A truely sad day for all beer lovers, one of the first and greatest beer pioneers has passed today.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52716.asp


Some kind words from another beer writer.
http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2007/08/michael-jackson.html


Michael Jackson's last article
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/

Really Really Old Beer. Have you had some? The oldest beer I have tried (before this weekend) was around 15 or 16 years old and I have a bottle of something that is 18 right now (but I am waiting for its 20th anniversary). Not all beer is of course going to last decades and be anything close to drinkable, really only two kinds; an over the top, super strong barleywine or a sour, yeast beasties, who will consume ever last bit of sugar, beer. However, either way I never fathomed in my wildest dreams I would get to try something this old. I have heard others tell of similar experiences with really old beer, but I never, even for a second, thought I could at some time drink a similarly old beer. However, this weekend I was treated by a very generous beer lover (BTW, biggest thanks in the world for opening this up) to a... guess... a beer that is... over 100 years old!!!! To be precise it was brewed in 1869, it is 138 years old. Can you believe it? It was a big deal actually, a stash was found hidden in a brewery in England. Here is a nice article on the beer.

So not to burst anyone's bubble but it actually did not taste like anything. The aroma was decent enough, some cider aspects, very faint malt. Taste was completely water (pool water, as one person described it). So, I wont expect much from 100 year old beer but it was cool in itself.

Its been too long, lots of things to report.

Homebrewing:
Made a stout with my buddy Boris, was bottled on 5/25/07. Had it 4 weeks later and was really disappointed but had some more yesterday and it was really good, maybe the best I have made so far.
Borris has gone on to make his first batch without me, a Double/Imperial Pale Ale, can't wait to try it, when its Boris... its got to be adventurous.
Planning on making a hard cider with cranberries (and possibly honey) next, just need to find some free time.
Also want to experiment with carob molasses, grape molasses, and figs in the future.


Beer loving:
Had a gathering to welcome a fellow Ratebeerian to the area recently PICURES HERE

Belgium Comes to Copperstown is happening in less than two weeks, if you don't know you better ask somebody
http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?event_view_id=125&event_view=2007-07-21&mcat=3

Drinking a Black Jack Porter right now. One of the many really nice breweries in Colorado. This is one of their regular offerings. A very cice beer, seems like they added chocolate and the hops are jus a bit stronger than I like in my porters. But overall great cocoa sweetness and a slight tea aspect, very quaffable.

Just some words on what is probably the best beer bar in NYC right now. Blind Tiger Ale House took some time to re-open (liquor license problems) but it finally did. The selection is very nice, as well as the service. Beautiful place in an easy to get spot (for me at least). Good food and some things seem a bit pricey its well worth it. Check it out.

I have my next homebrew in the primary right now. Its a stout with a bit of a twist, some spices, and a bit more hops.

Dictionary.com defines nip as "a small bit or quantity of anything." So in the beer world nips are small bottles of beer usually 7 ounces or less, a not too common occurrence in craft beer. Only a handful of breweries make any more nips. The most famous nip would probably be the Anchor Old Foghorn. One of the first American-style Barleywines produced was always sold only in 7 oz nips until 2004 (now boring old 12 oz bottles). Nips are usually saved for very strong beers, allowing the drinker to enjoy a high alcohol beer in moderation, not to mention save the cost of producing these beers. Possibly, the most sought after nip nowadays is the Raspberry Eisbock, produced by Kuhnhenn Brewing, a small family operation in Warren Michigan. One of the hardest to come by nips is made in Southampton, NY, the Double Icebock packs a punch at around 18%. The Southampton Publick House (Publick.com) produced less than 100 nips a year (and rumors are this year it wont even be released). Drakes Brewing Company in San Leandro, CA probably produces the most nips of any craft brewery (that does not mean a lot). These are their high octane beers that all weight in double digit abv (i.e. 15th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Lager). Not to be fooled, not all nips are created equal. Lakefront Brewery produced their own Barleywine in a nip, unfortunately some may consider that a waste of space (even if its just a nip of space).

I love nips for a few reasons:

A) Usually these are special beers that are hard to come by, so when I do I really appreciate it.

B) Sometimes you drink a big beer for the kick and sometimes you really just want to enjoy it and I am always forced to just enjoy these brews.

C) My enormous love for craft beer is offset by my small living space, a dichotomy I think is well represented in a nip (that's enough for humor).

D) I would have no where to store dishes if I saved all the cool bottles of beer that I have come across but nips are easy to save and display in a small area.

Some noteworthy nip-esque bottles:

A) Sam Adams Triple Bock is a beautiful dark cobalt blue, corked with rubber cover 8.45 ounce bottle containing an 18% beer. The beer is borderline nip for me, some say yes and some say no.

B) Thomas Hardy's, a British staple Barleywine come in 33cl (or 8.5 oz) bottles. Another big beer in a small bottle.

C) Rogue XS series was a lineup of 3 beers (Barleywine, Imperial Stout, and Scotch Ale) that at one time were sold in nips. They no longer are, the Barleywine and Imperial Stout are now produced in 750ml ceramic swing top bottles and the weakest of the series, the Scotch Ale, is no longer brewed.

So I reached a monumental rating on the beer site by rating my 500th beer. Its a cool achievement for a beer geek like myself, but more importantly I wanted to do something special for the rating. I drank a Westvleteren 8, a beer that is rather difficult to come by. Why you ask, well let me give a little background:

The Westvleteren beers are brewed by the Abbey of Saint Sixtus in the Westvleteren region of Belgium. The Abbey makes Trappist beers or those made by Trappist monks. Of the world's 171 Trappist monasteries, seven produce beer (six in Belgium and one in The Netherlands). These seven breweries are authorized to label their beers with the Authentic Trappist Product logo that indicates a compliance to various rules edicted by the International Trappist Association (mainly that the beer be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastry and the profits go toward assistance and not economic gain).

Of all the Trappist breweries, St. Sixtus produces the smallest amount and also produces by some to be the worldest best beers. These beers are not supposed to be sold outside of the Abbey, but I obviuosly did not travel to Belgium to pick up this bottle. I came across this bottle through some fun beer hunting.

Now back to the point, this bottle, with which I celebrated my 500th rating was about 5.5 years old. As expected it aged wonderfully, but if you want to see exactly what I thought you are going to have to go read the rating.