Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Days of the Beer, March 23

The beer for today is Southern Tier Gemini (Imperial IPA).

On March 23, 1965, NASA launched Gemini 3. The spacecraft was named The Molly Brown and it was the first manned Gemini flight. The crew was Virgil Grissom and John Young.

The flight was a test flight. The primary mission was to test the new, maneuverable Gemini spacecraft. In space, the crew fired thrusters to change the shape of their orbit, shift their plane and drop to a lower altitude. Other firsts achieved were: two people flew on an American spacecraft (the russians had a 3 person crew); and the first manned reentry where the spacecraft was able to produce lift to change its touchdown point.

The only major incident during the flight involved a contraband corned beef sandwich that Young had snuck on board. They both took a few bites before the sandwich had to be put away, as the crumbs could have damaged the spacecraft's electronics.

As to the beer:

Southern Tier Gemini is a blend of their Unearthly Imperial IPA and Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale. Gemini is listed as an Imperial Blended Ale on their site.

High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as “the twins,” or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens.

The beer is 9% ABV.

It would go really well with a corned beef sandwich.

So, for the first manned flight of the Gemini program, have a Southern Tier Gemini. Again, try it with a corned beef sandwich, or maybe a reuben.

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