Brewer George Bluvas has put a new brew on tap at Water Street brewery in Delafield, Oak Creek, Grafton and at the Brewery Downtown and it's an eye catching pinkish red.
The new 5.5 percent ABV beverage – which has virtually no bitterness hence the zero IBU rating – is called Machu Picchu and it's inspired by a South American purple corn drink called chicha.
Chicha is beverage, often fermented and alcoholic – though not always – that hails from the Andes and Amazon area – that dates to pre-Columbian times.
A sort of beer made with corn is the most typical type of chicha and that's what this one was inspired by. Bluvas' version also has some honey and agave in the fermented liquid. It also includes pink peppercorns.
Hibiscus, cumin and coriander. Light pink and effervescent, it is a unique flavor made without traditional European beer ingredients.
Machu Pichu is on tap now, but may not last long. Check it out before it's gone and tap into the flavor of 7,000 years of Andean history.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
