Craft Beer Blog: Hopslam Season,Black IPAs,Draught Kegs , Brew Masters and More
Dan unloads many thoughts on the craft beer scene, including but not limited to Bell’s HopSlam, Black IPA’s, Draught Kegs and More. Cheers!
Bell’s Hopslam Season – If you are in Bell’s distribution territory, chances are you have snagged a few HopSlams. Call me old man buzz kill, but I think my Hop Slam days are over. I made sure to get the beer on trade as fresh as possible, and got batch 101001 (Bottled Jan 4, 2011) in my hands by the 8th of January. As you HopSlam fans know, the beer is labeled as 10%, but it goes down like candy (man candy tm. Craft Beer Radio). After 3-4 of them I got quite queasy and was down for the count. I didn’t shot gun them, I simply enjoyed them like I do any beer. I thought maybe it was me, so I repeated a few nights ago, with the same queasy results. Maybe I did drink them too fast, but it’s Bell’s fault for making them so tasty.
Black IPA – So many brewers have rushed a Black IPA to market. While doing so, the Brewers Association revised the awkward official name to American Style Black Ale. There has been tons of debate, which has taken on a crazy life of it’s own. Black IPA spelled out completely would be Black India Pale Ale. Having Pale and Black in the same is quite contradictory. Cascadian Dark Ale seems like a way to tie this style to the Pacific Northwest scene, and a big time marketing campaign.
All names aside, I want American Style Black Ale to be as close as possible to Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale and at the very least Deschutes Hop in the Dark. I want the Blackness to only be aesthetic, not one of the most dominating characteristics of the beer. If I want a roasty beer with noticeable hops, I’ll grab an American Porter. I want to be able to close my eyes and think I’m smelling a big dank IPA or Double IPA. I want I want I want. Anyway, I’ve tried many Black IPAs that will remain nameless that have come across as confused or confusing, and I’d like to see that change before the whole style becomes the laughing stock of the craft beer community.
Draught Kegs – Over the holidays, I had the chance to sample the New Castle Brown Ale DraughtKeg. First of all, I haven’t touched New Castle since college, although I will give it its props as a gateway to craft beer. DraughtKeg is Heineken’s proprietary 5 litre mini keg system, that magically shoots out foamy fresh beer in seconds, quickly leaving you with a full glass of beer. The first thing I noticed was how fresh the Newcy was compared to anything I’ve ever had in clear glass bottles or at a bar. It had me thinking how much craft beer could benefit from this packaging. I’m sure the DraughtKeg won’t be licensed out, but a similar technology should be invented for the small brewer in mind. Delicate beers like Ballast Point Sculpin, Dogfish 60 Minute IPA, or even one of Great Lake’s lagers would benefit from this awesome vessel.
Brew Masters – We are still waiting to hear more on the fate of Discovery’s Brew Masters starring Sam Calagione. Looking back at our numbers, we noticed a few things you might find interesting. We gain a great deal of readers during episode 1 – 3. By episode 4, new visitors slowed down and maintained to season 5. Once the show stopped airing, we went down slightly in readership. What’s my point? Everyone benefited from Dogfish being in the spotlight, even if it was only for 6 weeks. We had increased readership, liquor stores nationwide were hammered with request for DFH, creating new craft beer customers, and the beer blogging community had something to talk about. With that said, there is a void that is ready to be filled. We requested from Dogfish and Discovery their Neilson ratings with no luck. Even the lowest rated shows on cable tv still get at least a half a million viewers. If Brew Masters was hovering in the 0.5’s, that’s still a lot of people who were interested in watching a tv show about craft beer. Somebody, please start a campaign to bring back Brew Masters or for a new project that promotes craft beer on tv.
Beer Math – For the most part, craft beers are all prices the same, outside of wax dipped, corked, caged, limited release beer. I usually don’t have a problem clunking down $6-8 dollars on a 22 oz. bottle of well crafted beer, and I do so on the regs. Now, if you put 48 oz. of well crafted beer into 4-12 oz. cans and charge $12-16 dollars, you feel much different. There are a few craft cans that are wonderful, and fall into that price range. It’s hard to explain why the bomber FEELS like a better value when it’s not. Can anyone explain this, or is it just me?
April 9, 2011 @ 7:18 am
I think the IBA/IPA name would make the most sense, but they’re gonna do whatever they want so……
As a shopper there are beers I like to be able to look at a bottle and see whisps of yeast, or color etc which isn’t possible with a can. Also for some craft beers I like to set aside some to let it age to see how it’ll be in a few years. I don’t think you get the same progression with beer in a can. Bottle caps allow a certain amount of give and take with the air to age the beer. Cans are nice for taking to some places where glass isn’t allowed, as I’ve found out with Sun King’s Osiris in Indianapolis. Part of the issue with cans tho is a lot of them seem to be only sold in 4 packs etc. When it’s $10-15 maybe for a pack and they don’t sell individual cans, I’m reluctant to drop $$ like that just to try it. There are good craft stores that will sell individual bottles tho.
As a homebrewer I also appreciate being able to buy the bottles for my brewing operation. The beer is just a free gift that comes along with them. 🙂
January 28, 2011 @ 9:09 am
Beats me – bombers rarely feel like a good value, but I think my brain auto-converts everything into either $/oz (or $/abv on a rough night).
I was actually hoping that the hopppy black ale would be an India Black Ale so we can just have a logical IBA with the IPA, IBUs in your IBAs, etc.
January 27, 2011 @ 7:59 pm
As Evan said, cans are indeed better for our beloved craft beer and research has proven that. But there is some form of negative stigma associated with cans that seems to devalue the contents inside, at least in the uneducated buyers mind. I for one am always on the look out and get quite excited when I find a new craft beer in a can. Not only do I have the satisfaction of knowing that the beer has not been exposed to sunlight and oxygen, I also get the benefit of a cans convenience. Being able to enjoy a craft beer at the pool, beach , and other “no glass” zones is a quite satisfying feeling. Transporting cans is much easier in cans the bottles too. I have observed a very small and slow growing numbers of brewers that are stepping into canning. I wish that more craft beer drinkers could be educated about the benefits of cans. When demand for something goes up, smart brewers usually listen.
January 27, 2011 @ 12:39 pm
In response to your Beer Math question, I think that people look at cans as the cheap beer. It is because of the wide use of cans by BMC that people think this. I feel the same way about a fancy new bomber, not minding the hefty price tag.
But when it comes down to it, cans are actually better for beer. Do a little research on the harmful effects light and air have on beer, and you will quickly come across proven research that cans are better.
I guess it is just the fact that you judge with your eyes before you judge with your taste buds. I look at craft breweries that use cans like Oskar Blues and Maui (who by the way, cannot use glass bottles) and often pass them by because of this unique stigma. Oh well, maybe one day we can get past this.