Support local, or support best?

In a recent issue of BeerAdvocate the magazine a reader (and fellow BeerAdvocate member) clarified his position on the 'support local' idea.  In his feedback column (which is a limited space to write one's position) he stated that there one should support whichever brewery produces the best beers. In other words, don't support local brewers just because they are local; crap beer is crap beer, no matter who makes it.  I can understand this viewpoint, and agree with it...to a point.

On a level playing field his point is valid. Just because one brewer is local doesn't mean he/she deserves our money, time and effort. Yet, this is the real world. The playing field is not level.  Big, chain breweries can afford the nuances that smaller, local guys cannot provide. When is comes to beer, maybe this is quality control, or sufficient production, or it could be that they cannot afford the extra electricity is takes to operate ceiling fans. Whatever the discrepancy may be, it is important to note that the local businesses of brewing cannot compete with the chain juggernauts head to head, and especially right of the starting line.

A local brewer needs to tweak recipes, brewing times, batch sizes, minimize expenditures (overhead stuff like AC), and still, perhaps, work another job.  Basically, they need time to fine tune his/her product. To do this, they sell their initial product to consumers, who in turn like it, love it, or hate it. Sometimes this version of the product isn't up to snuff, and the tweaking begins. They cannot take as much negative publicity as the big chains, and need more patience from consumers.  Sure, Flingers (see: Office Space) can provide quick service, comfortable AC, satellite television, and ice cold beer; that's expected from them.  But they have the capital to provide those.  Locals do not: They must start off slow and build up.  They need support.

But why should we support their business growth?  What's in it for us?  Several things:

• After fine tuning their product, local brewers can provide awesome beer that is unique to them
• Money spent on their beer, at their business, is kept local (for the most part. Credit/debit card acceptance costs a LOT of money to run and maintain, and that money goes elsewhere)
• A local business values its customers more, and more personal attachments build
• Customers can experience the growth themselves. They can witness how the beer changes from recipe to recipe, and be a part of the evolution of a particular brewery: the life of a beer

So, sure, I understand that if a brewery continues to make bad beer, or just beer that you don't like, to avoid them (or not support them).  But keep in mind that brewing beer takes time, patience, tweaking, and money. 

Cheers!

Great Beers of the Great NorthWest

Upon reviewing my trip to Seattle/Portland/Bend/etc I've come to the conclusion that I missed too much and must return.  I knew this going in; there will be something, some great beer, some awesome brewery, some fantastic beer bar, that will go un-visited.  And so it goes.

Living in Denver, CO I know this "missing" all too much. Visitors, friends, beer geeks ask for my advice as to where should they go in Denver for great beer. It's not a simple answer, especially given the time frame.  Two and half days in Portland isn't enough.  Two weeks may be enough...maybe I'll find this out sometime.

Here are some of the awesome places I visited, and will visit again:  Hair of the Dog, Cascade Barrel Room, Green Dragon, Deschutes (Portland and Bend), Bridgeport, Bend Brewing, Burnside, Belmont Station, and BeerMongers.  It's all about beer, folks!

Cheers!  Great NW!

White Whales...that don't breath

In the craft beer world, residing in the Geekdom area, there is a category of beers called "white whales".  Borrowed (or taken) from Moby Dick, a white whale in the beer world is a beer that is elusive, rare, and pretty darn delicious...if caught.  At least, it used to be.  Today, the last factor of the white whale equation, deliciousness, seems to be fading in its salience.

This can be seen on trading forums online (BeerAdvocate and RateBeer for example).  Some beer geeks will trade (beer or $$) for un-sampled, hard to find, limited released beers.  Take AC Golden's Hidden Barrel Apricot and Peche beers.  These were severely limited releases and some beer geeks offered other rare (and widely appreciated) beers in trade. But this raises a question.  Why would someone trade a known great, rare beer for an unknown beer?  I think the answer resides in the "rareness".

Which brings us back to Moby Dick.  That white whale was unique. The story was in the hunt for the fish....er, mammal, and what it took to carry out this necessity. Same here with beer white whales.  Increasingly it's more about the hunt...the rarity...than the beer itself:  The achievement of capturing such elusive brews.  I don't mean to say that white whale beers aren't good.  Most likely, there are fantastic.  But who knows until they are sampled?

While the AC Golden Hidden Barrel Apricot was a good beer, to me the white whale status should not be applied.  Yes, it's very rare. Yes, it's good. No, it's not fantastic; which means it wasn't worth the $20+ price tag, or a trade for other, established whales.  For me, I don't hunt the whales any more...not that I did so with rampant fury yesteryear.  My thrill is traveling to places where a beer is made, sipping on it in its 'native environment', and chatting with the locals.  In 2 weeks I'm going to Portland, OR and get me some Hair of the Dog goodness.  That's my whale, but it's more like a Blue than white.
Cheers