Are Craft Breweries Selling Out?

Some folks at the Atlantic are afraid of what the future of craft brews are, especially as larger conglomerates get in the game (er, Killians is actually a Coors product, so they are already in the game). You can see the commentary here: Are Craft Breweries Selling Out? - Food - The Atlantic. My take? Let's only worry about this when the quality of the beer suffers. And I don't think this is going to happen, because the conglomerates know there is a market here that is willing to pay more for quality and is not the Bud or Coors Light kind of crowd. If we look at the whisky industry, especially in Scotland, we can see that there is significant room for optimism. On the one hand, a number of small producers and non-conglomerate partnerships are around and doing well (Glenfarclas is still family owned, Bruichladdich is doing well under independent ownership) and the conglomerates (Diageo, Suntory) know they mess with a good thing at their peril, especially these days when a much broader consumer market is sophisticated and well-informed.

My first sourdough rye

Inspired by the Kneading conference, I started my own rye sourdough this past week using Daniel Leader's recipe ("formula" in the trade). This is a transitional bread in the sense that it uses some commercial yeast in addition to the sourdough starter, which I think is a good way to test the waters. It turned out quite well, as you can see. Hopefully as the starter matures more I can get stronger flavors and some more rise out of it.

Visiting Bowmore

Picking a favorite is often an arbitrary thing. Why is that your favorite book or movie or place to go on vacation? And favorites are fickle things -- they can change so often, though some are fanatical in their choices and hold onto them like rabid dogs. My favorite Scotch is Bowmore, though why it is so is a difficult thing to explain. I often find myself reaching for another whisky. Ardbeg is bolder. Aberlour is often more refined. Highland Park's saltiness is heightened. But Bowmore somehow speaks to me in ways that others do not. It is not as peaty as Ardbeg, but it is not as mild as Bunnahabhain. But being in the middle does not make Bowmore boring by any stretch.

When we took our recent vacation to Scotland, number one on my list was a visit to this "favorite" of distilleries on School Street in downtown Bowmore on the island of Islay. I signed us up for the exclusive tour, which originally was designed for corporate clients, but has now been opened up to the general public to choose. This is no ordinary distillery tour, and the price tag is the first to tell you this. I gladly signed Leslie and I up for 40 GBP per person to spend what ended up being more than three glorious hours touring the distillery on a bright, sunny day, tasting two Bowmores straight from the barrel in the famous warehouse number 1, and relaxing with almost the full range (up to the 25 year old) overlooking the bay.

The highlight of the tour for me, though, was indeed trying two Bowmores straight from the cask (see picture below of the two drams). One was an 11 year old bourbon matured in Heaven Hill barrels, the other a 15 year old oloroso sherry butt matured Bowmore. The color difference is striking and shows the influence of the wood on not just the taste. As the warehouse manager, Ginger Willie, said -- it just tastes better straight from the barrel (and I don't think that's because it is pre-tax whisky!).
The Bowmore line-up is more than the standard Legend, 12, 15 and 18 year old one sees in most stores. Also available to taste were the Feis Isle bottlings from the last two years (an 8 year old Bordeaux-finished Bowmore that was very pleasant and sweet and a 9 year old bourbon and wine matured whisky that was not my favorite, respectively), a 16 year old wine-finish (a bit strange) a 21 year old port-pipe matured whisky that was phenomenal, the maltman's selection (also fantastic) and the 25 year old. Sadly (but not surprisingly), the Bowmore gold, white and black were not available for tasting.

Kneading Conference

A few months ago I received an email from King Arthur Flour announcing they were a sponsor of this year's Kneading Conference in Maine. I thought "that looks interesting" and promptly moved on to other things. After casually mentioning this conference, geared towards a diverse audience of home bakers, small businesses and farmers interested in raising artisanal wheats and other grains, to my wife, she encouraged me to go, and I am glad I did.

The conference probably had 100 to 150 participants of diverse backgrounds and interests, though my unscientific calculation estimated the majority were home bakers (very advanced ones, though). It combined keynote addresses (one on each day), lectures, and demonstrations. And there were some minor celebraties (bakers are not quite in the Mario Battali celebrity chef orbit, but everyone knows Jeffery Hamelman and Ciril Hitz who is truly interested in baking.

Jeffery Hamelman delivers a keynote address

Ciril Hitz demonstrates how to use a cooling wood-fired oven

I came away from the conference inspired to try new things, with some good tips on a variety of issues, such as what to do with all that sourdough starter rather than throw it away (thanks Dusty -- the pancakes were awesome!) and how to calculate to achieve the proper dough temperature.

Dusty Downs explains sourdough starters