Nut Browned Ale for Christmas 2005 - a review

Peter Scholey, ex lead brewer of Brakspear and soon-to-be brewer for the resuscitated same, has a line of Christmas beers he contract brews under the name Ridgeway. I believe he uses the Brakspear yeast strain which he rescued from oblivian. Anyway, the line includes Bad Elf, Very Bad Elf, Lump of Coal, and more. My favorite of the bunch is new this year - Warm Welcome Nut Browned Ale.

The label has a picture of Santa descending down the chimney, his lower extremeties about to be scorched on a roaring fire - hence the name of the beer. What a wonderful brown ale - nutty, light caramel, hints of low-toned fruit. Except for its higher alcohol - 6% - I could believe this to be what Newcastle Brown may have once been.

Banned in Connecticut due to the drawing of Santa Claus on the label!

From the importer's website:

It’s a sad tale, the closing of the venerable Brakspear brewery in Henley-on-Thames, where the most famous and surely the best Bitter in England has been made for centuries. The brewery, in operation since 1779, was sold off in 2002 in parts to make room for an upscale hotel, and everyone who worked there was let go, without so much as a by-your-leave. But for beer lovers, the closing was not a complete disaster. Thankfully, the master brewer at Brakspear, Peter Scholey, determined to strike out on his own. Peter has set up shop as Ridgeway Brewing, not so far from Henley, and already he’s putting out beers so good they could almost make you forget Brakspear altogether.

The Ridgeway Brewery is named for the ancient road – passable now only on foot – that meanders along a low escarpment across the high, rolling pastoral plain that is the southwest of England. The now patchy stone surface of the Ridgeway was laid by Britain’s oldest inhabitants – Druids and the like – thousands of years before the Romans turned up to build their own roadways. It is the oldest road in the British Isles and Europe, running nearly 100 miles, past that other ancient landmark, Stonehenge, as well as Peter Scholey’s relatively modern home, along the way.

Tomato Harvest & Beer

The beer dinner at Washington D.C.'s Cafe Saint-Ex on Monday 27 September 2005 was a celebration of the harvest season and of the initial release of Clipper City Brewing's newest Heavy Seas beer - Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale. Chef Barton Seaver created a 5 course menu, each meal using organic heirloom tomatoes, each paired with a different Clipper City beer.

Cafe Saint-Ex and Clipper City Brewery present A Tomato Harvest Beer Dinner Five beers, including two casks, from Clipper City's Heavy Seas line paired with Five Tomato based dishes created by Executive Chef Barton Seaver (All the tomatoes used are local organic) Balto Marzhon Puree of tomato soup garnished with woodgrilled onions Small Craft Warning Uber Pils Sliced tomatoes and portobellos drizzled with minted herb oil Red Sky at Night Saison Grilled fresh shrimp with endive and tomato compote Peg Leg Imperial Stout (served from a firkin) Grilled lamb finished with tomato leaf & hazelnut pesto; served on a bed of carmelized tomato risotto Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale (served from a firkin) House-made Tomato Basil Ice Cream

For the lamb dish, Chef Seaver emphasized the minty/herbal aroma of the stems of a tomato plant. Seaver was intrigued by the herbal character of the Loose Cannon, and proposed pairing a fresh cask of it with a tomato-based dessert. He reduced the fresh tomatoes for an extended period over low heat, resulting in a delicious demi-sweet flavor. (Despite what the US Supreme Court may say, tomatoes are a fruit after all.) When I appeared momentarily skeptical, he laughed. "That's why I'm the chef and you're the beer guy." And, indeed, infused with basil and drizzled with tomato syrup, his ice cream was an inspired pairing for the herbal/fruity character of the cask-conditioned Loose Cannon, and a delicious conclusion to what one beer-dinner veteran told me was the best he had ever attended. More photos here. In defense of the quality of the photos, they were taken using a disposable camera. In a nine month period before the dinner, I had misplaced one digital camera, and I had driven out from under another (after placing it on the roof of my car). For discipline, I had placed myself on a 'digital' diet.

Change brewing in VA?

I have heard this rumor from several sources. I've called certain people in the industry who would be in the position to know something about it. So, I am 75% certain that:

A major regional mid-Atlantic brewery will be sold within the next couple of weeks. The buyer will be a major national brewery. An in-house duopoly at the local brewery is attempting to put together a counter offer.

Hurricane Katrina

Just think: where would you go, what would you do, how would you live, how would you provide for yourself and your children ... if your entire city was obliterated? Contribute to the Red Cross or do whatever you can do to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

What has happened to our brethren at Abita Brewery?

Odds and ends

Brooklyn Summer Scorcher, beer breakfast, homebrewers' conference in Baltimore, Old Dominion Beer Festival. I'm on the way out to Ashburn, Vriginia this morning to set up for the last session of the Fest.