Thursday, March 25, 2010

A Very Important Collaboration

Sierra Nevada Brewing will toast their 30th anniversary with the release of  four limited edition collaborative beers. The biggest trend in craft brewing, over the last 2 years, has been the "collaboration". Breweries and brewmaster's partnering to create beers that  neither brewery would create on their own. Call it a "meeting of the minds" if you will. What makes this collaborative effort so important and different  is those who are involved with Sierra Nevada. Ken Grossman has chosen four of the most influential pioneers of the craft beer industry to take part in this celebration of Sierra's 30 year history. Fritz Maytag, Owner and President of Anchor Brewing is regarded by most as the "Grandfather" of modern craft beer. Jack McAuliffe, is the man who built the nations first "micro" brewery which inspired countless numbers of home brewers to follow their dreams of becoming professional brewers. Fred Eckhard, is a renowned author on all aspects of the beer industry. Charlie Papazian is an author and President of the Brewers Association, founder of the American Home Brewers Association and the Great American Beer Festival. Each of these men has put their signature style on a beer which will be released in limited production 750ml, corked bottles. Proceeds from the sale of these beers will benefit charitable organizations which are dear to each of their hearts. This is a series not to be missed. For more information please visit:  www.sierra30.com .  Cheers!

Monday, March 22, 2010

'HOPSECUTIONER'... A KILLER IPA!

Simply the closest thing to "liquid" hops, if there even is such a thing. This Amber IPA blends Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Add to that the Cascade dry hop and you've got one monster of a beer. Brewed with 2 Row Pale, Munich, Pale Crystal and Victory malts Hopsecutioner tops out at 78 IBU's with a 7.2% ABV. My tasting results were simple,  a strong hop aroma followed by a  large hop feel on the palate with a well  balanced, light malt finish. I was also left with a lingering taste of grapefruit. What could be the average beer drinkers nightmare is most likely a Hopheads dream. This is not one for the faint of heart!   

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Harpoon Island Creek Oyster Stout








Harpoon's latest offering from their Limited Edition 100 Barrel Series may have you scratching your head, but Oysters have been paired with Stouts for years. Harpoon has chosen the Duxbury Bay oysters from Island Creek as an interesting ingredient in this original concept brew. Now I know you might be thinking "Yuck! Oysters in my beer?", but don't expect to find these slimy mollusks floating in the bottom of your bottle. The idea of brewing with oysters was the brain storm of Harpoon brewer Katie Tame, and yes the oysters are removed before bottling. This beer has a rich body ans uses a combination of roasted barley and chocolate rye malts. The proteins from the oysters help maintain the head. The aroma is that of most high quality craft stouts, roasted malt, coffee, but there was tad bit of that raw oyster musk. On the palate this beer tastes like most traditional stouts. As a matter of fact I noticed no discernible oyster flavor in the beer at all. Overall I found this to be very good stout. My feeling is that what attracts someone to purchase this beer may disappoint them in that there is no salty, fishy character to it. In addition, those who might be put off by the thought of Oysters in beer may pass over a wonderful, well balanced stout. There were only two questions left in my mind as I finished off my 22 ounce bottle of Island Creek Oyster Stout, one what would this beer have tasted like fresh off the frementer, and second what would the oysters have tasted like after 3 minutes in the wort boil?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

New Releases



I'll let you figure out how this relates to beer.... and yes, yesterday was St. Paddy's Day!

Euro Strike Plagues A/B- InBev




Friday March 15th BBC News reports that Union workers have blockaded factories upon the announcement that A/B-InBev planned to cut 250 of 2,700 jobs Belgium. The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says not to worry as yet. "There are probably around 125 breweries in Belgium producing around 800 standard beers. Add in special one-off brews, and some experts believe there could be more than 8,000 beers". Anheuser-Busch InBev announced this week a plan to cut 800 jobs across western Europe, 10% of its 8,000 workforce in the region. The firm said the move was a response to falling beer sales, with the layoffs spread across Belgium, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The news triggered protests at the firm's brewery in the Belgian town of Leuven, where it also has its headquarters.
Source BBC News March 15th, 2010







Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Aprihop 2010 Hits The Market


DFH has just released their 2010 Spring Seasonal. This is a limited production beer so get it now before it's all gone!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Brew Dog MA!




Okay, so when this beer was brought to my attention a multitude of things came to mind. First, it's a Honey beer not my "fave" profile, but it is Brew Dog so I stuck with it. Second, it's brewed with Kola Nut... What the hell is a Kola Nut? All I can remember is that Jamaican guy, Geoffrey Holder, in those 7-Up commercials touting the merits of the "UNNNN-Cola Nut". BTW did you know that those commercials ran for over 10 years from the 70's into the 80's? Third, was the "Guarana", a key ingredient in most energy drinks, which I gave up on about 2 years ago for fear going into major cardiac arrest as a result of ingesting up to 48 ounces of said drink every day. Not so good, But I pressed on. Lastly, "Poppy Seed", ain't that the stuff that's often confused for "Mary Jane" on your random drug test? Not so good either. But it is beer and that's what we do here at "Beerattitude" so on we go. Brew Dog's "Dogma" is a honey beer brewed with all the fore-mentioned ingredients. At 7.8% ABV, this beer pours a rich golden amber color, with a thin head. The aroma is spiced, slightly sweet with the alcohol disguised by a malty secondary nose and a hint of fruit character. Three primary things hit your palate upon first tasting, the honey, the spice then the alcohol. It also lost any discernible fruit flavor as well. There is a lingering bitterness as a result of the spice and alcohol. This is not the same bitterness you would find in an IPA, or a beer that uses a traditional bittering hop. It is much more rounded and dissipates quickly and does not adversely effect the taste. If you have not figured out by now, this beer is "complex" and I believe this was what these Scottish Bloke's were shooting for. Only available in the 600 ml bottle, I would say this beer gets better as it warms up. And for all I thought I would not like about this beer, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really do like this beer. So Cheers! to the boys a Brew Dog for continuing to be innovative and pushing the boundaries of modern brewing. If you can find it, try it!