Monthly Archives: December 2020

Craft Breweries

2020 Year in Review

2 Comments

So another year is about to draw to a close. And with that, it is time to look back on my brewery and taproom visits for the year. At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of 52 breweries/taprooms, an average of one per week. By the middle of March, I had visited 17 breweries and 5 taprooms, so I was well on course to meet my target. And then, as we all know, large parts of the United States started to go into lockdown mode in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was one of those individuals who took the threat of Covid-19 seriously, its appearance severely curtailed my brewery and taproom visits. Indeed, in the period since mid-March I have only visited 3 breweries and 1 taproom (all in my home state of Ohio). So, in total, I visited 20 breweries and 6 taprooms during 2020 – exactly half of my original target. This compares with 46 in 2017, 66 in 2018, and 63 in 2019.

Before providing more statistics on my 2020 visits, let me explain the difference between a brewery and a taproom. The difference is quite simple. A brewery is an establishment where beer is produced, whereas a taproom is an establishment owned by a brewery that sells but does not produce beer on-site.

Of the 20 breweries that I visited 5 were in Ohio and 15 were in the United States but outside of Ohio. All of my non-Ohio brewery visits were in California, Florida, Michigan, and Nebraska – states that I had the opportunity to visit before Covid-19 lockdowns were implemented. Of the 20 breweries, I had visited 4 before (all in the Toledo metropolitan area and indicated by italics in the list below). Of the 6 taprooms that I visited 4 were in San Diego, CA, 1 was in Omaha, NE, and 1 was in Hudson, OH.

Unfortunately, there are no international breweries or taprooms on this year’s list. For the first time since 2003 I did not venture outside of the United States. With several vaccines now available hope that I will be able to resume my travels and brewery/taproom visits during 2021. Due to the uncertainty that still exists with regard to the impact that Covid-19 will have on our activities during 2021 I will not set myself a target.

As is my tradition, I have provided one photograph from each of the breweries/taprooms that I visited during 2020. To me they capture the beauty and diversity of the world of craft beer. I hope that you enjoy them.

Ohio Breweries (5)

Non-Ohio US Breweries (15)

Ohio Brewery Taprooms (1)

Non-Ohio Brewery Taprooms (5)

Pizza Port, Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Green Bench Brewing Co., St. Petersburg, FL
Inside The Five Brewing Company, Sylvania, OH
Swamp Head Brewery, Gainesville, FL
Brickway Brewery & Distillery, Omaha, NE
Black Frog Brewery, Holland, OH
Cigar City Brewing Company, Tampa, FL
Salt Springs Brewery, Saline, MI
Blue Monkey Brewing Company, North Royalton, OH
First Magnitude Brewing Company, Gainesville, FL
Thorn Brewing, San Diego, CA
St. Pete Brewing Company, St. Petersburg, FL
Upstream Brewing Company, Omaha, NE
4KD Crick Brewery, Defiance, OH
Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
Ypsi Alehouse, Ypsilanti, MI
Cycle Brewing, St. Petersburg, FL
Coronado Brewing Company, San Diego Tasting Room, San Diego, CA
3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg, FL
Coronado Brewpub, Coronado, CA
Iron Fist Brewing Co, San Diego, CA
Thunderhead Brewing Company, Omaha, NE
Mike Hess Brewing, Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Border X Brewing, San Diego, CA
Pure Project, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
The Brew Kettle, Hudson, OH
Holidays, International

A Beer a Day

Leave a comment

When I was a child growing up in Scotland my mom always bought an Advent Calendar. They were very simple. Made of card stock, behind each door was a picture – Santa Claus, a snowman, Rudolph, a candle, a holly wreath etc. Despite, or perhaps because of, their simplicity I loved them and would look forward to opening a door each day.

The concept of Advent Calendars has it origins with early 19th century German Protestants. Initially there was no physical calendar. Rather, the days of Advent were recognized by the daily act of either burning a candle or marking either doors or walls with a line of chalk. The first physical Advent Calendars made their appearance in 1851 and were made of wood. It was not until the first decade of the 20th century that printed Advent Calendars appeared. These early printed calendars did not have doors. Doors, which opened to reveal a picture, were not added until the 1920s – a German by the name of Gerhard Lang being credited with this innovation.

While Advent Calendars are designed with children in mind, there are a growing number of such calendars that target adults. For example, alcohol-focused Advent Calendars seem to be increasingly popular. The concept is simple. You purchase what is effectively a 24-pack of alcohol disguised as an Advent Calendar. There are doors to be opened, and behind each door is a can of beer, bottle of wine, whiskey, hard seltzer etc.

This year I purchased my first beer advent calendar. I picked it up at Costco. The calendar I purchased was one produced by the Kalea, a company who were established, according to their website, in 2010 in Salzburg, Austria, but are now, according to their Advent Calendar packaging, based in a Germany. In producing their advent calendars Kalea work with privately-owned independent breweries. The calendar cost $59.99, which means each can of beer costs $2.50, which is quite reasonable given that each can contained 16.9 oz of beer. The beers in the calendar were archetypal German. There were lots of Pilsners, Helles, and other beers from the Lager side of the beer family tree. The calendar contained very few Ales – there was one Stout, one Pale Ale, and one IPA among the 24 beers. So, while the calendar was sold during the lead-up to Christmas, none of the beers were winter seasonal Ales that are typically associated with the colder weather. This is a time of year when I do not consume many Pilsners or Hefeweizens so there was something of a disconnect between the beer I was drinking and the lower temperatures outside.

The Kalea Advent Calendar

There is a Facebook group devoted to the calendar, which I joined. Activity in the group primarily comprised of folks posting photographs of the beer of the day. A few people provided descriptions of the beer they were drinking, along with their assessment of how good they thought it was. Kalea also has an app to accompany the calendar. I downloaded the app and found it both interesting and useful, as it provided some additional information about the brewery and the beer. Also included in the app was a short video about each day’s beer.

The Kalea app included some additional information about each day’s beer and brewery.

The Kalea calendars do seem to sell out fast. There is a Costco the about a mile from my house. It was sold out when I went there to purchase a calendar. This meant a trip to the Costco on the other side of town. A few members of the calendar Facebook group also mentioned the fact that the calendars appear to be in high demand – in other words, if you want one, get it as soon as you see it available for sale.

Based on postings in the Facebook group there did appear to be some issues regarding the beers. For example, people reported identical cans containing two different beers. There were occasional reports of individuals getting a beer that was different from what others got on the same day. Another issue were some calendars containing more than one of the same beer. Calendars that were sold in Texas had a completely different complement of beers than calendars sold elsewhere in the United States. The reason for this anomaly was never definitively explained, although some people suggested that it was due to some restrictions associated with the Lone Star state’s regulatory environment for alcohol. Whether this is the case, I have no idea.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of the Kalea Advent calendar. I tried 24 beers that I had never tried before. Will I purchase this calendar again next year? I am not sure. I imagine I will do some advance research and determine which other beer advent calendars there are on the market.

History, Holidays, Labels, Rituals

Christmas Ales

Leave a comment

The Book of Ecclesiastes wisely states that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”. Adapted to the world of craft beer the appropriate sentiment might read that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every beer under the heavens”. While the seemingly ubiquitous IPAs are enjoyed year round there are several styles of beer that are associated with particular periods on the calendar. While I am not a fan off pumpkin beers I know plenty of people who look forward to their appearance each fall. Oktoberfest Marzens, in contrast, is a style whose arrival I eagerly await. And as I write this we are a few weeks away from Christmas, and Christmas Ales are in abundance. I do enjoy Christmas Ales and currently have a six-pack of one from Bell’s Brewery of Comstock, MI sitting in my basement refrigerator.

Christmas Ale from a Bell’s Brewery in Comstock, MI

Earlier this week, I gave a talk on a Christmas Ales to alumni of the University of Toledo. With the Covid-19 pandemic in full swing it was a virtual talk. When I agreed to give the talk I knew a little bit about Christmas Ales, but learned more about them as I did some research. Christmas Ales have their origins in pre-Christian pagan rituals. Take Norway as an example. Long before Christianity, Norwegians celebrated the winter solstice by brewing and drinking beer to honor Odin, Frey, and other Norse gods. The period was known as Jul, and stretched from mid-November to mid-January. Indeed the brewing of Ale was one of the most important tasks of the early winter season, with the first brew often laid out or poured on a stone for the local gnomes and spirits. Peasants would travel to the local pagan temple, bringing along food and ale for a feast Everyone was expected to take part in the drinking of Ale The first toast was to be made to Odin, then the other gods. Additional toasts were then drunk to the memory of the departed. No Norwegian farm was complete without a brewhouse — the bryggehus – this was the case up until about 200 years ago.

King Hakon the Good, who ruled Norway from 934 to 961 made it illegal to celebrate Christmas without Ale. Those who didn’t have Ale at their Christmas feast were issued a fine. In the 13th century the Gulating, an annual parliamentary assembly that met in Gulen on Norway’s west coast, passed a law similar to the decree issued by Haakon the Good. According to the Gulating:

“Yet another beer brew we are required to make, man and wife from equal amounts of malts, and to bless it Christmas night in thanks to Christ and St. Mary, for a good year and peace.

If this is not done, three marks must be paid to the bishop. But if someone sits three winters without doing so, or cannot pay the fees that we have added for our religion, and this can be proven, then he has forfeited every penny of his worth. The king shall have half, and the bishop the other half. But he may confess his sins and make church penance and stay in Norway. If he will not he shall leave the realm of our king.”

Fines and possible banishment from the kingdom indicate how seriously Christmas Ale was taken in 13th century Norway.

King Hakan the Good issued a decree making it illegal to celebrate Christmas without Ale

12 Dogs of Christmas Ale contains honey, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg

After talking about Christmas Ales in Medieval Norway, I turned my attention to Christmas Ales in modern-day America. Interestingly enough, Christmas Ale is not a recognized beer style – at least not by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) or the Brewers Association. The BJCP does include a Winter Seasonal Beer among its list of over 150 recognized styles. So what is a Winter Seasonal Beer and what are its defining characteristics? According to the BJCP Winter Seasonal Beers “suggest cold weather and the Christmas holiday season, and may include holiday spices, specialty sugars, and other products that are reminiscent of mulling spices or Christmas holiday desserts”, while “a wide range of aromatics is possible” including those “reminiscent of Christmas cookies, gingerbread, English-type Christmas pudding, evergreen trees, or mulling spices.” For example, 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale, brewed by Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. of Akron, OH includes honey, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The flavor of a Christmas Ale will reflect the spices used in the brewing process. In terms of appearance, Christmas Ales tend to be generally medium amber to very dark brown, with darker versions being are more common.

While they have existed in Europe for over a thousand years, Christmas Ales first made their appearance in the United States in the early 1900s. Prohibition arrived in 1920 and lasted until 1933, making American Christmas Ale fairly short lived. They did not reappear in the aftermath Prohibition. Indeed, it was not until 1978 that Christmas Ales reappeared on the American brewing landscape. And we have Fritz Maytag and Anchor Brewing in San Francisco to thank for that. Founded in 1896, the brewery was on the verge of going out of business when Maytag purchased a 51% share in 1965. Maytag rejuvenated the brewery’s fortunes, partly by expanding its portfolio of beers to include IPAs, Barleywine, and Porters. In 1975 Maytag introduced the first Christmas Ale to be brewed in the United States since the end of Prohibition – Anchor’s Christmas Ale.

Anchor Brewing in San Francisco
Anchor Brewing was struggling until Fritz Maytag purchased a 51% share of the brewery in 1965

Each year Anchor’s Christmas Ale is brewed using a different recipe and over the years it has evolved from a Pale Ale to spiced Brown Ale. Not only does the recipe change from year to year, but so does the beer’s distinctive label. The label always features a tree, but a different tree each year. Between 1975 and 2019 (with the exception of 1976), the labels were all designed by the same artist – 93 year-old Jim Stitt. His decision to retire, however, meant that the 2019 label was the last one designed by Stitt. The 2020 label was designed by Nathan Yoder. Given the unique challenges that 2020 has presented Yoder opted for a label that featured The Three Graces, a trio of sequoia trees, which represent radiance, joy, and hope. After the year that we have all just experienced I think that it’s safe to say that we would welcome all three of these in abundance.

Each year Anchor’s Christmas Ale is adorned with a different label featuring a different tree. Labels from 1975-1982 are shown here
93 year old Jim Stitt, now retired, designed all the labels for Anchor Christmas Ale between 1975 and 2019. The only year Stitt did not design the label was 1976 (Photo credit: SFGate.com)

The three sequoia trees on the label of Anchor’s 2020 Christmas Ale represent radiance, joy, and hope