Past Newsletters
Vol. 7 No. 5
| Brewery | Beers Featured |
| Three Floyds Brewing Company | 3 Floyds Burnham Pilsener |
| Three Floyds Brewing Company | Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale |
| Wild Goose Brewing Company | Wild Goose Indian Pale Ale |
| Wild Goose Brewing Company | Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout |
Three Floyds Brewing Company
Founded in the fall of 1996 by Nick Floyd, his father and his brother, they truly are three Floyd’s brewing. When they started the brewery it was with the intention of satisfying the thirst of beer drinkers in the Midwest who crave big, uncompromising beers Catering to the lads that simply couldn’t choke down another bottle of Milwaukee’s Best with a Stag chaser! Gone are the days when an Indiana boy has to seek out and lurk in notorious locations of ill repute so that he won’t be seen suppressing the "Gag Reflex" trying to get an Old Style past his tonsils. Thank you brothers Floyd And Papa Floyd too!
Before deciding to open his own brewery, Nick Floyd had extensive brewing experience, which is quite evident in the outstanding beers he produces. And the boys? Quality Control, of course. One of the keys to the beers that Nick brews is the malts that he invests in. Buying specialized malts from Germany and Belgium, which impart a depth and smoothness lacking in many other beers, he often uses up to 10 different malts in his ales!
The original brewery for Three Floyds was located in a 5,000 square foot warehouse in Hammond, Indiana where cheap taxes and rent helped the guys get off the ground. They originally started out as a draft only facility, supplying bars and restaurants in the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana areas, but have since expanded. In November 1999, Three Floyds slowly began moving their facility to Munster, Indiana. The 15,000 square foot building will eventually house the entire brewing operation once it is complete by the start of 2001.
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (219) 922-3565 or check out their web site at www.threefloyds.com.
Serving Temperature: 42-47° F
Original Gravity: 11.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.0° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 32.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
Burnham Pilsener is brewed with two row Pale and Carapils malts. Nick has selected our personal favorite pilsener hop, Czechoslovakian Saaz, to take on the task of bittering this classic Czechoslovakian interpretation. Look for a deep amber colored lager with a medium body and moderate bitterness. We found it to have a sweet malty nose with some hop spiciness evident. Note a lightly toasted caramel malt palate. This beer has a wonderful mouth feel with delicate spicy hop notes that are interwoven with the malt. It has a lingering spicy finish that would go well with Asian, Mexican, or other spicy cuisines.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 12.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.7° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 28.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.9%
Brewed with two row pale, roasted and Melianoidin Magnura malts, Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale is dark copper in color with a nose of chocolate syrup, coffee and sweet malt. The lads balance it nicely with Centennial hops. We found it to be medium-bodied with a big malty body that has a nice balance of hops. It finishes with a lingering bitterness and notes of coffee beans. This beer is a true wintertime delight that warms you with every sip. We recommend drinking this beer with any grilled meat or a chocolate dessert.
Wild Goose Brewing Company
Since firing up their brewkettle in 1989, the Wild Goose Brewery has been producing some of the finest beers in the East. They consistently gain the praises of beer critics and have brought home more medals than Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz and the entire Yugoslavian Women’s Weight Lifting team combined! Many of the original recipes for the Wild Goose beers were produced by Mark Scease, who learned his trade at Peter Austin and also studied with Alan Puglsey. For anyone who doesn’t know Alan Pugsley, he has helped design and set up some of the best microbreweries in the United States including Shipyard, Geary’s, and Old Nutfield. His attention to detail and obvious knowledge of hops and malts is brutally apparent to beer lovers and beer judges alike.
Our first beer from Wild Goose is their India Pale Ale. A rare English-style ale whose roots go back to the British Empire, IPA’s were traditionally brewed to mature while being shipped to India from Britain. To keep the beer fresh during the long voyage, the brewers would heavily hop these ales in order to produce a high gravity.
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (301) 694-7899
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 15.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 5.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 55.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
Danger! Danger! Danger Will Robinson! Big Beer Alert! The Goose’s IPA is brewed with a combination of two row pale, torrified wheat, caramel 20 and carapils malts. It’s hopped up big time with both First Gold and East Kent Goldings hops. Any yes…It is in fact dry-hopped as you might suspect with an IBU of 55! We find this delightful IPA to be a moderately full-bodied beer with a rich yellow-gold color. It has a sweet hop nose, reminiscent of freshly baked bread, with floral hop notes as well. The sweet hoppiness hits the tongue up front and stays with you through a long, bitter finish. The body is filled with a chewy maltiness that leads beautifully into the hoppy finish. Overall, Yeah Baby!
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 16.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 5.0° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Just knowing that this tasty nectar is brewed with a combination of two row pale, torrified wheat, crystal, rolled oats, black patent and chocolate malts makes you want to crack one open right damn now! Well, it does us anyway! The Goose’s Oatmeal Stout hopped with Czechoslovakian Saaz hops. You’ll find it opaque black in color with a tan, coffee colored head that holds well. Note and an inviting nose of coffee bean and oats. It’s certainly full-bodied with rich espresso flavors that meld together with the hops. A very impressive beer, it ends with a smooth, warming finish.
Ask Murl
Dear Murl,
Okay, Here’s a tough one for ya Murl. Can you tell me exactly why it is that my beer spills out of the bottle when I open it?
Jimmy Doogan
Glen Ellen, IL
Yo Jimmy!
Is it safe to assume that you generally have a healthy buzz at all times, Jimmy my boy? Do you also have difficulty pouring your beers into a glass, your mouth or other receptacles? Kinda like in the movie Airplane when the guy says he has a drinking problem and pours the beer into his cheek? Try sitting down before you open the next bottle or maybe only open them in the tub or when you know your dog is around to lap up any mishaps!
Wait a minute. Were you talking about beers you’ve bought or homebrews? The homebrew thing makes a little more sense there, James. Okay, I’m gonna back off a bit and assume that was the case. As you may or may not know, there are certain bacteria that get off on contaminating your precious nectar and when they do, it’s not so unusual for the beer to come blastin’ out of the bottle when you open it. See, they’re kinda of like havin’ a bacteria party in there. I mean, you know they’ve got plenty of beer, right? And that leads to some serious procreation and other questionable activities and after awhile, there’s just not enough room for all the little buggers in the compact 12-oz. Condo you’ve provided and they gotta get out! If you prime your beer with sugar, your brew goes through a second fermentation which can have the same effect as well. So my advice, Jimmy, is to bust out the Pine Sol and scrub down the equipment a bit more next time and back off on the sugar amount you prime with pal!
Woof!
Murl.
Food For Thought...
Three Floyds Eggplant Pasta
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled & diced
- Salt and pepper
- 6 ounces smoked ham, cubed
- 1 cup Three Floyds Burnham Pilsener
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 lb. large tubular pasta such as penne
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Put in the eggplant, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 10 min., until it becomes soft. Stir in the ham, and fry 2 min. Add the lager and rosemary, and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by half. Put in the peas, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce, and cook for 30 seconds to heat through. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with plenty of Parmesan cheese, and serve. Serves 4 adults, 2 Italian American teenagers or a big dog that was locked out last night.
Source: Real Beer and Good Eats; Bruce Aidells & Denis Kelly; Alfred A. Knoph, Inc., 1992.
Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm
Woody: What’s the story Norm?
Norm: Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer.
True Brew Facts
SOURCE UNNAMED - After the Great American Beer Festival, in Denver, all the brewery presidents decided to go out for a beer. The guy from Corona sits down and says "Hey Señor, I would like the world's best beer, a Corona." The bartender dusts off a bottle from the shelf and gives it to him. The guy from Budweiser says "I'd like the best beer in the world, give me 'The King Of Beers', a Budweiser." The bartender gives him one. The guy from Coors says I'd like the only beer made with Rocky Mountain spring water, give me a Coors." He gets it. The owner of one of the small microbreweries sits down and says "Give me a Coke." The bartender is a little taken aback, but gives him what he ordered. The other brewery presidents look over at him and ask "Why aren't you drinking one of your beers?" and the brewery president replies "Well, if you guys aren't drinking beer, neither will I." Not sure I’m buying into this one…Sounds a bit suspect!
BEERWIRE - Bloomberg reported recently that an employee at Coors Brewing Co. accidentally flipped the wrong switch, thereby flushing 77,500 gallons of beer into a creek. The beer wound up flowing into Clear Creek, south of Golden, CO, killing thousands of fish. A warning was issued by The Colorado Department of Public Health for people to avoid the creek due to a bacterial risk that could lead to illness. At the time of the ill-timed flushing, the beer was fermenting in tanks when it was washed through a wastewater treatment plant and into the creek. Investigators have not decided if fines are appropriate. Toss a little flour into that creek and wheel over the Weber for a Serious Fish Fry! It’s really about the only good use for a Coors anyway…
REAL BEER PAGE - Hemp Beer Hits New Zealand. Five thousand bottles of German-brewed hemp beer became the first of its kind to be legally sold in the southern hemisphere last winter when New Zealand authorities allowed the beer into the country. Rockpool, the only bar in Christchurch selling hemp beer, charges $8.00 a bottle! For $8 buck a throw, you’d think you could smoke it too!
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