American Farmed Beer Features Locally Farmed Cranberries

(Westport, MA) – With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, American families are planning to gather and give thanks for all of our blessings. This definitive American holiday could not be better served than with the fall seasonal from Just Beer: their American-grown Saison brewed with local cranberries from Decas Brothers.

“As far as we know, we’re the only ones doing a cranberry-kissed version of this Belgian style ale,” says owner and brewer Bill Russell. “I love how the bitterness, the tartness and the wonderful aroma of cranberry slides right in next to the aromas and flavors of a true Saison. It’s a wonderful marriage.”

Cranberries are one of only a handful of fruits native to North America and our region’s agricultural gem. “We’re in the Napa Valley of cranberries,” says Russell “and that’s why we’ve worked with cranberries in several of our beers over the years. But none of these beers has been as spot-on remarkable as this one. This recipe is a classic brew.”

Saison beers are native to Belgium and “Saison” is French for season. Aptly named because these ales are traditionally brewed in the autumn and spring when it was cool (in the days before refrigeration) and meant to be held for summer drinking. Today they are available year round although Just Beer’s Saison is only available this fall (at the brewery and in stores throughout the South Coast).

“I’ve got the entire Russell clan at my house this year so I’m going to need a few of these to survive the family onslaught.” When asked what’s next at Just Beer, Bill laughs and says, “Something for Mr. Claus. He’s got to get through Christmas.”

(Westport, MA) – Just Beer at Buzzards Bay Brewing likes to think out of the box. That is to say, they consider themselves a clever bunch of knuckleheads.

Just beer is proud to reveal a unique collaboration between brewer and author. “The Case of the IPA” is a hard-boiled detective farce printed chapter by chapter on 12 bottles of a newly released India Pale Ale. Each 22 ounce bottle not only has 22 ounces of brilliantly deduced IPA, but also 1 of the 12 chapters of the story. Each case has 12 bottles, which makes for the entire tale told in a case. And so, the Case of the IPA is indeed a case of the IPA. Brewer Harry Smith proposed the idea to author Paull Goodchild and they quickly agreed on a format: a noir-ish detective serial. Smith brewed up a batch of hoppy craft brew whilst Goodchild penned the story. It’s a mystery of zany brewers and their intrigues; sure to tickle the ribs and please the belly of any fan of craft beer. As this is a bottle by bottle mystery, Just Beer reminds all to “please read responsibly.”

Without further adieu, we share chapter one of the tale (unfortunately for you [especially as it is Friday] sent without 22 ounces of hoppy, delicious IPA. Drop by for a chapter to sip upon.)

The Case of the IPA, Chapter 1:
I do not boast. My credentials are those of an intrepid adventurer. They are both obvious as the scar on my cheek and subtle as the squint in my eye. For several years now, I’ve been a two-bit shamus in a dirty, gritty, bluesy, and cool city of some renown. I stepped when the boil got too hot on The Case of the India Pale Ale. It started with a summons from a wealthy brewer named Cornelius Fuggle(no relation). He lived in a swank starter mansion in the ‘burbs. The casual staff showed me to his office, knocked once then gestured. I opened the door, pushing against a stack of papers and books. ‘Mind your step,’ came a distracted disembodied voice. I weaved through the OCD towers of yellowed tomes into a clearing dominated by a giant repro of an ersatz antique chart. Fuggle was plotting a route from Blackwall to the sub-continent, getting data from a mildewed log, fiddling with dividers and a straight edge, drawing with a quill dipped in a well of his own blood. ‘Authenticity!’ he exclaimed then passed out.

(Westport, MA) – Here’s the good word from a recent Just Beer newsletter.

Summer is upon us and things are certainly jumping. Drive Thru Brew Saturdays are incredible! Folks are loving the stop, honk and load up with brews; all without leaving the comfort of your car. We’ve also got some new brews that we’ve sprung. All are 100% American Grown; brew local!

The Golden Flounder: Where to begin? It¹s a blend of American grown pale with some wheat malts and hopped with 2009 Segal Ranch Galinas and Cascades in the kettle and then run through our hop-back with whole leaf 2009 season Cascades from Segal Ranch. We¹re looking to capture the refreshing citrus flavor and aroma of American hops in a deliciously zippy unfiltered golden.
Available in 22oz bottles or growlers.

Flip Flop Summer Ale – Summer is a time of color. Days on the beach and weekends fishing brings out the bronze in all of us. So why not in our summer brew? This nicely bronzed summer ale is loaded with 4 malts and a touch of oats then slathered with Sorachi dry hopping for a delicious lemon zesty aroma. Available in 22oz bottles or growlers.

BIG Mamie Battleship Brown Ale: A Big 5.7% alcohol brewed with 7 different malts. We celebrate 45 years with our favorite Battleship, the USS Massachusetts, anchored in Fall River.

And we’re bringing out several more playful brews between now and the fall, including Horseneck Golden (a hoppy, strong, golden, IPA-ish brew), a spooky beer (no, we won’t say more yet) and a super secret IPA project that involves more mystery than we care to discuss (even in whispers). Expect all these brews to be out in August, September and October.

(Boston, MA) – In this edition, Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA, Just Beer Flip Flop, Prodigal Brewery and ACBF . . .

Boston Beer Co. got approval for its new Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA labels. They will appear on bottles in 6-packs beginning in September. Spoetzl Brewery is now the only top 10 craft brewery without a staple IPA in its portfolio.

Just Beer Flip Flop Summer Ale is now available. The Massachusetts-based brewery released bottles last week and retail at $19.99/case of bombers or $14.99/case at the brewery’s Drive Thru Brew on Saturdays. Description: “An all American beauty, well-bronzed with a lovely, voluptuous body; slathered in the exotic hop oils of Sorachi.”

At least a few years in the making, The Prodigal Brewery will begin brewing soon. Per Paul Davis, former Thomas Hooker Brewmaster, “The NHSLC gives us verbal approval to start our test batches. Final approval next week.” Prodigal is based in New Hampshire.

Finally, Boston Beer Week wraps up this weekend with American Craft Beer Fest. It looks like an impressive event. Full beer list is available here. Tickets appear to still be available.

(Westport, MA) – Just Beer is releasing three new beers in bottles soon. I caught up with Bill Russell who runs this operation and here’s the scoop on them.

Elephant Rock Bock: “A 7.8% bock brew that we’ve lagered for way over 12 weeks and done a mild American dry-hop which we think adds a lovely floral lift to the sweet malt. We only made about 40 barrels and will bottle 25 of those in 22oz bombers. Available starting mid May.”

Golden Flounder: “Where to begin? We’re brewing the first batch tomorrow. It’s a blend of American grown pale and wheat malts and hopped with 2009 Segal Ranch Galinas and Cascades in the kettle and then run through our hop-back with whole leaf 2009 season Cascades from Segal Ranch. We’re looking to capture the refreshing citrus flavor and aroma of American hops in a deliciously zippy unfiltered golden.”

Big Mamie: “As you might expect for a beer with a battleship as its inspiration, it’s bigger than our normal ales. We’re brewing this big babe next week. It’s a blend of 4 American malts, pale, “victory”, caramel 120 and chocolate. We’re going to hop up with only bittering hops which, in this case, is again 2009 Galinas. Fermentation will be cool, at 60-62 degrees and the result we hope for is an new American style strong brown alt-ish brew with 5.7% alcohol.”

Says Russell: “In typical Just Beer fashion, all these beers are made as sessionable brews. We’re not extremists, instead preferring to brew perfectly reasonable beers. All our beers are mostly available on the South Coast of Massachusetts where we self-distribute. We can arrange shipment of bottles to any retailer in the state but prefer to keep draft beer within 20 miles of the brewery. We have a vibrant little store at the brewery, open Fridays and Saturdays during the Winter and Thursday through Saturday from Memorial Day through Labor Day. If you’re on our email list, you’ll notice that most Saturdays we offer some brews at a recession-proof price of $14.99/case. AKA reasonable beer at a reasonable price. On Saturdays this summer we’ll have a drive-through case purchase (warm or cold) storefront with $14.99 cases every Saturday. This is in addition to our normal store with tastings/tours/growlers.”

(Westport, MA) – News came out six weeks ago that Buzzards Bay Brewing was closing down brewing operations of its own brands. The brewery would still, however, allow other brewers to still work on their equipment including Cisco Brewers of Nantucket and Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project of Cambridge. One tidbit that also came from the article was that the brewery would be reincarnated as Just Beer Brewing.

While I am hazy on how the challenges posed to the old brand (updated note: I’ve been told that this article contains some errors including that Chris Atkinson is not the founding brewer; Chris was the 4th brewer at BBB and joined in 2002; they started brewing in 1998) will impact the new brand, the new brand is alive and well and has a working website. Yankee Brew News notes that the brewery is self-distributing this line and also producing the beer with a “negative carbon footprint. The waste is used as compost and irrigation water.” I also got my first newsletter in the mail today:

“The folks in New Bedford and Westport have been loving our new brews: John Beere [an American golden ale], Moby D, CIA [both pale ales/IPAs] and ?. We’ll be bringing out 22oz bottles of John Beere and Moby D later this month.

**On October 27, 2009 Josh Bruins (Bill’s son and former brewery retail store guru) set out with the US Marines for Afghanistan. To honor him and the rest of the 2/2 Warriors, Harry and Bill brewed a special batch of beer called “Semper Ri”. It’s a rye beer, using rye malt and chocolate rye malt and will be released in 22oz bottles and on draft in late November. $2 from every bottle will be used to supply the USMC 2/2 Warlords with Christmas presents and other things from home (like socks). We’re proud of USMC 2nd Lieutenant Joshua Bruins and want to do anything we can to support him and his men.**

Also look for these upcoming releases:
Just Beer X Bock – a classic amber bock with 7.8% alcohol and lagered for over 12 weeks! It’s a smashing follow-up to last year’s Harvest Bock but with MORE stuffings.
2009 Cranberry Lambic – as always, we’re TRYING to get this brew out in time for Thanksgiving.”