stonebrewing

Porch Bombs

Posted on by oahuzer0

It’s been a long day at work. I just want to go home and curl up with some Netflix, a slice of pizza, and oh yes, a beer. Dragging my feet on my walk to the house and something catches my eye, an obstruction if you will at the door. It’s a box, and I know what lurks within…

All of a sudden I feel a pep in my step and I’m at full skip to get to my parcel that stands like a Christmas present under a tree. In quick but delicate fashion the package is swept up and brought immediately to an area of unveiling. Sliced, ripped, tearing, then as if I was delivering a baby I gently lift the bubble wrap encompassed libation from its womb and a single tear forms in the corner of my eye. Congratulations, it’s a beer!

The process continues like Christmas, the unwrapping of your goodies that you may or may not share with your friends. Smiles and giggles are abundant as you finish the massacre of careful wrap, you line them up for the inevitable “Look what I got” social media photo. Today is a good day (cue Ice Cube). 

This excitement comes at a price. The “beer trade” is usually a tit for tat, buddy to buddy industry of distribution that gives a middle finger to the three tiered system set forth by the government. A system that is almost all but monopolized by AB-INBev by the way, and these trading groups are what make it possible for all of us to partake in the amazing beers that are brewed all across the country where before it was not possible due to the cost through distribution companies. 

It is not cheap. But the best beer in the world is being brewed on the other side of the country (in some people’s opinion)! So we find our way around the broken three tiered system and in the process make some amazing like-minded friends. I am drinking a Double Dry Hopped Mylar Bags from Other Half out of Brooklyn (one of my favorite beers I’ve ever had), and to my knowledge, they don’t ship ANYWHERE! They sell out of the brewery and that’s the extent of their part in distribution, but thanks to the blood, sweat, and beers of some amazing and considerate people, I am throat deep on some considerably amazing palate pleasers. I win. We win. 

So I’m just saying, make some friends, drink some beers, learn how to wrap your beverages properly for hops sake and do your local brewery and like minded brew buddies a solid by spreading some liquids across state lines (I am 102% sure it is illegal by the way) for all to enjoy, because you’re not just sending beers, you’re sending good times, drunk texts, memories, and hopefully friendship. Cheers.

Why Lagunitas in Hawaii sums up the scene…

Posted on by oahuzer0

Hawaii always seems like the last one to the party. Bands rarely come here that are worth seeing and the radio airplay is pretty mainstream oriented. Hell, I still see a fair share of mullets and porn staches out here. The beer scene is another example of the island playing catch up with the rest of the world and the arrival of Lagunitas Brewing Company epitomizes what we have to go through. 

Let’s forget the fact that they only sent us two of their beers being their flagship IPA and the phenomenal Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’. When I told my family in California that Lagunitas was finally coming they looked at me in puzzlement. “You don’t have Lagunitas out there?!” they would quip. Their disbelief is understandable when you take into account that you can’t go anywhere without seeing at least the IPA on tap when going out in California. 

I understand that distribution is a tough hurdle for the mass of craft breweries out there on the land of main, but find a way! Stone finally made their way across the pond but had to form a whole new distribution company with Maui Brewing to do so. Now thanks to the efforts of their collaboration there are an amazing variety of beers that are now available… on Maui that is. Yeah, not all of Hawaii yet. Always the last to the party. 

Hawaii seems like an after thought for craft breweries. They take care of their bread and butter states before branching out to the obscure. It’s the price we pay for living in paradise I guess but it I’m tired of it. We make do with the beer that we are lucky enough to get, and thank you Lagunitas for finally coming out. We have our gems that the main land can’t get as well such as anything from Big Island Brewhaus or the new kid on the block, Lanikai Brewing so we are not without quality brewing, but Hawaii just recently passed the law that allows bars, restaurants, and gastropubs to fill growlers which is years behind the majority of the country. Last one to the party…again. 

It’s all things we have to deal with if you want to live in the middle of the ocean on an island. If you want amazing beer faster than they can get it out here, you might have to just brew it yourself. And I support that with all my heart. I am almost through with the rant this has become, but first let me illustrate some perspective. I, myself, have imported more Dogfish Head beer into Hawaii than Dogfish Head has. Chew on that…

The Bottle Share

Posted on by oahuzer0

Since the craft beer revolution, celebrations a plenty have sprung up everywhere for those that prefer craft to crap. Festivals in your city lined with tent after tent of bubbly boozy brews. All for the coming together and sharing of beer. There is a bit of hilarity about that I think. Awesomeness laced with the hilarious notion that it is acceptable. But if the large crowd of craft beer geeks swaying about the day is a little much for your liking then maybe something more intimate, like perhaps what we like to call a “Bottle Share” (aka a tasting).
Now, you don’t bring a Boston Lager or a Pete’s Wicked to a tasting. I have been present at some epic bottle shares in my time and let me tell you, looking back at some of the amazing brews that have passed through these lips during our gatherings I am still amazed and impassioned by the innovation of the industry. These were beers that I will remember and long for, being the inspiration for the search, and talk about until the kegs run dry. Beers like…
Jolly Pumpkin’s Madrugada Obscura was a palate expander that blew the masses away with its complex sour notes in a stout body. That is the first and only sour beer I have ever loved. 8/10 on the UrD scale. That same tasting is also when I had my first Enjoy By from Stone along with my inaugural Lukcy Basartd. I’ve raved about the Enjoy By series before but the LB was a mean SOB. One of the best Stone brews they make and one of the most awesome surprises. 8.5/10 UrD. Firestone/Walker was a frequent palate pleaser at the table along with the amazing variety from Dogfish Head like the Chicory Stout and the perfectly exquisite 120 Minute IPA. 
This is the best way to try new beers. You get to see the faces of your friends as they sniff, sip, and smile their way through their portion of the spotlighted brew (side note: bring enough for everyone to have a sample, preferably about 4 oz. per person) and talk about how it instils those specific feelings that only a good beer can (Ha! “beer can”). The great news is that the craft beer industry is not made up of the flat footed bunch, happy with the status quo. The drink-turned-art-form (beer) is constantly being manipulated into something different and beautiful which is great for conversation when you’ve had a few(teen).
So grab a few of your friends that prefer craft to crap, because these are the intimate that bring the unattainable beers to the lips of good friends, the creation of good times and the lasting memories. As long as the craft beer industry keeps pumping out hop bombs and boozy barleywine bombers then there will be a forum for us rabid beer geeks to guzzle down the lot of them. Your crew whether it be many or few, will always be willing to share a brew, and I gotta admit, if it is me or you, we could all use one or two. Cheers…

Home Brewing: Where The Dream Begins

Posted on by oahuzer0

The dream has been to brew beer that I would want to drink. The kind of beer that I would search out intensely for and share with others (maybe). In the beginning, there is home brewing. Its the artistic time period, the adventurous, even nerve racking time, that is okay for you to try something outside of the box, and inevitably fail. But where one sees failure, another sees an opportunity to improve and create something brilliant. Sounds corny, does it not? I’ll admit that, but dreams without some level of artistic persistence and kookiness are just boring errands that you will get to one day.

So I ignited the dream with my first home brew. A pale ale that I dubbed “Pale Paradise” under the brewery name… you guessed it, The Upright Drunk Craft Brewing (on Untappd). It was delicious. The best pale ale you had ever had. The most vibrant color you’ve ever seen. Aromas that excite and even arouse. In actuality it was just okay, and because I am my own worst critic, just okay will not do. The excitement though. The persistently excitable feeling of what is yet to come. I have created a beer that is actually enjoyable and I will continue to do so until it is on the lips of all that search it out. 

Every craft brewery that you covet started in a garage, or basement, living room or kitchen. Dogfish Head, Stone, Ballast Point, every last one started with this infectious hobby turned lifestyle. They all had failures as well, brews that seemed like good ideas at the time but turned out to be not so much. Without these speed bumps in their creative process they would not have pushed on and come up with some of their flagship brews like DFH’s 90 Minute IPA or Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA (which is their tribute beer to their home brewing roots) and in turn wouldn’t be so deeply ingrained in our hearts and livers. 

The most vital component of this dream is passion. I have been told that I get a certain look and demeanor when I get going on a conversation about this stuff, and I feel it. When you talk to any craft brewer you get the same twinkle in their eyes whether they brew five gallons or 5,000 gallons. I get to be an artist, I get to bring enjoyment to others as well, I get to twinkle, and when its all said and brewed, I get to drink it. That’s about the best dream I can think of, how about you? Cheers to your dreams, and may you find them in your waking hours…