This week’s firkin is from Moylan’s. It’s a wonderful scotch ale perfect for this time of year. From the Moylan’s site: “Robust and Strapping , Our Scotch Ale takes BIG Beers to a whole new level. Rich malt balances perfectly with delicate hops to provide a concentrated and intense flavor; an ideal companion for hearty foods, or as a meal unto itsself. Allow this ale to warm slightly in your glass to enhance its truly bold character . Sharing is encouraged, as this is one beer that lives up to its name! Hey! No peeking! Slainté! ”
Prost!
Sorry for the late post on today’s cask, but I guess it’s better late than never! This week’s firkin is cask-conditioned Sprecher IPA2 (that’s squared, but I don’t know how to do superscripts in this blog).
There’s actually some really nice information on the Sprecher site about all their beers. Here’s a bit on this particular beer:
“Our IPA is of the imperial or double style, therefore much richer than the normal IPA’s now found everywhere. It has a very balanced but different flavor than most US micro types focusing on more on malt and hop balance where CA IPA’s emphasize massive hop aroma and bitterness.” - from Randy’s Notes
India Pale Ale Facts
Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Degrees Plato (Initial Gravity): 18.75P
Weeks Aged: 12
Bitterness Units: 88 IBU
Year First Brewed: 1995
Serving Temperature: 50°
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Caramel, Carapils, Munich, Pale, Victory
Hops: Chinook, Fuggles, Northern Brewer, Willamette
Sizes: 1/4 and 1/2 Barrels, 16oz Bottles
The J. Clyde actually serves all it’s cask ales at 52° F which is quite nice because that’s just about the high today in Birmingham! It’s definitely been a cold winter. Anywho, we’re mightly close to the suggested temperature listed above and we’ve added a size - 9 Imperial Gallon Firkin!
Prost!
…it’s still time to hibernate! That is to enjoy a Hibernation Ale. At 8.1% ABV, we’re going to sell this cask by the Half Imperial PInt. We’ll tap it by 5pm on Friday, February 26 so come soon after because a beer this good won’t last long.
Commercial Description: “Hibernation Ale is Colorado’s original strong ale — it has been Great Divide’s winter seasonal each year since 1995. Hibernation’s massive flavors are so intense that it requires over three months of aging each year. This lengthy aging process gives Hibernation its revered malty richness, complex hop profile and hearty warming character, which is perfect right out of the bottle or cellared for longer periods of time.”
In addition to the three mentioned above, this cask has been aging for five more months so the flavors have probably really melded together quite well.
By the way, for those of you who may have missed the last cask - Good People Brown Ale - you missed a treat. It also had been aging for about six months. The beer totally mellowed out and just became so smooth and interesting.
Enjoy!
Dan Gordon, co founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company will be celebrating the introduction of his beers into Alabama today AT THE J. CLYDE! We’re really proud to host this event and we’ve come up with some great food specials for the evening. There’s a big German connection here as Dan Gordon learned the art of brewing beer in Germany. So, here are the food specials:
· $7 - Currywurst with Pomme Frites - knockwurst served in a spicy tomato curry sauce with deep-fried shoestring potatoes
· $9 - Bratwurst in Brochen with Sauerkraut, Spicy Mustard and Warm German Potato Salad - essentially a sausage sub sandwich topped with spicy mustard and sauerkraut served alongside a German-style potato salad
· $12 - Wienerschnitzel with Kasespaetzel - breaded pork scaloppini with a German-style noodle tossed with melted cheese
· $16 - Bavarian Sausage, Sauerkraut and Whipped Potatoes – this is The J. Clyde’s typical Bavarian Sausage plate removing the Southern twist and adding sauerkraut
If you buy a Gordon Biersch beer to pair with your choice, prices are:
· $5 – Currywurst
· $6 – Bratwurst Sub
· $8 – Wienerschnitzel
· $11 – Bavarian Sausage
Danner Kline, founder of Free the Hops has graciously offered his pairing recommendations for the food and beer, but don’t let that overly sway your choice. All of the Gordon Biersch beers will go well with these.
Gordon Biersch is famous for its world-class lagers which strictly adhere to the Reinheitsgebot - German Beer Purity Law - which is the oldest regulation regarding food in the world. Regulations aside, what makes Gordon Biersch beers great are the crispness and freshness that German lagers need. A good hefeweizen is also part of the Gordon Biersch portfolio and we’ll have that one available as well - also freshly bottled and oustanding!
So please stop by and enjoy! Mr. Gordon will be here from 6pm until he answers all your questions about bier!
Prost!
You are looking at the Beer Garden at Bell’s Brewery in Michigan. I’m certain it’s witnessed a fair share of snow.
Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for snow early on Friday here in Birmingham, but it should clear up well before the dinner starts. I am renting a couple of 80KW BTU tent heaters to supplement our patio heating. These heaters will provide more heat near the floor which is a big benefit. If weather becomes a really big issue that might cause problems for transportation, I’ll post more information here.
At the moment though, we’re going full steam ahead. We’ll be tapping a new keg of Hopslam which may be the last available in Alabama until next year. Of course, don’t forget the special cask of Expedition Stout.
Cheers!
It’s almost here! The Bell’s Beer Dinner is only two weeks away with special guest - straight from Bell’s Brewery - Larry Bell! This beer dinner kicks off at 6pm, Friday February 12th. This will also be our Valentine’s Day dinner so bring your most favorite special person in the world!
We’ll have a special firkin of Expedition Stout tapped for this dinner!
Here’s the menu:
A scrumptious bowl of Tomato Basil Bisque matched with Bell’s Lager
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Bell’s Hopslam paired with spicy Fried Green Tomato and Grilled Shrimp covered with Fiery Remoulade
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Fresh Spinach Salad tossed with Slices of Mandarin Oranges, Toasted Walnuts, Alabama Goat Cheese and Citrus Vinaigrette wedded with Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
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Mandarin Honey-baked Free-range Chicken Breast served with Sweet Mashed Potatoes and a pint of Bell’s Best Brown
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A half Imperial pint of Cask-conditioned Bell’s Expedition Stout served with a Dark chocolate mini-cake iced with sweet ganache and topped with a Cherry Stout-reduction Compote
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The dinner is $48 per person plus tax and gratuity. Skip the movie and hang out later to talk with Mr. Bell and learn about all the great beer he makes. I’ve never had a bad beer from Bell’s and don’t expect to! The guy knows what he’s doing.
Prost!
This week’s firkin is an Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide. As usual, we’ll have this beer tapped by 5pm on Friday, 29 January.
“This beer is Yeti Imperial Stout’s sophisticated sibling. They may be from the same clan, but they have entirely different personalities. Oak aging gives a subtle vanilla character, rounding out Yeti’s intense roastiness and huge hoppy nature. Who says you can’t tame a Yeti?”
This is a big-time beer clocking in at 9.5% ABV and has won a ton of awards over the past couple of years. For an interesting pairing, try this beer with the Steak au Poivre! Absolutely delicious!
Prost!
This beer is a limited release only available from January to February each year. I wanted to let folks know how successful this beer hit Birmingham at The J. Clyde. We were allocated one keg and it sold out the first night! For those of you who came into try it, you got a treat!
We are down to bottles now! Look out for more information on Hopslam in the next day or so. It will also be featured at the Bell’s Beer Dinner on February 12th, 6pm at The J. Clyde.
Cheers!
This may be the best firkin The J. Clyde has ever had. I’m totally serious. Another great thing about this beer is that stouts and cold weather go hand in hand! …and it’s definitely C-O-L-D!!!
This beer is a very special version of Fatso with bourbon-soaked figs, hints of oak, cinnamon and vanilla then dry-hopped generously with Liberty hops.
From Wikipedia,
Fatso is a derogatory term for someone who is overweight. “Fatso” may also refer to
- Fatso (gene), also known as FTO, a gene which as been linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Fatso (film), a 1980 film starring Dom DeLuise and Anne Bancroft.
- Fatso (2008 film), a Norwegian film from 2008.
- Fatso the wombat, pet wombat from the Australian television drama series “A Country Practice“.
- Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat, an unofficial mascot of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
- Fatso (online DVD rental service), an online DVD rental service in New Zealand.
- Fatso (ghost), one of Casper’s uncles who are better known as The Ghostly Trio.
- Martin Brodeur, NHL goaltender nicknamed “Fatso” by Sean Avery during the 2008 playoffs.
- The proper name of Keyboard Cat, a cat (now deceased) owned by Charlie Schmidt, who is now the subject of an internet meme.
- Fatso, also known as the Mancubus in the game Doom 2.
Prost!
As many folks have noticed the posted signs, today is an interesting day because for the first time The J. Clyde will be closed on Sunday. We will continue to be closed on Sundays during 2010 which will provide a better opportunity to rebuild the back bar and add on a new women’s restroom. Additionally, we will be implementing a few other expansions to speed up kitchen operations. Stay tuned as we continue to work hard being the best beer restaurant in the world.
In the short term, we hope everyone is already having a wonderful new year! A superb cask of Rogue Chocolate Stout is on tap at the moment. Good People Fatso will replace that award-winning cask on Thursday night this week instead of Friday. You might wonder, why Thursday? Well…
The BCS Championship Game is on Thursday and - Auburn AND Alabama fans should both be very proud of that. Success is spreading across the state and Auburn just moved to #3 on Rivals recruiting rankings. So, the future looks good on the Plains too! UAB is rocking and rolling in basketball. Pat Sullivan is moving Samford in the right direction. Birmingham Southern just started a football program again and is already doing quite well.
We have a great Good People brewery right in Birmingham so we celebrate all this local success on Thursday!
Beer is great in the state. Football is good. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Prost!
