The Denver Post reports that MillerCoors, Colorado's largest brewer, has been fined by federal regulators after one worker died and two others were injured at the Golden plant.
It's worth remembering that brewing giants such as MillerCoors are huge, industrial operations, with all the trappings of any other heavy industry.
In my four years in Durango, I haven't heard of any workplace injuries at Durango's four breweries. Which doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't happened, but there doesn't seem to be any history of problems.
Some of those guys lug around a lot of weight, in addition to electrical dangers. So it always pays to be careful.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A little round-up
Soggy Coaster has unfortunately been too busy lately to write some posts that need writing. The big event recently was the release of Wheelsucker Wheat Ale by Ska Brewing. The full review that the beer deserves is percolating somewhere in my cranium. Also, I intend to drink and review Durango Brewing Co.'s new Motivator in coming days.
Briefly, Carver's has returned its Oatmeal Pale Ale to the taps. Soggy Coaster needs to try that one, too.
And, finally, the Beervana blog out of Portland has a beautiful meditation on that author's favorite style, the saison. Carver's brews a version of the venerable style; its Saison de Tour is now on tap.
Briefly, Carver's has returned its Oatmeal Pale Ale to the taps. Soggy Coaster needs to try that one, too.
And, finally, the Beervana blog out of Portland has a beautiful meditation on that author's favorite style, the saison. Carver's brews a version of the venerable style; its Saison de Tour is now on tap.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Durango Brewing Co.'s new Motivator
Durango Brewing Co. will have a new beer on tap this weekend.
Motivator, as it is called, is a Scottish-style ale. It will be pouring tonight (Friday, July 31) at the homebrewers rally at Ska, and starting tomorrow at Durango Brewing, 3000 Main Ave.
Motivator also will be distributed in 22-0z. bomber bottles.
The ale uses Kent Goldings hops from the U.K. and malt from Colorado Malting Co. in Alamosa, said brewer Damon Scott. Motivator comes in at 5.7 percent ABV and 21 IBUs.
If you try Motivator over the weekend, leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Motivator, as it is called, is a Scottish-style ale. It will be pouring tonight (Friday, July 31) at the homebrewers rally at Ska, and starting tomorrow at Durango Brewing, 3000 Main Ave.
Motivator also will be distributed in 22-0z. bomber bottles.
The ale uses Kent Goldings hops from the U.K. and malt from Colorado Malting Co. in Alamosa, said brewer Damon Scott. Motivator comes in at 5.7 percent ABV and 21 IBUs.
If you try Motivator over the weekend, leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Obama's beer diplomacy
President Barack Obama will meet over a beer Thursday with the Harvard professor and Cambridge cop whose encounter has led to a national discussion about race, law enforcement and constitutional rights.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters there's nothing on the agenda but a "cold beer."
Reuters reports that the cop, Sergeant James Crowley, prefers Blue Moon, the Belgian witbier brewed by MolsonCoors. Professor Henry Louis Gates is said to prefer Red Stripe or Beck's.
Blue Moon is a fine choice, even though it is made by one of America's brewing giants. There are better witbiers out there (Avery White Rascal, Ska DIFF), but Soggy Coaster won't begrudge Sgt. Crowley his Blue Moon.
Red Stripe and Beck's are disappointing choices - two boring, undistinguished imports.
A much better choice would be something from Gates' and Crowley's hometown Cambridge Brewing Co. Perhaps the arresting officer, professor and president could settle the truth over a Tall Tale Pale Ale?
Or perhaps the host would prefer to serve something from his homestate Kona Brewing Co.? Longboard Lager is well-liked. Or maybe, to remind his visitors of where he truly started his road to the White House, the president could select a beer from Chicago craft brewer Goose Island.
Apparently, the president is busy with some sort of health care thing. But he ought to seriously consider Soggy Coaster's advice. A meeting of such import deserves good beer.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters there's nothing on the agenda but a "cold beer."
Reuters reports that the cop, Sergeant James Crowley, prefers Blue Moon, the Belgian witbier brewed by MolsonCoors. Professor Henry Louis Gates is said to prefer Red Stripe or Beck's.
Blue Moon is a fine choice, even though it is made by one of America's brewing giants. There are better witbiers out there (Avery White Rascal, Ska DIFF), but Soggy Coaster won't begrudge Sgt. Crowley his Blue Moon.
Red Stripe and Beck's are disappointing choices - two boring, undistinguished imports.
A much better choice would be something from Gates' and Crowley's hometown Cambridge Brewing Co. Perhaps the arresting officer, professor and president could settle the truth over a Tall Tale Pale Ale?
Or perhaps the host would prefer to serve something from his homestate Kona Brewing Co.? Longboard Lager is well-liked. Or maybe, to remind his visitors of where he truly started his road to the White House, the president could select a beer from Chicago craft brewer Goose Island.
Apparently, the president is busy with some sort of health care thing. But he ought to seriously consider Soggy Coaster's advice. A meeting of such import deserves good beer.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
On the merits of glassware
Glassware is an important but often neglected part of drinking good beer.
Some beers do fine straight from the can or bottle - domestics, simpler craft beers. But some beers demand to be decanted, and you do yourself and the beer a disservice by sucking it from a narrow-mouthed container.
Taste is closely linked to smell. The more you can smell, the fuller the taste. So drinking straight from the bottle or can only dulls the taste.
This will be a familiar concept to drinkers of wine and spirits. Brandy, for example, is served in a brandy snifter for good reason. The shape of the glass encourages the drinker to essentially shove his nose close to the booze, resulting in keener smell and taste.
For most beer - pale ales, IPAs, reds, etc. - pint glasses are fine. But some beers, such as Belgian styles and stouts, benefit hugely from being poured in a globe glass.
Some months ago, Soggy Coaster purchased a New Belgium globe glass at Lady Falconburgh's. I've been amazed at the depths of taste I can now detect from the smell curling into my nose as the beer trickles toward my throat (God, this is making me thirsty). It's a huge difference.
Twice this summer, Soggy Coaster has seen people drinking True Blonde Dubbel straight from the bomber bottle. This is of course an abomination, and I'll try to explain why.
Despite its name, Ska's dubbel has little in common with the True Blonde Ale from the same brewery. True Blonde is fine from the bottle or can, but the dubbel is actually a rather excellent interpretation of a strong Belgian ale, made with Belgian yeast and candy sugar. Pour it into a globe. Help the flavor open up. Don't drink it from the bottle. It's not Old Milwaukee, and you're not at a frat party anymore.
This isn't about snobbery or looking cool. It's about getting the most enjoyment from your beers. Decant, and set your beer free.
Some beers do fine straight from the can or bottle - domestics, simpler craft beers. But some beers demand to be decanted, and you do yourself and the beer a disservice by sucking it from a narrow-mouthed container.
Taste is closely linked to smell. The more you can smell, the fuller the taste. So drinking straight from the bottle or can only dulls the taste.
This will be a familiar concept to drinkers of wine and spirits. Brandy, for example, is served in a brandy snifter for good reason. The shape of the glass encourages the drinker to essentially shove his nose close to the booze, resulting in keener smell and taste.
For most beer - pale ales, IPAs, reds, etc. - pint glasses are fine. But some beers, such as Belgian styles and stouts, benefit hugely from being poured in a globe glass.
Some months ago, Soggy Coaster purchased a New Belgium globe glass at Lady Falconburgh's. I've been amazed at the depths of taste I can now detect from the smell curling into my nose as the beer trickles toward my throat (God, this is making me thirsty). It's a huge difference.
Twice this summer, Soggy Coaster has seen people drinking True Blonde Dubbel straight from the bomber bottle. This is of course an abomination, and I'll try to explain why.
Despite its name, Ska's dubbel has little in common with the True Blonde Ale from the same brewery. True Blonde is fine from the bottle or can, but the dubbel is actually a rather excellent interpretation of a strong Belgian ale, made with Belgian yeast and candy sugar. Pour it into a globe. Help the flavor open up. Don't drink it from the bottle. It's not Old Milwaukee, and you're not at a frat party anymore.
This isn't about snobbery or looking cool. It's about getting the most enjoyment from your beers. Decant, and set your beer free.
Ska to host homebrewers event
Homebrewers will gather at Ska Brewing Co. on Friday, July 31, to drink, tour and be loved.
The event is a rally for the American Homebrewers Association. AHA members get in free, while nonmembers can pay $33 that - wait for it - also gets you an annual membership to the AHA!
For homebrewers, this should be great fun. It's too bad it's not more open to the general public.
The event is a rally for the American Homebrewers Association. AHA members get in free, while nonmembers can pay $33 that - wait for it - also gets you an annual membership to the AHA!
For homebrewers, this should be great fun. It's too bad it's not more open to the general public.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wheelsucking brewers
Ska Brewing Co. President Dave Thibodeau and Avery Brewing founder Adam Avery share a laugh at the Wheelsucker Wheat Ale release party Friday. I'm amazed they were able to smile much after bicycling 426 miles from Boulder to Durango.
Soggy Coaster will post of a full review of Wheelsucker Wheat in the coming days. Suffice it to say for now, I loved it. It's full-bodied but crisp, with waves of flavor.
I heard some dissension from people who don't like wheat beers, and from others who were taken aback by Wheelsucker's strength. I suppose if you don't like wheat beers, and you don't like strong beers, Wheelsucker probably isn't for you. But I'll be stocking up on the bombers.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wheelsucker Wheat Ale release
Ska Brewing Co. and Avery Brewing Co. will release Wheelsucker Wheat Ale tonight, the first collaboration beer between the Durango and Boulder breweries.
The release party begins at 5 p.m., Fri., July 24, at Ska HQ in Bodo Industrial Park, 225 Girard St. The Soda Jerks will play, and proceeds will benefit the Safe Roads Coalition of La Plata County.
Soggy Coaster is looking forward to tasting what Ska and Avery hath wrought. I'll probably write a review sometime within the next week, but if you want to beat me to the punch, post a comment.
For more details about the beer, see two posts down.
The release party begins at 5 p.m., Fri., July 24, at Ska HQ in Bodo Industrial Park, 225 Girard St. The Soda Jerks will play, and proceeds will benefit the Safe Roads Coalition of La Plata County.
Soggy Coaster is looking forward to tasting what Ska and Avery hath wrought. I'll probably write a review sometime within the next week, but if you want to beat me to the punch, post a comment.
For more details about the beer, see two posts down.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Ska Mexican Logger earns props
Ed Sealover, who writes the Denver-based Beer Run Blog, named Ska Brewing Co.'s Mexican Logger his "Surprise Beer of the Festival" for last weekend's Breckenridge Beer Festival.
Here's what Sealover had to say:
All I'd heard about Ska's Mexican Logger before the show was that some Hispanics did not appreciate the picture of a sleeping Mexican beside a chainsaw on the label, feeling it might be stereotypical. The only place my mind went after sipping this, however, was to the sharp smoothness and great malt texture that made this seem like a totally different beer than other Mexican lagers, which can look and taste shockingly similar to urine in a bottle.
That was my reaction to the taste, too (although I wouldn't describe it as "sharp smoothness" - a phrase that would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but in fairness to Sealover, describing beer can be tricky). Mexican Logger tastes nothing like Corona, which is a good thing.
One wonders how Hispanics feel about the bottle label. The only comments I've heard about it came from sensitive white people, and I often find minorities aren't nearly so sensitive as the self-appointed guardians of political correctness. Intent, I think, matters more than content when talking about race and ethnicity. To a point.
Here's what Sealover had to say:
All I'd heard about Ska's Mexican Logger before the show was that some Hispanics did not appreciate the picture of a sleeping Mexican beside a chainsaw on the label, feeling it might be stereotypical. The only place my mind went after sipping this, however, was to the sharp smoothness and great malt texture that made this seem like a totally different beer than other Mexican lagers, which can look and taste shockingly similar to urine in a bottle.
That was my reaction to the taste, too (although I wouldn't describe it as "sharp smoothness" - a phrase that would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but in fairness to Sealover, describing beer can be tricky). Mexican Logger tastes nothing like Corona, which is a good thing.
One wonders how Hispanics feel about the bottle label. The only comments I've heard about it came from sensitive white people, and I often find minorities aren't nearly so sensitive as the self-appointed guardians of political correctness. Intent, I think, matters more than content when talking about race and ethnicity. To a point.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Preview: Wheelsucker Wheat Ale (Ska/Avery)
Hefeweizen is one of those beers that makes beer worth drinking. So it's a good thing that Ska and Avery Brewing are set to release Wheelsucker Wheat Ale on Friday.
Wheelsucker is a collaboration beer from Ska in Durango and Avery in Boulder, two of Colorado's best breweries.
Ska tends to keep it simple, brewing classic American-meets-English beers like Modus Hoperandi IPA and Pinstripe Red Ale.
While Avery brews a solid lineup of typical beers - a stout, an IPA, etc., - it is perhaps best known for brewing huge, weird beers. Avery's Brabant barrel-aged ale (8.7 percent ABV, 25 IBUs) and Salvation Belgian-style ale (9 percent ABV, 25 IBUs), exemplify talented, risk-tasking brewing that sometimes pushes the limits of what beer can be. Soggy Coaster visited the Avery brewhouse last month, and seeing 108 wooden barrels aging various beers was a sight to behold.
Avery Brewing founder Adam Avery visited Durango with a small crew July 1 to brew Wheelsucker. He and the Ska boys, led by Head Brewer Thomas Larsen, came up with an imperial hefeweizen (the bottle label calls it a "Mountain Hefe"). It approximates the style of traditional German hefes, but Avery, Larsen and co. pimped it out to about 6.6 percent ABV. (The brewers were aiming for higher, but the yeast crapped out).
By comparison, Widmer Hefeweizen, a phenomenally popular American hefe brewed in Portland, comes in at 4.9 percent ABV.
Hefes pour a cloudy, golden color, and taste light and refreshing. They're often served with an orange slice, but good hefes do fine without fruit adornment.
"When we were discussing a beer style, we wanted something strong, but also refreshing and would mix with lemon-lime soda to make a Radler, a staple of European bike tours for many years," Larsen says in an e-mail to Beer at 6512. "We decided on a hefe partly because Adam (Avery) was always a big fan of Tabernash Weiss, I have always enjoyed Bavarian wheat beers, and what's more refreshing than Hefeweizen, especially if you mix it with Sprite or orange juice?"
This must be one of the first commercial experimental brewing projects for Larsen since he came to Ska from Wynkoop Brewing in Denver. Wynkoop, as one might expect from the German name, brews a bunch of German styles, including a hefeweizen named Wixa Weiss. Larsen is certainly no stranger to hefeweizens.
To wit (pun intended), the brewers used Hallertau Hersbrucker and Mittlefrue hops for Wheelsucker. The yeast is originally from the Hopf Weissbier Brewery in Meisbock, Germany, south of Munich.
Ska and Avery brewed only 25 barrels of Wheelsucker, which comes out to 775 gallons - not a lot. Last time Soggy Coaster talked to President Thibodeau, Wheelsucker was to be bottled in bomber bottles and distributed, at least locally and possibly around Denver.
Sometimes, strong beers ruin the well-balanced character of their more standard cousins. Just as most IPAs, I feel, lack the balance found in many good pale ales, some double reds sacrifice the drinkability found in standard reds. We'll see how Ska and Avery did with Wheelsucker Wheat, but the provenance is promising.
The release party begins at 5 p.m., Fri., July 24, at Ska HQ in Bodo Industrial Park, 225 Girard St. See you there.
Wheelsucker is a collaboration beer from Ska in Durango and Avery in Boulder, two of Colorado's best breweries.
Ska tends to keep it simple, brewing classic American-meets-English beers like Modus Hoperandi IPA and Pinstripe Red Ale.
While Avery brews a solid lineup of typical beers - a stout, an IPA, etc., - it is perhaps best known for brewing huge, weird beers. Avery's Brabant barrel-aged ale (8.7 percent ABV, 25 IBUs) and Salvation Belgian-style ale (9 percent ABV, 25 IBUs), exemplify talented, risk-tasking brewing that sometimes pushes the limits of what beer can be. Soggy Coaster visited the Avery brewhouse last month, and seeing 108 wooden barrels aging various beers was a sight to behold.
Avery Brewing founder Adam Avery visited Durango with a small crew July 1 to brew Wheelsucker. He and the Ska boys, led by Head Brewer Thomas Larsen, came up with an imperial hefeweizen (the bottle label calls it a "Mountain Hefe"). It approximates the style of traditional German hefes, but Avery, Larsen and co. pimped it out to about 6.6 percent ABV. (The brewers were aiming for higher, but the yeast crapped out).
By comparison, Widmer Hefeweizen, a phenomenally popular American hefe brewed in Portland, comes in at 4.9 percent ABV.
Hefes pour a cloudy, golden color, and taste light and refreshing. They're often served with an orange slice, but good hefes do fine without fruit adornment.
"When we were discussing a beer style, we wanted something strong, but also refreshing and would mix with lemon-lime soda to make a Radler, a staple of European bike tours for many years," Larsen says in an e-mail to Beer at 6512. "We decided on a hefe partly because Adam (Avery) was always a big fan of Tabernash Weiss, I have always enjoyed Bavarian wheat beers, and what's more refreshing than Hefeweizen, especially if you mix it with Sprite or orange juice?"
This must be one of the first commercial experimental brewing projects for Larsen since he came to Ska from Wynkoop Brewing in Denver. Wynkoop, as one might expect from the German name, brews a bunch of German styles, including a hefeweizen named Wixa Weiss. Larsen is certainly no stranger to hefeweizens.
To wit (pun intended), the brewers used Hallertau Hersbrucker and Mittlefrue hops for Wheelsucker. The yeast is originally from the Hopf Weissbier Brewery in Meisbock, Germany, south of Munich.
Ska and Avery brewed only 25 barrels of Wheelsucker, which comes out to 775 gallons - not a lot. Last time Soggy Coaster talked to President Thibodeau, Wheelsucker was to be bottled in bomber bottles and distributed, at least locally and possibly around Denver.
Sometimes, strong beers ruin the well-balanced character of their more standard cousins. Just as most IPAs, I feel, lack the balance found in many good pale ales, some double reds sacrifice the drinkability found in standard reds. We'll see how Ska and Avery did with Wheelsucker Wheat, but the provenance is promising.
The release party begins at 5 p.m., Fri., July 24, at Ska HQ in Bodo Industrial Park, 225 Girard St. See you there.
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