A Bottle of Beer found at the site of the Hindenburg Airship disaster will go to Auction this week.  According to the article, the bottle of Lowenbrau will get close to $8500.  Which is almost as much as you pay for a beer at The Comcast Center.  The auction house warned the beer was not drinkable and was probably, “quite putrid”.  I’d still put it up against Golden Anniversary anytime.  But what about back in 1937 when it was found?  What would be the effect of a giant Hydrogen fireball have on a Munich-Style German brew?  I know this is rather insensitive and morbid, but it’s the first thing I thought about when I read the article.  In the bottle, exposed to high heat and then buried for a few days.  I’m sure someone like those freaks at Dogfish Head would go to great lengths to recreate this process like they do with ancient recipes.  They would probably build a Hydrogen Airship, stock it with some cases, and then light it up….unmanned of course. 

What would beer from the Titanic be like.  Say, a fine Samuel Smith Ale sunk in icy Atlantic waters for months then retrieved.  How would that alter the chemistry of the brew.  This is starting to get creepy…never mind.

By the way, I had a bottle of Stone Brewery’s Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale.  It is a beautiful brew.  More of a Stout than an Ale in my opinion.  There is a hint of hops in it, but the roasted malty, chocolaty, smokiness dominates.  It was a great with my warm double chocolate brownies.

Another great pairing is The Lagunitas Hop-Stoopid with a roasted duck from The Hong Kong Eatery in Chinatown.  The pine and citrus flavors along with the aroma of hops cuts through the greasy Duck skin and creates a delicious contrast.  After polishing off a bottle and half a duck, I passed out for three days.