21st Amendment--brewed in Memphis? A "drink local" dilemma

Not too terrible of a quandary since their beer isn't that good...

 

They're also contract brewing at City's "Blues City" brewery in Memphis (built by Schlitz, operated later by Stroh's and Coors).

 

Maybe the problem lies in the "buy local" line of thinking...

I hope you don't drink coffee from other countries, or orange juice in the winter that comes from Brazil, etc.

 

Nothing wrong with being aware of the footprint that your choices leave behind.

 

If the recipe can be faithfully reproduced what does it matter where its done? A great chef is still a great chef no matter where he cooks, a great painter can paint anywhere. Contract brewing makes great sense environmentally as it lessens the impact of transportation and delivers fresher product.

 

Except for the fact that all of our cans here in California, including the ones sold down the street from 21A, come from the Midwest.

It has nothing to do with 21A being environmentally conscious. It has everything to do with money.

 

You are correct about Sam Adams. Just did the brewery tour a couple days ago. Their Boston brewery is tiny, and only brews their hand-bottled beers (American Kriek, New World Triple, etc.). They also have breweries in Pennsylvania and somewhere else where they brew all other beers.

 

I guess I just never thought of 'drink local' in that respect. I 'drink local' to support local businesses and my friends. Now it just so happens that they are small local breweries, not widely distributed contract stuff, so two birds with one stone I guess.

 

The same recipe won't produce the same results when using different equipment. And the analogy of a great chef going to a different kitchen isn't really accurate: contract brewing usually means turning over the entire project to another brewery, not having your people brew the beer on another company's equipment. And when you hire people to do a job like that, you sometimes don't get the same care and attention to detail you would give it yourself. In the case of small breweries contracting relatively small orders from larger breweries, the chances of a subpar job go up.

This is not to say all contract beers are subpar. But I would say there are good reasons why many of us consider it a less than ideal practice.

 

Cincinnati is the other SA brewery. Wouldn't be shocked to see them expand westward in the next 5 years or so.

 

That'd be the former Schoenling brewery in Cincinnati, now technically known as the Samuel Adams Brewery Co. (I guess 'cause "Boston" didn't sound right in Ohio). Hudepohl-Schoenling had been one of BBC's contract-brewers when BBC bought the place in the mid-90's. It was also one of several Ohio breweries where Jim Koch's father had brewed professionally.

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Mlucky said, "The same recipe won't produce the same results when using different equipment"
I think you may get an argument from the three biggest producers of beer out there plus Sierra Nevada and others. I defy anyone to accurately pinpoint where their Bud came from. And I'm very sure that a brewer worth his salt can reproduce a perfected recipe well within the normal batch variation.

 

This is something to pay attention to, but judging by how awesome my last 4 pack of Hops Crisis was, QC doesn't seem to be a problem.

 

I'm still mad nobody bought Monk's Blood and I can't have it anymore.

 

To add my $.02, the reason that pizza is supposedly better in NYC is because of the water. Well, since water is the base ingredient in brewing, it would follow that if the water is different, the beer will be different, no matter how you try to filter it to make it consistent. The difference may only be discernable to an expert, but there would be a difference.

 

A brewery like AB or a Sierra Nevada can adjust the water.

Sierra Nevada chose to locate the 2nd brewery near Asheville for many reasons, one was for the water quality. They will have water with low mineral content, and it should be easy for them to adjust.

Some breweries use RO water and adjust with salts (FW) or blend with the tap water (Stone).

I would bet good money that when you walk into an AB brewery, the equipment would be the same as the last one you walked into.

As Sierra Nevada builds the second brewery, you could bet good money that they will have a Huppmann manufactured brew house to be consistant with Chico.

Having the same equipment makes the job easier. They will also use the same processes on that equipment.

 

It's much easier to stay consistent when a single brewery has the technology and equipment budget of all the smaller guys combined.

Regarding the water: Budweiser breweries take tap water and strip it of chemicals and minerals (via filtration.) They then add their own minerals which can be easily measured to get the same base water used by all of their plants. This same technology is used by other breweries like Deschutes, so it really doesn't matter much where the water comes from.