Beer Memories: Frog 'N Hound

Looking at this label reminds me what a great thing local beer is. Sadly, not everyone gets it, and a brewery producing a quality product will ultimately fail without support at its grass roots. Sadly this was the case with the Olde Wyndham Brewery of Willimantic, CT.

Established in 1997, Olde Wyndham was a small microbrewey that was located in an old mill complex on Main Street in downtown Willimantic. This brewery had such promise, and initially they looked to have a bright and promising future. They produced two flagship beers, Frog 'N Hound Pub Ale and Frog 'N Hound Cream Ale. These two beers were staples for me. I would always have either the Pub Ale or the Cream Ale in my refrigerator. I would buy cases upon cases of these beers, and would always order them on draught at my favorite brewpub The Willimantic Brewing Company and Main Street Cafe.

The Pub Ale was a Scottish ale by style, which was a deep brown, hearty, yet very drinkable malt accented beer with lots of good toffee flavors balanced with mild hop bitterness. It was the type of beer you could drain pint after pint of, went well with all types of food, and was just an all around great beer. The Cream Ale, was an American Cream Ale by style. Pale golden in color, with crisp pale malt flavors, a touch of sourness, this beer was thirst quenching and delicious, with a snappy hop bite that had you wanting more. I toured the brewery only once, and remember the owner and brewer giving me and my friend a sample of the Cream Ale right off the bright tank where it was still conditioning.

Olde Wyndham also contract brewed some beers for other breweries, most notably the legendary Grim Reaper Barleywine. They were doing seasonals as well. I remember drinking their Pumpkin Ale and India Pale Ale on draught and being very impressed. They were present at beer festivals as well. Looking back, I am glad I purchased a pint glass with the Frog 'N Hound logo on it. Little did I know that this brewery would be out of business but a few years later.

Sadly in 2000, Olde Wyndham closed its doors. I believe the biggest problem they had was their beers were just not visible enough in a market flooded with craft breweries. Their beers were awesome, but they some how got lost on the shelf. I don't believe they had enough draught accounts in enough bars in enough cities in CT to make the brewery profitable. Had the brand been marketed better and was more visable? Who knows, we could still be drinking Frog 'N Hound beers today. A sad ending to a great brewery that brewed outstanding beer. I'll always remember Olde Wyndham and Frog 'N Hound beers with great fondness.

Bathing with your favorite beer: Beer Soap

Ever wonder what it would be like to take a bath in beer? There are actually a few brewery spas in Europe that actually do this. I am yet to experience actually taking a bath in beer, but there is a way to wash up with your favorite beer: beer soap. I know a few American microbreweries such as Dogfish Head Brewing of Milton, DE make and sell its own beer soap. There is also a company out there called The Beer Soap Company that makes beer soaps in the variety of beer styles.

You a Sam Adams drinker? Why not take a bath with a bar of Fenway Beer Soap made with Sam Adams Boston Lager. How about a pint of Guinness and a bath with a bar of Draught Beer Soap made with draught Guinness Stout, Olive Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Sunflower Oil, Castor Oil, Unrefined Shea Butter Unrefined Cocoa Butter. The number of styles and combinations seem to be endless and the Beer Soap Company offers a pretty nice variety.

Clearly these soaps are intended for a specific market and are going to appeal to the beer geek who lives and breaths everything beer. That being said, they appear well made, and I don't doubt they will get you clean and probably smell pretty nice. A little more pricey than your average bar of Irish Spring, but why not give it a try? For more information visit The Beer Soap Company at: http://www.thebeersoapcompany.com/

The Best Beer Book I have read in a long time: Hops and Glory

In the world or "beer" writing there is the late Michael Jackson aka the Beer Hunter, and then there is everyone else. Since Jackson's death in 2007, the dearth of talented writers on the subject of beer has been painfully felt. The truth of the matter is, good "drinks" writers are few and far between. Pete Brown has changed all that, and has set the bar to "Jacksonian" heights with his latest book Hops and Glory.

This book is not only a tale about one of the most beloved and cherished beer styles, India Pale Ale (IPA) but a history lesson on 19th Century Burton on Trent brewing, the all powerful East India Company, the history of the Raj, and a personal odyssey. For good measure you also get a nice history lesson about Madeira wine which India Pale Ale would dethrone as the drink of choice in British India.

Brown is a masterful story teller, and he weaves the history of his search for the beer that built the British Empire and love affair with beer into an adventure story anyone would enjoy reading, beer drinker or not. The meticulous research Brown puts into Hops and Glory is amazing. This is a powerful story.

Brown put words into action in this book and the reader learns at his own personal expense. The fact that he actually convinced a Burton brewer to brew up an authentic IPA recipe from 1800's for him? The fact he takes said IPA from Burton on Trent via canal to London, and then on the sea voyage route to India the way it went in the days of the East India Company to the Raj? The fact that he just did not talk about it, speculate "what it must have been like" but he actually did it? One has to admire this, and the pay off the reader is you are along for the ride when you read Hops and Glory. Brown makes you live it, breath it, you are there with him. No more tall tales or yarns here about India Pale Ale.

The story of the history of IPA needed to be told, and what a way to tell it. There are some bumps along the way, and why this book is so awesome is, its not just about the beer and its history, but the reader is living the adventure with Brown. We get the good, the bad, the ugly. Hops and Glory is a history lesson, travel guide, and adventure story all rolled into one. I literally could not put this book down. It is an enjoyable, informative read, and I'm still amazed that Brown actually made the journey that many have talked about, turn into reality. A journey that will most likely never be repeated by anyone. This is "beer" writing at its very best.