Daily Loaf

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this past week:

Cool-N-Save: An eco-friendly energy saver for your air conditioning unit (Video): Jennifer Meier writes about how the Cool-n-SaveTM system affixes to the top of most home air conditioning units, resulting in a substantial drop in ambient temperature of up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The Cool-N-Save(TM) system has also been rated by the US Department of Energy and EPA as an Energy Star Partner.

Signs of hope: are our environmental efforts making a difference?: Linda Taylor shows us an example of how environmental efforts can make a difference, even if they take years to come to fruition.
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For the past few years, Pete Slosberg of Pete’s Brewing Company (as in Pete’s Wicked this-and-that) has been teaming up with Alan Shapiro, president of SBS Imports, and Daniel Del Grande from Bison Brewing to craft a limited special release beer that benefits a good cause. The Reunion collaboration was inspired by the late Virginia McLean, a former coworker of Slosberg and Shapiro. The trio worked together when Pete’s Brewing Company was in its early stages, at the forefront of the American craft brewing movement that took place in the mid 1980’s. With 100% of Reunion proceeds benefiting the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research, almost $100,000 has been raised as of early 2008.

The Reunion fundraising effort began in 2007 with a 7.5% ABV imperial brown ale brewed with 6 organic malts, hopped and dry hopped with 3 different varieties.

Reunion ‘08 Red Rye Ale is also made from all organic ingredients — barley, flaked rye, hops, caraway seeds, water, and yeast. It is essentially a chemical fertilizer, pesticide, and additive- free version of Pete’s Wicked Red with a rye and caraway seed injection. Read the rest of this entry »

Big Sound Scotch Ale, the latest seasonal release from Cigar City Brewing, can be purchased in 25 ounce bottles at Whole Foods, Leukens, Kingdom Liquors, World of Beer Clearwater, and several Total Wine locations. But get it soon; bottles are going fast, and once they’re gone, there’ll be no more until next year.

Luckily enough, I was able to persuade Wayne Wambles, the head brewer and man with the beer plan, to score a bottle that we could split. So we sat down at the Oldsmar Tap House and proceeded to geek the hell out on a really great beer. Read the rest of this entry »

Think about the massive amount of performance pressure within an industry such as beer. Certain recipes mark milestones in the evolution of brewing, like Pilsner Urquell,  which defined a new style of beer and took its name from the region where it originated. You’ve got experimental breweries like Dogfish Head, partnering with university archaeology departments to analyze residue found on ancient pottery, crafting a modern brew from these ingredients so that we can appreciate beer as it might have tasted in its more ancient forms. That’s a hard act to follow. How about this — currently operating European commercial breweries date as far back as the year 1040. Serious beer intimidation.

And then there’s Terrapin Beer Company from a tiny college town in Georgia. In 2002 their only beer, a Rye Pale Ale totally unknown except for the few places in the vicinity of Athens, GA where you could find it on tap, took first place in the American Pale Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival. I’d say that’s strong performance in the face of pressure.

Today, Terrapin produces a great number of kick ass beers. Read the rest of this entry »