Gourd in beers: who's drinkin' 'em?

Iron Hill's Chris LaPierre with bourbon pumpkin ale

Talk pumpkin ales and you can quickly divide craft beer enthusiasts into two camps: those who annually look forward to the brews that have become the dominant fall seasonal these days, and the one-and-done folks who are happy to move on after drinking a single pint.

But there's a third group that falls into the mix: the cocktail and chardonnay crowd who look forward to pumpkin ales as their moment for crossing over in to the beer world.

"I definitely think there are people out there that the only beer they'll drink this year is pumpkin beer," says Iron Hill's brewer Chris LaPierre. "This is a kind of beer that wine drinkers, martini drinkers, people that say they don't drink beer ... you know, don't like beer ... (they) will drink pumpkin beer."

Iron Hill taps its flight of pumpkin ales this Saturday, and that third group drinkers are very much represented in the crowd that has made IH's Welcome, Great Pumpkin event the chart-topper as far as the brewpub's lineup of events through the year goes. In fact, in terms of sales, the Great Pumpkin event has eclipsed IH's  Belgium Comes to West Chester Belgian beer fest held at the nine-pub chain's West Chester, Pa., location each January. (Featured beers include The Great Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Pumpkin Ale and Bourbon Imperial Pumpkin Ale. For the record, IH's West Chester location does a Gathering of the Gourds pumpkin beer salute.)

It helps that South Jersey's reception of IH in 2009 turned the company's Maple Shade location its busiest. But for all of the factions that surround pumpkin beer, there is definitely something about the style that people find alluring.

"Just look at how crazy people are about it," Chris says. "Look at the coffee shops, everyone's got a pumpkin latte. I'm sure all the fast-food places probably have a pumpkin milkshake, or whatever. People just go nuts for it.

"Outside of brewpubs, look at how much earlier pumpkin beers are coming out. Every year they're out two or three weeks earlier. Everybody's trying to get theirs out early, trying to get it out before the competition. There's just something about that style."

Pumpkin beer is a balancing act for IH Maple Shade. It's appearance on the taps collides with Oktoberfest. The märzen is still a hot ticket, because Oktoberfest hews to tradition, as far as style goes. It's almost always a copper-colored strong lager, with its sweetness held in check by a dose of noble hops.

Pumpkin beers, on the other hand, get to spread out.

"I used to say that Oktoberfest is our fastest-selling seasonal. In a way, it still is because it's not cannibalized the way pumpkin is – imperial pumpkin, Belgian pumpkin," Chris says. "They're all going to steal from each other a little bit, whereas Oktoberfest is just one style. It makes my life pretty difficult for the fact that those are by far our two fastest-selling seasonals, and they both happen to be out at the same time."

That said, Chris does try to ensure Maple Shade's pumpkin ale makes a reprise deep into the fall, after Halloween. Call it pumpkin management.

"We used to have our pumpkin beer on just before Halloween, to just after Thanksgiving. It's popularity has made that difficult to do. I have trouble keeping up with it," he says. "So what I do now is put one on just before Halloween. Then there's usually a little bit of a gap, then we try to get another batch in and bring it back for Thanksgiving time."

Spice vs. pumpkin flavor
A debate that involves pumpkin beer is whether the beer flavors are enhanced by the pumpkin, the spices (i.e. clove, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon) or both. Chris' take is: If a brewer indeed uses pumpkin in the mash (not all do, some go the spices alone), that flavor will come through. (However, he concedes he's never put it to a blind taste test. And for the record, Chris uses about 300 pounds of pie pumpkins, that after processing for brewing purposes end up as about 80 pounds in the mash for a 12-barrel batch.)

"Certainly if you get a pumpkin latte or burn a pumpkin candle, there's not going to be any pumpkin in it. It is all about the spices" he says. "A lot of people don't bother putting pumpkin in their pumpkin beers, because they say all people are looking for is the spice anyway.

"My argument is, if you smell what this restaurant smelled like at 8 o'clock in the morning when they're roasting the pumpkins up in the convection ovens, there's no way that flavor's not carrying over into the beer. I do think there's more substance to it."

More gains for US craft brewers

Craft brewers across the country made more beer last year and sold more of it than in 2010, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the craft brewing industry's trade group.

Craft brewers saw volume surge 13 percent, with a 15 percent spike in retail sales from 2010 to 2011, representing a total barrel increase of 1.3 million. Additionally, the Brewers Association says the total number of operating craft breweries in the United States cracked the 2,000 mark by February of this year.

“While the overall beer market experienced a 1.32 percent volume decrease in 2011, craft brewing saw significant growth, surpassing 5 percent total market volume share for the first time,” says BA director Paul Gatza. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that with the variety of styles and flavors to choose from, Americans are developing a strong taste for high-quality, small-batch beer from independent brewers.”

Across New Jersey, 2011 was the hottest year for brewery start-ups since 1996, a nascent year for the craft brewing industry in the Garden State. Five new breweries were licensed in the state last year, while two new brewers – Flounder Brewing and Turtle Stone Brewing – have been given the green light by state regulators this year. That puts the tally of Garden State craft breweries at 24.

Since 2010, only two new craft brewers in the state – Port 44 Brew Pub in Newark and Great Blue Brewing in Franklin Township (Somerset County) – have thrown in the towel.

Production has been up for virtually every New Jersey craft brewer, with some, like High Point Brewing in Butler, opting to pass on participating in some festivals in order to keep the beer flowing unabated to draft accounts.

Meanwhile, Flying Fish continues its move from Cherry Hill to Somerdale, toiling away with building a new automated brewery that will triple its capacity.

Monday's release of statistics by the Brewers Association comes a little over a month before the May 2-5 Craft Brewers Conference, when industry members will gather in San Diego to hear finalized analyses of the business of small-batch beer.

Some of what the BA put out in those statistics echoes the usual booster talk the trade group has made in prior years' analyses. Still, the data are indicative of a hot sector getting hotter:

• In 2011, craft brewers represented about 5.7 percent of volume of the U.S. beer market; that's up from 4.9 percent in 2010.
• Production last year topped 11.4 million barrels.
• Craft brewers' sales last year amounted to an estimated $8.7 billion, up from $7.6 billion in 2010. Increased retail sales accounted for slightly more than 9 percent of the nearly $95.5 billion U.S. beer market.
• The number of U.S. craft breweries operating last year jumped 11 percent to 1,989; 250 of those were new. Last year saw 37 craft breweries close.
• On the jobs front, U.S. small breweries employed about 103,585 workers last year.

Here's a footnote off the BA news ... If you doubt the sunny outlook consider this: In February, the Brewers Association hired a Manhattan public relations company, The Rosen Group, to help with getting the message out and other programs. Things have gotten busy for the BA, too.

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Guild bill clears Senate panel, gains sponsor

New Jersey's craft beer brewers on Monday move closer to gaining some long-sought regulatory relief they contend is vital to growing the state's 17-year-old craft brewing industry.

After hearing an hour's worth of testimony, a state Senate panel voted to advance legislation championed by the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild that would ease restrictions on the industry, such as allowing brewpub owners to have more than two locations.

"Every beer made in New Jersey that's sold in New Jersey, those dollars stay here," Flying Fish owner and guild member Gene Muller told the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.

The full Senate could act on the legislation as soon as March 15th. The Assembly version of the bill is still pending in committee. (On Monday afternoon, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, a Camden County Democrat and Assembly majority leader, signed on as a sponsor. The Assembly version of the legislation was introduced by Craig Coughlin, a Middlesex County Democrat.)

"This is an important bill. It creates jobs. It creates investment opportunities. It signals that New Jersey is again the innovation capital of the region. It's the right thing to do to maintain our leadership position and outcompete our neighbors," said Senate sponsor Tom Kean Jr., a Union County Republican, whose district includes Trap Rock brewpub and Climax Brewing, a production brewery.

The guild issued a statement later in the day on its Web site, noting the legislative process is far from over and renewed an appeal for support from beer drinkers.

"After a lot of give and take between the guild and representatives of the beer wholesalers, liquor stores, restaurant association and liquor distributors, an amended version of our legislation cleared the committee 5-0. One of the big reasons for the vote was that each committee member's office received more than 200 phone calls/emails from NJ consumers promoting the bill. We thank you for all your help," the message said.

The wholesaler and retailer groups used the committee hearing to rail against the legislation, and senators ultimately tossed a provision that would have allowed production breweries to sell beer through 10 off-premise retail salesrooms, a controversial freedom state wineries enjoy.

"The salesrooms came out. We heard from folks in the industry about their negative experience on the wine side. We decided to take those provisions out ... There's still enough in the bill that helps the industry expand and gives some of the privileges that neighboring states currently have that New Jersey doesn't have," the guild's lobbyist, Eric Orlando, said following the hearing.

Opponents also pushed for extending tax and monitoring rules that govern wine and liquor sold in New Jersey – namely a 24-hour warehouse hold on products – to apply to the proposed brewery regulation changes. Senators took that proposed amendment under advisement but did not act on it.

The wholesaler association likened the proposed salesrooms to so-called "tied houses" in which producers owned, or had a financial stake in, outlets where, by and large, only their beers were sold and served, thereby crowding out competition. They noted the three-tier system, the mercantile arrangement setup for alcoholic beverages after Prohibition, was designed to put a buffer between producers and retailers to prevent abuses that resulted from tied houses. 

The tied house argument was also leveled at brewpubs, with the beer wholesaler association contending that the pubs' very existence resulted from a weakening of the three-tier system.

Allowing brewpubs' owners to have more that two licensed establishments – the bill calls for 10 – would further erode the system, opponents said.

"We have one brewpub that's a Pizzeria Uno in this state. Well, what's to prevent every Applebee's from deciding they want to become brewpubs?" Bob Pinard, executive director of the Beer Wholesalers Association of New Jersey, asked the Senate panel. "So I think we ought to walk before we run with the numbers on this thing ... Go to three, do it like some other legislation that has been proposed, have it (graduated). See what happens. In five years, maybe you can go up to some other number."

Other objections apparently insinuated that economic development was being used as a way to outflank the three-tier system.

"The federal government created an exception that said, 'You can, supplier of beer, you can retail only if, and only if, your retail establishment is immediately contiguous to your brewery.' So they made an exception, and we in New Jersey went along with that exception, and we allowed them to have two," Jeff Warsh, a lobbyist for alcoholic beverage wholesalers, told the senators. "Now we're saying they can have 10 under the umbrella of expanding businesses, allowing small businesses to expand. That's a fair policy determination on your part, but you should know at that time that this itty-bitty little exception that was supposed to create a couple of brewpubs is now going to create 10 brewpubs, times as many owners as there are. So that tied house tiny little exception is becoming a very big exception."

Committee member Sen. James Holzapfel, an Ocean County Republican whose district includes Artisan brewpub in Toms River, batted down the notion of brewpubs proliferating if the legislation were approved. Each brewpub would be expected to obtain a consumption license from its host town, an expensive proposition given the six- to seven-figure prices for the licenses.

While the brewers guild had no objections to dumping the retail salesroom request, it stood firm on brewpub expansion. Guild members noted the irony that Triumph Brewing, the Princeton brewpub that worked to bring craft brewing to New Jersey in the 1990s, has not expanded in New Jersey since then, but went on to open two new locations in Pennsylvania, where the regulatory climate is friendlier.

Guild members also defended the three-tier system, saying they cannot grow their businesses without partnering with distributors to reach markets. But they also pointed out flaws in the three-tiered system: Though it was instituted as a consumer protection aimed at curbing abuses by big brewers, guild members said, over the years it has created unintended problems with access to markets for small-batch brewers. Most states have allowed exceptions, so-called "carve-outs," to the system to promote industry growth.

"Once you take the (salesrooms) out of it, every single item in this bill is currently legalized in all of the border states of New Jersey. That's New York, that's Pennsylvania, that's Delaware," testified Iron Hill owner Mark Edelson.

Iron Hill, which has nine locations spread among Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is planning a second South Jersey location. Under current law, that would max out the company's investment in the Garden State. 

 "We're not cutting new ground here," he continued. "What were trying to do is be competitive in this market and make New Jersey more competitive ... None of the carve-outs proposed here are new and not currently – actively – being used to great effect in states, not only in the mid-Atlantic region, but across this country."



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The master brewer's bowler

Unibroue's Jerry Vietz at Iron Hill

Let's take it from the top ...

Unibroue's master brewer Jerry Vietz is, of course, best known for great beers that articulate the brewing traditions of Europe's (particularly Belgium's) Trappist monks.

But Jerry also has another signature that distinguishes him on the craft beer scene. His trademark bowler hat makes him easy to spy among the throngs of beer enthusiasts who crowd around him at meet-and-greets, angling for the chance to sample some of Unibroue's unique beers and hear him talk about what sets the Quebec brewery's ales apart.

Fresh off last Tuesday's (Feb. 28) beer dinner and tapping of Jerry Chris Mas, a Belgian-style spiced Christmas ale he teamed with Iron Hill's brewer Chris LaPierre to brew at the Maple Shade restaurant-brewery, Jerry wrapped up his visit in the New Jersey-Philadelphia market with an appearance at the Philly Craft Beer Festival on Saturday. (At Iron Hill and in Philly, Jerry also poured some Grand Reserve 17, among other beers .)

Catching up with him before the festival's start, Jerry shared a moment of his time to talk about his bowler (or bowlers, actually, since he has four of them) that he got from Montreal's famed hat shop Henri Henri.

"I don't always wear the bowler hat, but when I come in this market, since I've had pictures taken and on the Web site with the bowler hat, people are always asking for it," he says.

"I've been wearing hats for years. I have a wide collection at home. I have the classic hat, more like the Al Capone (fedora) style. I have many of them, different colors, different kinds, some have the ribbon, others not. I also have the beret ... "

Jerry at Philadelphia Craft beer fest

Of the 80-year-old hat shop, Jerry notes Henri Henri is credited with helping to popularize the term hat-trick among hockey fans (the term's origins are traced to the 1850s and the game cricket).

"When they were sponsoring games at the Montreal Forum, if any player a scored three (goals) they were given a hat," Jerry says.

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Beer drinkers for Colbert

We heard the call last night, so we’re popping open a bottle of our best beer in the fridge and announcing our support for Stephen Colbert for president.

Why? It just makes sense.

Politics these days are filled with silly crap, i.e. Hillary’s manic laugh; Barack’s flag lapel pin; Mitt Romney’s name; Giuliani dragging his past (there’s a joke in there, think about it); Fred Thompson, period (honestly, this guy shouldn’t get elected to anything higher than school board or act in anything other than role playing in group encounter, he’s just that stiff and bad on camera and at the podium; who cares what he has to say? 99 percent of Washington doesn’t care what we say) …

Nation, if we can borrow Steve’s line for a minute, these people have nothing on Colbert. He stands for truthiness, just us and the American way.

But that’s not the reason we’re backing Colbert.

It’s because when he elected to announce on Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" that he was considering to weigh the possibilities of whether or not to be in or out of the race vs. sitting on the sidelines or getting in the game, he did it with a beer in hand. (He subsequently announced he had "heard the call" on his show, The Colbert Report.)

OK, so it was a prop, along with the hay bale, to show how regular-guy he is. (Sorta like Lonesome Rhodes, but then that was a dark side of Andy Griffith 50 years ago and we're starting to veer off course; great Kazan film by the way, though). We don’t know what kind of beer it was (only a neck label was on the bottle, or stage light glare; we couldn't make it out), but that doesn’t matter. He chose to do his talking with a beer. (We think Samuel Adams should be his running mate.)

Plus Coldbeer, er uh, Colbert, last week lampooned the Miller-Coors announcement of combining brewing operations. Tastes great, less Rockies (that’s our joke, by the way).

So we endorse Stephen. You can’t turn your back on a guy with a beer and something entertaining to say.

Märzen invasion: No fest like O fest, Part 2

Tomorrow is a day when we wish we were in Munich. We’ve bent elbows at the Great British Beer Festival and had pints in the Liverpool pubs where John, Paul, George and Ringo tossed ’em back when they favored drainpipes, leather jackets and wowed the Cavern Club.

But Oktoberfest (runs Sept. 22-Oct. 7 this year) , the real deal, not the American interpretation, is something we’ve yet to experience. (It is, however, high on our international to-do list.)

With that being the case, we looked for a way to put a little Gemütlichkeit into our autumn equinox this year, not just the array of festbiers brewed in the Garden State in our stein. The result is “A Taste of Oktoberfest.” (Runtime: 8 min., 16 sec.; it's also on iTunes, check under podcasts and search for Beer-Stained Letter. Tech note: Frankly, iTunes is the best bet for image clarity, and with the iPod's ubiquitousness, tons of you Windows users have Apple's iTunes and its native QuickTime format. Hey, watch it on your iPhone, download it to your iPod; show it to a friend. Reach out and touch-screen someone.)

A barrel of thanks to Greg Zaccardi (left) at High Point Brewing, whose Oktoberfest beer was just named one of the top 10 Oktoberfest beers in North America by Draft magazine; and the charming Ernie Licht of Oley, Pa., whose really cool garment shop (Ernst Licht Embroidery and Imports) turns out lederhosen and dirndls so the waiters, waitresses, dancers, musicians – and yes even you – can have a fest-best look in the season’s traditional togs.

Also deserving mention are Ursula Weuste of the Deutscher Club in Clark, NJ, and Paul Ulrich of the Bayern Verein Newark, both of whom obliged us by allowing cameras at the Deutscher Club’s facility and the latter’s Oktoberfest event on Sept. 8; Pete and Marianne Ehmann and Rick Ernst, the Schuhplattlers with the Bayern Verein; and Bernie Bunger of Bernie’s Orchestra. By the way, Bernie, the strains of “Du du liegst mir im Herzen” remain stuck in our head.

And one more: Kevin MacLeod, whose www.incompetech.com music site we stumbled onto and made use of his “Four Beers Polka” to open the shots.

Said Kevin, after we sent him a link to the vid: “Wow. That was an incredibly appropriately titled piece of music!” Thanks again, Kevin, it had the right bounce to get things going.

Where to go for O-fest

If you’re looking for an Oktoberfest gig, consider these options:

Tun Tavern, Atlantic City, Saturday, Sept. 22nd
German buffet from noon to 6 p.m. on the Tun’s patio. The price is $24.95 for food and unlimited beer. (That’s almost 35 euros, based on recent exchange rates.) Brewer Tim Kelly took the trouble to brew the Tun’s Oktoberfest using a decoction mash, a process that really turns up the malt flavor and isn’t an easy task for a brewpub that normally would do an infusion mash. So, if you go, raise your glass to Tim’s effort; he was really thinking of you.

Triumph, New Hope, Pa., 2- 6 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 23rd
Schnitzel, sauerbraten, weißwurst to eat, festbier, kölsch, kellerbier and pilsner to drink. Triumph makes great beer, but their keller is killer.

Basil T’s, Toms River, 6:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28th
Brewer Dave Hoffmann’s Oktoberfest beer gets paired with a main course of kassler rippchen, spatzel, potato pancakes and of course, red cabbage. Can you smell the smoked pork? Music by Erik and his Firehouse Polka Band. Price is $65, but includes appetizers, wurst sampler and dessert.

Ludwig’s Garten, Philadelphia, Saturday, Sept. 29th
Ludwig’s wedding to Therese started it all, and this way cool German eatery in Philly (check out the hop vine decorations over the tables) draws a huge crowd to Sansom Street. Begins at noon. Look for High Point to tap an oak barrel at the festival.

Long Valley Pub and Brewery, Sunday, noon-5 p.m., October 7th
Authentic German food to go with Long Valley’s great ales. And bear in mind, Long Valley – the scenic locale in Washington Township, Morris County, NJ, used to be called German Valley.

Oktoberfest at home this year?

Hey, don’t knack it, things could be wurst. Sorry, we couldn’t resist. Yes, New Jersey can be your bier Garden State and you can have a fest at home. If you grill it, they will come. Don’t forget to stock up on pretzels and beer: Flying Fish has again bottled (and kegged) its widely available Oktoberfish; High Point’s fest is draft only, but if you need a keg or have a growler, you’re probably in luck. (But hurry.) Climax Brewing in Roselle Park sees Dave Hoffmann offering an Oktoberfest that’s different than what he turns out for Basil’s. Dave bottles in the half-gallon size (that’s 1.8 Maß, and perfect for sharing), plus kegs. Check with the brewery on distribution.

Prosit!