Beer Championship Series: Asia Conference
Just like a combination of seaweed, rice, cucumber and fake crab meat, the Beer Championship Series rolls on this week! And speaking of sushi, voting is now open in the Asia Conference! We’ve already seen the Marshall Conference, the Mexico Conference, the Canada Conference and the Northwest Conference.
Here are the choices this week:
World Beer Cup: Choc brings home hardware
Breaking beer news! Choc Beer Co. has earned a Bronze Medal in the 2010 World Beer Cup. The award was just handed out tonight at the annual Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago. Choc got the bronze in the Other Belgian-Style Ale Category with its Signature Quad. Here were the results:
| Category 50: Other Belgian-Style Ale (35 Entries) | |
| Gold–New Norcia Abbey Ale Malt Shovel Brewery Camperdown, Australia |
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| Silver–Frozen Kriek Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. Anchorage, AK |
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| Bronze–Signature Quadruple Choc Beer Company Krebs, OK |
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Oklahoma home brew measure draws comments
I’ve been posting updates on the blog about House Bill 2348, the measure to legalize home brewing of beer in Oklahoma. The bill passed the full House easily in March; the latest news is that last week it passed out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee. It now awaits a hearing by the full Senate. The deadline to have bills heard by both houses of the Legislature is April 22, so this one appears to be on track. In the meantime, several blog readers have commented on my post on the topic. Here are some of the comments I’ve received:
Jonathon wrote this: “Yes, Mr Russ. Let’s compare homebrewing to marijuana. Or better yet, let’s say it will increase the consumption of alcohol. Because it is much easier to spend $40 on a batch of beer, and have to wait 3 months before you can even drink it than it is to just walk down to the liquor store and buy a case.
This is a hobby, a passion, and a pursuit for quality over quantity. Do your homework and come make yourself realize what homebrewing is actually about, not just passing judgement then trying to tie it into Sunday mass to somehow mesh this with your religious ideals to make us homebrewers look like sinners.”
Brendan said this: “This IS ridiculous.
I can’t even begin to tell you about all the phenomenal people I’ve met since diving into this hobby, some of whom I would now consider to be family. The home brewing and craft beer community are so supportive of everyone involved.
Home brewing is about looking past beer just being an avenue to intoxication. This is art. This is science. This is chemistry. This is microbiology. This is math. We brew beer with the same passion as a world-class chef preparing a gourmet meal. This is a love. This is a part of a great, supporting, and growing community.
I find it rather offensive at times how people scoff at beer and the image they say it conveys while writing wine (and in this case cider) off as higher-class and more innocent route to alcohol consumption. What is funny, is that many of these brewers and winemakers are likely one in the same or working together.
I’m pulling for you, Oklahoma. Brew strong.”
And Heather recently wrote this: “My uncle, a retired Marine … loves to homebrew. He crafts his beers at his home in Virginia and then shares them with his friends and two years ago, when we all came together to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, he shared them with his family; his brother, sister, his parents, his aunt, and he’d have shared them with his adult niece and nephew-in-law if we liked beer.
But this should be illegal in Oklahoma? Why? This isn’t meth heads cooking dangerous ingredients that leave the LABS a toxic waste dump and produces an illegal drug that destroys lives and bodies. It’s not making something that we don’t ALREADY legally produce and sell in the state.
Republicans, this is why you’re going to lose people to a split in the party as people become Libertarians. We don’t want a big government telling us what to do. This wasn’t what our country was built to do. And Democrats, don’t count this a victory. We don’t want your big government either. What a waste of legislation and taxpayer time and money.”
BCS update: Northwest Conference winners
Voting closed last night in the Northwest Conference of the Beer Championship Series, and the big winner was Rogue, which will send two beers to the 64-beer bracket. Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout and Rogue Dead Guy Ale are the winners. Here are the final standings:
1. Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout: 18 percent
2. Rogue Dead Guy Ale: 15 percent
3. Pyramid Audacious Apricot Ale: 9 percent
3. Bridgeport Black Strap Stout: 9 percent
3. Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA: 9 percent
3. Bridgeport IPA: 9 percent
3. Full Sail Amber Ale: 9 percent
3. Rogue Yellow Snow IPA: 9 percent
9. Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen: 3 percent
9. Pyramid Thunderhead IPA: 3 percent
9. Full Sail IPA: 3 percent
9. Full Sail Pale Ale: 3 percent
The BCS will continue Monday with voting in the Asia Conference. I can taste the sushi right now!
Beer news report: April 8
Here’s news making the rounds in the beer world:
-Carlsberg beer workers in Denmark have gone on strike because the company instituted a new policy allowing them to drink beer only at lunch time, and not whenever they want throughout the work day. I’m not kidding. Here’s a paragraph from the news story: “The warehouse and production workers in Denmark are rebelling against the company’s new alcohol policy, which allows them to drink beer only during lunch hours in the canteen. Previously, they could help themselves to beer throughout the day, from coolers placed around the work sites.” Man, I love Europe.
-Representatives from Choc, Marshall and COOP are in Chicago as I type for the annual Craft Brewers Conference. The highlight: Saturday night’s awarding of World Beer Cup winners. I’ll keep you posted if any local brews bring home some hardware. More info can be found here.
-Trying to capitalize on a trend to satisfy consumers seeking local products that have minimal impact on the environment, Coors has introduced a new beer — Colorado Native — that is made almost entirely of ingredients derived from within the state’s borders.
-If you’re interested in attending Beer Sprocket on April 17 in Choctaw, you’re running out of time. Tickets are on sale only through April 14 and won’t be sold at the event, which is at Choctaw Creek Park. Tickets are $45 and get you a meal from Old Germany and samples of up to 80 different beers. Battered Boar, Choc, COOP and Marshall will be represented, as well as many other domestic and international breweries. Find more information here.
Last day to vote in BCS Northwest Conference
We have a very close race in the Northwest Conference of the Beer Championship Series. Right now 
Rogue Dead Guy Ale is in the lead with 19 percent of the vote, followed by Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout with 15 percent and Bridgeport Black Strap Stout, Bridgeport IPA and Full Sail Amber Ale, each with 12 percent of the vote.
Today is the last day to have your say to help decide which beers advance to the 64-beer bracket. You can vote right here.
COOP’s F5 IPA debuts tonight
Quick beer news update: COOP Ale Work’s latest release — F5 IPA — will hit taps tonight, with a debut set for 7:30 p.m. at Republic gastropub. Expect F5 to be available at Tapwerks this week as well.
Vote in the BCS: Northwest Conference
We’re on to our fourth conference in The Thirsty Beagle Beer Championship Series. We’ve had the Marshall, Mexico and Canada conferences, and now we’re going domestic with the Northwest Conference. Vote now to see which beers will earn automatic entry into the 64-beer bracket!
Final results for BCS Canada Conference
The voting results are in for the Canada Conference of the Beer Championship Series. The two beers that have earned automatic entry into the 64-beer bracket are La Fin Du Monde and Molson Canadian. Here are the final conference standings:
1. La Fin Du Monde: 37 percent
2. Molson Canadian: 23 percent
3. Labatt Blue: 20 percent
4. Moosehead: 14 percent
5. Labatt Blue Light: 3 percent
5. Molson Ice: 3 percent
The competition will continue Monday with voting in the Northwest Conference, featuring beers from Washington state, Oregon, etc. Check back next week to cast your vote.
Wild Brew: 1 month and counting
The excellent Wild Brew Belgian-Style IPA collaboration beer by Choc and Marshall is now bottled! See visual evidence below. I’m told Wild Brew will be available on liquor store shelves at the first of May. There will be limited availability in the Oklahoma City area.
