The year is 7,000 B.C.  Humans are settling down, raising crops — and apparently getting a little tipsy in the Neolithic Era. That wouldn’t be strange seeing as though barley beer and grape wine were first beginning to be made in the Middle East. But this isn’t the Middle East. This is Neolithic China, and they were brewing something different:

“We don’t have just a wine or a beer or a mead, but we have like a combination of all three,” says Molecular Archeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology – the man who went digging for pottery in Henan Province, Northern China and found this instead.

The preserved pottery jars that McGovern unearthed revealed a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit. Using some fancy science that you can read about here and here, he was able to extract the recipe from that pottery and Dogfish Head Brewery, in keeping with their extreme posture on beer, actually brewed it!

True to the historic evidence, Dogfish brewers used brown rice syrup, Orange Blossom honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn berries, and Chrysanthemum flowers to recreate this true to life taste of history. And now you can travel back in time nine millennia to join Datz for the tapping of this rare and limited beer, Tuesday, August 23 at 7pm. While Chateau Jiahu may not be cheap, it’s a lot easier to find than that time machine to Neolithic China, so trust us when we say: it will go quick.

Stone. Just that one word alone lets you know you are in for some of the best beer on the planet. From a company that doesn’t really care what you think, and only wants to make amazing beer, Stone Brewing Company will be taking over the Datz tap list this Thursday evening with five of the most aggressive, most assertive, high quality beers that have ever crossed your palate. In Stone’s own words “You’re not worthy…” but Datz thinks you are.

Which is why we’ll be pouring Stone’s Ruination, Sublimely Self Righteous, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, and Lukcy 13 Basartd. A truly impressive lineup. But there’s more… for the first time, Datz will be offering what is arguably the best session beer on the planet – Stone’s very own Levitation Ale. This deep amber ale has a rich malt backbone, robust hop character, and a sensational citrus aroma, courtesy of prodigious dry-hopping. The result is an enormously flavorful and complex beer that weighs in at only 4.4% ABV. Yes… Stone has developed a beer that still confounds the beer world. Utilizing Columbus, Simcoe, and Crystal hops in the kettle, and an aggressive Amarillo dry-hop, Levitation has a Double IPA hops character with a Pale Ale session-ability.

Datz is so impressed with Levitation, and thinks you will be too, we want you to keep the pint glass when you order one. Stone’s gargoyle-adorned pint glasses are one of the favorites in the beer community, so you’re limited to only one; however you are certainly not limited to only one of these remarkable beers. We don’t even want to get started on the sheer AWESOMENESS of Sublimely Self Righteous, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Ruination and Lukcy 13.

On second thought…  we may not be worthy. - Danny Reid, Craft Beer Manager

Don’t miss Stone Night at Datz.  Thursday, July 21st at 6:30pm.

For the first time in American Craft Beer Week’s six-year history, events took place in every state! And no one understands the rise of craft beer better than Garrett Oliver. The Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster and award-winning author of The Brewmaster’s Table (2005) is finishing up his latest feat as editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oliver embarked on the work over a year ago with a preliminary list of 500 topics; 1,120 references and 160 additional writers later, the tome will drop in October.

In a recent online post by Food & Wine magazine, Oliver revealed some of the groundbreaking subjects that will be covered and what he thinks you should be drinking (and eating) now.

What convinced you to sign on? There are a lot of subjects that we in the craft-brewing community might use every day that are literally not written down. So if you want to know about, say, dry-hopping—adding hops after fermentation for extra flavor and aroma, which is done by 80 to 95 percent of all the breweries in the United States—there is precisely nothing to read.

What other categories are you breaking ground in? Sour beers. Barrel aging:There’s a huge movement all over the world now interested in deriving flavors from wooden barrels. You will read about Amarillo, a hop variety: where it comes from, how it developed, what its genetic parents are, how it grows in a field, and how people tend to use it. But then, right before that, you’d read [an entry called] Ale House, about the history of the ale house from Roman times to its development into the modern pub. So it really covers not only things scientific and technical, but also cultural and historic things.

What’s the most surprising country making beer? Of course when we think of Italy, we think of wine. But Italy has 350 breweries, and Italian brewers are really excited, creative and using a lot of their background in food to inform what they do on the beer side. Scandinavia is also a big story. We might think of one or two beers, like Carlsberg, but there are many dozens of breweries in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, etc.

Do you cover foods to eat with beer? What’s your favorite pairing? There are sections on food-and-beer pairing. I’ve done about 700 beer dinners in 12 countries, and I wrote a 360-page book on beer-and-food pairings. But this time of year, for example, I love saison, which is a Belgian-style wheat beer. [At Brooklyn Brewery] we have a new one coming out called Sorachi Ace, based on a particular hop variety of that name, and I think it’s really great with grilled salmon and shrimp dishes—lighter dishes you might grill in summertime.

How much has beer culture evolved in the last decade? It’s really pretty incredible. When I first started traveling, I would go overseas and say, “Oh, I’m an American brewer,” and people would just be dripping with disdain: “Oh, yes, we have heard of your American beer.” Because they were thinking about just the mass-market beer. We now have over 1,700 breweries in the United States, and we have the most vibrant beer culture in the world, bar none. What’s amazing is that now, we go to Germany and Belgium and Italy and, to a large extent, brewers all over the world look up to the United States. Twenty years ago it was exactly the opposite.”

Read more about Garrett Oliver here and here

According to a new study, moderate drinking of beer can cut the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure and even help people lose weight! Read the story at www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8258224/A-pint-of-beer-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away.html  and then we suggest testing out the theory at Blue Point Brewery night, Tuesday in the TapRoom.

As strange is it may sound, that’s the premise behind the Discovery Channel’s new series, “Brew Masters,” which debuted November 21. The show tracks Dogfish Head Brewery founder Sam Calagione as he travels the globe searching for unusual ingredients (Egyptian spices, anyone?) and learning about age-old beer making techniques –- all in the name of crafting the perfect pint.

Ostensibly the series will focus on a different brew master each season, but since this is just Season One, the show is effectively about Dogfish Head, perhaps the most experimental and daring of America’s 1,600 craft breweries. Episode One features the development of a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sony Music revolving around the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis’ seminal jazz fusion classic, Bitches Brew.

On Tuesday, December 7, Datz resident Beer Geek Mike McGhee will host a special tasting and discussions of Bitches Brew from 6:30p-8p at the Chefs’ Kitchen. Until then, enjoy this interview with Calagione from the Discovery Channel blog.

How did you get into the beer business?

I started as a homebrewery – making 5 gallon batches in my cramped apartment in NYC. It was basically a hobby that went out of control and took over my life.  From there I apprenticed at a small brewery in Maine, wrote a business plan, and raised the money to open our original location (and still our pub and R&D brewery), Dogfish Head Brewing and Eats in downtown Rehoboth, Delaware.  We opened as the smallest brewery in the country, making ten-gallon batches.  Today we are among the fastest-growing breweries in the country, making over 7,000 cases of off-centered ales per day out of our Milton, Delaware production facility.  We host beer lovers for tours of both our pub and our brewery — folks can sign up at dogfish.com.

Where did the name of your brewery come from?

I always forget how goofy the name of our company sounds to most people.  I grew up in New England.  Dogfish Head is a head or jut of land off of Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  I wanted to take a little rustic New England with me when I moved to Delaware to open the brewery, and this name allowed me to make that happen.  My wife Mariah, who runs Dogfish with me, is from coastal Delaware, so that’s how we ended up here.

What’s your favorite kind of beer?

The kind that’s in front of me.  Seriously, I drink all kinds of beer, not just Dogfish. There are so many amazing breweries out there around the world.  But I mostly drink the beer from fellow small, indie craft breweries. 

What are some of the more unusual ingredients you’ve made beer with?

Lavender buds, licorice root, juniper, tea leaves, human saliva, arctic cloudberries, chili peppers, tree seeds, gourds, saffron, coffee, maple syrup… Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. 

Have you learned anything surprising about beer from working on Brew Masters?

I never cease to be surprised by how good my coworkers here at Dogfish are at our job. I’m sure the exotic travel and ingredients will be highlights of the show, but I’m also looking forward to viewers getting to know the off-centered creative, funny, and dedicated people I work with here every day.  

Who would you most like to have a beer with?

Living: Mark Arm of the band Mudhoney.  Dead: Andy Warhol or David Foster Wallace.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’ve had a blast working with the folks from ZPZ production and Discovery Channel on this series.  As obsessed with quality and authenticity as we are at Dogfish Head, these guys are within their respective industries.  I always look forward to seeing them and hoisting a pint together after long days of productive work.

Dear Datz:

I received the Big Brew Day flyer in my email inbox this week, and it looks great, but I¹m a little confused. Can you tell me more about Brew Day and Special Hoperations?

Mark

Mark!

I was glad to learn of your interest in our Brew Day and I’d love to yell you more about it.

Brew Day is being held and run by the newly formed South Tampa homebrew club Special Hoperations.  Datz has been great and supports us whole heartedly, and they don’t hesitate to host our club meetings or events. So Datz is really our de facto headquarters.

The May 1st Brew Day will be Special Hoperations first event.  As its also National Homebrew Day, we are centering the day on the three beer recipes that the American Homebrewers Association encourages brewers to make.   However, don’t feel locked on to this.  If you want to come out and brew something of your own choosing, please do!  Our goal is really just to get together in the fellowship of craft brewmaking.

You do not have to RSVP for Brew Day, but I encourage you to come to our next Special Hoperations meeting. We hold meetings the 2nd and 4th Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at Datz, so our next meeting will be Monday the 26.  As an experienced brewer we would absolutely love to get you involved with us!

Dues for membership are a whopping $15 a year.  With membership, Southern Brewing Supply offers 10% off their grains and hops.  Oh, and make sure to bring some of your beer to our meetings!  We all try to bring in something for everybody to sample/critique.

As for brew day, bring whatever equipment you need to make a batch of beer, including ingredients.  Datz will supply us with a water source, but otherwise its on the individual to bring their own equipment.  One great thing about a brew day is to inspect what other brewers use and see how they do things.  We are starting the day officially at 11 a.m., but most of us will probably get there by 10 a.m. to start setting up.

For more information about the AHA Big Brew Day and for a copy of the recipes, log onto the American Homebrewers Association website.

Special Hoperations also has a fledgling website: www.specialhoperations.com.  It’s only about a week old, so there is not a lot there right now, but go back often.

Again, Mark it was great to hear of your interest and we look forward to meeting you. Please don’t hestiate to contact me with any other questions or comments.

Cheers!

Danny Reid

President, Special Hoperations

danny@specialhoperations.com

Calling all beer geeks and Datz foodies! It’s time to hop to it and vote for the name of our new beer created exclusively for us by Cigar City Brewing.

We received nearly 400 entries to name the Datz pumpernickel rye beer, but after making some tough decisions we narrowed it down to the top three.

• Datz Goblin Breeze Pumpernickel Porter by Jen Ryan
• Soggy Loaf Pumpernickel Porter by Logan Rusnak
• Pumper in the Rye Porter by Patti Miller

So vote for your favorite in our web poll. Fifty percent of the vote will come from you and the other 50 percent will be judged by a panel of Datz judges.

The 1st place winner receives:
• Your name on the beer, sketch of you on Datz t-shirts and two free for shirts for you
• Free new beer for one year
• VIP status at cask launch party
• Private beer tasting event for 8
• 20% off all other beer for a year
• Dinner for 4 at a Monday Fun Day Beer dinner
• $100 Datz gift card

The 2nd place winner receives:
• Free new beer for one month
• VIP status at cask launch party
• New beer t-shirt when it arrives
• Private Beer tasting event for 8
• 10% all beer for a year
• Dinner for 2 at Monday Fun Day beer dinner
• $50 Datz gift card

The 3rd place winner receives:
• Free new beer for a week
• VIP status at cask launch party
• New beer t-shirt on arrival
• Private beer tasting for 8
• 10% off all beer for a year
• Dinner for 2 at Monday fun Day beer dinner
• $25 Datz gift card

If you’re a connoisseur of fine beer, the day may come when you’ve grown weary of sampling the creations of others. If you can no longer satisfy your cravings, you may want to take the plunge and try your hand at brewing beer of your own.

Many people are afraid to start brewing their own beer because they think the process is intimidating, but the truth is: it’s far easier than you may think. The equipment is not complicated or expensive. Plus, following a recipe for beer is much like following your grandmother’s favorite recipe for baking a cake from scratch. Measure this, boil that, and Voila! You’re drinking your own beer and impressing your friends.

That said, there’s any number of places you can get how-to information. YouTube has come great videos, and the internet is a wealth of (sometimes conflicting) knowledge. The best books out there are The Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, and How to Brew by John Palmer. They walk you, step-by-step, through the whole process. Further, How to Brew has its own website where you can read much of the book for free! (Check it out at www.howtobrew.com.)

Of course, the best way to learn (in my humble opinion) is for you to come out to Datz for free classes! In a little less than two hours we’ll walk you through the process, actually making beer while we talk. And as an added plus, a few short weeks after we make the beer, come in and pick up a free bottle of the very same brew we made together!

No matter what route you decide, the next step is always the same: buying the “stuff” to make it happen. Luckily there is a most excellent homebrew supply store here in Tampa. Southern Brewing Supply is located up on Busch Boulevard and has everything you need to start brewing. They are open Monday through Saturday and are extremely helpful to both the novice and expert alike. If you walked in and said “I want to make beer, but don’t know how,” they’ll square you away.

If for some reason you can’t make it out to Southern Brewing, try the internet. There are a “gazillion” brewing supply stores on the web. Now, I don’t want to make a giant list here (because heaven knows it would take me a while to type a gazillion of anything), so again I recommend talking to Mr. Google. However, if you would like to see a good one, try www.northernbrewer.com. Very good prices on everything and shipping is only $7.99, no matter how much or what you buy.

Finally, you’ll need ingredients. Again, Southern Brewing or a nice web based company has everything you need. Start out by buying a ready-made kit. Homebrew shops will already have everything you need put together and will come with a handy little “recipe.” Too easy.

And that, in a nutshell, is all you need to know. Just go get a little smarter on it, and then dive right in. Again, we’d love to have you come out to Datz for the Homebrewing 101 class. Just go to the events page on the Datz website. Scroll down and find a homebrewing class that still has availability and register!

It’s free, it’s easy, and I promise to make the class as fun as possible (which is pretty dang fun.) As most people like to sip a beer while we making the beer, the class gets even better and more fun as the night wear on.

As Ben Franklin notably said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” So get to brewing!

-Danny Reid

It’s no secret we love beer at Datz and want to that passion with you! Whether it’s the smooth, unfiltered Blanche de Bruxelles, hoppy Stone Ruination IPA, Victory Storm King Russian imperial stout or limited releases like Bell’s Hopslam and Dogfish Head 120, Datz rotates 28 taps of incredible beer. Still, we’ve been left wondering… what’s missing? Is there something more we can possibly do?

The answer, it turns out, was right in front of us at our weekly homebrew class – brewing our own beer!!! So we’ve paired up with Tampa’s best – Cigar City Brewing – to create Datz Pumpernickel Rye. Datz beeroisseurs and Cigar City brewer Joey Redner are crafting the recipe and brewing will start soon, but guess what? We don’t have a name!

That’s where YOU come in. We’re asking you – our fellow beer geeks and foodies – to “Hop to It” and help name our brew!

What’s in it for you? Well…

The 1^st place winner receives:

• Your name on the beer, sketch of you on Datz t-shirts and two free for shirts for you
• Free new beer for one year
• VIP status at cask launch party
• Private beer tasting event for 8
• 20% off all other beer for a year
• Dinner for 4 at a Monday Fun Day Beer dinner
• $100 Datz gift card

The 2^nd place winner receives:

• Free new beer for one month
• VIP status at cask launch party
• New beer t-shirt when it arrives
• Private Beer tasting event for 8
• 10% all beer for a year
• Dinner for 2 at Monday Fun Day beer dinner
• $50 Datz gift card

The 3^rd place winner receives:

• Free new beer for a week
• VIP status at cask launch party
• New beer t-shirt on arrival
• Private beer tasting for 8
• 10% off all beer for a year
• Dinner for 2 at Monday fun Day beer dinner
• $25 Datz gift card

Official Hop to Datz: Name Our Beer Contest rules:

1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Participation in the Contest constitutes full and unconditional agreement and acceptance of these Contest Rules, which are final on all matters relating to the Contest.

2. Contest Period: The contest begins 8:00 a.m. ET, March 15, 2010 and ends 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

3. Eligibility: The competition is open to everyone 21 years and older. Employees of Datz Restaurant Group, LLC or Cigar City Brewery (and their immediate families and those with whom they are domiciled) are not eligible to enter.

4. How To Enter: Email: Hoptoitdatz@datzdeli.com your best name for a pumpernickel rye porter by Cigar City Brewery. Place your suggestion in the subject line. One suggestion per email.

5. Receipt of Entries: To be eligible, entries must be received during the contest period.

Entries which are incomplete or are illegible are null and void. Datz and Cigar City accept no responsibility for entries which are lost, misdirected or delayed for any reason. Nor is any responsibility assumed for incomplete entries, incorrect or inaccurate capture of e-mail. Entries received from persons under the age of 21 will be null and void and no prizes will be awarded.

6. Multiple Entries: Multiple entries are acceptable but no more than one entry can be included on a single email.

7. Judging: Entries will be judged on Thursday, April 2, 2010. The top 3 winners will be notified and moved on to the final round of voting to take place on April 3, 2010. The winners will then be judged by a panel of Datz judges (consisting of 50% of the vote) and on a web poll on posted on www.datz4foodies.com (consisting of 50% of the vote). Winners will be posted on Datz website and other social media outlets as well as press releases being sent to area news and t-shirts being produced using new beer name. In the event that two or more entrants provided identical entries that are judged to be the winning entry, the winner will be decided by a coin toss. The other winning entries will automatically become the runners-up unless there are more than two in which case the runners-up will be decided by a coin toss.

8. Decisions of the judging are final: By entering the contest, each entrant agrees to be bound by these rules and regulations and all decisions Datz, which decisions are final with respect to all matters relating to the Contest, including (without limitation) the selection of prize winners. No correspondence will be entered into other than notification of prize winners.

9. Use of Entries: Datz reserves the right to use any of the names submitted in any way whatsoever. Attribution may or may not be made. Datz retains the right not to use the winning entry, or any entry as the final product name. Datz also shall have the right to use the winners’ names and/or likenesses in any way it chooses in connection with this competition or with promoting the beer or Datz.

10. Evaluation Criteria: Entries will be judged on creativity, appropriateness in keeping with Datz’s style, context and characteristics of the brew.

11. Claiming Prizes: Winners will be required to show proof of identity and be subject to age verification.

12. Liability: By entering the Contest, entrants agree to hold harmless and indemnify Datz Restaurant Group and Cigar City Brewery against any and all liability, damages or causes of action (however named or described) with respect to or arising out of either: (i) entrant’s participation in the

Contest; (ii) the receipt or use of the Prizes awarded herein; or (iii) the administration of the contest (including winner selection) and distribution of the prizes awarded herein.

So Valentine’s Day may be over, but love is still in the air. That is… if you still have chocolate lying around, whipping your pheromones into an aphrodisiac frenzy. What’s chocolate got to do with beer, you ask? Who could possibly think of munching on Vosges chocolate while quaffing an ice-cold brew?

By definition, chocolate is a preparation of the seeds of cacao tree, a small evergreen sterculiaceous tree (Theobroma Cacao – theobroma meaning “food of the gods”). These are grown primarily in tropical America, and are cultivated for their seeds which are the source of cocoa. The indigenous Indians used cocoa to make a pungent, bitter drink they called “chocolatl“. As it so happens, Dogfish Head Brewery has named one of its Ancient Ales, a pungent, bitter drink they called “Theobrama.” Coincidence?? Is it a coincidence that Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery in Milwaukee, WI is walking distance from the Ambrosia Chocolate Company?? Oh, ye of little faith.

Chocolate and beer is perhaps the oldest, most natural pairing in history – one any aspiring Beer Geek should take the time to explore. The following pairings will blow your mind… or the socks off your significant other.

Start with a nice wheat beer such as Blanche de Bruxelles and an almond milk chocolate bar. The citrus from the wheat beer will play nicely with the nutty sweetness of the chocolate.

Next find a robust nut brown ale like Samuel Smith Nut Brown or Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Pair this with a simple milk chocolate or caramel chocolate. I prefer the simple milk chocolate because it allows the nut flavors in the beer to stand out. But if you love caramel these will pair well also.

Following that we are going to spice it up a bit. Select a big, bold stout such as Bells Expedition or Hoppin’ Frog BORIS The Crusher. Next get a chili chocolate like Vosges’s Fire Bar. The big malty chocolate flavors in the beer get an extra kick with the spice from the chocolate. A truly amazing combination of sweet and spicy.

Finally get a bottle of the Lindeman’s Framboise it is the best and find the darkest chocolate you can, preferably 70% cocoa. Framboise is brewed with over a ton of raspberries and the dark chocolate plays perfectly into the hands of the sweet and fruity brew.

I hope this gives you a new idea to surprise your honey with during the sweetest month of the year. Until next time happy drinking and enjoy a craft brew.

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