Past Newsletters
April 2007
Brewery
|
Beers Featured
|
| Bluegrass Brewing Company | American Pale Ale |
| Woodstock Inn Brewery | Loon Golden Ale |
| Bluegrass Brewing Company | Nut Brown Ale |
| Woodstock Inn Brewery | Pemi Pale Ale |
| Darwin Brewery Ltd. (England) | Flag Porger |
| Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan (Germany) | Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier |
Bluegrass Brewing Company
The Bluegrass Brewing Company began serving its ales & lagers in November 1993 when their restaurant and brewery opened in St. Matthews, in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the years, the brewpub and its beers experienced a surge in popularity, leading the Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC) to start selling draft beer to retail outlets throughout the state. With the BBC brand becoming more widely available on local taps, it was just a matter of time before they started bottling their fine malty nectars. In 1999, the first bottles of BBC brand brew were released to a very thirsty marketplace. In order to keep up with demand, their bottled beers were contract brewed at a separate brewery. In late 2000, the BBC started considering the possibility of bottling its own product, but this would require the purchase of a new, larger brewery.
Purchasing a new brewery was financially daunting. In order to get capital, the number of owners in the company ballooned from 3 in 1993 to a whopping 50 by 2001! But with the new brewery purchased, original Bluegrass Brewing Company brewmaster David R. Pierce could produce his award-winning beers on a larger scale than ever. And boy, can this guy brew! He's got a bevy of medals to prove it too. What impressed us most was the fact that in 1998, his now legendary Bearded Pat's Barleywine beat out such epitomes of the style as Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and Anchor's classic, Old Foghorn, at both the Great American Beer Festival AND the Real Ale Festival. But get this folks—the following year, he did it again—bringing home another set of Gold Medals from both fests. Such a feat is practically unheard of!
Despite David's amazing brews, it seemed that having such a large number of owners was limiting the company from effectively growing in to their new brewery. Enter Scott Roussell in April 2005, along with 5 other managing partners who bought out most of the original 50 owners. Interestingly, Scott had no experience in the brewing business prior to his involvement with the BBC, but in his 'former life' ran a venture capital funded wireless technology company. Desirous of a project that would require less travel and keep him closer to home, and recognizing the untapped (no pun intended) potential in a high quality product, Scott began an aggressive promotional campaign as the brewery's new managing director. His grassroots approach to promoting the BBC line of beers has seen their brew appear in over 90 new locations in just 7 short months. This is a brewing company to watch over the next couple of years—they're currently the largest microbrewery in Kentucky, and their growth is expected to be tremendous.
For more information about the brewery & scheduled tours, or their unique brewpub (which is actually a kind of museum dedicated to paraphernalia featuring local breweries in Louisville's history), call (502) 584-BREW or check out their web site at www.bluegrassbrew.com.
A new American classic! We tip our hats to brewmaster David R. Pierce for his work on this one, and have a good feeling that more than a few of our readers will be seeking out reorder cases of this brew. Expect pine and grapefruit notes on the nose, with plenty of caramel malt tones that also carry through to the flavor profile, along with a sturdy bitterness that's masterfully balanced by the sweeter malt elements. Brimming with refinement, this big pale ale, with its lovely hop aromatics and big malt backbone, works impeccably well with spicy Buffalo wings or pizza, or anything spicy like Mexican, Thai or Vietnamese.
Serving Temperature: 42-50° F
Int'l Bittering Units: 50.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.75%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Stange (tall, slender cylinder)
Malts: Special Pale, Caramunich, Flaked Barley, Special B
Hops: Centennial, Willamette
Well everything about this brew screams England—from the derby on the label to the brown-toned flags in the background. Oh yes, and then there's the actual beer—right on the money as a traditional English-style brown ale, but with a twist. It's that twist, in our opinion, that really sets this brew apart: a remarkably robust & roasty malt nose, absolutely loaded with chocolate and sweet malty notes—it's practically Porter on the nose, with a big caramel bang and slightly burnt edge. On the palate, things mellow out a bit over the nose, yielding a highly drinkable, lightly sweet malty brown ale well-balanced by the restrained hop character. Of course, late in the finish comes the dry, nutty flavor implied by the name. Partner with mildly spicy beef dishes or chocolate desserts, the darker and more bitter the chocolate, the better. Speaking of chocolate—one welcomed result of the microbrewing renaissance in the US has been the increasingly popular pairing of food with beer—notably chocolate. Our Chocolate of the Month Club is a great compliment to your Beer of the Month Club membership, or as a gift to any chocolate lover. Consider this—maybe your spouse isn't that enthralled with beer—yet you, the selfish animal that you are (just kidding!), continue to enjoy your monthly microbrewed beers, savoring the rich flavors and diverse character of each unique brew—practically throwing it in her face each and every month. Why not set her up with her own monthly indulgence!? Visit www.monthlyclubs.com for more details; you'll be heralded as a hero, and you'll no longer have to miss out on the glorious pairings of beers and chocolate (assuming you can manage to get your hands on some of that chocolate too!)
Serving Temperature: 40-48° F
Int'l Bittering Units: 28.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%
Suggested Glassware: English Pint Glass
Malts: Special Pale, Munich, Aromatic, Biscuit, Caramunich, Chocolate
Hops: UK Challenger, Willamette
Woodstock Inn Brewery
You deserve a vacation. Yes, you! For us beer loving folk, there are few places as rewarding as the home of our 2nd round of featured domestic brews. The Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery is nestled in the heart of the majestic White Mountains of New Hampshire and is one of the state's most visited country inns. Not only do they provide classic, quaint accommodations, but they also brew their own beer. If you've been considering a place to get away from it all, you should be hearing "DING DING DING! I think we have a winner!" Whether it's skiing, snowboarding or snowmobiling in the winter, or hiking, swimming or picnicking in the spring, summer or fall—this is a fantastic vacation getaway spot. Oh yes, then there's the fact that you can enjoy fine microbrews—crafted right on site—during your entire stay!
For nearly 100 years, the Woodstock Inn was the private home of the Clement family (after whom the Inn's main dining room is named). Around the early 1960's, the last family heir relocated, and the property sat empty for about 20 years. Then in the early 1980's the Rice family purchased and renovated the unique, New England style building and during Christmas of 1982, opened to guests. Success came quickly, as did an increased need for space. In order to expand from their original six guestroom capacity (each furnished with period antiques), a second historic home across the street was purchased and renovated in the Victorian style. Growth continued, and two additional properties were bought—the Inn now sprawls across multiple buildings, each with its own very distinct character and charm, with a total of 33 guestrooms, some outfitted with Jacuzzi tubs and gas fireplaces. There's also an authentic, circa mid-1800's train station building which now houses a bar and additional dining rooms.
In 1993, the Porter's room was added and two years later the Woodstock Inn Brewery and Brew Pub opened its doors (not surprisingly, this is our favorite component of their expansion efforts). The brewery offers twelve handcrafted brews—four main brews and eight specialty & seasonal ales, each made with pristine NH deep-well water, the freshest hops and highest quality imported grains available, all brewed using their traditional, seven-barrel brewing system.
For more information about the Woodstock Inn & Brewery, check out their website at www.WoodstockInnNH.com, and be sure to check out the details regarding their popular Brewski and Brewer's weekend packages—New Hampshire is a GREAT place to visit, in any season! You can also ring them at: 800-321-3985.
You'd have to be a loon if you don't like this beer! Sorry, we had to work in at least one "loon" zinger—it's not often we get an excuse to use the word. According to the brewery, this is a Canadian-style golden ale. It's an extremely easy to drink brew, with a spritzy, creamy nose and herbal, tangy hop notes. The flavor presents notes of freshly cracked pale malt grains, a breaddy backbone, and a creamy full-bodied mouthfeel with the perfect dosing of bitter, zesty hops to balance out the malty core, leaving a sustained bitter hop character on the tongue. This is the perfect compliment to a cob salad, grilled chicken Caesar salads or sliced green apples (seriously, give the apples a try!)
Serving Temperature: 39-44° F
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.75%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Stange
Malts: Pale, Torrified Wheat, Crystal
Hops: Cascade, Fuggles
Named after New Hampshire's Pemigewasset River, this massively hopped pale ale is quite arguably an India Pale Ale. The massive citrusy hop qualities come from an extended dry hopping with highly aromatic cascade hops. Note the big piney, grapefruit skin nose with light caramel notes piquing through the dense saturation of hops. The flavor begins with a prominently creamy quality, almost buttery note (from diacetyl, a normal byproduct of the yeast) that is quickly washed away by the prominent citrusy hop bitterness. Prominent notes of pine and grapefruit accent the flavor profile, which are almost kept in check by the caramel malt flavors. But hops like this will NOT be held back! Finishes very bitter with a floral kick. Named Best Pale Ale in the Northeast and second overall in the Country at the United States Beer Tasting Championships, it's a real treat for all you hopheads out there! Excellent with spicy blackened Cajun catfish, or fried calamari dipped in an aggressive (lots of horseradish) cocktail sauce. Enjoy!
Serving Temperature: 43-50° F
Int'l Bittering Units: 50.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.7%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass
Malts: Pale, Torrified Wheat, Crystal
Hops: Cascade, Fuggles, Goldings
Darwin Brewery Ltd.—Sunderland, England (Northeastern England)
As a beer connoisseur, you are probably familiar with England's famous style of beer known as "Bitter". At one point, this was the hallmark brew of the UK, but even this popular style of beer experienced a regional centrality; before bitter became ubiquitous throughout the U.K., various styles existed almost in isolation of one another—those that were preferred in the north of England were often not at all desired in the south. It took a new kind of beer to freely cross provincial boundaries—a beer that would become the first nationally popular beer-style in Britain—a beer called Porter.
Porter was first brewed in 1722 in Shoreditch, London. As the legend goes, it was commonplace for patrons to request two or three different ales to be combined in their glass to strike their preferred flavor (there were more beer aficionados back then). Eventually, an innkeeper named Ralph Harwood developed a beer that embodied the virtues of each component beer, and he called his brew 'Entire'. It swiftly became very popular with the working men at the docks of London (or 'Porters' as they were known, yielding a name that finally stuck).
Within a few years, Porter had become the most popular style of beer in Britain. Saloons would offer accommodations to working men with cheap cuts of beef (the Porter house steak) and, of course Porter by the pint. In 1799, Guinness switched entirely (no pun intended) to producing Porter, which became the beer of the Irish working man. In fact, it was Porter that would ultimately give rise to a variation known today as the very popular Guinness Draught. But despite its massive popularity, the style all but vanished by 1973, replaced mainly by variations created by Guinness.
Today, Porter is again alive and well, experiencing a renaissance in both the U.S. and the U.K., though its original formulation and flavor remains somewhat of an uncertainty since its variations over the years, not to mention its brush with extinction. This month, we provide what may be the most historically accurate Porter available today—Flag Porter. Its story is certainly among the most interesting we have ever encountered. In 1988, several bottles of Porter were raised from their resting place 60 feet deep in the body of an 1825 shipwreck lying at the bottom of the English Channel. The beers were in their original containers, with their wood stoppers and wax seals intact. Unfortunately, the 163-year-old beer 'tasted like old, wet boots' according to Dr. Keith Thomas, renowned brewer and microbiologist. However, when he examined the beer under a microscope, he discovered that a small percentage of the yeast were still alive! After months of re-cultivating this yeast, he brewed a Porter using an authentic 1850 recipe. Adhering to the practices of Porter brewers of the era, Dr. Thomas uses barley and hops grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and the very same yeast that was extracted from a bottle of 1825 Porter!
Flag Porter is currently brewed by the Darwin Brewery of Sunderland, England. Established in 1994, Darwin Brewery has become one of the most respected small breweries in the North East of England. They produce a wide range of traditional and unique beers and were recently awarded the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) North East Beer of the Year for their delicious Ghost Ale.
For more information about the brewery, check out their web site at http://www.darwinbrewery.com.
Salvaging 163-year-old yeast that has been sitting at the bottom of a bottle—sitting at the bottom of the English Channel—now that's quite a chore. Thankfully, the makers of this fine brew did their homework in order to come up with this authentic ale. Flag Porter was modeled on the brown Porter style prevalent at the turn of the nineteenth century rather than the richly roasted Victorian Porters that developed later. This would have been more typical of the Porter likely to have been aboard a ship on the waters of the English Channel in 1825. Look for a nice malt nose, with notes of roasted barley and a slight hint of fruitiness from their infamous yeast. Expect the rich malty qualities to persist in the flavor, with a subtle roastiness and light spiciness from the yeast. The finish is quite dry, appropriately bitter, and rather complex—with notes of bitter chocolate, figs, and hints of wood and leather. The feel in the mouth is velvety smooth as this complex brew rolls across the tongue. This unique Porter has impressed many folks the world over—winning the World Beer Championship Gold in 1998, among other accolades. It is excellent with red meat or oysters, and due to its inherent roasted character, this is a great drink to pair with an earthy, leathery cigar.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Tulip
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan (Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan)—Freising, Germany (Southeastern Germany)
From the largest hop growing region of the world, in the heart of beer brewing culture and history comes the multitude of Bavarian beers. From these veteran lands springs a timeline of brewing history that has delivered some of the hallmark virtues of beer making as we know them today. And as many of us beer lovers take for granted all that goes into our beloved malty nectar, it all had to start from somewhere; there had to have been that first brewery from this esteemed region that started it all. Since the tides of time have washed away the concoctions of the first actual Bavarian brewery, we regret that we cannot bring you the libations of the first brewery from the region. However, we are happy to say that we can deliver a traditional beer produced at what is today recognized as the oldest operating brewery not only in Bavaria, but in the world!
If you traveled back in time to Freising, Germany, to the site of our second featured brewery—before the days of DaVinci, Chaucer or Genghis Kahn (born 1162)—you'd be standing in a hop garden that was already 400 years old. Somewhere between the year 725 and 768, this hop garden was planted, and its owner had to pay tithes to the Benedictine monastery of Weihenstephan. In 1040 the monastery was given permission to brew and sell beer in Freising, at the modern day site of Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. And they have been brewing ever since at the site of this original 8th century hop garden. The Weihenstephan monastery's rights to brew and sell beer passed in 1803 to the King of Bavaria after he purchased the brewery for production of beers for his royal court. Today, it is owned by the Free State of Bavaria and is one of only two breweries to be owned by the state (the other is Munich's famous Hofbrauhaus).
In addition to brewing fantastic beers, the owners also use the brewery to teach students the art of brewing, as well as carrying out investigations into the processes and equipment used in practical brewery operations. It's not only science that stands to benefit from this, but clearly the beer drinker as well. Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan has received many accolades in its nearly thousand year history; we'll list a handful from the past few years. Their Hefe Weissbier was awarded a 96 out of 100 points by the Beverage Testing Institute and was the highest rated Weissbier in the world in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2000! The same folks rated the brewery as a whole at 8th out of the top 10 breweries in the world. Enjoy the world renowned classic we've selected for you this month.
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
he same recipe enjoyed by royals for hundreds of years, this magnificent Hefe Weissbier has a hazy appearance, due to the fact that this wheat beer is unfiltered. It pours a pale yellow color and has a beautifully full head. Look for a malted wheat sweetness, mild spicy hops, and elements of earthy yeast as well as light lemon highlights in this complex and inviting nose. Upon the first sip, you should pick up hints of banana and cloves, balanced nicely with a chewy wheat character and a lingering citrus finish. The body is medium, the taste refreshing, and the character impeccable. It's easy to comprehend how this brewery can produce such a fine beer with nearly a millennium of experience to tout, but it's even easier to understand how this brewery has been in business for hundreds of years when you sample a beer like this distinctive Hefe Weissbier. Go traditional Bavarian and enjoy with Weisswurst (white sausage). Enjoy!
Serving Temperature: 43-50° F
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
Suggested Glassware: Weizen Glass
