Pic(k) of the Week: Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe: a fresh-water glacial lake divided politically between the states of Nevada and California. At a surface elevation of 6,225 feet, it is the largest high-elevation lake in North America.

At 1,645 feet, Lake Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in North America, and, at 122,160,280 acre-feet, the the 27th largest lake, by volume, in the world. ^*

Water color of cobalt-blue and aquamarine. Clarity pristine, in the face of development. Lake rimmed by the mountains and cliffs of the Sierra Nevada range. Words fail, at least here at YFGF, to describe Tahoe's beauty.

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Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 39/40, 2013.

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 39/40
22 September - 5 October 2013

• 2013.10.05
  Governor Martin O'Malley declares October to be Maryland Beer Month. Via YFGF.
  
  
• 2013.10.01
  October is Virginia Wine Month. Via Virginia Tourism.
  
  
• 2013.09.27
  Cask Ale Week 2013: 27 October through Sunday 6 October. Observed only in the U.K.
  
  
• 2013.09.26
  The state of cask ale in the U.K. Down slightly, but stronger than beer generally. The Cask Ale Report, via Pete Brown.
  
  
• 2013.09.26
  Of all counties in the United State, only one county, Montgomery in Maryland, is the only distributor of beer, wine, and spirits. An explanation of the byzantine beer system in Montgomery County, via blogger Elspeth Payne.
  
  
• 2013.09.22
  Autumn officially begins today at 4:44 PM EDT with the autumnal equinox. Via Hufington Post.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Gravity tap

It's a close-up shot of a 'gravity-pour' cask tap that had been driven into the wooden keystone of a stainless steel beer cask. A gravity tap is called that because Newton's law dictates the flow. Open the tap, and the beer flows out, down.

The beer was Hellraiser, an IPA, brewed by DuClaw Brewing, of Bowie, Maryland.

IPA is an acronym for 'India Pale Ale', beer-speak vernacular for a hoppy, bitter, and alcoholically-strong pale ale. Hellraiser was, indeed, hoppy. The brewery rated the bitterness at 85 IBUs (International Bittering Units, a biochemically derived measure of hop-derived bitterness). Budweiser, by contrast, has been measured at less than 10 BUs. And, Hellraiser was, indeed, strong: 7.5% alcohol-by-volume (abv).

Cask-conditioned ale (often referred to as 'real ale') is exquisitely fresh beer. It is served from the very vessel in which its final fermentation occurrs, i.e., the cask. The most common size of a cask, 10.8 U.S. gallons, is known as a 'firkin'.

DuClaw further infused the Hellraiser, within the firkin itself, with dried apricots and Guajillo peppers. The beer was, indeed, spicy.

The photo was taken at the 2012 Chesapeake Real Ale Festival, at the Pratt Street Ale House, in Baltimore, Maryland. This year's fest, the 10th annual, occurs Saturday, 29 October 2013. Details and tickets available: here.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Serpentine Fire

"Gonna tell a story, morning glory, all about the serpentine fire."

A dramatic autumnal sunrise, over ...
Falls Church, Virginia.
2 October 2013.

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October is ... Maryland Beer Month!

Maryland's Governor, Martin O'Malley, has proclaimed October 2013 to be Maryland Beer Month. Well, it's actually a 32-day 'month' running 2 October through 2 November. Here's the good news, via our friends at the Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM).

Annapolis, October 2nd, 2013 - Governor of the State of Maryland, the honorable Martin O’Malley, proclaimed Maryland Beer Month, to start today, October 2nd through November 2nd, 2013. The Governor stated the importance of Maryland beer as “a value-added manufactured good, produced by small businesses supporting quality job growth” and “an agricultural product, supporting family farms, (Maryland’s) agrarian heritage, and (Maryland’s) food sources for generations to come.” O’Malley further proclaimed “beer brewed in Maryland is made from the Eastern Shore to the Western Ridge, from the Cliffs of Calvert to the top of the Chesapeake Bay” and invited Marylanders to visit, taste, and tour Maryland beer during Maryland Beer Month.

Governor O’Malley partnered with the Brewers Association of Maryland, the non-profit trade association of Maryland brewing companies, in his proclamation. Executive Director of the Brewers Association of Maryland, J.T. Smith enthusiastically agreed, “the Governor’s proclamation is exact in its assertion of Maryland beer playing a vital role in job creation and continued support of Maryland agriculture.” Mr. Smith continued, stating “this proclamation could not have come at a better time, as the newly proclaimed Maryland Beer Month culminates at the premier celebration of Maryland beer on November 2nd, the Maryland Brewers’ Harvest - and the fifth annual Baltimore Beer Week runs during the month. Now is the time to taste, and enjoy Maryland beer!”
—Read the full BAM press release here.

A few events during this extended month include

• 5th annual Baltimore Beer Week: 18 - 27 October (a 10-day week)
• Chesapeake Real Ale Festival: Saturday 26 October
• The Maryland Brewers Harvest: Saturday, 2 November (celebration by and for Maryland breweries, sponsored by BAM).

To paraphrase an old beer jingle:

Here’s to good friends.
This month is kind of special.
The beer we’ll pour,
Must say something more somehow.
So this month, this month,
Let it be Maryland beer!

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