Na Zdravi !: Fireside Chat

Sunday, October 01, 2017

Fireside Chat

21st Amendment Brewing (San Leandro, CA)

"Fireside Chat is a subtle twist on the traditional seasonal brew. We begin with a rich, dark, English-style ale and then we improvise with spices until we know we have a beer worth sharing with the nation."

Winter Spiced Ale with spices and cocoa nibs. Winter (Oct.-Dec.) seasonal.
Got a bit of a sweet/tart thing going on with some undefined spiciness. The cocoa is there in the back somewhere.
I'm a sucker for brown ales, and while this is a bit different I did enjoy it.
As is often the case, as the beer warmed the aroma and taste improved.
(hmm ... at 7.9% I'm really debating having a second)

7.9% ABV, 45 IBU

Na Zdravi!

A 10-second take.
Not really reviews, just my way to keep track of the beers I've tried.

My mother's family is Czech. They emigrated from Bohemia and settled in Nebraska in the mid-1800s.
They were from the region that included the town Pilzen (Pilsen) where a brewery called Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň, now Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech), started brewing a uniquely Bohemian-style beer we now know as pilsner.
So, as I raise a glass in honor of my Bohemian roots ...

Na Zdravi! (to your health).

Hops?

A "hop" is the cone shaped resinous flower of the female hop plant. It is used in brewing to add bitterness, flavor, aroma, and stability depending on when it is added.

Hops are one of the 4 basic ingredients of beer although they are not esential in the brewing process. The are used simply to add flavor and complexity to the brew.
Double and even triple IPA's feature an extreme amount of hops, and an ABV to match.
Noble Hops - The traditional varieties of hops that were used to make early European beers. Medieval brewers used Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, and/or Tettnang hops. All are from Germany except Saaz from the Czech Republic (Žatec in Czech). All are still used today.