Category: Guide to better beer

how to discover new beer to try

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Bruery + The Foundry =

If this does not perk up the inner Beer Geek then nothing will….

Lunch menu (food first / beer second)

Goat cheese and orange rillettes/flatbread/ herbed oil (Orchard White)
Endive salad/taleggio /Asian pear/hazelnut oil (Saison Rue)
Confit of rabbit/lemon/date/olive/harissa (Loakal Red)
Pecan coconut and cocoa tartlet/ bourbon ice cream/ corn flakes feuilletine (very rare dessert beer)

Dinner Menu (food first / beer second)

Charred mackerel/grapefruit juice/oil (Saison de Lente)
Crispy skin loup de mer/spicy lemongrass broth/sriracha kimchee mushroom ragout (Mischief)
Fried chicken oysters/cheddar cheese / biscuit bread pudding/collard greens/honey & black pepper gastrique (Premiere)
Mascarpone and black pepper gelato quenelle/strawberry gooseberry cranberry compote/balsamic reduction /tarragon (very rare & limited release beer)
Duck breast “reuben” / mustard / sauerkraut (Rugbrod)
Dark chocolate crepes / burnt orange marmalade / cinnamon and nutella ice cream (very rare dessert beer)

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Either / Or

Cigar City. Critical darlings of the craft beer world have a new beer available for those lucky enough to be in Florida.

Cigar City Brewing joined forces with Denmark based Grassroots Brewing and Hill Farmstead of Vermont on four beers. Half of the bounty is now close to seeing the light of day. Either and Or, which the labels describe as a high gravity black ale brewed with special honey, hops and aged on toasted Spanish Cedar.

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Mission Street 2011

One of the great surprises of 2010 were Firestone Walker bombers made for Trader Joesunder the Mission Street Label. The Hefeweizen was solid and even better was the brown ale that had just the right balance of malt and thickness with a spice kick.

Now they have produced a new beer, Mission Street 2011 Anniversary Ale. The copy on the label explains: “This year’s Mission St. Anniversary Ale showcases complex malt flavors with roasty notes layered in and medium hop character. It is a blend of three incredible brews carefully blended for maxiumum aroma and flavor. We affectionately call this brew an Imperial Brown Ale. 8.5% ABV.”.

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2 Excellent Beer gifts

I just had to share two of the best Christmas gifts (Beer related category) that I received this year…

So what you see is MALTed milk balls, a rabbit that is HOPping, some wheat and a packet of yeast. All of the ingredients in beer! A clever sister-in-law I have.

I have had great help in chasing my 50 Beers / 50 States goal but this wins a big prize. My wife found a friend who was traveling in the vicinity of some of my missing states and enlisted her to help me. And did she ever. She got beer from 5 states! Thanks to Ayn for single-handedly knocking 10% of my list away! Unbelievable!

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P to the T and the Y

For those who love the elusive Pliny the Younger, here are the details according to Russian River …..

We are releasing Younger at our pub in Santa Rosa on February 4th. When the pub receives it’s allocation, those kegs will be allocated to last for exactly 2 weeks. Therefore, we may run out at the pub each day, but will have more the following day for 2 weeks. It will be available in 10 oz. glasses only- no growlers or bottles to go. This will allow more beer enthusiasts like you, as well as our regular customers, to enjoy some Younger this year! And we won’t see it on Ebay!

Following are the markets to which we will send Younger (same as last year):

San Francisco
East Bay
North Bay
Southern California
Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Colorado
Philadelphia, PA

I will celebrate the start of PTY season with a nice Blind Pig a great IPA that I don’t have to fight through a crowd to get.

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Blazing a Trail

I am a big Blazer fan. I know it’s been rough injury wise for what seems like forever. But I will never root for another team (except whoever is playing the Lakers) That is why it was a great treat to have Terry’s Porter at Migration in December and now this b-ball brew

….. “Saraveza and Amnesia Brewers, Chris Spollen and Sean Thommen, will tip off a dedicated handle (during games) of Amnesia’s Trail Hazer! This dry hopped unfiltered version of the Dusty Trail Pale will be on special every time the Blazers are on the court. It is the perfect beer for a game watching session with friends.”

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Highway 78


What a difference two beers make! Stone had put out some really good collaborations but after the Camino (Un)Real mash-up, I started to feel that maybe the course had been run and that it would just be shocking ingredients for awhile.

But then came Saison du Buff and the San Diego Session which were tremendous and light and dare I say session beers and not imperials or doubles.

Now the first of 2011 is coming our way and it’s back to the bold….”a big, rich, malty beer made with all English ingredients.” The beer will clock in around 8%-9%ABV and 30 IBUs and aged in Scotch barrels. The trio includes Green Flash Brewing and Pizza Port-Carlsbad.

78 refers to the highway that starts at the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most impressive beer corridors with Stone, Green Flash and Lost Abbey within miles of each other.

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Beer in Japan

Yes, the world of apps are crowded. I had my choice of 8 metronome apps and those were just the free ones. And yes, many apps have one neat feature that grows old. The vuvuzela app that I had for all of 2 days would fit that description.

But the Beer in Japan app (an offshoot of the website of the same name) is in a small niche and it is useful.

You can plan your trip and then use it when you are in Japan to take notes too! It doesn’t require wi-fi and it has coupons!

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St. Arnold moveable yeast series

This might be the first sighting of a new trend. St. Arnold started this series last year with Weed Whacker, a variant of the Fancy Lawnmower beer and in 2011 more moveavble yeasts will be made.

Here is the full list:
MOVABLE YEAST
Saint Arnold Brewing Co. pays homage to the hard-working fungi that turn sugar into alcohol with a series of familiar beers fermented with different strains of yeast. The first of these new, draft-only brews will be available at bars and restaurants across Texas next month. The brewer is making enough for approximately 20,000 12-ounce servings and expects that to last two to three weeks. A little about each beer:

• Weedwacker: A variation of Saint Arnold’s best-selling Fancy Lawnmower. All other ingredients remain the same, but the new beer will be fermented with a Bavarian hefeweizen yeast. Available Aug. 16.
• Altared Amber: The flagship beer will be made with Belgian Trappist yeast. Available mid-November.
• Bitter Belgian: Elissa IPA, also with Belgian Trappist yeast. Available mid-February.
• Brown Bitte: Brown Ale, with Alt yeast. Available mid-May.