A Craft Beer Nerd and His Pregnant Wife

It’s tough being a Craft Beer enthusiast. It’s especially hard to be one while you’re expecting a kid soon. What must be even harder, is being the pregnant wife of a Craft Beer nerd. Don’t tell my wife this, but I do think about her feelings… sometimes. Here are some of the things that my wife has to deal with, almost non-stop.

New Beers. This one, in my mind, has to be the hardest thing to listen to while pregnant. My wife likes beer. While she’s not a geek like I am, she does enjoy a tasty brew. So whenever I pick up new things like Big Luscious from Founders, Velvet Evil from Straight to Ale, or French Toasted Wake-n-bake from Terrapin, it’s got to be torture. “Here babe, smell this. I know you can’t try it… but here, get the beer drinkers version of Blue Balls.” I really try hard not to do this, but I find this scenario occurring a little too often.

The Beer Fridge. This one has to be hard on her, not because she’s envious about not getting to try the awesome beers, but because of the sheer dollar amount of liquid inside the big white box. I’m a Craft Beer geek, so much that I have to be put on a beer allowance. Sometimes I find myself pushing that allowance to the limit and beyond. Every time she sees a new addition to my fridge she’s got to think, “Well, that’s $20.00 that could have went towards the nursery or a box of diapers.” Fortunately for me, she’s pretty damn awesome and keeps most of those thoughts to herself. I’m trying to find that perfect balance of new additions to the fridge, as well as new additions to the baby’s room, but it’s not easy.

Beer Events. At nine months pregnant, even accompanying me to a brewery on a quiet night is a challenge. She’s a trooper though, and wants me to enjoy the Birmingham Craft Beer scene. So when I go to cool things like the Pride of Dixie event at World of Beer, or Stout Night at Good People, it’s got to suck for her. Not just the drinking part of it, but she’d like to be able to do the socializing part of it too. We did have our baby shower at TrimTab, so maybe that’ll hold her over for a little while…

Brewery News. This one shows how good her ability to B.S. is. I know that she could care less about what lawsuit Lagunitas has against Sierra Nevada. I doesn’t spark her interest what so ever when I tell her that Elysian Brewing are a bunch of losers for selling out to Anheuser-Busch. Still though, she listens and entertains my ramblings. She wants to tell me something about a new baby stroller and I change the conversation to “have you seen Cahaba’s new cans?” I’ve got some work to do, but again, she doesn’t make a big deal about it.

There are few things in this world that I love more than Craft Beer, but the more I get to thinking about it, I guess my wife is one of them. Her and our 14 year old son, make my life good. Because of them, I can have the problems of being a Craft Beer nerd. Unfortunately for her though, she has the problems of being a pregnant Craft Beer wife. Because of that, I have some really good brews in the beer fridge, waiting for us to share. 

Am I Killing Craft Beer?

Am I killing Craft Beer? Maybe. Maybe you are too. After my last trip to the beer store, I realized something. I realized that my buying habits can’t be good for the Craft Beer industry. As much as I love certain breweries, especially local ones, I have zero brand loyalty. Whether or not I like a beer doesn’t matter, I rarely buy the same brew twice. Because of that, I think I may be killing Craft Beer.

Ok, I know… I’m not going to single handedly put the dagger into the heart of the Craft Brew world. I do know however, that I am not the only one who purchases beer this way. If I see a new beer on the shelf sitting next to a beer that I know is tried and true, I’m more likely to pick up the new one. That’s got to be hard on the breweries. They spend a lot of time and money on perfecting their recipes and designing the perfect packaging. They want and need us to buy their beer!

It cost a lot of money to get those cans and labels designed. With all the breweries popping up all over the country, they have to invest in it. I’m not an expert in business or marketing, but shopping habits like mine have got to be hard on them. To make a brewery profitable, they have to sell beer, and don’t get me wrong, I want their beer. I just might not drink it more than once a year. Zero brand loyalty, but I’m not sure that’s my fault.

We have too many choices. There may be too many breweries. Every week, I see beer from a brewery I’ve never heard of. Well, despite what score RateBeer or Beer Advocate may give it, I’m going to try it. I’m going to try it probably only once. I know that a lot of people feel the same way, because breweries are starting to combat this. Stone may be one of the best at solving this problem.

Every other month, Stone releases a new Enjoy By IPA. I know, it’s probably the same beer every time, but I buy it. I purchase it because it’s a new check-in on Untappd. They also release new beers from their Stochasticity Project every few months. They have to stay new and exciting to get us to buy their beer. They can do that, they have the financial power to package and distribute new beers every other week. Unfortunately, the majority of Craft Breweries can’t afford to do that. Sam Adams, Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada are a few other breweries that release tons of new beer every year. They’ve got to do something to stay relevant. Again though, most breweries can’t do that.

New breweries are born every day, but we can’t support all of them. As much as I want to, and as much as I try to share info on all of them via my social media pages, I just can’t afford to buy beer from ALL of them. If we’re not buying their beer, they can’t make profit. If they don’t make profit, well, they cease to be.

So maybe it’s my buying style. Maybe it’s because the market is a little over saturated. Or maybe it’s because I only buy new beer. Whatever the reason is, I think I may be killing Craft Beer. 

Your Weekly Review - Brown Shugga' From Lagunitas Brewing Company

For you guys who don't know us, we like beer. We drink a whole bunch of this stuff. We have weekly beer budgets, we even schedule our family vacations around our favorite libation. Here at Bham Beer Buzz, Craft Beer is our way of life. Three Craft Beer enthusiasts combine to be B.B.B. and between the three of us, we drink the majority of beer available here in Birmingham. That being said, we want to share some of our tasting notes with you guys. We are NOT beer experts! We normally drink so much in one sitting, we can't remember the details of the beers we drink. Due to our poor memories, these reviews are for us, as much as they are for you.

Brown Shugga' from Lagunitas Brewing Company 

Brown Shugga' is seasonal beer brewed in Petaluma, California by Lagunitas Brewing Company. Lagunitas is one of our favorite breweries in the country. Everything they brew is ridiculously solid and consistent, not to mention how economically friendly their price tags are. 22 oz. bomber bottle retail for less that $5.00, and sixers are usually around nine bucks. I hope that this brew excites me as much as some of their others do, lets see how this Strong Ale checks out.

Appearance...

Beautiful clear, dark copper color with a nice tan/off white colored head. The moderate lacing looks great in my new Piggly Wiggly glass. 9/10

Aroma...

Dank, very very dank. Light grapefruit notes, swallowed by dense, pine resin aromas. 9/10

Taste...

Holy cow! Sweetness is the first thing I notice. Brown sugar followed by a ton hops. First I get some spicy and almost lemon grass like flavors. As huge as this hop profile is, it's actually pretty balanced. The essence of citrus and pine, the same as the scent, are there to round the gigantic flavors on your palate. 9/10

Mouthfeel...

This feels like a nice IPA. This beauty is fitted with a medium body and great carbonation. As sweet as it is, it finished pretty clean, with just a light alcohol bite. 8/10

Overall...

I have yet to find a beer by these guys that I didn't like. This beer is no different. Kinda sweet, very hoppy, and 9.9% abv, I really enjoy this beer. If I could change anything, I'd make this available all year not just seasonally. I give this glorious brew a...

9/10

I Came Home To This?! My Little Trip To Jacksonville

I don't know if you guys have noticed it, but it cold out there! I just spent the last week in Jacksonville FL, where I had temperatures in the 60's all but one day. We left to come home Thursday morning and it was kinda funny, we left at 7am the temp was 30°. When we got back into Birmingham at 3 o'clock, the hottest part of the day, the temp was still only 30°. The ambient temperature outside has its effect on what beer I crave. While I was down in Florida, checking out their beer selection, I got a lot of IPAs. Partly because, well, I love them and partly because it was warm. I also picked up a few other styles too, I knew it was going to be colder here in the Ham and because I can't resist getting a beer I've never had before. On a side note thats a problem I have, my want when it comes to beers I've never had, outweighs the money in my wallet sometimes. Walking around in Hop City is complete torture, the beer stores in J'Ville were no different. Good thing for me, it was a work trip and I was not driving. I was only able to shop at a couple of places that were within walking distance of my hotel. Like a little kid, I have to be put on a Craft Beer allowance. Anyway, on to the beer!

The first beer I dove into from my Florida score was not a local brew, but one we can't get here in Alabama. 90 Minute from Dogfish Head, an Imperial IPA that weights in at 9% abv and 90 ibu. I couldn't wait until I got home to enjoy this one, so I had to drink it out of a plastic cup in my hotel room. Good thing I bought a four pack, I'll try another one soon in proper glassware, and try to review it. According to all of the Craft Beer data bases, this is one of the best IPAs in the country. From what I experienced out of a Best Western plastic cup, I'm sure I wont be disappointed. I did have enough willpower to save the others, unfortunately making my luggage very heavy.

Last night, I decided to try a few brews that were actually brewed in Jacksonville. One thing that I liked was that all of the local brews I purchased, were in cans. I am a fan of cans over bottles, but I'll save that for another blog. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that I only got beers from two different Jacksonville breweries, but that's all the selection I had. The first can I grabbed was Peoples Pale Ale from Intuition Ale Works. I really like the simplistic labels on their cans. This one has only two colors printed on it, gray and red. Pale Ales aren't typically bold or robust, but this one was a little too mild. There were some citrusy and piney hop notes, but they were muted by malt flavors. Not a bad beer what so ever, just not as entertaining as I would like. That being said, it went perfect with my pizza from Papa Johns!

The next 12 oz can of suds I indulged in was a Cream Ale from Bold City Brewery. The artwork on Killer Whale Cream Ale is what you would think from a brewery by that name. Bold City's labels are the Yin to Intuition's Yang. Vibrant and colorful, they were actually the first beers to catch my eye when I went to the store. Now before I go any further, I've got to tell you, I'm not a fan at all of Cream Ales. They are just not a style that does anything for me. Killer Whale was no different. If you know someone who is not a Craft Beer fan, and would like something to get their foot in the door, this beer might be for them. Imagine a PBR that has a little more flavor, a slightly buttery mouthfeel and a little more color. I didn't like this beer, but again I hate the style. If it wasn't for the cool artwork, I probably wouldn't have got it. The next beer I tried had to be better.

Better? I-10 West Coast IPA from Intuition Ale Works was! Here were the hops that I was looking for. If a beer has "West Coast IPA" on the label, I'm going to try it. Off the subject, but not really, Terrapin's Hi-5 IPA is pretty dang good. Again, the artwork on this one was super simple. Two slightly different shades of green, make up the entire label. At 6.75% abv, this brew isn't quite sessionable, but it's not far off. I wish I would have got more than one of these, I could easily drink it on the regular. It's an IPA, so hops are going to be the foundation of flavor. Brewed with Columbus, Summit, Cascade and Centennial hops this one has all the bases covered for an American IPA. I'm a big fan of dank, citrusy beers. This one has a nice piney scent accented by the smell of grapefruit, followed by that dank (almost Marijuana like) aroma. The flavor of this beer is identical to the scent. Honestly, I was a little bummed about the quality of Jacksonville beer, but this brew has my opinion headed down the right track.

My next brew was also a quality one. I'm a dog fan and Boxers might be my favorite breed. So when I saw Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale I couldn't resist. Like the other Bold City cans, this one is very appealing to the eye. The profile of a slobbering boxer pays tribute to the brewery owners late dog. Unlike the Cream Ale I had earlier, this one lives up to the packaging it came in. Typical Brown Ale flavors and aromas were found, but that's a good thing because they were done very well. This example may be a little on the mild side, but solid execution make this one a joy. Light caramel notes play with an even milder chocolate essence. The flavor finishes with a nutty, almost peanut butter taste. I really liked this beer, again my opinion of the brewery had changed. Killer Whale was almost a drain pour for me, this brew has got me craving more.

I picked up another local beer as well as a couple national brews we can't get here, but I'll have to enjoy them at another time. My trip to Jacksonville was short and a little more restricted than I would have liked. Maybe next time I'll get to enjoy not only the better temperatures, but hopefully I'll get to visit a brewery or two. Intuition and Bold City will be at the top of my itinerary when I visit again.