The Captain's Chair

My Cascade hop plant has finally emerged.

In just a couple short weeks, it’s gone from a 3 inch prickly stem peeking out of my mulch bed, to a 16 inch bine climbing to the sky. It’s pretty cool to check on it each day and see noticeable changes taking place. Hop plants come from the Cannabaceae family, so it’s no coincidence that they resemble their slightly less legal cousin, the marijuana plant. Hopefully the neighbors don’t freak when the bine gets tall and call the cops thinking I’m cultivating a pot operation. 

I’m planning to get the trellis system set up this weekend so the plant has somewhere to latch onto, otherwise the weight of the leaves, cones and thick bine will eventually destroy it. Giving the bine something to attach itself to also frees up the plant to focus its energy primarily on producing cones, and not maintaining a solid support structure.

My other two hop varieties, Fuggle and Horizon, have not fared as well. Planted them in a different spot in the back yard, and have yet to see any signs of life. From what I’ve read they’re not as hearty as Cascade, and may be a bit temperamental given our widely varying weather conditions day to day here in Minnesota. So I’m thinking about digging up the rhizomes and either replanting in an area that receives a little more sunlight, or possibly dropping them into a couple large flower pots and bringing them inside to keep them a little more protected until they can gain a foothold.

Can’t wait for the actual cones to start developing!

Maple syrup. It’s not just for pancakes any more.

Stopped in to The Muddy Pig in St. Paul after work for the long awaited Founders release party. For those of us in the Twin Cities who make the occasional trip out to Wisconsin to pick up various renowned beers like Dogfish Head, Stone, New Glarus, and of course Founders, I’m very glad I can now save on the gas money and find their stuff at my local bar or liquor store. Wish I could say the same for the rest.

So imagine my surprise sitting down tonight at the pub to check out which Founders offerings were available, and seeing not their legendary Kentucky Breakfast Stout, which is what I assumed would be there, but their even more limited Canadian Breakfast Stout, an imperial stout aged in Kentucky whiskey barrels that were also used by a small maple syrup maker. And to add a bit of flair to the presentation and play off the whole maple syrup/breakfast stout theme, each glass of the stuff was served with a heaping pile of Bacon Explosion, what might be the most cholesterol-packed portion of food I’ve ever experienced. After I had a few bites and used the EKG machine to ensure my heart was in proper working order, I put on my review cap and did my best to discern what this Canadian Breakfast Stout was all about. They only had a small 5 gallon cask of the stuff, and were rationing it out in tiny 4 ounce sample glasses, but I was able to get a pretty solid sense of it.          

Massive oak and whisky aroma with hints of Sumatra and Kona coffee beans. Sweet, molasses, chewy caramel. Might be one of the boldest smelling beers I’ve ever experienced. Maple undertones as well, but it was tough to discern over the evident alcohol characteristic. Jet black coloring with trails of tan bubbles making up the nearly non-existent head.

Taste was huge, like the nose. So complex, so much going on. Very tough to single it all out. Thick roasted malt, bourbon, coffee, maple syrup, more bourbon, maybe some vanilla and oak. Your tastebuds are completely enveloped. I kept thinking about Goose Island Bourbon County Stout as I drank this, which has much more of a tobacco-like quality to it, but Founders CBS might trump that beer as even more insanely rich and immensely complex. 9.5% ABV, which you definitely taste in the finish. 

I gotta be honest. This beer gets huge marks on Beer Advocate as an A+ kind of beer. I’m guessing mainly because of its extremely limited availability (maybe a bit like Westy?), and of course its extreme nature as an imperial stout to end all imperial stouts. But as much as this was a unique and enjoyable beer, it doesn’t really compare in my book to other A+ kind of imperial stouts I’ve had like Darkness or Dark Lord. Just not the same kind of inately satisfying depth and chocolatey warmth the others deliver. One small glass was about all I could handle. I wasn’t interested in any more.

Unfortunately it’s only a superb beer, not world-class.

Rating: A-

Flat Earth Brewing has a pretty good thing going over in St. Paul.

Stopped in last week to check out their growler selection and have another sample of their Cygnus X-1 porter, which I recently reviewed. It was clear from my first experience with Cygnus I was the unfortunate recipient of one of their off bottles from the Flanders Red yeast incident. However, a completely different experience this time around fresh from the brewery…Cygnus is such a nice porter, rich and robust with the right balance of dark malts and subtle hops. I really enjoyed it, and felt a little like a freeloader taking more than my fair share of free samples they were offering up at the growler table. But I eventually bought a couple growlers, so it all evened out.

One of those growlers consisted of Flat Earth’s Xanadu, their fairly limited availability orange-infused version of Cygnus X-1 that proved to be endlessly intriguing the more I tried it. Xanadu kicks off with a potent citrus nose, which is of course not the kind of thing you’d expect in this style, but it’s exactly the reason why this beer is so delicious and unique. Owner Jeff Williamson mentioned they give each growler a shot of their homemade orange extract to give it that effect, a combination of orange fruit, zest, and maybe some kind of liqueur (if memory serves me correctly). On the back end, the roasted chocolate sneaks in to round things out in the aroma, giving the beer a deeply satisfying quality you come to expect in a well-crafted porter or stout. It’s such a nice combination.

The flavor is just as intense…some serious chocolate and roasted malt up front with a nicely biting, slightly acidic citrus finish. Reminded me of those orange truffles you get around the holidays. The more I drank Xanadu, the more I liked it. But after a couple glasses, the orange characteristic did overwhelm the senses, even giving me a bit of heartburn. In some respects, I’d almost consider Xanadu a dessert beer, something to savor slowly while paired with a nice vanilla cheesecake or even drizzled over ice cream.  

Rating: B+

My good friend in Germany sent me a nice little care package straight from the monks at St. Sixtus. Great way to kick off my Memorial Day weekend with some Westy 12, 8 and blonde. He even sent a commemorative Westy glass, coaster and some kind of map to the monastery which I of course can’t understand. Very cool.

Wanted to pass this along, an open letter from Mark Stutrud, CEO of Summit, regarding the proposed state legislation on the table to increase excise taxes by 144% on Minnesota brewers producing more than 25,000 barrels per year. In financial terms, that means brewers will have to pay $11.21 in tax on every barrel they sell to a distributor above and beyond the 25,000 barrel threshold instead of the current $4.60.

I don’t know about you…but if the legislators have their way, I see a prohibitively challenging environment for breweries to thrive in this state that could potentially spell the significant erosion of what is currently a growing craft beer industry and culture. Call it a penalty for success…because any brewer who grows enough to produce 25,000 barrels annually will start getting hit with this exorbitant tax. If I’m a Surly, Flat Earth, Brau Brothers or any other brewery under that threshold, I’d be very interested in this legislative outcome if my business plan includes visions of growth.  

Oh, and did I mention they’d also like to double the existing retail sales tax on alcoholic beverages? Nice.

Also check out Mark’s op-ed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press for additional context.

_________________________________________________

Dear Friends and Family of Summit Brewing:

It is time to take some action. As you know, many members of the Minnesota Legislature are planning to increase excise taxes and retail taxes on beer and other alcoholic beverages. The most recent attempt was House File 885. This bill was vetoed by Governor Pawlenty before the fishing opener. However, Legislators are working on a veto override and are determined to raise revenue through the consumption of beer.

This proposed legislation is described as a “dime a drink” tax. Sounds affordable, doesn’t it? I would consider erasing the State deficit by leaving a dime at the bar each time I ordered a beer. But this political position (read “spin”) is not straightforward or true.

First, most legislators or citizens do not really understand or recognize the significant amount of taxes that breweries pay today. Summit Brewing Company’s gross sales for 2008 were $15 million. Paid federal and state excise taxes totaled $1.04 million. This level of taxation represents 7% of the brewery’s total cost!

So, let’s compare this 7% cost of tax to other operating costs. Packaging, our largest cost, is 22%. Labor, with benefits, is 11%. Utilities and energy are 5%. You have read about the cost and availability of hops and malt. Our cost of raw materials, as a percentage, has increased from 11% to 17% over the past two years. This dramatic increase in cost has battered margins and profitability. The brewery projects sales of 88,000 barrels for 2009. Assuming that 88% of the company’s sales would be in Minnesota, the level of sales would be 77,000 barrels. Therefore, a tax base of 52,000 barrels is calculated considering the state excise tax exemption for the first 25,000 barrels sold.

The proposed legislation containing a 144% excise tax increase would mean a tax jump from $4.60 to $11.21 on every barrel of Summit beer, bringing the company’s annual state excise taxes from $244,000 to $594,000. Federal excise taxes would be $924,000, totaling $1.52 million paid taxes. Projected sales for 2009 are $16 million. Total excise taxes would become 10% of the brewery’s cost – almost the same cost as labor! Can you think of any other industry that is taxed to this extent?

This 144% increase on state excise tax would eliminate the brewery’s projected net profitability for 2009, 2010 and 2011. The brewery’s growth would cease, projected new employment would be eliminated, cash would be diverted away from capital expenditures and operations would contract to survive.

It is obvious that we cannot simply pass off these increases to you and other Summit drinkers.

And by the way, the 25,000 barrel per year tax exemption mentioned above, known as the “small brewer’s tax credit” is being spun. Legislators are stating that “small” brewers will not be harmed by this proposed legislation because of the tax credit. These legislators are simply honoring an existing tax exemption.

Secondly, these federal and state excise taxes are marked up twice. The taxes are a part of our price to the beer distributor as they pick up Summit at the dock. The retail account, restaurant, bar or liquor store, purchases the beer at wholesale. The retail account adds their margin to cover their costs before you buy that 12 pack of Extra Pale Ale. And finally, retail sales tax and an additional retail tax on alcoholic beverages are put on your tab. This is why excise taxes are described as hidden and regressive. Again, most people do not think about the taxes paid by the brewery. And most people do not think about these taxes as being marked up and taxed again!

Third, this legislation proposes to double the rate of the alcoholic beverage retail tax from 2.5% to 5.0%!

Does this still sound affordable to you? According to the Star Tribune and other media, 80% of Minnesotans support tax increases on beer, wine and liquor. I believe that the majority of Minnesotans do not understand the full picture. It is vital that you contact your legislators and educate other Minnesotans on what is going on.

Some other thoughts to share with your legislator: 

• Minnesota is currently taxed higher than our neighboring states of Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
• Almost 40% of the retail cost of a beer in Minnesota is tax.
• When the U.S. government doubled the rate of excise tax on beer in 1991, 60,000 jobs were lost in the brewing industry and the related industries.
• 65% of beer consumers earn less than $45,000 annually.
• Excise taxes affect the middle to lower income individuals the most.
• The proposed increase of excise taxes on beer unfairly targets a single industry. (Neo-prohibitionists actively support these efforts.) 

Take action now:

- Sign the petition

- Talk to your legislators ( click here to find their contact info )

- Join the Facebook group Minnesotans Against the Beer, Wine and Spirits Tax Increase

- Follow this issue on Twitter.

As always, thanks for supporting Summit beer.

Skoal!

Nice segment on KARE-11 last night profiling Surly. Really cool thread to the story is how involved Omar’s father is with the business, a true cheerleader for what has become a great Twin Cities success story. Two year waiting list for liquor stores interested in carrying their product? Wow. 

I couldn’t embed the video, so follow the link here to check it out.

Now this is a nice beer.

On the label, they call MaiFest from August Schell Brewing down in tiny New Ulm, Minn. a blonde double bock. But in my opinion that just means maibock. And what a well done beer to not only celebrate Day 3 of American Craft Beer Week, but also marvel at what is turning out to be a rout in Game 7 of the Pittsburgh/Washington NHL series. The pundits kind of built this one up to be a dramatic finish to what’s been one of the best playoff series in recent memory. But it’s not that exhilirating, unless you like watching poor goaltending and sluggish defense.

MaiFest has a very nice, light bready malt aroma and clean Noble hop notes with a little bit of spiciness — I’m guessing Tettnanger or Saaz. Pleasantly inviting. Medium gold appearance with a two finger white head that quickly trickles off after the initial pour.

Very smooth taste. More of the bready malt up front, a bit of the hop bitterness in the middle, and some alcohol heat in the finish. Exceptionally nice mouthfeel, almost creamy. Nearly 7% ABV, so you certainly feel it after one.    

For as much as I go on and on about incredibly complex Belgian ales or black hole-style imperial stouts, it’s sometimes nice to sit down with a well crafted beer that is unassuming and straightforward in its masterful simplicity. What you see is what you get. 

This could possibly be one of the best maibocks I’ve had so far this spring.

Rating: A-

Local beer #2 in my celebration of American Craft Beer Week. And when I say local, I’m talking regionally brewed.

New Glarus is a fantastic little brewery out in, well, New Glarus, Wisconsin, and most of their beers get a lot of rating respect on sites like Beer Advocate and RateBeer. I’ve had several of their offerings, including Spotted Cow, Unplugged Iced Barleywine, and Edel Pils. And their Hop Hearty IPA is right in line with the rest, very well-crafted and exceedingly delicious. 

Aroma is filled with a boat load of piney hops — possibly Simcoe, Warrior and Amarillo — with a very pleasing caramel backdrop from the malt. They also dry hop with Cascade and East Kent Goldings, kicking up the hoppy nose. Beautiful deep amber coloring, and a big fluffy head that leaves sticky webs of hop resin and lacing on the glass. The taste is very nice, a blend of caramel and some citrus. A formidable bitterness after the caramel fades, but not overpowering, giving way to small hints of alcohol heat in the finish from the 6% ABV. 

My overall impression is that this is a very nice, balanced beer. Not one of the masterpieces in the IPA world, like Russian River’s Pliny the Elder or even Dogfish Head 60 Minute. But Hop Hearty definitely holds its own, and really reminded me of Oskar Blues Gordon, an ultra-hoppy IPA brimming over with aromatic hops and bready malt.

Rating: B+

It’s American Craft Beer Week, sponsored by the Brewers Association. And for some reason, I’m not that excited about it.

Maybe part of it is the same attitude and tone I keep hearing from other craft advocates out there, who really like taking the David vs. Goliath approach to the macrobrewers and their herd of uneducated drinkers, talking about ”dispassionate consumers” who don’t know much (or in my opinion, care) about what goes into their beer.

Fine.

Quality of ingredients and traditional brewing practices certainly play a significant role in the craft movement. After all, it really is the defining differentiation from one beer to another. But I go back to my earlier post on the Greg Koch thing, and the discussion that ensued in the comments section, which I thought was a thoughtful conversation essentially focusing on the LOCAL angle to craft beer. Because as much as people want to take others to task on the whole “quality” of craft beer approach, I feel much more strongly that choosing to drink locally brewed, regional craft beer is going to be a much deadlier weapon in the war against beer mediocrity.

How can the big boys compete with that, if everyone patronized their local microbreweries? It rewards people who truly care about what they’re making, keeps money in the local community, and promotes the further innovation and creativity that we now know as a growing craft beer industry. Stop bitching about the fact that macrobrewers use corn adjuncts and focus their efforts on marketing a poorly developed product as “triple hopped” or replete with high levels of “drinkability”…because that’s never going to change. They’re selling an image, a consumer’s idealized perception of themselves, and it’s not about the beer. It’s about ensuring their shareholders get a dividend at the end of the fiscal year. Their bottom line is the almighty dollar. For the rest of us, who love craft beer, the bottom line needs to be about ensuring a strong local craft community, the definition of grassroots. As Tom over at Yours for Good Fermentables rightly said in his recent post on the same subject, “a loyalty first to local beer and to local brewers is the essential economic glue of our craft beer industry.”

But, I digress.

Befitting my soapbox gripes, I decided to commemorate the first official evening of American Craft Beer Week with a pretty unique local beer, Flat Earth’s Cygnus X-1 Porter, an homage to owner and head brewer Jeff Williamson’s favorite band, Rush. I’m surprised I’ve yet to review something from these guys based out of St. Paul, as I’ve already had a couple of their offerings such as the Pale Ale (decent) and Winter Warlock barleywine (satisfyingly complex). 

Cygnus X-1 poured with a nice deep brown coloring, and an overly active head that I’m not used to in most porters. But I’ve had the bottle for a while, so take it for what it’s worth. They brew this one with a bit of rye malt, and you definitely get that in the nose. Kind of a bready quality mixed with some light chocolate and roasted, smoky malt. They use some Fuggle hops, but I didn’t pick up much of it, which is somewhat expected I suppose. Interesting aroma overall, but not as rich as I’d like.

The taste is also interesting, in a good way. Not sure if this was their intention, but somewhat reminiscent of a milk stout in the sour, lactic quality*. Not the kind of thing you’d expect in a porter, but definitely unique and pretty enjoyable. The rye kicks in a bit toward the end, smoothing it out with some of the biscuit and bread flavors. A fairly thin mouthfeel that leaves you wanting a bit more, especially considering the style.  But at 6.5% ABV, it’s definitely a very drinkable beer.

Not bad, not great.  

Rating: B-

* Thanks to a few folks for pointing out the Flanders Red issue they had a while back. It seems clear I got one of the infected bottles. The sour quality wasn’t intended, so I’m hoping to give Cygnus another shot soon.

Been reading some interesting posts on other blogs lately (here and here*) talking about Greg Koch at Stone Brewing and his efforts to turn more people on to craft beer in the face of corporate conglomerates selling Bud, Miller and Coors.

I think Greg’s overall point, which he attempted to make as a panelist on the recent Beer Wars live Q&A and during his speech at the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston, is that if people took a more active role in their consumer choices and considered the quality of the ingredients in their beer and the passion of the people behind the beer, that most would change their minds on drinking the macro stuff. This is the same general argument espoused by other highly respected craft brewers such as Garrett Oliver at Brooklyn Brewing (i.e. “real bread” vs. “bread in a bag” analogy).

However, some critics have called this message “elitist”, “insulated” and “self-absorbed,” largely based on Greg’s comments during the CBC speech that characterized BMC drinkers as “wusses” and the same kinds of people who prefer white bread, instant coffee and Kenny G.

Now, I’m not interested in engaging in some kind of character assassination of Mr. Koch as someone who is doing irreparable harm to the future success of the craft industry, as I am certain his intentions are good. Rather, what I have been wrestling with, in particular since my viewing of Beer Wars several weeks ago, is whether or not this approach really makes the most sense, assuming the goal is to get more people interested in craft beer.

I think one of the fatal flaws in Greg’s logic is the premise that if someone knew more about what goes into their beer they would instantly choose to drink craft beer. I know what a farmers market looks like, yet I generally choose to buy most of my vegetables and fruit from the local megagrocer. I’m the same way with cars…I own a Toyota Camry because it’s relatively inexpensive, fuel efficient and will hopefully get me from Point A to Point B. I’m not preoccupied with its overall performance and handling, or whether or not it was built by an expert mechanic in Germany who REALLY loves making fine cars. When it comes down to it, I frankly don’t care that much about that particular purchase (well, to a degree, until I’m stranded on the side of the road and late for work). But that’s me, and my consumer choice.

And like most people who drink BMC, I don’t really think they care much about the kinds of criteria Greg is talking about either. Perhaps beer is not an important enough portion of most people’s budget, diet, or daily thought process that they invest the time to truly consider the value of their purchase when compared to other life decisions such as, say, where to send your kids to school or which doctor to see. For folks like Greg, whose world is in large part defined by the craft industry, it’s clearly an important choice to make. And for me, a guy who bases my dining decisions on what kind of craft beer is on tap at a particular restaurant, it’s also an important choice. But not for most. The general population tends to drink what they know and are familiar with. For some, it takes too much brainpower, time and research to make a switch in beer preference.

The obvious argument here is that it’s somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy…the macro brewers have had such a strangle hold for years on both the three tier distribution system and the mass media channels to pump out their watered down message that there’s hardly a chance consumers would even know the difference. The broader consumer palate has been trained for years that bland is good, and they’re not interested in beers brewed on a smaller scale that tend to be a little more bitter than your average can of Bud. But even if we had a more level playing field, I think the vast majority of people walking into a liquor store still wouldn’t say to themselves “I’m going to select this beer because it’s produced locally and isn’t made with corn adjuncts.” Greg calls these people “dispassionate consumers,” but in today’s society (maybe to our detriment) that’s what seems to win out, convenience and familiarity.

I think it could be the same reason why chain restaurants like Applebees thrive on a larger scale while smaller independently-owned restaurants that only use locally produced ingredients are only going to have a niche appeal. Sure, there’s certainly going to be a market for these small establishments (and they base much of their differentiation on this point), but just like the craft industry, I don’t know that they’re ever going to enjoy broader appeal compared to dumbed down versions of their product. Maybe that’s a defeatist (or realistic) attitude, but when it comes down to it, the craft segment really is a specialty category, and will likely be that way for some time to come.

As a PR practitioner, I think it’s a matter of perception, positioning, and how you want to go about waging this “war” to get more people interested in craft beer. I look at Greg as someone who has incredibly noble intentions as a passionate advocate for the craft beer industry. However, some of his comments lead me to believe he is staunchly focused on the David vs. Goliath argument, making a bogeyman out of the macrobrewers and castigating BMC drinkers as “fizzy yellow beer drinkers” who have yet to be touched by the craft beer message. Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head, on the otherhand, who was portrayed in the recent Beer Wars film as an equally passionate advocate for craft beer**, seems to be more interested and content in just making a really good tasting sling shot and hoping more Davids fall in line behind him. Call it the “push” vs. “pull” strategy of the craft beer world.

So am I an advocate for BMC offerings? Absolutely not. It’s garbage made by people who are more interested in creating shareholder value versus brewing a quality product. I love craft beer, spend probably too much of my time drinking/homebrewing/thinking/reading/writing about it, and hope for its continued success in this country. But I’m also not going to rub my friends’ noses in their light lagers next time I’m at a bar with them because it was mass produced in a gigantic brewhouse in St. Louis or Milwaukee.

* By the way, very cool of Greg to comment on that post. I think he’s a guy genuinely interested in furthering the craft conversation, even if it means he takes a little flak in the process.

** I’m well aware that Sam has taken up that same mantle to some degree and made his own public remarks of disdain about BMC, I’m not picking on Greg.