alonewiththemoon | (no subject)

Exciting beer! Chateau Jiahu, new from Dogfish Head, is a recreation of a 9,000 year old Chinese beer, based on molecular analysis of residue in clay pots from that time. It's science beer! BeerAdvocate says:

Very smooth on the palate with a creamy carbonation buildup, seltzery feel and tonic-water bite. This is followed by a quick and sharp tannic tartness that oddly lingers in the background and into the finish. Layered on top of this is something quite sweet, but not cloying, with a rosewater-like base, notes of strawberries, faint berry-like sourness, white grapes, orange pith, floral honey, over-ripe peach meat, pear juice, hints of mint, and a cutting peppery edge that segues into a somewhat-spicy and increasingly warming booziness—thanks to its 8 percent alcohol by volume. Pleasingly herbal, akin to sweetened cold Chinese tea. Light tannins linger in the bone-dry, powdery finish.

Yum!

(though it's probably a bad sign that I'm thinking longingly of beer at 9:15 in the morning...)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've never been fond of Dogfish Head beers for some reason -- I kept buying them though cuz I liked the name.

I will have to try this as well.

And I was thinking about tonight's beer at 8:30.

I tend to think of them less as beer per se and more as artistically brewed beverages--some of their products bear very little resemblance to beer when it comes down to it :)

interesting.

I'm generally going back to more 'classic' beers lately (with the exception of the chocolate/ginger/molasses porter that's bubbling away at home.)

You can't help but want to try archaeology beer!

I wish I had time and space for brewing again, for some reason I've really been missing it lately :-/

I was too, but I still haven't figured out why...

You can't beat the smell of a pot of wort on the stove on a cold winter day, that might be part of it.

I wish I had time and space for brewing again, for some reason I've really been missing it lately :-/

Me too, big time. Maybe in '07. I am thinking a summer brew might be in order.

Allow me to be skeptical about the process of inverse-cooking or recipe-recovering from 9000-year-old evidence.

Which should, of course, not be a reason not to drink.

They had me at "increasingly warming booziness," frankly, regardless of where the recipe came from.

Sure, be skeptical. But is there a better excuse to try to make a new beer?

reverse-engibeering!

catching up on a backlog of comments--that's brilliant! :-)

nah, I woke up on Sunday and thought, "Should I have a beer for breakfast?" Then I thought, "Is it that bad?" But it's just beer. It's not like I'm starting off with a shot of whiskey in my coffee. Or is beer the gateway drink?

Something that my former roomate in Oakland will totally make since he is a beer maker. :-) I'm sure he heard of it before.