"Far North"

Greetings from the Far North!  Well, I’m not really all that far north, but it would seem like it to most of you in the U.S.  I’m in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which is about as north as most people ever go in Alberta even though it is located in the southern third of the province!  Though there is plenty of territory north of here, Edmonton  is definitely the end of the road as far as Alberta microbrewing is concerned.  You’ll find no microbreweries north of Edmonton, and a couple decent ones in and around Edmonton, so there’s really no point in going any further. I'll tell you about the good craft brew establishments in a subsequent blog or two - today I'll just cover Brewsters.

Edmonton has five Brewsters, a mini-chain with 14 locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan pouring 14 different beers, mostly brewed in Calgary.  I’ve been to two of the five.  They remind me of a BJ’s, Ram, Oggie’s or Rock Bottom – casual but nice family dining, lots of flat-screen tv’s, good food and pretty decent beer, all things considered.  A great place to introduce the uninitiated to microbrew.  Safe, nothing very exotic or over-the-top, and the menu has some microbrew guidance for the newbie.  

I don't want to dis Brewsters, but as a craft beer lover I have very little reason to go to one of their locations.  It would be a different story if the food or beer were superb, but they are merely good.  Maybe toward the high end of good, but Edmonton has some superb dining and great craft beer is available, so Brewsters just doesn't cut it for me. 

Most Brewsters are located in little strip malls/shopping centers on main arterials where they are easily accessible and predictably boring.  Today, I visited the Century Park location in the south of town – 111^th Street at the corner of 23 Avenue.  I've also been to the Meadowlark location on 87th Avenue.  I sorta doubt I'll be visiting any of the others - if you've seen one of them you've seen them all, I figure.  Here's one:

In the entry area they have a wine display.  Nothing wrong with that, but a funny emphasis, I think, for a place called Brewsters that promotes itself as a place for “Great Beer, Great Food, Great Times.”  

Maybe the wine display is meant to reassure those who are nervous about this whole microbrewery thing and wonder if they have to drink beer.  No worries: wine, full bar.

For such a chain, Brewsters’ 14 beer row of taps is impressive – similar to BJ’s and more than twice the offerings of Ram and Rock Bottom. But like BJ's, the beer is brewed at a big facility somewhere else, not on premises (mostly in Calgary, though two are brewed at the Oliver Square Brewsters in Edmonton).

On the downside, of all those 14 taps, not a single one is an IPA!  Ay caramba!  How can that be?  Shouldn't that be automatic?  How can you not have an IPA?  The closest thing they have to an IPA is their Rig Pig Pale, but at 35 ibu it is just a mid-range Pale.  Even their Czech Pilsner and Shaughnessy Stout, with 40 and 49 ibu respectively, outdo Rig Pig for bitterness.  Still, the use of Cascade hops in the Rig Pig does make it a very tasty Pale.

The food is good.  I liked my pizza.  It had a nice spicy bite to it.  

Perfect to pair with a big IPA.  If only they had one.

Cheers!

Philippine Beer Scene, Then and Now: One Foreigner's Experience

I lived in the Philippines for 16 years (1988-2004), and during that time, finding craft beer was next to impossible.  That was a real problem for me, because I don’t like pilsner/pilsen and seemingly everyone in the Philippines was perfectly satisfied with what I could hardly stand.  Don’t get me wrong.  San Miguel is one of the best pilsners in the world, but if you don’t like pilsner, having the best in the world hardly matters.  Oh, I’ll have one on ice after 18 holes on a hot day at Riviera, but I’d just as soon have a diet soda. 

Back in the days before microbrew started showing up in Manila, about all you could do for something better than San Mig Pale was Cerveza Negra or Guinness.  For a Guinness in a decent pub atmosphere, I could always go to Murphy’s in Legaspi Village or to the Prince of Wales at Greenbelt, but that was about as good as it got for many years.  

I remember when Planet Beer opened on Makati Avenue in Bel Air.  I was living in Bicol at the time and only got up to Manila every other month or so, but knowing that good beer would be available when I visited Manila was very exciting.  I took Joey Bautista to Planet Beer on my first visit.  The beer list was impressively long, but the prices were ridiculously high.  I think they were bringing it in a six-pack or two at a time, so supply was low, demand was high and prices were crazy.  A 12 oz. bottle of Red Hook ESB was going to cost me P400 – about $16 at the time, if I remember right – and when I ordered one, Joey just about had a conniption over the price.  He didn’t understand my love of beer.  Actually, the Red Hook was relatively inexpensive: a bottle of Chimay would have been P1,500!

I was shocked when the waiter at Planet Beer told me they didn’t have a cold Red Hook and asked if I would like a San Mig instead!  Instead?  Granted, there isn’t really that much flavor difference between a Red Hook ESB and a San Miguel Pale, but if a customer is willing to pay P400 for a beer, no waiter in his right mind would divert the customer to a P35 beer instead!  He should have said, “I’ll put two Red Hooks in the freezer for you and you can enjoy a Cerveza Negra, compliments of the house, while you wait for the ESB to chill.”  Unfortunately, but maybe not surprisingly, Planet Beer’s existence was short-lived.

I remember when a few microbreweries were attempted in Manila back in the ‘90’s.  There was that one – Ironhorse, was it? – over at Crossing (Shaw/EDSA).  I tried it a few times, but it really wasn’t very enjoyable.  Hardly anyone in the place was ever actually drinking the brewed-on-premises stuff, and for good reason.  I hate to think that people formed their impression of microbrew from what they drank at that place.  I have to salute those who tried to make a go of it there - at least they gave it a shot - but somehow the brewing just never clicked.  

There was a decent attempt at a microbrewery in Glorietta.  It was a nice looking facility with the copper kettles and all, and the brewmeister was a veteran brewer from San Miguel and very knowledgeable, but the ale was never very good.  Always had a bad yeast funk to it; even the nose was bready. 

 There was the Paulaner Brauhaus at the Dusit.  Is it still open?  I think the pub is still there but not the brewing facility.  As I remember, they did a pretty decent pilsner, but I don’t think they ever tried top-fermented ale. 

 Once when grocery shopping at Cash-n-Carry in Makati, I found a whole shelf full of Pete’s Wicked Ale.  What a find!  I just about had a heart-attack.  While Celine loaded 25 bottles into the shopping cart, I texted my buddy, Andy Isaacs (rest in peace, brother), to tell him of my find.  He went down there an hour later and cleaned them out!

Speaking of Andy, he was the only other craft brew fanatic I knew in the Philippines at the time.  Well, there was Dr. Noel “Noey” Castillo, but his appreciation of microbrew, though very real, was minimal compared to Andy’s.  I mean, Andy was really into it.  I met him through Cesar Carriedo, a non-drinker who, when he learned of my passion for microbrew, immediately wanted to hook me up with his friend Andy, who had developed an interest in and love for craft beer while in the U.S.  Andy and I became fast friends.  A couple times when I went to the States, I loaded up a Balikbayan box or two with a diverse selection of bottled micros and shipped them to Andy.  He told me that unwrapping each of those individually-wrapped bottles of brew thrilled him like a kid on Christmas morning.

Celine and I went up to Baguio with our good friends Kit and Maribeth Santos.  Kit is a real beer drinker, but he’s pretty much a San Miguel Pale Pilsen guy.  I've tried to get him to appreciate micros - even taken him to ale houses in Seattle and Tacoma - but he's a hard case.  He compares everything to his beloved San Miguel, and nothing else strikes him just right.  Anyway, on this trip to Baguio, as usual, I brought my own stash of microbrew because I just can’t stand drinking the fizzy yellow industrial swill.  During the course of the weekend, we ended up over at Phillip “Ipe” Recto’s place, one of the most laid-back and nicest guys around.  Ipe expressed interest in my private stash of beer.  I think he was intrigued that someone could be so particular about beer, and he mentioned he knew a guy – a Filipino – who was also really into microbrew.  At Ipe’s, I also met Perry Aragon, another great guy.  He, too, was very interested in my beer and said his brother-in-law was really into microbrew.  In the course of conversation, I realized that Perry’s brother-in-law was the beer-loving friend Ipe had mentioned earlier.  In order to explain how much of a microbrew fanatic his brother-in-law was, Perry said, “He even has a guy in America sending him boxes full of microbrew.”  We all had a good laugh when we realized that I was the guy sending his brother-in-law, Andy Isaacs, all that beer!

Times have changed, and they’ve changed for the better regarding craft ale in the Philippines.  It seems that there was a desire for microbrew hidden just under the surface and waiting for someone to tap it.  The one to tap it was Jim Araneta, and now the beer has really started pouring all over Manila and beyond.  Jim has taken his passion for microbrew and turned it into Global Beer Exchange, the source for craft brew in the Philippines.  If you don’t know about it already, wise up at http://www.facebook.com/GlobalBeerExchange or at http://www.globalbeerexchange.com.ph/.  Great brew is at last showing up all over the place.  It's really a phenomenon.  If you're going to be in Manila, consult the Global Beer Exchange websites and be sure to patronize establishments carrying craft brew from Jim.  For all your microbrew needs in Metro Manila, contact the folks at Global Beer Exchange:895.6173 or 917.984.5076  (4560 A. P. Reyes Ave., Makati).

My Home Tavern

I like having a home tavern.  Though it isn't a place where everybody knows my name, a few of the bartenders do, and that's nice.  One calls me "Uncle" because I sometimes bring my nephews in for a few rounds.  I like it when Kate says, "Hi Uncle, what can I get you?"

The Parkway, in my hometown, Tacoma, WA, has been in operation since 1935.  It's located on a main east/west arterial that passes through residential neighborhoods and connects downtown with the West End.  It's in a converted house and is a true neighborhood hang-out.  You can sit out on the front porch right along the sidewalk and feel like you're sitting on your own porch.

These days, the Parkway is known for its excellent ale selection.  They are usually pouring 30 different craft ales - 20 permanent offerings and 10 that rotate at least weekly.  You always know what's coming up next:

I think the Parkway can boast more taps than any other watering hole in the country.  Not that they are pouring more than anyone else at any given time, but that they simply have more tap handles.  Tap handles are part of the decor, bristling out from the overhead beams thusly:

Those tap handles are not just for decoration, either.  During the course of a year, most of them will be used as their corresponding brew rotates through the line-up.  The line-up is constantly changing, but here's a typically diverse offering from a recent night:

You'll notice they have PBR in there among all those craft brews.  Though not a micro, PBR is a great American pilsner and is offered as a nod to Tacoma's working-man/industrial identity (and also as a cheap beer for those on a budget).  Want a break from craft brew?  Have a PBR.  Want a light beer?  Have a soda instead.

Rather than being positioned in a long line, the 30 or so working taps are in a compact block, making it easy for the bartenders to pour several pints at a time without having to run from one end to the other.

On this blog, I will share visits to microbreweries and ale houses all over the country, especially the west coast and Pacific Northwest, but I wanted to start close to home so you'd understand my roots.  That's me on the left with my buddy, Don.  Cheers!

Alcohol and the Evangelical Christian

This is my first blog post, which means, among other things, that it might never be read.  It'll take some time before my blog gets any attention (if it ever does), and by then this first post will be buried where people won't bother looking.  But here it is anyway.  Because my blog will mostly feature microbreweries and ale houses, and because I am an Evangelical Christian, I thought it might be good to start out with an explanation of the compatibility between the two.  For those of you who didn't already know, drinking alcohol is something of a taboo among most Evangelical Christians.

I enjoy well-crafted wine and ale, especially the latter. I drink them because they seem to me like liquid art; masterpieces that I can consume. I do not enjoy yellow, fizzy beer; they seem like bad art to me. In addition to appreciating the craft and art of brewing fine ale, I also welcome the enhanced sense of joy and celebration alcohol provides. That is, I don't mind occasional inebriation. However, I honestly cannot remember the last time I drank in order to get drunk. Excessive drunkenness is never my goal in drinking alcohol and very rarely the result.

The Bible recognizes a difference between sinful drunkenness and occasional celebratory consumption of alcohol. Drunkenness is considered foolish, even sinful, if excessive or overly frequent, and being a drunkard (someone who is often or continually drunk) is warned against in the Bible. On the other hand, consuming alcohol was part of Biblical culture and did not conflict with a proper relationship with God. In fact, celebratory consumption of alcohol was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God. Consider the following:

"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice." (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)

In the above passage, we learn that a tenth of a farmer’s produce, including wine, was to be set aside each year, hauled to a special place chosen by God (the place ended up being Jerusalem) and then consumed in the presence of the Lord. If Jerusalem was too far away—that is, if carrying your tithe of food and wine all the way to Jerusalem would be too much of a burden—you could exchange the produce for money, take the money to Jerusalem, and spend it on anything you wanted to eat or drink, including wine or other alcohol, to celebrate the goodness of God. Far from condemning the consumption of alcohol, drinking was specifically encouraged and to be done joyfully in the presence of God.

The purpose of drinking “wine or other fermented drink” in a celebration was (and is) to enhance people's joy and sense of celebration. That is, getting an enjoyable buzz was (and is) sort of the point. Clearly, by calling for the consumption of “wine or other fermented drink,” God was not merely advocating hydration but was rather inviting His people to pursue the attitude of celebration that comes from consuming alcohol. Though excessive drunkenness would not have been acceptable, consuming alcohol to enhance one’s enjoyment of a celebration was perfectly alright and had no negative moral connotation.

The only people who were specifically not to consume alcohol were those who were under a “Nazirite vow” (Numbers 6:1-21). They could not consume anything at all related to grapes, including fruit, wine, juice, raisins, seeds or skin. This was because the person under such a vow was to be absolutely austere and show resolute devotion in their religious intention, while grapes represented alcohol, joy and celebration that did not fit the seriousness of the vow. Once the vow was fulfilled, however, grapes, wine and celebration were again perfectly permissible.

In John chapter two, Jesus turned 120-180 gallons of water into wine. He didn’t turn it into grape juice; He turned it into wine, and He did so only after all the rest of the wine had already been consumed. Jesus kept the party going by supplying a huge amount of additional wine beyond the generous amount originally provided by the bridegroom. When the initial stock of wine ran out and Jesus’ mother hinted that she wanted Him to provide more wine, Jesus was clearly irritated with Mary but He didn’t say, “No, they’ve had enough wine already,” or “No, providing wine would be a sin,” or “No, drinking alcohol is sinful.” Rather, He produced as much as 180 gallons of exquisite wine. How can any followers of Jesus today claim that the making, providing and consumption of alcohol are sinful when Jesus did all three?  I’m sure there is an ingenious answer.

Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Abstinence-espousing evangelical preachers are fond of pointing out this verse, supposing it to forbid the consumption of alcohol. They also like to emphasize that the phrase “be filled with the Spirit” is in the aorist tense, meaning “go on being continually filled with the Spirit.” However, they invariably fail to point out that “do not get drunk on wine” is also in the aorist tense! That is, Saint Paul's meaning is “Do not go on being continually drunk with wine.” The admonition is against continual or overly-frequent drunkenness, not against occasional celebratory drunkenness or mere consumption of alcohol. This is clear not only from the aorist verb tense but also from the stated reason for the admonishment: “drunkenness . . . which leads to debauchery.” Debauchery refers to the debased activities a person might fall into if they allow excessive drunkenness to destroy their moral sensibility. The verse says nothing whatsoever about mere consumption of alcohol or even about occasional celebratory drunkenness.

I do not advocate drunkenness. Drunkenness has destroyed millions of individuals and families. The Bible condemns excessive and frequent drunkenness. However, abstinence is not the only acceptable Christian position regarding alcohol, and in fact, the consumption of alcohol is far more consistent with Biblical Christian culture than is abstinence. That is, consumption of alcohol was not a taboo among the early Christians, though drunkenness was rejected, and abstinence would have been considered very odd (though welcomed as a matter of self-control). There is a big difference between consumption of alcohol, on the one hand, and sinful drunkenness, on the other, even if a large number of Christians refuse to see it. The Bible nowhere condemns the consumption of alcohol, nor even occasional celebratory drunkenness, but it has strong warnings against excessive and/or ongoing drunkenness.

The consumption of wine and other fermented beverages was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God even in religious celebrations; abstinence was considered a severe, unusual and temporary form of self-denial expected only of those fulfilling the Nazirite vow; Jesus Himself provided an extraordinary amount of wine for a wedding celebration; and Saint Paul emphasized the goodness of continual, ongoing joy in the Spirit in contradistinction to the sin of continual, ongoing drunkenness, but he did not condemn the consumption of alcohol itself.

My microbrewery visits have nothing at all to do with getting drunk. To me, a brew pub is like an art gallery and every pint of ale a piece of art. The artists take four of God's creations - water, grain, hops and yeast -  and craft them into delicious, consumable works of art to be enjoyed by God's people.

Cheers!