's not a Tiger Woods joke. When it gets chilly and you end up spending a lot of time at home gathered around the fire, or you are looking to warm up in your favourite pub, this is the time to sip on winter warmers, also known to some folks as Christmas beer.  Technically speaking, I guess Christmas beer should have spices in it, but my general thought about winter beers and Christmas beers is the same: they are strong.

The United Kingdom tradition is for strong ales in the winter, the strongest being so-called Barley Wines, often with funny names like Old Somethingorother.  These "Winter Warmers" are fruity ales with lots of malt flavours and alcohol.  They can be fairly high in hops, but that's overshadowed by sweet malt and the perceived sweetness of alcohol. Here in New Brunswick we currently have two strong English Ales that I really enjoy: Fullers Extra Special Bitter,  $3.99/500 ml, and Fullers Vintage Ale $6.99/500 ml.  

Our local micros typically specialize in UK style ales, and produce seasonal high test brews. Picaroons has a yummy Winter Warmer that has molasses flavours. I look forward to it  every year.  I prefer it on tap, but you can buy it at the ANBL for $3.75/500 ml. Halifax's Garrison has a tasty Winter Warmer on sale here, too, for $4.95/500 ml.  Check out your local Pump House Brewery-friendly pub, too, as they release regular specialty brews on tap.

At Big Tide brewpub in Saint John brewer Wendy Papadopoulos has crafted what she calls "Santa's Chocolate Porter," made with real cocoa. It's quite delicious, unless you don't like chocolate...

In Belgium, strong, spicy beer is an all year long affair, although I expect people drink more of these in the cold weather. We have a traditional Belgian brewery in Quebec called Unibroue, and we get two of their authentic strong ales: La Fin du Monde ($5.40/750 ml) and the darker, maltier Maudite (6 for $13.60, or $5.40/750ml). I really enjoy these on a cold winter's day.

Strong lager beers (bock, doppelbock, eisbock) are common in Germany and its neighbouring countries, including Scandinavia.  These are often dark, with very malty flavours.  The ones we get here are not great, except Aventinus, which is almost gone from the stores.

If you want an authentic strong lager, one of the best I've ever tasted is Garrison's Baltic Porter, $5.99/500 ml. As of writing this, they have it in the warehouse at the ANBL, and it should be rolling out to stores soon. I suggest you be there to catch it.

Cheers and Hoppy Holidays!

Craig

Craig Pinhey is a sommelier, certified beer judge and freelance writer. Visit him at www.frospad.ca

Please note the Craig Pinhey is a freelance writer and the views expressed in BruBlog are solely that of Mr. Pinhey's.