Just hours ago, a fire broke out at the historic F.X. Matt Utica Brewery in upstate New York. The fire is believed to have started in the bottling portion of the plant where a machine is used to put plastic on six packs.

The roof and the 3rd floor have collapsed. Worse, the fire is burning plastics and other materials creating toxic fumes. Five blocks surrounding the brewery have been evacuated. Also troubling is a vat of ammonia which has the potential of exploding if the fire reaches it.

The building has many large cracks in it and firefighters fear it may collapse. The fire hasn’t yet spread to the main brewery next door.

The fire broke out just as the weekly Thursday evening Saranac Music event was getting started.

At least two people have been injured and have been sent to the hospital.

The FX Matt Brewery is primarily known for Utica Club and the Saranac line of beers, but they are also a large contract brewer for Brooklyn Brewery, Samuel Adams, and many others.

Look at the Observer-Dispatch for more coverage, photos and video.

Update: As of 11:30 PM, Thursday night, May 30 2008, the fire was not yet under control. The ammonia tank has not exploded which could level all of the buildings.

Update - 4-June-2008: The brewery is operational, although canning and bottling operations will need to be outsourced for a time. (via Dowd’s Brews Notebook)

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So, I’m home, hanging out with the kids, just chillin’, when the doorbell rings.

It’s the UPS man.

I wasn’t expecting a package, but who knows what last-minute thing my wife might have gotten.

It’s addressed to my family. From Ron’s family.

Well, isn’t that curious? While we send each other greeting cards, our families don’t exchange gifts. Not that we wouldn’t, of course, but by the time I buy gifts for my own kids, their cousins, their step-cousins, grandmas, grandpa, and child-free aunts and uncles, the gift budget is stretched thin. I know Ron is in the same boat.

So this, obviously, is a surprise. I honestly have no idea what it could be. So I call the girls up from downstairs. “Look, girls. We got a package.”

“What is it?” they ask.

“I don’t know. Let’s open it and find out.”

I slice open the tape. There’s a bunch of things in bubble-wrap. I grab the first one.

By golly, it’s a bottle of beer!

Six more bubble-wrapped bottles follow. Plus a note:

Enjoy this sampler of fine ales and lagers, hand selected, specifically with you in mind. Cheers! (I had the hardest time choosing just seven! Enjoy!)

“You shouldn’t have called us,” says my youngest, disappointed, as they head back downstairs.

Hawesome! A couple of them are even from my wishlist.

And they say Christmas is for the kids.

(Yes, that is my daughters’ purple Disney Princess tree in the background.)

• Brown’s Brewing Oatmeal Stout
• Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Samichlaus
• Black Dog Winter Cheer
• Saranac Imperial Stout
• Ithaca Beer Double IPA
• Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

Thank you, Ron. I will enjoy every last drop.

I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.
– Walt Whitman

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I want to love Saranac beers, but this one I just can’t. Don’t get me wrong… I happily finished the six pack, but I never came to really like it. On the unofficial Hop-Talk rating, I give it a 3 at best.

After just following up on my Pet Peeves on Porters, I found the Southern Tier Porter to be a very decent choice. I had bought the Saranac at the same time and was hoping for a bonus, but I guess I was pushing it.

I’ll start with what I did like about the Saranac Caramel Porter. The pour was very nice with a thick head and the aroma had very prominent caramel and chocolate notes. The mouth feel felt right for a porter, strong and lingered. The roasted malt flavor was not harsh.

But, it spoke of caramel and chocolate very loudly. So loud, I’d say they added real caramel to the brew. It also had that strong, sharp alcohol taste which was present in the aroma as well.

So this beer brings up my other pet peeve about any beer. I prefer these flavor characteristics to be subtle , almost imperceivable. I want to have to sip the entire beer before saying, “I think they may have put some real caramel in there…”

If I could only get my hands on a Bell’s Brewery Porter.

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