Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Days of the Beer, September 10

The beer for today is New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale. The bottle features the headless horseman, from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

On September 10, 1945, Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado was sent outside by his wife to get a chicken for supper. Lloyd chose a five and a half month old bird named Mike. When Lloyd swung the axe, he missed the jugular vein, one ear, and most of the brain stem of Mike.

Mike became "Mike the Headless Chicken".

Mike lived for 18 months after being decapitated. He was fed by an eyedropper and also small pieces of corn. He was able to walk around and could climb perches. His crowing wasn't that great and was more of a gurgling sound.

Shortly thereafter, Mike began touring in sideshows, for 25 cent admission. At the height of his popularity, he was earning $4500 a month. He died in March of 1947 in Phoenix, when he started choking in the middle of the night. Lloyd had accidentally left the feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow, and was unable to save Mike.

As for the beer:

Ichabod combines malted barley and real pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg in a delicious and inviting brew. A rewarding complement to many dishes, Ichabod pairs well with autumnal foods such as poultry and root vegetables. After dinner, try it with your favorite dessert!
New Holland is out of Holland, Michigan. They've been around since 1996. They are distributed throughout most of the midwest and also Virginia, and South and North Carolina.

So, for the headless chicken, have a pumpkin with ties to the headless horseman.

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