In the Tap Lines for August 2010

Here is what you (faithful blog reader) can look forward to in this months posts.

– Video reviews of Caldera Kettle Series beers
– Quick tours of Irish and German breweries that you should visit
Session # 42 – A Favorite Beer Memory
– A recap of the Stone 14th Anniversary party
– I suggest (3) beers to put into your ‘fridge
– Beers to try and events to attend
– 50 Beers from 50 States updates
– The monthly tapping of the Firkin, my opinion on the beer world.

Cheers!

Pucker Up!

The Stone Brewing Sour Festival starts tomorrow!

Here is the description of the event (in typical Stone language):
“The human palate is capable of detecting four basic flavors, but during a typical beer tasting only two of those (well, three if you count the pretzels) are experienced: bitter, sweet, and salty. Well, here at Stone, we feel it’s high time to include the fourth flavor domain, SOUR, in the equation. “Dr.” Bill Sysak is busily hunting down the best sour beers the world has to offer in order to bring you one of the biggest gatherings ever held featuring these special brews.”

And here are some of the draft options. (It is quite a list)
Alvinne Kerasus Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus
Avery Altar Boy Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale
Avery Bad Sally Lost Abbey Veritas ’02
Avery Brabant Moonlight #16 Blonde Sour Beer
Avery De Vogelbekdieren Moonlight #28 Sour Ale
Avery Voltron New Belgium Bottleworks 10th
Anniversary Wild Ale
Avery Anniversary Ale-16 New Belgium Eric’s Ale 2007
Ballast Point Hout Series Dark Cherry New Belgium La Folie
Ballast Point Hout Series Gueuze New Belgium Le Terroir
Ballast Point Sour Wench Blackberry Ale New Belgium Love Barrel #3
Boon Oude Lambic New Belgium Spicy Folie
Boulevard Saison-Brett New Belgium Tart Lychee
The Bruery Cuvee Jeune New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek
The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse Ommegang Rouge
The Bruery White Zin Russian River Consecration
Craftsman El Prieto Dark Sour Ale Russian River Sanctification
Craftsman Honesty Ale Russian River Supplication
Deschutes Green Monster Russian River Temptation
Deschutes Little Buddha St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
Deschutes Saison de la Bond Telegraph Reserve Wheat
Deschutes St. Lucy’s Artisan Ale Valley Chilie Wonka Sour
Dogfish Head Festina Peche Valley Decadence Grand Cru 2009
Drake’s George Brett Triple Valley DysFunktion-Ale Part Deux
Drake’s It’s Fity Valley Olallieberry Sour
Green Flash Grand Mantis-Merlot
Barrel Aged Grand Cru Van Honsebrouk Bacchus
Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme 2009 Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne
Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze Verhaeghe Echte Kreikenbier

yet ANOTHER Stone 3 Way

Stone has teamed with two brewers from around the country. AGAIN!
This time Victory from Pennsylvania and the esteemed Dogfish Head from Delaware to create a saison. A Buff saison. Each back label has a different spin from each of the three different brewers. Collect them all!
saison-du-buff-front-invert

another Stone 3 Way

Just when you are sick and tired of hearing another collaboration story. Here comes another one to re-excite….
el-camino-front-black1

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.

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.

Stone Winter Storm

sws

Super Bowl be damned! I would rather be at this party…
“Stone Winter Storm is back for a fourth and glorious year! All 32 Bistro taps (and more!) will be pouring an avalanche of year ’round beers, special releases, archived vintages, barrel aged brews, collaborations, brewer’s one-off creations, casks, and more bottles than you can shake a Christmas tree at. We’ll see you here for an amazing week-long celebration of the rarest and tastiest Stone brews to be found outside of our 8,000 sq. foot cold box!”

Follow this LINK to get the updated information.

Foreign Exchange Brewer

Since this is look it up yourself day at Search Party HQ, follow this LINK to the Stone Blog.

I think it’s so cool how tightknit the beer community is. We are an opinionated bunch but when it comes to making beer, we usually see eye to eye.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 10th Wedding Anniversary!! In honor of that momentous occasion, here is a list of 10 beers and breweries to mark each passing milestone.

1st – Papier from The Bruery
2nd – 2 Degrees Below from New Belgium
3rd – 3 Floyds Brewing
4th – #4 from Upright Brewing
5th – 5 Apostles Saison from Devil’s Backbone Brewing
6th – Six Points Brewing
7th – 7 Seas Brewing
8th – Vertical Epic 8-8-07 from Stone Brewing
9th – # 9 from Magic Hat Brewing
10th – Tenth Anniversary Ale from Allagash