Widmer Brothers Alchemy Ale

Widmer hits the streets of the Southeast with the release of their newest offering "Alchemy Ale". Categorically this will land under the heading of American Pale Ale. Don't let that throw you, Alchemy Ale is one a great choice for the warm summer months. This is a wonderful rich golden pale ale with a frothy off white head. Strong grassy aromatics with hints of citrus are a result of Widmer's unique blend of Warrior, Millennium and Horizon hops. This beer has a light, crisp and refreshing malt base comprised of Pale, Caramel, Munich and Vienna Extra Special. The malt backbone creates the perfect canvas with the hops providing the pallet color. Widmer's balance of hop and malt is what really makes this beer appealing. At 5.8% ABV Alchemy Ale is just outside my "sessionable" range, but let this not deter you from drinking a really good beer. Cheers!

2013 American Craft Beer Week May 13-19

Shiner FM966 Farmhouse Ale

 Spoetzl Brewery, with over 100 years of German influenced brewing tradition, hales from the small Texas town known as Shiner. You may have even heard of one of their little offerings called "Shiner Bock". Okay, so who are we kidding, everyone from San Antonio to Texarkana knows SHINER BOCK!


 The K. Spoetzl Brewery was founded in 1909 by a group of German and Czech immigrants who settled in the small town of Shiner TX. With a yearning for the great Bavarian beers of their homeland, they quickly formed the Shiner Brewing Association. Then, on a shoestring budget, opened a makeshift brewery which would eventually become the K. Spoetzl Brewery. Shiner Bock was first brewed in 1913 as a seasonal offering and due to its overwhelming popularity, became their flagship beer.

 Although the brewery had been brewing many different styles of beer since their early days it was a beer called Shiner Premium which was their early mainstay. Years later, with the popularity of craft beer, these recipes, steeped in German tradition, allowed the brewery to take advantage of the growing number of educated palates. The breweries fan base spanned the gamete, college kids to the older Texan folk who grew up with Shiner.

 Shiner's FM966 is a Spring seasonal release which is based on the European tradition of brewing a beer in winter which would be ready to drink in the Spring. FM966 pours golden in color, with little to no head. It's aroma is musty with hints of fruity esters. The body is light with just a tad sticky mouth feel. The flavor is dry with sweet overtones and it finishes a mild spicy bitterness. From the appearance of the beer it's obvious light malts were used. The hops are a blend of Golding, Sterling and Meridian. It comes in at 21 IBU's and 5.7% ABV. Although this was a good beer for me, I wouldn't say it's one of Shiners best. But give it a try and judge for yourself. Cheers!



For more Shiner info visit: Shiner Brewery

Allagash Brewery Expantion

 Our friends at Allagash build a new brewhouse.... in 2 mins?

Victory Hop Wallop Ale

 As beer lore will have it....

 Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop headed West a broken man. For in the City of Blues it was one Miss LuLubelle Lager that had left him, thirsting for more. Drawn by wild tales of the riches of the gold mines, Hop pressed on westward. His last nickel spent on a prospecting pan, Hop’s hunger and thirst got the best of him. Two fistfuls o’ barley and three of some wild and wayward hops tossed in the pan with some clear water was to be his meal. But sleep overcame him and he woke to a bubbling, cacophonous concoction. Overjoyed with the beautiful ale that he had made, Hop realized the secret of the ’green gold’ he had discovered in those fresh hops. Celebrated far and wide, Hop Wallop lives on in this vivid ale with his words, "hoppiness is happiness." 

For as magical as this tale is, so is this ale. Victory Brewing's "Hop Wallop Ale" is a grandiose hop filled Double IPA born from Victory's faithful fans who demanded "MORE HOPS!". Wallop pours a mild hazy yellow gold with a frothy white head. It's aroma is piney with a wonderful contrast of fruity citrus notes. This beers light malt canvas is accentuated by a resinous stickiness which can likely be attributed to the massive amounts of hops used to produce Wallop. As with all of Victory's beers, whole leaf hops are used to derive the maximum amount of "hop love". And in this beer, that's enough to capture any hophead's heart. Try as I may, I couldn't find any information on the hops used to make this beer. Very likely a calculated strategy on the part of Victory's founding fathers Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski. So folks, the best I can tell ya is: American whole flowers paired with imported German malts. Drink with caution my friends as this one tops the charts at 8.5% ABV, which is a Wallop in itself. Originally a seasonal release, Hop Wallop was such a hit that it's now one of Victory's year round offerings. Grab it if you can and demand it if you can't. Cheers!

For more Victory info visit: Victory Brewing Co.
   

Sixpoint Announces the Release of 3BEANS

Fans of Beerattitude know of our fond affection for Sixpoint Brewery, so we were stoked to find today's facebook announcement on their latest offering  "3BEANS".....

"Its Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (or perhaps dessert). Made with Stumptown Coffee Roasters cold brew, Mast Brothers Chocolate Cacao, and Romano Beans. Based upon an old Baltic recipe but with a Mad Scientists twist. Goes out for deliveries tomorrow..."

So in our search for more info on this rather interesting brew we dug this up..(okay we found it on their website)..

3BEANS is Coming

Collaboration is essential, innovation paramount and formulations infinite.
The Mast Brothers, world class chocolatiers, provide cocoa husks. Stumptown Coffee Roasters’ legendary cold-press coffee is infused post-fermentation. Romano beans, packed with rich proteins, are added to the mash. Folklore, legend, history and intrepid invention combine to form 3Beans—the biggest, baddest beer Sixpoint has ever canned. Beans and barleymalt, cocoa and coffee coalesce into a brew of luxurious depth… an elixir the likes of which this world has never seen. On shelves late next week.

Can't wait to get our hands on this one.. Cheers!

Terrapin Side Project #18 Liquid Bliss

 Liquid Bliss is the 18th installment in Terrapin's "Side Project" line. Side Project is series of limited single batch beers which showcase Terrapin founder Spike's creativity and desire to push the boundaries of brewing. Liquid Bliss is a wonderfully interesting concoction of chocolate and peanut-butter set to a classic Porter canvas. The beer pours that traditional Porter black with a rich light tan head. The aroma is that of roasted chocolate malt and the nutty overtones often found in popular nut brown ales. Liquid Bliss is quite the flavor explosion, presenting both sweet and salty characters with more of a "milk chocolate" taste as opposed to "bitter-sweet" often found in Porters and Stouts. The beer is brewed with both peanut butter and brewery-boiled green peanuts. Terrapin has once again opted for their "go-to" source for chocolate, Olive & Sinclair Cocoa Nibs. Hops are US Golding and the malts are 2-Row, Wheat, Crystal 85, Crystal 120, Chocolate Wheat, Chocolate and  Black Malt. The ABV is modest at 6.7%, ad as is with most Porters the I.B.U.'s are low at 23.  I highly recommend Terrapin's Side Project #18 "Liquid Bliss", so get it now or may be stuck with buying a lonely Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Cheers!

For more info on Side Project visit: Terrapin Beer Co.