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What began in earnest as a small beer tasting at my apartment evolved into quite the selection of beers for sampling and a relatively small amount of people to try them. No problems there for a room full of beer lovers.
Mittelfrueh, seen here creating his famous Puppy Knackwurst.
Looking at the lineup, we had some heavy hitters. Among the selection was a year-old Allagash Fluxus, a Deschutes Inversion IPA, two offerings from Fantôme, a Tröegs Scratch #15, a HaandBrygerriet Dark Force, and a growler of Pisgah Pale Ale. The man, the myth, the legend Ed Medina even graced us with his presence, and brought along a Laurelwood Organic Portland Roast Espresso Stout rarely seen this side of the Mississippi.
The highlight for me had to be the Fantôme Hiver, their winter seasonal. Guests said they picked up the smell and flavor of pickles, some to their disgust, but I liked it. It was a dry, crisp, refreshing saison with a touch of what I perceived to be vinegar. Good stuff.
We also had the opportunity to try some beers from Shooting Creek, the relatively new brewery out in Floyd County. Both the Buffalo Brown and Snapping Turtle IPA were decent, but nothing mindblowing. I’d be interested to see what else becomes available from them.
If you couldn’t tell, it was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was great meeting some new people and seeing familiar faces, all arriving with delicious beer to share. Notebookless, I didn’t bother writing any descriptions down to share with you. But had you shown up, you could’ve experienced these beers first-hand. Don’t worry though, you’ll have a chance to make it up next time around, providing you’ve got something tasty to share with the class.
After a trip up north, a friend of mine recently gifted me with a single can of Sly Fox Dunkel Lager from Pennsylvania. Okay, that’s not quite accurate. I still owe him for the haul, which shall be paid forthwith. Regardless, possession is nine-tenths of the law, and I’m ready to have a beer.
The reason (as if I needed one)? Today I helped a friend move to Alexandria, primarily as a two-man team due to unforeseen circumstances (read: flakeage), and it involved a lot of stairs and even more lifting. So this cold one is all the more delicious.
Sly Fox Dunkel pours ruby and crystal clear, sporting just over two fingers of off-white foam on top. I’m able to pick up biscuity and slightly roasted malt notes in the nose.
Following the very first sip, I realize immediately that this is a beer to be admired. Right off the starting line, I get a juicy, flavorful hit of grainy goodness accompanied by a hop profile that’s not weak, but also doesn’t throw things out of balance. It finishes refreshingly, leaving only the slightest trace of sweetness behind. I’m a sucker for beers that do that – a punch of flavor up front that drops out and makes you thirsty for more. The carbonation and semi-dry body make for an incredibly drinkable beer. And right now, I’m more into the drinking aspect than the thinking one.
In fact, it’s so drinkable, I’m more than halfway through and am already starting to regret picking it up so quickly and tipping it back the way I have been, seeing as how I only have the one can. I’d get into all the IBUs and abv, but at the moment, I just don’t give a damn. The only thing on my mind is the fact that my thirst for dark lager has been slaked, at least until my glass is empty.
I’ve been a fan of ice hockey for as long as I can remember. As a youngster playing street hockey, staying up late to watch the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks, or going to watch the ECHL (and then AHL) Norfolk Admirals play at Scope Arena. The pace of the game, the skill and finesse required, and yes, even the excitement of the fights, had me hooked.
Then I realized, nobody cares. Hockey is a marginalized sport in the United States, whereas in Canada it’s considered sacred. Apply that same principle to soccer, then tell me how many Kansas City Wizards fans you know. The MLS and NHL are both “lesser” sports in the eyes of the American public, but that’s changing. You’ll see vociferous fans of both sports around if you look hard enough, and their fanbases are growing.
Along those lines, an interesting turn of events has taken place recently. George Gillet, co-owner of my favorite squad in the English Premier League, Liverpool FC, has recently ceded his 80% share of the Montreal Canadiens to the Molson family for an estimated $550 million. Pending approval from the league, this move would give Molson complete control over the team, Bell Centre arena, and the Gillet Entertainment Group since they already have 20% stake.
Gillet’s partner at Liverpool is Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars. Hockey’s success in the South has been growing, with fans in Dallas seeing several playoff games over the years thanks to the team’s success. Home attendance for Nashville Predators has risen since their humble beginnings, also more than likely due to playoff appearances. And when teams do well, people pay attention.
Take, for instance, the United States’ 2-0 win yesterday over Spain in the Confederations Cup. While the Cup is a prelude to World Cup action next year, a victory over one of the best national teams in the world might raise a few eyebrows, re-energize the fanbase, and introduce others to the game.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m on a tangent. Point is, Molson bought the Canadiens. Beer and hockey. That is all. Good day.
One Friday afternoon found me standing downstairs at the Legend Pub and Brewery with none other than head brewer John Wampler. Looking half-casual, half-scientist with his 
t-shirt, boots, and beaker full of beer, he offered me a belt of Legend’s Double IPA straight from the tank, albeit without much carbonation. So far so good – tasted very drinkable for a heavy-duty IPA, but had some depth to it as well. A rather fitting analogy for the brewery itself.
Before I could even launch into the questions, John wanted to show me around. I had peeked around the ol’ Legend brewhouse once or twice in the past, but hadn’t yet seen the expansion that had taken place. There used to be case after case of beer from some very recognizable names in the beer world just sitting in one part of the warehouse, but all that space was now replaced with new equipment. Since Legend spun off their distribution arm, Legendary Distributors, they now had room to add a bottling line and more fermentation tanks. Thus, more Legend product to the market.
After showing me the copper-colored 10-barrel pilot system that the brewery originally started with, I walked the rows of tanks housed in the bowels of the building, eventually seeing the seven new fermentation tanks and the five new ones reserved for clearing or “brightening.” These additions are attached to their current 30-barrel brewing system. Obviously, this expansion all boils down to demand.
But what really drove this demand is a new format. Legend will now bottle their beer in six-packs, as opposed to the familiar 22oz. bottles that have cropped up all over town (and in other towns as well). Why six-packs? “There’s a proven package with six-packs. Customers seem to prefer that size for whatever reason, and this could catapult us into out-of-state 
sales that we haven’t had before” said Wampler. “The demand [for Legend six-packs] has been there for a while. But after dealing with these 22s, 12-ounce bottles almost seem tiny.” The initial run in the sixer setup seems to be Legend Lager, Brown, Pale Ale, and their IPA, commonly referred to or once-known-as Golden Ale.
Due to the brewery’s focus on expansion not only inside the brewhouse but on the shelves as well, John mentioned that the “focus is now on the flagships or mainstays of our lineup.” Since the product is expected to reach many customers outside of Legend’s current distribution sphere, it’ll take time to introduce them to beers they’ve never seen before. Wampler confided that over half the tanks at Legend were storing Legend Brown. What about those seasonal releases? Fear not, John assured me that they’ll still get their seasonals in there once the public gets acquainted, or reacquainted, with Legend’s foundation offerings. And if you’re looking for special releases, more than likely they’ll be on tap, or cask, at the pub.
Taking a step back, I ask, “Who in their right mind would be expanding at a time like this?” John made it out to be a matter of necessity. “We needed to expand, and it was a good time to do it.” And from the looks of it, they haven’t been suffering. Though Wampler made it clear that he leaves the bean-counting to the accountants, and the brewing to himself and his staff.
On a related note, I wanted to get his insight on the Richmond market, particularly market saturation in the better beer sector. Asked if he thought Richmond is becoming saturated, John replied, “We’re there. We have enough clout with the beer-drinking crowd, and the beers are good enough to stand on their own.” By shooting for balance and drinkability, Legend strives to reach the public with flavorful beers that will entice you to order another. “We want these beers to be accessible, and have a little something for everybody. If you can’t find something you like, you’re not a craft beer drinker.” That versatility has paid off. “The craft beer consumer has taken us in, held us as a stalwart, or a steady go-to, if you will.”
Humulus the Brewery Cat
Playing on the attention that beer and food pairings have garnered recently, I inquired as to Wampler’s favorite. He scratched his head for a second, then was reminded of the combination that opened his eyes to how great of a match beer can be to food. It was four years ago at a Legend beer dinner, hosted by the Greene Leafe in Williamsburg, where John tried an egg nog cheesecake matched up with a Legend Barleywine that was a year and a half old. He said he hasn’t tasted anything quite like it since, but the appreciation for pairing still remains.
Wrapping it all up, I ask John what gets him out of bed in the morning, what aspect of brewing does he loves most. He replied, “The little headaches that end up making a delicious product, and being able to see the results of your work right there. It’s a great crew of guys, and when you’re managing a small team, you develop much more productive relationships. In the end, you’re taking raw material and turning it into a satisfying final product.”
At that point, it was quittin’ time for John, a time to tie up any loose ends the week had brought him and head home to his family. For me, it was upstairs to the bar for a Legend Hefeweizen and some time to contemplate the effort put into such a satisfying final product.
There are so many beer events scheduled lately, it’s hard to keep up. Slightly overwhelming, really. Don’t get me wrong, I like to post the latest local beer happenings on this blog when I can, but there comes a point where you have to step away from those glowing rectangles for a bit and enjoy life – whether at a beer festival or not.
So if you haven’t heard by now, All About Beer is bringing their World Beer Festival to Richmond this summer. Virginia Beer Festival coming up on Fourth of July weekend. Northern Virginia’s fest happening this weekend. Others have offered their insights, so no need to go on here. Same with other stuff happening that I’m just too lazy to post about. Technology has left me behind, so read go their blogs. The CRABB sidebar is a good place to start!
Instead, I’ve got my own event coming up. Sunday Sippage. At 1pm this Sunday, I plan on cracking some beers with a relatively small group of people at my apartment. No big hoopla, and no princely sum of an entrance fee. Just a few beer nerdarios supplying at least a bottle each. There will be snacks. There will be Steely Dan. There will probably not be blood. But you never know.
If you’d like to join, email me here.
According to Greg Kitsock over at the Washington Post, next month Blue Mountain Brewery will be the first microbrewery in Virginia to can its products. It appears that several smaller breweries around the country are shifting to cans, at least in some small way, for a variety of reasons. Be it protection of the beer’s quality to portability for consumers, the shift is happening, and it’s finally coming to Virginia’s better beer lovers.
How’s that for following up on last post’s packaging theme? And I think I’ll make that the new state slogan: Virginia is for better beer lovers. What’dya think?
A “triple XB”, a “classic premium pale ale” and a “gold medal winner” at the International Beer Awards, according to the label. And in typical British fashion, the brewery’s name has no apostrophe to denote possession. The recommended food pairing appears as “cheese and red meat,” and the small irony is that this beer is vegan friendly.
Label analysis aside, this XXXB pours a dim rust color and without much carbonation on top. A little sweetness in the nose from the crystal malt, and a little earthy and floral presence from the Goldings. These coupled with Liberty hops make for a somewhat salty and spicy taste, with wheat providing an accent to thicken the body.
Quaffable indeed. However, there’s not much else going on here. The reason is probably due to the format: these bottled British beers don’t seem to translate too well, or seem able to survive the long trip across the Atlantic, coming across rather dull and lifeless. How pale ale ever made it to India in any drinkable condition, I don’t know (all dubious lineage and folklore aside). Although there are some exceptions, most of these beers I’m sure would shine coming out of the cask. Instead, it’s bottles of for us Americans, or locally brewed cask ale if you’re lucky. And while I’m on the subject, if you’ve got a choice between the two, sticking to a domestic cask isn’t a bad idea either.
If you’ve paid attention to this blog at all, you can tell that I was not overwhelmingly thrilled with Anat Baron’s Beer Wars film. I made my points assertively, and some may 
have come across as too harsh, as in my assessment of the creator’s motives and experiences. I don’t apologize for that, and don’t feel that I have the need to exclude them from my original argument, as more ”official” beer writers have suggested.
Regardless, this post is not entirely about the film, but it is related. In the interest of fairness, and in light of the fact that I’ve been given a rare opportunity, I thought it pertinent to interview Rhonda Kallman - the de facto star of Beer Wars, co-founder of Sam Adams and current head of New Century Brewing Company – to get her side of the story, and get it directly from the source.
1. How has your life, and in particular your business (New Century Brewing), changed since the release of Beer Wars? Have you seen an increase in sales or more industry interest in your products? Made any substantial changes to your products or business approach?
Well, the business hasn’t changed substantially as the movie wasn’t viewed by too many. There was tremendous interest in the movie as beer has a tendency to bring people together, though I believe people just missed the one night only event. I get many requests for a DVD though. I tweaked our recipe before the movie came out to be “all malt” vs. corn that was previously used. Frankly, I’d been watching an “anti-corn” trend in all products and when I saw the movie trailer, I decided to give all malt a try. Both beers are now 100% malt and still easy enough to drink to give beer drinkers a better alternative to their mainstream beers.
2. Do you feel your story and company were accurately portrayed in the film? Are there any parts the audience wasn’t privy to? Any thoughts on the film’s overall story about smaller brewers and the three-tier system in general? Where do you see New Century in that mix, and did it fit the tone the filmmaker adopted?
The movie is called Beer Wars, not Craft Beer Wars, which I think many people missed. It is a story about entrepreneurship, a David and Goliath portrayal. Brewers are the consummate entrepreneurs. Anat selected my story because I’m credible. I’ve spent 25 years at the forefront of a movement, been very successful with Boston Beer Company and have started yet another brewing company to make innovative American beer styles to fit the lifestyle needs of today’s consumer. As I saw it for the first time when you did, there was much to absorb sitting there in Royce Hall watching myself and my colleagues on the big screen. It triggered much emotion for many reasons. One is that I’ve been battling breast cancer over the past year and it was a bit surreal to see myself with a “full set” and long hair. It was also incredible to see my family and home on the big screen. It was the first time I had heard Jim Koch explain why I left BBC too.
3. Recently, I posted on this blog about a potential for market saturation when it comes to the specialty beer market. Do you feel that New Century has potential to overcome that with its beers? Are there any new developments on the horizon that consumers should be aware of in regard to your products or efforts?
When I started in this industry in 1984, there were 35 breweries in the US. Today, with 1400 breweries and many thousands of brands available, a “shake out” is inevitable. The brands that have built an emotional connection with their consumer and have a clear differentiation will survive. New Century’s Edison and Moonshot are “brands of the future”. I purposely zigged when the craft brewers zagged, not because I don’t like their beers and what they represent, but merely because I couldn’t do it any better. The consumer didn’t need another hopped up IPA or great German lager or wheat beer. So I went a different route.
4. Continuing off that last question, what is your perception of the beer industry as a whole? Do you think that from all levels (microbreweries to brewing giants) the public is saturated with too much of every kind of beer? Do you see a ceiling or breaking point in the market?
The beer industry has changed markedly since the repeal of Prohibition. Therefore, there will always be trends and cycles. I believe the model for brand building and distribution is broken. The big get bigger and therefore, the distributors become commodity-based vs. brand builders. At Boston Beer, we changed the model by adding value to the system by having our own people to interact throughout the whole system. Now with NCBC, that model is not feasible. I believe the big brewers and distributors need to align to give their customers (the retailers) what they want by going direct to the major retailers (i.e., Costco; 7-11 etc). There is absolutely a need for distributors on premise and up-and-down-the-street independents and therefore, they should get “overcompensated” for those accounts and leave the big trailerload orders to the brewers to get more efficiencies and better pricing overall for the consumers.
5. What are some of New Century’s target goals (basically, the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question)? And how big of an operation would you like to manage on your watch?
Let me just say that managing a big operation is easier in many respects than managing a little one, as I’ve now had the opportunity to do both. My immediate goals are to make NCBC a viable company with cash flows that enable me to have a core group of people working together to build something long lasting, and still be able to feed our families too!
6. What do you have to say to the naysayers of the world, to the Todd Alströms who call your beer nothing more than a gimmick? Do you feel that your beers target a more mainstream audience rather than the beer-geek sector?
I have two awards from the Brewer’s Association–1) as the pioneering woman in the beer industry, and 2) in recognition of commitment and service to the industry. I have those awards because I’ve been a trail blazer in this industry for 25 years. I was out there opening doors for the craft industry way back when some of these guys were still sucking their thumbs. I know what it is like to be an outlier and to do things that others think aren’t 
worthy or impossible. It’s a lonely road, though I do it for the love of beer. I’m hurt by the reactions of my so-called peers as I’ve done more for the industry as a whole (and continue to) than most will ever dream of. For some reason, I haven’t been invited into their “club”. With that said, I am very proud of the beers I have on the market. Edison is a great light beer. As you know, light beer accounts for >50% of all consumption in the US. Why not make a better one for that part of the market? Do all “better beers” have to be darker, heavier, hoppier? Moonshot, the original premium beer with caffeine, tastes great too. Why not keep beer drinkers drinking beer when they need a pick-me-up instead going to spirits or energy drinks? The more we stick together, the better it will be for the industry as a whole.
7. Do you find user-driven beer-centric Web sites, such as RateBeer and BeerAdvocate, to be a positive or a negative when it comes to the beer industry? What about social networking sites such as Facebook? In your opinion, are they purposeful or superfluous?
The more places consumers can get educated on beer, the better. My goal is to keep people talking about beer. For example, this summer, with the limited resources we have at NCBC, we are pushing a beer cocktail initiative. GASP! Well, we have some of the country’s best bartenders making cocktails with beer and consumers are loving it. We are using the social networking sites as a way to get that launched. Beer should be top of mind at all times!
8. What do you enjoy most about the beer world and the work that you do?
It’s an adventure, not a job. The people that I meet and the connections that I make are incredible. I donate beer to charities every week to give back. Beer makes good friends and puts a smile on everyone’s face.
9. What’s next for New Century in particular and Rhonda Kallman in general?
NCBC will continue to find the cracks in the beer industry and innovate as much as possible. After 25 years, I feel like I’m just getting started!
Special thanks to Rhonda Kallman for taking the time to respond and Chandra at New Century Brewing Company for setting this up. I’m hoping to do more interviews like this with a particular focus on local and regional brewers and beer industry types. If you’re interested, gimme a shout.
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