Beyond the Boilermaker

Here at the Examiner, it’s Rum Month. Since you’re asking what’s Rum Month, it’s essentially an opportunity for fellow Examiners to create food and cocktail recipes involving distilled sugar cane juice or molasses that has been aged in oak barrels.

On the beer tip, that means my counterpart in Nashville, Donna Marsh

, sharing some beer-and-rum cocktails that go beyond your run o’ the mill Boilermaker. But it also includes the DC Beauty Examiner sharing tips on how to taste and smell like a pirate wench boozehound.

When it comes to craft beer, barrel-aging is all the rage, but typical spent spirit barrels employed are bourbon or rye. As far as rum, only two are on my radar—one is only available on the East Coast and the other isn’t even commercially available yet. The first is from Captain Lawrence Brewing in Pleasantville, NY. “Smoke From the Oak-Rum” allegedly ameliorates porter’s already sweet, coffee-like flavors by imbuing added tropical undertones. The latter is from a venture-in-the-works, Orf Brewing, in Austin, TX. Brewmaster Chris Orf is devising a Rhum Porter, also going with the porter base. He notes that “A few wood chips, soaked in 15-year old Haitian rhum and then added into the fermenter, impart a pleasing pungent kick to this brew.”

So what CAN you try if you’re a beer lover in the Bay Area and want to partake of Rum Month? Head over to the Alembic (1725 Haight St) and order a Vice Grip ($10). Made with Araku coffee rum liqueur, Brachetto d’Acqui (sparkling Italian red wine), and porter foam, it’s got “liquor, wine, coffee, and beer all in the same glass.” For funsies, watch the video below of its preparation provided by our friends at Beer at Joe’s .

Next post: Pioneering microbreweries now offering microdistilled rums/rhums.

Yo ho ho indeed.