Days of the Beer, December 3

The beer for today is Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.

On December 3, 1984, in Bhopal, India; a methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant killed more than 3,800 people and injured 150,000 - 600,000 others (more than 6,000 would later die from their injuries).

During the night, large amounts of water entered a tank that held 42 tonnes of methyl isocyanate. This caused a chemical reaction that raised the pressure and the temperature inside the tank to over 400 degrees F. The tank wasn't designed to hold the pressure, and released the gas. The plant was located in the center of Bhopal, and the gases flooded the city. People woke up in a cloud of gas that burned their lungs.

The cause of the incident, which is labeled as one of the worst industrial accidents in history, is unknown. Some think that peopel were cleaning pipes out with water that leaked into the tank, others think it was an act of sabotage by a disgruntled worker.

As to the beer:

I had this beer recently, and it was awesome.

The newest member of the Firestone family, Union Jack is the aggressive IPA that you’ve been searching for. Citrus, pineapple, and a full chewy malt profile finish clean on your palate. Over 70 IBUs and 7.5% alcohol by volume, Union Jack won’t have any problem competing with the big India Pale Ales. A beer true to its origins; deeply hopped and bolstered for a long voyage.

The beer is currently only available in California, so unless you have a hook-up, you'll just have to wait.

So, for the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India, have a Firestone Walker Union Jack India Pale Ale.

*the incident was commemorated in song by the Revolting Cocks*

Beer Review, Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

Last night, after looking through the list of winners from the Great American Beer Festival, I noticed that I had one (ok, at least one) of the beers in the house that I haven't had before. In the box from Rob was a bottle of Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA. This beer took gold in the American-Style India Pale Ale category. With 104 entries in that category, it was the category with the most entries.

Firestone Walker also took 5 other medals including American Style Pale Ale. They seem to be good with hops.

This one poured a beautiful golden to light yellow color. It had some moderate pure white foam that didn't stick around very long. It smelled strongly of orange and citrus. I could tell this was going to be a hoppy beer. It was a bit thinner than some of the other beers I've had recently, it wasn't near as syrupy as Mikkeller Black, but did have a little stick around-ness to it. It turned slightly effervescent (bubbly) if left in the mouth for a while.

Again, this one's flavor could be described as bitter. It was also somewhat sweet. There was a little bit of a burn as it went down the throat, it wasn't an alcohol burn, more of a spicy burn. As it warmed it developed more peppery flavor. I did notice a little bit of a pleasant tartness to it. After a while of savoring it, my thoughts were "liquid hops".
This was an awesome beer. The malt was evident, but not too powerful, there wasn't much of a cookie flavor to it. The malt acted like a carrier for the hops, instead of the dominate flavor.

I began thinking I could just add this beer to my wort instead of hops, and I'd have a very mellow beer, but that'd be a waste.

There's no way I could drink more than one of these a day. The next morning, I'd come into work oozing hops. Pine fresheners wouldn't be as piney as me.

I'm jealous of the west coasters, as this beer (and many others) don't make the 2,000 mile ride here, unless they are smuggled as yeast samples.