Archive | October, 2009
Beer Profile: Hop Harvest; Wet Hop Ale Sierra Nevada
Nice foamy head with just a bit of “pillow” to it. Long lasting. Big Cascade nose. A slightly hazy deep gold. Chill haze? Mouth filled with carbonation and hop cling. Once I opened it up to the taste buds, hops dominante.
Profile by Ken Carman
This ale is supposed to be fresh hop harvest and, last year, and the previous, I was blown away. This year not as aggressive or “fresh” as last year’s wet hop. Still pleasant. Hops up front, just less “fresh.” This is the 13th release, and it may have to do with specific hop selection. Yes, Cascade, but there’s a spicy under current that seems less prone to being better because “fresh.” I do find the more citrusy hops are accentuated via fresh, wet, hop additions. Spicy hops… less so.
“Grassy?” Yes, but “grassy” has never bothered me that much; a common complaint amongst those who prefer more traditional hopping methods and BJCP-oriented reviews. The question is whether “grassy” adds to the experience, or detracts. I think most fresh hop detractors miss the kick that fresh; more green, yes: a bit more “grassy,” hops add. It’s a form of hop fundamentalism that I support as much as I support German purity laws: not much. If it simply prevents us from mass producing a product in favor of cheap and bland, then I have no problem: purity is a grand notion. If some brewer wishes to push the envelope, then purity laws need to stand to one side. If purity laws prevent us from adding crap… hurray!
Fresh hop ale clings to the mouth and begs for more. It takes away the “more hops” dynamic that eventually will burn out taste buds, and says, “There’s really is more to hops than bitter, super spicy, or super citrus: that canned hop taste affecting most Imperial IPAs.”
Wet hops deserve their own seat at the brew table, and I applaud Sierra Nevada for making a damn near perfect example of it.
From Sierra Nevada’s site…
Alcohol content 6.7% by volume: yeast Top-fermenting Ale Yeast.
Beginning gravity 16.5 Plato: bittering hops Centennial
ending gravity 4.0 PlatoFinishing hops Cascade & Centennial
Bitterness units 60 – 65: malts Two-row Pale & Caramel.
The cornerstone of our Harvest series is the beer that started the modern-day fresh hop ale phenomenon in America, our original Harvest Ale.
Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops—the same day they are picked—to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.
Too much Centennial this year? And is there another, unmentioned, hop? Excellent, just not as good as 12 or 11. Could just be subtle variations in hop crops. The thing that’s interesting is how much they do vary every year. I support that, as long as the pursuit of variation doesn’t over rule taste.
Why Plan Ahead?
by Ana Grarian on Sat, Oct 31, 2009
HERD ABOUT IT?
by Ana Grarian
What does it mean to have everything readily available and not have to plan ahead? This thought came to me while listening to Gary Snyder talk about his poem Hay for the Horses. Gary had a summer job stacking hay bales for use over the winter. Planning ahead so that in the depth of winter snow there would be hay, for the horses, where it was needed.
Today we don’t have to plan ahead much. I can buy a last minute birthday present at Walmart. If I forgot to do the laundry I can pick up a last minute outfit to wear to the party. If I didn’t plan ahead for dinner I can buy it as take out on the way home, or have it delivered. If I want guacamole at midnight in January in Upstate NY, I can find an avacado in a 24 hour grocery, or buy it pre-made. Heck I can even purchase a term paper on-line.
Wallace Stegner said that we Americans divide into two groups, boomers and stickers. The boomers are always thinking that something is better somewhere else, that whatever they have or whatever they are is no good.
What does it mean to have everything readily available and not have to plan ahead?
Doesn’t it mean that I can take everything for granted? If it’s not available here they’ll have it there. I can just move, change suppliers, pay a little more, make or break a contract.
I don’t have to worry about people to work in my plant. There’s always another third world country to exploit. I don’t care about the soil. I can always add more fertilizer. I can buy my way out of any situation. I don’t need my neighbors. I can buy help or simply buy off my neighbors.
There will always be more clean water somewhere.
Until there isn’t.
Post a comment...Today’s Quote: The Blockheads and Dummies Haven’t Changed
by RS Janes on Sat, Oct 31, 2009
In a recent interview with The Nation, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev recalled a brief conversation with then-VP Poppy Bush, proving nothing ever changes in the world of wingnut conservatism: they are still the same blockheads and dummies today they were then — there are just fewer of them:
Post a comment...“By the way, in 1987, after my first visit to the United States, Vice President Bush accompanied me to the airport, and told me: ‘Reagan is a conservative. An extreme conservative. All the blockheads and dummies are for him, and when he says that something is necessary, they trust him. But if some Democrat had proposed what Reagan did, with you, they might not have trusted him.’”
– Excerpted from “Gorbachev on 1989,” Katrina Vanden Heuvel & Stephen F. Cohen, The Nation, Oct. 28, 2009.
Ohio Ag
by Ken Carman on Fri, Oct 30, 2009
I thought Ana might find the article, and the links provided by the article, interesting…
Post a comment...“On November 3rd, there will be a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot in Ohio. This is no ordinary ballot initiative. Its very existence and marketing has been bought and paid for–to the tune of millions of dollars– by national and international agri-business corporations and their front groups, such as Pioneer Hi-Bred International (owned by DuPont and grantee of 100K to the effort),the National Pork Producers Council (113K), and the United Egg Producers (200K!).”
Mr. and Mrs. Moron Brew Beer
by Professor Good Ales on Fri, Oct 30, 2009
Comments Off
Courtesy toondoo.com and namraknec
Pet Prose: Sensitivity
by The Pet Pro on Fri, Oct 30, 2009
Editor’s Note: The Pet Pro has over 20 years professional experience in dog training and pet care, as well as in caring for sick animals.
By The Pet Pro
I once had a client who had a debilitating chronic illness that had eluded diagnosis for years. She experienced fatigue and muscle weakness, terrible joint pain, skin rashes and breakouts, stomach upset, headaches, dizziness – the list goes on. She came from a wealthy family who lived nearby, and had a very involved mother who continually jumped in to help – ferrying her to one specialist after another, and stepping in to take over running her life at a moment’s notice.
Suggested but unconfirmed diagnoses included chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus and Crohn’s disease, among others. Over the few years that I knew her, her dog, and then her cat, developed chronic illnesses as well – also mysterious and difficult to diagnose. She began looking into environmental toxins, allergies, and nutritional deficiencies for an explanation. As I got to know her better, I learned that she was involved in a relationship with a controlling and verbally abusive man and, as I watched her interaction with her mother, it seemed to me that her relationship with her family had left her feeling helpless, dependent and infantile – feelings that were perpetuated by her romantic partnership.
A number of months passed, and when I reconnected with her, things had changed. She had broken up with the guy, had regained some of her physical health, was back in school, and working part time. I asked her what her doctors had eventually concluded, and she told me she was no longer seeing them, but was gradually feeling much better anyway. It seems that the stress of the relationship may have been the cause of her illness. She was also in therapy now, and learning to establish some boundaries with her family. And guess what? Her dog and cat were both symptom free as well.
This woman’s story is a powerful illustration of how emotionally sensitive animals are, and how connected to us is their own well-being. I have seen example after example of pets suffering from a dysfunctional family dynamic. Whenever we go through a major stress, a loss, or just a big change, we must remember to tend to the emotional health of our animal companions. Animals are closely bonded to their human families. Their physical senses are a thousand times more acute than ours, but they are also highly sensitive emotionally. Everyone who has had close relationships with non-humans has experienced their intuition and empathy regarding our states of mind – the warm tongue on your hand when you’re feeling sad, the paw on your knee and questioning gaze when you’re upset, the worry and whining when mom and dad are arguing. When you’re happy, they’re happy – and all is right with their world.
Animals have highly refined personalities. They can teach us how to be better people if we learn to pay attention to their responses. They can show us who we really are. It’s important to remember how affected they can be by our emotional storms, and to take care of them, as we would our children, spouses and friends, by recognizing their needs as the valuable, sensitive beings they are.
Training Tip: Never be emotionally abusive with your pets. Anger, irritation, impatience etc., are no more appropriate in dealing with animals than they are with humans, and are no more effective. Besides, do you really want to be the person who deals that way with others?
© 2009 The Pet Pro. All Rights Reserved.
NYC Gets Theirs
by Ana Grarian on Thu, Oct 29, 2009
HERD ABOUT IT?
by Ana Grarian
NYC has managed to bring a major gas drilling company to its knees. Chesapeake Energy won’t drill for natural gas in the NYC watershed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-reinbach/gas-drilling-in-new-york_b_332831.html
In case that has you taking a big breath of relief – hold it a minute. That’s the New York CITY watershed. The rest of us NY bumpkins (who live over and around most of the Marcellus shale), are not so fortunate. But hey – if fracking is dangerous to the NYC watershed – isn’t it dangerous to ours? And doesn’t our water flow out of our region into others? Or am I just showing quaint, country folk lore reasoning here
If I was caught dumping dangerous chemicals like toluene onto my neighbors lawn I’d be put in jail. If I was caught near our town wells I would probably be jailed under Homeland Security provisions. But somehow if a big company wants to pump them for miles UNDER my community, it’s progress?
No way, no how! My little corner of the earth is still for the most part a Garden of Eden and I think we know what part the Gas Drilling Co. representative is playing. Hisssssss!
Post a comment...Looking for Something?
Site Membership
- To Enter Contributor Area:
- Want to be a Contributor?
- Recover password
Tip Jar for Hosting Costs
If you like what you read here, please feel free to drop a few pennies to help pay for our hosting. All money goes directly to the webhost, and not our empty pockets.
Click here to donate
by Professor Good Ales on Sat, Oct 31, 2009
Comments Off