Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The not quite official beer of the DNC

Ah, American opportunism. Charlotte will be seeing a lot of it in the next couple weeks as people take in the Democratic National Convention, one of the most important events our city will experience, and think: "How can I make a buck off that?"

That's not a bad thing in itself, although we're sure to see a couple entrepreneurial headshakers before the convention leaves town. There will be some gouging, but also some things that leave a not-so-bad taste. To that end, we bring you beer.

The folks at Kinston's Mother Earth Brewing have repackaged a popular brew in their lineup as a DNC collector's item. The brew is Endless River, and the bottle features a red, white and blue label that's very reminiscent of the Charlotte in 2012 logo. We're checking to see if Mother Earth founders and Kinston natives Trent Mooring and Stephen Hill got permission for the label. Let's just say for now that we hope the DNC's honchos aren't litigious types.

Your O-pinion blogger today also happens to review beers for the Observer. Is Endless River worth opening? It's a Kolsch-style beer, a light-bodied brew that's terrific for beer drinkers who haven't tried craft brews. Mother Earth has put together a solid version of the genre that has a backbone of sweet malts and finishes with a hint of citrus hops.

It's what craft beer drinkers call a "session beer" - light enough that you can have more than one as you ponder the important political questions of the day, such as "If Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were beers, what kind would they be?" (careful now, commenters) or perhaps "do I vote for the candidate who hasn't revived the economy or the candidate who hasn't offered a detailed plan to do so?"

Nah - too sobering. Just enjoy your beer.

Peter St. Onge

6 comments:

Bill said...

Mmmmmmm.....beer

NC28105 said...

Obama is a Frat Boy, we need a President

steve said...

Kolsch (should have an umlaut over the O) beers originate in the Cologne area of Germany--it is their regional-pride beer, and is a very clean-tasting, fresh beer. Not as sweet as a south-German lager nor as hoppy as most craft beers these days (thank god). Sounds like it is worth a try. If a REAL Kolsch beer, I hope it stays on the shelves longer than the last balloons drop from the rafters in TWC arena!

Anonymous said...

I think the official beer should be Ass Clown thats brewed in Cornelius.

Anonymous said...

FYI, the exclusive place to buy this beer in Charlotte is Brawley's on Park Rd....

Anonymous said...

I've never been much of a craft beer guy; I generally think every occasion is a good reason to crack open a Bud Light Lime. (Now that you've got me thinking about it, I think I'll pick one up on the way home.) But this particular beer sounds pretty good. And one of Obama's likeable qualities is that, in his own words, "I'm always up for a beer." I wish I was part of the beer summit. I would have enjoyed debating him over a cold one.

Hope you guys at the CO can confirm what beer the President ends up consuming while in town :-)