Dyniamit Pumpkin Ale (Pinta Browar)

There are some styles in a beer world which are quite unusual in Europe. Pumpkin Ale is one of the best examples. So it´s pretty hard to get one here. There is only one brewery in the Czech Republic that brews this ale - Radnicni pivovar in Jihlava - but the beer is pretty difficult to get. So I had to look elsewhere. Polish beer scene starts to be pretty interesting and because I have shorter trip to Cracow then to Prague I decided to complete my quest for pumpkin ale in Poland.

Poland has multiple craft breweries. Two of them brewed pumpkin ales. AleBrowar had Naked Mummy - The beer is hopped at the level of 45 IBU, the extract is 16 BLG, which were attenuated to the 6,2% of alcohol content. They used Willamette, Cascade and Palisade hops altogether with spices: cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, allspice. Unfortunately the batch was pretty limited so I wasn't able to get a bottle.

The second and probably the biggest craft brewery in Poland helped me out.

Browar Pinta from Wroclaw brews its beers in Browar na Jurze in Zawiercie (small city near Katowice). Its portfolio is pretty good - they brew Imperial IPA, Sahti, Sticke Alt, Irish Red Ale, Imperial Witbier, Extra Special Bitter (ESB), Rauchbock, A'la Grodziskie, AIPA, Weizenbock, Oatmeal Stout, Schwarzbier, Scottish Ale, Vienna Lager, Rauchbier, Pumpkin Ale, Rice IPA, Bière de Garde… The latest one is Pumpkin Ale. Its name - Dyniamit.

Dyniamit was first brewed last year. It was a big success so they decided to brew another batch this year. And they increased the production - 20 000 bottles and 110 kegs. It´s pretty strong - 16,5° (6% alc.) - and very spicy. Cinnamon, clove, ginger and anise are dominant in the smell, pumpkin tones - not strong but clearly there - in taste along with citrusy bits. Small but thick head, orange color. Well - almost perfect beer for Christmas! :) I liked it even though I'm not a big fan of spicy/fruity beers.

It´s clear that this style of beer will never be as popular in Europe as is in the US. But I'm glad I had a chance to drink it and if I am in US during pumpkin season I will be more than happy to try much more of it.

http://www.browarpinta.pl/oferta/16-pinta-dyniamit-165 (PL)

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/pinta-dyniamit/190288/ (EN)

Konfrontacja - Naked Mummy vs. Dyniamit - zakapslowani.wordpress.com (PL)

One of the world's oldest breweries reconstructed

Over 5.5 thousand years old brewing installation discovered by Polish archaeological mission at Tell el-Farcha in Egypt has been reconstructed in 3D by Karolina Rosińska-Balik, PhD student at the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology.

"The presented reconstruction is a hypothetical assumption based on preserved structures of similar analogous buildings at both Tell el-Farcha and other brewing centres in Upper Egypt" - reserved the archaeologist.

The installation consists of three vat pits and measures about 3.4 by 4 m. The entire structure, with plan reminiscent of a three-leaf clover, was surrounded by a wall with a height of up to 60 cm. Vat pits were also separated from each other with low, narrow walls.

In order to stabilize the vessels used for brewing beer, base was used in the form of a solid clay, which was surrounded by a clay ring with a clear break.

"The purpose of this solution was probably better air circulation, which in turn would allow better control of constant temperature. Such base was usually surrounded with two concentric rows of bricks with D-shaped cross-section, designed to sustain the vessel" - explained Karolina Rosińska-Balik.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the brewery was carried out in several stages. The first step was the preparation of linear drawings allowing to capture the actual condition of the structure immediately after the discovery. This phase consisted of the introduction of the original drawing into the computer space. Computer drawing in an appropriate scale was used as a base to create a three-dimensional copy of the brewery. The next step in the virtual reconstruction was to recreate the basic building blocks used to erect the complex. According to the researcher, this material were three types of bricks made of mud mixed with chaff and burned.

"Thus prepared three-dimensional bricks made it possible to start the next stage of reconstruction. The work leading to the creation of the virtual model was a tedious process of laying bricks one by one, almost like at a real construction site. For greater clarity and transparency of the structure, I decided to only partially erect the maximum dimensions of the walls, and only one completely reconstructed vessel" - said the PhD student.

The remaining pits are shown at various stages, allowing to show all the details of their design. In the next phase, the resulting model was combined with specially prepared representations of materials, giving the reconstruction a more realistic feel. The last step to obtain a three-dimensional visualization of the brewery was taking the appropriate shots - from several points of view.

"For centuries, beer was primary and major food product for Egyptians. The oldest record that mentions beer is a list of grave goods found on the stele in the tomb of the third dynasty belonging to Sekherhabau - almost five thousand years old, and thanks to our excavations, we know that the tradition goes back even further into the history of Egypt" - added Rosińska-Balik.

The oldest previously found brewery is also located in Egypt, at the site Hieraconpolis, and it is connected to the Nagada culture. Breweries discovered by Polish archaeologists had been used by the local population, called by archaeologists the Lower Egyptian culture. This is the first brewing structures found to belong to this community.

The site of Tell el-Farcha has been studied for fifteen years by the Polish expedition to the Eastern Nile Delta, led by Prof. Krzysztof Ciałowicz of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University, and Dr. Marek Chłodnicki of the Archaeological Museum in Poznań. The settlement functioned in this place for nearly 1000 years (ca. 3700 - 2700 BC). First it was a strong centre of local Lower Egyptian culture, then an important centre of power during the formation of unified Egyptian state. The most valuable finds of Polish archaeologists include golden statues of a ruler and his son, temple deposit of high quality human figures made of ivory, cylindrical seals, items made of bone, stone, flint, copper and gold.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

szz/ agt/

Polish beer II. - 3reviews

I continue to explore polish beer scene. And it's better then most of you could imagine. I slowly start to appreciate all the good things and all the good beers Poland can offer. I knew the gods from the AleBrowar and now I found two more breweries which brew the good stuff.

Piwna Manufaktura - Altbier
Piwna Manufaktura is very interesting project. It seems like a side product line made by Browar Jablonowo. Their stout called Belfast is very nice. And I´m sure the rest of the line will be fine as well. They use the modern brewery to try something different, something for the fans not for the average customer. Their Altbeer is very refreshing. Dark brown color, small white head. That´s how I imagine old time beer. The taste is pretty good. Malty with a slight caramel tone. The finish is pleasant, yeasty, maybe a bit too much dry. I really wonder if such a beer tasted the same way in some medieval pub.

Komes - Porter Baltycki
Beer made by Fortuna brewery in Miloslaw. Komes beers (there are three in that product line - Porter, Podwojny Ciemny, Potrojny Zloty,) are special made and crafted for the real beer lovers. Porter is able to stay and grow in the bottle so you can store it for a pretty long time - up to 18 months. The beer is strong and very heavy. It's pure black with small white head. The taste is dry and hoppy, strong chocolate and coffee tones. The big suprise comes with a finish. It´s very typical with almost a smoke palate.

AleBrowar - Sweet Cow
The best of the batch. I wrote a short story about AleBrowar while ago and I still think that this is the best brewery in Poland. Their Sweet Cow is fantastic. Very smooth stout. Not sweet but milky. You can really feel the milk in it and that´s the best thing ever! Pure black color, white head, chocolate, coffee and smoke tones in taste. Spicy smell. Long smooth palate. I´m not a big fan of strong black stouts but this one - I salute to it and need much more!

I can´t wait to the next beer shopping in Poland. I only hope somebody open some good beer shop in Cziesyn soon!

Krakow 8/5/2013

A beautiful city, great weather, perfect timing. And a few photos which should look like they were snapped during 80s´. An old jewish quarter in Krakow - Kazimierz - still looks like stuck at that time. 

AleBrowar - The best beers from Poland?

Poland is country famous maybe for its vodka. It is not a typical beer nation. Not even close. But recently it's getting better and better.

This situation is caused mainly by the fact that more and more small, micro and flying breweries started their existence.

One of the best examples is AleBrowar - the flying or nomad brewery of three beerheads which is using small family brewery in Gosciszewo (a small municipality near Gdansk). It started about a year ago and - thanks to their skills - their beers became instantly famous. Their specialization is ale - style which is not so common in mainland european countries but style which is getting more and more popular there.

I was lucky enough to taste three bottles. Rowing Jack, Black Hope and Smoky Joe. The label design is just awesome. I love the names, I love the art style and mainly I love all the information on them. I know what I am drinking, I know how many IBU they have, I know alcohol percentage. Excellent job! These information I sometimes miss when I´m tasting beers from the small czech breweries.

The best beer from the batch is - without any doubt - Rowing Jack. Very fresh IPA with fruity smell, great white head, a bit hazy yellow color and the heavenly taste. I admit - IPA is my favourite style and this IPA is one of the best I have ever had. It´s pretty strong but you can´t tell it from the taste. No sharp alcohol tones. Fruits (mango, lime) in every sip. I felt in love with it instantly.

Black Hope is Black IPA - style which is even less known in the Central Europe. It is very interesting, strong beer an I liked it. It´s not so refreshing but it has its magic. You can sip it slowly and it feel good. It tastes like something between stout and IPA. Fruity tones with thick layer of malt taste. Nice dark brown color, white head and a bit bitter palate.

The last on in the batch was Smoky Joe - my first Foreign Stout. It was very interesting but I may need some more samples to fully appreciate it. It is a good beer - there´s no question about it - but maybe too robust for my personal taste. Deep black color, ligh brown head, very thick taste of coffee and chocolate. A hint of whisky. Just a small one. Long malty palate.

I became a big fan of this project and I can´t wait to visit some good beer shop in Krakow next week to have a chance to buy more of these great ales. And many many many bottles of Rowing Jacks! :)