In the movie there’s a pretty memorable scene where the old-school rocker walks onto the parking lot of a modern day country star – think… who the hell is a popular country dude these days? Think of him – or her. Anyway, old-school is in the stadium parking lot, walking between the big and shiny buses that belong to the super star after leaving his crappy old truck that he’s had for at least twenty years (is Garth Brooks still a top-notch country singer?). Old-school sleeps in crappy hotels, plays in small-town bars, eats cheap food and is a purist – he is country through in through. The super star? Well, he acts like a super star I suppose. He certainly has the talent, but the character seems shallow when contrasted to the complexity that is Old-School.

I can’t get this parking lot scene out of my head, in part because the song that plays in the background is a Waylon Jennings tune called Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? If you’re not familiar with the song, check out the lyrics below:

It’s the same old tune, fiddle and guitar
Where do we take it from here
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars
We’ve been the same way for years
We need to change

Somebody told me when I got to Nashville
Son you finally got it made
Old Hank made it here, we’re all sure that you will
But I don’t think Hank done it this way
I don’t think Hank done it this way

Ten years down the road, making one night stands
Speeding my young life away
Tell me one more time just so I understand
Are you sure Hank done it this way
Did Ol’ Hank really do it this way?

I’ve seen the world with a five piece band
Looking at the back side of me
Singing my songs and one of his now and then
But I don’t think Hank done ‘em this a’way
No I don’t think Hank done ‘em this a’way

Now, I know I’ve been working in the beer biz too long, because all I can think about is today’s ‘rock star’ brewers and the ones we don’t know that work their asses off (those aren’t mutually exclusive, by the way). I’m not going to call anyone out, but in my mind I can see an old-school brewer walking through the big and shiny new brewery in town run by a hipster with a great plan and a few great batches under his belt. This old-school brewer may have 10, 15, 25 years experience, maybe has seen the rise and fall of many faces in the business, certainly knows what his customers like and most assuredly has a silent opinion about how a brewery should be run. Still, the youth and energy of the hipster brewer may have propelled him to the top of the charts, earning him space in national magazines, websites, podcasts – hell, he’s a frickin’ rock star among brewers. In my mind it’s Bad Blake meets Billy Sweet (old-school, rock star in Crazy Heart).

I liken Old-School to a man named Allen Sprints, from Portland. He’s a brewer’s brewer, using equipment that looks like a garage sale outcast and running a brewery the way he wants, the only way he knows how. Allen’s beers are fantastic, with depth of character and complexity, sometimes rough around the edges and always interesting. People like him are heroes to me in the beer world. There’s also folks in small towns like Baker City, Oregon, or Auburn California and Stevenson Washington: Brewers that maybe we don’t know by name or even by face, but who make beer in cramped spaces that are intended to appeal to the people at their bars. Sure, some of these guys get popular, but in a world like craft beer, popular is a relative thing.

I think about the hipster brewers of the day – from Michigan to California, Florida to Washington – and wonder what their operations look like through the eyes of the old-school. Is there a bit of jealousy, a silent cynicism, or maybe something altogether warmer and truer? I don’t know. I haven’t asked and doubt I will – you see, my wonders are mysteries I don’t care to have the answers to. I love my curiosities and don’t need to see what’s behind the curtain.

All this also led to another thought. Take this line and mull it over a bit:

I’ve seen the world with a five piece band
Looking at the back side of me

Legacy. I often wonder what happens to the band members of brewing, the brewers that mash-in and do the day-to-day work in any given brewery in the country. I’ve wondered if the rock-stars have a legacy that goes beyond their brewery doors. Are there young brewers that learn the ropes and go on to become their own success story? If there is, we don’t hear about it too often. In fact, the person I think of when I think of legacy is an unknown-to-most brewer in Sacramento that’s been at the helm some 19 years now. In that time several young brewers have interned or worked with him, many going on to become even more successful. Ah, even more curiosities.

I don’t have any answers here, for the most part I don’t even have questions. For the most part, I just have observations and things I wonder about, mostly to myself. I don’t feel there’s anything right or wrong in the thoughts here – the hipsters of the day aren’t necessarily more or less talented than the old-school brewers, they’ve just taken very different paths to get to where they are. I don’t think Fritz done it this way…

Hell, just for fun, let’s make our own song. Maybe the Rolling Boil Blues Band will sing it someday.

It’s the same old brew, hops and barley
Where do we take it from here
Big brew decks and new shiny tanks
We’ve been the same way for years
We need to change

Somebody told me when I got to San Fran
Son you finally got it made
Old Fritz made it here, we’re all sure that you will
But I don’t think Fritz done it this way
I don’t think Fritz done it this way

Ten years down the road, making one night stands
Speeding my young life away
Tell me one more time just so I understand
Are you sure Fritz done it this way
Did Ol’ Fritz really do it this way?

I’ve seen the world with a three-man brew crew
Looking at the back side of me
Brewing my beers and one of his now and then
But I don’t think Fritz done ‘em this a’way
No I don’t think Fritz done ‘em this a’way

Post Scripts

First, why Fritz? Well, the guy, like him or not, is credited for the start of the modern craft beer revolution by many. He’s the old-school if there could be one. Now, his assertion that Steam Beer was somehow unique to Anchor is another story, hell – that wasn’t even unique to San Francisco, but you get the point. I’d also recommend that you don’t take anything here too seriously. Allen isn’t the sole hero of old-school workers, he’s just a man that popped in my head as I was writing. There are people across the country (and the globe) that work long and thankless days to produce truly fantastic beer with character and imagination.

Second, none of this matters. At the end of the day 99% of the craft brewers in this country work their asses off to either promote their brand (new school?) or keep their tanks full or both.

Finally, before we draw lines in the sand or debate which business model or brewery is better than the other, we all need to step back a bit and relax. Craft beer is still a drop in a big beery bucket – and an industry like this takes all types. I’d suggest that there is room for as many brewer personalities as there are beer drinker personalities – and we know that beer fans are all over the board! Enjoy a beer. Think about where it came from, what it means, why you care, then take another long drink and remember all that thought isn’t nearly as good as the beer in your glass.

In the end know this: this post really was just inspired by a song.

As you will see, our adventure through this list of beers had mixed results, starting with our 1st beer purported to be a growler of unfiltered Double Barrel Ale from Firestone Walker. Although nothing was wrong with this beer per se, we questioned whether the beer was in fact what it was supposed to be. It was clear and unremarkable with little of the oakiness or British hops expected.

Next up was a homebrewed Belgian Tripel from Hophead Derek. This was a good beer with notes of dark fruit that was possibly a little sweet for the category. Still a good attempt however.

Our third beer was a trip down nostalgia lane as it was a Beermann’s IPA. Probably a year old, it had maintained its’ hop character and had a noticeable bitterness in the finish. It was unanimous. We miss Beermann’s.

Next up was a canned beer, Buckbean’s Tule Duck Red. Described as a deep red, robust ale, we found it to be a little lacking in robustness. It was on the mild side with of the bite expected from a good red. Lisa even noticed a “soapiness.”

From there, we went on to Moylan’s IPA. A noticeable biscuity and floral aroma was followed by a well balanced taste of malt and spicy hops. Purveyors of one of Mike’s favorites, Hopsicle, Moylan’s did a good job with this beer as well.

Another IP followed Moylan’s, the IPA from Alesmith in San Diego. This was a 2008 version and had a grassy aroma with good bitterness up front that turns into a spicy hop finish. Pretty darn good.

Our 7th beer was the Shipyard XXX IPA from Maine. This had some good initial citrusy hop presence and was pretty easy to drink for a 9.25% beer. Used to West Coast hop bombs, we wondered if this was brewed as an English IPA. According the web page though it is an American IPA. To compete with Racer 5’s and Pliny the Elders of the world, this beer needs more prominent hops.

Speaking of hop bombs, after Shipyard came Hop 15 from Port Brewing. Everything a double IPA should be, this beer has 15 different hops added at 15 different points of the brewing process. The result is a lot of floral, grassy aromas, followed by significant complex bitterness that doesn’t linger. Very well balanced for such a big beer.

Next up came Racer 5 just because. A classic IPA and one of our all time favorites. Enough said.

We followed Racer 5 with the Grand Teton Lost Continent Double IPA. This beer had a prominent grassy aroma with an initial bitterness followed by a lingering sweetness. This beer paled in comparison to the Hop 15.

Although this report looks like we were focusing on IPAs, we weren’t. That’s just what jumped out of Mike’s cellar and Bob’s magic ice chest. So how did we finish our beer adventure off? By moving onto even bigger beers of course.

Coming into the homestretch, our next beer was a 2009 Mirror Mirror from Deschutes. Another typical favorite of many of the S.O.B.E.R members, this beer has a noticeable “raisony” sweetness that is well balanced by hops. The alcohol (11%) is pretty well hidden and the flavors are complex. This beer is like a really good movie, where every time you watch it, you notice something new. Every time I drink this beer, I notice something different it seems.

Following Mirror Mirror was a 2006 version of Hog Heaven Barley Wine from Avery in Colorado. This is another beer that we enjoyed tremendously in the past. Unfortunately, we felt this beer had mellowed too much over the years. It started well but left us wanting for taste in the finish.

Our next to last beer was an 08 version of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. We always anticipate the New Year’s version of this beer and some day, a vertical tasting from Jose’s cellar of the last several years’ versions of Bigfoot. This beer was fruity with a noticeable bittersweet hop presence that seemed to come and go. It was very full bodied and enjoyable.

It was only fitting that we finished with one of the truly big beers, Goose Island Imperial Stout from 2008. At 13% alcohol, it’s hard to mask the alcohol in this beer but after we warmed it in Big Mike’s underarm region, this beer was came across with complex flavors of vanilla, bourbon and chocolate. One of the few beers that really can stand up to a strong cigar, this was wonderful ending to our beery adventure.

Our annual Barley wine tasting is yet to come hopefully but in the meantime, there are always other good beers to enjoy with good friends. Especially when your friends have such good beer cellars.

The place has sixteen taps, all featuring some of the finest hand-crafted beer in America with names like Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Victory and more. What’s more is the diversity of taps. Unlike some places with an obvious bent toward the uber-hoppy concoctions of America, Samuel Horne’s has a superb balance of lagers, rich malty ales and powerfully structured IPAs – it has a beer for any palate.

On our first trip in my wife and I ordered two plates, each costing under $10, and a couple of well-poured pints at $4.50 a piece. What we didn’t have to pay for was a beer-centric conversation with Dylan, Owner of Samuel Horne’s, or the blue cheese and bacon that topped our fries. The J.T. Burger was spectacular, completed with a house-made bourbon dressing and cooked to perfection. Additionally, the “blue plate special” of the night was some extra-spicy sausages, sliced into bite sizes and tossed with thin pasta in a rich cream sauce – this plate had some serious heat! Both dishes were well worth the price, filling and flavorful.

The booth seating was comfy, the decor and lighting was cozy, and the beers were as clean and flavorful as you’d ever hope to find (not a shock given Dylan’s many years as one of the region’s top beer distributors). The doors are open seven days a week and it’s located right in the heart of historic Folsom. From what we observed on our inaugural trip it is safe to say we’ll be back very soon.

More Info
Samuel Horne’s Tavern
719 Sutter Street
Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 293-8207

Samuel Horne’s Tavern

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Look, I’m a big proponent of pairing great beer with great food. I love a rare and powerful concoction as much as the next guy, too. Still, I don’t quite understand the fuss. I’m thinking about this today having just read a very agreeable point of view expressed by Eric Asimov in the current issue of Imbibe. Regarding “What to serve at Thanksgiving”, Asimov says:

I address this question every year… and my answer is always the same: Have red, have white- and have plenty of it.

To restate in beer terms: have porter, have pale, have IPA – and have a bunch of it…

Seriously, it’s OK to pull out a case of Sierra Nevada Pale while watching the game. It’s not a day to show off the beer cellar you’ve amassed over the years, no need to pull out the obscure brew collected on your trip to wherever, some years back. That is, unless you’re willing to just drink the damn beer without turning it into a ceremony of its own. Too often when we pull out those special beers with the expectation that we’ll be allowed to tell our story – the story of where the beer was made, who brewed it and what makes it special. There’s a time for this, of course, but I just don’t think it’s with all our friends and family trying to enjoy the company and the holiday.

Let’s face it. Most tables have a variety of flavors and textures that simply can’t be paired with one or two perfect beers. Sure, Saisons can handle most of what we have to throw at them, but even they’re not the magic bullet of the Thanksgiving table. Maybe it’s just best to have a beer you like, a beer that most people can share with and enjoy equally. It seems we should be able to put our beer-vangelical attitudes away for a few hours, right? We’re not going to convert everyone, (we shouldn’t, either) and to overstep our love of beer may just turn people away more than we attract. Just a thought.

So, what’s the point? Simple. Some days beer needs to take a back seat to the people around us. I absolutely believe that beer has a well-deserved place at the table, I am certain beer and conversation go hand-in-hand. That said, don’t over-think this. As Don Younger has said, “It’s not about the beer. It’s about the beer.”

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Drink well.

- RS

If you’re in the area, you’ll have a good chance of finding some of these hoppy concoctions in the days to come at Rubicon. Given the recent closure of Sacramento Brewing Company, it was more than great to see the seats and bar full of revelers sipping samples of ale, chatting it up with friends, or just watching the game on TV. We can’t wait till we do this again in 2010!

The Monster Pretzel

Al Pulls a Pint of Rubicon Hopsauce (Double IPA Cask-Finished with Hops Grown on Site)

Shawn & Scott Making Pretzels Out Back

The Beer Menu

Sampler of Beer

See All the Pictures on Flickr.

Long time readers know my love of all things HomeBrew Chef – the meals he puts on, his ability to pair dishes with obscure brews, the whole package that is Sean Paxton is very impressive. So it should come as no surprise that when it came to making our Thanksgiving turkey, I looked to him for advice. More specifically, I consulted his website.

Turkey and me get along pretty well, for years now I’ve made a bird that has impressed even me. That said, I knew it was time for me to get serious about cooking a Turkey-day creature with beer, preferably using a beer brine. Brines are nothing new to the cooking world, the blend of acids, sugar and salt have been used a long time to make meat more tender, more flavorful and in this case, more interesting. For turkey, there’s a few schools of thought on choosing the right beer for the brine – and believe me, I’m not saying this way is the only way. One school of thought believes that it’s a good thing to impart strong beer flavors on the bird, so use of porters and stouts, even hoppy ales are in order. Another believes that the soft caramelized malts of Munich are a better match, a play of subtle flavors that doesn’t overpower the turkey. I’ve had the porter and hoppy ale turkeys before, thanks to my good friend Mike, and those come out pretty damn good – I’ve experienced that first-hand over the years. Therefore, I opted to go the more subtle route and chose a locally brewed Octoberfest with a hit of German doppelbock.

The ingredients for this are fairly straight forward:

4 Quarts Beer – I strongly recommend locally brewed Octoberfest, Marzen or Bock of some sort.
4 Quarts Ice or Water
2 Cup Kosher Salt
1 Cup Sugar
4 Each Bay Leaves
3 BunchThyme, fresh
3 Each Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
3 StocksCelery, sliced
3 Each Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Each Lemon, quartered
4 Each Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced

Homebrew Chef says you have the option of just blending ingredients cold, or heating them up in a large pot. Having planned this out in advance, I opted for heating the ingredients up a bit – and given the results see no need to ever try the cold brine method.

Once the brine had simmered and cooled, I placed the turkey, brine and ice in a bucket and let it soak for about 36 hours before rinsing it thoroughly and prepping it for cooking.

One deviation I made in the recipe was the stuffing of the turkey with apples, onions, carrots and celery. This was done primarily to ensure the bird wouldn’t dry out, but also allow the savory aromatics to absorb into the meat. This is a sometimes touchy subject among cooks, so do what you will here. Oh, I didn’t “stuff” the cavity either. I do know that the moist bread crumb mixtures used can slow the cooking process in the middle of the turkey, leading to dryer outer layers.

Another personal preference for me was to cook the turkey on the BBQ, covered with foil (shiny side in) and placed on a rack, inside a large pan, trying to maintain a temperature of 350 degrees. Beneath the rack we added more beer, admittedly the dregs of beers we were sipping on throughout the day. As the turkey cooks, you’ll likely want to feed the pan with more beer or water, encouraging steam in the process. Depending on your grill, the temperature maintenance may be more difficult than you like – you certainly don’t want to leave it unattended for very long.

For the full recipe and cooking instructions, be sure to check out Sean’s website – www.homebrewchef.com. I promise, if you follow the steps he lays out, you’ll have yourself one fantastic Thanksgiving Turkey that your family and friends will go nuts for – even the ones that don’t like beer.

And pigs are flying too!

Actually, it’s true. While at Chef’s Table for my usual Wednesday night visit, Chef David pulled a very interesting looking bottle of beer out of his refrigerator. Bottled and corked in the larger 750ML bottle, it was a Barley Wine from Cucapa Brewing in Baja, Mexico. Opened in 2002, this brewery was one of the first real microbreweries in Mexico and if this beer is a typical example, they are off to a great start. We poured it into red wine glasses and I let mine sit for about 10-15 minutes to let it warm up a little. A dark reddish-brown in color, it had lots of roasted malt aroma and noticeable molasses in the flavor. It was well balanced by the hops so that the sweetness didn’t overwhelm. Full bodied, sweet but balanced, and strong; this was a very good barley wine.

I couldn’t help but think how well this would have fit in with our other selections at the annual S.O.B.E.R Barleywine tasting event. But Chef was even sure who dropped it off for him and according to their website, the farthest north it’s sold in Califonia is Turlock.

It is distributed widely in the LA area so if you are there and see this beer, grab one. You won’t regret it.

Sacramento Brewing has been a much celebrated local joint for more than a decade, but when the founder and ‘eternal brewer’ Sam Peterson fell ill the brewery suffered from a lack of leadership and a decline in quality. Sam passed away a few years back and shortly thereafter it looked as though things had turned around with Hoey making recipe changes that resulted in World Beer Cup, California State Fair and Great American Beer Festival awards. In fact, in 2009 SBC was selling more beer in house than ever – in part, due to the expanded tap selection that included 24 guest beers. Sadly, the economic realities hit the restaurant side of the business in a way that beer sales couldn’t compensate for.

For beer lovers in the region this is a major blow. SBC joins Beermann’s and Elk Grove Brewing, and SBC’s satellite location The Oasis in local breweries that have shut down recently.

EDIT

I do want to take a moment to say Thank You to George and Sarah Irwin, owners of SBC. Since buying SacBrew some years back they’ve been nothing but hospitable to us at PBN. I know they poured a lot into making SBC work, but it just didn’t happen. We wish you the best. Don’t be strangers – would be good to see you at local watering holes in the near future.