The Session: Beer People | Santa's Little Helpers

For this month's Session beer bloggers from around the world are focusing on the Beer People, once thought of as mythical creatures with round noses and long, white beards who only recently found work selling cheap travel deals on the tube. OK, I somehow doubt we're talking about those beer people, the Urthel's or whatever you'd call them, but instead focusing on those among us who have helped shape the industry into what it is today. For this posting I'll be looking at three people - real people - who represent something larger than themselves, I hope you enjoy.

The Rep, Jim Shevlin of Full Sail Brewing

I first met Jim a few years back, I had wanted to meet with him to discuss some statewide legislation that was coming down the pipes and I was looking to get a beat on how it would impact him and his work. He met at the end of a busy day meeting people around the region and doing the work, the real work, of educating the buyers and managers of area shops and retail outlets. I could tell he was tired and I knew he had other stuff to do, but he was his ever-gracious self and it wasn't but a few minutes before we hit it off and started talking shop. Jim's job is a tough one, it really is. Working as a rep for a small brewery from another state, he doesn't have a song-and-dance, no fancy sheets and presentations, no gimmes. Instead, all he has is the price sheets in his kit, samples in his cooler and the internal drive needed to make his next meeting as great, or better, than his last.

Reps don't get a lot of thanks in the beer world, but they should. I won't go out and say Jim's the hardest working guy in the business, he's a good example, however, of so many reps I've met from all over the country. It's a dirty job, and these guys do it. The results? Remember how happy you were when you first saw that favorite craft beer on the shelf in your grocery store? How about that hard-to-find beer you had on tap recently? That doesn't just happen, grocery store managers don't wake up one day and realize they should sell more craft beer - it's too expensive and the customers have too many questions. The good beers on the shelves of your market, deli, bar, restaurant are very likely there because the Jim's of the beer world made a stop, shared a beer and SOLD their beer.

I don't think I would make a good rep. Honestly. I don't speak the language, I don't have the patience and I certainly don't have thick enough skin. I have nothing but admiration for the work these guys do for us and our love of beer: their cars are always full of samples, papers, and god-knows what else; their significant others used to the call saying they're running late, that a meeting presented itself on the other part of town, or they had a potential sale and now they have to sit and work out the details with the distributors and store managers. No sir, I don't think this is a job for me.

For the "Jim's" of the world, thank you. You have my respect, appreciation and I only wish I could buy you all a beer.

Larry Otterness, Wine Steward for Nugget Market (Roseville)

There are people with personalities larger than their stature would ever suggest, and Larry's passionate appreciation for the world hits you long before he has a chance to shake your hand - and he will shake your hand. Larry's one of the managers people like Jim talk to, try to finagle shelf space from and, if the stars align, an end cap! Beyond that, Larry does the same with wine, whiskey, tequila, champagne, sake - whatever the expanded selection of alcohol at the store includes, Larry's your guy. He's a 'breadth' of knowledge sort of guy, he wouldn't claim to be otherwise. He knows just enough to get buy and actually be of assistance. Do you know what kind of beer you like? He can help. Do you know what's for dinner, but your folks are wine drinkers? Yup, he knows that too. What about a gift for the boss that loves his fine bourbon? Sure enough, he's tried it and knows it well.

Again with the patience thing - I don't have it. Certainly you've heard the beer-aisle conversation with the beer guys. "Can you help me, I'm looking for a beer for my boyfriend." Larry is eager to help. "Certainly", he says "what kind of beer does he like?" This is where the train brakes kick in, you know it. "I don't know, we were in a shop in Yosemite last year and he had a beer he loved. I think it came in a brown bottle, but it might have been green. The name was something like River, or Spring... maybe Tree? Do you have any of that?" Long before the train comes to a complete wreck, I find my exit - maybe I can look at tampons or something less awkward.

Larry amazes me, his skills aren't so good he's ever going to guess that beer, but he finds a way to point her in a direction she thinks she wanted to go in all along, leaving with a good craft beer in the cart, happy to get home and see her boyfriend's expression when she offers the gift SHE got for him.

Oh, did I mention that happened after inventory, after meeting with the distributor for Bud who's concerned about space on the shelf and why doesn't he buy more Bud for the weekend. It also comes after Jim has come and gone, not just the beer Jim either, but the Jim for wine and booz too! Then, of course, there's the endless price checks, phone calls from confused customers and non-stop nagging... shit! Clean up in the beer aisle, someone dropped their six-pack of beer.

No thank you, that is not a job for me either. This is just another reason I respect Jay Brooks, by the way. He was part of this nonsense before becoming one of the all around beer expert and super wonderful beer writer he is today. Yep, before Celebrator, Jay was Larry. Sometimes I think I should have been a Jim or Larry for a while, I even applied for a Jim job a few years back.

Like Jim, we wouldn't be able to appreciate the beers we do near as much and as easily as we do if it weren't for Larry - all the Larry's in across the country. The people who do more than the status quo, Larry isn't just another wine dept manager after all. There aren't a lot of these folks when compared to the run-of-the-mill manager; Larry's care about their product's quality and the customer's experience - they care about their reputation, and that's tied directly to the area they run.

To the Larry's of the world, I applaud you.

Betty and Brett, the Barkeeps at every beer bar in every city

This time I'm using a fake name, because the stories I have are true - and embarrassing.

Betty works at a local bar, like so many Betty's of the world, she's attractive, makes good drinks and does her best to make you feel at home when you're at her bar. Sit there long enough and you can watch as she smiles while taking orders from the locals, ignores the drunk hitting on her, cleans the bar, the dishes, serves food, changes the channel on the TV and so much more. She simply doesn't stop moving, ever.

I've seen her quite a bit, we're friends now, and after closing we sit with the other Betty's and Brett's of the bar and share drinks and stories. "That guy grabbed my tits!" one Betty exclaims. "What did you do?" inquires another. "Nothing, just removed his hand and told him he'd best go home". I am not making this up. Another Betty chimes in, "I had the same thing happen the other night, I wanted to punch the guy's lights out." She didn't, of course.

Brett recalls escorting a young punk out the door, and it was clear by the way he was talking that wasn't a big deal for him. He's not a big guy, doesn't have that "bouncer" appearance, but you can hear in his voice the sense of duty he has with his job. If customers get out of hand, he steps in when he can. If not, he's the guy who gets the boss, and if he goes to the boss and the boss has to ask you to leave, you can bet your ass you're not coming back - not while he's around.

Looking at them all I see they're filthy, with food-caked pants and sticky shirts. They're not angry, not even bitter, they're genuinely enjoying the time they have together after another night on the floor. I've shared many nights like this, this is a job I once knew all too well - it got me through a couple years of college. Sitting around the last uncleaned table - all the others have chairs on them for cleaning, of course - and sharing a beer over the freakish stories of the day is a beautiful thing to be part of, but if you listen and watch, you can see just how hard the Brett's and Betty's worked that night. Under the smiles, they're tired, their feet are sore and more often than not, a few have to get up in the morning for their other job. Grueling, unglamorous and too frequently, thankless.

For the barkeeps of the world, thank you! We never tip enough, frequently don't know how out of line we are, and rarely appreciate the fact that we're not your only customer. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Session: Barleywine Makes Life More Interesting

This month's Session is presented by The Brew Site, discussing Barleywine.

I got nothing. Really. What more can be said? Bigfoot aged four years is one of the world's greatest delights. Thomas Hardy aged for 10 years... you won't forget. Avery Hog Heaven, fresh, will alter your mood and make the world a better place. Midnight Sun makes a barley wine that you'll be sure to look out for, wondering if perhaps a trip to Alaska is warranted. English versions (the malt-centric type) go so well with blue cheese and pear tarts. The American versions (sure, they're malty, but holy hop-monster!) seem to beg for anything grilled. Barley wines are nothing short of an experience.

You want to have a day you'll not soon forget? Set up a barley wine tasting with friends, like we've done the last few years and are getting set to do again this month. Last year we gathered as friends (the SOBER group) and tried more than 20 barley wines blind (Anchor's Old Foghorn won out in the end). If you'd like, take a listen to the 2007 Barley Wine event.

Still want more? Be at the Toronado on Feb 16th for their Barley Wine Festival - there simply aren't enough words to describe the mess of humanity and all the goodness found on tap.

Many brewers (too many if you ask me) have taken to aging barley wine in barrels that once held spirits - most commonly bourbon, although I suspect many will try to emulate what Tomme Arthur's done with his brandy barrels. I'm not the biggest fan of barrels these days, it seems too many folks are intent to let the flavors of the barrel overwhelm the beer... but the guys that do it well, do it really well!

I used to be pissy about double IPAs bleeding into the barley wine categories. In fact, some days I still feel that way. Why? I don't know, it just happens.

You know what I'm hoping for? The world's first Imperial Barley wine. Mr. Avery, you reading this?

Why don't we call the massively malted and alcoholic Belgian strong ales Belgian Barleywine... and on that thread, can we all make up our mind what a real "Quad" is going to be? Please? At least the color, let's start there.

Cooking with Barley wine... James Spencer did a video on making a barley wine fruit cake, and damn that looked good. the video | the recipe

Speaking of food... the Homebrew Chef has a recipe for barley wine prime rib that will make you drool just to read. Wow! Then of course, you can check out his recipe so you can make your own damned barleywine (this too is an impressive recipe).

So, in closing, may I say it is clear that Barley Wine makes life a bit more interesting.

"If you don't like Bigfoot, you've just got small feet." - Mike Sober

Session 11: My Life With Goats

This month's Session crept up on me, I admit it. That's sad because of my affinity for the subject matter, Doppelbocks. Today the weather has taken a turn for the obscene, with gusts of wind in the 50 mph range, causing the rain to fly sideways more than fall vertically. It is winter, I suppose, nothing to do but wait out the storm and hope for the best.

The Session: 11 - Doppelbock
hosted by Brewvana

One of my favorite books of all time is Godric, by Frederick Buechner. Its opening sentence reads "Five friends I had, and two of them snakes". The story is of a haggard old monk with a lifetime of adventures and few regrets, a monk with attitude who loved making other monks blush with his life's stories. In the latter years of his life he'd wade into the middle of the icy river Wear to freeze his nuts off, a sort of crazed ritual done to harness the ever wandering desires of the old monk. His life, as told by Beuchner, is now limited to dank and dreary quarters with few comforts.

I often wish I were like Godric. I started my adult life with ambitions of joining the priesthood, secluded and stashed away to study my Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic while discussing the subtleties of proper hermeneutics. I never quite fit in though, often clashing with authorities and challenging the leadership more than they wanted. Like Godric, I loved telling stories of my youth, my several arrests and life with the less pretty of our society, those I still love to be around. Yes, I still long for this life in some ways, I still have a great passion for theology and historical biblical studies. For me, Godric is and always will be a personal hero - even if a fictitious one.

Were it my story, however, the opening line of my life's memoir would read "five friends I had, two were goats". And in my life's travels these goats would be with me, at my side, joining in my pleasures. You've probably pieced it together by now, my "goats" that is. Doppelbocks, a superior beer in my mind. I simply can't think of a better beer to hold in the dark and damp quarters of life than the comforting and pleasurable beer originally made by monks centuries ago - probably in their own dark and damp quarters that afforded few pleasures.

Imagine it for a minute. A life of solitude, vows of chastity and charity and complete devotion to the mystical. A few times a year you'd skip daily meals, relying only on two of your best friends for nourishment. I suppose I'd like to see one of these goats named Plarao (play-rah-oh), which is Greek for "Fulfillment", as doppelbocks were designed to be just that. As the monks' liquid bread, it would be their sustenance for their fasts, and I can't help but imagine it was used in their celebrations - making Celebrator a more than appropriate name for goat number two.

Yes, that would be my life with goats. As it is, I am an editor for a national beer magazine. I've traded in much of my Greek to understand another mystical passion, the art and science of fermentation. It isn't a bad life and it's great to live a life with more than a couple goats and a few friends. While doppelbocks are truly a beer of beauty and wonder, I'm happy there's more to my beer life.

The Meaning of Christmas (Beer)

For this month's Session, Ted at Barley Vine has selected the theme of Winter Seasonal Beer, and this is my contribution to the cause.

What is Winter? Clearly, the temperature has dropped, and now as I sit here on my couch I can hear the rain falling. The air this morning was foggy and the morning commutes are sloppy at best. This is winter, we all know that. What we can't seem to figure out, however, is what the heck Winter Beer is.

Holiday Sweets
A-B has released their Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale again this year, an horrifically sweet beer made with too much vanilla and too little balance. Should we take our lead from these guys, you might get the impression the Winter Beer is sweet beer, thin and shallow, the 'white elephant' gift of the season of specialty beers. While A-B's has the sweetness and lacks the character, there are several beers out there right now that lean on the sweets, but offer a bit more depth: Brown Shugga by Lagunitas, Winter Solstice by Anderson Valley and even Alaskan's Winter Ale can be considered among this category.

I don't dislike these beers, some of them I quite enjoy. However, when I look outside and as I avoid the malls of the region, these just aren't what I dream of having at the end of the day. So, no, not Winter Beers in my book.

High Hops & Deep Snow
A staple of in my home each and every winter is Sierra Nevada's Celebration, a brilliant beer for certain. With hops bursting through the aroma and taste there is little doubt in anyone's mind that this is a wonderfully crafted American IPA. Among the beers in the aisle this time of year, there are a few who take the high-hopped road, seemingly giving the glass-lined gift to the hop heads of the world. Among the hopped beers of the day: New Belgium's 2 Degrees and Avery's Hog Heaven.

Yeah, I love these kind of beers, but I'm a fairly proud hop head so that shouldn't be a major surprise. That said, there's just nothing about these beers (apart for the pleasure I have each time I open one) that defines the holiday season.

Getting Close To Home
There's something comfortable about a big beer, with its warmth and full body you can easily find yourself longing for this in the cool and dreary nights of winter. It seems that Belgian brewers know a thing or two about brewing comfort, with beers like Scaldis Noel, Affligem Noel and Gulden Drak on the shelves proving their abilities. In fact, beers like these are great gifts this time of year, if you're looking to give the gift of beer. That said, for all the comfort and warmth each bottle offers, the beers just aren't the quintessential Winter Beer in my book.

Christmas in a Bottle
Every year the masterful brewers at Anchor Brewing release their ode to the holidays. Not only is the beer excellent tasting, but every year their beer undergoes a recipe change - making this a surprise every year for those who find the beer. This year's version is among my favorites they've offered, with smells and tastes like... Christmas.

Now, I can't think of a beer that is like Anchor. Sure, there are beers that have spruce, juniper and spice... but nothing like this. This isn't a beer you long for in the heat of summer, not something that goes well with sushi or hot dogs. This is, however, the beer you'd be proud to serve to eager and loved guests, or bring to your friends' holiday parties. The aroma, the taste and comfortable body are the best beer way to say "Merry Christmas".

The Session: 1 Beer 3 Songs 3 Stories

Timmee Edwards, the NASCAR Legend, has brought to our attention today two of my greatest joys in life, music and beer. Wait, sorry, this is Tomme Arthur's idea and it turns out he is actually a brewer for some place in Southern California... Lost Abbey and Port Brewing. Yes, you're right, he is still a legend, just in a different sport. For those who don't know (and how could you not), Tomme writes over at the Lost Abbey blog and puts together the most amazing stories - he's a brewer who is great with words and is worth checking out on a regular basis. Anyway, onto The Session.

With so many thoughts and musings about their pairing, I honestly couldn't figure it out. I'd wanted to compare music and beer tastes, with an elementary assumption that those who like standard radio-play music (those who think Dave Matthews is the greatest singer and song-writer of all time) also like standard, Big Brother Beers, and those who sift through the dusty albums in funked out shops run by perpetually confused adults are more likely to also sift through beers in similar beer shops run by people of similar mental bent. I'd thought about it, but couldn't bring myself to really dig too deep into the subject.

Finally, I rested on a topic: One Beer, Three Songs, Three Experiences.

I begin with an answer to a question I've pondered on my own many times... what is it I really want in life?

"Since you enquired,
Let me take stock of what we roots rock -- ahem! -- 'weirdoes' desire....

Fishnets for every woman, and lipstick as red as flame
For every man a tatoo, a Chevy, and a dumb nickname
Cigarettes in every shirtsleeve, black leather on every back,
Fanzines in every bookstore, LPs in each record rack.

Three chords in every pop song! Four white guys in each band!
A ruthless media empire to saturate this land
Then, with our alt.country comrades, and our brothers in neo-swing,
We'll reclaim music from the kids for our fat dead cracker King!"

That's some of the lyrics to Robby Fulks' song, "Roots, Rock, Weirdos". This song was playing the background while friends were gathered around enjoying a double IPA. The mood was joyous, the conversations loud, and the beer seemed 'bright' in a way, the malt sweetness not heavy in any way and the hops seemingly taking part in the party.

If you're like me the best and most memorable times in life have four common ingredients: Friends; Food; Beer; Music. Now, it is no surprise to me that for each event the combination of the four changes. Often, however, the biggest change seems to be the music - it sets the mood after all.

Playing cards with friends recently, it seemed fitting that Mary Gauthier was singing, almost mournfully:

He'd get home at 5:30, fix his drink
And sit down in his chair
Pick a fight with mama
Complain about us kids getting in his hair
At night he'd sit alone and smoke
I'd see his frown behind his lighter's flame
Now that same frown's in my mirror
I got my daddy's blood inside my veins

Fish swim
Birds fly
Daddies yell
Mamas cry
Old men
Sit and think
I drink

With her, the same dumperial IPA I enjoyed with friends while listening to Robbie Fulks had a different impact. Yes, with Mary in the background the sweets are a bit deeper, the bitter barely an after-thought.

Now, I am not going to suggest, in the excitement of writing about beer and music, that music makes beer better worse or different. No, but I would suggest that the music playing in the background (maybe even in your head) has a lot to do with the mood you are in when you're enjoying your favorite beer.

Let's take a look at the last example of this.

uncle slaton's got his texan pride
back in the thickets with his asian bride
hes got an airstream trailer and a
holstein cow
still makes whiskey cuz he still knows how
plays that chocktaw bingo every friday night
you know he had to leave texas but he won't say why
he owns a quarter section up by lake ufalla
caught a great big ol bluecat on a driftin jugline
sells his hardwood timber to the chippin mill
cooks that crystal meth cuz his shine don't sell
he cooks that crystal meth cuz his shine don't sell
you know he likes that money, he don't mind the smell

At a concert in Reno last year, we had gone there to see James McMurtry playing with Dave Alvin (King of California) and were enjoying Pliny the Elder by the growler (yeah, we travel in style). The mood here was very different from our party in the garage or the party indoors, with the setting of the show in the mountains outside Reno and one of the greatest musicians of today setting up to entertain us for a few hours. We were drinking, we weren't tasting or sampling or critiquing. There we were, gathered around a cooler and pounding Pliny, enjoying the beer because we knew we enjoyed the beer.

In my iPod I have many playlists, but two of them are for drinking. My Low Volume Drinking list features Tom Waits, Mary Gauthier and a few quiet greats by McMurtry and Alvin and a bunch of other great artists. This playlist is for playing for friends and can stimulate conversation or just be there when the silence would otherwise take over. The second playlist is name (shockingly) High Volume Drinking and features Fulks, McMurtry, Hank Williams III and a few other high octane songs ideal for more active gatherings (and occasionally housework).

So, it ain't much. One great beer in three different settings with three great songs, resulting in three very different memories about the beer. It is just a story, my story, but I suspect this is an experience we can all associate with.

UPDATE:
You can check out my Drunken Mess station on Pandora, free and online, to hear a few of my favorite artists and songs.

Also check out the other Session contributions:
Brookston Beer Bulletin (Jay Brooks)
Appelation Beer (Stan Hieronymus)
Lost Abbey (Tomme Arthur)
Best of American Beer & Food (Lucy Saunders)