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2010-06-02T23:29:00.001-04:00

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Expired Beer at Frank's Beverage

2010-05-24T21:17:00.002-04:00

Glen Cove, NY-

On my trips out to visit Long Island over the past few years I found Frank's Beverage Center to have the best selection in the Glen Cove area. In fact, the sign out front advertises that this distributor has "the largest selection of beer on Long Island." Unfortunately, I recently found that a large selection may not actually be beneficial.

After the Unibroue event where I tasted Trois Pistoles and Maudite, I was on Long Island and found myself wanting to introduce my family to the brewery that had, for the time being, captivated me. After a five minute drive I found the large but curiously tucked away section of Unibroue. My first look through the section raised some red flags:

1. The bottles were covered in a thick layer of dust.
2. The caps that cover the corked bottles were gold colored and larger than the usual silver color that was sitting in our cap collection.
3. The pricing seemed completely out of the ordinary. For example, bottles of La Fin Du Monde were labelled at $18.

On closer inspection, almost all of the beers were past their "best by" date by over a year. Some dates ranged back to 2008. I returned just recently and found that yet again, the Unibroue selection was expired, most in 2009. Though it saddens me that I can no longer select beer on a whim at Frank's I am glad that I learned to check all the beer I buy closely. Previously, I assumed that my beer stores kept a close eye over the craft beer that they stock. At the same time, they are businesses with large inventories and they could either have little close oversight or just be trying to move some old beer that was sitting in the back. Either way, check the beer before you buy it.

-Giancarlo

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KBS ... the White Whale

2010-05-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

Sea Cliff, NY

Since we sampled it at the Long Island Craft Beer Festival, Giancarlo and I have been seriously craving some Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS). Little did we know that we would have such a difficult time finding it.

Several times we've come so close, but haven't been able to taste it. When we were at the cask beer festival at Rattle N' Hum, KBS was on the menu. We asked the server, she went into the back, but alas! they had run out. One of Giancarlo's grad school friends bought a few bottles, didn't like it and offered to sell it, but the deal didn't pan out. When he was in the Whole Foods Beer Room one day, they only had kegs in the back. When we were in Philly, Eulogy had it, but they were sitting on it.

We began calling KBS the White Whale as an homage to Moby Dick. It was unattainable.

Then, two weeks ago, Robin called Giancarlo with exciting news: he found the White Whale! He got a half gallon growler and four bottles of KBS! The next day the three of us tackled the growler (we're aging the bottles for a year, if we can wait that long), and it was just as good as we remembered: the hot bourbon flavor, the chocolate, coffee and vanilla undertones. It was peaty and earthy. It was glorious.

- Sarah

Eulogy Belgian Tavern

2010-05-19T21:49:00.003-04:00

Philadelphia, PA-

Across the street from Triumph Brewing Company is Eulogy Belgian Tavern. We stopped by for a quick beer after spending the majority of the night at Triumph. The beer list was simply overwhelming. Pages upon pages made making a decision difficult (I asked about the possibility of KBS and was informed that they would have it at some upcoming events). I went with the Bells Expedition Stout since we don't get Bells in New York. There was very little head retention. There was a lot of sweetness that was followed with a bit of roasted flavor. There was the bitterness of coffee along with a bit of a hot alcohol flavor in the finish.

Definitely worth stopping by if you are in Philadelphia, hopefully for more than just one beer. The selection is amazing and the staff is very helpful.

-Giancarlo

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City Tavern

2010-05-16T19:53:00.005-04:00

Philadelphia, PA-

During our recent trip to Philly, we decided to have a relaxing end to a day filled with historical sites by going to City Tavern. The tavern and its staff are decked out in revolutionary era garb. The tavern is a reincarnation of the original City Tavern, destroyed in a fire in 1834, which was apparently a popular hang out for the founding fathers when they wanted a few brews.

In keeping with the theme, the tavern features the "Ales of the Revolution" line from Yards Brewing Company. I began with the General Washington's Tavern Porter (left) which was based on a recipe written by George Washington himself and was recently found in the archives of the New York Public Library (who knew George was making his own recipes?). The porter was actually quite good. The description focuses on a "deep garnet hue...and a a molasses base." There is definitely a noticeable sweetness to the porter but it is not over bearing. Some coffee and chocolate flavors seemed to balance out the sweetness. The mouthfeel was a little bit on the full side but not too much. We again saw molasses in the Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale. The taste of spruce essence was noticeable and enjoyable but was eventually a little unpleasant as time went on and as the beer warmed slightly.

If you are making a historical visit to Philly, City Tavern is definitely worth the visit.

-Giancarlo

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Triumph Brewing Company

2010-05-10T21:15:00.007-04:00

Philadelphia, PA

A couple of weeks ago, Giancarlo and I went to Philadelphia to visit Giancarlo's cousin (and BeerUnion contributor) Katie. After a day of touring the historical sites, we went to Triumph Brewery on Chestnut Street for dinner and brews. The atmosphere was hip and trendy; the food was excellent.

As for the beers, I had the Munich Dunkel (pictured here), which was smooth and delicious with a roasted flavor. Others we sampled were the Honey Blonde, the Double IPA, the Nuit de Folie (Night of Madness) and the Oatmeal Stout. While the dunkel was my favorite, the Honey Blonde was light and malty and "the madness" was thick and fruity. The only one I wasn't too thrilled about was the IPA.

Overall a fun way to start the evening!

-Sarah

Rattle 'N' Hum Cask Festival

2010-04-17T16:05:00.000-04:00

Manhattan NY,

Late on Friday afternoon Sarah and I headed down to Rattle 'N' Hum on 33rd Street for its cask ale festival. The festival began on Wednesday, April 14 and will end on Sunday, April 18. It was our first time at Rattle 'N' Hum and we were impressed. First we were struck by the huge lineup of cask ales that were displayed immediately inside the door. Besides the many casks available for the festival and the varied beers on tap, there was an enormous bottle list on one wall. It took us a good fifteen to twenty minutes to get through the list.

Our first cask beer was Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops. Wow. The color was inky black with some dark redness on the edges. The aroma was mostly vanilla and oak with some bourbon. It was only a little boozy which surprised me as a beer at 11.6% ABV. In the sweetness you could taste some chocolate along with the vanilla, oak and bourbon.

Our next beer was Fuller's London Pride. London Pride was almost a default after finding out that my next pick, Blue Point Oatmeal Stout, and even my back up, Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire, were not available. Still having never tried it I thought cask would be the perfect way to have London Pride. Still it turned out to be less flavorful than I had hoped.

-Giancarlo

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LI Spring Craft Beer Festival

2010-04-13T20:18:00.003-04:00

Uniondale, NY

BeerUnion convened a few weeks ago for the Long Island Spring Craft Beer Festival at Nassau Coloseum. We went to the first session which lasted from 1230-4 p.m. The number of beers were at times overwhelming and hard to keep track of. While the majority of beers were delicious, there were a few that really stood out among the group. Most noticeable were the Founder's Brewery beers. Founder's was offering one of the larger selections and a banner above their booth proclaimed that the festival was the brewery's debut in New York. I tried the Dirty Bastard ale which I found delicious but when we returned at 2 p.m. for the pouring of the Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) we were blown away. The KBS was the only beer that we went back for more. You can taste that the beer had aged in bourbon barrels and different levels of flavor, chocolate, coffee and vanilla to name a few.

Several of the beers that impressed me were local. Heartland Brewery's Sumatra Stout tasted exactly like Sumatra coffee — I love coffee so this was great for me. Brooklyn Brewery impressed us with Local 2 and their Black Chocolate Stout. Of the non-local beers, I enjoyed The Bruery's Saison Rue, Stone's Levitation and Black IPA, and Goose Island's Matilda.

-Giancarlo

That's Ashley, Mike, Sarah and Giancarlo above, enjoying the first round of KBS.

Photo by Robin Stevenson

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Tasting Weekend

2010-03-29T12:51:00.001-04:00

Bronx and Manhattan, NY

A couple weekends ago I tried a bunch of new beers for me. I started off with Monk's Blood from 21st Amendment and Old Foghorn from Anchor Brewing. Having heard so much about Monk's Blood and about the recent revival of interest in canned beers I made a trip to New Beer Distributor on Chystie St. I enjoyed the packaging which tells a fun tale of a couple of monks. The beer itself is pretty good although I wish that the $9.75 price tag was for six instead of four. It was a little boozy which I don't usually like but it was good this time. The dominant flavor was the malty sweetness and you can definitely taste the vanilla.

Old Foghorn begins my renewed interest in barleywines. I had not had one in over a year and picked this one up for a reasonable $2.90 at New Beer. It was not as big as I remember Barleywines being. The ABV was 8.2% and the hop character was not as pronounced. The only drawback was the particulate matter that came through surprisingly early in the pour. I definitely recommend it for those of you interested in trying out barleywines.

Saturday I followed up with Full Moon barleywine at Heartland Brewery's South Street Sea Port location. This had a more pronounced citrus hop flavor but again not as big as I remember barleywines. After the barleywine we couldn't help ourselves and went for Farmer Jon Oatmeal Stout (I think it is the best thing they have at heartland). Our waitress was kind enough to also give us a tasty sample of the honey porter. The stout was great and really got me excited for oatmeal stout night at Bar Great Harry's in Brooklyn on Tuesday. We finished off the night at Zum Schneider on Avenue C and Seventh Street with a Hacker Pschorr Dunkel.

-Giancarlo

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Rogue Night at The Long Room

2010-03-26T13:10:00.002-04:00

Manhattan, NY-

Thursday March 26 was Rogue Night at The Long Room on 44th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. I found out about the event on beeradvocate.com where the event was incorrectly advertised as featuring 15 different beers from Rogue. In fact, there were only five different beers available. After this initial disappointment the night was quite enjoyable. The Long Room is, as the name suggests, a long room and has comfortable seating with several booths in the back. The prices were not bad considering the location. The Rogue beers were going for $7 a pint or $8 for a flight of four 4-ounce beers. Most beers on the menu ranged from $6.50 to $10. I'm glad that we ate dinner before going since the food was expensive.

My friend Matt and I decided to start with a flight of Rogue. We both chose to have the Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Mogul Madness ale, Yellow Snow IPA, and Juniper Pale ale. Neither of us enjoyed the Juniper Pale ale; I was bothered by the spiciness of the juniper flavor which I thought was a bit overbearing. Although I am not a huge fan of IPAs, I thought the Yellow Snow was a pretty good example of the style. We both enjoyed the Mogul Madness and Hazelnut Brown Nectar. The Hazelnut Brown Nectar stood out for its smooth hazelnut flavor, which was well-balanced by the background malt flavors. We were surprised and skeptical by the claim that Mogul Madness had an aftertaste that lasted 15 seconds but the beer had robust malt character and full-mouth feel.

-Giancarlo

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Brew Day: Brooklyn Brew Shop Black and Tan

2010-03-22T14:43:00.007-04:00

Bronx, NY-

Last month Sarah and I took a trip to the Brooklyn Flea to pick up a black and tan kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop. The kit included equipment (two one-gallon jugs, two airlocks, two rubber stoppers, two blow-off attachments, one thermometer, plastic tubing, a racking cane, sanitizer and a pouring spoon) to have both brews fermenting at the same time and the ingredients for both and cost $70. I recommend bringing a couple of your homebrews if you have them, we got a $5 discount for bringing two of ours. On Sunday we finally got around to brewing the beer.

The kit is as advertised: only a small space commitment. For homebrewers who have limited storage space, the kit is perfect (currently our beer is fermenting under my desk). I personally like the kit for the added reason that I could fit it in my refrigerator. (Sarah and I have been wanting to brew a schwarzbier for some time but we have no way to refrigerate a five-gallon bucket). Brooklyn Brew Shop provides a limited number of recipe kits. They provide milled grain, hops and yeast for each brew. Most are priced between $11-15 (the recipe kits at the Whole Foods Beer Room on Bowery are $11). After the initial expense of approximately $40 for the first batch you are looking at about $1-1.50 per beer. For those of us who are not yet comfortable creating our own recipes it is a nice way to make sure that you can make some decent beer. Another great thing about the kits is that because of their size, if you are experimenting with recipes and you mess one up you only lose one gallon of beer, not five.

The directions provided are decent and give you the basics for setting up your lauter tun. Ours left something to be desired. My original plan was to go to the Arthur Avenue Market, where you can get all kinds of kitchen supplies, and get a brew pot that I could find a matching strainer for. Unfortunately the market was closed and I was forced to get the supplies from assorted stores in our neighborhood, which meant that none of the materials were exactly the correct size for each other. The largest strainer I could find was ten inches, smaller than our brew pot, and could barely hold the grain for the extra special bitter. A few grains slipped through into the wort and I had to fish them out but in the end the setup worked and we were able to get a full gallon from each. For more information on kits, recipes and directions, visit Brooklynbrewshop.com

-Giancarlo

I appreciate the size and appearance of the Brooklyn Brew Shop kits, especially when compared to the five-gallon buckets I'm used to seeing homebrews fermenting in. The jugs fit on our small kitchen counter and brewing wasn't a huge mess. Plus, when they're empty, they're not an eyesore or a pain to store. It's nice to brew in our apartment for a change.

-Sarah

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Review of Monk's Cafe Flemish Red Ale

2010-03-17T20:43:00.005-04:00

I've chosen to review Monk's Cafe, a Flanders red ale. This beer is brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge NV in Ertvelde, Belgium. I purchased this bottle from Publick House Provisions on Beacon St. in Brookline, MA. Flanders red ale is usually characterized by having a moderate to intense sour flavor, imparted by inoculating the beer with bacteria after fermentation is complete. The souring process takes 6 months to 1 year or longer. The most prominent example of a Flanders red that is available in the United States in Rodenbach. However, Rodenbach recently has been increasingly harder to find in my area due to a distribution change. I've since been on a mission to find decent Flanders red ales to fill the hole Rodenbach has left.

I've found that Monk's Cafe in particular has stood out as a great example of the style, and it's a damn fine beer to drink. Like Rodenbach, Monk's Cafe is a blend of "young and old beers." The regular Rodenbach that most people know and love is actually a blend of very sour older beers with younger, less sour ales. My only guess is that the sourness is hard to precisely control and a consistent, mildly sour product can only be achieved by blending.

It's hard to tell from my photo, but I promise that Monk's Cafe is actually red. It pours a deep reddish brown with a slight haze. A frothy light tan head dissipates into the beer and a ring of bubbles remains, clinging and creeping up the sides of the glass.

It smells bright and sweet, like like freshly sliced Granny Smith apples. Notes of other fruit juices, including grapes and pears, are present. There is a faint sugary caramel smell, but it is generally an underlying aroma. There is no hop aroma.

The first sip is makes quite the impression and really sets the tone for what this beer is all about. When it first enters your mouth it is both tart and sweet and the body is very light. Imagine biting into that aforementioned freshly sliced apple, but with some caramel on it. It's tart - that is the foremost and obvious flavor. It's not sour enough to make you pucker, but it is still prominent. I think the underlying actual beer is very simple. If one were to taste this beer before the souring process, I would imagine a very dry, light-bodied ale, with toffee malt flavors and low hop bitterness - like an underhopped pale ale. It is hard to detect these flavors under the sourness, but I'm convinced that they are there. Swallowing unveils some totally different flavors. When it reaches the back of your tongue it begins to taste slightly acidic and metallic, like putting a penny in your mouth. It leaves your mouth a bit sticky - like you just polished off a bag of sour patch kids. This is curious because when then beer initially enters your mouth it tastes crisp, fresh and light bodied.

Overall Monk's Cafe is a quenching and refreshing Flanders Red. I love to toss it in and switch it up at the bar after a flight of hoppy IPAs or roasty stouts. Sometimes something totally different like this resets the palate. Perfect paired with a bowl of carbonade flamande, or by itself, Monk's Cafe is a beer that I will continue to choose when I'm feeling funky.

-Mike

Book Review: Beer School

2010-03-17T09:05:00.004-04:00

Bronx, NY-

You might be disappointed reading Steve Hindy and Tom Potter's Beer School if you think you're getting a lesson in actual brewing. You will not be disappointed if you're interested in learning about the actual business behind the craft beer you drink. Hindy and Potter combine to give straightforward advice to those of you out there looking to create a business of similar size and scope. This advice ranges from partner relationships to employee morale and marketing techniques. Perhaps because I read the book so soon after viewing the movie Beer Wars, the distribution struggles and successes were particularly interesting.

The book also gives the reader a distinctly "New York" perspective on recent craft beer history. I doubt very much that many breweries had to specifically prepare for mafia-related issues when starting their businesses. Not only did the brewery need to plan for the mafia when seeking investors but it was actually paid a visit by mafia members during the building of its location in Williamsburg. In such a large market, Brooklyn Brewery had to contend with especially strong efforts from the large brewers to keep them out of New York (out-bidding them to supply beer to events, etc.). Beyond the lessons learned selling their own beer, Hindy and Potter relate what they learned from other brewers and attempts to expand into the New York market through their distribution business. I was amazed to hear of how many breweries and brew pubs were forced to close because of reasons related to attempts to expand.

Each chapter was written by either Steve Hindy or Tom Potter with a response from the other. The writing itself, especially that of Steve Hindy, is quick and fun to read. His backround as a journalist is apparent. The pair's willingness to share many of the issues that they had with each other gives you the sense that they are being honest with the reader.

Beer School is a fun read for those interested in the development of the craft beer industry in New York City and offers many lessons for entrepreneurs. It's worth the read.

-Giancarlo

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On to Bath

2010-03-12T12:55:00.000-05:00

From time to time, BeerUnion will post submissions from traveling correspondent Katie Thombs. Here's one from Bath:

Bath, although rather small in comparison to many of our other destinations, had much to offer a beer lover. From Marston's Sweet Chariot (smooth with a slight sweetness that is kept in check), to the Bellringer (a Bath ale with a delicious bite), all tastes can be satisfied. A pub that is most definitely a must is the Olde Green Tree. The various cozy rooms with plenty of tables and benches makes it an ideal location to gather for a pint with friends or even just chat with the locals. Here you should try the Exmoor Gold, a nice golden ale that isn't too heavy but does lave a slight bitterness after a few sips. The Olde Green Tree Ale was a wonderfully refreshing light ale with tons of balanced hoppy flavor and easily drinkable in large quantities.

-Katie

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Pantyhose Stout

2010-03-09T21:34:00.011-05:00

Brighton, MA-

I hadn't homebrewed a beer in a few weeks, and I was really thirsty, so I needed a quick-fix brew. I grabbed the ingredients for a Guinness-stlye dry stout at my LHBS store. This was a really simple extract recipe - some liquid malt extract, 2 lbs flaked barley, 1 lb roasted barley and 1 2oz addition of Goldings. I thought that I could bang it out in a few hours because it was a weeknight and I had to arise in the morning to work to fund future brews.

After I arrived home, I was eager to get brewing, but I realized I had made a fatal error that was sure to put a damper on my booze production. I hadn't made an extract beer in months and seemingly forgot how to do it. I had 3 lbs of steeping grains but nothing to steep it in! I had forgot my "muslin bag", "nylon sack", or "sock"- what have you. I was feeling extra resourceful and sprinted down to CVS to purchase pantyhose. I have never purchased pantyhose in my life (I was a hosenvirgin). With dry stout on the mind the last thing I wanted was to be confronted with 20 different styles, colors, and fish or un-fishnetted ladies legwear. I selected one from many egg shaped vessels (six bucks!?) and hurried giddily back to my apartment to fill my newly-purchased very long socks with not a leg, but roasted barley.

I cut one limb from the pair and filled it with the steeping grains. I chuckled as I tied off my luscious leg-o-grain. I heated my water to a perfect 155˚F and let her go! Usually you only need to steep for about 30 min. That should be enough time for most of the flavor and color to be extracted from the grain and find its way into your brew. Thirty minutes later, I returned to my brewpot expecting to find it black as night, but to my dismay the water was barely brown. I could see the bottom of the pot, a shameful beer no one would call a Guinness.

I ran back to my recipe book, flipping through to the page. Maybe I had made a copying error? Nope, 1 lb roasted barley. That amount of roasted malt plus 5 gallons of water should be squid ink. I was perplexed. I then happened to glance at the scissors and what was once a fine set of gams lying on the counter. Curses! The pantyhose! I determined that the pantyhose was so tight, that my black roasted barley was compacted in the leg and was not allowing my brew water to flow freely through it. A normal steeping bag is loose and free, allowing maximum grain contact with the water. Essentially only a fraction of my grain was being steeped. I dunked and squeezed the leg (which should be usually avoided, due to tannin extraction), trying not to burn myself, and watched precious black gold ooze from the sides into my would-be wort.

Thirty more minutes passed of me periodically squeezing and dunking and I had had enough. The water was still brown. I came to the realization that I would not make a stout that day. The water was a bit darker than before, but probably only as brown as an English brown ale. I thought that I could end up with a bitter or something, so I boiled the malt extract and hops, followed by pitching US-05 yeast.

I tasted it a few weeks later and boy was it was boring. None of the coffee-like bitterness from the roasted barley was there like it should have been. It had some of the proper body, probably due to the flaked barley and it fermented clean, but I was not excited about it. I have a newly instated rule; if I can't muster up the excitement and energy to bottle my beer in 4 weeks, it probably isn't very good. The fourth week of it sitting in the carboy, I was still disappointed. I was still thirsty and the only beer on the horizon was a bastard of a brew - it had no known beer style to identify with. Some people may say that I had discovered something new. St. James' Gate may want to hear about my new style! I disagree. If you set out to make something you know and love but terribly miss your mark, you haven't discovered something new. You haven't breached the edge of beer knowledge, but only maybe learned what not to do.

In the end, somewhere in that fourth week I was still craving dry stout and travelled back to my homebrew supply store to buy the same ingredients again, but this time - all grain! I knew that I could have tried an extract stout sans pantyhose, but I had the time to fit in an all grain brew, so I did. Not to mention I love working with the English Pale malt "Maris Otter", which is very hard to find in extract form. This past Sunday I worked for 5 hours to actually produce wort black enough to be called "stout". If anything is to be learned from this it is to prepared for your brew day, and pantyhose may make women's legs beautiful, sleek and sexy, but will not do the same for your beer. Lederhosen is the only brew-hosen I now approve of.

-Mike

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The Galway Hooker

2010-03-09T08:28:00.003-05:00

From time to time, BeerUnion will post submissions from traveling correspondent Katie Thombs. Here's one from Galway:

At our next stop in Galway, the beautiful place and its pubs was truly a wonderful sight to behold. Although Jess and I did hit a number of pubs, the Tig Coili was most definitely the highlight. Here among tons of locals and fantastic live Irish tunes, I experienced Galway Hooker. This Irish pale ale was gloriously hoppy with a refreshing clean aftertaste. A perfectly wonderful alternative for those who don't have my same love of Guiness or Murpy's stout.

-Katie

Dublin Pub Crawl

2010-03-04T21:47:00.003-05:00

From time to time, BeerUnion will post submissions from traveling correspondent Katie Thombs. Here's one from Dublin:

The first half of my three week holiday was spent in Dublin. This location begs to be pub crawled - something my fried Jess and I were more than happy to do. We began with MJ O'Neills, and all I have to say is that it is the best place for anyone to begin. The atmosphere is definitely old Irish: full of nooks and crannies to lose yourself in while enjoying several pints. They had a rather wonderful selection on tap for us to choose from. We contented ourselves with a Blarney's Blonde and a Rebel Red. The Blonde was a crisp, refreshingly hoppy beer with a pleasing finish, while the Red was a delightful burst of delicious flavors that lingers on the tongue while not leaving a very bitter taste.

Another memorable pub was the Porterhouse. This was one of few pubs that was an actual brewery. We got a sampling of six: three lagers and three stouts. Among the stouts there was the Plain Porter (my favorite and very nice in both coloring and flavor), the Oyster Stout (not too heavy with an almost sweetness to it), and the Wrassler's XXXX (had a slight smoky flavor with a bitter finish). As for the lagers, there was the Temple Brew (Jess's favorite with a nice clean taste that had a delicious hoppy finish), the Chiller (which was very light but also had a bitter finish that made me unsure about whether I actually enjoyed it or not), and the Hersbrucker Pilsner (this was a nicely balanced beer where the flavors left your mouth wanting more).

Naturally being in Dublin, we took ourselves over to St. James Gate for a tour of the Guiness Storehouse and a pint. The Tour itself is fascinating, as it allows even those not familiar with the brewing process to fully appreciate Guiness. At the end of our tour we were taught the proper way to pour a pint of Guiness and I can proudly way that I am now qualified to do just that. Guiness in Ireland is most assuredly the best! The richness of it as the flavors explode in your mouth make having your first pint here an unforgettable experience and consequently ruins you for Guiness anywhere else. Stay tuned for the Galway pub crawl...

-Katie.

Fun Fact: Firkin

2010-02-24T11:50:00.001-05:00

Bronx, NY-

While doing some reading about cask ales I realized I didn't actually know much about the term "firkin." According to Wikipedia, the name derives from the Middle Dutch term vierdekijn meaning a fourth (of a barrel). Interestingly the volume held by a firkin of beer, 41 liters, is significantly less than a firkin of wine, 318 liters. A firkin of beer roughly equals 72 pints.

-Giancarlo

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Weighing in on Beer Wars

2010-02-23T16:26:00.003-05:00

Bronx, NY-

A couple of weeks ago I saw the documentary "Beer Wars" in which filmmaker Anat Baron explained and depicted the struggle between the big three brewing companies -- Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors -- and the craft beer movement. The movie definitely came down on the side of the small craft brewers fighting to grow in the face of the big brewers' resources and tactics. The film showcases the problems facing small brewers but it's not just a story of beer. The stifling presence of big business, which cares primarily about maintaining or growing its position in the market and not necessarily about quality, was the backdrop for the film. It raises questions about just how many opportunities there are for the small business owners or entrepreneurs that politicians and society in general claim to value so highly. My only real criticism might be the lack of a larger picture in the case of Moonshot's eventual attempt to sell to one of the big brewers. How many of these craft beers are swallowed up by the larger breweries? At what size does this typically happen?

As a proponent of small local breweries and the craft beer they make, the movie struck and emotional cord for me. After seeing the movie I didn't think there would be too much objection to it from individuals; I expected that there might be questions raised from the larger breweries, especially Anheuser-Busch. The most encouraging fact however, is that dialogue seems to be going on at an individualized level.

This week BeerUnion began following Anat Baron's "beer wars" Twitter page. There was a veritable frenzy of discussion between Anat Baron and people who had seen the movie. I was astonished that there was a significant number of comments from people who were negative about the film. Many seemed to be from those in need of clarification and I was impressed to find that these people actually received careful attentive responses without excessive defensiveness from Anat Baron's personal beer wars Twitter account (there is a movie account as well). One exchange in particular struck me on Tuesday as emblematic of the positive aspects of such a film. Idris_Arslanian tweeted back and forth with Anat Baron and while they may not have agreed, they did flesh out some interesting points from the film concerning the depiction of Anheuser-Busch.

Please take the time to read Anat Baron's Call to Action.

-Giancarlo

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Beer Bread

2010-02-22T21:55:00.001-05:00

Bronx, NY-

I've been holding on to the Trader Joe's Beer Bread Mix since Christmas and finally decided to make it with some Samuel Adams Black Lager. I was surprised at how long it took for the carbonation to die down. It mixed up nicely and the bread came out well. The bread is very cakey and you can definitely taste the beer in it.

-Giancarlo

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Iron Hill Brewery

2010-02-18T17:10:00.004-05:00

From time to time, BeerUnion will post submissions from traveling correspondent Katie Thombs. Here's her first, from an outing in Pennsylvania:

For girls night out last week, my friends and I decided to partake of some reasonably priced beer flights and pub food at The Iron Hill Brewery in Media, PA. This ended up being the perfect choice for an evening out. Everyone’s food was delicious, the service prompt and courteous. As for the beer, three of us decided to get the House Sampler. This flight of beers includes their five stationary brews, the current Belgian ale (which happened to be a very tasty pale ale), and a choice of two of their seasonals. Excepting the Iron Hill Light Lager (which was so light as to have hardly any taste), each of their beers had wonderful flavor and each of us was able to find several that we enjoyed. They even serve the flights on a sheet of paper where each beer is labeled so that you know exactly which one you are drinking - very useful when there are eight in front of you. When next near an Iron Hill brewery definitely stop in and try a flight of beers, they even sell growlers should you find one you want to take with you.

-Katie

Unibroue Night

2010-02-17T22:01:00.005-05:00

Manhattan NY-

Last Thursday night I finally made it to one of the beer events that happen in New York during the week and it was a good one to start with. The Belgian Room on St. Marks was featuring beers from Unibroue, which recently has been one of my favorite breweries. The bar was cramped and it was difficult to get to the tasting table where a Unibroue representative was pouring samples of Unibroue 15, 16 and Quatre-Centieme. The beer was delicious but unfortunately it was too loud for us to hear the explanations of the beer.

After struggling to get a Trois Pistoles at the bar we made our way to the back area of the bar which had tables and was more relaxed. Coming into the night I had only had La Fin Du Monde, Maudite, and Chambly Noire. I decided to go with the Trois Pistoles first and it turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. The head retention was incredible and you can definitely pick up on the accents of roasted malt and cocoa. It was very smooth for strong dark ale with an ABV of 9%. My friends Robin and Rich started with the Ephemere, which is brewed with apple must. The choice of granny smith apples gave Ephemere a nice tartness to go with its sweetness.

While waiting for the waitress to come back with my Maudite, a delicious red-amber ale, I was surprised to hear the number of my one raffle ticket announced. I was even happier to find that I had won a taster pack of Maudite, Trois Pistoles, La Fin Du Monde, and Don De Dieu. The Maudite, which was on draft, was as delicious as ever. Unibroue definitely continued to impress.

-Giancarlo

Mönchshof Schwarz, My Favorite

2010-02-09T21:52:00.006-05:00

Tonight while watching "Lost," I had a bottle of Mönchshof Schwarz. It's my favorite beer for its soft, creamy texture, its chocolate flavor and hint of coffee undertones. I love savoring it, letting it sit on my tongue for a little while to enjoy the bitterness. Check it out if you haven't tried it, it's worth it.

-Sarah

Fun Fact: Hop Rhizomes

2010-02-08T11:27:00.004-05:00

Bronx, NY-

While researching if there was anyway that I might be able to grow hops in my Bronx apartment (I quickly found this to be a terrible idea), I wondered what a rhizome actually was. Apparently rhizomes are what you receive when you order some hop plants. Turns out rhizome just refers to a type of root that lays horizontal in the ground and sends up shoots from what the Wikipedia article refers to as "nodes." If you want to take a look at an easily found and cheap rhizome, just visit your grocery store and check out the ginger root. For more info on actually growing hops check out: http://www.growinghopsyourself.com/

-Giancarlo

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Alcatraz Brewing Company

2010-02-05T15:15:00.018-05:00

Anaheim CA-

After spending much of the day at Disneyland, we decided to make the trip from our hotel to the Alcatraz Brewing Company. Alcatraz is a San Francisco themed brew pub with locations in Orange County CA and Indianapolis IN. The brewpub was complete with a reproduction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The experience was a bit odd since the place was largely empty and our party of two was seated at a round booth more suitable for

ten.

We ordered a six beer sampling and our entusiastic waiter, John, was perfectly happy to supply us with all seven of their beers, which came with short explanations of their style and taste. I have to say I was a little disappointed in the selection:

"Search Light" a light beer

"Weiss Guy Wheat" an american style

hefeweisen

"Gold Rush Steam" similar to Anchor Steam

"Big House Red" a red ale

"Drunken Uncle Dunkel" a dark Bavarian lager

"Blonde Bear Lager"

a maibock

The seasonal was simply the Weiss Guy Wheat with apricot flavoring, which I found to be overly sweet. My dislike for maibocks continued with Blonde Bear Lager as the taste of alcohol was the predominant taste. I did however enjoy Gold Rush Steam and Big House Red. Big House Red was very malty with a noticeable chocolate aroma and taste. Our waiter immediately compared Gold Rush Steam to Anchor steam, which seemed to fit well but his description of the hop character helped me identify some of the more subtle flavors e.g. pine and juniper. I ended up ordering the Gold Rush Steam to have with my pulled pork and Sarah went for the Drunken Uncle Dunkel to have with her turkey sandwich.

-Giancarlo

Even though Giancarlo didn't, and even though I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, I liked "Search Light." There wasn't much body to it, but it was refreshing. Overall, though, there was something missing from the choices at Alcatraz - the variety wasn't good. I really wasn't to crazy about any of the beers. Though I ordered the Dunkel, it was just OK. There wasn't anything there I would get again.

-Sarah

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