I subscribe to this little daily email factoid service and every morning it sends me some random piece of information, oftentimes pertaining to the date. According to my sources, today is the Internet’s birthday.

On this date in 1969, a Sigma-7 computer at UCLA was linked to an SDS 940 computer at Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock sent a message from his school’s host computer. He was trying to write "login," but the system crashed after two letters, and lo! The Internet was born with the first data message sent between two networked computers.

I wonder if Leonard Kleinrock ever imagined he’d be able to buy great Beer Geek Gifts and Cocktails Mixers on his computer. Either way, I’m extremely glad we have that ability today. Happy Birthday Internet!

TAGS [ INTERNET BIRTHDAY | TODAY IN HISTORY ]

The latest from the lineup of Duvel’s quality Belgian brews is Duvel Tripel Hop, a golden strong ale. Now, don’t be confused by the name; "Tripel Hop" doesn’t refer to the beer as being a super hop-monster, although a dry-hopping has has indeed been applied.

Rather, according to Duvel brewmaster Hedwig Neven, the name refers to the "three prestigious varieties of hops: Saaz from the Czech Republic, Styrian Goldings from Slovenia and Amarillo from the United States. We also use the dry-hopping technique which consists, in addition to conventional hopping, of adding additional hop cones at a later stage. That makes the character of the beer very special: a rich range of impression on the palate, additional hop flavors and — the most perceptible characteristic — a pervasive zesty bitterness."

Duvel Tripel Hop weighs in at 9.5% ABV and although I hear the flavor and aroma aren’t overwhelmed by the alcohol, it does apparently sneak up on you.

I have become a huge fan of Belgian Golden Strong Ales, so I look forward to trying this one, especially since it seems to deviate a bit from the style with the application of dry-hopping.

Duvel Tripel Hop has been released to stores only twice so far. I’m hoping my local brew shop might have a bottle on the shelves for me to pick up this week. Have you had the pleasure of tasting the newest recipe from Duvel? Tell me about it.

Cheers!

TAGS [ DUVEL | TRIPEL HOP | BELGIAN ALE | GOLDEN STRONG ALE | NEW DUVEL BEER ]