Brewed Musings

Brewed Beverage of Choice: A pot of Green Earl Grey Tea

Got up at 8:15 this morning and after a while of diddlin’ ‘round doing this and that – more of this than of that – I decided to take the dog for a walk while the sun was still shining because it will not last long in Oregon spring so I walk out my back door to see how my hops are doing and smile at one that is almost at 5 feet in height but really only out here to gauge the coolness of the air to see if I need a jacket with the response of, “Yes!” walking back in the apartment grabbing the jacket and the Timber’s Army ‘No Pity’ scarf not because of the chill in the air but because of the excitement in the air for Thursday’s opening night of standing and singing and cheering reminding me of my childlike stubbornness the other night at being reduced, well reduced is not the correct word, to a cheerleader with me pouting saying, “No I am not!” when in reality she speaks the truth and as usual gets me to see a different point of view even though I will outwardly maintain that I am a hoolie although deep down I know hoolie and cheerleader are one-in-the-same and as I am thinking this I grab the dog, the leash, and my mp3 player putting on Andrew Bird’s ‘Simple X’ and sing along because Andrew is the only one I can sing along with in somewhat the same key – O! Andrew! Only thou can make whistling sound so beautiful! – takes me back to Chicago when I saw him do a show and he had this remarkable 4-button suit that I wanted and O! Crap! I have two weddings to go to this August and need a suit because, despite my outward appearance, I do like to look good once in a while – a bit of vanity maybe – and by the time Andrew has finished his whistlin’ and the sun has gone behind the clouds, Tess and I have reached our destination of Stumptown for a spot of tea and me-time so I switch the music to American Analog Set, tie up Tess to a nice spot throwing her a treat because she likes catchin’ ‘em now and step inside the olio of the morning.

Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Pint of Cask Conditioned Stumptown Porter from Lucky Lab

Today as I was riding Tri-Met (Portland’s local PubTrans) to run some errands, I pulled out the Northwest Brewing News from my bag and started reading. I have many guilty pleasures in my life including: Surfing documentaries, Dwell magazine, and reading the Northwest and Great Lakes Brewing News from cover to cover. A thought popped, no leapt into my head while perusing good friend and fellow Timber’s armyman Abe Goldman-Armstong’s article on organic hops and the high demand for such a limited product. The thought is still in its broad jump as I sit here with a late lunch and a pint of Real Porter: With the shortage of hops in the industry, will we see the resurgence of the Mild Ale?

The Mild is one of my favourite brews because, underdog lover that I am, it is completely misunderstood and difficult to find in the hop happy Pacific Northwest. As an historian and a socialist, the Mild also draws me in because of its ties to labour and farmers. In fact, in honour of May Day, the official workingman’s holiday, I brew a Mild ale (called May Day Dark because fickle Americans do not like the term Mild) which I will put into tank this week.

If I have not educated you on the Mild before, let me give you a bit of historical background. The Mild was not originally a style of beer but a whole group of beers. In England in the 17th and 18th centuries, beer was served in two forms: Stock or “stale” and Mild. The term mild was to denote fresh or unaged. These beers were also brewed by country people to be served for their workers. Yep…It is a British Farmhouse of a sort. At least in my opinion. The Mild evolved over the centuries to adapt to public tastes so that by the 20th century we see the Mild as a brown, malty brew with lower alcohol. (It is good to note that brewers often bottle their beer as browns and serve their draught brews as milds.) It is also this beer that found favour with the miners and manual labourers in the West Midlands of England because, as David Sutula notes in his book Mild Ale, they could “quaff great quantities of the low-gravity beers after a hard day in the mine or the factory…” It was a replenisher.

Beer styles and trends are naturally dependent on supplies. Styles such as the Pilsener, the Municher, and English Pale came about partially because of the water that was used in them. The water in those cities creating a specific taste that at the time could not be replicated. We in the Pacific Northwest are hop mad as I have stated earlier because we have hops growing in our backyards…Sometimes literally. So naturally with the shortage of hops on our hands, a style such as Mild should come back from obscurity. And I am taking up the torch by challenging other brewers in the area to brew a batch. It does not have to be a classic Mild. What fun would there be in that? But make a nice, full-flavoured dark session ale. Mild has been ignored for too long! Have a pint!

Prost!

the confucian Mild Ale brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A glass of Biere des Sans Coulettes Biere de Garde, La Choulette

Earlier this year I gave you a list of my goals for the year as it comes to marketing myself as a brewer in Portland, Oregon.  I thought it would be a good idea to give you a brief update on these goals.  Primarily because it will help me keep up with them if I make them public, but also because it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

In the past two weeks I have had two friends comment on how well my self promotion has been going.  Since my last post I have brought about a monthly event at my own pub where we release a new or special beer in the original pub which now goes unused save for the few catering events that take place there.  The first event was so-so when it comes to how many people showed.  But the last two have been spectacular in attendance and the beers have been well received.  In fact it was the last one that boosted my confidence three fold.  The beer, the Blind Abbot Abbey style ale, sold over 10 gallons in less than 5 hours.  Another customer told a fellow patron that I was the most underrated brewer in the area, which I found to be one of the best compliments I have received in a while.  And, finally a friend told me on the way home that my marketing plan seemed to be doing quite well.

In addition to that event, I was given the chance to serve my beers at a non-company pub which is unheard of up to that day.  So Tuesday night at the Green Dragon Bistro in Portland, three of my beers were being served to many patrons who not only were shocked that the beers came from the company I work for, but were also served to beer geeks (I am sticking to that term…Beer Nerd???  NO!) who have all but given up on the corporate company I work for.  It is my goal to bring these two groups back together again.  Beer geeks…The company I work for have really decent brewers working for them who actually care about the beers they create.  My company…Beer geeks will bring in more beer geeks if you welcome them.  It is time to kiss and make up.

Finally, last night, my Blind Abbot Abbey ale was served at the Portland Cheers To Belgian Beers festival.  I was there and received some rather exciting raves from the people who attended.  People now know me by my face, which scares me.  They also know my beer which was my goal to begin with.  I spent the night talking to people who were happy to know that my company allows me the freedom to do such extravagant brews.  For the last few weeks I have been able to actually see the results of my tireless self promotion.

So there you have it.  A selfless person such as myself can actually promote themselves well enough to make a difference.  My confidence has skyrocketed because it is good to be recognized for the work you do, despite the fact that I cannot take a compliment to save my life.  I will not be able to make the Craft Brewers Conference because of the cost.  But the GABF is still in my sights, as is the North American Organic Brewers Festival in June.  The excitement continues and I have YOU to thank!

Cheers,

the confucian brewer