Crop Circle Beer!

[Guest guest]

BOUTIQUE BREW

 

Tale of malt & mystery

Using barley from English fields where crop circles have appeared, a local

man creates a phenomenon

 

 

BY ALAN J. WAX

STAFF WRITER

 

August 27, 2004

 

Dudley Cates Jr. has two passions: beer and crop circles.

 

Now, he's married the two in a business.

 

Cates, 36, of Southampton, is a former ski instructor, ex-taxi driver and

one-time writer who is selling a local brew called Crop Circle Beer. The

drink stems from his six-year fascination with crop circles, the

mysterious shapes, some circular, that began appearing in English grain

fields in the 1970s. The main ingredient in his beer is barley from those

plots.

 

" There's something very interesting as yet unexplained going on in those

fields, " Cates said.

 

Some people believe crop circles are tangible proof that superior

extraterrestrial intelligence is at work in our world, others believe

there is a paranormal aspect to their appearance, and some say they are

nothing but grand hoaxes.

 

Whatever the cause, Cates saw the effect.

 

" Crop circles carry an aura of mystery, " said Cates, who grew up in Locust

Valley and who first became intrigued with the legends behind the designs

while living in Aspen, Colo. " I thought to myself, this phenomenon is real.

"

 

Also, said Cates, " I love beer. "

 

Cates has been trying to develop a commercial beer for four years,

starting with a microbrewery in Northern California and later at a

Hartford brew pub. A partnership dispute and his inability to find someone

to bottle the California brew put a quick end to that venture. The

Hartford beer, a pale ale brewed with leftover malt from the California

attempt, garnered little interest.

 

Cates said he is hopeful the third time is the charm.

 

Now, Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue is brewing his beer, this time an

English-style golden amber ale using the crop-circle grain.

 

As for merging his interests, Cates said, " Most people think it's very

intriguing. People in the beer business think I'm crazy. "

 

One local brewer thought otherwise.

 

" It was a great idea, " said Blue Point brewmaster and co-owner Mark

Burford, who produces 40 barrels of Crop Circle Beer at a time. A barrel

contains 31 gallons.

 

Cates and Blue Point bought eight tons of Crop Circle Optic pale malt from

Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire, England. The malt is made from barley

grown in the fields of Wiltshire farmer Tim Carson.

 

" I know it's really good stuff to make beer, " said Burford, noting that he

extracts more fermentable sugars and flavors from the Crop Circle malt

than from the malts he usually uses. That also gives the beer more alcohol,

6.7 percent, compared with about 4 percent in most brews.

 

Burford is interested only in the beer, not the myths.

 

" I leave the magical end to him, " Burford said.

 

And the marketing. Cates is selling the beer and mostly delivering it

himself in a white step van. It hasn't been easy.

 

" It's slow going, " Cates said. " I get nothing but glowing rejections: 'The

beer's great, we love it. No thanks.' "

 

" It has potential, " said Joseph Marino, whose American Beer Distributing

Co. in Brooklyn makes sure the beer gets delivered to bars in New York

City.

 

For now, Cates' beer is available only on draft at a handful of bars in

the Hamptons, in Manhattan and at one Long Island beer retailer, Shoreline

Beverage in Huntington, which sells it in gallon jugs to go. Shoreline

owner Stuart Haimes said he sold out a 15.5-gal. keg, one gallon at a time,

in two weeks.

 

2004, Newsday, Inc.

 

 

Upton Sinclair observed, " It is difficult to get a man to understand

something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. "

[Guest guest]

i saw a crop circle in Devon and it was amazing, there is no way they can be

man made, when you see them up close there is just no way, and i felt really

over come by something very magical, very amazing experience, has any one

else seen any?

love and light Elaine x

-

" The Stewarts " <stews9

 

Thursday, September 02, 2004 2:37 AM

Crop Circle Beer!

 

 

 

 

BOUTIQUE BREW

 

Tale of malt & mystery

Using barley from English fields where crop circles have appeared, a local

man creates a phenomenon

 

 

BY ALAN J. WAX

STAFF WRITER

 

August 27, 2004

 

Dudley Cates Jr. has two passions: beer and crop circles.

 

Now, he's married the two in a business.

 

Cates, 36, of Southampton, is a former ski instructor, ex-taxi driver and

one-time writer who is selling a local brew called Crop Circle Beer. The

drink stems from his six-year fascination with crop circles, the

mysterious shapes, some circular, that began appearing in English grain

fields in the 1970s. The main ingredient in his beer is barley from those

plots.

 

" There's something very interesting as yet unexplained going on in those

fields, " Cates said.

 

Some people believe crop circles are tangible proof that superior

extraterrestrial intelligence is at work in our world, others believe

there is a paranormal aspect to their appearance, and some say they are

nothing but grand hoaxes.

 

Whatever the cause, Cates saw the effect.

 

" Crop circles carry an aura of mystery, " said Cates, who grew up in Locust

Valley and who first became intrigued with the legends behind the designs

while living in Aspen, Colo. " I thought to myself, this phenomenon is real.

"

 

Also, said Cates, " I love beer. "

 

Cates has been trying to develop a commercial beer for four years,

starting with a microbrewery in Northern California and later at a

Hartford brew pub. A partnership dispute and his inability to find someone

to bottle the California brew put a quick end to that venture. The

Hartford beer, a pale ale brewed with leftover malt from the California

attempt, garnered little interest.

 

Cates said he is hopeful the third time is the charm.

 

Now, Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue is brewing his beer, this time an

English-style golden amber ale using the crop-circle grain.

 

As for merging his interests, Cates said, " Most people think it's very

intriguing. People in the beer business think I'm crazy. "

 

One local brewer thought otherwise.

 

" It was a great idea, " said Blue Point brewmaster and co-owner Mark

Burford, who produces 40 barrels of Crop Circle Beer at a time. A barrel

contains 31 gallons.

 

Cates and Blue Point bought eight tons of Crop Circle Optic pale malt from

Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire, England. The malt is made from barley

grown in the fields of Wiltshire farmer Tim Carson.

 

" I know it's really good stuff to make beer, " said Burford, noting that he

extracts more fermentable sugars and flavors from the Crop Circle malt

than from the malts he usually uses. That also gives the beer more alcohol,

6.7 percent, compared with about 4 percent in most brews.

 

Burford is interested only in the beer, not the myths.

 

" I leave the magical end to him, " Burford said.

 

And the marketing. Cates is selling the beer and mostly delivering it

himself in a white step van. It hasn't been easy.

 

" It's slow going, " Cates said. " I get nothing but glowing rejections: 'The

beer's great, we love it. No thanks.' "

 

" It has potential, " said Joseph Marino, whose American Beer Distributing

Co. in Brooklyn makes sure the beer gets delivered to bars in New York

City.

 

For now, Cates' beer is available only on draft at a handful of bars in

the Hamptons, in Manhattan and at one Long Island beer retailer, Shoreline

Beverage in Huntington, which sells it in gallon jugs to go. Shoreline

owner Stuart Haimes said he sold out a 15.5-gal. keg, one gallon at a time,

in two weeks.

 

2004, Newsday, Inc.

 

 

Upton Sinclair observed, " It is difficult to get a man to understand

something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

That is so cool. My favorite paranormal phenomena

are crop circles.... a close second is bigfoot; i live in

Oregon bigfoot country so that is a given. *lol*

i have never seen a real crop circle in person, but

enjoy checking the crop circle connector website to

see the fabulous pictures of each year's formations.

Have you checked them recently? Amazing ones being

made this year; each year they just seem to get better.

Sure would like to try that crop circle beer!

 

~ pt ~

 

Comb me smooth and stroke my head,

And every hair a sheaf shall be,

And every sheaf a golden tree.

~ George Peele, " The Old Wives' Tale "

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~>

, " elaine.saunders1 " <

elaine.saunders1@n...> wrote:

> i saw a crop circle in Devon and it was amazing, there is no way

they can be

> man made, when you see them up close there is just no way, and i

felt really

> over come by something very magical, very amazing experience, has

any one

> else seen any?

> love and light Elaine x