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!