Past Newsletters
Vol. 8 No. 8
| Brewery | Beers Featured |
| Arcadia Brewing Company | Anglers Pale Ale |
| Arcadia Brewing Company | Nut Brown Ale |
| Otter Creek Brewing Company | Copper Ale |
| Otter Creek Brewing Company | Stovepipe Porter |
Arcadia Brewing Company
Arcadia Brewing Company, located in Battle Creek, MI, was founded by Timothy Suprise in 1996. They are a microbrewery specializing in handcrafted British ales. Their 25-barrel Peter Austin Brick Kettle Brewing system and traditional brewing methods both originated in England. This allows their styles of beer to reflect over 250 years of world class brewing heritage.
In addition to brewing on authentic British equipment, Arcadia uses only the finest ingredients from England. The malted barley they use and the Ringwood™ Yeast, from the Ringwood Brewery in England, is then combined with the freshest hops from the Pacific Northwest, which results in some of the best and freshest handcrafted ales you will ever have the pleasure of imbibing.
In fact, four of their eight beers have received international recognition with medals and awards. The 1997 Traditional Beer Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland honored the Arcadia ESB as the first American entry and one of the finest cask ales served in their festival. The World Beer Championships of 1998 awarded a Bronze Medal to their Angler's Ale, a Silver medal to the Arcadia Whitsun, and a Gold Medal, with the highest score ever for an American made India Pale Ale, to the Arcadia IPA. Arcadia has received the distinction of the "Best of the Great Lakes Brewery Award" and is one of the finest purveyors of cask conditioned, or Real Ales, in the Midwest.
Arcadia also features a restaurant and tavern alongside the brewery. The restaurant features a distinctive and eclectic menu of wood-fired cuisine, prepared exclusively in a unique oven, which cooks the food at temperatures around 750º. This wood-burning oven, their only cooking device, was imported from Naples, Italy. Tours of the brewery are given on Saturday afternoons or by appointment.
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (616) 963-9520 or check out their web site at www.arcadiabrewingcompany.com.
Serving Temperature: 43-48° F
Original Gravity: 13.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.3° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 32.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.1%
The Angler's Ale is Arcadia's flagship beer. This beer was awarded the Bronze medal in the 1998 World Beer Championship held by the Beverage Institute in Chicago. It is a full-bodied English style Pale Ale, bright copper in color, that uses crisp 2-row pale, crystal, and chocolate malts, which provides for a full, toasted, and complex malt flavor with hints of caramel and butterscotch. Arcadia's head brewer, George "Murf" Murphy, uses premium Goldings and Fuggles hops in this brew to create a sweet and delicate herbal hop finish.
Serving Temperature: 45-50° F
Original Gravity: 14.5° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.8° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 25.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
Arcadia's Nut Brown Ale is a full bodied English style brown ale that has a very deep mahogany color. Six different types of malted barley are used to create a flavor that includes hints of chocolate, raisins, dates , and almonds.
Otter Creek Brewing Company
The Otter Creek Brewing Company is located in the small town of Middlebury, Vermont. - Population 8,517. This 40 barrel brewhouse shipped their first keg of beer back in 1991. In only four years, they outgrew their original site and moved into their new state-of-the-art brewery just down the street.
They brew seven different beers, three are year 'round, the others are seasonal or specialty brews. They are the Copper Ale, Pale Ale, Stovepipe Porter, Mud Bock Spring Ale, Summer Wheat Ale, Oktoberfest, Hickory Switch Smoked Amber Ale, and A Winter's Ale. This month, we are proud to feature the Copper Ale and the Stovepipe Porter.
One of the unique qualities of the beers that the Otter Creek Brewery produces is the water it uses. They use clear Vermont water along with the best domestic malt and hops available, to ensure freshness and consistent quality.
For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (800) 473-0727 or check out their web site at www.ottercreekbrewing.com.
Serving Temperature: 38-43° F
Original Gravity: 12.1° Plato
Final Gravity: 2.1° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 21.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
The Otter Creek Copper Ale is their flagship brew, produced year 'round. It is a medium bodied, amber ale inspired by the Altbiers of Northern Germany. Three different types of hops are used, including Chinook, US Hallertau, and US Tettneng, along with six different malts, including 2-row pale, Munich, Caramel 20, Caramel 40, Carapils, and Roasted Barley to produce a well-balanced blend of malty notes and a mild bitterness. There is a semi-floral hop aroma followed by sweet caramel and malt aromas. This is a beautiful interpretation of a German Altbier!
Serving Temperature: 40-45° F
Original Gravity: 13.0° Plato
Final Gravity: 3.0° Plato
Int'l Bittering Units: 30.0
Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%
Otter Creek's Stovepipe Porter is a traditional porter that is available year 'round. It is a perfectly balanced porter using 2-row pale, Munich, Caramel 60, Chocolate, Carapils, and Roasted Barley malts and Chinook, Cascade, and Willamette hops. This combination gives this porter a bold spicy smoke flavor that is followed by a light roasted and coffee finish, with a slightly herbal hop aroma. It is almost black in color, with hints of dark brown throughout. This brew is excellent to help finish off any hearty meal, as a complement to chocolate, or just an afternoon libation.
Ask Murl
Hey Murl,
I was sitting back in my command post enjoying one of the beers in my shipment last night and I had a very deep thought. I wondered to myself if the little bubbles on the inside of the beer glass actually had a technical name for them. You know, industy lingo or whatever. Is that too weird a question for your column or not?
Sara McGaffy
Highland Park, Il
Sweet Sara!
There are no questions "too weird" for my column. In fact, the weirder the better. That way I can spend most of the space giving you grief about the question and perhaps avoid answering it altogether. So lets get to it. First off, I must probe as to whether or not you spend a substantial amount of your brain power on matters of such overwhelming significance to humanity. Before I researched your question, I came up with a few possible names for the little buggers myself like, "nasel ticklers", "fizzy bits", and "twinkle doodies". I was quite surprised and had to rewrite my original reply to be much less abrasive when I found out that your inquiry is in fact valid. They actually do have a name. And it ain't "twinkle doodie". Those in the industry refer to them as Brussels Lace. So, my dear, Sara, there you have it. Take this information and use it judiciously!
Woof!
Murl.
Food For Thought...
Arcadia Beer-Becued Pork Ribs
Murl agrees with us, we give this a unanimous "two paws way up" that this thick, fruity sauce based on plums, tomatoes, beer, and spices not only has genuine sinus-clearing qualities, but also beats the hell outta Kibbles and Bits or rawhide chewies. The well-balanced full flavor of this sauce complements pork so perfectly that it's hard to imagine eating ribs without it. Bone Appetite!
- ¼ Cup butter, olive, or other vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced and mashed with 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pitted plums, fresh or canned, or whole cranberry sauce
- 12 ounces tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes in puree
- 12 ounces Arcadia Nut Brown Ale
- 2 large or 4 small beef or chicken bouillon cubes
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon bottled liquid smoke
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon each ginger, cayenne, crushed coriander seed,
- black pepper, cumin seed, and mustard seed
- 5-8 lbs. pork ribs, country-style, back or baby back
- freshly ground black pepper and allspice
In a small skillet melt butter and sauté onion on medium-low until limp and translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onion is limp, set aside. In a blender or food processor, puree plums and tomato sauce until smooth. In a 3-quart pan heat beer to medium simmer and add bouillon cubes, stirring until dissolved. Add vinegar, liquid smoke, brown sugar, spices, sautéed onion, and plum-tomato mixture. Bring to a slow simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 45 min. to 1 hr. Wipe ribs to remove fat and bone particles and keep whole to retain moisture. Sprinkle liberally with pepper and allspice. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Heat coals very hot and set grill close to them. Quickly sear ribs. Remove, raise grill to highest position, and place lightly oiled heavy-duty foil on grill. Puncture for ventilation. Place meat on greased foil, brush liberally with sauce, close lid, and cook until through and tender from 45-75 mins.
Source: The Great American Beer Cookbook, Candy Schermerhorn, Brewers Publications.
Norm's Corner...
As spoken by Cheers' Norm
Woody: How's it going, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Poor.
Woody: I'm sorry to hear that.
Norm: No, I mean pour.
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