Two Washington area brewers made their new brewery plans public a couple weekends ago at the Northern Virginia Summer BrewFest.

Favio Garcia, former head brewer at Old Dominion, and Matt Hagerman, brewer at Growlers brewpub in Gaithersburg and also a former Old Dominion brewer, declared their plans to launch the M.A. Hagerman Brewing Company. They’ll relaunch what appears to be a defunct Huntingdon Beach, CA-based contract brew called Rhino Chasers Beer, as well as a  line marketed under the Catoctin Brewing Company brand.

Rhino Chaser is apparently slang for a surfer who is seeking “the big wave.” I’m not sure how the surfing theme relates to Northern Virginia (or to a Maryland mountain range for that matter) but I’m rooting for these guys! I’m eager for something good to come from the Old Dominion sell out and maybe this will be it.

Follow their progress on their soon to be new website at www.rhinochasersbeer.com.

As any craft brewer knows, first impressions mean a lot. With craft beer you often get one chance at convincing a consumer that your beer merits their bucks. So when you contract brew your beer at an ever-changing number of breweries and you have distributors and retailers all across the eastern United States, it is very hard to control that first impression. If poor quality control or bad handling ruins the experience of a new customer, it takes a lot of work to get that customer to give your beer a second chance. But doing so can be worth the effort, especially when that customer is a know-it-all beer geek.

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A couple years ago we celebrated my father’s 75th birthday with a big family reunion. I wanted to bring beer that upped the ante from the usual BudMillerCoors but could please a very mixed crowd. Hook and Ladder seemed perfect, some lighter beers that wouldn’t be too challenging but were probably a lot more flavorful than light industrial lagers, plus they have a cool story about donating money to burn victims. So I picked up a couple cases of Lighter and Golden Ale and hit the road for the reunion.

Socializing with the extended family, we opened a few beers. They gushed. We opened a few more. They gushed. We let them settle out in a pitcher and then tasted them. They were as undrinkable as they were unpourable. We abandoned them and sought out a local beer store for replacements. Being the beer-know-it-all of the family, I was embarrassed about my beer faux pas.

In retrospect, I’m not sure if the problem was over-carbonation, oxidation, infection, or a combination thereof. Suffice to say my first impression was bad – a contract brewed-beer company that was all firefighting hype and apparently paid no attention to making beer. There are many tales of  contract beers that were all marketing and no beer, so I quickly judged Hook and Ladder as one such case and never drank their beers again – even though their offices are literally up the street from my home.

As it happens, one of my sisters has a friend who works for Hook and Ladder. They were having dinner together recently and my name came up due to our mutual interests in beer. As a result, John Timson, VP of Marketing and Sales, contacted me and last night I sat down with him for a tasting at their Silver Spring, Maryland digs.

John Timson, VP of Marketing and Sales, points to Hook and Ladder Brewing Company's "World Domination Plan."

It’s kind of funny. I travel all over the world for beer and here’s a beer company literally four blocks away from my home that I’ve never visited. So I was happy for the invitation and eager to give these beers a second try in hopes that my first impression might have been a fluke.

The good news is that fresh beer on draft did make a much better impression than the family reunion snafu. The Golden Ale (5.5% ABV) is a medium-bodied table beer on the sweeter side of malty. It’s understated, not particularly wild or exciting, but flavorful and easy to drink for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The new Irish Red Ale, called Pipe and Drum (5.1% ABV), is also malt-forward with pronounced caramel, and lightly toasty undertones. When they are packaged, stored and served properly these are both good sessionable ales and after last night’s tasting I am happy to drink them again.

Hook and Ladder has moved their contracts through several different breweries and I suspect this is the root cause of the quality control issue I encountered back at the family reunion. At the moment, they are brewed by High Falls Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, makers of Genesee Cream Ale and Dundee’s Honey Brown, among several other beers. This kind of brewery-hopping is one of the potential pitfalls of contract-brewed beers. But as long as the beers taste like they did last night, I’ll be happy to support my neighborhood contract-brewed beer company.

Speaking of beer in the neighborhood, for close to two years now Hook and Ladder has been planning to open a brewpub in an old firehouse on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. Ever since, I’ve been fantasizing about being able to roll home from a brewpub located just up the hill from me! But alas, delays have been interminable. John tells me they are now aiming to break ground in mid-July with hopes of being open by Christmas. The bad news is that its not planned to be a brewpub afterall, but rather a taphouse with Hook and Ladder beers. If all goes well, they might eventually buy an additional property next door to the firehouse and install a brewing system there.

I’m disappointed that they are not planning to brew on premise any time soon, but this fits with the contract-brewed approach. In essence, Hook and Ladder is not a brewery but a beer marketing company. As long as the beers are good, I’m perfectly okay with contract beers. Actually, two of my all-time favorite beers, Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale and Pils, are contract brewed. Coincidentally, they both have a charity hook as well, Tuppers gives a percentage of proceeds to the Childrens Hospital, and Hook and Ladder gives “a penny in every pint” and a “quarter in every case” to the Hook and Ladder Foundation in support of fire burn victims.

Luckily, my first impression of Hook and Ladder was not my last and now I’m looking forward to trying their new pale ale scheduled for release this fall.

Heads up! It’s time to start thinking about what you want to brew if you plan to enter 7 Bridge’s third annual National Organic Brewing Challenge.

Each year 7 Bridges hosts this national beer contest for organic brewers. There are categories for homebrewers and professionals. In order to qualify, entries must be made with organic barley and hops.

2009 Contest Timeline
September 1 thru October 9 — entries are accepted.
Sunday October 18, 10am-5pm — judging takes place. Location TBA, but last year it was at the Santa Cruz, CA Gordon Biersch. Additional volunteers may be needed for judging so please check the website for details.

Last year’s prizes included an “organic brewing experience” at an east and west coast brewery, hundreds of dollars in organic brewing supplies and gift certificates, and loads of cool organic beer schwag. Visit the contest website for all the details.

Oh yeah, and 7B is running their annual summer sale from June 15-July 15 so keep your costs down on your summer suds by getting your order in soon!

Bicycling.com just published a refreshing 12-pack of “the best bike-related summer beers.” Actually, it’s the opposite of a baker’s dozen – it’s a twelve pack short one beer. Must have fallen out of the panier when they jumped that last root in the path.

But it’s good stuff. From Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale to the tried and true Fat Tire from New Belgium. Hop on yer peddle rocket and kick out the suds!

Last year I visited Ohio University in Athens, Ohio to talk to the folks running their sustainability program and to do a talk on campus about beer and sustainability. My hosts were incredibly nice and the town was friendly and hospitable.

In addition to my “work,” the visit included a late-night exploration of the cramped brew-cellar of Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery (top notch beers and a great back deck), plus a wonderful morning of homebrew tasting at a local homebrew shop, the name of which escapes me now and google fails to find (it seemed like an under-the-radar kind of place actually which made it way fun and also involved tasting some concoctions that most people simply wouldn’t understand).

In any case, we all had a swell time and a number of folks suggested that I come back for Ohio Brew Week.

Little did I know that they’d actually follow up — it looks like I’m in for a return visit! The good folks who run this week-long celebration of suds have invited me to come back and enjoy some of Ohio’s finest. I’ll be speaking at the Brewers Gourmet Feast on Thursday, July 16th at Abrio’s Brick Oven, and at some point I should be doing something with folks from Great Lakes Brewing (a Cleveland brewery with amazing sustainability efforts). Some of my sustainable beer video shorts should also be showing at a local theatre, and of course I’ll be available to sign books on multiple occassions.

Make plans now. Athens is a great little college town with wonderful beer. Come on out and join us!

On Monday I met a colleague for lunch at Capitol City Brewing on Capitol Hill. This is my favorite of Cap City’s three locations because it is housed in the historic Federal City Post Office and it has a wonderful veranda with tables that have a view of the U.S. Capitol.

So my Monday afternoon was looking bright as I joined my colleague on the veranda where he was already on beer number two. I wasn’t certain we’d be having a beer at lunch, so it was nice to see this question was already answered before I even arrived.

Mike McCarthy, Director of Brewing Operations at Capitol City Brewing Co., shows off his tats in front of a gleaming copper tank.

The news only got better when the server told me their seasonal beer was an organic saison. Not only is saison one of my favorite beers, especially for a warm spring day, but it was organic!

Two hours and I won’t say how many beers later, we were heading back to the office feeling pretty good.

At 6% ABV, it’s not a huge beer but it’s not really meant for a lunch session either except for the fact that it is so damn drinkable. Slightly sweet medium body with a peppery spiciness and a dry finish — all characteristic of a good saison (though I could have taken a tad more tartness).

I emailed Mike McCarthy, the Director of Brewing Operations, to congratulate him on the new beer and to thank him for brewing organic. Then I recalled that we had actually spoken about organic beer on a couple occasions and I had tried to encourage his interest in trying out some organic ingredients (I recall one particularly wobbly late night at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego last year…). And sure enough, he emailed back confirming that he bought the organic hops for this beer from Seven Bridges (and organic malt from Gambrinus and Weyermann).

What’s more is that this is the first in an ongoing organic series. Once the saison runs dry at the end of June, he’ll put on an organic wit, which will also include some organic coriander, and should pour from July to September. Then it’s an organic trippel from October through December.

It’s hard to convey how excited I am to have a local brewpub serving organic beers on a regular basis. The fact that Mike has chosen three of my favorite beers styles for the organic line must just be the luck of the Irish. I see myself  enjoying many a happy hour on the Cap City veranda in the coming months.

The Baltimore Sun runs a regular beer column called Kasper On Tap. Last week’s column blogged about beer by blogging about me blogging about beer? Now I’m blogging about him blogging about me. When will this vicious circle of beer blogging end? Ball’s in your court Kasper.

Anyhoo, since he gave me a shout, I thought I’d do the same. Check out the Kasper On Tap column online here for regular updates on the Baltimore-Washington beer scene.

Thanks go to Westchester County Green Drinks for the image.

Green Drinks is a self-organizing group that spawns meet-up type gatherings all over the world for green folks interested in mingling over a glass or two of something fermented (non-drinkers are welcome too!).

The Green Drinks crew in my Silver Spring, MD neighborhood is hosting a gathering at McGinty’s Public House — click here for the details. But I’m in Florida at the moment so I’ll be going to the Green Drinks in Boca Raton — click here for that one. Or visit the main Green Drinks website to find a green drinks event near you.

Word has it that I make an appearance in a new movie titled Beer Wars. It might be a three second spot, or I might be saying something completely stupid. I suppose there is also a chance they caught me in a rare moment of lucid visionary pontification. At the very least, I feel confident that I am saying something about drinking beer and/or saving the world.

But the only way you’ll find out is if you attend the one night premier on April 16th, occuring at theatres across the nation. Visit the Beer Wars website for theatre locations and more details about this intriguing new documentary on the clash between global beer corporations and small craft brewers.

Even more exciting news, at least for me, is that the film option for my book, Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World, was sold to be made into its own documentary. Yes, really! Someone paid money for the right to produce a documentary about how to drink beer and save the world. I’m sure there are many pitfalls on the path between that commitment and actually making a film, so my fingers are crossed. If you know someone who might be interested in investing in such a film, send them my way (use the contact form on this site).

A couple weeks ago the World Water Forum was held in Istanbul, Turkey. According to an AFP article, a new scheme was announed at the Forum designed to identify products produced with water from a sustainable source.

Michael Spencer, director of the Australia’s Water Stewardship Initiative, spoke at the Forum explaining: “That there is a crisis in water is a given, and that we need to address it is a given. That’s why there’s so much momentum behind developing a global standard.”

The standard, when launched, could follow the mold of the highly succesful Forest Stewardship Council program which includes more than 12,000 companies participating in identifying products produced through sustainable forestry practices.

Spencer said the label could be in use within 18 months on products as varied as beer and breakfast cereal.