Enjoy by…..


This is a unique spin on the whole “born on” dating system that also is good education for many a craft beer drinker about the fragility of hops in our favorite IPA’s and pale ales. But at this point, I expect nothing less from Stone.

New Albion via Boston


This is great news. I was happy to see that Sierra Nevada honored Jack McAuliff in one of their 30th Anniversary brews and now Jim Koch is doing so as well. This will really help the new generation (myself included) who never got the chance to try New Albion back in the day.

“Jack McAuliffe, a pioneer in craft brewing and founder of The New Albion Brewing Company, and Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams announced today their plans to brew McAuliff’s original New Albion Ale for the first time in 30 years. Recognized by beer experts as the original American craft beer, this American pale ale will be brewed true to its original recipe using the original yeast, which has been carefully preserved at the University of California since 1977.

Koch and McAuliffe both share an enormous passion for craft beer and are seen as pioneers in the American Craft Beer Revolution. McAuliffe, a Navy veteran, acquired a taste for flavorful beer while stationed in Scotland in the 1960s. Shortly thereafter he developed a passion for homebrewing and eventually started the nation’s first craft brewery, The New Albion Brewing Company in 1976. Although the brewery closed its doors in 1982 due to a weak economy and a lack of financing options, McAuliffe’s vision for New Albion Ale was ahead of his time, helping pave the way for other American craft breweries, and its impact is still felt today.

“Jack was brewing craft beer when nothing was easy. Nobody made small scale brewing equipment, nobody wanted to invest, retailers and distributors didn’t want your beer, drinkers couldn’t understand why the beer didn’t taste ‘normal.’ It was so different from today,” says Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch. “New Albion is a true legacy. Jack’s passion for craft beer has had a widespread influence, and has shaped the craft beer landscape. What Jack started 30 years ago inspired brewers to explore brewing full-flavored craft beers. His New Albion Ale was the original craft brew. We wanted to work with Jack to brew his recipe for the first time in almost thirty years and recognize him for his contribution to brewing.”

Samuel Adams is brewing the original recipe for McAuliffe’s flagship beer, New Albion Ale. McAuliffe traveled to Boston in early July to join Koch and the Samuel Adams brewers as they brewed the first batch. New Albion Ale is a deep, golden beer brewed with American Cascade hops and a 2-row malt blend. The Cascade hops, sourced from the Pacific Northwest, create a moderate hop bitterness and lingering notes of citrus and floral, balanced by the upfront cereal character and sweet finish from the malt.

“Jim and I share a common passion for craft brewing, so I was honored when he approached me about bringing the New Albion original recipe back to life,” says Jack McAuliffe brewer and founder of the original New Albion Brewing Company. “I can’t believe I’m brewing New Albion for a new generation of craft beer drinkers – a group that has more great beer choices than I ever had! New Albion will have a place in the growing and diverse craft beer landscape thanks to a fellow craft brewer.”

When McAuliffe decided to turn his passion for homebrewing into a microbrewery, it was one of the first of its kind. At its height, New Albion Brewing Company brewed about 450 barrels annually. Microbreweries struggled under a market dominated by mass domestic beer but paved the way for growth in the 1990s. The number of craft breweries has gone from 8 in 1980, to 537 in 1994, to close to 2000 in 2012.

Jim Koch and Jack McAuliffe share the same pioneering spirit, and like McAuliffe, Koch was convinced that he could find his niche in an uncharted beer market. Koch followed his German-American family tradition and became a brewer, creating the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager® in his kitchen in 1984 from a family recipe. He insisted then, as he does now, that only the world’s finest ingredients will make the best beer, and that quality and flavor are the only standards worth pursuing. Jim wanted a beer brewed with American craftsmanship and pride.

New Albion Ale will be brewed, bottled and sold by The Boston Beer Company. All profits will go directly to Jack McAuliffe. The beer will be served at special events during the 2012 Great American Beer Festival (October 13), in Denver, CO and available nationwide beginning in January of 2013. New Albion Ale will be available in six-packs with a suggested retail price of $7.99.”

Hoppy Cat

Cats and hops. Well, you can thank Grateful Deaf and Birra del Borgo for this CDA….

“With roasted malts and a special American hops, the HoppyCat is an IPA from Dark coffee color, with brown tones. The nose is an intriguing fusion of citrus and toasty notes from the hops used since dall’ammostamento. The taste leaves aghast! The intense hoppy and resinous notes, typical of American hops you use, be merged with the fragrant nuances of roasted. Surprisingly easy to drink, with a soft, slender body and alcoholic content of 5.8% and a unit of 55 IBUs of bitterness.”

And look out for more Grateful Deaf collaborations in the future.

It’s an A-lection Year

No matter what side of the aisle you are on, we can agree that craft beer is great. And now that the choices on both sides are now locked in, we can now officially vote via beer!

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, long known for its passion for politics, handcrafted beer and sustainable coastal cuisine, has unveiled a commemorative bottle of its popular Pillar Point Ale in honor of Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2012 Presidential election.

The red-labeled Romney Ale, featuring a beaming portrait of Romney, will go head-to-head with the blue Obama Ale in the Brewing Company’s second “Presidential Alection,” inviting visitors to vote with their politics and taste buds. The Obama Ale, honoring the Commander in Chief, was unveiled in January at the start of the Alection primary season.”

“Throughout the summer leading up to election day on November 6, guests at the Brewing Company are invited to “cast their vote” for whom they believe should or will win the nation’s presidential election by simply ordering the Alection beer of their choice and completing a ballot. While many will swear they can tell the difference between the two political brews, both the Romney and Obama bottles contain the Brewing Company’s popular Pillar Point Ale. A traditional English-style pale ale that is well-hopped and nutty, Pillar Point Ale is created by Brewmaster Kirk Hillyard with English Maris Otter malt and East Kent Goldings hops. Approximate abv. 4.8%; available year-round.

In the 2008 Alection, the Brewing Company’s first Obama Ale beat the McCain Ale by four-to-one and ultimately predicted the eventual real-life champion. Results for 2012 will be posted on election day on the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company’s website.”

Project 12


Normally I do not use this space to talk about Budweiser unless it is to kick them in the butt to make better beer since they have great brewers and great equipment and wads of cash to spend. But I have to today, because they have taken up one of my suggestions that I have ranted about on this blog. (OK, not because of me, I don’t think). They have actually given their brewers some leeway to make something other than the corn flavored fizzy water. I can’t vouch if it will be good. Their American Ale was a dreadful watered down amber but maybe, keep hoping, they will make something at least drinkable.

Project 12.” Twelve Anheuser-Busch brewmasters at Budweiser’s 12 geographically dispersed breweries worked together to create their own “tribute” beers to fit the Budweiser brand’s reputation for quality and consistency. The assignment pays homage to Budweiser’s “clean and crisp” taste by using the proprietary yeast directly descended from the original Budweiser yeast culture used by Adolphus Busch in 1876 and still used by Budweiser today.

Through internal tasting and analysis, the 12 small-batch beers – each a lager using all-natural ingredients – were pared to six to take part in a summer-long, nationwide sampling effort. Consumer feedback will help Budweiser narrow the six beers to three for inclusion in a limited-edition sampler pack, available for purchase this fall.

To launch the six sampler beers, private events with brewmasters are scheduled to take place in August in all 12 A-B brewery cities: St. Louis, Mo.; Merrimack, N.H.; Baldwinsville, N.Y.; Newark, N.J.; Williamsburg, Va.; Cartersville, Ga.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Columbus, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; Fairfield, Calif.; and Los Angeles, Calif.

Each small batch Budweiser is distinguished by the ZIP code where the beer is brewed. Among the six beers being sampled this summer and the brewmasters behind them:

Budweiser Small Batch 91406 (Los Angeles): A deep-amber lager with 6 percent ABV that uses four different types of hops. The beer is brewed by brewmaster Bryan Sullivan in Los Angeles and was developed in collaboration with Scott Ungermannin Fairfield and Dave Cohen in Houston.

Budweiser Small Batch 63118 (St. Louis): A deep-gold 5 percent ABV American lager that uses the same types of hops (Hallertau and Tettnang) commonly used at the St. Louis brewery during the 19th century. The beer is brewed in St. Louis by brewmaster Jim Bicklein and was developed in collaboration with Katie Rippelfrom Fort Collins.

Budweiser Small Batch 43229 (Ohio): A light-amber lager using eight different types of hops with 6 percent ABV. The beer is brewed in Columbus, Ohio, and was the brainchild of the brewery’s general manager, Kevin Lee and developed with assistant brewmasters Travis Burge and Tyler Hunter.

Budweiser Small Batch 23185 (Virginia): A light-amber all-malt bourbon cask lager aged on bourbon staves and vanilla beans and with an ABV of 5.5 percent. The beer is brewed by Daniel Westmoreland in Williamsburg and was developed in collaboration with Mike Anderson in Jacksonville and Dan Kahn in Cartersville.

Budweiser Small Batch 13027 (New York): A bright-golden lager brewed with six imported and domestic hops and with an ABV of 7 percent. The beer is brewed in Baldwinsville, N.Y., by brewmaster Nick Mills in consult with general managerSteve McCormick.

Budweiser Small Batch 80524 (Colorado): A deep-gold, filtered wheat beer with 5.2 percent ABV using lemon peel, orange peel and coriander. The beer is brewed by Katie Rippel in Fort Collins and was developed by Nick Mills in Baldwinsville,Otto Kuhn in Merrimack and Tiago Darocha in Newark.

“The key to this project was the common yeast – which is a very important and often under-appreciated contributor to the flavor and aroma of beer,” said Jane Killebrew-Galeski, director of brewing, quality and innovation for Anheuser-Busch. “We are proud of all these beers – the variety and the quality – but we want consumer feedback. So, we’re looking forward to what we hear when we sample this summer. Our objective is to allow our brewmasters to show some creativity, but the beers must fit the hallmarks the Budweiser brand is respected for, such as quality and consistency, and have a very crisp and clean taste.”

Though the range is still limited and the term “light” is used so as not to scare or offend those who have yet to discover craft beer at least there is a modest effort involved. I don’t think it will come close to matching the quality of the Sam Adams Longshot beers but this writer is very cautiously optimistic.

some special Chimay


This looks like something to add to both your ‘fridge and your cellar. According to the label, “To celebrate the 150 years spent at the Abbey Of Scourmont, the Chimay Trappist brewery has developed this exceptional anniversary beer brewed specially for the occasion.”

the latest Barrel Roll


Looks like Hangar 24 is ramping up the Barrel Roll series again. I missed the first two of the series but starting with # 3 Pugachev’s Cobra was not a bad way to go but I am glad that they are heading into sour territory with Chandelle. It is a good change of pace from the barleywine, Hammerhead and it uses the apricots that they are famous for with their wonderful Polycot beer.

Batch 9000 in bourbon

One of the prizes of my cellar collection is a bottle of Bell’s Batch 9,000.

Here is what the brewery website says about it: “Batch 9,000 Ale offers up aromas ranging from the sweet caramel & molasses of dark rum to fruits such as raisins and plums. Brewed with the idea of pushing boundaries in mind, Batch 9,000 Ale is a unique, one-time-only recipe. Well suited for vintage aging, this limited release will continue to develop in flavor & complexity over the years.”

Well now after finishing the series with Batch 10,000 they have gone back to the cellar and are releasing a bourbon barrel aged version of 9,000. Now I just need to find a way to get a bottle so that the original doesn’t get lonely.

Axes of Evil


Gigantic Brewing has come out of the gate strong with a who’s who roster of collaborators in their first few months.

Pelican, Oakshire, Anchorage, Laurelwood, Breakside and now Three Floyds. That is a breakneck pace of brewing but a smart way to hit the ground running. I think I will have to send my mom on a Gigantic beer buying binge for me.

Oh, and GO TIMBERS!