One Great Mistake

By Andy Mills, Bar Manager

Imagine, years and years ago, a time before we had refrigerated trucks, before we had cars or even electricity.  Even during such a primitive time period (by our standards anyway) people were still squeezing into pubs, taverns and inns all throughout the world in search of great beer.  To make sure they found what they needed, some establishments would make it right there on the spot.  Others lacked the ingenuity, space or time to dedicate to the ever so involved process of making a great pint.  These places decided they wanted to have beers anyway.

It seems simple to us, out source it and ship it in.  Well, it didn’t quite work so easily during a cold winter in Bavaria when the only means of transportation was a horse drawn carriage.  They still tried.  The side affect was the beer would partially freeze before arriving to the taverns.  Now, if we look at the situation scientifically, we could deduce that since alcohol freezes at a much lower temperature than water, we can make an educated guess that what comes out of a half frozen keg of beer is not quite as timid as it was originally intended to be.  This was the fortunate birth of the ice beer.

Most examples of this style are frightening; Natural Ice, Bud Ice, Molson Ice.  You know, the kind of beer that you are forced to drink when you walk into a college party accidentally because the hot younger girl you were dating at the time insisted and you happen to be the oldest person in the room by too many years…  That’s the stuff.  However, when done correctly, bliss may be achieved.  Here is, I think, my favorite ice beer in the market.

Scheinder Aventinus Eisbock
Germany
ABV: 12%

The original Aventinus is an extremely famous (amongst beer geeks anyways) Dopple Weissen Bock.  This means essentially, that it is a hearty lager made from wheat and double the ingredients of the typical beer in the same amount of water, leaving a fuller flavor and happily, more alcohol.  To make their eisbock, Scheinder froze this already intimidating beer and removed a portion of the water, leaving an even more potent brew.  Remarkably, the end product is extremely smooth and will fool you if you are not careful.  At 12%, a couple can leave you happy yet crippled at the same time.  I know, it happened to me last night…