American Revolution Part II

The American Revolution Part II

Yes, we all know the yanks kicked us out in the late-eighteenth century when they took umbrage in Boston about tea or something...

But one of the saving graces since then has been our ability to mock the Americans about their insipid beer making abilities - their mass produced lagers such as Budweiser & Coors, both ”Lite” in name, colour and flavour being laughed at by the mighty real ale making British Empire....

However, somehow in bars and breweries across the 50 states (including Boston!), a new revolution has been Brewing (please excuse the pun!).  Since the mid seventies 200 years after revolution part 1, micro brewers who, having sampled many of our amazing brews and also those of our European neighbours, have not only produced beers as good as ours but have often surpassed us. 

The Americans have reinvented and revitalised the beer category in more ways than one - their beer is not just Lager, Bitter & Stout.  The brewers across the pond have taken glee in rediscovering and producing a massive range of beers including Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Porters, Brown Ales, Fruit Beers, Milk Stouts, Strong Ales, Seasonal Ales as well as redefining Lager.

As a long time supporter of American beer i feel that ‘beer is no longer the territory of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) card wielding, bearded old men of Britain.  Beer is cool again, beer is fun and beer is great with food.  With so many of our pubs and bars owned by breweries, there is a complete lack of choice and variety both on the draft beers as well as in the bottled selection.

It is up to the independent bars like the “Lofty Turtle” to challenge this monopoly of the giant breweries and allow greater freedom of choice.  It frustrates me that every pub I go to has the same six mass produced lagers, a cider and Guinness on draft with a few real ale pumps of that particular brewery.  There is now so much variety out there, we should be given more choice.’ 

The “Lofty Turtle” has 9 draft beers, a rotating guest ale and 70+ bottled beers from around the world including 3-4 American craft ales on draft and 30+ American craft beers in bottles.  our top 5 American bottled beers were and with which of the classic American cuisine I would pair them with.

‘The Odell Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado consistently produces amazing beer and the 5 Barrel Pale Ale (5.2%) is the perfect introduction to USA craft ale with soft lingering flavours - a perfect beer to have with our Sticky BBQ Ribs.

Maui Bikini Blonde Lager (5.1%) is served in a can and flown in from the Maui Brewery in Hawaii with the great tag line, ‘what the sailors really come to shore for’.  This is my favourite beer of the moment and I cannot get enough of it - this makes cans cool again! This is the perfect pair with our ½ lb BBQ Shrimp.

Great Divide Titan IPA (7.1%) is a massive hoppy & complex, multi award winning India Pale Ale from another Colorado brewery that produces consistently fine ales. This is great with our King Kong Burger that weighs in at 1 ½ lbs - the 2 titans fight for supremacy...

The Left Hand Milk Stout (6.0%) is a wonderful stout made using milk sugars resulting in a creamy and silky aftertaste. This is a must for our Spicy Voodoo Wings - the milk sugars calm the fire of the Louisiana hot sauce.

Brooklyn Brown (5.6%) is from the New York brewery that has an amazing selection of craft beers - their brown ale is a hat tilt to Newcastle’s famous brew.  This beer is perfect with pork and sausages therefore a must for our foot long gourmet hotdog.

Lastly drink any thing you can get from the Stone Brewing Co Voted The All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth - by Beer Advocate Magazine we currently have 5 of their brews in stock including their world famous Arrogant Batard Ale.

Best Draft

Both Brooklyn and Samuel Adams have amazing Vienna Red Lagers on draft - both are rich, hoppy and complex.  For a much superior alternative to Guinness, try the Anchor Porter (5.6%).

In 1970 there were less than 100 breweries in the USA. As of 2011, there are nearly 2000 breweries in the USA.

Vive La Revolution!