Am I a beer geek, or a geek who loves beer? Both, I guess.
Here’s an interesting mash-up of technology: LEGO Mindstorms, iPhone, and Pownce.
Primitive, yes, but geeks love to make iterative improvements to things. A year from now someone will have something really impressive.
(via Switched)
Resveratrol is getting a lot of press lately. It is the miracle compound which apparently allows the French to enjoy a cuisine loaded with saturated fats and yet avoid heart disease. Its cancer-fighting properties have also been documented.
Some researchers at Rice University are trying to genetically engineer some brewing yeast in order to create beer loaded with resveratrol.
ComputerWorld: University researchers developing cancer-fighting beer
[University of] Wisconsin researchers had noted that adding small doses of resveratrol to the diet of middle-aged mice significantly slows their aging and keeps their hearts healthy. And they added that giving high doses to invertebrates extends their life spans, and high doses also stave off premature death in mice fed a high-fat diet.
[Taylor] Stevenson said that the Rice research group, most of the members of which aren’t old enough to legally drink alcoholic beverages, came up with the idea of adding resveratrol to beer during a casual conversation about potential projects to undertake. “The idea is that it may have greater effects [in beer than in wine],” he added. “The amount of red wine you’d need to drink to get the same results they get with rats in labs is about half a bottle a day.”
He explained that the amount of resveratrol in wine varies from bottle to bottle, since it depends on growing conditions for the grapes and other variables. The researchers felt they could design a beer with higher and more consistent concentrations of the cancer-fighting chemical.
(via Scribal Terror (via Wired (via ComputerWorld)))
Our “Octoberfest” weekend has come and gone for 2008. Every year it seems to be shorter; the planning for it seems to more difficult, less detailed, and yet more harried; and the drive home longer and more arduous. It’s worth it, though.
The beer list seems to get longer every year, too. And we each seem to bring more home as well.
Here’s a list of what we had this year, in no particular order (although I put the Oktoberfest/Marzen beers near the end since we used those in our “Bake-Off“). I suspect that I’m even missing a couple from this list.
In addition to all of those, I also brough a few bottles of homebrewed Dubbel (which was very good) and Strong Scottish Ale (which was so-so). There are also the samples we had at Captain Lawrence Brewing.
One of the original “malternatives” or “alcopops“, Zima, has finally gone the way of the dodo.
MillerCoors announced this week that the malternative beverage known as Zima, introduced by Coors Brewing in 1992, would be discontinued.
The company expects to ship its last Zima orders sometime in December as distributors deplete current inventories on a first come, first serve basis. Production of the drink ceased on Oct. 10.
…
Overall, the progressive adult beverage category is off 6.6 percent. Case sales of the Smirnoff Ice brand family are down 11 percent, while Mike’s Hard Lemonade brands are up 1 percent and Anheuser-Busch’s Bacardi Silver brands are up 10.4 percent.
John wrote us recently with a simple question:
Where can get Stella Artois in cans in Northern Virginia?
Well, I have no idea. Does Stella even come in cans? So I decided to ask the communal consciousness. Can anyone help John in his search?
Ommegang, in Cooperstown, New York, specializes in Belgian-style ales.
For the most part, I haven’t really liked most of the Belgian styles I’ve tried. As a result I haven’t bothered to buy anything from Ommegang, even though I am constantly hearing good things about them.
Well, I’ve been trying to expand my horizons, and my palate, lately, so I decided to take the plunge.
Meditate on this dark ruby elixir. Breathe in its deep emanations of fruit and spice. Is that clove you smell? Licorice? Fig? Sip serenely as revelations of honey, toffee, chocolate and dark dried fruit delight your senses. Can a beer be holy? you wonder, and Where can I get a grail on-line?
Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice. At 8.5% abv, it is known to cause spontaneous meditation.
A nice dark amber with red highlights and a decent-sized head. Some nice fruity notes in the aroma. Body is medium and the carbonation, which seems a bit high at first, settles down nicely. A good beer to sip and enjoy.
Another way we entertained ourselves during our annual get-together was to have an “Octoberfest bake-off”. Ron, Max, Don and I each brought a few Märzens (Oktoberfestbier) and did blind tastings.
Well, it wasn’t all blind. We knew what we brought and Ron also knew what each was before we had it. However, it was significantly different from Ron’s Oktoberfest Beer Battle from a couple of years ago.
Our primary conclusions from tasting all these are:
1. Oktoberfest is not our favorite style;
2. Most brewers, at least in the U.S., are extremely close to each other in how their recipes turn out (whether they are “true” to the “real” style is another discussion entirely);
3. Drinking a dozen beers of the same style messes with your palate; and
4. Eating bratwurst in the middle of our tasting may have been the best and the worst idea we had.
Another surprise was how poorly (relatively) our annual favorite of Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest did in our rankings.
Our methodology was simply to rate each according to the Unofficial Hop Talk Beer Rating System. We didn’t try to rate the beers based on any official or unofficial description of the style, just how much we enjoyed each.
Here is the final results:
1. Victory Festbier (3.375)
2. Left Hand Brewing Marzen Lager (3.16)
3. Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest (3.125)
(tie) Flying Dog Dogtoberfest (3.125)
5. Lancaster Brewing Oktoberfest (3.00)
(tie) Clipper City Baltomarzhon (3.00)
7. Samuel Adams Octoberfest (2.75)
(tie) Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen Amber (2.75)
(tie) Atwater Bloktoberfest (2.75)
10. Saranac Octoberfest (2.5)
11. Stoudt’s Oktoberfest (2.125)
12. Weihenstephaner FestBier (1.5)
Contrary to popular belief, our annual “Octoberfest” weekend is not just the four of us sequestering ourselves in a man-cave and geeking out for three or four days. We do actually get out and do things.
This year, we hopped on Metro North for a few stops to visit the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Pleasantville, New York.
Captain Lawrence was established in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro. He was bitten by the homebrewing bug in 1995, and it simply snowballed from there. In just two-and-a-half short years, Captain Lawrence has quickly become one of the premier craft brewers in the United States. Not only has his beers won several awards, but was number five on Beer Advocate’s June 2007 list of the top 50 American brewers.
So, on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon, we popped in to sample some of their beers and take a tour. They are a relatively small operation, brewing 40 barrel batches a few times a week. They haven’t added any automation yet. Kegging and bottling (750ml) is still done by hand, although they are planning a 16 oz. bottling line.
The four of us sampled the five beers on tap (sadly, as we were constantly reminded, not the double IPA).
Overall, we liked the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale the best, although all five were well-crafted, fresh, and tasty.
The tour was interesting (if brief) and we bought Max (our host) a growler of the Brown Ale as a thank you gift.
If you find yourself in the Pleasantville area on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, it’s well worth a visit.
Update: I neglected to mention that the entire time we were there, there was a steady stream of people coming in to get their growlers refilled. A very positive sign, I’d say.
Located outside of Boston in Waltham Massachusetts, Watch City Brewing offers a “locals” dining and craft brew experience in a small town. As they put it,
At the head of Moody Street’s Restaurant Row, in the center of a silicon savvy Waltham, Massachusetts, a legendary brew pub is holding court — and creating some of the best hand crafted beer anywhere.
I started off with their Octoberfest which was ruby red as best I could tell in the dim lighting and it was crazy matly and sweet, maybe even too much for the style, but I know some people who would likely have thought it the best Octoberfest they ever had. I liked it… not loved, but liked it.
For dinner I had the fish tacos and I was expecting something you might get from Moe’s (Welcome to Moe’s!) but instead I was treated to fancier fare. The blackened mahi-mahi tacos in a soft tortilla were delicious, just not what I was expecting as the gentleman sitting next to me had a great looking pub burger and onion rings. It was spicy, the way I liked it.
I ordered the Timepiece Porter next and that was dark, chocolately, with roasted malt goodness, just like a porter should be. This turned out to be my favorite.
I sampled a few others… the Pumpkin Ale was full of pumpkin flavor with strong clove; a nice dessert beer. But the beer that stood out the most was the BeeJesus’ Hop Crisis BPA. True to its name, this beer had no hops. Instead, it was spiced with bee balm, lemon balm, and jasmine white tea. Low in alcohol (2.1%) the beer was clear and golden yellow; the aroma was floral and a bit citric, but nothing you have ever had from a hop. It was light in mouth feel, and very drinkable, just not my cup of tea. I give full credit to Watch City for inventing such a unique beer; it really was well done and if you feel adventurous, I recommend giving it a try.
Overall, Watch City Brewing is very much worth a trip (and a return trip). Yet another great American craft brewer making great beer and running a fine establishment.
