The Session No. 89: Beer in History

The Session is a monthly blogging project among the beer bloggers where the host chooses the topic in which the rest of the participants can write about. I took the load of hosting the July Session post here on my blog. I chose to involve one of my favorite topics, that being history, for this month's topic. I figured that it was quite fitting for many of us as the first Friday of this month is the Fourth of July.

Pennsylvania has a deep alcohol history. A lot of it dates back to the days of the American Revolution in the late 1700's. Some of it liquor and some of it beer. There have been many places I've been to to enjoy a festival, a meal as well as a beer with both of those great things! One of the things that attracted me to some of the places is the historical allure each of them have. Most importantly, each of them are in buildings that hold some form of a historical significance!

Part of my start into craft beer was while attending school in Slippery Rock, PA. Right on Main Street was North Country Brewing Company. This was back before we even used the term "craft" or "craft beer." If you didn't want to stoop low as to drink the usual American swill you went to North Country or as we called it, The Brewery. I still have many memories of downing pint after pint of Blue Bear E Fruit Ale and Squirrel Nut Brown.

What was the building prior to North Country brewing in it? It used to be a morgue! That made it fitting for that annual Halloween party. You knew I was getting to Gettysburg at some point in this post. That's where I'll be for the next few places.

Battlefield Brew Works just up the York Road outside of Gettysburg proper is one of my favorite brewpubs in the entire Commonwealth. The bar inside is crafted from trees that were grown on the farm's property when it actually used to be a farm. The establishment itself is completely inside an 1860's style Pennsylvania Dutch barn.

The Brew Works sits on what once was (or kind of still is) the Monfort Farm just outside of Gettysburg. At one point during and for some time after the Battle of Gettysburg the barn was used as a field hospital and is designated as such by a plate on a fireplace inside. I can honestly say that in my two plus years of doing things and recording some of them on this blog that this one was the most excited I have ever been to combine both beer and history. I can't wait to return next month.

A little closer to the heart of Gettysburg was the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. This still resides in the town square of Gettysburg which is probably the most picturesque part of the town. The building itself has been there since before the two armies ever met there. If you go a ways down Baltimore Street to the South you run into a place that's been in Gettysburg since the times of the Revolution - The Dobbin House Tavern. There you can have 1700's style fare in the dining room or downstairs in the Springhouse Tavern. It's easy to find Jack's Hard Cider from the local Hauser Estate Winery here!

The Session No. 89 Announcement

In the words of Captain Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I've fulfilled my vow. At least, I've partially fulfilled it. I've come back to help get the ball rolling on the next edition of the Session. If you haven't yet had a chance to take in any of the posts from the most recent series of Session posts there is still plenty of time to read-up on the literature that was created just last week. Boak and Bailey hosted the June edition with the topic being beer mixing. You can see the round-up post right here.

When I posted on a more consistent basis I tried to incorporate history in as many posts as I could. I love history. There's just something about it. It's fun. It's interesting. It even gives me goosebumps. So, I only saw it to be fitting that I choose the topic of Beer in History.

Even better is the fact that the summer time is the main period of the calendar year that I absolutely delve into history. We just passed the 70th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy (Many of you know it as D-Day or Operation Overlord). The latter portions of June mark the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign which culminates on July 3. The following date is obviously the Fourth of July here in the states.

At many points in history you can look back and find alcohol intertwined. A lot of times that form of alcohol is beer. Beer is something that connects us with the past, our forefathers as well as some of our ancestors. I want this topic to be a really open-ended one. So, it should be fairly easy to come up with something and participate.

If you were among any readers I had when I posted most of the time you have a very good idea of where I might be going with my post when the time comes. The same doesn't apply to you. Do you want to write about an important beer event with great historical significance? Famous figures that were brewers? Have you visited an establishment that has some awesome historic value? Maybe a historically-themed brewpub? I wouldn't be surprised to even see a few posts on Prohibition. It doesn't really matter when it comes to history!

So, we have just under a month. Friday July 4 is the date I will look forward to reading all of your posts on the topic of Beer in History. Just leave your post here in the comment section or you can hit me up on Twitter @billkostkas. I'm also aiming to have the round-up post finished by that following Monday. See you on the Fourth!

The Session No. 86: Beer Journalism

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry.

The April edition of The Session is hosted by Heather Vandenengel of Beer Hobo. She chose to write about the subject of beer journalism, which is a good topic for someone like me that spent five years earning his journalism degree in a cold Pennsylvania town. I didn't end up actually doing journalism, because I decided that I wasn't up to the task of taking a verbal beating with everything I wrote. My mind was made up before I started my fifth year of school and as I eventually started interning etc.

That hasn't meant that people who take in journalism for informative or entertainment purposes have not gotten under my skin. Most people out there are uninformed. I cant begin to tell you how many times I've seen people on Facebook, Twitter or via text message throwing a fit about what someone wrote in the paper that morning. "How dare they say that!" How dare they write that article!"

First of all, most people get upset at columns. What I was taught in my journalism classes was that columns and articles are quite different. Articles or stories should be straight news. Strict reporting. Columns are opinion pieces in which the columnist states their claim within the first three grafs and supports it with everything below. Not being able to tell the difference makes me want to bang my head off the wall.

I've also lost a lot of love for news. I love the speed at which news events are covered today and how fast information can be spread on an app like Twitter. Still, I've grown to feel that the news industry has a motive to not report anything at all. It's all for the ratings. The local weather services seem to be around to cause panic, but be sure to stay tuned in to them for further details. I almost got ran over leaving the gym a few months ago at 6 p.m. amid the panic for a snow/ice storm that wasn't due until 10 p.m. People are uninformed and listen to the news like numb zombies. Dig for a little information yourself and you would have known that we had plenty of time before the storm hit. A little more research (just a look at the temperature) would have told some people that it wasn't going to be cold enough for anything to freeze. What resulted was the easiest car clean-off of my life.

As for beer in the journalism industry, I go back to my rant on the difference between reporters and columnists. Around my area I don't notice any beer reporters in the local papers. I'd place them more in the columnist categories. Either that or in the critics category. Most reporting revolves around money and we all know most of the money is in the sectors of the beer industry that we don't like.

Some of these guys tend to do features on brewers and check out some eateries that have good brew selections. We definitely have a good one here in Pittsburgh by the name of Bob Batz who hails from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He heads up the PG Plate blog which has a slight bias towards food. Still, I think there's a reason for that and why we kind of frown upon beer in journalism.

There can't really be big journalism because I don't think there's that big of an audience yet. So, from my point of view it looks like the news outlets have only tended to mention beer when it comes to being a counterpart with food. After all, the uninformed public is easily swayed by food rather than the fine ales we have come to endear. Remember this the next time you read something from a newspaper. As journalists, are taught to write to our audience at approximately a fourth grade reading level.

The Session No. 85: Why Do You Drink?

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry.

I had a little shard of fun with last month's edition of this blogosphere-wide series by resurrecting the long forgotten Cliiford C. Clavin from Cheers with a little history lesson. And you thought that I gave enough meaningless history tips with my usual posting, huh? For the March edition we're coming in like a lion with this one. Doug of Baltimore Bistros and Brews requests that we offer individual explanations as to why we drink.

I think I have a good response for anyone that inquires as such. Remember that first time you ever saw Raiders of the Lost Ark? The beginning of the film is so mysterious. You saw Indiana Jones for the first time from the back and cast in shadows. You see the two assistants clearly, but had no idea who the figure was they were with. It took around seven or eight minutes to finally see who the hell it was. Therein commenced the first of many adventures that would be passed on to future generations.


I argue that every glass of beer I have is the same way. Every glass that's poured is an adventure. A completely unique adventure. Sometimes I even find myself (and some of you might do the same) recollecting a particular adventure I had with a glass of beer.

Beer is, in many cases, a beautiful thing to look out. There are some great colors that leave us gazing like a child staring into the front window of a toy store the week prior to Christmas. Beer provides us with an awesome colored head of foam in most cases as well. This is also visually pleasing as it usually a complimentary color to the beer's body.

Don't get me started on the layers of flavor we can also experience. Have a stout or porter? Be ready for high dosages of chocolate and coffee. A brown ale? How about some caramel in addition to the previous two?  The list can go on and on. Some brewers even take these flavors to a completely different level by making beers with their respective interpretations or even hybrids of certain styles. It's an amazing world out there.

Every glass is a different experience. I enjoy beer with others as well as pairing some with particular foods. Hell, beer even has the power to remind us of special memories or instances we've encountered previously. Very, very powerful stuff.

Adios Satipo.

The Session No. 84: Inform Us, Mr. Postman

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry.

You know, for once I began preparations to type up this month's edition of these posts and it actually feels like it's been a while since we all combined for the Against the Grain Session post. Well, with that said we embark on the second installment for 2014. This month's idea comes from Oliver hailing from Literature and Libation and it concerns Alternative beer reviews, but we can't actually review the beer. Confused? How about a bit from his blog?

"So for my turn hosting The Session, I ask all of you to review a beer. Any beer. Of your choosing even! There’s a catch though, just one eentsy, tiny rule that you have to adhere to: you cannot review the beer.

I know it sounds like the yeast finally got to my brain, but hear me out: I mean that you can’t write about SRM color, or mouthfeel, or head retention. Absolutely no discussion of malt backbones or hop profiles allowed. Lacing and aroma descriptions are right out. Don’t even think about rating the beer out of ten possible points

But, to balance that, you can literally do anything else you want. I mean it. Go beernuts. Uncap your muse and let the beer guide your creativity."

Thus, I figured that I could not fully agree to the terms of this Session post. I'm too much of a beer geek. I've spent many posts on this blog describing foam, its lacing, the smell of malt and hops as well as the fizzy carbonation texture some brews provide. Oliver mentioned in his announcement post that we could go the route of Seinfeld or even Lady Gaga. So that's why I've brought a name out of the past to write a guest post for today - Clifford C. Clavin. I kept trying to get him to review Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale, but Mr. Clavin insisted on talking about the history of Pale Ale instead.

Greetings my friends. I'd like to thank Bill there for his esteemed introduction. I've been provided with a mug of this hear..uh..Pale Ale. It looks like, uh. It smells like a...

You know what? Some argue that Pale Ale first became popular in colonial England, but DID YOU KNOW that Pale Ale didn't originate in England. The Pale Ale or as they used to refer to it - Plenus Attero of the Latin delineation - first saw the light back in the days of the obscure Kingdom of Yam. 

Yea, yea. Not only was it used for quenching the thirsts of the families of Yam, but it was so potent that it was also used for helping to carve out irrigation ditches for farming. So, when you think about it Pale Ale was not only one of the greatest drinks known to mankind. It was also the forefront for some of the farming ways we still use today!

According to my Ma, the name Pale Ale derived from the pails that were used when bringing out the ale to the farm fields to carve out those ditches! Wow, my Ma knows her stuff. Hey, why did the screen go out? The mouse doesn't work anymore either!? What's going on!? Normie!? Sammy!?

The Session No. 83: Against the Grain

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry

For the first round of Session posts in the newly-christened 2014 Rebecca from The Bake and Brew has chosen a topic curiously entitled "Against the Grain." The question she poses is as follows:

How much is our taste or opinion of a craft beer affected by what friends and the craft beer community at large thinks? What beer do you love that no one else seems to get? Or what beer do you say “no thanks” to that everyone can’t get enough of?

The phrase "against the grain" has always been an important term for me as it should be for just about any male out there. We first hear that phrase upon being taught to shave once we reach the proper age, or whenever it is that the stuff begins to sprout from our faces.

That group of words resonates with me especially because I've gotten quite serious about shaving over the years. I'm very adamant about wet shaving. Water, cream and a razor are all it takes. I hate the scratchiness and tugging of electric razors. Thus, I have my blades and cream that has some sort of peppermint essence delivered to my doorstep every month via Harry's Razor Company. The phrase "against the grain" comes into play on the second razor stroke on an area of the face. At least I was always taught to shave downward with the grain first, then bring the blade back upwards against the grain to smooth everything out. As someone with a beard that feels like copper wire when it grows back, that sound and smooth feel that follows is the tops. The euphoria lasts only for matter of hours before that tingling sensation of regrowth comes back.

Now, how do we apply this when it comes to tasting, trying and enjoying beer? I've been known as one of the few beer bloggers that goes against the grain when it comes to hops and IPA's. This is no secret. I'm a strong proponent that hops should only act as a compliment to the rest of the beer. My favorite IPA's have a decent hop bitterness, but with a strong bready backbone.

Sometimes I write my thoughts on social media about beers I end up trying. Sometimes I end up in discourse with other Twitter users/readers on thoughts about a certain beer. This has even happened on Untappd at times. From my recollection only one beer style has drawn sharper responses from readers/tweeters when I've expressed my thoughts - IPA's.

I've seen alarmed responses upon seeing that I might not have liked an IPA or Double IPA. I've mentioned numerous times on this blog and on my Twitter feed about how I sometimes feel pressured to say good things about beers I might not like because of the fact they are popular within the confines of the beer community. I guess you could say that it kind of works like peer pressure. If I don't like it, I'm probably not going to like it again. There have been a few exceptions.

Indeed, I have gone against the grain when it comes to sharing my thoughts on beers. Still, I've always made it clear that taste and preferences are strictly subjective. Everyone likes what they like. That's why I have some distorted view that tastes aren't uniform throughout society. Extremely hoppy beers to me are just hops and nothing else in most cases. For some of you, it might be nectar from the gods. Here's the thing - it's entirely possible for many to like the taste of something and others to not enjoy it as much. Quite a concept!

The Session No. 82: Beery Yarns

Two months have once again flown by. I missed the latest one just a month ago, but I'm primed and ready to go for this wide-open Session. This time it's hosted by Steve of Beers I've Known and the topic he's chosen is quite an intriguing one. We are to come up with a beer-related story to tell this month. Preferably in a campfire style.

To be honest, this was a tougher topic than I thought it would be when it finally came to to come up with a good story and type the darn thing up. I finally decided on a tale that involved a beer I've been fantasizing about since the night I first had it.

If I remember correctly, this took place during the March after I had turned 21. I was still developing my taste in good beer. I was still in school at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where North Country Brewery was located. So, the term "microbrew" was still being used to describe the beer scene. At least, in the area of Pennsylvania I was at the time brewpubs were the big thing.

A friend and I (Chris) drove up from Slippery Rock that March to meet my old man and his brother (Bill Sr. and David, respectively) to see the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Buffalo that weekend. The games took place in what was then known as HSBC Arena. Just alongside one of the arena lots was this five floor brewpub called Pearl Street Grill and Brewery. We ventured to the basement deli/speakeasy after the first session of games for lunch that Friday. There I had a very hoppy pale ale, as I recall. We decided that we had to return there for dinner the next day and watch some of the other basketball games going on at pother sites (remember that NCAA Tournament sites alternate days for the first two rounds). And so the night began.

We decided to settle in on the third floor since it was the closest thing to a typical pub and had televisions for us to take in some college hoops on. Just to set the scene here, keep in mind that my old man is quite boisterous and loud. As my uncle David always says "he like to make comments and he doesn't care who hears him." Because of this, the old man proclaims that it's my job to go grab us two of those beer tube dispensers. I obliged and went down two floors to be told that only one person could "rent" one with a $20 deposit and said person's driver's license. Thus, I clambered up the two flights once again to report the situation and bring my buddy Chris back downstairs with me.

Next came the selection of which brews we were to fill these tubes with. My dad wanted to go with Street Brawler which was, an oatmeal stout. I convinced Chris to go in with me and get the beer that hooked me from then on. Pearl Street's Blue-Eyed Blueberry Blonde. My first blueberry beer in memory. The men in my family are very astute. We notice things quite easily. The floor we were on had posters/murals of the beer labels Pearl Street offered. The Street Brawler mural is kind of self-explanatory. The beer I chose featured a blonde woman in a blue dress picking flowers in some field. My out-spoken father proclaimed that I must be some sort of big sissy because of my beer choice and referenced the murals. David and Chris laughed like hell.

"Look here! This is the one I want. That looks manly and tough. Now, look at the one Billy wants!"

I've been meaning to get back to Buffalo to reunite with this beer ever since. It seriously reminded me of blueberry waffles. Still, the night continued. There was some form of a wedding reception in the room behind the bar. Some of the men from that reception attempted to sneak out and catch some of the hoops games on in the bar. Of course my father noticed and began to make a scene at their expense.

"Get back in there!"

Us Kostkas men also share many mannerisms and traits. David and I have the same hissing laugh. We sound like hyenas that are choking on bones. With each outburst from my father David and I broke out with in this chorus. Dad also began to single out other characters in the pub. Someone my age kept walking back and forth to the restroom. He had on one of those Che Guerra shirts that were popular at the time. The old man began referring to him as Communist boy.

"Better get started on your manifesto!"

The same chorus broke out in response. Another of the men from the wedding reception poked his head out to check a score.

"What the hell are you doing? Better get back in there!"

Then there was a group of macho fraternity members at a table next to us. They too chose to get a few of the beer tubes. We paid close attention to them as their night progressed. Unfortunately, so did their level of inebriation. We watched with glee at each pass they made at every female that walked past. Sadly for them, they just kept walking. It got to the point where this bunch got so bad that we started taking bets on the time in which he would vomit. He eventually ran away and his friends couldn't find him. Sounds of hyenas echoed as this transpired.

Monday Rant: It's a Matter of Opinion

Nothing gets me more worked up than double standards. These things can be found everywhere in society. Politics, news, within our own families and even within the online beer community. Believe it or not, the possibilities are endless.

I missed the latest edition of The Session at the beginning of the month, but there was a ton of ripples made by a certain blogger and their respective post. Why there were ripples I can't seem to figure out. I don't really feel like naming names on this matter. I just feel the need to speak out on the reactions that took place. Isn't the entire point of all the beer bloggers partaking in The Session topic each month to respectfully discuss the chosen topic?

Such topics leave it open for the exchanging of opinions on certain matters. As humans we have the choice to agree with said opinion or not. Maybe my parents were insane, but I was taught to respectfully disagree with someone that thought differently than I. Not attempt to humiliate and outcast. Believe it or not. As stubborn as I am that's how I was raised. Sometimes it's tough to accept an opinion you don't agree with. I get that.

In some cases people lash out at those that say things that they don't always agree with. That's exactly what happened over the past week with the previously mentioned blogger and those that reacted to it. Personally, I don't always agree with what said blogger says. The same can be said for many facets of life. We all have our own personal views.

The topic for the latest Session was women in beer. Said blogger wrote about how he doesn't enjoy drinking with women or that's how I interpreted it, at least. If that's what this person thinks, so be it. If a woman wants to have a beer in a local pub and chooses to interact with me while doing so I have no problem at all. If you're human and enjoy drinking and talking about beer I'll enjoy your presence. As for women in the brewing industry, I don't really care who makes the beer I drink. If the beer is good I shall enjoy it regardless. Still, given the track record of society it would have been rare to see a woman brewing. So, having women in this industry is a cool and interesting microcosm of how society has developed over time in a positive way. That's just my take.

I believe that when someone starts making an example of, criticizing or outcasting those that disagree with them it just looks idiotic to me,. In essence, those that criticize are doing the very thing they're accusing the person presenting the opinion or view of. Last week, people lauded the blogger for apparently "judging others." What did they do to rectify this situation? Judge the blogger. One hell of an example some of you set.

If The Session can no longer be an open forum for intellectual and respectful discourse as evident by the actions of last week I have to seriously reconsider my participation in the project at the beginning of each month. If we can't except the views of other blogger what the hell is the point to writing those posts every month?

That's my rant. Now, back to enjoying and learning about our favorite beverage.

The Session No. 80: Is Craft Beer a Bubble?

Wow. We've now reached 80 editions of The Session. With each one it seems as if time goes too fast in between each month. For the October version of The Session, we turn to Derek of It's Not Just the Alcohol Talking. He poses yet another intriguing question relating to craft beer - Is craft beer a bubble?

I've heard and pondered the phrase "craft beer bubble" many times in my two years of posting on this blog. I found it Ironic that just about 20 minutes prior to writing this, I got a text from my uncle expressing his surprise at the fact that Shock Top and Blue Moon now had pumpkin beers on the market.

We can give the guy a break. He isn't fully aware of the entire craft beer situation as many of us are. To him, Blue Moon is exotic craft still since it was something new and creative before many of the breweries that we now love existed. He's still "crossing that bridge" ( i.e. the bridge between bad beer and what we consider to be good beer) as I always refer to it.

A lot of us are staunch supporters of our favorite craft breweries and maybe more are against the major American brewers. You know which ones they are. I found it interesting that my uncle spoke to me in surprise because I've always been one to say that the major breweries will always be there regardless of how much of the market share the craft brewers take up or how much some of us might hate them.

I just think that the reality of the situation is that the majors will always try to imitate the creativity of the craft brewers. An even harsher truth is that there are more goofs in this country that love anything the majors come out with. It almost doesn't matter what it is. The fact that they can come out with a "seasonal offering" now makes it that much harder to convert the sheep that already drink nothing but the swill that's produced.

I'm not entirely sure if I've described anything in relation to a bubble. I'll let you decide for yourself. These are just a few thoughts on the issue.

The Session No.79: USA vs. Old World Beer Culture

This month's edition of The Session or Beer Blogging Friday is hosted by Adrian Ding of Ding's Beer Blog. The topic is one I've given much thought too since it was announced earlier in the summer: USA vs Old World Beer Culture.

I'm still not entirely sure what I have to offer in this Session. I've always said that I'm far from an expert on beer. I'm still very far away from being any type of analyst when it comes to old world beer culture. Hell, I'm not really sure what it is exactly.

What I do know is that Adrian or "Ding" has certainly had his run-ins with some throughout the beer community. I've claimed this edition of The Session to be the one where the internet implodes after witnessing some of the beer tirades through social media. He comes off as stubborn and cynical. I can understand that as a person who is also stubborn and cynical.

Like it or not, the rest of us need us cynics to sometimes keep everything in check and to keep the world from going too far. That doesn't always mean anyone has to listen. There are plenty of examples throughout history that back up both cases.

Beer in a way is similar to politics, which I've lost interest for over the years. I don't remember the last time I voted. Still, I remain registered as a Republican mainly because it gets on people's nerves. I love the people that scream "YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!?" The world can explode and I wouldn't really care about the political affiliation of the political crony that was responsible for it.

The beauty of both beer views and political views is that people will argue tot he death over who's side is right and wrong while there isn't anything in the history of time that says either side is really right. To me, it's just a bunch of wasted energy. I sometimes feel the same way about the bickering that goes on in the beer community.

Still, I can see a few big differences between  the beer cultures of Britain and America. It seems to me (and anyone can correct me on this) that the two mainstays of beer across the pond are still porters and pale ales. Here in the states, the beer scene is saturated with hops and high ABV's. The IPA has become the main style of the American craft beer spectrum.

Ding has always been vocal about the definition of session beer and how some Americans have stretched the meaning of it. My take? It's just beer. Drink and enjoy it.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, I'm also a very cynical person. Society makes me want to bang my head off of the wall in many aspects. Sometimes this happens when it comes to beer. The fighting over beers like Kentucky Breakfast Stout and the overly-hopped IPA's like Hopslam makes me shake my head.

I'm cynical about all of it, but keep my mouth shut most of the time. I don't really feel like fighting with people. So, there it is. Maybe the American beer culture does have an achilles heel? Maybe it's just unique? I don't know enough about other beer cultures to really say so. All I know is what I've stated time after time on this blog. I drink what I prefer, out of any glass I feel like drinking from, as well as the way I want to. Beer is a beautiful thing. Just enjoy it. The same way I enjoy Ding's commentary on beer regardless if it's against the grain.

The Session No. 76: Compulsion

Holy hell it feels like last month's session post was only about a week and a half ago. That went by fairly quick. The June edition is on the subject of compulsion and is hosted by Glen Humphries of Beer is Your Friend. Glen notes that this session is sort of a spin-off of the one done by Pints and Pubs a few months ago about a personal beer audit, but asks what might compel those of us with too much beer to keep buying more and how we feel about it all.

I'm not sure how many times I've had to tell this to people when I explain to them how much beer I have, but I almost always justify myself by saying that drinking beer isn't my problem. It's buying it and keeping it around. It might have been that beer audit session that inspired me to talk about my hoarding of said beers, but I don't remember ever going more in-depth about how I feel about it.

If I have an achilles heel when it comes to my beer collecting, It's when I'm at a place with a cooler crammed full of tasty new beers I haven't tried yet. Adding to the problem is that mellow feeling you get after drinking a few pints of wonderfully crafted beer. It's almost a given that I'm going home with at least a six pack. This almost always happens at my favorite place, Blue Dust, or at D's Six Pack and Dog's in Edgewood. Hell, it's pay day today and I'm fighting the urge to go and get a new case (or two) that I probably don't even need due to all of the times I've put together six packs of beer.

Once I'm home and stuffing the bottles into an already semi-full fridge my mind is somewhat clearer. That's when I look at some of the crazy beer's I've bought and shake my head because I bought something wacky and strong like a Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown Ale at a very high 9.6 percent ABV. Something that I'd rarely get a pint of at a craft pub. The only regret I feel is the agony my tongue might be going through once I actually drink it. That's about as far as I go in that area.

I've mentioned many times on this blog that the beer I have is almost treated like money I don't always want to spend. Just imagine Scrooge McDuck swimming in all of his money on an episode of Ducktales. That's pretty much me under the kitchen table (where most of my beer is stacked).

 

The Session No. 75: The Business of Brewing

Holy hell does it feel like last months Sessions post was just last week. April's was a good topic as is the one for May. I'm just not sure if I have much to contribute.

The May edition of The Session is penned by Chuck Lenatti of All Brews. His subject? The business of brewing beer. I've certainly assisted in many of mine and my father's homebrew concoctions. I've also certainly fantasized about being a brewer. After all, don't we look at a lot of our local brewers as if their athletes or celebrities? At least it comes off that way to me.

The closest I've come to gong all-in and starting a brewery is telling my father to stop being delusional and to snap back into reality. He'll consistently spew off into his own tangent claiming we should start a brewpub/brewery. That's definitely not happening anytime soon.

If the beer selection was up to me, it would mostly be pumpkin and blueberry ales. We would be running to the bank really fast. Thankfully there are braver people out there than I. They can also make some awesome beer.

To make it short and sweet, I have no business being in the actual business of brewing commercially. I'd much rather leave it to the professionals.

The Session No. 74: Beer Balance

I've always looked for a YouTube clip of a scene from an old Rodney Dangerfield film entitled Easy Money. If you've never seen the movie, the basic premise is that Dangerfield's character has to give up drinking, smoking unhealthy eating etc. in order to get his mother-in-law's inheritance.

The scene I've been searching for all of this time is one that has Dangerfield and Joe Pesci's character discussing the whole ordeal. Pesci smokes like a train throughout the movie. To prove a point to Dangerfield,  he puts out his cigarette and delivers one of my favorite lines in any comedy movie.

"Look here, I'm not gonna let it be my master."

The hilarity ensues when he lights another cigarette the second his mouth closes and doesn't think twice about it. That's pretty much the same thing I've said when it comes to finding the balance between life and beer. This month's edition of The Session is hosted by Bryan Roth of This is Why I'm Drunk and that's the very subject that this month's Session posts will be about!

I've always tried to mainly drink beer from Friday to Sunday each week. During the week I try to refrain from indulging. I also try to make it to the gym at least once or twice. In essence, beer is sort of a reward for me at the end of each week. So far this has worked for me. I've lost 30 pounds in the last year and four months. I hang around a slim weight of 143. I'm proud of that. The best part? I still drink beer on most weekends.

I believe that only you can be the master of yourself. Sometimes people need to step back for short periods of time. It could be to remind yourself that you're actually the one that's in control. Not beer. Not Facebook or Twitter. Nor is food.

The Session No. 73 - Beer Audit

I've always planned on keeping up with this monthly post, but I keep getting caught up in other ideas and usually forget to participate in this. I actually remembered this month. It seemed to work out since this month's theme is a beer audit of what you have at home. The Session for March 1 is hosted by Pints and Pubs (from beer to eternity).

I've shed light on my issues with the beer I have in previous posts. I've never actually cataloged any form of an inventory of what beer I have here. I usually just have a mental idea of what's there. To put it simply, I have enough cases of beer here that the kitchen table is now rendered useless.

Some might have a problem with the amount they drink. I have such a variety here now that I once had to tell my uncle that he could stop over, not try every type of beer I have and still be on the floor. I'd have to say my problem is actually having it. I look at the beer I have like money and I hate having to spend it.

I have a tendency to keep beers so long that sometimes they over-age. I have bottles from cases in my kitchen that I bought about a year ago. When a case of beer gets near the end I'll usually take what's left and move them to another almost empty case in order to make a little more room.

The way I keep my beer seems a bit chaotic, but I always know what's left, where it is and what's exactly in the fridge. I always make sure there's at least 15-20 bottles in the fridge at one time. I also attempt to make room for at least one growler should that opportunity present itself.

The most systematic thing I have in terms of my beer auditing/storage is what I call "my queue." This queue is where about 75 percent of my beer reviews on this blog come from. The queue consists of approximately two mix-and-match six packs I picked up over time. These beers are the closest to being placed int he fridge for possible drinking than any other bottles in the kitchen. These are beers I specifically picked out to try or were given to me as a gift. If these beers are lucky, they'll be consumed  in about a month.

What Keeps Beer Bloggers Going?

Either in a post on this blog or on my Twitter account, I'm constantly observing the small time that this blog has existed and how it continues to grow. I just mentioned in Monday's post how I intend to have a themed post for each Monday in the future.

I'm always on the lookout to see how I can craft a new type of post other than simply posting beer review after beer review. Yesterday I came across something interesting from another beer blog I frequent (Brewpublic). Apparently there has been an entire type of post that I've been missing out on.

It looks as if there's something called "The Session" in the beer blogging community in which a certain blog hosts the event comes up with a certain topic and later discusses some of the posts by other bloggers. For the month of April the topic is "What Drives Beer Bloggers?" I figured that a tad of input from me wouldn't hurt. It's also very fitting since I completed my 100th post on this blog on Tuesday.

Why Am I Here?


I've been part of the blogging community since I was half-way through middle school. My very first blog was a compilation of designs I came up with myself for baseball and football stadiums. From there I spent plenty of time sports blogging until the animalistic attitudes of assorted fans stressed me to the point that arguing and debating sports was no longer in my blood.

I needed something more relaxing. So, I asked myself what relaxed me as I desperately wanted to write about something again. I decided to record a good portion of my beer and bar adventures. In my group of friends I was always the oddball when it came to drinking.

I was always the one that drank the estranged beers that had exotic names. Thus, I began writing this blog as of September of 2011 and haven't looked back. As I've cruised around the web and explored different accounts on Twitter I'm amazed at the amount craft beer folk that exists out there. This is truly a craft beer revolution and I can arrogantly say that I'm a small portion of it.

My mission has been to simply share my thoughts on different beers and cool places to consume said beers. I've also tried to grow in terms of sharing and spreading as much information as I can find pertaining to craft beer.

For the first few months I felt like I was writing without an audience nor did I care. I was happy writing about an obsessive hobby of mine. This changed one day while at a bar on Pittsburgh's South Side and Tweeting about the lack of one of my favorite beers on tap. That's when a guy two stools down from me turns to me and asks if I'm the Pittsburgh Beer Snob. He was reading the very Tweet I sent out seconds earlier.

I've written for my school paper, but I've never posted something onto one of my numerous blogs and found out that what I posted was somewhat important and is beneficial to others.

What Drives Us?


I think it's safe to say that it's pretty obvious that there has been a boom in the craft beer revolution just as there has been with people that have joined in on it as well as others staring a beer blog.

From what I've noticed, a lot of criticism has been poured down on some of these "beer geeks." I don't really understand why. You'd think that the old timers in the craft beer world would be happy that their movement is growing rapidly and has increasing excitement. In my opinion, I think the outcries have just come from people that didn't get their batch of Pliny the Elder or Kentucky Breakfast Stout this year due to the increasing demand.

Collectively most of us are an eccentric group of people. We never were among that group when we were growing up that needed to "pregame" before everyone went out to the local hole in the wall on Thirsty Thursdays. We didn't need to slug down eight Bud Lite's because it was on special. We drank what we thought was damn good beer and stuck to it for most of the time that we've been of legal age.

Some of us are interested in social media, web design and in some cases writing. Because of one or more of these interests we post our adventures and thoughts on our beer blogs.

Most of us are a unique brand of people. A good number of us are somewhat eccentric and have interesting yet complex personalities. I know I definitely am. I can't even count how many times I've purchased a pint of beer and spent the first few moments with said beer taking pictures of it. Sure members of my family make fun of how I drink a beer or sit there admiring the story on the label and a few friends call me a beer yuppie, but I pretty much take it as a compliment to my personality. Some beers just have a certain beauty to them. In some cases searching for that perfect beer is like finding that elusive mate. I think that in the end, that's what drives the lot of us.