Mistakes - Great and Not so

I'm sitting here at Escape brewing thinking, it's amazing how many mistakes make really good things. A and I have been to so many breweries over the last few years and a common theme is an oops beer on tap. They never mean to and doubt you'll ever see it again but they all have them.

It's like a great chef, they say in pairing food you taste each bite, you consider the emotion that it brings forward. The memory from the smell and the visions of childhood wonders. Like the smell of fresh baked bread making you recall the bakery down the street you had to pass on the way to school. You didn't have that memory? Neither did I but that's why we aren't great chefs.

Anyways back to beer. Always be willing to try that beer in the bottom right corner of the sign. Great breweries admit their mistakes, they wear them with pride and gosh dang a few of them that will never be duplicated again, you'll wish for, you'll desire, you'll crave one last sip and damn it they won't let you fill the growler. 

Days without beer

The days between beers, oh what long days those can be. Been super busy running around with family and having a generally good time. I noticed something missing, the new beer experience. Found myself looking for something new to try and nothing could be found. Well nothing without driving away from the family fun and since I'm the only one who drinks the beer it wouldn't really be a good time had by all. This needs to be remedied folks, why even today local restaurant's don't have local brews or even why chain names don't bring in the community brews blows my mind. Yeah sure Bud sells the most but one barrel of a local alternative a month might slow that down a bit.

Have one person from your location who likes beer go out to a local tap house and find the closest thing to Bud Light they can. Bring it in and give it one tap, that's all I'm asking. If it goes well then fantastic, if it sits there and spoils no one was told you have a local on tap. That's really what it is, I hate going to a place and saying what beers do you have on draft. I know you have Bud, Bud Light maybe Miller, I want to know the oddballs. I want to hear "Well we have a local lager by XYZ down the street and Bud, Bud Light...."

Damn how that would change the world. Get out of this same old garbage routine, people want to try new things if they don't then they're missing the spice of life.

Enjoy the spice of life drink local brews...

J

Mediocre Breweries

So I just got back form another road trip and visited a new brewery. A normal thing I enjoy to do. The odd thing about this place is while chit chatting with folks, like I often do, One guy who claimed to be friends with the owner (old school pals). Right none of that is odd, what is, according to this "pal" the owner isn't interested in making a great beer. Whaaat? I know right a brewer not interested in making a great beer? I'm interested in drinking a great beer! Anyway, the owner just wants to make a middle of the road beer that anyone can enjoy.

I guess that is a goal. A beer anyone can enjoy. Someone has to do the grunt work and make a beer for the folks who don't want the great one. I guess the issue I have is the image. The image of a sell out. Whats wrong with a sell out? well nothing at all. I can't blame anyone for working their butt off to build something and then someone come to them with a check, the check, the one they have been waiting for. The millions that in their eyes makes it all worth it. It erases the problems they may have been having, the neglect they may have shown to someone they love. You can't blame someone for selling out to the man! Can you?

Beer is beer but I feel craft beer becomes an art. An art that allows one to express themselves in knowledge. Knowledge that if I use this yeast in this way with these ingredients at this exact temp for this exact time frame I'll end up with a drink worthy of the gods! That's my craft beer experience but I'd still sell out!