JULY 2008

Issue: #2

Does this new Brewsletter makes us look fat?

In addition to filling these Brewsletters with more content than you could possibly read during a quick personal email check when the boss' back is turned, we're trying on some new colors, styles, sizes... and such. We want your opinion - is it too long, too short, too bright, too dull... and most importanly, does it fit?

Been following the Anheuser-Busch/InBev drama? We have. It's kinda fun to sit back and watch a couple of bullies from the block go toe-to-toe. You've got the Beast from Belgium trying to sweep the leg of the Missouri Mutilator as the Mutilator stands center ring blowing hard about the Beast's anti-American, pro-communist Cuban alliance... ah, parallels with WWF fights are just TOO easy. We've tapped a keg of Kilt Lifter, are comfy in our reclining desk chairs and are MORE than ready to watch what promises to be a stellar legal smackdown between these macrobrew heavyweights.

Speaking of kegs... they're such great inventions, don't you think? We do too. They're kind of essential for beer distributing, and thus - beer drinking. That's why we need you to return them! Some of you are great about this, and we want to thank you. Others of you... not so great. When you get a keg of beer for your kegerator, the beer is all yours - but the keg is on loan, which means: do not sell them in your yard sale; do not fling them over your cinder block wall into the alley behind your house; and do not include them in the stainless steel sculpture you plan to peddle on First Friday. But please do bring them back to the brewery or liquor store so we have something to put all this beer in!!! THANKS.

Also - please enjoy the goodies we have in store for you this Brewsletter, including the first of a two-part series titled, "Dear Brewhouse Forum." Oh yes.

In This Brewsletter

Last Call for July 15th Beer Dinner

You want coasters? We'll give you coasters!

Karina from The Grill & Tap Says...

Well, I know you all missed me while I was gone on my much needed vacation, but I'm back, safe and sound with a renewed energy! One of my closest friends, Natalie, got married in Peoria, Illinois last Saturday, so I headed there last Wednesday to see her tie the knot! The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and I couldn't be happier for her!

Anyway, let's get down to the good stuff. As most of you might know, the annual beer dinner is approaching in only six days. Tickets have gone extremely fast and I know there are ONLY THREE left, so if you are itching for the opportunity to consume some good beer AND good food, now is the time to act!

Many of you might already be aware that Four Peaks serves breakfast every Sunday at both locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. but if you haven't had an opportunity to check it out, please do! Up here at our North Scottsdale location we have great Sunday specials: $3 pints of beer; $4 Bloody Marys; $4 Mimosas and Four Peaks Mimosas; and $4 Screwdrivers. The Enchiladas and Eggs definitely treat me right almost every Sunday.

Well, I'm happy to be back home and see all your smiling faces at the wonderfully air-conditioned Four Peaks up North. Hope everyone is doing well, staying cool, and until next time...

Brewers Blog VI

We were thinking the other day: gosh, don't you miss the Swedish Bikini Team?

Yeaah... neither do we.

Then we got down to some SERIOUS thinking and wondered, isn't it great that craft brewing is such a big tent, and isn't it great the historical contributions that women have made to our craft?

Emphatically, YES.

When we were just budding, young brewers dreaming of well-balanced pale ales, free amino nitrogen and Stokes' law (it was an odd adolescence, yes), we sometimes questioned the marketing of beer to a thirsty nation. Why did it consist of women wrestling half-naked in public fountains? Why were the only people drinking beer on TV famous male athletes, mischievous referees, or ultra-hip dogs? (Remember Spuds Mackenzie?) We remember wondering, don't women drink beer? It seemed like they didn't. It was always chardonnay, or wine coolers, or even the occasional Margarita, but rarely beer. Did women buy into the marketing? Was the message, "Beer is Man-Country, Lady. Oh, and it'll make you fat?"

All of this bothered us because, being scholars of our own craft, we knew that for centuries - because of their role as bakers and bread-makers - it was women who brewed the beer and it was women who brought beer into modern times. For example, in pharoanic Egypt when beer wasn't being horded by the priests it was being made by the women. In Incan culture not just anyone could make beer, it was the elite women of the society who made it best. In medieval Germany entire villages shared a common copper pot to brew each family's beer which was used and passed on, mainly, by the women of the village. Even in merry old England, Brewsters, or female brewers, were widely recognized as having a fine touch when it came to making ale. That culture also contributed the term "alewife," or a woman tavern owner. The English also contributed "bride's ale," which was brewed by the young bride and served at the wedding ceremony to show off what a catch she was. To this day we still use the contraction bridal.

The above mentioned marketing techniques were also bothersome because if you looked in the labs of these mega marketer/brewers you'd find women running the quality control department. That's because women have greater organoleptic abilities than men. That means they can taste and smell better. (Andy's always been jealous of that one.)

So what happened? When did the women leave what seemed like their birth right? We know the rise of monastic brewing excluded women, but could religion really be the reason? That's a heady question perhaps better answered by historians or sociologists. C'mon, we're just brewers. We are noticing, however, that women are coming back to beer and brewing. Come to think of it, maybe they never really left.

We've got a pretty darn good woman brewer on our staff, Melissa; you might know her. Also, this year's World Beer Cup "Small Brewer of the Year" is a woman named Tonya Cornett from the Bend Brewery in Oregon. Not too shabby. In fact there's a long list of female brewers, lab techs, writers and various other industry leaders in this country and around the world who have joined forces and formed the Pink Boots Society, 140 members strong and growing.

But it's not just women brewers who are making an impact, women drinkers are increasing as well. When we opened 12 years ago you would rarely see a table of women enjoying a round of stout or Kilt Lifter. Today it's pretty common. And why not? Craft beer is for everyone. Or, we should say, there's a craft beer for everyone. These flavors aren't just for men. Craft brewers never saw themselves as an old boys' club attaching gender to a drink. Modern brewers of both genders have a secret weapon (stronger than a Bikini Team) called flavor, and exclusion is not an option when you want to share something so good.

So, ladies, Welcome. Or, rather, Welcome back. Where are you going to take beer and brewing this century?

Dear
Brewhouse
Forum

This is the first in a two-part series.

I always thought of myself as a normal guy with normal needs. You know, hang out with my peeps around the weekend and tip back a few cold ones. Dude, was I wrong!

I was just gonna go out with a couple of friends and have a good time, I wasn't looking for anything life-changing but that's exactly what I got when we stopped at Four Peaks! All of a sudden I was thrust hip deep in a quagmire of flavor and styles from around the globe. Just to let you know I was "one of those guys;" I've never tried anything crazier than a Pabst or a Schlitz before this evening... I was a beer virgin!

As I bellied up to the bar, I decided to get down to some action! Now, I'm not a shy guy, but I was a little overwhelmed at the time, so I thought I'd ask for the first beer that caught my eye.

"I'll take a Raj 'ee-pa', please," I said, trying to look like I've done this a million times before.

"Comin' right up. By the way it's pronounced like its spelled, 'I-P-A.' It stands for India Pale Ale," I was informed in a delightfully sassy way. Boy, was I red-faced!

I watched as the bartender bathed the glass in the misted sprinkler before lifting it up and slowly pulling the faucet to let the sweet juices pour into my empty vessel. As she set the loving cup in front of me, I noticed that it too seemed to be sweating in delicious anticipation. As my lips parted to allow unhindered entry, I couldn't help but take in the contents' engaging aroma, and then... POW! My mouth exploded with sensations, and for the first time, I felt alive!

Next, this sweet saint of a girl recommended I have an Oatmeal Stout... Oh my Gawd! As I wrapped my lips around this smooth, velvety construction that felt like the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden, I was reminded of my childhood and innocence lost. Dark, filling... yet full of possibilities. I found myself adrift in its deliciousness.

More to come next week...

Not sure how to follow that one up... pretty sure all that can be said for this week has been said, you know? Silence, sometimes, is as golden as a SunBru Kolsch on a hot summer day. Time to just to sit back and sip this cask "ee-pa" quietly, in thoughtful introspection, just thinking about what we've done.

Sanitas bona (Latin),