Firestone-Walker has a new six-pack entering the world. A wheat beer. I am glad that they are moving in this direction. They have IPA’s and specialty releases in bottles but this marks a broadening of the portfolio. And I am all for that.
Badger Beer
This is one of the beers that I wish made it across the pond. We are starting to see more Bateman’s here in Los Angeles so hopefully, more esoteric British beers will find their way to my ‘fridge.
The Badger website says this about the stinger…”Hall & Woodhouse Head Brewer, Tim Morris, who helped to brew the recipe for the ale said: “Stinger is made from fresh organic Dorset nettles from the River Cottage estate added to the copper. It has a grassy herbal aroma with subtle gooseberry and lemon citrus notes that build up towards the end of the glass. It is finished with a slightly spicy after taste that lingers beautifully.”
Check out their full range of beers HERE.
Safety 1st – Craft Beer 2nd
For those who must go out and party in honor of casting snakes off a cold, wet island, PLEASE, AND I MEAN PLEASE!
Do not drink and drive.
Use your smartphone and get a taxi. Tweet a sober friend to take you home. Don’t endanger anyone else. It is selfish.
(Tomorrow, we return to normal fun beer posts)
New plan for St. Patrick’s Day
You would expect a craft beer fan to love St. Patrick’s Day.
Well, I don’t. Not because of the Irish people mind you. But because of how it has become an “excuse to drink too much” day.
Imagine you are Brandon Roy of the Portland Trailblazers. He is the best in the NBA (just saying). Now imagine one game a year where you have to play hoops with players from the couch potato league and not LaMarcus or Camby or Rudy Fernandez. That is what St. Patrick’s Day is to me. People who gulp neon green beer, just to get drunk. People who don’t drink Irish Stout all year, show up and get plastered. Then moan over getting pulled over by the cops.
Afficionados like me then have to deal with the anti-alcohol people the rest of the year because of these bone-headed bingers.
Of course, in this analogy, I am nowhere the beer guy that Brandon Roy is the basketball all-star.
Here are my proposals:
1. Use St. Patrick’s Day to cleanse your palate. Then return to normal craft beer imbibing the next day. Your tastebuds need a break after all the DIPA’s you’ve had anyway.
2. Avoid the crowded bars and drink a special beer at home with friends. This year, I am opening and sharing Bridgeport’s Highland Ambush. You won’t have to deal with long lines at your favorite beer bar and being pinched by strangers or faux Irish dancing.
Beer in the Mail – Part 2
The second gift of beer box is from the midwest and The Wine and Cheese Place.
Sean’s March beer suggestions
Here are the suggestions for March!
Sean suggests March 2010
As usual, they will be archived on the “join the Search Party” tab along with February and January.
Beer in the Mail – Part 1
The first beer package is from Malt and Vine in the state of Washington.
Some of these are for cellaring, some for the 50 Beers from 50 States and some for special occasions.
Review -Hopf Weisser Bock
Coastal Extreme Brewing
My trip around the country highlighting breweries from the comfort of the internet continues on to Rhode Island and Coastal Extreme.
What drew me to their brewery is their Cyclone series. This is what they say about “Cyclones are powerful, unique, and pass through quickly. We consider these beers “extreme”, because each one is either aggressively hopped, unusually flavorful, or high in alcohol, or has some combination of these characteristics. Each Cyclone is brewed with an original recipe for a less common beer style making them incredibly unique. They are then packaged into bottles only and shipped out in six packs. Since we are only making 1300 cases of each Cyclone, they do not last long. Also, just like the real storms that prowl the Atlantic each year, these beers are named with human names, starting with Alyssa, and continuing alphabetically from there.”
Yet another cool twist that you only find at smaller craft brewers who care!
HOPS!
Harpoon Brewing is releasing a new single hop ESB using a brand new hop, here-to-for unseen, named Delta. Delta is the latest in the line that also includes Teamaster and Nelson Sauvin hops that will be seen and tasted more as they become more widely available.
When I saw this posted on the wonderful BeerNews website, I knew I had to re-iterate something that I think every beer geek should do.
I highly suggest sampling any single hop offering that you can find. Then take notes on the aroma and the flavors you get. Once you have done that. Go online and either Google or Bing your way to a description of the hop you sampled and compare and contrast.
These new varieties stem in part from boundary pushing that American brewers are pursuing as well as from the scare of a hop shortage a few years back. I am continuing my interwebs search for a comprehensive and graphically cool listing of hops that isn’t all agriculture words. No luck yet, but once I do, I will post it here.
This way, you can grow your hop knowledge. (Pun intended)