Past Newsletters
Vol. 7 No. 8
| Brewery | Beers Featured |
| Buzzards Bay Brewing Company | Buzzard's Bay West Porter |
| Buzzards Bay Brewing Company | Olde Buzzard Lager |
| Flying Fish Brewing Company | Flying Fish ESB |
| Flying Fish Brewing Company | Flying Fish Extra Pale Ale |
Buzzards Bay Brewing Company
The following paragraph comes right out of the Buzzard's Bay Brewing Company's mission statement. "The purpose of Westport Rivers, Westport Farms and the Buzzards Bay Brewing Company is to provide an organizational structure within which members of the Russell Family and others can participate in the use of agricultural land for the production of food, wine and beer, for the service of the public good, and for the expression of each person's individual talents. We believe that land is a valuable resource to be used in Godly stewardship as the basis for providing a sufficient source of income. We believe that the heritage and traditions of our ancestors, those who came before us and those that we come in contact with are to be respected and maintained. We believe that excellence is a way of thought and living whereby the best of our talents and the talents of those around us are nurtured and cared for." Okay, it's a bit wordy in some places, but all in all, we like it! Mostly the part about using the land to make food, beer & wine! We also liked the beers these good folks are brewing and know you will too.
Few microbreweries have a sister vineyard or a well thought out manifesto, but Buzzards Bay Brewing has both. The Russell family, who owns the brewery, also operates the successful Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery.
Buzzards Bay Brewing is based in the heart of the southeastern Massachusetts farming community of Westport. The owners even grow some of the ingredients used to brew their ales to produce a truly locally made and handcrafted product. Historically, this region of the country has been known for producing some of the finest hops grown. You know, Samuel Adams was growing some hops not too far away!
In 1982 Bob and Carol Russell purchased historic "Smith Long Acre Farm." Following a family discussion, a stewardship statement was drafted. The family declared they would create an organizational structure that would participate in the agricultural use of those lands for the production of food, wine, and beer. They also aimed to integrate each family member's individual talents, and serve the public good. With their noble manifesto in mind, the Russell's created two successful ventures founded upon their deep regard for local agriculture. (Portions of their profits from beer go towards the preservation of farmland in Massachusetts.)
The brewery started in the summer of 1998 and by that winter was producing 3,000 gallons of ale a day. The Russell's brew, bottle, and package all of their microbrews at the brewery. Their German-made Kunzel 4-roll mill cracks the malt into superlative grist. A custom made Newland's 3-vessel brew house then assists in converting that grist into ales. The resulting brew is so fresh, the Russells say, "it will transport you straight to the gentle rolling hills outside our front door."
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (508) 636-2288 or check out their web site at www.buzzardsbrew.com.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 14.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 4.2° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 42.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
The Buzzards Bay West Porter knocked our socks off! It's brewed with a combination of two-row pale, caramel, carafa malts, oats and black patent roasted barley. A full-bodied grain selection to be sure. The Russels hop it up with both U.S. Magnum hops grown on the farm and English East Kent Goldings hops. We liked this porter very much as it possesses all the fullness and flavor of an oatmeal stout, yet with the refreshing mouth feel of a traditional porter. Look for a full-bodied experience with hints of chocolate and coffee. The complex malt profile is unquestionably the foundation of this tasty treat, one which provides a richness and big flavor. We also liked the brewery's choice and usage of hops. The hop profile complements the malt character nicely. Overall, a killer beer to drink instead of having dessert or to warm you up on a cold winter day.
Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: 13.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 24.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Olde Buzzard Lager is a traditional "export" style lager typical of Dortmund, Germany which is brewed with a combination of two-row pale and munich malts. Buzzard Bay hops it in three separate additions with Northern Brewer, Hersbrucker and Liberty hops. The recent Gold Medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival in the "European Style Pilsner" category is a somewhat sweet lager with a refreshing mouth feel. You'll find this award winner to have a bit more hop spiciness in the nose than your average lager which didn't surprise us much when we discovered the Russels hop it with 3 hop varieties. We found the flavor to be a bit biscuity and have a nice flavorful pale maltiness. Look for a well balance of malt and hops in this clean pils. The finish is slightly bitter and dry and leaves you wanting more. Consider pairing it up with spicy foods or in the lunch you pack for the slopes!
Flying Fish Brewing Company
Founder of the Flying Fish Brewing Co., Gene Muller, took a serious deviation from the standard course of small business development when he built the Flying Fish brewing company. A year prior to the brewery opening, Muller posted details about it on the Web, letting people go behind the taps and see the myriad details that would eventually coalesce into a microbrewery. He also gave beer lovers an on-line chance to roll up their cyber-sleeves and help build the brewery, sequestering their input on such matters as what kinds of beer they liked and disliked, as well as which brewing techniques they preferred. He let them design T-shirts and labels. In fact, he even let them name the beers. How fun would that be? You could walk in and order a beer you named! I'm thinkin' Old Spotted Brown Dog Turbo Special Bitter Ale! Or how about Howler Monkey Jungle Juice Stout?
Additionally, Gene promised his electronic labor force that once the brewery opened, they'd be the first to sample the line up. When that time came in late 1996, he sent out some 4,000 e-mail invitations to the brewery's opening in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, just a swagger, skip and stagger away from Philadelphia. "A hurricane hit two days before the opening,'' Muller recalled. Bad Luck. "But still, about 200 people showed up. They came from Virginia, Long Island, and Pennsylvania. They wanted to see the brewery; they felt a part of it. One taster even applied for a job as a brewer. It was the birth of the brewery, right on the Web, a virtual microbrewery."
Muller, who formerly worked as a copywriter for ad firms, studied brewing at Chicago's Siebel Institute of Technology, America's oldest brewing school. One of his classmates was Brad Coors, whose family's brewery, Muller notes wryly, is "just a little bit bigger than ours." Yeah, but he apparently didn't learn anything about making a beer that can be differentiated from say…carbonated Yak drool. Forget the Yak Drool visual you now have and flash forward three years. Flying Fish is now the largest craft brewery in New Jersey. It makes four year-round brews in addition to four rotating seasonals.
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (489) 489-0061 or check out their web site at www.flyingfish.com.
Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 13.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.7° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 40.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
Flying Fish's Extra Special Bitter (ESB) is their flagship beer. World renowned beer critic and writer Michael Jackson (not the one with Llamas in his yard) wrote, "assertive, very drinkable...nice balance...I could sink quite a few pints of that." About the beer's name, Muller is quick to explain that bitter is not meant to be taken literally. Rather, it is a British colloquialism to describe the national drink of England. "What the Americans call Pale Ale", Gene says, "the British call bitters." This bad boy won Grand Champion at the 2000 United States Beer Tasting Championships in Chicago.
This ESB has quite a complex malt profile, including two-row pale, pilsner, caramel 60, Belgian caramunich, Belgian munich and Belgian Aromatic malts. Gene hops it up with magnum, Fuggles and goldings hops. We found the nose to be earthy with floral and spicy hop characters evident. Note a hint of caramel maltiness as well in this lightly filtered, copper colored ale. Our panel found the flavor to begin with a malty sweetness that moves into a pleasant hop bitterness. The finish is a dry hoppy one which we all enjoyed very much. Overall, an extremely well balanced interpretation of a classic English style. On a side note, since this beer is only lightly filtered, you may find a small amount of yeast in the bottom of the bottle. Don't sweat it. It's normal. Just let the beer settle and give it a gentle pour.
Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 12.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.2° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.7%
Brewed with a combination of two-row pale, pilsner, Belgian Aromatic, and Belgian Munich malts, Flying Fish's Extra Pale Ale is an original American Pale Ale with still yet another sophisticated malt profile. It's a month of complex malt combos! Note a pleasant caramel maltiness in the nose with a bit of hop spiciness evident as well. Look for a well-balanced flavor in this straw colored ale. We found the finish to be a lingering dry, hoppy one. Very nice. Overall, a very flavorful, clean interpretation of an Extra Pale Ale. Again, this one is not fully filtered, so be aware of the yeast in the bottom of the bottle.
Ask Murl
Dear Murl,
I've got a bet going with a buddy of mine. He claims that Budweiser is the best selling beer in the United State and although I think it might be true, I took his bet cause Budweiser sucks! I figured you could help me build a case that would win the bet! What do you think, Murl?
Yo Davester!
Your darn tootin' I'll help ya, pal. I've been think about this one for a couple days cause the fact of the matter is that Budweiser from Anheuser-Busch is easily the No. 1 selling beer in the United States and the world. Sadly, about one beer in five beers consumed in the U.S. is a Bud. And what's worse, # 2 is none other than Bud Light.
However, counselor, the argument in front of us is whether Budweiser is the best selling "Beer" in the United States, is it not? Now we could all sit around and debate the fact that Bud has absolutely no redeeming characteristics shy of using it to remove nail polish or as a gasoline additive. We could debate that fact that Bud tastes a lot like Coors and therefore by definition in this newsletter, Yak Drool. But these are really subjective concerns that may not hold in a court of law.
We need to address the true definition of "Beer" and challenge that Bud is not in fact what it claims to be. The first definition I found, an American one, states that beer is a generic name for alcoholic beverages produced by fermenting a cereal or mixture of cereals and flavored with hops. My argument won't work with that definition; so therefore, it is not worthy of our attention. Seems we should really be looking at a German definition of beer anyway. The Reinheitsgebot is a German Law that governs the production of beer in their country and it states quite plainly that beer can only be made of water, yeast, hops and…MALTED BARLEY. That one, I like. Make sense too, doesn't it? Well, my good buddy, did you happen to know that Bud uses grains like rice and corn in the place of malted barley to cut costs? It's true. Explains a lot, don't it?
So you do the math, Davie. You don't need my pocket abacas to know that it doesn't add up. Bud, by definition of the Reinheitsgebot Law of Beer Purity, is not in fact Beer. Just be sure and try the case in Munich, counselor! Good luck!
Woof!
Murl.
Food For Thought...
Buzzard Boilermaker Jambalaya
We tried to think of something you could put in a big bowl and serve to a bunch of hungry manly-man types on a brisk January Day in the event that you're hosting or going to a Superbowl Party. This is a serious stew baby! Good Stuff and hearty too - remember that one superbowl about 15 years ago when the Bears spanked the Patriots, allowing their third string to get in on the scoring action late in the third quarter? Ah, the memories. Go Bears!
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 sweet red pepper, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced (optional)
- 1 andouille (or italian) sausages, barbecued or broiled, and sliced
- ½ lb smoked ham, cubed
- 2 cups rice
- 1-½ cup Buzzard's Bay Porter
- 1 cup Olde Buzzard Lager
- 3 tbsp bourbon
- 1-½ cup chicken stock
- 1 5-½ oz can tomato paste
- 1 tsp Bajan-style yellow hot sauce (Mr. Goudas)
- 2 tsp Cajun-style red hot sauce (Crystal)
- 1 lb medium shrimp, cleaned
Seasoning Mix
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp parsley
You might want to note that while we didn't consider this to be a terribly fiery jambalaya, others may have tamer taste buds. So, if caution is preferred, omit the jalapeno peppers and hot sauces, reduce the bourbon to 1 tsp and season with cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste… girly-man.
First combine the seasoning mix and set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil on medium-high heat until very hot and add garlic. Cook the garlic for 15 seconds, stirring constantly, before adding the onions and three types of peppers. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent.
Fold in the seasoning mix until well distributed and add sausage, ham and rice. Continue to cook, folding the mixture occasionally, for 2-3 minutes before adding the liquids and tomato paste. Bring the jambalaya to a boil before adding the hot sauces and reducing the heat to simmer. When the boil has ceased, gently fold in the shrimp, cover and simmer for 15-30 minutes. We honestly don't know how many this one serves, but I bet the Fridge could have dusted the whole thang and still tip toed sweetly into the end zone on that fine Sunday only a decade and a half ago…
Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm
Coach: What'll it be, Normie?
Norm: Just the usual Coach. I'll have a froth of beer and a
snorkel.
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