When people who aren’t into beer hear me giving credit to the primary name in beer writing, it never fails … “Michael Jackson?!  (snickering)”.  This is always followed up by me correcting them with, “Not that Michael Jackson.”  The Michael Jackson I’m talking about was a monster beer journalist who’d been at it for more than 30 years.  He was regarded as an unparalelled wealth of beer knowlege, and he was found dead, at the age of 65, in his home on Thursday.

This is indeed a remarkable day for all who love beer.  Many people around the Net are taking time to honor the friend and/or colleague they have lost.  This man was one of the pillars (if not a major piece of the foundation) upon which the craft beer resurgence stands.  His work (books, articles, television program, beer-of-the-month clubs, etc.) have been instrumental in helping foster the growing apreciation of the vast beer diversity that exists on this planet .  He may be gone, but he will most definitely not be forgotten.

With that, I’m going to mark his passing with a celebration of beer by raiding my cellar.  I have collected some great beers over the years, and some of them were directly because of Mr. Michael Jackson … not that one.

Cheers and unending thanks to you, Mr. Jackson!  Your life was rich and full.  May we all be so blessed.

Brewerman

Todd over at BeerAdvocate.com recently posted about receiving an email that confirms a rumored upcoming fall seasonal from Sierra Nevada that will commemorate their 27th anniversary. It will be an American IPA with generous doses of Cascades. They’re going to be dry hopping this one, so it should be sporting that great citrus aroma Cascades are now famous for. This will hopefully be the west coast IPA that I know Sierra Nevada is capable of making. We’ll just have to see.

I’ve also started to encounter reviews of AleSmith’s 10th anniversary beer, Decadence – Dead By Dawn. Their description of this beer states that it is based upon their Evil Dead Red, so I can only deduce that they are paying homage to the Sam Raimi’s classic series of Evil Dead movies. “I’ll swallow your soul!” I love this brewery with each new beer of theirs I try. They really go for brewing the highest quality example of whatever style they tackle.

I’m open for any pointers on how to get my hands on what sounds like a couple of awesome beers. Anyone?

My wife and I just got back from running errands. One of the stops was at Newport Market. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to finally see some new additions to the beer aisle. AleSmith is one of those new additions, and it’s about damned time! Those guys are crazy-good brewers, and the good folks at Newport pulled in four different styles: Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, Old Numbskull Barley Wine, Grand Cru Belgian Ale, and the ever-popular Speedway Stout. All of these beers are award winners and fantastic examples of the amazing abilities of AleSmith. I spoke with the guys at Newport, and they said that they only have a limited supply. If any of the styles sound appealing, get off your ass and get down there before it is gone.

In addition, they are carrying Caldera’s Pale Ale which is a great example of the new trend of good beer being packaged in cans. Don’t think that this is one of those crappy American beers because it is in 6 pack cans. It is sitting in the section of the beer aisle that it is for a reason. It is a decent beer packaged in a convenient vessel. The can is back bitches! But don’t act now … there’s more.

Green Flash, from San Diego, is represented with their 6 packs of IPA. This is one of my buddy’s favorite IPA’s. Great balance of hop aroma, flavor and they aren’t weak on the bitterness … it is one refreshing beer.

This isn’t just about Newport Market. This is also about all those local beer stores. Let them know that you want to keep those high-quality new beers coming. Let them know their customer base is sophisticated enough to appreciate these non-standards. Let them know we want to see more.

My wife and I went to the open house at Deschutes today. It was centered around the release of their 19th Anniversary Ale (a continuation of their Bond Street Series). While talking with friends old and new, we found out a couple of interesting facts. First of all, I got a quick sneak-peek at the artwork for the next Jubelale. It is reminiscent of the label from 2001, but distinctly its own. This is one of my favorite labels in a while. I was stoked that we were able to see it.

Second, I saw the new kettles for the Portland pub on the floor of the brewery by the big garage doors. I had seen them being unloaded on my way from work a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t put two and two together to think that they were meant for the Portland pub. After speaking with people at the open house, I learned that they came from Greenshields brew pub in North Carolina. Research on the net showed that they sold out after a fire. The kettles were beautiful and looked like they are in the middle of being dialed in. The new pub is apparently in the demolition phase – tearing out the interior sections of the existing building – in preparation for build-out.

Other than that, they were pouring beers throughout the facility, and everyone was having a good time. In addition to having it tapped in the Mountain Room, they were selling bombers of the 19th Anniversary Golden. It is a really tasty beer that I’d characterize as a NW-American-Belgian. It has a high hop bitterness that balances out the “sweetness” that is more-prevalent in a Golden. I like it a lot. We hung out on the Mountain Room’s balcony catching up with an old friend who works for Deschutes, but lives in Boise right now. Great afternoon.

Andy Crouch over at Beerscribe.com put together a great article describing observed moves by Anheuser-Busch in relation to trends in the craft beer industry. In the article, Andy sees the recent purchase of 40% of Goose Island by Widmer as history repeating itself.

To give some background, Redhook gave up 25% equity to A-B in 1994. Widmer gave up 27%, also to A-B, in 1996. Both acts gave the breweries access to A-B’s exclusive, far-reaching distribution network. Now, ten years later, Goose Island and Old Dominion have both done the same for keys to the kingdom.

In addition, the article cover’s some of A-B’s various forays into trying to brew their version of craft beer.

Now I have no problem with A-B buying into quality breweries, nor do I think they shouldn’t be competing with craft beer. I do find it interesting that these purchases and courting of the brewing press seem to happen as craft beer sales are eating into A-B’s direct bottom line. It comes down to some larger quality breweries deciding for themselves how bad they want access to A-B’s distribution network to grow their market share.

Andy’s done a good job of aggregating some nice quotes from several heavy-hitters on the subjects, including Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione, Pizza Port’s Tomme Arthur, Sam Adams’ Jim Koch, and Goose Island’s Greg Hall.

What does it all mean? It’s probably nothing more than A-B trying to protect their bottom line, but you can’t deny that A-B’s got some weight to throw around that the small guys don’t.