Monthly Newsletter

The newsletter is enclosed with each month's shipment. It comes complete with a history and description of the featured beers of the month, industry news, education, recipes, prize-winning contests, trivia, and more!

Excerpts from this month's newsletter

Good For Your Health

As many of you know, beer is good for your health. Well, now we have more proof that every adult should be drinking beer.

It was reported by the American Journal of Epidemiology that a Finnish study shows an increase in beer consumption may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones. The study of 30,000 men showed a 40 percent lower risk of the painful stones in beer-drinking middle-aged. Researchers were quick to admit, however, that they aren’t sure which ingredient in beer reduces the risk: water, alcohol or hops. We don’t really care, as long as we can avoid those nasty little stones!

If helping your kidneys isn’t enough for you, the Danish Brewers Association has reported that beer works as well as wine in preventing heart disease. "It cannot be proved that there is any health advantage to drinking red wine, for example, rather than beer," according to the study by the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Muenster.

In related news, studies presented in Barcelona at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology shows that having a beer once a day, eating fish twice a week, and cooking in olive oil can help reduce or prevent heart disease and other health problems such as stroke, thrombosis and heart failure. See, beer drinking is not only good for your head, it’s also good for your heart!

International Beer of the Month

Abbaye d'Aulne Selection Brown Ale
Val de Sambre Brewery
Belgium

In Belgium, where beer is taken very seriously, even the monks get involved! There are five breweries in Belgium run by the Trappist order of monks, and by law, only these five breweries can be referred to as “Trappist Ales”.

This is not to say that there aren’t other abbeys that produce beer in Belgium, however, since they are not affiliated with the Trappist order, they may only refer to their beers as "Abbaye" beers. Most produce beers that imitate the "Trappist" styles, but not all of these abbeys actually brew the beer on their own premises. The Abbaye d’Aulne is a prime example.

Abbaye d’Aulne has age-old recipes for some classic beers, but no facilities to brew them in. So, they rely upon the Brewery Val de Sambre, in Charleroi, Belgium to produce and bottle their beers. Based on the incredibly high ratings the Beverage Testing Institute has given their beers recently, it appears that Brewery Val de Sambre is doing a great job for Abbaye d’Aulne!

Selection Brown Ale is a highly traditional Belgian bottle conditioned ale, brewed with malt and top quality hops without any chemical additive.

Selection‘s second fermentation occurs in the bottle and requires several days in a temperature-controlled room. The yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle could be consumed with the beer, if so desired.

Selection is deep coffee brown in color with a rocky head. Medium bodied. Subtly hopped. Rich, dried spice and fruitcake flavors with hints of licorice on the palate following through on the lengthy finish. This ale is characterized by its rich and scented flavor as well as its velvety taste. An extremely balanced and smooth ale brewed to 7% abv.

Selection is wonderfully refreshing on its own or as a perfect complement to ragu of pork, beef or lamb and should be served chilled at 45-50 degree F (5-7 degree C).

Phone: (800) TRY-HOPS
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