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File Under
"Miscellaneous"
When it comes
to the beer, the Brewpub and The Grill & Tap, we
pride ourselves on keeping our word. Here in the
Brewsletter, however, it's anybody's guess as to whether
or not we'll actually write about what we said we'd
write about in the previous issue. We've learned this
about ourselves, and being a forgiving lot - we've
decided to just pass it off as a hazard of working so
close to so many excellent beers.
Sooo... no
story yet about the historic founding of Four Peaks
Brewing Company, but trust us - it's coming. And we'll
try to make it as entertaining as the wait would lead
you to expect it to be.
We've got PLENTY of other
reading material (you're surprised, we know) this
Brewsletter, including all the details about the
upcoming Elvis-o-rama set for August 16th. Also this
issue, we announce some exciting news about our ranking
on RateBeer.com, Karina returns with a dispatch from the
Grill & Tap and the brewers play (biased) referee in
a cheesy match-up between beer and wine.
Thank
you to everyone who voted for us in Arizona Business
Magazine's Ranking Arizona poll! We'll let you know how
we fared when the results are in. We don't mean to come
across as a bunch of ingrates, but we DID just get word
that ANOTHER poll is taking place - this one for The
Phoenix New Times' Best of Phoenix Readers' Choice
Award. You can, uh, vote for Four Peaks by clicking the
button below... if you want to.
Schlemiel,
schlamazel!
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Four Peaks Ranks 22nd Worldwide Among
Brewpubs on RateBeer!
How ya like them
apples? We are obviously excited about THIS
NEWS. For those who don't know, RateBeer is
the most visited source for beer information the
world over. This independent site accepts no
advertising dollars from breweries, and has
thousands of members who participate in its
semi-annual Ratebeer Best competition. This means
that lots of unbiased beer aficionados - many of
you included - took the time to vote for us and
even post a comment or two. For that we
have to say, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.
One of our  favorites, from user
"beerchurch": "After 9 days in the desert, I
wasn't sure if it was a mirage. I know this sounds
like the delusional ramblings of a desperately
thirsty beer lover trapped in a barren and
beerless desert hell (aka Phoenix), but I swear
that a beautiful maiden brought me golden pitchers
of cold ale to wet my dusty palate and heaping
plates of delicious food to fill my empty belly.
Curse you and bless you all at once, you Sun
Devilish temptress of fermented goodness! Drink
the heavenly ales, I did. Eat the divine
offerings, I did. Then I was carried away on the
glimmering wings of a great bird. When I awoke, I
was home in Seattle. Maybe it was just a
dream." Well, beerchurch, we're happy to
reassure you it was no illusion, no mirage, no
dream. All that really happened, and continues to
happen every day here at Four Peaks.
HUZZAH! The
Arizona Renaissance Festival is comin' up!
Four
Peaks: great beer, and who knows - you may even
see a
unicorn! |
Are You
Ready for Some Football?!
by Karina
Lange
Since you may still
have one hand stuck in your baseball mitt, you
might not realize that the start of the football
season is right around the corner! In fact, it's
preseason time already. That said, what better
place to indulge your love for football than at
Four Peaks watching your favorite team on one of
our HD big screens?
Make sure you're on the
lookout for the Grill & Tap's very own
personalized touch to the traditional Bloody Mary
and other great drink specials while enjoying the
Valley's best brunch around. Whatever you do,
don't commit the "Cardinal Sin" of missing your
team fight their way to victory at Four Peaks
North.
Although I know the Four Peaks
Brewpub is recognized for its extensive, misted
patio, I want to remind everyone that we have a
great patio of our very own up here at the Grill
& Tap. With the onset of monsoon season, where
else would you want to enjoy a pint of our
delicious Oatmeal Stout or Hopsquatch Barleywine?
(You know your name is on one of
those.)
Make sure to congratulate not
one, but TWO of our staff members on their recent
engagements! Our beloved staff members, Mike and
Tracy, are both tying the knot - so wish them best
of luck!
Hope everyone is enjoying their
week as always. Don't forget to catch the first
pass of the football season at Four Peaks Grill
& Tap! It's going to be a good year!
Football
Junkies, here's the NFL Preseason Schedule for
your convenience.
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YOU and Four Peaks Raised $1,250 for
Boots for OUR Troops
We'd like to thank
everyone who contributed to the Boots for Our
Troops fundraiser at both the Tempe Brewpub and
the Scottsdale Grill & Tap. The Tempe Brewpub
raised $750 while the Scottsdale Grill & Tap
raised $500.
That's an impressive number
at $2/a pair of "boots!"
From the
organization's website: "Project We
Remember/Boots for Our Troops was formed to
provide a meaningful and convenient way for the
people of Arizona and others to show their
appreciation and support for the sacrifices of OUR
Arizona military service personnel, their families
and OUR veterans living in Arizona."
What a
great way to show your appreciation for the hard
work and sacrifices our military service personnel
make every minute of every day. Thanks again for
contributing and participating. There will more
than likely be another fundraiser like this next
year, but you may visit the organization's site
for more information on how you might become more
involved in the meantime.
Project
We Remember/Boots for OUR
Troops
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MARK
YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE '08 COMEBACK SPECIAL, KIDS!
AUGUST 16th, 2008 @ 10
p.m.
That's right, Elvis Night (aka Noche de
Elvis, Night of Elvis ad Nauseum, Elvis-O-Rama) is
swiftly approaching. As if dressing up like Elvis
to celebrate the anniversary of his death day
weren't enough, we've come up with a few contests
to get you in the blue suede
mood.
Polk
Salad Annie, Don't You Know Fools
Rush In?
Costume Contest Take your pick - white polyester leisure
suit and cape, black leather "outfit" recalling the
man's most studly appearance (the '68 Comeback),
Hawaiian luau Elvis, or some other version we
can't think of at the moment. Whichever Elvis
incarnation you prefer is gonna be alright with
us. The winner will receive an extra-special
heirloom bronzed Elvis bust, the very one that was
in our Elvis shrine for YEARS before the new girly tees took its
place. You'll get other stuff too, like a Four Peaks gift
card and whatever else we can give you for
squeezing yourself into polyester or leather on
one of the hottest nights of the
year.
Come
Skinny, Leave Fat
Cheese Puff Eating
Contest
 Elvis did it, and so
can you. Here's the - er - skinny on this
competition: for your entry fee of $10 (to
go to Steve's charity, aka "a big screen in the
back bar area for football season") we fry up 10
cheese and potato puffs and you see how quickly
you can eat them. First contest is at 10:30 p.m.,
with subsequent heats at 15 minute intervals
(depending on number of participants). 1st Place
Winner gets a prize engraved trophy and
miscellaneous other goodies. Maybe we'll throw in
a free dessert - like an Oatmeal Stout ice cream
float or something. How does that
sound?
Hunka
Burnin' Love
Hula Hoopin'
Contest
You should probably start training now,
because the lucky winner of this most excellent of
contests will receive The Golden Hoop, a
mysterious and magical hula hoop created specially
for this night. The rules are simple: hula
hoop 'til you can't hoop no more. Last hooper
hooping - wins. If you win the cheese-puff eating
contest first and then the hula hooping contest,
we'll give you free beer for the rest of the year.
Just kidding, we can't do that. But that would be
cool, huh?
All contest participants are
eligible for various types of Four Peaks schwag
TBD, and all contest WINNERS will be recognized at
The Brewpub with a prominently displayed photo and
plaque, as well as in the following issue of the
Brewsletter.
Easley's
Costume Shop - see what it's like on a day that
isn't October
31st!
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Saturday, August 16th: The '08
Comeback Special!! Everything Elvis begins at 10
p.m.
Tuesday, August 19th: Gourmet
Beer Dinner, 7 p.m. @ South
Beach Restaurant and Lounge! More details to
come. For reservations and more information in the
meantime, call 480.990.1777. Friday, September 26th:
Grill-Tastic Beer Dinner @ The
Phoenician Resort's Windows on The Green.
Featuring five craft ale and food pairings at $60
per person, all-inclusive. For more information at
this time, you can email Ted Golden. Sunday, October 12th: Walk to
Defeat ALS. To join Four Peaks' Walk Team, or for
more information, visit our Walk Team
Page!Wednesday, November
12th: Fourth Annual Four Peaks
Charity Golf Tournament to Benefit The ALS
Assocation of Arizona. Details to
come. |
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Brewers
Blog IX: Beer's The Big
Cheese
We've been harping
on the wine folks a lot lately, mostly for
fun.
They get so uptight.
It's done out of
love, really. We're all brothers and sisters when
it comes to fermentation. Distillers on the other
hand, they scare us; witchcraft, pure and
simple. Just joking. Actually, our favorite
tipple after craft beer is a well-made scotch
whisky. (Try some Lagavulin 12-year-old sometime;
it's rich, smoky, peaty, some might even say -
be-witching.)
Why is that? Why
do we as brewers gravitate to something distilled
(scotch) more than to something fermented
(wine)? It all has to do with
connections. Scotch is, essentially,
distilled beer. It's made from barley, a
gramineae or grass, just like beer, and is often
reminiscent of beer in its color and
aroma. Wine is made from fruit, not
grass. Its color is quite different from beer
and its aromas - while pleasant - are not what we
really know.
So, why on earth does
wine get to be paired with foods that it has no
relation to, like pasta and bread? Life's
staples, really. Why does the beer get put out
before dinner but when the food hits the table we
crawl all over ourselves trying to find which wine
goes with the Asian Spicy Duck Dumplings? (Damn
near impossible to pair with wine, by the way.
Beer wins again).
BECAUSE BEER IS BETTER
WITH FOOD!! (Caveat #1: Not ALL the
time. Caveat #2: Try different stuff,
variety is the spice of life).
The one pairing
that really chaps us though, the one that is
seemingly the sole property of wine, is cheese. We
understand the philosophy of contrasting flavors
when pairing libations with food, but really, wine
and cheese? They're not even remotely
related. What do cows, sheep, and goats eat?
Grapes? No, they eat grass. Some even
eat nothing but barley. So what is it that helps
them to produce milk that is eventually made into
cheese? Grasses. Just like grasses are
used to make beer. Connections, people,
connections... OK, extrapolations then.
Maybe
this will help in determining why beer is better
with cheese: wine is almost solely used as a
contrast to cheese. Beer can be used both as
a contrast and a compliment.
Other than
Champagne, wine is still. And here's beer's
secret weapon: carbonation. This helps to
lift and cut through some of the more heavy but
piquant cheeses that leave wine in the
dust.
Typical cheese flavors are "nutty,"
"toasty," "sharp" or "bitter," and in some aged
cheeses, "caramel." Dunno, these sound like
beer flavors to us.
There are also
many beers out there with additional flavors that
may pair well with cheese. For example, the
coriander and orange peel in a Wit beer, the
intense fruit of a Belgian Kreik or Framboise, or
the Grains of Paradise in our upcoming Summer Ale
- flavors not always found in wine. And
that's the point, versatility. There are just
more flavors available in the beer
world. Also, consider the fact that both beer
and cheese were born on the farm and lived
harmoniously for centuries. Wine's the interloper
here, folks.
We believe in the sanctity of
beer and cheese so much that we are going to issue
a challenge. We'll lay down the gauntlet right
now. We challenge any wine person, oenophile,
or sommelier to a taste-off. You pick the
cheeses, we'll pair them with wine and beer and
we'll leave it up to the people to decide. We
may lose a few rounds but we know we'll win this
fight.
If you don't know much about cheese
and are looking for a good guide to beer and
cheese pairings try THIS ONE
HERE.
Don't know where to buy good
cheese? Try Whole Foods, AJ's... even Safeway is a
good place to start. (They all carry Kilt Lifter,
too. If you were wondering.)
Also,
skip the crackers at first. Go naked; just
the cheese and the beer. If you must have
crackers try a water cracker or something neutral.
Some of our favorites:
- Kilt
Lifter with any Emmanthaler or nutty
Swiss;
- 8th Street
Ale with classic English farmhouse cheese
or mild cheddar;
- Hefeweizen
with chevre (with some dried cranberries
or apricots, trust us);
- Sunbru
with fresh buffalo mozzarella (actually
perfect with caprese);
- Hop Knot and
Raj IPA both pair well with aged, sharp
cheddar;
- Peach
Ale goes really great with mascarpone
(whip in some fresh peach as well);
- Oatmeal
Stout is good with aged washed-rind
cheese (stinky, but not too) and aged Gruyere;
- (Maybe the best) Hopsquatch with
Stilton... wow!
All you
wanted to know about gramin... gramin... you get
the
gist.
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CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
and
CASK-CONDITIONING
It's this
simple: we announce the cask-conditioned ale
and we start to salivate in anticipation of its
mildly-carbonated, full-flavored deliciousness - a
textbook Pavlovian scenario.
IN TEMPE
THIS WEEKHop Knot: Four
different kinds of American hops are woven into
this award-winning IPA, then mellowed only
slightly with pure American malt. Few ales enjoy a
cask as much as this one. 6.0% Alc./Vol.l.
IN
SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK8th Street
Ale: It's like our award-winning
English Style "Best Bitter" was made for cask
conditioning. Mellow bitterness and a slightly
sweet malt flavor accompany a heavenly hop aroma
derived from lots and lots of rare imported
Kentish hops. 4.5% Alc./Vol. Who
DOESN'T love Cesar Milan?!If you're
feeling particularly brainy (or SERIOUSLY
procrastinating), here's an intro to Behavioral
Psychology! |
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Hey! On Friday (08.08.08) we're going to tap
our extra-lucky English Summer Ale, a dry-hopped,
easy-drinking session beer that is eeeaasy on the
palate. We'll talk more about it in the next
Brewsletter... probably. A lot can happen in a
week, you know?
Thanks again for voting
for us so early and so often, and remember - you
can always rely on us for good beer, good food,
good tunes, good stuff on the TV (Vikes preseason
game Friday, yo!) and goodness knows what else. As
we say in these parts, it's Kilt Lifter
time...
Chook-die (Thai), 
The Mob at Four Peaks Brewing
Company
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