Monthly archive for March 2019

Cold rain lashed the group gathered at the base of Ben Nevis, Scotland on October 18, 1883. As the highest peak in Scotland, Ben Nevis was selected as the location of Great Britain’s first high weather observatory, and the group planned a hike to the top for its dedication. Near the summit snow was piled over two feet deep, and blizzard-like conditions shortened the celebratory speeches. Without missing a beat the party simply moved inside. Scots expect weather of that nature, as a constant companion in life they simply make

How do you become a brewing legend? The easiest way is to save a dying style. So here’s a pop quiz. Which brewers can be so credited? (Passing grade is two.) One of the easiest, for those of us in the United States, is Fritz Maytag and Steam Beer. The other, Pierre Celis and Wit beer. Originating in Belgium, Wit evolved as a product of geography and world conquest. Its roots go back to the area of Brabant just east of Brussels which extends toward the city of Liege. A

If the old master Rubens were to paint a beer, barley wine would be his subject. Certainly such a match would be no accident; both portray a full body, appreciate with age, and critics never regard them lightly. Indeed the classic canvas of barley wine presents the most sophisticated of beers. Although the designation barley wine originated early in the 1900’s, the style has undoubtedly been brewed for hundreds of years. In by-gone days these were referred to as strong ale, stingo, Burton ales, old ales and Scotch ales. Many

From the silent stillness a gentle breeze rises, refreshment for the soul. After a few satisfying moments it fades. Again it reappears, not as strong, but equally satisfying. It sounds like the story of summer, but serves as a metaphor for Brown Ale. Like a soft, fleeting zephyr, Brown Ale’s past escapes a tangible grasp. Beer historians know it was there, but can’t pin point it’s beginning, direction, or composition. According to Ray Daniels and Jim Parker, in their book “Brown Ale”, the first clear reference to the style was

In Boise’s Historical District, Kevin Settles and Dave Krick have established America’s first distillery pub in December 1999. Bardenay Restaurant Distillery, confirmed by the BATF as the first in the country, opened its doors for the new millenium with the focus on high quality cocktails, and great food. Bardenay’s name comes from a term used by sailors for the ship captain’s cocktail hour, when the work stops and the fun begins. Cocktails and fun is what this pub is all about. They not only make their own spirits but also

Springtime in the Hallertau is beautiful: clean, crisp air, the smell of newly emerging greenery, the trees on the rolling hills coming to life and the sight of people out in the fields. We, members of the North American Brewers Association and the High Desert Brewers Association, recently had the pleasure of visiting the Hallertau as the guest of Anheuser-Busch. The Hallertau region of Bavaria, north and east of Munich, is the largest interconnected hop-growing region of the world. There are approximately 2000 producers on 40,000 acres in the area

Have you ever had one of those special moments when you experience something that makes a lasting impression? Did it seem dream-like or like a scene from a movie? Do you often replay it in your mind? Did a beer ever invoke one of these magical moments? It can happen?!? In the small medieval town of Brugge, Belgium, is a smallish pub with a very large reputation, at least among cerevisaphiles. The t’Brugs Beertje is down a narrow side street in the old part of town. It boasts a beer

‘Ice Cold Beer’ – used in a phrase those three words seem inseparable, but it wasn’t always so. From the perspective of the 20th Century it’s hard to believe, everyone drinks ice cold beer, and in restaurants and barrooms, ball parks, and picnics, beer drinkers mindlessly plunge beer into arctic-like baths of ice with hardly a thought, but why? People drink both hot and ice tea, hot and ice coffee, and hot and cold chocolate milk; why not beer? In beer’s previous 100 centuries of history there was no refrigeration,