Euclid Hall GABF Events & Tappings

With GABF just 11 days away, here is the schedule of events and tappings.  Please let your tables know about the cool stuff that we have going on all week.  Also, please also share with me what beers your guests are looking for as the week goes on.  We will see some real fun beers this week, please take the opportunity to taste and learn as you go.  As much as this week is about serving great beer, this is also a great opportunity to learn lots about beer, meet some incredible beer people and enjoy an annual celebration of beer.  I will gladly answer any questions for you and/or your tables and please taste the beers that you are serving.  PROST!


GABF Schedule of Events

Wednesday

12:00 pm Surprise Tapping

6:00 pm Great Divide Yeti Horizontal Tapping

[Espresso Yeti, Chocolate Yeti, Oak Aged Yeti, & Belgian Yeti]

Thursday

12:30 pm Dogfish Head Wood Aged Beer Discussion

[Red & White and Burton Baton Bottles avail.]

5:00 pm Surprise Tapping

11:00 pm Avery Brewing Co Tapping

[Avery/C&G Collaboration, Lilokua Mahu, & Surprise Keg]

11:30 Pm Avery Midnight Breakfast

Friday 

12:00 pm Boulevard Brewing Co Tapping

[Namo Belgian Dubbel, Tank 7, & Saison Brett]

4:30 pm New Belgium Lips of Faith Tapping

[(Sours) TransAtlantic Kreik, Eric’s Ale, Imp. Berlinerweisse, Vrienden]

[Ohh La La, Dunkelweisse]

Saturday

12:00 Surprise Tapping

10:00 pm Odell Brewing Co. Barrel Aged Tapping

 [Hiverano, Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout, Surprise keg]

Beer Test 9.12.11 Answers

Beer Class 9.12.11

Beer class was simple and very informal.  

• We started with the test below and then discussed the answers and concepts surrounding the answers. 
• We tasted a gueuze and discussed the style.  
• We talked about what was going to happen to the taps during GABF.  Details will be released on Saturday at the pre GABF FOH meeting.  
• We looked closely at a keg coupler and finished with a tour of the beer facilities.  We discussed the parts of the draft system and how each part plays a role in delivering the beer to the glass the way the brewer intended.  

There are only two beer classes before GABF.  If you have any questions, bring them to class.     I will address them and do a blogpost that will revisit the question and expand on the answer with links to yet more information.  


In the coming classes we will look closely at sour beers and taste some incredible examples of well made sours.  We will also be dealing with examples of different styles that we carry and specific food and beer pairings.  If you can't go through the entire food menu and offer an adequate food and beer pairing, please talk to me about the items that you are having a hard time pairing.  


Beer Test #5              9.12.2011

Parts of the draft system

1. Name the device that attaches to the keg to allow input of gas and output of beer.
2. Name the device that attaches to the beer servers side of the draft tower for pouring draft beer. 
3. Name the device used in some draft systems designed to halt the flow of beer when the keg becomes empty.

Beer Styles- Name the beer style for each description.  We carry each of these styles of beer. Name an example of each style that we carry.

1. A German style known for its distinct tartness produced by lactobacillus.
2. A brown trappist or abbey style around 6-7% ABV
3. A Straight unblended spontaneously fermented wheat containing ale from Brussels region.
4. A sub style of stout made in England using lactose.
5. Style name for the strongest stouts.  

Other

1. Name the five basic tastes detected by the tongue.
2. Other than taste, what other senses contribute to beer evaluation.  
3. What words describe the flavors and aromas imparted by American hops like Simcoe and Cascade.

I will post answers to the question in a few days.

What goes on draft next?

Thanks to everyone who voted on what beer we should tap next at Euclid Hall.  Rogue Dead Guy won by a narrow margin of one vote.  When the current keg of Odell Levity Amber runs out, we will tap Rogue Dead Guy Ale.


Here is what Rogue's Website says.

Surprise!

Avery Brewing Co. has decided to bottle their Rumpkin.  What is Rumpkin?  Rumpkin is a pumpkin beer aged in Gosling's Rum barrels.  It weighs in at just over 13% ABV and is an incredible example of a specialty beer. If you are interested, here are RateBeer and BeerAdvocate reviews.

Seriously.  This name may draw questions, please use the Avery story to explain the name.

New Rotating Tap

Our new rotating tap on the back wall is now:

2010 Ayinger Celebrator Dopple Bock

What is a Bock?

A: Pours a dark mahogany brown with a rich, lofty tan head of tiny bubbles.  

S:  This beer smells of rich dark malts, concentrated dried fruits with a light spice undertone.

T:  Rich malts and concentrated dark dried fruits dominate an all but faded bitter character that 

is finishes with a light cocoa flavor. 

M:  Med-full bodied with rich flavors and mild carbonation.  The age only adds to the fullness of the flavors and mouthfeel.

D:  This is a fantastic beer both alone and with food. 

Food Pairing: The richness pairs really well with the Chicken and Waffles, mushroom or duck poutine, and would also go quite nicely with dessert like the Funnel Cake fried bananas, red velvet cupcake and waffle ice cream sandwich.  

Beer Test 4 review and answers

Thanks for the great attendance at the last beer class.  Click on READ MORE for the answers to BeerTest 4.  The next class is Wed. Sept 7 at 3:30 pm. and there are still a few spots open for the Great Divide Brewery Tour.

Beer Class Rescheduled

Euclid Hall will be closed Monday Sept. 5th for Labor Day.  The class will be rescheduled for Wednesday Sept. 7 at 3:30pm. If you can make it, please join us for a look at tasting basics and revisiting some beer and food pairings.

American Hops vs. Noble Hops

This article is going to be rich in links, please click on the links throughout the article to clarify and enlighten.

• I heard hops are related to marijuana, so what are hops anyway?

• Hops as explained by the Brewers Association on CraftBeer.com

"Hops

• A perennial climbing vine, also known by the Latin botanical name Humulus lupulus. The female plant yields flowers of soft-leaved pine-like cones (strobile) measuring about an inch in length. Only the female ripened flower is used for flavoring beer. Because hops reproduce through cuttings, the male plants are not cultivated and are even rooted out to prevent them from fertilizing the female plants, as the cones would become weighed-down with seeds. Seedless hops have a much higher bittering power than seeded. There are presently over one hundred varieties of hops cultivated around the world. Some of the best known are Brewer's Gold, Bullion, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Cluster, Comet, Eroica, Fuggles, Galena, Goldings, Hallertau, Nugget, Northern Brewer, Perle, Saaz, Syrian Goldings, Tettnang, and Willamettes. Apart from contributing bitterness, hops impart aroma and flavor, and inhibit the growth of bacteria in wort and beer. Hops are added at the beginning (bittering hops), middle (flavoring hops), and end (aroma hops) of the boiling stage, or even later in the brewing process (dry hops). The addition of hops to beer dates from 7000-1000 BC; however hops were used to flavor beer in Pharaonic Egypt around 600 BC. They were cultivated in Germany as early as AD 300 and were used extensively in French and German monasteries in medieval times and gradually superseded other herbs and spices around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Prior to the use of hops, beer was flavored with herbs and spices such as juniper, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, oak leaves, lime blossoms, cloves, rosemary, gentian, gaussia, chamomile, and other herbs or spices."

• Noble Hops (Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalt) are usually described as spicy, fragrant, floral, herbal, and sometimes medicinal or perfumey.

• American Hops ( Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Amarillo, and Willamette) are commonly higher in alpha acids ( which offer more bittering characteristics) and are usually described as citrusy, piney, bitter, and resinous.  

• Want to take a more in depth look at Hops?  Here is a link that should offer almost all the hop info you could want.  

• Hop Glossary 

• Here is a refresher on  BEER INGREDIENTS