So, one of the purposes of this blog is the “pursuit of new craft brewing experiences”. I tend to get bored easily, so I am always looking for a new taste. Luckily for me, I only recently started homing in on the craft beer scene. So I have long and tasty road to sample all of the great brews that are out there.

My girlfriend has accelerated the ride here lately by surprising me with mix-and-match 6-packs from one of our local liquor stores. I don’t know why, but I think that I have to buy a 6-pack of one beer all the time. I guess I like to give a brew more than one chance to make an impression on me. On the flipside, if the beer blows, then I’m stuck with it.

I tend to gravitate towards breweries/beers that I have tried before and liked, that I have recently read about, or by reading the brews description on the label or carton when I am at the store. Not an exact science, but it’s always fun hunting down the next great beer.

Finally, I also love coming across a “Top 5…or 10, etc.”-type list. Especially, if they are beers I have never heard of or seen.  Check out this “top” list on Draft Magazine.com.

Salud!

Once again, I am rating an IPA from a well recognized brewery in the craft brewing scene: Stone Brewing Company. And once again, I have had very little experience tasting their beers. This will no longer be the case after imbibing this nectar of the gods!

I had know about Stone Brewing for years only because I had a co-worker that had one of their bottles of Arrogant Bastard Ale on his desk. Hell, I didn’t even really know the Stone Brewing part – just that the beer name was fitting for the individual who had it in his office.

Anyways, Stone Brewing Co. made it to the top of my “must try” list after seeing one of the founders Greg Koch in the movie Beer Wars. He came across as a very passionate, savvy, and humorous beer maker. The Escondido, CA brewery has a loaded schedule of monthly beer tasting  events, active blog, bistro and much, much more.

I was psyched to have my first formal taste of one of Stone’s beers. This IPA comes in with a 6.9% abv with year round availability. The brew will be 12 years old this August. The slightly hazy body is topped with an average and creamy off- white head that slowly diminishes throughout the drink. The heavy hop aroma lends to a strong pine taste with some slight perfume notes. The taste is offset with some slight hints of malt and hay. The yellow-orange medium body is slightly carbonated and lends to a creamy mouthfeel that makes this beer so delicious. The bitter brew is full of flavor and has an astringent finish to leave the palate tingling.

Shortly after trying this flavor out, I quickly plucked and added Stone Pale Ale and Stone Ruination IPA (100+ IBU!) to my fridge. So, be on the lookout for a Brewview on those guys. Obviously, I loved the beer and am jacked to try their entire line. Stone Brewing does command a price for their product, but I am certain that anyone who invests that money on the purchase of one of their superior brews will definitely feel that the money was well spent. Salud!

I ran into a rep for the local craft brew distributor here in Tampa, FL a month or two ago while I was picking up a 6 pack. We got to talking beer (go figure) and he recommended Bell’s Hopslam. It sounded really,really tasty, but I wasn’t ready to cough up 15 bones for a sixer. Well, I finally broke down and pulled the trigger on the purchase a couple of weeks later.

The back of this imperial/double IPA label reads: “A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect?” I couldn’t wait to take this one for a ride.

This really was a beautiful beer to see when I poured it into my glass. Most noticeable was the large, frothy, white head that lasted most of the drink. The clear body  was yellowy, orange in color with very light malt taste. This may have a little to do with the fact that honey is used in the brew process of this nectar of the gods.

The name says it all with a heavy hop aroma and taste (70 IBU)  with hints of pine and citrus. There was an obvious alcoholic texture to this chewy brew of greatness that is 10% ABV. Soft carbonation and long, heavy finish ended with sweet caramel.

The beer rep was telling me that the release of this beer was one of the most anticipated this year. I had no idea. There is a huge following for this beer and all you have to do is check out sites like Rate Beer or Beer Advocate. It is ranked VERY highly across the board for it’s qualities.

I’ve seen the Bell’s brands around, but this is the first of their brews that I have ever tried. They say first impressions are everything, and I’ll definitely be looking for opportunities to try the rest of the Bell’s line after enjoying this limited release beer. I highly recommend checking this one out. It is not your ordinary brew and it’s only available for a couple of months out of the year. Salud!

Last weekend I went out to Dallas, Texas for a business trip. I got to stay in a pretty swanky Four Seasons Resort at Las Colinas (home of the Byron Nelson Championship). Shortly after checking in I went downstairs to the hotel bar to wet the whistle. I started off with my old standby Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I also inquired about any locally brewed beers available. I was in luck. They had a few for the tasting.

Like I mentioned before, I started off with a couple of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale’s — delicious! Okay, so I quenched my thirst and the palate was tingling. What should I try next? There were two bottled beers that were brewed locally. The first one I tried was called Rahr & Sons – Ugly Pug, based out of Fort Worth Texas. This one was a German black lager or a schwarzbier. For some reason I thought this was going to have the texture and taste of a stout but I was way off the mark. This smoky, black beer had a fizzy head and medium body. This 5.5% brew had a slightly metallic finish with a long smoky duration. It was a little strong for my liking but I manned up and finished the bottle. For me, this is one of those beers that I can say I tried but likely will not order it again. Too bad they didn’t have some of their other beers available like Stormcloud (IPA), Buffalo Butt (amber/red lager), Blind Salamander (pale ale). Maybe next time.

Next, I tried the  Amber Ale from St. Arnold Brewing Company. They claim to be Texas’ oldest craft brewery. This was a damn good beer! This great brew had an amber orange body that was slightly cloudy with a nice creamy head. I can’;t say anything bad about this brew. It was very balanced with incredible hop aroma. I subconsciously chewed each sip in my head before I took a swig. Apparently, the Amber Ale is St. Arnold’s signature beer and they only use premium ingredients in this fine product. With a light fruitiness and hints of floral and citrus, this craft beer definitely impressed me. I will be inclined to pick  up St. Arnold’s products the next time they cross my path and I highly recommend that you do the same.

On a final note, they did have one local brew on tap called 19. I forget who brews it, but it was a blonde lager. My girlfriend ordered a couple and she liked it. I took a couple of sips and it was ok, but not as good as the amber ale (I ended up downing 5 or6 of those our last night there). Salud!

Hold these two dates on your calendars – Saturday, May 2nd and Friday, June 12th. You don’t want to miss these two events with drinking quality brew as the common denominator.

I’m really stoked about this first outing. Dunedin Brewery will be holding it’s 1st Annual Hoppy Endings IPA Festival on Saturday May 2nd from 7:30-11:30 pm.  Are you ready for this? 15 IPA’s /DIPA’s (double IPA’s) on tap with 3 IPA’s on cask! On top of that, the first hour and a half is going to be blind tasting by number in which you will get to vote for your favorite one. The winner will be announced at 10 p.m. There will be food pairings and prizes to be given out. You definitely won’t want to miss out on this one! It should be a ton of fun.

Next, the 1st Annual Oldsmar Tap House 5k will be held at their 300 State Street location in “downtown” Oldsmar on Friday. The race starts at 7 p.m. and will end with a post race party at OTH. There will be prizes, food, and, of course, excellent beer. The easiest way to register is online at www.active.com. The fee is $20 which gets you a t-shirt when pre-registering. You may also register the day of the race in OTH parking lot.

Looking forward to participating in these happenings. See you out there. Salud!

Last night, I went to see the one-night-only showing of Beer Wars written, directed, and produced by Anat Baron. This was personally a very eye-opening documentary about the never ending battle for market share between craft brewers and the “Big 3″ mega brewers – Anheuser Busch, Miller, and Coors. Hence, the title of the film. The modern day story of David and Goliath displays the drive and passion of craft brewers against the “evil”, massive marketing firepower of the huge and mighty beer conglomerates which have 78% of the market share as a group.

The showing starts of with a little bit of beer industry history and the beginnings of the “Big 3″ as they began their rise to the top, most notably Anheuser Busch. With less than 50 breweries in 1978, the United States now boasts one of the largest selections of beers produced among the almost 1500 breweries today.  This resulted in around $97 billion dollars in sales last year. Although domestic beer sales are down, craft beer and imports continue to show growth.

There were 2 main stories weaved into the movie that supported Anat’s identification of the constant struggles that craft brewers face on a day to day basis. These two “lead roles” were played by Sam Caglione, the founder and owner of Doghead Fish Brewery and Rhonda Kallman, founder of New Century Brewing Company. Each were at different stages of their business, yet their stories provided a look into the hurdles that are encountered by craft brewers.

Sam’s difficulties related to start of and eventually the large success of his microbrewery and the pains of building a larger production facility.  For example, when he started building on his first brewery, it was illegal to run that type of business in Massachusetts. Well, he didn’t realize this until he was close to completing construction. However, he petitioned and mixed it up with local politicians to get legislation passed in the 11th hour before opening his doors. More recently, it’s the risk of having 9 million dollars on the line to expand his facility and production along with being dinged by petty legal papers served by Anheuser Busch regarding the way he labels his types of beer. Ridiculous.

Some of Rhonda’s challenges are the same as Sam’s but she is beating the streets self promoting a new caffeinated beer – Moonshot. One of the similar clashes that they both face is shelf space/placement in retail establishments. This is thee battleground. It seems unbelievable unfair the way this “real estate” is claimed. Although she was co-founder of Sam Adams along the side of Jim Koch, her biggest task is finding the investment money to take her product to the next level of getting her beer recognized. The viewer also gets a glimpse at the strain that her hectic schedule puts on her family emotionally and financially.

Along with these narratives and Anat’s own quests, there is additional commentary weaved in by Greg Koch, founder of Stone Brewing, Jim Koch, founder of Sam Adam’s, Kim Jordan, co-founder and CEO of New Belgium Brewery, Maureen Ogle, beer historian and author of Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, Todd Alstrom, founder of BeerAdvocate, and Charlie Papazian, President of the American Homebrewer’s Association among many other things in the beer world. They provided insight to some of the big topics of the documentary including: the three tier system, beer in politics, and advertising.

There are many great facts, figures, and secrets revealed in the movie and I could on and on about what really goes on in the industry. But, you really should go see it for yourself. If you are a craft beer drinker, home brewer, or a casual history buff, I highly recommend checking this movie out. After seeing Beer Wars, it has strengthened my support of the craft brewery movement. Enjoy!

A couple of weekends ago, I stumbled onto a nice local event for Cigar City Brewing’s launch party. Try to keep up with my story here. My girlfriend and I were supposed to head to Orlando to see a show, but decided to stay in town (Tampa). We ended up heading to the Oldsmar Tap House for a couple of quality brews instead. Sweet.

This place rotates their tap beers more often than Jennifer Aniston does with her boyfriends. Plus, I had not been there is several months. I was expecting a series of tough decisions on what new beers to try.  Following my recent discovery online of Cigar City Brewing and the upcoming opening of their new facility in my backyard, it was destiny that OTH had 2 of their ales on tap: Jai Alai IPA and Maduro Oatmeal Brown. I instantly ordered the IPA, followed up quickly by the Maduro. Both are excellent beers and be on the look out for a thorough review of each in future posts.

Back to my original thought – we quickly learned that Joey Redner, Cigar City Brewing’s founder and Tampa resident was holding his launch party there the following day. Awesome – cancel our plans and come back to the OTH and celebrate the beginning of  hopefully a long and successful brewery.

We got their around 2 p.m. and proceeded to imbibe delicious after delicious CCB beverages. Again, I started with the same two I had the night before, but tasty cask versions were available as well. We also sampled the O.R.I.B.A. (Oatmeal Rye India Brown Ale) and cask Bolita Brown Ale – Double Nut Brown Ale. The Bolita, in my opinion, was the best one and look forward to being able to purchase this fine brew. Due to a prior obligation, we left around 5 p.m. and missed out on the Cedar Aged Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout. I guess I’ll have to wait until CCB’s new tap room and gift shop open up to try it out.

Yeah, so next time you’re out at your local drinking establishment and you see any of the Cigar City Brewing Flavors on tap – GET ONE (or two)! You won’t be sorry. You’ll have a better chance of scoring one of these beers somewhere they have a decent craft beer selection like Oldsmar Tap House, World of Beers, or Mr. Dunderbak’s. Salud!

Man, I am digging pale ales right now. You’ll probably get sick of hearing me say that, but the stuff is tasty. They have so much flavor and vary with each brewery. One of my every day favorites is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

This recipe is what put the brewery on the map when it debuted in 1980. The owner, Ken Grossman, got  started as a home brewer prior to creating one of the most respected and recognized craft breweries in the world. Prior to it’s inception, Ken, had studied chemistry and physics before opening a home brewer’s supply store. However, his dream was to open his own brewery.

With the help of co-founder Paul Camusi, the dream became a reality in 1979 as they assembled their brewery with various pieces of used equipment. The brewery’s name comes from a mountain range in California that Ken frequented as a regular backpacker.

Once the pale ale stormed onto the scene, the demand surged and gave way to the evolution of the accomplished restaurant/taproom/state of the art brewery that it is today. Ken is still involved with the day to day operations as he continues to produce some of the best brews around.

Now, let’s get down to business. I grabbed one of my freezer-chilled pint glasses to drink this rich golden brew. The beer tumbles into the glass against the sides and rises to the top with a small puffy head.

Sierra Nevada bottle conditions with a fine layer of yeast which gives the beer a very slight cloudy look at a closer glance. A piney aroma first fills the nose and then the mouth with each swig. With a perfect balance of carbonation, the taste grabs the palate quickly yet feels velvety as it rolls around in the mouth. The finish is dry and the flavor stays consistent until the end of the drink. Do I need to say more?

Again – a damn good pale ale that has never failed me. This beer is for someone who wants to try something different than the usual lagers the general public gravitates towards and is looking for a little pop in the mouth. If you’re not into a nice jolt to the taste buds, you may want to stick with with your old stand by. Salud!

I have really been into American pale ales and IPAs lately. The hoppy flavor I have been craving lately usually means party time for my taste buds. So, what are hops? Let me break it down for you. Beer is essentially comprised of four primary ingredients: water, malt, yeast, and hops. These ingredients are boiled, cooled, and stored to ferment. photo by: LuckyStarr

Beer historically was brewed without hops, which is now one of beer’s primary ingredients. Hops are the flower of a vine type plant that is related to cannabis. Don’t get too excited there Cheech – it doesn’t contain the chemicals that make marijuana popular. It can be grown in nearly any climate that provides sufficient water and sunlight. The vine may achieve a height of as much as 40 feet.

Hops, first used in Europe around 1100 AD, help to create more beer from the same quantity of malt. Hops act as a preservative and flavoring agent. It adds a bitter flavor that tends to counter balance the sweetness of malt sugar. It adds a fragrance that varies from piney to citrus-like.

As a preservative, it allows for lower alcohol content to be present, while helping keep the beer fresh enough to be consumed for more than just a few weeks. Since the alcohol is the result of fermentation of barley grain, adding hops allows the brew master to use less grain to brew the same amount of beer. That helps keep production costs lower.

Hops contribute to the flavor of beer in many ways. Hops contain alpha acids. As is common with some acids, when they are heated they become bitter. At the same time, hops contain oils that add distinctive aromas. Aroma and taste are closely intertwined, and the introduction of a scent such as herbal or pine can influence the taste experience of the final product. Additional hops are put in during the production process, because these oils easily vaporize and escape when they are heated. To add even more aroma and flavor, additional hops are sometimes introduced at the end of the brewing process. This technique contributes to ale’s more heady nose and flavor compared to most lagers.

Hops even contain a mild antibiotic that helps inhibit some of the organisms in the brew, allowing the yeast to conduct the fermentation process more efficiently.

The use of hops in brew making began around the beginning of the 12th century in Germany. Early in the 16th century, the practice spread to Britain. Scottish ales began using hops much later as they will not grow in the cold climate. The United States started using the technique in 1629.

Considering the geographic diversity and extended history, it is not hard to understand why today there are several dozen basic varieties of hops and several hundred sub-varieties. Noble hops alone exist in four types. Low in bitterness and high in aroma, they originate in Central Europe and have
exotic names like Saaz and Spalter, Tettnanger and Hallertau. The names are derived largely from their region of origin.

An English hop used in some ale, Goldings, may be a name more familiar to English readers. Fuggles is a woody hop developed in England in the late 19th century. Hersbrucker is a German hop used in pale lagers, and Lublin comes from Poland. Having a berry-like aroma is the Pacific Gem, from New
Zealand.

Since hops have practically no commercial value other than their use in beer making, the world is lucky to have clever brewmeisters that can include the plant in the making of such a tasty beverage.