Maltose Falcons

Overlooked this e-mail: Devil's Den is hosting a Coronado night. This west coast brewery, just across the causeway from San Diego, just arrived in PA not long ago, and I got a shot at their beers: eye-popping.

Here's what they're bringing, courtesy of the folks at Devil's Den. 
·         Coronado Idiot IPA  - Double IPA, deep golden color, sweet toasted malt body huge citrus & pine hop bite.
·         Coronado Black Pearl  - limited— German style schwarz, smooth sweet roasted body, notes of coffee & molasses with smoky, woody finish.
·         Coronado Little Brown Lager  - limited - dark brown, big rich malty body notes of sweet chocolate & roasted nuts.
·         Coronado Pacific Pilsner  - limited  - a Czech style pilsner, deep golden, smooth bready malt body with a crisp hop finish.

Worth a stop, trust me. 

(Independence, OR) – Rogue Ales has begun our annual harvest of GYO Certified hops from the Rogue Farms Micro Hopyard in Oregon’s Wigrich Appellation. We honor our cultivation, growth, and harvest by using 5 different varieties and 2,200 lbs of fresh hops from our 42-acre farm to create this year’s Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop Ale.

Like any farmer sowing seed in soil, the success of our hops lies a great deal in the hands of Mother Nature. Master Brewer John Maier had planned to add a sixth variety to the brew, but our Alluvial Hops did not produce this year.

After being cut from the trellises, the hop cones are separated and loaded into 250lb burlap sacks, driven 77 miles to the Brewery in Newport, OR, and immediately pitched into the brew kettle. Total elapse time: approximately 2 hours, 17 minutes.

Due to the massive quantity of wet hops used in the brewing process we create three small batches, and then blend them to form our Wet Hop Ale.

- Batch One August 23: 250lbs of Revolution Hops and 250lbs of Liberty Hops
- Batch Two August 24: 500lbs of Freedom Hops and 250lbs of Independence Hops
- Batch Three August 26: 1,000lbs of Rebel Hops

Wet Hop Ale is brewed with 11 ingredients: Carawheat, Carafoam, and Rogue Micro Barley Farm Dare & Risk Malts; Rogue Micro Hopyard first growth Freedom, Revolution, Independent, Rebel, & Liberty Hops; Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water.

Wet Hop Ale will be available in select markets on October 1st, 2010. Rogue remains dedicated to saving the terroir of Oregon hops and barley, one acre at a time, by growing our own.

Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop Ale returns in October

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Cleveland, OH) – Some interesting tidbits learned from a recent interview . . .

Great Lakes Brewing Brewmaster, Luke Purcell, appeared in a recent interview with Mike Schwartz from Belmont Party Supply.

First off, the brewery has expanded capacity, nearly doubling it. Purcell noted that the brewery produced 80,000 barrels in 2009 and capacity will be at 150,000 barrels for 2011.

Purcell discusses each beer that the brewery does in bottles but most interesting is a new beer going on tap this month. Great Lakes Jabberwocky will be on at the pub only on Tuesdays (may want to call ahead to verify). This beer is a sour ale fermented with with Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and cherries. It’s been aging in sherry casks for six years. Jabberwocky actually started out as a Belgian Tripel that just didn’t attenuate so Purcell and Co. took matters into their own hands. There are only three barrels of it.

Purcell muttered something about a Strong Ale going into Merlot wine barrels but nothing more than that. Nosferatu will return to shelves this month and Christmas Ale, the brewery’s second-best selling beer will be available later this fall.

Great Lakes Brewing doubles capacity, puts sour ale on tap this month

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Did I miss a meeting? The malt beverages that are flavored with something else — fruit, essence of liquor or whatever — have been called by many names. Alcopop is always the one that first leaps to mind, even though that’s supposedly a derogatory term. Why? Apparently adding “pop” makes it for the kiddies, something [...]

(Lexington, MA) – Clown Shoes Beer recently released its fourth creation, an Imperial Amber ale dubbed Eagle Claw Fist. A release party was held on August 16th at Deep Ellum’s in Alston, Massachusetts. Eagle Claw Fist, like its predecessors, is available in 22 oz “bomber” bottles, as well as sixth barrel and ½ barrel kegs.

At its base, Eagle Claw Fist uses Canadian Two Row, English Crystal, and a little Black Patent malt to provide a sweet, balanced backbone and healthy amber color. The unique hop profile is a result of the perfect marriage between Simcoe, Centennial, and Citra hops. The Simcoe and Centennial hops work together to provide the bitter side of the beer (it weighs in at over 100 IBU’s!), while the Citra hops provides aromas of tropical fruits. The same Chico yeast that shaped Eagle Claw Fist’s sister beers (Hoppy Feet and Brown Angel) is utilized.

Eagle Claw Fist provides an intense bitterness that manages to leave your mouth in one piece and is harmonized by flavors of tropical fruits and flowers. Basically it has the power and grace of a Shaolin Monk. Eagle Claw Fist is best served chilled rather than cold to allow the bitterness more time to mellow.

Clown Shoes Beer continues to show respect to what craft beer should be with its small batch, artisan approach. All four beers have gotten tremendous reviews from both casual drinkers to the hardcore craft beer fanatics. Hoppy Feet Black IPA, the brand’s flagship, was released in January 2010 to great reviews. Expectations were high as Brown Angel (a hoppy double brown ale) and Clementine (a Belgian Wit) were released in the spring and summer, respectively.

With the arrival of Eagle Claw Fist for the fall Clown Shoes has cemented itself as one of the new breweries to keep an eye on in New England. A multi-state expansion is underway as well as several new beers that will continue to push the craft beer boundaries. Breaking Clown Shoes news can be found on their Twitter (@clownshoesbeer) or Facebook (Clown Shoes Beer) accounts.

Clown Shoes Eagle Claw Fist debuts

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

More labels . . .

First up is a beer that won’t be available for a while but, for hopheads, will be another worthy option in the Imperial IPA style. Sneaky Pete, a 10% ABV DIPA brewed by Idaho-based Laughing Dog, will make its debut on shelves in select markets around the country beginning March 1st of next year. Kysela will be the primary distributor for this one.

Breckenridge Lucky U IPA is going into cans on a year-round basis according to the brewery’s Terry Usry. “Lucky U in cans will be out around October 1. We are focusing primarily on the Colorado market with Lucky U in cans to further promote locally our contribution to the Tivoli building through the portion of proceeds from sales of Lucky U.”

Lastly, two beers, Elysian Dragonstooth and Bi-Frost, will be returning to shelves at some point with an upgrade in label art.

Beer labels II: Laughing Dog, Elysian x2, Breckenridge

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Some new label approvals . . .

Ballast Point Brewing is getting a slight upgrade on its Victory At Sea label. Love the artwork here…

Harpoon Brewery will debut Leviathan Barley Wine this November and will re-release Baltic Porter around the same time.

Blue Point Brewing will release its first-ever Pumpkin Ale in bottles very soon. The beer debuted on tap last week.

Finally, Pretty Things Beer just released Hedgerow Bitter, described as being, “Inspired by British raw materials and beers: a dry and bitter beer made with hedgerow variety hops.” It’s available in 22 oz. bottles.

Beer labels: Ballast Point, Blue Point, Harpoon, Pretty Things

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Last week I shared some of the highlights from the Brewers Association‘s bi-monthly Power Hour session that Ray Daniels tweeted about throughout the hour, whose topic was “Craft Brewing & Mid-Year Category Sales Review.” As a BA member, I also was able to look at the presentation after the fact and — with the Brewers [...]

Tomorrow is the 2nd annual Pils Picnic at Johnny Brenda's in Fishtown. TEN pilsners on tap, starting at noon:
Dock Street Bohemian Pils
Manayunk Bill's Pils
Troeg's Sunshine Pils
Southampton Keller Pils
Stoudt's Pils
Victory Prima Pils
Sly Fox Pikeland Pils
Sly Fox Keller Pils- FIRKIN!
Victory Braumeister Pils- Saaz
Victory Braumeister Pils- Spalt

And it's a picnic, right? So here's the menu: fried chicken, deviled eggs, ham salad on a biscuit, house-made potato chips, and watermelon salad. Yes, indeedy: everything but the ants.

Wednesday’s ad is for another Swiss beer, Brauerei Zum Sternenberg, from Basel. With the tagline “Trinkt Sternenberg Bier” or drink Sternenberg beer, the artwork resembles an illustration from a children’s book. The “king” sits on a throne with brewer’s stars on each arm and there’s one behind him, too. Below the throne, a triple tap [...]

(San Diego, CA) – Karl Strauss Oktoberfest is back! The company’s original award winning seasonal beer is a reminder to Southern Californian’s that fall is just around the corner. “We brew Oktoberfest as a tribute to Karl’s heritage and as a toast to the world’s largest beer party in Munich,” says Paul Segura, Karl Strauss Brewmaster. “This beer has a ton of rich, malty flavor, but it’s smooth enough to be enjoyed by the liter.”

Unlike most beers that begin with base malt and add specialty malts for flavor, Karl Strauss Oktoberfest is made from 100% specialty malts. A flavorful blend of Vienna, Munich, and Carahell malts create a toasty, nutty flavor that is characteristic of the style. To balance out the sweetness from the malts, the brewers stayed true to tradition using imported Hallertau Perle hops for a spicy finish.

After cold fermenting for several weeks, the golden hued lager is cellared at 50-degrees for an additional three weeks, creating an incredibly smooth finish. Weighing in at 5% ABV, this exceptional session lager is a great complement to traditional Oktoberfest fare, including grilled meats, burgers, and of course, sausages.

Due to an increase in demand, the Company will be brewing 33% more Oktoberfest than last year. Karl Strauss Oktoberfest is available in six-packs and on draft across southern California. Whether you’re rocking lederhosen at the bar or celebrating with friends, enjoy this beer while you can because this party only happens once a year. Prost.

Specs:
5.0 % ABV
15 SRM
20 IBU

Ingredients:
Malts: Vienna, Munich, Carahell
Hops: Hallertau Perle
Yeast: South German Lager

Label Copy:
We brew Oktoberfest in tribute to the world’s biggest beer party. Vienna and Munich malts produce the deep golden color, nutty undertones, and toasted malt flavors characteristic of this renowned Bavarian beer style. Perle hops imported directly from the Hallertau region of Germany give the beer a smooth balanced finish. This celebratory lager puts the ‘fest’ in the month of October.

Karl Strauss Oktoberfest worth the wait

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Boston, MA) – A new beer is coming this fall to pair with your Thanksgiving turkey.

Harpoon Brewery has a new seasonal release, a 5.9% ABV Cranberry Ale, coming this fall in 6-packs. According to Harpoon Brewery’s Liz MelbyHarpoon Grateful Harvest will be available starting in early October. We plan to distribute in New England, NY, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, FL, GA, TX, IL and possibly a couple more of our markets.” Here is the beer description:

“Brewed using locally-grown cranberries, this beer captures the spirit of a true New England Thanksgiving: the harvest celebration and the sharing of food amongst friends. Fermented with a traditional ale yeast that lets the cranberries provide the signature aroma, this beer is balanced by the ‘bready’ notes of the Vienna and Munich malts.”

Harpoon Helps, the charitable arm of the Harpoon Brewery, will donate #1 for every 6-pack sold to a local food bank. The beer is made with cranberries grown and donated by AD Makepeace, Wareham, MA.

Harpoon Grateful Harvest debuts this fall

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Placentia, CA) – Through no fault of their own, craft beer fans play the role of Steve Urkel once again.

[9/1 Update: Official Statement below.]

Official statement just received through email:

“The response was not unprecedented. In fact, the precedent was set last year when hundreds of our beloved fans stood anxiously around our building for hours on end, trying to get themselves a ticket into our Black Tuesday celebration. We hoped, and still believe, that online sales would be a far more convenient way for us to sell the tickets and for you to get them without having to waste an entire day in our parking lot without a promise of beer. Unfortunately, the company who runs our ecommerce server didn’t seem to think the response would be so great. We did all we could and warned them numerous times in the past two weeks, even reminding them yesterday that this morning was going to be crazy, but you know how that story ends.

Clearly, things didn’t end up going to plan. The server crashed before we could even update the page with the sales info due to constant refreshes in the minutes just before 9am. We’re sorry. If there was something we could have done immediately to remedy this we would have, but along with the server, our internet also kicked the bucket. We couldn’t even send an email to update everyone. In fact, this email isn’t even being written from The Bruery offices.

On that note, here is your update.

BLACK TUESDAY TICKETS WILL BE ONSALE TOMORROW AT 9AM. We are setting up a new, dedicated server and we are told that it will work. All of the below info still remains true. If for some reason this changes, we will email you tonight or prior to 9am tomorrow.

We are extremely sorry for this hiccup in our planning and we hope it didn’t ruin your mornings or your opinion of our beer.”

Original post:

This morning was the big ticket sale for The Bruery Black Tuesday, one of those “whales” in the world of beer trading and one of what I dubbed “The Big Six.” Instead of going off as planned, the sale, which was to begin at 9am PST, never took place. Living up to its name, the site imploded as fans of the beer named after the stock market crash, overloaded the server.

The Bruery has announced on Twitter that server issues will be fixed and that the sale will now be moved to Thursday at 9AM PST. Chatter has been rampant on the boards and social media sites today. Click here for the Beer Advocate thread, here for the RateBeer thread and here for the Twitter feed.

As part of a brief statement posted on The Full Pint, The Bruery said, “Our server, after being reassured several times by the server company, crashed. We are really sorry about this.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. Back in March, there was the St. Patrick’s Day massacre in which beer fans took down the Shopify website during the sale of Three Floyds Dark Lord tickets.

Beer drinkers bork another online beer tickets sale

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Boston, MA) – Another warning about a bad batch of beer, this time from Berkshire Brewing:

Here’s the press release:

“We at Berkshire Brewing Company regrettably inform you, our loyal customers, of an issue that has arisen with our 2010 Oktoberfest lager. A batch that was adversely affected with diacetyl evaded our normally diligent quality control measures and was packaged and released throughout our distribution network. For those unfamiliar with the term, diacetyl is a by-product of fermentation that produces a pronounced butterscotch or buttery flavor and aroma in the beer. While trace diacetyl is acceptable in some styles, it should not be present at its current level in the Oktoberfest/Märzen style.

As a result, we are recalling all bottles bearing the Best By date of 2/22/11, 2/23/11, and 3/1/11 and less than 20 1/6 bbl kegs. This was an issue with one batch only, and Berkshire Brewing Company will replace all product with Oktoberfest from batches that are unaffected. We are fortunate to have plenty of this beer in the pipeline that meets our usual high standards, and look forward to getting it to you.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an off flavor that is undesirable, however, there is no inherent health risk to consuming this beer. It simply does not have the taste and aroma profile that it should.

To all of our fans and supporters, we issue our most sincere apologies for this situation. To those who were unfortunate enough to come upon a bad bottle or glass, we regret that you experienced a beer that does not reflect the passion and standard of excellence that we strive for. Berkshire Brewing Company remains dedicated to providing you with fresh, consistently high quality craft beer. We hope that you will take the opportunity to enjoy some of this year’s Oktoberfest from the unaffected batches, we feel it exhibits the qualities that make this one of our most popular seasonals, year after year.

In closing, we would like to thank all of you for the support you have provided over what will be 16 years on October 1st. We couldn’t have done it without you. As we like to say, it’s all about the beer, but the beer is nothing without the people.

Cheers,
Your Friends at Berkshire Brewing”

Berkshire Oktoberfest Lager batch recalled

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Tuesday’s ad is for the London brand Barclay’s Lager. Getty Images claims it’s from around 1900 but the artist, Tom Purvis, was born in 1888 meaning he’d have been 12 then, so it seems more likely it was actually later. The ad reminds me a bit of the Blues Brothers movie, the scene at the [...]

Lots of interesting stuff in this one . . .

[9/1 Update: Here's Part II]

Thanks to @Hoptopia for alerting me to this video featuring Victory Brewing President/Brewmaster, Bill Covaleski. I’m still in the process of watching this but I’ve already picked up two interesting tidbits. First, Covaleski mentions Missouri and Arizona as two states that have been identified as ready for their beers. This would suggest that there is a possibility that, with the most recent brewery expansion, Victory beers could make their way to shelves in those two states.

Secondly, at the 16:30…tipping point talk! I alluded to the fast rise and downfall of craft beer in the mid-late 90s but failed to go into why that happened. 1996 was the “high water mark” for brewery openings in the U.S. since prohibition, according to Covaleski, and 1997 was the highest year for brewery closures. Breweries expanded too fast and lost sight of quality control. Others that had no business making beer on a production scale got into the business without the necessary skills.

This also marks Gary Vaynerchuk’s second beer video in the past month. With nearly 5,000 views and 300+ comments on the last beer video, it’s interesting to see the wine/tech guru giving craft beer more play airtime and great exposure with the wine-drinking crowd. Vaynerchuk sells beer at his family’s store, Wine Library, in New Jersey.

Victory Brewing eyeing Arizona, Missouri?

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Fort Collins, CO) – On September 13, 2010, Odell Brewing will release the latest batch of its Bourbon Barrel Stout. Part of the brewery’s Single Serve series of beers, Bourbon Barrel Stout is an Imperial Stout aged in oak Bourbon barrels.

This summer, three Odell brewers traveled to Kentucky to hand select the aging barrels for Bourbon Barrel Stout. They visited a variety of distilleries examining thousands of different barrels and decided on barrels from the Maker’s Mark distillery.

Bourbon Barrel Stout was aged in these charred oak barrels for months and then blended to create the final batch. The 10.5% ABV stout was then bottled in 750 ml cork and cage finish bottles where it conditioned for another two weeks.

“The delicate vanilla and maple candy Bourbon aromas give way to a panoply of smells that include chocolate, caramel, roasted almonds and coffee,” said Andrew Nagy in his review of the beer for Cigar Aficionado. “The stout is well balanced to the palette as molasses, mocha and chocolate flavors start and then turn to the familiar whiskey taste of wood, vanilla and root beer candy, followed by a finish of coffee and toasted marshmallow.”

Odell Brewing will celebrate the return of Bourbon Barrel Stout, with an uncorking party on Saturday, September 11th from 4 – 6 p.m. in the brewery’s tap room. Guests can enjoy samples of the beer as well as live music by Better Than Bacon, and Acoustic Gripweed. Bourbon Barrel Stout is available in the brewery’s nine state distributor region at a suggested retail price of $14.99 per bottle.

Odell Brewing was recently named “Brewery of the Year” by 5280 Magazine and is an award winning brewery, nationally and internationally: 2010 North American Beer Awards – gold medal for Woodcut No. 3, silver medal for India Barleywine, silver medal for Red Ale, and bronze for 5 Barrel Pale Ale. 2010 Australian International Beer Awards – silver for 5 Barrel Pale Ale, silver for 90 Shilling, and bronze for IPA. 2010 World Beer Cup® – bronze for Red Ale. 2010 Denver International Beer Competition – silver for IPA, and silver for 5 Barrel Pale Ale. 2009 Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival – silver medal for 5 Barrel Pale Ale, bronze medal for 90 Shilling. 2009 BrewNZ Awards – gold for 5 Barrel Pale Ale, silver for 90 Shilling, and silver for IPA. 2008 World Beer Cup® – gold for IPA, silver for Double Pilsner, silver for Cutthroat Porter. 2007 Great American Beer Festival® – gold medal for IPA, silver medal for Easy Street Wheat, bronze medal for Extra Special Red.

Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout returns in September

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

On KQED Radio this morning on the local show Forum with Michael Krasney held a defacto debate on the proposed Alcohol Mitigation Fee between San Francisco Brewers Guild president Rich Higgins and city supervisor John Avalos, who introduced the ordinance to tax alcohol sold in San Francisco. Rich held his own as best he could, [...]

Here’s another interesting infographic that nicely shows both the production and consumption of beer worldwide. It’s interesting to see the relationship between the two for each nation side by side. You can then easily work out how much beer they export or how much beer is imported into each country. One caveat, it shows Europe [...]

There’s only two days left before the new NFL season of football begins on Thursday night. And as we’ve done for the past few years, there are two simple games for Bulletin readers to play, and plenty of room to fit as many as want to play (or at least the first 50 people anyway). [...]