Unfortunately, being a lazy bastard, I tend to keep going to the same bar repeatedly. I also tend to order the same beer every time I'm there. I've probably had more Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen in the past 6 months than any sane person should have to admit to. Therefore, I won't admit it.
Although I'm making an effort, on their slow days, to try some of the different beers at Peculier Pub, it's always interesting to actually go to new places and sample some of the different beers there.
Which is why being forced to travel for the holidays can be educational.
Those of you who have read my past columns probably remember my rant from October, when I railed against how bad many of the commercially available microbrews are. As proof that beer impairs your ability to make decisions, here's an alternate opinion (also from me). I think the quality of the beer is somehow inversely proportional to the size of the brewery. The larger the brewery, the worse the beer.
I could probably make some good logical arguments about compromises larger breweries have to make, both technically and for marketing purposes. That would be the simple way out. Instead, I choose to use a statistical analysis of an non-representative sample.
A good sampling should lead to a simple graph. So I'll start out by examining 2 breweries. At one end of the spectrum, we have the Anheuser-Busch corporation of Budweiser fame, which produces ridiculously large quantities of exceptionally bad beer. We pit them against a small bar in Ithaca, NY, called the Chapter House, which although not consistent across styles, produces a couple of beers that are really good. I fondly remember drinking their Imperial Stout while playing darts there on many a Saturday afternoon for hours on end. Imperial Stouts are very different from everybody's favorite stout, Guiness. They tend to be much lighter in texture, smooth, and exceedingly drinkable. This one was no exception. Although not one of the greatest beers around, for a bar as small as this, in a town as small as Ithaca, with as many cheap-beer-guzzling college students as Ithaca has, it was a remarkably tasty beverage. On the other hand, I once tried some weird apple-flavored beer they were offering. I couldn't even finish the tasting glass of that one.
If I start to add more breweries to the chart, my simple formula quickly breaks down. There's no way that Bud, as the largest brewer, is worse than "Milwaukee's Best", remembered as "The Beast". Although I drank a lot of Beast in college, I would like to think that it was before I learned what beer truly was. On the other hand, I never would have participated in a beer ball race with any of the true brews I drink now, whereas that wasn't a problem with Coors Light.
Besides the discrepancies between all the oversized breweries, the low end of the graph is a little flaky too, though for other reasons. The size of the good local breweries depends on the size of the town, and the quality of their beer in no way correlates to either of those.
My hometown of Providence, Rhode Island is home to Union Station Brewing, which is housed in the old train station in the middle of downtown Providence. Although I didn't manage to make it there on my trip home for Christmas this year, I was there about a year ago, and seem to remember having some form of a Chocolate Stout and a Hefeweizen. It was long ago enough that I can't give specific comments on the beer (note to self: start carrying beer journal...), but I recall enjoying both of them, and I had a few good meals there too.
On my way back to New York City, I took a wrong turn and visited an old friend from High School who now lives in Boston. I only stayed one night there, so in an effort to keep me as entertained as possible, my friend brought me to the Boston Beer Works, across the way from Fenway Park. They had quite an impressive list of beers. One of the four I tried was Boston Red Ale, the cask conditioned version. Cask conditioned ales, instead of being pumped full of carbonation, have extra malt added, and are then sealed in a cask. This naturally carbonates the beer, and adds some subtleties to the flavor. Like all cask conditioned ales I've had, it was both warmer and less carbonated than I'm used to, but it's always fun to have one when I get the chance, just because they're more difficult to find. Beyond that I considered it an "all right" beer. Nothing much jumped out at me about it, and like Red Ales in general, it was a little sweeter, and not as hoppy as I like.
The Fenway Pale Ale was pretty good as well. It was a fairly traditional pale ale. If I wasn't comparing it to the other beers, I think I would have liked it more. It lacked complexity in the flavor, which was accentuated by how much I liked the other two. The Beantown Nut Brown Ale was a good ale. The chocolatey flavors in it really jumped out and bit you, but then it finished nicely and didn't leave the nasty aftertastes that I get from a lot of darker beers. My favorite, however, was the Centennial Alt. I expected to dislike this. I had recollections of disliking Alt Bier when I was in Germany, that they were too malty for me. But that wasn't the case here. The maltiness was there, but it was well balanced with the hoppiness in the aroma and bitterness on the palette that reminded me of what I like in IPAs. Probably, the similarity of that part of the taste is what kept me drinking this beer for the rest of the evening, as we reminisced about what idiots we were so many years ago.
Finally, I got back to New York. Here I had the opportunity to go to one of my favorite local restaurants. The Heartland Brewery is conveniently close to me on Union Square. I've tried most of their beers on one occasion or another, but unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Oatmeal Stouts, and their Hefeweizen is very mild and american in style, instead of the Germanic balance I like. In my opinion, all their other beers are dwarfed by the Indiana Pale Ale. Granted, I'm biased towards the style, but it's an amazingly bitter beer, and it's what I consistently order when I go there. You can smell the hops as you drink it, and the maltiness offsets what would otherwise be overpowering bitterness. For me, it's an excellent beer.
The point of all this is one of two things. Either I really have to get out more often, or some of the best beers being brewed these days can't be found unless you go to where it's being brewed. Although few people would deny the former, I sincerely hope (for more than the personal reasons) my point is the latter. Europe's rich and varied beer culture is derived from years of beer being brewed with only what was handy. Each town had it's own beer, each region had it's own style based on the available ingredients. Despite their variety being a result of economy and environment, and American beer diversity being driven by stupid state beer laws, the end result is the same. The local brew pubs that only have to worry about what their regulars like don't have to be scared to take risks, and can pack all the flavor possible into their beer. That's what makes a good beer a good beer.
The breweries I mention above are:
Chapter House Brewpub
400 Stewart Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: 607-277-9782
Union Station Brewing
36 Exchange Terrace
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401-274-2739
Boston Beer Works
61 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 617-536-2337
Heartland Brewery
35 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-645-3400
http://heartlandbrewery.com/
As always, comments, corrections, complaints, and cookies are welcome at beergoatscom.
-- phillip karlsson, brew guru
january 06, 1998