What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.76
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, in fact, its Friday. I’m sure everyone is well aware of this being in the alcohol industry. St. Patrick’s Day is a great boost in sales for both on and off premise. One of my favorite articles is perfect for this week written by Heather Galanty from Craftbeer.com “Forget Green Beer – 2 Styles with actual Irish Roots”.
Everyone, likes to joke about green beer but the truth of the matter is during St. Patrick’s Day we sell a large quantity to accounts and the public is asking for it. If you took a look around our warehouse you’d know who is injecting the green dye into the kegs – their green hands and arms are a dead giveaway. I’ve also included a video on St. Patrick’s Day Beer & Cheese Paring.
If you don’t like dealing with green food dye or having green kegs in house, ask your Bergseth Bros. sales representative about our cold activated plastic glassware. The glasses are sensitive to the change in temperature; the clear glasses turn green from the coldness of the beer. We only have a limited amount of these plastic glasses so if you’re interested, let your rep know today.
I come from a background with the belief of drink what you enjoy, whether that’s green beer or an authentic Irish style of beer. Either way Bergseth Bros. has you covered – Bergseth Bros. is your Irish Beer Headquarters with iconic brands such as Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s, Murphy’s, and Kilkenny. Bergseth Bros. also carries Guinness Nitro IPA, Guinness Blonde, Finnegans, Killians Red and of course GREEN Beer.
Forget Green Beer—2 Beer Styles with Actual Irish Roots
By Heather Galanty
There are two main beer styles that we typically think of in connection with the Emerald Isle: dry stout and red ale. Stouts are an offshoot of the porter family, and originally the word “stout” was used to refer to a stronger version of a porter.
The most famous Irish-style dry stout, of course, is Guinness, which serves as the template for most modern stouts, but Arthur Guinness actually began by brewing ales and porters. It wasn’t until 1819, with the introduction of Daniel Wheeler’s black “patent” malt, that stouts began to be brewed. The words “dry” or “Irish” are often tacked on to “stout” in order to differentiate it from English and American sweet or milk stouts, which usually contain oatmeal or lactose.
There is a bit of contention surrounding the Irish-Style Red Ale, with some debate as to its historical past and true characteristics. We are told that the Celtic ales brewed in Ireland in the Middle Ages had a recognizably red tinge, although the modern version of what we consider the “Irish-style red ale” is most likely very different from the style of this early account.
Traditionally, Irish red ales focus on strong malt flavors with slight nuttiness and light hoppiness. This style seems to have originated with the birth of Smithwick Brewery in 1710 in Kilkenny, Ireland. Today, red ales enjoy more popularity in the U.S. than Ireland, and despite the style’s unclear origins and somewhat contentious history, I think we can agree that it’s a darn good beer.
This Saint Patrick’s Day, deviate from the stereotypical green beer and try a craft-brewed dry stout or red ale.
Irish-Style Dry Stout
Irish-style dry stouts are black in color, typically with an SRM of 35-40. Their character is mostly defined by coffee-like roasted barley and a roasted malt aroma. Despite the focus on malt, hop bitterness is typically medium to medium high. Dry stouts are often served from nitrogen taps, which create a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Guinness Irish Stout Draught
- Guinness Extra Stout
- Murphy’s Irish Stout
Irish Red Ales
Irish Red Ales are usually well balanced and are brewed with a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley to give them their reddish hue. This style may contain adjuncts such as corn, rice and sugar, which help dry out the finish and lessen the body. Low roasted notes can be present thanks to the use of roasted barley in the grain bill. With notes of caramel and toffee, this style can be reminiscent of lightly toasted and buttered bread.
- Smithwick’s
- Kilkenny
- Killian’s Irish Red
CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW to WATCH:
St. Patrick’s Day Beer and Cheese Pairings
POSTED 9:58 AM, MARCH 4, 2016, BY CHRISTIANNE KLEIN AND MAE FESAI
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.75
One of my favorite Holidays is just around the corner on March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day!
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17th, honoring the Irish patron saint, St. Patrick. The celebrations are largely Irish culture themed and typically consist of wearing green, parades, and plenty of drinking. Some churches may hold religious services and many schools and offices close in Suffolk County, the area containing Boston and its suburbs.
People all over the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially places with large Irish-American communities. Feasting on the day features traditional Irish food, including corned beef, corned cabbage, coffee, soda bread, potatoes, and shepherd’s pie. Many celebrations also hold an Irish breakfast of sausage, black and white pudding, fried eggs, and fried tomatoes.
It’s the one day that friends and family can gather around raise their pint of Guinness and celebrate their Irish heritage; most out celebrating don’t have a lick of Irish in them but enjoy the festive atmosphere….. It’s a good excuse to raise a pint!
Bergseth Bros. is your Irish Beer Headquarters with iconic brands such as Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s, and Murphy’s. Bergseth Bros. also carries Guinness Rye, Guinness Antwerpen, Guinness Nitro IPA, Guinness Blonde, Kilkenny, Finnegans and Killians Red.
I’ve included some videos of the assorted Guinness Brands available and a Guinness stew recipe perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
Guinness Draught Stout — It’s All About The Balance
Behind Guinness Blonde
Guinness Nitro IPA “Behind The Beer”
Discover Guinness Rye Pale Ale
Guinness Antwerpen Export Stout Now Available In America
Beef & Guinness Stew – St. Patrick’s Day Special – Beef Stewed in Guinness Beer
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.74
What a great weekend for sports! NCAA hockey is getting real interesting, with the Fighting Hawk fans barely holding on. If you like seeing cars crash, the Daytona 500 was your cup of tea. NCAA basketball teams are moving up or down in the rankings as they prepare for March Madness.
One thing for sure, this is a sign that spring is just around the corner. We even had spring weather, and then Mother Nature had its own plans for us with a dropping of snow. As the seasons change so does the flavor profiles of beers offered by many of the breweries that we carry. I wanted to showcase two of those beers today; Odell Runoff Red IPA AVAILABLE NOW and Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles COMING SOON.
NOW AVAILABLE – Odell Runoff Red India Pale Ale
COMING SOON – Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles, Helles Lager w/Orange Blossom
PRESS PLAY BELOW – To Watch Jim Koch taste Fresh as Helles Lager w/Orange Blossom
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.73
This time of year it seems like a lot of us in the beer industry not only have beer on our minds but also bacon. Last weekend, was the Beer and Bacon Festival in Grand Forks, and coming up soon is the Bacon and Beer festival in Fargo. Congratulations to Rhombus Guys Brewing Company for bringing home the Best Beer trophy at the Grand Forks Festival!
I wanted to showcase the Breweries along with a style from each brewery that we’ll be representing at the festival in Fargo. I paired a style of beer from each Brewery with a type of bacon, so if you cannot make it the festival, you can try a few pairings on your own at home. Lastly, check out the Beer-Glazed Bacon recipe – Trust me its delicious!!
ACE Pineapple Cider – 5% ABV, Gluten Free
First pineapple cider developed in the world, Instant sweet taste with tart finish, Mixes well, Refreshing
Paired with Classic Canadian Bacon
Base Camp Brewing Company S’more Stout – 66 IBUs, 7.7% ABV
The S’more Stout is an absolute all-star: Aromas of chocolate, coffee, fig, and smoke invite you in to a gigantic maltiness that is distinct in its smooth and refined character, with flavors of chocolate and hints of smoke mingling with rich caramel, fruit, and warming alcohol. We like to top it with a roasted marshmallow and you have the ultimate S’more experience!
Paired with Hickory Smoked Bacon
Empyrean Brewing Company Long Route Peanut Butter Porter – 20 IBUs, 5% ABV
With the delightful aroma of a peanut butter cup, this porter maintains a porter-like backbone with notes of chocolate, peanut butter and toast. Pairs perfectly with caramelized meats, curry, Thai, baked apples and chocolate desserts.
Paired with Chocolate Covered Bacon
Fargo Brewing Company Fargo Original Helles Lager – 17 IBUs, 5.1% ABV
This traditional un-filtered German style helles lager pours a brilliantly clear light gold color and is capped with a head of white foam. The aroma is led by clean pilsner malt paired with subtle spicy hop notes and a clean lager yeast character. The flavor is well balanced between the pils malt sweetness, the restrained bittering, and the crisp finish from the extended lagering. This is the perfect beer for when you want something light, crisp, and uncomplicated. Prost!
Paired with American Bacon
Fulton Brewing Company 300 Mosaic IPA – 74 IBUs, 6.9% ABV
Originally brewed as a one-o in celebration of the 300th batch at our original downtown Minneapolis brewery, this West Coast IPA was so well received we had to make it available year-round. It’s built on a base of Pilsner malt and heavily hopped with Mosaic, one of our favorite — and unfortunately nearly impossible to procure — hop varieties. 300 is pure hop candy!
Paired with Pork Belly Bacon
Grand Teton Brewing Company Bitch Creek Extra Special Brown Ale – 60 IBUs, 6.0% ABV
Bitch Creek perfectly balances big malt sweetness and robust hop flavor for a full bodied, satisfying mahogany ale. Like the stream for which it is named, our Bitch Creek ESB is full of character… not for the timid.
Paired with Irish Bacon
Lagunitas Brewing Company Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale – 65 IBUs, 7.5% ABV
Way smooth and silky with a nice wheatly-esque-ishness. A truly unique style featuring a strong hop finish on a silky body. A hoppy pale wheat ale that is great for IPA fans but so smooth that the hefeweizen fans dig it too.
Paired with Peppered Bacon
LakeFront Brewery Hop Jockey Double IPA – 89 IBUs, 8.2% ABV
What do you do when you’ve already got one of the best craft IPAs? Double down. This hot-blooded thoroughbred pours freshly-polished copper color with a foamy, off-white mane. Centennial, Cascade, and Citra hops supply grapefruit, mandarin orange, and pineapple aromas and flavors, while lightly roasted Belgian caramel malts add a subtle biscuit aroma and balanced sweetness in the backstretch
Paired with Lamb Bacon
Odell Brewing Company 90 Shilling Ale – 32 IBUs, 5.3% ABV
90 Shilling is our smooth and complex flagship beer. A medium-bodied amber ale with a distinct burnished copper color and a deeply pleasant aroma. The name 90 Shilling comes from the Scottish method of taxing beer. Only the highest quality beers were taxed 90 Shillings. We think you’ll find this original ale brilliantly refreshing, and worth every Shilling
Paired with Candied Bacon
Rhombus Guys Brewing Company Dark Matter Imperial Coffee Stout – 43 IBUs, 10.3% ABV
Dark Matter is an unidentified type of matter distinct from dark energy… sip on this mysterious wonder of dark chocolate, toffee, tobacco, leather and coffee flavors melded together in space and time. Conditioned on locally roasted BULLY BREW COFFEE beans!! For everything, there is a first time. Enjoy.
Paired with Maple Bacon
Samuel Adams Rebel Juiced Mango IPA – 55 IBUs, 6.2% ABV
Swirling with ripe aromas of mango and tropical fruits, this IPA is jam-packed with juicy, citrusy hops and mango juice. It’s as if we took fresh hops and mangos and put them in a juicer.
Paired with Pancetta Bacon
Summit Brewing Company Black IPA – 60 IBUs, 6.8% ABV
Spicy, citrus-forward hops from the U.S. are layered over a unique blend of roasted malts to produce a powerful boot-polish black ale. Smooth flavors of mocha coffee, dark fruit and toffee are balanced by notes of citrus, pine and mint. Available for a limited time on draught and in 12oz bottles. Bottles exclusive to the IPA Collection 12-pack.
Paired with Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon
Beer-Glazed Bacon
POPSUGAR Food
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
YIELD: 8 SLICES
This beer-glazed bacon made with Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager from POPSUGAR Food will make any beer-lover’s breakfast a little more sweet.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup dark lager, such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager
- 1/2 tablespoon grainy mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon dry mustard, such as Colman’s
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the honey and maple syrup to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil; reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add beer and simmer until the volume has reduced by half. Take off the heat and whisk in both mustards.
- Meanwhile, arrange the bacon on the prepped half-sheet pan. Cover with one more sheet of parchment paper and bake for 14-15 minutes.
- Using a paper towel, blot the rendered fat from the bacon. Brush the glaze onto the top side of each strip.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F, and cook the bacon until crisp-chewy, about 40-45 minutes.
- Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, keeping the bacon glazed-side up. Serve immediately.
- *Adapted from Samuel Adams.
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.72
Most of us after the New Year try and shed a few pounds before we go on vacation or head to the lakes for the summer. A new trend of products to help slim the waist started taking off last year and continues to grow at a staggering rate. Sparkling Hard Seltzers contributed 30% of flavored malt beverage growth and are growing 15X faster than the category.
We are fortunate at Bergseth Bros. to have in house the three leading brands in the country; Truly Spiked & Sparkling, White Claw Hard Seltzer and Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer. Learn more about these brands below and don’t miss out on this growing segment in both on and off premise.
Click on the image below to watch: Spiked Seltzer Trend Catching On Across The Country
December 28, 2016 6:35 PM
KDKA – CBS Pittsburgh
Leading the Hard Seltzer category is Truly Spiked & Sparkling Water with 5 great tasting flavors;
Colima Lime, Grapefruit & Pomelo, Pomegranate, Sicilian Blood Orange and new flavor Lemon & Yuzu
White Claw Hard Seltzer The way we see it, the most refreshing innovation in the hard beverage aisle is honesty. And when it comes to artificial additives, less isn’t just more—it’s best. So we’ve decided to pioneer something true to nature. Something pure.
White Claw Hard Seltzer: all-natural sparkling seltzer water with 5% alcohol and a hint of honest-to-goodness fruit.
Crafted dry, hard and refreshingly drinkable, any flavor pairs perfectly with good times and even better company. Whether you’re beach-bound, out blazing trails or simply chilling, you can count on one deliciously crisp sip after another.
No additives. No funny business. Just 110 calories of good clean fun with a kick.
To Learn More Click on the Video Below
The latest brand of seltzer’s arriving is Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer. Enjoy three crisp, refreshing tasting flavors: Orange Mango, Cranberry Lime and Watermelon. Available in a 12pk sampler or 6pk of individual flavors.
90 Calories, 1 G Carb, Zero Sugar, No Artificial Sweeteners, Crafted to Remove Gluten, 4.5% Alcohol By Volume.
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!