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Archives for May 9, 2008

Grape vs. Grain At Anchor

May 9, 2008 By Jay Brooks

vs.

Charlie Bamforth, who’s the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science at U.C. Davis (and was my teacher when I took the brewing short course there) has a new book out, Grape vs. Grain. This at least Bamforth’s eighth book, though many have been quite technical in nature. This one is more reader friendly, and addresses the debate over which beverage is more deserving of respect.

From the book publisher’s website:

Why is wine considered more sophisticated even though the production of beer is much more technologically complex? Why is wine touted for its health benefits when beer has more nutritive value? Why does wine conjure up images of staid dinner parties while beer denotes screaming young partiers? Charles Bamforth explores several paradoxes involving these beverages, paying special attention to the culture surrounding each. He argues that beer can be just as grown-up and worldly as wine and be part of a healthy, mature lifestyle. Both beer and wine have histories spanning thousands of years. This is the first book to compare them from the perspectives of history, technology, nature of the market for each, quality attributes, types and styles, and the effect that they have on human health and nutrition.

Last night, I attended an event at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco to promote the book. A few dozen people enjoyed Anchor’s hospitality, a few beers and some snacks. Bamforth gave a short talk and answered questions. My favorite quote: “Wine is a fine beverage, but beer is better.”

Charlie favors traditional styles and tends to prefer more technically savvy brewing. He hammers home the idea of “consistent excellence” as the highest goal for brewers and doesn’t much care for beer made with non-traditional ingredients. His background is as a researcher first and then as quality control at Bass for many years before moving to the states to teach at U.C. Davis, so I’ve never found that too surprising. He’s been a great advocate for beer and gives numerous talks around the world, informing his audiences about beer’s healthfulness and the reasons it’s at least the equal — if not more complex and impressive — than wine. The new book, Grape vs. Grain, is his latest project in that on-going mission.

Charlie Bamforth with John Dannerbeck from Anchor Brewing.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Uncategorized

FredFest Auction Begins Today

May 9, 2008 By Jay Brooks

fred-eckhardt
Today at 3:00 p.m. (left coast time), the online auction for FredFest begins, and will close on Sunday, also at 3:00 p.m.

Here’s some of what’s up for auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to charity. You can find more information about the lots at the Liquid Solutions Blog and the auction itself is at Liquid Solutions.

  1. Hair of the Dog Dave 1994 (375 ml)
  2. Hair of the Dog Adam #1 1994 (12 oz.)
  3. Full Sail Old Boardhead Vertical: 1998 & 1999 (12 oz.), 2001-2007 (22 oz.)
  4. Pike Old Bawdy Vertical: 1996-1998, 2006-2007 (12 oz).
  5. AleSmith: Old Numbskull (750 ml), Grand Cru (750 ml), Horney Devil (750 ml)
  6. Lost Abbey: Older Viscosity (375 ml) Angel’s Share (375 ml), Lost and Found (750 ml)
  7. Rodenbach Alexander 1991 (330 ml) and Rochefort 10 1999 (330 ml)
  8. Westvleteren 12 1997 (11.2 oz.)
  9. Anchor Brewing Commemorative Michael Jackson’s 60th Birthday Beer (1.5 L)
  10. And others from Avery, Midnight Sun, J.W. Lees, Big Time, Fish Tale — and more

From the press release:

Beer aficionados across the nation will be reaching for their wallets this weekend when rare beers and vertical collections will be highlighted at the first-ever FredFest Online Beer Auction.

The auction starts at 3 p.m. PDT Friday, May 9 and begins to wrap up at 3 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 11. The auction is designed to run concurrently with FredFest 2008 — a celebration of the 82nd birthday of Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers, which is taking place May 10 at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co., in Portland.

“FredFest started as a surprise 80th birthday party for Fred, but is coming back around in its third year as a fundraiser in the memory of fellow beer scribe and friend, Michael Jackson,” said FredFest co-organizer Lisa Morrison.

Each year, Eckhardt is asked to choose a charity for FredFest. This year, he chose Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, a local affiliate of the National Parkinson Foundation. Jackson had been battling complications from Parkinson’s disease when he died last summer.

The first-ever FredFest online auction was the brainchild of Hair of the Dog owner Alan Sprints, Ben Love of Hopworks Urban Brewery and Matt Maples of Liquid Solutions bottle shop.

It’s for a worthy cause, so bid generously.

Filed Under: Beers, Events, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Portland

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