(Frederick, MD) – Frederick, MD’s reputation for beer production will grow substantially in the coming months with the opening of the Monocacy Brewing Company, LLC. Phil Bowers, managing member of the newly formed company announced that it will establish a 15,000 s.f. brewery and operating headquarters at 1781 N. Market Street in Frederick. He expects the brewery to open in November 2011.

Bowers, a businessman whose downtown restaurants include the brewpub Brewer’s Alley, has been retailing his craft beers on a small scale throughout Maryland for the past five years. “There is a tremendous market for craft beer,” said Bowers, who notes that the number of U.S. breweries has grown from approximately 250 to 1,760 during the past 20 years. Bowers says that over 1,715 of the 1,760 are craft breweries. “Spirit shops that specialize in craft beer sales utilize some 75-80% of their dedicated beer floor space to merchandise craft beer.”

“Just like wine connoisseurs who explore the nuances of regional grapes, so, too do fans of craft beer, who want to enjoy beer styles created with locally-grown ingredients,” says Bowers, “Local origination of ingredients will be one of Monocacy’s major brewing initiative.” Tom Flores, who has served as brewmaster at Brewer’s Alley since 1997, will oversee operations at the brewery.

Named after the river that flows through Frederick County, the Monocacy Brewing Company will hire some 25 employees in time and have the ability to produce up to 20,000 barrels a year when operating at full capacity. Monocacy will brew its own lines of beer as well as Brewer’s Alley’s retailed beers, and others upon request.

After studying dozens of potential brewery sites, Bowers chose the circa 1930s Market Street Extended factory building that originally housed the Ebert Ice Cream Company. “We all liked the idea of reusing and adapting an existing property – as opposed to building anew on a raw parcel of land,” he said. “It was a perfect spot because the building was originally designed and used for factory food production.”

Bowers plans to renovate a front section of the building that originally served as an ice cream parlor for use as a tasting room and retail shop. He will also make improvements to the façade of the building and restore the property’s once beautiful landscaping that includes a large fountain and vintage streetlamps. “The property holds personal memories for many local residents,” said Bowers

The Flying Barrel, a Frederick-based retailer of ingredients and supplies for beer and wine making since 1980 will move to the brewery and occupy 3,000 s.f. Bob Frank, owner of The Flying Barrel said that his relocation is a good business move. “Phil and I share a lot of the same customers. They’ll be sampling and buying Phil’s beers as well as purchasing supplies for home brewing.” Another benefit, Frank says, is having brewing experts next door. “My customers love to talk with professional brewers. This will provide them with an even greater opportunity to do so.”

(Canandaigua, NY) – Naked Dove Brewing Company is proud to announce the release of its newest beer, Hopulus Localus. Hopulus Localus is a wet hop beer made with Cascade and Columbus hop varieties from Pedersen Farms in Seneca Castle, New York. Brewmaster, Dave Schlosser describes the beer as having “a great hop aroma and flavor that builds and changes as you drink it.”

Wet Hop Harvest Ales are made from hops that are harvested and used in the brew the same day. Pedersen Farms supplies hops for Harvest Ales to breweries all over the Northeast; Naked Dove is located 8 miles from the hop fields which takes local to a whole new level! Naked Dove used a jaw dropping 10 lb/bbl of hops to make this 6.0% ABV beer. The name, Hopulus Localus is a play on the botanical name of the hop plant, humulus lupulus.

Naked Dove Brewing Company opened its doors in the fall of 2010 with Windblown Amber, 45 Fathoms Porter, Starkers IPA and shortly thereafter added the popular Berry Naked Black Raspberry Ale. A growler of any of these fine beers can be filled at the tasting room for $9.00. The Special Edition Hopulus Localus is available for $12.00. If you would like a commemorative Naked Dove growler the cost is an additional $4.00. You can find Naked Dove beers at over fifty local restaurants.

Naked Dove Brewing Company is located at 4048 State Route 5 and 20, Canandaigua, NY 14424-9591. Visit the Brewery on Tuesday 12-6, Wednesday 12-6, Thursday and Friday 12-7:30, Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5 for tours and tastings.

The product, described as “Icelandic Pale Ale”, will soon be available at markets reaching 40 million consumers and the plan is to make Einstök the country’s best known export product in the next three to five years, Morgunbladid reports.

via Americans to Export “Unique” Icelandic Craft Beer.

These tidbits were reported a month ago but better late than never. Here is what Magnolia Pub & Brewery’s Dave McLean has to say about the new project…

From Food GPS:

Q: Where do things stand in your expansion plans? A: We’re pretty far along in the planning process and waiting on our building permit, so all the ducks are in a row and we’re almost ready to start doing some construction. We’ve just got to wait. It’s been almost a year-long process, just navigating the city bureaucracy. It’s going to be a 30-barrel brewhouse. It will probably open with the ability to do somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 6000 barrels a year out of there, but it’s a pretty big space with some room to expand, so we can go up from there, hopefully, and we’ll continue to brew to here.

And from The Local Dish:

The brewmaster stayed tight-lipped about the specifics for the 8,300-square-foot space, but said it will house a brewery and restaurant with a menu that keeps inline with values upheld at Magnolia in the Haight.

via Food GPS » Q&A with brewmaster Dave McLean (Magnolia Pub & Brewery)

via x2 The Local Dish

Press Release:

From Fitness to Fermenters: Local Owners of 8 Anytime Fitness clubs opens brewery in New Braunfels

(New Braunfels, TX) – Kelly and Lindsey Meyer have made their fortunes helping thousands slim their waistlines and improve their cardiovascular systems. Since 2004, the duo have opened at least one Anytime Fitness location every year, with the Buda location being the 8th and final one. Now they’ve set their sights on opening a microbrewery in downtown New Braunfels. Seem like a strange career move?

Kelly Meyer, owner and COO, couldn’t be more excited about the new business venture. “Lindsey and I have always lived a balanced life. We work hard, work out hard and play hard. Beer has always been a reward for us,” said Meyer. “But since we don’t drink tons of it, we’re very picky about the quality of the brew and the story of the brewery that made it.”

The Meyers have chosen to resurrect the brand of the last brewery in New Braunfels. In 1914, The New Braunfels Brewing Company first opened. During Prohibition, the brewery was closed down when a raid found that the “near beer” they were brewing had too much alcohol. They shut down in 1925 and there hasn’t been a production brewery in New Braunfels since. The Meyers think that’s too long for a city that has a 50 year tradition of WurstFest.

“New Braunfels is a city that appreciates it’s beer as much as it’s German tradition,” says Lindsey Meyer. “That’s why we’re focusing on two German recipes to being with. It’s also why we located our brewery in downtown. New Braunfels Brewing Company will be as much a tourist attraction as a great craft beer producer.”

The New Braunfels Brewing Company’s first two releases will be LuftWeiss-The HefeWeizen Of the Sky and ErdeWeiss-The Dunkel Of The Earth. Permits have been submitted to the City Of New Braunfels and the brewery expects to be open late October. Tours will begin November 2011.

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About New Braunfels Brewing Company
Founded in early 2011 by the Meyer family, our first brews will be available this fall. We brew our locally hand-crafted beer made with old-word German recipes. What goes in our beer is as much local wheat, local water and local passion as we can get our hands on. What you get is a beer made from New Braunfels for New Braunfels. Raise your glass and say….Here’s to Life. Find us online at http://www.nbbrewing.com, on Facebok at http://www.facebook.com/nbbrew or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nbbrew

(Dunedin, FL) – Seventh Sun Brewing Company is preparing to open this fall in Dunedin, Florida.

After three years planning, Seventh Sun owners Devon Kreps and Justin Stange have purchased equipment and begun the build-out process for their fledgling brewery.

Kreps and Stange both come with industry background: After finishing a Food & Fermentation Science degree at Oregon State, Kreps began work at Anheuser-Busch, until she left to become Production Manager for Sweetwater Brewing Company in Atlanta. Stange began volunteering at McGuire’s brewpub in Destin, was later hired on as a brewer at Sweetwater, and now brews for Cigar City in Tampa.

The pair started out with plans to open a much larger, 15-barrel, production facility but decided to scrap their plans when faced with the reality of finding funding in a struggling economy. “At the end of the day, we re-evaluated the plan and came to the realization that not only was a small project affordable, but it would allow us to have more flexibility with the style of beer we want to brew,” says Kreps.

The brewery will offer Belgian style ales and a variety of experimental IPA’s from their 3-barrel system as well as occasionally offering limited barrel-aged releases.

You can find Seventh Sun Brewing at 1012 Broadway near the intersection of Skinner Blvd (State Rd 580) and Broadway (US Alternate 19) in downtown Dunedin; projected to open this fall pending licensing approval.

(Framingham, MA) – Jack’s Abby Brewing today announced the start of production at their Framingham, MA brewery.

The company also announced the opening of a gift shop and the beginning of tours at the Framingham facility. Public tastings are scheduled to begin this month.

“After months of hard work we are excited to begin production of what we believe will be exceptional and unique lagers,” said Jack Hendler, owner and brewer of Jack’s Abby Brewing. Hendler, along with his brothers Sam and Eric, founded Jack’s Abby Brewing in January 2011.

Initial production will focus on three lagers:

Saxon Sons Pilsner
Saxon Sons Pilsner is a wonderfully aromatic, sunshine golden-colored lager featuring a lemony floral nose followed by a dry finish. Brewed and conditioned for extended periods, balancing the traditional bohemian Pilsner malt backbone with unique hops added to our hop back. The name pays tribute to the Saxony Ice Company started by the Hendler brothers’ grandfather. 5.4%

Hoponius Union
Hoponius Union is an India Pale Lager that offers a twist to the traditional IPA since it is fermented cold and aged for extended periods. The perfect union of aromatic American hops and lager fermentation creates a huge citrusy-hoppy aroma and clean, bitter finish. 6.7%

Smoke & Dagger
Smoke & Dagger is a dark, black beer, cloaked in mystery, that gets its roasted and smoky notes from traditional beechwood-smoked malt and chocolate malt. Smoke & Dagger is full bodied and malty with little to no hop character. 6.0%

Jack’s Abby plans to produce seasonal varieties as well as other special occasion lagers and possibly ales in the future.

The Company is currently producing all of its lagers in Framingham facility which currently has a 20 BBL Premier Stainless brewhouse and five 40 BBL fermenters. A special hop back is used to infuse hop flavor and aroma into the beers before fermentation. The brewery also features a tasting room as well as a small garden next door for growing hops and brewing spices.

Beers will initially be available to restaurants and bars in kegs and at the brewery in 64 ounce growlers filled on request. Regular (12 ounce) bottles are expected to be available for sale in 2012. The company will self-distribute its beers to restaurants and bars to start.

About Jack’s Abby Brewing

Founded in January 2011 by three brothers who grew up in a family business, Jack’s Abby Brewing is a craft brewery specializing truly distinctive lagers featuring locally grown hops, traditional German brewing standards, and American innovation.

The name, Jack’s Abby Brewing, pays homage to co-founder Jack Hendler’s wife, Abby, while evoking the tradition of monastic groups in Europe who create handcrafted beers in their abbeys. The brothers are inspired by the tradition of craft brewing using quality local ingredients, mindful labor and great recipes to create delicious, authentic beer.

(Chicago, IL) – I have been stalking Virtue Cider‘s social media accounts since early June when the number of followers they each had could be counted on one hand. When I checked them again today, the follower counts had multiplied several times over.

I knew I was too late.

With the news of the Goose Island sale to AB InBev at the end of March, Brewmaster, Greg Hall, announced that he was going to start a new venture. The only thing he revealed was that it wasn’t going to be a brewery. And so we waited…and waited…

Well, wait no more (thanks to that pesky Tribune reporter, Josh Noel).

Hall’s new project began spreading its message through the social media channels, Facebook and Twitter, early this summer. There is also a website up that says, “Coming soon.” An email requesting more information a while back was not returned.

Virtue Cider is self-described as “an independent, privately owned cider company focused on making exceptional heirloom cider. Supporting local culture & orchards.”

The tagline? “Farm to bottle cider.”

During his later years with Goose Island, Hall increasingly championed the idea of bringing high-end beer to the dinner table, especially with Goose Island’s Reserve Series line. It would make sense that the initiative will continue as he moves forward with cider. Virtue has mentioned Peasants Plot out of Manteno, Illinois, on Twitter. The farm is a participant in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. That said, it’s not clear whether Peasants is a formal partner of Virtue. Individuals sometimes use Twitter company accounts for personal exploits, too.

As for the cider itself, it is currently a work in progress. Research and development is in full swing. Hall and Co. have already visited the UK and France to tour various cider producers. Among them are Oliver’s Cider and Perry in Herefordshire (imported by The Shelton Brothers) and Domaine Dupont in Normandy (imported by B. United). This weekend brings a visit to Michigan vineyards like Fenn Valley and Wyncroft.

Virtue Cider has not yet revealed its location.

The company is hosting its “first cider dinner with a local chef in Chicago” on August 29th though there is no indication whether its own ciders will be available at that time. More details will be announced soon.

(Los Angeles, CA) – The ever-growing craft beer scene in Los Angeles is about to get bigger. Come September, L.A. will get a new craft beer brand of its own: Golden Road Brewing in North Atwater Village, CA. The start-up artisanal brewery will aim to begin production of more than a thousand barrels in its first year and grow in the coming years.

At the helm will be CEO and Co-Founder, Tony Yanow (Tony’s Darts Away), who has tapped some of the most talented and well-regarded professionals in the craft brewing industry to bring Golden Road Brewing to full fruition: the dynamic Meg Gill (formerly of Oskar Blues Brewery and Speakeasy Ales and Lagers) is the other co-founder and will serve as President. She will be one of the youngest female brewery owners in the world. Jon Carpenter (formerly of Dogfish Head Brewery) will bring a true mix of art and science to his role as Brewmaster.

“We are all craft beer fanatics and we are all passionate about building a business that produces world class beer here in L.A.,” said Yanow. “Having Meg and Jon as the two cornerstones here, I have great confidence that we can achieve our goals. We’ve got the makings of one hell of a team.”

San Diego native, Jon Carpenter, is excited about moving back to Southern California: “I can’t wait to get back out west and brew some beer. I am sad to leave Dogfish Head but the opportunity to work here and build Golden Road from the ground up was too good to pass on.”

Golden Road will concentrate primarily on brewing hoppy California-style ales and will branch into other styles as well. The team is holding exact product descriptions close to their vests until they perfect their recipes on production scale batches. One things they are not being quiet about is their decision to can beer rather than using the craft standard of bottles. “We’ve already purchased our first canning line,” said Gill. “And we feel great knowing we’ll be putting our products in the right package, so we can deliver flavor, and economy to our drinkers without sacrificing our commitment to quality or the environment.”

“L.A. is one of the fastest growing craft beer communities in the country. We have a few great breweries around L.A. and many up north and down south. We see the beers that are demanded by drinkers but a lot of them just aren’t easily available or accessible to the general public,” said Yanow. “With Golden Road Brewing, we really want to help bridge that gap by providing local, reliably top quality craft beers that people can easily find and will really enjoy.”

Golden Road Brewing will be laid out in a three-building campus at the northernmost tip of Atwater Village. the distinctive primary colored buildings will are easy to spot, just off Interstate 5 and Highway 134. The blue building will be production, the red building will be barrel room and storage and the yellow building will be for offices, on-site sales, and eventually a pub and beer garden. Tours of the brewery will be available to the general public.

Golden Road Brewing is located at 5410 W. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, CA 90039. The website will be located at http://www.goldenroad.la (parked domain at the moment).

(Bend, OR) – This brewery-prepared interview with Deschutes Brewery‘s Brewmaster, Larry Sidor, made the rounds last week. I just finally got a copy…

Sidor will leave the brewery at the end of the year to start 856 Brewing Company. Brewbound reports, “Sidor just purchased a four-vessel, 10-Hectoliter brewhouse with 16 bright beer tanks. He says he plans to start small, producing just 1000 barrels during the first year.” It will be a bottle and keg operation, at least at the start.

Here’s the Q&A on his time at Deschutes…

Q and A with Larry Sidor from Deschutes Brewery

As you may have heard, Larry Sidor will be leaving Deschutes in a few months to pursue a long-time dream of owning his own business. Here’s a question and answer session we recently had with Larry to give a little insight into his brewmaster mind.

Q.  How many years have you spent in the brewing industry?

A.  37 years.

Q.  What roles have you held? What role did you enjoy the most?

A.  The greatest amount of my time has been in brewing operations with significant contributions to process and product innovation.  My personality is such that everything can be better.  My belief is that all products can be improved to meet customer expectations.

Q.  What’s your favorite part about brewing beer? What has been the greatest challenge for you?

A.  Wow, this is a hard question to answer.  It would be easier to answer what I don’t like about brewing.  And that answer would be nothing.  The greatest challenge for me has been understanding what customers wants. This has always been a moving target and currently the target is changing at an incredible rate. The rewarding part for me is that customer expectations are lining up with my personal beer preferences. A saying in the craft beer industry is that “if you brew beer for yourself, the customers will follow.”

Q.  You’ve also spent some time making wine – in your opinion how different is it from making beer?

A.  I have spent time both growing wine grapes and making wine.  I found that great wine is more about what is done in the vineyard than in the winery, hence the term used in the wine industry of “winegrowing”.  I grew up in a very agrarian home and agriculture is very dear to my heart.  But brewing is my passion.  With brewing, the brewer has a worldwide supply of raw ingredients that can be brought together in limitless combinations.  As I’ve said in the past, I believe craft brewers have only begun to scratch the surface of taste profiles that will be achieved in the future.

Q. From your perspective, what have you seen happen in the craft brewing space over the last several years? What changes have been significant?

A.  There are really too many to mention, but I will attempt a few.

First and foremost is the customers.  They are the engine that drives what I do.  They are rejecting commoditized bland beers that are sold by slick advertising “lifestyle” campaigns in favor of more flavorful beers which enhance their life experiences.

Second is also the customers.  One of my favorite beers developed at Deschutes is The Dissident, a sour beer.  This is a beer which we began developing in 2004.  At that time, it was a direction I really wanted to go, but it was met with skepticism.  Now, The Dissident is one of the beers I field the most questions about. The shift in customer awareness and acceptance has been simply mindboggling.

Third would be the suppliers.  From malt, to hops, to equipment, the improvements have been pivotal in allowing the craft brewers to make higher quality and innovative beers. I get goose bumps when I see Cascade hops being grown again in the Willamette Valley. The exciting new hop varieties which are being released have rocked the craft world. Deschutes was pivotal in the release of the Citra hop and are currently supporting two other new varieties; Bravo and Delta.  The new and innovative specialty malts that are being roasted by our maltsters are allowing us to explore new and exciting flavors.

Q.  You’ve been with Deschutes for 8 years. Tell us about your tenure at the company and what you see as your biggest accomplishment while there?

A.  Without hesitation, development of the Brewing Team. I believe Deschutes Brewery has the best and the brightest brewers in the world, bar none.

Q.  You have recently decided to start your own company. What was the driving factor behind this decision? Is it a natural next step in your brewing career?

A.  I have always wanted to have my own business.  I accidently got into the brewing business when I was trying to raise money to start a winery.  One fateful night I stopped by the Olympia Brewing Company in Tumwater Washington to see a friend.  I had no intention of working there because I wanted to make money fast so I could get on with my dream of a winery.  But a late night tour of the Olympia brewery and I was hooked for a lifetime.  Olympia was my first dream job.  Over the years, plans to start my own brewery came and went and other things in life got more attention.  I fell in love with sailboat racing and a gal from Seattle, ended up getting married, building a house and soon a son and a daughter.   Later we moved to Yakima where we bought a vineyard and I worked for a hop company.  We really enjoyed owning our own business but it confirmed that brewing is my passion, not winegrowing.  We sold the vineyard and took another dream job with Deschutes Brewery.

Q. What kind of business venture (or craft brewing venture) are you exploring?
A. I can’t wait to share the details with you — the Central Oregon community — and the Brewing Community — but I’m not ready to talk about it just yet. As soon as I have more information, I’ll make sure you get the details. If all goes as planned, it’s going to be a very exciting project. For the next six months, my heart and head will be focused on my work at the Deschutes Brewery. I’m invested in the ongoing success of Deschutes Brewery, both personally and professionally, and I want to keep my energies here until I’m ready to move forward with my personal venture.

Q.  What will you miss the most about being at Deschutes?

A.  The loyal Deschutes customers, fellow employees, and the vast resources Deschutes has.

Q.  What type of brewer do you see filling your shoes at Deschutes?

A.   An experienced innovative brewer who will support and grow the current brewing team.

(St. Louis, MO) – 4 Hands Brewing Company, a craft brewery, is slated to begin operations in St. Louis in the fall of 2011.

Kevin J. Lemp, Co-Owner and President, will oversee the day-to-day operations as well as manage the sales and marketing efforts. Kevin has spent his career managing the E&J Gallo Winery portfolio in St. Louis and Illinois. Kevin will team with Head Brewer Will Johnston, who has spent the majority of his professional brewing career at Goose Island in Chicago, Ill. Will is a graduate of the World Brewing Academy in Munich, Germany, and the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, Ill.

4 Hands Brewing Company will offer the craft-beer enthusiast a thoughtful portfolio inspired by the American craft-beer movement as well as traditional Belgian and French farmhouse ales. 4 Hands Brewing Company plans on packaging their year-round Core beers in 6-pack, 12 oz. bottles. They will offer their Seasonal Collection in 22oz. bottles and a Barrel Aged program in 750ml bottles. The Core Collection includes a single-hop Pale Ale, a Rye IPA and an Oatmeal Chocolate Brown. The Seasonal Collection will rotate throughout the year, focusing on local and seasonal ingredients. 4 Hands Barrel Aged Program will produce a truly unique line of beers. The use of wine-and-spirits barrels as well as an array of fruits, herbs and spices with wild yeast strains will enhance conventional beer flavors to produce one-of-a-kind beers.

The brewery will feature a 1500-sq. ft. tasting room with an atmosphere reminiscent of their basic organic roots through the use of recycled barn wood, stained concrete and exposed brick. The tasting room will allow patrons to experience the entire brewing process through floor-to-ceiling windows. The tasting room will offer the 4 Hands Portfolio as well as a rotation of guest beers on draft. Wine by the glass or bottle will also be available. The menu will focus on local cured meats and cheeses to be paired perfectly with the 4 Hands Portfolio.

The brewery and tasting room will be located at 1220 South 8th Street, four blocks south of Busch Stadium.

(St. Louis, MO) – Perennial Artisan Ales is a small-batch microbrewery located at 8125 Michigan Avenue in the South Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis City, opening by late July/early August 2011. The 9,200-square-foot brewery includes a dedicated, temperature-controlled fermentation and barrel-aging cellar.

Perennial will also feature a 3,200-square-foot tasting room, as well as a beer garden, where we plan on hosting festivals, beer dinners and weekend barbecues. The tasting room will serve Perennial beers on draft (also available in to-go growlers), along with an eclectic selection of reasonably priced wines by the glass, salumi from Salume Beddu and a variety of Midwest cheeses from creameries such as Baetje Farms and Marcoot Jersey Creamery. Perennial’s tasting room décor will be an interesting blend of modern and vintage, utilizing sustainable and secondhand materials as much as possible.

Perennial’s Brewmaster and Co-Founder is Phil Wymore, formerly of Goose Island and Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago. Phil began making beer as assistant brewer at Grindstone Brewing Co. in Columbia, Mo., where he studied Anthropology at University of Missouri. Phil was hired as a brewer for Goose Island in 2006 and was eventually promoted to Cellar Manager where he oversaw the barrel-aging program and all fermentation processes. Also while at Goose Island, Phil formulated a barrel-fermented Imperial Red, which earned medals at both the Great American Beer Festival and Festival of Barrel Aged Beers. Phil left Goose Island in 2009 to become the Head Brewer at Half Acre Beer Company. While in Chicago, Phil studied brewing at the world-renown Siebel Institute. Phil returned to Missouri with his family in 2010 to help build Perennial, where he will focus on producing premium craft beer, utilizing organic malts, exotic yeast strains and locally sourced fruits as much as possible. Perennial also will feature an extensive Wild Fermented and Spirits Barrel Aged Beer program.

Perennial will offer two year-round, flagship beers (available only in the St. Louis market):

Hommel Bier (available in draft and 750ml bottle format)
Hommel Bier is a dry-hopped Belgian ale that defies tradition by combining North American malts, Pacific Northwest hops and a Belgian yeast strain. The result is a beer that combines earthy and spicy tones from the yeast with a slight orange note contributed by the hops.

Southside Blonde (available in draft only, offered only to South City bars and restaurants)
Southside Blonde is a refreshing Golden Ale, brewed with a Belgian yeast strain that contributes an interesting fruitiness. It is a well-balanced, approachable beer brewed with pride on the Southside!

In addition to our flagship beers, Perennial will offer a variety of rotating beers that fall into one of our three distinct categories (intended for distribution both in and outside of the St. Louis market):

Farmhouse (available in 750ml bottle format only)
Farmhouse selections will be variations on Belgian Style Saisons, French Biere de Gardes and other sessionable styles that would quench one’s thirst after a hard day’s work.

In Season (available in 750ml bottle format only)
In Season selections will include fruit beers, such as Strawberry Rhubarb Tart, brewed with locally sourced, seasonal fruits. Also included in this category will be any holiday classics, such as Christmas Ale, as well as Perennial’s take on a pumpkin beer, our Kabocha Squash Autumn Ale.

The Cellar (available in 750ml bottle format only)
Included in this category will be any high-alcohol styles (Barley Wine, Wheat Wine, Imperial Stout, etc.), barrel-aged beers, wild fermented and/or sour beers. These beers are meant to improve with age and will be perfect to share on a special occasion!

Phil’s wife, Perennial Co-Founder Emily Wymore, will manage the Sales and Marketing for the brewery. Perennial Artisan Ales will initially be distributed in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

(Seattle, WA) – The first brewery cooperative in Washington State and only the second in the nation has launched in Seattle! Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery will be built and directed by its owner-members. “We are building a community brewery based on the coop principles. A brewery for the people!” said Jeff Hicks, President. The brewery and taproom is scheduled to be open toward the end of 2012.

As a cooperative, Flying Bike owner-members will choose who will operate the brewery and what beers will be on tap, along with the general direction of the brewery. Owner-members will also receive a taproom patronage refund and other benefits.

“Because we are being directed by our members, the sky is the limit as far as what we can do. Look for a very diverse selection of beer. Because Seattle is such a great beer community, with thousands of homebrewers, we will look to our membership for recipe development. We plan to have rotating taps of member created and selected beers along with a good number of world-class house beers that have been selected by our membership.” said Hicks.

The brewery is currently in the planning stages which includes site location somewhere in the Seattle area. A membership drive is also currently under way. A nine member Board of Directors has been established and the coop has been incorporated in the State of Washington.

There is currently only one other cooperative brewery in the nation located in Austin. “It took them 5 years to get open. We have plans to be open in half the time.” said Hicks. “We already have very strong membership sales.”

(Fort Collins, CO) – An update from Crooked Stave Brewing.

In addition to what I got from the brewery’s founder, Chad Yakobson, below, there have been a ton of recent updates on the Crooked Stave website.

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Crooked Stave expands production 150%…not that hard when you’re as small as us but a big step for any brewery all the same! On March 15th we welcomed into our fermentation cellar a 25hl foeder or large oak fermenter. Traditionally used by Winemakers to ferment and age wine in, we will be using it in much the same way to produce our unique American-style Petite Sours. The foeder we have purchased was custom built in 2007 and has the unique ability to do temperature-controlled primary fermentation through cooling coils running on the inside of the vessel.

Primary fermentation in oak is unique with only a handful of breweries in the US producing such beers. Our commitment to producing expressive well crafted beers means we are constantly working on ways to blend old world traditions with creativity and passion. Bringing the 25hl foeder into our cellar furthers our reach on what’s possible allowing us to incorporate the nuances of the oak as another ingredient in the beers. It also provides a wonderful home for the resident bugs we use for mixed culture fermentation.

We’ll be commissioning our new foeder this Saturday with an exclusive brew for our friends at Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen in Denver. After that, we plan to brew our first batch to be released commercially, our seasonal American Petite Sour. These beers are a hybrid of ‘Berliner Weisse/Gose meets New World Wheat’ beer, expressive sessionable sours which change with the seasons.

(Philadelphia, PA) – In late 2011, the region’s most popular brewery and dining destination, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, will open their ninth location at 8400 Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill. The new restaurant will mark the group’s first foray into Philadelphia’s city limits and their second new location in three years.

“We’ve wanted to join Philadelphia’s restaurant scene for a long time, but we were looking for a place with a vibrant community where we could become a part of a great neighborhood, and Chestnut Hill fits that perfectly,” says Iron Hill founding partner Kevin Finn Along with co-owners Kevin Davies and Mark Edelson, Finn has continuously sought out thriving locations for their award-winning concept, beginning in Newark, DE in 1996.

Finn, Davies and Edelson enlisted Philadelphia based Sandvold Blanda Architecture + Interiors, who have designed each of their 8 other locations, to create the welcoming atmosphere for the 250 seat restaurant which will feature comfortable dining areas, an open kitchen, an exposed microbrewery and a bustling bar area.

In what has become a long-standing Iron Hill tradition, the restaurant will offer seasonally, changing new American dishes that go beyond typical brewpub standards. Available for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, the menu will include soups, sandwiches, made from scratch pizzas, salads and entrées, and cover a variety of cuisines from ethnic to hearty comfort foods.

Through large plate glass windows that separate the restaurant from the brewery, beer enthusiasts will be able to watch the brewing process. Guests will enjoy Iron Hill’s six house beers, monthly beer releases and selections from Bottle Reserves, the brewery’s most award-winning beers from over the years that have been bottled to enjoy in the restaurant or to take home.

Chestnut Hill is one of Philadelphia’s premier neighborhoods. Located in the scenic northwest section of the city, it was recognized in 2010 as one of the Dozen Distinctive Destinations in the USA by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Forbes.com named it one of the top seven urban neighborhoods in the country. Known for its art and architecture, nature, gardens, history and fine shopping and dining, Chestnut Hill offers a sophisticated lifestyle in a beautiful small-town setting.

“Chestnut Hill is very happy to welcome Iron Hill to Germantown Avenue and as Ben Franklin said, ‘Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” says Seth Shapiro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chestnut Hill Business Improvement District.

Founded by home brewers Mark Edelson and Kevin Finn and restaurateur Kevin Davies in 1996, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant is the region’s fastest-growing restaurant group, blossoming from one restaurant and brewery to nine locations in Newark, DE; Wilmington, DE; Media, PA; West Chester, PA; North Wales, PA; Phoenixville, PA; Lancaster, PA; and Maple Shade, NJ. Their acclaimed beers have accumulated a wealth of awards from the nation’s top beer festivals, and their restaurants have earned more than 100 “Best of” nods from local and national publications. Iron Hill is poised for even more impressive growth in the coming years with plans to open five additional locations by 2015 from Washington DC to Northern New Jersey.

For more information about Iron Hill, or to make a reservation at any of their locations, please visit their website at www.ironhillbrewery.com. To follow the progress of the Chestnut Hill opening, follow them on twitter @ironhillbrewery or @IronHillChief.

(Philadelphia, PA) – In March, husband-and-wife team Matt and Colleen Swartz and partner Matt Scheller will debut The Farmers’ Cabinet (1113 Walnut Street, 215-923-1113), an inviting restaurant that combines rustic American dishes, extraordinary cocktails and an extensive selection of European craft beers in an atmosphere reminiscent of a Victorian era saloon. Later this summer, The Farmers’ Cabinet will begin brewing artisanal beers in a “nano-brewery,” a tiny, two barrel system in its kitchen – a first for the city and beyond.

When searching for a name for this unusual new restaurant, general manager Ben Miosi found a Philadelphia-area publication dating back to 1803 called The Farmers’ Cabinet – and discovered that it is widely regarded as the first place that the word “cocktail” appeared in print. Intrigued, he shared it with the team, and the name was chosen then and there.

“We loved the idea of a farmer handpicking items from his ‘cabinet’ to serve for his family and friends, and it really conveys what we are trying to do here,” says Scheller, who along with the Swartz’s comprises the team behind Bethlehem, PA’s popular food and drink establishments Tap & Table, The Bookstore Speakeasy and the East Falls hotspot Fork & Barrel. “Not only does The Farmers’ Cabinet reflect our mission, but it also has a neat historical significance to this region.”

Chef Peter Felton, who has worked with the owners to create and execute the opening menus at each of their restaurants, devised a menu of hearty farm-fresh fare, including: Bone Marrow and Roasted Cippolini Soup with butter fried croutons; Tarro, Lotus and Beet Root Chips with black garlic and crème fraiche dip; Bourbon-Braised Escargot with Tasso ham and caramelized shallots; House-Ground Brisket and Bacon Burger, topped with fried egg, Bibb lettuce and heirloom tomato; Peekytoe Crab Roll Sandwich with heirloom tomatoes and lettuce; and Spring Pea Barotto with sweet corn and wild mushroom preserva. Shared dishes, for two or more guests, will include Salt Baked Fish, Elk Chops and Roasted Goat Leg. Dishes will range in price from $5 to $32, and will change with the seasons to include local meat and game, as well as produce and other sustainably sourced goodies.

“I like to think of our food as ‘wild’ in the best possible sense – the kind of things you might have enjoyed in this region back when much of it was farms and woodlands, rather than cities and suburbs,” says Chef Felton.

Featuring two bars – one for beer and one for cocktails – as well as a walk-up meat and cheese counter, communal dining tables and “living rooms,” the sweeping Walnut Street space will be outfitted with large beer barrels, mounted animal busts and hanging wooden beams lit by candlelight. Splashes of Victorian elegance including tufted couches, oil lamps and damask blue and white wallpaper will integrate sophisticated touches throughout the space.

Resident drinks expert Damon Dyer and award-winning craft brewer Terry Hawbaker will bring a skilled cocktail know-how and a knack for creating delicious, unusual beers to the project, creating a truly complete food-and-drink experience.

For guests who prefer their libations shaken or stirred, Dyer has crafted a menu of classically inspired cocktails that is at once a tribute to the popular drinks of the day and a modern revision of some of the most iconic classics. Handcrafted cocktails will range in price from $10 to $12, and will include: Bespoke Whiskey Sour, with a choice of bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, Scotch, Japanese whiskey or un-aged White Dog Whiskey, with fresh lemon and sugar; Pirate’s Coffee, a blend of Irish whiskey and spiced rum, served hot with brown sugar, coffee and hand-whipped cream; Round Midnight, dark cherry jam shaken with rum and fresh lemon and topped with Champagne; and Barrel Aged Martinez, “The Martini’s Granddaddy,” gin and sweet vermouth stirred with a bit of maraschino liqueur and aromatic bitters and then aged for 30 days in a used bourbon barrel.

“A properly balanced cocktail can be every bit as appealing to pair with food as a great glass of wine or a full-flavored craft beer,” says Dyer, the NYC-trained talent who has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire magazine, Wine Enthusiast, Food & Wine magazine, Gotham magazine and many others. “We’re pouring the original liquors that Victorians first used to create the cocktails that still influence the way we drink today.”

To complement the cocktail selection, Scheller, a 26-year-old prodigy that Inquirer critic and beer writer Craig LaBan called a “precocious beer expert,” created a list of esoteric and delightfully surprising primarily European craft beers. With 26 tap handles, grouped into categories by country, and more than 80 bottles, selections will vary seasonally throughout the year to introduce frequent guests to new favorites and a host of different artisanal breweries throughout Europe.

As though their drink offerings weren’t extensive enough, the team also brought on Hawbaker to create their own hyper-micro-brews on premises. Hawbaker will build a two-barrel Burton Union fermenting system, but his hand-crafted goodies won’t be available until later this year. Large barrels of flavorful sour ales and other unusual beers will be displayed as part of the rustic décor, and when Hawbaker is satisfied with the quality of the beers, they will be available on draught alongside Scheller’s Euro-centric list.

“Many farmers brewed their own beer back in the 1800s, so this is our nod to their work – as well as a thoughtful way to create one-of-a-kind drinking experiences for our guests,” says Hawbaker, whose 15-plus years of professional brewing experience will inform his work at The Farmers’ Cabinet.

In 2009, the Swartz’s and Scheller opened Tap & Table, a European pub, followed by The Bookstore, a 1920’s speakeasy in nearby Bethlehem, PA. In October of 2010, they collaborated again to open Fork & Barrel, a wildly popular European cafe in Philadelphia’s East Falls neighborhood.

The Farmer’s Cabinet will serve food and drink from 3 p.m. until 2 a.m. daily; lunch and brunch hours will be added in the months following their opening. For more information, or to make a reservation, please follow them on twitter @thefarmerscabinet, visit them at www.thefarmerscabinet.com or call 215-923-1113.

(Knoxville, TN) – When the Wild Wild West meets the Southeast…

Metro Pulse published quite the interesting story yesterday:

Prior to registering as a corporation, the pair did research whether anyone else had the name. They discovered there was a Marble Brewery in Manchester, England, and a Marble Brewery in Albuquerque, N.M. Since the British beers didn’t seem to be available stateside, and since the New Mexico beers were only available in New Mexico and Arizona, and since neither had City in the name, Borsodi says he couldn’t imagine how there could be any confusion over similar-sounding names. Especially, he notes, because the Marble Brewery in Albuquerque is so named because it’s on Marble Street, and its logo uses images of glass marbles, the children’s toy, not the stone.

But in October, Borsodi received a call from Jeffery Jinnett informing him that the name Marble City Brewing Company was a problem. Jinnett is the president of Santa Fe Dining, which owns and operates a number of restaurants in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N.M., including Marble Brewery, which is a brewpub that also sells its own beer. Borsodi says he explained that he couldn’t see any possible confusion that would arise between the two breweries and declined to change the name. In November, Marble Brewery filed a lawsuit in federal court.

Oh, but that’s not all.

Marble Brewery beers are being distributed locally by Chattanooga’s MOLO-TENN Distributors. Owner James Sherrell says he was unaware of the lawsuit and he first heard about Marble Brewery from a friend who lives in Albuquerque. Sherrell was also unaware that Marble has no distribution outside of the Southwest, as was MOLO-TENN salesman Jeff Nunes, who has been pushing Marble locally.

“I heard there was a conflict over the name, and that’s all I heard about,” Nunes says, but notes he was unaware a lawsuit had actually been filed.

To summarize this report, Marble City Brewing declined to change its name so Marble Brewery sued them (in November) due to likelihood of public confusion. Marble (NM) then went and got a distributor contract with a Tennessee distributor, far out of its distribution zone of New Mexico and Arizona, to make its beers available in Marble City’s market just weeks before they were set to launch their brand. If that’s how it went down, then Marble essentially went out of its way to create a public confusion scenario after suing Marble City. In another conspiracy theory scenario, is it possible that MOLO-Tenn orchestrated this since Marble City signed on with nearby rival, Eagle Distributing?

According to this thread on Facebook, Marble City supporters were hitting the Marble Brewery Facebook wall with negative comments before Marble Brewery had to remove it (a “wall” is a central page where the brewery can post news and people can post comments on the brewery).

(Chelsea, MA) – Mystic Brewery, LLC has signed a lease and begun preparations to bring a Belgian-style brewery to Chelsea, MA. Mystic Brewery will focus on making on pre-industrial style beers, like those from Belgium, but a with a distinct New England agricultural influence. The brewery will located at 174 Williams St. in the New England Produce Market area.

The company was founded by MIT trained fermentation scientists Dr. Bryan Greenhagen, Ph.D, his wife Emily Greenhagen and professional brewer James Nicholson. Their focus will be on specialty beers such as saisons and barrel aged beers made with regional and exotic fruits as well as finely crafted after-dinner “malt cordials.”

“We see our efforts as a part of the evolution of craft brewing. First we rebelled against a near total lack of choice in the marketplace. Then we found we could not only make great beer but we could also push the boundaries of what Americans see as beer. Today we can finally return to the kinds of beer that were beloved and even thought to be sacred for millennia,” says founder Bryan Greenhagen. “We love the double meaning of Mystic, because it is not only a place my ancestors settled, but it is also exactly what people thought beer was for ages and ages, a mystical liquid made by a mystical process.”

While it is well known in brewing circles that the fermentation and yeast selection is key to producing a quality beer, Bryan’s unique insight and devotion to that process, coupled with his success as a homebrewer, is what strives to set Mystic apart from others. In trying to capture truly native New England character in their beer, Mystic has gone as far as isolating native New England brewing yeasts in an effort to capture what our local ‘beer terroir,’ what beers would have tasted like in New England even before the pilgrims landed.

In the first year Mystic Brewery’s focus will be on their flagship beer, Mystic Saison, a classic European-style saison. Mystic Saison was built from Bryan’s fourteen years of homebrewing experience and his career in flavor and aroma fermentation science coupled with the knowledge and experience of commercial brewing that head brewer James Nicholson gained at Capitol City Brewing Company in Washington, DC, as well as during his internships at Sly Fox Brewing Co. in Pennsylvania and Brauerei Merkel in Freudenberg, Germany.

Nicholson’s time at Merkel provided particular apt experience. The brewery opened in 1466 and continues to employ many traditional methods. Nicholson notes about helping start Mystic, “I have a pretty singular focus on making the absolutely best beer possible. We worked extraordinarily hard to create and refine the recipes for Mystic and we think this kind of hard work is what people deserve from their local brewery.”

Chelsea was chosen in part for the access to the produce markets and its proximity to the iconic Mystic Bridge. “Chelsea is a film maker’s favorite because it’s a place that has real character. There is nothing pasteurized or homogenized about Chelsea. It’s been the home to hopeful and hardworking immigrants who built the fabric of America for generations. It’s a great place for a tribute to our collective origins and celebration of our cultural diversity,” adds Greenhagen.

Tours will not be available the first year, but a tap room and tours are planned for a second phase build-out of the brewery anticipated in 2012. Mystic Brewery hopes to ship its first batch of Mystic Saison by mid-year 2011. Barrel-aged beers, requiring aging time, are planned to be available by the holidays. Cordials, requiring extensive aging, are planning to be introduced to the market by 2012.

More information about the brewery, beers, and a review of the founder’s homebrewed versions can be found at www.mystic-brewery.com. News about the brewery can also be followed via the Facebook and Twitter links on the Mystic website.

Mystic Brewery aims to bring back beers to Boston that were revered for centuries and to make those beers our own, a source of both humble pride and infinite enjoyment. The brewery aspires to become a citadel for beer by being thoroughly dedicated to exploring the science, history, meaning and mystical aspects of beer and ultimately, capturing all of those aspects in one wonderful bottle.

(Richmond, VA) – Craft beer industry veterans and lifelong friends, Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh, are preparing to launch the Hardywood Park Craft Brewery this summer on Ownby Lane, smack between the Diamond and the Fan.

“With loads of creative energy, ample opportunities for adventure seekers, a rich history, and a growing appreciation for natural, local foods, Richmond has all the makings of a great beer city” states McKay. With a few major new beer events, including the World Beer Festival and Richmond Beer Week, and rumors of an expanding lineup of brewing talent slated to join local craft beer pioneer, Legend Brewing Company, Richmond’s beer culture is certainly on the rise.

McKay and Murtaugh first discovered hand crafted beer in 2001 made by a talented home brewer at a sheep station in Australia called Hardywood Park. Amazed by how good the beer was, McKay and Murtaugh promptly bought a home brewing kit and set out to learn everything they could about beer and brewing.

After a year-long brewers apprenticeship while studying economics at Davidson College, Eric started an eight year career with the L. Knife & Son Companies, one of America’s leading craft beer wholesalers. In his current role as director of marketing for the company, Eric created GreatBrewers.com, a leading inbound marketing platform for craft brewers, and the BeerCloud mobile app, praised by the New York Times as “the go-to beer app” for iPhone and Android.
As long-time advocates of the “all boats rise with the tide” aphorism in regards to craft beer, Hardywood’s co-founders are hoping to do their part to raise appreciation for the better beer category. For McKay, an MBA and Richmond’s first Certified Cicerone™, it’s all about education. “We’re hoping our brewery will serve as a hub for beer education” states McKay, adding “we can’t wait to start offering classes and hands-on training to local beer enthusiasts and retailers on topics such as the brewing process, the history of beer, beer styles, and beer and food pairing, and hope to invite guest speakers whenever possible.”

After working for several years in sales and management for New York City’s premiere craft beer wholesaler, Murtaugh earned a diploma in Brewing Technology from Chicago’s Siebel Institute. He is also a graduate of the Master Brewer Program at Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany, and has apprenticed at Brauerei Heller-Trum in Bamberg, Germany and at Defiant Brewing Co in New York.

For Murtaugh, the transition to master brewer carries a deep personal significance, as he is the fourth of an esteemed lineage of American brewers dating back to the 1890s. Murtaugh’s great, great grandfather, Louis Kuhn, earned international acclaim when he took the gold medal at a worldwide brewing expose in Baden-Baden Germany in 1896 for his Tivoli Ale. The beer was renamed Gold Medal Tivoli upon his return to the US, where he served as master brewer of the Springfield Breweries Company, New England’s largest brewing concern. Murtaugh’s great grandfather, Henry Kuhn, studied at Siebel’s Brewing Academy in 1906 alongside Charles Koch, grandfather of Jim Koch, founder and CEO of Boston Beer Co. Henry Kuhn and his son, another graduate of Siebel, went on to lead distinguished brewing careers.

At the time that Murtaugh’s forefathers were winning international acclaim, brewing was a noble profession conducted by craftsmen. While industrial mega-brewers have defined the last generation of beer in America by their incredible economies of scale through automation, and impressively low cost interpretations of beer, light beer, and ever lighter beer, the current generation of beer enthusiasts is reclaiming brewing’s rightful place as a practice conducted by artisans. And despite his impressive brewing legacy, Murtaugh is humbled to be included as the newest brewer in Virginia’s burgeoning craft beer community. “I have the utmost respect for the brewers here in Virginia,” states Murtaugh, “and hope that we can build on Richmond’s rich brewing heritage.”

After a decade of brewing on a 5-gallon home brewing system, McKay and Murtaugh are really excited to fire up their immaculate 20-gallon pilot brewing system, where each recipe will be perfected prior to larger scale production.

The company’s 20-barrel brewhouse is currently being built by industry leader Newlands Systems Inc. and is scheduled for delivery in mid-June. The co-founders hope to have the brewery open for tours and to start distributing to local bars, restaurants, and stores by late summer. Hardywood’s initial portfolio will include a sessionable yet sophisticated Abbey-style beer, available on tap, which will be complemented by a series of envelope-pushing artisan ales to be released throughout the year in 750 ml. corked bottles, on tap, and in casks at select bars.

(Boston, MA) – On March 1, Notch Brewing will debut two new beers – Notch Session Ale and Notch Session Pils – and for the first time, Notch will be available in bottles.

To celebrate, a kick-off event will take place on March 1st at Lower Depths in Kenmore Square, Boston, MA from 7 – 9PM. Throughout the month of March, both Notch offerings will become available at package stores in greater Boston, and will spread the distribution territory through the Spring to include all of Eastern MA. The new Notch Session beers will also be available on draft at bars in and around Boston.

Notch Brewing was founded by beer industry veteran and brewer Chris Lohring, formerly of Boston’s Tremont Brewery. In a craft beer world where alcohol content grew higher and higher with each new beer release, Chris felt strongly it was time to swing the pendulum back to lower alcohol Session beers. So in 2010, he launch Notch American Session Beer and began brewing only beers lower than 4.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). Chris is an independent brewer – he owns no facility – instead brewing and collaborating with other breweries. He strongly believes in this collaborative approach, and currently brews in Ipswich, MA and Kennebunk, ME.

Notch Session Ale (4.5% ABV) has a deep copper color, firm malt body and a dry, hoppy finish. Notch Session Ale is well balanced, but in true American fashion, the hop flavor is up front and the beer finishes dry. Notch Session Ale is hopped throughout the brewing process with three US hop varieties, resulting in a complex depth of hop flavor. The US has no Session Ale tradition – so this is Chris’ interpretation.

Notch Session Pils (4.0% ABV) salutes the unfiltered Pilsners of the Czech Republic: crisp, herbal with a biscuity depth and balanced hop finish. This low gravity, unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner is known as “workers” or “tap” beer in the Czech Republic. And in the end, Czech Pilsners serve the same function as Brit Session Beer – lower ABV, great flavor, and built for multiple pints.

(Springfield, MO) – Meet Mother’s Brewing Company.

Here are the first two approvals to come in for Mother’s Brewing, slated to open this spring if all goes well.

Mother’s Lil’ Helper label copy: “You’re in for one helluva burly bite. Lil’ Helper is aggressively hopped in both the wort kettle and aging vessel for a sharp, clean bitterness and fragrant citrus hop flavors. We’ve instilled a mellow malt character as the backbone to balance the elevated alcohol and hops levels that IPA lovers crave.” 7% ABV, 70 IBU. There may be no connection but The Rolling Stones made a song called, “Mother’s Little Helper,” which was incidentally the inspiration for the name of a beer from the Oskar Blues Brewery called Mama’s Li’l Yella Pils.

Mother’s Tow Head label copy: “Marrying the best elements of traditional German golden ales and classic Midwestern wheats, this American Blonde lives up to Mother’s expectations. Towhead is refreshingly light-bodied with flavor that won’t quit. It starts slightly sweet with hints of fruit and finishes clean and crisp with the faintest hop kiss that’ll leave you reaching for another.” 5.2% ABV, 21 IBUs.

Both will be released in 6-packs. As for timing, the latest update on Facebook shows that the brewery has yet to be installed.

The branding might give the company a slight leg up in marketing to women, a demographic that still lags behind men in terms of number of beer drinkers. It wouldn’t hurt to put beer on shelves by Mother’s Day either. That said, the brewery is focused on quality and job creation, according to a recent interview, not marketing to a particular demographic.

Time to play some catch-up after the holiday break…

…Greg Kitsock of The Washington Post has some noteworthy bits on Dogfish Head this morning. Chief among them:

“Calagione, however, confided that he was considering a bottling run of ta henket [...]”

“One episode of ‘Brew Masters’ remains unaired: a segment on Italy’s burgeoning craft breweries. The story isn’t complete yet, explains Calagione. The episode was supposed to conclude with the grand opening of Dogfish Head’s latest project: a rooftop brewpub atop New York City’s Eataly, an emporium of upscale restaurants and markets that opened last fall under the guidance of celebrity chef Mario Batali and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. [...] The anticipated opening is now mid-March.”

It could be a while until that sixth and final episode, or any of the previous episodes for that matter, see airtime.

…Lost Abbey/Port Brewing released its latest monthly update, announcing that it is a) expanding capacity, b) will begin distributing into Georgia this month and c) has brandy barrels for sale at the brewery. Here are upcoming January releases…

Wide distribution:
Jan 10 – Midnight Expression (formerly Midnight Sessions)
Jan 17 – Serpent’s Stout
Jan 24 – Mongo Double IPA (yes, in bottles!)

Limited distribution / Brewery only:
Jan 22 – Dawn Patrol Dark (draft-only English Mild that is used as base beer for Red Poppy)
Jan 29 – Angel’s Share (Brandy)

…Ready for spring yet? Bottles of Samuel Adams Noble Pils and Shiner Dortmunder-style Spring Ale arrived last week according to field reports on Twitter. The first day of spring is March 20th.

…Over the weekend, Flat 12 Bierwerks became the latest new brewery to open its doors in the U.S. This one is based in Indianapolis.

…Mikkeller says that Koppi Coffee IPA is on its way to the U.S. later this month.

…Finally, Eagle Rock Brewery will celebrate its first birthday this weekend with a big event.

(Rochester, NY) – A veteran member of Beer Advocate and RateBeer is co-founding Three Heads Brewing.

3HB launches this month in Rochester, New York. WHAM 13 reports that distribution begins in the next couple weeks. At the helm are Dan Nothnagle, Todd Dirrigl and Geoff Hale. The trio will open up with four beers in its arsenal, each on draft and in 22 oz. bottles: Blimey English-Style Pale Ale, The Kind IPA, Skunk Black IPA and Java Sutra Coffee Porter.

Nothnagle, the brewery’s president, has been a member of the online beer community for nearly a decade and I was able to catch up with him to learn more about the project:

1) You go by JahNoth on Beer Advocate and RateBeer. You’ve been a member of Beer Advocate since April, 2002. How did you first get into beer and how have these two sites helped you along the way?

Myself and my friends are beergeeks through and through. I have been on ratebeer since 2001 and it has helped my love of beer greatly! I have been a very active trader and, to be honest, have attempted to try all the great beers of America. If you notice from my ratings, I am not one that has just been in search of rating numbers; rather, to find the best examples of beers that myself and friends enjoy. My cellar today brims with exploits. It is great beers like Sculpin IPA that beer rating sites have pushed us towards and helped us set the bar with our own beers.

2) At what point did you become serious about going pro?

About 2.5 years ago we decided that we wanted to open a brewery. At that time I conceived the name and some of the direction we would head in. Rochester, NY has a long brewing history but sadly no breweries willing to boldly go where American Craft Breweries are going. We felt there was room for such a vision in not only this market but Western New York. The original concept was to get some money together and hire a brewer, and, in the meantime, start homebrewing and learn how to actually make beer. And, as the story goes, we got pretty good real fast. A few months in we entered a homebrewing contest with beers that I thought we decent and medaled in 4 out of 5 entries. We have since gone on to win lots of medals in the few contests we have entered, including best of show in the largest contest in NY. Many of these recipes are what we will be brewing. However, we do not homebrew to win awards or to try to pigeonhole our beer in specific styles, rather, we are merely trying to make great beers – beers that make beer enthusiasts and novices say “wow, that is the best beer I have ever tried.”

So it is our recipes that have been scaled upward and currently being brewed.

3) You guys come from a homebrewing background and have won numerous regional medals (based on a quick scan of your website). Surly Brewing’s Omar Ansari recently joked, “If you got three guys that homebrew and think they can open a brewery, good f&%^$# luck,” alluding to the need for a professional brewer. You guys are going with Custom Brewcrafters’ Head Brewer, Bruce Lish, to contract brew your beers over at CB. A) Will any of you guys be hands-on in this process and learning the ropes and B) do you plan to hire a brewer down the road if you get your own brewing space?

A lot of the answers to this question can be found above, but in many ways Omar is correct. We decided that the best route for us to go is to contract brew at this time. Everyone at Custom Brewcrafters has been extremely helpful in the process. Bruce Lish is an amazing brewer and, yes, the home brewer does need some assistance taking the 6 gallon batch to 20 barrels. But the percentages of malts, mash temperatures, hop additions, etc. are all consistent with what we have been doing. Building a brewery from scratch is both time-consuming and very expensive. It is certainly something we will look into in the future, but right now this relationship makes a lot of sense. We feel that we can easily brew between 100-200 barrels a month to start and expect to do so.

As far as hands on, our participation in the actual brewing process will be minimal. We have made hundreds of batches of beer and have complete faith that Bruce and Jason Fox, Brewmaster, will execute our requests extraordinarily well. Or concern will be on sales, hauling bombers and delivering kegs, not to mention the accounting, billing and other paperwork. We are paying them to make our beer for us. To us, this makes a lot of sense.

4) Will it just be kegs to start out?

We have an initial batch of three beers in kegs – The Kind IPA, Skunk Black IPA and Blimey ESB. Our fourth beer, Java Sutra will be brewed in a few weeks, along with 20 barrel batches of the aforementioned three brands. These will be both bottled in 22 oz and kegged. We are about to sign a deal with a distributor that will handle all of our bottle distribution, but kegs outside of the immediate Rochester area. This will allow us to not only focus on our local market, but quickly expand throughout New York.

5) Were there mistakes made or hurdles encountered during this process that you’re willing to share and that aspiring brewers can learn from?

Todd and I attended the How to Start Your Own Brewery course at Siebel Institute about a year ago which I would highly recommend. We learned from Ray Daniels, John Mallett from Bells, Greg Koch and others – the experience was amazing. So far I can say that the paperwork does take awhile to go through the government channels so be patient and plan ahead. Technically, we are distributors. Finding the right space, getting the paperwork, all the legal stuff, accountants, cash, etc. has literally taken us about a year to do.

In closing, all I can say is we are attempting to bring great craft beer to Rochester, NY. While craft beer is growing exponentially in America, we are hopeful that people will embrace a great local product. We plan to interact with our accounts and the consumers of our beers and want everyone to know who we are and what we are about. We want them to be proud of the beer made right here in their hometown!

———-

Here’s another article on the brewery from September . . . and here’s the info on the launch party, set for Friday, January 7th.

Big Bay Brewing Co. to Launch Its Hand-Crafted Specialty Beers at Retailers, Bars and Restaurants Across the State

(Milwaukee, WI) – Big Bay Brewing Co. is introducing a signature line of hand-crafted beers to consumers throughout Wisconsin. The craft brewer, based in Shorewood, Wis., recently received its federal and state brewing licenses and will be launching two craft beers through select retailers, bars and restaurants across the state this month.

Craft beers, generally higher quality brews made in small batches, have seen growth of more than nine percent so far this year despite a struggling economy (Brewers Association). Big Bay’s founders wanted to produce beers that feature the unique flavor profiles and independent spirit of craft beers while maintaining an accessible taste.

“It’s been our vision to create high quality, hand-crafted beers for those who want full-bodied flavor with just the right balance of hops. We’re pleased with the results and we look forward to introducing Big Bay products to beer drinkers across Wisconsin,” said Jeff Garwood, Big Bay Brewing Co. co-founder and managing director.

Life on the Water is a Little Sweeter:

An important element of Big Bay Brewing is the brand’s ties to the water. Its founders believe that a high quality hand-crafted beverage should evoke the same good feelings and memories that one might associate with a relaxing afternoon at the lake; sitting on the banks of a river; or enjoying an evening around an oceanfront campfire with friends. Inspired by their own special memories of family vacations, summer weekends and long afternoons near lakes and oceans, the founders have infused their passion for the water throughout the brand. Water-themed imagery and graphics are used on the labels, packaging, promotional materials and branded merchandise.

The recipes for Big Bay beers were developed by Garwood and his co-founder with technical support from brewer Jim Lueders. While the beer is being commercially produced now, the founders have been “brewing” the idea for the specialty ales for years. They called on their years of experience working with major breweries and their personal likes and dislikes to help them select just the right styles and ingredients, including a proprietary yeast.

“Big Bay beverages were specifically created to invoke the good feelings one may experience while watching the waves roll in, but they are intended to be enjoyed anyplace – in the comfort of your home or at your favorite watering hole – and anytime of the year,” added Garwood.

To produce the beer, the company has entered into an alternating partnership with the Milwaukee Brewing Company who will brew the custom beers under the guidance of Big Bay, and according to Big Bay’s proprietary recipes.

“After a full year of courting a small group of reputable brewers, we chose to work with Milwaukee Brewing Company because of its strong reputation for brewing high-quality beer, as well as its strong set of Midwest values that mirror our own,” said Garwood.

While Big Bay products will be brewed at the Milwaukee Brewing site, the company will operate a company store and sampling center at 4517 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood, Wis. The center, scheduled to open in February, will offer consumers an opportunity to sample Big Bay products and purchase merchandise in a relaxed setting. Its proximity to the water in Shorewood – just a few short blocks from Lake Michigan – further adds to the Big Bay experience. The company will employ approximately a half dozen employees in sales positions.

Big Bay beers are developed from unique and custom recipes that are steeped in the brewing traditions and simple ingredients of years gone by. Featuring proprietary yeast and the highest quality ingredients, Big Bay beers offer the distinctiveness of Wisconsin’s microbrews with a clean finish. Big Bay beers are brewed slowly and methodically, letting nature do what it does best. The result is a well-balanced, robust, drinking experience.

Wave Hopper Kolsch Style Ale: Wave Hopper Kolsch puts a Wisconsin stamp on a German style ale to create a highly drinkable beer that’s perfect for a sunny afternoon. Its subtle but assertive hop and malty aromas stay on the tongue briefly and finish clean. A lighter-bodied ale, with a refreshing nature, the Kolsch showcases a hint of creaminess thanks to the addition of a small amount of wheat countered with just the right amount of hoppy zing from our Perle and Hersbrucker hops. The result is a wonderfully aromatic ale with pilsner malt and subtle hop character.

Boatilla Amber Ale: Its distinctive deep auburn amber hue comes from the special blend of Pale 2 Row and Cara Munich malt. And while this Amber is well-balanced and laid back, it has a bolder maltiness and a more assertive hopping than the Kolsch. Liken it to the perfect cliff jump – daring on the take-off and smooth on entry. It’s not too heavy, but brewed with boat-loads of flavor making it the beer of choice for an evening with friends and family.

Big Bay beers will be available at select retailers, bars and restaurants across Wisconsin. The beers will be sold at retail in 12-oz. bottles at a suggested retail price of $8.49 for a six-pack. The company also plans to launch a line of hand-crafted premium sodas which are currently in development.

Big Bay products will be sold by local distributors across the state, including Beer Capitol Distributing Inc., Frank Beer Distributors Inc., CJW Inc., Lee Beverage of Wisconsin and Kay Beer Distributing.

About Big Bay Brewing Company:

Based in Shorewood, Wis., Big Bay Brewing Co. produces specialty hand-crafted beers. Big Bay is built with the vision that life on the water is a little sweeter…and, that sweet life is infused in every Big Bay beverage. Big Bay’s founders believe that craft brewed beverages and life on the water go hand in hand. Life on the water means creating and savoring memories and moments that are cherished for a lifetime. And, what better way to enhance those memories and moments than with the right beverage.

For more information, visit http://www.BigBayBrewing.com. Follow us on Facebook, and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bigbaybrewing.

(Fort Collins, CO) – Fans of sour and barrel-aged beers . . . you are on notice.

When I wrote about Funkwerks last week, I failed to reveal that another brewery would be operating there as well under an alternating proprietorship. These hands-on contracts are becoming increasingly popular; Stillwater Ales, (the upcoming) Heretic Brewing and Pretty Things Beer are a few of the examples out there.

So what will this other brewery be?

Meet the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project.

I caught up with Founder and Brewmaster, Chad Yakobson (formerly of Odell Brewing, worked on Saboteur and others) to see what the scoop is with the new project. Yakobson has been working on the Brettanomyces Project, studying the ins and outs of Brettanomyces and its effect in brewing. The project will heavily influence his work at Crooked Stave.

1) Will your beers be 100% wild/sour/barrel-aged/infected with bugs?

No, we are an Artisan Brewing Project only bound by our own creativity. There are plenty of beers I have in mind which will not be wild/sour/barrel-aged type releases. We will brew whatever we are passionate about at that moment although, in the beginning, it will certainly seem that we are only producing wild/sour/barrel-aged beer.

The first beer to be released will be a 100% Brettanomyces fermented beer and the second will be a “New World” Sour style Wheat beer, which will be a rotating seasonal. It’s not until about October of next year though that we plan to release a Colorado Fresh hop beer. Certain varieties of hops play nicely with some of the Brettanomyces strains I have collected so that could change.

2) What do you mean by “New World” Sour Style Wheat Beer?

I have the utmost respect for old world brewing techniques and the types of beers brewed in various regions throughout Europe. I spent over three years popping in and out of Europe visiting brewing regions and tasting the local beer. American brewing is not based on culture and tradition as the old world is. Instead, we have started our own grassroots culture and continue to innovate on top of the many types of beers traditionally brewed in regions throughout Europe. Specifically England, Belgium and Germany tend to be the best known to all of us here in the USA.

Crooked Stave is firmly planted in Colorado and therefore a New World producer of beer, but our roots and inspiration are drawn from continued worldly travels. A New World Sour-style Wheat Beer is a hybrid of creativity and passion. Using old world brewing techniques like sour mashing with a new age scientific brewing approach, these seasonally released sour wheat beers strive to reach a balance between sour and tart. The yeast used lends subtle spice and fruitiness which is only complimented by the use of seasonally available ingredients. Since this is an entirely new concept and no such beer like it exists in the same form and fashion, we can only be bound by our imagination. Welcome to the New World. Expect to see versions which have minimal barrel-aging and I’m looking forward to unleashing a few new strains of Brettanomyces I have cultured, including a special strain which produces citrusy aromas and flavors.

3) You’ve mentioned that you will be using techniques and blending which has rarely been utilized by brewers if at all. Can you expand on this?

A winemaker’s greatest skill is his sensory ability to blend barrels of wine and create a consistently quality product year after year. The sensory training I went through while studying a post graduate degree in Wine Chemistry was phenomenal as it was some of the most practical knowledge I have received in an academic setting. We were taught that the winemaker has only the grapes that were harvested to with which to work. If it was not a good season the winemaker can’t make a new batch, he must use his knowledge of blending with his winemaking techniques to create a quality wine from an average vintage.

As a small brewer, this is not a skill which is needed. As brewers we brew with high quality ingredients and release batches believing they are at their best. Batch variation is considered acceptable as long as its within a certain parameter. During my studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a Master’s degree in Brewing and Distilling we were taught blending was only for the big brewers or when batches are not to specification. I question that dogma.. Why? Why can’t a brewer take beers and blend batches which have specific flavors and aromas to make a superior quality product? If it’s done in wine, then it can be done with even greater fervor in brewing.

Blending is not about taking beer from one single type of barrel which holds beer that has been produced with the same brewing techniques as every other beer produced by the brewery. Blending for barrel-aged beers should involve putting beers which have been brewed with different techniques (turbid mash, step mash, sour mash, spontaneously fermented, various bugs and no bugs) and putting those beers into barrels of varying type (French Oak, Red wine barrels, White wine barrels, Rum Barrels, Virgin Oak, etc.) and then using one’s own sensory skills to distinguish desirable characteristics. Through this technique of choosing the components of each barrel which complete the beer, a quality product, unique to what is currently available can be produced. This is how a winemaker would make beer and this is our philosophy behind our barrel program at Crooked Stave.

4) Will you be bottling at all while at Funkwerks or only doing kegs?

We will definitely be bottling in 750 ml champagne style bottles. We are working on the details of labels and bottle caps now as well as planning to have some of the more limited releases wax dipped. I love the look wax covering gives a bottle sitting waiting to be opened.

As we are sharing a brewhouse with Funkwerks and are using up any excess capacity, we are only brewing a batch every three to four weeks depending on available capacity. We are working out the brewing schedule so that we release a new beer each calendar month. This is very tricky given that no one can say exactly how long a certain batch will barrel-age for, but we have a pretty good idea. Given the extremely limited quantity of each batch, ~90 cases of 750 ml bottles, the rest will be going on tap at Funkwerks. After a few batches have been released, limited quantities of kegs will make their way into the market.

5) When do you anticipate opening?

We are currently awaiting our State and Federal brewing permits. We anticipate getting batches brewed and aging in our barrel program some time in the next month. We are then hoping for an initial beer release sometime around the beginning of May at which time we plan to have a Grand Opening and bottle release party.

As far as sharing a brewhouse with Funkwerks, I am excited by the opportunity to brew batches at their brewery. Both Brad and Gordon have established a sound brewery and are creating some awesome Saisons! I can’t say exactly when we will have finished our expansion into Denver and the build-out of our brewery, but we are anticipating having a location by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.

In addition to the website linked above, keep up to date with Crooked Stave on Facebook and on Twitter.

(Fort Collins, CO) – Fort Collins welcomes its newest brewery, Funkwerks.

[11/23 Update: Per the Facebook page, Get some Funkwerks for Thanksgiving. The tap room will be open for bottle sales of our Saison and White Tuesday and Wednesday between 4 and 6. Cash only. $11 for the Saison and $10 for the White.”

“Embracing the unexpected.” That is the title of the first blog post from the team at Funkwerks, Brad Lincoln and NHC-winning Brewmaster, Gordon Schuck. As with many other breweries that start at a nano scale, they’ve blogged about their journey along the way: development of recipes, setting up the brewhouse and going through the red tape of getting a license to brew professionally.

A few months into their project, “unexpected” is just what they got.

In May, Schuck and Lincoln got their license to brew as a nano. A month later, they signed paperwork to take over the old Fort Collins Brewery facility with plans to operate a 15-barrel brewhouse.

What a difference a month makes.

Says Lincoln, “We started out with a plan to be a nano brewery for a while, build up a name for ourselves and start building a brewery from the ground up in about a year from now. But when the old Fort Collins brewery location came up we couldn’t pass up the deal. It had a lot of the infrastructure that we needed and it was also the fastest way to a tap room so we jumped on it. More than anything, opportunity knocked and we invited it in.”

With a new license in tow, the brewery is preparing for a grand opening of sorts next month though a few beers have already been released off of the nano system. Similar to Stillwater Ales on the East Coast, Funkwerks will be a Saison-focused brewery. Why saison? Good question, one the brewery asks itself and answers on its blog here. They are aiming to provide a local alternative to their Belgian counterparts whose beers have the disadvantage of to travelling a long distance.

“I love how many Saisons age but sometimes a fresh saison is what I am looking for. For example, Saison Dupont out of the keg is incredible but Saison Dupont out of the green bottle is often at bit skunked (Gordon doesn’t mind this as much as I do). Also, sometimes I get bottled beers and they are a little oxidized. They are still incredible beers but not as good as they could be.”

In addition to focusing on Saisons, the brewery is also focusing on “Organic” and hopes to become certified next year.

If all goes to plan, the taproom should open for good on (or by) December 9th. They will have their two core offerings, Saison and White Saison, ready to go as well as Cherry Saison (only 100 bottles) and their light saison (yet to be named). The light saison is likely to be a taproom staple along with other new beers down the road, a dark saison and hoppy saison.

Funkwerks will start self-distributing bottles (750s) and kegs in January or February in Fort Collins and in February or March to Denver.

Chicago brewers return from Belgian apprenticeship, use Kickstarter.com to open local boutique brewery

(Chicago, IL) – After spending the early winter apprenticing in Belgium, brewers Gerrit Lewis and Beejay Oslon have returned to Chicago to open their unique vision of a craft brewery, Pipeworks Brewing Company.

Even smaller than a micro-brewery, Pipeworks plans to open a nano-brewery on the North Side, focusing on producing bold beers, using uncommon ingredients, in limited releases. To raise the initial startup funds, the pair has turned to a new form of capital raising known as “crowd-funding”, using the website Kickstarter.com.

In January of 2009, the founders of Pipeworks travelled to Oostvleteren, Belgium, to apprentice with the famed De Struise Brewers. In 2008, The De Struise Brewers were named the #1 brewery in the world by the popular beer review website ratebeer.com. During their apprenticeship, the Pipeworks boys collaborated with De Struise on a few beers, including Pipedream, an homage to Chicago and their journey.

Pipeworks future facility will include a tiny three barrel brewhouse and may produce as little as 200 barrels in its inaugural year. The smaller system affords them the flexibility and control to produce a constantly changing lineup of beers ranging from traditional to the extreme. Pipeworks aims to offer new beers nearly every week. Whether you’re looking for a classically brewed Belgian Wit, a hefty 13% ABV Imperial Stout, or their unique take on an IPA brewed with Szechuan peppercorns, Pipeworks hopes to please a variety of palates. The brewery itself will feature a bottle shop where customers can walk-in to purchase the newest Pipeworks beer or fill a growler with draft-only releases.

To help fund the brewery, Gerrit and Beejay have taken their project to the masses on the “crowd-funding” website of Kickstarter.com. Crowd-funding is a relatively new concept that allows the general public to show their support by pooling money together in efforts to back innovative and creative ideas. In exchange for a pledge on Kickstarter.com, the backer receives a reward from the project creator if the project is funded successfully. In Pipeworks case, they are offering backer rewards ranging from bottle openers, tasting glasses and T-shirts, to having your likeness on a beer label, creating your own beer with the boys, and even a trip to Belgium. They are also giving away a $500 homebrew setup to one lucky winner from their facebook page.

Earlier this year, friends, family, and perfect strangers banded together on Kickstarter.com and raised $44,000 for Erik Meyer’s project, Mystery Brewing Company. Pipeworks is hoping to raise $30,000 by midnight on January 1st 2011. In the three weeks that the project has been live on Kickstarter.com, Pipeworks has amassed over $7,500 in donations and has seen their facebook.com page quadruple in patronage to over 3000 fans. If the funding goal isn’t reached by the deadline, none of the money is collected from backers, and Pipeworks walks away empty-handed.

Jackalope Brewing has signed a lease for a former carpet warehouse at 701 Eighth Ave. S. – less than a quarter-mile from Yazoo’s new Division Street digs – where it plans to launch Nashville’s newest craft brewery and taproom next spring.

Operated by Bailey Spaulding and Robyn Virball, Jackalope Brewing will be the first entirely female run commercial brewery in Tennessee.

“Starting Jackalope in Nashville was an easy decision,” said Bailey Spaulding, who is CEO of the venuture. “We were inspired by Nashville’s creative and entrepreneurial culture. Music City has vibrant energy, supports local business and most importantly, loves delicious beer. Robyn and I are excited to house our business in the 8th Avenue Corridor, where many inventive, local businesses thrive and set a welcoming foundation for our brewery and other entrepreneurs to grow.”

The future site of Jackalope is 8,223 square feet, most of it warehouse space that will house the brewing operation. There is additional commercial space for a public taproom, which will open for limited hours during the week, along the same lines as Yazoo’s new taproom. The lease was brokered by the real estate firms of Cassidy Turley and Chas Hawkins.

Jackalope’s beers will be available in draft form only for now and be distributed by local company BountyBev. Jackalope’s taproom will feature four different draft brews, including a rotating tap for experimental and seasonal beers.

“After developing a passion for brewing my own beer in the early 90s, I started dreaming and planning to open my own brewpub someday. But by the time I was ready, craft beer and brewpubs were struggling in the U.S. and I had three pints at home we were preparing to send to college soon,” Tom said about his two daughters and son who were young and living at home at the time. “When Pam and I became empty nesters, the popularity of craft beer was escalating again so we decided now is the right time.”
According to Tom, he’s always been intrigued by gadgets, equipment, and chemistry. After a six year stint in the Navy serving as a reactor operator on a nuclear submarine (USS Ulysses S. Grant), Tom went back to Purdue, obtaining a BS in Computer Science.

“I was very curious about the technique of home brewing and I was able to combine all of my interests into one hobby. At first it was like chemistry 101 and my first batch was undrinkable!”

Twenty years later, Tom is able to brew a variety of delicious micro brews that would entice anyone from a master brewer to the craft beer novice. Three Pints brewery can support up to five large serving tanks, though kegging additional beers is planned. Three Pints will be serving brewpub staples like fruited wheat beers, amber or red ales, Porters, California Common beers (similar to Anchor Steam), and India Pale Ales.

“We want to appeal to the picky craft beer pallets as well as expose the inexperienced craft beer drinkers to the finer tastes of fresh micro brew tapped right from the source,” Tom added.

Three Pints Brewpub is inspired not only by Tom’s experimenting at home, but from time spent living in Europe where he and Pam sampled the finest German, Irish, Scottish and English beers. “I’ve always loved a good English or Scottish Ale so for the two years we lived in Europe we sampled the best so we could perfect our own brew at home.”

The Brewpub will serve contemporary American cuisine with unique dishes like the Pot Roast Sandwich and skirt steak smothered in jalapeño gravy as well as some English Pub favorites like Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips. Brewing four to five craft beers onsite daily, Three Pints will also feature other local micro beers on tap like Upland, Sun King and Three Floyd’s as well as a wine list and full service bar.

“People will come here for fresh from the tap, locally brewed beer,” said Three Pints Brewpub manager, Jackie Stebbeds, a seasoned retail restaurant manager. “They’ll keep coming back for the good food that compliments the micro brew.”

Three Pints will open to the public on November 12, 2010 for dinner only and will begin brewing beer on site shortly after. Onsite brewing takes two to six weeks from brew to tap, depending on the beer style. Once the Three Pints Brew is ready in mid-to-late December the restaurant will extend hours to include lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Three Pints Brewpub is now hiring employees for kitchen, host, servers and dishes in Plainfield, Ind. The 140-seat brewpub is open to families Tuesday through Sunday from 4:00 until 11:00 p.m. through December when the restaurant will begin serving lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Three Pints Brewpub offers patrons seven plasma screens with NFL and NBA games and a promise for the best viewing of March Madness NCAA basketball in the spring of 2011. Three Pints Brewpub is located at 5020 Cambridge Way, just off of I-70 on State Road 267 by Thornton’s gas station in Plainfield. For more information go to www.threepintsbrewpub.com or call 317-839-1000.

(Ann Arbor, MI) – Michigan’s newest craft microbrewery opened its doors to the public Friday, November 5, 2010. Located on the west side of Ann Arbor, The Wolverine State Brewing Company has been contract brewing Wolverine Premium Lager for three years, with distribution throughout the state. The new 7000 sq. ft. facility, which will specialize in micro-brewed lagers, will feature seven unique brews on tap when the doors open on.

Owners Matt Roy, Trevor Thrall and E.T. Crowe hired head brewer Oliver Roberts in 2009 and purchased a steam-heated, 10-barrel, two-vessel, combi-tank system from the Wolf Rock Brewing Co. in Keystone, Colorado, shipping it across country in early 2010. The elegant copper-clad system, made by Liquid Assets as a “showpiece” brewery, also includes four fermenters and five serving vessels/bright tanks. Once the lease for the old appliance warehouse space was signed in January 2010, work commenced to turn the empty rooms into a fully functional commercial brewery and Tap Room.

The Tap Room will be open seven days a week and features darts, foosball, televisions, many seating arrangements including tables featuring Michigan nautical maps, a comfortable couch and chairs area and a 40-foot, custom-made bar. As a traditional “tap room,” there is no kitchen, but dry snacks including hot pretzels will be available. There is also an extensive “West Side Menu of Menus” that beer-drinking patrons can use to order Chinese food, pizza, sandwiches or salads delivered from local restaurants.

Wolverine Premium Lager, which is available in many retail outlets including Kroger, Meijer, and Busch’s; many package stores; and in several bars and restaurants, will be joined on tap by:
Big House Brown (lager)—3.7% ABV/24 IBUs
The Wench’s Westside Wheat (ale)—3.8% ABV/18 IBUs
Insolent Mink IPA (ale)—6.4% ABV/67 IBUs
Pride of Biscuitville Lager—6% ABV/41 IBUs
Gulo Gulo Northwest Lager—6.9% ABV/59 IBUs
emOATable Lager—5.7% ABV/36 IBUs

Hours of operation will be:
Monday-Thursday 3-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday noon-midnight
Sunday noon-5 p.m.
The Tap Room is available on a limited basis for small private parties.

Total of $150,000 More in Cash Grants to be Awarded Over the Course of the Year

(Austin, TX) – Jeffrey Stuffings was voted as the seventh Inspiration Grant winner this Sunday for his startup business, Jester King Craft Brewery. The grant was presented by the Million Dollar Road Trip (MDRT):a national advertising campaign that awards cash grants to entrepreneurs from around the country who demonstrate a commitment to pursuing their passions.

Jester King is an authentic farmhouse brewery that was started by Stuffings, his brother Michael, and their friend Ron Extract. A former lawyer, Stuffings decided to quit his job last year and began raising capital to start the brewery. As part of Austin Beer Week, the first keg of Jester King’s Wytchmaker Rye India Pale Ale will make its debut tonight at Draught House in Austin.

“We’re honored to have received the grant and would like to thank everyone who supported us,” says Stuffings. “The Million Dollar Road trip is proof that an idea, creativity, and hard work can go a long way both literally and figuratively.”

Walter and Patrick Hessert created MDRT out of a shared passion for entrepreneurship, travel, meeting inspiring people, and creating unique experiences. They are traveling over 40,000 miles, visiting 48 states, and passing through 50 of the nation’s largest cities in a 23-foot long bright blue Airstream trailer. Every two weeks new grant candidates, whom the brothers meet on the road, are posted on the MDRT website where the public can vote for the most inspiring entrepreneur. The biweekly winners are awarded $500 and advertising space. By the trip’s end, over $150,000 in cash grants will be given away to small businesses and start-ups.

Walter Hessert says, “Awarding Inspiration Grants is our way of supporting local entrepreneurs. We believe in the importance of people like Jeffrey who are following their passions and acting audaciously. We are inspired by their new ideas and bold action. Our goal is to reward those who have taken risk to create some enterprise whether it is a business, arts project, or non-profit.”

About Million Dollar Road Trip: MDRT is a memorable mobile marketing tool utilizing logo placement, promotional marketing, and social media. MDRT will visit 48 states over the course of a year with the goal of selling $1 million dollars worth of advertising. The mission is to celebrate the entrepreneurship in America by highlighting ambitious and creative people throughout the country. MDRT awards cash grants to young Americans who inspire others with their passion and audacity.

(San Francisco, CA) – Homebrewing celebrity, Jamil Zainasheff, made a big announcement this week.

[11/8 Update: Well, my analysis below about 30 barrel brewhouses went out the window. This will be an alternating proprietorship. See comment below. Thanks for the detective work, Ross!]

It came on an episode of Brewing TV, posted online yesterday. Around the 16:20 mark, Zainasheff reveals that he’s starting a new brewery called Heretic Brewing. Here are the scant details thus far:

- Located in East Bay of San Francisco
- 30 barrel brewhouse
- Expected to release first beers in February or March 2011
- Will be packaged in kegs primarily to start with 750s and bombers shortly thereafter
- Should be pouring at Homebrewers Conference in June in San Diego

The absence of 4-packs or 6-packks in the plan seems pretty unusual at first glance. I polled people to see if there is a 30-barrel brewery out there that doesn’t do 4-pks or 6-pks. Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey has a 30 bbl system but brews less than 10,000 barrels a year, in part, due to low yields (kudos to Munche on Twitter). Brewpublic suggested Ninkasi Brewing, a brewery I wrote about earlier this summer that is truly in a class of its own as the only regional brewery exceeding 80% growth in 2009 (they were at 157%). Seattle Beer News mentioned that Mac and Jack‘s is in the top 50 with 100% draft sales but that they “brew around the clock” on their 20bbl system to get there.

Each one of those breweries is special for one reason or another but if anyone else can pull it off, it might just be Zainasheff. Also known as “Mr. Malty,” he is something of a legend in homebrewer circles. Over the last several years, he has built a substantial amount of goodwill with his future customer base by offering up brewing tips and expertise. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on Zainasheff:

Jamil Zainasheff has worked as a software engineer. He lives in Elk Grove, California, USA. Zainasheff started homebrewing in 1999, and was awarded the prestigious Ninkasi Award in 2004 and 2007. He hosts the internet radio show “The Jamil Show” on The Brewing Network. He co-authored Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew with John J. Palmer and Yeast – A Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation with Chris White. He also has been the Style Profile columnist for Brew Your Own magazine since 2007.

Zainasheff is Assistant IT Director of the Beer Judge Certification Program, and has been the Representative of the West Region (Hawaii and California) since June 2008.

HereticBrewing.com appears to be a work in progress but folks can keep up to date with the new Heretic Brewing account on Twitter.

(Rockville, MD) — Paul Rinehart, owner of Baying Hound Aleworks, announced today the appointment of J. Cambier Imports Inc. as the premier distributor for Baying Hound Aleworks. With the help of J. Cambier Imports, Baying Hound Aleworks beers will be available throughout the DC metropolitan area.

Baying Hound Aleworks’ English-style Pale Ale has already garnered glowing reviews. Its bottle conditioning and top-quality ingredients make a beer that is well balanced and can be enjoyed on its own or with food.

“Small is the new small” said Paul Rinehart. “Do you really want a beer that comes off a factory line? Or do you want a beer that is personally hand made by a craftsman?”

Distribution is set to begin this week, and Baying Hound should be available soon at better bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.

# # #

Baying Hound Aleworks is the only independent nanobrewery in Rockville, Maryland. The brewery produces small batch beers and uses the highest quality ingredients. To learn more, please visit www.baying-hound.com.

(San Antonio, TX) – Here is the latest update on a new Texas “brewstillery.”

Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling will soon make its mark in the beer world when it begins releasing beers next month (perhaps even this week?). The San Antonio-based operation has a thorough website that details how the project began and the four beers in its portfolio: South Texas Lager, Oatmeal Pale Ale, Mesquite Smoked Porter and La Bestia Aimable (a Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale). Full descriptions for those are also up on the site.

So when I caught up with Co-Founder, Mark McDavid, I focused the questions around getting the nitty gritty details on when Texas drinkers will see Ranger Creek beers…

1) Where are you at with the TABC & when will your beers be hitting taps/bottles?

TABC label approval is going on this week. Our first event is a beer dinner on 11/2. We’ll roll out slowly and deliberately after that. Kegs only for now, along with 750 ml bottles of La Bestia. 12 oz. bottles to follow as soon as we get some issues with our bottling machine sorted out.

2) Will all your four core beers be available at the start or will there be a delay with some others?

3 of the 4 core beers will be available over the next couple of weeks. The South Texas Lager will come later as it takes time to lager.

3) Where will your beers be available?

We’re focused on our hometown of San Antonio, especially since we’re self distributing. We’ll have a small presence in Austin and an even smaller one in Houston. Nothing beyond that yet.

4) Will your seasonals be in 6-packs or will you be doing a different format like 22 oz. bottles or draft-only?

Seasonal packaging is still up for discussion, but certainly we’ll start with draft.

5) Any idea on what some of your seasonals might be?

Rob has some great ideas on some cool seasonals. Not ready to disclose them quite yet, but our approach will be more innovative recipes for seasonals, in addition to using local ingredients as much as possible. We’d also like to do some collaborations next year, especially with one of the Scandinavian breweries. They are doing cool things, plus Dennis, one of the owners of Ranger Creek, is Swedish! And one of the things that gets us most excited is how we can combine the brewery and distillery sides of the business. So obviously bourbon barrel aging is on the list, plus some other cool ideas.

(Austin, TX) – Jester King Brewery has received its first label approval for bottles.

Later this year, Jester King Commercial Suicide bottles (750ml, bottle-conditioned) will hit shelves for the first time in Texas, according to Brewer/Owner, Jeffrey Stuffings. The startup brewery just released kegs of this brew, its first as a commercial brewery, recently.

Label copy: “Oi! We’d like to think those punks who hung out in Stoke-on-Trenth back in the last ’70s listening to Discharge and Motorhead would have had a good time raising a little hell with this beer. This is our tip ‘o the hat to them, saying thanks for taking the shots and abuse that made it okay to dress the way you want, wear your hair the way you want and live your life for yourself and those you care about. Protest and survive kids…

Jester King Craft Brewery is an authentic farmhouse brewery in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, on the outskirts of Austin. We brew what we like, drink what we want and share the rest with anyone who happens to share our tastes.”

Beer Stats:

3.3% ABV, 1.041 OG, 18 IBUs
Malts: Maris Otter, Caramalt, Extra Dark Crystal, Brown Malt, Pale chocolate, Chocolate
Hops: East Kent Goldings
Yeast: Dry English Ale
Food Pairing: Grilled Meats, Lentils, Apple Pie

Jester King also has at least two other beers coming down the pipeline: Wytchmaker Rye IPA and Boxer’s Revenge Farmhouse Provision Ale.

I’m not sure why the brewery didn’t choose a WordPress or Blogger template for its blog but, nevertheless, they’re keeping it updated. You can also follow them on Twitter.

(Vista, CA) – Iron Fist Brewing will host a soft launch opening today and a grand opening tomorrow.

Iron Fist is one of over 200 breweries to open this year, a tiny fraction of the 2010 brewery boom. So if you’re wondering why relatively little has been written about them so far, that probably has something to do with it. Still, the brewery has been thorough in developing its web presence with a detailed website as well as Twitter and Facebook accounts.

There are currently seven beers to be offered in Iron Fist’s portfolio (full descriptions on these are available on the website):

“Hired Hand” – Saison
“Golden Age” – Belgian Style Golden Strong Ale
“Dubbel Fisted” – Abbey Style Dubbel
“Renegade Blonde” – Kolsch Style Blonde Ale
“Dark Days” – Brandy Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
“Spice of Life” – Belgian Style Spiced Ale
“The Resistance” – Belgian Style Wild Ale Aged in White Wine Barrel

Most of these will be available on Thursday and Friday. Friday is the official opening and begins at 4pm (you’ll have to call for Thursday details). According to Iron Fist Marketing Advocate, Taylor Shaw, “The Dark Days and The Resistance will not be ready for a while but all the others will be. They will be served on tap and bottles are available to purchase.”

Distribution will be limited to San Diego to start but the brewery hopes to be successful enough to make it into a few key markets outside of CA in the not-too-distant future.

DC Residents Now On the Trail of a Good Brew

(Rockville, MD) – Beer loving DC-area Locavores have a new brew to call their own. Baying Hound Aleworks announced today its “inaugural” brew and that it is open for business. The brewery—designated a “nano-brewery” since it produces only ten barrels per month—is the brainchild DC native Paul Rinehart. DC residents can try Baying Hound beers at local festivals and events, and purchase beer throughout the DC area through specialty stores, off-premise parties, and special events.

Fascinated with beer from an early age, Paul began his brewing career at the age of fourteen in his parent’s kitchen. “My parents always encouraged creativity,” says Rinehart. “And I guess the fact that I come from a long line of DC bootleggers made my hobby a little less surprising to them.”

Now grown up and ready to share his passion for beer with the world, Baying Hound, which began from a special collection of beer recipes that Paul developed for friends and family, moved into its permanent facilities in September.

The brewery’s small size has advantages. “With small batches, I can personally keep a close eye on the product through the entire process to ensure its quality,” says Rinehart. With culinary training and restaurant experience, Paul’s beers have been carefully crafted to work well with food. “When I formulate a new beer recipe, food pairings are always on my mind. A good beer can elevate a meal from simple to sublime.”

Why Baying Hound? Naming the company in memory of his bloodhound Marmalade “was a no-brainer,” Rinehart says. “She was always right there when I was brewing—supervising every step. I guess you could say she had a nose for the business.”

The first fruit of Paul and Marmalade’s labors is a palate pleasing Pale Ale. In the coming weeks, Baying Hound will release additional styles of ale that are a perfect complement for the season. While the brewery is not open to the public, private off-premise tastings can be accommodated.

“I am excited to share the recipes we’ve enjoyed with friends and family with my extended DC-area friends,” said Rinehart. “I look forward to making a beer for you.“

(Greensboro, VT) – A big release takes place this weekend in Vermont.

[Ed. Note: click the pics to zoom in]

Since things began for Hill Farmstead earlier this year, Shaun Hill’s young brewery has earned quite the notoriety in beer circles. The beers have nearly straight A’s on Beer Advocate. Now Hill, a brewing veteran, is set to release his first barrel-aged beers under the Hill Farmstead name. He helped Nørrebro Bryghus win three World Beer Cup medals this year (two gold and one silver) for his previous barrel work in Denmark. This is certainly a release to keep an eye on…

Here’s the info on Saturday’s event where four different barrel-aged beers will be released in bottles:

When: Saturday, October 2nd 11am to 5pm.

Where: 403A Hill Road Greensboro Bend, VT 05842 (802) 533-7450

How much: 15$ for our 8oz. stemmed sampling glass (yours to keep and bring back for future special events!) and 4 tasting tickets (6 to 8 ounce pours). 8 beers on draft (minimum). Pay as you go. The only entry fee is the purchase of the sampling glass. No advance tickets necessary.

What: The release of one fresh/wet hopped beer, a cask of Edward conditioned on our own Cascades, as well as four barrel-aged beers, three different barreled versions of our Smoked Baltic Porter that we brewed in April with Anders Kissmeyer (my former brewery director at Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen, DK). Anders is actually here for the release and will be pouring beers. We’re having a crazy harvest festival, as well.

All of these barrel aged beers will be available for purchase in 500ml bottles to take home. All beers are hand bottled and bottle conditioned.

- French Oak Napa Cabernet

- American Oak Napa Cabernet/Utopias Blend

- Buffalo Trace/Utopias

- This will also be the release of our Pinot Noir barrel aged James (Jim) – dry hopped in the barrel with Simcoe and blended with a touch of Smoked Baltic Porter.

On Tap:

Edward Dry Hopped with Hill Farmstead’s own Cascades…

French Oak Cabernet Smoked Baltic Porter

American Oak Cabernet/Utopias barrel blend Smoked Baltic Porter

Buffalo Trace/Utopias Smoked Baltic Porter

Barrel Aged James (aka. Jim)

Autumn Saison (Phenomenology of Spirit: Collab with Jean Broilet/Grassroots/Mckenzie) – 7% abv Dark Saison

Barrel aged Florence wheat Saison (Flora: barrel aged saison) – 5.5 % abv

Ephraim (Imperial IPA: 280 theoretical ibus and 10.5% abv).

Abner (Imperial IPA)

An extra note from Hill: “Come out and join us in the sunshine… camping is available…for the evening…”

(Austin, TX) – Jester King Craft Brewery is now brewing! Located on 200 acres of farmland in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Jester King is an authentic farmhouse brewery started by brothers Michael and Jeffrey Stuffings and their friend Ron Extract. On Thursday, September 23rd, five months after breaking ground at the site, the brewery began production of its first batch. Appropriate to the farmhouse setting, the inaugural brew is farmhouse ale called “Boxer’s Revenge”, in honor of the stalwart, hard-working farm horse in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Boxer’s Revenge is an oak barrel aged wild beer that is golden in color and brewed with Belgian pilsner malt, American hops and French Saison yeast. Following the initial fermentation, it will be dry-hopped with a blend of Cascade and Centennial hops and transferred to neutral, French Oak wine barrels for additional fermentation and aging with a blend of wild yeasts. The finished beer will be quite dry and effervescent, with an anticipated ABV of 7.5%.

Boxer’s Revenge is the strongest of three Franco-Belgian inspired farmhouse ales that will be part of Jester King’s year-round lineup. Along with Boxer’s Revenge will be Das Wunderkind! – a “session- strength”, unspiced, farmhouse saison at roughly 4% ABV and Cocksure – a slightly darker, stronger, heavily-hopped farmhouse pale ale brewed with all European noble hops. All three beers will be aged in French oak barrels with the addition of wild yeast. The starting lineup will also include two Anglo-American inspired beers brewed with English ale yeast – Commercial Suicide, a 3% ABV British-style dark mild, partially fermented in new, American oak barrels and Wytchmaker, a 7% ABV Rye India Pale Ale.

Along with our commitment to making artisan beer, Jester King uses sustainable brewing practices. The brewery is equipped with two large rain water collection barrels, which will soon be connected to gutters surrounding both the brewery and a nearby 8,000 square foot rustic beer hall. The collected water will then be passed through a reverse osmosis filtration system, which is already in use. We are also striving to make use of organic ingredients whenever possible and will be using organic two-row malt as the base for several of our beers.

Later this fall, Jester King will begin hosting festivals and special events at the brewery and beer hall with plenty of live music, good food and, of course, hand-crafted artisan beer. For more information, please visit www.jesterkingbrewery.com.

Introducing Two New Beers: Invocation Belgian-style Golden Ale and Ode to Mercy Imperial Brown Ale

(Decatur, GA) — Last night, Georgia celebrated its newest beer company—Wild Heaven Craft Beers—with a launch party at the Southeastʼs Mecca for beer lovers, the Brick Store Pub. Wild Heaven is the brainchild of Nick Purdy, founding publisher of award-winning Paste magazine, with recipes developed by brewmaster Eric Johnson of Athensʼ acclaimed Trappeze Pub.

“Our goal is nothing less than to brew the finest beer in the South,” says Purdy. “Wild Heaven Craft Beersʼ core portfolio will be high-end beers, and the demand for quality brewing is taking off. Our place in the market is to make beer that appeals to the adventurous craft-beer lover.”

Beginning today, the first two beers from Wild Heaven, Invocation and Ode to Mercy, will be available in pubs and restaurants around Atlanta and throughout Georgia and Alabama later this month. Invocation is a Belgian-style golden ale brewed all-grain, giving it a deep and complex taste. Ode To Mercy is an imperial brown ale combining the flavor and aroma of deep roasted malts, oak and coffee specially blended by Athens, GAʼs 1000 Faces Coffee, yielding a smooth, creamy finish. Bottles will be available by the end of the year.

Johnsonʼs philosophy of brewing is rooted in the European tradition, but with an adventurous American spirit. As both a renowned horticulturalist and proprietor of BeerAdvocate.comʼs #2 rated Georgia pub, he has a deep understanding of the science of brewing, an encyclopedic knowledge of the beer scene, and a creative streak which has yielded unending recipes for world-class beer.

“Georgia has fewer breweries per capita than Utah,” says Purdy, “but itʼs a top craft-beer market. Weʼve got good local breweries, just not enough of them.”

Despite a 2.2% dip in overall beer sales in 2009, craft beer grew 12% during the first half of 2010. And while North Carolina boasts 22 different breweries and Colorado has 25, Georgia only has four. Wild Heaven is contract brewing with Thomas Creek in South Carolina and plans to open its own brewery in the Decatur area by 2013.

Mike Gallagher, owner of the Brick Store Pub, said, “After traveling to cities like Portland, Chicago, San Fran and Philadelphia, itʼs almost embarrassing that we only have four local breweries, and one of those is actually in Athens. We’re a city of over five million people! The locals are ready, willing, waiting and excited.”

Fred Crudder, Beverage Director for Taco Mac, adds, “I was skeptical at first, having not heard anything about this project, but am alarmingly and overwhelmingly surprised at the quality of the beer.”

The following locations have joined with Wild Heaven to celebrate its launch and are featuring both Invocation and Ode To Mercy today: Brick Store Pub (Decatur), The Corner Pub (Decatur), Cypress Street Pint & Plate (Midtown), Diesel Filling Station (Virginia Highlands), The Fred (Sandy Springs), Leonʼs Full Service (Decatur), The Marlay House (Decatur), Midway Pub (East Atlanta), Octane (Westside), Ormbyʼs (Westside), Muss & Turnerʼs (Smyrna), The Porter Beer Bar (Little Five Points), Steinbeck’s (Oakhurst), Taco Mac – Perimeter Place (Dunwoody), Thinking Man Tavern (Decatur), Trappeze Pub (Athens), Twain’s Billiards (Decatur) and Young Augustine’s (Grant Park).