As in my previous post, I was passing through Ethiopia, so I figured I better have two things while I’m here: Coffee and Beer!  I mean, it was midnight so it was the appropriate thing to do.  Of course (in case you didn’t know) coffee originated in Ethiopia.  It is fantastic.

However, this blog is about beer.  These are the two beers in Ethiopia I’m familiar with: St George and Castel.  I haven’t had Castel yet, but hope to have it on my next trip.  I did have the St George on tap.  It is a decent lager, but I think the lines at this bar were infected, darn it.  I drink it pretty regularly at my normal location–it is good in the bottle.  I hope the next time I have it on tap it might be better.

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Recently I was passing through Turkey on business … I had a little layover at the Ataturk International Airport in Instanbul.  Well, it was only appropriate that I find a nice location to knock back a couple of Efes beers.  I had both the Efes Dark (a dark European-style lager) and the Efes Light (a light lager).

The dark lager was drinkable–if I had the opportunity to drink it again I would.  It was a fair representation of the style.  The light–I wouldn’t drink that one again.  Terrible.  I’m not sure why … the normal Efes is pretty decent.  Oh well.  Win some, lose some.  But I’ve now had Efes in the country in which it is made.  Win.  Then I flew Turkish Airlines!

Oh, I couldn’t figure out what to have with my beers so I had a Caprese Burger … haha.  Pretty good actually!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

During Thanksgiving week, my friends Mike and Brian joined me at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner Texas for their “tour.”  This article at wikipedia gives a nice update on the history of this brewery (the oldest independent brewery in Texas).  Another interesting fact (I thought) was that the Spoetzl Brewery is owned by the The Gambrinus Company (in San Antonio).

I use the word tour very loosely here … this is the first brewery I’ve ever been to where the tour was completely restricted.  No Photos, we went into a small area where the original kettles were and looked through some windows.  A complete letdown in my mind. I had all of this wonderful hype in my head about this tour … dud.

The people, however, were very nice.  They also had a very nice selection of their beers available for “sampling.”  If I remember correctly, we were given 5 tokens to use on any of the beers they had on tap.  I obviously had to sample the Shiner Bock at its home (see picture).

The other thing we noticed about this brewery is that they do use some cereal in their beers — I thought they were an all-grain beer, but they either use rice or corn … I couldn’t figure out which.  Maybe that’s why they wouldn’t let anyone take pictures.

My two favorite beers of theirs: The Old-Time Alt and the Holiday Cheer weren’t available at the Brewery — however, we found them at another restaurant in town.  Win!

If you are in the area it is worth a visit … but I’m not sure it’s worth a detour.

Beer Mentor

Yes … I am still alive and kicking!  You may have had your doubts due to the paucity of posts … but I will get this thing rolling!  I had two big goals this summer: 1) get moved to San Antonio, Texas … done! 2) take my Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam … done!

Neither of these were easy and I’m still experiencing fallout from the move!  However, the BJCP exam is finished.  In February of this year I searched on-line for a place I could take the BJCP exam–wow, is that difficult.  There are only so many sites who can schedule an exam and the exam has to be proctored … so the pool of available tests at that site is also small.  I found a site in Albuquerque, New Mexico in August (the 21st to be exact).  I called and was able to get on the waiting list.  Thankfully, a few people dropped out and I was able to move up the list!

It ended up being a great experience!  The test was very hard–probably the hardest test I’ve taken since my Master’s degree comprehensives.  Three hours of writing mixed in with blind beer tasting.  Yes.  The test is as hard as they claim.  It will test your knowledge!

The test location was at La Cumbre Brewing.

Yep … that’s my friend Mike.  This was also the site of the judging for the New Mexico State Fair.  I had the pleasure of judging some beers for 2011 NM State Fair Beer Competition the same weekend I took my test.   The test host homebrew club was the Dukes of Ale … everything was well set up, well presented, and thoroughly enjoyable.  Mike was a test proctor (nationally certified Beer Judge) and we both judged for the fair.

Back to La Cumbre for a minute.  If you check the recent GABF results–you will see that they medaled (2 Golds and a Silver!).  Way to go!  Their beer was excellent…if you are in the area, definitely stop by the brewery–you can drink right on premises.  Just be careful where you park! LOL!

I won’t receive my test scores for a couple of more months.  I also combined this weekend with some Mountain Biking!

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Recently … ok, last week … I had the fortune of passing through Paso Robles California.  Kind of funny — I lived in this town as a kid back in the late sixties/early seventies when my dad worked at Camp Roberts.  What’s special about it besides that? :o)

It is the home of Firestone Walker Brewery.

Started by brothers-in-law 15 years ago (at the Firestone Vineyard), they’ve quickly made a name for themselves as Regional Craft Brewers winning several GABF and World Beer Awards.    They also happen to make my favorite American beer: Union Jack IPA.  This is a fantastic (award-winning) version of a West Coast IPA (but definitely balanced…so maybe not completely west-coast)!

But on to the brewery!  My friend Bobby and I had the pleasure of “Tim’s” company as our tour guide walking around the brewery!

Tim did a great job–super nice guy, knowledgeable, and answered our 1 million geeky questions.  We saw the inner-workings of the brewery … and, yes, they do use the double-barrel fermentation system … and keg it!

They have the same issues as other successful breweries — they are cramped for space — from fermentors, to lagering tanks, and places to store their wonderful firkins.  I think Tim told us they would be expanding in the near future …

After the extensive tour, we retired to the tasting room where you can sample all of the beers they sell (plus some you can only get at the brewery).  Can you pick out the beers on this sign you can only get at the brewery??

If you have the opportunity and are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in at Firestone Walker.  All of the staff are super, the beers are great, and the location is excellent!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor