Officially tapped last night, today is the first full day of the 2nd annual Cleveland Beer Week. Now I am not a beer drinker – give me a glass of full-bodied red any day and I’m a happy gal. But, I am learning to appreciate craft brews more and more each day. And dedicated weeks like these provide the perfect opportunity for people like me, plus craft brew aficionados, to learn, sample and enjoy all the amazing beers around, from within our city to across the country.
Just last night at the CBW kick-off event, Grains vs. Grapes, I sampled a beer that made its way to our grocery list this morning: Midas Touch from Delaware’s Dogfish Head. It’s a beer made from a recipe found in King Tut’s tomb! Crazy, right? Our table was skeptical of this tale at first and quickly took to our phones to Google this fascinating tidbit. 30 seconds later, turns out this is in fact a true statement – sorta. Turns out this honey and saffron beer owes its wonderful taste to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeologists who discovered fermented beverages in 2,700-year-old glasses while excavating the tomb of King Midas in Turkey. A few years ago, molecular archaeologists analyzed the remnants of what they found then turned it over to Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish (who was at the event last night), to help recreate this ancient brew which also contains muscat grapes. This to me was simply fascinating. A great beer and an even better story.
There are lots of events to participate in this week where no doubt more fun stories and learnings will take place, from beer and chocolate tastings to gourmet beer dinners. Be sure to visit the CBW site where you can search for events by city and date. Also, be sure to check into Cleveland Beer Week (you have to manually type it in since it’s not a stationary event) on Foursquare. They are giving away daily gift cards randomly to people who check-in and well as a grand prize for the “mayor” of Cleveland Beer Week.
And finally, what would a week-long event be without a fond farewell (until 2011 that is). BREWzilla will mark the end of CBW on Saturday, October 23 at the Galleria. 80+ breweries, food, fun and all for a good cause (the Malone scholarship fund).
What event(s) will you be going to?
