Wednesday Weekly: A spate of respectful bristling, non-contractually speaking.

Three weeks ago, I carefully collated and groomed a growing collection of bilious secretions that had been accumulating, and launched a rant into the world.

There were four responses, and since three of them came from Chinese spammers trying to sell me adulterated Viagra, freeze-dried dim sum and/or a sheet metal factory in Harbin owned by the Army of the People’s Republic (not People’s Brewing in northern Indiana, which makes excellent beer), it was the fourth and final comment that drew my attention. Follow the link and scroll down to read it.

Wednesday Weekly: "Contract," my ass.

The fourth response was written in the King’s English, and came from my good friend Jim Schembre, whose World Class Beverages wholesale business brings loads of craft beer into Indiana. Jim has taken his craft beer business model to other locales throughout America, and although I’m not privy to exact numbers, it’s safe to say that he’s one of the prime movers and shakers for the distribution of craft beer – not just here in Indiana, but in the whole United States.

Hoosiers influencing the country?

That’s a great thing and I’m for it if you’re Jim Schembre or Larry Bird. Not if you’re Dan Quayle or Mitch Daniels, but I digress.

Observe that Indiana’s largest beer wholesaler is Monarch Beverage. Oceans of Miller and Coors products pass through Monarch’s warehouse in Indianapolis, which is only slightly less roomy than Lucas Oil Stadium.

As an aside, permit me to note that Monarch only tangentially was the topic of my rant three weeks ago. It could have been any wholesaler, anywhere, in Monarch’s position of broad market dominance, and consequently useful for me to cite as an example of what sort of attitudes can stand in the way of a local craft brewer in certain situations.

Anyway, Monarch’s website notes that World Class Beverages has grown 500% since its founding in 2001, and this surely testifies to Jim’s hard work and vision. If you’re new to this, it may also cause some confusion. I’ll let Monarch speak for itself:

“The newest division, World Class Beverages, represents independent and microbreweries … ”

That World Class Beverages is a division of Monarch explains many things, among them Jim’s understandable instinct to leap to its defense in his comment. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn to posit that Monarch’s larger corporate vision and willingness to underwrite Jim’s prescience played a significant part in animating his laudable success with World Class Beverages.

If I’m misreading any of this, please correct me. It’s fitting that Jim should seek to straighten the record in this fashion. I concede his employment and payroll statistics, even if quoting Monarch’s entire payroll does not make it entirely “craft” in orientation … as we’re soon to see.

Yes, I will concede Monarch’s length and breadth throughout the state of Indiana, but in a spirit of contrarian, small business stubbornness, not mere semantics, I persist in holding that while this makes Monarch a suitably powerful statewide entity, it does not magically render it into a “local” entity in any sensible meaning of the word “local.”

Thinking back to the example I gave of a spokesperson explaining beer choices made by a concessionaire, first as the result of a contract, which we all know can’t legally exist, then by citing Monarch’s status as a local company (try again), then by “it’s how we’ve always done it – see the calendar over yonder; it’s 2010, folks – and contrasting these various uninformed excuses for not knowing about local craft beer options (how much trouble is it to spend ten minutes on the Internet, anyway?) with the knowledge that Monarch possesses a specialty craft division and thinks enough of it to brag on the same information superhighway about it, then …

Then … if Monarch knows and thinks enough about craft beer’s growth and profit potential to start a whole new division and invest in it for a decade, shouldn’t the company’s own Monarch sales people down here in Yokelburg be touting situational local craft placement – their own company’s division’s stock in trade – as a possibility for civic concessions arrangements?

Wouldn’t doing so actually help Monarch as a whole?

Wouldn’t Monarch want to balance the portfolio and expand the perimeter by informing a customer of all the possibilities?

Isn’t that sort of fair and balanced offering of information precisely the sort of education that Jim rightly touts as essential to changing the game?

But in his response to my rant, Jim strangely waves away eighty years of mass market chicanery (wink wink, nudge nudge … you’re free to BELIEVE it’s a contract even if it isn’t) by holding that it is neither Monarch’s responsibility to offer, nor the local concessionaire’s to ask, because obviously, the event’s sheep-like attendees, faced with a grand total of two choices (Light and Lighter) are not standing up, raising hell, and demanding locally brewed craft beer.

Okay, granted, I suppose not everyone is as outspoken as me. And yet verily, I hear a dozen complaints a week from people who lament the absence of local choice in these situations, and yes, they should be voting with their wallets by keeping those wallets in their pockets and not spending on swill, but damn it, Jim, it’s a two way street, isn’t it?

When wearing its Monarch tag, your own company apparently is not doing you any favors when it comes to selling the broader portfolio that includes World Class. The reps enter the orders for swill, check their cell phones, harvest their paychecks, and move on to the next dull karaoke bar.

Now, I’m famously contemptuous of the lack of discernment in just plain folks, and it gets me in trouble all the time. I never learn. And yet, working to subvert choice and to pre-empt market access is not something plain folks can do much about, even with their earnest complaints and clearly stated preferences. It is not trying let me down easy with mumbo-jumbo because no one wants my company's beer and they're too nice to say so. It is monopolistic, good old boy bullshit, and it's what the craft beer movement is devoted to exposing for what it is: Wrong.

Period.

Know that Jim and I have indeed spoken about this matter on many occasions. We fully agree that consumers need to brighten up, that brewers, wholesalers and retailers must ceaselessly educate and inform. All the parts must work together for us to begin aggressively entering the majority percentile and growing the segment at a faster rate. It’s all crystal clear. None of this is to be construed as any more than an extension of a chat that has continued through the years.

But, Jim, hear what I’m saying to ya: How can it be as much the consumer’s burden to bear, as you suggest, when entities like Monarch itself, specialty division or not, still have so much to gain by preserving the status quo of swill?

And, if Monarch understands that the status quo someday will change and has invested (in my view, properly) in alternatives, why do its own people so often fight against diversity to preserve the status quo and to perpetuate ignorance?

You simply have to know that this is the way it works, and to say that the consumer must of his own accord fight gallantly through the thicket of beer business as usual to the exclusion of the beer business's own responsibility to educate – even Monarch's, for chrissakes – is a bit disingenuous, perhaps not to the extent that three pints of Elector compel me to state it here and now, but disingenuous nonetheless.

Isn’t it true that consumers can’t choose what’s kept invisible? Isn't it over-simplistic to assert that they only need ask for it, and the beer business as usual will give it to them?

Come to think of it, neither Monarch nor World Class carries a locally brewed craft beer strictly in the Southern Indiana context, so neither actually could offer such an option in my "local" sense of the usage. But that’s another story for another time, and one that I’m expecting Jim to scald me (justifiably) for when we meet next week.

Make no mistake: I admire Jim’s chutzpah and passion, and I know the feeling’s mutual. As they say, it’s all good between us. On this issue, we have an honest disagreement, and I look forward to discussing it in more depth with him when craft beer is on hand.

Cheers!

Last Week in Review

By John Campbell

OK, OK. I get it. I am a lousy, inconsistent blogger and a poor substitute for the man himself. Please stop the harassing e-mails and personal messages to my social networking accounts (although I did like this one: "You were steady for a while last week, but nothing since Monday. What the fuck?"). Well, today turned out to be a "work" day, so I might as well keep up the momentum.

Here's what's been happening in Roger's absence:

In preparation for our impending beer distribution to corners far and wide, Gregg Rochman and I took a trip to meet New Albanian's potential Indiana distributor, World Class Beverage. Sitting down with Jim Schembre (the man behind the WCB mission) is always an educational experience and this session was not a disappointment. WCB seems to be a better choice than Indiana's other highly-reputed distributor, Cavalier, but it's only the second inning. Meanwhile, we've already selected River City (shown below) as our Louisville distributors.

River City's Ryan Burke and John Harris living large at last year's BBC/New Albanian Volksfest

Since we're on the subject of distribution and snotty messages to my personal accounts...No. I have not done away with Roger in order to take over the Potable Curmudgeon. I do not enjoy writing anymore (ok, I kinda do, but still, no).

I don't know how he maintains this blog in addition to his regular columns for the Tribune, LEO, and Food & Dining, and has time for the little things like, you know, building a brewery.

So, yes, he is enjoying a much needed vacation, but it doesn't mean he stops working. I have proof that he is alive, still writing, and working diligently for the cause. Here's the message I received from the Commandante this morning:

Greetings

Yesterday I was introduced to Mikkel, i.e., the fellow behind Mikkeller
beers. He runs an off premise specialty beer shop with his brother in
downtown Copenhagen, has an importing company so that he can bring in the beers he wants, and also brews his own at various sites. You can look them
up on Rate Beer or Beer Advocate.

We sampled the Oatgoop he brewed at Three Floyds, and it was excellent.
While Kim and I were shopping the unbelievable selection, he took my
business card and googled NABC, emerging to ask when he could begin
selling Thunderfoot in Denmark.

I said as soon as we get it in giant cans, which thrilled him. So, we have
an account here as soon as we can supply it.

See, I told you they're 'working' trips.

NABC, soon to come to Louisvile, Indiana and Copenhagen.

R
And there you have it.

Also in last week's news, Destinations Booksellers, located just a block from the Bank Street Brewhouse, hosted a public poetry slam last Wednesday night with the wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Reservoir Dogwoods.


Everything else is plugging along nicely. David and Jesse have the giant, drive-in keg cooler fully assembled, brewery construction continues, Jared is brewing strong at the Plaza Drive location and just released Jenever, our light-bodied, summer rye. We blew through two kegs in the first two days. It is now on tap at both New Albanian locations and at The Windsor on Market and Bank in Downtown New Albany.

Bob Ostrander, founder of Indanabeer.com, (below) showed his fuzzy face at the Bank Street Brewhouse on Friday afternoon for a pint of Pheonix and some mussels before heading to the north side compound formerly known as Rich O's for the real throw down.


Saturday, I took the day off. I did, however, spend some time rummaging through photos of the Bank Street project. Here's one from this time last year:


Today, I spent the afternoon at the Capriole Farm pouring healthy samples of Community Dark and Elector during their annual open house. Capriole is the second most serene place in which I've been fortunate enough to spend an afternoon. Last year Roger, Diana, and I attended the event and dined on fine cheeses and salad greens picked that very morning. I was a bit sad to be going on my own this year, but an afternoon at Capriole isn't complete without a New Albanian Ale.

To my surprise, nearly the entire Bank Street Brewhouse staff showed up with brewer Jared (below) and Chef Josh. A great way to end another week as a New Albanian.


Be warned, Denmark. we're coming your way.

A Victory six-pack is rendered deeply symbolic.

I emerged from the house this morning to find a six-pack of Victory Hop Devil in a paper sack on the porch. Seeing as the beer is an enduring favorite of mine, the ensuing elation is perfectly understandable. When I opened e-mail moments ago, there was a note from Ted, who lives around the block; seems a friend brought him a case straight from Pennsylvania, and Ted decided I should have a six-pack.

Forgive me for not yet noting that Ted's a wonderful man.

Reading between the lines, you'd be correct in inferring that a sixer of Hop Devil is a big deal because Victory beers are not distributed in the state of Indiana, but this will be changing soon. At the brewery's website, the availability map hasn't yet been altered, but below it the text reads:

World Class Beverages
3737 Waldemere Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46241
(317) 612-3105
Jim Schembre- General Manager

Indeed, my WCB rep recently told me that Victory was on the way to Indiana, and Ted's gift truly is a harbinger of good things to come.

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See also: "Mr. Phillips, I presume?" (Part 2 of 2), the story of drinking Hop Devil in Vienna, Austria, in 2006. Yes, really ... sort of.

Program for tonight's Merchant du Vin beer & cheese pairing in Prost.

Beer & Cheese Pairing from the Merchant du Vin portfolio
Monday, November 19, 2007 – 6:30pm
New Albanian Brewing's Prost Room

Cheeses provided by LOTSA PASTA; presented by Will Eaves.

Merchant Du Vin beers provided by World Class Beverages & the New Albanian Brewing Company; presented by Tisha Dean & Roger Baylor.

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Tasting Notes (from Merchant du Vin)

Ayinger Braü Weisse (Germany)
Delicious lemon-scented wheat beer with yeast. This is an aristocratic beer with a champagne sparkle and a beautifully sustained head. Pale in color, tart in palate—a brut beer. Experience as an aperitif or with your meal.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole Soft Goat Cheese

Zatec Bright Lager (Czech Republic)
Medium-bodied; natural, soft conditioning; hedonistic fresh herbal aroma; a flavor that is the best of fresh-baked bread, fields of grain, and spice, with a solid malt middle. Clean, sparkling, and quintessentially thirst-quenching.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Horseradish Cheddar

Orval Trappist Ale (Belgium)
Sunset-orange color; a fruity and slightly acidic bouquet, firm body, profound hop bitterness, and long, dry finish.
Cheese Pairing: Orca & Capriole’s Sofia

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale (England)
Honey-amber-colored, creamy head of small bubbles, floral aroma and delicious malt flavor with great finesse.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Mild Cheddar

Green’s Gluten-free Quest Tripel Ale (Belgium)
Fairly light body for beer of this strength; spice and herb nose with flavors of candied fruit. Aromatic, long finish. Vegan.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole’s Tomme

Traquair House Ale (Scotland)
Deep reddish-golden in color; full, velvet-like body; medium dry and powerful, with an earthy hint of peat character.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Kentucky Bleu

Lindemans Cassis (Belgium)
Deep reddish-purple color with exceptional aroma, flavor, and complexity. Fuller bodied and soft, while still being refreshing and crisp.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole’s Chocolate Bourbon Torte

Special thanks to the following that made this event possible: Reva Hagedorn, Prost Special Events Coordinator ... and Chefs Andrew McCabe and Josh Lehman for consultation & preparation.

Tish Dean is our new World Class Beverages sales rep.

If you are a resident beer aficionado in Southern Indiana, by which I mean east of New Albany toward Madison and points beyond, and west to Evansville and perhaps even New Harmony, the state’s largest wholesaler of craft beers and imports has very good news for you.

Our part of the state now has a World Class Beverages sales rep whose exclusive job it is to work the Southern Indiana territory, which quite frankly (and WCB would agree) has been neglected in the past.

Her name is Tish Dean, and we’ve known her for years around NABC, Rich O’s and Sportstime. We finally had a chance to touch base in a professional capacity yesterday, and I’m confident in saying that her arrival bodes well for the expansion of good beer availability in our neck of the woods.

The reason? In the past, accounts like my pub and Todd (Keg Liquors) Antz’s certainly have been serviced by WCB, and often quite well, but never by a full-time sales rep who wasn’t spending much of his or her available time in other markets (Bloomington, et al). Or, as has been the case recently, we’ve worked with someone in the office (the inimitable Bob Mack) who is right on target with our needs, but again, has other jobs to do and no time to expand the company’s mandate.

Tish’s responsibility will be to expand the presence of craft beer and imports in locales and establishments that previously had no one to do business with directly. She reports that in her brief travels around the area to date, many bar and package store owners are expressing interest in the idea of broadening the selection. They simply require appropriate information and personal attention of the sort that only a full-time rep can provide to people who don’t come into the game with their own self-motivated good beer skill sets.

Down here in Hickland, the rising tide will be lifting all our boats for years to come, so good luck to Tish – I think it’s going to be a revelatory experience for all of us.