Post
by JamesQuinn » Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:55 am
I'm a virgin. I have never been to the playa before, so I really have no experience of what I am talking about here.
However, I know some stuff about the history of the British shipping their beers and hard liquor around the world.
Anyone familiar with '[b]India Pale Ale'[/b]? It's a style of beer making that was specifically designed by the British to keep for long periods of time (shipped by sailboats) in warm, even hot climates such as [b]India[/b]. This was during the 1700's where there was no such thing as refrigeration.
This beer has a bitter, hoppy taste that I personally prefer over other beers, with the exception of a Stout beer such as Guinness. I live in Canada so my favorite beer is Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale.
In the USA, it is sometimes called American India Pale Ale. It isn't as bitter tasting as the British IPA, but it's essentially the same.
A few examples of American IPA are:
Anchor Brewing's Liberty Ale, Lagunitas Brewing's IPA, Victory Brewing Company's HopDevil Ale,Hop Ottin IPA by Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Hoptical Illusion by Blue Point Brewing Co., Two Hearted Ale by Bells Brewery, and Stone Brewing Company's Stone IPA.
In addition to keeping well preserved and still tasting great even when stored at room temperatures for long periods of time...IPA also has a [b]higher alcohol content[/b] than other beers such as a lager.
You can also get double IPA, called IIPA. These are sometimes also called
'Imperial' IPA's. These are associated with the west coast of the USA.
One brand that looks interesting is [b]Russian Imperial Stout[/b], which in addition to tasting great warm and not going flat, has a [b]7% alchohol content[/b].
Ales Brewed in Northern California [b]Lagunitas' Maximus IPA[/b], Bear Republic's Racer 5, as well as others in the San Diego area have taken to the double IPA style, including Stone Brewing Company, Oggi's Brewery, Alpine Brewery, Alesmith, Ballast Brewing Company, and Port Brewing Company, etc. However, others attribute the creation of this style to the Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon, and its I2PA beer, brewed in 1990.
Triple IPA's are considered 'Barleywines', which is thick beer with an
8- 12% alcohol content. These would also store well, never go flat and taste great on the playa.
In the USA:
* Old Guardian from Stone Brewing Company
* Monster Ale from Brooklyn Brewery
* Old Horizontal from Victory Brewing Company
* Olde School from Dogfish Head Brewery (15% abv)
* Third Coast Old Ale from Bell's Brewery
* Bigfoot Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
* Old Crustacean from Rogue Ales
* Old Foghorn from Anchor Brewing Company
[b][u]Mad Dogs in the noon day sun:[/u][/b]
Incidentally, ever hear of the expression 'Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun?' That expression came from British soldiers stationed in Africa, who would walk around in the African heat dressed head to toe in their army uniforms when the natives of Africa were wearing loincloths and staying in the shade to escape the heat.
What was their secret? How did the British manage to stay so cool?
[b]Gin and tonic[/b].
The British soldiers would be constantly drinking Gin and tonic to keep themselves cool while stationed on duty in the hot African sun (or in India).
When you drink hard liquor, your skin feels warmer because your blood vessels are opening up, and the heat moves from your body's core to your skin. This is why you hear about alcoholics freezing in snow banks thinking that a bottle of whiskey will warm them.
ANY hard liquor will have the same effect, but for some reason gin has the greatest heat dissipating effect.
The reason why the British drank their Gin with tonic is because the tonic contained Quinine, which is the remedy for malaria contracted through mosquito bites. So long as they were always 'dosed', they would never contract malaria.
Oddly enough, the tonic you use in Gin and tonic even today still contains Quinine, even though someone in a Las Vegas casino pounding back the Gin and tonics has nothing to worry about from contracting malaria from a mosquito bite.
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See you there!
