Rhode Island Beer and Farmer's Markets

Over on the other side of Lug Wrench Brewing, the State of Rhode Island is trying to pass a law that would be a great boon for craft beer brewers and consumers.  The bill (House Bill 7125) was introduced into the state's General Assembly last week which would allow brewpubs to sell the beer they manufacture at farmer's markets. Awesome!  The bill, which is directed at economic development, is offering expanded venues for brewpubs and winegrowers to sell their products. 

There is a discrepancy on how beer and wine are being handles, which irks me.  The proposed bill is very cut and dry for the brewpubs - "brewpub manufacterer's license shall further authorize the sale of beverages manufactured on the (brewpub's) premises at any farmer's market".  However, the winegrowers / farm wineries are getting the same with a little bit of a kicker in the language of the bill - "A wingrower may sell wine or winery products...at retail by the bottle or by the glass for consumption at a farmer's market".  There is no talk about "for consumption" for the brewpub's products (which are called out as typically being sold in growlers).  Could a brewpub bring in a draft system and sell beer by the glass at the farmer's market "for consumption"?  The bill is silent on this, leaving it a bit grey for the beer lovers.

I could grind me teeth about the small details, but if this bill is passed into law, it would certainly bring more good to the craft beer lovers in our state.  If you are a Rhode Island resident and a beer lover (and if you are reading this, you should be!!), contact your local representative and ask for their support on the bill.

Slainte!

-JW


"They who drink beer will think beer."
-Washington Irving

Bourbon Barrel Project - Overview

My local homebrewing club, the Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale, have been trying to organize a bourbon barrel project for several years now (photo from Barlow Brewing).  Aging beer in bourbon barrels has become a popular treatment in the craft beer industry.  The general process is to take a finished beer and transfer it to a used bourbon barrel.  The beer, which is often a stronger darker ale, is left in the barrel for a period of time, depending on the oak and bourbon character profile desired in the finished product.  When that time arrives, based on taste testing, the beer is transferred out of the barrel and moved to packaging.  At that time, a new beer is usually transferred into the barrel to keep it from drying out.  As subsequent batches of beer are moved through the barrel, aging time must increase to receive similar flavor characteristics because the oak and bourbon flavors gradually leach out of the barrel into the beer.  At a certain point, the barrel is deemed flavor-neutral and is either retired from service (i.e. cut in half for planters) or is used to make sour beers where the barrel is simply the place for the wild yeasts and bacteria to live.

The transfer and sale of bourbon barrels has long been a steady business in the United States.  This is because, by law, bourbon can only be made in new charred-oak barrels.  After the bourbon has been removed from the bottle, the barrel is usually sold to a barrel merchant, whose job is to arrange the sale of the used barrels and transport them to their new home.  Historically, these barrels were only used to age other types of spirits, such as Scotch, Irish whiskey, Canadian whiskey, tequila, and rum.  These beverages do not require the use of new oak barrels and their manufacturers could buy the used barrels for less and have a less aggressive oak character in the finished product.  In the last 10 years or so, the American craft brewing industry has become another purchasing stream in the bourbon barrel market.

Homebrewers are also interested in using bourbon barrels, but their size and cost are usually prohibitive and the homebrewer must settle with other oak products (cubes, chips, etc.) that have been soaked in bourbon before use.  New barrels are over 50 gallons in size and cost between $150 and $250 a barrel.  The same problems that face the individual homebrewer make bourbon barrels attractive projects for clubs.  The basic concept is that the homebrewing club can used its pooled resources to purchase a barrel and to find a place to store it.  The club can also assemble a number of brewers using the same recipe that can, collectively, fill the barrel.  In order to do this, the club must tackle, at least, the following issues:

• Assemble enough interest to support the project and its associated costs
• Collect the funds to purchase the barrel
• Make arrangements with a barrel wholesaler to have the barrel delivered
• Find a suitable location to store the barrel, as the barrel will not be easily movable once full
• Assemble a list of brewers who will collectively fill the barrel, which can present an additional problem of winnowing down the list of interested brewers if there are too many to accommodate
• Select a common recipe for the brewers to use and decide what, if any, variances are allowed in the recipe ingredients
• Organize a group brew day, if desired, and a group filling day
• Determine how long the beer will remain in the barrel and how to distribute it when the aging is done
• Start the brewing process again to refill the barrel when the first batch is removed

Our club has been planning a bourbon barrel purchase for over a year now and things are finally coming to fruition.  I plan on doing several future posts covering our plans and their implementation, including the group brew day and filling day.  Stay tuned.

Cheers,

TW

Some Of The Best Pub Names .... Part II

The tradition of the Angelo-Irish pubs always carry the best names for the establishments.  Several of these great names were derived from the nicknames the pubs got form their illiterate patrons who could not read the sign, but recognized its image.  Many of these pubs are oozing with local lore and history.  Of course modern businessmen has tried to take advantage of this with gimmicky branding efforts for new establishments (i.e. Slug and Cabbage, etc.).

Back in the begining of Lug Wrench, I started a list of of the best pub names that I found amusing and tickled my funnybone (The Hairy Lemon Pub, the Bloody Bucket Inn, etc).  With a little bit of research, I was able to uncover a few more gems and expand the list.  Below are a few of the standouts that I figured were worth sharing.  Enjoy.

The Hog In Armour

Norwich, England

The Haunch of Venison Pub

A haunted pub, where the mumified hand of a cardplayer caught cheating can still be found.

Salisbury, England

Bag O'Nails Pub

Victoria, London, England

The Noose and Monkey

Aberdeen, England

The Only Running Footman Pub

Mayfair, London, England

The Dog's Bollocks

Toronto, Canada

The Jolly Taxpayer Pub

Portsmouth, England

Ye Old Dr. Butler's Head

Moorgate, London, England

The Murderers Cafe Bar

Norwich, England

There are plenty more out there, both abroad as well as in the US. Drop us a comment if you’ve got any good ones to share.

Slainte!

-JW

"I spent 90% of my money on women and drink.  The rest I wasted."

-George Best

Craft Beer Purchasing Styles

It is common knowledge that craft beer drinkers vary dramatically in background and reasons for loving our favorite fermented beverage.  Intelligent brewing companies and marketers must learn this fact and find their niche in advertising to the growing number of craft beer drinkers, or quickly find themselves out of work.  However, I am not sure how many people have devoted research to the actual purchasing styles of their consumers.

Lets take a hypothetical situation.  Imagine a massive beer retailer, the size of a large grocery store.  This beer store has beer from hundreds of breweries and perhaps thousands of brands on its shelves.  The variety of beer is stunning and features brands from almost any country that exports beer to the United States, as well as half the store is devoted to the Unites States craft beer market.  Further, this beer lover's dream allows almost any beer in the store to be purchased by the bottle, six-pack or case.  As you, our stalwart reader, enter the store, you ask yourself how will you choose what beer brands to take home and enjoy.

Just this situation presents itself to my wife and I every time we visit Rochester, NY to visit my family.  Rochester is home to Beers of the World, a wonderful bottle shop located 15 minutes from my parents' house.  Beers of the World began when Tony Angotti purchased a small beverage company back in 1982.  He envisioned a retail business that would introduce area drinkers to the enormous variety and beer flavors that existed around the world.  The first Beers of the World store opened in 1987 and has expanded since to three locations in the Rochester area.  The store offers a mind-boggling array of beer brands, and also sells cider, specialty sodas, wine, and even homebrewing equipment.

My wife and I have very different methods to choosing the beer we bring home when going to this store, a highlight of our trip north.  Our general process is to each fill a six-pack of beer that intrigues us, and then pick a few bottles together to share or that have special interest to both of us.  My wife loves IPAs and they tend to make up the bulk of her purchases.  She walks around the store with her iPhone set to the Pintley app and looks at all of the beers that it recommends for her (see our post on Pintley here).  She tempers its recommendations with brands that she already knows, but tries to pick some things she cannot get down here in Virginia.  At the end of this particular trip, her six-pack contained four IPAs and two ciders.  From the six-pack, her favorite beer was Green Flash's Hop Head Red.

I tend to enter Beers of the World with a theme in mind.  The theme varies dramatically, but this time I wanted to find several Rochester-area beers.  Like most cities in the past few years, a number of small craft brewing companies have opened their doors.  Because many of these brewing companies do not distribute outside of the Upstate area, I thought it would be neat to truly "buy local."  I have also been enjoying a fair number of Belgian-style beers lately, so I wanted to pick up a few of those as well.  Winter also puts me in the mood for stouts, so I wanted to find some unique dark and roasty beer brands.  I ended up with two beers from each category, and a bomber of a local Rochester beer to have with dinner that night.  My favorite beer of the bunch was North Coast Brewing Company's Brother Thelonious Belgian-Style Abby Ale.

There is certainly no "correct" way to respond to the Beers of the World situation.  My wife and I have had several interesting discussions on how our beer-selection methods reflect on our personalities.  Have you visited a bottle shop with a similarly huge craft beer selection?  If so, how did you spend your hard-earned money on wonderful beer?  How do you feel this reflects on your personality or beer-drinking habits?  We would love to hear from you.

Cheers,

TW