An Ale By Any Other Name....

Monday morning. Usually there's a good crowd of friendly folk.

I'm more an LSD guy, but lately it's been alot easier to buy beer. My beer drinking began with a friend's home-brewed stout. It took years for me to wonder, but eventually the question germinated: what makes a stout stout? Something about the name -- Terminal Gravity Brewery -- prompted me to think it was here I might find an answer.  

The back story: I was in the San Pedro (pronounced Pee-droh) Yacht Club the other day looking to sign on in exchange for a ride down to Panama. San Pedro is Los Angeles' main port and I was in the Club vetting  the skippers and vessels when the discussion turned to different kinds of beer. I was having my usual, a stout, but when asked what KIND I liked, I was at a loss. I rattled off a couple of names but wasn't sure if it was the wheat, barley, malt, or, as in the case of donuts, the hand-oil that made the difference.

The Brewery Proper

Now to T. G. Brewery. In answer to my question, Dean Duquette, one of three owners, gave me a tour of the brewery. By the end of a fascinating, fact-filled hour I realized the answer was too complex for my limited typing ability. But in a nut-shell: a stout is an ale made with a darker roasted malt.

Dean Duquette

And if you're at the South end of Enterprise, Oregon (on the road to Joseph) stop in...and just drink it. It's good. And there's music on the veranda some days.