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FEBRUARY II 2009
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Issue: # 6
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A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
Welcome back to a slightly soggy Four Peaks Brewsletter. Hope no one got caught off guard during this weekend of beautiful rainfall. According to my sources we received over 1 1/4 inches of the stuff. As always we use these little events in Tempe to figure out where our "new" leaks are in the ceiling, and there seems to be a little bit of work to be done to prepare for monsoon season.
Once again, if you are planning on stopping in for our Valentine's Day Dinner Extravaganza, please contact Steve Lynch at steve@fourpeaks.com for reservations in Tempe and call 480-991-1795 to make reservations in Scottsdale. Treat that special someone to an evening of Four Peaks culinary delights because chocolates in a heart have been done to death!
The Caledonian Society of Arizona would like to invite you to the 45th Annual Scottish Highland Games being held on February 21st and 22nd. Four Peaks (more precisely Kilt Lifter) is a proud sponser of this event. Enjoy live music, feats of strength, bag pipers, traditional Highland dancing as well as more than 45 booths offering food and beverages to the masses and much more! These games are going on at
The Margaret T. Hance Park located on Central Avenue between McDowell Road and Roosevelt Street in Central Phoenix. Tickets run $15 for adults, $5 for children and FREE for the under 5 crowd.
Next Wednesday (the 18th) we will have a special promotion in conjunction with the good folks at Changing Hands Bookstore. It's a way of both promoting the book He Said Beer, She Said Wine and offering you a hands on opportunity to sample both beer and wine paired with chocolate and cheese! Tickets are $40 per individual and $60 per couple and runs from 6 pm until 8 pm, if interested please contact Holly from Changing Hands at 480 730-0205, space is limited and time is running out! All the details can be found HERE.
Alright, time to tell you what we've got in store for you this week. I start it all off by getting you totally up to date on all the February goings on as well as a couple of things in early March. Meanwhile, the Brew Crew shares their insight on the ins and outs of the Sunbru Kosch. Mr. Kruchko tackles theories of Subatomic Physics as it relates to beer as well as the new little addition to the Kruchko household... it's a crock pot people, geez! We also have a special guest 5 questions, I am not going to spoil it here you're just going to have to wait! No peeking! Now, in honor of Tango and Cash coming out on Blu-Ray...
Move Out!
Your Friends at The Four Peaks Brewery and Four Peaks Grill & Tap |
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Instead of a long winded diatribe, tribute or history lesson
this week, I am just going to tie up some loose ends. We are involved with quite a few events
coming up at the end of the month so I thought I would take the time to touch
on each. In case you didn't know, every highlighted word or phrase will take you to a magical destination in a matter of seconds! Isn't technology just grand! Let's start with February 28th.
I know I've mentioned it before but it bears repeating. On Saturday, February 28th from 2
pm until 6pm, the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild is holding the 9th
Annual Strong Beer Festival at the Mesa Amphitheater. With almost 40 breweries participating, a
vast selection of food vendors and live music by the unofficial Strong Beer Festival
House Band, The 2 Tone Lizard Kings!
Tickets are available for the low, low price of $30 and can be found
HERE, they will be made available online until the 24th or until
sold out... that's right; there is a limited amount available so make sure you
get yours now! For $10 more (that's $40
for the mathematically illiterate) get yourself a VIP pass, they are limited to
499 and allow you the right to enter a full hour earlier. Beat the lines and pay the extra!
How would you like to Experience Tempe One Taste at a Time? What if it featured more than 50 wines and 40 plus beers, gourmet soda as well as food samples from local restaurants? Got your interest now? It takes place on Sunday, March 1st at the Pera Club in North Tempe and and all benefits go to The Arc of Tempe, a non-profit Arizona Corporation that assists persons with developmental disabilities and their families. It's an excellent cause for a company that has been serving the community since 1964. Please feel free to check out their website HERE. It is from 4 pm until 7 pm and is only $30, tickets are available at Tops Liquor in Tempe, My Wine Cellar in Ahwatukee, or online HERE.
We are also proud to be a part of the First Annual Tempe BBQ
Festival presented by BBQ Island on March 6th and 7th. Friday is reserved for the professional
field, but on Saturday the BBQ layman has a chance to win some real cash money
by testing his grilling chops against other recreational barbecuers! They call it the "Backyard BBQ Throw Down"
and you can pick one of four categories.
The general public is invited from 11 am until 4 pm on Saturday with
the Four Peaks Beer Truck providing the beer!
What else do you need to know?
The official flier and entry form is available HERE. This is the Arizona State Championship so you
know there will be some tasty "pluckage" for "the brethren" to be found! BBQ Island is located at 8425 S. Emerald
Drive in Tempe (next to the IKEA). Any further
questions, please call them at 480-632-9BBQ.
Lastly, two words for all of you...Spring Training! Starting on Wednesday, February 25th Cactus League baseball returns to the Valley! Don't worry, I have your complete schedule right HERE. The official beginning of spring is just around the corner! Your D-backs, Cubbies, Padres, Dodgers, Angels, Indians, et. al. will taking the field in 2 SHORT WEEKS! Screw the recession, now is the time for cheap tickets, affordable beers and a plethora of sunburned, visiting Chicago fans who don't quite realize how easy it is to get a tan out here in March! Grab some sun block, your favorite mitt, a beach towel and a sprinkle of hope because it's starting all over again! Don't you just love this time of year? Remember, both the Tempe and Scottsdale locations will have the MLB package this year but the package does NOT include spring training games. Some will be available through local feeds and we will try our best to find them!
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We interrupt this program for a very special report...
Just to take a break from the normal 5 questions mission of drilling a coworker, I decided to do something a little different. Today we are going  to spend a little time with Sarah's sister up in Flagstaff. A longtime Peaks employee and good friend to all of us here, this individual is currently a nurse in the Great North Woods. I was able to catch up with her via the archaic method of the phone interview. That's right, just like in the old days of faux brews journalism! I pulled out an old rotary phone, plugged it into a wall jack and spent the better part of 5 minutes trying to find her number (remember in the old days when you had these kinds of things memorized?). Turns out that she had just got done helping a neighbor shovel 4 feet of snow from the walkway and in the background I could hear an old tea kettle whistling. That's how they do it up there, it's all shovels, tea kettles and good old fashioned grit! Well, I broke the ice by talking about moms, music and malarkey before springing the... 5 Questions With Melissa Kelly...
1. What is your all
time favorite Four Peaks
beer?
The Impale Ale. It is a little known stroke of genius! Not quite as strong as the Raj and not as hoppy as the Hop Knot, I found it had the perfect balance between the two. I could only wish that the fine brewers there  could open more brew space to accommodate it again, but I am well aware of all the demand for the Kilt Lifter.
2. You now reside in Flagstaff,
where is your favorite location(s) to go to enjoy an enchanting Four
Peaks beverage?
That is kind of a toughy. I wish it were available everywhere up here, but if I just narrowed it down to two I would have to say: Charly's Pub at the Weatherford, a Kilt Lifter with a plate of their nachos is always satisfying. The other place would be Uptown Billiards if you need to get your pool and gaming fix. They also have a great selection of microbrews and their "pay and take" cooler is a great one stop shop to save a trip on the way home...it's also across the street from the Orpheum!
3. Which Four Peaks
soup is your all time favorite, please describe in many emotional words.
I cry tears of love, and Sarah would agree, for the Green Chili Chicken and Rice. It is the perfect combination of white meat and rice in a spicy cream base. Truly a gift from the gods! (Is that enough emotion?)
4. The Eagles were
recently up for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Which is the least relevant in 2009, The
Eagles or The Grammys?
Well, the Grammys...they don't recognize good music anymore. They are totally out of date with their genres and even then they screw up categorizing music. As for the Eagles, there is nothing more pertinent in Northern Arizona than, "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona." There apparently is a "flatbed Ford" located at that corner, and it's "such  a fine sight to see" I hear. On a similar note though, I would have to wonder why all the Coldplay love? I mean, really? Josh Towsley summed it up best when he said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Everyone hates the color yellow...and they went and wrote a song about it!" But, yeah, the Grammy Awards, just give it up already!
5. According to
Forbes magazine, Chicago is third
on a list of Most Miserable Cities after Stockton,
Ca and Memphis but considered more
miserable than Detroit. How are the Cubs going to fare this year?
Screw Forbes Magazine! They are all about money and acquiring wealth. Chicago is about music and dancing and having a good time! Sure it can be windy and snowy but so are most places in the dead of winter! As for the Cubs, nothing would be better than a World Series Championship,  but I'm going to say they aren't going to make it this year. I know, I know, just hear me out. I just don't want to jinx them! Aside from that, I also want to mention that I am absolutely distraught by the fact that they traded my favorite player, Kerry Wood. All that aside, I want to say that going to a Cubs game is still the BEST EXPERIENCE EVER! After that, our conversation went off on a 30 minute discussion about the Grammy Award nominees and the sheer ridiculousness of the process, I shall spare you the 12 page transcript of that. Well I would sincerely like to thank Melissa for taking time out of her day to talk music, beer and "flatbed Fords". If you are ever in the greater Flagstaff area and find yourself in need of medical attention, perhaps she will be on duty to do all that blood work you'll need to get done! Oh yeah, Hector, Minnesota is also known for its music, dancing, and good time having... we could be a Chicago sister city!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Sunday, March 1st: Experience Tempe...One Taste at a Time with all proceeds going to Arc of Tempe, details HERE Saturday, March 7th: First Annual Tempe Barbecue Festival hosted by BBQ Island, beers by Four Peaks! Entry form and info HERE
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The Brewers Blog
This week's installment of "What The Hell Am I Tasting" will
focus on the Sunbru Kolsch.
First, some info on the style; we could go on and on but
we'll  let someone else do that (germanbeerguide). It's a little long but it's a pretty
comprehensive article.
On the surface Sunbru is a very simple beer with a simple recipe, basically just two-row malt and a little wheat malt with a small,
balancing addition of German hops. The
truth is that Sunbru has a lot of complexities if you're willing to seek them
out.
See It. If there is any better example of the color
that two-row, or base malt, contributes than in a Sunbru we don't know it. It is a golden, almost straight yellow in
appearance, which, it seems, would promise a one dimensional flavor. The head is a stark white with tight, but not
creamy, bubbles.
Sniff it. The aroma seems to open up much more of the
complexity than the color would indicate.
We get hints of honey, some biscuit, and in there somewhere is a
distinct aroma of chardonnay. Perhaps
it's the very slight sulfur that reminds us of that noble grape. It should be said that since Sunbru is made
of such a humble recipe that these distinct and different aromas are derived
mainly from the yeast. It's a
proprietary strain that we "borrowed" from a great Kolsch producer in the Midwest
(yes, we got permission; to use it, not to share it). It's not an easy yeast to use since it is very
powdery and doesn't seem to want to settle out after fermentation, which would
be fine if Kolsch wasn't meant to be absolutely clear in appearance. Let's just say it makes for some challenging filtrations but we wouldn't trade it for the world. Its many aroma and flavor contributions are
the benchmark for the style. Spend some
time and see what you come up with.
Sip it. The first impression is of the mildly sweet,
bready (not yeasty) flavor. Close behind
is a spiciness that can only come from German hops. It's a flavor akin to black pepper but
without the heat. Then, it goes
refreshingly bitter. Next, we notice
something that seemingly shouldn't be there; weight. That is, body. For such a light beer it has a mouth-coating
feel to it. This is, most likely, due
the water we've constructed for this beer.
It's very soft with a small portion of calcium chloride which gives
Sunbru its noticeable mouthfeel. Let it
warm up and a whole new set of flavors become evident.
On a side note, Sunbru is really the perfect beer for our
brewing philosophy. It's not
over-powering by any means but it delivers a lot of flavor and complexity. It has many dimensions that reveal themselves
as it warms, and, most importantly, it leaves you wanting more. We know this beer gets its fair share of
knocks from the beer geeks out there but maybe it's just not for those who need
a beer to bludgeon their taste buds. What
fun is that? Sometimes the challenge is
in really diving into the subtleties of what is a truly challenging beer.
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The Grill & Tap Dispatch
with Mike Kruchko
Well, in a historic week where A-Rod
finally comes out (no, not that...steroids), The President gets his Stimulus Plan
passed and Brett Favre retires...yet again!
I feel like I should be bringing some earth-shattering news to you, but
other than the fiancé getting a new crock pot at the casa, I may be forced to
go with "less than earth-shattering" news, but still good nevertheless.
I know many
of you were on the edge of your seats waiting for my Subatomic Physics of beer
that I promised last week, but after many hours of combing through stacks of
info at the house; I was left to realize that during my 13 years at ASU that I
actually never took a physics class. I
know, I know, but believe me...I'm more disappointed than you. So I took it upon myself to do my best Mr.
Wizard at the house (and if you don't know who Mr. Wizard is, you are too
young...go Google him or something). Since
physics is basically the study of natural science which examines the concepts
of energy, mass and motion to name a few, I had my work cut out for me. To make a long night short, I spent some
quality time with a case of Hop Knot and started "studying". What did I find, you say? I guess my best option is summing it up in
this illustration....
Imagine if
it was all this easy? Well, that's why
we're here....to make things easier for you!
That being said, we have the perfect time saver, headache saver, or
whatever you want to call it for this time of year. Why spend hours and hours not to mention WAY
too much money on what to do for Valentines Day this year. This year should be about displaying your
love with quality and value, not overpriced - over hyped V-Day hogwash. That being said, Tim let you know over the
weekend about our amazing Valentine's Day dinners that both locations will be
doing this Saturday. Each location's
menu is unique and Scottsdale will be showcasing
amazing dishes by Chef Derek Sandlin Webb (he's basically a celebrity in Sweden,
if you didn't know). So, give us a call
or email us with your reservations or inquiries. Think of it this way, it's like having your
own personal Four Peaks Beer Dinner...that's pretty sweet!
Ok guys, gotta go, I'm going back to this
physics thing (who knows, it may be my new hobby) and I'll see you folks on Saturday!
You can contact us in
Scottsdale at 480-991-1795 or at Scottsdale@fourpeaks.com
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CASK-CONDITIONED AND SEASONALS
IN SCOTTSDALE AND TEMPE THIS WEEK
Raj I.P.A.: Yes, the Raj India Pale Ale is going to be available at both locations this week. Make sure you come in soon, they don't last long! SEASONAL DU JOUR (Coming this March)
A Belgian-Style Strong Dark Ale: Name to be decided in the coming weeks, we'll keep you posted
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A Few Parting Words... I think that should pretty much do it. Hey, don't forget, the Phoenix light rail takes you right to the US Airways Arena. So if you are going to the NBA All-Star Game, don't mess with the traffic, make Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe your base of operations. Get the gang together here first, have yourselves some quality food and beer at affordable prices then let the LRT do all the work! Have a great Hallmark holiday, check out all the links we have throughout this issue and be back next week for more news from the world of Four Peaks! Cheers! "Whoever serves beer or wine watered down, he himself deserves in them to drown."
-Medieval plea for pure libations 
Hop Knot...last week the Super Bowl, this week Minneapolis, where will that rapscallion turn up next?
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