Negative capability

It looks like the take-over of Anheuser-Busch by Belgo-Brazilian InBev is going forward: the Stella Artois producer made Budweiser an offer it couldn't refuse ($70 a share, I've read). It's a Bid Deal: more than $50 Billion, all told. Another sign o' the times: globalization, of course; standardization and homogenization of the world beverage industry; the declining value of the dollar; the difficulty of keeping a company "in the family" for generation after generation.

In spite of having lived in St. Louis, I've never liked Budweiser products. Indeed, as a History Major at Wash U, I went to classes in Busch Hall. But I didn't drink beer at all until I was a college senior, when I spent a Year-Abroad on an exchange-program in England (UEA, in NARRR-itch). I owe it all (my beer taste buds, I mean) to those good guys in Waveney Terrace: Richard, Tim, John, Alan and Steve. In those halycon days, you could get a good pint of Adnams bitter for 60p. Oh, those were the days, my friend. When I returned to the states, rice-water just didn't do it for me. And it still doesn't. You won't find Busch products in my fridge. (Sorry OIC, but if you drop by there's a good party store just down the street from me.)

Speaking of declining America: I read an interesting piece yesterday in the "Financial Times" about General Motors. Although it's still a Big Company, and actually is still selling more vehicles in the United States than any other (at least the Prius shortage is sorted out), most investors (Wall Street money people) don't see much of a future in Detroit. The market value of Toyota - as measured by the value of its Stock - is 25 times greater than that of General Motors. Actually, as noted by the FT, the toy-maker Mattel has a greater stock value than GM! (I wonder if the Matchbox cars that I used to collect as a child are worth anything these days.)

I know that "world series" is not a good translation, but nonetheless it expresses a truth about the "Mondial de la bière" which I attended yesterday, at the "Gare Windsor" here in Montreal. My conference being over, I came down here on Saturday with the goal of educating myself about the Quebec brewing industry. How wonderful (from a research perspective) that I happened to arrive just in time for this celebratory festival.

For those of you who have not yet been to a "world class beer event" such as Montreal's, the procedure is this. Admission (happily) was free. On the site, I purchased "the special commemorative beer glass" and a number of coupons. At each of the brewer's booths, one would exchange a certain number of coupons (usually two or three) for a "pull" (a four or five ounce sample) of a selected brew. Thoughtfully, the festival provided "washing stations" where you could rinse out the dregs of the finished glass before filling it with another beer. As a good beer student, I took notes about each of the beers that I tried, commenting upon their texture, hoppiness, presence of malty or fruity flavoring, aroma, "netting," and aftertaste. For the record, these are the five beers that I experienced, in rank order of my preference, from least to most favored:

5) "Ch'ti Blonde, "from the Brasserie Castelain in French Flanders
4) "Hidegard Blonde Reserve," from the Brasserie St. Germain, in Pas-de-Calais - named after Hildegard of Bingen!
3) the "Griffon Rousse," from the McAusalan Brewery here in Montreal
2) another Belgian Blonde from a newly opened Montreal brewery, "Brasseurs de Montreal"
1) my favorite: "La Garce" - a "double" in the Belgian style from "Maitre Brasseur" in Laval QC

It should be noted that both of the French beers I sampled came out of the bottle - I don't know what I was thinking, as any proper beer snob can tell you that draft beer is almost always better, and fresher.

I happened to meet one of the lead brewers for the new "Brasseurs de Montreal," an improbably young "Anglo" chap, originally from Nova Scotia, but seemingly determined to be the next Duddy Kravitz. We shared beer talk for a while, commiserating about the worldwide hop shortage, but sharing our conviction that the best small brewers will somehow survive - without being bought out by the Conglomerated MegaBrewers like MolsonCoors or InBev. It's always nice to meet someone with passion! I also tapped him for advice about the best beer bars here. He expertly directed me to "Dieu du Ciel," a great little hole-in-the-wall tavern up in the Plateau neighborhood. (Yes, indeed: the locals usually know best!) Since it was just two Metro stops from my hotel, I paid it a visit, and found it to live up to the recommendation. Unfortunately, I was famished, and the very limited food menu just wasn't going to do it for me, so I only had one beer, an IPA, with "Dieu." It was outstanding, and made me want more. So it is defintely settled - I have to return to Montreal.

On my way to Kansas, I stopped overnight in the capital of Iowa and spent the night at a comfy Marriot - at a great rate thanks to Priceline. Downtown Des Moines is bigger than you'd think, and there was plenty to do to keep me diverted. I particularly enjoyed a visit to a local tavern, "El Bait Shop," which prides itself on having the largest selection of draft microbrews in the entire state. I explored the wonderful world of Rogue Ales, which originate in the hoppy haven of Oregon. Their legendary Shakespeare Stout was intensely rich and mellifluous, while the newly brewed IP2A packed a Belgian-style punch amidst a hint of honey flavoring. The bartender told me that it was 9.5% alcohol content, so probably just as well that it was served in a smaller glass! El Bait Shop is a pleasant place for quaffing, and the crowd is quite friendly. I found a chatty group of Iowa people who told me about the excitement when the entire world came to Des Moines in January to report upon their primary election campaign. I even met a young investment banker who bought me a few beers and talked about theology and accounting practices. (Who knew that there were young investment bankers in Des Moines!) If you ever find yourself in central Iowa and are desirous of good conversation, I recommend getting over to El Bait Shop and meeting the locals over a brew or two.
http://www.elbaitshop.com/

A lovely Indian Summer day, and I indulged in some welcome late-afternoon lotus-eating, down at the lower harbor, and at Terry's Pub, where I sampled the latest batch of his crisp pale ale. I approve: he's toned down the hoppiness. What with three new downtown restaurants opening up this fall in the next month or so, Terry's going to have some fresh competition - but he still seems to have the corner on the fresh (and good) beer market. Last night, Jimmy the Greek and I went to see the FRT show, "Harvey." So now we know what's a pooka! I liked Little Ben in the lead role, especially his delivery of my favorite line: "Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant."

I don't know if I'll be going out this weekend. The GGG seems to have come to a quiet end. A lot of my "social set" from last year have moved on. Justin has left for New York City; he didn't get admitted to grad school, so he's hanging out in Brooklyn while he figures out what to do next. Rob moved back to Florida, which I knew was in the cards, but I'm a little miffed that he left Dodge without bothering to say his farewells. Nashini's been in Cape Town; she's on sabbatical this year so I haven't seen anything of her since the spring. But the good news is that she's coming back to Iron Harbor for a few weeks to catch up on her mail. And I'm planning a big lasagna dinner for her when she gets back.

While in Kansas City I met up with friends Martina and Don. They are gifted with "savoir vivre" - the art of living - and it's infectious! We lunched at J.J.'s on the Plaza - a place whose wine list has won the "Grand Award" from the "Wine Spectator" magazine. Certainly one of the longest I've ever seen - not to mention pricy. Lots in the $100 to $400 range. (1600 varieties of wine, 33,000 bottles is what they claim on their webpage.) Fortunately, when it my turn to pick a bottle for our table, I was able to find a Mendocino County Pinot Noir that was an excellent value at $30.

http://www.jjs-restaurant.com/



We lingered over our meals, coffee and dessert. (It was an excellent day for lingering.) After lunch, we went over to the 75th Street Brewery. Don wanted me to have a glass of their cask-conditioned pale ale. I'm not sure why the photo of the ale makes it look like a stout; the color was more like amber. But the picture does capture the delectable frothy head. Cask conditioned really is better!

http://www.360kc.com/Restaurants/75thStreetBrewery.html