Got Beer? Music in a Bottle

Got Beer? Music in a Bottle I was sitting in Boneheads, a very cool rock ‘n’ roll themed wing bar in downtown West Warwick, when I spied an interesting bottle with a familiar image from an Iron Maiden album on the label. Naturally I had to give it a try. Music-themed beer is an interesting phenomenon. Many breweries honor the music they love, like with Abita’s Purple Haze or DFH’s Miles Davis Bitches Brew. I haven’t seen the Mmmhops American Pale Ale made by Hanson, though I hear it’s an okay enough beer. Lagunitas released a number of Frank Zappa- inspired brews a few years ago, which were actually quite good. Music and beer complement each other nicely, and with the right pairing of themes, the two can play well together. Several years ago, a collaboration of music and beer yielded The Trooper by Robinsons Brewery in the UK. Supposedly developed by vocalist Bruce Dickinson and based on the song of the same name, which is, in turn, based on The Charge of the Light Brigade, this brew has a lot of inspiration behind it. The Trooper is a pale ale, a nice English bitter, that falls on the lighter side with bittersweet malts, crisp hops and a rich copper color. To be honest, it’s about what I expected from the bottle. Maybe it’s me, but I would expect a beer named after a metal band to have a little more kick to it. It’s only 4.7%, so it’s very sessionable, but I expected something a little more hardcore. That being said, it’s not a bad beer. It’s a decent English pale ale with good body and hops. Maybe I’m just too used to the extreme American beers we have here. I don’t go into every beer expecting an explosion of crispness and sweet malts that dance along the palate and end with a nice clean tingle on the tongue, but when those are the kinds of beers you get used to, it’s hard to be impressed by a humble English pale ale. Perhaps that’s why most beer snobs shy away from novelty beers, and I certainly understand, but I’ve never been one to turn away a decent brew. Perhaps our standards are too high. Maybe they’ll release an IPA called Aces High made with Sorachi Ace hops, or a stout called 2 Minutes to Midnight that’s as thick and black as motor oil. Of course, there’s a difference between a big name musician releasing a beer and a brewer making a beer in their honor. We’ll not get into the Jimmy Buffet beer in this article, not without a lot of shame, but that’s a perfect example. On the other end of the spectrum, North Coast releases Brother Thelonious, a Belgian Abbey ale, 21st Amendment has a beer called Back in Black and Heavy Seas has a porter called Smoke on the Water, but the difference here is that these are brewers honoring musicians, not musicians honoring themselves with beer. I think that’s the key difference between an homage beer and what is basically a gimmick. It’s about the art, style and love that a brewer puts into his or her craft when honoring the source of their inspiration as opposed to slapping a label on a beer and hoping the name recognition will sell it. There’s nothing wrong with a little commercialism, but I really doubt Jimmy Buffet knows very much about craft beer. As a quick aside, I personally call dibs on brewing a series of Alice in Chains inspired beers. Sorry, guys, but it’s sort of a life-goal of mine. GIBF The Great International Spring Beer Festival is once again upon us, taking over the Rhode Island Convention Center on April 25. This is one of the biggest festivals in New England and a great showcase for craft beer, perfect for those who want to try craft beer without committing to an expensive six-pack. Over 60 breweries will be represented (with 250+ brews), showcasing their finest fare. They also pair music with beer (not to mention pizza). This year there will be live performances by The Network and The Rock (the local band, not Dwayne Johnson). This venerable fest helped start the beer fest craze, and this year it celebrates its 21st birthday – so you’ll also get to see what happens when a beer fest reaches legal drinking age. (Note, the spring fest is only 9 – it’s partner in October is now 21) Get your tickets in advance, because they sometimes sell out at the door. This is your chance to expand your palate and find out what craft beer is all about. Got Beer? Got All the Beer? Beer hoarding sounds like a term for a severe alcoholic, but in reality, it refers to people who scramble madly to every liquor store they can find to buy them out of whatever trendy beer has come along. In some cases, it’s understandable. For instance the Heady Topper produced by the Alchemist in Vermont is a much beloved and coveted brew that is ranked among the top IPAs in the country. Some people wait in line to buy entire cases at a time and run them back to RI. These long-distance beer runs are actually fairly common. In some places where the beer is much loved, but unavailable, people have been known to go to great lengths to get it. Before Yeungling was available in RI, some people would go on long road trips to pick up cases and friends of theirs would chip in for a share of the score. But there’s an ugly side to beer hoarding. When a new brew appears in the world, especially if it’s a limited release, the beer hoarders can ruin the party for everyone else. When Narragansett’s Autocrat Coffee Stout came out, it was only a limited release, and the entire state ran out of supply in less than a week. Beer hoarders contributed to this problem by taking entire cases. It strikes me as a bit selfish, personally, though I do understand the desire to grab what you can while you can. Grey Sail’s Captain’s Daughter recently experienced a similar phenomenon. While not a “limited” release in that they won’t ever make any more, the fact that it’s a double IPA and only available for a limited time caused beer hoarders to go wild. Stores were selling out so fast that people were going to social media to search for a store that might have some. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an excellent double IPA, but I find the fervor over this brew is a bit excessive. I mean, it’s great that Grey Sail is enjoying the runaway success, but one should never have to hunt for a good beer because some people have this bizarre need to fill their fridge with the rarest of the rare in order to impress their friends. And yes, of course I’d love to have a fridge stocked with Captain’s Daughter or Heady Topper, but I’m not so maniacal as to deprive dozens of people their chance to taste these great brews just so I can look like a big man. Yes I have a runaway ego, but I’m not a bastard. I’d rather just take my humble four- pack, enjoy it, and let others try and enjoy these amazing beers. Being a collector of fine, rare beers is perfectly fine. I own several special limited bottles that I’ll crack open in celebration of good times or to commemorate special days. But I own, perhaps, a single bottle, not entire cases that I keep tucked away in a basement somewhere. I guess what I’m saying is that some people really need to learn to share. I’m not bitter or anything; I usually get a taste of all the latest and the greatest in one way or another. I’ve just seen people absolutely crushed that they missed out on something special while, 30 feet away, someone is trying to shove four cases of a rare beer into the back of their Range Rover. So remember: Share the wealth. We would all like a taste of the good stuff. Got Beer? The Bizarre Facts of Beer The craft beer scene is an interesting one, as I discover more every day. After years of blundering through beer festivals and embarrassing myself at beer dinners, I’ve learned a lot of strange things. These interesting tidbits I’ve accumulated over the years will probably blow your mind, so cover your furniture with plastic and strap your helmets on. Here are the top five most bizarre things about beer. 5. Yeast, that microorganism that makes the alchemical wonder known as beer, is a fungus. We all know this beautiful little single-celled organism creates alcohol and CO2, but yeast also is chock full of B vitamins and supposedly is good for digestion. All that from a tiny germ that is distant cousin to the mushroom, or whatever ungodly thing is growing on your bath mat. Seriously, you should wash that thing. 4. Craft beer brewers don’t fight one another. No matter how hilariously fun it would be for Foolproof and Crooked Current to lob insults and projectiles at each other from their respective breweries in Pawtucket, the truth is that craft brewers are more comrades than competitors.

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