The Beer Retard

My bottleshop job and my own curiosity have me trying lots of beers, but it’s no secret that I’m an IPA guy. The problem is that a lot of my favorites–Firestone Walker Union Jack, Bear Republic Racer 5, Russian River Pliny the Elder and Russian River Blind Pig–are over 6% ABV. As delicious as they may be, you can’t have more than a pint or two without putting a serious dent in your sobriety (Blind Pig being the possible exception at 6%). So I’m always on the lookout for something that I can drink all night and not pay the price later. And luckily, I’ve discovered some sessionable American pale ales that deliver enough hops to satisfy the IPA freak:

Firestone Walker Pale 31 – Firestone took a British-style Pale Ale made with Maris Otter malt and Fuggles hops and put a West Coast spin on it by using late kettle and dry-hopped additions of Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. At 4.6%, it’s light and easy-drinking, but the hops are noticeable enough to satisfy.

Elysian Fields Pale Ale – It’s crisp and hoppy and, at 4.8%, is one of the few worthy session beers made here in Seattle. When it’s fresh on tap, I actually prefer it to the Elysian Immortal IPA. Maybe that’s because of the Simcoe hops, which aren’t in the Immortal.

HUB Crosstown Pale Ale – When I spent time in Portland recently, I tried this beer on tap at Hopworks and was blown away by its hoppiness. If I’d tasted it blind, I would’ve thought IPA for sure. It’s now available in bottles (though its not quite as hopped up as the draft version I’d had and it’s not available in Seattle yet). Crosstown is a little higher on the alcohol at 5.3%, but still well below the 6-7% of most IPAs.

To all three of my readers, I apologize for the four weeks between updates. In my defense, I’ve been busy working two jobs while finding time for trivial things like sleeping and eating. But really, that’s no excuse. I’ve got to make time for this because I’m not ready to kill it just yet.

I’ve been working at Bottleworks for five weeks. Despite the challenges of working 50-60 hours a week at two jobs, I’m enjoying Bottleworks and I’ve settled in to the job. I can work the cash register. I know where almost everything in the store is located. I can pour draft without wasting any beer. I feel comfortable, but I realize I still have a hell of a lot to learn. For instance:

Even though I’ve only homebrewed once and have never worked in the industry, I thought I had decent beer knowledge. I’ve been trying beers like a fiend and have been writing about it for a couple years. You’d think that’d put me in a good position to answer questions from customers. Wrong. My knowledge of American craft beer and Belgians is okay, but I have serious blind spots. The most obvious one is Germany. We have two columns of a cooler dedicated to German beer and I don’t know a goddamn thing about any of it (except the Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lager and rauchbiers). To remedy this, I’m taking home weissbiers and dunkels and bocks. When I’m through with those, there’s plenty more to try.

Also, I’ve realized that I need to revisit beers I haven’t had in awhile. When a customer comes in and asks me to recommend a good IPA, I have no problem. I can easily reel off four or five options that I know they’ll enjoy. If they ask about ambers or porters or other styles, I can only name one or two, and even then I can’t really describe what they’re like since I haven’t had them in a long time. So once a week I’m taking home a mixed sixpack of beers I haven’t had recently.

Overall, I’d say my time at Bottleworks has been great, but it’s also been humbling. I realize how little I know and how much I have to drink before I’m able to discuss beer with authority. But how cool is it to have a job where you’re forced to drink more beer?