A Taste of the Highlands

SHERMAN ON THE MOUNT

Bud Anti-Craft Beer Ad Smells of Desperation

There is an old adage in advertising that says if you happen to be number one, you don't acknowledge the competition. You sit regally above the riffraff and let the underlings fight it out for the number two spot. For years Coke never mentioned Pepsi in their ads, for example. So how bizarre was it to see Budweiser roll out a nasty little ad during the Super Bowl which took goofy cheap shots at craft beer drinkers. Nestled in there among their tear-jerk cute puppy/Clydesdale and uber patriotic spots, the ad had the distinctive stench of desperation to it. If you haven't seen it, you can find it at YouTube or a hundred other places online. I will not sully this blog with it. Suffice it to say they portray craft beer drinkers as a bunch of lefty, sissified hipsters who are out of touch with the real world of macho blue-collar beer drinkers, and who, for some strange reason, prefer beer with actual flavor. Bud proudly brands itself as a "macro brew" in a rather clumsy "bigger-is-better-if-you-know-what-I-mean (wink, wink)" message that is probably lost on much of their intended audience. Their tag-line is that they brew beer "the hard way" just in case you missed the point. Besides the Freudian reference, the implication is that they don't cut corners. Yet anyone who knows anything about the beer business knows that the Anheuser-Busch business model for years has been just that: cutting corners on quality and spending big bucks on advertising.

Consider this: Budweiser is by far the largest-selling beer in the country. While craft beer has been growing steadily over the years, the entire industry can't match the sales of Bud. So why the snarky ad? It's like the spoiled rich brat who has everything but can't stand the thought that some other kid has something they don't. What exactly did they hope to accomplish with this ad? Did they think they were going to embarrass craft beer drinkers into switching to Bud? Or was it an attempt to make Bud drinkers feel somehow superior so they wouldn't try a beer with taste and be drawn over to the dark side?

And, really, is this not just the height of hypocrisy? Here's Bud, which wraps itself in the flag at every opportunity, yet is owned by a foreign company (InBev) taking pot shots at the real all-American breweries. Further, the Bud ad denigrates craft beer drinkers and breweries while its parent company, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, busily runs around buying up craft breweries, or invents pseudo-craft brews, so that they can get a piece of the craft beer pie for themselves. In the ad they blast craft brewers for producing such abominations as Pumpkin Peach Ale, yet A-B just bought Elysian Brewery which in fact makes a pumpkin peach beer called Goardia on My Mind (great name, haven't tried the beer).

Look, we here at BOTB have had some fun at times with some of the fruity beers - the raspberry wheats, the blueberry and apricot beers that sometimes stray too far from their beer roots and taste more like a soft drink than they do an ale. But kudos to craft brewers for experimenting with different flavors. After all, a lot of people like those fruity beers even though it's not our mug of ale, so to speak. And some people love their Budweiser, and good for them. No one's trying to take that away. The key here is choice. In my lifetime never have there been so many wonderful options when it comes to beer and that's a great thing. AB/InBev I'm sure would love to see the US go back to the bad old days where the only choice was lager, lager or light lager.

For a great no-holds-barred interview with Dogfish Head's founder Sam Calagione, check out this article, Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione Squares Off Against Budweiser  from Men's Journal on-line mag.

Since the ad aired, a number of craft brewers have come up with their own ads bashing the Bud ad. This one from Ninkasi is particularly pointed and dripping with irony. 

SCOTTISH ALE OR SCOTCH ALE?

One could be forgiven for assuming that the two styles - Scottish Ale and Scotch Ale - were simply alternate names for the same kind of beer. But the truth is, while they both have their roots in Scotland and use essentially the same ingredients, they are distinctively different styles of beer. 

Scottish Ales are more session ales. They tend to be more subtle as far as flavor is concerned and are considerably lower in alcohol than their big brother, Scotch Ale. They usually clock in anywhere from 2.5% to 5% ABV.

Scotch Ales, on the other hand, tend to be big, robust brews. The flavors are more aggressive and the ABV can be anywhere from 6.5% to 10%. 

Yet both styles share a similar baseline taste profile. Both are malty and tend toward the sweet end of the spectrum. Often notes of caramel and toffee are present in both. Scotch Ales sometimes add a roasted malt to the mix, giving it a fuller, richer, deeper, more complex flavor. Scotch Ales also can have a bit more of a hop  presence to balance out the sweetness.

This month we checked out a few Highland brews and found them quite guid.

PUNK IPA

BREW DOG BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Brew Dog Brewing, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; STYLE: Scottish IPA; ABV: 5.6%; IBUs: 35; MALTS: Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt; HOPS: Chinook, Athanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe, Nelson Sauvin.

What the Brewer Says: "Welcome to a post Punk apocalyptic mother of an ale. A beer that spent its formative years Blitzkrieg Bopping around India and the sub-continent.This light, golden classic has been subverted with New World hops to create a devastating explosion of flavor. Steel yourself for Kalashnikov bursts of caramel, incendiary tropical fruit and an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee, before a spiky bitter finish. This is quintessential Empire with an anarchic twist. Turn up the volume. Pay the man. Embrace the punked up, pimped up Maharajah of Pale Ales. Nothing will ever be the same again."

Color: Cloudy, light honey

Pour: Better than decent, thick and white head

Aroma: Grass, a bit of pine.

Body: Medium

Taste: Unbalanced, more IPA than classic Scottish ale, resinous.

Overall Impression: Near "Can't Get Enough"

Comments: "A tasty beer; Classic IPA profile; Great session IPA; Tastes just like another one; Nice solid taste of citrus, grapefruit-y; Very nice beer - bit of cheat as it's an IPA, but it did come from Scotland, so that's fine with me."

NEWCASTLE-CALEDONIAN SCOTCH ALE
NEWCASTLE BREWING + CALEDONIAN BREWING
(LIMITED EDITION)

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Newcastle Brewing, Tadcaster, UK and Caledonian Brewing, Edinburgh, Scotland; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 6.4%; IBUs: 40

What the Brewer Says: "Newcastle Scotch Ale is a well-balanced, malt-forward brew with a delightful velvety finish...Newcastle and Caledonian made a kick-ass beer that does not suck."

Color: Amber

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: UK yeast

Body: Medium

Taste: Malt, initial sweetness with notes of banana, cloves though not overpowering

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This

Comments: "Not a bad tasting beer; Nice taste; Leans toward the malt; Creamy aftertaste; For a malty beer, has a little bitterness toward the end; Has a Newcastle mouthfeel; Enjoyable; Got that hint of toffee going for it along with that bit of banana and clove."

SHIRE ALE

HOPSHIRE FARM AND BREWERY

 

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Hopshire Farm and Brewery, Freeville, NY; STYLE: Scottish Ale ABV: 7.8%; IBUs: 30; MALTS: Flaked oats, Chocolate Malt, Dark Crystal, Amber.

What the Brewer Says: "A malty brown ale fermented with Scottish Edinburgh yeast. Flaked oats and six different barley malts...are used in this rich tasting ale. Lightly hopped to let out the sweetness of the malt. A fun beer to make and a fun beer to drink."

Color: Brown

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: Yeast typical of British Isle beers (bit of banana aroma)

Body: Between medium and full

Taste: Sweet / malt with notes of toffee

Overall Impression: I could drink that

Comments: "Creamy malt; Smooth; I like this; Similar in taste to Newcastle, but fuller body; A little sweet, but boy it's good; Water aftertaste; Funny, they refer to it as a Scottish ale but the ABV is up there in the Scotch ale range. Doesn't taste that big, though; A well-made beer; It's a sweetie."

McEWAN SCOTCH ALE

McEWAN BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: McEwan's, Edinburgh, Scotland; STYLE: Scotch Ale (export only); ABV: 8.0%;

What the Brewer Says: "McEwan's Scotch Ale has a lot of loyal followers, especially in North America, and its rebirth is a direct result of customer demand."

Color: Mahogany

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: Reminiscent of maple syrup

Body: Full

Taste: Malty and sweet with a bitter bite. Notes of caramel, toffee, maple, raisins and brown sugar.

Overall Impression: Close to "Can't Get Enough"

Comments: "Nice finish; Full; attacks the side of your tongue; Not as roasted a malt as some others; sneaky beer - they've hidden the alcohol well; 50 shades of black; Could pour it on your pancakes; Not just for breakfast anymore; You really get a taste that reminds you of raisins and molasses, but there's enough hop bite to ensure it's not cloyingly sweet; Nice beer."

SCOT SCOTCH ALE

DAVIDSON BROTHERS

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Davidson Brothers, Glens Falls, NY; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 8.3%

What the Brewer Says: "Our Scotch Ale is more technically called a Strong Scotch Ale, and it doesn't fail to live up to its name...This is a favorite among wine drinkers, with its sweet profile and high alcohol content."

Color: Mahogany

Pour: Better than Decent.

Aroma: Not a strong aroma - a touch of smoke, molasses.

Body: Full

Taste: Alcohol, sweet with notes of molasses, toffee, caramel.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "Tastes like a big beer; Tastes a lot bigger than the last beer; A bit fuller than the last beer; Residuals are not sweet; End that leaves a bit of a bitter finish; Very impressed with this beer; The alcohol cuts the sweetness."

DIRTY BASTARD

FOUNDERS BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, MI; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 8.5%; IBUs: 50.

What the Brewer Says: "So good it's almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat, paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard  has to live up to. Ain't for the wee lads."

Color: Ruby

Pour: Decent

Aroma: Malty sugar, grassy but not a big aroma

Body: Full

Taste: Strong and bitter on the front, mellows on the back with notes of caramel, toffee and some balancing bitterness.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "Founders never disappoints; could almost chew this; A different approach to a Scotch Ale; More hops than in most today; In your face brew; A great beer; it's a Scotch Ale with hops; Great beer for a cold winter night."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Straying from our normal regimen of hoppy IPAs can be a dicey proposition. It's not like we suddenly decided to review a bunch of lite beers or Strawberry Wheats, but Scotch/Scottish Ales are big on malt and tend to be sweeter than the IPA/Pale Ale camp. Despite this, we found this bunch of beers to be very good, any of which we would be happy to see on tap.

Our two favorites were Founder's Dirty Bastard and Davidson Brothers Scot. Both were big, full-bodied, full-flavored beers. Both landed squarely in our "Can't Get Enough" camp. Dirty Bastard had strong toffee/caramel maltiness balanced with a nice hop kick. Scot had a similar profile though sweeter, with hints of molasses and brown sugar.

McEwan's Scotch Ale and Brew Dog's Punk IPA both were very near "Can't Get Enough." We found McEwan's delicious with strong taste of raisins, molasses, brown sugar and maple complementing the expected caramel/toffee. Good for a pint or two, but a bit on the sweet side for too many more. Punk IPA is an interesting hybrid of Old World UK style IPA and New World US style IPA. With a base of English Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt paired with US hops (Chinook, Athanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe) with some New Zealand Nelson Sauvin thrown in for good measure, Punk IPA has a distinctive American IPA vibe with a hint of its UK roots.

We gave both Newcastle-Caledonian Scotch Ale and Hopshire Farms Shire Ale a solid "I Could Drink This!" rating. The Newcastle brew maintained the sort of classic Newcastle taste as a base with a little more of a hop kick and classic Scotch Ale elements, though a bit more muted than some of the other Scotch Ales. One of the most pleasing aspect several of us commented on was its creamy mouthfeel. Shire Ale is a bit on the sweet side, but very tasty. Strong toffee malt taste with little hop presence. It's a solid Scottish Ale taste profile with a Scotch Ale ABV. Tastes like a session but it's too strong to fit that category.

IN MY FRIDGE

LAGUANITAS NIGHT TIME ALE: Described as Day Time's "big, dark, scary sidekick" this is nice full-bodied black IPA. Big malt taste with a strong hop bite. A delicious beer that will please both hopheads and stout lovers.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

East Vs. West IPA Challenge

This month the BOTB Guys took on the daunting task of comparing East Coast and West Coast IPAs. We intend this to be the first of several bits of coastal hop warfare. We took this on a man down as Herb was searching out good beer in warmer climes.

Gerry, this month's host, assigned three of us to seek out a favorite East Coast IPA, while the other three were to seek out a favorite West Coast IPA. There was a caveat, however: we were to stick to regular IPAs, not doubles or Imperials. We also decided to match the beers up by roughly the same ABVs and send them into battle one-on-one, as opposed to trying to rank all six beers against each other. Ergo, we would have three separate battles, with three winners. The Coast with the most wins the battle.

The line-up:

Round 1

    Brown's Brewing Company, Hoosick Falls, NY

VS

Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA

Round 2

Custom Brewcrafters, Honeoye Falls, NY

VS

Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

Round 3

Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

VS

Green Flash Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

BROWN'S BREWING COMPANY INDIA PALE ALE

HOOSICK FALLS, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.5%; MALTS: Two-Row Pale, Caramel, Carapils; HOPS: Chinook, Cascade, Fuggle, Summit, Crystal.

What the Brewer Says: "Our I.P.A. pours an amber gold with a distinctively rich flavor, significant hop aroma and soft, white and creamy head."

Color: Unfiltered cloudy golden or buckwheat honey

Pour: Decent creamy off-white head

Aroma: Malty/grassy

Body: Medium

Taste: Slightly bitter/crisp and clean. There are notes of malt early, then slight lemon and caramel, and bitter on the back end. Overall it has a balanced character.

Overall Impression: Well toward "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "This tastes good!; I could drink this; It doesn't disappoint; It's a good, solid beer; It isn't overpowering in any way; I'd be proud to have this in my fridge - and thrilled to see it on tap; I got this at Marcy Beverage in Marcy, NY, but it's tough to find; This is a good start for the East Coast."

LAGUNITAS IPA

LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY, PETALUMA, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABVs: 6.2%; IBUs: 45; MALT, HOPS etc. - "Ounces and ounces of malt, hops, yeast, and water."  

What the Brewer Says: "Lagunitas IPA was our first seasonal way back in 1995. The recipe was formulated with malt and hops working together to balance it all out on your 'buds so you can knock back more than one without wearing yourself out. Big on the aroma with a hoppy-sweet finish that will leave you wantin' another sip."

Color: Filtered honey

Pour: Decent head that is slightly off-white

Aroma: Grapefruit/hoppy (big nose)

Body: Medium

Taste: It is bitter, but not as bitter on the end as the Brown's IPA. There are also piney notes.

Overall Impression: Well toward "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "Hops attack the nostrils - it is aggressive; I wish it tasted as good as it smelled; There's a hop in there that I don't particularly care for; The hops presence goes all the way through."

ROUND 1 RESULTS: Split Decision. Three of us went with Brown's and three of us went with Lagunitas. As fans of 'Cuse Basketball we were all used to nailbiters, so we were right in the zone.

Next up were two terrific beers. I am a big fan of both of them but have never had them side-by-side to compare. I felt this would be one of the more interesting match-ups of the night.

CAGED ALPHA MONKEY

CUSTOM BREWCRAFTERS, HONEOYE FALLS, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 6.5%; IBUs: 65; MALTS: Pilsner, Melanoidin, Carafa II; HOPS: Falconer's Flight, Apollo, Chinook, Experimental 05256

What the Brewer Says: "Watch out! This huge IPA is coming at you ready to literally cram hops down your throat. This monster uses 4 different hop varieties, in whole leaf and pellet in 6 different additions. We used a healthy dose of Caramunich malt to give this beer a bright orange color and enough body to balance the hops. Cutting edge hop varieties create a crazy mix of pineapple, grapefruit and pine aromas that just screams American IPA.

Color: Translucent amber honey

Pour: Better than decent, off-white head, with ample staying power

Aroma: Big hoppy aroma

Body: Medium moving toward full

Taste: Deliciously hopped with a strong malt backbone. There are notes of citrusy grapefruit

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "A nice malt background; It's balanced with a bitter back; OMG; One terrific beer; From pour, to aroma, to taste, it doesn't disappoint; Fills your mouth like Dolly fills a sweater; A lot bigger than the 6.5% would lead you to believe; A 'GOOD' beer."

SCULPIN IPA

BALLAST POINT BREWING,COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 7.0%; IBUs: 70; HOPS: Hopped at 5 separate stages; AWARDS: Multiple awards including a gold in the 2010 World Beer Cup.

What the Brewer Says: "Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special. The result ended up being this gold-medal winning IPA, whose inspired use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still packs a bit of a sting, just like a Sculpin fish."

Color: Lightly filtered wheat

Pour: Decent off-white head

Aroma: Hoppy - grassy/fresh hay and pine

Body: Slightly more than Medium

Taste: Nice - tastefully bitter, not sharp, with citrus notes.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Tastes like a double; Full flavor; Fills all the senses / hits all the spots; This is s-o-o-o-o-o good; I'm thinking this is the best IPA on the planet; As a battle - maybe I'd like to put it up against Flower Power from Ithaca Brewing and see how it fared."


ROUND 2 RESULTS: Though it was not unanimous, Sculpin won the day, but Alpha Monkey put up a good fight. While we rated both of them an enthusiastic "Can't Get Enough!" West Coast won Round 2.

Round 3 pitted a couple of craft brew heavyweights against each other: Flying Dog and Green Flash.

SNAKE DOG IPA

FLYING DOG BREWING COMPANY, FREDERICK, MD

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 7.1%; IBUs: 60; MALTS: 60L Caramel; HOPS: Warrior, Columbus; YEAST: American Ale

What the Brewer Says: "Big citrus (notably grapefruit) hop aroma and flavor with caramel malt notes."

Color: filtered golden IPA color

Pour: Decent, tight effervescent, almost bridal white head

Aroma: Slight hay/grass and hoppy

Body: Medium to full

Taste: It has a taste bigger than its aroma. There are some notes of citrusy grapefruit.

Overall Impression: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough" - but leaning toward the latter

Comments: "There is not a real strong alcohol taste; It has a sharp hop character; Not much of a malt backbone; A slap you up 'side the head taste; It has a nice label - sharp; The taste is not overly strong, it's pleasant; there is an aftertaste of bitterness or maybe a slightly metallic taste."

GREEN FLASH WEST COAST IPA

GREEN FLASH BREWING COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: West Coast IPA; ABVs: 7.3%; IBUs: 95; HOPS: Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, Cascade; AWARDS: Multiple including 2008 champion of the National IPA Challenge.

What the Brewer Says: "A menagerie of hops is layered throughout the brewing process: Simcoe for unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes and Cascade for floral aroma. A multi-dimensional hop experience."

Color: Unfiltered honey brown, a dark IPA color

Pour: Off-white, near Guinness class head

Aroma: West Coast IPA nose - citrus, pine, lemon.

Body: Full

Taste: Bitter - the most of the day as indicated by the 95 IBUs - but pleasantly so. Additionally, there is a bit of a malt taste.

Overall Impression: "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "This is quite smooth, despite the 95 IBUs; A West Coast hops, definitely; There's a taste that lingers; It has serious IBUs; Very impressive; You can't get to 7.3% ABV without a malt presence; It finishes very well; It's the most complex taste of the day; And with the biggest hops presence; It has more of a malt character; Wow, this is good!"

ROUND 3 RESULTS: Green Flash won in a 5 to 1 vote over Snake Dog.

OVERVIEW

At least with this small sampling the West Coast beat the East Coast by a score of 2-0-1. The real winners, I must say, were the BOTB Guys. How can you go wrong with six delicious IPAs?

CRAFT BEERING IN PARADISE

Three Great Escapes From the Cold - Only Two With Great Beer

This has been a great year to get out of the Great White North as much as possible and a few of the BOTB Guys were able to do just that. Herb and Pat have been on the road for some time now and recently

reported back from Tampa Bay that their annual Tampa Bay Beer Week was about to start. I'm sure we'll get updates.



Mike and Diane spent a week in Costa Rica and had the opportunity to check out the Lake Arenal Brewery and Restaurant La Huerta and Hotel Minoa while there. You can check it out HERE for a little musical guided tour of the place.

Opened in 1998, Lake Arenal Brewery was the first microbrewery ever in Costa Rica. The accompanying Hotel Minoa is home to the Global Renewable Energy Education Network (GREEN) begun in 2009. GREEN offers 12 day programs for students, giving them access to the renewable energy technology and sustainability industry.
The accompanying farm practices what GREEN preaches. The cows dine on the spent grain from brewing and the pigs get all plate left-overs from the restaurant. Locally grown coffee is made on a methane gas stove using methane produced from pig waste.

The brews on tap while Mike was there were:
Lake Arenal Brewery Pale Ale
Lake Arenal IPA
Morenita (an American Brown Ale)
Guapote (an American IPA)
Nut Brown Ale

Mike had the opportunity to try the Pale Ale and the Nut Brown. The Pale Ale is 5% ABV and 48 IBUs. The Nut Brown is 4.8% ABV and 21 IBUs. Mike said that both beers were very tasty. His next trip down he intends to check out Volcano Brewery, also on Lake Arenal as well as Beachfront Brewery in Tamarindo.

Are there are there hops in Mexico?

Quoth my taste buds "I say no!"

Rick (that would be me speaking to you in the third person) and Les, meanwhile, headed down to Cancun, Mexico for a week of fun in the sun (and a little Mayan history, as well). Cancun is a beautiful place, as is nearby Isla Mujeres. With temperatures in the low 80's and lots of sun, it was a welcome relief from the bone-chilling cold we've been experiencing in that other Mexico up here in Central New York. And, yes, we did mess with people's minds a bit when they asked where we were from and we told them "Mexico."

The only downside to the whole trip was the total unavailability of craft beer. Mexico is about where the US was in the early '80s as far as beer goes. Virtually all of their beers are produced by a few big brewers and they are all lagers. Corona is the big dog down there, but Dos Equis, Medola, Pacifica, Tecate, Sol are all popular. Like the mega-brews in the US, most of the beers are produced by two large conglomerates: Cerveceria Modelo / Grupo Modelo and Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc-Moctezuma / FEMSA.

Grupo Medolo et al, which is half owned by Anheuser-Busch, produces Corona and Medola.  FEMSA et al produces Tecate, Sol, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca, Superior, Indio, Bohemia, and Noche Buena. The best of the bunch is Bohemia which actually has a bit of a hop profile to it. I ordered that whenever possible.

There are microbreweries in Mexico, but relatively few. Day of the Dead brewery was one Ron and I discovered while in South Carolina of all places. Their Hop On Or Die IPA is excellent. But the ironic truth is that most Mexican craft beers are exported to the US because it is so difficult for them to compete with the Mexican mega-breweries.

So even though we had a terrific time, enjoyed the wonderful weather and were awed by the Mayan pyramids, I couldn't help but email back to the rest of the BOTB Guys that I was suffering from HDS - Hops Deficiency Syndrome.

Of course, then I actually did get sick (curse you Moctezuma and your vile revenge! What did I ever do to you?) only to find out upon returning home that a viable treatment was brewer's yeast (seriously). What a strange and wonderful world we live in.

 I knew the perfect delivery system for brewer's yeast, too.

The song below (sung with liberal interpretation to the tune of The Beach Boys' Kokomo) I felt nicely expressed my dual attitude on the trip.

  MEXICO

Corona, Modelo - the beers are really mellow;
Dos Equis, Tecate - with bodies thin and yellow;
Sol and Pacifico - hops not so terrific, no.

Yucatan...
        On the Mexican Gulf,
A place called Cancun, ya' know
It's a great place to go, but no craft beer here at all.

I love the sun and sand,
The beachside views are really grand;
But if you want tasty beer,
You'll need to go to a dif'rent land;
Not much in Mexico.

Corona, Modelo - the beers are really mellow;
Dox Equis, Tecate - with bodies thin and yellow;
Sol and Pacifico - hops not so terrific, no.
Down in Mexico,
The beers are cheap
So you can drink a lot,
If that's what you really want
Down South in Mexico.

Coladas on the beach;
Margaritas always in reach;
Miss the hoppy brews back home,
But not the snow nor the icy cold;
Back home in Mexico-
      - New York, that is.

NICELY DONE SAM!!

Samuel Adams has released it's latest IPA - Rebel IPA - and it is a terrific beer. I've always said that one of my favorite Sam Adams beers is their Latitude 48. Now that fine beer may have some competition from its own brewery. Rebel IPA is Sam Adams version of a West Coast IPA. It would have been interesting to see how it stacked up in this month's battle, but we already had the line-up set by the time Rebel hit the stores. I'm thinking of a head-to-head against Latitude 48 some time. A kind of East Coast vs West Coast by a single brewery.

AND THANK YOU SARANAC

This summer Saranac slipped a little something extra in their 12 packs. Nestled right on top was a pint can of Legacy IPA, a beer brewed to celebrate 125 years of brewing. The brewery originally known as The West End Brewing Company and later as Matt Brewing Company has become a huge player in the craft beer industry with their Saranac line of beers. It is the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States and the 6th largest craft brewery in the US. Therefore the name of this specially brewed beer is quite appropriate. After trying it we lamented that it was too bad they didn't sell this on its own as it was a terrific beer. We feared it might go the way of Guinness 250 - a one-time celebratory brew that was gone all too soon. Lo and behold, Saranac has wisely kept Legacy alive and is selling it in 4-packs of 16 ounce cans. Thanks, Saranac.

Next month we pit brews from the country's midsection against each other in a battle for the middle.

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys