Friday, September 30, 2011
September 30 Tap List (Homecoming)
Friday, September 23, 2011
CU Beer Weekend: Sept 23 (Illini vs W. Michigan)
Seven Saints
Southern Tier Pumpking
Tuesday Brewsday: Pyramid Juggernaut $2
Whiskey Wednesday: Scotch
Radio Maria
1) Clown Shoes Eagle Claw Fist
2) O’fallon Wheach
3) He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A
4) Breckenridge 72 Imperial Chocolate Cream Stout
5) Left Hand TNT Weizenbock
6) Two Brothers Hop Juice
7) Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale
8) Smuttynose Big A
9) New Holland Beerhive Tripel
10) Southern Tier Cuvee 3
11) Dark Horse Plead the 5th
12) Founders Double Trouble
13) Sierra nevada Ovila Saison
14) Breckenridge Christmas Ale
15) Crown Valley Worktruck Wheat
16) Wexford Irish Cream Ale
17) Left Hand Milk Stout
18) Monk’s Café Flemish Red Ale
19) Rogue Dad’s Little Helper Black IPA
20) EKU Pils
21) Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout
22) Haand Bryggeriet Royk Uten Ild
23) Hofbrau Maibock
24) Smuttynose Barleywine
25) De Proef K-O
26) Brugse Zot
27) PBR
Monday: Beer Class, Adjuncts (beers with stuff other than Malt, Hops, Water, and Yeast)
Crane Alley
Left Hand Sawtooth Nitro 5.3%
Southern Tier Porter 5.6%
Founder's Centennial IPA 7.2%
Ertvelds Wit 5.5%
Weihenstephaner Fest Bier 5.8%
Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel 9.5%
Ommegang Belgian Independence 7.2%
Avery Karma 5.2%
Saison De Silly
Stone 15th Anniversary Black IPA 10.5%
Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale 6.2%
Southern Tier Pumking 9.0%
Kulmbacher Kapuziner Weiss Bier 5.0%
Avery 18th Anniversary Dry-Hopped Saison 8.1%
Gulden Draak 10.5%
Original Sin Hard Cider 6.0%
Rogue XS Imperial IPA 9.5%
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale 6.2%
November 10: Who's Your Bastard Night, 8pm
December 8: Barrel aged Black Party, 8pm
Blind Pig Brewery
Blind Pig Belgian Grand Cru
Blind Pig oatmeal Stout
Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blind Pig Imperial IPA
Capital Oktoberfest; Middleton, Wisconsin, Oktoberfest, 5.5% abv
Avery The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest; Boulder, CO,Dunkler Bock, 10.01% abv
Rogue Love and Hoppiness; Newport, Oregon, Pilsner, 5.8% abv
Schlafly Pumpkin; Maplewood, Missouri, Spice Ale, 5% abv
Southern Tier Harvest; Lakewood, New York, Premium Bitter, 6.4% abv
Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen; Germany, Marzen, 5.8% abv
Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier; Marzen, Germany, 6.3% abv
Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier; Germany, Weizen, 5% abv
Avery IPA; Boulder, Colorado, India Pale Ale, 6.5% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv
Destihl
Saison de Ruisseau
Belgian Pale Ale
Oktoberfest
Triton Barley Wine
Black Angel Stout
Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale
Hoperation Overload Double IPA
Altercation
Jacob’s Ladder
Champaign Blonde Ale
Biere Brune
Weissenheimer Hefeweizen
Roadblock British Red Ale
Small Beer
Blind Pig
Firkin Friday: New Holland the Poet Stout
Southern Tier Pumking; Lakewood, New York, Spice Ale, 9%
Sand Creek Groovy Brew; Black River Falls, Wisconsin, Kolsch, 4.5%
Southern Tier Iniquity; Lakewood, New York, Black IPA, 9% abv
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 6.2% abv
Pyramid Apricot; Seattle, Washington, Fruit Beer, 5.1% abv
Avery The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest; Boulder, Colorado, Dunkler Bock, 10.1% abv
Left Hand Milk Stout; Longmont, Colorado, Sweet Stout, 5.3% abv
Sam Adam’s Octoberfest; Boston, Massachusetts, Marzen, 5.3% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Schlafly Pumpkin; Maplewood, Missouri, Spice Ale, 8% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Duchesse De Bourgogne; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2%
Hofbrau Original; Germany, Helles, 5.1% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Capital Oktoberfest; Middleton, Wisconsin, Marzen, 5.5%
Weihenstephaner Festbier; Germany, Marzen, 5.8%
Affligem Abbey Blonde; Belgium, Belgian Ale, 7% abv
Kostritzer Schwarzbier; Germany, Schwarzbier, 4.8% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Ballast Point Sextant Nitro Stout; San Diego, California, Dry Stout, 6.8%
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.2%
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Cause Behind the Reinheitsgebot
The Reinheitsgebot, or “Bavarian Purity Law” was a regulation about the production of beer in Germany. It became law on April 23, 1516. Most people believe it’s about regulating what can go into beer. That’s partly true, but, I believe the law was mostly put forward to protect prices of other grains and to help the bread makers (this is not a new concept).
I’ve heard before that the law was enacted because brewers didn’t know what caused fermentation to happen. That they would use whatever they thought worked to get the process started, from shoes, to bones, to whatever was lying around.
This isn’t exactly true. Even though YEAST hadn’t been microscopically observed by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, it had been around, and known, for thousands of years. (van Leeuwenhoek first saw it in 1680), the term had been around as gist, or gyst in Old English, for years, meaning “boil, foam, or bubble”. In Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (by Richard W. Unger) it mentions that in Munich in 1551, airborne yeast was defined as a cause of infection. This is still 131 years before van Leeuwenhoek first discovered it was a single celled organism. So to say that they didn’t know what yeast was, is absurd.
It is mostly common assumption to believe that the yeast was transferred from one batch to the next, by scraping off the foam from the old fermentation vessel, and placing it into the new. Another method would be stirring the old, then transferring the paddle to the new. A google seach for brewers magic paddle will provide 2 million results. To claim that the brewing process wasn’t understood by ordinary people, is counterintuitive to all the stories you hear about the origins of styles. Farmhouse ales required every farmer to have his own brewing operation. In Egypt, days wages included beer. The common man, may not have known exactly what it took, but they made bread, which also required yeast, and they made beer, so to say yeast didn’t exist, or that people didn’t understand the role of yeast, prior to 1680, is nonsense.
Why would it be left off the Reinheitsgebot then? Why limit the process to three ingredients? Water, barley, and hops? What else could these people use to make beer? The process requires a liquid, other things than water (in theory) could be used. Could milk be added to the process? Yes, think milk stouts. Can other liquids be added? Obviously; yes, syrup, honey, grape or any fruit juice, could be added. You can also use any sugar source either from malted grain, sugar, or honey in your beer, so barley (if you are going to limit it to barley) has to be there. It is true that people were using various things as bittering agents, the wiki article mentions stinging nettle and henbane. Henbane is a psychoactive drug. It can be toxic or fatal. Stinging nettle injects histamines, which causes an allergic reaction. Yeast (or foam) is obviously the only thing you can’t replace with something else. Also, if you only used your three ingredients in your previous batch, and you are only using the three ingredients in this batch, then moving your paddle from one batch to the next and taking the foam with it, can not be against the rule.
So, what caused the law? It wasn’t because people were doing stupid things making their beer. It wasn’t because people were making bad beer. Other people have said, and I agree, that it was a law to protect bread makers. Bread can be made with all the grains that are used in making beer. But, the most common grain used in bread is wheat, although pumpernickel is a rye bread. It’s commonly stated that barley doesn’t make good bread. It tends to clump more than the other grains. The common grains used for beer, prior to the Reinheitsgebot were: barley, wheat, and rye. Wheat and rye make a good grain from brewing too, and make some excellent beers. Wheat beers (under the Reinheitsgebot) were limited to being made only by specific breweries and for the king’s consumption (Konig).
So what would cause Germany (Bavaria) to create a law to limit the ingredients used in beer? The answer is crop failure.
If you look at a timeline of famine, and crop failures, you’ll notice that in Germany in 1515 there was severe flooding. There was prolonged rainfall that caused July to September flooding of the Danube (in Bavaria). In fact, most of central Europe during 1515 suffered from 6 weeks of rain. Couple that with a diminished work force that was fighting with Charles V against Francis I, and you’ve got less people available to work the fields, along with bad fields. The law was first proffered in 1487. Looking back at the timeline, in 1482, you see that Germany had cold/poor growout, which affected vintages from 1482 to 1493. If the law was first put out in a time when there was bad growth, but not approved, and you have people who are tired of food shortages, and prices rising for bread because of bad harvests; the next time there is significant crop failure, (1515) it’s going to lead to a reaction causing you to pass a law to protect the people.
So, the Reinheitsgebot was not set out to protect brewers, it wasn’t to protect consumers from bad beer, it wasn’t because the brewing process wasn’t understood, it was because crop failures had driven up prices of bread (which is more important for survival than beer… although that’s debatable).
So, to sum up, the Reinheitsgebot wasn’t put into place to protect people from bad beer, it was a government reaction to historic rains that caused the failure of crops throughout much of Bavaria.
Friday, September 16, 2011
CU Beer Weekend: Sept 16 (Illini vs Arizona State)
Where are you drinking before and after the game this weekend? You aren’t limited to just the parking lots.
CU Beer Club
Wednesday: September Beer Club, Crane Alley upper mezz. Beer and Cheese (bring beer, bring cheese)
Seven Saints
Southern Tier Pumpking
Tuesday: Brewsday Tuesday: Coney Island Lager and Mermaid Pilsner $2
Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday: Bourbon and Rye
Radio Maria
1) Clown Shoes Eagle Claw Fist
2) O’fallon Wheach
3) He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A
4) Capital Fest Beer
5) Left Hand TNT Weizenbock
6) Two Brothers Hop Juice
7) Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale
8) Smuttynose Big A
9) New Holland Beerhive Tripel
10) Southern Tier Cuvee 3
11) Dark Horse Plead the 5th
12) Smuttynose Gravitation Quad
13) Avery Maharaja
14) Samichlaus
15) Crown Valley Worktruck Wheat
16) Wexford Irish Cream Ale
17) Left Hand Milk Stout
18) Monk’s Café Flemish Red Ale
19) Rogue Dad’s Little Helper Black IPA
20) EKU Pils
21) Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
22) Haand Bryggeriet Royk Uten Ild
23) Hofbrau Maibock
24) Smuttynose Barleywine
25) De Proef K-O
26) Brugse Zot
27) PBR
Crane Alley
Boulder Mojo Nitro IPA 7.2%
Smuttynose Robust Porter 5.7%
Founder's Centennial IPA 7.2%
Ertvelds Wit 5.5%
Krusovice Czech Pils 5.0%
Stone Imperial Russian Stout 10.5%
Ommegang Aphrodite 8.9%
Avery Karma 5.2%
Saison De Silly
Stone 15th Anniversary Black IPA 10.5%
Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale 6.2%
Southern Tier Pumking 9.0%
Erdinger Hefe Weizen 5.4%
Avery 18th Anniversary Dry-Hopped Saison 8.1%
Gulden Draak 10.5%
Original Sin Hard Cider 6.0%
Founders Devil Dancer 12.0%
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale 6.2%
PBR 4.2%
Blind Pig Brewery
Blind Pig Belgian Grand Cru
Blind Pig Oatmeal Stout
Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blind Pig English Mild Ale
Two Brothers’ Domaine DuPage; Warrenville, IL, Amber Ale, 5.9% abv
Schlafly Pilsner; Maplewood, Missouri, Pilsener, 4.9% abv
Rogue Love and Hoppiness; Newport, Oregon, Pilsner, 5.8% abv
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat; Eureka, California, Fruit Beer, 5% abv
Southern Tier Harvest; Lakewood, New York, Premium Bitter, 6.4% abv
Rodenbach Grand Cru; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6% abv
Stone 15th Anniversary; Escondido, California, Black IPA, 10.5% abv
Capital Island Wheat; Middleton, Wisconsin, Wheat Ale
Avery IPA; Boulder, Colorado, India Pale Ale, 6.5% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv
Destihl
Saison de Ruisseau
Belgian Pale Ale
Oktoberfest
Triton Barley Wine
Black Angel Stout
Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale
Hoperation Overload Double IPA
Altercation
Jacob’s Ladder
Champaign Blonde Ale
Biere Brune
Weissenheimer Hefeweizen
Roadblock British Red Ale
Small Beer
Blind Pig
Unibroue Trois Pistoles; Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 9%
Sand Creek Groovy Brew; Black River Falls, Wisconsin, Kolsch, 4.5%
Southern Tier Iniquity; Lakewood, New York, Black IPA, 9% abv
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 6.2% abv
Pyramid Apricot; Seattle, Washington, Fruit Beer, 5.1% abv
Two Brothers’ Dog Days Lager; Warrenville, Illinois, Dortmunder, 4.9% abv
Left Hand Milk Stout; Longmont, Colorado, Sweet Stout, 5.3% abv
Flossmoor Station Pullman Brown; Flossmoor, IL, Porter, 6% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Schlafly Pumpkin; Maplewood, Missouri, Spice Ale, 8% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Duchesse De Bourgogne; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2%
Hofbrau Original; Germany, Helles, 5.1% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Schlafly Hefe Weizen; Maplewood, Missouri, Wheat Ale, 3.9%
Krusovice Imperial 12; Czech Republic, Bohemian Pilsener, 5%
Affligem Abbey Blonde; Belgium, Belgian Ale, 7% abv
Kostritzer Schwarzbier; Germany, Schwarzbier, 4.8% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Ballast Point Sextant Nitro Stout; San Diego, California, Dry Stout, 6.8%
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.2%
Friday, September 2, 2011
CU Beer Weekend; September 2 (Labor Day)
Seven Saints
Brewsday Tuesday
Whiskey Wednesday: Canadian and Micro American
Radio Maria
Clown Shoes Eagle Claw Fist
O'fallon Wheach
Founders Red's Rye
Capital Fest Beer
Left Hand TNT Weizenbock
Founders Dirty Bastard
Bell's Hopslam
Smuttynose Big A
Southern Tier Creme Brulee
Southern Tier Cuvee 3
Dark Horse Plead the 5th
Smuttynose Gravitation Quad
Avery Maharaja
Samichlaus
Crown Valley Worktruck Wheat
Wexford Irish Cream Ale (nitro)
North Coast Old Rasputin (nitro)
Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale
Rogue Dad's Little Helper Black IPA
North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner
Flying Dog In Heat Wheat
Goose Island Matilda
Hofbrau Maibock
Smuttynose Barleywine
De Proef K-O
Brugse Zot
PBR
Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30,
Saturday: Salsa, 10 pm, no cover before 11
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR; Bloody Mary Bar
Monday: Labor Day, no Beer Class
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft; Open Decks
Thursday: Chillax
Crane Alley
Boulder Mojo Nitro IPA 7.2%
Smuttynose Robust Porter 5.7%
Left Hand 400lb Monkey IPA 7.0%
Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale 5.5%
Krusovice Czech Pils 5.0%
Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout 10.5%
Ommegang Aphrodite 8.9%
Avery Karma 5.2%
Saison De Silly
O'Fallon Wheach 5.1%
Stone Levitation Ale 4.4%
Ommegang Witte 5.1%
Erdinger Hefe Weizen 5.4%
Avery 18th Anniversary Dry-Hopped Saison 8.1%
Gulden Draak 10.5%
Original Sin Hard Cider 6.0%
Mikkeller 1000 IBU 9.6%
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale 6.2%
PBR 4.2%
Blind Pig Brewery
Blind Pig Hard Cider
Blind Pig English Summer Ale
Blind Pig Replicale 2011-BPA
Two Brothers’ Domaine DuPage; Warrenville, IL, Amber Ale, 5.9% abv
Schlafly Pilsner; Maplewood, Missouri, Pilsener, 4.9% abv
Southern Tier Crème Brulee; Lakewood, New York, Imperial Stout, 9.2% abv
O’Fallon Peach Wheach; O’Fallon, Missouri, Fruit Beer, 4.75% abv
Ommegang Aphrodite; Cooperstown, New York, Fruit Beer, 8.9% abv
Dieu du Ciel Rosee dHibiscus; Canada, Spice Ale, 5.9% abv
Stone Levitation; Escondido, California, Amber Ale, 4.4% abv
Hofbrau Weisse; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.1% abv
Stone IPA; Escondido, California, India Pale Ale, 6.9% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv
Destihl
Saison de Ruisseau
Belgian Pale Ale
Oktoberfest
Triton Barleywine
Black Angel Stout
Frankengluten Belgian Sorghum Ale
Hoperation Overload Double IPA
Altercation
Champaign Blonde Ale
Biere Brune
Weisenheimer Hefeweizen
Roadblock British Red Ale
Jacob's Ladder
Tripel
Blind Pig
Unibroue La Terrible; Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 10.5%
Breckenridge Amber; Denver, Colorado, Amber, 5.4%
Victory Hop Wallop; Downington, Pennsylvania, Imperial IPA, 8.5% abv
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 6.2% abv
O’Fallon Peach Wheach; O’Fallon, Missouri, Fruit Beer, 4.75% abv
Two Brothers’ Dog Days Lager; Warrenville, Illinois, Dortmunder, 4.9% abv
Stone Arrogant Bastard; Escondido, California, American Strong Ale, 7.2% abv
Avery Ellie’s Brown; Boulder, Colorado, Brown Ale, 5.5% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Rogue John John Hazelnut; Newport, Oregon, Brown Ale, 5.6% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Duchesse De Bourgogne; Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2%
Moylan’s Hefe Weiss; Novato, California, Wiezen, 7% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat; Eureka, California, Fruit Beer, 5%
Krusovice Imperial 12; Czech Republic, Bohemian Pilsener, 5%
Duvel Green; Belgium, Belgian Ale, 6.8% abv
Southern Tier Porter; Lakewood, New York, Porter, 5.6% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Ballast Point Sextant Nitro Stout; San Diego, California, Dry Stout, 6.8%
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.2%
Friday: Cask tapping at 5, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous
No updates from Quality or Black Dog