Remembering Michael: The Beer Hunter March 27th, 1942-August 30th, 2007

March 27th is a bitter sweet day for me. For anyone who loves craft beer it is an important date to remember. Today is the birthday of Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter. Sadly Michael left this world far too early when he died in 2007 of a heart attack at the age of 65. The beer world will never recover from the loss of such an influential figure, but what Jackson did while he was here will endure for decades to come.

For those who do not know who Michael Jackson was? In the world of beer, Jackson was and still is a legend. He was an English writer and journalist by trade and one of the best. What made Jackson so important to the world of beer is he was a true pioneer writing about beer, its science, its history, its culture, its folklore, its importance when no one else did. In 1977 Jackson penned The World Guide To Beer which to this day is the most fundamental text on the subject of beer. The modern theory of different beer styles is largely based on Jackson's ground breaking work. Jackson traveled the world finding local beer traditions, beer culture, brewing methods, and shared it with the world. He went on to pen a dozen more books on beer and whiskey. His body of work on the subject of beer is the template for all other definitive works on the subject. His video series The Beer Hunter is "Beer 101". Quite simply, Michael Jackson was, and forever will be the world's leading authority on beer.

Jackson's influence can not be understated. The reason you are drinking a great craft beer today is largely in part to Jackson and his work. The fact that you can now walk into any grocery store, supermarket, restaurant, or bar and find a variety of beer choices? Thank Michael Jackson. He inspired literally thousands of brewers across the globe, and saved beer styles that would have been lost to the world had he not written about them, and brought them back into the light. That is how important Michael Jackson was. He and his work has been so influential, you don't even realize it. What we take for granted was just not there before Jackson sparked the interest in different beer styles, and the reason we have such quality and variety in no small part is due to Jackson and his work.

Today would have been Michael's 68th birthday. I will raise a glass of beer to Michael Jackson and toast the man. I will thank him for inspiring my love for great beer, and to hunt for the world's greatest beers. I am going to go with a vintage bottle of barley wine, a British beer style, one Michael knew well and loved. I'll also drink a few German beer brought back from Germany by a friend. Here it to you Michael. Happy Birthday. You will always be remembered.

A fool for you: Indigo Imp Jester

The one thing that I really enjoy most as a beer lover is trying local beers. Beers that can not be found outside their local market, and beers you have to travel to if you want to give them a try. I was happy last year passing though Ohio to find such a brewery in the Indigo Imp Brewery of Cleveland, OH. Established in 2007, this is a very small, very local brewery, that sells its beers in and around the Cleveland, OH area. Unfortunately for me, I was passing through when the brewery was not open, but was able to pick up two of their beers in six packs. They were both very impressive, and I was particularly fond of their Indigo Imp Jester.

This beer is a Belgian Pale Ale by style, brewed with an authentic Belgian yeast strain. This beer has some spicy notes from the yeast, with good malt caramel/toasty malt flavor and mild hop bitterness. Belgian Pale Ale is a very drinkable beer style, Palm and De Konnick are classic examples of the style and Indigo Imp pays tribute with Jester.

Indigo Imp Jester pours to a bright, light amber color, with a soapy, white head that fades and a moderate carbonation. The nose on this beer is spicy and earthy with light aromas of toast as well. The palate is firm, with light caramel and toasty malt flavor on a soft body. Light estery fruit flavors play against the malt character of this beer. Jester finishes with more good light caramel and toasty flavors up front, then ends with a spicy and earthy yeast flavor that lingers.

This is a flavorful, drinkable beer, and a nice example of Belgian Pale Ale. I enjoyed this beer very much, and would take it over New Belgian Fat Tire, which is the most available American example of the style. If you want to try this one, you will have to come to Cleveland. For more information visit the brewery's site at: http://www.indigoimpbrewery.com/

Beer Pimp: AB Inbev Budweiser Chelada

The concept of mixing beer and tomato juice/Clamato juice is nothing new. A red eye has been around for decades and its orgins do not come from south of the U.S. border. For those who do not know what Clamato is? It is basically a cocktail of tomato juice, clam broth, and spices. It was invented in the mid 1960's in New York. Early in 2007, AB which is now AB Inbev the world's largest multinational corporate brewer came up with the brilliant idea of launching a beer/Clamato juice mix and marketing it as Budweiser Chelada. AB rolled this out initially in markets with big Hispanic populations, and marketed it in 22 oz cans. The national roll out came a year later, and you can find this beer and Bud Light Chelada everywhere.

AB, and now AB Inbev is really the pimp of the beer world. They know trends, and they know that Clamato juice has really taken off in Mexico and Central American markets. The demand for Clamato is high, so how does AB get yet another piece of the market? Forget the fact that a red eye has been popular in the U.S. and Canada for decades. Chelada is born. Mott's LLC the corporation that makes Clamato is just as guilty. At one point when you did an Internet search of Clamato it came up in Spanish, not English. They know where their biggest selling markets are, where they are growing, and it is not in the U.S. All well and good, you are in business to make money. That being said, to now market Clamato juice as something that came about from Mexican workers toiling away in the fields or some other nonsense they have on the Spanish verison of their site? It is complete and utter horse shit.

As stated earlier this tomato/clam cocktail was invented in 1966 in Hamlin, NY by the Duffy-Mott Company. Two employees wanted to make a Manhattan clam chowder cocktail by mixing tomato juice, clam broth, and spices. Clamato was born, and it is tangy, salty, spicy, refreshing, and delicious. I'll try any beer once. I love Clamato juice, I have been making my own versions of a red eye for years. How bad could this beer be?

Budweiser Chelada pours to an opaque pink color, with a pink head that quickly fades, and a vibrant carbonation. The nose on this beer is a mix of lime/Clamato which is nice if you like that, trouble is most people don't. The palate is salty with Clamato flavor which pretty much masks any beer flavor. The body is very thin and fizzy. This beer finishes with more salty/Clamato flavor then ends with a hint of lime and salt that lingers.

This is not a very good red eye. If you like Clamato (I love it) it is palatable for that fact alone. The only plus I see about this beer is the convience of being in a can and being premixed. That being said, if you want a thirst quenching refresher in a can? I would rather go with a good ice cold beer, or a ice cold can of Clamato. If you want to make a real red eye, or a real michalada? You would do far better by making your own with a better tasting beer, Clamato, or what ever tomato based juice you fancy. I would not buy this beer ever again, and would not recommend it.

Ireland's Own: O'Hara's Celtic Stout

For those of us who love a good Irish or dry stout, every day is St. Patrick's Day. While many will be getting their drink on Saint Patrick's Day, I don't need that as an excuse to enjoy a good stout. I'm a big Guinness drinker from way back, but I don't drink bottled Guinness Stout anymore. The reason I don't is bottled Guinness for the North American market is contract brewed in Toronto, Canada. I'm sure that is a decent enough beer, but if I want the real thing in the bottle, as well as on draught? I go with the newly arrived, legendary Guinness Foreign Extra Stout or a pint at my local Irish pub.
My favorite bottled Irish stout these days is O'Hara's Celtic Stout from the Carlow Brewing Company of Bagenalstown, County Carlow, Ireland. This beer is a phenomenal example of the style. I am a pretty seasoned stout drinker, and this beer impressed me to say the least. At the time it seemed like heresy to even suggest it, but beer made me forget all about Guinness stout. If you want a fantastic bottled Irish stout brewed in Ireland? Look no further.

O'Hara's Celtic Stout pours to a beautiful, deep ebony color, with a creamy white head, and a moderate carbonation. The nose is just packed with aromas of dark malt and roast. Aromas of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted barley, and grassy hops invite you in to take a sip. The palate is firm, with outstanding flavors of dark malts, chocolate, coffee and roast. This beer dark chocolate flavors up front then ends with a bone dry, roasty and bitter finish that lingers.

This is a truly exceptional example of Irish stout. I can not overstate how impressive the bottled version of this beer is. It might be the most impressive of all the bottled Irish stouts on the market today. If more pubs started to carry this one on draught as well, O'Hara's Celtic Stout would be my stout of choice from now on. This beer is Ireland. This is a great drinking beer, one you will want to drink a few of. It works very well with shell fish, and red meats, or even burgers and pub grub. For more information visit the brewery's site at: http://www.carlowbrewing.com/

American Brown: Brooklyn Brown Ale

The Brooklyn Brewery and I have a very long and happy history together. Brooklyn beers were some of the very first "microbrews" (remember when we use to call them that?) I started to drink on a regular basis, and they have remained regular, to semi-regular staples for me ever since. The very first Brooklyn Beer I ever tried was, Brooklyn Brown Ale, a beer that I instantly fell in love with, an one that will always be a personal favorite of mine.

Brooklyn Brown Ale is an American twist on a classic English beer style. It is the benchmark example of American Brown, which is more robust in flavor than English Brown Ale. Unlike its English inspiration, it has a very vibrant hop character, in aroma and flavor as well. My first experience with this American Brown Ale, was about 18 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. "A first", is an experience that lasts with a beer lover a life time, and that experience was an epiphany.

Please, allow me to digress. A college class mate of mine and I use to shoot the breeze after class, and one day he invited me over to his house for a few beers. He had the most amazing living room set up (for a beer lover anyway) I have ever seen. He had built shelves all along the walls of the room, and the room was completely covered in beer bottles. Next to the stairway, he has stacked about nine cases of beer where he would keep bottles and bottles of microbrewed beer in, and in a constant rotation, he would shift them into a college dorm sized refrigerator. I was amazed. At the time, I was a fan of microbrewed beers, but this guy, he was a fanatic. To make a long story short, he handed me my first Brooklyn Brown Ale, and all these years later, I can still remember that first sip, I had a beer epiphany.

I went on to drinking the full line of Brooklyn beers, but I'll never forget my first. I'll never forget Brooklyn Brown. Brooklyn Brown Ale pours to a bright, deep brown color with a creamy tan head, and a lively carbonation. The nose is packed with aromas of sweet malt, a touch of chocolate, some nutty notes, and zesty, cirtrus hop aromas. The palate is firm with good dark malt flavors of chestnut, chocolate, and touches of caramel malt sweetness. Some nice, fruity estery flavors are present as well. This beer finishes with a long, dry, zesty, cirtus hop bite that lingers on the tongue.

Brooklyn Brown Ale is a fantastic beer with great character. You get a lots of good malt and hop flavors, and I really enjoy drinking this beer, and American brown ale as a style. For more information visit the brewery's site at: www.brooklynbrewery.com

Irish up: O'Hara's Irish Red

With St. Patrick's Day fast approaching it is time to enjoy a good Irish beer. Irish Stout of course will take center stage, as well it should. It is the national drink of Ireland, and Guinness Stout is one of the world's greatest beers, and most popular. I don't need an excuse to drink Irish beer, and I drink it year round. I am a big stout drinker, but I am also a big fan of another Irish beer style called Irish Red.

Irish Red ales by style are unique and flavorful. They have a good bit of caramel malt sweetness that is paired with estery fruit aromas and flavors, as well as some "buttery" notes in the mouth feel. These beers are not aggressively hopped, and tend to be malty and fruity. They are delicious, drinkable beers that are a great beer to drink a few pints of and a very food friendly beer as well. I've had some outstanding American examples of this style, and some great Irish ones as well. One my favorite Irish Reds and one I drink fairly regularly is O'Hara's Irish Red from the Carlow Brewing Company, of Bagenalstown, County Carlow, Ireland.

O'Hara's Irish Red pours to a beautiful, bright, deep, ruby red color with a creamy white head and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer invites you in with good sweet malt aromas paired with estery fruit aromas. The palate is firm with good sweet and caramel malt flavors, paired with light touches of butter and juicy fruit. It finishes with more malt and fruit character up front, then ends slightly cloying. Hops are present in this beer but only to balance.

An excellent example of Irish Red. A very malt and fruit accented beer, what Irish red ales really are all about. This would be a great beer to sit and enjoy a few pints of, and would match well with red meats such as beef or lamb. For more information visit the brewery's site at: www.carlowbrewing.com

Stir it Up: Mad River Jamaica Red Ale

American Red or Amber Ale is a style with a pretty broad spectrum. I have had some tremendous examples over the years and my share of duds as well. One of my all time favorite examples of this style is Mad River Jamaica Red from the Mad River Brewing Company, of Blue Lake, CA.

This beer was originally brewed for a Reggae Festival held in Humbolt County, CA each year. This beer delivers on what American Red or Amber ale should really be all about. Lots of vibrant hop aromas, flavors and bitterness paired with lots of good sweet and stewed malt character.

Jamaica Red pours to a beautiful deep amber to red color, with a thick, creamy, white head and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose is fantastic on this beer with lots of good citrus and pine hop aromatics paired with good malt sweetness and estery aroma of ripe fruit. The palate is soft and full with lots of good biscuit and caramel malt flavors paired with tangy fruit flavor. JamaicaRed finishes with more great malt and fruit flavor up front, then end with a pleasing citric hop bitterness that lingers.

This is a great beer loaded with flavor that would work well with a number of different foods. This would work really well with spicy dishes. Jerk chicken or curried goat anyone? Great beer from a great Northern California brewer. For more information visit the brewery's site at: http://www.madriverbrewing.com/