Speaking of Beer

Perhaps in anticipation of some more “exotic” beers to come, next time around we’re looking at some widely-available-in-a-North-American-sense brews. Heck, they’ve got ‘em at my local area Wal-Mart. Seek out the following:

Wild Hop Lager [alternatives: Yuengling Traditional Lager, JW Dundee's Original Honey Brown]

and

Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale [alternatives: Bass Ale, Saranac Pale Ale, Samuel Smith's Organically Produced Ale]

Both beers are USDA Certified Orgainc, and no, that’s not the theme. Let’s just say that scratching the surface of their brewer, the “Green Valley Brewing Company” reveals something almost sinister…

Prebeer Preamble: As the screaming ice-banshee howls of a winter wind shake your constitution to its very core, nothing brings you back to heartening feelings of summer warmth like a really, really strong beer. This has been the general operating principle for centuries, and here in the 21st, America’s west coast is stepping up to the winter warmer challenge. Today I’m joined by homebrewing compadre Shawn, as we sample a pair of southern California brews engineered to put a little fire in your furnace.

Beer #1: Shawn and I start our quest for relief from Arizona’s mild chill with AleSmith’s Old Numbskull Barleywine Style Ale. Having never tried a beer modeled after northern Europe’s quintessential winter brew filtered through the Cascade curtain of SoCal, beer novice Shawn is not sure what to expect. I try to orient him with the telling question, “Are you ready to get crocked?”

Interbeer Interlude: MicroBrewed. “Hessen Haus.” The massive Des Moines pubcrawl continues for Tee and the boys (”the boys” being Paul and Andrew), as our intrepid quaffers arrive at Hessen Haus, “central Iowa’s only authentic German bier hall.” Since when did Des Moines get so freeking multicultural?

Beer #2: Our internal fireplaces well stoked, Shawn and I now take the potentially ill-advised step of reaching for something stronger, in this case Stone’s Double Bastard Ale. Yeah, what the hell were we thinking?
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Beer Geek Moment: Cellaring Beer. Big beers have potentially big life spans. What is the point of hanging on to a brew for a year or more? This Moment delves into the very heart of this question. Only extraordinarily patient beer geeks need apply.

Postbeer Postscript: Shawn and I experience some actual “winter” as we’re kicked outside to relate the scores on these beers. Between chattering teeth, we attempt to coherently articulate our opinions. Yeah, good luck on that! Which beer claims the top of the bone-warming crop? Tune in and find out!

 

 Show 43: Winter Warmers, San Diego Style: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2088)

Just in time for 2008, you too can show your fine taste in beercasts by sporting something from the Speaking of Beer Cafepress store!

Choose from a mind-boggling array of official SoB products in a variety of designs, some of which are actually related to beer drinking. Make up for that botched Xmas gift with something Beer Guy, or just let your beer geek flag fly in uber-cool SoB duds. Thomas, we’ve even got something for your hop-headed dog!

Find splendiferous beer-related consumption here, or click on the link over there to the right.

And a huge “thanks!” to Tom the Beer Guy’s Brother for setting this whole thing up!

If you plan on drinking along with the next show, it’s the perfect opportunity to bring a friend into the SoB fold. The beers are BIG, both in bottle-volume and in ABV, and if you tackle them both by yourself you’ll probably wake up the next morning behind a dumpster with a splitting headache and someone’s underwear draped over your inexplicably shaven and tattooed head. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The beers are:

AleSmith’s Old Numbskull [alternatives: Dogfish Head's Olde School Barleywine, Rogue's Old Crustacean Barleywine, Hair of the Dog's Fred]

and

Stone’s Double Bastard Ale [alternatives: Dogfish Head's Immort Ale, The Lost Abbey's Old Viscosity]

It’s not entirely clear what impact the festive holiday season will have on the release date for this show…I’m guessing it’ll come out sometime shortly after the first of the new year, but I might be able to eek it out a little before that. In any case, have a good one (holiday season, that is)!

Prebeer Preamble: One of the most potent symbols of the joyous generosity that marks the December holiday season is a certain St. Nicholas (a.ka. Santa Claus, a.k.a Father Christmas, a.k.a. Kris Kringle, etc.). Today we enjoy a couple of beers that pay homage to that jolly old elf, and see if the north pole’s #1 citizen can inspire a good brew.

Beer #1: With Thanksgiving turkey still settling in our tummies, I’m joined by dinner guests Evo Terra, Sheila Unwin, and Jack Mangan for some Santa’s Private Reserve Ale from Rogue Brewery. Evo likes it real bitter, Jack’s more of a hefeweizen guy, and Sheila can go either way. Whose trigger does this hopped-up amber ale trip? Surely someone’s, right?

Interbeer Interlude: Liquid Literature “Beer and Food: An American History by Bob Skilnik”. In a new recurring interbeer segment, Anna Creech, the Eclectic Librarian, gives us a look into the world of words about beer. Today she reviews a book that might just be on the wish list of your literary beer loving friends!

Beer #2: To cap our evening off, we next reach for Samichlaus Bier from Schloss Eggenberg Brewery*. This one’s a modern-day beer legend, one of the first widely available beers to crack the 10% ABV mark. Brewed annually on St. Nicholas’ Day (December 6th), and aged for almost a year, it’s designed to be a smooth-drinking warmer. So is it warmly received by my guests?

Beer Geek Moment: Juleglugg. Blasphemous as it may sound, beer is not the only beverage out there that people turn to for holiday cheer. Today’s Moment looks at a classic winter warmer from Scandinavia, and includes the traditional recipe enjoyed annually at the Speaking of Beer household. Skol!

Postbeer Postscript: ‘Tis the season for generosity, but do these two Santa-inspired brews feel the love? Who hands out gifts and who’s slinging stocking coal? Tune in and find out!

*Which is in Austria, not Germany as stated on the show. Thanks, Thomas for the correction.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2005)

Groucho, JefferyT, and all the other good folks involved with Beer Safari (including yours truly) want to make your holiday season special with this epic little video. We each exchanged beers with another beercast and filmed the resulting opening, drinking and enjoying. Here’s the 34-minute NSFW result:

Thanks to the good folks at The Beer Report, Should I Drink That?, Pacific Brew News, The Good Beer Show, Craft Beer Radio, Dude Night, Big Foamy Head, and Brain Gravy for including me in this project. Good times…

Happy Holidays everyone!

(And in case you’re wondering, yeah, the Crunchberry beer did kinda suck…)

Prebeer Preamble: We all have at least one thing we’re completely gaga over: Harry Potter, the New England Patriots, or Battlestar Galactica, for example. For some folks there’s a particular beer that makes them go all mushy inside, and today’s show is deidcated to them. I’m joined by two hardcore fans of specific beers, and grill them as to why they like their favorite brews so darn much.

Beer #1: My sister Nancee is a lover of Spaten Optimator, a dopplebock from Germany. She even went so far as to persuade her local supplier to get it on a regular basis in convenient six-packs so she could buy it by the case. How did this particular beer come to reign “supreme” in Nancee’s personal Beerniverse? Tune in and find out!

Interbeer Interlude; Microbrewed “El Bait Shop, Round 2″ Tee Morris, sans compadre Phil Rossi but joined by Paul and Andrew, wades into the second round of brews at Des Moines, Iowa’s own multi-tap Mexican cantina. Who’d a thunk such a cool place would spring up in Des Moines? I mean, it’s Des Moines for chrissakes!

Beer #2: Podcaster, author, musician, and Joe Murphy Memorial Fund CFO Jack Mangan loses his deadpan demeanor when the topic is Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, his personal favorite beer. This hefeweizen (once again, coincidentally, from Germany) makes him all tingly inside. Take a listen and find out what he thinks of my description of this one (hint: “not much”).

Sudsy Song Segment: Too Much Joy “King of Beers” I am personally a huge fan of this now-defunct power-pop band from the 1990’s. This song is pretty much the thing that sealed the deal. Sample lyric: “Gonna feel like hell tomorrow/so I won’t go to sleep tonight/na na na na na na sorrow/everything’s gonna be alright.” I love these guys…

Postbeer Postscript: With all of the gushing on this show, it’s probably no surprise that the scores run on the high side. Am I swept up in beer-love, or do I play party-pooping foil to my zealous co-drinkers? Take a listen and see!

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1415)

[sarcasm]Ahh…the blissfully smooth-running world of Web 2.0 new media goodness[/sarcasm]. OK, so there’s the proverbial “good news/bad news” situation that seems to be becoming all too common around here. Bad news: Show 41 is rarin’ to go, but parked at the moment in Podango gridlock. As soon as that clears up (and it could be any minute) you’ll be able to enjoy the glory that is me drinking beer with both my sister and Mr. Deadpan himself, Jack Mangan. Good News: Show 42 will (barring techno-glitches) be out hot on 41’s heels, within a week or so, in time for your Holiday drinking pleasure.

For show 42 please acquire:

Santa’s Private Reserve Ale: [alternative: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale]

and

Samichlaus Bier [alternatives: a toughie...technically it's a doppelbock, but at 14 % ABV find the strongest doppelbock you can get!]

Sorry again for the herky-jerky release schedule. Then again, maybe I should relax and have a beer…

Courtesy of FunnyOrDie.com:

Thanks for pointing me to this, Dub!

Easy peasey, rice and cheesey (as my kids like to say…), this week, we’re talking about two well-distributed international brews:

Spaten Optimator [alternatives: Paulaner Salvator, Ayinger Celebrator]

and

Hacker-Pschorr Weisse [alternatives: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier]

And if you have one, pick up a bottle of your favorite beer as well. You know, the one you like no matter what anyone says. Yeah…THAT one…