Na Zdravi !: Old Chico Amber Ale

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Old Chico Amber Ale

"Began as a small, brewery only beer, but the word gout out an soon it became a local hit. Amber Ale's smooth amber body and balanced flavor have turned it into a perennial favorite in Chico and we're proud to bottle it for our hometown crowd."

A mystery beer. Not mentioned on the Sierra Nevada website and very few mentions of it online. It is brewed seasonally and apparently distributed in and around Chico only. My son came across it on a recent trip to Chico and grabbed a 6.
Nutty, malty and a really nice quaff.
Hope to have more in the future.

ABV 5.3%

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.