In November, I put up a post about famous Antarctic explorer Earnest Shackleton…or rather, about two cases of scotch whiskey left behind from his 1908 expedition and chilled for over a hundred years in antarctic ice!
Happily, in addition to the two crates of liquor previously found frozen beneath the compound, the expedition has uncovered three more. In addition to whiskey, there are two crates of brandy: one from Mackinlay & Co, and one from Australia’s Hunter Valley Distillery. The Heritage Trust is hoping to extract some well-preserved specimens, but many of the bottles will have to remain below the ice for historic purposes, according to the to conservation guidelines set by the 12 Antarctic Treaty nations.
Whyte and Mackay, the distillers who now distribute McKinlay and Co. products, are eager for samples of Shackleton’s scotch, in order to conduct a series of tests that will determine whether they can recreate the lost blend…or whether it’s worth it.
Pictured above, a map roughly depicting the “alcohol belts” Europe needs no key. The colors represent the dominance of wine, beer, and distilled spirits, respectively.
A few weekends ago we received a mysterious visitor: Scott from Re-tramp Across the Continent. Scott, who is tracing the route of 19th century journalist Charles Lummis on his tramp across the Southwest, stopped by as he approached the Rocky Mountains. As a consequence, we spent an afternoon visiting historic Denver…and a morning visiting the historic Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado.
I say historic, because it is. The company’s founder, Adolph Coors (née Khurs), was born in Bavarian Prussia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1868. Among practicing different trades, Coors had been employed for some time as a brewer’s assistant. He arrived to this country via New York, relocated to Chicago, and finally settled in Denver in 1872, eventually taking control of a local bottling firm. 2 years later, Adolph Coors’ “Golden Brewery” opened it’s doors at the site of an abandoned Tannery in Golden Colorado, about 15 miles away from Denver proper. I don’t think there’s evidence that Lummis visited the Golden Brewery, but its opening predates his 1884 trip by a decade.
More Beer by Luciano Joaquim on Flickr
The first stage in the tour comprised a few displays depicting Coors history, including dated commercials from the 70’s and 80’s (pretty funny! See the example below via Youtube) and a bit about how Coors survived prohibition by selling malted milk and “near beer.” Another fun fact: Bill Coors developed a 2-piece aluminum can in 1959 when other brewers were using steel canning.
We also learned that the brewery sits on about 55 acres of Golden valley land. In fact, Golden, CO’s water is Coors’ claim to fame; as the tour recording put it, “it flows from the mountains.”
My favorite part of the tour was the brew house. Not only was it full of giant machines and gleaming copper, but it had such a delicious aroma. I’m not a fan of beer, but I do love the smell of warm, fermenting yeast that breweries offer. This brewery was full of copper kettles…big copper kettles! Three different types of kettles are used during the brewing process.
In one, a malt mash is added; in another the mash is filtered out to give the beer it’s malted sugars. Lastly, hops are introduced for flavor. Once this mix is fermented (insert lovely smell here), beer is born.
But after all this, Coors still needs to cold filter its beer to remove even small remnants of yeast or other particles.
Kettles by Scott Shumaker
Here’s a fun fact…do you know what Coors does with its discarded yeast? It goes to the Purina company to become an ingredient in cat food. What about the discarded grain? sent to feed cattle on local farms.
After a brief stop to hear about quality control practices (Coors does enlist taste testers), we were ushered in for a mid-tour pause to rest and take refreshment. Guess what the refreshment was? Coors light “silver bullet” and Coors Banquet beers.
There are two very different stories about how these beers came to be named. “Silver bullet” comes from Bill Coors‘ daughter; she overheard her friends calling the light beer by this name and it caught on with the American public forever after. The second story may be no more than legend. Supposedly, in the 19th century, area miners would throw “banquets” or parties where they’d imbibe plenty of Coors beer, their preferred “banquet beer.”
Aside from its namesake beverages, Coors also produces Killian’s Irish Red, Blue Moon, and Keystone products. On our way to the (impressive) packing facility, we learned that 300 rail cars and 1800 trucks full of these beer products leave the Coors Golden Brewery site every week for distribution. (One rail car alone carries over 100 thousand bottles or cans of beer)!
At the end of tour it was time for, you guessed it, more samples. Visitors enjoyed up to three free pints of libations.
Was I glad I visited the Coors factory? Yes, I was. The tour was interesting and choc full of details for those who didn’t want to skip around. I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys any of Coors’ products.
Would I visit again? Probably not by my lonesome. However, if guests are in town and are eager to go, I’d be happy to oblige.
The Heinz Ketchup sign atop the Heinz History Center building by alexabboud on Flickr
Why is it Heinz 57? Well, there used to be 57 varieties of Heinz products, a list of which was posted this week on Bleat. Link up with the official company web site for more Heinz history.
Did you know that, during prohibition, some individuals posed as members of the clergy to get their hands on alcohol? I didn’t either. WeirdWorm offers this and 9 other more dubious but entertaining facts about beer. [via Neatorama]
And ad freak airs my new top 3 favorite commercials about bacon. Check it out:
Last, but not least, the number one place in the world to go for chocolate is now in Beijing. A new exhibit, Chocolate Wonderland, features 80 tons of sculpted chocolate, including a chocolate model of The Great Wall of China, and an enormous BMW. The BBC has the sweet scoop.
Last week, Hipster Runoff, featured a slide show of Lady Gaga sugar cookies and their corresponding real-life costume inspirations. *Warning* the commentary is pretty crass and definitely not suitable for children. [via What's Hot on Google Reader]
While I was hanging out with some friends from Minnesota over the weekend, the topic of the Minnesota Dairy Princess came up. Dairy princess? What a concept!
Apparently, the annual crowning of state dairy princesses in Minnesota, as well as those in Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota, are sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association (MDA). The MDA is a “non-profit organization that is financed and directed by…dairy producers,” which, “implements programs that help increase sales and demand for dairy products and dairy ingredients and help improve the economic well-being of Midwest dairy producers.” The MDA is run by dairy producers in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Oklahoma.
The princesses, who serve as official ambassadors for the MDA, are generally elected at their respective state fairs and are thus titled the Iowa Dairy Princess, the North Dakota Dairy Princess, The South Dakota Dairy Princes…and Princess Kay of the Milky Way! Huh?
This crazy moniker is by far the most intriguing and it’s not the only funky tradition Minnesotans associate with their dairy royalty. Princess Kay’s first order of business, along with her court’s, is sitting in a temperature controlled room (i.e. a 38 degree cooler) to have her likeness carved into a 90 pound block of butter! (see photo below). For the remainder of the year, Princess Kay participates in dairy promotion: visiting schools, attending events, and giving speeches and interviews.
Princess Kay by jpellgen on Flickr
So how is Princess Kay chosen? First, 12 finalists are selected from over 100 Minnesota County Dairy Princesses. These finalist will make up Princess Kay and her court. Each year’s Kay comes from a dairy family (dairy farmers or dairy workers) and is chosen based on her communication skills, knowledge of the dairy industry, personality, and commitment to dairy promotion. She must be unmarried and under 24 years old.
The first Princess Kay was crowned in 1954. The reigning princess is Elizabeth Olsen, a 19-year-old college student from McLeod county.
So why the quirky title? “Princess Kay of the Milky Way” was selected from among 10,000 entries in a 1954 contest to put a name to the honor.
For those of you who are offal-loving, Scotsmen-at-heart, there’s good news in the world of haggis. BBC news reports that the US government is reviewing it policies on imported meats with an eye for making them less strict. Scottish haggis, which has been banned in the US for 21 years, may be making a comeback.
Haggis to Go. Really. by Diane Duane on Flickr
Lastly, for those of you who are tired of messy recipe searches, Microsoft search engine, Bing.com, has unrolled some smart, new, innovative recipe search features that make the process cleaner and more efficient. [via Lifehacker]
Unlike the other “Mystery Ingredient” foods I’ve featured so far, hákarl [HOW-kurl] is actually one I’m not eager to try. It’s a polarizing food, described by some in its native Iceland as an “acquired taste” and viewed by others internationally as the ultimate macho taste test.
But what is hákarl and what makes it so potentially offensive to the palate?
Hákarl is essentially made from basking shark — doesn’t sound too bad, right? The problem with basking shark, however, is that it contains poisonous amounts of uric acid and Trimethylamine N-oxide. To solve the problem, the gutted shark is buried and allowed to ferment from several weeks to a few months, then hung to dry for another 4-5 months. (Modern fermentation processes may involve vats of brine). According to an msnbcreport, this type of processing probably originated as far back as the Vikings as a way to rid shark meat of harmful toxins.
What results is an incredibly pungent, fishy, ammonium-scented treat, which has been likened to pickled whitefish or strong cheese. (Although fans of these treats often claim that they’re not at all alike).
Hakarl near Bjarnahöfn in Iceland on Wikipedia
Although some of you may be fans of Hákarl, and I’m sure some are — there’s even a facebook fan page out there, I hope you’ll still appreciate this cartoon poking fun at this surprising delicacy.
