Inland Valley Voice- July 8, 2002

Los Angeles County Fair contest will tap into state's best brews August beer contest will feature 25 categories and be the latest companion to wine, olive oil competitions.

By Pam Noles, Inland Valley Voice

POMONA -- The Los Angeles County Fair, long known for its wine awards, will give beer lovers their due this year with the fair's first commercial beer competition, featuring the best of offerings from breweries throughout the state.

Judging for California Beers will take place at Fairplex Aug. 3-4. Winning entries among the 25 categories will be available for public tasting at the new beer garden during the run of the fair, Sept. 13-29.

The fair already plays host to the Wines of the World and Olive Oils of the World competitions. Don Van Valkenburg, chairman of the competition and self-described "beer advocate," said the beer event is as much about education and outreach as it is recognizing quality brews. Van Valkenburg, a home brewer for 20 years, ran a supply store and wrote about the craft for the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He is working with the California Fermentation Society to put together the fair's competition.

"There's a lot of different styles that the vast majority of the public aren't aware of," Van Valkenburg said. "That's what we're trying to do with the competition, expose the public to a large selection and quality of beers in California."

The first competition is limited to state brewers primarily because that's plenty to handle during a first outing, he said. According to the Assn. of Brewers, a Boulder, Colo.-based organization for professional and enthusiast brewers, there are 211 breweries in California.

The time has long come for a competition recognizing the diversity of beer and the work being done by craft beer and microbreweries, said John Solomon, owner of Liquorama, a shop and supply store in Upland. Solomon has been looking forward to the fair's inaugural beer event.

"It's a craft just like winemaking. It's just as much a food product as wine is," Solomon said. "There are so many different styles, just like wine, it can be judged in the same way."

When Stone Brewing Co., a brewer in San Marcos, releases a new and limited batch, Solomon said he gets calls from all over from people trying to reserve some for themselves.

 "People look for these things. They [specialty beers] have quite a following," he said. "And it's not inexpensive. People pay $5 for a bottle of beer."

Greg Koch, chief executive officer of Stone Brewing Co., said he plans to enter four creations into the competition, from a light pale ale to a hefty beer they've named Arrogant Bastard Ale, which has 7.2% alcohol, a hefty amount for a beer.  People who think there's little more to beer than what's popularly available in grocery stores and bars are missing out. "That's like comparing good cheese to Cheese Whiz," Koch said. "If you're comparing crafted beer to the guy with the biggest advertising budget, you're not going to get the fair barometer." Beer does deserve the same criteria and attention wine routinely receives, he said. "Wine is a wonderful beverage, but it's pretty simplistic," he said. "The flavor profiles are in a fairly limited range. This will get the hairs up on the neck of wine enthusiasts, but the reality is there's a fairly narrow range of flavor profiles in wine as compared with beer."

What Koch hopes comes from the competition, besides awards, is an introduction to California's varied beer stylings to the general public. "I hope the people that try beers that are new to them have good experiences," Koch said. "If anybody has a good experience, they'll continue to enjoy our products."

Van Valkenburg said judges will be chosen from among members of the Beer Judge Certification Program and experienced brewers. When they judge, they will nibble on crackers and bread like their wine judge counterparts, but unlike wine judges, they will not spit out the samples. "Part of the sensory part of beer is swallowing it," Valkenburg said. "The good thing about beer is it's half the alcohol of wine, so you're not really drinking much. The average beer is 5%. Wine is on the average 12% to 14%. And they only take very small sips."