Is the Craft Beer Rocket Ride Fizzling Out?

Craft beer is still growing as a segment of the total beer industry. Like wineries, there is a craft beer brewery in all 50 states. Craft brewing, as a category in the alcohol beverages industry, has only been around for approximately four decades; however, there is no specific event to delineate an official genesis of the industry. In 1859 the Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco started brewing operations. Unfortunately, until 1965 the company had a sordid history of financial failures in making fine beer. However, since 1965 it has a stellar record of success and is now recognized as America’s first craft beer brewer.

Despite the growth in breweries, the craft beer industry is experiencing significant issues. For example: constantly changing consumer trends; rapid industry expansion; growth in product offerings (this includes new products such as hard cider); distribution restrictions; response to market trends; and, imports. However, in December the new tax law took effect and should free up capital to fund expansion and marketing programs without incurring debt. “CMBTRA (Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act-2017) as part of the new tax bill is cutting the excise tax bill in half for the nations small brewers,” reports Bart Watson-Chief Economist for the Brewers Association. That’s a decent chunk of capital for reinvestment. “There are benefits for wine/spirits producers as well.” Continue reading “Is the Craft Beer Rocket Ride Fizzling Out?”

Hooray for Jackie Robinson! Activism and Volunteering

Hooray for Jackie Robinson!

Activism and Volunteering

Not being reactive is not being passive. It’s not a kind

of stupidity, holding back or being uninterested, removing

oneself from the world. Real equanimity isn’t indifference.

It’s the capacity to be present with your whole being and

not add fuel to the fire.–Jack Kornfield

I had my first taste of “activism”–terribly naïve, but well-intentioned–when I wrote letters to “Dear Chairman Mao Tse-Tung,” the first on May 23, 1956, as well as letters in support of the Civil Rights Movement which absolutely captivated the attention of a few of my grammar school teachers, nuns, who gave me books to read. It was the year of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. I was 12 years old, living far away in Norwalk, Connecticut. Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s organization solicited letters of support from many churches, including our Catholic church. A few nuns were very active in asking for letters of support, but only from those who really believed in the cause. I learned so much from their attitude of not imposing their activism on others. Several of us jumped at the chance in addition to write letters to China to ask for the release of innocent prisoners. The nuns knew that letters had to be respectful but very definite in listing the names of the prisoners & stating in the opening that China’s government passed the deadline promised to release the prisoners. Then the rest of the letter appears to just kiss Chairman Mao’s ass, but maybe that is just diplomacy. The nuns encouraged us to write something original and brief. We wrote the letters very carefully in pen. Continue reading “Hooray for Jackie Robinson! Activism and Volunteering”

Wine Selecting Tips – Basic Advice on Choosing a Wine at Dinner

Wine has played a kingly role in the history of the world.

People have drunk it in majestic rituals and it has lived in the palace cellars. It has survived through the medieval times and has been used by the priests to cleanse the body and cure devotees their common maladies. Whereas it used to be enjoyed only by kings and noblemen, today wine is ubiquitously consumed by people all over the world. A buffet or a fine dining experience will not go well without a Chardonnay, for instance. Most people drink wine to loosen themselves up, after a hard day’s work. Others imbibe wine as a form of epicurean art.

A meal will always be more enjoyable if paired with a great tasting wine. Continue reading “Wine Selecting Tips – Basic Advice on Choosing a Wine at Dinner”

Warehouse Artist Studios

An artist/bohemian type working for themselves is perceived in a variety of ways by the general public. A lot of the perception has to do with a combination of the artist’s cashflow and apparel strategy, as opposed to the stirrings of their soul. Strangely, as a young man, people often saw me as a responsible, solid guy. Ha!

In the early eighties I ran my screen printing operation out of a funky old warehouse by the railroad tracks in Eugene, Oregon. Enormous pastry and coffee in hand, I’d get to my shop a bit past nine and dig in for the day. Usually I’d run out of work between 1:00 and 3:00 pm, leaving the rest of the day to run, draw comics and hang out.

Being that the economy had had the shit kicked out of it just then, I was moderately proud that I’d been able to scape up enough business to keep a roof over my head… ultimately I turned enough of a profit to embark on my checkered career publishing my own wacky comic books, but that’s not the subject of this rant. Continue reading “Warehouse Artist Studios”

Ice Size Matters When It Comes To Tasty Cocktails

When it comes to ice size really does matter. Size, density and ice clarity are the intangible part of any good cocktail recipe. The shape and size can impart the proper dilution and chill that make a cocktail better tasting than one made using the same recipe but inferior ice. Large cubes especially ice spheres brought about by the resurgence of classic cocktails are all the rage at the high-end cocktail bars. So the simple question is why not take your home cocktail experience to the next level.

Large cubes or ice spheres will melt slower than traditional ice. This is great news for cocktail enthusiasts who not only want to showcase the perfect marriage of flavors but also are keen to present their creation elegantly. If you are a Scotch drinker and enjoy your Scotch on the rocks the last thing you want to do is use small ice that will turn 20+ years of cask aging into a diluted icy slush. Continue reading “Ice Size Matters When It Comes To Tasty Cocktails”

Culture Shock in Public Restrooms – Oaxaca, Mexico

Oaxaca is a haven in many rights… beautiful valleys, delicious food, exciting tours, ancient Zapotec ruins, colorful traditions and warm, friendly people… but eventually you’re gonna need to go to the bathroom!

Now if you are in places that cater to international tourism, there is no culture shock involved when you 1 and 2. You go to the bathroom like you would in any other place in the states, the only difference being the little figures usually used to distinguish between the men’s room and the ladies room are a sombrero and a traditional dress, (not always in that order). Yet, if you’re in Oaxaca, then you are most likely looking to experience the real Mexico. If it weren’t so, you would go to a place like Cancun or Acapulco where everyone speaks English and you can pay in dollars. But if you’re going to be here in Oaxaca, you gotta accept the “trabas“, (the obstacles), here. Let me tell you a little story: Continue reading “Culture Shock in Public Restrooms – Oaxaca, Mexico”

Craft Beer History Is Impressive

Ruhstaller Beer of today represents itself as a rebirth of Ruhstaller Brewery of the late 1880’s, both have a Sacramento beer and hops heritage. But the similarities continue between past and present with the strong commitment to locally sourced ingredients and quality. Today’s Ruhstaller’s has a California sourced ingredient list which almost exclusively showcases California sources. Ruhstaller Brewery of the past was also a highly regarded local ingredient brewery for several decades starting just after the California Gold Rush era (1849-1855) and had its demise due to Prohibition-1920 to1933.

Captain Frank Ruhstaller came to America at 15 years old, arriving in Sacramento in 1865. In Sacramento he started work in breweries and a few years later he bought his first brewery. Upon his death in 1907 the local newspaper wrote in his obituary- “Undoubtedly no death has ever caused more regret in this city than did that of Captain Frank J. Ruhstaller.” He was a loved gentleman by all accounts. Continue reading “Craft Beer History Is Impressive”

Introducing Single Malt Whiskey From India – A Connoisseurs Delight

Single Malt
A whiskey is a refined form of alcohol. It has many layers of class but the classiest of the lot is single malt. What is single malt? It is a whiskey that is first distilled and is the purest form of alcohol. It is supposed to have a special taste and connoisseurs who have savored whiskey will look for anything further than this.

Single malt whiskey is normally the preserve of Scotland and some famous names like Glenlivet, Glen Morangie, and Glen Grant come to mind. Single malt was not made in India though IMFL( Indian made foreign liquor) is manufactured with some good brands like Peter Scott, Antiquity doing the rounds. Indian companies also collaborate with Scotland based companies and bottle lower range of scotch whiskey like 100 pipers, Black dog, Old Smuggler, Vat 60 etc.and Indian made lower end scotch being the fare. Continue reading “Introducing Single Malt Whiskey From India – A Connoisseurs Delight”

Growing Up With Cards and Games

Summer and games go together for me.

When I was a child, my family had a cottage on a small lake in Northern Minnesota. It lacked both electricity and plumbing which was fine with me; I liked the feeling of camping but still having a comfortable bed to sleep in at night. The only drawback was an outhouse that was half a block from the cottage and not a fun trip at night. My mother solved this by creating a “honey pot” that we all used at night and one of us emptied in the morning (although I suspect my mother ended up with the job most often).

In the evening, our light came from kerosene lamps and a large brick fireplace. After my father, mother, brother and I came in from evening fishing (or on a rainy day), we played card games in front of the fireplace; kerosene lamps hanging overhead to light the small table in the middle. We played gin rummy, 500 rummy and schmier, a game that I remember as being a little like bridge. (If anyone knows how to play smear, please contact me because I need a tutorial!) I especially loved gin rummy and won more than my share of games but I usually couldn’t beat my father. Looking back, I’m not certain which was better; the card games or the quiet evenings with family. However, I grew up treasuring both. Continue reading “Growing Up With Cards and Games”

Your Health Going Forward

So, is this you today??? Or this???

OK! So You’re not 25 (or even close?) Anymore

So what do you do about it?

Sit back in your chair and just accept you’re getting older? Nothing you can do about that anyway (shrug) right?

Or! – Make each day Count!

Fine! – And how the heck do we do that??

This, and similar thoughts have been niggling at the back of my mins for some time and I am finding it harder and harder to sit back and wait for old age and – gulp – death to take over. Like I read people tended to do way back when. Continue reading “Your Health Going Forward”