St. Stan's Brewing Company - St. Stan's Whistle Stop Ale

This brewery makes some unusual ales! Whistle Stop is brewed with a combination of two-row pale, caramel, carapils malts as well as malted wheat and rye! It’s hopped with Chinook and Kent Goldings in the boil and then dry hopped with cascade hops. St. Stans newest product, Whistle Stop Ale is a traditional British Pale Ale. You’ll note a floral dominated nose with some pale maltiness evident in this golden straw colored, medium-bodied ale. Look for a clean, well-balanced malt-hop profile and hint of rye in the body. The hop profile emerges early in the flavor. We found it to finish clean and dry prodding you for more! Whistle Stop Pale Ale's whimsical tag line, "Wet Your Whistle," is so named because St. Stan's Brewery is located between two railroad lines, the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific Tidewater. On occasions when both trains pass simultaneously, customers are "train locked" and St. Stan's is the only place to "Wet Your Whistle"!

Whistle Stop Pale Ale Cheese Spread

This zesty spread blends four cheeses and several spices with your favorite ale. Try it on your favorite cracker or chip. We recommend using the hoppier of the two beers featured this month, St. Stan’s Whistle Stop Pale Ale, both in the recipe as well as to complement the spread when served.

2 oz. Blue Cheese
1 oz. fresh American chevre or other fresh goat cheese
6 oz. aged New York State white cheddar or other sharp cheddar, diced
1 oz. Philadelphia-type cream cheese
½ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
½ cup Whistle Stop Ale

Process all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. If spread is too thick, give up a little more of the brew. Pack into a crock or small bowl, and let sit several hours or overnight in the refrigerator before using. Serve at room temperature. Makes about 2 cups. Serves 4-6 adults, 2 stoned college students, or one Green Bay Packer fan.

CELEBRATOR BEER NEWS - Kirin Brewery, Japan's largest brewery, has indicated it will stop using genetically modified corn to produce beer. Beer is exempt from a Japanese law requiring labeling of genetically altered food by April 2001. Kirin, which uses 200,000 tons of corn a year, previously has not distinguished between genetically modified and non-modified corn in making purchases. It intends to sign contracts with U.S. farmer and distributors to supply non-genetically modified corn. Ever consider…Gee Beave, I dunno…Barley?? Corn is for Chickens baby! And anyone that can choke down a Bud Light.

REAL BEER PAGE - A study conducted in Finland indicated that drinking a beer a day reduced the risk of kidney stone formation in men by 40%. The trial of 30,000 male smokers was conducted with beer, wine, distilled spirits, milk, coffee and tea. Beer was the only drink that significantly reduced the risk of kidney stones. The hops in beer may be the reason. Hops may inhibit the release of calcium from bone. Kidney stones are primarily composed of calcium. As if I needed still yet ANOTHER reason to drink beer!

MIDWEST BEER NOTES - How big does a bottle of beer have to be before you'd spend $1,000 for it? Bierodrome, a division of London's popular Belgo restaurant chain, offers a bottle of Bon-Secours that takes two from the bar staff to pour, a 15-liter serving that goes for £635 (about $1,000). That works out to nearly $40 per pint. The Bon-Secours at the Bierodrome is made at the Caulier Frères Brewery in Péruwelz in the Walloon region and bottled to order. The large bottles, called Nebuchadnezzars, hold the equivalent of 20 standard wine bottles and come with a wax seal. It better come with a foot massage, the evening newspaper and a remote control for $40 bucks a pint!

REAL BEER PAGE - Bud takes Budvar to court in Hong Kong! Film at Eleven. In the latest round of the ongoing battle between Budweiser and Budvar, American-based Anheuser Busch has taken Czech-owned Budejovicky Budvar to court in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Sunday Morning Post reported that A-B said in court papers that Budejovicky Budvar beer had infringed on the Budweiser trademark since Budejovicky is the Czech word for Budweiser. The U.S. brewer is seeking a court order to have the Czech company's products taken off the shelves in Hong Kong, the report said. Anheuser-Busch has launched similar lawsuits in Europe and the United States. And A-B rep Stan Ribinowitz was overheard to say that the brewing giant plans to file still yet another lawsuit on Budvar, claiming that their 18 yr. Old Siamese Cat and Company mascot, Claude, strongly resembles a Clydesdale and is also therefore another case of trademark infringement.

Dear Murl,

How much beer have you consumed in your life?

Eta Stülmaus

Pebble Beach, CA

Yo Stül-Mouse!

Is that really your last name? What is that anyway? I’m going with Austrian. Sounds Austrian to me. Is it pronounced Stool Mouse? ‘Cause that’s Great if it is! I wish I had a cool last name like that. Hell, I wish I had a last name. Everyone just calls me Murl. If I could make up my own last name, it would have to be something cool like Bond or Bronson. Yeah, that’s it. Bond…Murl, Bond. Well, until I settle on something, you can just keep callin’ me Murl.

How much beer, eh? Good question, St¨l-Mouse. Good question. Gonna hafta get our the abacas and use all my paws to crunch the numbers on this one. I’m now 9 years old and I’ve been drinking beer since I was two. Did about 5-6 pints/week on average until I got to college and that’s a bit of a black out. So, take the College Postulate Factor into consideration, a few minor spikes in the Normal curve like the month my mother moved back in with me and the years I wasn’t dating anyone…. Carry the two, divide by 3.174, take the mean average of the hypotenuse and solve for the Cotangent of the Cosecant and I come up with… Well… A lot. Let’s just say a lot, Okay. Fact is, I’ve had a couple tonight as I write the column. Don’t tell the brass. And I left my HP-12C at the office and I can’t read my High School math notes too well. But I feel good with the fact that it’s been a lot. If I can hone in on that number for you a bit in a future column, I’ll be glad to do it there, Stül-Mouse. Whoa! Look at the time! I’ve got a Theorem that needs postulatin’!

Woof!

Murl.