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Suds
By Jeff Becker
Photography by Joseph Burgess
 Whenever I fall into the good graces of a nice beer on a warm day, I am reminded of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. In the novel, Doc, the beer lover, expounds that the first sip of beer is always the best—and even though it has been years since I last read that book, those cheery words always come to mind when a beer has made its way into my hands. Beer exists simply to please. It is to be enjoyed, to deepen the life here lived. Hear the twist of a bottle cap? That soft sound of a beer filling a glass? Feel that hot day and that first sip as it fizzes down through your body?
Oh. That’s good.
Yet, for a long while beer was just the ugly step-uncle of wine and the other high-brow spirits. For ages American beer was dominated by images of Budweiser, Coors, and other large domestic labels that made people from other countries wag their heads at us. Then, things changed. A beer renaissance, call it. Consumers can now enjoy high-quality beverages at a fraction of the price of fine wines and liquors.
 This past July, I attended an event intended to honor the fine beers readily available to us thrown by Jaxon’s Restaurant & Brewing Company. Held at the Tennis West facilities in El Paso, Texas featuring a number of good domestic beers from the Spoetzl and New Belgium breweries (Texas law prohibits the transportation of their own brew) paired with favorites from their restaurant, owners Gary and Kate Helsten went far to display the diverse nature of the beverage (one, the Shiner Hefeweizen, was served with a dessert course of cheesecake). We caught up with the folks at Jaxon’s to ask them about beer dinners and about how good beer can be.
Jeff Becker [JB] At your beer dinner, we sampled a variety of different types of beer and this helped me appreciate the unique qualities of each and proved, again, how diverse beer can be. Tell us a little bit about beer, in general. How is it made and what is it that makes the end product compelling?
Jaxon’s Head Brewer [Frank Francees] In the late 80's and early 90's the microbrew revolution happened...some say it started in the Pacific Northwest some say it started on the East Coast....either way we are glad it happened and we've been brewing beer at Jaxon’s since 1995. There is love and passion that goes into each and every beer we make (even the light ones), from the moment we open a bag of grain and smell the earthiness as it goes through the mill and cracks open like sunflower seeds...exposing all the beautiful starch and fermentable sugars we need to make alcohol......to the hops we add to balance the sweetness...then add the beautiful liquid (called wort) that this has become yeast in a fermentation tank...where they all mingle with each other and make the two by-products which we all love....alcohol and carbon dioxide. They are all different due to years of developing our house recipes....not all are formulated the same....some are basic and some are complex...just depends on the ale or lager being made.
 JB: Why a Beer dinner?
Jax: We do both wine and beer dinners. We keep both of the events on the "light side" but beer dinners are just fun. Also, we are a brew pub. We are the only brew pub in El Paso making our beer from scratch at two locations, 1135 Airway and 7410 Remcon at Mesa. The basic idea behind the beer dinners is to introduce more people to handcrafted beers and “guest” beers we may feature from around the world.
JB: What do you hope your guests take away from an evening like this?
Jax: We hope our guests gain a little more knowledge and understanding of the brewing process. If anything else just come out and have a great time with some friends or family and enjoy some great beers and food.
JB: We often hear of pairing wine with food, but does one pair beer with food? Why? How?
 Jax: The same general school of thought for wine parings: Ales being a red wine and Lagers being a white wine. And like wine these rules do not always apply. If you have a feel for the flavors of the beer as well as the food and it goes right then so be it. Keeping a light beer with light food and a heavier or bitterer beer with heavier foods such as a steak seems to work well. Complement and contrast can also work.
JB: As a beer maker, what advice can you give our readers about how they should select a beer (both at the supermarket and the local brew pub).
Jax:Start by sampling beers you might have heard about from someone (but also remember everybody has different tastes). The best way to know if you like a beer is to try it. You don't have to buy a whole six-pack these days, many places offer all kinds of beers sold in single bottles. We highly recommend our “Seven Shooter” beer taster (a 2 oz. taste of seven of our beers). We also encourage our customers to ask questions when visiting Jaxon’s. Our staff is very knowledgeable and always happy to answer any questions.
Jaxon’s, a longtime El Paso brewery, now serves the Sun City with 4 locations. They host wine and beer dinners regularly. For information call, (915) 351-8247.
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