Archives for November 2019

The History of Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell isn’t just a brand—it’s a revolution in a glass. Born in 1842 in the Bohemian city of Plzeň (Pilsen), now part of the Czech Republic, Pilsner Urquell is recognized as the world’s first pale lager and the pioneer of an entirely new style of beer: the pilsner.

A Bold Response to Brewing Disappointment
In the early 19th century, the citizens of Plzeň were unhappy with the quality of local beer. To fix the problem, they built a new brewery—Měšťanský Pivovar (Citizens’ Brewery)—and hired Bavarian brewmaster Josef Groll. Groll brought with him the knowledge of bottom fermentation, a technique that, combined with the city’s soft water, locally grown Saaz hops, and pale malt, resulted in a crisp, clear, golden lager unlike anything the world had seen before.

On October 5, 1842, the first batch of this new beer was tapped. Its brilliant clarity, bright golden color, and refreshing bitterness stunned the local population. Word spread quickly, and soon Pilsner-style lagers were being brewed across Europe and around the globe.

The Birth of a Global Icon
“Pilsner Urquell,” meaning “Original Source of Pilsner,” was adopted to distinguish the beer from the many imitators that followed. Today, over 70% of all beer consumed worldwide is brewed in the pilsner style, making Pilsner Urquell the foundational beer for modern brewing.

What makes it unique even now? The brewery continues to use traditional methods—triple decoction mashing, open flame copper kettles, and fermentation in oak lagering barrels—preserving the rich malt character and balanced bitterness that define the beer.

A Lasting Legacy
Now brewed by Plzeňský Prazdroj (part of the Asahi Group), Pilsner Urquell remains a symbol of Czech brewing heritage. Whether poured with the creamy head of a “hladinka” or enjoyed fresh from a wooden barrel in Plzeň’s historic cellars, this legendary lager continues to set the standard nearly two centuries after its creation.

Pilsner Urquell Brewery
U Prazdroje 64/7
301 00 Plzeň
Czech Republic​
Phone: 420 377 062 888
Website: pilsnerurquell.com

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Raíces Brewing Company by Morgan Forsyth

Raíces, meaning “roots”, is a community taproom delivering flavors related to Latin America in a cultural venue on the Platte River in Denver, Colorado. The official grand opening of Raíces Brewing Company will be on Saturday, December 7. With a 15 barrel system, they will be opening with seven unique beers on tap – six of which will be year-round brews. Brewers Martin Vargas and Aaron Lancaster have been hard at work brewing classic styles of beer while incorporating flavors related to Latin American, including their Cafecito (meaning “small coffee”) coffee blonde, rich in flavor and light in body.

Raíces isn’t your typical taproom to come and enjoy beer, but rather a cultural venue where the community can gather and listen to live music, enjoy local artwork and Latino food trucks. Their involvement in the Latino community prompted a grant from the Brewer’s Association to aid them in developing the first craft beer festival in the country celebrating Latino craft breweries, brewers, beers, community and culture. Suave Fest took place Saturday, September 14, 2019 and featured 10 Latino-owned craft breweries from around Colorado. Plans are already in the works for next years Suave Fest, which will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2020. Being able to create a beer fest celebrating the Latino community and culture was a milestone for Raíces Brewing Company and other Latino-owned craft breweries, bringing awareness for diversification and accessibility in the craft beer industry.

With plans in the next couple of years to become a brewpub with their own dynamic menu, the future for this unique brewery is exciting! Currently, the taproom is open to the public before their grand opening – you can stop in Wednesday through Sunday to enjoy a pint on the river and explore the cultural place on the Platte!

Raíces Brewing
2060 W Colfax Ave
Denver, Colorado
Phone: (720) 295-2437
Website: www.raicesbrewing.com/

The following story is by Gary Gillman from beeretseq.com
Dow Ale was a legend in Quebec brewing until a strange event in the late 1960s spelled the end of the brand as a force. Quebec City, the old capital of the Province of Quebec, was a stronghold of the Dow brand. William Dow had started brewing in the 1800s in the Province. By the 1960s and after various mergers and takeovers, Dow, formerly named National Breweries, had four main brands: Dow Ale, Kingsbeer (a lager), Champlain Porter, and Dow Porter. Dow Ale was the big seller.

In 1966, hospitals in Quebec City started to notice that a spate of men in their 40s-60s, known to be heavy beer drinkers, were suffering from cardiomyopathy. It’s an ailment often manifested by irregularity of heart rhythm. Many died, something like 20-25 persons. Not all these men consumed the Dow brand but most did. Dow in Quebec City – it had a brewery there and in Montreal – made the fateful decision to dump its inventory of Dow Ale, a good faith gesture meant to reassure people. However, the population viewed the action as an admission of culpability. The beer forever became known as “la bière qui tue“, or the beer which kills.

Medical studies conducted by Quebec authorities never established a direct link between Dow’s beer and the deaths. Nevertheless, many experts felt that cobalt sulphate, then used in some brewing to improve head or foam retention, probably caused or exacerbated the medical issue. To be sure, these men were heavy drinkers, they consumed a dozen beers each day or more. Also, the malady seemed to be concentrated in Quebec City, yet Montreal was a large market too for the brand.

But while many breweries in Quebec added cobalt sulphate to their beer at the time, Dow apparently used an unusually large amount, some accounts state ten times the normal quantity. Hence the feeling on the part of many doctors that cobalt was probably responsible, but it was never conclusively proved. Still, Dow stopped using the chemical after the debâcle and the deaths did not recur, at least not in the concentrations that had been noticed.

Needless to say Dow beer fell sharply in sales after the disaster. In 1972 the brand was sold to another brewery, Molson Breweries in Montreal, which continued to brew the beer until the early 1990s. In 1987 Molson merged with Carling O’Keefe, the final successor to National Breweries (itself a combination of 14 breweries formed after WW I of which Dow was a key component).

Online there are numerous examinations of this unique incident in both Canadian and international brewing history. Here is a good place to start, for those interested in more information.

In recent posts, I was discussing the great Quebec and Canadian culinary authority Jehane Benoit, and it turns out she had a connection to Dow.

Benoit had studied food science in Paris in the 1920s under a master nutrition expert, Edouard de Pomiane. I was discussing beer cuisine in various francophone areas in the world, and noted that Quebec cuisine appeared to have only a few recipes using beer.

But Dow Brewery was a client of Mme Benoit in the 1950s, she did promotions for them and this led to a book of recipes called, in English, Cooking With Dow. While the origin of the recipes in the book is diverse and some were probably invented by Mme Benoit, this book must be considered to enlarge the number of Quebec dishes which employ beer in cooking. It is not, therefore, just in the last 20 years or so that books have appeared in Quebec proposing a beer-based gastronomy. The creative and enterprising Mme Benoit was doing it in the 1950s.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

In a later post, I will discuss some interesting recipes proposed by this great food authority.

Personal note: In 1986, I visited Montreal and picked up a 12 pack of Dow Ale.  When I moved to Toronto in 1985, I asked if anyone had heard about Dow beer.  An old guy(42 years old) said, “Yea, I do. Dow, the beer that kills.” It was only sold in Quebec in the 80’s and early 90’s.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fans of hard seltzer will be able to demand transparency and drink local this holiday season! DC Brau Brewing, Washington DC’s premier brewery, is expanding its beverage offerings with the introduction of a full line of hard seltzers under the FULL TRANSPARENCY brand. All four flavors of the new seltzers will be available in 12 ounce cans starting this Saturday, November 16th at the brewery with wider distribution rolling out later this month.

“Much like the early years of the craft beer movement here in the District, we saw a hole on the shelves for a locally-brewed seltzer, and are excited to be the first to put our stamp on this fast-growing market here in the National Capital Region and beyond,” says DC Brau CEO & Co-Founder Brandon Skall. ”It is not very often that we get to be a part of a brand new beverage category as it emerges in our industry. To say that this is exciting as producers and artisans is an understatement.”

“We have invested a lot of time and research into the development of Full Transparency to ensure a well-crafted product that will appeal to hard-core seltzer fans as well as the occasional drinker looking for a lower calorie option,” says DC Brau Brewmaster and President Jeff Hancock.

The initial Full Transparency brand includes four vibrant fruit-forward flavors, including Mango, Black Cherry, Raspberry Limeade, and a blend of Passionfruit, Orange and Guava (POG), that will be available in six packs and mixed variety 12 packs. Each can is just 100 calories with less than one gram of sugar and 5% alcohol-by-volume (ABV).

A limited quantity of Full Transparency will be available starting this Saturday, November 16th exclusively at the brewery in northeast DC with wider distribution to retailers and off-premise partners throughout the DMV and beyond beginning around Thanksgiving.

DC Brau has been producing award-winning craft beer at its brewery in Northeast DC since 2011. For more information, visit www.dcbrau.com and follow on social media @dcbrau.

SAN DIEGO— An award-winning craft brewery known for having a ‘Dam Good Time,’ Belching Beaver Brewery is celebrating its seventh anniversary. To honor the momentous occasion, the San Diego-based brewing company will be introducing a new limited release beer—What’s In The Hops?! Hazy IPA. The beer will debut via 16-ounce can, six-packs in select markets, starting this week.

“Seven years in and we’re still growing,” said Tom Vogel, CEO at Belching Beaver Brewery. “To maintain our brand’s success, we will continue to grow through innovation, new product lines and operating exciting locations. I’m most proud that many of the original people who started with the company are still here. Learning the business and growing it together has been an incredible experience, and the complete dedication of all of our team members has made this all amazing. It’s just awesome.”

As the production brewing team was brainstorming recipe ideas for this year’s special anniversary release, naturally, a Hazy IPA recipe calling for an abundant variety of hops made it to the brewhouse.

“For the past three years, hazy IPAs have been made to celebrate our anniversary, since we’re a group of self-proclaimed hopheads and hazy IPA enthusiasts,” said Troy Smith, Brewmaster at Belching Beaver Brewery. “This year, we switched it up by incorporating a few hops varieties that we don’t normally brew with, and the result is juicy and delicious. Anyone who appreciates the ‘haze-craze’ will want to get their hands on our new special, limited release, celebrating our 7th year of having a Dam Good Time while brewing.”

Interested in knowing ‘What’s in the Hops?!’ Brewed using Se7en different hop varietals, the limited release hazy IPA carries an intense aroma of pineapple and guava with some subtle grapefruit rind to balance out its sweet fruit characters. Upon first sip, the flavor highlights strong pineapple and stone fruit traits of peach and nectarine, along with some orange and citrus, finishing with a subtle sweetness. This is definitely a juicy one!

Available for a limited time at retailers in select markets, What’s In The Hops?! Hazy IPA marks the seventh anniversary for Belching Beaver Brewery. To learn more about Belching Beaver Brewery and its other beer offerings, visit belchingbeaver.com/beer. No humans were harmed in the making of this beer.

Key Facts
Name: Belching Beaver 7th Anniversary What’s In The Hops?! Hazy IPA

• Style: Hazy IPA
• Hops: Centennial, Nugget, Amarillo, Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, Galaxy
• Malts: 2-Row Pale Malt, Flaked Oats, Malted Oats
• Stats: 6.5% ABV; 30 IBU
• Packaging: 16-ounce cans in six-packs
• U.S. availability: AZ, CA, ID, NV, OR, and WA
• International availability: China, Japan, Canada

About Belching Beaver Brewery
Launched in 2012, Belching Beaver Brewery evolved from a desire to make great beer and have a ‘Dam Good Time’ doing it. The award-winning craft beer company is focused on two things: First, have a brand that offers quality craft beer, while also being whimsical and fun to inspire good times. Each Belching Beaver beer release carries its own individual style and personality. Second, make beer for everyone and all palates. From easy-drinking Blondes, Triple IPAs, Milk Stouts, Imperial Stouts as well as sours and barrel-aged beers, Belching Beaver Brewery has it! Learn more about Belching Beaver Brewery and its beers at belchingbeaver.com. 

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