Tom Ciccateri

Philosophically - beer is my guiding light It continues to lead me to a richer and more enjoyable life. My beer drinking evolution began back when the draft-age matched the legal drinking age. My teenage discovery of beer tended to emphasize quantity over quality. A military assignment to then West Germany led to a further discovery of beers rich in flavor and cultural history. Each visit to another European town, region, and country brought new beers to try and flavors to experience. The product of the American public school system, I was linguistically disadvantaged for engaging in cultural discussions with the Europeans. Beer became the lingua franca. This common beverage, or beverage of commoners, opened the door to conversations about history, culture, and even current politics with those I met throughout Western Europe. My quest became the first-hand sampling of beers far and wide, from small towns like Dachau (Dachauer Bier) to large ones like Frankfurt (Binding), and from the far reaches of the North Sea in Scotland (Belhaven), to the beaches of the Mediterranean in Palma de Mallorca (Estrella). Beer opened my eyes to the world, and Europe opened my eyes to beer.

Evolution through beermaking Returning to the U.S., I chose to settle in Northern California. This proved fortuitous, as the American microbrewing revolution was beginning in this very region. My domestic quest for flavorful beer led to the discovery of homebrewing. As luck would have it, the local club was the Sonoma County Beerocrats, the longest reigning Club of the Year with the American Homebrewers Association. Tasting the full-flavored beers of members like Paddy Giffen and hearing technical talks from Byron Burch and Nancy Vineyard, I became convinced I should make my own beer. Relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico, I immediately researched the homebrewing scene and discovered the Dukes of Ale club just forming. I began participating in club events, structured tastings, beer judging classes, group brews, and State Fair beer judgings. As I learned about beer styles and recipe formulation, I put theory to practice by brewing extract beers on my stovetop and rapidly advanced to all-grain brewing on a homebuilt half-barrel system. Attention to detail paid off as I was rewarded repeatedly with ribbons at club and State Fair competitions. Brewing alone or with friends became a common weekend experience, so often that I would quickly reach my annual 100-gallon ATF limit and be forced to formally "adopt" fellow club members to qualify for the annual 200-gallon "head of household" limit. With a continuing desire to experience more of the world of beer, I began to seek out the craft beers appearing around the U.S. As I traveled and sampled, I took notes and shared my experiences with others through articles in the club newsletter. With encouragement from fellow club homebrewers and well-respected professional brewers like Brad Kraus, I submitted articles to the trade press, hoping my experiences would encourage others to seek out quality beers and help the industry grow. For the Southwest Brewing News I covered regional beer festivals and new brewpub openings, striving to convey the type of beer experience others might enjoy were they to visit these establishments and festivals. For the Celebrator Beer News and its diverse audience, I recounted aspects of the beer scene quietly taking place in off-the-beaten-path locales such as Salida, Colorado; Belize, Central America; and Moscow, Russia. This widespread exposure motivated me to look for greater avenues to share not only my written descriptions of where to find good beer but my photos and images of the places and the people behind the beer.

The World-Wide Web offered just the medium to share my beer drinking experiences - with the whole planet! Just as my hand-written HTML files were about to overflow their home on the local Internet Service Provider, luck drove into town in an oversized motorcoach. It was Mark Silva, beer visionary and co-founder of the Real Beer Page. Silva shared his vision for bringing the world of craft beer to the masses and I described my desire for sharing aspects of the world of beer as seen through the eyes (and glasses) of a beer drinker. An association was formed that continues to this day in the form of the New Mexico Virtual Brewpub. At the end of 2004, my Website will contain more than 580 reviews and 850-plus accompanying photos from my beer tasting at festivals, breweries, brewpubs, and bars. Because beer drinking in the U.S. is a privilege, not a right, I also offer a News & Politics section where I share information on political and legal developments that could threaten beer drinkers. I believe the 21st century is the Information Age and beer drinkers must use all means at their disposal to ensure they can obtain the beers that they want to drink.

It’s about the beer. In my adopted role as “beer archeologist” I will continue to seek out beers of distinction before they succumb to 21st-century market forces and fade from existence, with us in memory only.

• Ireland – Tours of the traditional, Guinness and Beamish, and of the upstart craft breweries. One new micro, two brewpubs, 20 new beers and four centuries of brewing history.
• Great Northeast Beer Festival – One-stop tasting for top East Coast brews in Providence. 24 new brews, including some great seasonals that don’t travel far.
• Capitol City Oktoberfest – DC is not Munich, but this street venue allowed local micros and brewpubs to show off their latest fest beers surrounded by aromas of roasting brats and the sounds of classic Bavarian beerdrinking songs. Only 4 new beers, but a great crowd that showed its appreciation of good beers.
• World of Beer – The Durham Bulls would be proud to have their old stadium put to such good use. From brewpubs throughout the Southeast, required two sessions to take in 30+ new beers and meet the brewers.
• Old Dominion Beer Festival – Virginia’s top micro hosted two days of outdoor sun & suds. 22 new beers from Mid-Atlantic craft breweries both small and large.
• Arizona Strong Ale Festival – A dozen new big brews from some favorite Southwest breweries.
• Mondial de la Bière - The ambiance and beer styles of Europe - just across the border! One new Québec brewpub, 2 new Adirondack brewpubs and 30 new beers tasted. One painful border crossing (return).
• Italy – The challenge, to discover craft beer in the land of wines. Success! Milano and Torino are now home to three new brewpubs and 20 new beers. Like stepping back into the 80’s and the birth of American brewpubs.
• Real Ale Fest - With over 100 cask-conditioned and 50 bottle-conditioned beers. 42 new “real beers” tasted.
• Helsinki Beer Festival – Fantastic sampling of Baltic brews along with retracing Viking beer tasting steps through Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallin ( Estonia). One new micro, two new Sahti breweries, two new brewpubs, 65 new beers and three new languages!
• Great Arizona Beer Festival - First outdoor festival of the season, with lagers, ales, palm trees, and 100 breweries. One new brewpub and 33 new beers tasted.
• Brews & Blues Cruise – Great beers on board with a live band, navigating the Chicago River and Lake Michigan lake shore under the light of the moon and fireworks. An impressive way to enjoy quality beer.
• Great Taste of the Midwest - About 400 beers, but five hours offers only time enough to do justice sampling 40 to 50, when you have the friendly and knowledgeable brewer himself/herself doing the pouring. 2 new Iowa brewpubs along the way and 35 new beers under the tents.
• Hop in the City – 34 house brews from the previous production year at Schlafly Brewing, a model event to be emulated by any small brewpub. One new micro and 10 new beers from St. Louis’ 2 nd largest brewery.
• Great American Beer Festival - One new Boulder micro and 75 new beers. Still the “must do” commercial event for American craft brewers. A combination of Survivor and Temptation Island for the adventurous beer hunter. My inner “Indiana Jones - beer archeologist” surfaces each year at the Falling Rock Tap Room.
• Czech Republic – As Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser Budvar go mainstream, there remain the lasting few to offer us unfiltered, unpasteurized pilsner-style beers. Pivovar Eggenberg, in the shadow of the Č esk ý Krumlov castle, is one such treasure. Its tradition from 1560 continues, as do its rich Bohemian brews. Pivovar Krušovice’s innovative “tanknova” approach brings unfiltered beer in complete mini-serving vessels from the brewery straight to the pub or restaurant. Two new breweries, three new brewpubs and 25 new beers.

Foreign beer discoveries often involve the greatest adventure and reward. I found that some great lager beers from Baltika Brewery in St. Petersburg could be found on tap in the Siberian town of Novosibirsk. On the Caribbean island of Curaçao, laborers sweat to put Amstel Light and the non-alcoholic Malta into tiny nine-ounce bottles. In this region, I discovered that Americans' access to fresh draught beers is far from the norm. I learned not to judge a country, or its beers, by the fact they were available only in bottles. Very appropriate in their own settings were Belikin Stout (Belize), Imperial and Pilzen (Costa Rica), XXX (Mexico), and Salva Vida (Honduras). Europe still offers consistently pleasant surprises. With a well-documented brewing history going back more than half a millennium, there are still cities that offer the beer archeologist an opportunity to venture under present day streets and discover where and how beer was made centuries ago. My favorites include Plzen, Czech Republic and Antwerp, Belgium. It makes the journey worthwhile when you realize you have just tasted a Pilsner Urquell straight from its wooden lagering vessel, or popped the cork on a dusty bottle of Hansen's Gueuze retrieved from a stone cavern beneath the floor of a Medieval-style corner bar.

Regardless of the beer-drinking venue, I strive to come home with lasting momentos ("memorabeerlia") of the beers. In the queue for digitization and display on the Web are my collections of beer coasters, t-shirts, growler logos, menus, matchbooks, bottle labels, bottle caps, and photos. As a reminder of my experiences, I turn the unique bottle caps into decorative magnets that make my refrigerator a "kitchenplace beer work-of-art."

For 2005, I plan to continue to support the fine beer diners and guest brewer events offered by local craft beer establishments. It’s up to us beerdrinkers to do our part to ensure the beers we enjoy continue to be available in our volatile political and economic environments.

Summary of beer tasting and beer appreciation activities: