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The RegulaRs 6 Cheers Simple 8 Buzz News and nonsense Sept / OCt 2009 ISSue 12 14 Beer Mail Dear beer... 17 Calendar 46 Dates and drinks Horsepower 18 Ask Beer Beer makes these things move! Beer answers 20 Here’s to You You look marvelous 22 Beer Kitchen Soups up 26 Beer Anatomy Blondes 45 The Brewery Comic strip Everything drinks beer...even pigs! Wait the animal not us. pigs! Wait Everything drinks beer...even 50 Beer 201 Oh just right 56 Home Brew Fun times 77 Taste Tests 12 more to drink 98 Tapped Out Stuff on a string

FeaTuRes 32 Beer Shots 84 Boonville Fest Drop in! Pirates and mustache girls 42 Be Better At: 92 Beer Games Pinball Three man...or woman 61 Beer Recipes Bob Crocker 62 Build a Kegarator 38 Who needs a fridge for food? Kobe and 66 Behind The Brew Kurobuto Cold Spring Brewing Basting live with beer? Yum! 74 SD Brewers Guild Uniting beer

[04]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Editorial Executive Editor: Derek Buono Editor-At-Large: Brad Ruppert Editor-At-Large: Geoff Cozine

Contributing Writers Rob Sterkel, Jay R. Brooks, Matt Simpson, Seth Martin, Johnny Fincioen Todd McElwee, Jacob McKean, Jennifer Litz, Don Osborn, Brandon 96 Hernandez, Luke McKinney Beer Of Art & Photography Art Director: Joanna Buono The Month Senior Graphic Artist: Dave Palacios One delicious Butte Graphic Artist: Mike McMahon Senior Staff Photographer: Carl Hyndman Photographer: Jason Boulanger Contributing Photographer: Marc Piron

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Beer Magazine (ISSN 1941-1804) is a publication of 70 Think Omnimedia LLC, 13401 Yorba Avenue, Chino, CA 91710; Phone: 909.517.3366; Fax: 909.517.1601; E-mail: [email protected]. Subscription rates are $19.99 for 6 issues (one year), $39.99 Brewery De per year for foreign airmail, $29.99 for Canada and Mexico. All rights reserved. The entire contents are Halve Mann copyright 2009 Think Omnimedia LLC, and may not be reproduced in any manner in whole or in part Half the man, twice without written permission from the publisher. The views and opinions of the writers and advertisers the beer. are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Think Omnimedia LLC, the publisher, or the editorial staff. The publisher assumes no responsibilities for advertising claims, errors, and omissions. Beer Magazine is put together in Southern California.

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THE RANTS SIMPLE PUBLISHER MIKE VELEZ A PHRASE I OVER USE... What’s the problem? A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... Of course I’d like another... IS GOOD A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... You know what they say... watch probably way too much “effi n’” Gordon Ramsay EXECUTIVE EDITOR for my own good.1 I know I say “basil,” “shallots” DEREK BUONO A PHRASE I OVER USE... and “shit” entirely way too much. Since I began my You’re a douche! A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... overindulgence into his world, I’ve learned a lot of Your money is no good here. things. I now look at restaurants more closely and pay A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... It is what it is. I (what the hell is “it”?) attention to their cleanliness, I’m less impressed by food and I think we tend to over-complicate things to make them ART DIRECTOR JOANNA BUONO 2 more appealing. A PHRASE I OVER USE... One of these days... A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... In his show Kitchen Nightmares Ramsay goes to restaurants that are failing and tries to Hey thanks! A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... Would you like to turn them around. One of their common plagues, aside from terrible food, is that many Super-Size that? At least when it’s referring to food. places try to be upscale by serving overly complicated dishes that are over-garnished and combine too many fl avors. He refers to this as dated ’80s and ’90s cooking.3 SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST DAVE PALACIOS A PHRASE I OVER USE... I don’t think I have an answer. I think some beers might be going this direction and I think the beer geeks who dictate A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... It’s on the house. Free stuff is always good. 4 high-end beer might be guiding the new drinkers along that route too. Most of the A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... It’s more of a text reviews I read about beer don’t give the simple beers much respect; they tend to award phrase, but “LOL” needs to go away. No body ever really Laughs Out Loud... do they? the beers that have a spice rack of fl avors mixed with a candy store and fruit stand the highest praise. Don’t get me wrong. I’m in love with heavy, thick stouts; imperial porters; BEER DRINKING ARTIST MIKE MCMAHON IPAs of all kinds and everything in between; but we’ve reviewed a few beers recently A PHRASE I OVER USE... It is what it is. (Well “it” is that were refreshingly simple. Sometimes I don’t want to sit there and ponder what I can what “it” is) A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... Thanks “fi nd” in the fl avor of my beer, I just want a beer that tastes good and is refreshing. Beer for being you. What would a Wu-Tang inspired beer have in it? What would a Wu-Tang geeks (afi cionados) seem to sort of drink one of these “simple beers” and just say it’s A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... anything using the words: ciabatta bread, going green and hardcore. average. Well, sometimes I think average hits the spot and quenches your thirst.5 I think it’s okay for a coffee porter to basically just have coffee fl avor. It doesn’t need chocolate, SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER CARL HYNDMAN espresso, caramel, vanilla and every sweet/bitter fl avor under A PHRASE I OVER USE... What comes before part b? Partah! the sun. While it’s interesting, we might be dating A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... ourselves with wanting a cornucopia We’ve decided to give you a raise. of fl avors in a drink. So if you’re A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... Time to step it up and put your best foot forward. a drinker or brewer, think about if you’re just adding CONTRIBUTING EDITOR BRAD RUPPERT a list of ingredients that A PHRASE I OVER USE... Is a frog’s ass water tight? could out-spice India and A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... I was remember that sometimes drunker than 10 Indians. A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... No I won’t have just simple, good ingredients sex with you. and brewing make great, simple, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ROB STERKLE amazing beers.6 A PHRASE I OVER USE... Cool. A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... Beer me! A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... Thinking Godspeed, outside the box.

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JAY BROOKS A PHRASE I OVER USE... Beauty, eh. Derek Buono A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... Can I Executive Editor buy you a beer? [email protected] A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... Would you buy me a beer?

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 1. 4. GEOFF COZINE I think it’s taking the piss out of me—see, I’m Euro now! Not that there’s anything wrong with making those, we just have A PHRASE I OVER USE... “In a nutshell” (Let’s face it. It to remember that some people don’t want that. rarely is with me.) 2. Like girls who wear too much makeup or guys driving expensive A PHRASE I THINK SHOULD BE USED MORE... cars and wearing gold rings and necklaces. 5. A simple bock, pilsner, pale ale or even the “taboo” light lager are You want fries with that? (At the bank... church... proctologist’s?) very refreshing on hot days. 3. Is it a strange coincidence that many brewers and beer geeks A PHRASE I WISH WOULD GO AWAY... The government came into their beer-maturity in that era? Is that like wearing a 6. Don’t get hung up on all the “big beers” is what I’m saying. will solve ______. (Break, yes. Solve, no.) “Members Only” jacket today and still thinking it’s cool?

[06]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com THE BUZZ

words: Geoff Cozine THAT EXPLAINS THE HAIRCUT ver the July 4th weekend, news wires were buzzing about a launch in North Korea. Not the one you think, though. Kim Jong Il, the diminutive leader of a Communist country that’s lost millions to famine since 1990, began using his limited food resources to brew beer. Not content with starving his soon-to-be drunken subjects in silence, he then createdO the fi rst North Korean beer commercial. State-controlled TV aired a 3-minute ad for Taedonggang Beer touting how the “Pride of Pyongyang” improves your health and longevity. Search for “Korea Beer” on YouTube now. It’s hysterical. What’s even funnier, though, is that one of the only commercials run on North Korean television in decades brags about how this protein—and B2 vitamin—laden rice brew also reduces stress! Two pieces of advice, Mr. Il? First, stop paying your barber in Taedonggang Beer. Second, pointing your missiles away from U.S. soil will lower your citizens’ stress level a lot more than cheap beer and a Photo courtesy of Sunday River. God-awful Mr. Sparkle commercial. Probably not Noah Webster what she has HAS NOTHING ON in mind... our signifi cant other wants to do Prince Ludwig more as a couple, right? Well, Does cancer fi ghting beer encourage drinking? Does cancer fi How can you not love Oktoberfest? We’re Yhere’s your chance! On Saturday, talking about an entire population famous for being disciplined and October 10, Sunday River’s 10th rigid that holds a 16-day-long kegger every year and invites the annual North American Wife Carrying entire world to join in the debauchery! Much like the proverbial Championship will present a unique preacher’s daughter, things are bound to get wild when those opportunity to spend some quality time fräuleins fi nally loosen their tight German buns. (We meant with your gal (marriage is not required) their hair. What were you thinking?) That’s why the offi cial or, at least, to run around with her face Oktoberfest website includes a list of important terms you won’t buried in your sweaty ass and her fi nd in that German-English dictionary you bought at the airport. thighs wrapped around your head. (Any Here’s a few of our favorites, but be sure to check out the rest at position is legal, but the pseudo-69 www.oktoberfest.de/en/. “Estonian carry” maximizes balance and ability to surmount obstacles, like the Aufmischen: (v) To spank or wallop. hills, hurdles and pools of water found Bierdimpfe: (n) A notorious beer drinker; “tavern potato”. on the 278-yard course.) Bieseln: (v) “To take a leak”; unfortunately too many want to save a Why risk a severe hernia for a stronger couple of cents and use the option “wild bieseln”. relationship? The winning team gets the Eihebn: (n) When you’re dizzy because of too much beer and have to cling to something. woman’s weight in beer plus her weight times 5 in cash. That is what we call Fingahackln: (n) Bavarian sport. Two men hook their middle fi ngers and try to pull the opponent over the table. Popular “incentive,” especially for we who spend activity at the Oktoberfest. more time pigging out than working out. Flidscherl: (n) Tart, fl oozy. You can even put the woman on the fuaßln: (n) Above the table people hook fi ngers, but when bottom to maximize your payout, but people secretly have toe-to-toe contact under the table, it you’re going to be called “the wife” for usually gets more interesting. entire competition, so you’d check your Gaudinockerln: (n) Luxurious breasts. manhood at the door. Moosbummerl: (n) Hillbilly, redneck. Of course, if Maine isn’t an exotic Noagerlzuzla: (n) Person who drinks the last remainders from enough locale for your impending abandoned glasses, also used as a cuss. divorce, consider attending next year’s Obandeln: (v) To fl irt, mostly with one explicit intention. World Championships where it all Schoaß: (n) Methane containing, foul smelling puff, often caused by began, in Sonkajärvi, Finland. digestion procedures. Not popular in the beer tents. www.sundayriver.com

[08]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com We didn’t mention it but the also sell a “wine rack!” ] 09 [ : WHO ARE YOUWHO ARE BELIEVE? GOING TO The ultimate Ah, beer goggles. defense for regrettable encounters. The savior of defense for regrettable encounters. the unfortunately featured. The exposed hoax?! the University Egan of Vincent According to Dr. ashed hundreds of they are. He fl of Leicester, random people with the pictures of women he was carrying in his pocket... like you do. The result (besides a few black eyes and 911 calls, we’re guessing) was that “Overall, participants who drank alcohol actually rated all the women in the photos as less attractive.” a group of scientists at the University Thankfully, of Bristol conducted their own study in a less cally controlled setting. They more scientifi creepy, found “a roughly 10 percent increase in ratings of attractiveness” by those who drank just a single shot of vodka over those given a placebo. Why the difference? Most of the boozers um... were probably... Vinny interrupted by Dr. Their lower ratings no doubt sounded more busy. than she much hotter You’re like, “Oh, no, baby. go back to your place?” Besides, is. Wanna millions of independent studies on this exact subject are performed every weekend... Ever heard anyone admit that beer goggles are B.S.? ? www.fantamag.com & Reinheitsgebot www.storemags.com

omething’s amiss in Anderson Valley. It’s not strange talkin’ locals or antlered bear mascots*, though. not strange talkin’ locals or antlered It’s amiss in Anderson Valley. omething’s Brewing Co. is putting it into cans. Anderson Valley After 22 years of crafting Legendary Boonville Beer, ciently, Given their commitment to eco-friendliness, it makes perfect sense. After all, cans recycle more effi making them perfect for a are lighter to ship, require less energy to cool, and crush down smaller, brewery looking to reduce its carbon footprint or for leave-no-trace hikers preferring to pack out what ver wonder why we make such a big deal about thewhy we make such a big ver wonder this! See, the after reading won’t Law? You German Purity hot list in 1516, their beer-ingredient Bavarians outlined

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CANNIN’ BEER FOR BAHLER HORNIN’ CANNIN’ BEER FOR BAHLER What’s the opposite of of the opposite What’s they pack in. And, depending on which side of the can vs. bottle cock-a-fi ster you fall on, it may taste better because they pack in. And, depending on which side of the can vs. bottle cock-a-fi also tapped Pak Tech stop there, though. AVBC protected against UV and oxidation. Those kimmies ottin’ didn’t it’s recyclable, reusable, and if still in good shape, returnable for a pair o’ bucky for a specialized 6-pack handle that’s where they’ll be inspected, washed, and put back into service. (ten cents) a piece at AVBC, is Canned Summer Solstice and Poleeko Gold are now available in 6-packs across the U.S., and Boont Amber be (All three will continue to the horizon. on be to rumored know what bottled, too.) Oh, and those of you who don’t bahler hornin’up on your Boontling, means can brush own regional lingo, at www.avbc.com. Boonville’s * What do you get when you cross a bear with a deer? Get it? Beer! back when most of our ancestors were living in fi lth and dying in fi living most of our ancestors were back when the copycat Ruskies age of 30. In comparison, at the ripe old thing... a few months ago. began to discuss the same considering are Russian lawmakers stop the presses. Yes, certain a law that would restrict (note, still only “considering”) Fruit? Adjuncts? in domestic beer production. ingredients arsenic, cadmium, lead, Try Caffeine? radioactive nuclides, cesium, mercury, toxicpesticides, ticks, and other answer our own substances. To know what thequestion, we don’t is, but we’llopposite of Reinheitsgebot spelled with the Cyrillic alphabet. bet it’s that As the perfect epilogue, we read beer sales in Russia have declinedretail January to May 2009.6.5% from until a brewski a beer isn’t Apparently, it makes you sterile and toothless. Isn’t beer supposed to maintain in a down market? Who lied? 4-person, 5-day trip to Oahu for surf lessonsfromlongboardlegendJoelTudor!4-person, 5-daytriptoOahuforsurf Shootout (Issue#4)arehavingagnarlycontestrightnow. Thegrandprizeisa from our Mexican Beer The makersofthebronzemedalwinnerfromourMexicanBeer Pacifico’sEpic Adventure Surf’s Upwith by Pacifi Magazine’s co brandmanagersandSurfer GrantEllis. winners willbepickedbasedonaestheticsanddegreeof“epic-ness” And, betteryet,allyouhavetodoisuploadthreepicturesofyourself or painting the town red, they’re interested. Just keep in mind that or paintingthetownred,they’reinterested.Justkeepinmindthat though, becausewhetheryou’reshootin’thecurl,climbingamountain, thansurf, ifyou’remoreturf on anEpicAdventure.Don’t worry THE BUZZ www.mexicoviapacifi co.com might justbeepicenoughtowin! September 30. Who knows, you September 30.Whoknows,you out), hop online and sign up before out), hoponlineandsignupbefore As always, there can be only one Asalways,therecanbeonlyone (sorry, guys... you’resittingthisone you don’t live in California or Utah you don’t orUtah liveinCalifornia www.storemags.com grand prizewinner, butfi ve runners year’s subwithSurfer. Aslongas boards, andfi fty otherswillgeta up willgettheirchoiceSurftech & www.fantamag.com NEAR YOU! REFRIGERATORS for theirannualvisitfromSanta. fromthosebrewerswhojustcan’tinspired winterwarmers wait alesandevenafewholiday- choose fromaheapofharvest up aroundthistime.And,ifthey’renotyourthing,youcanalso S store. Betteryet, throw ane-mailto thebrewery! your favorites here,contactyourlocalwatering holeor list.Ifyou don’tKeep inmindthisisonlyapartial see • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 5” Ale • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Blue Moon Harvest MoonPumpkinAle Blue MoonHarvest Avery OldJubilationAle Arbor PhatAbbot Appalachian RauchBock Abita FallFest Legacy BruinAle Lagunitas BrownShugga’ Jolly PumpkinFuegodelOtono Granville IslandLionsWinterAle Gordon BierschWinterBock Goose IslandChristmasAle Full SailOldBoardheadBarleywine Flying FishGrandCruWinterReserve Fish Tale Winterfish Dogfish HeadOldeSchoolBarleywine Clipper CityWinterStorm“Category BJ’S Bell’s ...Ale HellHathNoFury Bell’s BestBrownAle Appalachian PennypackerPorter Flying FishOktoberFish Erie HeritageAltBeer Dogfish HeadPunkin’Ale Dogfish HeadPangaea Dogfish Head120MinuteIPA Coney IslandLager Capital AutumnalFire Breckenridge AutumnAle Boulevard Bob’s ’47Oktoberfest BJ’s Oktoberfest Bell’s Octoberfest Coming to ® PumpkinAle excess, whatwithallthefest-themedreleasespopping not Munich,wastheoriginofourfavoriteexcusefor it’s You’d timeforOktoberfest! thinkthatAmerica, trade inyourfl ip fl ops forsnowboots.Thatjustmeans ummer isover. But,don’t gettoo depressedasyou ™ ™ Freaktoberfest ™ ® • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Widmer Brrr Weyerbacher WinterAle Trout RiverChocolateOatmealStout Sweetwater FestiveAle Southern Tier Cuvée SeriesOne Smuttynose WinterAle Sierra NevadaCelebrationAle WetSierra NevadaHarvest HopAle Schlafly WinterESB Schlafly CoffeeStout Schlafly ChristmasAle Redhook Winterhook Pyramid SnowCap Odell IsolationAle Magic HatRoxyRolles Jolly PumpkinBamNoire Gritty’s HalloweenAle Great LakesNosferatu Goose IslandImperialBrown Wild GoosePumpkinPatchAle Weyerbacher Ale Harvest MoonglowWeizenbockVictory Festbier Victory Two BrothersHeavyHandedIPA Shipyard Pumpkinhead New GlarusStaghornOctoberfest Long Trail Harvest Lancaster Oktoberfest Kona PipelinePorter Karl StraussOktoberfest www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Isn’t beer supposed to maintain in a down market? Who lied? [ 12 ] : cases offreebeereachyear, asdothosecurrently pensionersget36 Molson brewery TO WORKPAST AGE65 ANOTHER REASON late tostrike? of...Hmmm...Ifyou’realreadyretired,isittoo off tolive seniors stillhavetheirrobuststockportfolios is doingwell,soMolson’s loyal 2,400-plusformerly imagine, thenewshithard,butatleasteconomy in fi ve years,willdisappearaltogether. Asyoucan plummet to12dozenbottlesayearfromnowand, dozen bottlesayear. Worse yet,retirees’sharewill cutting theirallotmentoffreebeerfrom72to52 shockeditsNewfoundlandworkforceby brewery across thecountry, themapleleaf–emblazoned cost-cutting moveintendedtostandardizeperks medicine for25years,butdon’t packyet.Inarecent with thefunnyaccents,hockeylust,andsocialized puttingup on thepayroll.Almostmakesitworth www.sierranevada.com www.dogfi sh.com W Sam andKenMakeaBeer bars asateaser. select restaurants and debut amonthearlierin with Americanhops,will brother andfortifi ed sugars ofitsbigger from born theresidual Life, a5%sessionbrew syrup. Draft-onlyLimb& courtesy ofAlaskanbirch Natural carbonationwillbe the SierraNevadaestate. family farmandbarleyfrom syrup from theCalagione sipper madewithmaple Limb willbea10%ABV bottles anddraft,Life& Due outthisNovemberinboth24-oz. style-defying beers,that’s anotherstory! they’re brewing twolimited-edition, Sierra Nevada’s KenGrossman, and Dogfi sh Head’s SamCalagioneand on ourradar. Whenthosetwoguysare brew abeer, itrarely registers hen twoguysgettogetherto THE BUZZ www.storemags.com FOR FREE DRINK ZYWIEC, STICK WITH www.zywiecusa.com Are you21?(Hint:You’re ment togetthingsstarted! Zywiec USA’s websiteandmakeyourappoint- of Polishpotableseachmonth.Justpoponto car andlooksnice,you’relookingatafreecase get theidea.Aslongasthatdecalstaysonyour case. Keepitonyetanothermonth...well...you still there,andyou’vegotyourselfanotherfree it onforamonth,thenstopbacktoproveit’s give youafreecaseofZywiec!Keep folks atAmtecarewillingto back window, thenthegood through vinylgraphiconyour if you’rewillingtoputthissee- Brooklyn orChicago?Ifso,and car? Doyoufeellikedrivingto better be“yes.”)Doyouowna reading this,sotheanswerhad L Strikes Golden Beer Best-Selling The World’s 22-ounce bottles,andhalfbarrels onOctober5. the original.Lookforittohitnationwide in6-packs, Light GoldenWheatmeasures upfavorablyagainst grams ofcarbohydrates,anda 4.1% ABV, Bud made inadifferent way. With118calories, 8.3 goodness. It’s aboutthepersonality ofBudLight not tomentionthesignature hazeofunfi ltered wheat malt,corianderandorangepeel... citrusy fl derivedfrom avor journey brewing with experience—namely thesweet,thentart, about giving“drinkability”loversanew, refreshing trying toout-craftcraft,though.Instead,it’s Marketing forAnheuser-Busch, it’s notabout www.budlight.com & According toKeithLevy, VPof with BudLightGoldenWheat. increasingly popularworldofweizen time, though,A-Bisenteringthe cal cousinisexpandingagain.This Light Lime,theKingofBeers’low- ooking torepeat thesuccessofBud www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER MAIL RANTS& RAVES ERE’S YOUR CHANCE to tell us how you feel. Hate us? Love us? We want to hear. HThe world wants to hear. Send you comments, suggestions, poems or toasts to [email protected]

MESSENGERS OF THE BEER GODS hank you very much for the article on Rauchbier in the July / Aug issue. About 8 years ago I tried a beer that I remembered tasting like summer sausage. It was amazing but that afternoon was the only time I’ve seen it in a bar and I’ve not met anyone that’s heard of it since. I was starting to think that maybe I’d imagined the whole affair. This evening I was walking by the magazine rack at the grocery store and noticed in big letters “Cooking with Beer”. I had to take a quick peek. As I thumbed through I saw the article on Rauchbier and the smoky fl avors. I started to think that I hadn’t imagined the whole We prefer you subscribe than steal it online...we’re watching Bittorrent! We smokedT sausage beer experience and then right there at the bottom of the fi rst column of the Rauchbeir list was Rauchenfelser Steinbrau. I’m not nuts! From what I could tell, it was the only issue of your magazine in the store so obviously this was a message from the Beer gods. I will be subscribing.

I’m looking forward to years of good drinking and reading ahead.

Thanks Dan Heringer You Win A... You’re probably still nuts and thank you for confi rming our thoughts that we are beer gods! FREE Actually we’re kidding, but it’s good to hear you bought the last copy in that store! –Derek BEER WARS DVD

[14]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Xxxx ] 15 [ : itself is nice, but then add the extensive and unique itself is nice, but then quite special. beer menu it’s I’m blessed with many Living on the east coast brews micro some of the best bars that offer might that a beer lover offerings and European But, when you put together a great ever wish for. you have beer, food and GREAT great atmosphere, that must be talked about. a winning combination from I’ve only been to this place once, but I can tell something special. rst visit that it’s my fi let me If you get the chance to check it out please this I’m one of many locals that have found know. that we and am very proud diamond in the rough, have yet another establishment to call our own. Thanks, Mike Mangold www.fantamag.com & erek, I am not an employee of the Tap and Table in Emmaus PA, but a fan PA, in Emmaus and Table of the Tap I am not an employee erek, and Tap dinner at the ate a wonderful and just recently of your magazine out! If you and check this place Do yourself a favor in Emmaus, PA. Table layout, especially the reviews. Nobody else gives layout, especially the reviews. the beer is available— a guide of the states where idea. great Please check out my site, www. AbqBeerGeek.com, when you get time. I write about anything worthwhile in Albuquerque beer bars and beer brewpubs, located Though we are stores. is in the high desert, there here actually a thriving beer culture! mag! Thanks again for a great - Patrick Patrick thanks for keeping an eye on us, we don’t really think we’ve strayed are from our original concept. We targeting the keg/college crowd, but we’re trying to get anybody that like beer to love it and want to know more. I think some that may have thought we were just a bunch of kids initially didn’t really look at the big picture have improved rst came out. We when we fi gure out what we and will continue to as we fi like and what we don’t. So thanks again for reading and we hope next year you feel the –Derek same way. consider yourself a beer lover and a foodie it’s the perfect place. I recently saw their saw their place. I recently the perfect a foodie it’s a beer lover and consider yourself offering currently They are and had to check it out. in the local paper advertisement myself a beer snob 3 cask and I believe 6 draft beers. I consider over 125 bottle beers, is (no bud light on this menu!). The restaurant half of the menu recognize and I didn’t which in live music ever night of the week, and they offer illuminated with candlelight Places Recommended D

www.storemags.com coming! all are doing all are keep them Pvt Lovell US ARMY Myles stay love what you safe and when you get back swing ce by our offi for a beer! –Derek Thanks a lot! I ey Derek. First off, I admit I was a bit I admit I was a bit First off, ey Derek. skeptical as well as excited when I saw rst issue on the magazine rack. I your fi

I will be adding your magazine to my I feel yours gives subscriptions. For the money, variety of information plus the best the largest I have subscriptions to All About Beer, Zymurgy, Zymurgy, I have subscriptions to All About Beer, Draft, and Beer Advocate, all due to birthday my girlfriend. She was supposed to from presents her the two for one take the hint when I presented during the early months, subscription you offered but I guess she lost the insert. Either that, or like all the competition in the magazine she didn’t not the girls). (and I mean the beer pictures, I am happy to see that the magazine has each issue. In fact, I have continued to improve the July/August issue and am been reading seriously amazed at the amount of information cally the Kegging you included this month, specifi e the Wiffl article (and off-topic, Homebrew Your Ball article—I have a Summer season going with and we keep all the stats. my younger brothers game!). What a great thought it was aimed at the keg stand crowd, thought it was aimed at the keg stand crowd, and though I like to participate in that event, drink many of the beers typical of the I don’t kegs involved. ARMY BRAT-WURST ARMY Iraq, was at the PX in here So I am out about beer I’d like it was a mag and there but man was my stuff, to think I know mag I had to an awesome It’s I wrong. I would love to so I subscribed. get more when hall open my own brewpub/pool am learningI get out of the army I a lot you guys so that from about brewing is Myles Lovell helps. Oh yeah my name sweet that CA. That’s Grove Garden from home my from the gunnies is coming

H KEGS STANDS RULE! KEGS STANDS Beer Mail

Angels Are singing Librarian? was recently at my local Marsh his is definitely the best grocery store in Indianapolis when beer magazine of all! I I stumbled upon your magazine. I have enjoyed reading rubbed my eyes in disbelief and I I every single quip, quote, think I heard angels sing. I never new T question and quandary written in such a periodical existed. I love beer... this informative and innovative beer must have magazine :). I am seriously magazine! Kudos to you beer lovers considering getting a subscription. and information gatherers! Just I have never seen a magazine so signed up for a subscription and packed with information, even the can’t wait to have my own issues advertisements are informative. The to ponder (have been borrowing a timing of this discovery is also perfect. friend’s copy...having a little trouble In a couple of weeks is the Broadripple returning it). brewfest (Brewers of Indiana Guild). I already have my ticket and I am excited Thank you:) about going, it will be my first one. I Victoria Lemieux have always enjoyed drinking different kinds of beer and learning about them. Also just recently we here in Indiana finally get Fat Tire beer. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. I have been drinking that beer for almost 10 years but only when I could get out west or get someone to bring me back some. If you haven’t already this year maybe do a feature on Fat Tire or Belgium brewing co. Right now though I am pulling off a

Angel, devil...what’s the difference really? Angel, devil...what’s pint of Summer Shandy from my friends kegerator. I love that thing :) I will definitely be getting future issues. Your new fan, Jason Cox Indianapolis, IN.

We actually have a little setup in the newsstand. Whenever somebody I love ny! looks our cover model in the eyes While I live in NYC and its a great place to go out for you hear angels sing. Do it too long a beer with the many bars that carry a nice variety its a and a “pervert” alarm goes off and disappointing place for the person who wants to a buy a few the angels come down and poke your bottles for the home selection. Since in NY State beer is sold eyes so you stop staring. –Derek in grocery and convenience stores the selection is often limited by space. I have seen in my web searches many different online beer stores that can ship to NY however, I am a bit weary of them. I was wondering if there are any you or your staff could recommend that is reliable to ensure the freshness of the beer as well as proper shipping to ensure the freshness remains and doesn’t get messed up by extreme changes in temperatures?

I hope you have some insight cause I am tired of the same old stuff and want to try some new things.

Cheers, Seth

State law on shipping beer varies a lot, but there are stores that will ship beer to you. How it arrives really depends on their packing and how fast you want it. I’m not sure, but most ground freight is going to be subject to temperature changes. So you might want to order beer in the cooler months and avoid summer. You can upgrade to faster shipping and reduce the transit time. Another thing to consider is that some beers are made to withstand some heat better. A thick heavy stout might not be as subject to damage as a lager. –Derek

[16]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com That beer is half full! ] 17 [ : BUZZ THE I thought it was dark it was I thought Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale Pumpkin Bills Buffalo Alex Zerega 25 www.fantamag.com POUR NAME: AGE: FAVORITE BEER: BEER: FAVORITE LEAST at test taste a blind me gave they until beers the office! RESULTS: TEST TASTE BLIND OUR We chose 3 craft beers out of our fridge and Pumpkin Bills Buffalo blind. sample her had Michelob and Ale, Licks 3 Henry John Ale, Ale Pumpkin the chose she and Bock Amber didn’t she thought also Alex favorite. as her like dark beer but found out she did. BEER: ABOUT THING FAVORITE LEAST HER The amount of exercise needed after to say shape. in MONTH &

www.storemags.com October 2 October CITY BREWFEST SILVER Meriden, CT www.valencialiquor.com October 2-4 THE- BAY BY- 10TH ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST- Pier 48, San Francisco Waterfront www.oktoberfestbythebay.com October 3 FRESH HOP ALE FESTIVAL YAKIMA WA Yakima, www.freshhopalefestival.com October 3 HOOD RIVER HOPS FEST OR Hood River, www.hopsfest.com October 3 WORLD BEER FESTIVAL Durham, NC www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf October 3 BETHLEHEM HARVEST FESTIVAL Bethlehem, PA www.bethlehemharvestfestival.com October 3 BIG LAKE BREWFEST Carlton, MN www.biglakebrewfest.com October 10 KENNETT BREWFEST Kennett Square, PA www.kennettbrewfest.com October 10 BREWERS’ FEST MARYLAND MD Timonium, www.dasbestoktoberfest.com October 16–17 MIDWEST BEERFEST Wichita, KS www.midwestbeerfest.com October 16–17 THE RETURN OF THE BELGIAN BEER FEST Boston, MA www.beeradvocate.com October 17 BREWING UP A CURE Pittsburgh, PA www.brewingupacure.org October 17 LIGHTHOUSE BEER FESTIVAL Wilmington, NC www.lighthousebeerandwine.com October 17 CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL DECATUR GA Decatur, www.decaturbeerfestival.com October 17 BREWFEST LEHIGH VALLEY Easton, PA www.lvbrewfest.org October 22–24 OF THE SOUTH BEER FESTIVAL Orlando, FL oridabeer.org www.fl October 24 KNOXVILLE BREWERS’ JAM Knoxville, TN www.knowvillebrewersjam.com October 24–25 VIRGINIA BREWFEST NORTHERN Centreville, VA www.novabrewfest.com OCTOBER 2009 Boone, NC Racine, WI Denver, CO Denver, Denver, CO Denver, Manteo, NC Chambly, QC Chambly, 2009 Telluride, CO Telluride, New York, NY New York, Savannah, GA Pensacola, FL San Diego, CA Harrisburg, PA OKTOBERFEST Fort Pierce, FL West Dover, VT Dover, West Jenkintown, PA Sacramento, CA Mount Horeb, WI Munich, Germany San Francisco, CA www.trollway.com www.trollway.com BREW AT THE ZOO BREW AT www.denverzoo.org www.denverzoo.org www.oktoberfest.de www.oktoberfest.de www.sdbeerfest.org BREWS ON THE BAY www.hcbeerfest.com www.calbrewfest.org www.calbrewfest.org September 5 September 6 www.mountsnow.com www.nycbeerweek.com www.nycbeerweek.com September 26 September 19 September 11 September 19 September 18 September 19 September 13 September 12 www.sfbrewersguild.org www.sfbrewersguild.org www.tellurideblues.com www.tellurideblues.com www.bluezandbrewz.com September 4–7 September 4–5 September September 5–6 GREAT LAKES BREW FEST GREAT www.bieresetsaveurs.com HIGH COUNTRY BEER FEST HIGH COUNTRY THIRSTY TROLL BREWFEST BLUEZ AND BREWZ FESTIVAL www.greatlakesbrewfest.com www.greatlakesbrewfest.com TREASURE COAST BEER FEST www.abcbrew.com/harrisburg www.abcbrew.com/harrisburg September 10–11 September 18–20 September 24–26 September 11–20 September 12–13 SAN DIEGO FESTIVAL OF BEER SAN DIEGO FESTIVAL NEW YORK CRAFT BEER WEEK SAVANNAH CRAFT BREW FEST SAVANNAH www.treasurecoastbeerfest.com www.treasurecoastbeerfest.com www.emeraldcoastbeerfest.com www.emeraldcoastbeerfest.com SEPTEMBER www.savannahcraftbrewfest.com CALIFORNIA BREWERS FESTIVAL EMERALD COAST BEER FESTIVAL GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL GREAT MOUNT SNOW BREWERS FESTIVAL JENKINTOWN JAZZ AND BREWFEST www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com www.jenkintownjazzandbrewfest.com www.jenkintownjazzandbrewfest.com TELLURIDE BLUES & BREWS FESTIVAL CHAMBLY BEER AND FLAVOUR FESTIVAL AND FLAVOUR BEER CHAMBLY September 19–October 4 CAPITAL CITY INVITATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL CITY INVITATIONAL CAPITAL ASK BEER

Sometimes people talk to their beer, and sometimes that beer will answer your questions. If you’re one of those people who don’t hear the beer talk back, but want to know the answer to your questions about beer, this is the column to turn to. Ask Beer is where you get to ask a question and receive an answer without looking like the crazy person at the end of the bar. Got questions? Email [email protected]

words: Matt Simpson

I HAD AN IPA RECENTLY AND IT WAS VERY MALTY. I THOUGHT THESE BEERS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE REALLY HOPPY, NO?

he history of the IPA is long and storied, but the style is really British in origin. In a nutshell, the Have beer will travel...note from England at the time. beer traveling from the British Isles wasn’t quite making it to the troops and colonies over in India. They certainly couldn’t have that, so Tthey started playing around with their recipes. After some trial and error, they realized that the batches to which they added more malt (for more alcohol) and more hops made it to the thirsty recipients on the other side of the world, all safe, sound and ready to drink. Ergo, India Pale Ale. These days, even those British versions of the style are pretty tame and malty, compared to many of those brewed in the US. You see, not to be outdone, we’re the kings of kicking things up a notch. And those crazy West Coast breweries take things to whole new, crazy levels: They’re the creators of the imperial IPA, after all. So chances are, if the IPA you had was made by a left coast brewery, it’s been sitting for a while, and it defi nitely should be hoppy. Balanced, but hoppy. Now, if it’s an East coast IPA, it could go either way. Many brewers on the East Coast (especially in New England) take their recipe cues from the traditional English styles. So if your beer came from the Northeast, or England, it was probably brewed to be more skewed to the malty side of the fl avor and aroma equation. Got that, Limey?

[18]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com DOES THE HOW LONG DOES IT BEER SERVING TAKE TO MAKE BEER? GLASS REALLY Short answer: It all depends on the MATTER? style of beer. Oh, you want more? Man, you guys are demanding. Okay. Keep in f course the serving glass for good craft beer matters! mind that the actual brewing and bottling Every beer generally has its own glass. Seriously. In processes are relatively short (maybe a OEurope (especially Belgium, where beer is regarded day for each), so they don’t really take as an art form and a part of their history and society), almost lots of the time for a beer to make it from every brewery has a special glass for their beers ... sometimes grain to glass (GtG). Most of the time to several, to refl ect the various styles they produce. In the U.S., make a beer is in the fermentation. You most breweries use shakers (pint glasses), with their logo simply already know (because I’ve told you like printed on them. And that’s fi ne, for many styles. But they 1,000 times), that yeast eats the sugars only use ’em because they’re cheap and nearly unbreakable. in the wort to make alcohol and carbon The glass you use should include a stem (for swirling the glass dioxide. The more sugars you have for without warming it), a wide bottom, narrow middle and fl ared top. the yeasties to chew through, the more This shape allows for a deep pour, while leaving room for a big, alcohol that’s produced and the more fl uffy head. It also permits all the essence and aroma of the beer ha-has you and your buds have at your to concentrate at the top, while leaving suffi cient room for your Friday night poker game. But besides schnozzola to get into the glass and fully partake of the aroma. In that, the more sugar the yeast has to eat A: through, the longer the beer will most the absence of a fl uted glass like this, for big, aromatic beers, a simple brandy snifter will do. Brandy snifters showcase likely take to ferment. Of course, it also roughly the same characteristics as fl uted tulips—except that depends on the type of yeast and types their lack of fl ared tops doesn’t project the aromas up and out of sugars used (rice sugars—used to

as much. That said, prepare for a few “white tipped noses” while trying thin out some American macrobrewed Time to make the doughnuts...and beer. to dive in deep enough to sniff. lagers—and Belgian candi sugars are more fermentable than malt, so they And in keeping with our “glassware” theme… get eaten fi rst and fastest). So, light lagers and brown ales might take two to three weeks for a beer to go GtG, while barleywines, imperial stouts and Belgian quads may take upward of two to three BEER TASTES months. We can talk about sour beers BETTER IN FROZEN some other time. GLASSES, RIGHT? Of course, you don’t want to serve your beer in frozen glasses! Unless you like the taste of water, that is. Well, maybe the beer won’t taste exactly like water, but being ultra cold really does dull the fl avor and aroma of what’s in the glass. It’s the same for beer as it would be for wine. In fact, a frozen glass fails on two counts. First, as I just mentioned, the cold temperature tightens up all the molecules A:of the beer (“tightening up” being a true scientifi c phrase … not: technically, it slows them all down), in effect, subduing its fl avor. Think of beer as the food it is. What happens when you heat up leftovers in the oven? It excites the molecules and brings the food back to life, fl avor-wise. So what temperature should I serve my beer? Well, your rough guide for serving temps is to ask yourself how big the beer is. If it’s a light German beer or American lager (think hefeweizen or Yuengling lager), serve that sucker fridge cold. If it’s a bigger craft beer (say doppelbock or Scotch ale), serve it at fridge temp, but let it warm up a hair as you drink it. And if it’s a huge barleywine, imperial stout or Belgian quad, serve it at cellar temp (50-60°F) and let it warm up even more in your glass. Cold beer is for being refreshed and drinking fast. And if you’re guzzling barleywines, don’t bother reading any further here … I’m done with you, frat boy.

:[19] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com here’s to you

hat’s better than reading about W beer? How about reading about you? This is where we will feature HERE’S our readers love of beer. Want to see Yourself in HTY? Send your request to to you [email protected] words: You photos: You Submission must include a high- resolution picture of you drinking a beer and the answers to the questions.

Name: Victoria Sels age: 24 OccU patiON: Server atilOc ON: Dixon, Illinois FavOrite Bar: I prefer a porch FavOrite Beer the better! : Spiced wheats, IPA’s, and the darker BOttle, caN, Or tap: Tap! FavOrite HaNg with sour cr Over eam FOOd: Greasy bacon and cheddar fries mOst memO raBle Beer: clove and ginger! New Glarus Stone Soup. I love the ast le FavOrite Beer: emOmO stra mBle Beer: Bud Light tastes like and I’ll always r Guinness. I’ll never forget what it ast le FavOrite Beer: emember I don’t care for it was I thinking in College? Bud light and Natural Ice. Man, what Man our readers are HOT...and and artistic! Man our readers are HOT...and

Name: Jeff Jamerson age: 26 years old OccUpatiON: Bouncer, Token Black Guy FavOrite Bar: Jack Rabbit’s, Fat Cats and Johnny B’s FavOrite Beer: Guinness, Long Hammer IPA, Bud Light, Yuengling Black & Tan, Miller High Life ap: Tap, but bottles are always welcome. BOttle, caN, Or t Cans if I’m shot gunning a Bud Light Chinese buffet does the trick FavOrite HaNg Over FOOd: Either my first beer when I was 14, mOst memOraBle Beer: the beer I was drinking while I got head the first time, or the Bud Light I drank with my all my friends after my friend Josh’s wedding with cereal straws Any Flying Dog Beer, Golden Monkey, least FavOrite Beer: and Heinekin

Name: Sarah Scott age: 27 OccUpatiON: Chocolatier lOcatiON: Culver City, CA FavOrite Bar: Father’s Office FavOrite Beer: Allagash BOttle, caN, Or tap: beer, fishing, and the beach. Cans Bottles are for at cheap home tap at the bars. I don’t discriminate! FavOrite HaNg Over FOOd: Advil and Ihop

[20]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com And others will kill you with a .50 caliber machine gun! ] 21 [

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Waiter there's a beer in my soup! Waiter SOUP DE JOUR... MMMM THAT SOUNDS GOOD

words: Brein Clements photos: Jason Boulanger

his is one of my favorite times of the year. Our September garden is still giving us our lovely tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, and, of course, first butternut PREP TIME: 3 ½ Hours squash. You see, September and October COOKING TIME: 2 Minutes are great months for a chef because of the DIFFICULTY: 4 late summer remnants and new autumn SERVES: 7 harvests.T Butternut squash will first appear in September, OVEN TEMP: 375° F and if you’re lucky, keep going all the way through November. STOVE TEMP: Medium-High This is the perfect time to show off a nice butternut soup that SUGGESTED BEER: Inland Empire Brewing has a touch of brown ale and curry spices. Company Brown Ale

[3022]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Cooking is always easy when all the ingredients are prepped! ] 23 [ : Use

Chef’s knife Large sheet tray Cutting board Aluminum foil Mixing bowl Blender Wooden spoon Heavy bottom • • • • • • • • sauce pot TOOLS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO ROAST THE IF YOU DON’T WANT CHEF TIPS Ingredients Ingredients 2 Large Butternut in Squash—cut seeds removed half lengthwise, Sugar 1 Cup Brown Curry½ Cup Madras Powder peeled fresh Ginger, 2 inch piece and sliced thin cut into cubes 1 lb. Butter, Fresh Sage, as needed Kosher Salt, to taste to taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper, thin 2 Brown Onions, Sliced 1 Cup Brown Ale 3 qt. Chicken Stock 1 qt. Heavy Cream Serves 7 • then just buy the pre-cut SQUASH FIRST, squash and add all of the ingredients to you will be a pot and cook. However, avor the soup amazed at the depth of fl has when the squash is roasted whole. It really is a whole different ballgame. • IF YOU CAN’T GET BUTTERNUT SQUASH, use kabocha. CHICKEN STOCK? • CAN’T EAT vegetable. Can’t make your own? vegetable. Can’t Use low sodium. 3 www.fantamag.com & www.storemags.com Make more baked squash to eat as "raw" soup! [ 24 ] : 5 BEER kitchen www.storemags.com 8 W by the fire. fire. the by warm September day outside or anOctober night & www.fantamag.com cinnamon and nutmeg. Itisperfect for either a powder. It’s notreally your basic squash soup with hat Ilikeabout this soup istheaddition of thecurry curry powder.curry sprinkledwithatouchofthe serve smooth andcreamy. Adjustseasoning; blender andblendforaminuteuntil 8. Carefullytransferthesouptoa Cook for20minutesmore. seasoning andaddtheheavycream. andslightly thickened.Adjustthe fourth minutes oruntilreducedbyaboutone- chicken stockandletcookforabout45 squash andstirtocombine.Addthe one minute,stirringfrequently. Addthe 7. Add thebrownaleandletcookfor cook untilniceandsoft. Stir withawoodenspoonoftenandlet the slicedonionandapinchofsalt. remaining butterandletfoam.Add over amedium-highflame.Addthe 6. Placeaheavy-bottomsaucepan meat ofthesquashintoabowl;reserve. sage fromthesquashandscrape 5. Oncedone,discardthegingerand from theskin. squash aretenderandeasilyseparate Place inovenfortwohoursoruntilthe of thetrayandtightlywrapinfoil. 4. Placeacupofwateronthebottom sage, saltandpepper. powder, slicedginger, halfthebutter, brown sugar, followedbythecurry 3. Liberallyseasonthesquashwith place thesquash,cutsideup,ontray. Wrap2. alargesheettrayinfoiland 1. Preheattheovento375°F. The Method www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER ANATOMY BLONDEANATOMY OF A ALE GOES DOWN SO EASY

words: Brad Ruppert photos: Jason Boulanger

et’s say you walk into a bar and ask Brad likes blondes. Ask his wife! for a light beer. If it were 1985 you might get a blow torch in the face or a disco Lball may drop out of the ceiling in accordance with Budweiser’s famous commercials of the day: “Gimme a light. No, Bud Light!” Typically, asking for a light beer means you’re looking to wet your palate with a refreshing lager of the Bud, Miller, or Coors variety. Now if we run that same scenario in a brewpub that makes their own beer on the premises, chances are they may not serve a macrobrewed lager so you’ll most likely have to upgrade to a more flavorful golden ale known as a blonde. The blonde could be considered a gateway beer for the diehard lager lovers that aren’t accustomed to those heavily hopped ales or blackened stouts. On a hot summer day, overflowing a frost- covered pitcher, its straw-colored transparency glows like the sunrise over a field of grains and beckons to be lapped up like sweat off Anna Faris’s bikini-clad ass.

[26]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Great now our Belgian friends will think they invented blondes too! ] 27 [ : Barley is a cereal grain that’s ground up and ground grain that’s Barley is a cereal With all that sugar provided by the barley, the by the barley, With all that sugar provided temperatures than with a bottom-fermenting or lager yeast. than with a bottom-fermenting temperatures would beSome typical yeasts used to make blonde ales 1098White Labs WLP013 London Ale yeast, or Wyeast British Ale yeast. BARLEY: boiled in hot water to impart fl avor and provide some avor and provide boiled in hot water to impart fl appearance. It on the beer’s uence overwhelming infl The six-row. and typically comes in two varieties: two-row and is usually American lagers is used to brew six-row ers need clarifi but tends to be cloudy so higher in protein barley has less The two-row to be added to the beer. This means and is higher in fermentable sugars. protein higher- barley is capable of outputting that two-row uences the color of alcohol beers. Knowing that barley infl the beer and that the blonde ale is in essence “blonde,” it out that the barley used to gure take a genius to fi doesn’t make it is of a crystal or pale malt variety and color. HOPS: beer needs some sort of bittering agent to balance the the almighty hops come in. Just like a This is where avor. fl the icon of wine, the hop is the grape could be considered pine Similar to little green beer. symbol of a great foremost equipped with a pair of cones in appearance, the hops are yellow glands in aromatic, nuts at their base covered stiff known as lupulin. This lupulin is made up of acylphloro- that not resins glucides or bittering substances, which are avors but also impart bittering fl only act as a preservative Unlike a pale ale or India pale ale, (IPA), and aromas. known for their overwhelmingly hoppy smell and taste, the on its blonde ale uses only subtle notes of hops and relies Some typical hops avor. its characteristic fl malt to provide Hersbrucker, a blonde include Hallertauer, used in brewing Saaz, or Northwest Golding. Liberty, www.fantamag.com & blonde ale as opposed to the darker amberblonde ale as lighter color was actually moreoriginal. This athose accustomed to drinking appealing to traditional German people began lager and for en masse. But one thing’s drinking it up back sixsure, if you were used to throwing ABV in oneor seven lagers at 5 percent sitting, try doing that with the 8.5 percent nd yourself waking up face- Duvel and you’ll fi bush with sprinklers in your neighbor’s rst fi called time travel hosing you off at 6 a.m. It’s of that if youand you can see the outcome google “Duvel Challenge.” www.storemags.com carbon dioxide. Having that ability hile the blonde ale may nothile the blonde or folklorehave the legends or lager, of the stout, pilsner The liquid of life and primary ingredient in all The liquid of life and primary ingredient If there were a step in the brewing process process a step in the brewing were If there certainly qualifi es them to be a part of the FunGuy (fungi) certainly qualifi a little higher on the food kingdom. Fortunately we are of their eating habits. the rewards chain and get to reap upon a top-fermenting yeast, meaning The blonde ale relies on the top of the yeast begins the fermentation process takes place at higher This fermentation process the beer. WATER: whereby you could wave a wand over your brew and you could wave a wand over your brew whereby be just after the pitching it would it a beer, cially declare offi is a eukaryotic microorganism, (addition) of the yeast. Yeast meaning that, like plants and animals, it has complex cells enclosed with membranes. But instead of eating pastrami sandwiches or Kobe beef like us carnivores or absorbing sunlight like plants, yeasts feed on sugars to make alcohol and beer is clean and refreshing water. Beer was actually a water. beer is clean and refreshing drinking water for water back in the day when replacement when water that long ago by itself could kill you. It wasn’t gone through that hadn’t lakes or streams from gathered of bacteria and may have been full cation process a purifi is why manyparasites that could make you deathly ill. This beer or primarily on drinking countries even today still rely bad this custom Too tea with every meal instead of water. on a planenever made its way to America, but if you hop still the norm.nd this is or Asia you’ll fi over to Europe The characteristics of water including its composition, impact and mineral levels will each have an hardness, on the taste of the beer and its beautiful appearance. collected in England, the origin of ales, will have Water taste than water collected from a drastically different traditionally Ales are which is the origin of lagers. Germany, accentuates hop which water, composed of harder complexity of body. bitterness for greater and provides YEAST: HISTORY its youth and beauty provide plenty ofits youth and beauty us summer beer lovers toeye candy for her from top togaze into as we consumer several originsbottom. The blonde ale has Belgians, and usstemming from the English, its actualmicrobrewing Americans. While popularity its style may not be entirely new, Belgianwas truly revitalized when the brewery Moortgat up the recipe changed a light goldenfor Duvel and came out with W THE INGREDIENTS: on the brewer) ale relies upon the avored (depending fl This light colored and sometimes mildly is a crystal which malt of the pale variety that imparts the light got barley, You’ve standard four ingredients of almost every beer. being the primary that refreshing and ingredient, and provides The water is of the purest variety, golden color onto the brew. thirst-quenching backdrop for the perfect agent that level off blonde ale. Hops are the stabilizer or mildly bittering the beer’s is the most delicate of all four because it is a nal ingredient is yeast, which And the fi initial sweetness from the malted barley. living organism and is very changes. Like your blonde supermodel, sensitive to temperature the yeast is very high maintenance. the beer and will not performShe requires delicate handling as she is added to her duties unless given the proper temperature. is turning magic sugar into alcohol and carbon on. Yeast’s not going to get her groove thing hot or too cold, she’s too So if it’s dioxide. If only your blonde supermodel could do that, it might give new meaning to golden showers. BEER ANATOMY

THE PROCESS

aking blonde ale can be easier brewing than more complicated Mbeers like lambics, IPAs, barleywines or pilsners. All beer goes through a similar process of a brewer fi rst mashing up the grains, boiling them in water to make wort, adding hops and continuing to boil, cooling to room temperature to add the yeast and then storing it all at a constant temperature for several weeks to allow fermentation. After that, PRESTO!—you’ve got beer. While that may seem quite a bit oversimplifi ed, for those that have never brewed beer before, it’s not as frightening or as big a mystery as it may seem. Good thing blondes are NOT shaped like a beer bottle. One word of warning: Making Blonde ales just like blonde women: They come in all shapes beer and making GOOD beer are and sizes and have varying levels of complexity. The English blondes are relatively simple in nature, share a similar light golden tint, and not synonymous. Let’s give credit to are moderately hoppy at best. The American blondes have a bit more those exceptional brewers like Vinnie character on the fl avor spectrum, ranging from the relatively bland Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing (looking to copy a pilsner) to a bit fruity and sweet, and some are even that gave us Damnation ale or John moderately hoppy in nature. Both the English and American blondes Maier from Rogue Ales that gave us are relatively low on the alcohol scale; trying to please the masses, they stay between 3.5 and 5.5 percent. But if keeping it light gets the ladies Oregon Golden Ale. Both of these are to drink, I’m all for it. But the Belgians stepped into this arena and made exceptional blonde ales of the Belgian certain the carpet didn’t match the curtains on their lovely blondes. and American varieties, each complex Despite the complexion and light golden transparency, some of these and unique their own way. One could beauties are packing an alcohol content upward of 15 percent, which is only image the number of sleepless enough to shed 30 pounds off that slump-buster you were so reluctant nights spent hovered over a brewing to talk to at the beginning of the night. kettle, sampling each batch until the perfect recipe emerged. Slaves to their work, these brewers devoted buckets of blood, sweat and beers to their passion.

[28]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER ANATOMY

CHARACTERISTICS

APPEARANCE > As the name would imply the blonde ale is “blonde” in color, quite similar to a lager only slightly more of a copper or golden hue. First impressions may resemble that late-afternoon or mild dimming of the sun on the horizon before it begins to set. These beers are very crisp, making them the perfect transparency for scoping the bartender’s cleavage as she leans over to wash glassware in the sink. Its effervescence is very aggressive and these beers tend to have a large white head that dissipates rather quickly.

SMELL > Aroma is not an overwhelming component of the blonde ale because its ingredients are not as extreme as other styles like the heavily hopped IPA or roasted porter grains. The crystal barley will provide a mild sweetness,

Lobsta and beer! Shipyard knows how to do it! more so than a pilsner, but nothing like a barleywine. For the American blonde, you’ll probably notice a slight hoppy scent because us Yanks love our hops when compared to those limey bastards on the other side of the pond. There may even be a slight fruity aroma depending on the brewer and his level of creativity. The Belgian blonde tends to have a slight citrusy aroma that raises the heartbeat.

TASTE > Refreshingly smooth like a lager with a mildly sweet aftertaste like you’d expect from an ale would be the best way to describe fi rst impressions. Leading in with your schnozz fi rst won’t offset your expectations, but rather will enhance the malty characteristics paired with a crisp effervescence. The carbonation may provide an initial sting that will be drowned out with cool refreshment, followed by a slight alcoholic warming sensation. The American blonde ales may have a mild fruity aftertaste from some unique ingredients snuck in by the brewer. The Belgian blonde will provide a noticeable alcoholic warming aftertaste but it’s surprisingly well disguised in comparison to other beers of that weight class.

[30]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com SERVING

GLASS: Most pubs, restaurants and fi ve-fi nger-discount glassware collectors (you know who you are) all have the proper serving pint for the blonde ale. The standard shaker cup, or 16 oz. pint glass, was designed for this type of beer. They’re rough, rugged, versatile and wide-mouthed for easy quaffability. Blonde ales are light, crisp and mighty refreshing, which makes them the perfect 60 oz. pitcher-served beer shared among a group of friends. (This also makes a barmaid’s life that much easier.) The Belgian blonde ale, due to its potential impact if consumed in large quantities, is typically served in a tulip-style glass, sort of like a snake warning with its stripes. These beers are to be savored and moderately sipped with the pinky out for you beer snobs.

TEMPERATURE: Finding the right temperature means serving the beer cold enough to have it refreshing yet warm enough that you don’t lose out on the fl avor or aromas. Always avoid the frosted mug if possible because this will only freeze your tongue and FOOD numb your taste buds. With the price of beer these days, I’d think you’d want to get your money’s worth. Most American and English blonde ales are best when consumed PAIRING at about 45-50 degrees, which is typically what most refrigerators are set at anyway. So othing’s fi ner than waking crack one open and begin consumption before the foam reaches the top of the glass. up early Saturday morning, Another fortunate component is that most bars keep their beers at one temperature: Nrealizing you don’t have to COLD. So chances are, this will be the right temperature for the blonde as well. Because go to work and having a nice golden the Belgian blonde ale will probably have a higher alcohol content, it can benefi t from blonde ale with some scrambled eggs being served at slightly higher temperatures, around 50-55 degrees. So take your time and bacon. While the girls are throwing drinking this beer and it will warm up on its own. back their mimosas or bloody marys, try a fried egg and bagel sandwich with an Eel River California Blonde COMMON BLONDE ALES The Bucket List of blonde ales? Ale. If you’re throwing together some appetizers or looking for some snacks 21st Amendment South Park Blonde DuClaw Bare Ass Blonde Ale to pair with your blonde ale during the Alcatraz Searchlight Golden Ale Eel River California Blonde Ale pregame show before football starts Arcadia Lite Fish Tale Blond Ale up, try some calamari, hummus, or Astoria Da Bomb Blonde Fullers Summer Ale spinach dip in a sourdough bread Bayhawk Beach Blonde Golden Valley Grand Island Golden bowl. Nothing’s fi ner than a Pizza Port Beach Bum Blonde Ale Goose Island Blonde Ale Beachcomber Blonde Ale with some Bear Republic Blonde Ale Hales Drawbridge Blonde warm spinach-artichoke dip and tortilla Beer Works Summerworks Ale John Harvards Summer Blonde Ale chips. If you’ve got a craving for fi sh Big Horn Blonde Kona Dukes Draft Blonde Ale in the mid afternoon sitting under the Big Horse Big Easy Blonde Liberator Golden Ale shade of your tree, seared ahi tuna or Big Time Sunbreak Blonde Ale Lucky Labrador Organic Golden Ale grilled trout is the perfect complement Blue Corn Atomic Blonde Ale MacTarnahans Oregon Honey Beer to a Brooklyn Summer Ale. Having Blue Frog Blonde Frog Ale Moylans Celts Golden Ale guests over for dinner? Try some Bonaventure Blonde Pelican Surfers Summer Ale pulled pork or roasted lamb with a Boulder Beer Buffalo Gold Premium Ale Pizza Port Beachcomber Blonde Ale Sierra Nevada Blonde Ale to bring out Boundary Bay Blonde Ale Port Townsend Chets Gold Golden Ale the richness and juices of the meat. Brooklyn Summer Ale Red Rock Blonde Ale Just about any farmer’s breakfast, Capitol City English Summer Ale Rogue Oregon Golden Ale (Shark Tooth Ale) football-watching appetizer or food hot Central Coast Topless Blonde Ale Russian River Depuration off the grill will pair perfectly with the Clipper City Gold Ale Sierra Nevada Blonde Ale blonde ale of your choosing. Coast Range California Blonde Ale Snipes Mountain Extra Blonde Ale Cooperstown Nine Man Ale Steelhead Barracuda Blonde Deschutes Cascade Ale Widmer Brothers Blonde Ale Dock Street Ambitchous Blonde

STATS IBU ABV ENGLISH BLONDE ALE > 20-40 3.5-5.5% AMERICAN BLONDE ALE > 20-40 4.3-5.5% BELGIAN STRONG GOLDEN ALE > 20-50 8.0-15%

:[31] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER COCKTAILS Your Beer Could Use A Stiff Drink When Your Beer Just Isn’t Enough!

words: Geoff Cozine photos: Carl Hyndman n Issue 9, we presented you, dear readers, with our guide to beer cocktails. The recipes—most of which even tasted good— combined beer with other beer, wine, soft drinks, and even ice

Does manly mean it tastes terrible? cream. A number of you noticed, however, that there was a certain oomph, shall we say,I lacking from most of the drinks. Well, you wanted more punch from your pint, so get ready for a black eye!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Manliness Factor

How a beverage makes you feel after you drink it, and how it caught with one, you’re looking at a 1. If we had to buy a pickup truck with makes you feel while you’re drinking it are two very different things. The a gun rack before we were worthy of tipping one back, it’s a sure-fire 10. alcohol in a pink slushy number with an umbrella poking out of the glass Understand that this isn’t to say you shouldn’t try them all... It is, does the same job as an ice-cold beer served on a stripper’s rock-hard however, to say that you might prefer to wait until your friends aren’t abs, but the second leaves you with a great deal less to prove. around before wading into the shallow end of the manliness pool. We To ensure you know exactly where you stand before ordering, we felt suggest ordering one for your girl, then accidentally spilling it (down your compelled to rate the ‘Manliness Factor’ of each recipe this time around. throat) when she’s in the bathroom and no one’s looking. If we’d sooner sit front row center at Mamma Mia on Broadway than be

[32]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com THE EXCEPTION OUR BEER COCKTAIL TO THE RULE COOKBOOK STRIKES BACK rish Cream is a liqueur made by blending We’ve all heard the saying, “Beer before liquor, never sicker.” Or is it, “beer after whiskey with honest-to-goodness cream. liquor, never sicker”? For some of us, it’s more important to be right than it is to be upright, so why IGoing against both common sense and risk failing the poetry test? Put them both in the same glass and resign yourself to an inevitable, wide-spread myth, Irish Cream does not need but predictable, future! to be refrigerated because whiskey naturally preserves cream and prevents it from spoiling. And, because it’s homogenized, it won’t ALE FLIP BOILERMAKER separate under normal conditions. The problem is that, when you make a Other than the beer, every ingredient in this salmonella The name conjures up images of grizzled, dirt-streaked Carbomb, you create what scientists call lover’s dream is optional, except for the one we wish was: welders fusing plates of steel together into smoke-belching “abnormal conditions”. That’s why, unlike with the raw egg. Unfortunately, cracking a pre-chicken in your locomotives. And, while the steam engine has gone the the other recipes we listed, you really only beer à la Rocky Balboa is what makes an Ale Flip an Ale way of the dodo, this go-to brew of the work- have one choice for delivery method—depth Flip. Some do say that eggs are a great hangover cure, but ing man will forever be the standby of guys 10 charge—when you mix Irish Cream and Irish dry we prefer ours scrambled with bacon and cheese, thanks. looking to leave a hard day’s labor behind them. Or, at least, guys looking to appear as stout. Fancy explanations aside, it only takes AKA: Flippant Hen, Flip if they just left a hard day’s labor, and not an a second for your drink to look less appealing MANLINESS FACTOR: 5 out of 10. ergonomically correct desk job, behind them. than Derek in a bikini, so you’ll enjoy your Apollo Creed may be shaking in his boots, but 5 Carbomb a lot more if what happens to it MANLINESS FACTOR: 10 out of 10. we’re not. happens in your stomach. Straight out of a George Thorogood song and into Since we lived to tell the tale, we originally RECIPE*: Lager • Raw Egg your glass. planned on just saying that globs of • Gin (optional) • Sugar (optional) RECIPE*: American Lager coagulated Carbomb are perfectly safe to

• Ginger or Nutmeg (optional) Man gauge should have been a fat guy with red face. • American Whiskey drink... or eat, technically. But, then, our • Lemon Juice (optional) journalistic consciences got the better of us, so we contacted R & A Bailey & Co. to get the information straight from the source. According to spokesperson Peter O’Connor, “mixing BAILEYS® Irish Cream with an acidic liquid such as beer or fruit juice can cause a reaction which changes the form of the liquid but does not sour it.” [Editor’s note: “changes the form of the liquid” is apparently marketing-ese for “gets all clumpy and spongy.”] So, what’s it all mean? It means we were right all along and did all that research for nothing! Oh, and by the way, we were also told that combining standard servings of Irish Cream and Irish dry stout exceeds the 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol recommended for a standard CARBOMB drink in the United States, so Baileys does not Remember how we advised against ordering a Black & Tan in Ireland? It goes double for the Carbomb. For some encourage it. In other words, don’t invite the reason, the Irish don’t appreciate being reminded of their troubled (recent) past by arrogant tourists. If you’re stateside, local BAILEYS® rep to your next party. though, this chocolate malted of the beer world is a must-have. Another must? Put the Irish Cream and whiskey in a shot glass, drop the shot glass right into your stout, and drink fast. You’ll thank us later. AKA: Belfast Carbomb, Irish Carbomb, Irish Guy MANLINESS FACTOR: 7 out of 10. Let it sit for a minute fi rst, and it’s an easy 9. Disgusting, but a 9 nonetheless. RECIPE*: 7 • Irish Dry Stout • Irish Cream • Irish Whiskey (optional)

* Start with a total of one shot and fill the remaining void with beer. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, go easy on the liqueurs and cordials. That said, the only limits on whiskey, rum, vodka, etc., are your plans for the night!

:[33] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Anything added to Corona helps the taste. [ 34 ] That said, the only limits on whiskey, rum, vodka, etc., are your plans for the night! the for plans your are etc., vodka, rum, whiskey, on limits only the said, That * RECIPE*: calling yourdrink“fl aming.” MANLINESS FACTOR: AKA: drinking aDr. Pepper. fat chickhaveincommon?They’rebothfuntorideuntilsomeoneseesyoudoingit.Thesamegoes for isagoodwaytoforgettheunavoidablerejections.Whatdomopedand ladies, but151-proofrum Trying yourbeerintoauniqueblendof23kid-friendlyfl toturn avors isnotagoodwaytoimpressthe DR. PEPPER 5 : Start with a total of one shot and fill the remaining void with beer. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, go easy on the liqueurs and cordials. cordials. and liqueurs the on easy go tooth, sweet a have don’t you If beer. with void remaining the fill and shot one of total a with Start • LimeCordialorJuice • MelonVodka • PaleAle RECIPE*: answer is“lower”,solet’s gowiththat.) this one.(Mywifeinsiststhecorrect if molestingyourdogwouldraiseorlower MANLINESS FACTOR: 3outof10.Notsure tomorrow’s paper. and ataleyou’drathernotseeonthefrontpageof can bothberesponsibleforakennel-sizedheadache be goingtoofar. So,instead,we’llsaythatthey tangy taste,butnowwe’rebeingtoldthatwould your pooch’s testiclesbecausetheyshareasweetly to jokethattheDog’s Bollockswasnamedafter Who namesthesethingsanyway?!We weregoing DOG’S BOLLOCKS BEER COCKTAILS FlamingDr. Pepper(useashotof151,thenlightitonfi re beforedroppingitintoyourbeer) MANLINESS FACTOR: AKA: RECIPE*: File thisoneunder“Y.” Sorry... typo.That’s “why?!”Ifyou’reseekingfl avor withouttheABV, abeer-meets-cola DIRTY WATER Broadway is a decent call. If, instead, you want high octane, a Rum and Coke is a great choice. If you’re dumping Broadway isadecentcall.If,instead,youwanthighoctane,RumandCokegreatchoice.Ifyou’redumping them intothesameglass,yourjudgmentisobviouslyimpaired,andyoushouldconsiderswitchingtowater. Aussie Dirty Water, AussieDirty SteelBottom(sansCola,plusJamaicaningredients) Light Beer Lager 3outof10.Addafewpointsifyoulightitonfi re fi rst, thentakethemallawayfor • Amaretto • Cola 5outof10.Somehow, puttingbeerinaRum&Cokeactuallymakesitlessmanly. • Rum • Rum•Grenadine 3 www.storemags.com • AppleorOrangeJuice • BlueCuraçao • WheatBeer RECIPE*: face it,thisdrink’s forthem. 10. We lovenakedladies,butlet’s MANLINESS FACTOR: 2outof that’s okay. from theCaribbean?Notadamnedthing,but hefeweizen andablue,orange-fl avored liqueur Bavarian fräuleinshavetodowithmixinga up (punintended)onitsbanks.Whatdonude havesprung is thatmanypopularnudistresorts Moreimportantly,home ofOktoberfest. though, Danube thatfl ows throughMunich,thehallowed ofthe tributary The IsarRiverisanimportant ISAR WATER & www.fantamag.com 2 3 CONS: Chippedteeth; PROS: Looks freakin’ cool;nice Oh, andweshouldn’t have to sayit,but your upperlip...unless you really miss your dentist. W PICK YOURPOISON not personal touches to spiceuptheroutine, buteither all—into apartiallyfilledpint,andstart chugging. Add inhibitions, to thewind,drop your liquor—shotglass and showman ineachof us. Throw caution,andyour DROP: The drop, ordepth charge, methodisfor the ExceptionSee “The to theRule” sidebar CONS: Someingredients donot playwellwithothers... you onlyneedoneglass PROS: Consistent taste; not too fancy orold-fashioned; your spoonsto yourself. ingredients withoutmakingthemtoo flat,sokeep your glass asyou drink,willbeenoughto minglethe act of pouring,incombinationwiththetiltingof it off withthealeorlagerof your choice. The simple cocktail road. Just dumpyour shot inaglass andtop MIX: Mixingissmackdabinthemiddleof thebeer separately; requires twohands CONS: You don’t always want to taste eachingredient booze kicks infaster PROS: You getto taste eachingredient separately; the hard stuff. the worst partover withifyou’re not partialto the as your worriesmeltaway. It’s alsogoodfor getting down thehatch ASAP. Then, you cansavor your beer this old-schooltactic relies ongetting afullshot Boilermaker orsomerandom combo, lager-and-liquor away. And I’llbeokay.” Preach on,Garth.Whetherit’s a the whiskey drowns andthebeerchasesmyblues CHASE: “’CauseI’vegot friendsinlowplaces.Where Chase, Mix,orDrop. medical equipment ortheneedfor anXrating: openyour mouthtoo wideor to getthemboth into your bodywithout you’ve got three basicoptions onhow hen you’re mixingboozewithbrews, do cover your teeth with do do www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Judo chopping a drink is freaking awesome. [ 36 ] cerveza mas fi na mas cerveza sheisthenshoweredwith Blinded bysearingpainandcitrus, limejuiceintohereye. wedge intoyourbottle,yousquirt to you.Your andbyjammingtheobligatory Coronaarrives, Imagine you’resittingatabar, chattinguptheredheadnext LOADED CORONA RECIPE*: can tellbylookingatit. There’s liqueurinyourbeer, butatleastnoone MANLINESS FACTOR: liqueurtomakeone. you’d useblackcurrant a headbutt.Whatdoesn’tmakesenseiswhy it makessensethataLiverpoolKississlangfor short, wells beforehittingthebigtime.Longstory Beatles, buttheythemselveswereabunchofne’er-do- city,rough-and-tumble port right?Sure,itspawnedthe We’re soconfused.Liverpoolhasareputationofbeing LIVERPOOL KISS 6 : RECIPE*: IPA •Gin name aloneputsthisoneatthetopofchart. MANLINESS FACTOR: 10outof10.The AKA: Dog’s Nose(withPaleAleinsteadofIPA) Boilermaker.and-true Pipe Wrench stillpacksthepowerofatried- its bluecollarroots,butasnameimplies,a It mayhavegottenawardrobeupgradefrom child ofourbelovedmicrobrewery, butbuyerbeware. compete with,andtheIPA is,hands-down,theposter lends atouchofclassthatKentuckysourmashcan’t ofthecraftbeermovement.Gin Call ittheBoilermaker PIPE WRENCH BEER COCKTAILS out coveringthetopcompletely. Nexttime,saveyour pouring intheshot. RECIPE*: and/or LimeRum might behigherifyoudidn’tneedtosocareful dignity and ditch the fruit forashotoffldignity andditchthefruit avored rum. AKA: MANLINESS FACTOR: when you turn yourbeerupsidedownwith- whenyouturn CoronaLimón Stout orPorter Bottle ofCorona 4outof10. • CrèmedeCassis 6outof10.It • Lemon www.storemags.com 10 4 That said, the only limits on whiskey, rum, vodka, etc., are your plans for the night! the for plans your are etc., vodka, rum, whiskey, on limits only the said, That MANLINESS FACTOR: away. Eachoneevencomeswithitsownsobrietytest.Blindyourselfachopstick,andyou’recut off! of sakésuspendedoveryourbeer. Whenyou’rereadytodrink,poundthetabledropin the saké,thenchug Call itold-fashionedAmericanbingedrinkingmeetsAsianfl air. Two chopsticksholdacarefullyplacedshot SAKÉ BOMB RECIPE*: couple pointsforneedingprops. * Start with a total of one shot and fill the remaining void with beer. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, go easy on the liqueurs and cordials. cordials. and liqueurs the on easy go tooth, sweet a have don’t you If beer. with void remaining the fill and shot one of total a with Start the classbullyforyourmilkmoney. You’ll begoinghomealone. MANLINESS FACTOR: AKA: RECIPE*: Pilsner you’re introducingyourbeertoAmarettoandOJsothatittasteslikeaCreamsicle ingredients, ormaybeevenaboutanunrelated,yetutterlyhysterical,topic.But,attheendofday, [Enter wittybanterhere.]We weregoingtosaysomethingfunnyaboutthisdrink’s name,oraboutits LUNCHBOX Wisconsin Lunchbox Wisconsin Japanese Lager & 8outof10.You’re notmessingaroundwhenyoureachforthesaké,butlosea • www.fantamag.com Amaretto 1outof10.“CanIhavemylunchbox,please”soundslikeyou’rebegging • Saké • OrangeJuice ® Pop.Enoughsaid. 1 8 Your $3 beer now is a $13 beer! ] 37 [ : 9 4 Forum. Admit it. Admit Forum. MAGAZINE WEBSITE, MAGAZINE 9 out of Beer BEER O THE You’re dying to say how awe- say how dying to You’re OF COURSE! We’ve got a Beer got OF COURSE! We’ve you for ready thread Cocktails on the Jägermeister 4 out MANLINESS FACTOR: of 10. Sounds like a page out of the Kama Sutra, but you’ve basically just put candy in your beer. RECIPE*: • Ale • Dark Rum • Molasses • T some this feature was (or, more likely, that that likely, more (or, was some this feature the world’s up and overlooked we f***ed click on So, get up there, best recipe). on and let us know what’s “Beer Styles,” mind! your Pale Ale MANLINESS FACTOR: could stir Jäger and estrogen 10. You a together in a Care Bears cup using a 3. tampon, and it would still get RECIPE*: • TOM BASS name from Bass Ale, but Bass takes its The Tom is, or was, remains do. Who Tom any pale ale will our research (i.e., shrouded in mystery; however, Basses) has discovered he Tom a night of drinking was undoubtedly determined to reverse millions makes humans so of years of evolution. “What all fours like the special that they don’t walk on thought other animals?” we’re sure he to himself. 2 www.fantamag.com & Whistle Belly Vengeance, Whip Belly Whistle Belly Vengeance, WHERE CAN YOU GO FROM HERE? WHISTLE BELLY gured the name came rst, we fi Those crazy Colonials apparently loved warm ale and rum mixed with a dollop of molasses. At fi from the whistle people let out when they’ve enjoyed their beverage. But, then, we learned that the molasses served to mask the funk of often spoiled beer and that, sometimes, chunks of bread were even thrown in for good measure. So, we’re sticking with the whistles that come from your belly when you’ve got the trots. nition of “whistle belly”: the modern-day defi AKA: www.storemags.com 6

Lemon, Orange, and/or • 6 out of 10. Vodka 2 out of 10. Give yourself an

Cheap Beer Generic Gin, Vodka, or whatever else you can Generic Gin, Vodka, • Beer Buster (Hot Sauce and no Cuke), Spiked

Hop, Skip, & Go Naked, Skippy Grenadine Salted Cucumber Slice •

YORSH Forget the steamy Russian saunas and even steamier Russian women you see in the movies. If you had to stand in line for three hours a day in a Siberian blizzard to get a hunk of moldy cheese, you’d want to spend the other 21 getting as drunk as possible, too. Enter “Copious” best describes how much vodka to the Yorsh. use. “Unconscious” best describes the desired result. AKA: Orange/Lemon/Peach Glow (Wheat Beer, Brew, Cuke) and no Flavored Vodka, MANLINESS FACTOR: and we’ll give you a 9. Forget the cucumber, and you’re Lick the salt off the cucumber, a party of 1. Beer • RECIPE*: • SKIP & GO NAKED out of a eager to ladle an unholy witches’ brew people line up, cups at the ready, Ah, college. Nowhere else will a pint glass in even clean) garbage can. If, instead, you make this frat favorite hopefully new (but probably not still has the same actually not bad and, luckily, it’s bought for quality over quantity, or pitcher and use ingredients effect that it did back in the good ol’ days. AKA: MANLINESS FACTOR: extra point for every girl you hand one to. RECIPE*: Lime Juice nd fi KOBE & KUROBUTA Beer-fed

BOLLOXwords: Jennifer Litz hat’s better than a fat, juicy, well-marbled USDA Prime beef steak? A snowflake-marbled steak of Wagyu. Wagyu beef—or, as it goes by its designer name, Kobe—is probably the most misunderstood animal slain this side of Japan. Bacchanalian foodies’ ears perk up when they hear rumors of its lavish lifestyle— that it is fed a diet of barley, beer, even sake leaves in between regular massages, and certainly, has a longer feeding time to supply all that “pinpoint” marbling, which translates to a longer life for the pig. W Some of that is a bunch of bull. Especially when Wagyu is raised in the states. And what of its pork counterpart, Berkshire, which was supposedly gifted to the Japanese by English diplomats in the 1800s, and then deemed Kurobuta (“black hog”) when they made the animal their own, feeding it beer (or did they?) and letting it go for swims? Much of that is bollocks, too, or at least rump-backwards. Which parts of these storied livestocks’ lives are true? Both really are super-fatty, premium animals with farms cultivating their prized meat in America, Japan, the UK and beyond. Both have a maelstrom of misinformation surrounding them, which We are guessing the average beer drinker is also very We marbled. will often differ depending on the restaurateur or purveyor you’re talking to. And both have juicy, well-marbled flesh just begging to be paired with a beer.

“On the right is an A5 ribeye from Kagoshima, Japan (beer-fed),” says Anthony Carron of Michael Mina restaurant group. “Note the color, marbling and the stamp. On the left is a USDA Choice ribeye.” Courtesy Anthony Carron.

[3830]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com One point for the American beer drinkers being better than the Japanese original. ] 39 [ : about half the price of Japanese Wagyu. There There Wagyu. about half the price of Japanese their too, who will raise some ranchers here, are if you’re and grass fed. But free-range Wagyu gonna live … live, dammit. that will support a lot of places aren’t There especially in the price of Japanese Wagyu, this economy—which is why many of Michael located in are Kobe-carrying restaurants Mina’s the hotel or a business may be casinos, where the beef also order can footing a dinner tab. You own such as Geller’s online stores, some from Geller International (www.gellerinternational. net) or (http://1-800-kobebeef.com/). www.fantamag.com & or those who really want their beer and Kobe beef to be in the same place, Rogue Ales has gotor those who really want their beer and Kobe beef to be best-selling craft one of America’s you covered. Before Rogue owner Jack Leroy Joyce owned a thing or two about beef. Once, Joycebreweries, he was a lawyer that raised cattle, so he knew The Bull on Your Beer Bottle Your The Bull on F high-grade cuts of Kobe beef.ight magazine about a company in Idaho providing was reading an in-fl it would make a damn good hamburger. He wondered what they were doing with the rest. He thought Kobe He was right. Now that company—Snake River Farms—produces all the beef for Rogue’s even Kobe on the beer—the St. Rogue Red Ale, burgers, Kobe chili, and Kobe taco meat. Heck, there’s says he bull, on its label. Joyce late prize Wagyu which pays homage to Fukutsuru, Snake River Farm’s pride is in the freezer loves to tell good stories, and the label certainly does: “Over 50,000 units of Fuku’s nal days, Fuku was given the opportunity to ‘socialize’ with some for future breeding,” it reads. “In his fi he chose to take a nap.”ne, young, cows. Instead fi public Rogue Brewing Co. has a partnership with Snake River Farms to serve at Rogue’s its American Wagyu bull. As prized Fukutsuru breeding Wagyu houses. This 2006 dry-hopped red label brew commemorated SRF’s the label describes, “Fuku” was quite a rogue (and his kin go great with this brew). Courtesy Kristin Thornton. months. American Wagyu, conversely, is fed on conversely, months. American Wagyu, to Geller. grain, often mostly corn, according marbling Streaky nal difference? The fi as opposed to a more in American Wagyu, snowy “pinpoint” fat pattern omnipresent, in size: Gellar And preferable Japanese Wagyu. says an American strip loin is 12-15 pounds— about half the length of a Japanese strip. to slander American Wagyu, Now: This isn’t which is a wonderful taste experience. it has about twice the to Carron, According marbling as USDA prime, which comprises of American beef, and costs the top 1 percent www.storemags.com REALLY THE PARTY-ANIMAL BEER GUZZLERS GUZZLERS BEER THE PARTY-ANIMAL REALLY

ARE KOBE BEEF AND KUROBUTA PORK PORK AND KUROBUTA BEEF KOBE ARE OF THE LIVESTOCK KINGDOM? THE LIVESTOCK OF

But true Japanese Wagyu, an amalgamation of But true Japanese Wagyu, is not always raised cattle indigenous to Japan, in the Kobe region. is often crossbred American-raised Wagyu with Angus cattle, which has a whole different history of cultivation. So you can see why names like “Kobe-style,” “American Kobe” at best, misunderstood and, at and others are, like to call their Still, restaurateurs worst, wrong. designer moniker. beef by the recognizable in Japan that raise beef lots of regions are “There in the same style [as Kobe],” says Anthony Carron, thatcorporate chef for Michael Mina restaurants include Michael Mina in San Francisco; Stonehill at St. Regis in Dana Point, California; Tavern even “Some are and more. Seablue Las Vegas twobetter than Kobe. Ours actually comes from and Miyadako. called Kagoshima regions different beef prefectures … Most if not all is coming from the same style But it’s besides the Kobe prefecture. of beef, ultra fatty.” created is not all Wagyu In other words, the same. the from Plenty, the difference? So what’s all in how you raise it. sight to the taste. It’s little true “Kobe” actually precious There’s correctly, more beef imported to America, or, Part of that Japanese Wagyu. little 100 percent says has to do with its fetching price. Carron about $160 for an A5-grade he has to charge to make a 6-ounce steak of Japanese Wagyu for that with American Wagyu, t. Compare profi which $70 would be fair. describes the taste of But the way Carron the experience is worth the Japanese Wagyu, avor to He describes a rich, sweet, nutty fl money. esh, whose liberal amounts of unsaturated the fl stick to your palate. When cookedfat doesn’t the fat just past medium rare), (he prefers correctly melts right when it hits your tongue. All these characteristics have to do with how this cattle is raised besides its pedigree. James is very different,” process “The entire M. Geller says of American versus Japanese- a longer feeding process There’s raised Wagyu. corralled for the latter type, he says, which are that and kept sedentary for a feeding program includes high-quality grasses, hand-chopped and yes, beer to stimulate their veggies, barley, lethargic more appetites during the warmer, KOBE IS A BASKETBALL PLAYER BASKETBALL A IS KOBE describes. what else that word say tricky to that, it’s … Beyond (“Japanese Wagyu in Japan where is an area (capital city: Kobe) The Hyogo Prefecture cultivate rice in isolated Japanese mountains. 200 years ago to used circa cow”) were friends were the Japanese decided these fatty along the line, supposedly Somewhere better to be eaten. KOBE & KUROBUTA

Some say pigs store their food directly as fat. Beer-fl avored pork, anyone? Photo courtesy Lucies Farm, www.hmdp.net. Some would trade their lives in to be a pig that gets beer and then becomes delicious bacon.

PORK-WORTHY PORK There’s even less truth to the supposed lavish lifestyle of Berkshire pork, despite some of you who may have seen Gordon Ramsay chasing a black pig around with a saucer of beer on his F Show.

In the states, people who raise pork say it is simply too expensive to feed pigs The Berkshire pigs at Lucies Farm in Worcester, England, beer. And those PETA nuts would probably cry foul, even though the singular may be the only ones of their kind to chug a daily elements of beer are usually incorporated into the animals’ diets anyway. brewski. Photo courtesy Lucies Farm, www.hmdp.net.

There are only a few hundred Berkshire pigs love their daily chug of lager, and will slurp it is why some hogs in Italy are famously fed left in their native Britain. And the stories right out of the can. Unfortunately, they don’t acorns to make proscuitto ham. Greenwood about Japanese-raised Berkshires—deemed ship their pork to the states, but they’d love Berkshire pork is fed the raw milk from their “Kurobuta” (“black pig”)—being fed beer and for you to visit if you’re ever in the area natural-raised Jersey cows to impart a creamy massaged with sake cannot be substantiated. (www.luciesfarm.co.uk). fl avor. Unfortunately, the pigs aren’t also fed Neither can stories that a British monarch gifted Walsh says he used to feed the pigs premium beer—but they are turned into a variety of Japanese diplomats with the hogs in the 1800s. beer from a small craft brewhouse near the zesty, garlic-butter and “tailgate” brats, perfect Ask hog farmer Craig Walsh, who farm, but that was more expensive, and kegs for pairing with ales that can stand up to their paid a researcher to document took longer to tap than buying whatever is on unctuous goodness. Try them by ordering off it from the National Archives sale at his local grocers and feeding from the www.greenwoodfarms.com. at Kew. He came up empty- can. Now the pigs get Stella, Heineken, and So, beer and pork fans, it seems as though handed. How the pigs got to other Euro-lagers. you’ll have to be content to have a beer with your Japan is a mystery. They are In the states you can look for Berkshire pork steak instead of in it, if you’re buying stateside. not native. from a few Midwestern farms like Boise, Idaho’s The costs of feeding lager to livestock on this side Now the good news: Walsh Snake River Farms, which helped popularize the of the pond is too high, especially for a nation has taken it upon himself to premium pork, hot on the heels of the cooling that runs its cattle on cheap, abundant corn, make more of the lore a reality. Wagyu trend. despite how that changes the animal’s saturated He ensures his Berkshire pigs Holly Atkinson of Newburg, Missouri’s fat profi le (for the worse). Perhaps you can raise a have a stress-free lifestyle via beer Greenwood Farms says a pig’s diet and lifestyle couple of Berkshires in your backyard, feed them feedings and swims at his Lucies Farm directly affect the taste of its meat. Hogs directly your favorite brews, and then consummate your in Worcester, England. He says the pigs convert to fat whatever they’ve been fed, which friendship over dinner.

[4030]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com beer GAMES Wii pinball!

ays...now we have JAIL HOUSE WIZARD

words: Seth Martin photos: Carl Hyndman Ah the good old d

[42]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Hairy arms make all games look more “manly.” ] 43 [ : where you controlled the steel ball to rack trying as possible as long for not in your living room. The one one The room. living not in your up the most points? If you have no have you If most points? the up the game that you played at an arcade at an arcade played you that game the idea what I am talking about, chances chances about, I am talking what idea o you remember pinball? That’s right, www.fantamag.com are you were born after 1990 and are still living in your if it! But about them ask case—go in which house, parent’s sit back then classics, arcade of sickest the recall do you and prepare for a time warp to the golden age of gaming month This ideas. even were PlayStation and Xbox before tips pinball basic some with you to provide going are we for to battle enough skills your to improve may help that a find can even you if is, That Wizard. Pinball of title the on. to play machine Pinball is a game of skill where the player has to in surface playing in an enclosed ball a steel manipulate is on a game the of surface The points. to score order slope designed to bring the ball, via gravity, back toward the player. The player then must redirect the ball, using the flippers, to keep the turn alive and continue to add points to the score. If the ball passes by the flippers to the a new put then must player the and is over turn that drain, basics the with start Let’s right? easy, Sounds in play. ball and go from there. & www.storemags.com Flippers BONUS POINTS • The fl ippers are the paddles controlled by buttons • Each game has its own custom on the sides of the machine. The button on the bonuses. The challenge is fi guring right side controls the right fl ipper and the button out how to activate them and then to on the left controls the left. Be sure to look over the achieve them consistently. machine, for some machines have more than two fl ippers. In this case, the button or buttons on the • Look and listen: The pinball corresponding side will most likely control all of the machine has lots of lights, sounds fl ippers on that side of the machine. and displays that will guide you in the direction of the bonus areas. Many • The most important rule of Pinball is not to bonus areas are only available for a fl ip both fl ippers at the same time. Only fl ip the short time, so pay attention to the fl ipper that you need to use and let go of the button scoreboard and the lights to gain after you use it. Flipping both or leaving the fl ippers maximum points. When in doubt, try up after use makes you look like a fool and it also to hit any targets or ramps that are lit creates a large hole, which, at times, will allow for the up. This is usually where extra points ball to drain and therefore lose a turn. and bonuses are hidden. • “Drop catch” is the art of catching or stopping the • Multi-ball is a very common bonus ball dead on a fl ipper by pressing and holding the in most pinball machines. The amount fl ipper button at the right moment. This technique of balls differs but the concept of will allow the player total control of the ball and also multiple balls being played at once is aid in more accurate and consistent shots. constant. Keep in mind that a good • “Dead fl ipping” is when the ball hits a fl ipper and strategy is to drop catch one or more the player does not press the button. This technique balls in order to have better control allows the ball to softly bounce off the fl ipper, which slows the ball down and makes it over the remaining live balls. Randomly easier to drop catch. Be careful, if not done correctly the ball can drain and the player will hitting the fl ippers will cause chaos and

We ran out of female models? We lose a turn. may even eliminate any bonus scoring activated prior to the multi-ball. BALL CONTROL • When hitting the ball, keep in mind that the closer to the tip of the fl ipper the ball is, the farther it will travel to the opposite side. Also, the closer to the base of the fl ipper, the more likely the ball is to travel to the same side. Consistency is the key, so practice shooting and soon you will be able to accurately place the ball wherever you like.

• Keep the ball alive: The longer you keep the ball in play the better chance you have to score and activate bonuses. This requires good-hand eye coordination as well as concentration. Remember to keep your eye on the ball!

• Tilt: This is when the player nudges or moves the machine to manipulate a ball that looks to be going down the center into the drain. Nudging the machine is a legal move and may help you prevent the loss FINAL SCORE of a ball and turn. Be careful: Machines have tilt sensors; if the machine is moved too much, the hese basic pinball tips can help display will show “TILT” and that will end your turn. raise your score from zero to hero. T Ending a turn on tilt will also cause the player to lose I wish I could say that being a Pinball any end-of-ball bonuses that were earned during play. Wizard is cool, but chances are you will be made fun of and ridiculed often This can make or break your game depending on the with that kind of title. So break out the amount of points lost. vintage 1970s t-shirts and tuck away your pride. I am sure there is someone out there that will be impressed with your newfound Pinball Wizardry … right? If not, grab some cold beer and some good friends and take a trip back to a time before computers ruled the gaming world!

[44]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER FEATURE

POWERING CARS, CREATING DREAMS and JUST GOOD That’s about $200K per car...yikes that’s a lot of beer. that’s about $200K per car...yikes That’s

AT ENTERTAINING!

hen we fi rst came up with the concept of this magazine we had the idea that beer makes Wthe world work. We enjoy beer just about everywhere and at and every thing we do: weddings, funerals, sports, theater, picnics, TV, talking, you name it. Beer seems to be an important part of our lives in many ways. Even our president tried solving issues over a beer. So it’s not a surprise to many that beer also provides us with many forms of entertainment. Like motorsports. While no beer company is sponsoring a car to suggest that you drink and drive, they do sponsor cars in almost all forms of racing, thus helping deliver the sport to fans, but also providing the beverage with which to watch cars or boats travel insanely fast. We thought it would be interesting to showcase some of those sports fi gures and their cars so we can see how much horsepower beer actually makes. Before, a team of Clydesdales pulled beer—now beer hauls ass!

[46]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com #36 PAPAS & BEER TECATE FORD

Class of Racing: Unlimited 2, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Owner: Rodrigo Ampudia Driver: Rodrigo Ampudia

Sponsors: Tecate Beer, Lucas Oil, Papas & Beer, BF Goodrich Tires, Fox Shoxs, Mastercraft, Simpson, K&N Filters, Pro Power Engines, Caltime, Mexicana Logistics, J & H Transmissions

Chassis: Stamper, Related Fabrication Drive Train: 2WD Engine: Pro Power Ford 3 90 cubic in., 850 hp Fuel: VP late model plus 114 octane Speed: 0 – 60 under 3.5 seconds Top Speed: 115 mph

Suspension: Front: A-Arm, 16 It’s Miller time! in. travel, Fox Shox 3”- 3 bypass suspended coil spring; Rear: 4 link, 18 in. travel, Fox Shox 3”- 4 bypass suspended coil spring Cost Of The Truck: Too many cases of beer (Around $200,000) Wins: Coming soon, but four podiums, second and third places and two second places (third place July 25 Lake Elsinore)

#2 MILLER LITE DODGE

Class of Racing: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Speed stats: 0 – 60 mph in four seconds Owner: Roger Penske Top Speed: 200 mph Driver: Kurt Busch Suspension: Front Suspension: Independent double A-arms; Rear Suspension: Full fl oating live axle with Sponsors: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger trailing arms and panhard rod Cost of the car: $200,000+ Chassis: Front steer Penske chassis Special notes: Kurt Busch—NASCAR Cup Series Drivetrain: Front engine, rear-wheel drive Champion (2004); IROC Series Champion (2003); Engine: R6-P8 V8 Dodge Magnum 5.9-Liter NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year (2000) (358 cubic in.) Wins: NASCAR Cup Series – 19 Horsepower: 850 hp www.kurtbusch.com; www.penskeracing.com Fuel: Sunoco unleaded gasoline

:[47] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Maybe we can solve the energy crisis with beer...cars running on actual beer! Used beer even better! [ 48 ] BUDWEISER/LUCAS OIL TOP FUELDRAGSTER : Xtreme RacingProducts Safety, Technicoat, VPFuel,Weld RacingWheels,XRP– Ignition, Oakley, PAC Valve Springs,S.C.E.Gaskets,Simpson J.E. Pistons,LincolnWelders, MainGate,Meguiars,MSD CNC PerformanceEngineering,EGT, FramFilters,Goodyear, Boninfante ClutchParts.AutoliteXPSparkplugs,Clevite77, Akerly &ChildsPistonRings,BillMillerEngineering,ARP, Brothers Trucking, LaPazProducts,PJ1,RingersGloves, Enterprises, SummitRacingEquipment,Inc.,Cordeiro Sponsors: Budweiser, LucasOil,MacTools, MattCordeiro Driver: BrandonBerstein Owner: KennyBernstein Class ofRacing:NHRA BEER FEATURE www.storemags.com This year marked the thirtieth anniversary Special notes:Thisyearmarkedthethirtiethanniversary Cost ofthecar:$180,000–$200,000-plus Suspension: None Top Speed:330-plusmph Zero to330milesperhourin4.5seconds Zero to275milesperhourin3seconds Zero to100milesperhourin.8seconds Speed stats: Fuel: Nitromethane Horsepower: 7,000to8,000 V-8 block,boreandstroke4.19in.x4.50 Engine: Supercharged500cubicin.TFXaluminumhemi Drivetrain: RWD Chassis: Magnesiumandcarbonfiber & www.fantamag.com www.kennybernstein.com Brandon hasanother17victories! 4 inFunnyCarand2Top Fuel. throughout the30yearsalongwith6NHRAchampionships, Wins: Kennyhas69winsinBudweiser-sponsored cars better nextyear. sponsorship, butwe’llbettheteamisbackandeven was alsoitslast.We’re upsettoseesuchaniconiccarlose of Budweisersponsoringtheteamandunfortunatelyit

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY NASTASE Dear insurance companies...have a beer and relax. ] 49 [ : FactoryClass of Racing: 5 Racing: Camaro/ Series instructor car Mustang Challenge Owner: Richard G. Norgrove Driver: Richard G. Norgrove Sponsors: Bear Republic Brewing Co., RLA Tuning, Sheet Metal, RPM Machine and Dyno Healdsburg Collision, Stewart Transport, American Blastings and Coatings Chassis: Factory Five Racing Mustang 5.0 Drivetrain: 86 – 93 RWD Engine: 302 Ford Horsepower: 225 – 230 hp Fuel: Pump Gas Speed stats: 110 mph in the Factory 5 series neon Raceway at Infi Speed: 110 mph Top Suspension: Old school: springs, shocks and no sway bars Cost of the car: Approximately $15,000 – 20,000 ve. Special notes: Please visit www.factoryfi for more details. com or www.ffrchallenge.com This car is actually purchased as a kit and raced in the challenge series. The car is purchased ve.com. from www.factoryfi Wins: 10 at National Championship in 2008 www.bearrepublic.com #5 BEAR REPUBLIC#5 BEAR 5 FACTORY www.fantamag.com &

www.storemags.com

eer doesn’t actually make horsepower directly but it does fund it. The recent turn in the

FLAG economy has had some dire effects on motorsports on effects dire some had has economy and really, any sport. Much of our entertainment isn’t really supported just by ticket sales, but by the It’s facilities. and cars teams, of sponsors generous not until these things go away that we realize what we had. As many companies close their wallets to these events, we see many forms of racing suffer. We’d like to thank all the companies that sponsor these cars and hope that they continue to so we can enjoy thousands of horsepower racing around … while we drink a beer. Cheers!

B CHECKERED

VANHAP PHOTOGRAPHY BEER 201 GOLDILOCKSand the THREE BEERS Finding the temperature that’s just right for your beer

words: Jay R. Brooks photos: Jason Boulanger

nce upon a time, there was a young blonde co-ed named Goldilocks. She walked into her local bar one night (she was over 21) and, be- ing a poor college senior, looked around for someone to buy her Oa beer. She found an empty table in a corner with three pints of beer just sitting there. She sat down in a chair and took a drink of the first beer. But she couldn’t taste it because it was so cold it numbed her taste buds. “This beer is too cold,” she exclaimed, and moved to the second chair. Goldilocks took a sip of the second beer, but spat it out because it was almost hot and she could taste all sorts of unpleasant things. “This beer is too warm!” She proclaimed. Goldilocks stood up and moved to the third and final chair at the

We’d drink the too cold and warm for her. We’d table. She nervously sat down and reached for the pint of golden beer in front of her. She took a swig, and smiled. This beer wasn’t too cold or too hot. It was cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough to allow all the flavors of the beer to be enjoyed. It was just right. What’s the moral of the story? While often over- looked, the temperature that your beer is served at is more important than most people imagine. Why should it matter that much? Beer is designed so that its full flavors are realized only when it’s consumed at the proper temperature. Too cold and your taste buds are literally numbed, robbing you of actually tasting all of its flavors. Too warm and … well, we all know what warm beer tastes like. Most people have never tasted piss, though most have owned a cat or dog at some point in their lives, and gotten close enough to smell its urine. Some beer, and especially adjunct beer made with rice or corn, gets perilously close to smelling just like that. Good craft beer, on the other hand, and specifically styles that are darker and higher in alcohol, will still taste good as they warm, up to a point. As Goldilocks instinctively knew, extremes on either end of the spectrum are undesirable. Advertising the coldest beer, as some companies do, makes as much sense as saying you have the hottest soup or the coldest ice cream. People don’t—or shouldn’t—want the hottest or coldest anything. They should want whatever they’re eating or drinking to be at the “proper” or ideal temperature to maximize their pleasure and enjoyment of the flavors.

[50]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com WHAT TEMPERATURE THE PERFECT PINT

DOES TO BEER Getting the perfect pint, at just the right Outside the comfort zone, whether too cold or too temperature, is trickier than you might hot, aroma, fl avor, carbonation, texture and clarity suppose. One problem is that beer is are all affected by the temperature at which your generally stored at a colder temperature beer is served. than it should be served. The ideal Aromas are muted when too cold and temperature setting for a refrigerator is exaggerated by being to warm, especially the 35-38 degrees. That’s cold enough to more foul aromas. Likewise, your taste buds substantially slow the growth of bacteria being numbed by cold temperatures on most food, but not too cold as to means you’re not getting all the damage most foods and liquids that fl avors and their combinations should not be frozen. The Draught Beer are distorted. Too warm Quality Manual, recently published by and your beer is no the Brewers Association, recommends longer refreshing and the that beer should be stored at between sensory fl avors have gone 34-38 degrees. haywire, tasting nothing like But they also recommend that the brewer intended. 38-44 degrees “delivers the best taste Cold beer retains more carbon experience for most beer styles.” And dioxide and consequently fi lls you most experts say that, depending on up quicker. Warm beer goes fl at much style, a range of 35-60 (some would quicker and many aromas essentially burn off say 38-55) degrees is ideal. and are lost. Also, at higher temperatures much The basic rule for the serving more foaming occurs. temperature of beer is, the more the

The closer you get to freezing, the greater likeli- alcohol, the warmer the serving temp. Penguins probably want warm beer. hood there is that your beer will develop “chill haze,” Strong beer should be served warmer where particles will begin to appear. These look like than weaker beer. Dark beer should fl akes, as if it’s snowing inside your beer bottle. be served warmer than light beer. And They won’t actually affect the taste of the beer— lagers should be served cooler than it’s only a cosmetic issue—though few people ales. As the Campaign for Real Ale like a snow globe for a beer. distinguishes the two, “colder temperatures allow fully attenuated beers such as pale lagers to be enjoyed for their crispness; while warmer temperatures allow the more rounded fl avors of an ale or a stout to be perceived.” THE ICE IN ICE COLD But since beer should be stored colder than Most people agree that beer can be too warm, but being too cold is not as much of an you should issue for many people. Beer companies have made a tidy living persuading people to drink it, it’s drink their beer “ice cold,” but the truth is the colder the beer is, the less of it you can almost a actually taste, as the closer the temperature gets to freezing (and below it), the more safe bet your taste buds are numbed. that when At colder temperatures, several volatile components you get it in in the beer aren’t released in your mouth and your hand disappear undetected down your throat. it’s going to The beer’s fl avor profi le is considerably be too cold. narrowed and some tastes disappear This also makes completely. Cold beer also affects the it diffi cult for most beer’s balance because hop character bars or restaurants survives better than malt or fruity esters. to serve a wide range This is the reason bland lagers, which of beers at a range of are generally less well hopped, do better temperatures. Assuming at cold temperatures and explains why you can predict how long ales are generally served at warmer it will take to order another temperatures. A good rule of thumb is beer, the best bet is to order the colder the beer, the less of it you can early so the next beer can warm actually taste. up before you take the fi rst sip.

:[51] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com While others are fi ghting over his kids, we’re fi ghting over his beers! [ 52 ] traditional realale developmentprocess. the fl avors andaromasofthemore naturalor you, allthosestepsalsoremoveagreat dealof it sterile.Asdevoteesofrealalewill remind possible, andthenisoftenpasteurized tomake is is removedsothatnomorefermentation tasty, ischilledandfi ltered, and alltheyeast a livingproduct.Otherbeer, whileperfectly inthecaskandis,assuch, continues toferment regular keggedorbottledbeeristhatrealale real ale.Whatdifferentiatesalefrom ale, hand-pumpedorpulledbeersimply referring tocaskbeer, a.k.a.cask-conditioned Your misguidedfriendisundoubtedly fall foranymarketinggimmick. is presumablyjustcold.Peoplewillobviously sitting rightnexttoregularGuinness,which known “GuinnessExtraCold.”You’ll seeit of GuinnessfoundthroughouttheBritishIsles are—that is,toocold.There’s evenavariety are soldjustascoldAmericanbeers beers, especiallythenewlypopularlagers, really is.Many confused aboutwhat“warm” you thatareidiots.That,orthey’realittle It’s warm. is served not.Thepeoplewhotell Many peoplerepeattheliethatBritishbeer THE MYTHOF : TEMPERATURES RECOMMENDED SERVING MICHAEL JACKSON’S 1 4 (pale lagers) “light” beers (45ºF) for Well-chilled Belgian specialties ish ale,stoutandmost (55ºF) for regular Brit- (55ºF) forregular Cellar temperature BEER 201 www.storemags.com WARM BEERINENGLAND 2 other wheatbeers Berliner weisseand Chilled (47ºF)for slightly, toaround cellar temperature lower their in theUKeven Manypublicans traditional manner. inthis and served than onethat’s made good abeercantaste fi nd nobetterexampleofhow cool. Anddonecorrectly, you’ll That’s consideredproperlychilledor tasteandaromathebrewerintended. of every released andyoucangetthefullenjoyment but atthattemperatureallofitsfl avors are bland lagersmostAmericansareusedto, thanthe Itmaybewarmer is hardlywarm. generally between54-57degrees,which atis cellar temperaturerealaleisserved purposes,isabout60degrees.The serving Generally inEurope,roomtemperature,for rooms beforethedaysofcentralheating. they’re talkingaboutthedraftypre-industrial people insistit’s roomtemperature. Butifso, kept atcellartemperature,thoughsome Oncedeliveredtoapub,thesealesare I serving temperatures: easier-to-remember fi ve-point scalefor writer MichaelJacksononceproposedan after anightofrevelry—legendarybeer much tokeepinyourhead—especially f theguidelinesbybeerstylearetoo 5 & beer) andbarleywine. ales (especiallytrappist (60ºF) for strong dark (60ºF) forstrong Room temperature www.fantamag.com 3 and German wheatbeers and German all darklagers,altbier Lightly chilled(48ºF)for beer doesn’t getanycooler.” up,butwarm pint. Coolbeerquicklywarms offcustomerswithatepid rather thanturn “In general,it’s bettertogoslightlytoolow Bell, publicanofLondon’s Gunmaker Arms. temperatureforale,”reasonsJeff serving [51.8 degreesFahrenheit]istheoptimum “Personally, Ithink11degreesCelsius makes themostsense. it tocomeupjusttherighttemperature 52 degrees,withtheideathatallowing Just remember it’s better to start with a cold beer. You can’t make it colder when sitting. ] 53 [ : 45-50° F 50-55° F 40-45° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 48-53° F 40-45° F 45-50° F 48-53° F 35-40° F 40-45° F 45-50° F 45-50° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 45-50° F 40-45° F 50-55° F 48-53° F 48-53° F 50-55° F 48-53° F 40-45° F 45-50° F 45-55° F 35-40° F 35-40° F 45-50° F 45-50° F 40-45° F 40-45° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 38-45° F 45-50° F 50-55° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 45-50° F 45-50° F 50-55° F 35-40° F 45-55° F 50-55° F 45-50° F 40-45° F 40-50° F 48-53° F Amber Ale Barley Wine Belgian Ale Belgian Strong Biere de Garde Bitters Blonde Ale Bock Brown Ale Calif. Common Cream Ale Dark Lager Double IPA Dubbel ESB Farmhouse Fruit Beer Gueuze Hefeweizen Helles Imperial Stout IPA Kölsch Lambic (Fruit) Lambic Macro Lagers Malt Liquor Märzen Mild N/A Nitro Stout Oatmeal Stout Oktoberfest Old Ale Pale Ale Pilsner Porter Quadrupel Real Ale Red Ale Saison Scotch Ale Smoked Beer Steam Beer Stout Strong Ale Tripel Lager Vienna Wheat Beer Witbier RECOMMENDED TEMPS SERVING STYLE BY BEER agreement no universal While there’s the followingon the ideal temperature, be a good start.ranges by beer style will www.fantamag.com & FROSTY THEFROSTY BEER MUG Often times a bar or restaurant Often times a bar or restaurant will serve your beer in a frosted glass. Generally speaking, that’s a that’s glass. Generally speaking, terrible idea. A frosted, frozen terrible idea. A frosted, glasses stored in the freezer chemicallyglasses stored in the freezer alters the beer and changes its taste, alters the beer and changes and causes foaming due to nucleation and causes foaming due sites. When beer drops below freezing, the sites. When beer drops ingredients begin to break down, primarily ingredients begin to break the proteins that come out of solution. This the proteins that come causes them to separate and form small fl akes causes them to separate and form small fl that swim around in the beer and make it cloudy, that swim around in the beer and make it cloudy, www.storemags.com but this process is often sped up when beer is but this process is often sped up when beer is poured into a freezing container like a frosted poured into a freezing container like a frosted glass. Of course, because of the alcohol, beer glass. Of course, because of the alcohol, beer freezes at a point that’s already slightly below freezing, freezes at a point that’s the exact point depending on the percentage of alcohol. the exact point depending on the percentage Alcohol itself freezes at -173 degrees. Some American domestic lagers do just fi ne in a frosted Some American domestic lagers do just fi mug because their fl avor profi les are already so light that avor profi mug because their fl serving them at very cold temperatures does little to alter their taste. Frozen glasses can cause a beer to foam excessively, excessively, taste. Frozen glasses can cause a beer to foam further robbing you of aromas and fl avor. The key for frosted avor. further robbing you of aromas and fl mugs is that they should be dry before being placed in a freezer, mugs is that they should be dry freezer, before being placed in a otherwise a sheet of ice may build up inside the glass.

t may seem almost ridiculous to put so much emphasis on the temperature at which your beer is served, but as Goldilocks can tell you, only the beer In the “just right” will fully satisfy. that’s home, just a little effort to bring your beer up to the right temperature will make it allowing it to realize its full taste better, potential. When out in the world, insist that the place where you buy your beer temperature. pays attention to your beer’s If they won’t, then they obviously aren’t a place that deserves your business. Move “just right,” too. nd the bar that’s on and fi taste buds will thank you. Your I WORK TEMP BEER FUTURE The Of FUTURE

Flying car, auto industries that make money…and beer!

words: Luke McKinney

hey had beer in SOLAR POWERED BEER We predict there will be beer tomorrow...free beer tomorrow! predict there will be beer tomorrow...free We the past, back to The award-winning craft brewers at Sierra Coupled with a set of natural gas fuel cells the 5,000 BCE and Nevada prove that going green doesn’t mean brewery can now power itself on sunny days. living in a tent or giving up the good stuff. The entire electrical grid could fail and they’d T before. We have They’ve installed the third-largest private solar still be brewing. With rising gas prices and beer in the present (or power plant in the United States, meaning a collapsing economy it looks like the world you’re reading an imaginary that the sun doesn’t just drive the growth of could go Mad Max at any moment, but even the hops and malts—it powers the brewery after the downfall of civilization there’ll still magazine). But what does too. It’s hard to get greener without being a be Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Which is good, the future hold? Will Buck jealous Incredible Hulk. because in a post-apocalyptic wasteland Rogers be blasting bad They’ve got 30,000 square feet of solar you’re going to need a drink. guys with a badass brew paneling (forming a roof for their car parks so that no space is wasted). in his hand, or will we go all sissy Star Trek without a real drink in sight? Here’s a hint: We wouldn’t be writing about the latter. Advancing technology has always benefited beer, from improved distribution to brand-new brewing techniques, but with today’s super-science brewers are more like Bond villains: harnessing the sun, genetic engineering, even robotic henchmen, all to help pour you a cold one.

[54]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Our robot-tenders would be female, but one with a gun for an arm is cool too. ] 55 [ : SPACE BEER might be the best- “Space barley” beer everat-out-coolest fl named and breweries collaboratedmade. Sapporo Academy of Sciencewith the Russian and the International Station Space fromto brew 100 liters of beer in space.ingredients entirely grown that humanityWhich just goes to show all nations,can work together across for if it’s and even off the planet, something worthwhile. The barley was part experiment of an vital for futureon growing crops in space, long-termwere missions, and once they not going to harvested Sapporo asked, “You’re The result is a 5.5 percentwaste those, are you?” (sorry), literally out of this world and beer that’s probably the most exclusive booze ever made. buy it. Instead, chances to taste the even can’t You space beer were distributed by lottery. allowed to aren’t ISS astronauts Ironically, drink beer because of the gas content. The phrase a“as welcome as a fart just in a spacesuit” isn’t joke. But now we know that even when mankind have to be stay reaches for the stars, he won’t sober for the trip. www.fantamag.com & www.storemags.com ALL life’s problems.” ALL life’s ANTI-CANCER BEER Students at Rice University are turningStudents at beer into can only turn most kids in college medicine, while They’re and embarrassing memories. it into urine engineering a new formgenetically of yeast, and add resveratrol, which will both brew beer shown to combat been the chemical in wine that’s cancer and heart and in tests on lab animals it also extends disease. Oh, only be better if they paid you to drink it. lifespans. It could honestly Unfortunately before you can pick up a few anti-cancer it’ll be a while and steps in the science that need working out, cans. There are still a few more yeasts cleared by the FDA is slightly getting genetically engineered cult than getting a concealed carry permit House. But it’s in the White diffi the this (and more) engineered alcohols hit only a matter of time before to be true when they say “Beer: the solution market, and then it’ll really ANTI-CANCER BEER ROBOT BARTENDERS a metal barman.Asahi beer may have made the best robot ever: Why whining when you could have the mechanical listen to C3PO’s only a prototype, but the Asahi” pour you a cold one? It’s “Mr. hydraulic server is perfectly adapted to the task with built-in bottle openers and a special rotating section, which lets him also some good press for robots— serve in seconds. It’s 16 beers an android on our side. nally there’s fi after decades of Terminators, While only a PR stunt at the moment, robotenders are a perfect solution to the worst problem on any night out: Instead of waiting 10 minutes when all you want is a beer. busy with queuing up for the human bartender (who’s ve food orders, three martinis and one person who, fi quite, ah, know what they want) um, doesn’t you can get in fast-moving line for the Instant And for beer. like an ATM It’s Beer-o-Matic. the best machine idea possible until that’s someone invents robotic cheerleaders. (To ts: when say nothing of the security benefi your staff includes somebody weighing a quarter of a ton and made of metal, you won’t have to worry about troublemakers.) Remember when we said Sierra Nevada used fuel cells Remember when we said Sierra Nevada used mention— as well as solar power? What we didn’t can be because too much coolness in one paragraph In 2006 dangerous—is that those fuel cells run on beer. their natural gas fuel cells to use gured they reconfi cient than methane generated by brewing—far more effi clear rooms beer drinkers, who only use their methane to and cause embarrassed silences. the more beer This leads to the incredible situation where the less natural gas they need, so the less they they brew, can generate 400 kilowatts entirely At full output they pay. panels thefrom beer byproducts. Between this and the solar brewery can actually generate more electricity than it needs, then sell the surplus to the sapped California power grid. twice forThey’ve found a way to brew beer and get paid doing so. Who says drinking makes you stupid? BEER POWER! HOMEBREW

Isn’t having fun just drinking it? HAVING FUN WITH HOMEBREWING THROW SOME PRETZELS AND PEANUT BUTTER IN YOUR MASH words and photos: Rob Sterkel ike many that pursue excellence in their interests, homebrewers can lose sight of the fun that attracted them to the hobby in the first place. The wonder and excitement of creating great beer from a pile of ingredients can become lost to details like mash efficiency, gravity readings and yeast pitching rates. I’m guilty of this and often fret over minor details that won’t matter to the Lfinished product, or can be left to do some other time. Author and founder of the American Homebrewer’s Association Charlie Papazian has had the answer all along: “Relax. Don’t worry. Have a homebrew.”

A great way to loosen up and just have the science behind different processes and homebrewing the fun hobby it should fun with your beer is to experiment with ideas, you are also expanding your palate be. They range from fun and creative to some wacky brewing ideas. The plus beyond the norm and increasing creativity. downright goofy. Cut loose and try a few; side is, nearly everything you do as a So it’s a win-win situation. if you think they sound amateurish, well, if homebrewer, even the disasters, are For those with a tendency to be uptight the shoe fi ts, pick it up and put it on. learning experiences. While discovering here are a handful of ideas to keep

[56]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com A Few Fun Ideas If you’re an all-grain or mini-mash brewer, pick up a box of ✱ your favorite breakfast cereal. Start with your favorite type of beer to brew and add the contents to your grain bill. Brew with soda pop. This one is open to all types of ✱ homebrewers. You can add soda during the mash in place of some of your water, in the boil or to the fermenter. Natural sodas work great for this if you can fi nd them. Using a good amount of healthy yeast will usually overcome any ill effects from chemicals or preservatives in typical soda. Just don’t use “diet” products: you want the sugar, as well as the fl avor. Brew a batch with your favorite baked item, like pie, cake, ✱ Pop Tarts or donuts. Have you ever wanted to make a pumpkin ale but didn’t know what spices to add? Dumping an entire pie in your mash takes the guesswork out of it. A wheat beer with blueberry waffl es? Add the whole plate, with syrup, to your mash. Mmm … breakfast on the go. Pretzels go with beer, so add a bag or two to your brew. ✱ Think salt in beer sounds odd? It’s one of the key ingredients (along with coriander) in the German beer style Gosebier, and the wheat in pretzels is fermentable. Brew with ingredients you fi nd at the grocery store. Yams, soda, fruit, jelly or jam, ✱ baked goods, peanut butter, brown sugar, molasses and ginger, instant rice or potatoes and oatmeal. RECIPE 12-Gallon All-Grain Wheat Ale Go wild. Brew a batch and rack half of it to a plastic bucket and set it outside overnight O.G. = 1.040 – 1.045 ✱ uncovered to see what wild yeast does to it, compared to your typical fermentation. It may take a while for this beer to reach its end result, but observing the process is interesting INGREDIENTS: Rob is like a mad scientist of home brewing! in itself. To avoid contaminating your equipment with whatever wild yeast you may pick up it 12 pounds 2-row would be a good idea to designate a bucket and any plastic tubing for this purpose, or use a 11 pounds wheat malt food grade plastic liner inside your bucket. .50# aromatic malt .25 Crystal 120 .25 Melanoidin malt 16 oz. organic pretzels 1 cup rice hulls Plan For Batches: PELLET HOPS: At fi rst I thought this experiment 1 oz. Willamette 5.1% (60 minutes) was a little lame. It gave me an 1 oz. Willamette 5.1% (1 minutes) excuse to try two beers that intrigued me, but I had never wanted to commit YEAST: an entire batch to peanut butter beer and S-05 dry ale yeast spontaneously fermented beer. MASH SCHEDULE 153° F for 60 minutes I thought peanut butter in beer sounded Boil 15.5 gallons, 60 minutes ridiculous, until I tried one from The Ferment at 68 – 73° F Sandlot Brewery, located at Coors Field O.G. – 1.040 in Denver, Colorado. Better known for being the birthplace of Blue Moon Belgian Wit, they also make a fantastic peanut butter beer. I’m not a fan of sour beers produced by spontaneous fermentation with wild yeast or the introduction of bacteria like Brettanomyces. However, the process and whether or not there are tasty yeast lurking around me was too interesting to pass up. Adding peanut butter. Since I had no idea how any of these weird ideas were going to turn out, I decided to brew 12 gallons of basic wheat ale and split it up into four smaller batches adding different ingredients to each.

:[57] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com HOMEBREW

Rack 5-gallons onto a box #1 of crumbled up Pop-Tarts (blueberry)

Rack 5-gallons onto a 26 oz. #2 jar of all-natural peanut butter Rack one gallon onto 1 quart #3 of cream soda Leave one gallon open #4 overnight to pick up any wild yeast (no yeast added), then rack to a one-gallon jug for fermentation.

Use all-natural peanut butter. Adding cream soda. Adding blueberry Pop Tarts.

I like ham sandwiches can we make a beer with that? BATCH COMPARISONS AND EVALUATION:

POP-TART = FINAL GRAVITY 1.004 • A low CREAM SODA = F.G. 1.002 • Super low FG FG, but still a hint of sweetness. I don’t pick with a very malty aroma at bottling. After out anything fruity, which is hard to believe. 10 days of bottle conditioning this beer I know traditional fruit beers lose a lot of poured with great clarity and a bright their fruit character when the fruit addition white head. The malty aroma still prevails is made in the primary fermenter, but with hints of fruit or vanilla in the I thought there would be plenty of background. Wonderfully smooth and residual artifi cial blueberry fl avor left surprisingly, not too dry on the palate. behind. Not so. Tastes like a good, Tastes like some imperial pilsners without slightly cloudy wheat beer with no real the cloying sweetness and high alcohol blueberry fl avor. Never really noticed any content. The character of this beer stands blueberry aromatics being blown off during well above the others and is my favorite fermentation. If you really think about it you of the split batch experiment. can almost taste the Pop-Tart frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER = F.G. 1.004 • Barely sweet, WILD = F.G. 1.001 • This beer was much slower slightly tart and I swear, a little bit salty. to ferment than the others and I was uneasy Somewhat hazy with a fantastic aroma of about bottling something so unpredictable. I toasted nuts. There’s no mistaking the fl avor tried several cloudy samples straight out of of peanut butter from fi rst sip to fi nish. A the fermenter; all tasted sour and offensive. touch of caramel malt would balance this Having never made a spontaneously well, or the addition of a non-fermentable fermented beer I’m not sure what to expect, sugar like lactose to add some sweetness. either it’s well on its way, or it’s total crap Forget the light wheat beer, this would that will explode in the closet. At 1.001 I rock in a velvety smooth chocolate stout! can’t see how it will change much more. It The extreme fat content of the peanut smells like old wet leaves or a garden after butter really didn’t have that bad of an a few sub-freezing fall nights. Its fl avor is effect on the head. It’s not thick and fl uffy, surprisingly bland and subtly spicy. Not good but leaves nice lacing and a solid ring of white really, but interesting enough to leave in the foam around the perimeter of the glass. fermenter to see what happens.

[58]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Becoming a HOME BREWER IS easier than you think.

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www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com HOMEBREW Fun BREW ObsErvatiOns/tips: • Wet pretzels look and feel like worms. • I need to have more fun. • Nothing is above a bath in sanitizing solution, not even Pop-Tarts. • Pour off the excess oil from natural peanut butter and microwave for 60-90 seconds to make pouring easier (make sure the container is microwave-safe). • It would be easier to brew in a bucket when using peanut butter. • Wash everything with warm Powdered Brewery Wash after a session like this. • Use a piece of screen on top of your wild beer to let the yeast in and keep Small Batch Brewing the bugs out. ick up a one-gallon glass jug and the appropriate rubber stopper from your local homebrew store or use a half-gallon growler from your localP brewery. Brewing batches this size is especially easy with extract recipes, or you We want some of Robs Pop Tart beer sent to us immediately! want some of Robs Pop Tart We can split the wort from a batch among several small fermenters. Small batch brewing is a simple, economical way to try different yeast strains, different fermentation temperatures, fruits and spices without committing the entire batch. Group Activities Hold a group brew session. If you have some homebrewing friends or belong to a club, get together and plan a beer with parameters for participants like using a set list of ingredients, or allow brewers to pick their choice of yeast while following the same recipe. The results are surprising and usually enjoyable. As a variation of the small batch method, brew together and send the wort home with your brewing friends. Let them do whatever they want from that point on. In a few weeks gather the fermented results and have a tasting. You’ll be amazed at the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between each brewer’s beers. Host a “stone soup” brew session. Invite some fellow brewers over and have each bring an ingredient. Formulating a recipe with a random selection of base malt, specialty malts, hops and yeast is not only fun, it’s a great way to use up those leftover ingredients. Other Uses side from making beer with weird things, find creative uses for your brewing byproducts. Use your beer, spent grains or some malt extract in bread, cookies A or pancakes. I’ve even seen homebrewers use hop cones in homemade soap. I would love to shower with hop soap. Save your spent grains and add them to a compost pile. Squirrels love spent grain. My LBS (Local Brew Squirrel) was sitting at the back door once when I opened it to empty and clean my mash tun. I poured the grain on the ground and soon he was standing on his head in the still-steaming grain, chowing down.

[60]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com HOMEBREW

words: Rob Sterkel RED ROCK WHEAT 10 gallon All-Grain Recipe American Wheat Ale

10 lbs. 2-Row Malt 10 lbs. Wheat Malt 1.5 lbs. Cara Red 1 Cup Rice Hulls 2 oz. Tettnang Pellet Hops (60 min.) 2 oz. Tettnang Pellet Hops (1 min..) 1 Tbsp. Crushed Coriander Seeds (5 min.) SAISON 10 gallons-All-Grain Recipe Citrus Zest—2 Lemons, 2 Limes, 2 Oranges (5 min. in muslin bag) 21 lbs. 2-Row Malt 2 Whirfl oc Tablets (10 min.) 2 lbs. Wheat Malt

Yeast: 1.5 lbs. Dingemans Caravienne 1 Vial White Labs 320 American 4 oz. Kent Goldings Pellet Hops (60 min.) Hefeweizen Yeast 2 oz. Kent Goldings Pellet Hops (10 min.) 1 Vial White Labs 001 Cal. Ale 2 oz. Kent Goldings Pellet Hops (0 min.)

Procedure: 2 Vials WLP568 Belgian Style Saison Mash at 153° F for 60 minutes and boil Ale Yeast or Wyeast Labs Belgian Saison 13.5 gallons for 60 minutes. Ferment at Yeast—3724 68-73° F. Procedure: Comments: Mash at 154-156° F for 60 minutes Inspired by Shock Top from and boil 13.5 gallons for 60 minutes. Anheuser-Busch, this is an Ferment at 75-80° F. easy-drinking warm weather beer. Comments: I crushed the Coriander seeds in This is a good beer to brew when a coffee mill and added directly the temperature outside is too to the boil. high to keep your fermentation O.G. 1.040 temperature in check. It has F.G. 1.003 plenty of fl avor and body and the Saison yeast is very tolerant of temperatures into the 80s. Spice Tones. O.G. 1.052 F.G. 1.010

[61]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER FEATURE Don has FOUR tap handles...who isn’t jealous of that? Some bars don’t have that.

BUILDING A

Kegeratorwords & photos: Don Osborn HO DOESN’T LOVE DRAFT BEER, WITH ITS SUPPLE CARBONATION, GLORIOUS COLOR AND THE INDISTINGUISHABLE QUALITIES THAT MAKE IT DIFFERENT THAN BEER FROM A BOTTLE? Sometimes, though, you don’t feel like trekking to a W bar. Sauntering to the basement or garage, however: you can do that. Having draft beer available day or night is perhaps one of the more respectable achievements of modern man. I should know; I’ve had a setup for almost six years. Homebrewers are perhaps more likely to have draft beer at home because it means they only have to bottle one big container instead of 50 smaller ones. But beer lovers who like to buy in bulk and love draft beer also have an interest in building a kegerator.

[62]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com It takes a Beer FrIdge to make a kegerator It all starts with the fridge. This can be a normal freezer-on-top model, a smaller dorm-size fridge or even a chest freezer, provided you buy a temperature controller to allow it to run warmer than designed. Maybe you convince your wife that she needs a new fridge. You tell her you will “take care” of the old one. Voila, a kegerator is born. Another option is to find a free or cheap used fridge on Craigslist or another local-area trading Web site. I have obtained two free fridges this way. One consideration you might have using an older, less-efficient fridge is that it will cost more to run. Some people run the numbers and decide it is worth it in the long run to buy a new one, but it is hard to say “no” to your uncle’s free fridge that still runs well. Your freezer-on-top fridge may be made more useful by building a platform for the inside bottom of the fridge. When you remove the drawers you will see a slanted part in the back, which cuts down on your usable square footage. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but something that will allow you to use the full square footage of the bottom of the fridge while yet allowing enough height for your kegs and tubing can be useful (see pic). A 2 line system is about $275! One like $200!!!

A platform allows you to fit more kegs and bottles in your fridge.

You Wanted the Rest, You Got the Rest

here is a lot of choice in how you assemble the rest T of the needed parts. You can spend a lot and get the best equipment and options, or you can cobble together a cheaper system by shopping around, buying used, looking for deals and doing it yourself. You can also buy kits that include most of what you will need in one easy purchase. However you do it, many components are required. We recommend shopping at www.midwestsupplies.com.

Use caution when drilling through the side of the fridge. You can leave the carbon dioxide tank inside if space is not a concern. Putting the CO2 tank outside leaves more room for kegs inside.

:[63] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Beer feature

CO2 tank and drilling thrOugh fridge • For most people a 5 lb. tank The default gauge on this will be sufficient. Shop around welding supply or homebrew stores for regulator went up to 300 psi, the best deal. If you are going to have more than one keg you will need making it hard to set it at 10. I got a CO2 distributor to split one line of CO2 into one line for each keg. this 0-60 gauge for under $10. The placement of the CO2 tank is up to you. You have more room for kegs and beer bottles if you have it outside the fridge. Having it outside also means you can monitor and adjust the pressure without having to open the door. However, it means you will have to drill a hole through the side. Before drilling, do some research on your fridge to locate the cooling coils, because they may be on the side. If you drill into one of them, set your drill down and say hello to your brand new, fridge-shaped paper weight, because that is all it will be good for. Some people try to drill from the inside out first so they can break through the inner plastic and then use another sharp object to carefully poke through insulation to make sure there is no cooling coil there before drilling out through the outside metal. After drilling, file the metal edge of the hole slightly so it won’t cut the plastic tubing. Caulk around the hole once the tubing is in place to minimize cooling loss.

fauCets • You have a lot of options when it • CO2 regulatOr This allows you to control comes to dispensing your beer. Picnic party the pounds per square inch (psi) pressure your taps (aka cobra taps) are cheap and easy, tank will use. Depending on the regulator you but you will have to open the fridge door might end up replacing the gauge but that is each time you want a beer. Door-mounted pretty cheap. For most of us a single economy faucets are cooler, easier, and more fun, regulator is enough, but you can get other but they cost more. Chrome, plastic, brass regulators that allow for different psi settings and stainless steel are some of the options Check to see if other handles fit BEFORE you have beer flowing.... for different kegs. You can get a regulator that Measure and mark the holes for the to consider, varying in price and durability. purports to tell you how much CO2 you have faucets. Make sure they can go into a Some of the faucets now are “forward left, but these cost more and I have been told are good place (shelf, butter tray, etc sealing,” which helps minimize sticking from not very accurate. leftover beer drying up. If you are using a smaller dorm-size fridge you could get a tower faucet that mounts on top. A nitro faucet is yet another option for pouring creamy stouts, but in addition to a different faucet you will also need a tank of beer gas (nitro/CO2 mix). Tap handles can make your kegerator uniquely your own and give it personality. You can often purchase the same eye- catching tap handles you see in the bar, but the cheap and simple black plastic ones ultimately work just as well (and are easier to manage).

Get a friend with a hole saw to come over and drill holes for the shanks.

You might want to use a board to give the shanks a sturdier backing than the Stainless steel forward-sealing faucets, shanks, clamps plastic of the fridge door. and black plastic tap handles.

[64]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com kegS • Cornelius kegs are the silver, tall, slender soda pop kegs. • ShankS If you have door-mounted faucets you will need They are popular with homebrewers because they are easy to set shanks. A shank goes through the fridge door and is what the up and maintain. They can be cheap and were easy to find but faucet screws on to. It is also what the beer tubing connects to in are slightly less so now. They should still be around, maybe from order to send the beer from the keg to the faucet. They can be a brewer getting out of the hobby or with a few to spare. Or try purchased in different lengths depending on your situation. eBay,Craigslist or other homebrew retailers. For more on setting up these kegs see Beer issue #11 July/Aug 2009. A CO2 splitter to split one line into You might consider corny kegs even if you are not a multiple lines for multiple kegs. homebrewer. Some local breweries are willing to fill your corny keg! If interested, do some searching and calling for breweries/ brewpubs in your area willing to do this. State laws and brewery policies vary but in some places this is possible. Otherwise you will be buying kegs of beer from a liquor store, putting down a deposit, and going from there. The size of the keg depends on space and how much you plan to drink…

all-in-one kitS • You can buy just about everything you will need (except for the keg of beer) in one easy purchase. These kits can come with the tubing, coupler, tap, shank, even a CO2 tank and regulator. This might be the easiest way to get started, but perhaps not the cheapest. Midwest Supplies has kits designed to work with both so check them out www.midwestsupplies.com tubing anD ConneCtionS • Whether you have Cornelius (“corny”) kegs or more common commercial Sanke kegs, you will need tubing for the CO2 (gas line) and for the beer

(beverage line). You will also need keg connectors (quick ...Ask Derek he spilled a lot of beer screwing it on and finding out turned the tap on! disconnects, couplers, etc.). Most likely these can be purchased from the same retailer where you purchase the other components.

Drip tray (optional) – It might complete the look of your kegerator to have a drip tray. Depending on your fridge and setup, you might want one. If your kegerator is in the garage on a cement floor, you might not care. But if you have one with nice faucets in your basement it might be more impressive and keep some beer off the carpet.

Maintenance. If you do not buy forward-sealing faucets and you experience sticky taps, you might have to keep them clean after each use. Tap lines need to be cleaned and possibly sanitized between kegs of beer. If you are re-using kegs as opposed to returning empty ones to the liquor store, you will need to have the equipment to disassemble, clean and sanitize your kegs. Other than that though, there is not much to it. Once you have a leak-free CO2 tank/keg/faucet system, there is not much to maintain on a daily basis. Well, other than keeping a fine beer glass—any size will do—clean and ready to be filled with wonderful draft beer. A trip to the garage or basement was never so well rewarded.

:[65] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEHIND THE BREW

Traveling to drink beer is a tough job. Traveling Cold Spring Brewing Company words & photos: Derek Buono

S I SAT IN A PLANE ON A REDEYE FLIGHT OUT TO MINNESOTA, I got to watch the sun rise over the Midwest and see the vivid green foliage peak out of the darkness. If you know your state license plate slogans, Minnesota is Athe “land of 10,000 lakes,” and that’s no lie. Speckled between the lush green were more lakes than I’ve ever seen. I didn’t count 10,000, but there were more than fi ve– that’s as high as I can count. When I landed, I hopped in my rental car and started the hour-and-a-half drive to Cold Spring. I was still tired from the fl ight since the guy next to me thought it would be a good idea to talk to somebody behind him all night. It’s hard to sleep with a guy talking right in your ear. I guess that’s the risk of taking a red-eye and probably why it’s called that.

As I drove out to Cold Spring—which, quarries and provides a lot of granite for and the better the water, the better the as you can guess, was named after a countertops around the country. I learned beer. So this place defi nitely has the basis spring—I started to notice a few things. this after I asked the guys at the brewery for making great beer. That natural spring, The fi rst thing was a neon sign that said why there were so many. I was also told some of the friendliest people around and “Amish” at a furniture store, which for that that same granite provided a pure a brewery that dates back to the early some reason made me laugh a lot. The water source for the area, and a cold 1900s are a good recipe for beer. So when second was there were about 20 granite spring that literally maintained a frost ring I pulled into the parking lot for the brewery stores on the street, and unless I couldn’t year-round. That’s pretty impressive since in a town with just over 5,000 people I see correctly, there were barely any homes it was about 90 degrees and pretty humid. knew I was in for a good tour and a great around to support giant “rock stores.” Water is something we beer drinkers two days of seeing what the area had to It turns out the area is known for their love, since it is the basis for our fi ne liquid offer and drink some beer.

[66]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com History *Taken from Cold Spring Brewing Co.’s notes own history N 1857 ON THE BANK OF THE IMISSISSIPPI RIVER IN AN AREA THAT WOULD SOMEDAY BE KNOWN AS MINNEAPOLIS, GERMAN IMMIGRANT GOTTLIEB GLUEK STARTED THE MISSISSIPPI BREWING COMPANY. Soon the name was changed to the Gluek Brewing Company, and by 1964 Gluek became Minneapolis’s oldest continuously operated business. In 1858 the company brewed 3,996 barrels of beer, and by 1901 the annual capacity was second only to the two “giants,” the Minneapolis Brewing Company (later renamed as the Grain Belt) and the Theodore Hamm Brewery Company of St. Paul. The earliest mode of delivery was by horse-drawn wagon, which limited the geographic area that could be served. Prior to Prohibition, 95 percent of Gluek sales were in the city of Minneapolis. The Gluek Brewing Company maintained a But somebody has to do it! stable of huge horses to haul a mammoth beer wagon full of the golden brew. There were 110 draft horses during their heyday. Those sleek, powerful teams of Percheron draft horses, the early trademark of the brewing industry, soon gave way to trucks. The horses reappeared briefl y on city streets during WWII, when company vice president Arthur Gluek put them back to work to help conserve gasoline and soft drinks along with other products. rubber for the war effort. Nearly half of the Minnesota breweries Gottlieb Gluek worked hard to keep would not survive to celebrate the repeal. his dream going and growing. Even a When Prohibition ended April 7, 1933, fi re in March of 1880 that gutted the Gluek went back into producing real beer. brewery could not defer his dream. No Alvin Gluek, then-plant superintendent, life was lost to the fi re, but the brewery was concerned about their customers was insuffi ciently insured and the Gluek and told the local press that “police family took a $20,000 loss. Despite protection will be necessary if the the reservations of others, Gluek used lame and the halt are not to be trampled family funds to rebuild the brewery, and underfoot, and fenders and running it was larger and more modern than its boards of family automobiles are not to predecessor. The real cost of the tragedy, STATS: be squeezed and bumped.” however, was much greater. The strain of Gluek kept pace with technology, fi rst the loss and the effort to rebuild the plant Master Brewer: ...... Mike Kneip by using one-way containers (cans) for their contributed to the unexpected death of beer. Then they introduced a revolutionary Brewer:...... Kenrick Carrigan its founder in October of that year, at the new malt beverage called “Stite,” a age of fi fty-two. forerunner of today’s light beer. Some Number of Employees: ...... 278 By 1920, of the 114 breweries that drinkers claimed it had a higher-than- started between 1878 and 1920, 51 Date Founded: ...... 1857 average alcohol content and the beverage had survived to be devastated by the gained the name “Green Lightning.” “noble experiment” of Prohibition. During Brewing Capacity: 350,000 barrels Grudgingly, in 1964, the Gluek family that period Gluek did what many other bowed to economic reality. The venerable breweries did—turned to “near beer” and old brewery at 20th and Marshall was

:[67] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com If you go to the brewery on a Wednesday ask where to get Bologna! [ 68 ] THE BREW beHIND THE : Mike kneip Q&A with unique. We malts usechocolate of ingredientmakes itevenmore beer withourprocessandthelist It takesalongtimetobrewthis add anewdimensiontothebeer. barrelchipsto fresh bourbon-age came upwithaprocesstouse we This beerisuniqueinthat positive feedbackfromeverywhere! rich inflavor. We’re getting alotof despite beinghighinalcoholand drinkable isvery unique beerthat for “John Henry” anditisavery and cameupwiththerecipe down tothemasses.won’t appeal We sat ofingredients,combination butit it’s easytomakesomestrange unusual andstilldrinkable. Ithink “the boss” was abeerthat tocreate Mike: We gottheinstructionsfrom out todowithJohnHenry? average. Isthissomethingyouset makesmost are great--which traditional beerandmostofthem makesa market? Everybody standsoutintoday’sa beerthat combination. great combining thosetwotraitsisa waypossible.to doitinany Ithink andtry anything willingness totry ofyouthisthe I thinktheadvantage equipment. torun that how knowing work. is ofage The advantage tomakeit how finesse toknow acertain itcreates machinery but whenyou’reworkingwith groupofpeople,and constoany Mike: pros There arealways vs. youthhave? brewers. doage advantages What twoyounger brewer andyouhave consistent. beeristobemost difficultofany the keyelements, andoneofthe is keptconsistentandtrue. Oneof productgoal istomakesurethat We designabeer, thenourmutual Mike: No, there’s neveraconflict. “chefs inthekitchen?” conflict ofideaswithsomany on staffmakingbeer. Isthereany Beer: You’ve gottwobrewers How hardisittomake Beer:How Beer:You (Mike)arethehead www.storemags.com huge flavor. a smooth, beerwith approachable processfor together inthelagering allcomes yeastthat and agreat with oats, threevarietiesofhops, sanitation iscritical.sanitation drinks wemakeare blendedso less ofaworry, butsomeofthe rules. boiledsoit’s Beerisalways those tofollow plant sowehave regulations. We’re moreofafood we makefallunderdifferent [production] andotherdrinks the samebuildingasjuice Mike: isin Becauseourbrewery allabout? wasthat brewery—what We’ve neverseenthisbeforeina had towearhairandbeardnets. by doingboth. point isonlymademoreclearthat important inbothprocesses, and running separate. isvery Sanitation processes andwekeepthem Mike: No, theyaretwodifferent brewing process? youdointhe changed anything tothinkabout. that contract brewingsowealsohave being drinkable. We alsodolotsof category. We’ll focusontasteand special mightnotfitintoany that look tocomeoutwithnewbeers “special beers,” ColdSpringwill andtherecenttrendin Henry Mike: With thesuccessofJohn Cold Springinthefuture? thistime.to ourbeersat likethat sort ofvitaminoranything Mike: We’re notlookingtoaddany might tastegood? to makeabeerwithvitaminsthat ideasofmixingthetwothere any drinkswithalcohol.energy Are drinksandafewlots ofenergy Beer: While onthetourwe drinks Beer:Hasmixingenergy Beer: canweexpectfrom What Beer:ColdSpringalsomakes & www.fantamag.com brewery isasmallpartofhugeplantanddistributioncenter. produce energy drinks,mostforprivatelabels,andthe Today thebrewery ispartofalarger company. They extraordinary tasteandpurity. which requires noadditionalfiltration,produces abeerof County,crystalline graniteofStearns Minnesota.Thewater, source isworldfamous,bubblingfrom deepwithinthe finest ingredients, regardless ofcost.TheColdSpringwater namesake, dedicatedtobrewing thefinestbeerfrom the TheColdSpringBrewing Co.oftodayismuchlikeits home in1997. Beers” finallyreturned Brand “Familyof than once,theGluek changed handsmore obscurity and languished inrelative Althoughit years later. demolished two of progress, itwas And, inthename Crosse, Wisconsin. Company ofLa Heileman Brewing sold totheG. The Tour Tours are given daily and you’ll get a full walkthrough of the brewery. It was the first time I had to wear hair and beard nets while on a tour, but they are held to different standards with their energy drink production. So in order to not have somebody drink my beard, I strapped on the garb and got a look at the place. It’s always worth mentioning that everybody I’ve seen in a brewery seems to be happy. Is that just because they make beer? I don’t know, but it makes me happy to see people that happy at work. Watching the bottling and canning lines of a brewery is amazing. This one was particularly amazing because there was lots of vertical movement in the lines to maximize space and because they are one of the few places in the US that has a 32-oz. canning line. Many might have the same derogatory reaction to that large of a beer as the much-maligned 40-ouncer, and Cold Spring did struggle with that in the beginning, but they found a way to change that perception by calling the can a “double pint,” which people seemed to accept more readily. You really get a sense of just how many energy drinks there are by the amount of cans whizzing by on the canning line and how much longer beer takes to produce. The best part of the tour is seeing the mix of history and technology in the brewery. The heart of the brewery still has the original thick walls and some of it still runs on the old soul, but then there is the new-age technology that makes sure the beers taste good and consistent. I love to see the old machinery; it reminds me of Disney’s Land of Tomorrow and ’60s space ships. The gauges and parts are very cartoon-like and must be massaged like an old ship to work well. You laugh but that meal was actually really good. That sort of thing makes me appreciate the brewers’ efforts, even if the new technology breweries are more like “stealth fighters” of breweries. The finish line for any brewery is in the tasting room, and in there you can sample the Cold Spring line, the Gluek line that still is popular in the area, and even some of the more rare nostalgic brands like Stite. If you’re in the area and like beer it’s worth the visit.

Beer STaTS: Craft brews abV John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale 9.1 CS Honey Almond Weiss 5.3 Moonlight Ale 5.5 Old Johnnie Ale 5.2

:[69] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com COOL PLACES Brewery De Halve LOCated in One Of the mOst beautifuL Maan Cities in the wOrLd: BrugES, BELgium words and photos: Johnny Fincioen

ruges, Venice of the north (canals and bridges! boat rides!) and center of the world in 13th and 14th century Europe. Best of all: everything is still there! Bruges languished from the 16th century on, and missed the Industrial Revolution. You may know Bruges

You guessed it, that means half moon, not a man. You B from the excellent 2008 dark comedy-thriller In Bruges but this movie only showed one percent of the city’s beauty and romantic feel.

Wander the narrow cobblestone streets in between small houses with the typical stairway- shaped facades. Look up at the exuberant stone decorations, [I don’t understand this sentence at all] as lace woven to show the richness of all the buildings, large and small. So many to admire: the Belfry tower (365 stairs high), City Hall with its 48 statues in its façade, the many cathedrals and churches, the 800 years old hospital, the hands in 2005. Vanneste developed a new justice palace, and the many art museums. blonde beer and called it “Brugse Zot” (“Bruges Walk from the Notre Dame Cathedral Fool”) and designed a masterful marketing (Madonna by Michelangelo!) to the Beguinage, campaign with the image of a joker. This beer this oasis of quietness where the religious found is sold in every pub and restaurant in Bruges. sanctuary from the world. Pass the Walplein, Thousands of tourists from around the world a small old tree-lined square, and notice the walk into or at least in front of the brewery every seductive and sweet smell of malt. Here, beer day. Its name has spread around the world must be brewed. together with the fame of the city. Brewery De Halve Maan “The Half Moon” has Extra fermentation and lagering tanks have been brewing beer at least since 1546, the date been added around the building. This was an on a document in the hands of Xavier Vanneste, engineering feat in itself. Huge cranes were the 30-year-old owner of the brewery. needed to lift the vessels over the historic “The last three years we [have been] the buildings of the neighborhood. The bottling and fastest-growing family brewery in Belgium, and kegging is done outside Bruges. “We will never we plan to brew 20,000 barrels in 2009,” he contract brew. We will always brew our beer in says. That’s more than double what they brewed the city of Bruges. This is fundamental for the only two years ago. What happened? Brugse originality and credibility of our beer,” swears Zot. The brewery came back into the family’s Vanneste by all that is holy.

[70]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com HISTORY nameless beer was so well received the people of Bruges named it after the brewer Henri (Hendrik in Dutch) and added the word … Proves that beer was brewed on the same site in 1441. “straffe” (strong) because of the 9 percent alcohol content, almost The address of the brewery is mentioned in a list of 54 breweries double a regular lager at that time. Hence, Straffe Hendrik ale. in the city. It was 1859 when Henri Maes I bought the brewery. The brewery activities were sold in the 1980s, but not the Brewery De Wulf was located just two houses down the street. The brewery itself. The buyer, Riva-Liefmans brewery, ran into problems adjacent canal with its fresh water was attractive for the breweries. on its own, which made it possible for the Maes family to regain In 1885 the daughter of the De Wulf brewery, Clemence Vanneste, control in 2005. married Hendrik Maes II—her neighbor—and the two brewery sites Together with his mother Veronique Maes, Vanneste runs the were united. But Henri II died early in 1905, so it was Clemence show today. By early 2009, they were able to buy the brand who ran and expanded the brewery well into the years past WWI. name Straffe Hendrik back. The beer had been “neutered” by the Her son Henri III and his son Henri IV made the brewery a local previous brewer to a lower ABV. Henry is back home now and success, although both wars and boosts its original power in fl avor and alcohol. the German occupation nearly An wiped it out of existence. d we thought a bottle collection only worked in dorms and basements. In 1981 the local mayor, Frank Van Acker, asked the brewer to brew a special ale to be served at all the city functions. The

:[71] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Swine Flu fermentation might catch on! [ 72 ] a Flemishdelicacy. sometimes rabbitwithprunesandbeer, beer soupandbeefstewto as wellmore sophisticatedfare, from of simplevegetarian,fi sh andmeatdishes, stuff. Therestaurant offers awidevariety only placeintheworldtotastegodly offered attheendoftour;thisis glass ofunfi ltered BrugseZotBlondis the museumare organized everyday. A Group visitsoftheactivebrewery and old equipmenthere. working brewery incombinationwiththe brewing technologyofanactive here. Today, youcanseethenew old wayofbrewing alesare still the equipmentandtoolsof eventually sold.Thisiswhyall this brewery wasindeclineand threw theiroldequipmentaway, inthe1980sand modernized Whenmostbreweries the roof underbare tiles. copper vesselsoftheworld,builtin see oneofthelastopenfermenting malting process, etc.Here youwill kegs were madeinoldentimes,the lagering tanks,adisplayofhowwooden serving trays,oldbottles,kegs,etc.— more than100years,likeglasses, for used ofallkindsas paraphernalia—POSes older brewing equipment,brewing still a labyrinthofspaces,fulloldand Europe. Theguidedtoursbringyouthrough restaurant andthebestbrewery museumof three operationsatonce:abrewery, fi ne centuries old.Thewholecomplexhouses The buildingofthebrewery ismany MUSEUM &RESTAURANT : COOL PLACES www.storemags.com Philipstockstraat, 19) Cambrinus (400-plusbeers; Breydelstraat); andCityHall,off the Belfry De Garre(locatedinasmallalleybetween Kemelstraat, 5p.m.); selection ofBelgianbeers,openafter4p.m.; international—largest (very Brugs Beertje Three PubsNot to Miss & www.fantamag.com vessels oftheworld. fermenting copper One ofthelastopen before theendof 2009. byWettenwill beimported Importers Hendrik available inmost states. Straffe Network (www.globalbeer.com) and byGlobalBeer Brugse Zotisimported IN THEUSA balanced bythebitterness. a rounder, fullermouthfeelthatiswell it’s soitoffers notcompletelyfermented, defi nitely atripleale.It’s since notdry 35 IBU.Thealcoholcontentmakesit (since 1981-2009),9percentABV, This oneis10percentofproduction STRAFFE HENDRIK:Deepambercolor. European BeerStargoldmedal,2008. Beergoldmedal,2006. International not roasted.Winner oftheAustralian toknow:Themaltsare them. Important abbey stylethathaveasweetnessto different fromotherBelgianalesinthe rendering it brings arelativebitterness, 2006), 7.5percentABV. AnIBUof27 percent ofproduction(sinceend BRUGSE ZOTDUBBEL:Darkcolor;20 medal award2008. Beer gold and AustralianInternational Beer Stargoldmedalaward2006, Beer Cup2006and2008.European Goldmedal,Worldand bitterness. balance ofcrispness,maltiness a perfect ABV, 27IBU,selectionofhopstocreate production (since2005);6percent BRUGSE ZOTBLOND:70percentof BEERS www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER FEATURE

EXHIBIT: Out here we brew on the beach!

SDA CASE STUDY ON ALL A CITY BREWERS GUILD CAN BE

words: Brandon Hernández photos: Colby Candler

t’s no secret that the brewing industry is highly competitive. With hundreds of brewers vying to quench the thirst of a parched nation, it takes a lot more than just a knack for making good beer to build a quality brand, reputation and following. Brewers must be able to Ieffectively market their wares if they want to stand out. That’s no small feat, especially for smaller operations lacking the manpower and funds to launch a full-scale outreach effort. Fortunately for them, there’s safety in numbers and success to be had through the concerted efforts of brewers guilds.

[74]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com When we read the word guild we think of swords? ] 75 [ : he to arrive latest innovation courtesy of the SDBG think home the Beer tank is bringing proven concept that’s Week so successful in cities like Philly and San and San Philly so successful in cities like will Week inaugural Beer Diego’s San Fran’. 6 – 15, during November take place from Allied Member* which of all of the Guild’s s will hold and restaurant bars, brewpubs best of the celebrating the special events Sure, brews. copious cache of craft region’s but with week, a standard longer than it’s beer and fun to be had in so much great complaining? who’s Diego, sudsy San sunny, Check out sdbeerweek.org for the skinny to be one phat week. sure on what’s on The SDBG inspects local beer venues * in the best as an annual basis and votes establishments must allied members. Eligible an have for at least one year, be in operation educated staff, clean lines, a high percentage and on-tap and a devotion brew of craft local breweries. for promoting process SAN DIEGO SAN WEEK BEER T www.fantamag.com & The brochure was most peoples’ introduction was most peoples’ The brochure warranted praise from to the SDBG and even Jackson. Michael beer journalist, the late, great one of the most prominent date, it remains To and trusted for locals and tourists alike, guides running second to the SDBG website a close which is updated in (sandiegobrewersguild.org), and contains news, event local brewers by real-time les and locations, and profi info, beer and brewer bars for local breweries, tap lists and live directions and restaurants. can goal is that anybody in or out of town “Our culture,” brewing Diego get a good taste of the San who counts garnering participation says Chandler, as an equally brewers all of the region’s from that ambitionimportant Realizing aspiration. success grew, took some time, but as the SDBG’s until it included so too did its membership, every from brewery in the county. representatives cooperate and we promote, we active, are “We great Those are membership. 100 percent have politicalstatements for a small guild with no real a past SDBG president Nickel, Tom agenda,” says Diego’s one of San Pub, of O’Brien’s and owner most popular beer bars. competitors, but trips people out that we’re “It do it says Carbonell. “We together,” can work we’d adversaries, were we good. If for the greater go nowhere.” As the SDBG picked up steam and numbers, it like events establishing ourish by was able to fl partnering with Festival, the annual SDBG Beer charities and local vintner and chef associations, and the Diego teaming with the City of San to Bureau Visitors and Convention Diego San the city as a prime tourist destination andpromote Conference Brewers like the Craft attract events held in both of which were Cup, Beer World and City in 2008. Finest America’s www.storemags.com “It’s more brewership versus ownership-focused,” ownership-focused,” versus brewership more “It’s Ballast Diego’s of San Chandler Colby says brewer initiatives who had several Co., Brewing Point on his do-list when assuming the post of SDBG rst was to turn San The fi in 2004. president in their on to the 33-plus craft breweries Diegans website constructing by a comprehensive backyard displaying brochure and designing a promotional every brewery and noteworthy in beer venue the county. an and the region the Guild “The gave brochure who Carbonell, a brewer Adam says identity,” most Diego’s of San has logged time at several Karl Point, companies (Ballast brewing prominent Street). Back Strauss, “Guilds provide a heft that can accomplisha heft that can provide “Guilds no shot at,” would have a single business things Pete director programs Association says Brewers but certainly a voice, have “Individuals Johnson. the association.” ed through is magnifi that voice Like any industry-based consortium, brewers professionals made up of like-minded guilds are agenda and region. sharing a common passion, states and represent The majority of US guilds publicity tackle everything grassroots from of the interests to ensuring the best initiatives industrybrewing tended to on Capitol Hill. are been established at have however, A select few, they can concentrate their where the city level efforts area, within a succinct geographical to their state representation leaving legislative guild counterparts. a group Guild, Brewers Diego the San Enter a handful of visionaries in 1996established by that has blossomed into one of the most solid and Their mission is to successful guilds in the country. and visitors about the outstandingeducate citizens reaching in their community by culture craft brew easily accessible out to the public and providing informational resources. BEER FEATURE

Success in those ventures earned the SDBG national respect and invites to promote their COUNTRYWIDE CAMARADERIE region at beer events across the country including Mapping out brewers guilds across the U.S. last year’s Great American Beer Festival. “The more we put into it locally, the more we get out of it nationally,” says Chandler.

And the more they contribute, the greater their sense of camaraderie becomes. Despite being direct competitors, many of the SDBG’s larger brewing companies take smaller operations under their wing, allowing them to piggyback off their opportunities for exposure. Guild comrades even lend each other equipment and ingredients in times of need like the recent hop shortage.

“Our support system is a biproduct of familiarity,” says Carbonell. “The Guild creates an even playing fi eld where everyone’s the same.”

“Anyone in the beer trade is welcome to attend meetings [that promote] interactions that include setting up nuts-and-bolts business relationships,” says Jim Crute, owner of Lightning Brewery, a two year-old operation based in the San Diego suburb of Poway. “The Guild allowed me to meet a group of trend setters and respected individuals that made it easier to enter the trade.”

Like the majority of his contemporaries, Crute 1. Brewers Guild of Alaska 18. Michigan Brewers Guild Derek wants to start a Drinking Guild...somebody has do it! repaid the SDBG by giving back. In 2007, he 2. Arkansas Brewers Association 19. Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild and fellow Guild members organized the fi rst 3. Arizona Craft Brewers Guild 20. Kansas City Brewers Guild * San Diego Lager Festival, an event that allowed 4. California Small Brewers Association 21. Montana State Brewers Association numerous local breweries to shine en masse. “By 5. Northern California Brewers Guild 22. Nebraska Craft Brewers Association co-promoting San Diego as a beer destination the 6. San Diego Brewers Guild * 23. New Hampshire Craft Brewers Association entire industry is increased in status,” he says. 7. San Francisco Brewers Guild * 24. Garden State Craft Brewers Guild (New Jersey) 8. Colorado Brewers Guild 25. New Mexico Association of Small Brewers Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Co. and 9. Florida Brewers Guild 26. New York State Craft Brewers Guild the SDBG’s fi rst president, adds, “The Guild 10. Georgia Brewers Guild 27. Oregon Brewers Guild allows us to get to know each other on a non- 11. Aloha Brewers Guild (Hawaii) 28. Pennsylvania Microbrewers Guild competitive level and learn from each other, 12. Iowa Brewers Guild 29. South Carolina Brewers Association 13. Illinois Craft Brewers Guild 30. Craft Brewers Association of Texas which helps us to continue to raise the bar.” 14. Brewers of Indiana Guild 31. Virginia Brewers Guild It’s a simple concept that takes a great deal of 15. Massachusetts Brewers Guild 32. Vermont Brewers Association determination and hard work to execute, but 16. Brewers Association of Maryland 33. Washington Brewers Guild there’s no shortage of passion, drive or elbow 17. Maine Brewers Guild 34. Wisconsin Brewers Guild * = city guild grease in the American craft brew industry and no reason other beer-centric cities can’t enjoy the same solidarity and achievement as the SDBG. Like most good things, it all starts with a beer.

[76]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com TASTE TEST TASTE

WE LIKE TESTTHIS TEST

ach month we’ll be tasting a wide range of beers. Our panel What is the best name for a beer ever? Email [email protected] Ratings of tasters will range from the average beer drinker to some 60-70 of the most experienced tasters in the country. This method A Little Rough Around the Edges will help provide a more accurate impression of what a typical 70-80 beer drinker can expect. Of course, every person’s tastes are Recommended different, and even if we don’t like a beer, it doesn’t mean you 81-90 Ewon’t. All of our beers will be rated on appearance, aroma, taste/body, and Highly Recommended fi nish. Our weighted scale favors the tasting side of the beer and is based on 91-100 Beer Magazine ’s Top Choice 100-point scale. All testing is performed in the beer’s appropriate container, in a range of temperatures, and with all scores averaged. Avery MAHARAJA IPA f you’re an herbivore you’ll love Maharaja IPA. After you drool over the stunning amber color and white cap, you’ll dig your nose into a treat. It’s a very earthy, sweet hay aroma with Isome grapefruit. Once you are done with the smell the fl avor rocks your face off: a very intense, bittersweet love affair. You’ll get your daily intake of grassy fl avors and most of your recommended grapefruit fl avors. It’s hairy and earthy, again—quite something if IPAs make you giddy. The fi nish is chewy and deep with that herbal, astringent hop fl avor hanging on to your tongue. This might not be the IPA for everybody, but if you like thick, rich grassy-style IPAs this may be your temple.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Classic amber orange with some haziness. Head rises (out of 10) 10 and sits like it should. 60º 55º Aroma: Sweet. With a mix of earthy grass and some (out of 15) 13 floral grapefruit. 50º 45º Taste: A nice blend of grassy hop bitterness, grapefruit. A 40º (out of 40) 36 chewy fl avor that is pretty intense. 35º Finish: Carrying on with the grassy notes and a sweet 32º (out of 35) 32 linger afterwards.

Brewery: Avery Brewing Style: India Pale Ale Website: www.averybrewing.com Price: $8 / 22 0z. Original Gravity: 1.092° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 10% International Bitterness Rating: 102 Glass Recommendation: Stem Availability: Year-round

:[77] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com TASTE TEST

Deschutes 20TH ANNIVERSARY WIT you look up what you’re supposed to get on your twentieth anniversary, it’s a set of china. Seems like a beer would make the man happier, so both men and women take note: A T I Deschutes’s 20th Anniversary Wit is a refreshing one. It’s light. Light in appearance and light in fl avor, which for some might not work, but as one of our people trying the beer said, “it’s damn refreshing.” The faint aroma of bubblegum/banana and wheat are there, but in trace element form. The taste is just as light but opens as it warms. A blend of subtle wheat, banana, some cinnamon and clove are all there in delicate outlines. It fi nishes clean and crisp. This is almost a light beer, as its subtle fl avor is not overpowering … just “damn good.”

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Very pale yellow and clear as a crisp fall day. (out of 10) 7 60º 55º Aroma: Light if not faint, but as it warms, delivers traces of (out of 15) 12 wheat, banana/bubble gum and some spice. 50º 45º Perfect for summer. There are light, refreshing and Taste: 36 subtle hints of wheat, banana/bubblegum, cinnamon 40º (out of 40) and coriander. 35º Finish: A word that summed the beer up and its 32º (out of 35) 34 fi nish: refreshing.

Brewery: Deschutes Brewing Style: Beligian Witbier Website: www.deschutebrewery.com Price: $5 / 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: NA Alcohol Percentage: 5.5% International Bitterness Rating: 26 Glass Recommendation: Wheat beer glass

Light doesn’t always mean bad in beer geek world does it? Availability: Limited production

RAL Firestone Walker UNION JACK IPA irestone Walker has made a big name in brewing despite only being distributed in a few states. They usually add some barrel aging to their beer, but this style doesn’t. It’s an IPA and in that you get a light amber orange brew with a nice white head R A T I F when you pour. Balance was the idea behind this beer; the aroma lets you know there are hops inside with a pine/citrus note that has what many describe as a pineapple twist to it. Tasting reveals a well-balanced beer with nice citrus grapefruit and pine fl avors and a little tang tropical twist. It’s a very easy beer to drink and delivers a nicely balanced bitter- and-sweet mix. Wee really love FFirestone’s style and this one is great.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Lighter in color than it’s described; still a pretty (out of 10) 9 orange amber with a hint of brown and a white head. 60º 55º Aroma: A nice pine and grapefruit scent with a little 50º 13 tropical tang. (out of 15) 45º Taste: 36 Very well-balanced bitter-and-sweet mix with 40º (out of 40) grapefruit, pine and some nice biscuit fl avors. 35º Finish: Nice and clean with a slight linger of that delicious 32º (out of 35) 34 pine and grapefruit.

Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Style: India Pale Ale Website: www.fi restonewalker.com Price: $5 / 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 17° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 7.5 % International Bitterness Rating: 72 Glass Recommendation: Pint Availability: Year-round

[78]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com VERA O L Mission Brewery L IPA 91 t’s IPA season and that means everybody is using fresher hops. Mission Brewery’s OUT OF take on this popular style is a delight to drink. It pours beautiful amber, which should R 100 A be admired in natural sunlight to fully appreciate. The fl avor is more earthy than fl oral. T G I I N A resin hop aroma and fl avor dominates the taste, but doesn’t fully hide the citrus and spices that are mixed within. The beer gets a little sweeter as it warms, so enjoy the fl avor morph while you think about the lingering resin hoppiness that is left behind each sip. It’s an art of a bottle with an art of an IPA inside. If you like the more grassy fl avored IPA, this one will do the trick.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Beautiful amber in color with a rich, lively head. (out of 10) 10 60º 55º Aroma: Hop resin dominant with citrus and spices. (out of 15) 13 50º 45º Grassy and earthy fl avors laced with citrus and Taste: 35 some sweet grapefruit, which gets more apparent 40º (out of 40) as it warms. 35º 32º Finish: Nice lingering hop resin fl avor. (out of 35) 33

Brewery: Mission Brewing Co. Style: India Pale Ale Website: www.missionbrewery.net Price: $5 / 22 oz. Original Gravity: NA Alcohol Percentage: 6.8 % International Bitterness Rating: 66 Glass Recommendation: Pint, stem glass Availability: Year-round Have you tried beers normally wouldn’t? Tell us about it!

Otter Creek ER RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT V ermont cheese, maple syrup and some other “crops” are all good things from Vermont. Otter Creek is something that will make beer more of a word association with the state; Vtheir Imperial Series is one to check out. Pour this soot-black liquid into a glass and you might book a fl ight there today. The velvety looking liquid gets capped with a very dark tan head. The aroma is a nice mix of brown sugar/molasses, coffee and some chocolate. The taste brings out all those fl avors and also adds in a smoky element that wasn’t expected, but is a nice addition. The fi nish is when you might realize that’s a pretty light-body beer for how “big” it is, and with thatt thought you remember thathat it’s got some chocolate fl avor left, too.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: 9 A thick and black solar eclipse capped with a halo of 60º (out of 10) dark tan head, rising up. 55º Aroma: Nice aroma of molasses, brown sugar, coffee and 50º (out of 15) 13 some chocolate. 45º Taste: Coffee and espresso bitterness followed by some bacon 40º (out of 40) 36 and smoky fl avors that work very well together 35º Finish: Lighter than expected for the high ABV, but it ends well 32º (out of 35) 33 with some fi nal chocolate being there to wave goodbye.

Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing Style: Russian Imperial Stout Website: www.ottercreekbrewing.com Price: $8 / 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 24° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 10.6% International Bitterness Rating: 65 Glass Recommendation: Snifter Availability: Year-round

:[79] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com TASTE TEST

Port Brewing OLD VISCOSITY ALE he name is a curious one and the liquid inside is just as special as the name suggests. “Not your dad’s wimpy 30 weight” is on the label and when you pour the beer into the Tglass you’ll agree. It pours a thick, used-oil black and is capped with a beautiful tan head. It even coats the glass with an oil fi lm. The smell is what you might expect with coffee mixed with a burnt sugar and some dark fruit notes mixed in. When you let the beer in your mouth you’ll get that burnt sugar/caramel fl avor, coffee, some bitterness from homes vanilla and some raison fl avor. As the beer warms you get more dark fruit notes, but the last rights of the beer leave you with vanilla and a slight alcohol warming sensasensation. If our lalawnmower made this we’d drink it.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: La Brea tar pit black with a tan head. (out of 10) 10 60º 55º Aroma: Lovely coffee burnt sugar/caramel and some (out of 15) 13 bready notes. 50º 45º Taste: Burnt sugar, coffee, dark fruit, and some hop 40º (out of 40) 35 bitterness that is balanced well. 35º A nice linger of vanilla and oak from bourbon 32º Finish: 33 barrels that is complemented with a warmth/burn (out of 35) from the alcohol.

Brewery: Port Brewing Style: Barrel-aged Ale Website: www.portbrewing.com Price: $6/ 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 1.092° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 10.0% International Bitterness Rating: 85 Glass Recommendation: Stem glass Availability: Year-round So many good beers to review..so little space. So many good beers to review..so

RA Ballast Point E L SCULPIN IPA eason IPAs are the best. They offer more aromatics and richer fl avors. Ballast Point already makes some great IPAs but their Sculpin is fi nally available in a bottle. It’s a wonderful- Slooking beer that glows a stunning amber orange and is pretty clear. The aroma is a like walking through a grapefruit orchard in spring, and that’s because it’s DOUBLE dry hopped! You’ll get beautiful notes of fl oral, grapefruit, pine and lots of wonderful subtleties. Just remember the aroma is the fi rst part of the beer that degrades with time, so this one should be cracked open as close to the bottling as possible. The taste mirrors that amazing nose with a nice bitter grapefruit, some sweet caramel, and even some peach notes. It’s a very well-balanced IPA. The fi nish is clean, fruity and a little bitter. Sculpin is a fi sh and we’d like to drink this like a fi sh.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Stunning amber with a white cap. (out of 10) 10 60º Aroma: Double-hopped heaven. Grapefruit, fl owers, pine … 55º (out of 15) 15 give us more! 50º 45º Taste: Not overly hop dominant, with a beautiful blend of (out of 40) 37 grapefruit, sweet caramel, pine and peaches. 40º 35º Finish: It’s only disappointing if it’s your last sip. A nice clean, 32º (out of 35) 33 fruity fi nish with a lick of bitterness.

Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Style: India Pale Ale Website: www.ballastpoint.com Price: $8 and up/ 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 1.064° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 7.0 % International Bitterness Rating: 70 Glass Recommendation: Pint glass Availability: Limited

[80]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Sierra Nevada SH HARVEST IPA ierra Nevada is what we’d call “hop addicted” and will travel the world to bring fresh hops to you. In this case their Southern Harvest does just that: Hops from New Zealand Sare fl own in to Chico, California, and used within a week of harvest to produce this delicious IPA. The color is an eye-catching amber with a frothy, lively head. Its smell is subtle but you do get a nice fresh citrus and pine bouquet. The taste is very familiar as SN beers almost have a signature balance. They don’t over-hop for bragging rights. The SHH IPA delivers a nice sweet citrus fl avor that’s clean, with a slight hay fl avor mixed in. The fi nished is near perfect with a clean grapefruit aftertaste. If you need the freshest hop, Sierra delivers that all year round.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: Lovely amber orange and a lively white head. (out of 10) 10 60º 55º Aroma: Not as aromatic as we would have expected but a 50º 12 lovely light mix of citrus and pine. (out of 15) 45º Taste: 35 Signature balance of hops and malts. Grapefruit, 40º (out of 40) citrus and some hay or straw fl avors all blended well. 35º Finish: Clean and near perfect. A little bit of grapefruit and 32º (out of 35) 34 some bitterness … mmm, good.

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Style: American Pale Ale Website: www.sierranevada.com Price: $7 / 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 14.7° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 6.7 % International Bitterness Rating: 66 Glass Recommendation: Pint glass Availability: Summer Shipping hops isn’t very eco-friendly! Shipping hops isn’t very Victory STORM KING STOUT ussian imperial stouts make us think of cold winters, people in fuzzy hats and some dark and high-alcohol beer that warms the soul. In summer they work too, but with less of a Rcold, gray vision. The Storm King is a RIS that pours a deep black and delivers a frothy, tan head. The aroma gives off molasses, chocolate, and slightly hoppy notes that get better as the beer warms up a bit. The taste mirrors the smell with unsweetened chocolate, coffee, molasses, a burnt sugar medley and some bitterness from the hops. The fi nish is good with chocolate being the last thing you remember and some bitterness to clean the tongue for the next sip. If you must love Russia for one thing, make it their beer style. This one’s got good fl avor and is pretty easy-drinking.

THE RESULTS 70º 65º Appearance: 9 It’s black, comrades! The head is tan like a furry hat. 60º (out of 10) 55º Aroma: If you don’t like the smell of molasses, coffee, malt, 50º (out of 15) 12 chocolate and some hops we’re not your friends anymore. 45º Not as sweet as we’d like and a on the bitter side of RIS, 40º Taste: but coffee, chocolate, burnt molasses and some smoke (out of 40) 35 35º make it a fun adventure to the bottom of the glass. 32º Finish: Chocolate bitterness mixed with a hoppy bitterness that (out of 35) 33 isn’t offensive at all.

Brewery: Victory Brewing Style: Russian Imperial Stout Website: www.victorybeer.com Price: $13/ 6-pack Original Gravity: 1.070° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 9.1% International Bitterness Rating: 85 Glass Recommendation: Snifter Availability: Year-round

:[81] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com TASTE TEST

Full Sail SESSION BLACK LAGER ession beer is a fancy-pants term for a beer that you can drink a lot of. Many of the big ABV beers are not going down in 6-pack or even 2-pack form. The lighter beers are usually more Sdrinkable and the sessions line from Full Sail is meant to be enjoyed. Their “cute” 11-oz. bottles are retro-cool and the brown cola-like beer that pours from it has some red highlights in the sun. The smell is light caramel with some sweeter hop notes, but you’ll have to stick one nostril in to really get any chocolate or coffee. The taste is light and refreshing. It’s got a sweet caramel fl avor with some bread and light citrus from the hops. Most “light beer” drinkers might look at this beer strange because of its color, but in truth dark beers can be light and refreshing too. Give this one a shot.

THE RESULTS 70º Appearance: 9 Dark brown/black, like cola with an off-white head. 65º (out of 10) 60º Faint but pleasant. Some caramel, grain and the slight hint of 55º Aroma: chocolate are all there. (out of 15) 11 50º 45º Taste: Refreshing and very “sessionable!” Some light sweet caramel, 40º

e. 35 (out of 40) grains and even some chocolate make for a nice light beer. 35º Finish: Smooth and sweet with just enough hops to clean the palate. A lighter 32º (out of 35) 33 mouthfeel beer that has more fl avor than the “normal” light beers.

Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Style: Black lager Website: www.fullsailbrewing.com Price: $6/ 6 pack Original Gravity: 13° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 5.4 % International Bitterness Rating: 22 Glass Recommendation: Mug Availability: Year-round Session is a fancy-pants word for drinkable. Great Lakes EDMUND FITZGERALD PORTER hen you name your beer after a ship that sunk in seconds you’re either crazy or confi dent. After pouring the cola brown porter with lovely red highlights into our glass, Wwe thought we’d sink this beer as fast as the ship. Its aroma is malty with some hops present, but the dominant aromas are chocolate and coffee. The taste delivers a wonderful coffee and chocolate experience with just enough hops to keep everything in check. It fi nishes in the same fashion with some chocolate fl avors and a nice little bitter bump from the hops. This is a great classic porter that delivers its cargo no matter what the weather is out on the lake!

THE RESULTS 70º Appearance: Cola brown with red highlights that add interest. 65º (out of 10) 9 60º Aroma: Hey now, there’s chocolate, coffee, malt, and a little 55º (out of 15) 11 hop kick in there! 50º Taste: If you don’t like coffee or chocolate what is wrong 45º (out of 40) 36 with you? It’s in here. 40º 35º Finish: A nice ending to a story unlike what the beer is (out of 35) 34 named after. 32º

Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Style: Porter Website: www.greatlakesbrewing.com Price: $10 / 6-pack Original Gravity: 1.060° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 5.8 % International Bitterness Rating: 37 Glass Recommendation: Pint Availability: Year-round

[82]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Sweetwater Brewing DANK TANK weetwater’s “test” brews are brewed in what they call a “one hitter,” and this one produced a Dank Tank barleywine. Sweetwater has more pot references—we don’t think Sthey are any more subliminal than in Cheech and Chong movies, and they are almost as funny! This one pours a brilliant amber and has some red highlights to it. The head comes up pretty good too. The smell is something we weren’t expecting in this style. It’s hoppy, to say the least, and it has some fruity characteristics in there, too. The taste refl ects this tease and is fi lled with nice hoppy pine, citrus and some melon fl avors, and it’s even got the balance of sweetness. The fi nish is more of the same, and while this might not really fi t the style of a barleywine to a “T” it does remind of us a killer-double-imperial-super-dank IPA, and we really like it.

THE RESULTS 70º Appearance: Stunning amber with some red highlights that make it beautiful 65º (out of 10) 10 to look at. 60º 55º Aroma: Normally not what you’d think from the style, but a donkey (out of 15) 13 punch of hops, fruit and some sweet caramel. 50º 45º Very much a hop-centric beer that gives you lots of pine, citrus 40º Taste: 36 and even some overripe fruit, but doesn’t forget to reach around (out of 40) and pleasure you with a nice sweet caramel to balance it all out. 35º 32º Finish: Hoppy pine bitterness but a linger of sweetness makes it (out of 35) 33 all good. Brewery: Sweetwater Brewing Style: Barleywine Website: www.sweetwaterbrew.com Price: $6 / 22 oz. bottle Original Gravity: 22.9° Plato Alcohol Percentage: 9.2% International Bitterness Rating: 142 Glass Recommendation: Pimp chalice Availability: July – October

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er name was Cookie, at least that is what she said it was, and I had no reason not to believe her. She was standing Hup to the ankles of her stylish galoshes in a thick, pasty brown mud puddle, in the rain, drinking beer and smiling wickedly. She said that she had lost her husband somewhere in the large crowd, but that she wasn’t worried—he didn’t have enough money on him to get in trouble with. Her yellowish hair was streaked with mud and laid in plastered dreadlocked clumps across her face. In her left hand she held the tattered remains of an enormous turkey leg, which she gnawed at in kingly tugs. In her right hand she clutched two small tulip-shaped glass vessels, each half-fi lled with a brew of some sort—which type she did not recall—and each with the words “13th Annual Legendary Booneville Beer Festival—May 2, 2009” laser engraved on them in what was once a nice white font. Who doesn’t want to dress like a pirate? She took a swig of one of the glasses and drained its contents and her eyes rolled up into her head in what must have been a sign of total satisfaction, or concentration (I hope), and then she snapped back and tilted her head sideways to go in for a pink chunk of bird muscle. As she chewed, I couldn’t help but reach out with my pointer fi nger and point out that her stringy black fu-Manchu mustache was caught up in her food, and she thanked me while laughing wildly and trying to dig it out with her pinky, and then wandered off into the swirling crowd of rain-soaked beer drinkers. IN THE MUCK AT THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL

words & photos: Corby Anderson LEGENDARY BOONVILLE BEER FESTIVAL

[84]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com Free Mustache rides! ] 85 [ : www.fantamag.com & www.storemags.com and goats and a fun lot of hardy locals. The of hardy and goats and a fun lot the Boonville Beer town rallies around entire Festival in an admirable community effort, Festival in an admirable community effort, pastoral 16-mile valley fi lled with creeks and sheep creeks lled with fi pastoral 16-mile valley which is appropriate since all of the proceeds since all of the proceeds which is appropriate edge of dope country. It is a beautiful place, a green, a green, It is a beautiful place, edge of dope country. the upper fringe of wine country and the southeasternthe upper fringe of wine from the ticket sales ($40 in advance, $50 at the from successful brand, and which lies in the transition zone onsuccessful brand, and been made famous by the Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Company’s Brewing the Anderson Valley been made famous by north of San Francisco) situated in the Anderson Valley, which has situated in the Anderson Valley, north of San Francisco) ts. gate) go to various local non-profi Boonville is a fairly remote North Coast town (about 100 miles North Boonville is a fairly remote Boonville, California. over the years. seemed to perfectly match the edgy milieu of the Beer Festival in seemed to perfectly match almost $150,000 Apparently, there was a pirate theme to this year’s event, which was a pirate theme to this year’s there Apparently, reports having raisedreports to mention men, milling through the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. through to mention men, milling not mustachioed ladies, just one of many Cookie was equation, the festival this year’s haul into the this year’s exponentially. Without tabulating Without exponentially. and the Lions Club have grown the AV Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, Fire Volunteer the AV thus the proceeds for such vital local services as the AV Ambulance Service, for such vital local services as the AV thus the proceeds The Beer Festival originated in 1997, when it served as the grand opening The Beer Festival originated in 1997, when rst year consisted of a free That fi Brewery. for the then-new Anderson Valley brands. It was such a hit that other blowout featuring all of the Anderson Valley and invited in subsequent years, and the size of the crowds, were breweries That almost looks like a penis on his head! [ 86 ] The13 way, andIfoundmyselfskirting around the to fl ee toopen spacetookholdinapowerful became more diffi cult, mynatural inclination Asthecrowd thickened andmovement near theHabanero Beercooler kegs. down inonegulp,”hesaidasposted up succession. “It’s a4-ounceglass.Itgoes try severalvarietiesoftheirbeersin quick was tostickcloseonebrewer stationand Grants Pass,Oregon, decidedthebestbet many ofthevendors.SeppiMorris,from wooden, A-framestructure thathoused by goingfurtherdowntotheendoflong astute attendeesrecognized andavoided mobbed immediately, asituationthatfew Thebrewers neartheentrancewere short hourswason. race totasteasmanybeerspossibleinfour several thousandfellowbeerdrinkers,the Onceentrancewasgainedformyselfand persnickety rain. the heightenedurgency brought onbythe not entirely problem-free, dueinlarge partto went considerablysmoother, thoughitwas by eventorganizers, andthusthegatedrop was putintofi xing thisyear’s entryprocedure from theirchallenges,considerableenergy long linesandmiscommunication.Learning hours outsideofthegatestogetinsidedue year, someattendeeshadtowaitforseveral the 1p.m.opening.Itwasreported thatlast pirates snakeddowntheblockinadvanceof was abitofchore. Alonglinefullof30orso Gettinginsidethegatesoffairgrounds people toactuallygetthefestival. to help.”Ittookagauntlet-likeeffort formany we hadwrecked, there wasnocavalrycoming It feltlikewewere goingtodie,man.Andif see athing,notevenfootinfront ofthecar. was insanelycurvy, foggy, rainy. You couldn’t the SanFranciscoairporttoAndersonValley boonies!” saysManosevitz.“Theroad from Fest stage.“We were literallydrivingtothe as hemadehiswaytogigontheBeer hewasstillunsurein California, ofhisluck base ofAspen,Colorado.Onceontheground severe winterstorm”thatstartedinhishome “terrifying rideonatinyprop planethrough a MusicianBradManosevitzcameinviaa seem towantpeterout. middle ofaFridaydownpourthatdidnot for theweekend,settingupcampin most ofthebrewers andtheirfamilies,came and barleywines.Manyfestivalgoers,including of 300different ales,pilsners,IPAs, stouts, the 78different breweries thattappedatotal fairgrounds intactandready tosamplefrom heavy fog,aboisterous crowd madeittothe down through verticalsheets)rainsand Even withtorrential (thinkbucketspouring despite theominousnumerological aspect. to actuallyhaveabitofluckgoingforit, : th “running of the beers” seemed “runningofthebeers”seemed BEER FEST www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER FEST

corner to what looked like open grass. Once out of the crush and around the bend I was glad to see several large white tents set up in a large, open fi eld, each housing 20 or so brewers who worked out of the center of a hollow square. Manosevitz’s distinct “Texas counter-country folk rock” blasted out of an old PA, and a sizable group of partying pirates danced various forms of jigs in defi ance of the inclement weather, which had thankfully downgraded itself from hard rain to drizzle status. Every now and then, for no apparent reason, a roar would go through the crowd in a rolling wave from one side of the fairgrounds to the other. You could hear it coming at you like an earthquake, or a propeller plane. The short burst of group cheer seemed to happen in random intervals, and its origin was of great curiousity to me until the answer presented itself directly. As we walked through the crowd, I found myself coming face to face with an enormous straw hat that seemed to have human legs and most of a female midriff attached. I tried to avoid the collision, but like a guided missile, the hat just kept coming at me, and when I dodged to the left, it too, went inexplicably that way, and ran right into my

“Mud People” show up at every beer event that gets rainsed on. chest at a full marching pace. Having a long history of running into things, I was prepared hankering for a soft taco made of vertically spit-turned carnitas al pastor, which is capped with a for the contact, and thus soaked up most freshly corked pineapple, imbuing the pork meat with sweet tang. of the energy with a big-net hug, but even Out on the edge of the fi eld, near the bratwurst vendor, a crowd had gathered in a circle. It my powers of absorption couldn’t save the originally looked to be a fi ght in progress. Closer inspection revealed an impromptu female mud- hat woman’s commemorative glass from wrestling match. There, in the middle of the circle, several well-endowed ladies were grappling launching out of her hand and splattering into in the rain and goopy mud, which they gleefully smashed each other into. They were very dirty shards on the concrete. When that happened, girls, completely covered in the grey-brown sludge, and seemed quite thrilled by the attention everything stopped for half a second, and until they were upstaged by what turned into a full-on mosh pit of fellows who took no quarter of then the beer fans around us roared with one another, punching and thrashing each other with brotherly aggression. cheers and I hear the sound echoing off The crowd hooted and hollered, and fi nally settled into a Brazilian “ole, ole” soccer chant. An around the fairground. I realized then why the aging guy who may have been fully blitzed seemed to fancy himself the referee, and stood in waves occurred. Some things you can only the middle of the pit for quite sometime untouched by the carnage about him, until he too was really understand by smashing into them. tackled by the belligerents. After several failed attempts to get up from the slick muck, he fi nally Just about anything, it seems, can be used succeeded in standing back up. One of the ladies pointed out that the ref’s cell phone, which to make pirate outfi ts: scarves, strange vests, was clipped to his belt, was caked with dirt, and instead of cleaning it, he grabbed the phone, bad hats, fi shnet stockings, dreadlocks that held it up toward the low clouds, then unscrewed the top. It was a ruse in cellular form, which he may or may not have been wigs. The female revealed to all by pouring whatever liquid was contained in the phone-fl ask into his mouth from a mustache and/or beard combo was quite good foot above his head. Most of the contents missed the target, but he did not seem to care, popular, and took some getting used to. I and why should he have? Once you are that muddy, a little spilled liquor only seasons the pot. noticed quite a few Oakland Raider fans in We progressed around the fairgrounds to another semi-autonomous drinking section, which was the crowd, identifi able by their black and called the Lamb Palace. The name probably comes from the fact that it actually is a lamb palace, silver pirate skull and cross-bones logo. At or at least a place for lambs during fair time. The Lamb Palace held some of the more popular fi rst I thought that it was just normal beer breweries featured at the Booneville Beer Festival, by the looks of things. Beer festivarians were swilling garb for Raider fans, which would literally squished into the corral, some stuck so far away from the taps that they could only stand make sense geographically. Oakland is not there helplessly with their useless arms pinned to their chests. It looked like a stampede about to that far from Boonville. break loose. It was a dangerous scene, and a sobering trial for any claustrophobe. Lunchtime is always important to the Working my way through the enthused morass of multiply soaked drinkers, I was pleased to midday beer-drinking experience. Bewitched discover that one of my favorite beer makers, the Marin Brewing Company, was there with their by an outstandingly sharp and effortless Great newest brand, “Witty Monk”—a Belgian-inspired wheat beer. In barnacle fashion, I was able White beer from nearby Lost Coast Brewing to attach my shoulder to the wooden post that framed the MBC section of the Lamb Palace, Company, I mosey over to the vendor section, and spend a good moment discussing the beer with head Brewmaster Arne Johnson, who has

[88]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com wily crew of party people. We proceeded to dig on yet more beer in yet more rain. Due to the quick-hitting nature of the crowded Beer Fest tap dance, I may have actually learned more about beer and the philosophy of beer making in that one hour of strolling the campground, going from one brewery camp to the next, than I had in four and a half hours at the Beer Fest. Even the campground had quality entertainment. The Humboldt Firken Tappers are a full-sized big band that frequents beer events, especially the Booneville Beer Fest. Their motto is “the more that you drink, the better we sound,” and they sound fantastic playing their assortment of random covers from their tarped-in nook at the upper- camp. The Firken Tappers could be heard from about a mile away, and served as the background music for almost the entire camp scene, except for the area next to our camp, and technically the area directly next to my leaky tent. There, a beat-defi cient man played a full set of drums at John Bonham energy levels, by himself, sans guitars or vocals, almost all night long. This didn’t bother us all that much

because we were away from our own camp for Muddy Pirates, although, might be unique to this one. most of that time, but as the hours added up to a new calendar day (and then some), and been at the Boonville Beer Fest every year (he thinks). Witty Monk is a light, fresh tasting bit of as lying down--or even possibly trying to dry effervescent goodness that is so new it doesn’t even have a label yet and is only available at the off--began to sound oh so good, I was forced brewery in Larkspur. I wanted to discuss more, and perhaps catch some of the excellent swag to ask him to “please-for-the-love-of-God- (including thongs [not for me]) that MBC was supplying, but the moment was fl eeting due to the just-stop-that-miserable-racket,” one or three clamoring tide of humanity that swept me out of the green-gated corral exit. times. And eventually he did, with a delirious Out around the corner from the Lamb Palace squishfest was a vacuous barn-like building fl ourish circa 3:30 a.m. that that spilled internal light and seemed to call me into it like a mother holding out a large blue In the morning there was fi nally sunshine, terrycloth towel for a soaked child. It was then that I realized that I had been standing in the rain and much rejoicing about that. We were left for a good ten hours, including time earlier in the morning getting geared up around the brewer’s in a muddy mess, many with awful hangovers camp. Every atomic particle of my being was logged with hydrogenated oxygen. Finally standing in and lost belongings. But there were also the dry barn felt foreign, as if I was missing something dear—perhaps a water-based version of the authentic smiles and abundant laughter as phantom limb sensation known to amputees. Only here, I could still feel the rain on my face. tents got shoved into car trunks and chairs Scanning around in the barn I came to see that it was almost totally empty, save for a few were dumped of rain puddles and kegs got yellow bleachers, and at least three times as big as the Lamb Palace. Why the barn was not packed up into pickup beds. used for the purposes of Beer Fest instead of, or in addition to, the Lamb Palace, I do not know. On the way out, I stopped by the Anderson It is hard to keep track of time in a situation such as this. As the clock ticked on and the taps Valley Brewing Company taproom and started to dry up, the insatiably thirsty crowd began to swarm the nearest open tap. Following scooped up a few excellent tie-dye AVBC this fl ocking, I soon found myself drinking a fantastic can of Dale’s Pale Ale from the Oskar Blues souvenir t-shirts. There, a long line formed Brewery in Colorado. “We were the fi rst micro to start canning our own beer seven years ago,” from the taps all the way to the back of the Oskar Blues representative Meg Gill said. “We did it for the fresh factor. These cans don’t have merch room. As it turned out, the gold at the the headspace that bottles have that allows oxidation to occur. Air is bad for beer, and also with end of that rainbow was a special release of the aluminum cans, minimal light can get to the beer, creating the freshest package.” Dale’s is Anderson Valley’s seven-year aged Port Barrel a remarkably vibrant ale, with strong punch of hops and a good strong kick on the way down. It Stout—a 750 mL wine bottle released only has that rare oomph that people want; a distinctive tang. And it made for a great last beer of the to those in the know (who attended the Beer festival proper, the closing of which was driven home by the roving band of offi cials who were Fest). Seven is my lucky number, I tell the spread out and sweeping the grounds like ski patrollers, hollering while gathering everyone up couple in front of me. I was married on 7/7/07. and ushering the diehards to the gates. So when I pay the man and go out around A day full of outstanding beers, great food, and bouncy music shared with a crowd of hearty the back of the brewery to get my share out hopheads in all-out element battle was possibly not even the best part of Booneville Beer Fest. of the cooler and fi nd it’s bottle No. 77, I am That distinction went to the camping that took place in the fairground camp area. There, I met only mildly surprised. It was just that kind of up with John Kuhry, the General Manager of host Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and his weekend at the Boonville Beer Festival.

:[89] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER GAMES THREE MAN Roll’em, drink’em, pass’em

words: Seth Martin photos: Jason Boulanger

his month we are featuring a game of luck known as “Three Man.” Three Man is a beer game for those in search of fun at a fast pace. T The rules are very simple and play is quick so pay attention and pro- tect the dice or you will end up the Three Man!

ITEMS NEEDED • One set (2) of standard dice • Minimum of four people • A table large enough for everyone to participate • Yatzee would be a perfect drinking game...wait we alread drink when playing. Yatzee Beer. You will need to drink as you play (surprise!)

THE SETUP Every- 1) one sits around a table, each armed with a fresh beer.

All the 2) players take turns rolling a single die until someone rolls a three and becomes the Three Man.

[92]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com OBJECT OF THE GAME: To make the Three Man drink!

HOW TO

PLAY Isn’t fi shing like a drinking game. Sit, wait, and drink beer? The player to left of the Three Man roles the dice.

The player will then follow the rules regarding the combination that was rolled.

The player will keep rolling until a combination is rolled that has no rules; that player then loses his or her turn and drinks before passing the dice to the next player.

Play will then proceed clockwise around the table, each player rolling until they lose their turn.

If the Three Man rolls a three or any combination including or equaling a three during his or her turn, he or she gets to pick any other player to become the new Three Man. This is where the true enemies are made!

:[93] www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com BEER GAMES

RULES FOR DICE COMBOS 1:1 ...... Doubles DOUBLES • The roller hands the dice 1:2 ...... Three Man drinks to any player, who must then roll the dice. 1:3 ...... Three Man drinks If that player rolls doubles (known as a 1:4 ...... Thumb Rule facial) the original roller must drink the 1:5 ...... Nose Rule total on the dice (5 and 5 means 10 drinks 1:6 ...... Player to the left of the and so on); if any other combination is roller drinks rolled that player must drink the sum of 2:2 ...... Doubles combination shown (3 and 2 means fi ve 2:3 ...... Three Man drinks drinks and so on). Also, the original roller 2:4 ...... Lose turn may split the dice between two people, 2:5 ...... Player to the left of the so each rolls a single die. If for the roller drinks results come up as doubles the original 2:6 ...... Lose turn roller drinks, otherwise each player 3:3 ...... Doubles: Three Man drinks drinks what he or she rolls. TWICE! 3:4 ...... Player to the left of the roller THUMB RULE • Last person to place drinks; Three Man drinks their thumb on the table drinks. 3:5 ...... Three Man drinks 3:6 ...... Social: everyone drinks; NOSE RULE • Last person to place Three Man drinks TWICE! their index fi nger on their nose drinks. 4:4 ...... Doubles 4:5 ...... Social: everyone drinks! SLOPPY DICE • “Sloppy dice” 4:6 ...... Lose turn constitutes automatic Three Man. 5:5 ...... Doubles Anytime the dice are rolled and fall off the 5:6 ...... Player to the right of the table it is considered sloppy dice and the roller drinks offender becomes the Three Man. 6:6 ...... Doubles

ike I said, the rules are simple and the play is fast! So grab some beer, some friends and let’s get rolling! L Remember, it’s not whether you win or lose, but how much you can make the Three Man drink.

[94]: www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com We say “Butt” instead of “Beaut” and laugh every time. [ 96 L ] Deschutes beer OFtheMONth the limited availability and wax seal. of beerworthy special truly a creates and flavor upthe turns Allthat barrels. in Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey coffee. A portion of itisalso aged pounds of Bellatazza’s locally roasted 100 with hopped” “dry It’s Seattle. of Theo’s Chocolate cocoanibs from addition the with better even made This action-packed black liquid is the time if you want toage abottle. even and money the hunt, the worth been have will beer,it anniversary For those who canfind this limited We’ll try. market? Canwe actually love abottle? of one of the best porters onthe version imperial An excited. super beerwewere the of version newest It’s that good. Sowhen we got our championships inten different sports. easy todrink, it’s like winning ten : words: DerekBuonophotos:CarlHyndman and any time you can find one and anytime you canfind one fans, porter big We’re Porter. came from itsBlack Butte Deschutes’s magical flavors ike with many, myfirst taste of with flavor and with flavor and that’s packed www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com We could get any chocolate nibs to use in the photo....we had to drink it! ] 97 [ : Having a statement on the bottle This is a big, beautiful beer but With all the information about the about the With all the information The look and the smell are like the fi rst like the fi The look and the smell are coffee and chocolate, it was surprising that that and chocolate, it was surprising coffee was the dominant or even chocolate little coffee Instead you got lots of bourbon vanilla, aroma. thought some dark fruit, oats and, if you really was The aroma about it, hints of coffee. complex, but not overpowering, and really in for. masked what you’re high ABV beer, and even less so in a large snifter. snifter. even less so in a large and high ABV beer, top of the across tan head does skate But a thick, wispy clouds leaves what looks like the beer and in a dark sky. like “Best After 2010” is like having a present like “Best After 2010” is like having a present of you that says “do not open sitting in front wait a year to try this couldn’t until XMAS.” We beer—and to be honest, saying this beer would of taste better in a year is a little presumptuous this fantastic Deschutes … especially when it’s than one and tuck If you can buy more right now. to sample in a year, them away it would be great of the one It’s nd it and drink it now. but we say fi and we’d love to best imperial porters out there see this beer made year-round! A giant head isn’t going to fl oat on this to fl going isn’t Head: A giant head dark and sexy! A very dark Appearance: She’s Aroma: Taste: Drinkability: Bottom Line: brown, like a black coffee, but when held up to but when held like a black coffee, brown, not highlights. It’s red the light you can see lovely glass like some coat the overly thick and doesn’t or porters, but it does slide stouts super-heavy slower than thinner beers. down the glass much two dates in a three-date system: Not until you two dates in a three-date installment do you get to taste get to the third not leading you on the goods. With the aroma rst sip is sort of shocking. fi inside, the to what’s avor and black coffee fl immediate coffee get You bitterness. after the Once you adjust to the taste of the beauty somewhat misleading smell, the rest slightly of this beer comes to the surface. It’s chocolate, dark sweet, but loaded with coffee, lovely and not too thick, fruits and vanilla. It’s thin. Considering this beer isn’t but far from hard it’s suggested to be tasted for another year, to think that you should wait. not very drinkable. We’re somehow still remains you pour a full pint, but if you recommending to enjoy alone. Its be a problem did, it wouldn’t and even being 11 medium body goes down easy, that with any reveal really it doesn’t ABV, percent sort of alcohol burn. www.fantamag.com & Stem or snifter

www.storemags.com 25° Plato ORIGINAL GRAVITY: SIZE: 22 oz. BOTTLE June 27 until its gone! AVAILABILITY: PRICE: $13 / 22 Oz Bottle SERVING GLASS: SUGGESTED SERVING TEMP: 40-50°F BREWER: Deschutes Brewery WEB: www.descutesbrewery.com Bend, Or LOCATION: STYLE: Imperial Porter ALCOHOL PERCENT BY VOLUME: 11% IBU: 55 Tapped Out

Fancy Cheese String – Polly-O is string beyond cheese but a nice smelly cheese ready to eat? The preTzel necklace

Put it all on a string

e all know you can get lots of foods on sticks, and seemingly in direct competition with those, the pretzel W necklace can be seen at most beer events—a much better idea than things on a stick, because they require you only to put it on and chew. This leaves both hands available for beer and maybe also something on a stick. But we started to wonder why this ingenious way of holding your food was limited to just pretzels. What’s stopping us from having other delicious things on a string around our necks, ready to eat at a moment’s notice? We thought of some other items that Yes they make a beer glass necjlace too. Yes should be put on a string at the next beer fest or for any of your daily meals. You’ll never lose your food again!

Fried Chicken On A String – KFC don’t you Fruit On A String – The healthy alternative to Dessert On A String – Who doesn’t love cup- dare steal this idea! most foods. Sticky and delicious. cakes? Now you can just lean forward.

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