Catching up on a few things I haven't blogged about in the past couple of weeks, some of which everybody and his brother already mentioned.

• Matt Venzke won Wynkoop Brewing's "Beer Drinker of the Year" contest. The Yorktown, Virginia man beat out other finalists including Oregon beer drinker J. Mark Angelus (from Nehalem).
  

  Venzke’s resume boasted of many beer drinking experiences. Venzke has visited 454 breweries in 16 nations and 39 states. Over the past five years, he has recorded tasting notes on over 3200 different beers in 69 different styles.
  
  He logged 3,000 miles in 2007 while traveling to breweries across North America. While stationed in alcohol-free Kuwait on a military deployment a few years ago, Venzke conducted a tasting of 17 non-alcohol beers.
  
  As the 2008 Beerdrinker of the Year, Venzke wins free beer for life at Wynkoop Brewing Company, a $250 beer tab at the Taphouse on Queensway, and the opportunity to brew a special beer with Larsen for next year’s Beerdrinker of the Year event.

  Yeah, that's impressive.
• The Brewers Association 2007 craft beer statistics are out. Lots of information-rich graphs at the link, but the bottom line it, craft brewing is up 12% in 2007, compared to both 1.4% for imports and domestic non-craft beers. That's huge. Also, note that there were 1,406 craft breweries operating in 2007, up 12 from the 1,394 of 2006.
• Next Friday, March 7th, is The Session: hosted by Chris O'Brien of the Beer Activist, the topic is Organic Beer. Also note that it's The Session's first birthday! That's right, it was the first Friday of March 2006 last year that the very first Session was launched, on Irish Stouts.
  
  The Session was the brainchild of Stan Hieronymus, who was thinking of a beer-themed monthly writing event among bloggers akin to what wine bloggers are doing with "Wine Blogging Wednesday". I was fortunate to be a sounding board for part of those thoughts, but really, it was Stan who came up with it and did the heavy lifting.
  
  (Interestingly, we haven't seen any truly radical Session themes yet... something along the lines of the "Just Seven Words" the Wine Bloggers recently did. Are we ready for something like that yet? I don't know, but I suspect it's just a matter of time...)

Blue Dog Pale Ale is one of the pub standards to be found at the Lucky Labrador Brewpub, which I blogged about yesterday. I was able to buy a bottle from the pub for $4.75, which they filled and capped on the spot for me.

Now, you'll look at my picture on the right, and think, "Pale ale?" Well, yeah, and despite the darkness I can confirm that it is, in fact, their pale ale offering; while I was waiting at the bar for my bottles, two other guys asked the other server for a "lighter beer" and commented when the pitcher of dark pale ale was filled. The girl confirmed that it was, indeed, the Pale Ale, though in this case it didn't necessarily refer to the color.

Anyway, the alcohol on this beer varies, depending on which review site you view, but I would guess that it's right around 5% by volume.

Appearance: Darker than you'd expect for a "pale" ale... brown the color of bottle glass, or cola. Fairly clear with a creamy off-white (tan-ish) head.

Smell: Hops—Northwest Cascade or similar. Slightly sweet and molasses-y malt background.

Taste: Nice hop bitterness, dry and a bit woody—though not too bitter. Maltiness is also dry and a little oaky, punctuated by a molasses-sweet character (i.e. more bittersweet and not cloying). A bit of a buttery note with roasty astringent malts.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and a bit light in the mouth; finishes dry and a touch astringent.

Overall: Nice pub standard—a little dark in color for a "pale ale" but it tastes good.

On BeerAdvocate, there are only 4 reviews but they grade it a B. On RateBeer, there are only 9 reviews, and it scores 3.23 out of 5 (not enough to run their percentile though).

Since I was wrapped up in Theme Week last week, I hadn't had a chance to write up reviews from our Portland trip a couple of weeks ago. We managed to get one brewery visit in: the Hawthorne brewpub for the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company.

Their Hawthorne Avenue location, in Southeast Portland, is the original, and though I've been there before, it's been years since the last time.

In fact, I was there in November 1998 with my brother Ben and friend Justin when we found out Jesse Ventura won the Minnesota governorship; we had a beer to commemorate such a crazy notion.

The Lucky Lab is my idea of the quintessential Portland brewpub. Their own description reads:

[The brewpub] is located in an old roofing and sheetmetal warehouse. With high wood trussed ceilings, the Lab's warm rustic ambiance is a great place for a neighborhood pub. Founded in October, 1994, the Lab produces some of the tastiest brews in the northwest and serves up some simple, yet excellent, pub fare. Outside on the back covered patio is a great place to relax and converse with friends or hang out with your canine. We are proud to be a casual brew pub where people can enjoy quality products in an unpretentious atmosphere.

We stopped in for lunch, along with a beer and pictures.

Read on

Blue Dot Double IPA is a vintaged ale released by Portland's Hair of the Dog Brewing, and has garnered all sorts of acclaim. The bottle I had, which I picked up around Christmastime, read "Spring 2007" and it says on the label "Double India Pale Ale." So it's of the infamous "Double" or "Imperial" IPA style, though at 7% alcohol it's not as strong as some of those Imperial IPA monsters floating around.

Interestingly, HotD uses rye malt in this beer. Rye can add a refreshing, spicy character to the beer, though it's not something you'd usually see in an American IPA. That's Hair of the Dog for you—always doing something interesting.

Appearance: Nice straw yellow color—almost gold. Slight haze. Nice two fingers of white, fine head.

Smell: Nice resiny-citrus hop bouquet that's floral, woody, and fragrant.

Taste: Intensely hoppy flavor—very bitter, lots of pine and woodiness, a tad oily but clean. Smooth, soft malt body at play, with an edge of sharpness that I'm guessing comes from the rye. Bracing. Hops are powerful strong, spicy, tobacco leaf, a touch of red pepper?

Mouthfeel: Bitter hops, washes the mouth and dries it out, while you get a puckering sensation from them and the alcohol. Medium-chewy in texture.

Overall: This is so far the hoppiest beer of the year. It's excellent.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.77 out of 5 and is in their 95th percentile.

48 American Craft Brewers Gather to Harmonize Craft Beer with Food in May

Flying Dog Brewery leads a group of over four dozen independent, American craft brewers from across the country that have been selected to showcase the pleasures of fine food enjoyed with great beer in Washington D.C. later this year. SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, May 16-17, 2008, will highlight the culinary delights of beer as part of the Brewers Association's annual American Craft Beer Week celebrations.

Flying Dog will serve Kerberos Tripel, paired with Peking Duck Purses and Gonzo Imperial Porter paired with Christopher Elbow Spiced Artisan Chocolates at SAVOR. “We have been promoting this emerging trend of pairing food with craft beer through our website, beerdinners.com, so it was a natural fit for us to participate in SAVOR,” said Neal Stewart, Flying Dog Brewery’s director of marketing.

Today, American beers are judged to be among the world’s best and have earned a respected place at the table alongside wine. In fact, two-thirds of today’s wine drinkers consume beer. This past summer National Public Radio observed, "Beer has gone from the House of Commons to the House of the Lords.” Additionally, Gallup in July 2007 confirmed beer is still the most popular adult beverage in the U.S.*

Another feature of SAVOR will be the educational salons, which will offer live presentations by brewers, journalists and chefs who have helped further the American craft beer revolution. Scheduled speakers include: Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Jim Koch of Boston Beer; Randy Mosher, author of “Radical Brewing”; Marnie Old of the French Culinary Institute; Garrett Oliver of The Brooklyn Brewery; and several savvy cross drinkers including Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast magazine; Ray Isle with Food & Wine magazine; and Ken Wells of Conde’ Nast Portfolio.

*Gallup Poll – July 27, 2007. The 64% of Americans who say they consume alcohol show a preference for beer (40%) over wine (34%) as their alcoholic beverage of choice, with liquor the favorite of 22%

Since I posted my questions/thoughts on the beer can widget, I figured I'd follow up by reviewing a British beer with just such a contraption: Boddingtons Pub Ale. This was also one of those ubiquitous British imports that I've seen but never tried, so it was good timing.

This is a standard English Pale Ale, very much a session beer at 4.7% alcohol, and, well, it comes in a can. Like all of the similar imports, it's a 16-ounce pint can, rather than the usual 12-ounce cans you get here in the US.

Appearance: Super clear golden ale (like honey) with the dense, creamy head from the nitro widget. It started bubbling almost immediately as I opened the can and pouring, it easy to get mesmerized watching the foam cascade as the beer "falls out" and the bottom of the head rises.

Smell: Clean, a bit malty with a touch of English hops. A touch of estery sweetness.

Taste: Lightly bitter with a dry, slightly roasty malt background, with the barest hint of tart tang. Some wheat kernel notes. Hops are earthy, bitter, and a touch spicy. Clean and dry throughout.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, and crisp; a bit light but not weak or watery.

Overall: It's a nice baseline English Pale Ale, very clean. A solidly built ale, if unremarkable. Does the widget add to it? Most likely in the mouthfeel, as it presents soft and smooth.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 2.86 out of 5, and is in their 33rd percentile.

Surveying the field of British and Irish canned beers—Guinness, Murphy's, Old Speckled Hen, Boddingtons, etc.—it's obvious that all of these come with the nitrogen beer widget. But the question occurred to me: why do we only see these widgets used in these canned beers from the UK and Ireland? Why not others? Why not American beers?

A little background may be in order. A beer widget is the plastic device added to the can that contains pressurized nitrogen gas; when the can is opened, the nitrogen escapes and dissolves into the beer and produces a finer, smaller-bubbled carbonation and head that is thick and creamy. The body of the beer, likewise, takes on a smooth and creamy feel as well.

Guinness developed and popularized the widget; they were researching it as early as 1968 and in the late 80's, introduced the widget can (which subsequently appeared in the US in 1990).

Since then, the widget can has appeared with other Irish and UK brews, as mentioned above. Which takes us back to the question of why only those beers?

The best partial answer I can find is from this Beer Hunter article that first appeared in 1991. Michael Jackson postulated that it's a way to capture the British pub experience—the draught-only, cask ale style of beer—in the can for mass market appeal.

This is the only country to have persisted on a large scale with cask-conditioning: the practice of delivering barrels of beer in a not-quite-ready state (with some unfermented sugars, and live yeast) to the pub, so that it can complete its development in the cellar. Because this secondary fermentation can only take place at a natural cellar temperature, and produces only a light, natural carbonation, cask-conditioned beer has none of the aggression of colder, gassier, products. It is soothing and sociable. It fits the mood of the pubs and cannot easily be made available at home....

Brewers would like to retain a "draught" character in bottled or canned beer. In the United States and Japan, the word "draught" on a bottle or can usually means that the beer has been filtered to the point of sterility. This strips out flavour and body, but removes the need for pasteurisation.

The newest trick - being used in the British Isles to make products identified as "draught" in cans - retains pasteurisation but addresses itself to another area of taste: creaminess, softness and gentle, low carbonation In fermentation, beer produces only one gas: carbon dioxide. When it is hand-pulled, the manual pump action introduces air. Within air is nitrogen, and that enhances the texture and head by producing bubbles smaller than those created by carbon dioxide....

Not only does the nitrogen make the beer more creamy, and produce a better head, it also protects against oxidation. The brewer can therefore permit the beer to be less carbonated. The "canned draught" products have levels of carbonation similar to those in cask-conditioned ales, and less than half those in some bottled beers.

This is a compelling case for the British cask/pub experience in a can, so then: why haven't other canned beers (particularly American) adopted this? Could it simply be because only the British care enough about this experience to emulate it?

Some wild speculations (I may be totally off here):

• Since Guinness owns the patent on the beer widget, it can only be produced in Ireland and the UK. (This doesn't seem entirely likely.)
• Since the canned craft beer movement in American is only just getting off the ground, it's simply a matter of time; i.e., American "microcanners" are still getting used to the canning process and experimenting with widgets is inevitable but not there yet.
• Alcohol laws (or FDA or something?) doesn't allow craft brewers to add widgets/foreign objects to alcohol (cans). Imports exempt?
• Not cost effective for small brewers, who are only just able to start affording canning systems.

Can anyone shed some light on the subject?

Updated: Fixed some geographic problems; see the comments.

I snagged a can of Caldera Brewing's other offering today—their IPA. Along with their Pale Ale, it's the only two beers they offer in a can, though I wish they would start making some of their other beers available, after looking over their list.

The beer is an aggressively hopped American-style IPA, full of Northwest hops and 6.1% alcohol by volume. The can is more colorful than their flagship Pale Ale, which makes it a little more attractive, I think. More whimsical, too.

Appearance: Clear and copper-orange, with a thick, dense white head.

Smell: Strong and hoppy—full of bright, resiny citrus hops... very floral and woody. Very aromatic.

Taste: Just as hoppy in flavor as in aroma... right up front it's bitter and lupulin-y, almost powdery with resin and floral essence. Very green and fresh-tasting. Hops are the dominant flavor here, over a stable and subtle malt backbone, which is biscuity and mellow.

Mouthfeel: Slightly light of medium-bodied with lots of bright hop character... a coating of hop bitterness in the mouth—not oily, more dry—and it finishes very clean.

Overall: Once again, you wouldn't guess this to come from a can. Very aggressively hoppy... I'm almost tempted to say over-balanced in the hops favor, but that's not really right... the malt stands up well. It's definitely a hop showcase for hopheads.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.51 out of 5, and is in their 83rd percentile.

I dug up a couple more canned-theme links today:

• Eli over at foureyed(beer)geek has a post today reviewing Oskar Blues' Gordon—a canned Double IPA. Sounds like a winner!
• Here's a post over on Chowhound where "Loren3" spent a Summer of Canned Beer. Last year, apparently, and it's a good read to get a feel for how much there does seem to be out there...

  Generally speaking, there seem to be about four kinds of canned beer: 1) widget cans from England and Ireland, 2) EuroPint (or thereabouts) cans from Germany and the Czech Republic, 3) 12- and 16-ounce cans of dreamy yummy craft beer, and 4) crap.

More from Bob Skilnik:

One more thing to help give you more perspective on the origins of canned beer from my latest book, Beer & Food: An American History;

Packaged Beer

On January 24, 1935, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company in Newark, New Jersey introduced the so-called "Keglined" can. This non-returnable container, manufactured by the American Can Company, offered a number of advantages over breakable deposit bottles. Retailers and tavern owners liked them since a twenty-four-can case weighed about half as much as a case of bottled beer, took up less shelf space, were easily stackable and offered some control over employee pilferage over draft products. Beer drinkers took notice of the fact that canned beer took up less room in household refrigerators, mechanical dwarves at the time in comparison with today's giants. For those brewers who could afford canning machines, the lighter canned beers gave them a lower-cost alternative in shipping their beers into distant markets. American Can's efforts were soon duplicated by the National Can Company and the Continental Can Company. Although the use of these dinosaurs of beer packaging was phased out by 1970, their lasting legacy is the pointed can opener, nicknamed a "church key," that's still employed in today's kitchens to open some canned fruit and vegetable juices.

The cost of a canning line, however, was more than many of the smaller breweries could afford. A conical-shaped can offered an alternative for those breweries with bottling lines; the coned cans could also be run through the same lines. Regional brewery G. Heileman of La Crosse, Wisconsin was the first brewery to use conicals, with Schlitz following soon after. In addition to the newly introduced flat and coned cans, stubby-shaped, non-returnable bottles called "steinies" were introduced, lighter in weight than standard beer bottles, but still no match for cans' retail advantages. By the beginning of World War II, packaged beer had surpassed sales of draft beer, 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent. For those breweries that had settled on the distribution of draft beer after Repeal, the continued shift to drinking at home and the introduction of these new containers now made the purchase of a bottling or canning line imperative for breweries.

Beer and War

With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and our treaty obligations to our allies in Europe, the war brought a two-sided front, and with it, the need again for conservation of food stuffs and raw materials at home. Nervous brewers nationwide kept a wary eye on Washington, willing to accept grain restrictions and any other reasonable sacrifices that might be asked of the industry, but ready to challenge any potential attempts by prohibitionists to once again implement a moratorium on brewing operations. The painful lessons of grain rationing during WW I and its backdoor use by drys to institute National Prohibition had not been forgotten by the brewing industry.

On March 31, 1942, the use of tin for the civilian production of beer cans was prohibited. A few months later, tin plate for crown caps was reduced to 70 percent of 1941 allotments.

Because of the shortage of bottle caps, the industry actively promoted the civilian use of the metal-conserving quart and cumbersome, half-gallon "picnic" bottles. These 64-ounce goliaths utilized a single crown cap versus five crowns for five 12-ounce bottles.

When America went to war in 1941, G.I.s found conditions much different than their Doughboy counterparts did in WW I. Beer was no longer banned on military posts as it had been in the "Great War"; it was actually encouraged. Mindful of the problems that had arisen from National Prohibition, the Feds decided in 1943 that beer was now a morale booster and decreed that all U.S. breweries must allocate 15 percent of their production for the enjoyment of the Armed Services personnel, mostly in the form of canned beer. While the packaging of beer in metal cans on the home front was prohibited, servicemen continued to enjoy canned beer while serving overseas. Many of the cans were colored in camouflage green, including the tops and bottoms. This was done to lessen the possibility that moonlight reflecting off the bottom of a can during the evening might give an alert sniper the chance to make that final swig of canned beer a G.I.'s last one.

In the comments to the "Links" post yesterday, author and beer historian Bob Skilnik left a gem of a comment (actually, he was expanding on a previous comment):

I'm all for the canning of beer, for all the reasons canning came about in 1935, portability, stackability, cools down faster, lighter than bottles, etc.

But when cans first came out in the Repeal-era, those smaller breweries that had a hard enough time buying a bottling line, used to belittle canning efforts, the most frequent criticisms being that the beer tasted "tinny."

Thus was born the cone top can that could be fitted on a bottling line, saving the expense of owning a bottling and canning line. This did mute the criticisms by smaller breweries of cans because even those with a bottling line could now can their beer. At the heart of the argument was really cost, but that was deflected with criticism of cans themselves. Cone cans were a good idea except they didn't meet the stackability requirement. Because shelf space was and is at a premium, cone cans put themselves out of business.

15-20 years ago, when the craft beer was still crawling, there were a few beer writers who criticized the canning of craft beer (the idea was always out there), using the same old arguments that were bantered about after Krueger started canning in the Repeal-era. They were the same tired arguments, including the "it taste tinny (or metallic)" argument.

In reality, the issue was cost, and a bit more. Even the WSJ article notes that there was a bit of snobbery behind NOT canning craft beer. Heck, there were even a few small craft breweries who didn't bottle, but instead, chose draft beer as their only beer. And hindering the portability of beer can be a killer.

Why only draft? The real reason was cost again. Bottling lines and all the accompaniments are not cheap, but the argument put forth was that these breweries wanted to bring the freshest beer to their customers and draft beer was the only way to go. The argument was transparent. What it really was saying was "We don't have enough money to really be in business." Most of them either eventually bought a bottling line or went out of business.

In the meantime, the bigger breweries, including some fine regional breweries, canned their beer successfully and developed the market for canned beer.

I chuckle now when I read glowing articles about canned craft beer. What it shows is a maturity in the craft industry. Instead of crawling, it's now walking. But to read these articles, it's as though these craft breweries came upon the idea all by themselves. In actuality, as back in the 1930s, the thing that has held back craft breweries from canning en masse is cost, and that annoying snobbism that says, for some reason, craft beer is beyond or above canning. If a small brewery had had enough money and a large enough market, they would have been bottling AND canning their products years ago. The fact that some craft breweries are now canning their beer shows market maturity.

Rather than denigrate the concept of canned beer, embrace it, but don't try to reinvent it either.

I thought this was too good to try to summarize or otherwise mangle, and deserved front page exposure.

Today I spoke with Marty Jones, the "lead singer, publicity/marketing director" for Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery, about the brewery, beer culture and—yes—canned beer. It's not technically what I'd call an interview because I didn't transcribe it, it was really more of an informal phone call, but I took copious notes anyway... so let's call it an informal interview... or maybe blogger chat.

Marty is the "lead singer" quite literally: he's the lead singer of his own band. (Check out his personal website here.) In fact, he's currently putting together a new band and was planning on playing later on in the evening at a Belgian beer bar named the Cheeky Monk. He good-naturedly joked that while he loved the Belgian beers, he'd have to take some Dale's Pale Ale (Oskar Blues' flagship beer) to get any hops.

The brewery loves hops, and we talked briefly about the effects of the hops shortage on OB and the industry; the most significant effect it has had on them thus far is they've raised prices $1 per case with their distributors (which isn't bad, really). They've no plans to change their beers or their hopping, though—last year, they increased production by 55% and are going strong.

So strong, in fact, that they've been setting up a new brewery, which should be producing beer in as little as three to four weeks. This second location should push them toward the 30,000 barrels per year mark (last year they produced approximately 13,000 barrels).

On Canning

Oskar Blues started canning their beer in 2002, and was the first American microbrewer to do so—there were a few, Marty tells me, who actually had some beers contract brewed and canned prior to that, but OB was the first to do it all in-house.

The reason they started canning? "Why not?" In fact, they had received an unsolicited fax from Cask Brewing Systems out of Canada and instead of tearing up the fax (like everyone else they knew did), they hung on to it. Dale Katechis (founder of OB) wanted to start packaging the as-then on-tap, brewpub-only beers and this offer seemed to dovetail nicely with the fax offering from Cask Systems.

Well, they actually hung on to it to laugh because they thought it was so funny, the thought of craft beer in a can. But after a while they got to, "Why not?"

The original canning system worked on two cans at once, and they've since moved to a five-can filling system. While the cans run through the automated filling and seaming system (each can is seamed individually), all six-packs of cans are still hand-packed.

(You can see the canning and packing system in operation in the video on their Beer page.)

Obviously, being the first microbrewer to offer their beer in cans, there was a big education process. (There still is, to an extent.) The cause was helped by winning a blind tasting of 25 beers held by the New York Times in 2005, as well as the high marks their beers earned in the Wall Street Journal that I linked to previously. They're proud of what they've accomplished, and their continued growth speaks for itself.

One last takeaway from our conversation... Marty tells me there are currently 25 microbrewers that are canning their beers, many of whom came to Oskar Blues to learn about the canning process. OB is friendly with them, and glad to help out. This ties into something we talked about at the beginning of our chat, about how the Beer World (my term) is really very congenial, where everyone (mostly) gets along and helps each other out, with no animosity. It's part of the culture; everyone is friends with everyone else and is happy to see them succeed.

Marty is also very graciously sending me samples of Oskar Blues beers to review; I'll write about those as I get them (and extend my Theme Week as necessary).

Thanks, Marty, for the time and conversation!

As I dig around the web on the topic of canned beer, I've come across some gems:

• From the comments: Surly Brewing, in Minnesota, cans several of their beers: Bender, Furious, CynicAle, and SurlyFest. All in 16 ounce cans, the latter two are seasonal. ("Our canned beer is not filtered or pasteurized, so keep it cold. This is the same great beer that people enjoy from kegs, so treat our cans like a keg.")
• In case you were wondering when canned beer first appeared in the U.S., History.com's "This Day in History" is a good summary:
  

  Canned beer makes its debut on [January 24,] 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production.

• But what about beers outside the United States? Beercans.org has an international history of the subject.
• Even though it's nearly three years old, this article from the Wall Street Journal on the subject covers pretty much everything I'd want to for the Week: history, a profile of Oskar Blues and other brewers, even a beer review taste-off (with chart!). Some good pulls:
  • As of that writing (August 2005), there were "about two dozen" craft brewers in the U.S. canning their beers.
  • This is a great quote that quite adeptly sums up the "can prejudice" I was talking about: "By the early 1980s, the beer can became a symbol of everything that was wrong with brewing among a small, but growing, rank of brewers who were tired of what they called 'national beer.' In their view, the mass-produced, middle-of-the-road, light and overcarbonated beer being made... was as soulless as the cans it usually came in."
  • For the tasting, there appears to be no significant difference between canned and bottled beers; several canned beers scored high and most of the panel couldn't tell the difference.
• Finally, humorously I think, here's a website promoting "International Canned Beer Month" which appears to take up the month of August. It doesn't seem to be serious—other than in a frat-boy drinking kind of way—but I figured, eh, why not.

Caldera Brewing in Ashland, Oregon, currently produces two canned beers: their Pale Ale and IPA. It was the first microbrewery in Oregon to can its beer, and it may be the only one; I'll do some research on that. I reviewed their Pale Ale back in September; my overall remarks:

Hoppier than I expected—still fighting "can prejudice" I guess—and a nice flavorful beer. Slip a few of these amongst the PBR and see what happens.

Not knowing what to expect when I first opened it up, it was an enlightenment. It's weird but I honestly find it tougher to take a beer seriously when it comes in a can... I suppose this is the indoctrination of years of exposure to mass-market canned macrobrews. Even as I opened the Caldera Pale Ale, there was the lingering doubt at the back of my mind.

Rest assured, it's a good beer, definitely worth seeking out if you need to undergo a little "can therapy."

Since 2005, Caldera has been canning this beer, and they give a litany of reasons:

• Cans are simply a better package than a bottle
• Cans completely block out sunlight which erodes a beer's flavor
• Cans are fully recyclable
• Cans chill quicker and keep the cold longer
• Cans are lighter in weight
• Cans are now lined to avoid any metallic taste
• Cans are easy to store
• Cans don't break
• Cans are easier to construct pyramids and model airplanes from

I won't speak to that last option, but I'll definitely have more to write about that list.

BeerAdvocate gives Caldera Pale Ale a grade of B+. RateBeer scores it at 3.27 out of 5, in their 66th percentile.

It's Canned Beer Week here at The Brew Site. This week I'll be writing about canned beers—and not the American Macro variety you can find everywhere. Rather, I'll be exploring American microbrews and imports (particularly all the British ones I see). As well as canning in general, I think; hopefully some more in-depth pieces.

I'm getting a little bit of a late start—we just got back from our Portland trip, and I'll have more to write about that this weekend—but I should have a thing or two to blog about before the day is over.

And if you thought the only beers that came in cans were the cheap, light beers—you might be surprised. Stick around.

That's right, we're heading up to Beervana for the long weekend. Mostly just a relaxing trip, we'll be doing some shopping and some kid-related things, but I imagine there will be a couple of beer-related things going on. We'll definitely be going to John's Marketplace, for instance (with a real camera, this time!), and there's likely at least one brewery/brewpub visit somewhere in there.

I'm thinking I'd like to visit at least one of: Green Dragon, Widmer Gasthaus, Roots, Lucky Lab, and/or Rogue. But we'll see.

We'll have the computer, but I don't know how much I'll be online. Enough to periodically check email, certainly, so if you want to reach me, fill out the contact form. Otherwise, don't expect many (if any) updates till we get back.

Cheers!

One of my local breweries, Bend Brewing Company, currently has a Coconut Cream Stout on tap. On Nitro tap, no less. After work today I stopped in and tried it.

For something I wasn't sure about—I've never had a coconut beer of any kind before—it's quite good. The coconut comes through strong right up front and seems to bring out a creamy chocolate texture to the stout. It's not the cloying sweetness of shredded, packaged coconut, but the real deal.

The stout itself is a mellow, drinkable dryish stout, moderate in alcohol. It finishes dry and roasty. All around, there's a nutty character—starting with the coconut, then drawn out in the malts—that's pretty tasty.

It's worth seeking out, if you're in Central Oregon anytime soon.

It's not too often I see beers from Roots Organic Brewing around here, so when I saw their Island Red in the bottle (around Christmastime, this was), I was sure to pick it up. Roots is out of Portland, and generally earn good buzz.

I had trouble coming up with a style for Island Red, and here's why:

We call this a RED stout. Very full bodied complex ale brewed with a good amount of oats and barley, which lend to the nice bread and malt flavors and help Give this RED a very rich & creamy head.

It's the oats that are unusual here; otherwise, this is a Northwest Red, I think. At 5.7% alcohol, it's not too heavy, either.

(I remember reading somewhere that this is Roots' flagship beer, but I can't swear to that. Also, there's a scarcity of image of it online; I pulled the one I'm running from John Foyston's OregonLive beer blog.)

Appearance: Murky, deep brown-red color when held to the light... almost a brick color. Big three fingers of head built up at first... it's tan with an orange tint, and leaves nice lacing.

Smell: Big malty nose with a Belgian candy sugar sweetness. Subtle, spicy hop character I'm having trouble defining. Reminds me of a Belgian (dark?) ale.

Taste: Hop character is prominent here: spicy, earthy, a punch of resin that's floral but not overwhelming. There's a strongish alcohol note that has to be false if it's truly 5.7%. Trying to ID this hop (or hops) but it's eluding me... Liberty? Challenger? Chinook? A bit dry, not at all like the malty sweet nose. Some roast malts (or even black patent) contributing to the bitterness...

Mouthfeel: Somewhat light, thirst quenching—a creamy, almost watery character that's not negative or detracting at all. Refreshing with a bit of a hop bite.

Overall: It left me scratching my head a bit over it... I'll be honest, it's not my favorite, but it's not at all bad, either. A "Red Stout." Hmm.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of C ("mediocre"), with only four reviews. On RateBeer, it scores 3.49 out of 5 and is in their 78th percentile.

100 Percent of Profits Donated To Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR)

Calling it a beer for hope and in honor of the passing of a long time friend, SBS Imports will once again offer its specially crafted Reunion Beer.

Reunion Beer is the inspiration and collaboration of Alan Shapiro, president of SBS Imports, Pete Slosberg, creator of Pete’s Wicked Ale™, and Virginia MacLean, long time friend and colleague, as a way to raise awareness of and donations for the Institute of Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research. All met during the early days of Pete’s Brewing Company. Virginia passed away from the disease last June, four months after the initial release of Reunion.

Read full press release

Russian River Brewing to distribute Port Brewing/Lost Abbey beers in Northern California

Port Brewing announced today that Russian River Brewing Company will distribute Port's beers in the San Francisco Bay and Northern California regions. Under the agreement Russian River will provide Port's full range of products, including the much heralded Lost Abbey labels, to Russian River draft and bottle accounts.

"We're very excited about this agreement," said Port Brewing director of brewery operations Tomme Arthur. "Russian River is one of the most respected breweries in the world and serves the top draft houses and bottle shops in Northern California. Having them distribute our beers is great for our business."

Read full press release

2° Below is the Fall/Winter seasonal release from New Belgium Brewing. Rather than a Winter Warmer, though, it's an ESB (Extra Special Bitter), dry-hopped, at 6.6% alcohol by volume. NB says:

We like to think we beat winter at its own game with 2°Below Winter Ale- a bright, warming blast of Sterling and Liberty hops along with tawny-roasted malts. By pushing our 2°Below into a final, nearly freezing state, its ample structure develops a brilliant clarity.

Dry-hopping during fermentation creates a rosy, floral nose with a hint of pepper spice and subtle, estery undertones. Weighing in at 6.6% alcohol by volume with 30 IBU's, 2°Below provides a bright, hoppy palate and a cheery warm afterglow.

Amusingly, it sounds a bit like Coors Light's "frost brewed" process. Or any of the macros that boast of "ice cold filtering" or what have you.

Appearance: Very nice amber color, perfectly clear. One finger of off-white head with the consistency of beaten egg whites.

Smell: Sweet and hoppy. Diacetyl—butterscotch—punctuated by spicy and slightly woody hops.

Taste: Sweet and malty with a hint of roasted grains and plenty of biscuit. It's warming, too, once the sweetness washes down. Hops aren't as prominent as they are on the nose—there's a bit of a base there that's a tad spicy though.

Mouthfeel: Pleasantly medium-bodied with a nice dry bite to it—not sure if it's the alcohol or the hops but it works.

Overall: I rather like it; it's not the usual kind of beer you expect when you think "Winter Ale" but I think that works in its favor.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B ("good"). On RateBeer, it scores 3.3 out of 5 and is in their 70th percentile.

I'm casting about for ideas for this month's Theme Week, which starts (as always) on the third Monday: February 18th. (Which also happens to be President's Day here in the U.S.)

One of my first thoughts was to do a "Fruit Beer" theme, in honor of Valentine's Day. (Or perhaps a "Valentine's Theme"—fruit beers, chocolate beers, like that.) But I'm not that organized, and February isn't exactly the month for fruit beers anyway, seasonally speaking.

Since Deschutes released their Buzzsaw Brown early this year, and since I've also seen BridgePort's Beertown Brown appear on the shelves recently, I may opt for a "Brown Ale" theme. But it still seems a little early for that.

The other possibility I've been thinking about for some time is a "Canned Beer" theme. Naturally, I'm thinking beyond the American macros that come in cans... both Caldera Brewing and Oskar Blues are microbrewers known for their canned beers (and quite good ones, at that), and there are a fair number of imports that come in cans, as well.

The Canned Beer idea is sounding pretty good.

Now that some of the furor over Deschutes Brewery's The Abyss has died down, I thought it was high time to open up the bottle that Deschutes very graciously sent me and write about it.

(Actually, I don't know that it has died down completely... there are still bottles of it on sale on eBay, with some completed sale prices in the $60s... Steve has gone in search of it... I keep seeing the random blog post about it bubble up... you get the idea.)

The label on the bottle says it's brewed with molasses and licorice, with "33% aged in oak and oak bourbon barrels." I take that to mean a third of the volume was barrel-aged, and then blended back in with the rest of the beer. And oh yeah, it's a big 11% alcohol by volume. This is a Russian Imperial Stout, after all.

And incidentally, the label itself is great. Simplicity itself; that's probably why it works for me.

Appearance: Inky black with a dense, creamy chocolate milk head... completely opaque. Thick and leaves a nice sticky lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell: Dark coffee, dark bittersweet chocolate, roasted grains, and charred wood... a hint of bourbon and black licorice.

Taste: Creamy, roasted coffee-bean chocolate that seems to melt away thick and creamy in the mouth. Ironically, I think this is better from the bottle than it was on tap. Turkish coffee splashed with Kentucky bourbon. Lots of roasty notes, tangy wood charcoal, smoky undertones. The name is very apt—it's easy to get lost in the flavors... As it warms I get more of the barrel (wood) notes and bourbon.

Mouthfeel: Full and rich and incredibly smooth and creamy... finishes dry but not at all harsh... a bit of residual heat from the alcohol.

Overall: Believe all the hype, this beer fulfills and exceeds it. Not kidding. A line from Charlie Papazian's New Complete Joy of Homebrewing comes to mind: "Liquid sex in a bottle." Yeah, I went there. Deal with it. I bought a case + 2 bottles and I may go back for more if I can find it.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores the top grade of A+ ("world class"). On RateBeer, it scores 4.16 out of 5 and is in their 100th percentile.

One year ago I wrote about Beer Brewing Software, reviewing five Windows programs and ultimately picking BeerSmith as the overall best brewing software available. (It still is, by the way.) At the time, I wrote:

I only looked at programs that run on a single computer—even though in this wired-internet-"web 2.0" world it seems like a no-brainer that there should be web-based brewing sites that do all the same things, only online and shareable with other users out there. Perhaps there are, but that's a subject for a future article.

Well, that future article is finally here, and in surveying the field of online, web-based beer brewing software, I've found three sites that aim to fit that niche, but my overall conclusion is that the field is wide open.

Now, my criteria might be a bit limiting: like many of the "next generation" websites out there, I want a "Web 2.0", free-and-unlimited-access web application. (It could be ad-supported, or offer pay-for-premium access somehow; but generally, I want to be able to create, save, and share as many recipes as I want without being charged. I'm greedy, I know.) Essentially, I want to be able to access and manage my brewing recipes and notes from anywhere online.

Let's take a detailed look at those three sites, and then cover just what it is that should go into such a website.

Read on...

This press release came into my email today. Cinder Cone Red, from Deschutes, is one of the more popular of their seasonal releases around here; it's also solidly in the "Northwest Red" style of beers. (Cf.)

Also, they've changed the label design up a bit; check out the before and after pics after the release.

Deschutes Brewery’s Cinder Cone Red is the perfect way to end a day on one of Central Oregon’s scenic trails - with a diverse selection of hops and barley, this flavorful ale captivates any thirsty palate. Amarillo hops showcase the intense citrus aromas and defined bitterness, while crystal malt and black barley give Cinder Cone Red its distinguished reddish hue.

As the weather warms and spring takes hold, grab a Cinder Cone Red to celebrate the return of longer days and more time to spend outdoors. Our brewers and pub chefs agree, Cinder Cone Red pairs brilliantly with that inaugural rack of barbecue ribs announcing the return of grilling season!

Cinder Cone Red is available this year in 6-packs, 12-packs and at draft locations from late March until June when summer and Twilight Ale arrive.

5.4% Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
55 International Bitterness Units (IBU)

Here are the labels; old on the left, new on the right.

This weekend—Friday and Saturday the 8th and 9th to be exact—is the KLCC Microbrew Festival over in Eugene (Oregon). From 5 to 11pm each day, it's at the Lane Events Center Exhibit Hall (796 W 13th) and costs $10 admission. Tasters are $1.

(There's also a homebrew competition; it's a $10 entry fee but you get subsequently get free entry to the 'fest.)

This is a big deal for Eugene. KLCC is the Public Radio station over there, and they put on a good fest; just check out this list of beers to see what I mean:

Alaskan, Juneau AK - Amber & IPA
Anderson Valley, Boonville CA - Boont Amber & Double Nickel Imperial IPA
Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis MO - Bareknuckle Stout & Shock Top Wit
Ayinger, Aying, Germany - Brau Weisse & Ayinger Marzen
Belhaven, Scotland - Scottish Ale
Big Sky, Missoula MT - Powder Hound & Moose Drool
Bridgeport, Portland OR - Beertown Brown & Bridgeport IPA
Calapooia, Albany OR - Chili Beer & Kringle Krack Strong Ale
Cascade Lakes, Redmond OR - Monkey Face Porter & Bald Mt. Bock
Deschutes, Bend OR - Green Lakes Organic Ale & Abyss Imperial Stout
Dogfish Head, Milton DE - 60 Minute IPA & Indian Brown Ale
Eugene City, Eugene OR - Honey Orange Wheat & 100 Meter Ale
Full Sail, Hood River OR - LTD 01 & Slipknot Imperial IPA
High Street, Eugene OR - Heavy Hand Strong Ale & Oat Stout
Hopworks Urban, Portland OR - Organic IPA & Organic HUB Lager
Kona Brewing Co., Kailua-Kona HI - Longboard Lager & Pipeline Porter
Lagunitas, Petaluma CA - Hop Stoopid & Czech Pils
Lang Creek, Marion MT - Mandarin Orange Hefeweizen & Cherry Porter
Laurelwood, Portland OR - Organic Free Range Red & Vanilla Porter
Lindemans, Vlezenbeek, Belgium - Framboise Lambic & Pomme Lambic
Lompoc, Portland OR - Proletariat Red & Strong Draft
Lost Coast, Eureka CA - Double Porter & Downtown Brown & Great White
MacTarnahans, Portland OR - Amber & Blackwatch Porter
Mad River, Blue Lake, CA - Steelhead Extra Pale & Steelhead Double IPA
Mendocino, Ukiah CA - Red Tail Ale & White Hawk IPA
New Belgium, Fort Collins CO - Springboard Ale & Tripple
Ninkasi, Eugene OR - Tricerahops Double IPA, Oatis Oatmeal Stout, Lady of Avalon Dark German Lager
North Coast, Fort Bragg CA - Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout & Brother Thelonius Belgian Abbey Ale
Oregon Trail, Corvallis OR - Ginseng Porter & Wit
Pelican, Pacific City OR - India Pelican Ale, Tsunami Stout, MacPelicans Wee Heavy Ale & Doryman's Dark Ale
Pyramid, Seattle WA - Thunderhead IPA & Snowcap Ale
Redhook Ale Brewery, Woodinville WA - Copperhook Spring Ale & Long Hammer IPA
Rogue Ales, Newport OR - Chocolate Stout & Kell's Irish Lager
Roots Organic, Portland OR - McAdams Milk Stout & Island Red
Sierra Nevada, Chico CA - Pale Ale & ESB (Early Spring Beer)
Siletz, Siletz OR - Chocolate Porter & Winter Warmer Ale
Skagit River, Mount Vernon WA - Scullers IPA & Dunkelwiezen
Southern Oregon Brewing, Medford OR - Pale & Porter
Steelhead, Eugene OR - Behemoth Strong Ale & Wiley Rye.P.A.
Stone, San Diego, CA - Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Ruination IPA, Stone IPA & Arrogant Bastard
Strongbow Cider, Hereford, England - Strongbow Cider
Wakonda, Florence OR - Beachcomber Creme Ale & Timberbeast IPA
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland OR - W'08 Crimson Wheat, Drop Top Amber Ale & Widmer Hefeweizen
Willamette, Eugene OR - Amber, IPA, Hefeweizen & Espresso Stout
Wolavers, Middlebury VT - Oatmeal Stout & Brown Ale
Wyder's Cider, Kelowna, BC, Canada - Pear Cider & Raspberry Cider
Young's, London, England - Double Chocolate Stout

Yes, that's a lot of beer. In addition, all the Eugene brewers get together and brew a "Collaboration" brew: this year it's a Bavarian Dunkelweizen. How it works is, five brewers (Eugene City, High Street, Ninkasi, Steelhead, & Willamette Breweries) each brew this Collaboration recipe, and you can compare all five of them together.

This is definitely a festival I want to go to someday. This year—not so much. Not because I don't want to; rather, between having plans this weekend and the terrible driving conditions over the mountains, it just wouldn't work out. Maybe next year!

Bad Elf (subtitled "Winter's Ale") is an English IPA from Ridgeway Brewing by way of Shelton Brothers. Their site says this about the beer:

Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale. A generous amount of famous English malt is masterfully balanced with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including English Cascade – per barrel.

At 6% alcohol, it's not too heavy... but it's not a session beer, either.

Appearance: Honey-orange, fairly clear. Fizzy white head that dissipated quickly.

Smell: English hops—that spicy, bitter character like a Cascade but no real citrus. [Wrote that before I saw the "English Cascade" in the website description.] Bitter toasty biscuit.

Taste: Strongly bitter over caramel, slightly roasty malt. Nicely done version of the style; fairly classic if a little vanilla.

Mouthfeel: A bit shy of medium-bodied, but with a nice presence.

Overall: My notes were a bit sparse, but it's a good beer. Despite the whole "Bad" theme to the name (as with the other beers in the series), it's not a flamboyant beer at all.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.06 out of 5, and is in their 49th percentile.

For my birthday a little over a month ago my wife got me a Beer of the Month subscription. We had received the first box a few days before, so I was able to actually open the box on my birthday and see what beers I received.

The first beer I pulled out was Nutfield Old Man Ale... which my wife thought was hilarious since she's been going on about how I'm "old". (I'm not. Trust me.)

The Old Nutfield Brewing Company is based in New Hampshire, and the Old Man Ale is their version of an American Pale Ale. It's 5% alcohol by volume, and I'm interested to note that their grain bill (which they list) includes wheat, and the yeast used is Ringwood.

Appearance: Very clear, golden straw colored... nice white head on top that's thick and fizzy.

Smell: Grassy, floral hop, lightly toasted malts. That toasty character is prominent.

Taste: Light, crisp, and bitter... like an ESB. Toasted malts—light cereal—clean bitter hop, a touch of butterscotch. Biscuity... soda crackers?

Mouthfeel: Crisp, nice clean bitter bite. It's shy of medium-bodied, but it has a nice non-watery/non-thin presence.

Overall: I want to call this an English Bitter (or ESB) rather than an American Pale Ale. (The information sheet that came with the beers also calls out the British flavor profile.) Nothing wrong with that; makes for a satisfying session beer.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of C+. On RateBeer, it scores 2.86 out of 5 and is in their 33rd percentile.

This is a wrap-up to the Session wrap-up I posted last night and updated today... highlighting the extra links that came in since I'd first posted. (Updated)

• Beer at Joe's covers Mikkeller Big Worse with a unique slant: video blog (vlog?). Not quite in the way you think, either.
• Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin fights deadlines to get his Session post in: on Anchor's Old Foghorn. As usual, Jay's writing is lively and long and full of interesting tidbits; I didn't know, for instance, that Old Foghorn was the first barleywine brewed in America after Prohibition.
• Late entry! Greg Clow at Beer, Beats & Bites writes about Legacy Ale, from Victoria, BC.

The total number of bloggers participating, by my count, is 39. We wrote 41 entries (a couple wrote two), and over 65 beers were reviewed (along with three posts that weren't about a specific beer).

The most popular barleywines, by my count of reviews:

• Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (various vintages): 6
• Flying Dog's Horn Dog: 4
• Anchor Old Foghorn: 4
• Stone's Old Guardian: 4
• Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot: 3
• Talon True Style Barley Wine: 3
• Mikkeller Big Worse: 2
• Full Sail Old Boardhead: 2
• Clipper City Below Decks: 2

If I were to count the notes to the Thomas Hardy's vertical tasting Tomme Arthur posted, then that would win by a landslide: that's 32 beers!

And, the announcement for Session #13—the one-year birthday of the Session!—is up over at Beer Activist: Organic Beer.

At the risk of making my Sessions "All Deschutes, all the time!", I do have to say this is a well-timed topic since Deschutes Brewery just recently released their first certified organic beer: Green Lakes Organic Ale. It's quite good, and I imagine I'll be writing about it...

Wow, there sure are a lot of bloggers participating in The Session... I think my prediction about The Session (and beer blogging in general) taking off this year is on-target.

You've likely already read my Session contribution... so, here are all the rest. In order to be fair, I've tried to list the links in the order that I received them, or first came across them in the blogs if I didn't receive an email.

Updated! More below.

• Over at Beers, beer, beers, Craig reviews Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, and notes that he tends to avoid American-style barleywines as too hoppy. He finds Blithering Idiot well-balanced and "a fine choice" for his one barleywine of the year.
• Jeff at Make Mine Potato (great name!) reviews Three Floyds Behemoth. I also have to admire his taste in barleywines and the "six month rule" is giving me something to think about.
• Musings Over a Pint: David delves into Legend Brewing's 2007 Barleywine, and notes that in the U.S., barleywines are labeled "Barleywine Style Ale"—a governmental relic provided to avoid confusion with actual wine, no doubt.
• The Beer Nut: Masta blasta: The 'Nut reviews Brainblásta, Ireland's "only regularly-produced barleywine" and strong (for the country used to session ales) at 7% alcohol.
• The Dude at Akelas Biggins generally doesn't care for barleywines, considering them overdone, yet finds something to like with Flying Dog's Horn Dog. We won't hold a general distaste for the style against him, though. :)
• Kieran from Beer from the Motherland (down under—New Zealand!) writes about Gales Prize Old Ale from the now-defunct Horndean Brewery.
• Robert at Explore the Pour joins the party with a review of Real Ale's Sisyphus. No worries on that being a hard task, though; he finds it to be the "easiest to drink barleywine I've ever had."
• Rick Lyke at Lyke2Drink relates some nostalgic history behind his first encounters with barleywine, and reviews three: Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, Talon True Style Barley Wine, and Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine.
• At The Barley Blog, Ray reviews a classic: Anchor's Old Foghorn Ale. (And hints at a possible Part 2.)
• Ron at Hop Talk also picked Talon Barley Wine, finding that he liked it despite concerns over brewer Mendocino's past quality control issues.
• Meanwhile, Ron's partner in crime Al at Hop Talk reviews Blithering Idiot—and quite likes it... though he didn't the first time he tried it a decade ago. That's three so far for Blithering Idiot. I may have to look into acquiring some...
• Tim at Sioux Brew "overwrote, over analyzed and over drank" and came up with five reviews: Old Foghorn, Upstream Brewing's Batch 1000 Barley Wine, Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot 2006 and 2008, and Stone's Old Guardian. His top picks—Old Guardian and Old Foghorn.
• Wilson at brewvana also reviewed more than one beer: Flying Dog's Horn Dog (made him smile) and Bell's Third Coast Old Ale (a chore to finish).
• Over on Blog About Beer, Luke posts his very first Session entry—congrats! He (re)posts a review of Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale, which he quite likes. Welcome Luke!
• Eric at Eric's Brew Blog enjoyed his very first barleywine: Green Flash Barleywine.
• Roger from the Bottled Llama Brewing Blog picked Stone's Old Guardian and finds a lot to like in the glass.
• Stephen Beaumont manages to beat Stan to the punch with his first barleywine entry at On the House: starting with a well-informed breakdown of the style, he takes a good look at Full Sail's Old Boardhead. The verdict: highly enjoyable and welcome in front of the fireplace.
  His second blog entry over on That's the Spirit! reviews three barleywines: 2004, 2005, and 2007 vintages of barleywine from Toronto's Mill Street Brewery.
• The good folks at the Flying Dog News blog fill us in on their (of course) Flying Dog Horn Dog, which is turning out to be a popular beer today.
• On the Beercraft Blog, Mark reminisces about Anchor's Old Foghorn and names their current favorite: Rohrbach 15th Anniversary Barley Wine.
• Alan from A Good Beer Blog gives us three: Hair of the Dog's 2006 Doggie Claws (briefly), Sierra Nevada's 2006 Bigfoot, and Stone's Old Guardian.
• Lucy Saunders, author of The Best of American Beer & Food, writes, naturally enough, about pairing barleywines with food and provides a delicious recipe for Barley Wine Glazed Walnuts.
• Captain Hops at Beer Haiku Daily comes up with three haikus (naturally!) for three beers: Clipper City's Below Decks, Victory Brewing's Old Horizontal, and Criminally Bad Elf.
• Stan at Appellation Beer reviews Lost Abbey's The Angel's Share (a fantastic beer I can personally attest to) and passes along a short interview with Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur.
• Keith from Brainard Brewing doesn't cover any specific beer, rather has a great story about barleywine, cheese, and spending quality time with his son. (Keith followed up here with a late addition tasting post to supplement.)
• The guys at Flossmoor Station were invited to Three Floyds for their barleywine and strong ale tasting. If that doesn't make everybody jealous, I don't know what does. Of course, they took along some of their Sheol Barleywine as well.
• Flying Dog's Beer Dinners site has a post talking about a dinner pairing of their Barrel-Aged Horn Dog with "smelly Stilton cheese." They also include some HD video of the dinner.
• Bill at BEERJANGLIN' is learning to love barleywines, and writes about a number of his experiences, including Mendocino's Talon, Stone's Old Guardian, Clipper City's Below Decks, Brooklyn Monster Ale, Pittsfield Brew Works' Bees Knees Barleywine, and Berkshire Brewing's Barleywine.
• Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey writes (for "the Blogging Day") about a vertical tasting of Thomas Hardy's Strong Ale he attended back in 2004 and posts his complete notes. That's a vertical tasting of all the Thomas Hardy beers from 1968 until 2003... talk about jealousy...
• Nate at Nebraska Beer joins the Session for the first time (welcome!) and reviews the 2006 and 2007 vintages of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and his own homebrewed barleywine, Old Krusty the Klown. I believe this is the first homebrew reviewed today.
• Over on the Pacific Brew News Blog, Rick discusses barleywines by starting out with, "I got nothing. Really. What more can be said?" Fortunately, he still manages to find something to say!
• One of the deans of American beer writing, Lew Bryson, has a head-to-head featuring 1999 Full Sail Old Boardhead  and 2003 BridgePort Old Knucklehead. Nobody writes quite like Lew... go read it and see.
• Matt at Southern Suds put together a vertical tasting of J.W. Lees Vintage Harvest Ale, 1998 through 2004 vintages. I'm getting jealous again...
• The Beer Philosopher, Shawn, starts late and reviews a 2006 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot.
• William Brand, of the What's On Tap California Beer Newsletter writes about Alaskan Brewing's Barleywine, which is bottled and available outside of Alaska for the first time this year.
• Bill from It's Pub Night up in Portland writes about Lucky Lab's Old Yeller. I haven't been to the Lucky Lab in ages and ages, but this sure makes me want to get up there, like, right now.
• Beer at Joe's covers Mikkeller Big Worse with a unique slant: video blog (vlog?). Not quite in the way you think, either.
• Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin fights deadlines to get his Session post in: on Anchor's Old Foghorn. As usual, Jay's writing is lively and long and full of interesting tidbits; I didn't know, for instance, that Old Foghorn was the first barleywine brewed in America after Prohibition.
• Late entry! Greg Clow at Beer, Beats & Bites writes about Legacy Ale, from Victoria, BC.

That's what I've gathered so far... 39 bloggers, 41 entries, over 65 beers reviewed, and three non-beer-specific posts. Wow. That's a lot of work! I imagine there will still be a few more entries trickling in this weekend, and I'll update accordingly.

What a great Session! Thanks to all for participating (and to those who may yet participate).

According to my notes, next month's Session will be hosted by Chris O'Brien of the excellent Beer Activist blog. Look for his topic announcement soon. I'm looking forward to it!

It's the first Friday of the month, which means it's time for The Session, where bloggers (beer and otherwise) all over the web write on a given beer-related topic, and the results are all compiled. I'm very pleased to be hosting The Session this month, which means I'll be collecting links to all the posts on the topic I had chosen: Barleywine.

Barleywine is one of my absolute favorite styles. One of the notable characteristics of the style is its high alcohol content: ranging from 7%-9% (by volume) on up. But that's not what lands the style on my list of favorites; rather, these are intense and complex ales made for sipping and reflection, much like a cognac or a Scotch. What better time of year to approach it than the dead of winter, when the snow blankets the ground and the nights are long?

(A quick note about the style name... traditionally it's written "barley wine" but a more recent trend is to combine these into the single "barleywine." I myself prefer the latter, as I think it distinguishes itself better from "wine" and just, well, seems to flow better. But both are correct and I won't quibble.)

Of the various beers I considered writing about, I ultimately chose Mirror Mirror from Deschutes Brewing, for several reasons. For starters, I have—or rather, had, since I'm now short one bottle—two bottles of this beer, vintaged 2005... which means it's nearly three years old and I've been eager to try it.

For another, it was the first in Deschutes' Reserve Series of beers, of which the most notable recently has been The Abyss. But in 2004, well before The Abyss appeared, the brewers crafted a draft-only barleywine: Mirror Mirror. The name came from (if I'm remembering the story correctly, which I may not be) the fact that they based the beer on the recipe for the Brewery's popular Mirror Pond Pale Ale—only doubling the malt bill. It was a big hit at the pub.

When they brewed this beer again, in 2005, they aged it for four months in French Oak wine barrels before releasing it in bottles as the first of their Reserve Series.

When it came out, I loved it, and realized that for a limited run on a beer like this, storing a few extra bottles away could be a good thing. So I bought two.

And what a good thing it was!

It sits at a warm 11.5% alcohol by volume, and only came in 22-ounce bombers. You'll notice the "Mirror Mirror" glass in my picture, too... I picked up a pair of those snifters at the annual Garage Sale Deschutes holds, for something like $1 each.

Appearance: Thick tawny-amber, approaching brown. Creamy, wood putty-colored head.

Smell: Wonderfully sweet and fruity and complex; a touch of (charred) wood coupled with sweet alcohol heat; sour black cherry; black licorice; leather; plummy Scotch.

Taste: Sweet wash of alcohol strength and dark fruit (prunes, dates, black currants) followed by a dry oak character that blends it all together nicely. This is very, very nice... no harsh notes, it's warming and sweet and malty with a hint of Belgian rock candy—darker sugars. A hint of toasted honey malt paired with brown sugar and molasses... there's a bit of rum, even bourbon, here. A cognac of a beer for sure.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and smooth and chewy (but creamy), and that effect that starts syrupy sweet and finishes dry (with woody notes) is amazing.

Overall: Perfection. I love love love this beer, and while I'm glad I have one bottle left... I need to find more of these!

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.64 out of 5 and is in their 91st percentile... high marks all around.

But wait! The Session's only just begun! I'll be collecting all the links to the other Session posts I can find today (and this weekend, as they trickle in), and be posting the roundup later today (or tomorrow).

While you're waiting... open a barleywine.