Friday, February 26, 2010

Deschutes Jubel 2010 @ Draught House



Pouring now. Sofia, pick me up in three hours...

Info from Deschutes:
Jubel 2010 is a deeply dynamic presentation of the flavors found in our festive winter seasonal, Jubelale. Available on tap around the holidays at our pubs as Super Jubel, February 2010 marks only the second time we have ever bottled this immortal libation. As some of you may remember, the first and only other time this special brew was bottled was to celebrate the new millennium as Jubel 2000.


Whipped!

Two big bits of news from Whip In today:



First, they will be selling growlers of local beer soon. Very nice.



Second, they have announced that they are shooting to open the brewpub as early as Fall this year!



You want to help them raise funds? Well, go to these events.

Why you gotta be such a RAGING BITCH?



Flying Dog is 20 and in full on bitch mode!

Have not been a fan of most their beers, but they've put some great ones out. This could be one of them. Hopefully.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Spotted at Specs

Before grabbing my Harpoon Oyster Stout off the shelf, I spotted these new-ish beers as well at Brodie Lane Specs.



Allagash Hugh Malone



Otter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus



Allagash Black



Flying Dog Canis Major mixed packs (brewed in 2008)


(photo: shyzaboy)


Allagash Four



Left Hand 400 Lb Monkey and Twin Sisters Double IPA



Dogfish Head Aprihop

Oyster Stout

UPDATE: Got a bottle at Specs on Brodie Lane. Also at Whip In and Arbor Walk Specs...

Came across this as well on my other blog, from October 2006, Oysters and Stout.



1. I want this. Harpoon's latest release in their 100 Barrel Series. We've got some of them in the past, apparently this one is already in Dallas, so I'm fairly certain I will get my wish.

2. Washington Post checks in today with a story on oyster stouts.



3. This is a photo of the best oyster stout I ever had.It was at the Porter House in Dublin in September 2007. Oh why did I only have one??

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Pt:3 Stone Skips Across the Pond from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Oh Great, Another Reminder



This is becoming a blog just to remind you of beer stuff that I already posted on. That's cool with you, right?

Anyway, as you may or may not see in the above picture, entries are due soon (MARCH 1!!) for 2010's Off-Centered Film Festival. So all you would be beer drinkin' directors get busy and wrap it up.

All the info you need can be found here.

Snow Day

I took a snow day yesterday. Sorry about that. Quick reminder, don't forget about this:


(click to enlarge)

Featuring beer from Real Ale, Independence, Uncle Billy's, Live Oak, North by Northwest, Saint Arnold and (512) Brewing.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Saint Arnold Austin Pub Crawl Wrap Up.



First stop: Zax Pints and Plates. Place was packed. The wife, baby and I worked our way to the bar. Now before I go on let me say a little something about bringing a baby/kid to a bar. I am all for it. Obviously, there are a few caveats. These are mine:

1. No smoke
2. Not too loud
3. Before 10pm (although the 9 o'clock hour is pushing it)
4. The baby/kid is not screamin or running around like mad. This sucks for other patrons, but more so for the baby/kid, they don't wanna be there.

Movin' on. Grabbed a ticket from Lenny. Got to the bar. Unfortunately, it was too packed to see what beers were on tap on the other end of the room. Fortunately, Chris was on that end of the bar. A quick call to him and our decision was made (that Beer Town Austin is so helpful). We were bad crawlers and ordered NB Ranger IPAs (Sofia did not want a Winter Stout, I blame her). Chatted with Beer Town Austin, Josh and Sarah.

Second stop: Ginger Man. Packed as well. We waited in line to get in, apparently they were over capacity. Once in I had a SA Lawnmower, which was not as good as I remembered it, but still decent. Sofia had a Brooklyn Brown ale, a beer she had not had since living in Brooklyn. She was giddy. At this point we met up with Matt, Matt's Dad and Michael.

Third stop: After putting Sofia and the baby in the car to head home, I waved goodbye and walked over to Ghost Room. This place is depressing, barely a shadow remains of the the old Ginger Man. And they were out of Saint Arnold beer. Oh well, let's move to Little Woodrows.

Fourth stop: Little Woodrow's. We missed out on the official Saint Arnold Austin Pub Crawl pint glass, but got a normal one, which was fine. After sharing one last beer we walked back across the river to our cars and bid each other a good night.

Overall: Fun. I would have thrown in Opal Divine's into the pub crawl and taken out Ghost Room. I suspect that the addition of Ghost Room had something to do with Ginger Man.

http://www.saintarnold.com



This photo has nothing to do with the pub crawl, well maybe it does. It shows just what a beautiful night it was for a pub crawl. Perfect.

Uncle Billy's Bayou Brewer's Picnic



Sounds tasty. Wish I could make it:
Come out and kick off crawfish season with a good old-fashioned mud bug stomp!

FEATURING:
Cajun music & a FIVE course meal including brews to compliment each dish

PRICE:
$30; tickets sold in advance (contact your favorite Uncle Billy at 512.476.0100)

SA Pub Crawlage



Pardon me while I get up to speed. For some Saint Arnold Pub Crawl coverage/wrap up head over to When In Austin. They have text, photos and audio about the evening.

More to come.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

James Beard Semifinalists: OUTSTANDING WINE AND SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL



Beer dudes in bold:

Larry Bell, Bell's Brewery, Galesburg, MI

Derek Brown, The Passenger, Washington, D.C.

Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

Brian Duncan, Bin 36, Chicago

Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Wines, Sebastopol, CA

Alex Golitzin, Quilceda Creek, Snohomish, WA

Paul Grieco, Hearth, NYC

David Hirsch, Hirsch Vineyards, Cazadero, CA

Jim Koch, The Boston Beer Company, Boston

Stephen R. McCarthy, Clear Creek Distillery, Portland, OR

Michael McCaulley, Tria restaurants and Fermentation School, Philadelphia

Greg Moore, Moore Brothers Wine Co., Pennsauken, NJ, NYC, & Wilmington, DE

Garrett Oliver, The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY

Neal Rosenthal, Rosenthal Wine Merchant/Mad Rose Group, NYC

Jörg Rupf, St. George Spirits, Alameda, CA

John Shafer and Doug Shafer, Shafer Vineyards, Napa, CA

Alpana Singh, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago

Eric Solomon, European Cellars/Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC

Julian P. Van Winkle, III, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, Louisville, KY

Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library TV/Wine Library, Springfield, NJ



Congratulations!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

New Rogue



Never been a big Dead Guy fan. A lot of people I know love it. It was an introduction into craft beer for a lot of people. It's kind of similar to Arrogant Bastard (which I like) - Strong, cool name, catchy label. The perfect beer to grab on a whim for the newbie beer drinker. Like Arrogant Bastard there is a double version of the beer and now there is a barrel aged version: John John Dead Guy. But John John has a twist, it was aged in Rogue's own Dead Guy Whiskey barrels. Neat.



Look, this is how it was made.



This one sounds promising.

Beer Connoisseur Spring Issue Release Party @ Independence

This is happening next week. Oh and full disclosure, Beer Connoisseur invited me to the event (but I planned on posting this anyway):



Saturday, February 27th
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Independence Brewing Company, Austin TX
http://www.independencebrewing.com

Come join the Beer Connoisseur Magazine as it makes its debut national appearance for its Spring Issue Release Party at Independence Brewing Company in Austin, Texas!

Mingle with the Founder/Publisher, Managing Editor, writers and staff as well as with Austin’s most notable beer figures. Taste Independence Brewing Company beer while listening to live music and enjoying Austin Eats. Also help BC Magazine raise money for the Haiti recovery efforts by joining in a raffle for fantastic prizes donated by the industry.

$15 tickets In advance
$20 at door for RSVP’s only. RSVP full name to editorial@beerconnoisseur.com
Entry includes a copy of BC’s Spring Issue 2, Beer Tastings, Brewery Tours, Live Music, Photographer and more.
Food available for purchase
Raffle for prizes for Hatian relief


PURCHASE TICKETS: http://xorbia.com/tickets/beerconnoisseur/
VIEW ONLINE INVITATION: http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/emailmarketing/austin/austin.html


_________________________

PRE PARTY AND POST PARTY at THE GINGER MAN

12 - 4pm and 8:30pm to close
Enjoy $.50 off draft and $2 off pitchers with show of your event ticket.

Meet the BC staff in a more relaxed setting from 12 - 2 PM and have your picture taken for consideration for the Summer issue. Then catch the event Uship shuttle to the brewery for the evenings main event. At the conclusion of the party, catch a sober ride back to The Ginger Man on the Uship shuttle and enjoy the same post-party discounts!

The Ginger Man
301 Lavaca St
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 473-8801
http://www.gingermanpub.com

___________________________


Brought to you by The Beer Connoisseur™ Magazine and Independence Brewing Company.

Safe shuttle/bus service from brewery to downtown provided by Uship.com
http://www.uship.com

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sink the Bismark!

Sink the Bismarck! from BrewDog on Vimeo.



This whole one upping each other on having the highest ABV gimmick is kind of dumb. At least Brew Dog is making some fun out of it. So I guess, keep it up.

Mikkeller Big Worse



I've kind of dogged these guys before. Had the Big Worse yesterday and really liked it. Complex and chewy. Definitely has potential aging-wise I am betting. More of an Old Ale. I stand corrected.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Thirsty Thursday #28



Hopus Ale
by Brasserie Lefebvre SA, Rebecq-Quenast, 1430, Belgium
Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 8.5%

Last week (or was it two weeks ago, whatever, you get the point) Central Market had that somewhat amazing sale: 20% off all beer. I took the opportunity to buy a bunch of beer I usually would never have bought. Mostly pricier items. I saw this bottle and it caught my eye. Grab it, why not? It is a hefty one, weighing in at 8.5%. I split it with Sofia since I am watching my waste line and I have a bet to wing (which by the way ends in two days, I'll be in a food, beer coma for the following week, just kidding Sofia).

Did you see I just wrote "wing" instead of "win"? I am starving. Visions of buffalo wings and pilsner dancing in my head. Ok, back to the beer.



As you can see by the above stats, I liked it. I'll probably never buy it again. It's a try one and done beer for me. And should be for you too.

Sierra 30

This may top yesterday's (512) 2X Pecan Porter bottle release:



Sierra 30



Four New Collaborations!

Really cool.

http://www.sierra30.com

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Statesman: Make room for more craft brews in Austin



Patrick Beach starts his latest beer piece with this line:
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict 2010 will be the year craft beer breaks big in Austin.
Sure, I'll buy that.

South Austin Beer Search #1

We recently moved down to South Austin. The last two years we've lived up north, a hop, skip and a jump from Draught House and Flying Saucer. And a quick zip downtown to Gingerman. When I say south, I mean wayyy south. I was worried. Worried good beer would be hard to find. And that is what this little series is about. Our first exploration was to Red's Porch.



It was Saturday night and the place was jammed packed. They had a pretty decent tap selection. Something for everyone - even beer dorks.



NXNW Pale Ale?? They had it. Someone explain to me why they are allowed to have this. I am not complaining, I just thought this was not possible, beer-law-wise.



My Yakima Twilight. We also had a Green Flash IPA and Brooklyn Lager.

The food was pretty good too. My Border Burger was spicy as hell. Sofia liked her Chicken Fried Chicken, but her sides were soaked in garlic.

We will be back.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Shiner 101



I have not been drinking much beer of late (do to some dumb weight loss bet, which is almost over!), but I had some of these over the weekend. Decent, very drinkable. One I wish Shiner would turn into a year round beer.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

(512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter - BOTTLES



Seeking more info.....

I was sleepy last night and forgot this: Hat tip: Beer Town Austin Twitter

Beer Flashback #1

Who does not like reminiscing? Who does not like beer? And that is what this "series" is all about. That and an easy way to get up more content. But it's new, well new for you. This will mostly be old posts from before I started this blog, from my other blog and mostly when we were living in New York.

For entry #1 we rewind the clocks back to July 2007. Enjoy:
















Barcade in Williamsburg hosted Dogfish Head Brewery night tonight. It was mighty fun.
















Burton Baton and Chateau Jiahu































Don't worry Sof, there is always more.
















Barcade is a sick bar. They have great beer. And old skool video games, like Tapper and Ms. Pacman.
















Sam Calagione was there. He is the owner of Dogfish Head and he is sort of one of my heroes. I played him in darts. I beat him and won a hat. We high fived, WOW!
















Cristy and Greg were there also, but we left pretty much as soon as they showed up.
















Waitin for the F.
















Stew and his new free hat.