Meet the Brewmasters at Effin Gruven

 

Meet the Brewmasters night at Effin Gruven in Bellmore NY on Monday May 16, 2011.  This memorable night was featuring Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery and Phil Markowski of Southampton Public House.  This event was on the Monday of Long Island Craft Beer Week.  There was so many amazingly rare and unreleased brews at this event, many of them being aged and/or oak aged.  The alcohol content of the night probably averaged around 8-10%.  Its safe to say that everyone had a good time and had a good buzz going.  There were only 60 tickets sold for this event and there was a lot of familiar faces from the Long Island craft beer scene.  Check out the videos of Garrett and Phil talking during the event.  Also for more pics check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/licraftbeer/sets/72157626850680816/

A couple new brews from Sierra Nevada

Two new beers have gotten approval from Sierra Nevada.  Both of these brews are session beers, and both of these beers will be tough to get your hands on. The first brew is being made exclusively for the Bonnaroo music festival held every summer in Tennessee.  This special beer is a 4.8% ABV farmhouse style ale that is intended for smooth drinking for a long period of time in a hotter climate.  Since Sierra Nevada is a major sponsor of the music festival it is appropriate for them to have a special brew for the occasion.
The other draft only release that has only been found in California is the Black Vapor.  Black Vapor is another session beer in the Cali Common style (steam-beer).  Steam beers are lagers that are fermented at higher temperatures in between 60-65 degrees.  They are no longer called "steam-beer" since Anchor Brewing trademarked the term, these beers are now called Cali-Common style.  The Black Vapor fits into this catagory.  There is a "california common" style released in bottles only found in the Beer Camp variety 12pack from Sierra Nevada.

Sam Adams Bonfire Rauchbier

After having 4 labels approved, Samuel Adams has finally chosen the name and label of their Rauchbier set to be released in bottles.  They have gone with Bonfire Rauchbier which is an appropriate name for a smoke beer.  This is a follow up to a previous article written on Friday April 29th a few posts down.

Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve: The Tonic

The next draft only segment of Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster's Reserve series is The TONIC.  Here's the official write up by none other than Garrett Oliver from the "Jockey Box" e-mail newsletter from the brewery to the distributors:

We spend a lot of time with our pals in the cocktail world, and they are constantly putting new flavor combinations in front of us. One of my favorites is a Scotch-based cocktail called The Penicillin. Invented by bartender Sam Ross at Sasha Petraske’s famous NYC cocktail bar Milk & Honey, the Pencillin is an instant classic. It combines peaty Scotch, ginger-infused honey, and lemon juice. It’s an improbable blend, but it’s delicious, and it’s also the inspiration for our next Brewmaster’s Reserve beer, The Tonic. The government wouldn’t let us call the beer “Penicillin”, we’re afraid. But friends, between you and us, this brand new Tonic will cure many of your ills. Now take your Tonic and text us tomorrow.
MALTS
English Peat Smoked Malt, English Pale Malt, German Pilsner Malt
HOPS
Willamette, Cascades, Fuggles, Kent Goldings, Simcoe, Citra, Sorachi Ace, Amarillo
ADDITIONS
Dried Lemon Peel, Minced ginger, NYS Wildflower Honey, Organic, Lemon Juice from Italy (Sicily)
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This beer will begin shipping at the end of this month and as always will be in super low quanities.  

Sierra Nevada Expanding to East Coast?

There are some rumors going around that Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada has been looking for locations to build another production brewery on the East coast.  One location that has been visited by Grossman is in Pennsylvania by State College.  It has been said that he did not approve this location because of a financial matter.  There has been no reports of where else he might be looking or if they will definatly be expanding to the East at all.  This is a sign of how the American Craft Beer Market is rapidly growing and forcing the bigger breweries to expand. 
The Boston Beer Company is currently opperating at just under full capacity, and they too are thinking of buying a third production brewery for their brands.  Since Samuel Adams flagship beer Boston Lager uses a brewing technique called decoction brewing which uses 4 brewing vessels.  Most breweries use just 3 vessels making it hard for the brewery to find a used or closed brewery that has these brewing capabilities.  As the American Craft Beer revolution continues to expand and grow it is only natural that the bigger craft breweries will have to expand to meet the demand for their beers.

Sierra Nevada Cask-Aid

Another one-time release draft only beer from Sierra Nevada just got approval.  This beer is "cask-aid" it is unknown where this beer will be available or what style the beer even is.  All we know for sure is that Sierra Nevada always makes a very good brew and this brew is available in a 10.8 gallon firkin.

Magic Hat Humble Patience

Updated new artwork for an old seasonal release from Magic Hat.  This brew is released at the end of every summer for enjoyment in the fall.  An Irish-style Red Ale is balanced and hopped nicely using Apollo hops.  A great blend of malts makes for this tastey ale.  These malts include Crystal, Pale, Chocolate, Cara and Roasted Barley to achieve the fine color.  Keep an eye out for this one.

Sam Adams Rauchbier

Samuel Adams Rauchbier is available only at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts and had gotten there by winning the home brew contest.  The brewery has decided to release this beer to the masses and there are 4 different approved labels all with different names for the brew.  The names are "Rauchbier", "Seven Hills Rauchbier", "Bonfire Rauchbier" and "Roasted Rauchbier".  A Rauchbier is a "Smoke Beer" which roasts its malts over burning beechwood logs.  There is no word yet on which label or name will be chosen for release.

Long Island Cask Festival

The 7th annual Cask Ale Festival at Blue Point Brewery was held on Saturday April 9, 2011.  It was a beautiful day and there were a ton of great beers there, all in cask of course.  Two of the tastiest brews were being served by none other than Brooklyn.  One of these cask conditioned beers was Blast, a west coast IPA as Garrett Oliver calls it, some call it an imperial or double IPA.  This had the most beautiful critical hoppiness you look for in a big IPA like this.  It was extremely drinkable and remarkably smooth even at 9% ABV.  The clarity of this brew was amazing, and this is no easy task especially when the casks weren't arranged and tapped until a few minutes before the event, normally 24 hours is recommended to settle the finings.  Finings are used to settle the live yeast in a cask to the bottom to prevent consumption of these yeasts.
The other offering from Garret Oliver and the Brooklyn Brewery was first released this passed March at the brewery and select locations.  This beer was a dark and roasty Dry Irish Stout.  Perfect body and a nice blend of roasted malt makes for a really enjoyable session beer at the festival.  Many of the beers at the festival being higher in alcohol made this beer a real treat at only 3.9% ABV.  There are rumors, none are confirmed, that this beer may become the Brooklyn Spring seasonal release in the future.

Steve Hindy: The Boss

Savor Flowers

Another collaboration beer is getting a ton of attention.  This beer truly deserves it this time.  It is a collaboration between Jim Koch of Boston Beer and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head.  This Collabo-brew was made just for the Savor food and beer festival coming up in Washington DC this spring.  This brew is an interesting one,  it is an oak aged beer that is made with rose peddle soaked water and other natural flavors.  There hasn't been any info on how this beer tastes but coming from these two brewmasters, it is sure to be a quality beer.

Anchor Old Fogerty

So this isn't a new beer from Anchor Brewing Company, but this is an interesting mixture of two classic craft brews.  You guessed it right, its a mixture of Anchor Liberty Ale and Anchor Old Foghorn barleywine.  This was invented by the ultimate brewery rep, Bob Brewer.  Bob Brewer was and still is the first representative selling Anchor beers.  His territory is everywhere except the San Francisco bay area, so you know this guys is living legacy in the craft beer world.  This beer blend mixture is sure to be a tasty favorite since it contains two great beers.  The Liberty Ale smooths the Old Fog Horn barleywine and changes these brews into a nice treat. 

Lighter Shade of Pale

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp batch #46 is an interesting brew, although every brew out of the camp is.  This batch was a session-version of the Pale Ale named Lighter Shade of Pale with a 4.2% ABV.  A session beer is a brew that is relatively low in alcohol content usually somewhere from 3% ABV right up to 5% ABV.  These brews allow the craft drinker to drink plenty of them before getting too drunk and the drinker usually sticks with or "sessions" the same beer all day/night.  A lower ABV to the current Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which is at 5.6% is sometimes welcomed by craft drinker who typically enjoys beer so much that its sometimes necessary to drink many hours in a row.  Don't expect to see this beer just yet besides at special events and festivals. 

Sierra Nevada Collaboration

Last week at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Francisco Sierra Nevada announced a new collaboration beer with Russian River Brewery, also from California.  It is said to be a Belgian Style Pale Ale with Brettanomyces (spore forming yeast) and will be released nation wide under Sierra's distribution network.  It will be available in 750ML bottles sometime in 2012.  This will give some areas their first beer available from Russian River since they are available on in limited states.  Its almost a guarantee that this brew will be amazing coming from these breweries.

Brew Masters Show Canceled??

There are a bunch of rumors going around that Brew Masters, the Discovery Channel television show featuring Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione, will be canceled.  Some are saying that "BIG" breweries are threatening to pull out advertising.  This is coming from Anthony Bourdain of Travel Channel's No Reservations through twitter messages.  This was Sam Calagione's smooth response:
“A number of folks have been reaching out to me today about this twitter stuff. I’d rather focus on positive stuff than negative at this point. So this is what I will say:  No comment. Other than I’m a big “No Reservations” fan.  And now more than ever – support your small, truly-indie breweries! Last night I had Two Prima Pils, and an Aprihop. Today I had cask-conditioned Thyme Pale Ale, Baladin Nora, Birra Del Borgo ReAle, and am enjoying an Indian Brown Ale as I type this. Focused on the goodness inside the bottle instead of the weirdness outside the bottle. Cheers.”
So who knows if the show will continue or not with a response like that but it will be interesting if it is canceled because of the big breweries big money.

Samuel Adams 2011 Beer Lovers Choice

More Samuel Adams news, this years Beer Lovers Choice brews have been announced.  It is between Sample A: Oak Ale and Sample B: Maple Wood Porter.  Both of these brews sound delicious.  Just like last year craft beer drinkers will be able to vote for their favorite of the two while sampling these beers at an event.  Last summer it was between American Rye Ale and Belgian IPA.  The Samuel Adams guys were taking votes and sampling those two brews at the www.NorthforkCraftBeerFestival.com on Long Island.  The winner of the Beer Lovers Choice was the American Rye Ale which was available on Draft as part of the Brewmasters Series and in the American Originals variety 12 packs.

Samuel Adams Rustic Saison

 The next and newest release of the Samuel Adams Brewmaster Series is  Rustic Saison.  It is currently available at better beer bars on draft on Long Island.  Canterbury Ales in Huntington is a sure bet to find this rare release.  This brew may also be found on a growler system or two at better beer distributors.  If you don't find this limited release on draft,  you can find it in bottle in this summers Summer Styles Variety 12 packs.
This brew pours a nice golden color with a nice foamy head.  A perfectly light hop aroma with slight notes of fruit makes your mouth water.  This brew tastes perfect for late spring and summer days.  It has a very smooth taste, a dry-ish mouth feel and defiantly tasted like a smooth farmhouse style ale.  This saison won't be available for long so do your best to get a pint or bottle of it.

New Site For Ovila Abbey Ales

This is a quick follow-up to the post below, www.ovila.com is up and running.  It is a beautiful website with great pictures showing the progress of the New Clairvaux Monastery as well as a bunch of other information regarding the Abbey Ales.  For more information on the Abbey of New Clairvaux visit http://www.newclairvaux.org/

Ovila Dubbel and Saison Labels

As reported a month or so earlier here on LICRAFTBEERBLOG.COM, Ovila Abbey Ales in cooperation with Sierra Nevada have released their labels for their first and second releases.  The first style to be released is an Abbey Dubbel and the next is an Abbey Saison.  Check the labels below:

 

 

Here are some EXCLUSIVE pics of the Monastery in California.  Thanks to Dave S. from Daves Bellport Beer who took these pics while visiting the Sierra Brewery for Beer Camp.

 

Sam Adams vs San Tan

We've all seen this glass or maybe even have used one to bring brew to your lips.  This glass was designed by none other than Jim Koch of Samuel Adams to enhance the taste, aroma, quality and overall drinking experience of Boston Lager.  Seems around the time that Mr. Koch was developing this glass, so was San Tan brewery, with a glass that looks very very similar.  This matter has moved to the courts, whether or not there are patents for this glass or not seems to be the issue.  Check out this video for more on the subject.

Tonight, Saturday and Monday

Tonight, Saturday and Monday there are some events you can't miss if you love rare craft brews.  Sorry for such short notice but Tonight, Thursday March 10, 2011 at 8pm at Effin Gruven in Bellmore will be an opportunity to try a few solid hard to find brews.  On tap there will be Hoptimum by Sierra Nevada, Blast by Brooklyn, Raison D'Etre by Dog Fish Head and a bunch of other great beer.  Be sure to get their early for the Hoptimum because there is only 5 gallons of this.

Saturday March 12, 2011 at 12-noon is a serious vertical event.  None other than Dave from Bellport Beer could pull this one off.  There will be verticals of the last six years of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale available in 12oz bottles for purchase.  There will also be the last 4 year's bottles of Sierra Nevada's Big Foot Ale, plus Big Foot from 2011, 2010 & 2009 on draft.  Not to mention Dave's own Stung Honey Rye PA on draft and ALL 4 of the Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary brews.  If that's not enough, there is also A barrel of Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest.  This is a breath-taking event for a Sierra Nevada fan, thanks to Dave. 

And last but not least on  Monday March 14, 2011 at 7pm at Bobbique in Patchogue there will be another chance to try the Hoptimum from Sierra Nevada and Blast by Brooklyn Brewery.  Check out the website for the whole run-down of sweet brews.  www.bobbique.com  Plus of course some Guinness in time for St. Patrick's Day.  While you're there try some of the bbq food there.  Some of the best food and brew you can get.

Extreme Beer Fest Sam Adams Creations

If you are a member of Beer Advocate, the online beer community, you probably know about the Extreme Craft Beer Festival.  This is the beer fest of all beer fests.  One day is all barrel aged brews by nearly every notable craft brewery.  The other day is a bunch of awesome brews from some of the best craft brewers.  Although the Extreme Craft Beer Festival is this weekend March 12th and March 13th and it is sold out, we got a couple keg collars of some of the Samuel Adams selections expected to be there.  Check them out:

A Couple Popular Craft Brews... In Cans

If you are a craft beer drinker you may have noticed a lot of breweries canning good beer.  Traditionally good beer has been consumed out of a bottle and mass produced lower quality beers out of cans in addition to bottles.  This has been changing for the last few years with smaller craft breweries canning their liquid.  It hasn't been until recently that some of the larger craft breweries have decided to venture into the canning world.
A few months back Magic Hat announced they would release their first canned brew.  As you would expect they decided to put their #9 pale ale with apricot into 12 ounce cans.  These 12 ounce cans will be available late spring/early summer 2011.  The cans are going to be available in 2/12pack cases.

                          

Just the other day the number one selling craft pale ale in the country has also made the choice to start canning.  That's right, towards the last part of the year, Sierra Nevada will release their classic Pale Ale in 12 ounce cans.  Some one from the brewery had mentioned that they have wanted to do this for years because bringing bottles in a backpack hiking isn't always a great idea.  The brewery wasn't sure how cans would do in the market years ago, but now it seems like they would be welcomed by many craft drinkers.  For more information, or all the information on craft beer in cans go to: http://www.craftcans.com/

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp: Stung Honey Rye PA

Sierra Nevada has a beer camp for fans to visit and create their own brew.  Dave from Bellport Beer took the trip out to Chico, California and had the opportunity to get STUNG.  The 40th batch of brew camp beer is STUNG HONEY RYE PA.  This brew is a rye IPA with honey added.  It has an abv of 8.0% and will age nicely.  This is very limited and is being served tonight at Bobbique in Patchogue. The Good Life in Massapequa Park is serving this limited brew on Monday March 7th, 2011.  DEKS in Rocky Point also has a barrel and will be serving it sparingly.  Go to Dave's Bellport Beer, pick up a growler and speak to Dave.  He's a super cool guy and really knows his brew.  Here are some pics of his journey to beer camp.

Theres an article on Dave and his brew at: The Long Island Pulse