Days of the Beer, September 8

The Beer for today is Great Lakes Moondog ESB.

On September 8, 1999, Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) died. He was a composer, musician, poet and instrument inventor. Moondog was blind and chose to live on the streets of New York for 20 years.

From the late 1940s until 1974, Moondog was a street musician and poet in New York. He was famed for his viking clothing that he wore, including a horned helmet.

Moondog's music has been released from 1953's Moondog and His Friends; to 2005's Bracelli und Moondog. A track performed by him "Stamping Ground" can be found on The Big Lebowski Soundtrack, track 7.

The beer wasn't named for Moondog the musician, but for the Moondog Coronation Ball (March 21, 1952) but there's already a beer planned for that day.

About the beer:

Extra Special Bitter: Originated in Britain in the 1700s, the term "bitter" always means pale or translucent in British terms. This style is also referred to as a session beer because its lower alcohol content allows one to consume more in a session.
Named after the 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball held at the Cleveland Arena, what many consider the first "rock and roll" concert.

So go get an Extra Special Bitter for an extra special blind musician, "The Viking of 6th Avenue".

Beer Review, Great Lakes Moondog ESB

Just some quick notes on Great Lakes Moondog ESB.

Had it at Lucky's Grille and Billiards. It poured a light yellow, that held decent lace on a cold glass. It smelled slightly vegetable-y; but I think that was due to the cleaning of the glass; as the next beer (Elliot Ness) had the same vegetable (celery? broccoli?) smell. The fell was mostly just of fizz.

The taste was just slightly bitter, and that's about it. Mostly the flavor was overpowered by the vegetable smell. It definitely had a crisp finish and was slightly tart. The entire experience, wasn't unpleasant, but with better presentation, in a not frozen glass that could probably be cleaner, this would be a good/better beer.

Funny, all Great Lakes beers have this on the side.

In keeping with the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, this beer is traditionally brewed from all natural ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water. No chemicals or preservatives are used.

If they were keeping with the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, then no yeast would be used.