Bourbon County (Goose Island Brewing)

    This series of beer was the one that began my interest in cellaring bottles for later consumption. I really had no idea how the beer would change over time, but the Bourbon County Brand Stout was too hot for my taste. The flavor of alcohol was strong and any other subtle flavors didn't stand out against the heat. It was suggested that I hold on to a few for a while, maybe the booziness would calm with age.

    Last year around this time I was working in Richmond, and did not have a chance to buy any other Bourbon County labeled beer. I was only able to get my hands on a four pack of the regular stout, which I still have two bottles of with a price tag of $24.99, from Once Upon a Vine. From what I was told we missed the coffee all together. It was a mission of mine as well as many others to get at least a four pack of each this year, a lofty and expensive endeavor. I found the coffee in the back room, not even priced, yet already ravaged by the crazed customer. "remember that time you saw that case of BCBS coffee" I posted on Instagram, poking fun at this apparent ghost beer, heard but never seen. The beer angels must have smiled down on me that day.  

    It didn't take me long to get it cold and poured into a glass. I was so excited to finally get to try it, and I wasn't disappointed. It's rich deep coffee aroma, with the bitter astringency, still had a good bit of alcohol zest to it. If I could get another four pack of any of this series this would be the one. I had the barley wine for the first time, and was expecting to be blown away. I wasn't, I'm not passing judgement, I have one more for sampling. It may have been a busted palette. The beer did seem to improve as it warmed up. I will take the credit for operator error. I still have only one back yard rye, and I have heard it is amaze balls, so I will crack that open for Christmas. 

    I have heard countless bloggers, and pod casters speak poorly of goose island, due to the association of AB-INBEV. I could care less, year after year I look forward to these beers coming out and they never let me down. I wish all of this haters would stop buying it so I could get more.

RBE bottle share

    On December first, 2013, a large group of Richmond Beer Elite followers met at Gallery 5 on west marshall street for the 8th time. It was my first year going, and I had no expectations. I was invited by a co-worker, who I have complete trust in. I felt honored, and unworthy of such an invite. I don't go out to beer bars much, and merely observe the conversations that occur on the beer elite face book group. Through business I knew a hand full of people at the event, mostly brewers. It has been a tough time financially keeping up with the flow of quality products in the past few months. I dug out the jewel that has been in the back of my fridge for 7 months, the cantillon classic gueze.

I stole this photo from Jacob Brunnow

   I have to admit that often I feel my job in sales has ruined my ability to converse without there being some sort of sales pitch. I clang on to the couple of people I thought wouldn't mind me soaking in the knowledge and conversation. Then I got paranoid and just walked side to side checking each table for new bottles and things I've been dying to try. As you can see from the picture below one may get hung between tables, in the middle of the room. Yet, being in the middle of the room also got good beer poured in my glass, shucks!

   There was a bottle of Pliney, I saw it and it was gone. I was just as excited to try blind pig for the first time. Is it amateur of me to say that? How many people on the east coast have had it without going to California? From what I hear it seems that the pig is just as hard to get. I have never heard of anyone getting anything from lost abbey, so that was cool. My brother in-law just posted a picture of some New Glarus, now I have seen selections like this! The whole time I was walking around mouth agape, texting pics, and checking in on untapped. It was insane.  

    The real treat and confirmation for me was the spotting of this monster 29, from Dark Horse Brewing. If the normal high ABV beers from these guys wasn't enough, this 17.5% barrel aged barleywine beast will definitely warm you up. I have been selling these guys beers for nearly a year now and can't seem to convince everyone that they are a big deal legit craft brewer. If one of their barrel age beers shows up at a heavy hitting share like this? That is all the confirmation I need. These dudes put out this beer and barrel aged plead at the same party!

   Finally, I wasn't the only one with Cantillon. Which was good, when he went for a wine key, I opened mine as well. The thing about sours is the perception and burn of the funk. These two both had a lot of funk, the Kriek had more tart bite up front. They both finished as pretty and smooth as anyone could ask for. I had no fear of getting sour belly after having a got little piece of these. I really enjoy craft beer and sharing the experience, with the right people. Everyone who turned out for this event definitely did it right, as a group. Thank you to all who were involved in organizing, and I look forward to next years! 

http://www.richmondmagazine.com/blogs.php?blogID=208532ebc1a73c4f4efb4687d9a3f114

Dirt Wolf (Victory Brewing Company)

    My old friend Victory Brewing. Resist prohibition we will, and we have. You have brought me such joy as Hop Devil, Hop Wallop, Storm King, The Headwaters Series and my personal favorite up until now, Old Horizontal. That last one is as strong as it sounds, he make you lay down go sleep. If you look back through my earlier blog entries I may have even reviewed one of Victories libations before. Podcast beer folk say libations a lot, I'm going to give it a go. I was a bit confused when I saw a new IPA from victory, and had to try it.    

    I was instantly in love. This has to be one of the best most well balanced IPA's from this side the missisip I have had in a while. I will not be reviewing Hardywood the Great Return for fear of brewery over saturation, but also is in the same category. I checked, as was encouraged by their website to check rate beer, beer advocate, and untapped. This joker has a 96 on rate beer, a 98 on rate beer, and a 4 out of 5 on untapped. It isn't just me, people agree this is a good beer. That agreement is more rare than pliney. I will spend the rest of the night trying to find the asshole who doesn't like this beer. I also believe it is easy to find and maybe around for a while. Mark my words John Q. Public, we will be seeing a lot more of mind blowing IPA's this year. The supply of Citra, and Simcoe is stronger than ever! These beers was the first non single beer purchase I have made in some time, I'm just lucky like that I guess. Good work Victory! I am sure we have other new treats to come, maybe a barrel aged old horizontal? Stay tuned to www.victorybeer.com to find out. 

Cigar City Brewing (An editorial rant)

    Some breweries must first support their home market extremely well before they decide to look outside of the territory. I personally like this strategy, because it means that places like Hardywood keep special releases around longer for the busy adult alcoholic. The first thing I am most tired about is the question of "Any word on Cigar City?" Yes, Brown Distributing has a relationship with these guys, mainly in FLORIDA! Richmond gets next to nothing (since 1919) and NOVA gets nothing (since 2013). It makes complete sense to me, but everyone patiently awaits for the next big whale to break the surface. Well embrace it fuckos you recently got sly fox, and mother earth.

    A kind gentleman that I work with had plans to go see his beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers on vacation about a month ago. Given the recent trading activity, I had him google where Cigar City was in relation to where he was staying. Conveniently, he was staying two blocks away and the plot was set. I often dream of a fridge full of big bottles from Cigar City brewing. Although some of their new cans wouldn't be a terrible thing. Turns out while studying for this event, I learned of a recent Caribbean acquisition by this brewery. Cigar City has purchased a big brew house in the islands to help with the volume of their production. They first brewed an IPA on the kit,  and shipped the liquid back to Tampa to be canned. They had it the Thursday that I put my wish list together and were OOS by Saturday midday.    

    I drank the Big Sound one bone fire night at the homestead. It is a big scotch ale, huge malty offering that finished way sweeter than I like. It was strong enough to take down a rhinoceros. If it trades well I would take it again, but I would much rather work through their other beers. I have no plans on drinking the Bolita. I will have to come up with the proper pairing and occasion to set free the other C.C. beer. I'm glad that they have chosen to can beers, it works way better for shipping. Check out what they have and send me some at http://cigarcitybrewpub.com/

Gumball Head (Three Floyds Brewing)

    I have recently become very conscious about how much I talk about beer around friends that I have outside of work. I realize it has become the go to topic of conversation between myself and my Norfolk family and friends. Normally on the ride back to RVA, I question what they must think about the guy who only seems able to talk about beer? Truth be told, between distribution, sales, marketing and the work we do with the brewery there is so much to consider on the topic of beer. This new obsession of beer mail, or beer trading has opened itself up to be coast to coast. I have recently received beers from California and Philadelphia, and I'm ready to do it again. I have to watch my spending, shipping beer gets expensive and I don't have that kind of disposable income.

    Luckily my ignorant babbling about all things craft beer landed me a connection in Indiana. I have seen many a good review from Three Floyds, and have drooled at all the Dark Lord Days posts. These beers showed up on my porch unexpected, and I was thrilled to have them. Besides Zombie Dust, Gumball Head is a highly recognizable concoction. Thank you very much Mike, I will get you back as soon as I find some worthy beers and get my money straight. 

    An American Wheat Ale, Gumballhead is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. This beer is brewed with Amarillo hops and a generous portion of red wheat. Wheat beers are not usually my style, but this beer is something different. It has the clean mouth feel, and finishes with hints of fruit, like a gum ball. It was a strange experience but this is definitely a wheat beer I will buy again, I mean get sent again if I can. I am going to get the beers out to the people that I owe, then I have to go on hiatus until after the first of the year. unless . . . .

Head over the 3 floyds website and be prepared to be amazed. http://www.3floyds.com/

Rum Pumpkin (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)

    I have had the timing recently to be out of town or committed every time a new beer or brewery comes out. Our second annual Octoberfest party happened to be on the same day as the long awaited opening for Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery. Thank you to my friend Nathan who came through with a bottle of Short Pump Saison, to the party that evening. The following weekend, Hardywood released this beauty, the newest installment to their barrel aged series. RUM BARREL aged farmhouse pumpkin sounds like a great departure from the bourbon heat.

   The old brewery has changed so much in the few years they have been opened. They now own the building to the right of their original property, which is a dedicated tasting room. The new tasting room is accommodating for inside sipping our outside socializing. It was slammed the day that I went to pick up these bottles. I snuck back to the original tasting room and there was no line. I was able to get my taste and my to go (into my cellar) beer. 

    I have always liked the pumpkin mouth feel of the farm house beer. The rum barrel spices lend themselves to really carry the pumpkin beer to the next level. I have heard it said that people didn't like the original beer, really enjoyed this experiment. The 10.5 ABV is very well hidden, and this was the beginning to my fire pit sampling session. The kicker was Hardywood was also releasing their big IPA in 4 pack cans later this afternoon, and they also have a citra hopped pink brew for this awareness month. 

    I haven't had the great return yet, but they went all in with this beer. I believe they have been so dialed into what their customers like about the other styles they have made. It is very easy to believe this will be considered one of the best IPA's in distribution. It is a lofty goal and a charitable cause. How can you not love these guys?

Heady Topper (The Alchemist)

    One of the most hyped beers I have ever laid hands on this week kids. A friend I share whale pics with once asked me how he could go about getting a heady topper and pliney. I tried to talk him through the task of meeting people through various beer community pages, Ie. beer advocate, untapped, podcasts, or even locally in Richmond beer elite. I was able to parlay this trade by listening to "Should I Drink That", a Philadelphia craft beer podcast. One of the hosts started talking about the Gwar-B-Que beer that hit Richmond during the event in late summer. He asked if anyone could send him some, and I having just drank my last one, knew I could probably still get my hands on a 6 pack. Twenty minutes later I was sending him a picture via facebook of said 6 pack. He made the offer of can for can on this trade. I sent him two and he sent me two heady toppers.

The light seen over the right shoulder of the can are
angel's coming to have a peek at this marvel of craft brewing.

   I am sorry Zack, but I couldn't put a price on this beer or simply walk away from the experience. I like to share these experiences with people who also appreciate it. I wish you could have been around for either can. You would have dug it man. The first can got victimized late during our Octoberfest, as part of an insane big beer sharing moment. We had sours, big stouts, and this 8% ABV double IPA. The second can I shared with my friend Adam who was in town from Boston. This experience left a lasting experience. This beer features the perfect amounts of everything you look for in a good IPA. It has a good piney, and fruity note. The first sip is citrus, but not sour bitter, but juicy. I think I drooled a little while sipping. The finish is just as crisp and clean leaving your palette ready for more. 

   In 2003, the Alchemist began making this beer in a brew pub. After a problem with people sneaking the beer off premise, they began canning and still only distribute extremely small scale. This is the only beer they make. What kinda pressure must that kind of be? Check them out at http://www.alchemistbeer.com/

4 Elf (Dark Horse Brewing)

    Yes, I am reviewing another Dark Horse beer. We received this beer from the brewery a couple of weeks ago. I have heard about the 4 elf party, but never seen the beer. I was very excited to have it, but selling 150 cases of it to a market where the brand carries little weight scared me a bit. I needed to get my hands on some. With the overflowing pumpkin pipeline, I thought after Halloween would be my best chance. Troegs mad elf beer was the fore runner for the Christmas holiday last year. Be prepared to be over taken good sirs!

    This beer is a big 8.75%, and is very smooth and unassuming. The mouth feel is smooth, and the nose is enough to make you aware of the spices. The spices play well off each other as you drink and swallow. The finish is very calm, and the only lingering flavor is nutmeg. The spice balance is on point, makes me wish more pumpkin beers would take note. 

    I was tempted to buy several pumpkin samples this year and try out all the new beers on the block. I only incidentally had pumpkick, and I really wasn't impressed. I am excited for winter warmer season after having this offering. If you can get it lemme know, I can find you some.

Cicada (Yards Brewing Company)

It is a lot of work just keeping plugged into breweries via facebook, rate beer, beer pulse, and beer advocate. On facebook alone I follow most of my customers if they have beer pages. I also follow breweries on facebook and scan rate beer for news of things to come. Norm's beer and wine in Vienna Virginia does a fantastic job of connecting with their customers/community by posting pictures of all new items as they come in. He even post a weekly newsletter for beer and wine with more information about the new items. As I have been trying to save money, it has been extremely hard for me not to run to his store. I am taken by a beer that he posts almost weekly and this one I couldn't pass up. As you know the cicada comes only once every 17 years. This brood is special.
    I listen to the craft beer podcast and should I drink that on stitcher, which are both based out of Philly. Yards brewing company is also out of Philly, and I am assuming their distribution foot print is based on demand? If you feel the same way, you may need to realign your feelings. You see I had recently heard that Blue Mountain has broken into the Pennsylvania market. I thought this was a sign of success and aggressive growth. It appears that what happened is the production got aggressive and the demand leveled off. Blue Mountain has presumed new distribution to get through what they make? Is yards a similar type brewery?
    Yards began in 1994 and produces a line of beers that play on the patriotic history of Philadelphia, ay yo! Cicada isn't listen on the web site so I have no commercial description for you. The most recognizable beer the the brawler, picture two bare knuckle fellas going at it. Honestly I lost the good picture I took of this sampling, and fell so behind writing this post, I am just done. Check them out at www.yardsbrewing.com.

G/I/A/A (Adroit Theory Brewing)

So creating buzz and excitement around a new craft brand is often the hardest part of getting a new brewery off the ground. Simply being a new brewery means nothing to the public anymore. There is constant murmurs about new breweries and this bubble scare concerning local brands. So bury your brand in the dark corners of social media and reach out to the famished consumer. The consumer who is happy with new brewers who can produce solid beers according to style guidelines, but we want more. Our minds and palettes have been blown for years, and we want the next extreme, and we found it!

I had glimpses from respected sources here and there. I finally got an in when a fellow snob at work got his taste tester kit. How? I wanted to shape the future, let me taste test! So I sent the required email and got on the list. A bit of time went by and a package turned up on my porch at first glimpse I was so excited my wish had come true. I got a test batch of GIAA, an IPA aged on ash. This definitely was an experience I had to share with Nathan. Nathan is a coworker who is deep into BA and had recently done a bit of trading that put me out of the realm of having something to contribute, until now.

I went to his house this time, he had offerings from 3 Floyd's and Russian river. The complex beers flowed, we had an aim for getting into his sours but started with this. Hoppy nose with a subtle strange ash flavor, that finished mellow. There was such a play happening, it was unlike anything we had recently. This wasn't the final draft! There could be something more delightfully complex, this is just 1 of 5 versions of this beer. One thing Adroit Theory has full control over is the marketing and brand image. Cloaked in mystery, this brand will be in high demand once their products go retail later this year. They are rumored to be doing a members program by mail order like the bruery does in California. Sign me up! I will definitely keep my finger in the pulse of this one. Please send me another sample. I'd really like to try the stout they sent out. Keep up the great work, and I will keep preaching your gospel. Cheers

Rusty Beaver Brewing (Caroline Va.)

Opening Day Beers: Roy's Big Bald Brown Ale, Buck Tooth IPA. Smashed Bastard, Quake Stout, and Zen

    Social media alerted me to this brewery opening in Ladysmith Va., only a mile off the interstate. I tried to find it on the way home from NOVA and my GPS couldn't find it. Once I found it I felt very stupid. If you take the Ladysmith exit headed towards route one the brewery is in that shopping center on the right. The plans are to move to a nearby farm where the family currently has a catering business. Once they make the move I believe they will explode as a destination brewery.

    It was a very small operation, a father and son business. The father has the catering business and is business savvy. The son is a passionate young brewery who has a good idea of what he wants to make and what beers to provide. I really appreciated his spread on opening day, having a good variety of styles right off the bat. They are making the most of the small location they are currently in which hopefully won't keep people from coming back. I imagine that people, especially non-craft beer people, are like people shopping for a house. If they walk through and all they can think to mention is how small it is, they probably aren't coming back. I think this has definitely occurred at midnight brewery in rockville. Personally I am a big fan of the countryside breweries. I have future plans of a Staunton trip to go to red beard, and am looking forward to the long awaited lickinghole creek.

    My DVR has drawn me back to the couch and warm fuzzy glow of television. I also have not been dealing with long hours with much grace. I can not stay awake after dinner. I have been toying around with the idea of starting a beer podcast to supplement my blog. I am aiming to create a listener friendly, better than the crap shows I listen to. I believe I have found a co-host, now I have to figure out my equipment needs. Then I will adjust the man room for recording, to make it legit.

Double Simco (Weyerbacher Brewing)

    I got caught up in a bit of whaling again on June 12th, when a total wine manager posted a picture of an anniversary ale by Bruery. A beer in fact that we thought didn't make it outside the walls of the brewery, let alone the state of California. It is rare that I catch these in Richmond, and I missed by a mile last time I tried, but I enjoy the chase. I tore down Parham rd. and to my surprise, I got one. It will probably be quite some time before I blog about it, but I assure you I am cellaring a Bois as we speak.
   Well all the excitement made me thirsty. I also browsed the large bottle selection in the cooler, which is lacking, and settled upon this $8.99 double IPA. The price and quality are incredible, then I began to have some concerns about freshness. How old is this 11% ABV unfiltered brute? Who cares, it's not really that kind of IPA. I am sure when it is fresh it has some subtle earthy notes. This beer is more like a meal. Look at the head on that thing!
    Weyerbacher is a brewery that started in 1995. They are known best for this beer and the insanity.  They are descendent from german immigrants and brew big beers. Weyerbacher brewing is based out of Pennsylvania, spawned from a home brewing back ground. There are a lot of breweries in PA, and it is definitely something I would like to check out some day or just visit online. http://weyerbacher.com/

Strangeways Brewing (Richmond, Va.)

    It is about that time. The time of the year when all of the breweries that you've been following through out the paperwork process want to open their doors to the public. The weather is right to push the over flow out into the parking lot. Strangeways was the first of these breweries to pop this spring.

64oz of Albino Monkey (Belgian Wit)

    This brewery is now the closest to my house. According to google maps it is 3.2 miles away in the industrial park where Loveland distributing is (slight chuckle). Strangeways, like Midnight brewing has two parcels in a strip of business. The atmosphere inside is that of a freak show or carnival with bright colors and off the wall monkey pictures everywhere. They have a full line of merchandise already, including shirts, hats, patches, stickers, growlers, and growler bags. The graphics for the printed material are very pink floydesque, gas mask, mono chromatic. 

    The intentions of the owner are kept close to the chest. I am told they do not plan on having big brewery events but will organize  distribution events at bars when new beers come along. This past Thursday they released a honey saison that was available at 6 bars around town. Currently they have 3 beers, the wit, brown. and saison. There will be one more all the time beer that should be out soon.  I look for this brewery to take some risk to really push the envelope of styles that most don't attempt, IE sours or gose. I like the different approach and will enjoy taking friends to their tasting room. Their website is a fine example of the fun that can be had at http://strangewaysbrewing.com/

Brewed Awakening (A book review)

                                        

    In the attempt to accumulate as much knowledge as I can about my profession and craft beer, I have taken efforts to read more. I have had a few books that are more beer encyclopedias and very hard to read. There are several books available from different breweries chronicling their story and rise to power. I think reading these back to back would be painfully boring and repetitive, so I look for books like Brewed Awakening to mix things up.

    Brewed Awakening is by Joshua Bernstein, and it takes a look at the different avenues that make beer exploration fun. He has been to a lot of places and tried some typical and not so typical beers. I really enjoyed the section at the end where he mentioned a craft beer cans only bar that features a ski-ball league. I am very happy there is a bar that is taking the risk of forcing education on consumers, while offering a different type of entertainment. DO NOT BE SCARED OF BEER IN CANS! I'll take a bar like this in Richmond please! He also preaches support for home brewers and home brew clubs. This is a tough area to break into, but people who brew like to share. I have more confidence in going to the local home brew club and getting to know some people who make their own beer. There is a whole chemistry side to beer that your typical store bought consumer doesn't get, I need this knowledge.

    I appreciate the beers that Joshua highlighted that get unfairly shelved at most bottle shops. There are imported beers made in other countries that are truly craft beers, not imports. I have these beers added to my Untapped wish list soon to be explored. They are more expensive than their domestic cousins. Scotland's Brewdog, made the End of History beer that was packaged in a taxidermied rodent (pictured below), 55% alcohol by the way. Brasserie Dieu di Ciel, Canadian brewery that makes top notch beers, buried in the import section. Norway's Nogne o has proven that they can make craft beers in the American extreme style with much success. I'm not sure I would have ever picked up any of these beers if not for this book. I walk the aisles at total wine totally differently now.  

Diabolik (Mad Fox Brewing)

    Fall's Church Virginia, the little city, is really just the narrow section of route seven right before you get to seven corners. I have to hand in to you nova, you do a good job of hiding the projects, which I found while looking for parking. I have been to mad fox brewery three times since I have been working in the area. My first trip was purely out of curiosity and for a growler. I was without huge box truck and had to check things out. I was blown away how nice the restaurant was. The bar has twelve centrally located taps, and six cask pumps. I ave heard that the food is uber gourmet, but jam waiting to make that weekend trip with friends to eat there.

    I have been told to get the orange whip, which hasn't been available. I have had an English barley wine, and the Belgian strong ale. Both beers have had a high gravity and been a bit on the sweet side. I made the mistake of trying to drink the 64oz growler by myself. From now on I will keep the 32oz growlers in my truck, and they do fit in my lunch bag for travel. I prefer to try the higher gravity selections from this brewery, and eventually I'll get my hands on that orange whip. If you happen in Allstate church, take lots of money and stop by. Remember to bring me back a growler fill. They have a website www.madfoxbrewing.com

Sixty-One (Dogfish Head Brewing)

    To back track 12 years or so, my curiosity about niche beers began as a gimmick. Good beer tuesday began as a tradition where we would have friends over and share our six packs. Everyone brought a six pack of something they have never had before. Craft beer back then was abita, rogue, georgia brown, newcastle, even the occasional killians. I was bar tending back then and beer was more a novelty, something we drank when we had too much liquor. Well with some craft beers being as strong as 8% they just didn't make the cut. I want to credit Dogfish Head as the first, Non-local, craft beer that I perused. Legend brown, was the first to make regular rotation.
    Dogfish stood out as doing crazy beers, and from the exposure that Sam Calagione received  I loved it. He was crazy, and rebellious. He is responsible for bringing brewing to his state. He was an exciting brewer, and entrepreneur. It now appears that his business and brewing has snow balled at an uncontrollable rate. He has exploded his distribution, and grown his brewery several times in the past 10 years. He has had such a hard time keeping up with production of his IPA's I can tell you several times the Richmond market hasn't had a drop of 60 minute. He also had a national T.V. show, brewmasters, that thrust his brands into the main stream. Did I mention he has a chain of pubs/restaurants?
    Well recently he has collaborated with Sierra Nevada to craft rhizing bines, which is an experimentally hopped IPA. I have not had this beer but was interested until I heard a little info on the 75 minute that came out about the same time. If you go to a Dogfish head brew pub, this beer is a blend of 60 minute and 90 minute. I am guessing that is geared for extremest who just enjoy bitterness. Flavor hops become muddled when over blended, so this beer seemed a bit like a cop out. Then we get 61 minute about a month later, oh lord.
    61 minute, also named and created with little to no imagination, is another blend. As the story goes, one night while drinking with friends, Sam poured a 60 minute into the remainder of his favorite red wine. Will this gimmick provide a new core beer? The first new year round since 2007? It appears so, but I am not buying it. A style known for bitterness from floral hops, wrestled to the ground my grape must? It is confusing and in poor judgement in my opinion. The must is pungent like a mustard seed, and needs some sweetness to tone it into the background. I'm sorry Sam, but grape/wine flavor would probably work better in a darker style.
    For me Dogfish head will remain on the radar, but I will remain ever critical of the choices they make in new beers. If you want to check in and see what is new head on over to www.dogfish.com

IPA 12pk Variety (Dark Horse Brewing)

    Dark Horse Brewing is the strongest brewery I have to play with in Northern Virginia. Customers became quickly educated to the sought after offerings like Scotty Karate, Crooked Tree and all of the before mentioned holiday stout series. I follow the brewery activity on Facebook and frequent their website looking for little nuggets to tease customers with for future opportunities. I was very happy to see this larger package for me to potentially sell. I emailed accordingly and the product was ordered. The rest is what I am still dealing with. I managed to buy this twelve pack and once upon a vine, and despite the 22$ price point I jumped right into this beer.

    The box includes single hopped IPAs that is each hop in crooked tree is the only hop used in each bottle. I began trying the Citra hopped first. The bottle appears to say ARTIC, which is the letters of Citra. There is a heavy earthy flavor, and the bitterness is very traceable. I started with the one that would prove to be my favorite. 

    I continued to try the other two, but really wished I had someone to share this experience with. It has become my new desire to share my beer discoveries with like minded people. It is a fun part of craft beer. I even have 5.5oz sharing glasses that allow me to split 12oz beers perfectly. I am really into sharing, and don't drink as much when doing so. I highly advise you to pick up, share and compare the subtle differences in these our beers. Always keep up with dark horse at www.darkhorsebrewery.com!

Peeper Ale (Maine Brewing Company)

    Maine beer company is a boring looking beer that my eye kept going to while working in northern Virginia. So as I decided to create a wish list of new things to try Maine made it to the top. Most of the beers they make are hoppy, and should be drank fresh. I have methodically taste tested all of their beers except for mean old Tom, which will probably be my favorite. Peeper was the freshest of their pale ale offerings. It had a very light mouth feel and a vegetable freshness in the finish. 

   Maine beer company is running with a common formula that is very earth aware. They also spend money on providing fresh quality ingredients, and no money on marketing. The beer is on the expensive side for a royal pint. I picked up three bottles in NoVa and found two more favors locally. 

   You will not find much on the website but it's still there www.mainebeercompany.com!

MaineBeerCo on Twitter

Daniel on Twitt

Basic Brewing Radio 4/4/13 (Podcast)

     In my attempts to further my beer education I have continued listening to stitcher radio to and from NoVa on almost a daily basis. I have started reading the episode summary because I have listened to a lot of bad pod casts. I have been subjected to an hour of moronic twenty somethings struggling to describe what they are drinking, while fighting each other with the frequent Star Wars or video game reference. Finally I landed on Basic Brewing Radio, which was a informative and eye opening program. The episode starts and the host, with the classic NPR voice, gives very little background and goes right into the recorded House of Representatives debate. Brace yourself . . .
    I will sound nearly as ignorant by not going back for transcripts of the program, or giving proper names for those that spoke. The fine representatives of the state of Alabama are as classic as the characters portrayed in Forrest Gump and the accents were dead on. The children they explained, who will keep this evil from the children. I should of prefaced that by saying that everyone that approached the mic first started by stating their religious affiliation and friendship with the speaker. It was quite clear that the representatives didn't understand that home brewers are not, to my knowledge, the same as backwoods moonshiners. I have never been exposed to the seedy underbelly of the home brew bottle share. In my mind, home brewers are beer enthusiast who simply want to make beer for themselves, and enjoy the tribulations of doing so. In recent months this hobby has been able to grow into spawning breweries.
     So in the state of Alabama you can buy beer and pay the state tax on it to fund this governing body. Lets not forget the lobbyist who are the second biggest contributors for most campaigning? Who is number one? The teachers unions who are protecting the old angry bags who are really ruining your child's potential. The issue kept getting confused as to who was going to regulate the quality of what was produced? It doesn't matter it is not to be sold, different law governing that all together. There was a bit of comedy relief when several local winos got a microphone and insisted on knowing who would be making this wine and where they could procure some.
    The biggest push for this law comes out of Madison county Alabama, where apparently there is some NASA offices nearby. It appears that these well paid scientist like to dabble in good beer on the weekend. This is clearly the gateway to Satan worship, and criminal enterprise. If you want a good drinking game, listen to the end of the podcast and take a drink every time the female representative says "at the end of the day". I grew to hate that phrase in about 2 minutes after listening to this podcast. The other would be to drink every time the word alcohol is mentioned. Why can't they just say brewing beer, that is what the bill is called, the home brewing bill.
    Alabama, don't be excited that you are the last state to legalize home brewing, be embarrassed. You need to have your eyes opened to the good folks that have started breweries out of this hobby. These are all things that this economy needs. We are not a country of well built affordable cars anymore. This maybe out new economical stronghold on today's global economy. Well check it out on your own, the debate runs about 40 minutes, and it is sad and funny for similar reasons.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio

Aleheads (Podcasts)

     Right when you think you have cornered all the avenues on keeping up with your hobbies and interest, podcasts! Damn you Dan Mazzio, between Facebook, blogs, websites, tasting room chatter, and beer apps I get plenty of info about the business I love. Since I started in nova just keeping up with what is hot week from week has gotten impossible, now I can kill time driving listening to almost anything via my iPhone. A good friend of mine recently started a podcast that's two guys having a good time talking about shit that makes them laugh. I have been tricked into getting into the banter, but a call in is impossible, it's recorded. Padric, of Dan & Padric, mentions he is into listening to podcasts, so with only 7 episodes so far, I wandered into the beer section. Imagine that!
    The first station I stumbled across was three guys who didn't seem to know anything about beer. In the first 5 minutes they hated on their boss and said fuck 1000 times, Tarantino style. The second selection that popped up was Aleheads, with an interview of Greg Koch, founder and CEO of stone brewing company. This year Greg released the enjoy by series, in which he discussed the importance of beer getting to the public in a timely fashion. Enjoy by is a series that is meant to be had fresh. If you see one out of date, and you drink it, that's not the fresh offering that stone intended. Like most brewers, Greg lays the blame on all that is evil in beer squarely on the distributor, nice guy. It's always the shit that rises to the top on that matter. As an employee of a distributor, I place the blame on the retailer. There needs to be more education, which needs to be a team effort between the supplier and distributor. If you are curious about what education I am referring to, comment below.
    Overall I can see hear hard it is to develop rhythm and voice doing radio. Engaging an audience constantly, and not talking yourself into dead ends. Greg Koch wouldn't shut up, but I will tune in to Aleheads again tomorrow AM. I found myself laughing, thinking how bored you have to be, or what you do to stumble into podcasts. I shall use it to break up trying to figure out what my pandora mood is and to avoid fm radio.

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Plead the 5th (Dark Horse Brewing)

    This beer seemed to be all my customers wanted to buy for the first two months of my NoVa experience. This imperial stout is the finale of the winter stout series only usurped by it's barrel aged brother. Cherry picking customers want this and only this. It's bad business for the brewery and wholesalers when customers don't support the core items (crooked tree, boffo brown, etc.). When making an imperial or double beer, the ingredients are often doubled and the pricing has to be reasonable not leaving much margin for the brewery. The full margin of the core beers are what generate the profits that allow breweries to craft beers of this grain bill.

    I have had every beer in this series, and the fore smoked stout was equally as impressive as the prior stouts. I am still trying to put in words the experience of a good smoked stout. The traditional way of making a smoked beer is to layer the grain in between moss, then cooking at a medium temperature. The moss and smoke gives the beer a real earthy bitter twinge, sort of a similar experience of hops, acidic. The plead the 5th came in and went out quickly. Some people at work didn't even know that we had it or knew anything about it. I gave a bottle away to a friend of mine at work, and love to share exciting treats like this. I drank one, which was very alcoholic in taste, and fuzzy on the tongue. I plan on aging the last two. Dark Horse is exactly that but I predict if they keep making solid beers like this they will be a force to be reckon with very soon. Follow them at http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/

Voodoo Maple Doughnut (Rogue Brewing)

    Big bright pink bottle, the words voodoo, and the promise of maple bacon? I have heard of this beer before but never put my eyes or hands on one until a few weeks ago. Now that I have tried it I am assuming that it has been hard to find because people only bring enough in for us curious drunkards. Rogue delivered on everything promised, and yes we asked for it. This beer is not a gentle blend of maple and bacon. I would describe it as a layered shot of syrup and liquid smoke, and you will taste the maple for a day or so after. First and last time I will try bacon maple ale, but I have heard there is a peanut butter ale coming.

    So where does this beer fit into the scheme of things? Well somewhere in a back room of a small brewery, a man gets tired of limits and puts a bottle of syrup in a pilot (small, usually 5 gallons or so) batch of beer. It is then sampled around the tasting room for judging. Sometimes these beers make it into bottles for the masses as a extreme beer, extreme in that it doesn't fall into any category. There is a pistachio IPA from a local brewery that is definitely extreme. Green eyed lady is a 10.5 percent IPA, with very little bite. The oils in the nut kill the acidity in the ale, the opposite of what an IPA should be. Ghost Face Killa from twisted pine, is an ale brewed with ghost peppers. It is an extremely spicy beer only sold in 12oz bottles that gets on section at the wine shop. This category is comforting that there really is or will be something for everyone. With a brewer like rogue pushing the envelope only confirms that craft beer cannot be stopped. www.rogue.com

Scotchtown Barrel Aged (Center of the Universe)

  Barrel aged beer has gone from being a secret beer nerd behind the counter, limited release occasional treat to a more regular occurrence. Bourbon distilleries use charred oak barrels to turn, basically moonshine into what we buy at the ABC store. As the potent alcohol sits in the oak, it pulls out color and hints of flavor. Once the bourbon is bottled the barrel is trash, only used once. That is until your local craft brewery comes by and offers to haul them away, or your hippie daughter turns them into rain water collection devices. Those oak barrels are capable of having the same affect on flavor for beer that it does on the whiskey, plus a little extra. This extra is what people commonly refer to as the boozy-ness of said beer. The pure alcohol flavor will drown out the subtle flavors, which can be rather disappointing. For this very reason, I try to buy two of a limited barrel release, one for now and one for later.

    I went to Center of the Universe the friday they released this beer. I was there at 4 when they opened. I intended to have a glass and buy a bottle to save for later. I took my first sip and was blown away. The best of the barrel was present, and the earlier released Scotchtown had a lot fuller body. One of the owners came out and remarked "We tested it regularly, so it didn't go to far. If we wanted a beer that taste like bourbon we would have just bought bourbon." They only made 15 barrels or 30 kegs of this beer, and it was going to sell fast. I started to panic about when I could drink this again? ? ? I'm sure this will be in regular rotation. COTU has already moved on to their next release, Monkey's Uncle a Belgian Triple with lemon grass. Keep up with all the news at COTUbrewing.com. 

Best By 2/15/13 (Stone Brewing Company)

    Well the past few weeks the beer scene has been flooded with limited, short run IPA's from all over the US. This was the first one on the scene that everyone went searching for. I realize that some of you don't fully realize what I mean by this hunt. When these beers hit the market it's like a frenzy, you here about it all over the Internet. If you are not attentive these beers pass you by, with little exposure. I will be sure to get a quick post out the next time something goes so viral. He'll, try to get your hands on a barrel aged Bigfoot barley wine from Sierra Nevada right now! Most stores only got one case or 12 bottles. This beer came out last Wednesday, and only two total wines in NOVA have received this beer so far. The stores in Richmond sold out in 5 hours or so. 

    The frenzy over IPA's is some what understandable. This style of beer is best had fresh, as Stone pointed out by telling consumers to drink thus beer by a certain date.  The hop is a fresh herb that spoils as it is exposed to fermenting liquid. This is the last time I will say this, drink fresh IPA's!

    This beer from Stone comes in at about an 8 compared to the other offerings this month. I prefer the floral or piney flavor that this beer provides. The Troeg's nugget nectar provides the clean flavor and slap in the face that I look for out of this style. Get into the hunt! This beer should come back around for Stone. Keep tabs at www.stonebrewing.com and enjoy fresh!

Queen City Brewing (Staunton Va.)

    This year is the 10th anniversary of the fabled Dutch camping trip, which is a Friday to Monday event outside of Staunton Va. We had visited the site a month or so earlier and I attempted to find the breweries in the town of Staunton, I couldn't help myself. It turns out that Red Beard (not open yet) is going to be in the downtown area and Queen City Brewing is just off 250 on the way to the camp site.
    I have started a new position at work which almost forced me to cut the trip short this year. The idea of leaving Friday after work was going to be a painful decision. I got off work around noon and spent a couple of ours getting some last minute things in the truck and getting ready to set off. The moment I got on 295 to start my journey it starting snowing. No problem, dutch was used to snow, then it really started coming down and sticking to the road. I have already spent 5 hours behind the wheel today for work and now this was going to stop me, NO! I pushed on and cruised into the parking lot of Queen City right at 4 o'clock.

    It was no wonder I missed this brewery. We were looking on the wrong side of the street, and it was not anything like the other places I have been to. It was very small and tucked away in a hollowed out 7-11. They didn't have the massive stainless tanks, or anywhere to sit inside. Queen City acts as a place for home brewers more than beer enthusiasts. Two gentlemen who were waiting for them to open happened to be brewing beer there at the moment. The variety of beer available was far and wide. They offered pick your own 6 packs, single 22oz bottles, and 11 different beers for growler fills. Did I mention how inexpensive their beers are? I bought what is the picture about for less than $17.00! Most breweries charge 7-8 bucks for the growler bottle alone, QCB $3.50. The "limited edition" Barleywine came in at under 5 dollars, this caliber beer at a wine shop would be twice that much. 

    I guess most home brewers with big ambitions of developing into a larger scale operation would dream of places like Hardywood, or Smartmouth as a template for their brewery. Queen City is a place for the home brewing community in a local with limited resources. I would be excited to hang out at this place simply for the fact that these guys have nothing to lose and are really on the front line of innovation.

Pretty in Pink (Saison with Pomegranate)

     This beer caught my eye with the Hardywood logo then led me through the other three Virginia breweries to perk my interest. I chose to drink it fairly quickly because it is made with fruit and the saison style is usually best fresh (like an IPA). When I poured it in the glass the liquid was almost the color of grapefruit juice. It had a very citrusy sweet smell, with a sort of bubbly texture. It was unlike anything I have ever had before. The ladies of Lost Rhino Brewing, Hardywood Park Brewing, Vintage 50 Brewing, and Blue Jacket Brewing collaborated on this beer for breast cancer awareness month in early October. The beer was featured at many events in the DC, Northern Virginia, and Richmond areas. I got the impression by the way that most people wrote about it that it was brewed in house at Lost Rhino.

Holiday Stout Series (Dark Horse Brewing)

    So in northern Virginia we only have three suppliers of beer that we can sell so far, Dark Horse Brewery, Twisted Pine Brewing, and Innis and Gunn. In the Richmond market out craft department does so much with the local that these brands just don't pop when I think about what beers we carry. Around town, a lot of the retailers don't carry all of the core items, they just carry the ones they want. Stores also organize their specialty departments by style and seasonality which makes it impossible to establish a brand outside of a huge display. When brewers like Dark Horse provide something with a limited quantity, everyone wants it. We call these people cherry pickers, and they are bad for the business. Beers like this stout series are a gift from the brewery to the retailers and customers who have supported them all year. Dark Horse probably keeps production low on these beers because of the cost involved and risk of what it would mean to not sell through the production.

I will swap this picture out once I get all 5

    Dark Horse is the second horse in the race in the great state of Michigan. Founders (also from Michigan) has a well established reputation for producing quality beers, and is best know for their stouts . . Uh oh! So the stout series is a five part set and I plan on saving one of each until I have them all. Every month since October a new flavor has emerged each slightly better than it's prior. Haley and I both agree that the blueberry is going to be a tough one to top. This month the Smoked Stout should be coming out, and in February the plead the fifth comes out. I am glad I picked these up, they are great. The pulse in town is all about IPA's with enjoy by, lagunitas sucks, and hop slam hitting stores, but I appreciate what dark horse has done here. Check them out at www.darkhorsebrewery.com

Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah (A book review)

     I appreciate every single person involved in the brewing, marketing and distribution of all types of beer. Since prohibition is has been a business with many hurdles and obstacles that have been dealt by many. Those who have dealt with them the best have come out the other side as pretty successful business men, who can honestly claim a labor of passion. In the following review of this book and brewery I am trying to focus on the positive points I found from reading this book while drinking these beers. L'Chaim!

    I picked up a Jewbelation 16 this year after reading and hearing about it from several different sources. It was not the first beer I have had from Schmaltz Brewing but it was the first one that really got my attention, so I got on the Internet and looked up their website. I found this book listed there, so I made a purchase as an investment towards my beer career. 

    The book began as a story of a man fresh out of college looking for the solution to his unemployment, and lack of passion for the work that has survived him so long. He hadn't really much of a craft beer experience or opinion but the scene around him in California was electric at the time. Jeremy Cowan figured if he could come up with clever shtick, or marketing he could create a brand that could maybe provide an income. He quickly learned the beer business the hard way, by making a lot of mistakes. It seemed he was so sure the gimmick would sell that he couldn't hit the curve balls of not having well backed marketing support, or industry experience in Hop crisis or Keg crisis. He had all of his beers brewed by other companies who could help him. His early luck by landing Anderson Valley as a brewer may have been the only thing that got him through to today. 

   The logistics of running a brewery are more easily realized by a person who has their hands in more of the total business. You have to have a good idea of best case and worst case scenario when racking up serious credit card debt to try to get a brewery off the ground. A wholesaler can be your biggest asset in helping you get the most out of your marketing dollar, and believe me they aren't making but a small percentage themselves off your product. 

     The best thing that happened to Hebrew brewing was the extreme beer movement. This movement really pushes the needle on what is acceptable as beer. Some of these ales are 30% alcohol and taste like gasoline. Jewbelation is the anniversary ale that is made every year around Christmas and is as potent as the celebrated year. It however is a good beer for aging, being very boozy.

      My honest opinion is that Jeremy Cowan has put the work in to complain about his string of bad luck, but as a consumer, I don't want to hear it. There are new breweries popping up everyday, and they have a lot of plans based on the strength and weaknesses of what have come before them. "Cowboy up!" like Butch says, pull your cowboy hat down over your ears and you boots up. Those of us on the distributor side wouldn't be caught dead without our six shooters.

Long Strange Tripel (Boulevard Brewing)

    It is indeed a long strange trip and this new work endeavor is just another leg of it. I am now subjecting myself to even earlier mornings and longer days with a lot more driving to the great white, concrete north. Yes, Nova, the area that as a Richmond native I have dared not to venture in the first thirty years of my life. The legend speaks of a land of rude business types in a hurry, chasing that golden ring, blind to the rat like maze they are stuck in and part of. There are so many different nationalities that communicating has become difficult. The weaving streets and loops of interstate are just stupid, especially when behind the wheel of a box truck. The saving grace for me is the variety and scale of the craft beer scene. I also enjoy being 90 miles from my accounts on weekends.

    I did a sort of dry run, went to the area just to see what product was in the market and meet some retailers. My eyes were wide open to brightly colored packages and names I have never heard before. I needed some assistance and asked around the warehouse what to look for that was only available in NOVA. The one beer that everyone mentioned was Boulevard Brewing. Boulevard is known for being one of the biggest breweries in the mid-west. It has been in existence since 1989 which would make it the awkward younger brother of the Pioneer breweries of the early 80's. I like 750ml bottles and the smokestack series is there for me.I have to admit that this tripel was very true to style and well balanced. I recently drank a #3 Stingo English ale, which was a departure from what is typically found on your grocers shelves. My judgement is still under review. I may have to drink my way through their entire portfolio, if that's even possible. Get online and check out all their offerings at http://www.boulevard.com

Christmas Ale (Anchor Steam Brewing)

Due to a promotion at work, I no longer have the small laptop that I used for this blog. Hopefully I can adapt to this change but entries may not be as frequent.
For Christmas I had a few beers in mind to try. I went to total wine, once upon a vine and finally to Libbie market. I was able to get all of the beers I had been looking for in one stop. It was a little last minute shopping. I bought some big bottle goose island stuff and two magnums of Christmas Ale by Anchor Steam.
I had secretly been harboring negative feelings about this beer for years but my new found respect for the old timers allowed this purchase. This is the 38th year that anchor has made this ale. Every year the ale recipe gets tweaked a little, and the tree on the bottle changes. It was a medium bodied beer that had a nutty almost piney flavor. I shared it with 4 people and they all liked it. It makes a good gift, and will be a regular holiday treat in my house. Read more about their history at www.anchorbrewing.com!