Firestone Walker has a new Primal Elements sour ale out now. This time around it is filled with pineapple, passionfruit, orange and guava that is aged in french oak barrels. As a fan of passion fruit, this sounds delicious.
Primal-Apple
Sports & A Beer – March Madness vs. College Football Playoffs
Here is one of many weird things about me. I do not watch college basketball in the regular season but I enjoy March Madness. I have, before teams moving hither and thither watched college football in the regular season and less so the playoffs.
Why? There are a few reasons. First, I think March Madness does not have the same stink of corporate greed as the college football cash grab. Or at least that initial greed has worn off in my mind.
It is also that due to the lesser amount of games played that the importance of footballs regular season is far more than the college basketball one where the Madness is where the rubber hits the road. You also can’t discount that most college hoopers are done when that final buzzer sounds, whereas gridiron heroes have round after round of the NFL draft to look towards.
I have two beer lanes to choose. First, grab a beer from a college town like a Eugene or Berkeley. Or search a little harder to find a Marzen style beer out there to watch the shining moments from this years games.
Best Ticked
Earlier this month, Untappd unveiled its best of the best. There were lots of individual beer winners like this…
…which show that stout life is still bankable for high scores but for me the breweries with most medals is of more interest because it shows a wider breadth of admiration.
P 2 P
I know that every year for the last decade has been pronounced the year of pilsner but maybe if enough people wear this….
…it might come true. Head HERE if the shirt is perfect for you.
Peel the Label – Extra Inclusion
In this time of major uncertainty, thoughts run to how to get people to the taproom. For a brewery, a pint over the bar is the best profit margin you can get especially with looming aluminum price increases.
There are trivia nights, painting nights, comedy nights, food trucks and all manner of events to get people into breweries.
But there are other deeper cuts that could be tried as well. I am not a fan of babies / toddlers / young’ins but I am probably in a minority so what can you do to bring parents in and create an environment that they want to return to. Perhaps a new parents meet-up where you cut the price on N/A drinks so when parent can imbibe. Or how about creating a quiet night for parents with autistic children who may feel that a taproom is too loud for an outing.
You can have nights for local sports teams but how about going deeper and having a women’s March Madness day to bring in a crowd that is truly growing. How about a book exchange to see if you can get introverts, like me, down to get even more reading material.
Or you can just program what every other brewery is doing.
Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.
29
Over the course of two days, I saw 29 Palms Beer Company twice more than I had ever seen it before. Granted, Twenty-Nine Palms is a goodly distance from me in Los Angeles but I would have thought I would have seen it.
There must be a marketing push from somewhere and it is working because I am intrigued now.
Review – She’s The Brewer DIPA from Stone
Picked up a crowler of She’s the Brewer, the new Stone Brewing IPA since I both hadn’t had a crowler in a bit and because of the Pink Boots connection.
This is the 8th year of a Pink Boots hop blend and when I popped the tab, instantly pine scents sprung out. It is labeled a West Coast IPA but it is a DIPA for sure. Pine and tropical notes are the first to show but they yield the stage to a heavier alcohol and woodsy bitterness. There is still some tropical hanging around but it moves more towards papaya than the lighter, brighter fruits.
FWIBF Brewery # 2 – Mountain Culture Beer Co.
The second brewery features in Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival Month is Mountain Culture Beer Co. all the way from Katoomba in New South Wales in Australia. They have some excellent beer names.
Status Quo Pale Ale – “Status Quo is a juicy New England Pale Ale. Made for hop lovers with massive late and dry hop additions, it’s full flavoured and more tropical than the Hawaiian ukulele orchestra.”
Authentic Irish Experience Micro-dosed NE IPA – “For this NEIPA, we’ve leaned on the luck of the Irish to ensure that it’s a banger. We’ve taken their lucky number 7 and applied it to the hop regime, bringing back our cult favourite hopping technique, microdosing, adding 7 different hops across 7 days. This has a created a NEIPA hazier than an Irish Winter’s day with more character than the inhabitants of The Temple Bar.”
Hollywood Hot Sauce West Coast IPA – “The pineapples, peaches and orange rind from the finest Amarillo and El Dorado hops only act to enhance any experience you pair them with. This age-old recipe, handed down through the Mountain Culture family over the years starts with a dank, resinous and yet highly drinkable body that allows the fruits to sparkle from it before rounding out in a moreish, crisp finish.”
That’s Enough Internet for Today NE IPA – “We’ve combined Cryo Ekuanot, Amarillo and Mosaic hops to create a flavour profile akin to fresh squeezed orange juice with a hint of stonefruit. The Cryo Ekuanot leaves a lingering herbal note that adds complexity and brightness making it far more sessionable than the ABV suggests. So be careful, you might find yourself mindlessly scrolling back to the fridge for another one.”
Blended – Trio
Ommegang has reached out to Belgium and Italy for their new Passport Royale a collaboration with Liefmans and Birrificio Del Ducato. It is a blended sour ale that is a somewhat high 7.5%-ABV.
Blended – Duo
The Belgian Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle is releasing a limited new blend combining their Westmalle Tripel and Extra 4. Duo is a blend of 60% Tripel and 40% of the Extra. No bottles, just kegs but one can hope that if it is a success, that more will be released.