Category: Guide to better beer

how to discover new beer to try

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Bridgeport – Highland Ambush

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Reserve beers or special one-off’s are one of the reasons why craft beer is so great. And one of the series’ that I follow is the Big Brews from Bridgeport. Well, here comes one to please the BeerAdvocate crowd, who love it when the label says “barrels” & “bourbon”.
“First brewed in the 1980s as a special beer for the BrewPub at BRIDGEPORT Highland Ambush is making its triumphant return more than 20 years later. Stuart MacLean Ramsay, then pub manager, conceptualized the brew to pay homage to his Scottish heritage. This year’s Highland Ambush takes inspiration from the original ale using NW pale ale malt along with a Scottish crystal and roast malt. The hopping rate of Highland Ambush has been toned down to help highlight the complementing vanilla from the American oak bourbon barrels and caramel-toffee malt nuances. Reddish-Brown in color, Highland Ambush will warm the coldest of toes and noses this holiday season.”

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Aged LSD

from the brewers at the Old Lompoc….
nol lsd
BOURBON BARREL AGED LSD
Save the date for the next big party – we’ll be releasing our Bourbon Barrel Aged LSD at Lompoc Sidebar on Friday, February 5th from 4 to 9 pm. Brewed in May of last year, this beer was aged in Bourbon barrels for five months and cellared for an additional three. It has a malty body with slight raisin and vanilla flavors. Look for it in bottles and on tap – 8.5% ABV.

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Zwickelmania

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from the Oregon Brewers Guild
“This President’s Day weekend, dozens of Oregon breweries and brewpubs will open their doors to visitors for the state’s 2nd annual Zwickelmania. Zwickelmania, hosted by the Oregon Brewers Guild (OBG), is a free statewide event that offers visitors a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers and sample their favorite beers.
When: Saturday, February 13th, 2010 from 11-4 pm”

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8-4-1

Redhook-8-4-1-Expedition

On the heels of Treblehook comes news of this Redhook addition….
Redhook Brewery will release the next beer in its Limited Series, 8-4-1 Expedition Ale, in sometime in March.

The tiny print on the label reads, “Hand crafted by eight brewers working in four teams, this Imperial Brown Ale was developed from their individual recipes carefully blended into one distinctive ale. Rich and flavorful, brewed with cherry-wood smoked malts and brown sugar.”

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Brau Brothers

When you think of Minnesota do you think of snow, Brett Favre or this…”A 10% ABV stout in a corked and caged 750ml bottle. Aged in oak, brewed with Belgian candy sugar and estate grown hops.”
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I saw this on the Four Firkin’s website. If they ever decide to ship beer. I will take a pounding on the old credit card.

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1st beer love blind tasting

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Tomorrow night at the wonderful Blue Palms is…”a loosely structured double-blind tasting of beers within a set theme– this time, “Cupid’s Arrow: The Beer That Got You Hooked.” The idea is that this is a way to strip away any pretensions and preconceptions about specific beers you are drinking, and to challenge and educate your palate about the flavors and aromas you experience.”

Just bring in (1) bomber or (2) twelve ouncers to join in the fun and train your palate some more.

For more details go to Blue Palms Brewhouse.

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Abrasive

Not my posts (hopefully), no this is another Surly beer added to their line-up of canned beer. I have yet to mark Minnesota off my list and cans are lighter than bottles. Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge.
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from the new Surly website… “Pale in color, this over-hopped, under-brewed Double IPA has almost twice the amount of hops & malt crammed in the can.”

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Beer Revolution

No, it isn’t an armed revolt against the dreaded BMC. It is a new beer store in Oakland! (Side note. No, we cannot have enough beer stores.)
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Beer Revolution will open around the same time as the SF Beer Week. As if you needed something else to do.

They are located at: 464 3rd Street in Oakland

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Open! Open!

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Change that “coming soon” to opening Monday, February 8th. The Surly Goat will have the following…
You’re likely to find beers like Deschutes The Abyss, Hair of the Dog Fred, Lagunitas Brown Shugga, Bear Republic Heritage Ale, Celebrator Doppelbock, The Bruery Sour on Rye, Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin, New Belgium Tart Lychee, New Belgium La Folie, Victory Kolsch and Craftsman Cabernale. Two breweries have even stepped up to make beers specifically for The Surly Goat, including Eaglegoat Bock from Eagle Rock Brewery and Speakeasy Public Enemy Pils, a pre-Prohibition Pilsner.

Ballast Point is supplying the opening cask. It will either be Sea Monster Stout aged in rum barrels or barrel-aged Victory at Sea.

They are located at 7929 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.
Reach them at 323-650-4628.

erb

If that wasn’t enough, Eagle Rock Brewery has this news…
“For the time being, we’ll be having regular taproom hours on Fridays and Saturdays from 4p-10p and Sundays from 12p-6p”

ERB is at 3056 Roswell Street in Los Angeles. Reach them at 323-257-7866.