And so it begins!

Welcome to my foray into the world of blogs. I hope you will enjoy this journey into the world of beer and beer in our world, with the occational digression.

What's in a name?
Well I'm glad you ask. You see I have always been facinated with Mythology, especially Norse Mythology. In Norse lore, Valhalla is is Odin's hall in Norse mythology, the home for those slain gloriously in battle. Where every day, the slain warriors ride forth by the thousands to engage in mock combat on the plains of Asgard. At night they return to Valhalla to feast on roasted boar and drink intoxicating mead.

A then there is Firkin. A Firkin is an old English unit of volume. The name is derived from the Middle Dutch word vierdekijn, which means fourth, i.e. a fourth of a full-size barrel.

More importantly. For beer and ale a firkin is equal to 9 Imperial gallons (about 40.915 l) or a quarter of a barrel. Casks in this size (themselves called firkins) are the most common container for cask ale. The word "firkin" (as in "Fox & Firkin") is frequently considered a suitably atmospheric word by those naming an English-style pub — by implication, the establishment will thus be either a new pub in the UK (and hence probably part of a retail chain of "plastic" drinking shops) or a foreign imitation of a British pub.

Which brings us to our first story....

The Firkins are coming, the Firkins are coming....

That's right, thanks to repeated pestering and prodding from yours truly (and I'm sure a few others) Jamie Bartholomaus, Head Brewer at Foothills Brewing Co., has finally agreed to start serving cask or Real Ale via the three firkins he had. You see, Jamie has been wanting to do this all along, but he is a very busy man and apparently needed repeated pestering, at which time Jamie finally said to me, "If you want it, you have to clean the firkins." Which I promptly asked, "When?"


And so begins the cleaning and filling of the firkins with Jamie's Hopium IPA. We had a bit of spill as I didn't put the bung completely in on one firkin. And due to the pressure of the beer when filling it, caused a spillage of beer. Thankfully we had more and Jamie was quick to firmly place the bung and reseal the firkin.

Before filling each cask, Jamie added a blend of DME (Dried Malt Extract) and hot water, which creates a wort like priming sugar which causes a secondary fermenation with the firkins. This produces the modest amounts of carbonation needed to make Cask ale. This is similar to Bottle conditioned beer, just on a larger scale.


Jamie filled the firkins directly from the fermentation tanks before moving the rest of the IPA to the secondary fermentors.


Using a dead blow hammer, Jamie sells off the first firkin.







Finally, the cask sit and wait for their tapping at 6 PM on July 28th, 2006 at Foothills Brewing Co. Here's hoping that yours truly gets to tap the first, of many firkins to come.




Imperial Gaelic!

That's right folks, the good people at Highland Brewing Company decided that the last beer brewed at the current facility will be an Imperial version of their flagship Gaelic Ale. It was supposed to be kept underwraps, but Tony Kiss spilled the beans in a recent article for the Asheville Citizen-Times. This will be a brewery only sale, and will happen on the last weekend before the old brewery is closed and the new brewery officially opens. The new Imperial Gaelic will be a bolder, stronger version of the American Amber called Gaelic that everybody has come to know an love. This will be a very limited release and sold only at the brewery in the 1L swing top bottles that Cold Mountian made famous. Very small release, and probably a purchase limit per customer so that as many people can get a bottle as possible. This will be a weekend release party, ala Three Floyds Dark Lord. (Oh, if you don't know Dark Lord, you should.)

As to how and the moment that I know the date I will post it here. And the line will form immediately behind me!

You can find Highland Gaelic and their other beers at your local Beer & Wine shop like City Beverage and GSO Wine Warehosue, as well as many Harris Teeters, Lowes Foods, Ingles, and Whole Foods.

Jesus and the king of Beers?

That's right, in an unholy alliance akin to Mr. Rogers teaming up with Dick Chaney, apparently Jesus is tag-teaming it with Bud. Or so a recently defaced Houston Billboard will have you believe. It's a pretty professional looking billboard. Rumor has it that there is a group that goes around the country "defacing" items public ads like this. Would have been even funnier if they could have worked He'brew beer into it; but I still find it fricken hilarious.

The Silver Bullet bites Pete in the ass!

That's right, Pete Coors was cited for a DUI in May after leaving a friend's wedding celebration. Very ironic in my opinion, since Silver Haired Pete is always expounding the virtures of "Responsible Drinking." In his defense Mr. Coors blew a 0.088, so he wasn't wasted, but he still rolled through a stop sign, just a block from home. Oh...so close, yet so far.

Microbreweries in the Land of Guinness

A glass is filled at the Messrs. Maguire brew pub in Dublin.

It so warms the cockles of me heart to read this article and know that Ireland's brewing history is coming back. Especially since none of Ireland's big stouts, Guinness, Murphy's or Beamish, are Irish-owned today. Sounds like we need a trip to the Emerald Isle.



Coming next week...Reviews of Dale's Pale Ale, Highland Tasgall Ale, and maybe more. Plus updates on the world of beer, at least through my eyes anyway.