Grut Bier - Ale Brewed with Spices

Last night, I had my first taste of beer — beer that did not taste like any ordinary beer. What I mean is, I had Grut Bier and yes, it took me by surprise. Sachin at Five Points Bottle Shop, the walking library on beer, said take it home. He filled me in on the history and off I went, intrigued, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

So the story goes, 13th Century Grut Bier is brewed according to the recipes dating back to before the German Purity Law in 1516. The Purity Law stipulated that only water, barley and hops could be used. Prior to then, it was common practice to use any kind of different spices, herbs, fruits and plants for bittering and flavor. (Hops was not well know at the time.)

Part of the Historic Signature Series by Dr. Fritz Briem, Grut Bier is brewed according to historic recipes rooted in various cultures and 'special ingredients'.

Immediately, after pouring the cloudy, straw colored concoction in my Terrapin tulip glass, I noticed herbs and spices; when I took a sip it had a surprising, taste of bay leaf, ginger and lavender. What's this? Bay leaf, Ginger? It was a strange sensation, but I have to say after a few sips, I found it as intriguing is it's roots, refreshing, and appetizing.

Grab a bottle and share this unique, modern interpretation of beer history with ye ole best friend.

Firefly Sweet Tea Y'all

Sweet tea has always been the table wine of the South, but it's quickly becoming the spirit of the South with the release of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, an infusion that is proving irresistible to local palates.

Distilled in South Carolina and already distributed in Nevada and Colorado and cleared for Georgia and New York in August, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka has finally reach Five Points Bottle Shop.

Part of the larger Infusion trend like brands Van Gogh and Absolut, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka is created by adding a tea concentrate, sweetened with cane sugar, to the alcohol.

Every aspect of Firefly Sweet Tea's production, from distilling the vodka and brewing the tea, to bottling, labeling and packaging, is done at the Irvin~House Vineyard, in buildings that used to maintain a carriage company.

Firefly uses only all-natural ingredients, including tea from the Charleston Tea Plantation only a few miles down the road from the vineyard.

Read the whole story from The Charleston City Paper.

Department Store selling champagne at 1.26 million yen per bottle

More Gift Ideas, this time from ITs Food. How about a £6,000/$11,000/¥1.26M bottle of Dom Perignon?

The Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nagoya’s Sakae-ku began selling 3 liter bottles of Dom Perignon champagne on Wednesday at 1.26 million yen a bottle.

Read the story.

Fun Beauty Tips Involving Avocados, Dark Bread & Beer

Anna Kournikova says women in her native country (Russia) boost fine hair by slathering on a mask made from dark bread soaked in beer.

Read the whole post from Fashion News Reviews.

Everyday Drinking: A Book We Can Get Behind

Speaking of Groomsmen gifts .... here's another one they can really use.

A gift for anyone who loves good liquor and high-proof prose: a collection of hilarious and deeply informed writings about drink from one of the all-time authorities.
Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject. Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) the book includes Amis's musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man's Diet, What to Drink with What, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk--all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humor and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.

Visit Liquor Snob to get the Amazon link.

Brutul Lagerhead

Looking for ideas for Five Points Brain Tank this week, imagine how excited I was to find Lagerhead Brütül featured in Boing Boing this week - thanks to Liquor Snob who is always on top of cool and fun things beverage related.

Brütül (brew tool) is the ultimate device for creating the classic Black and Tan and other delicious layered beers and I heard it through the grapevine that a favorite Athens beer entrepreneur is behind bringing it to retail.

You can definitely find Brütül at Five Points Bottle Shop. As a matter of fact, a guy was in the store just the other day buying 6 of them for his groomsmen. What a great present for the guys in your wedding - something they can really use!!

Visit Brütül [ via Liquor Snob via Boing Boing ]

Beer Now Cheaper Than Gas!

And more delicious!

Gotta love this T-shirt!

From Baron Bob