Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Reunion Beer to Benefit Bone Cancer Research

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Once upon a time, Pete Slosberg created Pete’s Wicked Ale. And the brown ale was good. He had help spreading the word, of course, and in the early days Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean also helped Pete’s become a nationally known microbrewery. Pete, of course, moved on to chocolate and Alan Shapiro worked for a time with Merchant Du Vin and now heads his own import company, SBS Imports. Virginia MacLean, in the meantime, left the beer business but as she approached her fortieth birthday was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which is a type of bone cancer that currently has no known cure. For more information about the disease, see the MMRF or the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Recently, Pete Slosberg and Alan Shapiro got together and decided to help their friend by creating a new beer to help raise awareness and money to fund research into this disease. The beer is named “Reunion,” and it’s a big, imperial brown ale and is the first commercial beer Slosberg has done since selling Pete’s Wicked Ale to Gambrinus in 1998. He worked with award-winning brewer Daniel Del Grande at Bison Brewing in creating the organic beer. In the Bay Area, Beverages & more and Whole Foods will be carrying the beer. Please support this worthy cause and buy a bottle or a case.

The press release:

INTRODUCING REUNION
A BEER FOR HOPE UNIQUE COLLABORATION TO BENEFIT
THE INSTITUTE FOR MYELOMA & BONE CANCER RESEARCH

In the early days of the craft brewing business in the U.S. Pete Slosberg brought Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean to help lead his emerging namesake company and take his Wicked Ale® to new heights. While these long-time friends ultimately pursued different professional paths, some 18 years later they have reunited to create a beer inspired by Pete’s early recipes.

REUNION – A BEER FOR HOPE is an organic imperial brown ale brewed by Pete and Dan Del Grande at Bison Brewing Company’s organic brewery in Berkeley, CA. It will be sold in 22 ounce screen printed bottles via Shapiro’s SBS Imports distributor network in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Illinois. It has a suggested price of $4.99 per bottle. All profits generated by SBS from the sale of REUNION will benefit The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research in Los Angeles, CA. “Alan informed me that our good friend Virginia had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma — a form of bone cancer,” Pete Slosberg recalled. “He later called with the idea of reuniting to create a beer to celebrate our friendship and bring hope to Virginia and others battling this disease. I am thrilled to be a part of the effort to raise funds for this worthwhile organization.”

“Virginia has been a close friend from the day we met at Pete’s back in 1989,” noted SBS Imports President, Alan Shapiro. “I wish I was a great scientist who could help find a cure — but at least I can make a small contribution by raising both funds and awareness for this disease. I have met Dr. Berenson’s team at IMBCR and have seen their work in progress. I know the funds we raise will help make a difference.”

About Multiple Myeloma & IMBCR:

Multiple Myeloma is a unique cancer of plasma cells that attacks and destroys bone. The term is derived from the multiple areas of bone marrow that are usually affected by the disease. Worldwide, over 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with this currently incurable form of bone cancer. Led by Dr. James Berenson, IMBCR is one of the world’s leading research organizations combating this disease. IMBCR specializes in developing novel chemotherapy drugs and treatments. For further information on multiple myeloma or IMBCR, please visit www.imbcr.org or contact 310-623-1210.

About the Beer:

REUNION is a collaborative beer created by Pete Slosberg & Dan Del Grande and inspired by Pete’s original recipe. It is brewed with 6 different organic malts, 3 different hops and dryhopped. It is 7.5% alcohol by volume. REUNION will be available at leading specialty beer retailers and many Kimpton hotels in the western United States. More information is available at www.reunionbeer.com.

The back label:

 

Redbridge Gluten-Free Released Nationally

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As expected, Anheuser-Busch released Redbridge, a gluten-free beer made with sorghum nationally last week. As with their organic beers, A-B claims they will be making regular donations to a relevant charity, in this case to National Foundation for Celia Awareness, undoubtedly a worthy organization. The Redbridge website is also up and running now, too.

Here’s a portion of the press release:

Sorghum, the primary ingredient in Redbridge, is a safe grain for those allergic to wheat or gluten. It is grown in the United States, Africa, Southern Europe, Central America and Southern Asia. Sorghum beers have been available internationally for years and are popular in many African countries.

Redbridge is a hearty, full-bodied lager brewed using imported Hallertau and domestic Cascade hops. It is brewed with sorghum and has a well-balanced, moderately hopped taste. “We set out to create a fine, hand-crafted specialty beer made without wheat or barley,” said Angie Minges, product manager, Anheuser-Busch. “We’ve made Redbridge nationally available to make sure adults who experience wheat allergies or who choose a gluten-free or wheat-free diet can enjoy the kind of beer that fits their lifestyle.”

Redbridge contains 4.8% alcohol per 12-ounce serving. It will be available in 12-ounce, six-pack bottles. Redbridge is brewed at the Anheuser-Busch Merrimack, N.H., brewery.

The new six-packs for Redbridge, now available nationally.

Full Sail’s LTD Series

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Full Sail Brewing of Hood River, Oregon announced a new limited series of beers to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The “LTD Series” 01 will be released this month.

From the press release:

Hood River, Or – For the last year the Full Sail brew-masters have been working to develop a special line of beers to celebrate their 20th anniversary. “We are proud to announce our ‘LTD Series’ bringing to our customers new import-style beers in an elegant yet delightfully fun packaging,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s Founder and CEO. The LTD Series is Full Sail’s entry into the fastest growing craft beer category — Seasonal Beers.

“Our Seasonal line emphasizes and builds on our brand mantra – both the world class quality of our beers (LTD – Limited Edition) and our celebration of independence (LTD – Live the Dream),” continued Firmat. The LTD series will be available in six-packs and will begin shipping from the brewery December 2006.

The newly designed bottle labels describe LTD Bottling 01, as an easy drinking, albeit wicked awesome limited edition lager. Featured on the six-pack is a “Malt-O-Meter” that will tell you at a glance that LTD is a medium bodied, copper colored lager with subtle hop accents, and a caramel aroma, that goes down smooth. For the beer aficionados, or the aspiring ones, the bottom of the six-pack features an easy to read chart of “Today’s Recipe”, including hop (Czech Saaz, Hallertauer) and malt varieties (caramel, chocolate and wheat), plato (16 degrees), I.B.U. (26), alcohol by volume (6.4) and even secret sauce! Full Sail will follow up LTD 01 with another new limited edition bottling LTD Number 02, this spring.

“2007 is our 20th year of being fortunate to be doing what we love, brewing beer. So we are dedicating LTD to everyone who’s living the dream, whatever that dream might be. Our dream was to start our own brewery, run it our own way, and do it in an unreal place where all summer the wind pumps and all winter the snow dumps,” said Firmat. “If you’re living your own dream, then cheers to you!”

The “LTD Series” will be available in six-packs this month. I din’t know if you can quite read it, but the six-pack carrier reads “From Our Ace Crew of Libationary Wunderkinds” and also a “An Easy-Drinking Albeit Wicked Awesome Limited Edition Lager.”

World Series Beer Collectibles

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This will give you some idea how much I don’t follow baseball. Until I read this press release from Anheuser-Busch, I had no idea who won this year’s world series. Apparently it was the St. Louis Cardinals and A-B is doing a commemorative can and magnum bottle.

From the press release:

The commemorative 46.5-ounce magnum bottle features the Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions logo on the front, with a summary of the World Series on the back label. The World Series magnum is sold individually in a red and blue box featuring the Cardinals and World Series Champions logos. The 16-ounce Budweiser aluminum bottle features the Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions logo and lists the years of each of the Cardinals 10 titles. The aluminum bottle is sold in 15-packs of specially labeled Budweiser cases featuring images of the Cardinals World Series bottles.

Both will be available in liquor, grocery and convenience stores in the greater St. Louis metro area — the magnum bottle as early as this weekend, and the aluminum bottle starting mid-next week. Both bottles will be reintroduced in March, when they will be more widely available as the city gears up for the 2007 Major League baseball season.

And an AP story added:

A 46.5-ounce magnum bottle will include the Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions logo on the front and a summary of the World Series on the back. Also available is a 16-ounce aluminum bottle featuring the championship logo and a list of the 10 championship years for the Cardinals. Among all baseball teams, only the New York Yankees have won more World Series titles.

The Cardinals won only 83 regular-season games but won the World Series in five games over Detroit. It was their first championship in 24 years.

Though Anheuser-Busch sold the Cardinals to the current ownership group more than a decade ago, the brewery and the team remain closely connected. The new ballpark that opened this year is named Busch Stadium thanks to a naming-rights agreement. The old advertising jingle “Here Comes the King” still stirs the crowd during rallies.

Unfortunately, just like their Millennium magnum and other collectible bottles, inside will still be just Budweiser and not a special brew made for the occasion.

Turning Water into Happoshu

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japan
In Japan it will cost you two to three times as much as it does in the rest of the world if you’re keen to drink a beer. That’s because the Japanese government in their infinite wisdom (why is it governments are all so dogmatically stupid in creating laws without thinking them through?) placed an onerous tax on any beer who’s weight of malt extract exceeds 67% of the fermentable ingredients. In fact, that is their definition of what beer — biiru in Japanese — is. This was done to protect the more traditional sake (or nihonshu) and, of course, it backfired.

Breweries did just what you’d expect them to do. They began making beers with less than 67% malt, using rice or other adjuncts. Suntory made the first one in 1994, called Hop’s Draft, and it contained 65% malted barley. Because it no longer fit the definition of beer, a new name was required and it has become known as happoshu, which means “sparkling alcohol.” Naturally the Japanese government saw what was happening but instead of reversing a foolish decision, changed the standard to 50%. Japanese brewers responded by lowering the malt even further so that today about 25% malt in happoshu is common. The lower malt produces more fusel alcohol that many argue leads to greater hangovers. By all accounts, it tastes awful but has been growing in popularity because it’s so much cheaper. One snarky account I read mentioned that happoshu tastes more like American beer.

Recently, around thirty students from Fuji Women’s University, a catholic school, worked with a local brewer, Yasuharu Osugi, from Nihon Ji Biiru Kobo, to develop a pink happoshu brew aimed specifically at women. In hopes of it appealing to females, they lowered the hop character and made it 4.5%, so it’s a bit weaker than most happoshu. The ingredients include a hoshinoyume, a local rice, along with the herb shiso, a pink-colored juice that gives the brew its distinctive hue. The label will feature a four-leaf clover and goes on sale today.

pink-happoshu
Students from Fuji Women’s University give their pink happoshu a taste test.

It being a catholic university, they chose the name “Cana Story,” after the place in the new testament story in which Jesus is supposed to have turned water into wine. Of course, it may be fitting. I’ve heard some credible theories that when the new testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek that they had no word for beer and thus translated the line to wine instead. Certainly beer being mostly water would make more sense, though makes it a bit less miraculous.

cana

Braille Beer

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Duesseldorf’s famous Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei, known more simply as Zum Uerige, makes one of the finest Altbiers in the world. And now they’re the first with another beer milestone.

Imagine if you couldn’t see the beer you were drinking. You’d have to take the word of whoever put the beer in front of you as to what it was. But now Uerige’s alt beer label will be printed in braille, allowing the blind to know exactly what bttle of beer they’ve got. In a short item by Ananova, Joanna Zimmer, an activist for the blind, was thrilled by the news. “For blind people every drink is actually a lucky dip. You often have no idea what’s about to go in your mouth. But with this bottle you are clearly told what it is — and that’s fabulous.”

As far as I know, this is the first beer for the blind. B. United imports several Uriege beers into the U.S. No word yet as to when or if the braille labels will be here in the United States.

Peak Organic Peaks With 12-Packs

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Jon Cadoux, founder of Portland, Maine’s Peak Organic Brewing announced the addition of 12-packs and kegs. Twelve-packs will be released for their Pale Ale as well as a variety pack containing four bottles of each of their three current styles: pale ale, amber ale and a nut brown ale.

From the press release:

“Peak Organic customers enjoy celebrating the great moments of life with family and friends,” said Cadoux, whose Peak Organic web site is filled with customer photos and stories. “We are responding to increased demand by offering 12-packs and draft. Peak on draft is especially popular in restaurants that are very focused on high quality ingredients.”

One of America’s very first organic beers, Peak Organic is made with the highest quality ingredients and is characterized by a distinctively refreshing taste. Peak is available in three flavors: Pale Ale, complex and hoppy; Nut Brown Ale, smooth with a nutty finish; and Amber Ale, lively with a subtle toasted character.

Bottled in Portland, Maine, Peak Organic is made with barley and hops that are grown without toxic and persistent pesticides and chemical fertilizers. “This process makes our beer better tasting and more enjoyable, both for consumers and for the planet,” said Cadoux.

Organic beer is well positioned for growth. Organics has become a $13 billion industry and represents the fastest growing segment of America’s food and beverage category.

Jon Cadoux, founder of Peak Organic Brewing in Portland, Maine, from an AP story on MSNBC in July.
(Photo by Pat Wellenbach / AP)

History in a Glass

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courthouse-pub
This is the kind of story that exemplifies the best in craft brewing, at least in my opinion. There used to be a brewery in Manitowoc County, in the small town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin (pop. <11,261) by the name of Two Rivers Beverage Co. It’s earlier names were Mueller Bros. Brewing Co. and City Brewery prior to Prohibition. But afterward, it was known by Two Rivers and lasted until about 1966. One of their most popular beers was apparently White Cap beer, which they made from 1939 until 1963.

Carl and Chris Liebich, the children of Harold Liebich, the former co-owner of Two Rivers, asked John Jagemann, owner of the Courthouse Pub, a brewpub in nearby Manitowoc, if he would be willing to brew up a batch of White Cap for a family and brewery reunion they’d planned on hosting. The brewpub said they’d need the recipe, of course, and Harold’s brother George, with whom Harold ran the brewery from 1952 until it closed, found it in the attic of his California home. Parts of the recipe dated from 1915 and were written in German, but it was complete. The Courthouse Pub’s head brewer in Canada, John Downing, put together a version of it that would work in the brewpub’s system and Brent Boeldt, brewmaster at the Wisconsin location, brewed it up for the reunion, which took place Sunday. Today the brewpub will release White Cap for public consumption. Jagemann describes the beer as a lighter style beer and told the local paper that “[i]f it sells well, it can become one of our standard beers.” Now that’s a fun little story. There was a great little article detailing all of this in today’s Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.
 

brent-boeldt
Brent Boeldt of Courthouse Pub brewpub in Manitowoc, Wisconsin,
holding a pint of White Cap beer.
(Photo by Jaslyn Gilbert, Herald Times Reporter)

Shipyard to Release Honey Porter

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Shipyard Brewing of Portland, Maine announced today that their 2007 Brewer’s Choice selection will be a Honey Porter. The beer will be for sale beginning in January of next year.

From the press release:

Each year, Brewer’s Choice features a new beer recipe created by Shipyard’s award-winning brew house team.

“This year, three recipes were submitted by our brewers,” noted master brewer Alan Pugsley. “Each beer was taste tested at select brew pubs in Maine, and Bruce Elam’s Honey Porter was the customer favorite and will now be distributed around the country.”

Elam believes Porter is an under appreciated style and hopes to change some minds with this brew.

“It’s exciting to have a little piece of your heart and soul out there for people to try,” said Elam.

Other contenders were David Hall’s Scotch Ale featuring a smoked malt flavor and Joe Rank’s Session Bitter showcasing his personal favorite, Mount Hood hops.

Shipyard will brew a 10,000 case run of Brewer’s Choice 2007 Honey Porter which will be available in 6-packs, 12-packs, and on draft.

The pleasing complexity of this limited edition brew comes from the interplay between the roasted nutty undertones of Crystal, Chocolate and Black malts and the sweetness of orange blossom honey. Balance is achieved by the addition of Warrior and Tettnang hops. Ample body and smooth mouth feel enhance drinkabilty. Don’t get stung and miss this one! 6.25% alcohol by volume.

I’ve had some wonderful honey porters over the years, and even Boston beer used to make a good one. Honey porters in my experience are excellent beers to use in cooking, too. It’s a shame you don’t see too many of them these days. I look forward to giving this one a try next year.

Anchor Christmas Ale Released

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The 32nd release of Anchor’s “Our Special Ale,” the official name of their annual Christmas Ale, takes place today and the seasonal beer will be available through January. The traditional date for the release of Anchor’s Christmas Ale was always the Monday before Thanksgiving, making it one of latest releases for the holidays. However, demand for the beer and requests from wholesalers and retailers led them to move back the release date to early November. While I’m generally not a fan of the expansion of the Christmas season to November 1, and some instances even before, this is one case where I can make an exception. Having this beer available even a few weeks longer is definitely a good thing!

From the press release:

The brewers of Anchor Steam® Beer are proud to announce the release of our thirty-second annual “Christmas Ale.”

Every year since 1975 the brewers at Anchor have brewed a distinctive and unique “Christmas Ale,” which is available from early November to mid-January. The Ale’s recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew.

This year’s featured tree is the Fagus sylvatica, more commonly known as the European Beech.