Past Newsletters
Vol. 7 No. 9
| Brewery | Beers Featured |
| Casco Bay Brewing Company | Katahdin Red Ale |
| Casco Bay Brewing Company | Casco Bay Pilsner |
| Great Divide Brewing Company | Great Divide Denver Pale Ale |
| Great Divide Brewing Company | St. Brigid's Porter |
Casco Bay Brewing Company
Located in Portland, Maine, Casco Bay Brewing was born on the coast of Maine in 1994 by two guys who know a thing or two about brewing great beer. Mike La Charite and Bob Wade, the owners of Casco Bay Brewing, are both well-regarded home brewers and have served as judges at competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival.
Mike, who serves as President and Head Brewer, is an award winning homebrewer, Certified National Beer Judge, homebrew instructor and founder of the largest homebrew club in Maine, the Maine Ale and Lager Tasters (M.A.L.T.). Michael is also a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology in Chicago, which is also known as the U.S. Brewers Academy.
Mike and Bob are two guys who believe in staying close to their roots. Each year they take everyone who helps out at the brewery up to Mt. Katahdin for a few days of hiking, white water rafting, and of course, beer drinking. For those of you who think that working at Casco Bay sounds like a dream job, get in line! We've already applied ourselves!
Casco produces one of the best Irish Red Ales we've had the pleasure of evaluating. Very few examples of this style are available today although "red" beers have always been popular with U.S. micros. A great number of years ago, when the Irish discovered their love for beer, we'll say, right around the beginning of time, several breweries bought their grains from maltsters that were making specialty malts which had been roasted to create deep, dark colored malts. When beer was made from these malts it gave the beers a ruddy, reddish hue and hence the name. Our panel also rated the breweries pilsner very high and we're quite confident you'll love both! Enjoy!
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (207) 797-2020 or check out their web site at www.cascobaybrewing.com.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 14.3° Plato
Final Gravity: 4.0° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 21.5
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Katahdin Red Ale is brewed with a combination of two-row pale, munich, caramunich, special-B and chocolate malts. The darker malts, which are imported from Belgium, give this ale its distinctive deep red color and rich, malty flavor. Casco uses a top fermenting ale yeast and conditions this ale like a lager (longer than usual) to produce an ale that is very clean, crisp and complex. This tasty red ale is hopped with cluster, cascade and crystal hops. Look for a big malty hop nose with hop spice evident as well in this full-bodied deep reddish ale. The body is packed with flavor, balanced wonderfully and quite complex. Note a lingering sweet malty finish. Overall, one of the best red ales produced in the U.S. today. We loved it. The brewery suggests pairing it up with beef, spicy foods and inclement weather!
Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: 12.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 2.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 25.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%
Unfortunately, today's mass-produced Pilsners offer only a bland imitation of the original delightful balance of fine malts and hops offered by classic German Pilseners. Not the case with Casco Bay. The brewery's pilsener is brewed with a combination of two-row pale, carapils and caramunich malts. Mike hops it up fairly well completely with German Tettnang hops to create a classic interpretation of the style. Note a pale maltiness and hop spiciness in the nose of this light amber-colored, medium bodied lager. We found it to be crisp, full of flavor and offering a slight bitter finish. Overall, the brewery has done an exceptional job of delicately balancing the hops and malts to produce a truly great lager. Casco recommends you enjoy it with spicy foods or after shoveling the snow.
Great Divide Brewing Company
The Great Divide Brewing Company is a highly accoladed micro located in downtown Denver, Colorado. The brewery was founded in 1993 by avid homebrewer Brian Dunn. After completing his Master's degree in Environmental Policy and being discouraged by a job search, Dunn decided to create his own job and fill a niche in the Denver beer market. At the time, there were just four brewpubs in Denver, a small number relative to today's count, and not one microbrewery. Dunn decided that opening Denver's first microbrewery might be the perfect way to turn his passion for homebrewing into something more than just a hobby appreciated by his family and friends.
Dunn went out and conducted a marketing study by calling bars, restaurants and liquor stores in Denver. Then he did financial projections, which were positive, and put together a business plan. With his business plan in hand he was able to raise money from a group of investors, and soon only one piece was missing: a place to house the brewery. That piece fell into place when he found a vacant building that housed a dairy in the 1930s, located just four blocks from Coors Field (home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team). With everything in place, Dunn could get down to doing to what he does best.
On May 30, 1994, founders Brian and his wife Tara brewed the first batch of Arapahoe Amber and Great Divide Brewing was officially up and running. The hours were long for Brian and Tara back in those days, but now with 10 full-time employees, things are a little easier.
In addition to growing their staff, Brian and Tara have increased their production. Over the years the brewery has grown from 900 barrels per year to a capacity of 12,000. The quick growth was no doubt helped by the fact that Great Divide has won so many awards, including a Gold Medal for their Denver Pale Ale at the Great American Beer Festival this year. You'll note that we were unable to provide you with information regarding the malts & hops used for Great Divide's beers as Brian and Tara like to keep that stuff close to the vest, but you might have better luck if you called them yourself! This brewery is one of the few that we've ever featured more than once in the 7 years we've operated the club and there's a reason for it. They make Great Beer! Enjoy!
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (303) 296-9460 or check out their web site at www.greatdivide.com.
Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: N/A
Final Gravity: N/A
Int'l Bittering Units: 40.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.6%
The Great Divide Denver Pale Ale is the best selling and most award-winning beer in their line, taking 3 medals at the Great American Beer festival over the years. It was also the winner of the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in the English-Style Pale Ale category last year! It's a classic English-style Pale Ale and our panel found it very well balanced, offering a moderate-to-full bitterness and a definite emphasis on hop flavor and aroma. Immediately note a big floral hop nose, a result of dry hopping. You'll find this light copper-colored; medium-bodied filtered ale has great head retention. The flavor offers a pleasant pale maltiness up front and a big floral/spicy hop flavor in the body. Overall, it's a classic representation of a style with a broad interpretation.
Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: 13.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 6.0%
Two words. Great Porter. We really liked this porter! The beer itself is named after the Irish saint who is credited with a somewhat unorthodox miracle: In order to help slake the thirst of lepers in her care, she turned her bath water into beer. A neat trick to be sure. Historians did not record the lepers' reaction, but it was probably something like…"Cool!". It took the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in 1996 and the Silver Medal at the World Beer Championships in the same year, and was named best porter by Westward Magazine in both 1995 and 1996. Note a definite roasted malt nose with little hops evident in this deep, ruby-colored, full-bodied ale. A "robust porter" by style, St. Brigid's doesn't let you down. You'll find the body full and offering notes of chocolate and a lingering roasted finish.
Food For Thought...
St. Brigid's Carbonanade Flamande
(That'd be Beef and Onions Braised in Beer for you uncultured heathens!)
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1 beef rump or similar roast (2 to 2 ½ pounds), trimmed and sliced ¼ inch thick
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pounds onions (about 4 medium), thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
- 1 bottle St. Brigid's Porter
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar, if needed
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the beef slices lightly with salt and pepper and cook as many at a time as will fit in a single layer until all are nicely browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the slices to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining oil to the skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Lift the onions out of the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving behind as much of the oil as possible.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat, stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, until the resulting roux is a medium brown. Add the stock, beer, and any accumulated juices from the meat plate. Cook, stirring to break up any lumps, until the sauce is lightly thickened. Taste for salt and add more if necessary; add the vinegar and a little brown sugar, if you like, to balance the bitterness of the beer. (Sugar may be unnecessary with some sweeter beers.)
Spread half the onions in the bottom of a shallow covered baking dish. Arrange the beef slices in a layer on top. Tie the herbs into a bundle (bouquet garni) with clean string and place it on top of the meat. (If using dried thyme, just scatter it in the pan.) Spread the rest of the onions on top. Pour the sauce over the meat and onions, cover the baking side, and bake until the meat is quite tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Let it stand until the fat rises to the surface, then discard the herb bouquet and skim off the fat. Serve with new potatoes or wide noodles.
Serves: 6
Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm
Coach: What would you say to a beer, Normie?
Norm: Daddy wuvs you.
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