Traditionally, with February, comes my Valentines column. This column typically features my wife and her journey into the world of better beers. This year I have a huge revelation, my wife really doesn’t care that much about beer.
That leaves me without my muse for this column. I could write about other things I love… my family, my kids, I have always loved music and love playing the guitar. I love my dogs, although maybe not quite as much as DMX. I also love America! When I reach deep down in my heart to see what really makes it pump, I realize I love being Black! What better month to delve into my blackness than February – Black History Month?
I know there are a few of you settling-in for a column about Malt Liquor, but this isn’t the case. Black culture and beer goes way back deeper than modern pop culture. To go back to the connection between the black man and his beer we have to go back to Africa, where the black man first invented beer.
I’m sure a lot of heads just got scratched in wonder. You said to yourselves, “The black man invented beer? I thought beer was invented by the Germans or the English?” Well you are way off my friend. Historians trace beer back to ancient Egypt. More head scratching? No, Egypt is NOT in the Middle East. Egypt is the northern-most country in Africa. I know Hollywood would lead you to believe Cleopatra looked like Elizabeth Taylor, but trust me, Lena Horne should have been cast for that part. There are a lot more people in that part of the world that look like Halle Berry than Angelina Jolie… I don’t care how many little black kids she adopts and how much ass fat she pumps into her lips. She is never going to be the Nubian Queen Cleopatra. There are more shockers to come, but first let’s deal with the birth of beer.
Beer was believed to have been introduced to the Africans around 2020 B.C. by the God Of The Dead – Osiris. How fitting is that? No, not Bacchus the Roman god of libations, Osiris! The earliest beers tasted nothing like the beers that we are used to drinking. These hopless beers resembled meads more that beer. One recipe that was recovered from ancient times is Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch. You would be put to task to find Midas Touch or any other craft beer in any package store in a black neighborhood. It seems these days the black marketshare is gobbled up by Heineken, Alize and various Champagne and Cognac companies. You would think the inventors of the nectar we call beer would have more beers marketed to their culture.
So now we know the Africans were the first, but here comes shocker number two… Anheuser-Busch is obviously the largest brewer in the world, but do you know who number two is? Yep, you guessed it, it is an African company, SABMiller! SAB (South African Brewing) was founded in Johannesburg South Africa in 1886. In 2002 SAB acquired 100% of Miller Brewing Company and changed its name to SABMiller. Looks like Kurt Busch is driving all over the country in an African company’s car! Wait a second… did you hear that? It was the sound of Kurt Busch posters being torn down from trailer walls all over Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama.
I guess I shouldn’t have outed Kurt, now he will never win another race. When the Daytona cops find out about the African connection they will pull him over every 3 laps to make sure he isn’t black. Miller did their homework though. The South African company slapped the Lite logo on their race car and not the flagship beer they push in the black communities, Olde English 800 Malt Liquor. Can you imaging Kurt going around the track in the Olde English car? I think Miller should let Xzibit and his crew pimp Kurt’s ride. It’s time for Kurt to make it real and represent. Gold spokes and all!
So are you ready for shocker number 3?
The best Guinness Stout is made in Africa. The Irish can still lay claim to their beloved Guinness, that is one company SAB hasn’t bought yet. Guinness does make a product that is only for sale in Asia, Africa and The Caribbean called Guinness Foreign Extra Stout . The trade routes in these countries were very slow and to insure the Stout will still be fresh when it arrived, the malt was kicked up a bit giving the beer a 7.5% ABV vs 5% abv we get in the states. The beer no longer needs to travel the slow trade routes seeing it is brewed in Guinness’ Nigerian Brewery but still the recipe remains the same… that big beautiful 7.5% stout. I strongly suggest looking for it the next time you are on vacation in the islands or are in Pango Pango adopting a child with Angelina Jolie and her lips.
Angelina’s lips and mouth have done nothing for the African American community and its battles with beer companies, but one mouth that roared was Public Enemy rapper Chuck D. Chuck took on the beer companies in the 90’s for “poisoning” the black community. He stressed that the young black man, if they were to drink, should “drink what the white boys drink.” The Wayans brothers took it one step further in their movie “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood” by naming the premier brew in the movie St. Dies and modeled the logo after St. Ides. malt liquor.
A marketing person from a brewery recently asked me why I thought the market for malt liquor was so lucrative for blacks while the craft beer market hasn’t made a scratch in the black community. I thought about it for a second and it came to me clear as a bell. The answer was so simple I had to laugh… the reason the black community isn’t buying craft beers is the craft brewers are not selling then to them. I don’t think many marketing dollars are being spent to advertise Red Hook or Saranac in Compton or Newark. Conversely, tons of monies are being spent to vend the wares of brewers that will sell high gravity adjunct-pumped crazy juice into the hood. People will buy what you sell them.
If you put Kurt Busch’s face on a 40 oz. bottle of Olde English 800 with a chance to win a NASCAR jacket, OE800 would become the biggest seller in Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama overnight. If Stone Brewing had G-Unit drinking Ruination or Arrogant Bastard on BET, every beer drinking young black man in America would have to at least try that beer. I think I smell an opportunity… someone from Stone give me a call. Until then, all I can say to the beer companies is if you sell it, they will come. What a huge untapped market the microbreweries are letting go to waste.
This month’s picks for the “black” market are:
Dogfish Head Fort – One drink that is a perennial in the black community is Alizé. Alizé is a concoction of fruit juices and cognac that tips the scales at about 16- 20% ABV. DFH’s Fort is the world’s strongest fruit beer tipping the charts at 18% ABV. Although it has nothing outside of being infused with fruit and sharing a common ABV, this beer still could possibly chip awat at some of Aliza’s market share. The beer pours a light raspberry color with a tiny white head. The aroma is of Raspberries with additional fruit aromas, definitely strawberry, and a touch of citrus. There is also a huge alcohol presence in the aroma along with tones of various grains. The mouthfeel is heavy and thick with a nice warming of alcohol on the palette. As the beer finishes, you can taste the yeast that was used to pump this beer up to 18% and there is a slight doughy flavor.
Commercial description: Limited Release Date: December 2006. A strong ale brewed with a ridiculous amount of pureed raspberries (over a ton of em!).
Sam Adams Utopias – I would guess the style of this beer is Barley Wine, but it is more like a cognac. I am not a cognac fan, but this stuff is great. I spent a good 5 to 10 minutes just taking in the aroma. It has a strong butterscotch aroma with hints of port and smoke and cask wood. It has a light syrupy finish on the palette with a very strong alcohol finish.
Commercial Description: Truly the epitome of brewing’s two thousand year evolution, Samuel Adams Utopias offers a flavor not just unlike any other beer but unlike any other beverage in the world. Its warm, sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel. Our 2003 batch topped out at a record breaking 25.6% ABV, beating the records that Samuel Adams Triple Bock and Samuel Adams Millennium had set before it. And like those groundbreaking brews, Samuel Adams Utopias is not carbonated and should be served at room temperature. In one of many examples where Samuel Adams Utopias pushed the boundaries of beer, it received the highest recommendation (96-100 points) from the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Magazine (November, 2003 edition). Due to legal restrictions, Samuel Adams Utopias can not be sold in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.
Duvel – There is a lot of champagne that gets popped in black nightclubs. This beer would be a great inexpensive alternative. Duvel’s caged corked bottles and 8.5% ABV lets anyone know they are not drinking SAB Miller’s Champagne of beers. They are drinking something truly special. The main complaint I see over and over about this beer from beer geeks is that it is too much like Champagne.
Commercial Description: Four generations of the Moortgat family have brought together Pilsner malts, Bohemian hops, and a unique yeast strain to create this intense, aromatic and beguiling ale. This Belgian favorite is best enjoyed chilled (40 – 50 F) with discerning friends or good-looking strangers.
And the number one pick is…
Bluepoint Toasted Lager – How Heineken keeps the market share they do amazes me considering there are so many far superior lagers on the market like Blue Point Brewing’s Toasted Lager. This beer has a rich golden color with a fluffy with head. The aroma is of lighty toasted grain and a touch of hops.
Commercial Description: Blue Point Brewing’s Toasted Lager is our flagship product. Copper in color this brew is made from Six different malts including: English Pale, Crystal, Munich, Carapils, Wheat and Belgian Caravienna. Toasted Lager displays a balanced flavor of malt and hop which makes it easy drinking. Special lager yeast is used to produce that long lasting, smooth finish. The “toasted” part of the name refers to our direct-fire brew kettle; hot flames imparts a toasted flavor to our most popular microbrew.
