Just got some great news. Morgan Cox, founder and brewer of Ale Industries, and his wife Laura, had their second child last week. Laura gave birth to Rayah just after 5:00 a.m. on September 2. Join me in wishing the happy couple all the best on their birth of their daughter. Congratulations Morgan and Laura!
Particulars:
Original Gravity: 6 pounds, 8 ounces
IBUs: 21.25 in.
Style: Girl
Release Date: September 2, 2012
Label: Rayah Marion Cox
A sleeping Rayah Marion Cox.
I bet it must be nice for President Obama’s people to be inundated by something positive for a change. When the White House announced that the kitchen was going to be homebrewing, even using honey made by White House bees, people wanted to know what the recipe was for the two beers they were brewing. After a petition to release the recipes garnered over 12,000 signatures, the White House did release the recipes on the White House Blog and their We the People page, a Honey Ale and a Honey Porter. Here was the White House response:
Inspired by home brewers from across the country, last year President Obama bought a home brewing kit for the kitchen. After the few first drafts we landed on some great recipes that came from a local brew shop. We received some tips from a couple of home brewers who work in the White House who helped us amend it and make it our own. To be honest, we were surprised that the beer turned out so well since none of us had brewed beer before.
As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there’s no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)
Since our first batch of White House Honey Brown Ale we’ve added the Honey Porter and have gone even further to add a Honey Blonde this past summer. Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn’t sweeten it.
And here’s the recipe for the Honey Ale:
The White House also created a short video about the homebrew project.
And here’s the recipe for the Honey Porter:
Wondering how the recipe might work out? Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing expressed his opinion in the New York Times, in White House Beer: A Brewer Weighs In.
This is the sixth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last five, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins on Wednesday September 5, so you’ve got about five days to sign up.
I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.
Standings for both leagues will be listed at the bottom of the Bulletin’s right column.
In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. I’ve added a new wrinkle this year. Since we’re all very busy, and you (or I) might screw up at least one week, you can now throw out your lowest week. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.
Also, like last year, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.
In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button (or “Create or Join Group” if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…
Group ID#: 11630 (Brookston NFL Pick To Win)
Password: brookston
If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually last year they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.
Again, like last year, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.
In order to join the group, just go to Survival Football, click the “Sign Up” button and choose to “Join an Existing Group”, then “Join a Private Group”. Then, when prompted, enter the following information…
Group ID#: 4804 (Brookston Survival League)
Password: brookston
With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. Beginning after the first weekend of the regular season I’ll post the standings on the home page (at the bottom of the right-hand column) and then each Monday after that through the season. Why not join us?
I saw an early version of this video last year, but today noticed it’s up at the CCBA (California Craft Brewers Association) website. It’s in the style of Greg Koch’s original I Am A Craft Brewer video, but features all California brewers. It’s apparently on behalf of both the CCBA and Support Your Local Brewery. I’m sure somebody wil complain — somebody ALWAYS does — but it’s fun to see. Having visited almost all of the 180 breweries in Northern California researching my forthcoming book California Breweries: North, it’s great to see so many familiar faces. Enjoy.
Here’s an interesting little snapshot of the various containers beer comes in over the last thirty years from the Container Recycling Institute. In Container Types Used For Beer in the U.S., 1981-2010 , they detail how beer in bottles have increased steadily 15% over that time and now make up almost 40% of how beer is sold. At the same time, draft beer has receded. Cans are still on top, but dipped significantly beginning in the 1990s, but in recent years have started to rebound.
Here’s another fun video, this one from Canada’s Molson Beer. The Canadian National Canthem features the Canadian national anthem — O Canada — performed on various contraptions made with beer cans, bottles and crowns. Enjoy.
Regardless of your political leanings, I think the beer aspects of this are pretty funny. Thanks to Ed Chainey for sending me the link. I suspect Republicans won’t be as amused as Democrats, but it’s true that alcohol is not allowed under Mormonism, along with coffee, tobacco and other items. I don’t know about above-ground swimming pools or truck nuts, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Still, from a strictly beer-centric point of view, the choice is clear.
It’s the end of an era. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon passed away today at 82. I was 10 that July when the historic moon walk took place. Like most kids my age, I was deeply obsessed with the NASA space program, had many models and books, and even drank Tang. Neil Armstrong was a real hero to me as a kid and I have no less admiration for him as an adult. I’ll raise a toast tonight to Neil Armstrong, and the entire group of Apollo astronauts, along with the thousands of engineers, scientists and technicians that achieved what so many thought was impossible, that — in John F. Kennedy’s words — “of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”
The only question is what is the appropriate beer to toast Armstrong, and the Moon? I still have two bottles of Apollo beer from the 1990s but I’m certainly not going to open any of those. I also have a cool blue 3L bottle of Apollo Lager, which was empty since it was given to me, so that obviously won’t work.
To bad we can’t drink a Moonshot tonight. Maybe a beer brewed with Apollo hops? Sixpoint’s summer seasonal is called Apollo, and Laurelwood has a Space Stout, but I can’t either of those. There’s Blue Moon, of course though I think I’d prefer the more local Moonlight or even Half Moon Bay. What beer will you choose?
Earlier this month the Brewers Association released the good news that Craft Beer Grows 14% In First Half Of 2012. That was through the end of June. I hate to keep crowing about the numbers, but it’s hard to ignore, especially having lived through the depressing late 90s when optimism for craft beer was at its nadir. Anyway, here’s where we are just a month later, as of July 31 of this year.
Crazy times.
Nobody’s absolutely certain how Steam Beer was made back in the day, before Prohibition, or why it was called steam beer. Many theories abound, and in this fun, new video from Anchor Brewing, they explore some of the mythology and history surrounding Steam Beer.