Days of the Beer, July 21

The beer for today is Kulmbacher Eisbock.

On July 21, 1983, at Vostok Station Antarctica, the lowest temperature ever recorded was -128.6 degrees F. That winter, the temperature averaged about - 85 F. That short summer, it was about -25F. It's known as the Southern Pole of Cold. The warmest recorded temperature ever recorded at Vostok is 10.4 F. That's right, 10 friggin degrees!

In addition to being super cold, there's no humidity; wind that averages 18 km/h; lack of oxygen due to altitude; lack of carbon dioxide; and three months with no day light.

It can take people from a week to two months to get acclimatized to the area. Before you do, you can get headaches, ear pains, nose bleeds, loss of sleep, rises in blood pressure, reduced appetite vomiting, and weight loss of about 7-11 pounds.

As for the beer, an Eisbock is style of bock beer that is freeze distilled, and then the ice is removed, which concentrates the flavor and alcohol content.

Legend has it that Eisbock was accidentally invented in the Reichelbaru brew yard in Kulmbach around 1890. According to the story, a kid was told by the brewmaster to roll the casks of Bock for the brewery into the cellar and then close up. The kid got tired and left a barrel or 2 out in the yard. Well, that night it got really cold and the beer froze and burst open the casks (freeze a beer, see what you get). They thought they lost all the beer, but found some in the middle of each that was thicker and browner than they expect.

Water freezes before alcohol, so as the water froze, the remaining beer got stronger. The angry brewmaster, made the kid drink from the stuff that remained as punishment. As the kid tried it, he found it was awesome, and then everyone else tried it.

So in honor of the coldest day ever, grab a beer that's extra fortifying, made by freeze distillation. Kulmbacher Eisbock is available at Radio Maria in Champaign. The bottle looks like it's got frost crystals on it. I had this beer on July 1.