Beer News

Have Brewpub, Will Travel

Seattle’s Duane Woytonik—originally a welder by trade— has a serious knack for engineering and design. Fortunately for beer lovers along the West Coast, he also has a passion for brewing. The combination of his passion, craftsmanship, $150,000 of capital and two years of labor has resulted in “Brewpub4U,” the world’s first portable brewpub.

Constructed entirely with restaurant-grade stainless steel, the 10-stool brewpub features a 3.5-barrel brewing system, eight available tap lines, two flat-panel TVs with surround sound, karaoke and a DVD player. If that’s not enough, Woytonik’s rig can also cook up enough chili for a small army—up to 60 gallons!

Woytonik spent the summer touring with (what he refers to as) “the eighth wonder of the world.” He’s showed off his invention with stops in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland’s International Beerfest and the Oregon Brewers Festival. He hopes to embark on a cross-country tour by 2011, and construct a second portable brewpub (that doubles as a distillery) soon after.

Photo from 4pinesbeer.com

Finally, a Beer Designed for Zero-Gravity Consumption

Airplane manufacturer Boeing recently announced it wanted to begin offering commercial space flights in as soon as five years. Naturally, passengers would want to enjoy a beer on these zero-gravity flights—but the lack of gravity up there has debilitating effects on beer (and the consumer).

Fortunately for any would-be astronauts, Australia’s 4 Pines Brewery is stepping up to the plate. 4 Pines hopes to craft a Stout with a flavor and body that will triumph over the challenges presented by any lack of gravity.

How does zero gravity affect our favorite beverage? First off, people’s taste buds are rendered almost completely ineffective, preventing even the most discerning palate from tasting much flavor in anything. Another problem stems from the carbonation. Normally, gravity enables the carbon dioxide bubbles to rise to the surface and pop. Without gravity, the CO2 stays in the beverage and causes digestive irritation.

To ensure the flavor will come through, 4 Pines plans to add even more of what gives the Stout its darker, chocolaty flavor. Additionally, they will drastically reduce the amount of carbonation in the brew, which will help keep the peace in any space traveler’s stomach.

No official date has been set for the beer’s release, but rest assured it will eventually be sold to earthbound consumers who wish to live out their astronautic fantasies on the ground.

Deep-Fried Beer Makes its Sizzling Debut

For those lucky enough to have visited the 2010 Texas State Fair, a bold new treat awaited inside the gates: fried beer. The idea struck its inventor, Mark Zable, while he and his wife were perusing an appetizer menu at a local bar, and he spent nearly three years perfecting the recipe.

Using a top-secret process and salty pretzel dough, Zable was eventually able to successfully enclose the beer (Zable only uses Guinness) in a ravioli-like shell, where it can then be deep-fried without leaking and posing a threat to the cook.

After being presented to the judges at the fair, fried beer won the “Most Creative” Big Tex Choice Award. Zable joins winners from previous years that include 2009’s fried butter and 2006’s fried coke.

Zable is no stranger to the fried-foods business. He’s been in the game since his father, Norman, started a Belgian waffle stand at the Texas State Fair in 1963, which he eventually took over in 1995. In recent years, he’s gained fame with creations like chocolate-covered strawberry waffle balls and sweet jalapeño corn dog shrimp, which were both finalists at the state fair. When he’s not working his stand at the fair or perfecting new recipes, Zable is a corporate recruiter.

World’s Oldest (Drinkable) Beer Found in Baltic Sea

In early September, Swedish divers exploring a sunken 19th-century vessel near the Åland Islands (an island chain situated between Finland and Sweden in the Baltic Sea) made an unexpected discovery: bottles of beer, still believed to be drinkable.

The team of divers had already procured several bottles of champagne from the wreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea when they discovered other bottles lying nearby. After safely getting the bottles to the surface, they were confirmed to contain beer. Furthermore, due to the lack of light and constant cold temperature, the beer was confirmed to still be safe to drink.

The ship is believed to have sunk sometime between 1800 and 1830, although the exact circumstances surrounding the ship’s history (and its sinking) are still unknown. Prior to this discovery, the world’s oldest preserved beer was a bottle in England, which dated back to 1869.

Bottles of comparably dated champagne have auctioned for 10,000 euros, but finding drinkable beer this old is unprecedented. As such, the bottles have not yet been given a monetary value. ■