I am talking water in my continuing exploration of the main ingredients of beer. Some may read the title and wonder what I mean with water being the body of beer. We all have had a glass of water and there is not much there when it comes to body and structure, water can leave some wanting for a more substantial drink. But stop and think for a bit though, beer is well over 90 % water. So that means when you quaff a beer you are drinking all most all water with a relatively small amount of malt, alcohol and a few other compounds.
To go a bit further, water is just not water when it comes to beer. This was especially true before the revelations of water chemistry, allowing brewers to change their water to suit the beer styles they are brewing. When you think of the classic pilsner, what city comes to mind? Correct, Pilsen. The same can be said for the home of IPA, Burton-on-the-Trent. These cities had the water that was naturally perfect for the type of beer the city became famous for. "Soft" water in Pilsen for a wonderful pilsner and "hard" water in Burton to help bring out the strong hop presence. In present times when brewer salts are added to water by a brewer for an IPA it is referred to as "Burtonizing".
Over the centuries brewers have perfected the style of beer that is best for their local water. They quickly learned what beer style was best with their local water. If you look at a report for your local water, you will see many salts and compounds dissolved in it. Water is a very good solvent and is able to keep compounds in suspension with in it. Try this experiment, take a drink from a glass of distilled water not much there just water. Now take a drink from a glass of mineral water, there are flavors and structure in that drink. The same is transferable between brewing with "soft" and "hard" water. Water with dissolved compounds in it does have body.
When the influx of German brewers immigrated into the United States, what was their first concern to make beer? Water of course. The natural water was what made brewing cities such as Milwaukee, St. Louis and Golden. In the 1800s the science was not there to change the water profile, so they had to utilize the natural water of a region. Even the American Lager has cities where it is best made today.
A prime example of this is Saint Francis Brewery in Saint Francis, WI http://www.stfrancisbrewery.com/. Last year we did a bus trip to the Milwaukee area breweries and Saint Francis was our first stop. Several of us where just blown away by the quality of the brewer's Kolsch and Dortmunder. Both were clean, fresh, nicely malty and had a hop snap. In discussing the beers with Scott, the brewer at Saint Francis, he told us when he brews those two beers he uses straight municipal water. To us this was an outstanding revelation of the quality of the water in the Milwaukee area even today.
Water is much more than just something that quenches your thirst. It is the "body" of beer. Without the differences in local water source we may not have the current range of beers we have today. Water now can be played with by brewers to produce any beer they wish, but remember that centuries ago brewers brewed with their local water. So some styles were better made in certain regions, thankfully creating many different styles of beer.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
QC upcoming events
Here are some upcoming events that I am aware of:
Saturday, January 28th from 3-7 pm the Moline Bier Stube is holding Winterfest. Lots of winter themed events and drink specials. For more information go to www.bier-stube.com.
Friday, February 3rd 6-8pm at the Rock Island Hy Vee Valentine's Wine and Beer Tasting. They will sample over thirty wines and beers and pair them with a delicious display of appetizers. Register at the Customer Service counter or call (309)793-0684. Admission is $15 per guest. Must be 21 years of age to attend.
Friday, February 3rd 5:30-8pm First Friday at Mississippi River Distilling Company. They will be releasing their latest creation, Windmill Rye Whiskey. Also they will have tastings of food and mixed drinks made with their products. For more information go to http://www.mrdistilling.com/.
Sunday, February 12th 3-6pm at Grape Life in Davenport will hold Winter Wine Fest. More than 80 great wines from all over the world will be available for tasting as part of the Grape Life Winter Wine Festival, Sunday, Feb. 12, from 3-6 p.m. The fest will be held at the Rock Island Holiday Inn and will feature everything from big reds to crisp whites and sweet dessert wines. A wide range of wine friendly foods will also be included. Tickets are $25 if purchased before Feb. 8, $35 after. To make your reservation or more information call the Davenport Grape Life at 355-7070 or the Rock Island Grape Life at 788-7070. Also visit their website http://www.mygrapelife.com/.
Saturday, February 18th 12:30-4:30 pm Dubuque on Ice Brewfest at Mystique Community Ice Center in Dubuque, IA. 20 breweries, 7 wineries and 2 distilleries are signed up to be there, could be more to come. As well various makers of cheese, meat and chocolate will be present. Three tickets levels provide different samplings. For more information and tickets go to http://www.dubuquebrewfest.com/
Those are the upcoming events I am aware of.
QC Beerguy
Saturday, January 28th from 3-7 pm the Moline Bier Stube is holding Winterfest. Lots of winter themed events and drink specials. For more information go to www.bier-stube.com.
Friday, February 3rd 6-8pm at the Rock Island Hy Vee Valentine's Wine and Beer Tasting. They will sample over thirty wines and beers and pair them with a delicious display of appetizers. Register at the Customer Service counter or call (309)793-0684. Admission is $15 per guest. Must be 21 years of age to attend.
Friday, February 3rd 5:30-8pm First Friday at Mississippi River Distilling Company. They will be releasing their latest creation, Windmill Rye Whiskey. Also they will have tastings of food and mixed drinks made with their products. For more information go to http://www.mrdistilling.com/.
Sunday, February 12th 3-6pm at Grape Life in Davenport will hold Winter Wine Fest. More than 80 great wines from all over the world will be available for tasting as part of the Grape Life Winter Wine Festival, Sunday, Feb. 12, from 3-6 p.m. The fest will be held at the Rock Island Holiday Inn and will feature everything from big reds to crisp whites and sweet dessert wines. A wide range of wine friendly foods will also be included. Tickets are $25 if purchased before Feb. 8, $35 after. To make your reservation or more information call the Davenport Grape Life at 355-7070 or the Rock Island Grape Life at 788-7070. Also visit their website http://www.mygrapelife.com/.
Saturday, February 18th 12:30-4:30 pm Dubuque on Ice Brewfest at Mystique Community Ice Center in Dubuque, IA. 20 breweries, 7 wineries and 2 distilleries are signed up to be there, could be more to come. As well various makers of cheese, meat and chocolate will be present. Three tickets levels provide different samplings. For more information and tickets go to http://www.dubuquebrewfest.com/
Those are the upcoming events I am aware of.
QC Beerguy
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Help Wanted ( You too can work for your local Brewery)
This past week and weekend our friends at a local brewery were busy canning
beer they made on contract for a brewery that is starting out. Since the
new brewery does not have their equipment operational they had to contract the
beer they needed the beer for a festival starting later this week. A call
went out asking for help in finishing the canning process. I have no clue
as to the exact number of cans produced, but from what I saw on Sunday there
were multiple pallets of beer. Many of my friends were able to work more
than I was but I know any help was much appreciated. Also everyone was
"paid" well and did not go home thirsty. True I was not paid
any money, nor were any of the other volunteers, but still I felt like I was
working for the brewery.
Anyone can "work" for your favorite brewery or brewpub. They love having free volunteer labor and greatly appreciate you giving up some of your free time to assist them around the brewery. For the most part they will not give you the jobs that require the most grunt work, unless you are willing to do it. The jobs you can do vary from cleaning, scrubbing, hauling spent grain, carrying bags of grain or even helping to brew a batch of beer. As many of you probably know brewing is probably at least 90% cleaning and maintenance and actually less than 10% brewing. So helping at a brewery may not be all that glamorous, but it is hard work and very rewarding when the work is done.
I have had the good luck to help brew a batch of beer at two of the four local brewpubs/breweries in the Quad Cities. I believe a few friends of mine have been able to help brew a batch at all four. To me this is great fun and well worth the hard work I had to put into it. Most brewers really love having assistants when it comes to moving spent grain, since it is dirty, hot and wet work. They do not mind sharing this job with eager helpers.
Also depending on the brewery/brewpub you can be up and working in the early hours of the morning. One local brewpub starts to brew at 2 or 3 a.m. since the brewhouse is located right behind the bar they serve the beer. Other breweries have the serving area and brewing area separated and start at a more reasonable hour like 6 or 7 a.m. I have found out especially in the summer it is best to brew earlier in the day since the brew process does create a lot of heat.
Brewers will gladly accept help at any time and to do just about anything in the brewery. Do not be afraid the next time you go in and have a seat at the bar ask the brewer if there is anything you can do to assist him or her. They may not have something for you that day, but be persistent and open with your availability and they will take you up on your offer.
Volunteering to work is a great way to get your foot in the door and sometimes even leads to a volunteer becoming an actual paid employee. So if you are thinking about working at a brewery or even starting your own brewery, volunteer at a local brewery/brewpub. Even better if you are in an area with multiple breweries/brewpubs, volunteer to work at as many as you can. That way you gain experience on different brewing systems and with different brewers, since no two systems are the same and no two brewers are the same either. I know a couple people locally that started out working for free and then they became paid employees. Also there are numerous examples around the United States of volunteers become paid employees. So if this is something you want to do, go for it.
Some people may be thinking I want to help my local brewery but really do not want help brew beer. Well there are other things you can do as well. Many breweries/brewpubs are willing to do in kind exchange with skill laborers such as electricians, carpenters, pipe fitters or other skill trades. They will "pay" you in product for your trade skill on a project that they do not fill comfortable doing. So if you are a skilled laborer check with your local brewery/brewpub if they have any such projects.
Other ways to help are low skill like what I did on Sunday within a matter of seconds I was able to man my position in the canning process. Some of the positions required a bit more training but none of them were rocket science.
Another way is to volunteer to assist at a beer festival the brewery/ brewpub is attending. This is a very fun experience, plus it is not overly difficult. Each festival has their own set of ground rules so pay attention to those, but overall it is a matter of pouring beer for the fest goers. The brewery/brewpub staff at the event will gladly accept the extra hands, that way they have an opportunity to wander the festival grounds and experience the various beers offered by other brewers. One thing I enjoy is being able to help spread knowledge and understanding of the beer you are helping serve. Needless to say it helps to have some knowledge of the beer you are pouring, but the more important thing is to be a willing server.
I know this is not a complete list of ways someone can "work" for their local brewery/brewpub, but it should give you a good idea of the many ways you too can work for your local brewery. Some require hard physical work some do not. The main idea is to get in there and do some work. The "pay" will be well worth it!
QC Beerguy
Anyone can "work" for your favorite brewery or brewpub. They love having free volunteer labor and greatly appreciate you giving up some of your free time to assist them around the brewery. For the most part they will not give you the jobs that require the most grunt work, unless you are willing to do it. The jobs you can do vary from cleaning, scrubbing, hauling spent grain, carrying bags of grain or even helping to brew a batch of beer. As many of you probably know brewing is probably at least 90% cleaning and maintenance and actually less than 10% brewing. So helping at a brewery may not be all that glamorous, but it is hard work and very rewarding when the work is done.
I have had the good luck to help brew a batch of beer at two of the four local brewpubs/breweries in the Quad Cities. I believe a few friends of mine have been able to help brew a batch at all four. To me this is great fun and well worth the hard work I had to put into it. Most brewers really love having assistants when it comes to moving spent grain, since it is dirty, hot and wet work. They do not mind sharing this job with eager helpers.
Also depending on the brewery/brewpub you can be up and working in the early hours of the morning. One local brewpub starts to brew at 2 or 3 a.m. since the brewhouse is located right behind the bar they serve the beer. Other breweries have the serving area and brewing area separated and start at a more reasonable hour like 6 or 7 a.m. I have found out especially in the summer it is best to brew earlier in the day since the brew process does create a lot of heat.
Brewers will gladly accept help at any time and to do just about anything in the brewery. Do not be afraid the next time you go in and have a seat at the bar ask the brewer if there is anything you can do to assist him or her. They may not have something for you that day, but be persistent and open with your availability and they will take you up on your offer.
Volunteering to work is a great way to get your foot in the door and sometimes even leads to a volunteer becoming an actual paid employee. So if you are thinking about working at a brewery or even starting your own brewery, volunteer at a local brewery/brewpub. Even better if you are in an area with multiple breweries/brewpubs, volunteer to work at as many as you can. That way you gain experience on different brewing systems and with different brewers, since no two systems are the same and no two brewers are the same either. I know a couple people locally that started out working for free and then they became paid employees. Also there are numerous examples around the United States of volunteers become paid employees. So if this is something you want to do, go for it.
Some people may be thinking I want to help my local brewery but really do not want help brew beer. Well there are other things you can do as well. Many breweries/brewpubs are willing to do in kind exchange with skill laborers such as electricians, carpenters, pipe fitters or other skill trades. They will "pay" you in product for your trade skill on a project that they do not fill comfortable doing. So if you are a skilled laborer check with your local brewery/brewpub if they have any such projects.
Other ways to help are low skill like what I did on Sunday within a matter of seconds I was able to man my position in the canning process. Some of the positions required a bit more training but none of them were rocket science.
Another way is to volunteer to assist at a beer festival the brewery/ brewpub is attending. This is a very fun experience, plus it is not overly difficult. Each festival has their own set of ground rules so pay attention to those, but overall it is a matter of pouring beer for the fest goers. The brewery/brewpub staff at the event will gladly accept the extra hands, that way they have an opportunity to wander the festival grounds and experience the various beers offered by other brewers. One thing I enjoy is being able to help spread knowledge and understanding of the beer you are helping serve. Needless to say it helps to have some knowledge of the beer you are pouring, but the more important thing is to be a willing server.
I know this is not a complete list of ways someone can "work" for their local brewery/brewpub, but it should give you a good idea of the many ways you too can work for your local brewery. Some require hard physical work some do not. The main idea is to get in there and do some work. The "pay" will be well worth it!
QC Beerguy
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Plainfield, IN
My wife and I escorted our daughter back to the Indianapolis area for
another round of job testing. This time we were in Plainfield, IN and we
were able to visit two brewpubs and a winery all within a mile of each
other. Needless to say this pub crawl can certainly be a crawl if you
stay in one of the well located hotels.
Friday night we arrived and found our hotel, then went out for dinner. We decided to go to the Black Swan Brewpub http://www.blackswanbrewpub.com/index.html, which is located in a strip mall. As with many brewpubs that are located in strip malls, the inside is much more inviting than the exterior. The bar area is divided off from the main dining area. It has a slightly upscale feel but it is comfortable as well, dark wood is the predominate feature. Also featured on the wall is some local art work.
We were quickly seated and did our usual by ordering a sampler of their beers. The sampler included 10 beers (actually 9 beers and 1 cider) 7 from Black Swan and three guest taps. The seven beers from Black Swan were an IPA, ESB, Porter, Tafel, Cream Stout, Scottish Ale, EKG and a Pale Ale. All of the beers were well made but some stood out to me more than others, my favorites were the IPA, Porter, Cream Stout and Scottish Ale. The IPA is a very good American IPA with a good amount of hops in the aroma as well in the taste a good malt backbone which offsets the hops to balance the beer. The Porter is almost black in appearance, with noticeable chocolate malt notes and just enough hops to balance the beer. The Cream Stout is black in color, with a good roasty fullness that is played off of with lactose that smooths out the beer. The Scottish Ale became my favorite as it warmed up and the flavors came out. It had a really nice crystal malt flavor and became more complex as it warmed.
The food was every bit the equal of the beers. The menu has notes of typical pub food, but also goes above and beyond that. There are sandwiches, salads and dinner entrees so your whole group can find something they would like. Towards the end of our meal the chef, Nick Carter, walked up to our table and engaged us in an entertaining conversation for several minutes. His love of his food and the beer that they produce was very evident from talking to him. If you are in Plainfield, the Black Swan is worth a stop.
Saturday our first stop was at Chateau Thomas Winery http://www.chateauthomas.com/ . This is the second winery in the Indianapolis area that we have been to and much to our pleasure this winery features grape wine not fruit wine. My wife and I walked into the tasting room and we were greeted by Bill and he explained the tasting process. For $5 you receive 5 tastes of their varietal wines, for $7 you receive 5 tastes including their reserve wines. We went for the $7 tasting. They had their wines broken down by general styles Dry Whites, Dry Reds, Sweets, Slender Series and Reserve Wines. The Dry Whites included Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Dry Gewurztraminer and Dry Riesling. The Dry Reds included Tosca, Merlot, Teroledego and Petite Verdot. Sweets included Riesling, Sweet Sherry, Vintage Port, and Blackberry Merlot. The Reserves included Malbec, Family Reserve, Late Harvest Viongier and Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. The Slender Series is a line of wines that is proprietary to this winery. It has no carbs, no fat and is sweetened by a non-caloric sweetener. It has been given out in the gift baskets at the Academy Awards.
All of the wines are well made and the ones we sampled were very good. My wife and I had a few favorites among them the Sweet Sherry, Vintage Port and the Dry Riesling (it is considered dry because it has low sweetness, but it is slightly sweet). We purchased a bottle of the Sweet Sherry and are looking forward to enjoying it. Thanks to variable state laws they may or may not be able to ship to you, check their website for further shipping information. This is a winery worth a stop, since they have around 40 wine varieties my wife and I only scratched the surface with our visit.
Upon leaving the winery we took a short drive to Three Pints Brewpub http://www.threepintsbrewpub.com/index.html. It is in a standalone building, which in a previous life was probably a drive in restaurant. The inside is small and probably seats no more than 50 people, including a small bar that seats about 8 people. Upon being seated we ordered a sampler of their beers, which was a total of 4 beers. The beers were Plainfield Pale Ale Version 2.0, Retired Red, Oktoberfest and Yoshi's Nectar. Yoshi's Nectar is brewed as a California Common, think Anchor Steam, neither my wife nor I liked the beer. I am not much on Cal Commons and she did not like the hop profile. The Oktoberfest was a bit thin and bitter; I just wonder why they still had an Oktoberfest on tap in mid-January. My wife like the Retired Red best and ordered a pint, it was noticeably malty with a note of hops and was an easy drinker. I ordered a pint of Plainfield Pale Ale; it was by far the hoppiest beer they had and was fairly malty so it met my needs.
The food was pretty much your typical bar food burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads. I do have to say that the food was very good. Unfortunately the beer has a ways to go to make it to the level of good. It was worth a try but I think we will skip it if we ever go back to Plainfield, IN.
After we finished our lunch and beers we headed back to Black Swan Brewpub for a beer each. I ordered the Scottish Ale, which I liked from the previous night, which was very enjoyable. My wife ordered a Roggenwein, it came only in a half pint since it was 10.5% ABV. It is a barleywine made with 50% rye malt. It was medium full bodied with an interesting spiciness from the rye malt and finished fairly dry. Both my wife and I liked it. As we were just about done we received the call to pick up our daughter, so we finished the beers and headed out.
To recap our mini tour: Black Swan very good beer and upscale bar food, Chateau Thomas Winery very good wine, with only one fruit wine, Three Pints Brewpub very good bar food but average at best beer.
QC Beerguy
Friday night we arrived and found our hotel, then went out for dinner. We decided to go to the Black Swan Brewpub http://www.blackswanbrewpub.com/index.html, which is located in a strip mall. As with many brewpubs that are located in strip malls, the inside is much more inviting than the exterior. The bar area is divided off from the main dining area. It has a slightly upscale feel but it is comfortable as well, dark wood is the predominate feature. Also featured on the wall is some local art work.
We were quickly seated and did our usual by ordering a sampler of their beers. The sampler included 10 beers (actually 9 beers and 1 cider) 7 from Black Swan and three guest taps. The seven beers from Black Swan were an IPA, ESB, Porter, Tafel, Cream Stout, Scottish Ale, EKG and a Pale Ale. All of the beers were well made but some stood out to me more than others, my favorites were the IPA, Porter, Cream Stout and Scottish Ale. The IPA is a very good American IPA with a good amount of hops in the aroma as well in the taste a good malt backbone which offsets the hops to balance the beer. The Porter is almost black in appearance, with noticeable chocolate malt notes and just enough hops to balance the beer. The Cream Stout is black in color, with a good roasty fullness that is played off of with lactose that smooths out the beer. The Scottish Ale became my favorite as it warmed up and the flavors came out. It had a really nice crystal malt flavor and became more complex as it warmed.
The food was every bit the equal of the beers. The menu has notes of typical pub food, but also goes above and beyond that. There are sandwiches, salads and dinner entrees so your whole group can find something they would like. Towards the end of our meal the chef, Nick Carter, walked up to our table and engaged us in an entertaining conversation for several minutes. His love of his food and the beer that they produce was very evident from talking to him. If you are in Plainfield, the Black Swan is worth a stop.
Saturday our first stop was at Chateau Thomas Winery http://www.chateauthomas.com/ . This is the second winery in the Indianapolis area that we have been to and much to our pleasure this winery features grape wine not fruit wine. My wife and I walked into the tasting room and we were greeted by Bill and he explained the tasting process. For $5 you receive 5 tastes of their varietal wines, for $7 you receive 5 tastes including their reserve wines. We went for the $7 tasting. They had their wines broken down by general styles Dry Whites, Dry Reds, Sweets, Slender Series and Reserve Wines. The Dry Whites included Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Dry Gewurztraminer and Dry Riesling. The Dry Reds included Tosca, Merlot, Teroledego and Petite Verdot. Sweets included Riesling, Sweet Sherry, Vintage Port, and Blackberry Merlot. The Reserves included Malbec, Family Reserve, Late Harvest Viongier and Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. The Slender Series is a line of wines that is proprietary to this winery. It has no carbs, no fat and is sweetened by a non-caloric sweetener. It has been given out in the gift baskets at the Academy Awards.
All of the wines are well made and the ones we sampled were very good. My wife and I had a few favorites among them the Sweet Sherry, Vintage Port and the Dry Riesling (it is considered dry because it has low sweetness, but it is slightly sweet). We purchased a bottle of the Sweet Sherry and are looking forward to enjoying it. Thanks to variable state laws they may or may not be able to ship to you, check their website for further shipping information. This is a winery worth a stop, since they have around 40 wine varieties my wife and I only scratched the surface with our visit.
Upon leaving the winery we took a short drive to Three Pints Brewpub http://www.threepintsbrewpub.com/index.html. It is in a standalone building, which in a previous life was probably a drive in restaurant. The inside is small and probably seats no more than 50 people, including a small bar that seats about 8 people. Upon being seated we ordered a sampler of their beers, which was a total of 4 beers. The beers were Plainfield Pale Ale Version 2.0, Retired Red, Oktoberfest and Yoshi's Nectar. Yoshi's Nectar is brewed as a California Common, think Anchor Steam, neither my wife nor I liked the beer. I am not much on Cal Commons and she did not like the hop profile. The Oktoberfest was a bit thin and bitter; I just wonder why they still had an Oktoberfest on tap in mid-January. My wife like the Retired Red best and ordered a pint, it was noticeably malty with a note of hops and was an easy drinker. I ordered a pint of Plainfield Pale Ale; it was by far the hoppiest beer they had and was fairly malty so it met my needs.
The food was pretty much your typical bar food burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads. I do have to say that the food was very good. Unfortunately the beer has a ways to go to make it to the level of good. It was worth a try but I think we will skip it if we ever go back to Plainfield, IN.
After we finished our lunch and beers we headed back to Black Swan Brewpub for a beer each. I ordered the Scottish Ale, which I liked from the previous night, which was very enjoyable. My wife ordered a Roggenwein, it came only in a half pint since it was 10.5% ABV. It is a barleywine made with 50% rye malt. It was medium full bodied with an interesting spiciness from the rye malt and finished fairly dry. Both my wife and I liked it. As we were just about done we received the call to pick up our daughter, so we finished the beers and headed out.
To recap our mini tour: Black Swan very good beer and upscale bar food, Chateau Thomas Winery very good wine, with only one fruit wine, Three Pints Brewpub very good bar food but average at best beer.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Mexican Vacation
My family went to an all inclusive resort in Rivera Maya Mexico the first
part of January and had a great relaxing vacation. The resort we went to
advertised "Premium Beer"; however we found out that meant Corona on
tap at every bar on the resort. My wife and I kept asking at every bar if
they had something else and we were told no. So I'm sure Anheuser Busch
InBev paid a pretty penny for that, since Corona is in their stable of
beers. Finally we did find one bar in the lobby that had "Premium
Beer". This meant Pacifico, Negra Modelo, Modelo, Sol, Dos Equis,
Leon and Victoria. All of those except for Sol are very good drinkable
Mexican beers.
A couple of them Leon and Victoria were new to me. Leon is a Munich Dunkel style beer, which my wife and I enjoyed. It had a good toasting, Munich malt aroma with little hop aroma. Flavor was slight toasty malt, a sweet brown sugar note and as my wife put it, it had a slight tea bag like taste. Medium bodied with low carbonation, almost no head out of the bottle. After reading my description you may wonder why I liked this beer, but it was a much enjoyed difference from Corona. My next duty is to find it here back home if I can and see if I still like it. I am looking forward to that challenge.
Victoria, the other new beer, is a Vienna Lager. We both had this beer at a restaurant/ bar in Playa Del Carmen on the suggestion of our waiter. Again it was a beer we enjoyed and not your typical Mexican beer. It had a slight malty sweetness with little or no hop aroma. Flavor was noticeably malty with a hint of sweetness. It paired well with the Mexican food we were eating. I will be on the lookout for this beer as well to see what I think of it when I am home.
Both of these beers are from Grupo Modelo which is in the Anheuser Busch InBev stable as well. Remember though that there are only really two brewery groups in Mexico so it is hard to get away from beer that is owned by the big guys. The other brewery in Mexico is Cerveria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma which is owned by Heineken. So the big guys make almost all of the beer in Mexico, but to their credit they do it so well that there is no difference bottle to bottle of their beers.
In wrapping up my thoughts on our Mexican vacation and Mexican beer, if you have a chance go to Mexico it is eye opening and enjoyable. As far as the beer is concerned look for something new to you or stay with the brands that you like at home. At all cost try to avoid Corona, even though it is everywhere. Corona is really for the tourists, the average Mexican does not touch the stuff.
A couple last pointers learn these words Cerveza and Gracias. The locals really appreciate it when a tourist uses some of the Spanish language. Also be wary of your resorts definition of "Premium Beer".
QC Beerguy
A couple of them Leon and Victoria were new to me. Leon is a Munich Dunkel style beer, which my wife and I enjoyed. It had a good toasting, Munich malt aroma with little hop aroma. Flavor was slight toasty malt, a sweet brown sugar note and as my wife put it, it had a slight tea bag like taste. Medium bodied with low carbonation, almost no head out of the bottle. After reading my description you may wonder why I liked this beer, but it was a much enjoyed difference from Corona. My next duty is to find it here back home if I can and see if I still like it. I am looking forward to that challenge.
Victoria, the other new beer, is a Vienna Lager. We both had this beer at a restaurant/ bar in Playa Del Carmen on the suggestion of our waiter. Again it was a beer we enjoyed and not your typical Mexican beer. It had a slight malty sweetness with little or no hop aroma. Flavor was noticeably malty with a hint of sweetness. It paired well with the Mexican food we were eating. I will be on the lookout for this beer as well to see what I think of it when I am home.
Both of these beers are from Grupo Modelo which is in the Anheuser Busch InBev stable as well. Remember though that there are only really two brewery groups in Mexico so it is hard to get away from beer that is owned by the big guys. The other brewery in Mexico is Cerveria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma which is owned by Heineken. So the big guys make almost all of the beer in Mexico, but to their credit they do it so well that there is no difference bottle to bottle of their beers.
In wrapping up my thoughts on our Mexican vacation and Mexican beer, if you have a chance go to Mexico it is eye opening and enjoyable. As far as the beer is concerned look for something new to you or stay with the brands that you like at home. At all cost try to avoid Corona, even though it is everywhere. Corona is really for the tourists, the average Mexican does not touch the stuff.
A couple last pointers learn these words Cerveza and Gracias. The locals really appreciate it when a tourist uses some of the Spanish language. Also be wary of your resorts definition of "Premium Beer".
QC Beerguy
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Investors buy majority share of Schlafly Beer
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/dining/bars-and-clubs-other/hip-hops/st-louis-investors-to-buy-majority-stake-of-schlafly-beer/article_3b5adc60-36fa-11e1-b8a2-001a4bcf6878.html
Ok what is it about St.Louis Breweries selling out? At least from the above article it looks like this is not a sale to a foreign corporation. The investment group is St. Louis based and the current owners Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman will retain their positions. This sounds like a sale to keep Schlafly Brewing going and producing great beer for at least 20 more years.
To this I say congratulations to all involved in this sale and thank you for the anticipated leadership into the future!
QC Beerguy
Ok what is it about St.Louis Breweries selling out? At least from the above article it looks like this is not a sale to a foreign corporation. The investment group is St. Louis based and the current owners Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman will retain their positions. This sounds like a sale to keep Schlafly Brewing going and producing great beer for at least 20 more years.
To this I say congratulations to all involved in this sale and thank you for the anticipated leadership into the future!
QC Beerguy
Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company Revisited
I am revisiting Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company http://www.appanooserapidsbrewingcompany.com/ a little less than a year after my first visit. To my eye not many changes have been made. The interior looks the same, still features a few very cool tile inlay displays, two of which are for Anheuser Busch. I found a seat at the bar, which was not to difficult since only one seat was filled. The bartender quickly greeted me and told me about their beers on tap. This time they had three beers on tap, a Brown Ale, California Pale Ale and a Centennial Blonde. I ordered a Brown Ale and overall it was a decent beer. Comparing it to my notes on the Brown Ale previously http://qcbeerguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/ottumwa-ia-appanoose-rapids-brewing.html it is much improved. The beer was clear and an amber color, perhaps a bit light in color for a brown ale. As the beer warms a grainy note is in the aroma along with a bit of dark fruit. Taste is malty sweet with a slight roast, no yeasty flavors in this beer. To me I would like a bit more body and carbonation. The beer came with no head and seemed to be a bit under carbonated.
Since this is the only beer I had this evening I am very impressed that they seemed to have improved the quality of the beer. If the brown ale is any sign of the beer they now make they are definitely making strides to make better beer. Maybe in another year the beer will be even better.
The menu seemed to be the same as I read the first time. I ordered a cheeseburger for dinner. It was a very good burger, definitely worth trying.
Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company has made some strides that are impressive. I hope they continue to make more improvements though. One I would like to see is more than three of their twelve taps being their own beer. To me a micro brewery should have at least five or six core beers with a few seasonal beers, hopefully they can achieve this. This may be difficult since they brew on a SABCO system, which at most they can only brew ten gallons at a time.
So if you find yourself in Ottumwa, IA give Appanoose a shot. They have decent beer and a very good food menu.
QC Beerguy
Since this is the only beer I had this evening I am very impressed that they seemed to have improved the quality of the beer. If the brown ale is any sign of the beer they now make they are definitely making strides to make better beer. Maybe in another year the beer will be even better.
The menu seemed to be the same as I read the first time. I ordered a cheeseburger for dinner. It was a very good burger, definitely worth trying.
Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company has made some strides that are impressive. I hope they continue to make more improvements though. One I would like to see is more than three of their twelve taps being their own beer. To me a micro brewery should have at least five or six core beers with a few seasonal beers, hopefully they can achieve this. This may be difficult since they brew on a SABCO system, which at most they can only brew ten gallons at a time.
So if you find yourself in Ottumwa, IA give Appanoose a shot. They have decent beer and a very good food menu.
QC Beerguy
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