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Peace Tree Brewing

Who says that there isn’t good beer in the heartland?

Maybe if I am lucky, I will be able to mark Iowa off my list with one of the fine craft beers from…..
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Here is a little backstory (from their website) about the name Peace Tree.
“Our name, Peace Tree Brewing Company, is also a reminder, a prompting of our past where different cultures met to discuss, trade, and come to agreements. The Peace Tree is a historic grand sycamore tree that was located near the town of Red Rock under what is now Lake Red Rock. Supposedly the old sycamore was a place where Indians met for generations, then became a meeting place for fur traders. Indian treaties were negotiated here and there is some speculation that it marks the Red Rock Line.

Our hope is that the beer made under the Peace Tree label will be a shared with friends and strangers alike and catalyst for conversations, new friendships and important agreements – in line with the lore of infamous Peace Tree of Red Rock.”

And it seems they have an IPA that would be to my liking…
“Hop Wrangler: Joe’s multinational take on a classic IPA. IPA’s are known for their intense hop bitterness, flavor and aromas. First, Joe used American and English malt, then American and English hops are added during the mash, first wort, boil, and finally it’s dry hopped for aroma. Belgium gets involved with the yeast and a special candy sugar finish for smoothness and flavor.”

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another Stone 3 Way

Just when you are sick and tired of hearing another collaboration story. Here comes another one to re-excite….
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El Camino takes you on a drive from San Diego to San Francisco with a stop in Paso Robles. I have liked previous incarnations but I have one potential roadblock.

Figs! I didn’t like them in Monk’s Blood and I hope they don’t dominate this beer cause they ruin things for my palate. I am not scared off and won’t try it but I will be wary.

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two MORE Welsh breweries

Our Welsh journey continues with two more breweries mentioned by Pete Brown that I thought should be shared with more people this side of the pond.

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Otley Brewing

Here are two beers from Otley that intrigue me.
O1
ABV 4.O%
Our flagship brew. A pale straw colour ale with
heavy hop aromas, a thirst quenching bitterness
and a big nose aroma.
O3 BOSS
ABV 4.4%
Traditional chestnut ale with Northdown
and Challenger hops, quaffable enjoyment.

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Kingstone Brewery

Here are the two beers that jumped out at me. The first two I will try if/when I get to travel through Wales.
Humptys Fuddle
“Our IPA, dangerously smooth at 5.8% ABV, is a warming, oaky-smoky tipple. Humpty has a slightly sweet floral nose, a balanced level of malt supporting the hops and finally a subtle but slightly citrusy finish.”

Classic Bitter
“The name says it all. This is our award-winning Classic Bitter – a balanced, disctinctively hoppy, dry ale with a floral nose and smooth well-balanced finish. Classic is brewed with pale and crystal malted barley, bittered with a quartet of hops – Northern Brewer, Cascade, Willamette (a Fuggles hybrid) and Brambling Cross.

The Great Taste Awards, which is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and often referred to as the Oscars of the food industry, is this year celebrating its 15th anniversary. A Great Taste Award is the authoritative, independent standard for Britain’s fine food sector: the gold & black logo is the benchmark for independently proven fine food. Our Classic bitter was awarded the 2* Great Taste Award in 2008.”

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Man Walks into a Pub

I have been reading Pete Brown’s excellent beer books in reverse order. Just to be contrary I guess. I have finished Hops and Glory and Three Sheets to the Wind and that leaves me with only…
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Even though Three Sheets traveled to my hometown of Portland, Oregon, I much prefer Hops and Glory because of the great history that was interwoven into the modern day IPA journey. We will see how is first book stacks up!

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Fluffy

Last month, I crossed Monk’s Blood off my list of beers that I MUST try. After hemming and hawing, I added Nebraska Brewing’s Chardonnay Blonde to the Top 5.

There will be no doubt about what to replace Jack D’or from Pretty Things Ale Project, if I am lucky enough to snag a bottle. It will be this….
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A hoppy triple. Two great styles that go great together.

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Chicken Killer Barleywine

What with all the DIPA’s and RIS’ out there, it is easy to forget the humble barleywine. So here is one you should check out when you are in the southwest.

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Here is the 411… “CHICKEN KILLER BARLEY WINE
Chicken Killer Barley Wine is the revolutionary beer that will someday define America’s unique Barley Wine style. It is brewed with twice the ingredients of the Santa Fe Brewing Company’s other beers, and only half the usual amount of liquid is extracted from these ingredients. This makes one substantial beer. At over ten percent alcohol, Chicken Killer is actually as substantial as wine, but this is not to say that it is difficult to drink. On the contrary; be careful with this one. The flavors of the beer are at first as overwhelming as the intense Santa Fe sun. But in the same way our sun gives us the unrivaled brilliant colors of Santa Fe, the potency of Chicken Killer gives us the remarkable spectrum of flavors that can be found in no other beer, in no other city. If you did not have the opportunity to try last year’s vintage, come try this year’s!”

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1001 Beers

1001

First A Beer a Day, now 1001 Beers to try.

Why should you get another gargantuan coffee table book on beer?
A) We need to encourage more talk about craft beer
B) This is aimed at those on the fence who need a nudge into the world of craft beer.

Here is what one of the contributors and the editor had to say on a recent thread on the always enlightening Hop Press blog.

Mario Rubio
“I think people are missing why someone issues a book like this. It’s not for the people like us who use RateBeer and such (although many of us are interested in it). This book is for our friends, the ones on the outside looking in. They are the people who will flip through and say “I’ve seen that on tap” or “I can buy that at the grocery store” and start ticking off the beers in the book.”

Adam Tierney Jones
“this is for those who might be slightly intimidated by beer, who are ripe for moving on from Bud, enjoy Sierra Nevada occasionally but wonder what on earth is or who is Dogfish Head”