Monthly Archives: December 2008

Is it too early to think of spring? Preview of The Bruery’s new saison

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bruery-saison-de-lente

2/15 Update: The beer is now available at the brewery and being sent out to stores around California. See Patrick Rue’s comments on the brewery’s barrel-aging program and exploration into sour beers below.]

(Placentia, CA) – For anyone wondering, I am pushing off Part II of the Twitter story until Monday or Tuesday. Too many new beers to write about at the moment and that takes first priority!

Instead of rehashing history, I will refer you to my article about

Saison de Lente

from earlier this month (beer description halfway down). The Continue reading →

New Glarus reveals 2009 beer details

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New Glarus Stone Soupnew-glarus-coffeestoutnew-glarus-blackwheat

[2/15 Update: Coffee Stout, Stone Soup, Iced Barleywine, and Crack'd Wheat all available as of early-mid February. Oh, and last year's popular Alt release appears to be doneski.]

[1/1 Update: Unplugged schedule is now up on the site (though descriptions are not. Iced Barleywine = Feb, Imperial Saison = May, Olde English Porter = August, Eisbock = November]

(New Glarus, WI) – Following up on last month’s article containing a list of new New Glarus beers in ’09, more information about those craft beers surfaced on the New Glarus site this week.

Year-round Beers

Out is Uff-da Bock. In is

Stone Soup

and Crack’d Wheat. The brewery Continue reading →

Alaskan brings back another from the Rough Draft Series

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(Juneau, AK) – You didn’t think I was done reporting on new beers for the week did you?  The following comes from Alaskan Brewing Co. Communications Manager, Ashley Johnston:

Alaskan White Ale is a Belgian-style wheat beer slated for release in Continue reading →

Unbelievable Video Footage of #1 Beer Bar’s Cellar

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[viddler]9a9ec59[/viddler]

Maybe I just haven’t toured around enough beer cellars yet…but if anyone knows of one more BADASS than this, we want to know whose it is.  Post a comment!

Struise Dirty Horse.  Hair of the Dog Dave.  Several vintages of Thomas Hardy’s.  Just a couple of the hundreds of beers that Chris Lively has piled into his cellar at Ebenezer’s Pub in Lovell, Maine.  This place was recently rated #1 on Beer Advocate’s list of Top Beer Bars on the Planet.  Now you know why.

Video comes courtesy of hereforthebeer.com (another video there as well).  Tim and Amy own Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast in Brattleboro, Vermont, and seem like nice folks.  Let’s hope that they get a chance to bring that video camera around to some more pubs and breweries…

And I hope that Chris has a security fortress around that cellar!!

An Intro to Craft Beer on Twitter

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twitter

Craft beer is huge on Twitter. You probably noticed on Beer Advocate late last week that they now have a Twitter stream of their own. Real Beer has one, Charlie Papazian just got one, breweries, beer bars and stores got ‘em, and a ton of average craft beer drinkers like you and me have them, too. Hell, even Shaq, Starbucks, Stephen Colbert, and Al Gore have accounts. You can follow all of them (and me!).  Here’s the scoop on what it is and how it works…

Continue reading →

Real Ale Brewing honors The Alamo

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real-ale-alamo

(Blanco, TX) – Recently approved. Says Gabriel Gregerman of Real Ale Brewing, “The Alamo is a label redesign for a beer that we’ve been making for several years. It’s actually the same beer as Firemans #4 but under a different label. Next seasonal will be Phoenixx (draught only) and Sisyphus 2008 (early Feb, bottles and draught)” (see pic below). For more info about the brewery, check out this September feature in Austin360.

A quick profile of the beers…

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Double IPA hits Maine in February

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sebago-full-throttle-dipa

(South Portland, ME) –

Sebago Brewing Co.

is brewing up its double IPA once again, the style being a rarity for Maine. The Pine State is widely known as the home to Allagash Brewing and to some extent, a wide selection of stouts and porters, the gem of which has been Bar Harbor Cadillac Mountain Stout for many years. Hoppy beers, on the other hand, are few and far between. Enter

Sebago Full Throttle Double IPA.

Continue reading →

South Bay Drugs, West Lakeview Liquors: Sculpin and De Molen

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WooHoo! Looks like the online retailers had taken some time off, probably to deal with heavy holiday sales but it looks like they are back at it in terms of posting about new beers coming in…

SouthBayDrugs has a winner. Voted one of the year’s best by the Beer Advocate users, Joey got in ten cases of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA as the weekend kicked off. He imposed a 4-bottle limit so hopefully there are a few more kicking around on this Sunday evening.

Another one to watch out for is De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell and Damnation). West Lakeview Liquors has posted this as “coming soon.” This is one of the top 100 beers in the world and it is anybody’s guess as to whether anymore of it will come into the States after this shipment. Also coming to WLL will be those Amager beers I discussed not too long ago. Hr. Frederiksen is the top-rated beer of this bunch, just outside of the top 100.

Beer Notes: Founders beers arrive, Mikkeller Brewdog, former BJCP treasurer

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furthermore-logoWord on the streets is that Founders Porter and Founders Imperial Stout are now on some store shelves after a multi-year absence from bottles.

A report on the next Furthermore beer courtesy of Madison Beer Review: “We will tap the inaugural keg of ‘Thermo Refur’, a freaky Aran Madden creation involving bretanamyces, organic red beets, black pepper and some black malt for a high-alcohol, used band-aid sort of vibe. We considered ‘Red Menace’ and ‘Fugly’ as names, but settled for a simple cheeky anagram. We are only releasing a small quantity of this beer in kegs. We’re guessing it’s not going to be for everyone (sort of like sea urchin or a root canal), so there will also be three other varieties of Furthermore on tap.”

Continue reading →

Beer notes: Alaskan, Great Lakes, Sweetwater, Harpoon

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Great Lakes Brewing logo - courtesy of Great Lakes Brewing

I get a lot of craft beer newsletters and such. Here is a roundup:

From Great Lakes Brewing‘s latest, the 2009 Seasonal Schedule:

* Conway’s Irish Ale: January – April
* Blackout Stout: February – March
* NEW 6 PACK – Grassroots Ale (formerly Hale Ale): April – July
* NEW 4 PACK – Glockenspiel: May – June
* DRAFT ONLY – Independence Ale: June – July
* Oktoberfest: August – October
* Nosferatu: September – October
* Christmas Ale: November – December

Continue reading →

Vermont Brewery has three beers out this winter

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rock-art-extreme-belvidere-big-ipa

(Morrisville, VT) – Matt Nadeau, Founder/Brewer of Rock Art Brewery in Vermont, got back to me this week on a couple new labels I had seen approved.

The first, Belvidere Big IPA, takes advantage of the Vermont ABV deregulation. The 90 IBU/8% ABV beer heavily features Cascade hops that Nadeau has been growing in his backyard for the past fifteen years. Belvidere will be released in January.

Continue reading →

Announcing the Press Releases Page

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deschutes-hop-henge-experimental

BREWERIES, SEND ME YOUR PRESS RELEASES. I now have a new page up for craft beer press releases. I’m entering busy season next week and an outlet for quick posts like this will provide some much-needed help!

Up right now is a release from Deschutes Brewery on the upcoming Deschutes Experimental IPA.

Note*: I don’t guarantee posting every release I receive and I won’t be doing much posting of events.

CLICK HERE FOR CRAFT BEER PRESS RELEASES

Press Release: Deschutes Experimental IPA kicks off 2009 Bond Street Series

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deschutes-hop-henge-experimental

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(December 12, 2008 – Bend, OR) – Deschutes Brewery’s Hop Henge Experimental IPA returns to the Bond Street Series line-up this January with more hop-forward flavors than ever before. The new formulation is the epitome of the brewery’s experimental style and commitment to innovation, while gratifying their unquenchable thirst for beautifully balanced hoppy beers. The newest incarnation of Hop Henge uses several new hop processes and techniques to create a truly unique and unexpected beer.

Continue reading →

Press Release: Michigan, Belgian breweries collaborate

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Bells Brewery logoDe Proef logo

Original Beernews.org Reference: Bells, De Proef to collaborate on beer in 2009
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For Immediate Release:

Bell’s Brewery named as partner for 2009 De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Series

Seattle, WA December 1, 2008 – SBS Imports of Seattle, Washington is pleased to announce that Bell’s Brewery has agreed to be the 2009 partner for the latest brew in the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Series. The yet to be designed beer will be brewed in March at De Proef in Lochristi, Belgium and released to the USA market in September 2009.

Continue reading →

Press Release: Deschutes seasonal kicks off new year

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(December 12, 2008 – Bend, OR) Deschutes Brewery’s first seasonal release of the year, Buzzsaw Brown, honors the historic heritage of the brewery’s hometown of Bend, Oregon. The town’s history extends back to when workers spent long, hard days in the sawmills on the banks of the Deschutes River.

Buzzsaw Brown creates a tasty encore to the brewery’s winter seasonal, Jubelale. This will be Buzzsaw Brown’s third year as part of Deschutes’ strong seasonal line-up that also includes Cinder Cone Red and Twilight Ale. This remarkable brown ale is chestnut in color with a slightly sweet, biscuit-like flavor. Buzzsaw Brown is a highly drinkable beer that is rewarding for any occasion.

“Buzzsaw Brown is one of my favorite beers,” says Deschutes Brewery Brewmaster Larry Sidor. “The unique combination of the finest European and American malts makes it a very flavorful beer that pairs well with a wide variety of foods.”

Continue reading →

Press Release: Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch

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mikkeller-beer-geek-brunch

I translated from Danish to English using Google (so some obvious bugs on this one)

Original Beernews.org Reference: Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch

Beer may not be available as soon as Jan. 7 in the States?

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Press Release January 2009

The successful mikrobryggeri Mikkel belt new beer is brewed with faeces from an væseldyr

Continue reading →

Flossmoor Station to bottle Wooden Hell

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Refer to Flossmoor Station post for update

(Flossmoor, IL) – Label approval came for

Flossmoor Station Wooden Hell

this week. The beer is the product of nearly a year of aging its Sheol Barleywine in bourbon barrels. According to one of the brewers (presumably Matt Van Wyk?) at Beemapping, “To follow up on what Continue reading →

Beer notes: Brooklyn Old Ale, Schells, Flat Earth Brewing

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Schells Bock

From Rich Nowak, Florida/Georgia Brand Manager, on the elusive Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster’s Reserve Series: “The BMR Series is a small batch, very limited release of draught beers. A new style is released on a bi-monthly basis. [...] The current release is Brooklyn Savoir Faire, a French-style Biere de Garde. Next month will be

Brooklyn Blunderbuss Old Ale

. For anyone who cares to know what a blunderbuss is, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Cambridge Brewing Co’s Will Meyers must also be a history buff because he brews a Blunderbuss Barley Wine. Wonder what the correlation is Continue reading →