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The KegWorks Blog

Archive for July, 2010

Clever Bar Signs Make a Big Impression

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Yesterday, several KegWorkers (myself included) journeyed to Mooney’s, the new(ish) bar/restaurant across the street from our office. We frequent the place, so we tend to notice when they’ve got something new and yesterday this awesome sign caught our eyes before we even made it to the door.

Mooneys Bar Sign

Not only did we all read it and laugh, we all stood around talking about it for a few minutes before we went in. It’s become obvious to me that we like places that make us laugh almost as much as we like clever people.

We’ve got a bunch of attention-grabbing signs but I thought I’d choose my top three as suggestions. Check ‘em out:

1. $5 Charge for Whining – Whether or not you enforce it is your decision but the sign alone will give your customers, friends or family a clear picture of your personality. Who knows, it might even cut down on the complaints.

2. Bar Phone Fee Sign – With the modern marvels we call cell phones, this sign is slightly irrelevant but funny all the same. Heck, we might even be able to call it nostalgic at this point.

3. If You Tap It They Will Come – Sometimes the truth is entertaining – and this is one of those times. There’s no real obvious humor behind the message but it’s so spot-on, it’s kind of funny.

Even better, they’re all under $20 and they’ll provide years of quality conversation starting. Have an awesome bar sign that really gets your guests going? Tell us about it!

TAGS [ BAR SIGNS | FUNNY BAR SIGNS | PUB SIGNS ]

Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

One of my favorite beers out there is Southern Tier Gemini, which is a blend of Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale and Unearthly India Pale Ale. The blend is a special limited release, so I’m unsure if I’ll be able to find it again, but I certainly hope I do.

Southern Tier Hoppe

Because I loved Gemini so very much, I thought it fitting to taste and review Hoppe, slated by Southern Tier as "an ale of simple composition." Right on the bottle, I learned that they "craft this much like a sculptor who uses only a hammer and chisel to shape stone into a masterpiece. Hoppe is spawned of these few essentials: barley, wheat, hops, yeast and water. This limited palette is an exercise in minimalism, with refined elements that are deliberately selected."

Beautifully simple in its ingredients, Hoppe is incredibly complex, testing " the skill and ability of the brewer to create something truly majestic." A must-try, if I do say so myself (and I do).

This 8% ABV Imperial Extra Pale Ale pours a beautiful golden, sunlit amber that’s slightly cloudy. To be honest, I really couldn’t see through it at all. The head is a finger high with medium retention; that which rims the surface sticks around for quite some time.

Hoppe’s aroma is slightly floral and sweet with fruit – I detected pear and green grapes here, with a hint of peach. Its body is medium but the carbonation cuts through, which keeps it more drinkable than some other Imperials I’ve tasted before. Very smooth through the finish.

The flavor of this ale is sweet, like the aroma, but with a nice, lightly hoppy kick on the sides of my tongue. Notes most easily detected were those I found in the nose; green grapes, flowers and a touch of peach. The floral hops are balanced well by the malt in the finish. Quite complex, especially for such a simple composition.

I will certainly pick this brew up again.

TAGS [ SOUTHERN TIER BREWING CO | HOPPE | EXTRA PALE ALE | IMPERIAL PALE ALE | BEER REVIEWS ]

Samuel Smith’s Stingo: Limited Release August 1st

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Yorkshire Stingo Yorkshire’s oldest brewery, Samuel Smith, offers its second ever release of Yorkshire Stingo on August 1st on Yorkshire Day.

According to their website, only 2000 cases of this 9% ABV strong ale will be produced, after the brew has spent over 1 year aging in oak barrels.

Especially distinguishing, the ale is fermented, before aging, in stone Yorkshire squares and bottle conditioned for a soft conditioning that provides a fruity aroma and finish.

Its recipe was mentioned in literature before 1700 AD, and originates in northern England. You’ll find flavors of toffee, raisin and caramel in this rich, deep, complex ale… if you can get your hands on it.

Anyone ever have a chance to try last year’s Stingo? Tell us about it! And if you find any once it’s released in August, let us know – we’d love to grab a bottle ourselves.

TAGS [ SAMUEL SMITH | YORKSHIRE STINGO ]

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Dogfish Head Festina Peche is brewed in the Berliner Weisse style, which is characterized by a lovely tartness, which some would call sour. Perfect for hot summer days, this 4.5% ABV beer is wholly refreshing in every way, and makes a great session beer.

Festina Peche pours many-bubbled with no head whatsover, much like a well carbonated wine. Its aroma is characterized by wheat, and sweet, juicy peach. From the nose, alone, I would expect this to be cloyingly sweet.

Its light, effervescent mouthfeel makes Festina Peche rather refreshing going down; great for a sweltering day. Super tart from the peach on the sides and tip of my tongue, there is an underlying flavor of sour apple that’s quite a surprise. It smooths out though to a malty finish, with the taste of ever so slightly doughy wheat.

Very refreshing through and through. I’d certainly recommend this for a hot, muggy summer day and suggest that if you pick some up, grab more than just one 4-pack; once you have a taste you’ll be coming back for more.

Cheers!

TAGS [ DOGFISH HEAD | FESTINA PECHE | SUMMER BEER | SESSION BEER | BEER REVIEW ]

The Book Bar = Awesome

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

I read a lot of random blogs and thankfully, one of them led me to this; The Book Bar. Basically a bunch of designers lived together and one of their housemates worked at the Stanford library. Apparently the Stanford Library throws out their old books so this group of guys gave the books a second chance at life, put a whole bunch of them together and built a bar for their house.

Stanford Book Bar

Check out the site for a photo gallery of the entire building process.

Kudos, gentlemen. We think you’re pretty awesome and we love your resourcefulness. If you need any bar supplies, let us know. Just make sure to keep our cocktail books ON the shelf for reference.

TAGS [ STANFORD | BOOK BAR | HOME BARS ]

Pure Refreshment: Bitter Lemon and Vodka

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Yes, I tend toward good beer but sometimes I need to switch things up a bit. Working here, I have some of the best, all natural mixers available to me, right at my fingertips. Since I had never tried it before, I thought it was high time to bring home a bottle of Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon.

Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon and Vodka

Everything I’ve ever read about this mixer screamed "perfect for summer" to me. Words like "clean," "refreshing," and "balanced" are perfect descriptors. This past week’s heat wave required a beverage that claimed to be all three, and Bitter Lemon did not disappoint.

Created with a blend of Sicilian lemons, cold-pressed orange oils, cane sugar, spring water and quinine, Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon is a lovely substitution for any cocktail in which you might normally use tonic water, changing up the flavor with a zesty zing.

I’ll be picking up a few more bottles today. If you haven’t tried it yet, I urge you to do the same.

Cheers!

TAGS [ COCKTAIL RECIPES | FEVER-TREE | BITTER LEMON | TONIC WATER | DRINK RECIPES | SUMMER COCKTAILS ]

Saint Arnold’s Movable Yeast Series

Monday, July 12th, 2010

I ran into this article on beeradvocate.com and I’ve got to say, I’m really excited about Saint Arnold Brewing Company’s latest idea, their Movable Yeast Series.

The concept, as described in the article, is "to focus on the flavor contribution of yeast. Each release will be created by brewing a regular batch of a Saint Arnold beer and then splitting the wort (unfermented beer) into two 60 bbl fermenters. One fermenter will be pitched with the yeast normally used in that beer and the second fermenter will be pitched with an alternative yeast and the beer given a different name."

Saint Arnold Weedwacker

Saint Arnold’s founder and brewer, Brock Wagner, hopes that restaurants and bars will offer both brews at the same time so that patrons can enjoy vertical tastings, to compare different flavors and aromas attributed solely to the yeasts. Wagner explained that "people spend a lot of time talking about the malt and hops used in beers, but yeast is discussed little and probably understood even less. We thought this would be fun, tasty and educational."

I couldn’t agree more!

Thus far, I’ve only been lucky enough to enjoy one of the brewery’s wares; Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #9, an incredibly delicious imperial pumpkin stout that positively blew me away. Thanks again to USA Beer Trends for sending that along!

The first beer in the Movable Yeast Series will be Weedwacker, which is a re-yeasted version of Fancy Lawnmower Beer, Saint Arnold’s German-style Kölsch. If you’re in an area that offers Saint Arnold, be sure to keep an eye out for it and let us know what you think!

TAGS [ SAINT ARNOLD BREWING | WEEDWACKER | MOVABLE YEAST ]

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