As a convert to the Roman Catholic Church, I firmly believe
the church's teaching that God created the heaven and the earth. I believed that prior to my conversion to Catholicism. The bible (the Book of Genesis) actually states this fact not once but twice. It only took seven days. Then again I am pretty sure the term "day" is subject to debate.Back at the beginning of the last century (1925) a huge controversy was started by the teaching of Darwinism and creationism. A famous trial was held in the backwoods of Tennessee. School teacher (John T. Scopes) been using Darwin's On the Origin of the Species to teach to his high school science class. The trial is referred as the Scopes Monkey Trial. He was found guilty of violation of the Baker Act, fined $100.00, and was fired from his job. The verdict was actually overruled by a higher court a year later but Mr Scopes did not get his teaching job back. The prosecuting attorney died only a few days after the trial. The trial became famous because of the two litigants who opposed each other (Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan). The play and subsequent movies made even a larger mark on American history. The play is actually an allegory of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his Senate witch hunts. I find it amusing that a public school would fire someone teaching science that did not support Judo-Christian religious belief and yet years later, prayer would not be allowed before high school football games. But I digress. John Scopes went on to attend the University of Chicago and received a degree in geology. He traveled and worked in South America and he ultimately took a job in Shreveport, Louisiana for the same company my father worked for. He owned a house in a gated community near where I lived. His next door neighbors were friends of our family. I used to mow their and his lawn for $ 15.00 each. Contrary to modern legend that he was an agnostic, while in Shreveport he converted to the Roman Catholic faith. He died of a stroke in October of 1970 and is buried in a Catholic Cemetery in Kentucky.
I have a theory slightly different from Mr Scopes (or Mr. Darwin for that matter). I believe a long time in the past , extraterrestrials visited our planet and they gave the inhabitants of our planet many things. One of the most important ones was yeast and the knowledge of making bread and brewing of what we refer to as beer. Think of it "manna from heaven" is a term used in biblical passages (Exodus chapter 16) and manna/bread is formed using yeast. Yeast is a living organism yet it is neither animal or plant. It is spore actually and it is found everywhere. It is in the very air you are breathing now as you read this blog. (By the way, I recently enjoyed a couple of sixers of Roswell Alien Amber Ale while working on a job in Hobbs, N.M. The beer is actually damn good)
Bread. which is made using yeast is a major component in biblical history. The Roman Catholic Church fundamental belief is that Jesus is present in the Eucharist (transubstantiated bread) The bread used for Eucharist is actually unleavened (or bread made without yeast) but the overall concept is that bread is fundamental for life (hence the term Bread of Life). Beer (also made using yeast) has been compared to as liquid bread so I guess that you could stretch it and say that beer is liquid bread of life, Now I know I am bordering on heresy and idiocy. So I will move on.
Most of this posting was written last year and prior to my revelation that I should write shorter blogs. I suppose you can say I have "blown" my resolution for brevity. For my very first blog of the new decade please pardon me and allow this transgression. Read on I think you may enjoy......
My categories are:
1. Session and Backyard beers.
These are beers that you would drink on hot July afternoon and just after mowing the yard. You want them really cold and easy to swallow. In reality they are beers that try to look like and taste like Old Mil. Not much real flavor but it looks like beer and smells like what we have been conditioned to believe beer smelt as. This category includes lagers and pilsners and Kolschs etc. Most are actually no better than Old Milwaukee and most certainly cost more. The Mrs. The Third likes these types of beers. When we go out she sometimes asks me what beers she may like. I look for the Blondes and know I can not do wrong. These are the kinds of beer that you find at frat parties and Kof C BBQ cook offs. You find it bottled, canned and especially kegged.
These were the types of beers I grew up drinking. These represent most of the big three's offerings.
Bronze Medal -tie- Michelob Original Lager (In-Bev) and Yuengling Lager (D.F. Yuengling & Son Brewing Company)
Silver Medal -tie -Twilight Ale (Deschutes Brewing Company) and Schlafly Pilsner (Schlafly Brewing)
Gold Medal -tie- Totally Naked (New Glarus Brewing) and Summerfest (Sierra Nevada Brewing)
These are beers that some would call gimmicky. I have had some with blueberries (The picture on the right is one of those beers I drank in Marquette, Michigan. Those are real Michigan blueberries) and apricots, pumpkins and Chile Peppers. (note: I took the picture shown here. It was brewed ,at the time at Cave Creek, Arizona. It is now brewed somewhere in Mexico) Several are served with lemons and oranges. Wheat beer
s (hefeweisens) fill this category as well as a few light colored beers that have a little more flavor than the previous category. The essential commonality of this category is ales and beers that have taste added. I even had a seasonal beer (made by Alaskan Brewing) that used juniper berries as a flavoring agent. Several have all sorts of spices such as coriander cinnamon and allspice. A few micro brews are now coming as organic. I find that the color and clarity of these to be opaque and the taste slightly different. The beers taste good and because they are organic...they must be good for you (?) I find these beers and ales tend to be refreshing but I am not too sure they are the sort of th
ing you would set around drinking at frat parties or at a tailgating party ( Unless it is TCU, University of Oregon or Cal) . (The picture on the right was taken by me on one of my recent trips to Portland, Oregon to the Roots Brewing Company. All of their beers are organic...and good too.)The popularity is not lost on the big three. AB-InBev which owns a chunk of Widmer Brothers Brewery submits Widmer Hefeweisen. While Lineguekel Sunset Wheat is Miller's contribution. Coors's Field in Denver is the birthplace of Blue Moon. Trust me these beers are all very good and tasty. Although I have not tasted one yet, I see where "Bub Light" (yes I spelled it the way I wanted to) now has a "golden wheat". I find this category the most difficult to choose my top three. But sometimes one has to make tough decisions so here goes.Silver Medal ---------312 (Goose Island Brewery)
Gold Medal --------- Kellerweis (Sierra Nevada Brewing Company)
3. What Ales Thee ,Pale, I.P.A. American, English, Amber, E.S.B. Irish, and Scots and other beers and ales that actually have flavor. Hops rule in this category. If you look at the picture on the right here ( I took it at the Draught House in Austin, Texas) you will see particles of hops suspended in the beer. Alcohol content is slightly higher in these too as well as the colors are slightly darker and tend to be "thicker". You have to be careful with thes
e. If you are used to drinking a sixer and feel only a buzz, then most of these will pack a little more punch. This is such an all inclusive category and it includes a multitude of types of beer. If you are a Bud, Lite , or Colorado Cool Aid drinker you probably would not like any of my choices. In fact, you probably will not care for any of the beers in this category. You would feel the the same as some of my coworkers who refer to these as weird beers, Queer Beers or "holy shit they taste nasty". On the other hand, if you are a true hop head and or beer aficionado, you thrive on these ales and beers. These reach and out and grab you. Brewers tend to play around the most with these. But with the exception of Number 9 they play around with yeast, malt, hops and water and do very little adding of foreign ingredients.
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Now is a good time to bring up my local favorite pub O'Brien's. They fancy themselves as a "beer bar". Although the "theme" is that it is an Irish Pub, it is actually owned by a couple of local Czech guys. (Temple is home to S.P.J.S.T. -Slovanská Podporující Jednota Statu Texas.) I have been harping for nearly a year now that they should tap at least one India Pale Ale. I keep telling them (from my experience) that in order to be a true beer bar that an IPA should be on tap. They finally have. I have brought back several beers from my travels and have given them to the lead bartender and one of the owners. Two of the beers I have given to them they really really love (as do I and are listed below in my ratings) One of them (Number 9)is now available at limited locations in Texas and yes, Brien's is one o
f them.
Ok on to the ratings
Bronze Medal -tie- Wee Heavy Lassie (Trinidad Brewing Company) (I took the picture on the right as I was returning from a job near Denver. The brewery is/was located in a former train station.)and Hell in Keller (Uncle Billy's Brew and Cue)
Silver Medal -tie- # 9 (Magic Hat Brewing Company) and 90 Schilling (Odell Brewing)
Gold Medal - tie - --------------- Union Jack (Firestone Walker Brewing Company) Holy shit this is good beer. It is jacked up to 7.5% IPU. Recently I tasted one and felt as if it was a mixture of beer and unsweetened grapefruit juice. Yes it is an IPA yet it goes down smooth; Pliny the Elder (Russian River Brewing) I took the picture on the right while I was working in Paso Robles, California.
Honorable Mention: Hoptober (New Belgium Brewing), Adam (Hair of the Dog Brewing) ; XPA Extra (Wild Goose Brewery), Two Hearted Ale (Bell's Brewing), Red Seal Ale (North Coast Brewing) IPA and also Five Barrel Ale (Odell's Brewing) I could list probably 50 more beers under this category. So I will stop.
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4. Porters (Waggoners) Stouts, Imperials, Bocks, Browns and Coffees. Beers and Ales that the some purists claim are the supreme. Guinness has been around for 400 years. The Irish claim (rightfully) to have the world's oldest brewery and oldest Distillery (Old Bushnell's). I will have to state it once again. "If it were not for alcohol, the Irish would rule the world.". When I was growing up the only "dark" beer you could find was Lowenbrau Dark. My grandfather (Dit) introduced me to Ginnies when I was about 16. I have no idea where he would find them, but he did. It was his annual St. Paddy's Day ritual. These are heavy beers and I like to consider most of them dessert beers. Once again I would not think these are the types of beers you can set around drinking all the time although I have spent countless hours drinking Shiner Bock.
Bronze Medal - tie - Moose Drool Brown Ale (Big Sky Brewery) and Shiner Bock (Speotzel Brewery) I took this picture while passing through Missoula, Montana.
Silver Medal - tie - Milk Stout (Left Hand Brewery) and Bully Porter (Boulevard Brewery)
Honorable mention: McTarnahan's Blackwatch Porter, Obsidian Stout, Black Butte Porter, (Deschutes Brewing)
McQuire's Irish Stout, Poligamy Porter, (Wasatch Brewing)
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So here is my favorite Twelve Pack
No. 10. Milk Stout (Left Hand Brewery) On my way to a job in Ogden, Ut. I stopp
ed at this brewery just northwest of Denver, Co. I bought a $ 30 tee shirt (do not tell the wife) there. But I also I had my first Milk Stout. Wow! I am not all that fond of the rest the offering from this Brewery. This beer is on tap at my local fav pub. Yes, I took the picture here as well.
No. 9. Hell In Keller (Uncle Billy's Brew & Cue). I have written about this beer before. My opinion has not changed. This is truly an amazing beer. This brewery is the example of what Austin will be in the future. I had been wanting to open a micro brewery in Austin but I see that I am not the only one who has that idea. It is (I have said this before) Portland of the South.
No. 8. Circus Boy (Magic Hat Brewing Company). Let me say here that I do not nor have I, smoked pot in over twenty five years. But I would be willing to bet the farm that the brewers at Magic Hat can not make that claim. All of their beers are so fuckin good I actually love them. As far as wheat beers goes, it is hard to beat this one. I have included three wheat beers in my top twelve and this one is firmly in the middle. When I was working in Manahawken, New Jersey, I discovered this gem of a beer.
NB's 2 Below and Odell's 5 Barrell Ale are somewhat like this beer. If you ever get a chance to visit New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Co. I strongly suggest that you go. It is a very pleasant place to visit and the beer is free!
No. 6. Shakespeare Stout (Rogue Ales) On my last trip to the Pearl District in Portland, Or. My friend, The Blue Whale and I happened into the Rouge Ale House. We sampled a few beers and I settled on thier Stout. It was mind blowing. While I was setting at the bar I visited with a patron who was setting next to me. A few weeks earlier I had been a small town just North of Albuqurece and I had visited a brew pub there. This guy informed me that he was going to the very same town the following week on business. I told him about the brewpub. He said he had planned to go there prior to meeting me. I told him that he should defently order one of their pizzas but to leave the beer alone because it was terrible. He thanked me for the advise and asked if he could have my e mail so he could correspond with me. A few week later I received an e mail from him which said. "I should have listened to you the beer sucked."
No. 4. Kellerwies (Sierra Nevada Brewing). Someone came up with a diffinition of what a "micro brewery" was. It has something to do with the maximum amount barrels of beer that it produces in a given period of time. That definition has been altered and blurred over the years. It is generally considered that the top two (as far as size of production) "Microbreweries in America are Samuel Adams Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada Brewing. I find Sierra Nevada Ales and Beers to be available just about everywhere but I only found this offereing while I was last in California and just recently at a Spec's in Round Rock, Texas. It is the latest brew that the brewery has offered as a year round offering. It is a hefewiesen the way I feel one should be. It is refreshing, easy on the palate and not too filling. It is the highest ranking of the hefs I have on my list. This is really good beer. If you see it on a shelf somewhere I recommend you grab it and enjoy.
No. 3. Number 9 (Magic Hat Brewing Company) I was setting at a Chili's in Framingham, Ma. the bartender looked at me and said. "Want a Nine? It did not take long for me to ask for the next one. and then the next one and so on and so on. This beer topped my last top ten list. This Pale Ale is flavored with a hint of apricot. It is so subtle that if you did not know that it was added you would probably never realize it. It is a Magic Hat ale and that alone tells me that is great. It is from Vermont as is Long Trail Beers. I had usually been bringing plenty of Number 9 home each time I travel to the East. Lo and behold it is now available in Texas and also on tap at my local fav pub.
No. 2. Ring Neck Brown (Brau Brothers Brewing) Back in August of this year, I was assigned to a job in Minnesota (don't you know). I went to several liqour stores and picked up various six pack of local beers. I happened on this one and to be honest I did not think that it would be all that good. I was wrong. The beer is produced in a limited quantity. It was "off the hook" I could only find 3 or 4 six packs of this beer and I purchased all of them. It is called a "Brown Ale" But it is bursting with flavor. I like Brown Ales. Moose Drool (Big Sky Brewery); Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale and Old Brown Dog (Smuttynose Brewing) are a few of my favorites. This beer is a lot better that any other Brown Ales I have had.
No. 1. Union Jack IPA (Firestone Walker Brewing) One of my last outing with the "Power Load" found me in Paso Robles, California. The town is in the heart of California Central Coast Wine Country. As we drove into town we passed several "tasting rooms" But I knew that Paso Robles was the home of Firestone Walker Brewing. I had plans to go to the brewery as soon as I got settled in my motel room, I went. On my last top ten list I had one of this brewery's offering as my number four beer (Double Barrel Ale). While I was visiting the brewery and I purchased a sample pack of six 4oz samples. I tried Hemp Ale (which is pretty good). I drank their IPA (31) but when I tried their Union Jack I was hooked. I knew at that moment that this beer was a monumental one. I was in town for about two weeks and I drank quite a few of these beers. I brought two six packs of it home and gave one to my friends at O'Brien's. My thought was that if they drank this one they would surely finally put an IPA on tap. ....... They did actually.
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Let me add a caveat here. The Mexicans, The Czechs, Canadians, English, Irish, Dutch and Germans all make great beer. One of the very best beers I have ever had was made in the Phillipines (San Miguel). I have even drank a beer made in Nigeria (Star) and it was very good. I have had beers from Japan and Chinese beers. Most of my travels have been limited to the United States, but I did travel to Ontario and had the chance to try out a sampler 12 pack from Sleemans and a few Alexander Keith's IPAs. I said there would only be four categories but I have decided to add an honorable mention / import category. I am not mentioning any particular beer here but I want to at least bring this up. I have to admit that I do enjoy an occasional Belgium beer but I am not a big fan of them. I still feel that the craftsmanship of Belgians are phenomenal and they represent the art of brewing at it's highest level. What most people do not realize is that majority of the ales from Belgium are crafted by monks (Catholic by the way). Each of these Abbey's give 100% of the profits of their sales after expenses to the poor. That goes a long way in my book. I feel what Jesus meant when he said to "Love one another" was to "help one another". The monks do just that and when I drink one of their ales I am helping too. Beside I love it when some self righteous pagan beer snob drinking a thirteen dollar bomber and trashing the Pope and mackerel snappers, unknowingly gave his money to The Church.
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