Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

Nut Brown Ale-c*rolina Brewing Company

No nuts here. Just a medium, clear brown ale with a dry, nutty/almond-y taste and a bit more hoppy/piney bite than you would expect from your usual slightly sweet tastes. Moderate head, a bit of toasted malt and chocolate-y flavors. Good brew with burgers, ribs and other BBQ fare. I'd guess the IBU about 30 and the ABV is 4.9% so you could have a nice tasting session of several brown ales in an afternoon or evening. Drink local (Holly Springs, NC)!

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[devildeac]

Ebenezer Ale-Bridgeport Brewing

Poured a reddish-brown with a small head and tastes of light caramel and a bit of dark fruit with aromas of floral hops. IBU were 40 and the ABV is 6.4%. Pleasant winter warmer but I like the Deschutes' Jubelale better. I bought a 6er of this on our recent trip to Portland and brought back a couple for sharing/trading. Shame we didn't have more suitcase space/shoes for a 6er of Full Sail's Wassail Ale, another dark winter warmer.

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[devildeac]

Jubelale-Deschutes Brewing

Poured a dark ruby-brown color with a small to modest head and hints of licorice, dark and milk chocolates and a drop of espresso. A true winter warmer ale. A bit hoppier than you might expect for the style at 60 IBU but with a pretty standard ABV at 6.7%. Serve with fruitcake or any spiced cakes or by itself as you recline by a fire. Had one of these in Portland earlier this month and brought back another couple for traders.

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[devildeac]

Sleigh'r-Ninkasi Brewing

A dark double alt ale. An alt ale is a medium brown, clear beer that is brewed with top-fermenting ale yeast that is lagered, or stored, before being released for consumption. This takes the style a bit further with more hops and more malts. A typical alt has an IBU of about 30 and this clocks in at 50. The ABV of a single alt is usually about 5% and this is a bit on the heavy side at 7.2%. Lots of caramel malty sweetness with a bit of floral and grassy hops. Apparently, fairly typical of this brewery to go the next step with some of their brews like Tricerahops and Total Domination IPA, both of which my son brought back to NC last January after a trip to Portland. I had a bottle of this in Portland earlier this month and brought back a couple to trade, too.

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[devildeac]

Idiot IPA-Coronado Brewing

Perfect beer for me! Not sure I've had any other brews from these folks. Brewed with an insane amount of the C hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus with a few of the Nugget variety to an IBU of 90. Two types of malts are used and they must be in massive quantities too as they achieve an ABV of 8.5% in a fairly well-balanced IIPA. The mild caramel sweetness is enhanced with the addition of brown sugar which I have never heard of being included in this style. Poured a golden-yellow with a two-fingered head with tastes and aromas of citrus, pine and flowers. Ironically, haveing never tasted this before, I received two 12 ounce bottles of this over the holidays, one as a gift and the other as a trader. Pair with spicy/hot foods.

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[devildeac]

Serum-DuClaw Brewing

An even newer brew/er than the Idiot from above. I've never heard of this outfit but it was a quality ale. CB&B picked one (several?) of these up in a specialty shop near Blacksburg over the Thanksgiving holiday and we traded a 6er at the Miami game. Just getting around to drinking one last week. Damned bottle still smells like ginger beer from the one he busted in his cooler before trading. Poured a light orange-yellow with a small head with scents of pineapple, grapefruit and mango with a good, sweet malty balance. Not quite as monstrously hopped as the Idiot, this one measured 80 IBU. A bit more ABV at 9% so this would also match nicely with hot/spicy fare.

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[devildeac]

Vertical tasting coming up. Sort of. Four Bigfoots/Bigfeet. Four nights. My tongue is starting to hurt.

[fuse]

My January beer sabbatical is almost over, look for more activity from me after 2/1.

I wanted to share I am the "guest post" at Daily Beer Review:

http://www.dailybeerreview.com

You guys have read my Mother Earth Windowpane Peaches review here on the board, so its nothing new.
Yes, I could do my own beer blog but to me its pretty cool someone liked my writing well enough to publish it.

Woo Hoo!!!

[JStuart]

Don't know if you've reviewed it here, devildeac, but I'm finishing up a New Belgium Snow Day, having slid home early after most patients rescheduled today. Watching more sleet and frozen stuff moving in on the radar, and hoping for a big time statement from our team tomorrow @ MD.
JStuart

[devildeac]

Don't know if you've reviewed it here, devildeac, but I'm finishing up a New Belgium Snow Day, having slid home early after most patients rescheduled today. Watching more sleet and frozen stuff moving in on the radar, and hoping for a big time statement from our team tomorrow @ MD.
JStuart

As a matter of fact, I did but it is worth re-posting:

Snow Day-New Belgium Brewing

An interesting twist to a winter brew. Part wheat, part IPA, part winter warmer. Poured a light mahogany with a creamy mocha head. A dash of grapefruit zest, a pinch of cocoa, a splash of caramel and a dash of coffee. Brewed with midnight wheat and pale malts with three hops, there is a bit of a bite with the IBU at 55, a bit of sweetness with the ABV at 6.2% and a dry finish. I had this with a couple German chocolate cake cookies and found the combination very pleasant. Worth a single, draft or 6er for the season to trade or share.

[duketaylor]

Any of y'all tried any of these:

http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com/our-beer/

I'm gonna buy some tomorrow

[fuse]

Any of y'all tried any of these:

http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com/our-beer/

I'm gonna buy some tomorrow

I have not, but they look tasty in the browser :-)

[pamtar]

As a matter of fact, I did but it is worth re-posting:

Snow Day-New Belgium Brewing

An interesting twist to a winter brew. Part wheat, part IPA, part winter warmer. Poured a light mahogany with a creamy mocha head. A dash of grapefruit zest, a pinch of cocoa, a splash of caramel and a dash of coffee. Brewed with midnight wheat and pale malts with three hops, there is a bit of a bite with the IBU at 55, a bit of sweetness with the ABV at 6.2% and a dry finish. I had this with a couple German chocolate cake cookies and found the combination very pleasant. Worth a single, draft or 6er for the season to trade or share.

Easily my favorite seasonal this winter. I'll probably be buying a couple 6packs for the back of the beererator to be used as needed this spring.

Also, a good friend of mine is the master brewer at a brewpub opening up in Raleigh. Having been lucky enough to drink his beers often, I can tell you the you won't be disappointed! Please check them out if you're in the area!

Website is under construction so in the meantime go here: http://www.facebook.com/TrophyBrewing

[devildeac]

Any of y'all tried any of these:

http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com/our-beer/

I'm gonna buy some tomorrow

Saw some on my trip to Williamsburg last month but made some other selections. More beers you can add to your homebrews when you bring them to me.

[devildeac]

Easily my favorite seasonal this winter. I'll probably be buying a couple 6packs for the back of the beererator to be used as needed this spring.

Also, a good friend of mine is the master brewer at a brewpub opening up in Raleigh. Having been lucky enough to drink his beers often, I can tell you the you won't be disappointed! Please check them out if you're in the area!

Website is under construction so in the meantime go here: http://www.facebook.com/TrophyBrewing

I'll look for the announcement in the Raleigh N&O soon.

[OldPhiKap]

I was in Costco the other day, and noticed that its generic Kirkland brand had beer collections -- IPA, etc. Do they have a wholly-owned brewery, or is this an off-label of an established brewery? Have not tried it yet, wanted to get some info before trying.

[fuse]

I was in Costco the other day, and noticed that its generic Kirkland brand had beer collections -- IPA, etc. Do they have a wholly-owned brewery, or is this an off-label of an established brewery? Have not tried it yet, wanted to get some info before trying.

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/which-brewer-makes-costco-beer.html

Its a bit dated but it appears on the West Coast its Gordon Biersch, which I think also brews Trader Joes house brand.

East Coast is Matt's, which I think contract brews Saranac (not sure, though).

[devildeac]

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/which-brewer-makes-costco-beer.html

Its a bit dated but it appears on the West Coast its Gordon Biersch, which I think also brews Trader Joes house brand.

East Coast is Matt's, which I think contract brews Saranac (not sure, though).

I think you are correct with Matt's Brewing being the contract brewers for Saranac. Haven't bought many Trader Joe's brews since they came to Raleigh but interestingly, my wife gave me a caged and corked 750 ml bottle of Trader Joe's Vintage Ale for Christmas. Think it was $5 or maybe $5.49 but it's 9% ABV and was brewed by Unibroue. I think I'll really enjoy that one next month.

[davekay1971]

I should never look at this thread while working...

[duketaylor]

I'm in the planning stages to start a hop farm. Doing my due diligence. Have a farmer already interested and looking for a few more. Luckily there are several working farms in my extended family. As the craft brewery business is blossoming I plan to form an alliance with several brewers. Legends Brewery here in Richmond overheard a conversation I was having at Chiocca's and came over to give me his card and wants me to tour his brewery and talk about farming hops. That was this afternoon. I'm pretty stoked by it. Hopefully I can visit them this week. May make a trip to North Carolina next week to make a delivery