Days of the Beer, March 3

The beer for today is Sun King Brewing Company, Cuvee De Sun King.

On March 3, 1991, George Holliday, captured on video, the beating of Rodney Glen King by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The footage showed LAPD officers repeatedly striking King with their batons while other officers stood by watching.

Four of the officers were tried in a state court for the beating, but were acquitted. Their acquital sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

The event started on March 2, when King was drinking and watching a basketball game with some friends. He later got in a car and led officers on a freeway chase that reached speeds of at least 117 miles per hour. He didn't pull over, because he knew he'd get a DUI, which would violate his parole (his estimated blood alcohol level was .19). The police chase entered a residential area and continued at 55 to 80 mph. After about 8 miles, King's car was cornered.

His passengers got out and were taken into custody without incident. King stayed in the car initially, then got out. At this point... King was tazed twice, and hit with 56 baton blows, six kicks, and placed in handcuffs and cordcuffs. He suffered a fractured facial bone, broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations.


As to the beer:

Sun King Brewing Company is located in Indianapolis. They have four year round brews, and several seasonals. Cuvee De Sun King is listed as a Flanders Oud Bruin. It is 5.3% ABV. (It appears it was only available at the Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest)

Cuvee is a French wine term based on their word for vat or tank. On wine it usually denotes a special batch or blend. In some regions, it only indicates a blend. When dealing with sparkling wine, cuvee referrs to the best grape juice. When dealing with beer (or chocolate) it can mean a blended batch; in addition to meaning an aged in barrel batch.

An Our Bruin is also known as a Flanders Brown. The name means Old Brown. Normally Oud Bruin's are aged for more than a year, where the beer has a secondary fermentation, that usually results in a tart or sour flavor. Often times, Oud Bruin's are mixed with newer bruin's to cut through some of the sour flavor and give a bit of sweet (this blend would be the cuvee).

So for Rodney King being beaten, have a Sun King Cuvee De Sun King.