Past Newsletters
Vol. 7 No. 7
| Brewery | Beers Featured |
| Ipswich Brewing Company | Ipswich Nut Brown Ale |
| Oxford Brewing Company | Oxford Class Ale |
| Rockies Brewing Company | Singletrack Copper Ale |
| Rockies Brewing Company | Buffalo Gold Ale |
Ipswich Brewing Company
Founded by Paul Silva & Jim Beuvais in 1991, the Ipswich Brewing comes with a classic brewery start up story. Paul was working as a psychologist and Jim was working in the software industry when, like so many other brewery owners, they found their calling. Many would contend that listening to people’s troubles and dealing with computers all day could drive anyone to drink, but these two had greater ambitions.
Ipswich, Massachusetts is located in an area known as the "North Shore", just north of Boston, along the water. It’s an area that is particularly known for its great microbreweries and most of them have the Ipswich Brewing Co. to thank for that reputation. The brewery’s charter is simply to make "Homebrewed Beer" commercially available. The brewery originally bottled in growlers and allowed customers to come back for a refill. As the beers became more popular and it was time to expand, they added 12-oz. bottles and increased distribution. Word quickly spread among beer lovers and the community as well when the Ipswich Original Ale was named one of the ten best beers in the world by Wine Enthusiast magazine.
Recently Paul and Jim sold the brewery to their Brewmaster, Rob Martin. The two men were ready for a change and Rob was ready to run the show. He will continue to make traditional unfiltered English style ales just as he has done for the last nine years.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 13.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 20.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.1%
Ipswich Nut Brown Ale is brewed with a combination of two row pale, chocolate and caramel malts. The brewery uses Tettnang hops up front for their bitterness and magnum hops on the back end for their aromatic contributions. Look for a full-bodied beer with a creamy smooth texture. Note a dark brown in color with ruby hues and a head that stands firm with a nice tan color to it. We found the nose to offer aromas of roasted malt and caramel. We really liked the nutty malt and sweet caramel flavors in this American Brown Ale. The finish has a hint of chocolate, as well as some nuttiness. You’ll pick up on a slight hop bitterness throughout this tasty beer. Overall, we really liked the interpretation of this brown ale and know you will too!
Oxford Brewing Company
The Oxford Brewing Company was originally founded under the name British Brewing Company in Baltimore in 1986 and was the first microbrewery in the mid-Atlantic. The company was started by two British blokes – Craig Stuart-Paul and Steve Parkes – who selected Baltimore because of its large metropolitan area (including nearby Washington, DC) and excellent quality local water for brewing. The company’s mission? To produce classic British style ales which would be better than imports because they were fresher – "American Beer with a British Accent". We elected to feature the breweries original flagship beer this month, Oxford Class Ale.
The British Brewing Company was sold in 1994 and was renamed the Oxford Brewing Company. The boys have continued to brew the classic British styles and occasionally through out a new trick to the public such as Oxford Raspberry Wheat, a loose interpretation of a classic Belgian ale which is made with real raspberries. We really enjoyed the brewery’s interpretation of classic English Ales and are very excited to bring you their complex and flavorful Oxford class ale this month. Enjoy!
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 12.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 4.4° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 25.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.8%
Oxford Class ale is brewed with two row pale, crystal, carapils, amber, caramel 60 and caramel 20 malts! Oxford hops up this medium-bodied English treat with both Tettnang and Northern Brewer hops. Recently named Baltimore’s Best Local Beer by the Baltimore City Paper, the Oxford Class Ale is medium to full-bodied with a very dark copper to almost amber color. We noted a very well rounded body that suggested hints of a banana esteriness from the yeast and perhaps a bit of chamomile on the nose. Look for a big malty flavor which is pleasantly complemented with just the right amount of hop bitterness. We loved it! Note a slightly lingering bitter hop finish.
Rockies Brewing Company
Founded by two homebrewers on a farm near Longmont, CO in 1979, Rockies Brewing was the 43rd brewery in the country and is currently the oldest operating microbrewery in the United States. Now nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado, the brewery has grown an impressive 600 percent since new owners Gina Day and Diane Greenlee took over and reformulated the product line with the assistance of David Zuckerman in 1990.
Since taking over, Day and Greenlee have turned Rockies Brewing into a first-class operation. This year they finally replaced the 1967 H&K German-made bottling line that served the company since 1984 and replaced it with a modern Krones line. They have also installed new fermentation tanks and released new graphic designs for their labels and packaging. All of this has helped improve quality and consistency standards, as well as bringing Day and Greenlee closer to their goal of brewing nothing short of the perfect beers.
The brewery’s mainstay award-winning product line has received 2 Gold and 2 Silver medals at the Great American Beer Festival and includes an extra pale ale, porter, nut brown, premium ale, amber ale, stout, golden ale, and a red ale. The Beverage Testing Institute has also rated many of their beers as "Exceptional" or "Highly Recommended".
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (303) 448-8448 or check out their web site at www.boulderbeer.com.
Serving Temperature: 42-47° F
Original Gravity: 13.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.9° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Singletrack Copper Ale is brewed with a combination of 2-row pale, baird’s, English 50/60 crystal, and carapils malts as well as Flaked toasted rye. You could say…it has a complex malt profile! Rockies hops it up front with Tettnang hops for bitterness and Nuggets hops at the end of the boil for aroma. Singletrack Copper Ale was rated "Exceptional" by the Beverage Testing Institute and we’d have to agree. Note a copper color in this medium-bodied, well-balanced ale. Immediately note a toasty caramel nose with some floral tones evident. We found the flavor complex, as the nose indicated, offering a toasted maltiness and slightly spicy dry character. The malty sweetness on the mid-palate adds a nice touch to this particular style. Look for a hint of fruitiness and an assertive hoppiness in the finish.
Serving Temperature: 42-47° F
Original Gravity: 12.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.2° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 25.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.8%
Buffalo Gold Ale is brewed with a combination of 2-row Pale and crystal malts. The brewery uses 3 different hop varieties including nuggets, Willamette, and cascade to give this beer it’s wonderful hop character. Another winner recommended by the Beverage Testing Institute, the Buffalo Gold is deep golden in color, medium-bodied, and lively thanks to full carbonation. Note a distinctively hoppy nose, with notes of toasted pale malt evident. You’ll find the flavor well balanced with a slight bitterness and pale malt accents. We found the finish to be somewhat malty sweet and then clean and dry. Enjoy!
Ask Murl
Yo Murl!
I have an unopened 6-pack of Billy Beer. What is it worth yee old salty…I mean malty dog!?
James Brown
Albany, NY
Yow! Lookee Here!
‘Sup James! Love the name brother! Did you ever see that spoof that Eddie Murphy did back when SNL was funny about James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub? He was dancing all around the hot tub singing… "Hot Tub! Yeah! Gonna git in-to the Hot Tub! Good God!" Then he puts his foot in and screams, "Yow! Too hot in the Hot Tub! Yeah! Put some more water in the Hot Tub! Hey!"
So you want to know how much a 6-pak of Billy beer is worth, eh? Let’s just put it this way James, you might be able to get a meal out of the deal if you go to Taco Bell and are only feeding one person. Quite a few folks tucked away a few cans of Billy Beer when they were first produced and most beer can collectors, including myself when I was a young pup back in the 70’s, have already added them to their collections. The cans usually sell for 50 cents or less though you may see them with a much higher price on them as flea markets where some poor unsuspecting fool may give you more than they’re worth because he or she thinks that Billy was some kind of a political icon and actually has a place in our country’s history! He might have a place, or a stool rather, with his name on it in some seedy bar with a name like "The Pink Palace" or "Nude Live Nudes & Beer", but that’s the only place he’s making history!
Woof!
Murl.
Food For Thought...
Ipswitch Beer Basted Prime Rib
- 6 lb rib, rump or chuck roast
- 4-6 cloves of garlic
- salt and pepper
- dried thyme and ground sage
- 1 bottle Ipswitch Brown Ale
- ½ cup beef stock
- 2 large onions chopped
- 2 lbs new potatoes coarsely chopped
- 2 lbs parsnips coarsely chopped
- 1 lb mushrooms
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 bottle dark beer
Using the tip of a sharp knife, make slits 1 inch deep at regular intervals over the entire surface of the roast. Insert garlic slivers into the slits. Brush outside of roast with ½ cup of beer. Season meat with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Set in large roasting pan and let sit at room temp while preparing vegetables. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place veggies and one bottle of beer in large pot, cover and cook over medium heat until potatoes and parsnips start to soften (12 -15 min). Add to roasting pan, place in oven and cook meat and veggies, about 15 min per pound. Basting every 10 minutes with 2-3 tbsp of remaining beer. Remove from oven and let stand on serving plate before carving. Skim the fat and discard. Place pan on burner over medium high heat. Pour in stock or leftover beer, and stir to dislodge browned bits. Simmer and season to taste. Serves 8 adults, 4 malnourished ferrets, or Jaba the Hut.
Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm
Sam: How’s life treating you, Normie?
Norm: It’s not, Sammy. But you can!
True Brew Facts
Police in New York City recently reported that a truckload of beer was stolen from the Beehive Beer Distribution Corporation and driven to New Jersey. Three days later Officer David Driscoll spotted the truck and attempted to apprehend the driver. The suspect tried to flee the scene, but was caught hiding in a driveway by Officer James Abney. When police searched the suspect, he had $200 in his pocket, leading police to believe that he had sold some of the beer in the truck. They were able to recover 11 kegs and 21 cases of beer however.
More Profound Beer Quotes
The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're
sober.
----William Butler Yeats
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time
with his fools.
----Ernest Hemingway
What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch?
----W.C. Fields
Time is never wasted when you're wasted all the time.
----Catherine Zandonella
Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying
himself a pleasure.
----Ambrose Bierce
Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alcohol.
----Anonymous
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach
you to keep your mouth shut.
----Ernest Hemingway
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to
thank her.
----W.C. Fields
When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.
----Henny Youngman
Life is a waste of time, time is a waste of life, so get wasted
all of the time and have the time of your life.
----Michelle Mastrolacasa
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.
----Tom Waits
24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
----Stephen Wright
When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go
to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!
----Brian O'Rourke
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline.
It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear
weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.
----Frank Zappa
Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol
has taken out of me.
----Winston Churchill
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
----Benjamin Franklin
Kindly observe the tankard of beer I offer you. This bock was
not made simply to drink. It was made to speak to you. And if you,
with your tankard of beer, could learn the dialogue, you would discover
that in your tankard lives a milky way of tiny bubbles. And inside
each bubble, there exists an idea that is waiting to be discovered.
Each of these ideas can make you grand and large and fortunate if
you so desire to learn and talk with beer.
----M. Bellot
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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
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at home?
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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
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account related information changes such as address changes, membership
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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
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