Past Newsletters

Vol. 8 No. 2

Brewery	Beers Featured
Bluegrass Brewing Company	Bluegrass Pale Ale
Bluegrass Brewing Company	Bluegrass Altbier
Wisconsin Brewing Company	Rainbow Red Ale
Wisconsin Brewing Company	Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Bluegrass Brewing Company

Founded in 1993 in Louisville, Kentucky, Bluegrass Brewing is the envy of many microbreweries and brewpubs. Besides having won ten national competition medals, most of which were awarded at the Real Ale Fest and Great American Beer Festival, they have also been selected by the authors of "Beer for Dummies" as one of America's top ten breweries.

One of their most impressive accomplishments was beating out Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and Anchor's Old Foghorn in the Barley wine category at the 1997 Great American Beer Festival. Beer lovers covet these two beers as they are truly exceptional beers and beating them out is nothing to sneeze at!

Besides brewing great beers, Bluegrass also runs a brewpub. Opened a year after the brewery, the restaurant is housed in a large building that originally housed a seafood version of the Chi-Chi's chain. The interior was renovated and a working brewery was installed. The main area of the restaurant is divided into two large rooms with a see-in kitchen in-between. And like any good brewpub, there is a full service bar with large screen TVs and taps galore. Diners at the brewpub can watch through the big glass windows as Brewmaster Dave Pierce and assistant Matt Gould work their brewing mojo!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (502) 899-7070 or check out their web site at www.bbcbrew.com.

Bluegrass Pale Ale

Serving Temperature: 43-48° F
Original Gravity: 15.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 4.0° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 48.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.9%

Bluegrass Pale Ale is brewed with a combination of Two-Row Pale, Special B, and Cara Munich malts as well as Flaked Barley. Dave hops it up with Centennial hops primarily for bittering and Willamette hops for their aromatic contributions. Bluegrass Pale Ale is a Real Ale Festival "Best of Fest Winner" and a favorite of locals in Louisville. We found this dark copper/amber colored ale to be full bodied and offering and aggressive floral hop character. It's actually quite well balanced for such a hoppy beer. Note some fruitiness on the palate and in the nose. Overall, a full flavored, big pale ale worthy of its accolades. Enjoy!

Bluegrass Altbier

Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 11.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 2.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 27.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%

Here Dave uses a complex combination of Two-Row Pale, Munich, Cara Munich, and Chocolate malts together with malted Wheat to deliver still yet another award winner. He uses Perle and Tettnager hops for this beer and considerably less of them than what you experienced with the brewery's Pale Ale as you might expect for this style. With a nice thick head, golden amber color, medium body, and toasty nose, this is perfect for those who prefer malt to hops. Overall, a great interpretation of a style that few commercial brewers decide to take on. We really liked it!

Wisconsin Brewing Company

One day back in the fall of 1996, two brothers, Jim and David Hellman, were in their offices considering a major lifestyle change. Both were Criminal Defense attorneys at Hellman Law Office, the firm bearing their name. During their discussion, it became clear to each that the other was looking to do something different. With their family having been in the beer wholesaling business for the past 25 years, beer seemed an obvious choice. After deciding against opening a brewpub, the brothers talked about opening a small brewery instead. It seemed crazy to walk away from a successful law practice, but after analyzing the notion of opening a brewery, the two were primed and ready to rock!

With their friends in the legal profession stunned, Jim and David started closing down their practice and began looking for a building to house their brewery. The two started talking about a building in Black River Falls that they had seen several years prior. The building was a very old, yet impressive three-story building, some 17,000 square-feet in size, with a heavy-duty service elevator, loading docks and large insulated "cold rooms" in the basement. If this sounds like the perfect setting for a brewery, it should. The building at 320 Pierce Street in Black River Falls that eventually turned into the brothers' Pioneer Brewing Company is the original site of the Oderbolz Brewery that operated from 1856 until Prohibition.

Although Jim and David were responsible for getting the brewery up and running, they did not have a lot of brewing experience. To solve that problem, they brought in Todd Krueger from Port Washington Brewing Company. Their choice for brewmaster paid off well as Krueger has produced several award winning beers for Pioneer. Joining Todd at Pioneer is Bret Campion, formerly of New Belgium Brewing and Left Hand Brewing, both in Colorado. Together they produce some of the best beers in Wisconsin!

In 1998, Pioneer purchased the Wisconsin Brewing Company brands and moved production from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin back to the Black River Falls site. Today Pioneer produces Pioneer Pale Ale, Pioneer Lager and Black River Red under the Pioneer label. Badger Porter, Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Whitetail Cream Ale, Rainbow Red Ale and Woodchuck Wheat are produced under the Wisconsin label.

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (715) 284-7553 or check out their web site at www.cuttingedge.net/~pioneer.

Rainbow Red Ale

Serving Temperature: 42-47° F
Original Gravity: 14.9° Plato
Final Gravity: 4.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 42.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.3%

Rainbow Red Ale, brewed with Two-Row Pale Briess, Caramel, Aromatic and other specialty Belgian aromatic malts, lives up to its whimsical name. Todd uses Nugget and Willamette hops exclusively to give this beer a pleasant floral tones and slight bitterness. We found this festive auburn colored ale to offer subtle, fruity tones and a complex, caramel-like malt flavor. Although the color implies a heavier beer, Rainbow Red is a perfect summer drink. It's flavorful, clean and refreshing. Look for a slightly bitter end leaving you wanting more!

Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 16.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 5.5° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 27.0
Alcohol by Volume: 4.5%

Wow! We really liked this Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. Just the name makes you want to give it a try! Oscar's is hopped exclusively with Kent Goldings hops and brewed with a combination of Two-Row Pale and Chocolate malts as well as a healthy dose of Roasted Barley and, as you might suspect, Oatmeal. A Gold Medal winner at the World Beer Cup 2000, Oscar's is a very full-bodied, yet smooth drinking Oatmeal Stout. We found it highly drinkable, yet complex, offering a big full roasted flavor and a somewhat sweet, nutty finish. Overall, a great, full flavored stout, a perfect after dinner beer.

Ask Murl

Dear Murl,

Living in Chicago for most of my life, I must confess that I've tossed back a lot of Old Style in my day (we referred to it as "Dog Style" you might be interested to know). I am now, thanks to your service, just beginning to appreciate the distinctions between the many varied beer styles, but don't know what many of them are all about. My question is this: What exactly is an India Pale Ale? Did it originate in India?

John Leitch
Santa Fe, NM.

Dear John,

First of all, you should know that this is my first "Dear John" letter and although it's not my style, I'll try and be gentle. First of all, let's address the "Dog Style" comment Johnny. My highly acute canine senses are telling me that you are using the phrase in a somewhat derogatory context. Like maybe this beer is only fit for a dog or something. I sure hope not man 'cause I grew up in the western burbs of Chicago and I'm hear to tell ya that Old Style is not fit for man nor beast! And if you feed it to your best friend, let's call him "Rambone", he might just leave a little present for ya in your favorite slippers one fine Sunday morning! You should consider letting him lap up some of your fine monthly suds for a change and leave the Old Style for high school kids hanging out in front of 7-11's that can't afford any better or simply have not developed common sense yet.

Right then. India Pale Ales. Aka: IPAs. You gotta love a good one. They're typically aggressively hopped, often dry hopped, higher alcohol content beers that were originally brewed for the residents of Gary, Indiana so that they could forget where they live from time to time. Just Kidding, John. Seriously, the IPA style was developed by British brewers to be shipped to the Royal Army members stationed in India. It was heavily hopped and higher in alcohol in order to preserve it on the long voyage. Hope that helps Johno!

Woof!
Murl.

Food For Thought...

Bluegrass Blazing Golden Mustard Wings

Did ya know that spicy Buffalo wings were invented by a bar owner in Buffalo, NY to drive beer sales?! Makes sense now, doesn't it? Well, you're gonna dig this recipe. It's wings with a fabulous twist as they're doused in a pungent, potent, mustard sauce! Keep your shipment on ice for the feast!

• 2/3 cup Bluegrass Pale Ale
• 1/3 cup honey, warmed
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced and mashed
• 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 36 chicken wings
• Olive oil

Blend the first 5 ingredients and marinate wings in refrigerator 4-6 hrs. Drain and pat dry wings. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep skillet. Fry wings a few at a time until crisp and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Mustard Sauce

• 2 cups Bluegrass Pale Ale
• 1/3 cup dried yellow mustard
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons hot mustard powder or hot red chili powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely minced

Combine first 5 ingredients and let stand ½ hour. Heat butter over medium and sauté onion until limp and translucent. Stir beer mixture into onions. Cook over medium, stirring constantly until thickened. Pour hot sauce over fried wings and serve. Feeds 5 adults, 2 Australian Sheep Dogs or William "The Fridge" Perry.

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

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

Woody: Can I pour you a draft, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: A little early, isn't it Woody?
Woody: For a beer?
Norm: No, for stupid questions.

True Brew Facts

AUSTRALIAN PUB OWNER FINED FOR PATRON'S DRINKING DEATH - An Australian pub owner was fined $20,000 (Australian) as a result of a drinking competition in his pub that caused the death of the winner. Allan Taylor, a 33-year-old computer technician, died after drinking 34 glasses of beer, four bourbons and 17 tequilas in 100 minutes in a Sydney bar in 1997. The courts learned that Taylor died within hours of the competition. A post-mortem revealed a level of 0.353 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, compared to the legal limit for driving of 0.05. The court fined Brian Whelan of the Strathfield Hotel because he failed to exercise his license in the public interest when his staff failed to stop Taylor from drinking.

JAPANESE BREWER WON'T USE GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN - Kirin Brewery, Japan's largest brewery, has indicated it will stop using genetically modified corn to produce beer. Beer is exempt from a Japanese law requiring labeling of genetically altered food by April 2001. Kirin, which uses 200,000 tons of corn a year, previously has not distinguished between genetically modified and non-modified corn in making purchases. It intends to sign contracts with U.S. farmer and distributors to supply non-genetically modified corn.

BEER CONSUMPTION SHOWN TO REDUCE KIDNEY STONES - A study conducted in Finland indicated that drinking a beer a day reduced the risk of kidney stone formation in men by 40%. The trial of 30,000 male smokers was conducted with beer, wine, distilled spirits, milk, coffee and tea. Beer was the only drink that significantly reduced the risk of kidney stones. The hops in beer may be the reason. Hops may inhibit the release of calcium from bone. Kidney stones are primarily calcium.

THE £635 BOTTLE OF BEER - How big does a bottle of beer have to be before you'd spend $1,000 for it? Bierodrome, a division of London's popular Belgo restaurant chain, offers a bottle of Bon-Secours that takes two from the bar staff to pour, a 15-liter serving that goes for £635 (about $1,000). That works out to nearly $40 per pint. The large bottles, called Nebuchadnezzars, hold the equivalent of 20 standard wine bottles and come with a wax seal. The Bon-Secours at the Bierodrome is made at the Caulier Frères Brewery in Péruwelz in the Walloon region and bottled to order.

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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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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.

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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.