Great Article About Oliver on The Root

Sorry for not posting. I was busy beering it up on some hardcore sour beer over my birthday weekend, and I am consequently sick today. Anyway, I'm sitting here in the guest bedroom waitng for the Nyquil to kick in, and I noticed this article on The Root. The Root.com is basically a black newspaper website sponsored by the Washington Post. I rarely read it, but they've got a great article today. Maybe they'll get me on there next as a major black beer blogger..

Garrett Oliver: The Black Man Who Knows What’s on Tap
America’s only black brewmaster wants you to stop thinking of beer as just a “cold one.”

Garrett Oliver wasn’t looking to start a revolution; he just wanted a good beer.
Oliver’s interest is not so unusual by today’s standards, when high–caliber, micro-brewed beer can be found at convenience markets, and nearly every major city can tout a craft brewery as a local icon. But Oliver’s quest began in the mid-‘80s, when the beer landscape in America was a veritable wasteland.

It hasn’t escaped Oliver’s attention that he is the only black brewmaster in America. His enthusiastic ramble slows a bit when the subject of why there are so few black beer geeks comes up. He attributes some of it to class issues. “So many of us are just getting to mainstream economic status,” he said. “Activities of genuine leisure won’t be far behind.”

The genuine leisure Oliver refers to isn’t drinking beer, which doesn’t require much of an investment, it is travel. He figures most beer fanatics caught their passion in Europe. “Just look at how few Americans have their passport [even generous estimates put it at one in three]; it’s even worse in the African-American community.”

He also noted the success of Heineken’s marketing campaign toward the African-American community. “Heineken is like a Cadillac,” he said, noting that it’s a good car but that people who treated it as a great car were showing what they don’t know as much as what they know. Oliver expects that in a generation, black craft beer brewmasters will begin to mirror the African-American presence in the population at large.

Click the link to read more...

A little Heineken, prepping for Tulsa

I'm sitting here in the Prez Club of Continental enjoying some "complimentary" Heineken. I'm supposed to be prepping for a couple of workshops at which I'll be speaking tomorrow on the Energy sector. The first one is pure energy technology with only myself as the speaker, right up my ally. The second one is a panel discussion with high level Oil & Gas Execs. At first I was told that it did not really have to be execs, and NSBE told me so late about the panel that I doubted in this capital crunch world we live in that I could scare up one of our company execs to fly out to Tulsa for this thing, so I volunteered myself. As long as they keep it technical, I'll run those other dudes out of the room. If they delve into Professional development and hiring, then I'm gonna look like Mos Def when he's a panelist on Real Time with Bill Maher.

But enough of this, first off I notice that the Heineken that I'm drinking on draft is pretty nice, and BONE CHILLING COLD. I've got beer ice floating in this beer. Can't think of the last time that happened since I was in college and we were trying to cool down the Miller Lite quickfastandinahurry. Either way, after my Amsterdamming, this is fantastic on draft.

Sadly I'm still too low on the totem pole to get the upgrade to first class, which means I'll just soak up some ethanol while I'm in the club.

I've never been to Tulsa or Oklahoma and I'm not renting a car, but somehow I'm going to find my way to downtown for a little McNellies. I'm really trying to track down this beer called "Choc" beer. Shouldn't be a problem.

What else, oh the Dynamo tied the Sounders in the first leg of our two game aggregate in the MLS playoffs. We got tickets down front at the midline for the second leg here in Houston. I have to admit that I'm really really jealous of Seattle's atmosphere for soccer games. They're selling out every game in Qwest (of course they rope off the upper levels), the crowd is fired up with a little mini parade, and they don't have football yard markers and whatnot all over their soccer field. The Dynamo is the best franchise in the league and we're playing in a below average college stadium, and despite all the success and Mexican and Central American population in the city, we can't get a sellout save playoff games and whatnot. Anyway, I started to do this thing where whenever the Dynamo scored I would drink the St. Arnold's Christmas and whenever Seattle scored, I would drink Pyramid Juggernaut Red Ale. Neither scored, so I split the difference with some Shiner Holiday Cheer.

If you haven't figured this out by now, this post is just allowing me to kill some time until the beer gives me that funny feeling and I can start prepping for my presentations tomorrow. Also, I need to be ready for the Strikeforce CBS show next weekend as the main event is Fedor vs. (my boy) Grimm Rogers. Brett Rogers is from St. Paul Minnesota, so I'll probably pick up a variety pack from Summit. Fedor is from St. Petersburg Russia so I'm thinking I can find some Baltika. Otherwise, I'll have to cop some Russian Imperial Stout from an American brewery and walk away.

Will be wrapping up my adventures in Bavaria and Toronto. No other travel on my until Christmas time, which may find us in New York City. We'll have to see. Holla.

Beering in Amsterdam: Heineken Experience

Basically this post is some free pub for Heineken, as if their company and brand were hinging on a 19,000 hit blog out of Houston, TX. After flopping around that day and night getting into Amsterdam, we dragged ass out of bed the next day and walked over to the Heineken Experience.


Apparently this is their old brewery that has sinced been turned into a kind of a Discovery Zone (shout out to my Charlotte, NC folks). For 15 Euro, they have lots of educational videos, mini-lectures, interactive exhibits; you can crush some grains, mix up the grist, and even take pictures of the horses they use for delivery. Not to mention that you can look inside the old coppers, etc. Fantastic for the beer geek and nonbeer geek. The best part is you get three free beers.

The first beer you get is at this funky tasting room with a bartender who breaks down the way they like to serve their Heineken. Trust me, this is probably the best you'll ever have Heineken in your life. They serve it on these taps that are "Extra Cold". They also wash out the glass with water before each pour, and slice off the top of the head with a plastic knife. The man says that they do this to surround the beer with water to hold in the flavor. Without this slicing technique, they believe the beer would lose some of its essence as it would float away with the carbonation. I don't know about all that bullsh8t. Personally, I don't think it does much of a damn thing, but everybody in Amsterdam at the bars and pubs were doing it, so whatever. The beer was excellent. Take everything you normally dislike about Heineken, and throw it out, and that's what you're left with.

Everyone in our crew and around the table wanted to know why this tasted so much better than the Heiny's we get in the US of A. The man said it's just the long trip causes more oxidation. I didn't want to raise my hand mention that your lovely green bottles cause waaaaaaaay more harm than the FedEx trip. Letting in all that light is NOT good. What's funny is that their Heineken Dark (in a brown bottle) is fantastic.

The Session: Think Globally

THE HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE

I'm finally doing The Session. Hopefully I don't offend anyone, but this month's topic is about the brewery that is the furthest away from where you live. Of all the travels we have done since diving into the beer world, brewery tours have been the lowest on my list of places to visit. Brewpubs top the list, followed by Breweries with tasting rooms, then beer bars, then beer stores, then breweries without tasting rooms. With the limited time I normally have on these trips, I'm thinking "do I want to spend a couple hours on a tour where I imagine the brewer heats it up, cools it down at some point, and throws some yeast on it?" But I know there is some value in meeting the brewer, seeing how people accomplish what they accomplish, overcoming the technical challenges, etc. I'm sure it's like being the kitchen with Emeril for some folks.

So I without having an active brewery that is all that far away, I blog about the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. I visited this place about 3 years ago as we were backpacking in Europe and we decided to hit Amsterdam for the Ultimate Bachelor party. I was already married, but a friend of mine had a week before messing up his life. Poor bastard.

Amsterdam is a cacophony of statuesque blond women, grandiose castles, marijuana, hostels, legal whoring, and some pretty decent beer. If it wasn't so cold, it'd be a Black Man's Heaven. The whole time I was there, I managed to slug down a lot of Amstel Light and Heineken. We enjoyed the brewery thoroughly, even though I didn't know what the hell I was looking at. Turns out they don't brew there anymore; they ain't brewing much in that building but a bunch of free love and mass marketing. The brewery has been converted to a few killer bars and tasting rooms and they still have much of the equipment still there for you to mess around with.

The brewery had lots of beer education signage and videos to occupy your mind. They do a great job of introducing folks to the brewing process. If I wasn't half drunk I probably would have remembered what I was looking at equipment-wise. Some mash tuns, lauter tuns, I'm sure there was a fermenter or two. I don't recall a formal tour guide, but they had all kinds of mini games, kegs, bottling, etc. Something like a grown man's version of Disney World mixed with MTV and Maxim Magazine.

After we made it through the brewery, we found our way to the World Bar with all kinds of random tokens. Each token counts for one beer, and they seemed to pile it on for you. I just recall that the beer was fantastic. Even back then, the Heine's in the United States always seemed harsh and a little skunky to me, just completely over-rated. I now know that it is the green bottle and the transportation. But drinking this stuff in Amsterdam is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. Great crispness and refreshing. Since this tour, I've rarely ever had a regular bottled Heineken unless it was on tap or in one of their famous mini-kegs.

I have recently made the controversial move of Heineken Dark to a four star beer, and as my new favorite all-the-time beer along with Sam Adams Boston Ale, supplanting Negra Modelo. DAMN Heineken nailed it with that dark lager. I had it one time in San Antonio but forgot about it until now. And I don't give a good damn what the guys on Beer Advocate have to say, this beer is killer for this time of year. You take this beer, pour it in an Avery Bottle, and it would go up to a B+. Some people are just hating because Heineken is so popular. This beer managed to tied me over as I was dying for some Bock. Since I can only find about 4 spring bocks in Houston, I had to move to Dark Lagers as a substitute. Nice caramel malt with a good crispness of a lager. Has plenty of taste when it's cold, but not overpowering. Do NOT pass this beer up at the local grocery store. Just give it a shot. The brown bottle alone helps out the Heine quite a bit, but they put this one together very nicely. Great session beer.

So in review, Drink Heineken Dark, and go to the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. And whatever you do, don't meet your old Caribbean girlfriend who now lives in Amsterdam for lunch and let her order a lot of wine and making you more drunk and with thoughts of the night before in the Red Light district still in your head you end up about 3 seconds from sleeping with her which your wife would certainly find out because your friends can't keep their stupid mouths shut telling all the women at your job that you met with ol' girl alone and thus ruining your marriage all of 18 months after you said I DO. Good thing she at least knew where the brewery was, I wouldn't have been able to find it on the solo. Holla.

The Session: Heineken Brewery Experience

THE HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE

I'm finally doing The Session. Hopefully I don't offend anyone, but this month's topic is about the brewery that is the furthest away from where you live. Of all the travels we have done since diving into the beer world, brewery tours have been the lowest on my list of places to visit. Brewpubs top the list, followed by Breweries with tasting rooms, then beer bars, then beer stores, then breweries without tasting rooms. With the limited time I normally have on these trips, I'm thinking "do I want to spend a couple hours on a tour where I imagine the brewer heats it up, cools it down at some point, and throws some yeast on it?" But I know there is some value in meeting the brewer, seeing how people accomplish what they accomplish, overcoming the technical challenges, etc. I'm sure it's like being the kitchen with Emeril for some folks.

So I without having an active brewery that is all that far away, I blog about the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. I visited this place about 3 years ago as we were backpacking in Europe and we decided to hit Amsterdam for the Ultimate Bachelor party. I was already married, but a friend of mine had a week before messing up his life. Poor bastard.

Amsterdam is a cacophony of statuesque blond women, grandiose castles, marijuana, hostels, legal whoring, and some pretty decent beer. If it wasn't so cold, it'd be a Black Man's Heaven. The whole time I was there, I managed to slug down a lot of Amstel Light and Heineken. We enjoyed the brewery thoroughly, even though I didn't know what the hell I was looking at. Turns out they don't brew there anymore; they ain't brewing much in that building but a bunch of free love and mass marketing. The brewery has been converted to a few killer bars and tasting rooms and they still have much of the equipment still there for you to mess around with.

The brewery had lots of beer education signage and videos to occupy your mind. They do a great job of introducing folks to the brewing process. If I wasn't half drunk I probably would have remembered what I was looking at equipment-wise. Some mash tuns, lauter tuns, I'm sure there was a fermenter or two. I don't recall a formal tour guide, but they had all kinds of mini games, kegs, bottling, etc. Something like a grown man's version of Disney World mixed with MTV and Maxim Magazine.

After we made it through the brewery, we found our way to the World Bar with all kinds of random tokens. Each token counts for one beer, and they seemed to pile it on for you. I just recall that the beer was fantastic. Even back then, the Heine's in the United States always seemed harsh and a little skunky to me, just completely over-rated. I now know that it is the green bottle and the transportation. But drinking this stuff in Amsterdam is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. Great crispness and refreshing. Since this tour, I've rarely ever had a regular bottled Heineken unless it was on tap or in one of their famous mini-kegs.

I have recently made the controversial move of Heineken Dark to a four star beer, and as my new favorite all-the-time beer along with Sam Adams Boston Ale, supplanting Negra Modelo. DAMN Heineken nailed it with that dark lager. I had it one time in San Antonio but forgot about it until now. And I don't give a good damn what the guys on Beer Advocate have to say, this beer is killer for this time of year. You take this beer, pour it in an Avery Bottle, and it would go up to a B+. Some people are just hating because Heineken is so popular. This beer managed to tied me over as I was dying for some Bock. Since I can only find about 4 spring bocks in Houston, I had to move to Dark Lagers as a substitute. Nice caramel malt with a good crispness of a lager. Has plenty of taste when it's cold, but not overpowering. Do NOT pass this beer up at the local grocery store. Just give it a shot. The brown bottle alone helps out the Heine quite a bit, but they put this one together very nicely. Great session beer.

So in review, Drink Heineken Dark, and go to the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. And whatever you do, don't meet your old Caribbean girlfriend who now lives in Amsterdam for lunch and let her order a lot of wine and making you more drunk and with thoughts of the night before in the Red Light district still in your head you end up about 3 seconds from sleeping with her which your wife would certainly find out because your friends can't keep their stupid mouths shut telling all the women at your job that you met with ol' girl alone and thus ruining your marriage all of 18 months after you said I DO. Good thing she at least knew where the brewery was, I wouldn't have been able to find it on the solo. Holla.