Friends in Fermentation
Greetings,
Once upon a time, a long time ago, yours truly was a journalist covering the beverage alcohol market. As associate editor of the beverage network, I covered the wine, spirits and beer market. I managed to secure that job after doing a number of assignments for the senior editor at that publication.
One of those assignments, a beer tasting event, was hosted by Kevin Zraley, who at that time was the head wine steward at Windows on the World in the World Trade Center, New York City. As I remember, it was a late afternoon in the spring of 1989. Representatives from ten or fifteen of the small breweries operating at the time were invited. First, there was a presentation on how to taste beer, the difference between beer and wine, and how both could be appreciated. After the presentation the members of the press corps had a chance to taste some of the beers. One of the beers that caught the attention of the press corps was a product from the Anchor Brewing Co. called “Liberty Ale.” At that time it was one of the most heavily hopped beers on the market. The owner of the Anchor Brewing Co., Fritz Maytag, was there to answer questions about his products.
Towards the end of the event, I had a chance to ask Maytag about some of his other products. One that I was particularly interested in was the products they called “Our Special Ale” first brewed in 1974 to celebrate his wedding. Ever since then it has been produced once a year for the winter season and is never the same each year. Ever since it was introduced, beer drinkers in the United States look forward to its release each year. It has a high enough alcohol content that it can be skipped for a number of years. If stored properly. Beer geeks have been known to spend hours discussing the differences between the different years. But I digress…
In the context of where we were I ask Fritz Maytag what I thought was an obvious question: “Would you say that this year’s “Our Special Ale” is more of a Bordeaux or a Burgundy?” As we compared the flavor profiles of those particular wines to his beer one of the other four or five journalists standing there listening to his response said, “We are here to talk about beer not wine.” Pausing for a moment, turning to look at the journalist, Maytag size him up and answered, “We are all friends in fermentation.”
Over the years I’ve had a chance to tell that story many times when people gathered to talk about beer or wine and food. I take great pleasure in recalling the above story.
Whenever the topic arises comparing the flavor profiles of beer and wine, and members of the two camps began to take up arms.
And so, when I am asked what I prefer beer or wine I always answer, “We are all friends in fermentation.”
Cheers!
Peter LaFrance.
( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com ).
