Cross Creek Courier Another Seabreeze Publication
VOL. 40 NO. 3
www.seabreezecommunications.com
Ale Tales And Lager Lore By Diane Bothfeld, Certified Cicerone It’s March and that brings the St. Patrick’s Day holiday – a day known for beer drinking! There are two beer styles associated with Ireland – stout and Irish red ale. No green beer here but these beers are widely available late February through March. But in olden days, a specific beer was brewed for the religious observance of Lent. Monasteries and the monks were early beer brewers. As religious groups moved North in Europe, the beverage of choice moved from wine to beer due to the inability to grow sufficient grapes in Northern Europe. Water sources were suspect and beer was consumed as a safe daily drink. One such group of monks moved out of Italy and into Germany near Munich in 1627 by invitation of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. The Paulaner monks followed the Benedictine doctrine which included a restrictive liquid diet during Lent. The Paulaner monks brewed double strong beer termed “liquid bread” to drink during Lent. The thought at the time was more grain in the beer brewing process would provide more nutrients, but we know today that there was also more alcohol. The recipe was recorded for this double strong beer in 1774 by the Paulaner monks and the beer was nicknamed Salvator or “Savior.” Trouble was soon on the horizon for these monks with the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. Bonaparte had a policy that church-owned properties were to shut down and become properties of
the state. There were a few years of shutdown but the Paulaner Brewery was revived in 1813 along with the recipe for Salvator. There have been years of ups and downs for the Paulaner Brewery but the brewing of Salvator has continued to this day using the same recipe. The brewery went to court to protect the name Salvator but other doppelbocks have continued the naming tradition with the following names: Celebrator (Ayinger), Animator (Hacker Pschorr), Triumphator (Lowenbrau) and two United States examples Troegenator (Troegs in Pennsylvania) and Das Alligator (Fort Myers Brewing). Salvator is also a part of the Bavarian tradition of tapping the first keg of doppelbock midway through Lent prior to Easter marking the start of the Bavarian strong beer season. Doppelbocks are available year-round now at many stores that carry a larger selection of beers. A doppelbock is a malt centered beer with toffee, a bready aroma and a malty flavor with a touch of sweetness. The bitterness is very low with very little hop aroma or flavor. Doppelbocks are all about the malt and the corresponding high alcohol content with alcohol by volume (ABV) beyond 7 percent with most over 10 percent ABV. Liquid bread indeed. So enjoy the month of March with Irish beers for St. Patrick’s Day and pay homage to history and have a doppelbock before Easter. As always, remember to drink responsibly!
Cross Creek Travelers By Kathy Bonick Washington, D.C., Our Nation’s Capital, June 6 To 12, $1,095 Per Person Double Occupancy Seven days/six nights with motorcoach transportation, Wi-Fi equipped/restroom 11 meals: six breakfasts and five dinners Two guided tours of Washington, D.C., including the World War II Memorial, Capitol Hill, Embassy Row, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Smithsonian, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and an evening guided memorial and monuments tour Admission to the Museum of the Bible Admission to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens Tram ride through Arlington National Cemetery Don’t miss this wonderful history trip and perhaps we’ll see the cherry blossoms. Biltmore Estate And The Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville, N.C., Oct. 20 To 25, $915 Per Person Double Occupancy, An Additional $209 For Singles Fall dazzling splendor at the Biltmore Estate should not be missed, harvest season in the vineyards and gardens brimming with colorful mums are one of the many reasons to visit at this time of the year.
Five nights lodging including three consecutive nights in the Asheville area Eight meals: five breakfasts and three dinners Guided tour of Asheville, N.C. Full day visit to the Biltmore Estate Guided drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway Visit to the famous Folk Art Center Visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center Join us for this fall trip not to be missed. A $75 deposit per person to hold your space made out to Diamond Tours. Send deposit to Kathy Bonick at 8380 Arborfield Court, Fort Myers, FL 33912. Call (309) 265-7241 for additional information on both of these trips. Amelia Island, St. Augustine And Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 9 To 12, Four Days/Three Nights, $529 Double Occupancy Motorcoach transportation Three nights lodging in the Jacksonville area with six meals: three breakfasts and two dinners Visit to the Fountain of Youth Guided tours of Amelia Island and St. Augustine Fantastic shopping on historic St. George Street Narrated cruise on the St. John’s River Dinner party and entertainment See the historic city of St. Augustine in white lights at evening for the Christmas season. Call Kathy Bonick, (309) 265-7241, to sign up. There is a $75/person deposit.
MARCH 2024
Poets Corner Poetry shines a light so bright we can see the world in a new way. We see things sideways or upside down. Poetry teaches us how to see life and how to live.
Great Blue Heron I’m perched on my beach chair at peace near the sea when the heron approaches me head down, then brief eye contact, as if we’ve met before on another beach or on another shore. I watch it lazily search for lunch morsels, leftover shrimp bits from fishermen, then peck my notepaper on the sand with its long orange beak as if to add a bird word to my writing as if it needs an honorable mention. A young boy waves his arms at the heron. They run the length of the beach barefoot across hundreds of shells, the boys red shirt billowing, the heron lifting his wings but not flying, as if wanting to give this boy and me this memory. By Gwen Pangburn
Photo Corner
Bald eagle on hole No. 9