Love & Hops: Craft Beer and Culture by James Fraley

[Metro Jacksonville]

Love & Hops: Craft Beer and Culture by James Fraley



I, James Fraley, am going to speak to you about beer. Craft beer to be exact, not the fizzy yellow stuff that comes in clear bottles. That's the enemy, the bad guy; the toxic swill pushed by bikini babes and jack Russell terriers. We won't be talking about beer pong or keg stand tactics at all. No vortex bottles or cold activated labels here. What we will be discussing is liquid poetry, taste bud tantalizing fermented beverages that heighten experiences and elevate the soul. We will push boundaries together; challenge our perceptions as well as our palates. We will delve into the world of craft beer as a team and be better for the voyage.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-jul-love-hops-craft-beer-and-culture-by-james-fraley

[RockStar]

Good beer lovers should check out Engine 15 on Beach Blvd next to MoJo's kitchen. E15 is basically a craft beer bar where you will be able to buy any ingredients you need, brew your own beer, and have it kegged or bottled. Super cool concept, and the awesome staff there are all passionate about brewing, drinking and talking beer.

Can't wait to make up a keg of Dos Gatos IPA...lol.

[BridgeTroll]

I look forward to more articles!

[BeachBum]

I recently heard that BMC makes enough money on their byproducts that they needn't even sell their "beer" to turn a profit.

[Beer Guru Jim]

That used to be a truth when they sold malt waste to farmers and the military (K-ration chocolate bars had spent barley in them), but the fact of the matter now is that the BMC monster is feeling pressure. Beer sales are down as a whole but craft beer sales are up. Craft beer also has a lock on 10.2% of the beer market or about $10 billion in sale per year. This puts pressure on BMC because they are a trinity that is used to the whole pie, not just some of it. They waste a lot of money on advertising because its expensive to paint turds with gold and when customers start to laugh at the ads and drink good beer instead, it scares them. Wine (ugh..Boring) has also been getting more popular amongst people who want a more sophisticated drink (the old "beer is for bruisers" sterotype.) The more any drink gets popular from soda to scotch, the BMC bleeds. YAY!

[Intuition Ale Works]

James-Great article and look forward to reading more.

I'd also like to add that the biggest threat to the Bud/Miller/Coors monster is their customers waking up one day and expecting MORE in a beer. More hops, more malt, more color, and just more flavor.

They are purely marketing machines that assault current and future customers with a message that usually has nothing to do with the beers they make. Sex, football, the bottle,etc...

I was up in Brooklyn this weekend doing "research" and everywhere we went had locally/regionally produced, unique, flavorful beers.
There is no reason Jacksonville can not have 5 breweries making amazing beers and multiple styles.
Have you ever had a smoked lager? As one of my companions described it, "it smells like Christmas Ham!" And it was delicious.

There is a world of amazing beers beyond Macro-brewed lagers but the big breweries want us to focus on calories and drinkability and triple hopping their beers. By the way most beers are triple hopped.

Overall Beer Drinkers are beginning to demand more from their beers and more from brewers which is refreshing and inspiring.

I'm looking forward to getting open and joining the cause!

[Beer Guru Jim]

@ Intuition Ale Works.

I agree that the BMC is threatened by consumers wanting more, but they also do a really good job of maintaining the need and want of the fizzy yellow stuff. Remember the campaign against "bitter beer face"? That was how they let the general public know that "bitter" beer is bad even though it's B.S. They try and satisfy the people who want more by creating "psuedo-craft" products like Blue Moon and Shocktop. By doing this the BMC makes people think they are drinking good beer while still getting the money. I am going to eventually do a whole article on how to sniff out "psuedo-craft" and buy the real stuff. Its funny how BMC both attacks craft beer and mimics it.

[TPC]

Great article! As a typical American male my first experiences with beer were the BMC and I didn't understand why people would drink it other then to get drunk since it all tasted horrible. I then moved to Vail, CO when I was 21 and was introduced to craft beer and micro breweries (New Belgium will always have a special place in my heart). After that I pretty much swore off any beer with the word "light" in the title.

I almost feel it's my duty to introduce and educate my friends about beer and with places like E Street, Kickbacks, Lomax, Publix... carrying a great variety it's becoming easier to do in FL, although we are severely behind other states in terms of small breweries.

[Beer Guru Jim]

@TPC:

We are behind in breweries, but not for long. Places like Bold City and Intuition in Jax and breweries such as Swamphead, Cigar City and St. Somewhere in other places are starting to put us on the map. Cigar City is one of the hottest and most sought after breweries in the U.S.A right now! I think you will see a lot more bars and hotels shifting to craft. I'm on the front-lines everyday trying to get businesses to expand their offerings and it seems like a lot of them know that they are behind the times.