Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

I am in Georgia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRgWBN8yt_E&feature=kp

[devildeac]

Glad you liked the Hiwire Black IPA! They actually just celebrated their one year anniversary today. Can you get Hiwire beers regularly, or should they be represented in the next care package?

Devildeac (Duketaylor or anyone else), let me know if you want some Wicked Weed or other Asheville beers, I don't want to leave you out...I know Asheville beers seem to have a pretty tight radius as far as distribution goes.

Checked out the (somewhat) new Oscar Blues location today in Brevard. What an awesome brewery! I had a flight of 8 different beers today, and nothing disappointed! The Nitro Old Chub Scotch Ale was probably my favorite. Thick and creamy, and very easy drinking for an eight percent beer. I liked it so much I came home with a full keg of it

Hmmm...

Maybe we can get ricks68, the beer and BBQ mule to be our delivery person...

Big Boss, Fullsteam, Lonerider, White Street, Roth, Gizmo, Mother Earth for some Hiwire, Wicked Weed and a first and second round draft choice...

[mattman91]

Hmmm...

Maybe we can get ricks68, the beer and BBQ mule to be our delivery person...

Big Boss, Fullsteam, Lonerider, White Street, Roth, Gizmo, Mother Earth for some Hiwire, Wicked Weed and a first and second round draft choice...

Green Man, Highland, French Broad, Pisgah?

[fuse]

Glad you liked the Hiwire Black IPA! They actually just celebrated their one year anniversary today. Can you get Hiwire beers regularly, or should they be represented in the next care package?

Devildeac (Duketaylor or anyone else), let me know if you want some Wicked Weed or other Asheville beers, I don't want to leave you out...I know Asheville beers seem to have a pretty tight radius as far as distribution goes.

Checked out the (somewhat) new Oscar Blues location today in Brevard. What an awesome brewery! I had a flight of 8 different beers today, and nothing disappointed! The Nitro Old Chub Scotch Ale was probably my favorite. Thick and creamy, and very easy drinking for an eight percent beer. I liked it so much I came home with a full keg of it

Hiwire seems to be distributing locally now- I'm not sure how much but I guess it is an undiscovered gem, since it does sit of the shelves and not just evaporate.
There are a few places getting Wicked Weed in limited quantity, which means jumping in the car and hoping you get there quick enough (Hopslam syndrome).

[devildeac]

Green Man, Highland, French Broad, Pisgah?

Green Man>FB>Highlands only cuz of availability. But you can find some Highlands winter ale late this year and cellar that for me.

[devildeac]

Red Seal Ale-North Coast Brewing

This was my first North Coast beer in quite a while and I enjoyed this with appetizers Saturday evening. Poured with a modest head about halfway between copper and amber and is described on one part of their website as a pale ale and another area says amber ale. I thought it was pretty clearly a pale ale with pine and resin on the nose and the same on the palate with a mildly sweet malty finish. IBUs of 42 and ABV of 5.4% allowed this to be a nice beverage with finger foods before dinner, which was a roasted chicken breast, a coconut rice cake with mango-pineapple salsa. I had a glass of chardonnay with dinner because they didn't list/display the Chimay Blue as one of the beverage choices.

[devildeac]

Aprihop-Dogfish Head Brewing

Two 12 ounce bottles of this represent gifts from my son along with a couple Chill Wave IIPAs a couple weeks ago. Mom raised him well. He didn't really like the beer. I found it pleasant and enjoyable and not too "off-centered" as DFH promotes (most of) their brews. Poured an orange-yellow with a foamy head, the aromas were citrus and the tastes were the same along with a bit of toasted bread and a faint presence of the apricots. Amarillo hops are the only ones listed and the grains are Crystal and Pilsner malts. They describe it as "massively" hopped but an IBU rating of 50 doesn't exactly meet the definition of massive. ABV a pretty standard of 7% for the style. A tad on the bitter side to be a real late spring/early summer thirst quencher, it's still a nice match with grilled fare, even if it ends up being a bit spicy. This probably would have made good pairing with the chicken, tangy/fruity salsa and Thai coconut rice cake I had with dinner the night before.

[mattman91]

Fuse,

Have you tried any of the Bruepoint beers?

[fuse]

Fuse,

Have you tried any of the Bruepoint beers?

Funny you should ask...

I'm pretty sure what I tried at Tyler's last night was the Brueprint Diamond.
A pretty average IPA.


I also tried a Raleigh Brewing a Company Dear Ol Dixie.
Another average pale ale- disappointing as I think RBC is pretty strong.

Brueprint's grand opening is this Saturday.
Unfortunately I have other plans but I think their work is cut out for them.
Not insurmountable but they need to up their game (not fair from a single sample) to compete with other local beer.

[fuse]

Another cool offering from Fullsteam, and one that benefits the Duke Lemur Center.
Labelled an Imperial Brown Ale made with Madagascar Vanilla and bananas.

A vigorous 2 inch caffe latte colored head, thick and rich tops a deep brown base.
Almost looks like a root beer.

No nose at all, or at least nothing I could easily describe- maybe a hint of sweetness.

A little mild bitterness up front, with a banana and vanilla finish.
A bit boozy.
I've never had anything like it.
This is a fine dessert on its own. You could soak a pound cake in it.

All the fine folks that read this should buy a bottle and support the Lemur Center.

An enjoyable, unique beer. An awesome quality offering from Fullsteam.
I'll buy more if I find it.

[duketaylor]

Richmond's having the Carytown Craft Brewery Festival this Saturday from Noon-6PM. Second annual.

Last year the wife and I went and had one beer each because it was way too busy for the space it was in, so they've moved it this year to behind The Diamond, our teams baseball field, much more room.

Anyone care to join us (I think we'll go

http://www.carytownrva.com/events/cr...r-festival.php

[devildeac]

Richmond's having the Carytown Craft Brewery Festival this Saturday from Noon-6PM. Second annual.

Last year the wife and I went and had one beer each because it was way too busy for the space it was in, so they've moved it this year to behind The Diamond, our teams baseball field, much more room.

Anyone care to join us (I think we'll go

http://www.carytownrva.com/events/cr...r-festival.php

List of brewers sounds interesting, especially cuz I haven't heard of many of them. We'll expect a series of posts once you regain consciousness that describe all your samples. Wish we could join you.

[duketaylor]

Lots of new local breweries, not impressed with many of them. Trend here is to see how hopped-up one can make a beer, less about balance, etc. Will try to post reviews when able.

[cato]

image.jpgMother Earth Brewing Co.
image.jpg
I don't know how widely these guys are being distributed, but if you ever stumble across them, pick up whatever is offered. I haven't gone wrong yet. They were featured as a guest brewer at one of the local Stone beer gardens, and the bartender highly recommended them.

Kismet is nice and malty for a San Diego IPA, although not overpoweringly so. I'd say it's balanced, if balance makes sense for something that is still refreshingly hop forward.

You get the expected pine/cannabis scents up front, but a strong undercurrent that softens the sharpness. Something fruity. I haven't decided yet, but maybe orange marmalade.

This is neither dry nor cloying on the palate. Alcohol about as you'd expect, around 7.5. IBUs in the 90 range, but I'm guessing and I've been wrong before.

All around, a great example of a West Coast IPA without trying to do too much to stand out.

[mattman91]

Big Pounder in Greensboro opens today. Sure it won't take long for them to become the "best brewery in Greensboro"...

[mattman91]

image.jpgMother Earth Brewing Co.
image.jpg
I don't know how widely these guys are being distributed, but if you ever stumble across them, pick up whatever is offered. I haven't gone wrong yet. They were featured as a guest brewer at one of the local Stone beer gardens, and the bartender highly recommended them.

Kismet is nice and malty for a San Diego IPA, although not overpoweringly so. I'd say it's balanced, if balance makes sense for something that is still refreshingly hop forward.

You get the expected pine/cannabis scents up front, but a strong undercurrent that softens the sharpness. Something fruity. I haven't decided yet, but maybe orange marmalade.

This is neither dry nor cloying on the palate. Alcohol about as you'd expect, around 7.5. IBUs in the 90 range, but I'm guessing and I've been wrong before.

All around, a great example of a West Coast IPA without trying to do too much to stand out.

Those look awful tasty!

[fuse]

image.jpgMother Earth Brewing Co.
image.jpg
I don't know how widely these guys are being distributed, but if you ever stumble across them, pick up whatever is offered. I haven't gone wrong yet. They were featured as a guest brewer at one of the local Stone beer gardens, and the bartender highly recommended them.

Kismet is nice and malty for a San Diego IPA, although not overpoweringly so. I'd say it's balanced, if balance makes sense for something that is still refreshingly hop forward.

You get the expected pine/cannabis scents up front, but a strong undercurrent that softens the sharpness. Something fruity. I haven't decided yet, but maybe orange marmalade.

This is neither dry nor cloying on the palate. Alcohol about as you'd expect, around 7.5. IBUs in the 90 range, but I'm guessing and I've been wrong before.

All around, a great example of a West Coast IPA without trying to do too much to stand out.

Is that the Speigel /Dogfish Head IPA glass in the picture? Any perceivable benefit?

[cato]

Is that the Speigel /Dogfish Head IPA glass in the picture? Any perceivable benefit?

Yep. I believe Sierra Nevada was also involved. I definitely think it helps enhance the flavors of a nice hoppy beer, but if you aren't careful when you pour, you end up with a lot of froth.

They are pretty thin above the base, so I have to wash then carefully. I like the glasses, but I'm not sure I'd buy them again if I could go back in time.

[mattman91]

Yep. I believe Sierra Nevada was also involved. I definitely think it helps enhance the flavors of a nice hoppy beer, but if you aren't careful when you pour, you end up with a lot of froth.

They are pretty thin above the base, so I have to wash then carefully. I like the glasses, but I'm not sure I'd buy them again if I could go back in time.

I'm a fan of the tulip glass. I think it is the best glassware for enhancing aromas.

I would like to try one of these glasses though. Where did you get yours?

[duketaylor]

I believe the tulip glasses are what many profess to be best for IPA's. I guess they're best at helping to release aromas, etc. Thoughts?