My Favorite Beer: Old Speckled Hen

My New Favorite Beer Is Something Old

As you all know, I’m very good at picking favorites (proof)(more proof). Well this time around, this beer is a “distinctive” beer “bursting with flavour!”

What’s so great about it?

Look at that guy taking a peek!

This is a great beer, full stop. But until last week, I had always gotten it in glass bottles. When I discovered they were canning it and included a nitro widget, I had to try it. What I found is this beer has gone back to its roots: an English Pub Ale experience. English Ale is a magical thing, packed full of esters (molecules that smell like fruit)(also my Great Aunt’s name), balanced malt and hop profiles, low carbonation, and served cool (not cold). The resulting beers are easy to drink and delicious! While this beer hasn’t been carbonated in a cask, the nitro widget does provide the fun pour made famous by Guinness!

Besides, look at that can! It claims to be “Smooth & Refreshing,” “Distinctive,” “Bursting with flavor,” and is “twin malt and four hops.” There’s just something classic about it, yet the can is bold and iconic. In short, it looks great and tastes great! What more can you want?

The pour

So let’s talk about the pour! Just like Guinness, you get a surge that foams up the whole beer when you crack open the can (or pull the tap handle). You get to see bubbles flow down the side of your glass and watch the beer ‘build’ from the bottom up! What’s really fun with this beer is that since it’s a lighter color, you can see little waves ripple downwards as the surge dies down and the head is setting up. Like a proper gentleman, this beer leaves little rings in your glass as you drink, showing you your progress and tempting you to see what kind of patterns you can make (so it’s beer AND a game!).

And who could forget this beer’s color. Like a ruddy, copper gem, this beer is brilliantly clear. It catches the light and gives you little glints and winks that demand your attention. Just look at it for yourself!

Behold the surge!

And the taste?

Look at those dense bubbles!

The first sip is a bit caramel sweet with some banana (from the English Ale Yeast), balanced with bitterness. To get to that first sip, you have to dive through the foam cap, which provides some fun textural variation. The beer has a bit of effervescence, but it’s not too gassy, which is a nice break from many of the highly carbonated beer we all drink. Returning to the beer for more sips reveals the lacing on the glass and the flavor continues to develop fruity notes (I taste a touch of red apple), breadyness, a bit of a toastyer caramel than the initial punch. The last word on this beer is a bitterness that sits around, but is gentle. Eventually that bitterness subsides and your left with a ever so slightly spicy, slightly toasted linger that I’d let sit if it weren’t for this tempting beer in front of me.

The texture of this beer is fun, it’s a little creamy smooth, but it’s also feels a bit thin. It feels light and healthy! You also notice as you drink the dense head is sticking together like a marshmallow and your brain starts to form this thought… You see, most great beers are wonderful, but the problem is eventually you get to the bottom of the glass and you’re left with one final sip. But this beer offers something special. As a consolation prize, after your last sip, it offers a treat. Overcome with this realization, you turn the cup nearly upside down and you get that glorious little foam cap, that hoppy marshmallow, that final beer snack! One final good bye from your friend, the Old Speckled Hen!

A few more for the road

My Favorite Beer: The Dark Side

Remember when I said I was great at favorites? I’m favoriting again!

Roast is something to toast to!

Dark beer is glorious! Dark beer is imbued with complexity, color, and character. The same thing that makes meat tasty (or some seared shitake mushrooms for the veggie friends out there) makes your dark beer real nice too! The Maillard Reactions that happen when you kiln or roast malt provide complexity that is the stuff people dream about. Dark beer can taste like birthday cake, smoky bacon, nuts, coffee, or something else entirely! They can be easy drinking, or challenging. They can balance sweet and spice, or they can give you a (beer-ey) hug. They can be booze bombs, table beers, or milkshakes. For all these reasons, I say

“Give me a dark beer!”

— Ethan

Capella Porter

The Aroma

*Some people think dark beer is “heavy.” Not true! Beer is dark (we’re talking red, brown, and black territory) because the brewer added roasted malt. Beer is “heavy” because the brewer added a lot of malt. “Heavy” is referring to the density of beer, which is mainly affected by sugars in the beer. Heavy beers are often sweet and (generally) higher in alcohol. To prove this point, try a Guinness (a very ‘light’ beer, clocking in at 4.2% ABV) along with a double IPA (often pushing 7 to 9% ABV) #TryThisAtHome

Capella porter is a jet black beer. Even the foam of this beer is a bit caramel colored and edging into the ‘brown’ territory. When you pour it cold, it smells of toasty, brown bread with the slightest whiff of coffee. As this beer warms and opens up, the aroma shifts more into espresso and a hint of boozy. It is the breakfast of champions! The head sticks around for a while and even leaves lacing on your glass (kind of similar to my favorite beer, Guinness). The beer is not overly heavy and full* and hits with roasty astringency right up front. This roast gives way to a slight sweetness and chocolatey note that guides you to a lingering finish that melds these all into a delightful linger. It’s sorta like the crispy, carnalized edges of a brownie. One of the real treats is breathing the beer up through your nose (called a retro nasal sniff) and getting that espresso fudge brownie experience!

The Finish

The finish sticks around for a while and is pleasant to experience that you don’t need another sip. As you’re contemplating the finish, you think “this is great, I can’t wait to do it again…” It’s at this moment, you’re suddenly struck with the realization that there’s some in your glass and you can do that again. It is this exact thought process that brings you to the bottom of the glass one smile at a time.

This is why it is my favorite beer…

My Favorite Beer: My head? Yeah it’s full of dynomite 🤯

I’m going to try something. I’m going to be someone capable of picking favorites! Watch out!

Ethan, in 2 paragraphs (spoiler alert!)

On the subject of favorites

I have a complicated relationship with the question “what’s your favorite ____?” I never really got it the way other folks did. From “favorite color,” which I always thought was a pointless question (what object am I picking a color for? What’s the context? Can I add metallic flakes?) to “favorite band” (why just have one?), I’ve been incapable of committing to an answer. Why would you want to pick just one favorite? Why box yourself in? Why be on a desert island with just one of anything when you could not be on a desert island and have a lot of many things?!

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m bad at favorites. But…what if I’m not bad at favorites, but really, I’m too good at favorites?! What if I flipped this particular script and tried something?! You know what? I’m going to try something. I’m going to be someone capable of picking favorites! Watch out!

I’d like to introduce you to my favorite beer. This beer is excellent and let me explain why.

Worst way to split a tree? Dynomite!

Head Full of Dynomite

The Venice Canals are full of dynomite

So let’s start with the easy part…this beer? It’s tasty! It’s a hazy IPA and I’ll get to all about how it tastes in a minute, but first, I need to explain this beer just a little bit. This is a rotating hop series from Fremont. I was at my local bottle shop and they had this little number right next to the cash register (because they’re smart and want to sell beer). What stopped me in my tracks was the way that this beer reminded me of the sort of art my grandma would keep in her house (which I mean in the coolest way possible). My grandmother was a sculptor, painter, and general artist. She had a ton of mid-century modern stuff and always knew how to set a scene. Unlike everyone in Buschwick or Manhattan Beach, this stuff was actually made and purchased in the '50s. I’ve been luck enough to have some of her art in my room going back to my first apartment, so with that running through my mind, how could I not get this 4-pack and bring a bit of her into the world with me?

Tastes that match the look

A beer is sold for many reasons. There are price-conscious consumers who buy a beer because it’s the cheapest on the shelf (me, in college, buying Genesee beer that was $14.50 for 30 of them!), there are consumers who buy a beer because they taste great (me, last week, spending way too much money on a gueuze), there are consumers who buy a beer because there is a man at the supermarket promoting it (me, a few weeks ago, buying some Anchor Pale Ale), and there are (many) consumers buying beer because it randomly hits your deepest memories (also me, at Blackbeard’s, buying some Head Full of Dynomite). So, with that riding on it, let’s jump right in 😬😬

Importantly what flavors match the art? It does (gasp)! I just cracked open the ‘shell’ looking one (V29) and the first thing I noticed is how reminiscent it is of walking into our hop room. (Quick side bar, we have a hop room at work….it’s awesome!) Beyond just smelling like hops I get some orange juice and a wee bit sherbet aromas along with a slight caramel note in the back end. Since I was hit with the aroma right when I cracked the can lid, I circled back to the beer’s appearance, which is a hazy gold that is entirely opaque, even in my fairly small glass. The head is dense white bubbles that subside fairly quickly but leave little spider patterns on the top surface of the beer. The remaining bubbles scream “drink me!” and who am I to object?

Once you take a sip, you’ll find the beer hits with those citrus notes and sweetness up front and a bitterness on the back end. This beer is a big beer, clocking in at 16 oz and 6.8% ABV. The bitterness that is present punches through the general sweetness of the beer, and is deceptively subtle. The beer holds balance in exactly the way the hippos from Fantasia could stand on pointe. Just like those hippos (probably), there’s a slight resinous character you’ll find in a traditional West Coast IPA.

The feather version (V30) hits many of the same notes, but instead of intense citrus with a hint of caramel (possible some age on it, if I’m being honest), the latest version is more stone fruit in the hops with just a touch of lemon. In addition, it’s a little dryer, and slightly more bitter at the end. Two smash hits (not to be confused with a SMASH beer; that’s a Single Malt And Single Hop) as far as I’m concerned and this is why this is my favorite (two) beer(s)!

I wonder what’ll be my favorite next! If you’re also curious, there’s a good chance you’ll spot it here! Cheers!

Ethan

Finding balance

Beers of a feather

This beer is home

Headed to Hop Town

Redwood Righteousness!

Celebration

Postcard

Word on the Street: Side-by-Side Tasting

💡 I can taste the difference! 💡

This past weekend, I led a beer tasting. We had 6 beers, opening with a heffeweizen, followed by a side-by-side tasting of a pale ale + imperial IPA, then an altbier, closing with another side-by-side of a schwarzbier and a porter. Each person had their favorites along the way, but the side-by-side experience was a hit.

Tasting lineup

IPA Side-by-Side

Our first side-by-side tasting was of two pale ales. The first beer was RiNo APA from EPiC brewing. This beer has lots of late hop additions and is a great example of hop flavor and aroma. The body is dryer and lighter than the second tasting, Revengeful Spirit IIPA from Stone Brewing. As an Imperial IPA and clocking in at 8.1% ABV (2.3% higher than RiNo), this beer is “more aggressive” and “pack[ed] it with extra hops” making it another hoppy beer, but in a totally different way

American and India:

A Pale Ale experience

So what did we learn drinking these two side-by-side? The first lesson is demonstrating the three expressions of hops: bitterness, flavor, and aroma. To those who’ve never brewed, seen whole cone hops in person, or may not even know what hops actually are, “hops” is just a word they know is associated with “beer.” Think of McLovin from Superbad. To explain what hops are, how they contain both oils and resin that provide flavor, and how this flavor develops in the boil, is all much easier when you can illustrate the two different expressions.

This real world experience tied one’s tastebuds to terms that often get thrown about. In addition, these two beers are also a great example to share about lightness & heaviness of beer body as a concept is generally unrelated to lightness & darkness of beers. In fact, Xingu Black Beer was the least alcoholic of the 6 we tasted (4.6% ABV). Speaking of Xingu…

Cola or Coffee?

Smooth drinking cola or tongue coating tannin

“Two of the Most Similar Looking Beers…”

In our final side-by-side, we tasted Xingu, a Brazilian made schwarzbier, and Einstok Icelandic Toasted Porter. Xingu has a semi-sweet note with a touch of roastyness, but also has notes of cola and caramel. These are contrasted with the jet black roast-forward aroma and taste of Einstok (full disclosure, this is one of my favorites!), augmented with coffee. While Xingu finishes softly and smoothly, Einstok has a tannic bitterness that lingers.

Most people see a dark beer and they say “it tastes like Guinness.” Demonstrating how these beers are different, and pairing them with some snacks, especially the fresh cherries, helped show the variety of seemingly similar beer styles.

So what did we learn?

By doing side-by-side tastings along with instruction and explanation, nuanced concepts stick more easily. Metaphors, such as roasted malt as analogous to food coloring (2 drops of yellow food coloring may have minimal effect, but 2 drops of purple may have a huge effect; a few oz of Munich malt may have minimal effect on color, but a few oz of roasted malt completely changes the color) are much more effective when people are tasting, observing, or experiencing a real-world example. Plus 2 beers is always better than one!

Beer Business Basics: Drinking Mindfully

Social and friend focused drinking: A fun night with Mikkeller Running Club - LA, but few beers will stand out later.

Mindful Drinking? What’s that?

I recently led a guided beer tasting. It’s really fun to do these in small settings because you have no idea what questions will get asked. This tasting I got to explain the difference between a standard and a nitro stout and what ‘cask’ beer is. This was great because people were thinking about their beer. They were drinking mindfully.

If this tasting was different because everyone was tasting mindfully, then how do people drink beer regularly? My research shows that when most consumers drink beer, they use a thumbs up, thumbs down evaluation method. If a beer is ‘good,’ then the consumer may think of a reason they liked the beer, or they may not. Similarly, if the beer is bad, there may be a thing they identify that they didn’t like about it. This process is ‘quick and dirty.’ The consumer isn’t really retaining much because they’re not stopping to think about the beer.

On the other end of the spectrum, when a brewer drinks a beer, they break down the flavor components, analyze for off flavors, assess the beer’s fit with the stated style, etc. If they don’t like the beer, they can point to too much astringency from the roasted malt, off flavors from stressed yeast, oxidation from poor storage, or (in the best case) a flawlessly executed beer from a style they’re not a personal fan of. This multi-component consumption is an example of Mindful Drinking. In Mindful Drinking, the beer is a main, if not central, focus, and there is a much higher likelihood the drinker will remember the specific beer.

How to facilitate Mindful Drinking

In order to drink mindfully, the drink must be one of the main focuses, if not THE focus. Hop onto Rate Beer, Beer Advocate, or any other beer rating site and you’ll find people who are breaking their beer experience down in a systematic way. This structured system is one way to create Mindful Drinking, but there are many other ways that can be used to a brewery’s advantage. Not every drinking occasion can be a Mindful Drinking occasion, but many are winnable.

The benefit is simple: loyalty. Mindful Drinking can help a brewery by increasing product recall, which keeps you top of mind when a consumer is considering a beer purchase. If a customer has a few of your beer over the course of a night, enjoyed them, and then can’t remember what they were, they’re much less likely to become a loyal customer. So the key is to help your customers slow down a bit, think about your beer for a few more seconds, and remember you fondly when it comes time for the next one. Here are a few ideas to help you achieve this.

Story

People love stories, they sit down for multiple hours (think Avengers Endgame’s 3 hour run) to consume stories. If fictional superheros can capture an audience, think what delicious liquid that makes you feel great will do!

The good news is that every beer has a story, whether it’s inspired by a local park, a trip to Europe, a local agricultural product, or an old high school inside joke. You can use the story to highlight aspects of your beer and aid retention. For example, rather than stating your witbier is brewed with coriander and orange peel, you can describe your beer as “inspired by mother’s cooking. The fresh orange peels add a bright citrus counterbalance to the tartness of the yeast. The clove and coriander notes add a hint of sweetness that will remind you of waking up to the smell of holiday baking.” This story framework can cause a customer to taste for each component and think a few more seconds about the beer, and, hopefully, remember this wit next time. Stories help us remember things better, and your witbier goes from being one of many, to the one that tastes like momma’s cooking!

Experiential

6 years ago, I was at the Meantime Brewing Company in London for their pie and pint night. There were two beers I wanted to try alongside my shepherds pie, and they were kind enough to do a half pour of each one. As I’m enjoying my pie and half pints, one of their staff members stopped by to chat with me about the flavor notes of the beer, as well as show me how to agitate the beer to get a really good sniff. He covered the beer with his hand, swirled the tulip glass, and took his hand away so I can get all the aroma. I remember this moment and beer today (over 6 years later), but I don’t remember what beers I had at the bar last Saturday (a cream ale maybe?). I still will cover and swirl my glass if I want to pay particular attention to the aroma, such is the power of experiences.

The lesson here is that teaching someone about beer, or providing a memorable experience can create a lasting memory that can give your beer recall and equity many years later. I may not have seen their beers (if anyone knows where I can find it in LA, please let me know), but I know exactly who Meantime Brewing Company is. A simple way to bring an experience to your brewery is to grab a few tasting glasses and some of your ingredients. A row of malts ranging from light, 2-row all the way to roasted barley can be visually appealing (make sure your tasters have your logo on it, it’ll be all over Instagram) and a cool experience for the patron who now can pick out the Caramel-60 in their red ale.

Educational

People like to learn, and people tend to like the brewery that teaches them something. I’ve heard from a brewer in FL that has built a loyal following by teaching people about their beer and allowing them to spread the word. By tying a fun fact in a consumer’s mind to your brewery, they’ll remember your beers each time they show off their knowledge to their friends. This fact may spark deeper learning and discussion and you continue to develop their Mindful Drinking technique.