RED DERBY BEER BITS
A hastily organized, incomplete, unscientific compilation of hopefully fun facts about our thirty-some-odd beers. Hat tips to those brewing company websites that make you type in your date of birth, just to make sure you're over 21, the comprehensive website of Beer Advocate Magazine (www.beeradvocate.com), and especially to Wikipedia.
SCHLITZ | PBR | MILLER LITE | MILLER HIGH LIFE | AMSTEL LIGHT | BROOKLYN | HEINIKEN | YUENGLING | NATTY BOHS | BALTICA 5 | BAVIK PILS | BITTBURGER | PILSNER URQUELL | KALNAPILIS | ROLLING ROCK | O'DOULS | BASS | BODDINGTONS | RUDDLES COUNTY | OLD SPECKLED HEN | DALE'S PALE ALE | OLD CHUB | GORDON | SEA HAG IPA | NEW ENGLAND ELM CITY LAGER | ATLANTIC AMBER | WEXFORD IRISH CREAME ALE | WITTEKERKE | GUINNESS | YOUNG'S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE STOUT
SCHLITZ
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The beer it produced, Schlitz, was often considered the archetype of working-class beers. It has one of the best-known slogans in the American brewing industry: "The beer that made Milwaukee famous". The Schlitz container also boasts "Just a kiss of the hops."
The company was founded by Joseph Schlitz, who came to America from Mainz, Germany in 1850, at the age of 20. Schlitz flourished in the frenzied beer industry of pre-Civil War Milwaukee, where saloons and breweries sprang up by the hundreds, and in 1856 he took over management of the large brewery owned by the recently deceased August Krug. Two years later he married Krug's widow and changed the name to the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co.
The company really began to succeed after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when Schlitz donated thousands of barrels of beer to that city, which had lost most of its breweries. He quickly opened a distribution point there, beginning a national expansion.
Schlitz died May 7, 1875, when on a return visit to Germany; his ship hit a rock near Land's End, Cornwall, and sank.
The company flourished through the 1970s, being ranked as the No. 2 brewery in America as late as 1976. But problems with its production, specifically its attempt to cheapen the brewing process by using a high-temperature fermentation, which produced a product that the public deemed inferior, combined with a crippling 1981 strike by workers at the Milwaukee plant, led to serious financial difficulties. On June 10, 1982, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. was acquired by Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit, Michigan. The regular beer is still produced, though in relatively small quantities, by the Pabst Brewing Company, along with three malt liquors (Schlitz Malt Liquor, Schlitz Red Bull, and Schlitz Bull Ice).
What remains of the historic Schlitz Brewery complex has been transformed into a business park called Schlitz Park. Many of the buildings, including the Keg House, Bottle House and Malt House, have been turned into commercial and governmental office space and a middle school, such as the restaurant and tavern Libiamo.
PBR - PABST BLUE RIBBON
Pabst Blue Ribbon is the most famous product of the Pabst Brewing Company. Originally called Pabst Select, the current name came from a blue ribbon tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916. Also, Pabst Select won a blue ribbon at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition for being selected as "America's Best." By 2001, sales of the Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) had fallen to less than 1 million barrels, about one-tenth its peak in 1975. In 2000-01, Pabst sales executives noticed that sales in Portland, Oregon of PBR were growing, without any marketing or explanation. Further research found a local Portland bar had changed its offering to Pabst after a local beer went off the market. It was found that the local community was made up of a large counterculture along with working class people and college students who had adopted Pabst as their brew. Soon other bars in the area started to offer Pabst as their less expensive beer (Portland being famous for its high-end Microbrews) From Portland PBR has become popular again, specifically in Philadelphia, but also in San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, Richmond, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Omaha, Des Moines, Memphis, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and other cities with consumers who are anti-marketing, notably the Manhattan neighborhood of Alphabet City and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg.
MILLER LITE
Essentially the first mainstream light beer, Miller Lite has a colorful history. After its first inception as "Gablinger's Diet Beer," which was created by the Rheingold Brewery in New York in 1967, the recipe was literally given by the inventor of the light beer process to one of Miller's competing breweries, Chicago's Meister Brau, which came out with the Meister Brau "Lite" brand in the late 60's. When Miller acquired Meister Brau's labels the recipe was reformulated and relaunched as "Lite Beer from Miller" in 1975, and heavily marketed using masculine pro sports players and other macho figures of the day in an effort to sell to the key beer-drinking male demographic. Miller's approach worked where the two previous light beers had failed, and Miller's early production totals of 12.8 million barrels quickly increased to 24.2 million barrels by 1977 as Miller rose to 2nd place in the American brewing marketplace. Other brewers responded, especially Anheuser-Busch with its heavily advertised Bud Light in 1982, which eventually overtook Lite in 1994. In 1992 light beer became the biggest domestic beer in America.
MILLER HIGH LIFE
This beer was put on the market in 1903 and is Miller Brewing's oldest brand. High Life is grouped under the pilsner category of beers, although it has slightly less alcohol than European pilsners. The prevailing slogan on current packaging is "The Champagne of Beers", an adaptation of its long standing slogan "The Champagne of Bottled Beers". It was originally available in miniature champagne bottles and was one of the premier high end beers in the country for many years. Current marketing uses the tagline, "Savor The High Life". Except for a brief period in the 1990s, High Life bottles have always been quite distinctive, as they have a bright gold label and are made of a clear glass that has a tapered neck like a champagne bottle. High Life has brought back its "Girl in the Moon" logo, which features by today's standards a modestly dressed young lady that, by legend, is company founder Frederick Miller's granddaughter.
AMSTEL LIGHT
Amstel uses predominantly light pilsner malt, although some dark malt is also used. It is sold in 75 countries. Amstel Light is a 3.5% abv pale lager, and is the #1 imported low alcohol beer in the United States. Amstel Brewery (Amstelbrouwerij) was a brewery founded in 1870 on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It was taken over by Heineken International in 1968, and the brewing plant closed down in 1972, with production moving to the main Heineken plant at Zoeterwoude.
The original Amstel brewery was founded on June 11, 1870 in Amsterdam and named after the Amstel River, the waters of which also served for refrigeration. By 1872, Amstel was annually producing 10,000 hectoliters. For the purpose of storing the beer, winter ice from the canals was kept in special double walled cellars. Originally, the beer was mostly drunk in Amsterdam. From 1883, it was also exported to Great Britain and Indonesia.
The Beiersche Bierbrouwerij de Amstel (Amstel Bavarian beer brewery) was created in 1892 as a joint stock company. In 1915 the production of Amstel had increased twenty-fold and in 1926, Amstel consisted of a third of the Dutch beer exports. In 1941, Amstel, together with Heineken, bought up the Amsterdam brewery Van Vollenhvens bierbrouwerij, which was closed in 1961.
In 1954, Amstel built a brewery in Suriname. A few years later, Amstel was the first Dutch brewery to export beer in cans. At this time, the total exports of Amstel beer amounted to 101,000 hectoliters. In 1958 a subsidiary of Amstel produced its first beer in Jordan. In 1960, the third subsidiary of Amstel was opened - the Antillean brewery on Curaçao. 1963 saw the opening of two new breweries, one in Puerto Rico and one in Greece.
Amstel was bought out by Heineken in 1968. In 1972 the Amstel Brewery in Amsterdam was closed and production was relocated to the main Heineken plant in Zoeterwoude. The building on the Mauritskade was torn down. Only the former administration building was kept and has meanwhile become part of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam.
BROOKLYN
This lager beer in the "Vienna" style is the "flagship" beer of the Brooklyn Brewery. Amber-gold in color, displays a firm malt center supported by a fine bitterness and floral hop aroma. Carmel malts show in the finish. The aromatic qualities of the beer are enhanced by "dry-hopping," the centuries old practice of stteping the beer with fresh hops as it undergoes a long, cold maturation.
HEINIKEN
Heineken is a 5% abv pale lager made by Heineken International since 1868. It is the flagship product of the company, and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. The beer is force carbonated.
Heineken International is a Dutch brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. As of 2006, Heineken owns over 130 breweries in more than 65 countries and employs approximately 57,557[1] people. It brews and sells more than 170 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers, including Cruzcampo, Tiger, Żywiec, Starobrno, Zagorka, Birra Moretti, Ochota, Murphy's, Star and of course Heineken Pilsener. Heineken claims that the original Heineken recipe has not changed since the beer was first produced nearly 150 years ago.
With an annual beer production of 121.8 million hectoliters, Heineken ranks as the fourth largest brewery in the world after InBev, SABMiller, and Anheuser-Busch. Heineken's Dutch breweries are located in Zoeterwoude and 's-Hertogenbosch. The original brewery in Amsterdam, closed in 1988, is preserved as a museum called Heineken Experience.The Heineken company was founded in 1864 when the 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery known as De Hooiberg (the haystack) in Amsterdam. In 1874 the brewery's name changed to Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij, and opened a second brewery in Rotterdam in 1874. In 1886 Dr. H. Elion, a pupil of the French chemist Louis Pasteur, developed the "Heineken A-yeast" in the Heineken laboratory. This yeast is still the key ingredient of Heineken beer. In 1887 Heineken switched to the use of bottom-fermenting yeast.
The founder's son, Henry Pierre Heineken, managed the company from 1917 to 1940, and continued involvement with the company until 1951. During his tenure, Heineken developed techniques to maintain consistent beer quality during large-scale production. Henry Pierre's son, Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken, started working at the company in 1940, and 1971 was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board. He was a powerful force behind Heineken's continued global expansion, and while he retired from the Executive Board in 1989, he maintained involvement with the company until his death in 2002.
After World War I, the company focused more and more on export. Three days after Prohibition ended in the United States, the first Heineken shipment landed as the first legal shipment of beer. From that day on, Heineken has remained one of the most successful imported beer brands in the United States.
During this period, Heineken tried to increase its stock price by purchasing competing breweries and closing them down. After World War II, many small breweries were bought or closed, damaging the diverse beer culture of the Netherlands. In 1968 Heineken merged with its biggest competitor, Amstel, and in 1975 opened a new brewery in Zoeterwoude. The Amstel brewery was closed in 1980, and its production moved to Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch.
YUENGLING
With its deep amber hue and mild hop character, Yuengling is a a classic brew, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century beers. This Amber Lager may also be characterized as an American-Style Premium lager that is a more flavorful medium-bodied beer than just an American-Style pilsner. Each brew has ruby colored highlights with a slight hop aroma and flavor. The degree of toasty sweet caramel-type character in the flavor and aroma results in a refreshingly balanced palate.
NATTY BOHS
National Bohemian, colloquially called Natty Boh, is an American beer originally brewed in Baltimore, Maryland, but now brewed by Miller Brewing in North Carolina and distributed by Pabst. First brewed in 1885 by the National Brewing Company (whose other brands were National Premium and Colt 45), this Bohemian-style beer's slogan has long been "From the Land of Pleasant Living" — a reference to the Chesapeake Bay.
For a time, National's head Jerry Hoffberger also owned the Baltimore Orioles; Natty Boh was served at Memorial Stadium and became the "official" beer of Baltimore in the late 1960s. After a 1973 merger with Canadian brewer Carling, the Baltimore brewery was closed in 1978 and production moved to the company's facility in Halethorpe, Maryland. Carling-National was itself bought out by the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1979. In 1996, the company was sold to Stroh Brewery Company, and eventually to Pabst Brewing Company. Brewing stopped at the Halethorpe facility by 2000. The facility was sold to a local interest. The brewing facility was demolished by 2006. Although only a few blocks away, the Clipper City Brewing Company now brews a version called McHenry, based on the National Premium recipe.
The company's mascot, the one-eyed, handlebar-mustachioed Mr. Boh, has been a recognizable icon since the 1950s. Although the mascot itself was retired in the early sixties, it is still a highly popular image, especially in Baltimore, where it is considered an unofficial city mascot. A Mr. Boh neon sign currently sits atop the former site of the National Brewery building in Canton, Baltimore. The former brewery is now known as Natty Boh Towers and is rented out as apartments and offices. Mr. Boh still appears on all cans, bottles, and packaging; and merchandise featuring him can still easily be found in shops all over Maryland.
BALTICA 5
The Baltika Trade mark was established in 1992. Currently, it is the most familiar & popular beer brand in Russia, second seller (after Heineken) in Europe & embraces 10 different varietes of beer. Baltica 5 first introduced in 2002 , this premium quality lager offers enthusiasts a satysfying flavor & aroma.
BAVIK PILS
Very light, hardly any sparkling, fine white head the bitterness introduced already in the aroma, comes completely forward in the aftertaste.
BITTBURGER
In Germany, the home of beer, Bitburger ranks among the three top brands - a challenge in a market with over 1200 breweries and over 5000 beers! Bitburger is Germany's most popular and number one brand of draft beer.
Since 1817, six generations of the Simon family have brewed Bitburger Pils to perfection. Remaining within the "Reinheitsgebot," (German Beer Purity Law), Bitburger has its own quality rule handed down from generation to generation: to brew, using only the highest quality raw materials in a traditional fermentation process - a Pils which no one can better.
The special taste and the wholesome nature of Bitburger Pils is due to the selection of the finest natural ingredients: aromatic hops, the best summer barley, and crystal-clear water from the local Eifel mountains.
In accordance with the laws of nature, the Bitburger brewer carefully tends a cold, main fermentation and a long-maturing process at temperatures near the freezing point of beer. This brings out the wholesome, delicately smooth taste and guarantees that the quality is retained on the journey from the brewery to the customer.
PILSNER URQUELL
Pilsner Urquell (-German and international title, Plzeňský prazdroj in Czech) is a bottom-fermenting beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, Bohemia (now Czech Republic). The beer is today a prominent brand of global brewing empire SABMiller, which has also started brewing Pilsner Urquell in Poland.
Pilsner Urquell is somewhat heavier (with an almost ale-like fruitiness in the malt body) and more strongly hopped than most pilsener beers [citation needed]. Saaz hops, a noble hop variety, are a key element in its flavour profile. As its name indicates (both "Urquell" and "Prazdroj" mean "original source"); it is the world's original pilsener, or golden beer. Most popular lagers produced in the rest of the world are based upon this original beer [citation needed]. Any beer that calls itself a pilsner, pilsener or pils is referring to its being made in the style of this beer, first formulated by Josef Groll in 1842 at Měšťanský pivovar (Burgess' Brewery) in Pilsen on 5 October 1842. Plzeňský pramen, Prapramen, Měšťanské Plzeňské, Plzeňský pravý zdroj were brand names that the Burgess' Brewery registered at the end of the nineteenth century; however, it was another name that persevered: Prazdroj.
KALNAPILIS
Kalnapilis is a Lithuanian brewery, established by Albert Foight in Panevėžys in 1902. in creating Kalnapilis Original, the brewers selected the finest Saaz hops. The beer has an especially rich and harmonious flavour while its foam is sturdy and long-lasting. Feel the unique flavour and aroma that seems like it is straight out of the keg.
ROLLING ROCK
Rolling Rock is a brand of pale lager beer. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Missouri in mid 2006, which transferred brewing operations to New Jersey.
Rolling Rock beer is distinctive in several ways, including use of green glass bottles with painted-on labels rather than glued-on paper labels.
The number 33 is printed prominently on all bottles of Rolling Rock. A widely-held belief is that it marks the repeal of prohibition in 1933. However, according to James L. Tito, former CEO of Latrobe Brewing, the "33" signifies the 33 words in the beer's slogan: "Rolling Rock - From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you."
A founding executive is said to have written "33" at the end of the slogan to indicate the number of words it comprised as a guide for the bottle printers. However, they thought it was part of the text and incorporated it into the label graphics. Hence, the first batch of bottles carried the number "33" and they remained that way since they were continually collected and reused (also, during the Great Depression, there was no reason to throw away perfectly good merchandise and start over). This tradition has been sustained by the company as the wording on the labels has changed over the years, and the verbiage is carefully structured to retain a length of 33 words. There are several other lesser-known theories or urban legends about the "mysterious" number 33, including the fact that 33 is the highest degree in Freemasonry, but none has been verified.
The term pony bottle is derived from the horse on the bottle, and refers to the smaller sized 7-ounce bottle. Some pony bottles have paper (rather than painted) labels because of space restrictions.
Rolling Rock is considered to be something of a premium beer and has benefited greatly from the trend toward the consumption of less mainstream alcoholic beverages that has been developing in the United States since the 1970s.
From 1939 until 2006, Rolling Rock was brewed at the Latrobe Brewing Company. In May, 2006, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light brands from InBev and began brewing Rolling Rock at its Newark facility in mid July, 2006. The final batch of Rolling Rock was shipped from Latrobe on July 31, 2006. Anheuser-Busch has said that Rolling Rock's original pledge on the label will be preceded by these words: "To honor the tradition of this great brand, we quote from the original pledge of quality." This appears on current production (2007) painted bottles, along with "Latrobe Brewing Co., ST. LOUIS, MO."
Residents of the Greater Latrobe Area organized a boycott of InBev and Anheuser-Busch brands to demonstrate their disapproval of Rolling Rock leaving the area where it was born. Although Anheuser-Busch has claimed that the recipe has remained the same, some Rolling Rock enthusiasts claim the taste of the beer has slightly changed since the move to Newark. In September 2006 the brewery was purchased by City Brewing Company and now brews Samuel Adams beer for the Boston Beer Company.
O'DOULS
O'Douls is a full-bodied premium non-alcoholic malt beverage. It includes barley malt. domestic and imported cone hops, brewers yeast, select grains and water. The only difference between O'Douls and other malt beverages is that the alcohol has been gently and naturally removed during the maturing process.
BASS
Bass is the name of a former brewery and the brand name for several English beers originally brewed in Burton upon Trent at Bass Brewery and still brewed in Burton by Coors. Bass is most particularly associated with their pale ale. The distinctive Red Triangle logo for Bass Pale Ale was Britain's first registered trademark.
The Bass & Co Brewery was established by William Bass in 1777 and was one of the first breweries in Burton upon Trent. Early in the company's history, Bass was exporting bottled beer around the world with the Baltic trade being supplied through the port of Hull. Growing demand led to the building of a second brewery in Burton upon Trent in 1799 by Michael Bass, the founder's son, who entered into partnership with John Ratcliff. The water produced from boreholes in the locality became popular with brewers, with 30 different breweries operating in the mid 19th centuries. Michael's son, another Michael succeeded on the death of his father in 1827, renewed the Ratcliff partnership and brought in John Gretton, creating the company of 'Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton' as it traded in the 19th century. The opening of the railway through Burton in 1839 led to Burton becoming pre-eminent as a brewing town. In the mid 1870's Bass, Ratclif and Gretton accounted for one third of Burton's output. The company became a public limited company in 1888, following the death of Michael in 1884, who was succeeded by his son, another Michael, later Lord Burton. Both Michael Bass and Lord Burton were considerable philanthropists with extensive charitable donations to the towns of Burton and Derby. Early in the 20th century in a declining market many Burton breweries closed down. The numbers fell from 20 in 1900 to 8 in 1928. Bass took over the breweries of Worthington, Walkers and Thomas Salt.
By the end of the 20th century, following decades of closures and consolidation, Bass was left with one of the two large breweries remaining in the town. It also had substantial holdings in hotels, now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
Over the years of its ascendancy, Bass maintained its dominance in the UK market by the acquisition of other brewers such as Birmingham-based Mitchells & Butlers (1961), London brewer Charringtons (1967), Sheffield brewer William Stones Ltd (1968) and Lincolnshire-based Hewitt Brothers Limited (1969) (with the overall company being known as Bass, Mitchells and Butlers or Bass Charrington at various times). The Mitchells and Butlers name lives on as the company that retained the licensed retail outlet business when it was separated from the Six Continents PLC company (the successor to Bass PLC) in 2003.
The brewing business of Bass PLC was bought by the Belgian brewer Interbrew (now InBev) in June 2000, when the remaining hotel and pub holdings were renamed Six Continents plc.
After the Competition Commission had considered the potential monopoly concerns[1] arising from the deal, Interbrew disposed of Bass Brewers Limited (including the Carling and Worthington brands) to Coors (now Molson Coors Brewing Company), but retained the rights to Bass beer production.
The beer was produced under license by Coors, which retained the Bass brewing capacity. Bass Brewers Limited was renamed Coors Brewers Limited. The production license came to an end in 2005, and the license to brew Draught Bass has been taken up by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC, who started production at the Marston's Brewery, also in Burton. Keg Bass, the type exported to the USA, is no longer brewed in Burton and is now imported by Anheuser-Busch.
Next to the brewery, the Bass Museum of Brewing, recently renamed as 'The Coors Visitor Centre', is Burton upon Trent's largest tourist attraction, presenting the history of brewing in the town.
Bass was a pioneer in international brand marketing. The Bass Red Triangle is one of the world's oldest logos and was the first trademark to be registered in Britain. The 1875 Trademarks Registration Act came into effect on 1 January 1876 and that New Year's Eve, a Bass employee waited overnight outside the registrar's office, in order to be the first in the queue to register a trademark the next morning. In fact Bass got the first two registrations, the first being the Bass Red Triangle for their pale ale and the second the Bass Red Diamond for their strong ale.
BODDINGTONS
Boddingtons is an English beer, originally from Manchester, United Kingdom that has been brewed for more than 200 years. The bitter is now sold in over 30 countries worldwide, and can be drunk on tap around the world in countries as diverse as New Zealand, China, and the United States.
The Strangeways Brewery was founded by two grain merchants, Thomas Caister and Thomas Fry, in 1778. [1] The location of the brewery, just outside the city centre, was chosen to avoid a grain tax levied by local mills that belonged to Manchester Grammar School.
Henry Boddington joined the brewery in 1832 as a traveller, and eventually rose up to become a partner in the company. In 1853 he borrowed money to become the sole owner of the enterprise.
Boddingtons remained a family company until 1989, when the last Family chairman Mr Ewart Boddington sold the Strangeways brewery and the Boddingtons beer brand to Whitbread for £50.7 million. In May 2000, the Whitbread Beer Company was acquired by Interbrew.
RUDDLES COUNTY
Ruddles County is famed for its dry, bitter flavour, which comes from using the rare Bramling Cross hops. Many liken the flavour to burnt toffee and caramel, which, when combined with the dry bitterness, gives a very pleasing taste. Ruddles County has a light, inviting aroma of soft fruits and hops, and has a deep brown color with warm, reddish tones.
OLD SPECKLED HEN
Old Speckeled Hen has a wonderful, warm flavor bursting with body. Malt load and toffee flavors combine with a bitterness on the back of the toungue to give a beautiful, balance sweetness without being cloying. Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory. The name is is derived from the name "owld speckled 'un", a term used to describe an old MG car used as a factory run-around.
DALE'S PALE ALE
Dale's Pale Ale is the Oskar Blues Brewery's flagship beer and America's first hand-canned craft beer. It's an assertive but deftly balanced beer (somewhere between an American pale ale and an India Pale Ale) brewed with hefty amounts of European malts and American hops. It features a merengue-like head, a copper color, and a hoppy nose, thanks to a big post-boil addition of Centennial hops. To complement its hoppy first impression, Dale's also sports a rich middle of malts and hops, and a bracing finish. Dale's is 6.5% alcohol by volume, and features 65 International Bittering Units.
OLD CHUB
Old Chub, also by Oskar Blues Brewery, is a Scottish strong ale brewed with hearty amounts of seven different malts, including crystal and chocolate malts, and a smidge of US and UK hops. Old Chub also gets a dash of beechwood-smoked grains imported from Bamburg, Germany, home of the world's greatest smoked beers. Old Chub is 8% alcohol by volume.
The cola-colored beer (almost black) features a tan head, a creamy, skim-milk mouthfeel, and rich, semi-sweet flavors of caramel and chocolate throughout. The addition of smoked grains gives Old Chub a delicate kiss of smoke on the finish.
Old Chub is the beer equivalent of a lightly smoked single malt scotch, or your favorite dark chocolate.
GORDON
Gordon is a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. We make it with six different malts and three types of hops, then dry-hop it with a mutha lode of Amarillo hops. It is 8.7% alcohol by volume, and has 85 International Bittering Units.
It features a gooey, resiny aroma and a luscious mouthfeel. Gordon is brewed with dash of chocolate malt in it, to round out its load of hops and balance the beer. The result is an assertive yet exceptionally smooth version of strong beer.
Oskar Blues brews Gordon in tribute to the late Gordon Knight. In addition to opening some of Colorado's first microbreweries, Knight was a Vietnam vet, grade-A citizen, and huge promoter of craft beer. He lost his life in 2002 while fighting a wild fire outside of Lyons, Colorado.
Originally our winter seasonal beer, it has become a cult favorite of extreme-beer lovers, so we now brew occasional batches of Gordon throughout the year. Released in bottles in 2003 and 2004, Gordon is now sold in four packs of hand-labeled cans and on draft in select markets.
With its deep amber hue and mild hop character, Yuengling is a a classic brew, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century beers. This Amber Lager may also be characterized as an American-Style Premium lager that is a more flavorful medium-bodied beer than just an American-Style pilsner. Each brew has ruby colored highlights with a slight hop aroma and flavor. The degree of toasty sweet caramel-type character in the flavor and aroma results in a refreshingly balanced palate.
SEA HAG IPA
A Rich and full-bodied India Pale Ale with complex malt character, blended with cascade and noble hops. The end result is a beer that satisfies the "hop head" out there and wont chase away the newcomer.
NEW ENGLAND ELM CITY LAGER
Named after New Haven's historic nickname, this is a true German Pilsner made with all German ingredients. The blend of pilsner malts and pure Haallertaur hops makes this a perfectly balanced, crisp and refreshing beer.
ATLANTIC AMBER
The "flagship beer" of New England Brewing Co., Atlantic Amber is a medium-bodied beer made in the uniquely American, steam style of brewing. In "brew-guy" speak, that means it's brewed with lager yeasts at ale temperatures. Brewing a slightly sweeter, richer, caramel malt and two varieties of hops in this style makes for truly unique flavor.
WEXFORD IRISH CREAME ALE
Wexford Irish Cream Ale is the first Irish cream in a widget can to be imported to the United States. Light to medium bodied, Wexford Irish Cream Ale is real Irish draft beer in a can. It is on of the largest brands and biggest selling cream ales in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The rich, smooth flavor of Wexford Irish Cream Ale was born over five generations of brewing traditions in the family owned Wexford Ale Company established in 1810.The naturally mellow taste of this Irish Cream Ale comes from an original recipe using only Irish malt and hops. It contains 5% a.b.v. The Wexford can contains an in-can system that produces a creamy head for an authentic draft experience.
WITTEKERKE
A true WIT beer must be made of at least 25 % wheat malt in combination with barley malt. Belgian WIT beers are naturally cloudy since they are unfiltered. Wittekerke charms you with its own character, smooth taste and a unique delicious aroma. A very pleasant drink, light in alcohol with a crisp and refreshing flavor. Wittekerke is always served cold, but in taking your time to enjoy it, you will find more flowery and spring flavors towards the end of your glass. Although the hoppy bitterness is an underlying taste, it is never dominant. Perfect white head.
Wittekerke is a fictitious name for a typical Flemish town, like we find hundreds of villages in Flanders with a name ending on KERKE (church) or KAPELLE (chapel). WITTE means white in English, thus the translation of the name is WHITE CHURCH. The Bavik brewery has since a long time brewed its own authentic WIT beer under the "Bavik Wit" label, but the brewery chose to change the name in cooperation with the producers of the Belgian sit-com "WittekerkeITTEKERKE", airing twice a week in prime-time on the Belgian TV channels. The actors drink WITTEKERKE during the show.
GUINNESS
Guinness is a dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness's St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The beer is based upon the porter style that originated in London in the early 1700s. It is one of the most successful beer brands in the world, being exported worldwide. The distinctive feature in the flavour is the roasted barley which remains unfermented. For many years a portion of the beer was aged to give a sharp lactic flavour, but Guinness has refused to confirm if this still occurs. The thick creamy head is the result of a nitrogen mix being added during the serving process. It is extremely popular with the Irish and is the best-selling alcoholic drink of all time in Ireland, where Guinness & Co. makes almost €2billion annually. Now available around the world, the brand is heavily associated with Ireland.
ABOUT THE CANS - It's the widget in the cans that does it. The patented Guinness In-Can System is an ingenious award-winner. A tiny plastic widget jets a stream of bubbles into the Guiness beer when the can is opened.
Arthur Guinness started brewing ales initially in Leixlip, then at the St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland from 1759. He signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later in 1769 Guinness exported their product for the first time, when six and a half barrels were shipped to England.
Although sometimes believed to have originated the stout style of beer, the first use of the word stout in relation to beer was in a letter in the Egerton Manuscript dated 1677, almost 50 years before Arthur Guinness was born. The first Guinness beers to use the term were Single Stout and Double Stout in the 1840s.
Guinness brewed their last porter in 1974.
Guinness Stout is also brewed under licence internationally in several countries, including Nigeria and Indonesia. The unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract (the essence) is shipped from Dublin and blended with a beer brewed locally.
The Guinness brewery in Park Royal, London closed in 2005. The production of all Guinness sold in the UK was switched to St. James's Gate Brewery Dublin. People in the UK had previously stated that Irish brewed Guinness tasted much better than that brewed in London.
The breweries pioneered several quality control efforts. The brewery hired the statistician William Sealy Gosset in 1899, who achieved lasting fame under the pseudonymn "Student" for techniques developed for Guinness, particularly Student's t-distribution and the even more commonly known Student's t-test.
YOUNG'S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE STOUT
From England's oldest brewery, this is Stout comes in the nitro can, and it's ingredients include real dark chocolate.
Young & Co's Brewery Plc is a vertically integrated British regional brewer founded in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. Before the closure of The Ram Brewery in 2006, the Ram was one of the two remaining large London breweries along with the Griffin Brewery run by Fullers in Chiswick.
Young & Co now brews its beers through its jointly owned brewing operations with Charles Wells. This venture is known as the Wells & Young's Brewing Company, located at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford. Young's & Co is still an independent family owned brewer; it operates its own pub estate and with a 40% stake in its co-owned Wells & Young's, brewing is a significant part of the business. All of Young & Co's beers are branded as Young's and are sold through its chain of pubs and suppliers.The earliest records of brewing on Young's brewery site are of pub landlord Humphrey Langridge in 1581 distributing beer brewed at the Ram Inn at Wandsworth, which was then a village in Surrey. The site of this inn is today the Brewery Tap. Records from 1675 show that the brewery was run by the Draper family, and in the 18th century, the Trittons purchased the brewery. It was purchased by Charles Allen Young and Anthony Fothergale Bainbridge in 1831. Since then it has been associated with the Young family, and until 2006 the last chairman of Young & Co belonging to the Young's family was John Young (the great-great-grandson of Charles).
In 1835 a beam engine was installed, which was in regular use until the 1980s. In 2006, the brewery was a mix of ancient and ultra-modern plant, which produced a wide range of beers. Young's claimed that the Ram Brewery was the oldest British brewery in continuous operation.
The company produced three regular and a series of seasonal and occasional cask ales, keg lagers, and several filtered and pasteurised bottled beers. Young's also contract brewed several beers for InBev, such as Courage Best and Mackeson Stout.
Young's had a number of animals resident in its brewery. There was a ram, a number of geese and about a dozen working draught horses. These horses and drays were still used up until the closure of the brewery in 2006, for local deliveries of beer to locations within a mile or two of the brewery.
The brewery supplied Young's public houses, in London and the area to the south-west, which still number over 200. It also sold to many other pubs and supermarkets. Beer was also exported to many European countries, Canada, the United States and Japan. These sales and distribution are still carried on behalf of Young & Co through its operations with Charles Wells.
It is unclear when the company will replace all of its pubs defunct 'Ram Brewery Wandsworth' signage. The brewer however insists that it is dedicated to keeping the ram as the company logo.