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.
May 12, 2009 at 9:59 am
“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.”
I’m with you on that. For me, it is not really a war against the macrobrewers but more a desire to seek out and support the local and regional craft brewers who are making high quality products. I don’t have anything against the non-local craft brewers but I definitely enjoy the more personal connection I have with the local craft brewers.
May 12, 2009 at 11:23 am
Scott, I agree with your point on the non-local craft brewers. I tend to gravitate to local first, and enjoy lots of other great offerings from craft brewers everywhere if I can get my hands on them. Getting to know the folks who are behind your favorite local beers, and seeing their true passion for what they do, is definitely something you’re never going to get with the macrobrews.
May 12, 2009 at 11:40 am
[...] at The Captain’s Chair is skeptical about American Craft Beer Week, and, in a related note, weighs in on Flat Earth’s Cygnus X-1 Porter. var addthis_pub = [...]
May 12, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I once read that the first “rule” of beer drinking is buy local first. When out at a bar, start with something local, and then try something new. I don’t always follow that rule, but I try.
The same local advantage goes for food. I don’t care if it’s organic if it comes from California and had to ride on a truck for 2000 miles. The local angle is much more important in the fight against crappy produce and meat.
May 12, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I agree with eastlake. Organic food is not necessarily a sign of freshness and quality. I’ve had plenty of bad organic food out of California. I see local as being a better indicator of freshness.
May 12, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Interesting. I have been on a major local kick lately. Not only Summit but I have been getting mainly getting Town Hall and Fitgers growlers, stopping by Barley Johns and enjoying Flat Earth beers upstairs. Ever since spring has sprung and we started working on the garden (see my new blog post) I have been for the most part keeping it in the community.
Last week or so I gave my neighbor a Summit Pilsner, he found it to be too dark. I asked him what he liked and he said Coors light. I then asked why he liked that. He wasn’t sure, always have he said. I think that not only it is an image thing but it also is a stubborn thing. “I am a Coors guy and that is that.” He is what he is, I don’t look down on him for it but in turn I wonder about the BMC drinkers. I mean, these are the guys that rag on anything foreign, buy all their tools at Sears, buy American trucks, get the best cut of meat and take great care to how it’s grilled and then top it all off with a cheaply produced, bland foreign owned beer because of what? Tradition? Image? Commercials are that effective? You would think that every man’s man in the area would be a Summit/Surly/Flat Earth/Shells drinker. I think the best way to get these people drinking local brews is just that, telling them it is local. It is not foreign/stock holder owned. You can actually talk the owner. The money stays in the community. And not to sound sexist but in the marketing aspect of it, it is not a “girly” beer. It is heavy, bold, strong and not light, fizzy and weak. That said, should anything be done anyways? Sometimes keeping things “underground” preserves the quality.
May 12, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Interesting points, Stu. Hadn’t thought of the “buy local/American” angle in that way.
They touched on that brand loyalty issue in Beer Wars, points out the real lack of actual product differentiation between the macro brands. It all boils down to marketing.
May 26, 2009 at 4:31 pm
[...] 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 [...]