Brewed on Discovery Channel

This sounds interesting. No Reservations is done well by this production company, so I am cautiously optimistic.

“EXPERIENCING THE WORLD ONE PINT AT A TIME DISCOVERY CHANNEL RAISES A GLASS FOR BREWED, NEW SERIES ON THE WORLD OF BEER ANNOUNCED FOR FALL 2010

(Silver Spring, Md.) Beer is the drink of the masses. If you look into a glass of beer you can see the past, present and future of mankind. Cicero lauded it, Genghis Khan fought for it and now Discovery Channel celebrates it with a world premiere series, BREWED, exploring the culture, history and variety of beer.

Meet Sam Calagione: maverick entrepreneur, family man and owner of Dogfish Head Brewery in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. As an ambassador to the world of craft beer, Sam travels the world to experience what every culture brings to its own special brew.

In BREWED, Sam shows viewers the other side of the bottle, sharing the stories of beer sub-cultures as well as exploring life inside The Dogfish Head Brewery. BREWED goes behind the scenes at Dogfish Head as Sam’s merry band of creative brewmasters concoct new taste varieties.

“BREWED taps more than just kegs and barrels, it unlocks a fascinating history of beer making, showcasing the ingenuity and passion behind our love affair with those alluring suds and how it played a role in building civilizations,” said Clark Bunting, President and General Manager of Discovery Channel.

Running a successful business also requires inspiration, so BREWED hits the road for the ultimate beer tasting road trip. Along with archeologist and beer expert Pat McGovern, Sam sets out to recreate “ancient ales” that have been discovered at sites around the world from Egypt to Peru. He travels to Rome to research old world Italian beers as inspiration for a new site in New York with Mario Batali. A visit to New Zealand introduces the idea of making the “first tomato based beer.” And back home, Sam is tasked to come up with a commemorative beer called “Bitches Brew” to celebrate the 40th anniversary release of Miles Davis’ famous recording.

“Beer has always been my passion. It is so much more than what you see in the glass. I’m excited to share the diligence, daring and creativity that we pour into our work,” said Calagione.

BREWED is produced for Discovery Channel by Zero Point Zero Productions. Chris Collins and Lydia Tenaglia are executive producers. Tim Pastore is executive producer for Discovery Channel. “

UPDATE!!!
This won’t be airing until next year and the format has changed though it appears the focus on world class craft beer remains. More as the details become clear. Still remaining cautiously optimistic.

Ancient Chinese beer secret

It can be hard to keep up with all of the interesting tidbits on NPR. So when I find beer stories, I feel it’s my duty to pass them on to you…
Click HERE for the story
…I am on the fence on whether I would like Chateau Jihau. No matter how changed it is for modern tastes.

World Cup + World Beer – USA

world_cup_2010_logo

TODAY: USA V. Ghana

My heart is still pumping furiously from the wild win against Algeria in group play. How could I not pick another American beer for the start of the 2nd round of the World Cup?

In honor of the 90th minute goal, how about Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA?

“… our first continually-hopped beer, which is a method of hopping that allows for a pungent, but not crushing hop flavor. Since introducing the world to the continual-hopping method with our 90 Minute IPA, we’ve since released a continually-hopped 60 Minute IPA, 120 Minute IPA and even a 75 Minute IPA (a cask-conditioned blend of 60 & 90 Minute IPAs).

In addition to the continual-hopping 90 Minute IPA recieves during the boil, we also utilize our ‘Me So Hoppy’ device to dry-hop the beer during conditioning.”
dfh90ipa1

East meets West meets Italy

“This may well be the craziest and amazing brewery in the world” – Leonardo Di Vincenzo, Brewmaster, Birra del Borgo

Truer words may never have been spoken. Four breweries collaborating on one project! Two Italian craft brewers – Teo Musso, Brewmaster of Birrificio Le Baladan and Leonardo Di Vincenzo of Birra del Borgo, and two Italian-American craft brewers – Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Vinnie Cilurzo of the Russian River Brewing.

The first beer will be an English Mild with a dash of chestnut.

2010 collaborations

I have heard through the grapevine of the interwebs that there are two planned collaboration brews coming up this year so far from Stone Brewing: one at the end of this month with 21st Amendment and Firestone Walker (Camino Un-Real), and another coming up in March, with Dogfish Head and Victory.

At this point, I need a website that tracks all of these projects and what there status is at any given point in time. In the past, you could easily keep up with the few “brewing get togethers” that happened but 2009 was the tipping point and it appears the floodgates have opened.

Here is what I would like to see…..
Brewers involved – where brewed – bottled or tap only – where available – name of beer.

It might also be cool to have a list of mythical collaborations that never came to be.

Beer Premiere Night

Roll out the red carpet, LA. Forget the Oscars and the Grammys. Last night brought two new and highly anticipated beers to the City of Angels.

First at the Daily Pint was Life and Limb from Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada. Sadly, Limb and Life did not make it, yet. Now this a winter warmer. As I tried to explain it to people, this beer is a porter with Sierra Nevada hoppiness on one side and Dogfish Head alcohol warmth on the other. It worked for me but it like the other beer I had are sippers.

landl

Then I drove back across town to Blue Palms for the unveiling of Firestone-Walker 13th Anniversary. Brian Lenzo had the foresight, nay genius, to start buying these beers years ago and has amassed quite the impressive collection. He had a sampler of 10, 11, 12 and 13. The 13 was nice. You may know me as the dark beer hater but 13 had a good balance. Some liquor aroma and bite but the beer was still there and it was smooth. Plus it was good to see celebrated Celebrator writer Tomm Carroll amongst all the familiar faces. Next years vertical flight should be killer.

fw13

Sierra Dog Nevada Fish

from Beer Advocate…
This fall independent craft brewers Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head, will release two collaborative beers. Limb & Life-a draft-only beer-will debut in October; with Life & Limb 24oz bottles and limited draft to follow in November.

Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong beer that defies style characteristics-brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman “farm” at the brewery in Chico. The beer is alive with yeast-a blend of both breweries’ house strains-bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska; it is the first beer we know of ever to use birch syrup in the brew. If stored under good conditions, this rich, full-bodied beer should age well for years. Life & Limb will be available in 24-oz. bottles and limited draft starting this November.

Limb & Life is a companion to the big beer-an acorn off the larger tree. It is a 5% ABV small beer-a low-gravity beer made using the residual sugar as “second runnings” from the first larger brew, fortified with American hops. This is a session beer. Its big brother is a sipper. Limb & Life will be a limited draft-only product, a prelude to the bigger beer, available in select bars and restaurants this October.