Travel Channel star offers tips to aspiring chefs during Joplin visit

There are two questions Anthony Bourdain asks himself when deciding where to go and what to feature on “No Reservations,” his food and travel show.
“If we’re going to a place, whether it’s Szechwan Province in China or Joplin, Mo., we ask ‘What do you do for fun, and what do you eat after you do that?’” the Travel Channel star, best-selling author and culinary bad boy explained.

Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" inspired Joplin-area residents to come out and meet the celebrity chef during his Joplin visit.

During his Joplin visit, Bourdain said he would experience Ozarks culture and take in an arm wrestling tournament at Rumors Lounge. “If there’s alcohol involved, then that’s always a plus,” Bourdain laughed.
After the arm wrestling shoot, he even made an impromptu visit to Woody’s Woodfire Pizza to sample some local fare.
During his Ozarks trip, Bourdain said he would dine on some wild game, gig suckers in a cold Ozark creek and hang out with Daniel Woodrell, the Southwest Missouri novelist who recently won acclaim — and Sundance Film Festival awards — for “Winter’s Bone,” a film adapted from his novel of the same name.
“I know we’re doing some squirrel,” the Culinary Institute of America graduate said. “I’ve had some very good squirrel in the past, so there’s nothing new there. I hear raccoon is quite good, particularly in chili.”
That all makes for good television, but it was a longtime local restaurant that put Joplin on Bourdain’s to-do list.
“We’ve been told again and again and again about Fred and Red’s and their life-giving magical grease,” Bourdain said with a laugh. “If I’ve heard anything, it’s the life-giving force of Fred and Red’s grease that I’m very intrigued by.”
Joplin fans of Bourdain’s irreverent show will have to wait until March to find out what, where and who will make the cut and be featured on the Ozarks episode of “No Reservations.” He took a few minutes during his visit to talk with the Globe about his “checkered” past, the state of American cuisine and to offer some sage advice to the area’s aspiring chefs.
‘Just got lucky’
Bourdain, now famous and in his mid-50s, didn’t always lead a charmed life trekking around the world, sharing his culinary and cultural experiences with millions of viewers every week.

While in Joplin, Bourdain observed an arm wrestling championship at Rumors Lounge.

After dropping out of Vasser College and attending the Culinary Institute, Bourdain said he spent many years working his way up the ladder in the kitchens of New York, eventually serving almost 10 years as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles.
“I was a second stringer my whole life,” he said. “I fell in love with a lifestyle. I was just having a good time bouncing around in the business and living that sort of pirate lifestyle.”
Bourdain said he missed a lot of opportunities due to his party boy lifestyle, questionable work ethic and addiction prone personality.
“It was not a very distinguished career, by any means — a checkered one,” he said. “I had a good 28 years. Well, not all of them were good. There were a lot of bad years, but I guess it was a different era and I was having too good of time.”
Looking back at his career, Bourdain said he “just got lucky.”
“Most of the people I came up with who were behaving in a similar fashion are not around anymore,” he said. “I got lucky and luck is not a good business model. Back in the ’70s people thought cocaine was good for you. You could get away with being high in the kitchen.”
That kind of unprofessional — and illegal — behavior is no longer the norm in America’s great kitchens.
“Now, it’s a much more serious profession and people are proud of their food and their work and kitchens,” he stressed. “Any good kitchen is just not going to put up with that. A good chef is consistent and being a party animal is not conducive to showing up and doing the same high level of work every day.”

Bourdain made time to talk to bar patrons, drink a few beers and charm his Joplin fans.

Professional advice
From age 17 until 44, Bourdain spent his days and nights on his feet, working deep fryers and griddles in kitchens “good, bad and indifferent,” he said. He offered some advice to those aspiring to be great chefs or restaurateurs.
“Before you know how to cook, you have to know how to eat,” he insisted. “If you are looking to be a world-class chef and really make a career and serious money at it — and be one of the best — you have to travel. You need to eat and work as widely as you can. Traveling outside your comfort zone is really important. You gotta be prepared to work for cheap in New York or San Francisco and Chicago.”
Like baseball, Bourdain said, you want to get into the big leagues at least for a while.
“I admire people who go to France or Spain or New York and make their bones and learn from the best, apprentice with the best, then return to where they came from and find their own individual way; incorporating their own roots and the environment they grew up in with the techniques they learned around the world.”
But, Bourdain cautioned: “Before you get into the business, make sure you understand how difficult it is and how hard and unglamorous it can be. I remember what it’s like to work a griddle. That’s honest work.”
Bourdain said there is no question his time at the CIA — what he called the best culinary school in the country — prepared him for a successful career.
“To be a CIA grad back then was a relative rarity,” he said. “It was exotic. Now, there are a lot of kids coming out of culinary schools. I always advise people that before you spend all that money and get yourself involved with a big, heavy student loan, understand and find out about your self, whether or not this really is the business for you.”
Bourdain suggested young wanna-be chefs work in restaurants for a couple of years and make sure they love the lifestyle before taking on huge student loans.
“Understand the kind of debt load you are going to be carrying and how little you will be making for the first few years of your professional life,” he said. “As long as you go into it with your eyes open, it’s certainly a very good thing to do.”
Bourdain’s advice to young chefs is simple.
“Stay true to who you are and set high standards early in your career,” he stressed. “Stay true to your self and your dream.”
American inspiration
The landscape of the American culinary scene, Bourdain explained, has changed significantly since his days at the CIA.
When Bourdain was a young chef, honing his craft in New York’s kitchens, he said there were few American role models to look to for gastronomic inspiration.
“There were very few heroes for us,” he said.
“It was more an ‘every-man-for-himself’ kind of pirate lifestyle. I looked to England to Marco Pierre White. I looked to France and Paul Bocuse, but I wasn’t ready to put in the work that he put in to become a ‘Paul Bocuse.’”
American chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller, Bourdain said, inspires young chefs — and seasoned ones alike — with the dishes he creates at The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley and Per Se in New York City.
“I think that (he) is a hugely important hero,” Bourdain said of Keller. “He’s one guy you can say is widely regarded and hugely respected everywhere in the world where they cook. He’s just one of the best. American cuisine is well regarded worldwide and some of the best chefs in the world are American. Even the French know this. We get respect, now.”

Bourdain had ‘No Reservations’ about Joplin

I got excited when I learned Anthony Bourdain was coming to Joplin.
I’m a loyal viewer of “No Reservations,” and have long loved his irreverent on-air style. I tempered my excitement with a little caution, though. I wanted to get an interview with Bourdain and write a story for the Globe’s On the Table section, but sometimes television stars, musicians and media personalities aren’t easy to corral, if they show up at all — Willie Nelson, I’m talking to you.
On the Saturday night Bourdain was scheduled to come to Joplin and observe a Mo-Kan Arms sanctioned arm wrestling tournament at Rumors Lounge, I decided to run down and hang out a while to see if he would show. Worst-case scenario, Bourdain would be a no-show, I would have a beer and head home. Best case, I would snag a quick interview, take advantage of a celebrity photo opportunity, have a beer and head home. Either way, it was a win-win for me.
At 5 p.m. on the nose, an unfamiliar woman with a clipboard walked into Rumors and started looking for someone in charge. A moment later — as if cued by a stage manager outside — in walked Bourdain with three videographers in tow. He made a beeline for the beer taps, sat down next to me at the bar, ordered a pint and tossed a $20 on the bar. In an attempt to make clever conversation, I asked: “Long trip?” He nodded, smiled, slammed a big gulp of his beer and started telling me about his travel day as if we were fast friends: New York to Chicago to Springfield, into a rented van and straight to Rumors. That’s a long day, even when you fly first class.
Bourdain shed his heavy outer wear, finished his pint, ordered another one and went to work. For almost three hours, Bourdain’s crew followed him around as he watched and talked with arm wrestlers, posed for pics and signed autographs for his foodie fans. I was fascinated watching the camera operators work, shooting every possible TV moment they could record. Almost every minute of Bourdain’s visit was captured for consideration in the upcoming Ozarks “No Reservations” episode. I secured my interview for the next day and watched him work the room, talking to his fans who showed up at Rumors to shake his hand and snap a photo.
Scott Bicknell, the owner of Rumors Lounge, was in early contact with Bourdain’s producers and helped organize the arm wrestling event for the shoot. He put out a Facebook post earlier in the evening and alerted his friends to Bourdain’s arrival. It worked. “No Reservations” fans started arriving soon after.
“I was kind of shocked how nice he was,” Bicknell told me, after meeting the culinary star. “I thought he might be an a–. He wasn’t. He was charming and nice and a really cool guy.”
At one point in the evening, Carol Snyder, a longtime local bartender, challenged Bourdain to an arm wrestling contest. Carol, who weighs in at around 100 pounds, tossed down a $10 bill and told Bourdain to match her — “winner takes all.” Carol told the Travel Channel star that if she won, she would donate the winnings to a children’s Christmas charity. To Carol’s amazement, Bourdain pulled $200 out of his pocket, laid it on the table and said “Let’s do it.” Bourdain let Carol sway in the wind a few seconds, arms moving back and fourth across the table. Then, Bourdain looking like he needed another beer, penned Carol’s wrist down. They laughed, hugged and Bourdain insisted his winnings go to charity of Carol’s choice. Nice form, I say.
As word spread around Joplin that night, a couple dozen Bourdain fans filled the bar interested in taking a look.
Pete and Heidi Williams, owners of Woody’s Woodfire Pizza, dropped in with a group of friends and offered to feed Bourdain and his crew. Bourdain interviewed Pete for the show and agreed to stop in at Woody’s after the shoot.
As the night ended, I finalized the details of my interview and thanked Bourdain for his time and attention. I may be the only “No Reservations” fan in Joplin who didn’t get a pic with him.
As the next week unfolded, I heard — and read — tales of Bourdain’s Joplin travels. Globe columnist Cheryle Finley encountered Bourdain at Fred and Red’s and I heard a chef at Holiday Inn was honored to cook for Bourdain’s crew during his stay. Bourdain, it seems, charmed the Ozarks.
During my interview I asked if he always met with such interest and fascination when he traveled the United States .
“I think people are unusually friendly here,” he told me. “New Yorkers tend to be too cool for school, people don’t come up and say ‘hello’ as often, so it was nice. It was an unusually friendly crowd.”

Dave Woods is new media and marketing manager for The Joplin Globe.

Ring in the new year with beer

When I think of New Year’s Eve, the obvious comes to mind: Tipsy friends wearing pointed paper hats, annoying party poppers sending streamers flying and cheap champagne. I’m OK with the hats, poppers and tipsy friends, but I usually find a champagne substitute to ring in my new year.
After all, the French only export the champagne they won’t drink and most sparkling wines are too dry for my tastes. Why let the French reap all of the economic benefits of your New Year’s blowout, or waste your money on a $5 bottle of headache-causing California bubbly?
Give one of these brewed libations a try for your Christmas or New Year’s Eve celebration. You and your guests will be glad you did.

Big Stella
I’m a big Stella Artois fan, but I didn’t know the Belgian-brewed beer started as a Christmas-only offering from InBev — the company that recently acquired Anheuser-Busch — in 1926. The clean, slightly bitter lager was so popular the brewery added it to their line year-round. Stella is available on tap and in bottles around town and is growing in acceptance across the country. For those out there who might miss the pop of a cork shooting out of a champagne bottle, or aren’t quite sure about lifting high a glass of beer to toast in the new year, don’t worry. The classic pilsner is available during the holidays in 750 ml cork and cage bottles suitable for any cork-popping celebration. At around 5.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), Stella’s holiday bottles retail for around $6.

Love of lambics
Are you looking for something extremely unique and colorful with which to celebrate the passing of this year and the arrival of the next? Pick up a couple of bottles of Lindemans’ lambics. Lambics — spontaneously fermented ales brewed with naturally occurring yeast strains and infused with real fruit — were one of my first international craft beer finds in Seattle. Brewed in Belgium since 1811 and imported by a Seattle company since 1979, Lindemans offers a variety of flavors including raspberry (framboise), cherry (kriek), peach (peche), cassiss (current) and pomme (apple). The sweet but tart ales retail around town at around $11 for a 750 ml corked bottle. Fruit beers are extremely popular recently and I seldom find anyone who doesn’t smile when they take their first taste of a Lindemans.

“Pop” goes the pilsner
I’ve spent a lot of time sampling Boulevard Brewery’s beer lately. The company’s Smokestack Series of craft ales offers a treat for beer lovers, but it’s the brewery’s pilsners I have recently been picking up. Imperial Pilsner — Boulevard’s international collaboration with Belgian brewer Orval — packs a punch at around 8 percent ABV. Available since last January, Imperial Pilsner is a great beer for any celebration and a great buy at around $12 for a 750 ml corked and caged bottle. The golden colored brew piles up a stiff white head and looks rich in a tall pilsner glass, great for a holiday toast. When I spoke to John McDonald — Boulevard’s founder and president — a few weeks ago, he told me that Imperial Pilsner may soon be added to the brewery’s year-round line of Smokestack Series beers.

Online find
My love of hard cider is no secret, and many area retailers of adult beverages keep a pretty good selection of them on hand. I suggest trying a tall glass of fruit cider this New Year’s Eve. Ciders are a versatile drink and can be served cold, over ice or warmed and spiced, depending on the occasion. Many solid spiced cider recipes can be found with a simple online search. I was poking around online and found a brand I hadn’t noticed before. Bellwether Hard Cider — a line of ciders brewed in Ithica, N.Y. — run around $12 a bottle (case prices are available) at www.cidery.com and can be shipped around the country. Bellwether offers a full line of flavors including black current, cherry and traditional varieties made with Northern Spy apples, other fruit and special wild yeast strains. There’s still time to order online and get your holiday cheer in time for a New year’s Eve toast.
Cheers!

Frank’s Lounge turns 40

It’s going to be a party 40 years in the making.
On Tuesday, Judy Petty and her small staff of bartenders and large group of extended bar family will celebrate 40 years in the same location for Frank’s Lounge, 2112 S. Main St. in Joplin.

Franks Lounge owner Judy Petty sits with patron and friend Susan Manard at Franks Lounge on Monday, December 13, 2010.

“I’m looking forward to it. It will be a lot of fun,” Judy said as we talked party plans and recounted memories from one of Joplin’s longtime watering holes. “We’ve been told a lot of people are taking off work to come and in and have some fun and see old friends. The (bartenders) are excited about it, too.”
Judy said Frank’s will be “busy” from noon until close on Dec. 21. That may be an understatement.
Frank’s will open 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Judy expects the party to pick up around noon, when she will serve up tables full of sandwiches and snacks. Throughout the day promotional teams from area beer distributors — the Bud and Miller/Coors girls — will drop in and give away brewery merchandise and socialize with patrons.
A casino night fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House gets under way at 6 p.m. with the buy-in benefiting RMH. Participants will play poker, blackjack and Let it Ride, then buy merchandise with their casino cash winnings.
Door prize drawings for a Margaritaville-style bar top blender, single-cup coffee maker and flat screen television will be held during the day. Local favorites Willie and the Po Boys will entertain the crowd beginning at 9 p.m. and play until midnight.
“I don’t know if it’s a birthday or an anniversary,” Judy said, laughing. “I just know it’s going to be a big party. You got to do it at 40 because I don’t know if I’ll be around for 50.”

Frank's patron Mike Walker has a drink at Frank's Lounge on Monday, December 13, 2010.

Frank Petty, Judy’s husband of 32 years and the lounge’s namesake, died in 2002 after successful careers in the trucking and bar business. Together they owned Ozark Speedway and Judy maintained her own business interests throughout years.
A framed photo of Frank hangs behind the bar. It’s as if he’s always there with an eye on the business, keeping Judy company. Judy laughed when she told me she talks to Frank all of the time. She seems comforted by his presence.
“I hope a lot of Frank’s friends will come in,” Judy said. “I wish he was here.”
More than 40 years ago, Judy worked for Frank at his lounge at 625 Joplin Ave. They married in April of 1970, and opened the bar in its current location on Dec. 21, 1970. Judy and Frank poured beer and mixed cocktails together there for 32 years.
“I never imagined I’d be doing this alone,” Judy said, sounding a little sad. “We thought we would get old together and set on the porch and rock. Well, I’d probably go fishing and Frank would rock.”
But, Judy said, “Life took a turn.”

Frank's Lounge opened in its current location on Dec., 21, 1970.

I don’t think I will be able to take off work to spend the day at Frank’s listening to old stories and tall tales, but I will make an appearance and join in on the fun after work. I started going to Frank’s a few years back. At first, going into a place such as Frank’s with a loyal, regular following can be intimidating.
But I never felt like an outsider at Frank’s. Judy and her girls behind the bar always made me feel welcome.
“We try to have a family atmosphere where everybody knows everybody,” Judy said. “We’ve had four generations of customers. We have the grandkids of customers coming in now. The kids know their folks came in here and they just stick with us. We’ve grown to be close friends.”
After 40 years of slinging drinks behind the same bar you might think that Judy, now 70, would be ready to call it quits and spend her golden years fishing at the lake with her grandkids. She’s not.
“I’ll never retire,” she said. “How can I retire, my extended family and friends are all here. It’s my social life.”
Frank’s is a hub of social activity for many of her regulars, too.
“This is where you congregate when someone passes or has a child,” she said. “Frank’s is where you come.”
I asked Judy if there was anything she wanted followers of the Booze Beat to know about the upcoming fete.
She thought a second, then smiled. “Everyone who was a friend of Frank should come in and tell a story,” she said.

Cheers!

Breweries’ winter beers pack plenty of cheer

There comes a time every year when my beer tastes change.
During warmer weather, I go for light beers, the ones suitable for easy summer sipping. When winter arrives, my taste buds know it’s time to man up and go big. I start looking around for my favorite breweries’ Christmas and winter seasonals.
A few years ago, there weren’t that many options. A couple of imports annually satisfied my hankering for spiced cold-weather warmers.
But some Christmas beers taste more like pine trees and reindeer tails than holiday cheer. The Christmas beer landscape has changed, and so have my holiday beer tastes.
Last weekend I scoured the shelves at area beer retailers that specialize in craft brands. I wanted to see what was out there for Christmas gatherings and New Year’s Eve parties. The retailers I shopped all offered a “Build a six pack” deal for around $8.
It’s fun to take a mixed six to holiday parties and sample around. Give these craft selections a chance and you won’t be disappointed.
• Shiner Holiday Cheer: I didn’t know what I was getting into recently when I picked up a six pack of Spoetzl Brewing’s Holiday Cheer, a dark, peach flavored Dunkelweizen. The garnet colored, mildly bitter brew (5.4 percent alcohol by volume) has a big peach flavor and a nutty aftertaste.
The guy at the counter where I picked it up said its hard to get and he sells his supply quickly. No wonder: It’s brewed with Texas peaches and roasted pecans.
• Redhook’s Winter Hook: I have been a Winter Hook fan for years. It’s always been a drinkable and flavor forward ale. I’ve enjoyed it on tap at Club 609 downtown and know it’s available in bottles around the area. The recipe for this winter — new for 2010 — is a new one and it’s a winner at 6 percent ABV.
• Sam Adams’ Winter Lager: Since 1989, the Boston Beer Company’s Winter Lager has been a staple of the winter beer experience for everyone but me. I hadn’t tried it until recently.
It’s a great balanced beer and not too malty. Winter Lager would have good party appeal and pair well with spicy dishes and bold finger foods.
• Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale: Drink Celebration Ale and you are drinking a part of American brewing history. The bitter seasonal from one of California’s craft beer pioneers is available through January, so get a six now.
The ale has won awards at beer contests around the country in the India Pale Ale category. At 6.8 percent ABV, Celebration packs a punch and will appeal to bitter beer drinkers.
• Anchor Steam’s Liberty Ale: Want to impress holiday party snobs with your knowledge of beer history? Take a six-pack of Anchor’s Liberty Ale.
Liberty, brewed first in 1975 as Anchor’s inaugural Christmas beer, is 6.8 percent ABV and a smooth, medium bitter ale. The reaction to Liberty was so positive then brewery owner Fritz Maytag added it to the year-round line up. I think it’s Anchor’s best beer, but many loyal Steam lager drinkers disagree.
• Boulevard Nutcracker Ale: Nutcracker Ale surprised me. Its dark color made me think it was going to be a super heavy beer, but it was light (5.8 percent ABV) and drinkable. It’s mildly bitter character paired great with a Cajun blackened burger and fries. I suspect it would go well with about any meal.
• Michelob Winter Bourbon Cask Ale: When I picked up Michelob’s holiday beer (6 percent ABV) I was expecting a bitter winter ale and was shocked to get a sweet vanilla flavored brew. I didn’t want to like it, but I did. It’s as close to drinking a cupcake as you will get. I’ll buy it again.
• O’Fallon Brewery’s Cherry Chocolate: If sweet beer — malt liquor in this case — is your thing, it’s hard to imagine one sweeter that this.
This dark cherry cordial flavored beer isn’t for everyone. I think it’s a great beer to share as dessert or the last one of the night. I don’t think I could make it through an entire bottle without going into a sugar coma. I hear the brewery’s Christmas Ale is a great winter beer, but didn’t find it around town.
• Say ‘Yes’ to Ciders: I’m always a big cider guy at the holidays. I love it cold on a summer day and warm on a winter night.
Take a few bottles of hard peach, apple or pear cider and warm it up with a cinnamon stick and some vanilla sugar. It’s a great liquid substitute in a fruit cobbler or pie and — trust me — it isn’t bad to sip while you bake. Wyder’s, Woodchuck and Ace ciders are great brands to try, but many others are available around town.
Merry Christmas and cheers!

K.C.’s Boulevard Brewery comes of age

John McDonald, founder and president of Boulevard brewing Co. in his Kansas City office.

John McDonald made no bones about his love of beer. The founder and president of the Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City said his fascination with brewing goes back to his youth.
“I grew up in a Western Kansas small town,” he told me as we talked in his small, crowded office inside the brewery. “That’s kind of what we did when we were kids. My dad made a little home brew, which you know was more of a conversation piece than something good to drink.”
John said you had to add a little tomato juice to his dad’s home brew to get it down. Once you did, “It packed a wallop,” he said, laughing.
John grew up and moved away to college at Kansas University, earned a fine arts degree and became a cabinet maker and carpenter.
It was on his first trip to Europe that John’s eyes were opened to the vast number of beers available and the traditions small European brewers embraced.
“I just fell love with English ales,” he said. “When we were in Paris, I stumbled in to a Belgian beer bar. My wife would go to museums and I would go back to the bar every day. They had 400 different bottled beers from all of these different breweries. I was just like, ‘Wow, this is crazy interesting.’”

In 2009 Boulevard was ranked the ninth largest craft brewer in America.

Finding financing
It wasn’t long until John’s interest in brewing became more serious and he decided to put his career as a carpenter on hold.
“I started thinking about a brewery in the mid ’80s,” he said. “I was always enamored with the idea of small production beer and wine.”
Over a four-year period, John admits he went down “a few wrong roads,” but finally, in 1989, raised enough money to start the brewery. Raising the money needed to get going wasn’t easy. He met with about 30 bankers and a lot of disappointment, but kept searching for financing.
He eventually found the funds needed to get started, but, to this day, remembers one nay-saying banker.
“He was a young banker at a bank downtown and I was still working as a carpenter,” he said. “I meant to go home and take a shower and change my clothes and then go to the bank. I was kind of dusty with my work clothes on and he said, ‘Dude, first of all, I think your business plan is totally crazy and second of all, next time you come see a banker, you better put a suit on.’ So, I took his advice and bought a new suit.
“It didn’t help me, though,” he said, laughing. “I just wasted the money on a suit.”
John ran into the same banker years later, after the brewery was successful. The banker, he said, “was fairly apologetic.”
In 2009 Boulevard was ranked the ninth largest craft brewer in the America by the Brewer’s Association. John said the quick success of Boulevard surprised even him.
It’s really a great time to be a brewer, John said.
“It’s great to have access to technology that we didn’t have back when we started. We’re as automated and as high tech as any big brewery. It’s a constant battle to make sure that the craftsmanship part of it, the quality of the beer, is the most important thing.”

Julie Weeks, marketing communications manager, said the Boulevard team is excited about the new 12-ounce four packs of selected Smokestack Series beers.

Best beers in the world
One Boulevard beer, their unfiltered wheat, the company’s most prolific product, accounts for more than 60 percent of their business.
“I thinks it’s been so popular because of the unfiltered nature,” he said. “That’s what makes it good, the lack of processing, and it’s real easy to drink. It’s an American style wheat beer. It’s not something that’s going to put anybody off and it’s got a nice flavor to it.”
The company’s Smokestack Series of craft beers pays tribute to old world craftsmanship. It is available in small batches that are sold in 750 ml corked and caged bottles. Some Smokestack beers are now available on tap and several varieties are newly available in four-packs of 12-once bottles.
John said it’s really “amazing” what’s going on in American brewing.
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best beers in the world are being made in the United States,” John said. “We need to create more beer culture. That’s what missing. We have these great beers, but the population doesn’t really know what to do with them or how to drink them, compared to (drinkers) in Belgium, England or Germany.”
Unlike American beer drinkers, Europeans tend to pour their bottled beer into glasses, rather than just tipping the bottle back.
“If you can get people to pour beer into a glass, that’s half the battle,” he said. American brewers, he explained, originally marketed their beers in bottles to maximize the label recognition and brand marketing.
“Shame on them,” he said. “They never should have done that. Look at the wine industry. You wouldn’t think about drinking a $10 bottle of wine out of a bottle.”

Some of Boulevard's Smokestack Series beers are aged in oak barrels in a climate controlled room at the brewery.

Kansas City’s brewery
Not all of Boulevard’s brews have met with acceptance and success.
“The one beer that was a total flop, that I still think was a good idea, came out in the mid ‘90s called Ten Penny,” he said. “The idea was to make a beer that tasted good that had low alcohol. We came out with this baby version of a pale ale that had a really good flavor that had like 2.6 percent (alcohol). You could just slam them. As soon as the consumer found out that it was low in alcohol people just wouldn’t drink it.”
Boulevard’s Bully Porter, a dark, chocolate-forward, American-style porter doesn’t set any sales records, but John said they will keep it in the line.
“I love that brand and the beer, but we don’t sell hardly any of it,” he said, looking a little disappointed. “I don’t understand why, but we don’t. We will keep making that brand. It’s part of who we were and who we are.”
Who they are, John stressed, is Kansas City’s brewery.
John pointed out that five years ago there were three breweries that made 85 percent of the beer sold in the U.S. and they were all owned by Americans. Five years later, all three are owned by foreign interests.
“Anheuser-Busch was one of the largest brewers in the world for a long time,” he said. “Well, that company, AB-InBev, is now four times as big as AB was and it’s all through acquisition. Does the world get better because of theses global conglomerates? I don’t think so.”
It’s all about efficiency, John said.
“So, if in this striving to be more and more efficient all of the time, eventually you don’t employ anybody,” he said. “That person who was going to buy your beer doesn’t have any money to buy it. It’s sort of a long term self-defeating prophecy to keep going that way. My thing is drink our beer and we’ll give somebody a job, which is what people need, jobs.”
Good philosophy.
Cheers!