Monday Rant: Where Art Thou, Benjamin?

At some point in the summer of 2012 I came across one of the most fascinating cases of beer I've ever delved into. Not only was the case of beer extremely intriguing, but so were the individuals the three beers whose personal recipes were used in the brewing of said beers.

If you are one of the few that actually follow my musings on this blog you probably know I'm talking about the Yards Ales of the Revolution Sampler. The three individuals were of course George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

My next-to-last one! Have mercy.

The Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale was an above-average beer. I thought General Washington's Tavern Porter was fantastic, but I loved Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce the most.

Every time I head out on a beer shopping venture locate where the Yards Brewing section is. I find the Ales of the Revolution case and sometimes find entire cases of both the Tavern Ale and Tavern Porter. Unfortunately, I'm yet to catch myself hungrily staring at a case of Poor Richard's.

Where could it be? Do entire cases of this fine beverage even exist? If not, why are the other two pieces of the amazing variety pack the only ones in their own respective cases? Tese questions are part of my most-recent craft beer quest.

There are certainly other ways of retrieving this fine brew. I could always buy the variety pack again. I've also seen single bottles of Tavern Spruce at D's Six Pack and Dogs in Regent Square. A six pack of Tavern Spruce once in a while could hold over my hankerings. This beer in small batches is just alright. I want to get a decent buzz on quite a few of them sometimes and pretend I'm a colonial meteorologist.  Until then, I'll continue to search for information leading to the finding a case of this beer. That's even if cases exist.

Thomas Jefferson and Beer

Photo via Wikipedia

As we continue on our journey through Yards Brewing's Ales of the Revolution sampler pack, our next look into beer history involves Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is my favorite president in the wide history of our country (I know some of you are surprised that it's not Abraham Lincoln, knowing how much of a Civil War geek I am). Lincoln even thought of Jefferson as one of our most important political figures too!

Jefferson is famous for leading the Louisiana Purchase, which involved big and powerful government. Something that he was strongly against. in essence, he took a major step across the isle. In my opinion, it's one of America's boldest, yet moderate move in political history.

He was also known as bit of an eccentric, which makes him one of my favorite individuals in history as well. He hated his birthday, had somewhat of a clock obsession and even had his bed built into the middle of a wall. Monticello still remains as one of the top tourist attractions on the East Coast, today.

As Benjamin Franklin did, Jefferson actually preferred wine to beer. He actually didn't completely turn to beer until some point in his retirement when he actually ran out of wine and spirits. It was around this time that the War of 1812 was going on. So, embargoes and such meant that winos in the states had less and less of their favorite beverage. Jefferson's wife actually began brewing decades before he did (at least according to what I've read over the years).

Sometime in the early 1800's Jefferson had a beer cellar and brewing room built at Monticello in order to help him produce his beer at a bigger scale. Monticello.org has an entire section devoted to Jefferson and beer. This post simply just doesn't do it justice.

The Tavern Ale that I reviewed yesterday isn't the only Jefferson-related beer out there. Starr Hill Brewery teamed up with Monticello in making Monticello Reserve Ale. This beer is definitely on my list of beers to locate and try. It's a little different from the Tavern Ale recipe since corn and wheat are used in the malting process.

Beer Review: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Eight percent

Appearance: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale pours a light copper and honey brown with a fair amount of orange hue elsewhere in the body. It also features a white head that's heavy at first, but settles down and leaves an appetizing and thin layer of foam. There's also plenty of ample lacing as you consume this brew. Altogether, this beer has a thick appearance to it and that's with the body being a lighter shade of copper/brown.

Smell: Initially, this beer smells very dark and toasty. I got a lot of caramel malt and toffee. In essence, it smells like this beer would be farther into dark spectrum given the strong notes I was taking in.

Taste: It's very strong on the front. The harshness was mostly due to the bitterness of the toffee and the strong hop character this beer had. The aftertaste is definitely pleasant, though. There's a subtle, yet sweet honey taste on the finish.

Overall Rating: 

Tavern Ale is very appetizing in terms of look and aroma. I just wasn't expecting the harshness in the taste. Just a little bit too strong in the toffee and hops department for my preferences. Still, this is an excellent beer choice for a history buff.

Ales of the Revolution: Best Case Ever?

Being a huge fan of both craft beer and history, I never thought that the two could be combined so finely. I learned I was wrong when I was told about the Ales of the Revolution by Yards Brewing out of Philadelphia.

According to the Yards brewing website, as well as on the bottles of each of the beers in the case, the three beers featured are based on recipes by Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce), Thomas Jefferson (Tavern Ale) and George Washington (Tavern Porter).

This case of beer caused me to have one of the bigger geek-outs in my lifetime and I can get excited about some history. All three beers are among the best I've ever had. The Tavern Spruce is sweet and syrupy, the Tavern Ale has strong hints of honey in the aftertaste and the Tavern Porter is brewed with molasses and it is truly evident.

If you could choose the personal beer recipes of any three men in American history, would you venture any farther than Yards did? I certainly would've chose both Benjamin Franklin for his multiple innovations and Thomas Jefferson since he's the greatest president we've had, in my opinion.

This case is among the greatest variety cases I've ever come across. I' not entirely sure about putting it past the Troegs Anthology No. 1, but as of right now it's pretty close.