 |
|
| Photos courtesy of Two Brothers Brewery | |
A smashin' good taste
What beverage could capture the essence of a high-energy subatomic particle collision? It would require specific elements: rareness, a blend of flavors, a twist on technology.
Not a problem for Two Brothers Brewery, whose newest creation pays homage to the microbrewery's neighbor, Fermilab, the nation's dedicated high-energy physics laboratory.
“We also try to do things outside of the box, so we wanted to give a tip of our hat to Fermilab with this beer,” said Jason Ebel, co-founder of the family-owned company in Warrenville, Illinois. “Fermilab is doing some really high-tech science over there involving smashing atoms, breaking them apart and creating antimatter and all that kind of stuff.”
Just as physicists are always eager to discover new things, Atom Smasher beer breaks the mold for brewing, Ebel says.
The beer spends its days aging in a solid oak foudre, or cask, a common practice for wine fermentation but extremely rare for beer, which usually ages in stainless steel tanks. The result is a hefty, full-bodied lager with a clean, crisp finish.
The label's depiction of atoms smashed to smithereens with a hammer draws on the common nickname for particle colliders.
Why not just call it particle accelerator beer? Because, well, that just doesn't sound very cool, says Ebel. So they took the liberty of calling it Atom Smasher. Cooler indeed.
Christine Herman
Click here to download the pdf version of this article.
