Cheers.
Posted on 04/12/2006 8:39:11 PM PDT by pissant
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- What's it take to spend a full day tasting some of the world's best specialty brews? For Chuck Skypeck, early morning exercise and a big breakfast, followed by an equally hearty lunch.
That regimen was a must for Skypeck at this week's World Beer Cup, because unlike their colleagues in the world of fine wine, the judges weren't wasting any of the samples on a spittoon.
"We're beer drinkers. We don't spit," said Skypeck, co-founder of Memphis, Tenn.-based Boscos brewpubs, with a chuckle. "I think especially with beer, you're not going to experience the full flavors, the character, unless you take that swallow. It just completes the experience."
He was one of about 1,900 brewers, business owners and beer lovers who flocked to the Pacific Northwest, an epicenter of the modern microbrewing boom, for this week's beer competition and annual Craft Brewers Conference.
They're gathering at a heady time for the industry, which is seeing its small slice of the alcoholic beverage market increase.
Last year's sales of craft beer were up by about 9 percent, the second straight year of impressive growth. At the same time, mass-produced national brands saw a slight decline.
Industry leaders say the resurgence, the biggest since craft beer's mid-1990s boom days, reflects a general shift among American consumers toward richer, more flavorful products.
"You look over the last 20 years, and the fact that salsa has replaced ketchup as the leading condiment in the United States, and the whole sort of coffee revolution that was launched by Starbucks," said Ray Daniels, marketing director for the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association.
Age also plays a part. While Baby Boomers appreciate slightly pricier craft beers, the newest generation of beer drinkers has an independent streak that also favors small-batch regional brews, said Paul Gatza, the Brewers Association's director.
"Their level of loyalty pretty much exists to the next thing they want to do. I think that bodes well to getting out of this corporate beer mentality," Gatza said.
This year's installment of the World Beer Cup, a biennial contest for microbrews dubbed "the Olympics of beer competitions," is the largest ever, Daniels said.
The association designated 110 judges to smell, sip and savor their way through some 2,275 beers, sent from about 540 breweries in 55 countries.
The samples were shipped first to the association's Colorado headquarters, then collected and trucked to the convention site in Seattle - with extras held in reserve in case of an accident.
The top finishers in some 85 categories were to be announced Friday, with flavors ranging from familiar varieties like pilseners to experimental brews incorporating different vegetables and spices.
In between, there's plenty of time for brewers from around the globe to rub elbows and swap trade secrets.
"It's kind of a cutthroat business in some ways, but small brewers have really felt the need to make sure we're all helping each other out," Skypeck said.
"I think it's probably to do with the fact that the industry itself has some enemies, kind of neo-prohibitionists. There's always someone trying to basically put us out of business or increase our excise taxes or whatever," said George Hancock, founder of Seattle's Pyramid Breweries.
With the judging finished Wednesday, Skypeck and others who'd spent two days holed up in separate tasting rooms were free to roam the aisles of Seattle's convention center, catch up with colleagues and give their palates a rest.
"You know what the real downside is?" he said. "After 53 samples of beer last night, we had our opening reception ... and guess what I didn't want to drink?"
Cheers.
brewski PING
beer rocks
And goes well with other adult beverages ON the rocks.
Good link , Quantim. Well done, Knews Hound.
I gave up home brewing 10 years ago mainly because of time constraints, and the fact that so many damn good beers are available. But I may just "hop" back into the game soon.
My favorite is 'raspberry wheat' from Big Buck Brewery, Gaylord, MI.
I know a berry tainted beer is gay sounding and unfashionable, but as a retired sommelier with decades of experience, sometimes there is just no accounting for taste. ;-)
But if you saw some of the toughies drinking it, you probably wouldn't mouth off, they'd grab a snowmobile with one arm and beat you with it...
I've had a berry flavored beer from a brewery in Bozemen, MT (though I can't remember the name..maybe Black Dog??) and it was tasty. But I'm a hop head. The NW has several outstanding IPAs as well as ESBs. Of course, when it comes to pilsners, the germans and the Chechs do it best.
“A pale hoppy brew, with a fresh floral hop character from a blend of English and American hops. A most satisfying and refreshing session beer.”
In America the West Coast Brewers are often known as Hopheads because of their passion for hoppy beers.
Hoppy vs. happy? Not going there.
Gotta love an IPA brewed in the Beaver State.
Amateurs....
I love the beer olympics. I can almost clear the bar in the high-jump without spilling my beer
BEER! thread here (cross linked now) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1614407/posts?page=27
Hoppy = happy
Gotta love a beaver in the IPA state as well. ;o)
Shoulda been 53 pints.
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