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Dining review: Brockway Public House
VENUE INFO
The Brockway puts science behind its 'coldest beer' claim
When the Brockway Public House claims to have the world's coldest beer, it's not just a hollow marketing phrase. It's science, and Kevin Paul, who owns the pub with wife, Lainie, will happily explain how it works:
Instead of settling for a commercial unit, Paul opted for an industrial cold-storage unit because it provides a more consistent temperature for the kegs.
Inside the refrigerator, he carefully gauges nitrogen and carbon dioxide, making adjustments for the specific gravity of each beer. (Specific gravity is the density of a substance compared to that of water at 70 degrees.)
Most bars and pubs use carbon dioxide exclusively. Adding nitrogen to the mix produces finer bubbles, resulting in a silkier texture and smoother head.
Atop the cold-storage unit sits a mechanical device called a glycol recirculating unit. (Chemistry class was never this much fun, was it?) The recirculator contains a fluid that can be chilled below 32 degrees. The fluid encases the beer lines, keeping the beer icy cold, from the keg to the tapper.
Before pouring the beer, a bartender places the hand-washed glass upside down over a device called a spray-rinse chiller set to 30 degrees. The device sprays a jet of carbonated water into the glass, simultaneously rinsing it and chilling it. The spray water is wrapped into the glycol chilling system, too.
Paul notes that the rinse chiller also prevents those frosty ice chunks that melt down the side of your glass and into your beer.
"Cold beer is the single most important thing to me," Paul says.
Brockway's beer selections include Guinness, Smithwick's (which Kevin will tell you is the fastest-growing import in America), Tetley's English Ale, Blue Moon and others. Murphy's Irish Ale, Boddingtons and other beers are available in bottles.
Of course, no pub is complete without pub food. The Brockway offers a simple menu: fish and chips, ($6.50), a corned beef roll ($4), shepherd's pie ($6.50), burgers, nachos, onion rings and pub chips.
Now that's worth raising a pint to.
- By Brett A. Halbleib / Special to Indy.com
How clean is your beer glass?
Look at the bubbles. On an exceptionally clean glass, you'll see bubbles emerging from a few "nucleation points" at the bottom of the glass. If you see bubbles coming from all over the sides and the bottom, your glass is not that clean, comparatively speaking.
Brockway Public House
Where: 12525 Old Meridian St., in The Shoppes at Old Meridian, Carmel.
Info: (317) 669-8080
I'm still scratching my head after reading this article for a few reasons:
1) EVERY bar that serves Guinness Draught used a Nitro-CO2 mix.
2) When Brockway says they refrigerate their beer to be "the coldest" possible... hopefully they're just talking about their domestics (bud/miller/coors).
Enjoying premium beer at this temperature is a waste, since it numbs the taste buds. Every beer style has an optimum serving temperature.
Wheat beers (Blue Moon) and pale lagers (Harp) should be served at 45-50F, while English Browns (Bass) and Irish Red Ales (Smithwicks) should be served at 50-55F. Guinness advocates a "perfect" Draught temp. of 42.8F.
If you're going to pay a premium for great tasting beer (which I SINCERELY encourage), make sure you're enjoying it as the brewer intended.
what he said (kylekohlmorgen)
I certainly appreciate someone going the extra mile to serve up a perfect pint... but to focus on coldness really misses the boat. The fact that the degree of coldness is the most important thing to this proprietor frankly discourages me from wanting to head up to Carmel to give this pub a try.
Cheers! T