Days of the Beer, July 17

The beer for today is Avery The Czar.

On July 17, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II was killed. Nicholas was born on May 19, 1868. He ruled over the Russian Empire from November 1, 1894 to March 15, 1917. He was the oldest son of Alexander III and Maria Fyodorovna (of Denmark).

Nicky got engaged to Alix of Hesse in April 1894. She originally was a Lutheran, but converted to Russian Orthodoxy to get married. They got married on November 26, 1894, he moved up the wedding because his father had just died, and he didn't want to lose the woman he loved. She changed her name to Alexandra for the wedding.

They had 5 children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei.

Nicholas was kicked out of being Czar in 1917, as the people thought he mismanaged their part of world war 1. There were dwindling supplies which caused massive riots and rebellions. He first named his son Alexei (the kid who was always sick, but Rasputin could help) as Czar, but changed his mind, because ... the kid was always sick; and named his brother Michale, and the next emperor. His brother refused, so that ended the Russian Imperial ways.

Nicholas was reunited with his family on March 22, 1917(he was at the front lines of the war) at the palace. They were evacuated to the Urals in August. The Bolsheviks came to power in October, and the house arrest for the Romanovs' became stricter.

On July 17, 1918 at 2:33 a.m. Nicholas, Alexandra, the children, their physician and three servants were taken into the basement and shot.

Avery the Czar is a Russian Imperial Stout, that has a picture of Czar Nicholas II on the bottle. It's 11.7% ABV. According to their website:

Behold the stunning crimson hues through the inky blackness. Inhale the noble Hallertau hops, spicy and floral. Savor the flavors redolent of English toffee, rich mocha, sweet molasses, candied currants and a hint of anise. We highly recommend cellaring additional bottles, as the Czar will continue to mature and become denser and more complex with age.

Isn't that kind of rude to cellar a bottle that has a picture of a guy who was shot in a basement?

I had this beer on April 5, 2007. It was my 366th beer of the year.

(I didn't take this picture)