Headlines from October 2017 on THE BEER BEAT.

Previously, I've explained why this blog has gone on hiatus, adding that my thoughts about beer will be posted alongside my utterances about everything else, over yonder at NA Confidential.

You'll find them there via the helpful all-purpose tag, The Beer Beat.

However, whenever the urge strikes -- I seem to have settled on monthly -- I'll collect a few of these links right here. Following are October's ruminations, with the oldest listed first.

Some are more topical than others. In October, there were several travel-related postings using "The Beer Beat" as a label, but not as a title. I hope this isn't overly confusing.

Thanks for reading, if belatedly.

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THE BEER BEAT: "Craft," "quality" and other beer semantics -- but independence genuinely matters to me.

One conclusion of Bryan Roth's piece on the beer semantics of craft and quality is that relatively few beer consumers as yet care very much about the ownership of the brewery so long as the components denoted by "craft" are present.

In short, whether the brewery is independent or monolithic/corporate just isn't a consideration because it tells consumers little about "quality" as this concept is applied to the denominator "craft."

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The 2017 Poperinge Hop Parade, Part One: One must pour the proper foundation for maximum parade enjoyment.

Back at the Grote Markt, there were leftover tokens from the previous day's visit to the "Lekker Westhoeks" beer sampling. As we sipped again on Sunday, the visiting band from Wolnzach in Bavaria serenaded the denizens of nearby sidewalk cafes.

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The 2017 Poperinge Hop Parade, Part Two: The procession itself, and where to dine afterward.

Poperinge's triennial hop parade seeks to tell the story of the magic cone used in the production of beer, as placed in the historical context of the Westhoek ("west corner") region of Flanders, embracing this vicinity in Belgium as well as a slice of nearby France.

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THE BEER BEAT: From Sunday sales in Indiana to garlic tastings, an overview of informative news items.

Having recently returned from fact-finding mission to Belgium and the Netherlands, and while in Haarlem enjoying enjoyed more than one session at the Jopenkerk, it's an excellent time to remind readers that there's no better use for a shuttered church than to trasnform it into a house of beer worship.

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THE BEER BEAT: The Second Annual Harvest Craft Beer Hop takes place on Friday, October 13.

Last year restaurateur Ian Hall and his crew at The Exchange pub + kitchen organized the first Harvest Craft Beer Hop. This year it's bigger and better, featuring a stellar lineup of downtown New Albany's food and drink establishments ... 13 in all.

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Out there in the fields, or a visit to De Plukker Hop Farm Brewery outside Poperinge.

Luc had decided that with the weather as yet variable, he'd use the car, and so off we went for an inspection of De Plukker, an organic hop farm and brewery.

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THE BEER BEAT: Beaumont's list of top-notch airport bars somehow prompts a Super Bock memory.

For some unknown reason, Stephen missed the Super Bock Lounge at Francisco Sa Carneiro International Airport in Porto, Portugal. Seeing as it will be the next "airport of call" for the Confidentials come February, I may have to heed the call of duty and investigate.

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THE BEER BEAT: Louisville KY Craft Beer Week VIII begins today ... in Jeffersonville.

For a dram of perspective, let's glance back at the inception of the celebration in September, 2010.

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ON THE AVENUES: I'd like nothing more than to go for another ride.

Regular readers know that Diana and I recently traveled to Europe, spending the bulk of our time in Poperinge, Belgium and Haarlem, Netherlands.

Kevin was a big fan of both these places, and when we returned to them a month ago, each bicyclist I saw pedaling past – there were hundreds in all – reminded me of the epic beercycling times we had.

It will surprise absolutely no one to learn that our acquaintance began in the late 1980s over beer, not bicycles. Kevin started patronizing Scoreboard Liquors, the package store where I worked, and after a brief lull (I believe he moved away for a short time) we met again when the Public House came into existence in 1992.

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THE BEER BEAT: "One hundred years ago, Britain nationalized hundreds of its pubs — and invented a better drinking culture."

Simply stated, speaking as one who is fascinated by World War I and British pub culture and the notion of prohibition, this is a worthy digression to which I'll be returning.

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Headlines from September 2017 on THE BEER BEAT.

Previously, I've explained why this blog has gone on hiatus, adding that my thoughts about beer will be posted alongside my utterances about everything else, over yonder at NA Confidential.

You'll find them there via the helpful all-purpose tag, The Beer Beat.

However, whenever the urge strikes -- I seem to have settled on monthly -- I'll collect a few of these links right here. Following are September's ruminations, with the oldest listed first.

Some are more topical than others. In September, there were several travel-related postings using "The Beer Beat" as a label, but not as a title. I hope this isn't overly confusing.

Thanks for reading, if belatedly.

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THE BEER BEAT: Remembering Michael Jackson and revising the beer tasting syllabus.

The Mesa gig was on August 23. I knew the 10th anniversary of Jackson's passing was coming soon, but wasn't sure exactly when; while eating lunch at Brugge Brasserie on Wednesday, I glanced at my e-mail and saw the notification of Tom Acitelli's letter perfect tribute in All About Beer, linked here.

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ON THE AVENUES with THE BEER BEAT: We are dispirited in the post-factual beer world.

Come to think of it, contemporary cocktail-driven bar programs seldom advertise on the basis of “cheap” whiskey, do they?

Verily, it’s forever top shelf and upscale with wine and spirits, but when it comes to beer, the dumbing-down always lies waiting, just around the corner.

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ON THE AVENUES with THE BEER BEAT: Beef Steak and Porter always made good belly mortar, but did America’s “top” steakhouses get the memo?

Perhaps the simplest answer is best. There is no documentary evidence to suggest that the customer base of such a steakhouse desires beer choice. Moreover, the profit margin on wine and liquor surely dwarfs the return on beer, so only a few popular lagers are kept around for the die-hards, and that’s that.

I’ve long since learned to mournfully adapt. Precisely because my operating assumption is that steakhouses customarily downplay beer, I harbor absolutely no expectations once I’ve resolved to dine at one of them.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: Mechelen, with a side of Gouden Carolus.

Het Anker’s flagship Gouden Carolus Classic remains a great favorite of mine, and in 2008 I was at the peak of my powers, since largely ceded, to cajole favors from importers and wholesalers. In this case it was a guided brewery tour for the group.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: Poperinge and a date with Westvleteren.

Trust me - it's really Westvleteren 12, the beer that “disappeared” from circulation when it was selected as the best beer in the world by readers of RateBeer.com.

Not that it was easy to find, even in Belgium ... even where it is brewed.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: For a town so small, Watou packs a big gustatory punch.

I've been extremely fortunate to have enjoyed more than one meal at the 't Hommelhof restaurant in Watou, founded twenty or so years ago by Stefaan Couttenye and his wife, the late Sabine Dejonckheere. On one early springtime visit, hop shoots were on the menu.

When Chef Couttenye opened 't Hommelhof, the notion of beer cuisine in general, and local food sourcing in particular, remained a minority taste even in a place like Belgium.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: Haarlem's awesome Cafe Briljant is winding down (for now), but not before I have another drink there.

On September 30, Rob will preside over the Cafe Briljant's final evening in business at the current location. Happily, I'll be able to drink a few beers there before this closing event occurs.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: An eagle's nest, a tasting room; a study in brown.

The Dutch word "proeflokaal" (test classroom) appears to be one of those only vaguely translatable concepts, although at root it implies something on the order of testing/tasting room, and may have originated from the habit of jenever (Dutch gin) distilleries operating sampling venues nearby.

When Peter van der Arend opened his specialty Dutch beer bar, there were only a few dozen breweries in the Netherlands. The number now is in the hundreds. He definitely was on the front end of a savory trend.

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ON THE AVENUES with THE BEER BEAT: Getting in tune with the straight and narrow.

It seems to me we’re all guilty at times of espousing a false dichotomy, in which there is mass-market corporate swill on one side and exuberant, innovative craft beer on the other, but the problem with hegemonic Cold Beer War dualism like this is that it utterly excludes a beer like Schlenkerla Märzen. Maybe it fits rather comfortably in the same metaphor with non-aligned nations of the 1970s.

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TRAVEL PRELUDES: Finally, a chance to visit the Jopenkerk -- a Haarlem brewery in a church, and with gruit beer.

By 1996, the present Jopen company had been formed to brew beer in Haarlem on a regular basis, although at first it functioned strictly as a contract brewer. In 2005, after years of negotiation, Jopen purchased the Jacobskerk, and in 2010, the renovated church opened for business as the Jopenkerk brewpub.

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THE BEER BEAT: Hull & High Water is only days away, and it has me all playful about beer lists.

I caught myself wondering what sorts of wine are to be sold at an inland seafood shack, then began trying to remember when (or even if) I've ever ordered wine at a seafood restaurant of any sort.

Everything about Weaver's piece screams "beer," and precisely because not a soul has asked me, here are a few ideas for a solid, nautically-and-aquatic-themed beer list.

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THE BEER BEAT: "How Jared Williamson Found Love — and a Head Brewing Job — at Schlafly."

In an effort to keep this simple: I'm delighted at Jared's career path in brewing, honored to have played a small part in encouraging it, and thrilled that he was able to go to Germany for a taste of what has inspired me for so long.

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On the BEER BEAT, and back in Poperinge for hop festival Saturday, 2017.

Poperinge's hop festival runs from Friday through Sunday every three years. I first attended in 1999, and have missed only 2011 in all the years since. Next up is 2020, and I intend to be there.

In my opinion, the festival steadily has improved from one to the next. It remains almost entirely organized and operated for the benefit of the city and immediate proximity; outsiders are welcome, and yet it's very local in nature.

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A photo a day while I was away: Tinkling under the stars.

On Friday evening, we investigated Poperinge's temporary fest version of a Bavarian beer hall, one capable of holding hundreds of people atop wooden tables and benches, and with oom-pah bands performing full tilt, singing and sausages.

Granted, the only beer available was half-liters of Stella Artois, sponsorship money from which enables the tent's setup. It's a First World problem for all of us, and about the only multinational incursion pertaining to Poperinge's hop party, but while golden lager has quite little to do with Belgium's ale-making heritage, it's the town's show, and I played along with it just like the gamer I am. The "marque" is great fun in spite of it.

Among the innovations witnessed at this pop-up beer hall was the notion of charging a one-time fee for using temporary port-a-loos (Euro 1.20 with a hand stamp), and open-air pissoirs outside for the gents.

The one pictured above was festooned with a campaign poster for one of three competing hop queen triads. One of the triads was declared victorious after a vote the following night; one of the girls becomes the queen, and the others her maids of honor. Here they're shown reclining semi-clad amid piles and piles of hops -- tastefully, of course, seeing as hops taste good ... naturally.

Verily, seeing slyly positioned teenage hop queen candidates advertising with their posters on outdoor urinating stations at a Bavarian beer hall in Belgium is precisely the sort of thing to remind one that he's no longer in New Albany.

PRESS RELEASE: "Let’s go to the hops."

Beercyclists, remember: We hope to be there for the parade before riding to Haarlem. There may be brewery visits on both sides of the hop festival ... and it's Luc's final fest before retirement.

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Let’s go to the hops…..triennial hop & beer festival in Poperinge, Belgium.

Already for the 21st time Poperinge, hop metropolis of Belgium, stages its triennial hop festival; hop gardens typify the area since the middle ages and Poperinge still supplies ¾ of the national produce with an acreage of 175 ha and 34 hop growers.

A Hop Museum, completely renewed in 2006, is rightly at its best in Poperinge : the story of the hop plant and its people through the ages and at the pace of the Four Seasons using pictures, audiovisuals, authentic tools, interactive kiosks….

The first hop pageant goes back until 1956 as a kind of harvest fest after the hop picking season but as of 1960 it became a triennial event.

The festival kicks off on Friday September 19th with a twinning beer fest in the 1200 m2 marquee where Bavarian styled music, long rows of tables and benches and 0,5l beer tankards set the pace…one would think he is in Münich !

In that same marquee is the hop queen election on Saturday, September 20th where a number of trios of young girls compete through a series of theoretical and practical tests for the title of hop queen and maids of honour to act as real ambassadresses of their home town for the next 3 years.

Highlight is of course Sunday September 21st.

The Hop Museum is open as of 10 a.m. where you discover the wonderful world of hops. The temporary exhibition gives a survey of half a century of Hop Festival. As hops are mainly used as natural preservative and flavouring in the brewing process the hop tour digests over a local brew in the inner yard of the museum where hop pickers in traditional outfit demonstrate how hops were formerly picked by hand.

At 3 p.m. a whirling and colourful parade winds through the centre with 70 groups, 1200 characters, 15 floats and 7 bands, a truly creative masterpiece with 5 distinct parts : origin of the hop plant, cycle of activities, hop harvest, hop processing and hops triumph in the world.
Immediately after the parade, there is beer galore in the marquee and The Vicious support national stars live on stage in the square such as Geena Lisa, Raf Van Brussel…..

Fireworks at 9 p.m. finish this festive weekend.

Book your “Day at the Hopfest” now through the Tourist Board for a mere 45 Euros pp. including: entrance to the Hop Museum and the parade, lunch, reserved seat on the stand, explanatory brochure and 0,5l tankard in the marquee.

Tourist Office Poperinge
phone ++ 32 (0)57 34 66 76
fax ++ 32 (0)57 33 57 03
toerisme@poperinge.be
http://www.hopfeesten.be/