Cody Christman - Beer Drinker of the Year

Here is the episode of Beer Buzz that was just released today - filmed in my basement.

Cody Christman

Beertap TV just published the Taste Buds program we filmed last week.  Check it out!

Cody Christman

Last Saturday I had the great honor to work with Erik, Eli, Dusty and David of Beertap TV and help them shoot a couple episodes of their great beer-focused programs. After winning the Beerdrinker of the Year last February, Erik asked me if they could shoot a show from my basement. It took us almost an entire year to find a date that worked for all of us, but it finally came together. The gang van pooled up from Colorado Springs to Golden and set up their studio equipment in my downstairs pub & brewery. We filmed three programs – Beer Buzz, Taste Buds, and the first ever installment of a new program they are working on called “Manctuaries.”

Beertap TV is the largest beer-related Internet “television” site in the world. Their shows provide a great resource for beer lovers and interesting content from beer events around the country as well as some great interviews with beer legends. After about 45 minutes of setup, we started by filming an episode of Taste Buds. Taste Buds is a relatively short (10 minutes) weekly segment where the guys sample a specific beer and discuss its qualities. For this episode Erik, Dusty and I sampled Odell’s India Barley Wine. Odell touts it as being part Double IPA and part Barley Wine. It was an excellent strong ale that I found to lean more toward the DIPA side than BW. It was aggressively hopped and carbonated, was relatively light in color (amber), and had a light body with subdued malt notes. Definitely not an old school Barley Wine, but I’m sure the brewers at Odell were shooting for something more on the “India” side. It is a very creative new beer.

Next we filmed an episode of Beer Buzz featuring Erik, Eli and I. Beer Buzz is a longer segment that discusses beer related news and upcoming beer events. During Beer Buzz the guys usually drink a mix of different beers, and I was honored that Erik and Eli wanted to sample some of my home brewed offerings. During the course of the show we consumed my Oaked Golden Strong Ale – a dry hopped Belgian-style ale aged with light toasted oak, my Belgian Dubbel – a Rochefort 8-esque beer, a Strong Scotch Ale that I brewed for our New Year’s Eve party, and finally a Flemish-style Sour Brown Ale. I am proud to say Erik and Eli honestly enjoyed my creations. The main point of discussion for the show was the upcoming Beerdrinker of the Year National Finals. That competition will take place at the Wynkoop Brewery on Saturday, February 27^th at 2 pm. Of course Beertap TV will be there to cover the event.

The final program we shot was a new series the guys are working on called “Manctuaries.” Think MTV Cribs for beer lovers. This was fun because they followed me around my basement and we got to talk about the beer hall and brewery that my wife and I have been building over the past ten years. As usual Joycelyn was a trooper and had fun with the guys all day during the filming. Which isn’t too hard, because Erik, Eli, Dusty and David are all great guys and a complete hoot to be around. And I love what they are doing for the beer community with Beertap TV. If you’re ever bored, surf over to their site to keep up to date on what is going on in the beer world, or learn about a new beer you’ve maybe never tried. Register on their site and you will receive email notifications when they upload new content. The shows are always entertaining. http://beertaptv.com. Our Taste Buds segment will air Tuesday, and the Beer Buzz segment will air on Thursday.

(Note, after writing this entry, Erik informed me they had a mixer problem and the sound for the Beer Buzz and Taste Buds segments was unusable. Both had to be trashed. Total bummer! Anyway, Erik and David came back up and we re-taped the segments with different content than I described above. I’ll post the links when available.)

Cody Christman

My buddy Jim Escalante was just in Australia a couple of months ago, and in addition to bringing me back a jar of Vegemite, he tipped me off to a great brewery that I needed to visit - the James Squire brewery in Sydney.  Their Sydney Brewhouse is located in the King Street Warf on Darling Harbour.  The restaurant and pub is right on the water walkway so you can’t miss it.

James Squire was a convict transported to Australia in 1788.  He founded Australia’s first commercial brewery and is also credited with being the first to successfully cultivate hops on the island.  Though commonly referred to as James Squire, the actual brewery is called the Malt Shovel Brewery (two crossing shovels emblazon their beer labels), which is now part of the Lion Nathan beverage group.  Malt Shovel’s primary brewery is in Camperdown New South Whales, but the Sydney location also has an operating brewery, which produces four of their eight offerings on premise.

I would classify James Squire as startling a line between US craft brewery creativity and a traditional British brewery.  Their IPA was a well-balanced copper ale with a definite Fuggle accent - not the high-alcohol citrus hop bomb of most American IPAs.  It leaned toward a British example of the style, but fully carbonated.  The second beer I tasted was the Highway Man Red Ale.  Another beer with exceptional balance between malt and hops.  This beer is brewed with English, European, and New Zealand hops and six different grains.  At least one of which is roasted according to my taster.  The result was a rich Red Ale with just a hint of roast; lots of body and solid hop character.  Unfortunately, Ankur (from the Australia office) and I did not have time for a third since we were already late for the APAN gala dinner taking place down the walkway.  So we reluctantly wrapped up after two pints and moved on.

James Squire’s motto is “Never Forsake Flavour,” and they don’t.  This is another great Australian brewery.  Geography plays a key role in the types of beer brewed and where.  Oz’s climate is warm, especially up north.  So the beers in the north, like XXXX, cater to the drinker looking for refreshment, while the southern breweries like Coopers, James Squire and Lord Nelson, brew beers with more character.  Anyway, if you’re in Sydney, head across town to Darling Harbour and visit the James Squire Brewhouse.  And by the way, has anyone yet figured out “Who is James Boag?”

Cody Christman

After a six-year hiatus I have finally made it back down to Australia. I am in Sydney for work attending the APAN conference, but I have had a bit of time to do some sight seeing, and to see an old friend.

Back in 1990 two Aussies, Mark and Rikki (pronounced with heavy Australian accents), took Montana State University by storm. They exploited an imbalance loophole in the Australia/US University exchange program to “attend” school at MSU for one year. Without going into details, I assure you that these two were absolutely crazy! Among other things, they introduced us to rugby, surfing naked through bars, and Vegemite. (Which I initially found hideous, but am now addicted to.) Their stay was only one year, but the impact it had on the people they met in Montana extends to this day. When Joycelyn and I visited Oz six years ago Rikki lived right on Clovelly beach in Sydney. Since then he has moved and now lives with his girlfriend of ten years, Sam, and their two children a couple of hours south of town. Luckily, however, he happened to be in The City on Tuesday for work, which enabled us to hook up for a few rounds that night. We met at the Lord Nelson Brewery, which is located in Sydney’s oldest hotel on 19 Kent Street. (http://www.lordnelsonbrewery.com) Located in an old and quaint neighborhood in The Rocks, it is a tad off the beaten path, but a short walk from it.

I was working my way through a few samples when Rikki arrived. He had not changed a bit. Rikki is as big as I am small. Solid as a rock, I would not want to go up against him on the pitch. It was great to see him again and catch up on old times. He also called Mark, who now lives in Perth, so we could chat for a bit. Mark was quite surprised to hear my voice when Rikki called from the pub and passed the phone me! As crazy as these two were, and to a lesser extent still are, they are both complete gentleman and all around class acts. Now their MSU friends are just waiting for the both of them to fulfill their promise to make it back for Homecoming some year. We’ll make sure and pre-post bail for that trip. Rikki had to head back home after a few pints to tend to his newborn baby boy, but I was very happy that my short notice trip worked into Ricky’s plans of being in Sydney so we could meet up.

A few notes about the Lord Nelson Brewery. The décor, menu, and selection of Ales are very much British. (I had a beef pie with mushy pees and mashed potatoes for dinner.) They offered six of their own beers, brewed on premise, but also did not shy away from the competition. A couple of Coopers beers were on tap as well as Pauline Helles and even Chimay! But I focused on their offerings. Below are a few notes on the three beers I sampled while there. If you’re even in Sydney, take the 10 minutes walk to get out of the tourist areas and head to the Lord Nelson pub.

• Victory Bitter (5%) – Served a touch too cold for a Bitter, but to be expected in this climate where it is over 90 degrees. It had a rich copper color with a very slight caramel note and an earthy Fuggle hop finish. I’d put it in the Special Bitter category.
• Trafalgar Pale Ale (4.2%) – A very pale beer they bill as a session ale. They are correct. All I could taste were hops and Maris Otter. Simple and very pleasant.
• Old Admiral(6.1%) – Their Old/Strong Ale. In their words “Red with Black highlights.” This is a bit of a throwback beer that is brewed using brown and amber malts it tastes like. Much more of a “special roast” and “biscuit” malt flavor than caramel and darker roasted malts.
• Nelson’s Blood (5%) – A Robust Porter. In their words, this time, “Black with Red highlights.” More of the same as above, but with less alcohol. Lots of amber/brown malt. Probably similar to what was brewed in London 250 years ago than the taste of most of today’s Porters.

Cody Christman

The three finalists for the 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year were announced this week.  (See the excerpt below from the Wynkoop’s press release.)  I hope you can all make it down to the Wynkoop on the afternoon of Saturday, February 27th for the National Finals.  I’ll be the short guy in the white wig and robe!

Phil Farrell, a Cumming, Georgia commercial pilot, homebrewer, and beer judge. He has tasted beer in every country in Europe, 1000 of the world’s pubs and 400 brewpubs. He’s known to many in the beer community as the “Chicken Man” because he’s hauled his homebrew club’s mascot, a rubber chicken, around the world and photographed it with thousands of beer people.

His philosophy about beer: “Beer is first and foremost a social drink. It is the most flexible and universally affordable fine beverage there is. Every social gathering and every food item is enhanced with beer. Beer is the greatest gift ever given to the human race and meant to be shared with others.”

William Howell, a Sterling, Alaska, college administrator, retired Navy officer, homebrewer, and beer educator. In 2007 he created a new course for Kenai Peninsula College entitled The Art and History of Brewing, and has traveled extensively across Alaska and the West in pursuit of great beer.

His beer philosophy: “I have been a lover of craft beers since 1984 and a homebrewer since 1989. Since my retirement from active duty I’ve been really been able to “get serious” about beer. I decided it was time to start giving something back to the world of craft beer that had given me so much.”

Logan Perkins, a Denver, Colorado beer enthusiast who has tried nearly 5,000 beers in 45 states, 21 European countries and 5 Asian nations.

His philosophy of beer drinking: “Drinking beer is about enhancing the quality of life through flavors, feelings and friends. I love beer alone, but especially enjoy sharing it with others. I believe in handling, collecting and tasting beers with the same respect as a wine lover. I try to keep everything in moderation, including moderation itself.”

Cody Christman

One of the prizes awarded to the Beerdrinker of the Year is a batch of beer brewed in their honor for the following year’s competition. It is hard to believe, but the 2010 BDOTY competition is right around the corner. (Saturday, February 27^th at 2:00 pm at the Wynkoop.) So it was time for the Wynkoop to brew a beer for me.

Last month I was approached by the Wynkoop’s master brewer, Andy Brown, about what type of beer I wanted the Wynkoop to brew. The perfect beer immediately came to mind. The Wynkoop brewpub is world famous for its cask-conditioned English style Ales hand pulled from the cellar using their traditional beer engines. I happen to have an Angram beer engine/hand pump in my basement, and every year for my big Screaming Blue Monkey party I brew a cask Ale called “Old Rabbit” for the guests. It is always a crowd favorite, and I knew this beer would be a natural fit for the Wynkoop’s system. So the decision was made – the Old Rabbit. Andy and I worked together to scale my recipe up, and yesterday I spent the day in rubber boots at the Wynkoop with him brewing away.  (The 5,299th batch in Wynkoop history.)

The Old Rabbit is an Old Ale made with an English Maris Otter base malt, lots of chocolate & crystal malt, along with Brer Rabbit molasses added with the first hops in the brew kettle. (hence the name) It is dark, rich, fruity and complex. People usually don’t know molasses was used in the brewing process unless I tell them. It lends a slight smokiness and caramelized sugar flavor to the Ale. Andy wanted to add his touch to this beer, so he renamed it “Auld Rabbit”… which made me wonder why I had never thought of that! The Rabbit is currently fermenting as I type and will be tapped around Valentines Day. I’m sure there will be plenty left for the 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year National Finals on the 27^th. If you are in the Denver area, come down to the finals and experience the theatrics and fun of the event. And you can let me know what you think of my beer.

If you want to brew your own Auld Rabbit, start with Maris Otter, add a generous helping of English chocolate and 60 deg L crystal, and add 5% (by weight) molasses to the brew kettle. Make sure and use mild molasses and don’t get carried away with the addition, because it can easily be over done. Too much and your friends won’t even drink it! The hops play a secondary role in this beer, so use three additions at 60, 40 and 20 minutes (before the end of the boil) with an alpha acid/weight combination that will yield about 30 IBUs at the end. Shoot for an original gravity of 1.065 and use a well attenuating English Ale yeast. Serve it “warm and flat”, preferably from an authentic British beer engine. I hope to see you in February!

Cody Christman

Work has taken me back to Hawaii and I have a quick update for beer lovers on the islands.  Hawaii is not always the easiest place to find a wide variety of beers, and due to its remote location, drinks usually don’t come cheap either.  Even for locally made crafts.  (Which have to import almost all of their ingredients except water.)  But on this trip I found a real gem with a great selection and at reasonable prices – The Yard House on 226 Lewers Street in Waikiki.

Upon arriving here on my trip last month I took a Waikiki shuttle from the airport to the Hilton Village where I was staying.  The bus driver immediately sprang into hospitality mode before we left the airport grounds.  (I think the natives are programmed from birth to be eternally happy and gracious hosts.)  He provided us with island history, customs, a geography overview, debunked myths, etc.  And as we neared our hotel and crossed into Waikiki I distinctly remembering him saying, “you are now entering Waikiki…  everything just got real expensive.”  Hawaii is the most expensive state in the union to visit, and Waikiki is the most expensive part of Hawaii.  So when I found the Yard House directly in the center of tourist central I tried to set my financial expectations.

I’m a variety freak so I love the Yard House near my home in Golden, CO.  And I was pleasantly surprised to find the same great selection of beers in Waikiki - along with reasonable prices.  I started off with a six-pack sampler, which consisted of three Lost Coast Brewery (Eureka, CA) beers - Great White, Downtown Brown, and Alleycat Amber, and three beers from Mehana Brewing (Hilo Hawaii) - Mauna Kea Pale Ale, Humpback Blue, and Hawaii Lager.  Six wonderful five-ounce beers for $9!  Thirty ounces for approximately what one would pay for a pint across the street.  And after I finished the sampler I started drinking my way around the rest of the world for $6 to $7 per beer.  Understandably all of their beers are market price, so the cost fluctuates depending on the request.  (Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to come off as a total cheap skate, but I always drink more comfortably knowing I’m not getting ripped off, not to mention that the money saved probably means another round.)

The Yard House offers 100 beers on tap from the U.S., England, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Australia, Mexico, Japan, etc. This includes a solid representation of local micros from Maui Brewing Company, Kona Brewing, and Mehana.  I’ve stopped by four times already, and ate there twice.  As a beer lover I highly recommend the Yard House for good food and a great selection of reasonably priced beers from Hawaii and around the world.  It is a short walk from the beach and right in the middle of where Waikiki is happening.   That is all for now, I have to head to Lulu’s surf club and watch the sun set.

Cody Christman

One of my favorite (non-beer) sayings is, “The French Impressionists were very talented at a technique known as French Impressionism.”  It is always fun to poke fun at the French.  They are a people that are acutely proud of their culture and products - but for some reason they also make an easy target.  I suppose one could also say, “French Brewers are the best in the world at brewing French beer.”  Obviously the French are much better known for their wine and cheese than beer, but they do make some good beer.  And, as a beer lover, if you are interested in seeking out a French specialty, I recommend you take an atlas to the liquor store with you.  France is located squarely in the wine belt, but its northern border with Belgium is an area of transition into the beer belt.  In my experience, the further north the brewery (the closer to Belgium), the better the beer.

Surely some of that beer brewing brilliance from one of the world’s greatest brewing countries spills over the border into northern France.  This is somewhat ironic since over the centuries the Belgians have borrowed techniques from the French, which has led to some of worlds greatest beers brewed by them.  The art of barrel aging and blending their beers were no doubt influenced by their southern wine-making neighbors.  And many Belgian beers have characteristics closer to wine than beer - for example being dry and sour instead of malty and bitter.  Belgium is at a crossroads between Germany, France and England, and their “anything goes” creativity is a product of local expertise and borrowed practices.

There is one broad beer category that straddles the border between Belgium and France called “Belgian and French Ales.”  This category includes the similar styles of Saison, Farmhouse Ale, and Bière de Garde.  (Note however, it is always risky to try and categorize any beer from Belgium or its border regions.)   Last weekend I had a excellent example of such a beer from this category - Brasserie St. Germain’s Page 24 Noel from Aix-Noulette, France.  Aix-Noulette is located in French Flanders just south of the western (a Flemish) portion of Belgium.  French Flanders was originally part of the Courtship of Flanders in southern Netherlands.  Over the years borders have changed, Belgium was created, and most of Flanders is now in Belgium while the southern section was ceded to France along the way.  And unlike the Flanders region in Belgium, the inhabitants of French Flanders now speak, almost exclusively, French instead of Flemish.

Page 24 Noel is a 6.9% abv beer that falls into the Bière de Garde category.  (The name means “keeping beer” - a beer usually intended to be cellared/matured)  I was extremely impressed by this example of the style.  It pours a copper color with a solid head and has an aromatic bouquet.  Its flavor is well balanced with earthy, spicy, and fruity notes that transition into a mildly phenolic finish.  All in all a balanced beer with great character.  Brilliant!

The Page 24 Noel I drank was packaged in a ceramic swing-top bomber and came compliments of my beer of the month club.  (http://www.beermonthclub.com)  This beer may be hard to find in the U.S., but if you can get your hands on one, it is one great example of a wonderful French beer.

Cody Christman

Just a quick note for you beer lovers out there seeking to be the next Beerdrinker of the Year.  Your beer resumes need to be emailed into the Wynkoop no later than Thursday, December 31st.  Your resume must include  your beer philosophy, details on your passion for beer, and your 2009 beer experiences.  It should “detail the entrant’s understanding of beer and its history and importance to civilization, and the entrant’s efforts to educate others to the joys of great beer.”  And all of this can not exceed three 8.5 x 11″ pages in 12-point font.  There are a few other rules, so make sure and check out the official Beerdrinker of the Year web site for all of the details.

As an example, and to view the resume that got me into the finals, check out my 2009 resume.  All of the beer resumes received by the Wynkoop are reviewed  and thinned down to the top 10, at which point they are sent out to a panel of experts around the country to select the three finalists.  Those lucky three will be flown to Denver for the finals on February 27th, 2010, at which time seven wigged & robed judges (of which I will be one) will ultimately select the winner.

The winner will receive free beer for life at the Wynkoop, $250 at their local brewpub or beer bar, apparel, and their name will be engraved on the Beerdrinker of the Year trophy at the Wynkoop Brewery.

A good resume will take some work, so hopefully you’ve already started, or are touching up a previous year’s application.  (I submitted a resume in 1997 and 2005 before my 2009 resume got me to the finals.)  If you are reading this blog you are surely a beer lover, and I encourage all of you to take a shot at the ultimate beer accolade!

Cody Christman