There Stands Jackson Like a Cold Pint

As I always say there are few things better than either a good craft beer and an interesting read about history. One of the few things that can possibly be better is having both combined into a single product. If you've read up on the Civil War Beer Series in Frederick that I've been keeping tabs on then the odds are that you are reading this post for the very same reason.

A poster on a Civil War message board that I sometimes frequent alerted me of other beers that are named for events and people in the conflict in a thread in which I brought up the subject of the beer series in Maryland.

According to this poster, the brewery is called Blue & Gray Brewing Co. and is based in a town famous for one of the many epic clashes of the war,  Fredericksburg, Va. In case you can't blow up the screen cap that I took, I'll let you know a few of the historical brews this place makes.

The first being Stonewall Stout which is obviously named for General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Temporary Insanity is named for General Dan Sickles who was the first person to use the plead of temporary insanity in a murder case. He was accused of shooting a man that he caught having an affair with his wife. That man was the son of Francis Scott Key who was coincidentally born in Frederick. The beer that follows that one is called Minor Dementia, also named for Sickles. Both are Russian Imperial Stouts.

Not all of the brews deal with the Civil War period. There's another called Washington's Cherry Wheat since George Washington's boyhood home was in Fredericksburg. The difference between these beers and the ones included as part of the series in Frederick is that all of these are available at some point each year if not year-round. The Frederick brews seem to be a one-time-only kind of thing.

I haven't visited Fredericksburg in years. Most likely before this place started brewing. Hopefully I get the chance to get my hands on some of these beers.

History Brews On

I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend purchase a case of the Brewer's Alley/Civil War Museum of Medicine Antietam Ale and truck it all of the way here from Frederick back before Thanksgiving.

I previously mentioned the thought of wondering about what styles of beer would also be produced along with what the names of said beers would be. According to the Frederick News Post, the next installment of this Civil War-themed beer celebration was released the night before I left Frederick after my most recent visit.

The next beer in the series is called Proclamation Porter and is obviously named in honor of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. There seems to be a slight chronological theme in the release of these beers so far as the first beer was called Antietam Ale. The Proclamation followed the Battle of Antietam in 1862.

The article also mentions the next two installments. One being "First Draught" set for a March release and another being "Gettysburg Wheat" that's due in July which will mark the 150th anniversary of the clash (how fitting). I will try my best to be at that release party in July. The label should have something to do with the Rose Farm since it's being named after the wheat that soaked up so much blood 150 years ago.

Monday Rant: America Loves the Underdog

I got to it a few days late, but felt the need to share it with as many as possible as well as possibly getting in some of my input on the issue. A post by A Good Beer Blog explained how craft beer here in the states could eventually shoot itself in the foot.

What I got from the Brewer's Association press release and the post I linked is that it looks like craft beer in America is trying to be the aggressor. Let me explain this a bit more if you still don't understand.

It's always been said that America loves the underdog. We see this in many facets of today's society. The best example I can take from the top of my head is sports. A huge percentage of fans root for upsets. Remember this the next time you fill out an NCAA basketball bracket.

Could it be possible that a good bit of Americans started getting into craft beer because it was another choice compared to the same old beers from the major companies that dominated (and still do) most of the market? Could it have been because some people just wanted to be a part off another potential Cinderella story? In essence, that is pretty much what craft beer in this country is. There has been a huge boom in popularity and market share, but when you come full circle that's basically the situation.

Since I'm a big history buff, the closest parallel to all of this I can find is the Civil War. Especially the Battle of Gettysburg, which is arguably my favorite historical event to read-up on. It seemed to me that craft beer always tried to play it safe over the years. In Civil War terminology, this would be close to conducting a defensive campaign. I don't remember craft beer or the Brewers Association being such an aggressor. It always seemed to take the high road when it came to engagements with the major companies.

The defensive style has always worked for craft beer as evident by the growth. The Confederate Army in the Civil War also found similar success while employing defensive tactics in battle. For a short time it looked like there was a glimmer of hope for the Confederacy to actually win the war. That was until it went on the aggression. Gettysburg was the high water mark, as many historians agree.

I'm among those that believe that General Robert E. Lee had some fantasy that his troops were invincible throughout the campaign and when the battle broke out north of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. Why else would he bring on a full engagement without his army fully concentrated? Why else would he go on such an offensive for the following two days? Why else would he organize a grand, Napoleonic assault over a mile of open ground and send 15 thousand men to be butchered? To make a long story short, those three days marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.

That mile of vast, open ground.

If you've been able to bear my history lesson up to this point, you see what I meant earlier in the post. I've always been one to agree with the saying that those that don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. Craft beer is on its way to becoming the very thing it swore to destroy if everything keeps up this way. It's unique in its own way and that's what some of us love about it and it sits in a great place as of now. Craft beer doesn't need to make this fight its Gettysburg, so to speak. We don't need another lost cause movement in the near future. Don't veer away from what's already been successful.

New Civil War Beer Series

I'd hate to harp on the subject of history and beer once again, but when you really think about it beer is a huge part of world history. So, when I catch news of new beers like Frederick's Monocacy Brewing I get a bit excited.

Taken right down the street from Brewer's Alley in Frederick.

If you take a look at this article from the Frederick News Post, you'll see that Monocacy, Brewers Alley and the National Museum of Civil war Medicine have all combined to begin a series of up to nine beers celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Apparently the first of the possible nine is out. It's called Antietam Ale and was made in time for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam which was just last month. From what I read in the article, the beer seems to have a nice hop kick, but with a sessionable ABV.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the beers in this Civil War series will be and how some of the beer styles relate to their namesakes. I especially can't wait for the Gettysburg one, but you pretty much assumed that already, right?