Archive for the 'Beer Newsletters' Category

01
Sep
10

Featured Breweries – Tied House Brewery

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Categories: Beer Newsletters, Featured Breweries and Microbrew
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Tied House Brewery – San Jose, California

Tied House Brewery is one of the first original brewpubs in America, named in honor of a system of tied and free houses that emerged during England’s Industrial Revolution. A free house was privately owned, selling any type of beer. A tied house was a pub owned by a brewery and allowed to sell only that brewery’s beer, which “tied” them to that brewery.

Tied House opened in 1988 in downtown Mountain View, CA, the headquarters of Google, but more importantly, the headquarters of Tied House, where the great Coastal Fog beers now are made. Over two decades after they poured their first pint, they continue to perfect their award winning beer. So far, just in 2010, they have acquired six awards, including a 1st Place Gold. Quite impressive, as this is their first year producing Coastal Fog, and the awards are spread among several brews!

If you visit, don’t miss the Clubhouse Wall at the Tied House. More than 155 regulars have a numbered mug that hangs there, among the treasured multiple brew awards they’ve earned. Paying a small annual fee for their own mug, members get a bit more beer for their money, and Tied House logo gear and special invitations to local events. But perhaps the best feature is that the other side of the wall is their brewery, and famous kitchen!

They have proudly served 5 presidents, astronauts, and the revelers of 22 World Series, and now you are about to be served!

Coastal Fog IPA is brewed with copious amounts of Pacific Northwest hops. It’s a classic IPA with a balanced and substantial malt backbone.

Coastal Fog Amber Ale is rich and malty, with a light, hoppy finish, boasting flavors of roasted caramel and fresh hops.

Featured Beer from Tied House Brewery: Coastal Fog IPA and Coastal Fog Amber Ale.

www.tiedhouse.com

INDIA PALE ALE – Tied House’s Coastal Fog India Pale Ale – There is a long hoppy finish to this top fermented ale family of “beers of antiquity.” Medium bodied and heavily hopped with initial malt character, serve it at 13 degrees C / 55 degrees F with hearty main courses of red meats, Cheddar cheese or sharp salad dressing. (Goes well with nachos and wings, too!)

AMBER ALE – Tied House’s Coastal Fog Amber Ale – This honey-colored brew is full-flavored, boasting roasted caramel nuances and great body. It’s a top notch, top-fermented ale with perfect balance between hop flavor and malt character. It’s assertive, but not highly bitter. This Amber deserves to be paired with the best cuts of pork, bacon or ham.

Related: Beers featured in our Beer of the Month Club.

25
Aug
10

YOU CAN BE A GRADUATE OF ALE UNIVERSITY!

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Categories: Beer Newsletters and Clubs

Since all four selections this month are members of the Ale family, it seems fitting that we explore some details about this fine family of beers.

- Ales have been brewed and enjoyed since before King Tut strutted his stuff. But they nearly disappeared at the turn of the last century in our country as the Lager, the new kid on the block, turned the heads of so many former ale fans.

- The microbrewing revolution in the U.S. resurrected scores of ale styles that had been more or less forgotten. Today, appreciative ale drinkers have a variety of ale brews from which to choose.

- Ales comprise a few broad categories, usually determined by the brewing region. A few examples are Irish and English ales, Belgian and northern French ales, and Eastern European ales which include those from Germany and most wheat beers. American ales are based on these European styles, but with a Yankee twist.

- Long ago, most ales were muddy brown. The pale ales that followed were considered weak in color, thus in substance. But it’s documented that pale ale was the first “luminously crystal sparkling beer,” not the Bohemian Pilsner as is commonly believed.

- English ales are served at cellar temperature, about 55 degrees F. The best ales are cask condition, meaning they are naturally carbonated, and less “bubbly” that the mass produced ales sold in local stores.

- A striking difference between the English and the U.S. beer drinking public is that 85% of beer is consumed in British restaurants and pubs, while 85% of beer is consumed in the U.S. in our homes.

Keep soaking up more ale facts as you soak up this month’s ale selections from the Beer of the Month Club !

14
Jul
10

North, South, West, and Yeast

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Categories: Beer Newsletters
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It’s undeniable – no matter what direction you look, yeast is everywhere! It floats freely in the air, reproducing, metabolizing and being the reason for the creation of (depending on the type of yeast) mold, mildew, wine and beer!

Being that this is a beer newsletter, I’ll concentrate on the latter. Since ancient times, mankind has known that yeast can make an alcoholic drink out of nearly any plant, fruit or vegetable. Some archeologists claim that primitive forms of yeast selection were put into use by brewers as early as 1400 B.C.

When viewed under a microscope, brewer’s yeast appears to be a chain of little fungus organisms. (Their life’s work is to convert sugar to both carbon dioxide and alcohol.) Yeast was first viewed under a microscope by Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of that instrument. It is believed that beer yeast was the first thing Leeuwenhoek sought to observe under the lens!

By the mid 1800’s, it had been determined that malted barley was very receptive to yeast. And there were two primary strains of yeast that worked particularly well in the making of beer – one was successful in producing lagers, and the other was instrumental in creating ales.

Ale yeast gives beer its expressive, complex, fruit flavor. This yeast ferments at the top of the brew barrel in temperatures of 55 to 75 degrees F. In yeast past, this top-fermenting yeast lent itself to contamination as it worked in close proximity to the air where unwanted yeasts came into play.

Lager yeast is bottom-fermenting and works in a cooler environment of 32 to 55 degrees F. Lagers of today are stored for many weeks (even months) while the lager yeast works its magic, giving lagers their clean, soft taste.

Relates: Beer of the Month Club Is The Perfect Gift.