Ybor Brewing Company - Ybor Brown Ale

Ybor’s Brown Ale is brewed with a combination of 5 exceptional malts including: two-row pale Caramel 40, Caramel 120, Dark Chocolate, Extra Special malts! Humberto hops it up slightly with both Northern Brewer hops for aroma and Fuggles hops for their bittering contributions. We found Ybor’s brown ale to be a medium bodied English style Brown Ale with distinctive nutty, toffee, caramel flavors and a smooth, mild finish. It’s light amber brown and filtered. Look for a slight bitterness, balanced nicely with sweet, fruity, and toasted malt flavors. Overall, a clean, flavorful and nicely balanced brown ale.

Danny Boy’s Irish Stout Ice Cream

When they talk about “The Luck of the Irish”, they must be talking about the fact that they put beer in their ice cream! Okay, so your first reaction is to suppress the gag reflex, but yee must have a wee bit-o-trust here lads and lassies. Make a batch before you pass judgment and sample the sweet nectar of a country that knows what to do with beer!

8 eggs, separated
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup Black 47 Irish Stout
1 ½ cups light cream whipped w/ 1 ½ cups heavy cream

Whisk yolks, sugar and beer together until thick and mixture forms ribbons when whisk is lifted. Fold in whipped creams. Whisk egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into mixture. Pour into container and freeze, or use ice-cream maker. Serves 8 normal people, 3 with a sweet tooth and a hint of self control, or Ben or Jerry.

REAL BEER PAGE - Two retired brewery workers in Germany recently won a lawsuit against the brewery they worked for. The judge ruled that the two should receive 264 pints of free beer a year as part of their pension package, as well as compensation for the three years in which they did not receive their free pints. Originally, the brewery had promised to give all workers 264 pints of free beer a year once they retire. When the brewery began experiencing financial hardships and then changed ownership, they reneged on their previous promise. It should be noted that the two men must have really wanted their beer badly, as they fought for three years and appealed to the highest labor court before final judgment was reached.

BEERWIRE - Presidential Hopefuls Debate, Courtesy of Bud! Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. has been selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates as a national sponsor of the four presidential debates for the 2000 election, as well as the sole sponsor of the debate scheduled for October 17 at Washington University in St. Louis. Several smaller microbreweries were approached for the sponsorship, but were declined on the basis that the offered contribution amounts pledged “would barely cover one of George W. Bush’s lunch tabs”.

BEERWIRE - Pints Plummet in UK. A price war is in the works in UK pubs, dropping the cost of a pint of beer by as much as a third. Pub chain J. D. Wetherspoon has cut 25 percent off the price on 23 brands in its pubs, and competitors are not lagging with their own price reductions. If you aren’t in the right place at the right time…Get there as fast as you can! I’m calling Shatner and priceline and bidding $150 RT to Heathrow!

Hey Murl!

I was hoping you could settle a bet I have with a friend. He adamantly believes that an Ale is not a beer. It is separated from the classification of beer because its distinguished higher alcohol content. I disagree. I said that an Ale is a classification of beer that separates itself from its Lager counterpart in that it is fermented differently. Could you please offer your expertise in this situation? Got a case of the good stuff on the line so your prompt reply would be appreciated!

Thanks Murl,

Mike Rabins

Chicago, Il

Yo Chicago Mike!

Great name for that town, pally! I’d be happy to answer you question for ya, man…With one small caveat. Ya see I was raised a small Australian sheep dog chasing chickens in the cornfields of Illinois. Not to far from Chicago I might add. And I haven’t had a real Chicago Dog since I left the Midwest. You set me up with a couple dogs, you know like fedx ‘em to me or something, and I not only answer the question, but use my super canine reasoning skills to make it so you win the bet too! And don’t send me no imitation weenies, man. We’re talkin’ about the real deal here, Jojo. Steamed poppy seed buns, all beef Vienna Dog, big tomato wedges… No diced tomatoes, cucumber wedge, onions, a squeeze or two of yellow mustard all topped with a dash of celery salt! Damn, I’m salivating like…like….like a freakin’ dog here! So, I’m so excited about our arrangement that I’m just gonna answer your question now and assume you’re gonna make good on your end ‘cause I can’t wait another month for delivery!

But before I do, Chicago Mike, before I do, a hypothetical situation for ya. Miami Dolphins in Miami. Marino comes out of retirement and Shula comes back to coach on a special engagement against a Chicago Bears squad comprised of 11 Mini-Ditkas. Who wins? I predict, Mini-Ditkas 112, Miami, negative 6! Go Bears! Bears! Bears! Bears! Da Bears!

So the question at hand. The word beer is just a common name for all liquid beverages brewed using Water, Malt, Hops, and Yeast. "Beer", is in fact, as you eluded, divided into two groups; Lagers and Ales which are generally distinguished as such based on how they are fermented. Your bud was also incorrecto on the alcohol content assumption. There’s no correlation with lower alcohol content beers and lagers. There are several eisbocks (a style in the lager category) that attenuate out to comparable or greater alcohol contents as the highest alcohol content Ales (typically Barley Wines). So that’s a wrap Mikey. Call the 800 # to find out where to ship the dogs.

Woof!

Murl.