If a beer blogger could have a beer list, what would it look like?

There are so many factors. First, you’d simply want it to kick ass. You’d want a hundred taps with a complete range of styles and breweries the world over. You’d want killer local beer. You’d want cask. You’d want bottle conditioned. You’d want to outdo everything that’s ever been done.

But this isn’t a dream list, or even a desert island sort of exercise. This is for the place I’m opening. Here. I live in rural Iowa, not exactly Beer Mecca. Since the world’s not perfect, I had to make some choices. A hundred taps would be a scientific study in sour lines. A hundred bottles would be an expensive cellaring experiment.

I’m about a week away from opening Electric Burrito, and my beer has begun arriving. I have two taps that will feature Iowa beers, three Mexican beers and around a dozen regionally focused microbrewed bottles. I’ll have an Iowa-made hard cider. We’ll feature Native wines from a new winery that’s but a couple of miles from our front door, as well as a chard and a cab for those that don’t find Iowa hybrid grapes groovy.

What have I settled in on?

On Tap: Millstream Brewing Company’s John’s Generations White Ale (Amana, IA) and Raccoon River Brewing Company’s Stonecutter Stout (Des Moines, IA).

In bottles: Millstream’s Iowa Pale Ale and Schild Brau, Schell Brewing Company’s Pilsner (New Ulm, MN), Summit Brewing Company’s Extra Pale Ale (St. Paul, MN), Boulevard Brewing Company’s Wheat Beer (Kansas City, MO), Goose Island’s IPA and Nut Brown Ale (Chicago, IL), New Belgium Brewing Company’s Fat Tire (Fort Collins, CO), Sutliff Hard Cider (Lisbon, IA), as well as Corona, Dos Equis and Negra Modelo (it is a Mexican joint, after all).

Even with this modest lineup, I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’ve got staff and a community to educate. This is a cool little town with many good folks, and I’m simply going to tap into the potential. There’s tons of it, with more on the horizon, and that’s not just me talking like Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy (”I’ve got vision and the rest of the world wears bi-focals.”)

If you’re planning your vacation, come see me.

Dandelion Wine

“Just the yellow stuff. No green.”

That’s what the dude was emphatic about, and I could see his point. I took notes on his process, because this stuff was tasty. Yes, one day I would have a yard full of the weeds, and I would do something good with them. Dandelion wine.

Well, one day has arrived, and after a long, cold winter, I’ve got hops in the ground and a green lawn with yellow polka dots. It’s time to get that flowery concoction started.

Basically, his instructions were four cups of dandelion heads and zest of one orange per gallon. Steep overnight before adding sugar and yeast, blah, blah.

The hard part is getting four cups per gallon. I think. Now I’m not sure. Did he mean pick four cups’ worth of heads, then dig out the yellow, or did he mean four cups of yellow stuff? With a sunburn and stained but fragrant fingers, I made an executive decision that what I had was the right amount. I took it to mean four cups of the yellow loveliness. The problem was that they just kept weighting themselves down in the bowl. I was stuck at two cups for 45 minutes. Was that a fluffy or packed four cups per gallon?

Originally, I was going to do five gallons. Half straight-up, and half with an additional pound or two of honey, and a blast of saffron.

Speaking of saffron, I can see why it’s so expensive, after my day with dandelions.

In any case, I settled in on two and a half gallons. It’s steeping now. Tonight, I’ll add five pounds of sugar and remove my hop, er, dandelion sack. And then I’ll wait…

Beeralicious day of nostalgia

“The first step of the cure is…a kiss.”

–Gene Simmons

It’s been a bloody good day.

I’m on the tail end of brewing my Ceremony Abbey Ale and am soaked in good nostalgia. For one, I haven’t brewed in a while. My last two batches were 10 gallons each and as your math skills might deduce, they’ve lasted twice as long as a fiver. So I’m happy about the variety that this day will bring me in a few weeks, all the more since I intend to double barrel half of this batch (bourbon and red wine).

This beer gets me nostalgic because I’ve got raisins in the fermenter and I can just taste Raison D’Etre (the thing I want out of life) in my head–I haven’t had that Dogfish Head elixir since I left Raleigh nearly a year ago. Been craving it lately. Calling Dr. Love…

The Raleigh thing is a little nostalgic as I’ve spent part of this brew day reading the tale of My Life on Craft’s tour de South. It’s been torture reading Mary’s adventures in some of my old stomping grounds (World Beer Fest, Flying Saucer, The Tavern, Raleigh Times, Jack of the Wood, Sam’s to name a few) and my old beers (Duck-Rabbit, Big Boss, Carolina Brewery, Foothills and Green Man to name a few). All those photos bring my only cringe of the day, as my camera recently hit the pavement.

Can I have a beer blog without a camera? Not a very good one. Can I presently afford a new camera? Not really. To remedy this situation, won’t you please send brewvana an email addressed to Wonderful Beer Wife asking her to help keep brewvana vibrant by buying me a new camera. If we are flooded with pleas, she’ll think I’m famous and important, and break down. I’m just sure of it.

This whole camera thing is made easier to bear today, because this entire brew day has been awash in the crackle of vinyl. My awesome Uncle Jake gave me his turn table, replacing this too-long hole in my heart. It has been Kiss’ Rock and Roll Over–over and over and over again–all day long. This is a big time sentimental album for me. It’s the first I ever owned–I got it for Christmas when I was six years old. My grandma still has a picture of me opening it. No one can air guitar this album like I can–they don’t know where the skips are. (It’s funny how not hearing something for a decade doesn’t matter; I’ve nailed every lick and every skip all day long.)

Great day. Great day. I may even fire up a batch of dandelion wine a little later.

You’re such a jewel in the rough,

Wilson

The Session #15–How did it all start?

My mom and dad met on a blind date. They married. I arrived.

I had the beer gene. That’s the long and short of it. But it’s always the long story that’s more interesting, right?

I always looked forward to drinking beer, way back when I was a kid. I wasn’t wooed by cartoon characters or curvy babes. I just thought beer looked right for me. I started in earnest when I was 15. Those imbibing days are a world away from today. Cheap beer in mass quantities. Multifacetedly sad, but true.

There was a time back in high school when a few of us discussed making our own beer. It’s probably a good thing that we didn’t, as we’d have been impatient, unsanitary and five gallons wouldn’t have been a big enough pay-off, given the effort involved. Worse, I may have been deterred from ever again giving it a go.

In college, getting into coffee and cooking in restaurants got me more tuned into flavor, so I started to show interest in a better beer. Ale seemed an illusive entity. I tracked one down here and there, though a college budget doesn’t allow much of that. I took an advanced public speaking course, and that’s where the light bulb flickered more brightly. One of my classmates did a demonstration speech on homebrewing. While my cheesecake speech wowed the class, his inspired me to strive for a new hobby as soon as I graduated and got a “real” job.

That’s what happened. I moved to the Navajo Reservation in Northern Arizona to teach, hit the homebrew shop in Flagstaff and began brewing right away. It was a German Altbier, and though I forgot to add the hops, it was bottled glory. Like every first homebrew.

My early commercial transition beers included the likes of Bass and Newcastle. And sampling at brewpubs revealed the beauty of stout. No more cheap beer. It was an exciting time. My inborn predisposition for loving beer was one thing. But it was choice that brought me Good Beer. But then I’ve also chosen to jump out of airplanes and off of cliffs, drive demolition derby cars and climb vertical rock faces. Some folks are going to need a little more prodding and massaging to make the switch. We converted have work to do.

Whatever I do, I try to do well. I partied very well, way back when. Now I drink well. There’s a big difference between drinking hard and drinking well. Life is better this way. Brewvana, even.

__________

Many thanks to Boak and Bailey for hosting this month’s Session!

Happy brewvana Day

Cheers! Prost! Salud! and Yee-Haw! Today’s brewvana’s birthday.

This pensive little beer blog has been pouring harmony, beer and joy into cyberspace for one year today. It’s been fun looking back on this year in a number of different ways: experiences, beers, friends. There’s a lot of energy that goes into a focused beer life like I lead, and even more when you try to blog the whole darned thing. Focused, of course, doesn’t mean living in a drunken blur. Very much the opposite. The focus is quality, not quantity.

High thinking

Medium drinking

Low puking

This is a good way to live, in my opinion. I’d highly recommend it.

What’s been popular?

So taking a look back at the stats for these past 365 days, I notice that not everyone found me with beer on their mind. My top-viewed post was Izzy Inspired Living, and not-so-coincidentally Izzy Stradlin has been the number one search term bringing readers to this little place I call brewvana. Izzy only beat out BB King on the search competition because people couldn’t decide how to spell BB. There were six different spellings of BB King in the top 13 search terms, with others specifically looking for BB King pictures, photos and/or fotos a little further down the line. That all came out of a post called Brew Like a BB King. I’m glad they’ve received heavy traffic, as they both epitomize the philosophy of this blog.

Having celebrities in my post titles, along with talking about women and beer (6 women, 6 decades, 6 beers); delving into a deep series (The Gospel According to St. Arnold); (hosting The Session (The Session #11–Doppelbock, the Illuminator); and having well-meaning, yet controversial ideas (Over-analysis Syndrome) are clearly ways to generate traffic. I’d encourage you to check out these posts, if you haven’t already. But everything’s not all deep and pensive. Sometimes I talk about bacon and long-lost beer.

First time for everything

Despite having brewed for over a decade, writing a blog and staying focused (and moving to a home with a cellar) has brought a number of firsts this year. I brewed my first Berliner Weisse (long gone), my first Flanders Red (2 more months of secondary) and my first lager (just tapped the second keg of For Those About To Bock). I took and passed the BJCP exam to become a Certified Beer Judge. And, Izzy-like, I’m finally getting myself geared toward my dreams, in terms of my work life.

What’s further firsts do I have planned? Oh, so many beers to try, for sure. But priority breweries for me are the nectars of Russian River and The Lost Abbey. I’m planning my first trip to the Great Taste of the Midwest. I’m planning a serious Baltic porter, a double-barrel dubbel and a my first mild. This will be my Dark Beer Summer, which ought to be a pretty self-explanatory endeavor. Join me; won’t you?

And much more.

It’s been great getting to know some of you. I hope this humble blog has brightened your day and skewed your views in some good way. I don’t know about you, but I’m drinking something special tonight.

Peace and Pints!

Wilson

Testing, Testing (and getting testy?)

My restaurant’s coming together, with great progress yesterday on the only big glitch. Making the day even better was, of course, beer.

I’ve installed a shank system for my two taps, and ordered a keg earlier than necessary so I could test them (and reward my volunteer labor). My first delivery came yesterday, and so the first delicious draught poured with great excitement. Because he deserved it for many reasons, Kyle got the first pint, but because he was babbling about not really feeling worthy of that honor, I took the first sip (from what was the second pint poured). So, we both got honors, as it happened.

What does a beer blogger-turned-restaurateur do for a beer list?

Some of you know that I’m a big believer in the local stuff, so that’s been my focus from day one. As I said, I’ll have two taps, and both will be Iowa beers: Millstream Brewing Company’s John’s Generations White Ale (this was the best wit I had last summer, and it took Silver at last year’s Great American Beer Festival) and Raccoon River Brewing Company’s Stonecutter Stout (this was my favorite of their many fine beers).

With the exception of three Mexican beers (it’s a Mexican joint) and three familiar-grape wines (in case it’s necessary for an alternative for Native grapes), everything else will be locally and regionally focused. We’ll have everything available from our local winery, which will be putting out its first vintage just in time for my opening. We’ll have hard cider from Sutliff Cider Company. And the other dozen or so beers will be micros that don’t get too far away: KC, Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin, primarily. That has taken some discipline. I really wanted some Belgian stuff. I really wanted Fuller’s London Porter. But, I’ve decided to walk the walk. I scratched all these beers off my list. It felt really good. You should try it some time.

A word on Bud

Recently, I met Raccoon River’s brewer, Dave Coy, at a homebrew competition, and he let me know that he was working with the local A-B Distributor to get his beers out. I then approached my local Bud rep about bringing Dave’s stout in on tap. He didn’t know they were working together. My rep’s supervisor said the logistics would be tough to manage, so I should just do Goose Island on draught.

Several conversations with my rep, calls to Dave and Dave’s calls to the distributor higher-ups later, and I’ve got this tasty Iowa beer on tap. You can’t tell me a well-oiled national distribution system can’t manage to get me a beer that they’ve agreed to distribute. Thankfully, a little follow-up and positive persistence, as well as communication with and help from the brewery itself, made it happen. Big thanks to Dave. If you’re in Des Moines, go try his beers at the source. If you’re in Corning, drink ‘em at my place.

A word on Rating Sites

From time to time, I check out Rate Beer and Beer Advocate to read opinions on beers I’ve never tried. Whether in forums or reviews, I’ve learned to take many opinions with a grain of salt. Sometimes what they say and the final score assigned do not seem to match. They might dislike a beer I enjoy. Some folks have different preferences, levels of experience and different temperaments. Some folks also appear not to have a lick of sense, but I can’t confirm this.

Out of curiosity, I looked up some of the beers I’d chosen to serve. The RR stout is an example of why you should trust yourself and the beer in your glass today. There were only, I think, three reviews on BA, and they were none too positive. They were also none too recent. I’m not sure how long Dave’s been at the helm, but his Stonecutter Stout’s been excellent every time I’ve had it. The last time I had it was yesterday, and I look forward to my next pint.

Do research, but learn whose opinions you trust and lean on them (and your own experiences) more than the comments of anonymous posters (mine included, until you have a feel for my brains and my taste buds).

__________

A few related links:

Sutliff Cider Company

Raccoon River Brewing Company

Millstream Brewing Company

Truth in waning

Dear Readers:

If you’ve been checking in lately, you’ll have noticed that I haven’t been.

If you’ve been reading me for a long time, you’ll have noticed that while beer is a big part of my life, it’s not the only part, certainly not the most important. My family is.

Right now, I’m heavily involved in opening a restaurant, and you would be concerned at how good a job I was doing, how committed I’d be, how flippant I was toward supporting my family, how reasonably good a business owner I’d be if I were spending my time reading and writing blog posts.

The fact is that my brewvana posting isn’t going to get more prolific in the coming days. Sitting down for this one has taken some discipline. For a couple of weeks now, it’s been like that dreaded feeling the night before returning to school after Christmas vacation.

I’m not saying there is no more brewvana. There’ll always be brewvana, in my life, and in yours. Especially if you approach it in a spirit of balance. Quality, not quantity. As much about life as it has been about beer, this site is about harmony, beer and joy. If you’ve only just found me, take time to read some of my older musings. I think there’s good-attitude value to be found here. Whether you’re new or old to brewvana, now would be a great time to subscribe to my RSS feed.

I’ll definitely post from time to time. Something cool might happen. I may take a trip. I’m seriously trying to make it to this year’s Great Taste in Madison. But to save you time, the RSS would be a good move for you. It’ll give you one more click of time for your own family, something I’d say is important.

Brewvana’s first anniversary is fast approaching, and I’ll be putting together some goodies in a week or two. So it’s not over, just mellower. Enjoy your beer life, as I will be, albeit in a less-writing-about-it way.

Peace and Pints!

Wilson

PS-if you’d like to contribute to keep brewvana vibrant, with or without my own presence, shoot me an email.

On the Opinion Expresser

“Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Or a lotta thinkers. Everybody’s a critic, or so the saying goes.

Stan at Appellation Beer brought up the question of the Beer Critic’s role (A [beer] critic’s job? Demolishing the bad?), and a great flow of excellent comments followed. I’d encourage you to give them a good read-through.

This discussion brings a renewal of my own ponderings on the topic: Honesty is the best policy. It all boils down to this.

Now, I should say that it was my intent from the day I set up brewvana to shy away from the negative attitude. Really, that’s just how I am, but I believe it’s good to have some positive beer places out there . I strive to make brewvana that. However, sometimes I drink a lame beer. Sometimes I have lousy service in a beery place. Sometimes I don’t understand a brewery’s choice.

What’s a guy or girl to do? Or how to do it? And is it a self-proclaimed Beer Blogger’s place? Since opinions are like belly buttons, and everyone has one, the criticisms are bound to emerge, and not solely from paid beer writers. We’ve got the bloggers, beer review sites and forums galore as outlets for our bright ideas.

This beer sucks!

Back when I used to teach English, I told my students that it was out of line to say this poem (or story or novel) sucks. Tell me how it sucks, why it sucks and how it could keep from sucking, and I will consider your opinion with greater weight. All too often, I see or hear beer lovers’ opinions expressed in the “it sucks” way. I think credible Opinion Expressers should work on this one.

Jumping to conclusions

I once wrote a post (in conjunction with Matt at Flossmoor) called Over-analysis Syndrome. It wound up causing a stir over at Rate Beer. The thread really saddened me, because both Matt and I were trying to be encouraging and positive and smart-aleckily introspective. There were many scathing comments from people who completely missed the point, some from people who had clearly not read our posts, or even the entire thread. I think the credible Opinion Expressers should work on this one.

There’s subjectivity involved

I, personally, don’t enjoy American hops as much as others do. Consequently, I don’t include a proportionately large amount of IPA in my diet. But I do appreciate the qualities of a good one. I say so from time to time. Sometimes I hear or read folks that are clouded by their own biases or preferences. I think credible Opinion Expressers should work on this one.

Nobody’s fault but mine?

Before one cracks on a beer, it sometimes makes sense to take other factors into consideration. If the “bad” beer was a sour draught, it’s not necessarily the brewer’s fault. The pub or distributor needs to clean the lines. That bottle was bad? The store could be to blame, as their treatment of the beer factors in. How far did the beer travel in its distribution? Was the truck refrigerated? That PU was skunked? Well, we could blame the store for exposing it to light, or we could ask why the brewery uses those ridiculous green bottles. I think credible Opinion Expressers should work on this one.

A grain of salt is sometimes good

It has been with uber-discipline that I manage this post without 15,000 (give or take) specific references to the good comments left on Stan’s post. However, I must pass along this little tidbit from Lew Bryson:

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read negative reviews of beers, brewpubs, and beer bars that showed more about the reviewer’s prejudices and ignorance than they did about the reviewee’s. Of course, the same goes for positive reviews.”

You could take that statement with a grain of salt if you wish, but in my opinion, you’d be foolish. Abe Lincoln once noted: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Some Opinion Expressers are very revealing in all the wrong ways. They might be new, they might be young, they might have issues.

Digesting it

The Opinion Taker-Inner really needs to consider the source. It doesn’t take long to sort out the personality, preferences and level of expertise of a columnist, a blogger, a forum poster, a waitress or the dude sitting next to you at the bar. The better Opinion Expressers back up their arguments, emanate a deeper understanding of the subject at hand and manage to critique while not appearing critical. At least the ones I lean on in my quest.

Honest and obnoxious are two different things. Negative reviews aren’t bad. If executed well, they can result in improvement, and that’s not always a “bad” place shutting down, or a brewer finding a new vocation (or hobby). Where my own homebrews are concerned, criticism has revealed elements of brewing for me to address. My beers continue to improve. The same can happen for a commercial brewery, for a beer bar and for the introspective Opinion Expresser. Or not.

Much like poorer beers will weed themselves out, so to will the poorer Opinion Expressers. Whether they know it or not.

__________

A few related (or semi-related) posts:

Beer Geek, Not Beer Jerk

Cross-Judging

Stan Poses a Question on  Criticism and Gets Critical Attention

Slacker Alert!

Sorry guys. I’ve been a major slacker. The excuse is that I’m busy. I’m opening a restaurant. I have a family. Beer is a great part of my life, but it’s not the only part. This wouldn’t be brewvana if that were the case.

I’m not saying I haven’t had any beer lately. I surely have.

Amazing that I neglected to mention St. Patrick’s Day, but I did. We fired up the corned beef and cabbage and went for Boulevard’s Irish Ale (in lieu of you-know-what). Right tasty, I’d say.

I totally didn’t mean to stiff this month’s Session, but I didn’t get around to it. It wasn’t the topic. It wasn’t anything. I’ve just been swamped. If I’d have done it, I’d have told a story about my buddy Steve-O and Bison Chocolate Stout. I may even have mentioned New Belgium’s Mothership Wit, which would have made Stan happy. Apparently it didn’t get discussed. It’s a goody. Go check it out. I would have told you to check out Bearded Brewing’s Blog.

Lotsa homebrews. Capital Brown. 1554. 2 Lefties. 2 from the Smokestack Series. Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter. Celebrator. Sam Adams Cream Stout. Boulevard Wheat. I even tried a Michelob Amber Bock the other day, because it was my “best” choice. Shoulda gone with liquor. I’ve got a buncha stuff in the fridge to hit on in the upcoming Thursdays. And stuff to talk about.

I ordered rhizomes.

I bought bacon mints today.

I’ve been proceeding on The Margarita Project.

I’m so out of the groove, and this is a lame consolation prize for you.

I have an anniversary coming up, so I can’t slack too hard. I’ll get back at it.

Cheers, friends!

Wilson

Why you shouldn’t have to be 21 to look at a beer site

I really value all my readers and the comments they make on this site. There have been many good views expressed and many positive words on the content I post.

Thanks.

However, all you old-fart, beer enthusiast, blog readers got blown away this week by my favorite comment of all time:

Thank You for this very nice report about Rock Bottom. My dad is Eric Sorensen, the brewmaster, now i know what he does at work all the time and how he makes others happy.Thanks, Jade

I’m sorry, but that’s freaking beautiful.

From my stats, I can discern that Jade found my blog by searching for her old man. These days, not only is it easier for parents to check up on their kids, but it’s possible for kids to check up on their parents’ job performance, as well. In this case, the pride swells for a young lady reading some dorky beer lover’s comments on her dad’s beers.

It is a fact: Eric Sorensen, at the Rock Bottom in West Des Moines, is putting out some excellent beers. We stop in as often as our trips to Des Moines allow. In additiona to a solid regular tap list and tasty seasonal offerings, he has rotating stouts, rotating wheat beers, and nearly always something served on cask.

Good stuff.

Probably a good kid, too.

__________

In the neighborhood? Here’s a map.