Brewed Musings

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A Cup of Anodyne Coffee from my Milwaukee

This will be short but I have to share.  Last night, after a weekend of high annoying stress caused by amongst other things my dog having to be rushed to the hospital because of a careless dog owner (not me) who allows his aggressive Akita to roam around in front of his house unleashed to attack my defenseless white wonder on Christmas morning, I was listening to a Radiohead song I listen to every so often, Where I End and You Begin (The Sky is Falling In).  There are songs out there that can just push my emotions and this is just one of those songs.

The song inspired a poem not long ago when I was taking a class on Native American history and was writing a research paper on the significance of Raven in Tribal religions and society.  For this paper, I had to do research into the Ghost Dance religion that swept through the tribes of the midwest and southwest.  The culmination of the song by Radiohead and the deep research led me to write the following which has a title but I have forgotten it at the moment so live with it.

The Raven spoke!
The Raven spoke!

“The shadows
are our friends.
The shadows
are our neglected friends.”

I was a fool
not to believe him,
kept the nightlight on
whilst I slept.

Fools sleep
without darkness.

The rains came!
The rains came!
Pummeled the ground.
Blew out my light.

My shadow’s
My companion.
Through the storm,
My only companion’s
my shadow.

“Fools sleep
without darkness,”
The Raven spoke.

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice: Adnam’s Suffolk Special Bitter

One of my favourite types of beer, the British Mild Ale, falls into an often ignored area by the microbrewing industry in the states - the session beer. For whatever reason, American drinkers more often than not will choose the 6.0% IPA over the 4.2% Special Bitter. Their choice, also more often than not, is because of the higher alcohol content and not by flavour. But the session beer has much more to offer than one would expect. It offers flavour, hops, history, and a bit of the social aspect of the pub. If all we drank in the pubs was the higher alcohol beers, we would get blasted and hate our neighbours for what they left in the yard after a night of drinking.

First off, what is a session beer? The definition on the Beer Advocate website is the best one I have found and cannot word it any better.

session beer - n. Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish - a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication.

Historically, workers in the UK during WWI were allowed by law to drink during two different ’sessions.’ During these 4 hour sessions, workers could find ales, and sometimes lagers, that could slake their thirst while not getting them too drunk so they could not go back to work. The mild ale, for one, was typically consumed by thirsty coal miners after work to replenish the fluids they lost while on the job, and in turn they could have a couple before heading home without being too intoxicated. So, session ales and lagers, without our knowledge, promoted responsible drinking. Who would have thunk it?

Much like the altbier from a previous BrewU (which incidentally can also be considered a session beer) the production of a great session beer takes a patient and passionate hand. Because the flavours of the malt and hops have to be just at the right proportion, not every brewer can create a decent session beer. They can produce one, but the thought behind a session beer is to get the drinker to get another one, and a subpar session beer will turn the drinker onto something else. Milds and Special Bitters are the oft ignored brothers to the Porter and ESB respectively. It is unfortunate that most brewers in the states tend to ignore these two beers because they are a flavourful brew and pleasing to many a tongue.

I must say that I am limiting my opinion on the limited selection of session brews to what you find in bottles, and not the brewpub where the brewer is brewing for a smaller audience per se. But there are commercial examples of session beers that I would recommend for those interested. Goose Island in Chicago makes a mild which is tasty. Adnams is being imported to the states and their SSB is delicious. Also from the UK is Young’s Dirty Dick. Full Sail produces a ‘lawn mower beer’ called Session and and English Special Bitter called Rip Curl. The fun again is going out and actually finding these wonderful brews. And in turn then telling me about ‘em. Here is a short list of session beers: Milds, Bitters, Special Bitters, Alts, Kolsches, some Browns, Biere de Table, some Pilseners. The list could go on and on.

I hope you can go out and find a great example of this fine brew, sit down with neighbours, and watch winter pass you by. Session ales promote sociability and community. Plus, the next morning you can remember that you drank a couple of ‘em.

Prost!

the confucian session brewer

The rest of the Beer Advocate article

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  Lindemann’s Kriek Lambic (I just finished a book on brewing with wild yeasts…)

Soundtrack of the Day:  Seems to be Cool Blues by Jimmy Smith

Where to start.  O! Where to start!  As I walk the White Wonder all around town I find, or rather she finds, the remnants of a lazy society, a society whose greatest concern is consumption regardless of whether or not it reaches totality.  As we walk the wet streets she finds with the help of the finest nose this side of the Mississippi the scattered remains of food we toss out without regard to the ones who may pass.  She finds, in no particular order, pizza, fried chicken, bread pieces, taco bell, mcdonalds, old milk, slices of turkey, chicken or beef, etc. etc.  To this I yell at the top of my lungs, “It is called a fucking garbage can!  USE IT!”

It makes me glad to have the parents I have.  The extended parents of my family, the patrons of the local pub, the school teachers and principals, the shopkeeper, and the residents of the neighbourhood.  It is because of them I can use a trash can.  It is because of them I find myself using the words “Thank you” and “Please” without even thinking about it.  It is because of them I actually care about my neighbourhood to the nth degree.  It is because of them I have more respect for my elders, my neighbours, and the visitors to my neighbourhood.

Which actually brings me to Christmas and the encouragement I am glad to receive from my parents.  As I opened the gifts my mom and dad sent me this year, I was not hit with the thought “What the fuck is this? AND when will I ever use this?”  For as long as I can remember, my parents (and this includes Merry, Joe, and Charity’s Grandfather) have encouraged me to be whatever I want to be.  They have encouraged me to read and write, to study.  So while I opened up said gifts it struck me, “What other parent would encourage their kid’s geeky study in the history of Milwaukee?”  “What other parent would encourage their kid’s religious study of brewing?”

It is not that all parents don’t encourage their kids.  I am sure they do.  But I have seen far too many of them live vicariously through their children, pushing sports, medicine, law, or other glamourous position without a thought of what their children really want.  And don’t get me wrong, there were times where my parent were less than encouraging, but they did know when to let the wee duckling go off on their own.  And to that I say, it is their fault I am a geek.  Blame them!  Damn encouraging parents!

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice: Saintly Biere de Garde…One of my own creations

I do not have a lot to say tonight, but when I woke this morning to head to work this was on NPR.

Tommy Guerrero on NPR

For any who has talked to me in the past year, Tommy Guerrero is by far one of my most favourite musicians. Hell, he is one of my inspirations. My ‘idols,’ who keep me doing what I do, are NOT brewers. They are skateboarders, poets, monks, and artists. There is a book I read on opening your own brewery/brewpub and one of the tests was to list people who inspire you. Mine were as follows:

Bob Burnquist, Jason Lee, Tommy Guerrero, Brian Lotti, The owners of Lakefront Brewery, Duane (the owner of Stumptown Coffee,) Jason McAdam, and Carl Sandburg.

The first four are skateboarders, which says a lot. They are the most creative people I have ever been associated with. In fact, I think even McAdam was a skateboarder at one time. But here is the thing, Bob owns an organic food company. Jason Lee is an actor and owns a skateboard company. Tommy is a musician and runs a skate company. And Brian is a successful artist and Buddhist. The thing about skateboarders is they have Zen quality to them. At least the ones I find interesting.

If you ever get a chance to see Tommy live, go see him. He puts on one of the best shows you will ever see. It really was just surprising to wake up and hear him being interviewed on NPR. The radio station never ceases to amaze me.

Prost!

the confucian brewer (skateboarder at heart)

Brewed Beverage of Choice: Duh! Look at the title of this post!

Through some inspection and from some disparaging responses from angry readers, I have decided to give some brew reviews on some of my favourite beers, usually dependent on mood and season. That is right I am caving in to the masses which goes against everything for which I stand. But in researching some of the folk who actually read this blog, I found a person in Spain log on and quickly leave because they googled Hair of the Dog Adambier despondant that the post had nothing really to do with that fine brew. So instead of saying, ‘To hell with all of you who just want me to talk about beer!’ I am going to do my best with my limited palette to do a discerning review of beers I like to drink. Hopefully I can then keep those folk from say Spain and Japan who logged on and left in dismay. Cheers!

Every fall and winter I wait with baited breath for the release of Anchor Steam’s Our Special Ale because it is such a spectacular brew and they change the recipe every year. It is by far one of the best winter ales out on the market today. This year’s model is, in my opinion, better than last year, which I thought fell a little flat. No pun intended.

The 2006 version of Our Special Ale pours into the glass with a deep mahagony colour, almost black, and a nice thick cream coloured head. Just by look alone it could be mistaken for a porter or oatmeal stout save for its visual texture. The first thing that hit me when I raised my glass for a whiff was the scents of vanilla, caramel, and their mystery spices. Sometimes I wish my nose could distinguish the aroma of spices better so I could tell you which ones were used. But one of the best things about drinking this brew is trying to discern that on your own, so I will not even hint at what I think they are. After my first sip there was a pleasurable amount of bitterness that flowed into a deep roasted coffee flavour. There are also hints of raisins, vanilla, and those mysterious spices. I would add a nutty complexity and the subtle warmth of alcohol one would find in any good winter ale. The brew was nice and firm in its mouthfeel. Not too light and not too thick. I did find that it tasted much, MUCH better after I let it warm up to something near room temperature. The flavours are more pronounced and the warmth much more inviting. It is some geek’s desire to store one bottle away and drink it a year or so later which is not a bad idea. But I would suggest spending the money on the magnum because it will allow the flavours to work their magic better than in just the tiny 12 oz. bottle.

So there you have it my friends and family. You can call me a total cave-in, a sell-out, if you want. The only reason I did not want to do this is because I wanted folk to go out and buy a bottle of the brewed beverage of choice on their own rather than get a review from some schlepp like me. Oh well, things change and so do I. So live with it! Enjoy the wonders of Our Special Ale!

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice: A cup of green tea…the beer comes later.

For months I have been fighting a sort of lethargy and lost feeling. Not lost like not knowing where I am going or cannot find the place I am headed. But a lost sort of feeling like I am missing something. My spirit did not seem calm at all and was acting out in unusual ways…kind of like what my computer is doing as we speak. It was not something that counseling could help because I have gone through that. It was almost like white noise. So last weekend, on a whim, I decided to find out where the Zen temples, or Zendo, are in the city. Lo and behold! There is one in the ‘hood. So I made a trek last night for my first ever attempt at Zazen, which is Zen Buddhist sitting meditation.

I have to say I was a bit nervous. It does not matter what form of religious temple I go in, I always feel like I will be struck down if I enter. But the other practitioners were quite helpful and taught me the correct way to sit, when to bow, etc. etc. Now almost ten years ago I chided Zen Buddhists in America because I thought it was too easy for Americans to grab hold of. It was the McDonalds of Buddhism. But after reading more about it, I found it would suit me better because it was developed in China during the time when Confucianism had a stronghold on society. Therefore, a lot of Confucianism is seen in most of the Zen or Ch’an Buddhism philosophy.

It was then time to enter the temple and begin the meditation. At the end of the evening, two things popped into my head as I was walking home. The first is that it is amazing what 30 minutes of sitting in complete silence can do. Everyone else was in the same frame of mind so no one is watching and judging. But after about 10 minutes the body and mind gets quiet and all one notices are sounds. At least that is all I noticed. The rain falling on the zendo roof. But I did not think about the rain. I only heard it. Granted we did two 30 minutes zazens and the second one was a lot harder to get into. By that time my mind was revolting.

The second thing is there is nothing more peaceful than sitting in a temple. It is not the activity filled silence of a library. There is too much moving and shuffling and writing and reading going on in the background. And believe me, I love this type of silence. I could live in a library. But the silence of a temple, be it a Buddhist temple, a Catholic church, a Mosque, is quite different. I cannot explain it. I can enter in a Catholic church at a low time of activity and sit there enjoying the quiet-tude surrounding me without having a religious thought. It is quite peaceful.

The whole night calmed my spirit even if it was only for a couple of hours. By the time I was to go to sleep, my mind went back to work and kept me awake for several more hours. Now I can get back to the things I know best…beer, reading, and writing knowing full well I am also feeding a restless spirit determined to get back to the shadows. With that thought in mind, I am off to get a pint and be back to review it for you. Enjoy the rest of the day…

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A Pint of Winterfish Ale from Fish Tale Brewing

Soundtrack of the Day: The Fawn - The Sea and Cake

I had a lot of different things running through my head that I really would have liked to yammer on about: my dinner conversation last night, the origins of the slang phrase rhubarb (as in I got in a rhubarb with someone,) etc., etc.  But instead something happened tonight that just grabbed my attention.

On the walk with the White Wonder, I happened into Stumptown Coffeehouse for a small cup of joe.  It is a common thing for me considering I need something to occupy my time whilst on the walk.  Anyway I have a friend who works there that is originally from Milwaukee.  Well actually she is from Wauwautosa.  And, lo and behold, what was on the turntable?  The Sea and Cake’s The Fawn: the exact same album I was listening to moments before, as I got ready to head out on the walk.

Normally this would not be so shocking, but she and I have had these moments a lot.  When I first met her we were talking about our fair Cream City, the talk turned to the neighbourhoods we used to live in when we lived in Milwaukee.  It became apparent that we lived within blocks of each other and did not run into each other til we both moved here.  And since then we have had similar thoughts within minutes of seeing each other.  I would walk into Stumptown and one of us would say something, and the other would say they were thinking the same thing.  The last straw is that her daughter’s name is top on my list for daughter’s names, if I would ever have children.

I know what some of you are saying, ‘Big deal, Brewer.  There is nothing unusual about that.’  I may agree, but I have had these same kinds of connection with others as well.  My best friend and I have some sort of weird connection similar to this.  We would literally say what the other was thinking.  And my oldest and dearest friend (I miss you) felt as though we had known each other much longer than our ages.

Superstitious?  Perhaps.  Hopeless Romantic?  Could be.  But there are so many things that pop up in our daily lives that most of us just pass off as science fiction.  Those little eerie things that make no sense, to me, these are the most intriguing and simply astounding things about life.  Could she and I simply be milling around in the same mental plane?  Could my sweet Charity and I have known each other in a past life?  To me what happened tonight just shows me there is something unknown out there, even if it may be an electral plane of consciousness.  I know this is deep, but I was excited.  Don’t think my life is just monastic living and beer.

Cheers, from another plane of existence

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice: a cup of afternoon tea!

(Written last night at the Blue Monk whilst I sat warming the cockles with a couple of pints of ale)

She walked past me in a leisure gait. Her intoxicating aroma arousing something in me as it reached for my nose. You know the way. Like that of a young child reaching for your nose as it is held in the arms of mother. Though it is not hard to describe the scent, it is one only a man of loneliness recognizes. Not because he is in a desirable state, a state of great longing. Well not only because of that state. But because it is a scent only a man of open mind, a man of want, a man in touch with his senses can taste, can smell, can endure. All the things loneliness provides.

Men who are ‘in’ relationships become sedintary and often take aroma for granted. They become sensually lethargic when it comes to the scent of a woman. It is an easy trap to fall into for all who come within its grasp. And do not think that it is just the man caught. Women can get their legs caught as well. But I am a man and cannot speak for a woman.

And so she walks past and leaves her scent slowly following behind, putting my mind in an erotic yet sensual frame of reference. The dream of our passionate embrace. The visions of the two of us tangled amongst the tangle of sheets. These are what trails that scent. Follows it like cherry blossoms in an easterly of the mountains.

These are not the visions of just the lonely person. The married man down the street has these visions. Yet they are visions of escapism as he sits in front of the computer screen typing a proposal, or as he sits in stalled traffic on the way home. For a single man, which I have termed lonely earlier…let’s face it…single = lonely at some time…not all the time mind you…it just so happens I felt the pang of loneliness as she past my table in the cafe. But back to the point.

A single man has the afore mentioned visions not out of escapism, but out of heightened senses. The senses of a hunter, of a wolf. These are visions of rememberence, of delight, of hunger. These are the visions of someone who through no fault of his own cannot or has not participated in the hunt. One who knows of the fire it brings. One who knows.

To say a lonely person is a hungry person is cliche. That, however, does not take away from its truth. Remember after all that lonely = single = hungry. To be hungry does not however mean one is starving. Is that too much for you? The hunter in all of us is brought when we are at our hungriest. And the best hunters are the ones most keenly aware. The ones who will catch onto a scent.

She walks past my table on her way to the front of the cafe, her scent following behind her like the Yangtze flows. I ready my bow and aim only to disarm. I am hungry, yet not starving. Besides the scent is far too intoxicating.

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A Glass of Saint Feuillien Cuvee de Noel (4 stars at the Holiday Ale Festival)

The other night as I sat at the Moon and Sixpence, sipping on a cask-conditioned Red Seal Ale, and explaining to my date what a real ale or cask-conditioned ale is, it occurred to me that I should be an advocate for Real Ales here in the states.  In other words, Real Ales are now my new religion.

In the UK the Campaign for Real Ale or CAMRA was started in order to save what they saw as a dying artform, not only Real Ales, but also good beers in general.  They were trying to minimalize the stronghold that mass produced lagers had on their society.  In some respects, thanks to CAMRA, we in America are in the midst of a strong, microbrewing revolution.  As an advocate of Real Ales, not only would I be aiding this revolution, but I would also be campaigning for buying local because Real Ales need to be served ‘fresh.’

Please do not think that while on a date all I was thinking about was how I should be a Real Ale Advocate.  That really hit me the next morning.  I may be single…but I am not stupid.  At least I did manage to convert one new disciple despite not getting a third date.  (That is another amusing story I will not get into…perhaps I was thinking about Real Ales too much on the date.)

I am not going to get into the full definition of what a Real Ale is as of yet.  That will be saved for my next BrewU.  I still have a lot of research to do on that topic.  Just know that most of us in the business refer to Real Ales or Cask-Conditioned Ales as live brews served at cellar temperatures bringing out the most in flavours.  Instead, I am announcing the introduction of ‘Ask For Cask’ as a new category.  Here I will try to educate folk on Real Ales, give some reviews of some of the best Real Ales, hopefully tell of some travels to find these great Real Ales and Real Ale friendly environs.

This is quite exciting!  It allows me to introduce a whole new world to some, to share some fascination with other Real Ale lovers, as well as allow me to study up on an area of brewing I know so little about.  If you know of a great place to get hearty cask-conditioned ales in your city, email me at confucianbrewer@confucianbrewer.com and tell me your favourite brews, your favourite cask friendly places, or about upcoming festivals we all might be interesting in attending.

It is time to ‘pull a pint!’

Prost!

the confucian, cask-conditioned advocate brewer