Tribute Ale

Good Day All!

My Grandfather passed on last night. He was 83 and spent his career in the military (Navy Man). He had worked his way up from enlisted to a Comander. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor, served in Korea, Vietnam, & WW2. He was a Texas Man and was very proud of that. He was a good man, and someone that I take a lot of ques from on how to be a man.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on a brew that I could make as a Tribute to this great man. I would be very happy with any and all sugestions. I don't know if Texas has a great regional beer, or someone might have a naval inspired beer.

Cheers
Matt

Is there a Pearl Clone? Not even sure if that was a brewery then.

This weekend I uncovered some belongings of my Grandfather whom I admired a great deal. My heart goes out to you.


ETA: Pearl Brewery 1881 San Antonio...

Primo would have been in production on the islands during that period.

http://www.hawaiianhistory.org/moments/brewing.html

Do you know what he liked to drink?

Also, do you know of a good story from his rather eventful life? This could spark an idea for a type of brew or at the very least a good name for it.

I know Shiner Bock is a pretty popular beer down in the Texas/Oklahoma area. Here is a link for a shiner clone. http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=4485

I can't speak as to what he liked to drink. There is a beer called (?) Lone Star we drank with him. Fairly close to a Budweiser, nothing I would be terribly excited about.

Without going into great detail, he was a bit of a trouble maker with his twin brother growing up in ALice Texas. He found the Navy (underage) and became a Man. He progressed through the ranks (almost unheard of) to commander. Was stationed all around the world.

Thank you for the sugestions thus far. Always looking for more inspiration.

Cheers
Matt

I think anything you make will be a perfect tribute to him.

Brew a great beer, call it "The Old Man's Ale" (The Old Man is affectionate Navy slang for a Commander) and dedicate it to him.

You can also have your own Beer Day to unveil it.

Beer Day is a Navy tradition where, to alleviate stress, the ship Commander or Captain can authorize 2 beers per sailor on "Beer Day". This is usually after 45 days or more out to sea.

Invite friends and family to participate in Beer Day and give them each 2 (and only 2) of the tribute beers. I think the ceremony will be more meaningful than what specific type of beer you brewed.

I'm sorry for your loss.

In Alice, two of the closest regionals would have been Lone Star and Pearl.

The most recent iterations of these beers may not be inspiring, but remember, beer was not mass marketed until after WWII. Pre-war beer was a different animal then and regional styles of those breweries that survived prohibition were still somewhat intact.

May be reading about the history of thesed breweries will help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Star_(beer)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Brewing_Company

I am reading a great deal into this, and it is colored by my impressions of my Grandfather, but I see you Grandfather as a man that thought himself unassuming although others did not. He sounds like he may have had an aw-shucks kind of way about him all the while knowing that he could get the better of you. Even though he aspired to what others would deem great accomplishments, he kept to his roots. He drank a regular guy beer, because that's was all he ever wanted to be regarded.

How far off am I?

gruntingfrog said:

I think anything you make will be a perfect tribute to him.

Brew a great beer, call it "The Old Man's Ale" (The Old Man is affectionate Navy slang for a Commander) and dedicate it to him.

You can also have your own Beer Day to unveil it.

Beer Day is a Navy tradition where, to alleviate stress, the ship Commander or Captain can authorize 2 beers per sailor on "Beer Day". This is usually after 45 days or more out to sea.

Invite friends and family to participate in Beer Day and give them each 2 (and only 2) of the tribute beers. I think the ceremony will be more meaningful than what specific type of beer you brewed.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Click to expand...

Love this idea too.

If you decide to go with Lone Star, there's a recipe in Beer Captured. If you can't get your hands on it PM me and I'll post it.

gruntingfrog said:

Invite friends and family to participate in Beer Day and give them each 2 (and only 2) of the tribute beers. I think the ceremony will be more meaningful than what specific type of beer you brewed.

Click to expand...

Make sure you have two for the Old Man, as well.

Since my mother died at all the family 'events' we've taken to pouring an extra glass of wine for her.

Hey, very sorry for the loss of one of America's greats. Three wars and more stories forgotten than recalled. I lost a friend very recently and she was buried yesterday. Tough time of it. Roughest was 21 guns followed by taps and then a Scotsman playing the bagpipes...a difficult funeral for me...more so knowing she was 34 with a husband and two children.

Brew what you think he would have taken a shine to. Ol' Man Ale sounds like a good name. I think something with a bite to it would make him proud...find a good Pale Ale or India Pale Ale recipe

Your grandfather is someone I would have flown down to meet...interesting fellow I'm sure!!!

Thankyou all for your warm responce. It is nice to feel the love in this small community of brewers.

I recently drank a beer called "Old Crumudgean Ale" from Founders Brewery. Being an "Old Ale" it had a higher ABV (9.3). This is what I thought of when the sugestion was to make an "Old Guy Ale". The other brew that came to mind was Rogue's Dead Guy Ale.
http://www.rogue.com/brews.html#deadguy

Could those with more experience take a look at this idea and help me formulate a recipie or further ideas?

With my Grandfather being a, sailor I would picture the label on the bottle to be that of the end of a sunset. And when at sea, it is rumored (I have not seen this) to be a flash of Green anlong the horizon. I don't know of any pictures to document this, but I could draw somthing of the sort.

Futher discussion is greatly welcomed.

Cheers
Matt

Another idea is to incorperate hot peppers into the brew, he was a fan of peppers.

More stimulation for the ideas.

Cheers
Matt

How about a ship sailing into the sunset.

The Green Flash phenomena explained.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash