Past Newsletters

Vol. 6 No. 5

Brewery	Beers Featured
Avery Brewing Company	Ellie's Brown Ale
Avery Brewing Company	Avery India Pale Ale
Pipkin Brewing Company	Pipkin Porter
Pipkin Brewing Company	Pipkin Blonde Ale

Avery Brewing Company

The Avery Brewing Company of Boulder, Colorado, is a small, family-owned and operated microbrewery dedicated to brewing the finest quality English-style ales. Founded in the fall of 1993 by the father and son team of Larry and Adam Avery, the brewery has grown from an initial capacity of 1,000 barrels a year to its current capacity of 5,000 barrels a year. The family team expanded in 1995 to include daughter/sister, Angie, who heads the brewery's marketing effort. Adam brews with a 7 Bbl. brewhouse, (3) 30 Bbl. and (1) 20 Bbl. fermentation tanks, and (1) 30 Bbl. bright tank. We really like this brewery. They’re great people making some of the best handcrafted beers produced in states. Simply put, the Avery Brewing Co. kicks ass.

Adam currently brews six year-round ales along with seasonal specialties available in limited quantities throughout the year. All of their beers are brewed in small, seven-barrel batches to assure the highest level of quality and consistency. Pure Rocky Mountain water, fine American malted barley, fresh Washington hops, and English yeast are carefully blended to bring you these world-class, hand-crafted ales. You’re in for a treat this month as we’re featuring the best two ales (their top 2 sellers!) from a brewery that makes great beer across the board, Ellie’s Brown Ale and Avery India Pale Ale. You’re gonna dig them both!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (303) 440-4324 or check out their web site at www.averybrewing.com.

Ellie's Brown Ale

Serving Temperature: 50-55° F
Original Gravity: 15.0° Plato
Final Gravity: N/A
Int'l Bittering Units: 15.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%

Ellie’s Brown Ale label features president/brewmaster Adam Avery’s 4 year old chocolate Labrador retriever and was created to appeal not only to the taste of beer drinkers but to their lifestyles as well, in this case, to dog lovers. The beer’s name and label underwent a facelift as Elle Magazine threatened suit to the beer with the same name claiming that some of their readers might confuse the two products. It could happen. I’ve often mistaken my dog for a woman’s lifestyle magazine. In any case, the extra letter was added to appease Elle and avoid that favorite American past time of being sued.

Ellie’s Brown Ale is brewed with a combination of Two Row Pale, Munich, Caramel and Chocolate malts. Adam adds Cluster hops at the beginning of the 60 minute boil primarily to add bitterness. Cascade and Fuggles hops are added at the middle and end of the boil respectively for their aromatic contributions. Note a very pleasant roasted character in Ellie’s nose (it should be wet too if she’s healthy!). No hop character is evident as appropriate for an English Brown Ale. We found a very rich maltiness and a complex caramel and roasted combination in the flavor profile of this very nicely balanced beer. Overall, a very flavorful and sweet brown ale. Bottom line? We loved it!

Avery India Pale Ale

Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 15.0° Plato
Final Gravity: N/A
Int'l Bittering Units: 50.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%

Adam brews their IPA with a combination of Two Row Pale, Caramel and Munich malts. He then hops it with Columbus hops in two separate additions during the boil and dry hops it in a big way with both Goldings and Columbus hops. Look for a seriously hop dominated floral and earthy hop nose in this copper, filtered, medium-bodied ale. We found it quite well balanced for an IPA. Something of a marriage of an agressively hopped Norhtwest IPA and a traditional earthy, spicy English IPA. Note a big bitter start with some definite sweet caramel maltiness evident. Avery’s IPA finishes very clean, not too dry. Overall, this is a damn good IPA. You’re gonna love it.

Pipkin Brewing Company

Louisville’s first brewers included immigrants from the British Isles and, later, German speaking immigrants from southern Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace-Lorraine. These forerunners brought German styles of beer, particularly lager beer, and dominated the local brewing industry in the late 1850's. At the turn of the century, a Louisville beer drinker could pick from over twenty local breweries.

Well, that was then and this is now and unfortunately, when you think Kentucky, you’re not thinkin’ beer. You’re going with whiskey. Am I right? Unless you’re Paul Hummer. When he was fifteen years old, his father began brewing avidly in the basement of their house and seemingly this early exposure to homebrewing proved to be a turning-point in Paul's life. After High School, most guys go to college to drink beer, but Paul studied how to brew it at the University of California at Davis where he majored in brewing studies. Diploma in hand, he worked for 4 years at the Weeping Radish Brewery in Durham, North Carolina and then relocated to Louisville, Kentucky where the microbrewery market had been out of commission since 1978.

Inspired by one of his favorite Belgian breweries, Chimay, Paul launched the Pipkin Brewing Company and named it after his favorite brewer's barley, Pipkin, which typically displays an intense biscuit and malt flavor. The backbone of every Pipkin brew is this exceptional barley malt, a traditional variety rarely employed due to its high cost. Paul will tell ya, "The Pipkin malts lend a depth of flavor to the beers which can only be achieved with superior raw ingredients."

With one salesman and two brewers, Pipkin Brewing Company prefers to slow steady growth, putting out 1,200 barrels a year (a yield that's doubled since opening in 1998). You can only find Pipkin Blonde, Pale Ale, Brown, and Porter on tap and in bottles at some 150 locations around Louisville or in your box this month!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (502) 584-2739.

Pipkin Porter

Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 11.8° Plato
Final Gravity: N/A
Int'l Bittering Units: 23.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%

Pipkin Porter is brewed with no less than 6 malts including Two Row Pale, Pipkin Pale, Wheat, Crystal, Black Patent and a whole lot of Chocolate malt. Paul hops it twice during the boil with Northern Brewer hops. Look for a chocolate malt character dominating this beer all the way though, from the nose to the finish. Note a deep dark ruby-brown color in this medium-bodied, filtered porter. We found the flavor to offer chocolate malt, coffee and caramel flavors and the finish, crisp and non-lingering. Overall, a fine interpretation of a classic style. We really liked it.

Pipkin Blonde Ale

Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: N/A
Final Gravity: N/A
Int'l Bittering Units: N/A
Alcohol by Volume: N/A

Pipkin Blonde is brewed with a combination of Two Row Pale and Wheat malts. Paul uses Northern Brewer hops up front for their spicy flavor contributions and German Hallertauer hops at the end of the boil for their aromatic characteristics. The beer is modeled after the German Helles style. Look for a slightly spicy hop nose and a pale maltiness evident in the nose. Note a somewhat sweet pale malt character dominating this well-balanced, deep golden, filtered ale. Pipkin Blonde ends clean and crisp. Overall, a refreshing, clean session beer.

Ask Murl

Dear Murl,

I recently traveled China and although I never made it to the dried insect market that Commander McBrew described in your last newsletter, I was able to try a few Chinese brews and was wondering what you think of Chinese beer.

Jim Flayes
Laguna Beach, CA

Yo Jimbo or should it be Yojimbo,

Before I answer your question, I was wondering if you might be able to tell me, my fine human friend, exactly what the difference between Beer Nuts and Deer Nuts is? "Don’t know", you say. "Not a clue", you say. Well, Beer Nuts are $1.75 and Deer Nuts are under a Buck. Get it? Deer … Nuts …Buck … Sorry. I’ve been trying to tie that one in with a question for months and recently concluded, "Hey homedog, who’s damn column is this anyway?"

Beers produced in China are well-crafted, German-style lagers. Though not tremendously interesting and generally unpronounceable, they will complement a plate of Mu Shu Pork or Kung Pao Chicken nicely. If, however, you happen to be a canine and are trying to culturally blend, attempting the use of chop sticks with paws, I recommend something a little more potent, like a good Barely Wine or Imperial Stout. Chow-mein baby!

Woof!
Murl.

Food For Thought...

Pipkin Blonde Chili

As fall is firmly in place and we rapidly approach winter and the fact that it’s dark when we drive to and from the office, we’re in heavy denial here at Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club and fully intend to gather around Barbecue well into November and December. Hell, we live in American Baby... Where mass consumption of Beer, Burgers and Chili is the order of the day at any Red-blooded BBQ! On that note, here’s a list of food. When you mix it all up and cook it, it tastes real good. Be sure and save a beer or two from your shipment to cool your engine.

• 2 lbs kidney beans
• 2 ½ lbs hamburger
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 TBS salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 TBS chili powder
• 1 ½ TBS dry mustard
• 24 oz. Pipkin Blonde Ale
• 12 oz. tomato paste

Soak beans in water 12 hours and then simmer over medium heat until tender. Lightly brown beef and caramelize onion in same pan. Discard fat (or donate it to your local McDonald French fry cooker). Combine sugar, garlic, chili powder and mustard with 12 ounces of brew and simmer for 15 min. Add tomato paste to beans and combine with all of that other stuff we just had you do. Simmer for 2 hours adding remaining 12 ounces of beer during the last 10 minutes. Roll up your sleeves, fill a big bowl with the stuff and maybe schlapp a sizable dollop-o-sour cream smack dab in the middle of it all.

Source: Great American Beer Cookbook, Candy Schermerhorn, Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO.

Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm

Woody: How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Poor.
Woody: I’m sorry to hear that.
Norm: No, I mean pour.

True Brew Facts

THE ALE STREET NEWS - Can a brewski a day help your kidney stones at bay? A study of nearly 30,000 male smokers says it’s true. A recent research project in Finland indicated that drinking a brew per day reduced the risk of the formation of kidney stones in men. How much? A whopping 40 percent! The researchers tested other beverages in the trial. But beer alone significantly reduced the incidence of kidney stones. The July 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology reports that the healthful effects could be the result of the water and alcoholic content of beer. I’m thinkin’ TWO beers a day and I never have to worry about kidney stones again!

THE CELEBRATOR BEER NEWS - You don’t have to attend medical school to become a doktor. Each year, thousands of people throughout the country receive Beer Doktor awards at Oktoberfest celebrations in such places as Frankenmeuth, Michigan; Kitchener, Ontario; and Munich, Germany. A Beer Doktor Award is presented to anyone who can drink a "humpen" (23.5) of beer without taking their lips from the glass. Although the title of Doktor is indeed prestigious, the compensation is not nearly as rewarding as the real deal!

ALL ABOUT BEER - To publicize the opening of a nightclub in Hamburg, Germany, a public relations firm came up with a promotional idea right off the top of their heads. They invited all of the city’s barbers to a special party. Within a month the new club was booming. The talkative barbers, as expected, had told all their customers about the evening. And everyone was especially well-groomed after the event.

BEER: THE MAGAZINE - Billy Carter, the late brother of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, had a beer named after him. In recognition of the "Billy Beer" honor, he said, "For me the beer thing was a natural, ‘cause I know a good beer better than anybody. Who knows? Maybe I’ll become the Colonel Sanders of beer." Following Billy’s death in 1988, an ad appeared in a New York newspaper, advertising six-packs of Billy Beer for the incredible sum of $9,000 each! Ever try the stuff? Nasty. Figures I tossed my beer can collection in ‘82.

MIDWEST BEER NOTES - The owner of a Fort Lauderdale laundromat took the drudgery out of doing the wash by selling beer and wine. He added another twist when the "suds" were flowing, a topless dancer. The Helpy-Selfy Laundromat didn’t have a cover charge but the cost of draft beer went up 35 cents a glass while the show was on. Local men were later found to have increased the number of times of doing their wash from once a month to twice a day.

For Members Only

Give Your Friends FREE Beer, Wine, Cheese, Chocolate, Cigars & Flowers!
Through our Customer Appreciation Program

Your name has real value to your friends, co-workers, and family members! Every time a friend, family member, or anyone else you know joins any one of our clubs, [or gives a gift] for 3 months or longer, we'll give them 50% off of their first month, but only when they mention your name. And we'll also give you 50% off your next month too which can either be applied towards your current membership or you can try one of our other Clubs out! (We can add one more month to your order at 50% off for prepaid memberships!)

The Fine Print: Members giving gift memberships do not qualify for referral credits and you can't give yourself a gift to qualify! This Program is mutually exclusive of any other promotions.

Membership Q & A

Q: What can I do if I'm having difficulty receiving my shipment at home?
A: You should consider having our discrete box delivered to your work location or to a neighbor 21 yrs. of age that can receive it for you. As your shipment requires and adult signature to receive, it's always best to ship it to a location where someone will be there to receive it for you. The box is brown corrugated cardboard and doesn't say "Beer" on it anywhere.

Q: What should I do if I'm moving or want to extend my membership?
A: Please call us prior to the 5th of the month to make all account related information changes such as address changes, membership extensions & terminations, or gift accounts desiring to continue their memberships. Address changes made after that time may require a repackaging and re-shipping charge of $12.00. Additionally, if your box is re-routed by UPS from an address different than what was originally specified, you may incur a $5.00 re-routing charge.

Q: What happens if my shipment is damaged?
A: If your shipment arrives damaged, please call us immediately toll free at 1-800-625-8238 and report the incident for a prompt resolution.

Q: What happens if my credit card is declined?
A: We will send you a courtesy notice asking you for an alternative payment method and your order will be temporarily suspended until we hear from you.

Q: What happens if I join under a special incentive program and don't stay a member for the entire term committed?
A: Not a problem. Although we want to do everything we can to keep you as a member, we will allow you to cancel your subscription early; however, you will be responsible to pay for the item that was given to you as part of the promotion. If you received a discount based on a specific term, the amount discounted will be charged to your card.