#stephen hale

[portraituresque]

Stephen Hale Self Portrait Pencil on Paper Signed

[rightsinexile]

Unfair rules punish asylum seekers and foreign key workers in the UK. It is time for an overhaul.

The following opinion piece was authored by Stephen Hale, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, and Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue. It was published by CAPX on 7 December 2020.

In March, as coronavirus strengthened its grip on our lives and ravaged the health of our families, friends and neighbours, there was a clear message from government: we’re all in this together.

Yet policies and rules currently enforced by the same government are preventing asylum seekers who want to play – and penalising immigrants who are playing – a crucial role in this nation’s fight against COVID-19. [Read more here.]

[rightsinexile]

Boris Johnson must honour his promises to asylum seekers

This opinion piece was written by Stephen Hale, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, and published by The Times on 4 June 2020.

It was arguably the most jaw-dropping moment of Boris Johnson’s appearance before the liaison committee last week. The prime minister was astonished to learn that there are people in the UK whose immigration status means they cannot claim any state benefit when they are already below the breadline.

But what followed was encouraging. He told MPs that people who have lived in this country and worked hard “should have support.” Good. “No recourse to public funds” is a shocking policy and must be dumped. But previous assurances given by Mr. Johnson to people in need have not been honoured by his government. Particularly those to people in the asylum system. [Read more here.]

[thecomedybureau]

One of our all time favorite sketch groups, The Midnight Show, returns this Saturday at midnight for their long standing monthly residency at UCB Franklin. 

Their very dark and very fast style just always hits the right nerve with us. 

Tickets are $5 and still available, so get them right now, right here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

[bumpinpumpkinbeer]

Interview with The Crew at Schlafly (Mike Harbin, Stephen Hale & James "Otto" Ottolini)

As you're aware, Schlafly's pumpkin beer is one of my favorites of the season. It's currently sitting at #4 in my top 10 and is renowned as one of the best in the country. I first learned of these guys through my article on Medium last year. More than a few people on Medium and Reddit recommended I make sure to get my hands on this option. Considering their popularity, I had to reach out to hear more from them. Mike Harbin, Stephen Hale and their Brewmaster James Ottolini collectively conversed with me on the topic of pumpkin beer.

BPB: So Mike, you seem to be a social face for Schlafly, at least in the digital realm. How did you get started in beer?

Mike: Prior to working in the beer industry, I worked in the music industry for years. I find many parallels between the two industries and I was introduced to better beers while touring, especially on earlier European tours to Belgium and Germany. As it became more evident that it was time to settle down and start a family, it seemed logical to move in to another field that I was passionate about, so I started working for a distributor, which led to me meeting and befriending Dan Kopman, co-founder of Schlafly.

BPB: Well here you are, now a pro on pumpkin beer I imagine! Tell me, do you enjoy the season as much as I do? Do you like pumpkin beer?

Mike: I definitely enjoy the fall, but I must admit that pumpkin beers are not necessarily one of my favorite styles. Come September, I tend to prefer Oktoberfests/Marzens and start looking forward to bigger stouts and porters. All that said, I can appreciate any beer that is a good representation of the style, which I do feel Schlafly Pumpkin is! And obviously I’m in the minority on this one, as in the U.S., pumpkin beers far outsell Oktoberfests. I know Stephen enjoys mixing our Pumpkin with our Oatmeal Stout, which does make for a great combo.

BPB: Good to know...I haven't indulged in the Oatmeal Stout yet. I had no idea pumpkin beer tends to sell more than Oktoberfests. To be honest, I thought it'd be the other way around. As far as pumpkin beer goes, there’s a ton of variety ranging from spice-heavy to extremely sweet, and even options with very little pumpkin involvement at all. The dilemma is that these are seasonal selections, so we’re limited on time for experimenting and discovery. What do you guys find helps encourage people to take a chance and taste your pumpkin beer for the first time when there are so many options to choose from?

Mike: Certainly word of mouth and the amount of good press our Pumpkin Ale has received. Just recently, Paste magazine named Schlafly Pumpkin the #1 pumpkin beer (out of 50 listed) in the world. For whatever reason, pumpkin beers in general seem to get more press than any other style. There also seems to be a lot of folks who get together with a group of friends and sample through all of the pumpkin beers they can get their hands on, which many have told me is how they were first introduced to Schlafly Pumpkin.

BPB: Well I'm certainly helping the cause I suppose. I've tried over 70 this season alone! Sampling with others is always fun. So what are some qualities of Schlafly Pumpkin that you think help distinguish it from the others?

Mike: Mostly, it’s drinkability. I think a number of pumpkin beers are extremely heavy or rich. I also think ours is very balanced in terms of the spices, maybe a bit more nutmeg forward…whereas a lot of them go heavy on the clove.

BPB: Stephen, you're the ambassador I hear! Can you give us general insight into the process you follow to create your pumpkin beer?

Stephen: We use pumpkin the brewhouse, although the process has evolved over time. Fresh or frozen pumpkin puree in the mash, flakes or powdered pumpkin in the mash, pumpkin juic or extract in the kettle...all are methods that contribute to using the vegetable in the brewhouse (many people don't realize that "pumpkin" as they king of it, the cans in the supermarket for cooking, are actually Hubbard or Butternut squash. That's another story). The combination of spices used later in the process, often in the cellar process post-fermentation can include cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice or mace, whatever flavor profile the brewer desires. For us, filtering the beer results in a very clear glass of beer, which we like; hazy is fine if that's what the brewer wants as it's really all about the flavor and profile. We don't aim for pumpkin pie with whipped cream, but it's nice to try some of those in the market. There's a huge variety out there.

BPB: Otto, you're the Brewmaster...any other magic involved?

Otto: Just to further expand on that whole process: We start with the grain bill which is comprised of mainly Pale Malt and Munich Malt. We want a big malty beer and 8% ABV can get ahold of you. We brew this as we would any other beer, but we add juice from pumpkis at the Brewhouse in the kettle. There is a small amount of hops in the beer, but only for balance. We wait until the beer has mostly fermented before adding spices. We don't want cooked spice flavor, we want fresh spice flavor. While the beer is strong and a force to be reckoned with, we also make a concerted effort to make our pumpkin beer balanced and something you'll enjoy, perhaps even have a second one...

BPB: Right on! Many breweries opt for Cinderella pumpkins because, unlike traditional pumpkins, these have little hollow space, richer flavors and more available sugars. Some rely on canned pumpkin. In some cases recipes don’t even use pumpkin but instead rely on spices to create the sensation of consuming pumpkin pie. How important is it to use, or at least consider, fresh pumpkin?

Stephen: Using fresh pumpkin is certainly a commitment, but just like any other flavor or “other” additions in beermaking, one has to ask if the process is worth the results. Some will be purists to the end, and that’s fine if it works for them, but sometimes it’s not only easier to use ingredients already prepared but the flavor can be as good or better. If a brewer buys fresh/frozen raspberry puree and the beer is great, is it a fault not to use freshly hand-picked? We can get caught up in some semantics, but a commitment to using proper, genuine ingredients is certainly important. We use both pumpkin and spices for our Pumpkin Ale.

Otto: Bibbidi bobbidi boo! Now that's stuck in my head. I don’t know where ours falls in regarding what's "proper". I stand behind our process, and we use pumpkin. Period. I can tell you that Brewhouse designs have evolved over centuries and they are not effective at extracting liquids from the mushy flesh of gourds. Brewers try to control a wide array of variability in both their mashing process and lautering process. I am of the opinion that tossing the flesh of gourds into either one of those is not only inefficient, but detrimental to the other aspects of applied brewing science that a brewer is trying to accomplish well. We have the pumpkins juiced and add this juice to the kettle. The flesh of the pumpkin does not have sugars or starches we are trying to convert and separate from the rest of the components. That is the purpose of a Mash Kettle and a Lauter Tun and is the very reason why I feel pumpkins have no business in that part of the Brewhouse. We not only rely on pumpkin itself but lots of fresh ground cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. We want this beer to be like liquid pumpkin pie. I don’t know how to do that without using the ingredients one would use in a pumpkin pie. Anything else seems artificial or fabricated. I can only answer for ourselves. We think it is important. There are folks out there who think Otis Spunkmeyer blueberry muffins are the bomb and then they are those who want nothing but free-range blueberries in their pastries. It’s not my place to judge. We’ll make some pumpkin ale with natural stuff and we think it is the bomb. If you do too, then cheers! Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder, right?

BPB: I see what you did there! Yes, I agree! Frankly, whatever you're doing is working...so why try and mess with perfection right? As per my review, Schlafly is doing just about everything you can do to make an exceptional pumpkin beer. Switching gears a bit, the release dates of pumpkin beers is a trending topic. Exactly how early is too early? 

Mike: I believe a race for the shelves does exist for some. We start brewing ours when we do in order to meet the demand as best we can, while still allowing tank space to brew our other beers and make way for our next big seasonal release, Tasmanian IPA. Pumpkin beer, being one of the only styles that truly originated in the U.S., was originally produced and available year round. Prior to good malt being readily accessible, pumpkin meat was often used in its place for fermentable sugars. So, who’s to say what date is too early…perhaps there are some that would drink pumpkin beers year round, if they were available?

BPB: I sure as hell would! I thought I'd be sick of them considering the amount of options I've gone through in two months alone. I do enjoy a transition with the seasons but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't eye a pumpkin in spring if it were readily available. In the same vein, how has the conversation of "pumpkin beer" progressed over the past several years?

Mike: I think the sheer amount of conversation around pumpkin beer is what has progressed. As I mentioned previously, I can’t think of any other style that garners as much press and hoopla – well, seasonal style at least. And with conversation comes controversy, which in the case of pumpkin beers, centers around release dates.

BPB: What future do you see for pumpkin beer? What do you see being its biggest challenge?

Mike: I foresee the biggest challenge for pumpkin beers being the same as that for the craft segment in general: oversaturation and competition. I'm seeing twice as may pumpkin beers available this year as I did last year. Hopefully, most continue to view this as a challenge and not a problem.

BPB: Yes, and that's a problem for someone like myself who tries as many as possible. I'm literally going to have to limit myself next year to perhaps the top 50 of this year. I guess time will tell.

That brings us to the finish but not without one more question. If you could have one last glass of beer, what would you choose (it doesn't have to be a pumpkin option)?

Mike: Oh man...I would probably give you a different answer to this every day that you asked me. Today, it would be Tasmanian IPA. It's probably my favorite beer that we make, and it just arrived where I'm located.

_____

Thanks again to the guys at Schlafly for their time. Check out Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale review here.

[trepidsiemang]

What in god's name am I doing with my life?

[liezlwashere]

UCB-LA | The Midnight Show | 12.08.13

Just your typical Midnight Show sketch where Stephen Hale wears a diaper and chugs Maker's Mark.

[theglobalconversation-blog]

Do global summits help to tackle poverty? Not without you.

COP18, Rio+20, the G20: These and other big global summits have come under increasing scrutiny from the media. Do they actually do any good?

In his recent post for The Guardian’s Poverty Matters blog, Oxfam’s Stephen Hale (@SHaleGeneva) says they can—but only when the global community takes their seat at the table:

The voice of civil society is vital at global events because it enables us to confront the stories our leaders want to tell their public, and to tell home truths about the progress made and the action needed. Civil society mobilisation and media work can do much to shift the terms of debates on, for example, the true causes of global hunger and the inadequacy of debt relief.

Should we invest more or less in global processes? What if civil society ignored these completely? Of course, we could then divert substantial resources to strengthen national campaigning. But it would leave our leaders free to make global commitments and proclaim their benefits without a strong voice outlining the scale and urgency of action needed, and the scrutiny of civil society on the (in)action of our leaders. It also risks limiting advances at a national level, which on issues from women's rights to arms negotiations is often highly influenced by progress (and setbacks) at global level.

It's not time to walk away. But we've got to get much smarter. We need to be far more ruthless about our priorities, and clearer about what we're trying to achieve.

Later this month, world leaders will meet up again in Davos for a sort of global summit season opener: The World Economic Forum. It’s a great opportunity to pull up a chair and add your voice. What items would YOU put on the agenda? Tweet your ideas to @Global_Convo.