04 Oct 10 Smuttynose Trifecta at the Charleston Beer Exchange
Friends, Charlestonians, countrymen, lend me your beers;
Smuttynose Brewing Co. has long been one of our all around favorite brewers and following a terrific, recent visit from Vice President Kevin Love (hopefully you made it to the meet & greet last weekend), we’ve decided to pay tribute to some of the best people and beers in the business. Hailing from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we have a truly ridiculous trio of Smuttynose rarities on the block this week and you can bet that each one of these Smutt-tastic masterpieces can only be found at The Charleston Beer Exchange! Check this out:
Rare Beer Tuesday (10/5)
You know how we do it every Tuesday at 5pm: we tap an super-extra-special keg for growler fills! This week we’ll be unleashing vintage 2004 Smuttynose Barleywine! You read that right, this vintage keg is almost 7 years old (kegged on 1/27/04), matured in perfect conditions for a truly unique experience! At 10% ABV and boasting a huge malty profile, this beer was meant for aging. The beer currently scores a nearly perfect 97 points on Ratebeer.com and we can only imagine the wonder some time has done for it!
Rare Bomber Thursday (10/7)
Our next leg of the Smuttynose insanity will kick off at 5pm Thursday when release 22oz counter-pressure filled bomber style “growlers” of Smuttynose Short Batch #10 Belgian Stout! The Smuttynose Short Batch Series is a tiny production, draft only series of one-off experimental beers. The brewery uses this series to try new things and have fun! This one is an 8.3% ABV Belgian-style stout that is as impressively delicious as it is scarce. Don’t miss out!
Click here for a reminder of how Rare Bomber Thursday works.
Cask Ale Saturday (10/9)
To round out this Smutt-tacular week, we’ll be gravity tapping a cask (firkin) of a special edition Smuttynose Big A IPA on Saturday at 2pm! This real cask ale version of the always sublime Big A was specially dry-hopped with Simcoe, Santium,Centennial and Cascade hops along with a nice addition of French Oak! This is the same dry-hopping blend that led this beer to take home the award for Best American Beer at the Great British Beer Festival! Plan to be here promptly if you don’t want to miss this!
Remember, unlike our regular growler fills, real cask ale is highly perishable and must be consumed the same day so plan accordingly. It is beer in its purest form, free of force carbonation and filtering allowing for a unique experience in texture, taste and aroma.
Glass Onion Sustainable Seafood Dinner with COAST Brewery (10/12)
Tuesday, October 12th, The Glass Onion will host a Sustainable Seafood Initiative dinner with COAST Brewery. David Merritt and Jaime Tenny, brewer and owners of COAST, will be on hand to discuss their beers paired with a four course seafood menu. Sure to be a wonderful evening! Visit http://www.ilovetheglassonion.com for menu and additional information or call (843) 225-1717 to make your reservations!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for real time updates, keg tappings and all the CBX news that’s fit to brew!
Don’t forget, you can always see what on tap for growlers live on our website by visiting TheCharlestonBeerExchange.com and clicking the “News/Growlers” tab.
Cheers,
The Charleston Beer Exchange
14 Exchange Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 577-5446
http://www.thecharlestonbeerexchange.com
Tags: abv, belgian style, brewing co, cask ale, countrymen, experimental beers, firkin, growler, growlers, ipa, keg, kevin love, portsmouth new hampshire, president kevin, rare beer, rarities, smuttynose brewing, stout, tastic
10 Dec 07 History Of Chocolate – Part Two
During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm,
“chocolatl”, meaning warm liquid. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolatl to his Spanish guests in great golden goblets, treating it like a food for the gods.
For all its regal importance, however, Montezuma’s chocolatl was very bitter, and the Spaniards did not find it to their taste. To make the concoction more agreeable to Europeans, Cortez and his countrymen conceived of the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.
While they took chocolatl back to Spain, the idea found favor and the drink underwent several more changes with newly discovered spices, such as cinnamon and vanilla. Ultimately, someone decided the drink would taste better if served hot.
The new drink won friends, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely proceeded to plant cocoa in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.
Tags: cane sugar, chocolatl, cinnamon, cocoa beans, cocoa industry, concoction, conquest of mexico, cortez, countrymen, emperor montezuma, europeans, golden goblets, hundred years, overseas colonies, profitable business, spaniards, spanish aristocracy, spices, which gave birth
