I like the Sam Adams brewery, but was not impressed with this summer wheat ale. Perhaps one reason I didn't like it was that it was not really summer. It was still spring. The Sam Adams web site  describes this beer as a clean finishing beer perfect for those hot summer days.

I was drinking it  on a mild day in May. Summer doesn't start, officially, until June 21.

The craze in food these days is eating locally produced food when it is in season. All good "locavores" should soon be eating strawberries and rhubarb.

Should the same "locavore" rules apply to beer drinking?

Do you believe in drinking seasonal beers only in the official season?

If so, what should you call yourself -- a 'locabeervore?"

The host pointed out that Cinco de Mayo has lost its historical roots. It marks the Battle of Puebla in 1862 when the Mexicans defeated the invading French army. The French won the rematch a year later.

Lately, the Fifth of May festivities have been promoted by the brewers of Corona and Tecate. This May, Bud Light has launched a Mexican-style beer flavored with lime, which competes with Miller Chill, another south-of-the-border-style brew flavored with salt and lime.

I have had the Chill, which with its salty notes was better than expected.

Anyone sample the Bud Light Lime?

On the whole I prefer Pacifico. Agree?

Any other Cinco de Mayo brews worth mentioning?

Fergus Henderson, a hearty London chef who lives larg,e said the drink can bring you back from the edge of death. In others words, it seems to be a hangover cure.

Anyone try this?

Anyone have any other cures?

From the viewpoint of the festival organizers, advance sales yield a firm estimate of how many people will be attending. At the recent City Paper festival, organizers capped ticket sales at about 1,200, and the Saturday event sold out on Thursday. This resulted in good crowd control and kept the beer flowing.

However, procrastinators, who waited until the day of the event to see what their schedule was like and what kind of weather the day would provide, got shut out. I confess I was in that position but was saved by the kindness of festival poo-bahs.

The spontaniety of "oh, it is a sunny Saturday, let's go drink beer," is lost. I mourn its passing. Anyone else? Anyone have mournful tales of being turned back at the gates of a festival?

Howsabout tales from the other side -- festivals that did not cap sales and were mobbed?

The next local beer festival, Savor, with a theme of matching food and beer, is set for Washington the weekend of May 16-18. It features Boston Beer's Jim Koch, Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver, and Maryland's Flying Dog and Clipper City crews. The tickets -- $85 per session for drinkers, $50 for designated drivers -- are being sold only in advance. None will be sold on the day of the event. Click here for details.

The Reinheitsgebot proclaims "the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail." The law, written in 1516, forgot to mention yeast, which got added in one of the subsequent revisions of the brewing rules.

After reading a critique of the Reinheitsgebot by rpattinson on the ratebeer web site, I subscribe to the author's view that discussion of beer should "concentrate more around the factors which are truly crucial to the taste of a beer: the quality of the ingredients, lagering times, pasteurisation, filtration and carbonation."

So I say it is okay to drink fruit beer, as long as it is good beer. Agree?

Besides, don't the Germans put a slice of lemon in some of their beers? Doesn't that violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the law?

And does this law mean that the Belgian beers are not considered beers?

Pyramid has a strong presence in Washington, California and Oregon. Magic Hat sells its beers from Maine to Georgia and as far West as Illinois.

Can this marriage work?

Are more mergers in the works for brewers as costs climb?  

Do you think their beers are similiar?

Brewer Rob Perry was at the bar, always a good sign, and he explaned that they named the beer Tiny Tim after the ukelele-playing performer because it was the antithesis of their Ozzie beer, (named for Ozzie Ozbourne, the godfather of heavy metal).

This got me wondering: how do brewers name their beers?

Slaapmutske Triple Nightcap supposedly got its name when the brewer soothed his crying child by dipping his finger in this beer and letting the child suck on the finger. The child immediately went to sleep.

Any other good stories behind names?

Any ideal beer names?

I was told that last year's festival was mobbed. But this year the organizers capped ticket sales (it sold out Thursday night) and as outdoor beer festivals go, this one seemed pretty smooth. It was a gorgeous day. The beer was fresh.The crowd was friendly. The lines for the spot-a-pots were long by midafternoon, but that, it seems to me, is a small price to pay for beery pleasure.

I saw Joe Gold and a couple of his running mates, Paul Simoes and Nick Fallice. These three wise men of beer festivals pointed me toward various taps. I tasted a lot of old friends: Victory Prima Pils, Lancaster Hop Hog, Brewer's Art Resurrection, the Flying Fish ESB. I made a few new acquaintances -- the Wharf Rat's Ironman (how had I missed this local ale?), DuClaw's hoppy but harsh Hellraiser, Clipper City's new Oxford Amber Aler , part of their organic line. A good session beer, but nothing like the rich and bountiful Clipper City Loose Cannon, a favorite of the three wise men.

Any other festival favorites?

Any other takes on this festival?

This, I believe is the oldest, and best, beer festival in town. Agree?

Cutting to the chase, my new favorite fruit beer, recommended by many contributors to this site, is Pyramid Apricot Weizen.

This wheat ale does a solid  job of delivering refreshing beer flavors with an apricot presence. I now prefer it to the Dogfish Aprihop, which was my favorite fruit beer last week. Okay, I admit I am a serial fruit beer lover.

Another reason for my current infatuation: the Pyramid comes in a six-pack. The Dogfish was a four-pack. The distributor of the Pyramid is Dops. I found it for about $8 a six-pack at the Wine Source.

Anyone else have this problem of flip flopping on favorite fruit beers?

Anyone try the new, organic Oxford Raspberry? Looks like there is fruit in our beer-drinking future.

Clipper City's Winter Storm won first place, a gold medal, in the International Pale category.

The folks in Frederick won a gold in the English-style India Pale Ale category with Wild Goose IPA, and their Gonzo Imperial Porter won a gold in the Imperial Stout category.

The Bethesda brewers picked up a silver, or second place, in the special bitter competition for their 1065 Raccoon Red, and a bronze, or third, in the Altbier competiton, for their 1065 Fire Chief Alt. A full list of winners in 91 categories from 58 countries can be found at www.WorldBeercup.org.

I am a fan of Winter Storm and Wild Goose. I like the Gonzo Imperial Porter, even if the old label was hard to read. Anyone disagree?

I have not tasted the Bethesda brews. Has anyone had them?

I read about the history of bock in Garrett Oliver's "The Brewmaster's Table." He says that bock beer had been made in the northern European city of Einbeck but was copied in Munich and eventually perfected in 1612 by the Bavarians.

We thank them.

The beer was put down in December, then tapped in the spring.

Before Prohibition virtually all American lager breweries produced bock beer, Oliver says. Anybody remember any bock beers of bygone years?

Howsabout bock beers of today; any favorites?

It is somewhat pricey at $8 for a four pack. I found it at The Wine Source, and the distributor is FP Winner.

I think it is worth it, but then again, I have always loved apricots. All that Vitamin A in a bottle. Anybody else taste this one?

My bargain beer is Shiner Bohemian Black Lager from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas.

I found it for $6 a six pack at the Wine Source, and the distributor is Bond. Lots of roasted malt flavor. Very nice balance. Dark as night, and it is 4.9 ABV.

Anybody else familiar with this black beauty?

What does this say about the economy when we consider $6 a six pack a bargain?

]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/kasperontap/2008/04/eating_my_words_about_fruit_in.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/kasperontap/2008/04/eating_my_words_about_fruit_in.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:46:49 -0500 April may be dark and dreary now, but I see a ray of sunshine at the end of the month. On the last weekend of the month, the 26th and 27th, there are two beer festivals scheduled for the Baltimore area.

In Fells Point Square, the City Paper beer festival is set for Saturday the 26th from 1-5 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on the day of. Details available on this web site. 

At Ripken Stadium In Harford County, there is a two-day beer and wine festival, the Maryland Beer & Foodfest, Tickets are $15 in advance. Details at this web site.

Both promise to have an array of microbrews. Both give part of the proceeds to charity.

This wealth of options raises several questions. How do you determine which beer festival you attend. Is it price? Distance? Companionship? Brews? Time?

Does anyone remember whether the City Paper festival is the 11th annual gathering, or the 12th? The web site says both.

Rob: When I arrived at 1:30 and saw the long lines, my first impression was that this beer festival thing was becoming a new form of adult weekend recreation.

I got my little glass, chanted the mantra (Never lose your glass at a beer tasting), and set to work. Tasted the new organic amber from Oxford Class. Refreshing; it seemed like it had a low alcohol by volume, about 4 percent, but I was told it really was up in the 5s.  A beer you can drink twice, or thrice.

Next went on an IPA bender, trying the one from Stone Brewing Co. of San Diego,  and Snake Dog from Flying Dog in Frederick. Both were well done, but I favored the dog.

Stopped by the Raven booth and talked about the Final Four with Stephen Demczuk, the creator of this beer. He was on a roll because The Raven, a pleasant lager, had made it to the finals of a contest run by The Washington Post. I was feeling good because my Kansas Jayhawks had made it to the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was getting to me, so I quickly sipped bourbons.  Made a new friend when I tasted Old Whiskey River, a 6-year old small batch bourbon, and said hello to some old friends: George Dickel, Buffalo Trace, Booker's.

At the suggestion of a couple of fine-looking ladies, I tried the Wild Turkey American Honey, which they assured me tasted like Chambord liqueur. It did, and I did not care for it. I wanted bourbon.

Grabbed a $6 pulled pork sandwich, with good hickory notes, from BBQ Brothers, an outfit from Manassas, Va.

I almost lost my glass. That was a sign it was time to go.

The notches on the label of this bottle told me I should sip the contents before the end of June 2008. I followed the label's orders and found this beer to have pleasing golden/straw color, an excellent head and powerful, maybe overpowering, hops.

But it felt odd to be told what to do by a beer label. 

More organic beers are appearing on the market. Oxford's organic Raspberry Wheat is slated to make its debut this weekend at the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Fest Saturday at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

Freshness matters in beer, but I guess with organic brews it matters more.

My question is do you notice the notches? Do you read the label of beer before you buy it?

How's about before you drink it?

Or are freshness codes too much information?