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Monthly Archives: January 2011
The Octopus and the beer bottle
Bier ist gut!
The Kuchlbauers brewery in the Bavarian town of Abensberg has a tour that is totally unique.
What makes this brewery tour special is that the owner, Leonhard Salleck, has taken it upon himself to make a visual experience out of the tour that combines beer with art, philosophy, literature, and agriculture. Two years ago, they renovated their tour operations and created Bierwelt (World of Beer) laden with animatronic beer gnomes, exhibitions on brewing history, a beer pharmacy, a tower dedicated to beer, and of course beer sampling.
Animatronic beer gnomes?!
This is a place I need to go.
Check out the rest of the story at Boing Boing:
Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce Ale
My Sister-In-Law and my niece came all the way down from New Jersey for a visit between Christmas and New Year’s. While they were here, they and my family went down to Mount Vernon for a bit of history and to see the place gussied up for the holidays. (The third floor of the mansion is only open during this time of year.) Unfortunately, I had to work. (Not enough accrued vacation days, of course.)
My wife, dearheart that she is, brought back some wine from the Mount Vernon label and, more to the point, one each of the Yard’s Brewing “Ales of the Revolution” that are sold in the gift shoppe. I’ve already sampled the Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale and General Washington Tavern Porter, but the Spruce Ale is new to me.
They say:
Brewed to celebrate Ben’s 300th birthday.
Whether Ben Franklin ever said, “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” is up for debate. Some say he said it, others say he didn’t. No one knows for sure.
Historical facts or fictions aside, Yards Brewing Company has recreated Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce Ale™ to celebrate Franklin’s affinity for fine ales. Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce Ale is based on Franklin’s original recipe, which called for spruce essence and molasses, as barley and hops were not readily available at the time.
Honestly, I have a bit of trepidation. “Spruce”?! Really?
Pours a brassy brown with a lively head. Grassy with a very slight vegetable aroma. Some vague spice in there, too. The molasses come through in the flavor, as well as an unusual…something. It’s hard to describe. There’s a “bite” but it’s very much not hops.
Well, it’s interesting to drink a bit of history, but I couldn’t see making this a regular thing.
Tap for Growler
I got a new gadget!
Decisions, Decisions
It’s been one of those days
And it’s not even noon yet.
Beaucoup I.B.U.
So, my wife was out…somewhere, when she spotted this:
102 I.B.U.?! That’ll strip the buds right off your tongue.
It’s also waiting for me at home.
I love my wife.
Life is Filled with Emotion
Insidious Imperial Stout
This is the last of my stash of bottles from Fegley’s Brew Works.
Here’s what they say:
Rich and seductively smooth with complex chocolate and roasted flavors and hints of dark fruit. We conjure this by squeezing the life from two-row pale malts, chocolate and caramel malts and roasted barley. Then we boil their spirits with East Kent Golding hops, and unleash an English ale yeast to feast upon and transform the remains. What emerges is a black deity-sized libation that will be your portal to the dark side.
Bottled conditioned for natural carbonation, you may cellar Insidious for several years for additional smoothness…though be warned, it’s temptation will perpetually haunt you.
ABV 9.0% • IBU 40 • O.G. 1.088
It’s been “hanging out” since July. I think I’ve waited long enough.
It pours dark. Very dark. The head is thick and light brown. A bit of chocolate and dried fruit in the aroma. Mouthfeel starts out just the tiniest bit lighter than I expect, but there’s only a little bit of roasted coffee and chocolate in the taste, along with some of that dried fruit. I can’t decide whether perhaps it needed to cellar a bit more or if I’ve opened it too late.
This is not my favorite imperial stout ever, but I’m enjoying it right now.
