Fifty Fifty Brewing

from Truckee California comes today’s brewery.

5050Find Your Balance“. You can do that at 50 50 Brewing. They have Belgian inspired beers as well as the usual pale and IPA culprits like this beer that I recently had..
Rockslide IPA
If being in one of the coldest places in the US isn’t extreme enough, the contents of this beer may very well redefine your commitment to the pursuit of hops. Rockslide IPA is brewed in the ‘West Coast’ style with aggressive amounts of American hops such as Amarillo, Centennial and Summit hops. You are greeted with a full frontal assault of citrus/grapefruit/pine hop character, followed up with malt to balance the mouthfeel. This beer is all about hops.

65 IBU / 6.7% ABV

Harvester Brewery

Beer is verboten to those who cannot handle gluten so this is welcome news to those who would like tasty brew that their systems could process. Enter Harvester Brewery.

They are new to the Portland scene which seems full to bursting. Thanks to Brewpublic for getting the word out!

new brew from Hair of the Dog

michaelAlan Sprints has crafted another special release celebrating a great beer advocate. This time it’s a Flanders Red with the name of Michael. Since, it’s an HoD beer, I fully expect it to be the most complex red ever.

There will also be a release party today where you can also get this rare beer…Matt, a bourbon and apple Eau de Vie barrel-aged sour originally designed to commemorate Bottleworks’ (Seattle) tenth anniversary.

Up to Date

Disclaimer: I try to keep the snarky rants to myself and focus on the great beer (which there is a lot of!!) But I have to offer up a suggestion to publicans.

Keep the beer list current and change the taps.

I walked into a beer bar and saw the distinctive Green Flash logo on a tap handle but it was a Berliner Weiss from the Bruery pouring from it. Laying aside that I hope the line was cleansed free of the mammoth amount of hops that Green Flash uses (which I like), but why not change out to a Bruery handle or a generic? Is it a time issue? If so, go with the chalkboard ones. Less fuss and lots of chalk dust.

I also make a plea here for an updated beer list. It doesn’t need to be fancy. The Verdugo and Blue Palms have great beer menus. One large page or two smaller ones, I don’t care. Which beer to choose should be difficult because of the well curated kegs not because I have to figure out whats pouring.

Thanks for listening.

Habanero Stout

Roots Habanero Stout Release
3 p.m., Friday 11/06/09, Roots Organic Brewing,1520 S.E. Seventh Ave.

“An Irish style Stout brewed with chocolate malt, chocolate wheat & five pounds of coco nibs in the mash. We then boil this beer for two hours during which we slowly inoculated six pounds of organic free trade semi sweet chocolate syrup made by Alma Chocolates. After fermentation we dry hopped the Stout with 100 chopped Habaneros. ”

If this is anything like the McMenamin’s pepper beer then I will not be able to get close to it before the blast gets me.

Black Hole Brewery

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I don’t highlight enough foreign breweries, which isn’t right,. I need to educate myself and my faithful readers about where to go while on vacation. So here goes…

Burton-on-Trent is known for the water but it is also the home of a nice amount of small brewers. Black Hole Brewery started life in the old Ind Coope bottling plant close to Burton town centre in January 2007.

These two beers intrigued me the most from their list…
Supa Nova
ABV 4.8%
Supa Nova is a premium pale ale brewed using lager malts with a top fermenting ale yeast. A variety of hops from Europe and America combine to provide a floral taste.

No Escape
ABV 5.2%
A combination of chocolate, crystal and roasted barley produce the subtle series of smooth flavours in this award winning dark beer, whilst a balance of dry bitterness and spicy aroma is achieved by a late hop of Goldings.

Chuckanut Brewery

If I needed another reason to kick myself, here is another brewery that I missed while at GABF. Then it went and won major awards!

gabf_winner

Here is their address:
601 W Holly St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
(360) 75-Beers

They have an Autumn beer dinner coming up. It might be a great time to check out their award winning beer.

Lucky 13 from Firestone-Walker

“Firestone Walker Brewing Company announced the release of their much anticipated anniversary beer, “13” today. This annual release will go on sale for the first time at noon on November, 14th at the Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles and the Firestone Walker Taproom Restaurant in Buellton.

Firestone’s anniversary series, a unique blend of barrel aged beers, has become quite a phenomenon each year as beer fans from all over the U.S. seek out this special limited release. In years past releases have sold out at the brewery in just a few weeks and these beers have garnered a hefty price tag in the market.

“These unique barrel aged beers have really changed the public’s perception of beer,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “The care and time that went into this blend is more akin to wine than beer,” he added.

Brynildson again enlisted the help of Paso Robles area wine makers to assist in the blending of several barrel-aged beers into the final product. Barley wines, imperial stouts and an imperial brown are just a few of the beers making up the final blend. Many of the component beers have spent over 2 years aging in a combination of retired bourbon, rye, and wine barrels. This process contributes unique and one-of-a kind flavors not typically found in beer.”

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