Whenever I Think Of Steam
13 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in adjunct lager, Anchor Steam Beer, beer, California beer, California common, Crosley field, Fritz Maytag, Hudy, Old Style, Sam Adams, San Francisco, sierra nevada, Wrigley Field
I recently had the pleasure of returning to sample an old favorite, indeed what could easily be called the original craft brewed classic: Anchor Steam Beer. It maybe difficult for younger beer enthusiasts to imagine what it was like back in 1965, when a young Fritz Maytag became a fledgling brewer, purchasing an operation headed for oblivion.
What was the appeal? Well at that time the American brewing industry was chiefly concerned with moving “product”, which basically meant cereal based concoctions now commonly known as American lager. What brewers call adjunct lager. The pale golden coloured beers loved by so many millions of people, and, despite any inroads from the craft beer segment, are not going away anytime soon. The fact that Bud Light is 25% of the world beer market is really all that needs to be said.
The revival of regional recipes, the so-called retro movement, has reintroduced many of those all grain lagers, before marketing greed had corrupted their formulas. Thus beer brands remembered with nostalgic fondness have returned. Beers consumed at baseball games by a generation’s parents or grandparents, or once again available. In the case of Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Old Style, it never left.
This throws me back to when I was 10 years old, attending a Cincinnati Reds game at Crosley field. In those days, beer vendors lugged around cases of bottled beer, expertly pouring the entire bottle into paper cups, using sales pitches such as: “get moody with Hudy!” and what now would be considered irresponsible “One for the road!” since there was no cut off point for selling beer in those days: beer for all 9 innings.
So bland tasting, sometimes foul smelling adjunct lager was an accurate description of the American beer scene in 1965, when Fritz Maytag began the arduous task of keeping alive Steam beer, an all barley malt beer linked to the West coast of the 19th century. It wasn’t until 1971 that the modern Anchor Steam was first bottled. Years before Sierra Nevada and Samuel Adams even existed. So is Anchor Steam the grand daddy of them all? I would have to say yes.
A sampling of Anchor Steam reveals a beer with enormous character. It is most certainly wise not to serve this beer at the taste numbing temperature called ice cold. In fact, at a warmer temperature, Steam pours with luxurious natural carbonation. In other words, do not hurry when enjoying this beer. This beer produces what in old school language can be called a rocky headed pour. But what truly makes Steam the remarkable beer that it is, can be found in the dry finish. A gentle bitterness that is oblivious to a culture acclimated with soda pop.
The evolution of flavorful beer has seen the explosion of aggressively hopped beers. Perhaps the grace and nuance of recipes such as Anchor Steam are missed by a younger generation of beer drinkers. In fact I have heard people display an aversion to anything called lager, Which is unfortunate because this denies the possibility of experiencing an expertly made pilsener, or an exquisite rendition of bock. And of course, the lager referred to as California common, trademarked in San Francisco as Anchor Steam Beer.
The Meaning of Pure Beer
01 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in american ale, anheuser-busch, beer, Beer Advocate, craft beer line, dogfish head, Fritz Maytag, hudepohl amber
I recently ruffled some feathers over at Beer Advocate when I invoked class warfare by stating that anyone who spent $44 for a 22 ounce bottle of Goose Island Bourbon Stout was a fool. What the hell do I know? other than having a working class appreciation of this ancient beverage, I know nothing about matching cigars with beer. Cigars? Nicotine poison combined with liquid bread? Thanks but no thanks. Whether it is some successful business type cleverly able to manipulate the money supply, so they can live out La Dolce Vita, or Brooklyn brew master Garrett Oliver; if you think cigars and beer belong together, you are being an elitist snob, whether you care to admit it or not.
Beer Advocate as a web site has plenty of folks with all kinds of opinions, but to be honest, I really don’t belong there. What do I have in common with someone discussing the merits of purchasing a $100 bottle of twelve ounces of beer? Absolutely nothing. Despite the level headed approach employed by the two brothers who created the site, too often the members wander off into yuppie drivel, totally unconnected from beer’s historic implications. Their rational usually proceeds along these lines:
1. Craft beer good. Giant (macro) beer bad.
Never mind that there are plenty of so-called craft brewed beers that are actually lousy. I will not bother to name brands because a beer seeker can find this out themselves. What is important to this line of thinking is that beers that the craft beer crowd doesn’t care for, like adjunct grain pale lagers, are not only reviled but actually hated. What is even more strange is the people who complain about corn in beer, have no problem seeking out rare stouts stored in bourbon barrels. If I remember correctly, bourbon, is made of at least 51% corn.
Which leads me to being asked recently what is pure beer? Pure beer, in the Bavarian Purity Law sense, is beer made with four ingredients: barley malt, hops, yeast and water. A rigid criteria to be sure, and one that was all but abandoned when new world all grain versions of golden pilsener became the American standard, until folks like Fritz Maytag noticed that flavorful beer was almost completely lost, at least on the national front. Of course what followed was the so-called craft beer revolution, where emphasis was placed on the purity of the recipe, such as Samuel Adams lager being allowed to be sold in Germany as beer.
Well one thing led to another and pretty soon all kinds of styles were being given new world treatment: from India Pale Ale, to Russian Imperial Stout, to wassails brewed with nutmeg, cinnamon, and pumpkins. But the true meaning of pure beer remains the same, no matter what experimental brewers like Dogfish Head Brewery create.
Which is why I am surprised when a pure beer recipe is offered, is not often acknowledged, nor very well received. A case in point is Budweiser American Ale, the giant brewer’s pure beer take on American ale. A well made beer that has been given a short leash just because it is made by Anheuser-Busch. The very same indifference applied to when their Michelob brand reverted back to an all malt recipe. Remember: craft beer good, big beer bad.
Here in Southwest Ohio, the arrival of Hudepohl Amber Lager is hardly even acknowledged. A tribute to the non golden, non all grain beer made for the German immigrant population in the middle of the 19th century. It is straight forward, direct and good. The kind of beer made
before golden lager took over the world. Modestly priced, the only elite factor is whether you know about it enough to seek it out. It certainly won’t increase your cachet with the crowd over on Beer Advocate.
