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The signs of spring. Warm breezes, April showers, Mai Bock, spring flowers — a host of golden daffodils!
Sorry for breaking into Wordsworth, just love those daffs. They weren’t quite blooming when we visited Au Baron microbrewery nestled on the French/Belgian border, but the Cuvee de Jonquilles (daffodils) sure tasted good.
This was just one of the stops on our Belgium 2006 tour. We criss-crossed the country in search of the finest artisanal beers, crossing paths with other beer seekers, including a posse of American brewers. Led by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, they were not only paying homage to the sources of much of their inspiration, but were also spreading the word about their own "extreme" beers.
For ASN, the tour is but a small part of our "Belgian" news. Planned with the cooperation of the Belgian Consulate since last fall, our Ultimate Belgian Tasting held at the Chelsea Art Museum March 24 was a spectacular success, hitting the television airwaves in New York and reverberating as far as Brussels where it was written up in Le Soir newspaper.
With the help of U.S.-based trade commissioners Gerard Seghers of Wallonia and Jurgen Marschand of Flanders, several Belgian brewers traveled to New York for the event. American brewers in Belgium? Belgian brewers in the U.S? Something going on there.
While U.S. craft brewers have taken to Belgian styles like ducks to water in recent years, some Belgian brewers are now adopting some American brewing techniques, such as seriously hopping their beers a la Double IPA. One could argue that these two nations are at the forefront of 21st century brewing; for the beer lover, only good things can come of such cross-pollination.
Consul General Renilde Loeckx hit the nail on the head, describing her feelings about our Belgian event. "I felt a deep, earthy link of friendship between Belgians and Americans that day," she said.
And it’s not just about the beer. Belgians have long been known as gourmands, lovers of good food, beer and chocolate. With the gourmet or "craft’ movement growing in leaps and bounds in the States — whether it’s beer, cheese, chips, chocolate or coffee, we are indeed the new Burgundians and as its slogan suggests ASN is poised front and center as "Your Bridge to Beer and Life’s Related Pleasures."
As more and more people break away from monotone, mass-produced goods, to add a little color to their lives, beer is certainly at the center of the movement. Figures for 2005, indicate that craft brewed beer is gaining speed — 9% growth rate in 2005, on top of 7% in 2004.
There should be plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ when the Craft Brewers Conference rolls into Seattle in Mid-April.
As well as being one of the cities where craft brewing first took root, Seattle has a reputation as the home of specialty, or craft coffee. Indeed, Starbucks mogul Gordon Bowker was one of the original partners of Redhook Brewery. In this issue, Lew Bryson takes a look at micro-roasters, the home brewers of the coffee world.
There’s also the phenomenon of coffee beer, for those who like to combine two buzzes in one bottle. Sixteen years ago, when living in California, I interviewed brewer Brian Bohannon (now at Ukiah Brewing Co.), for the opening of Mad River Brewing Co. He offered me a coffee stout he had brewed at home for lunch. I recall it made for quite an afternoon. Now, as our Tasting Panel steward Paul Sullivan states, "coffee beer is no longer the province of the homebrewer."
We have garnered quite a bit of Real Ale coverage this issue. With events in Connecticut (BruRm@bar) and Long Island (Blue Point Brewing Co.) in January and upcoming events in New York (Brazen Head) and the Boston (the venerable NERAX) festival, Real Ale is gaining popularity. As usual, Alex Hall keeps us up-to-date with his "cask" column.
In this issue we welcome aboard Jay Brooks whose column, Pints West, will highlight events on the other coast. This time he examines the dichotomy of Imperial Pale Ale and Barleywine. Alan Eames is back also with more tales of medieval mayhem.
Enjoy this issue, and perhaps we’ll see you in Seattle for the Craft Brewers Conference.
Cheers, Tony Forder
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