PISTA-CCHIO SPECIALE: COMBUSTIBILE PER LA PISTA “the pistachio special: fuel for the track”

  With inspiration from the days of old, when track racing was a gentleman's game, and bicycles were as big in America as they were in Europe, comes this very unique brew.  

  A little background: Track racing saw a boom in its social scene in the early 1900’s, it was the place to see and be seen.  As naturally goes with any social scene, many alcoholic beverages were consumed, and a phrase, if you will, sprung up.  When the parties exhausted their drink, the cork was left, disposed, dropped.  Thus, when you have no more cork, your energy or fuel has dissipated, and the party has ended.  Riders began to hang champagne and beer corks on their saddles, proudly proclaiming that they always had enough fuel for another race.

   That being said, I was in search of the perfect combination of ingredients to honor this tradition. I knew I wanted to incorporate pistachio but wasn't sure which beer style would best compliment. After some research, information was scanty, so J.B. and I put together our take on what this experimental brew should be. It was decided that a nutty brown ale was to be the framework, and I had ordered a nice bottle of natural preservative-free pistachio extract. 

  The perfect marriage of Italian flavors from the pistachio with the medium bodied full flavor brown ale backbone combined to make the perfect fuel for those long days on the circuit.  “Pista” in Italian means, “track”  so the name only came naturally.  The pistachio extract complements the full mouth feel of the nut brown ale, giving it a very flavorful but not at all too heavy result.  This fuel’s final ABV came out to about 5.8, a result which will give enough burn for the race.

   Making this beer helped and inspired me to remember the history behind modern brewing and traditions, It's up to us to continue these traditions and make some of our own. Maybe Pistachio Brown Ale will become a household name, we're not sure but we do know to always keep a cork suspended, reminding us to always have enough for the next sprint!

Cheers!
Phil