Brew England

Cure Me I'm Irish Discount Ends Soon!

2012-02-15T18:59:00.002-05:00

This is just a friendly reminder that the discount currently being offered on tickets to this year's Cure Me I'm Irish event, which is coming up in just three weeks from this Saturday, ends on February 20th. Tickets are currently priced at $75, but will increase to $90 on the 21st, but regardless it is for a great cause!

Included in the price of admission are:

Food
Open Beer & Wine
Irish Music - bagpipes and session band
Live Music performance from U2 Tribute Band Joshua Tree
Raffles
Irish Step Dancers
Craft Beer Tasting from 10 Great Breweries

The annual event is once again being held at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA, on Saturday March 10th from 8-12am. The beer will flow from 8-11pm, and Joshua Tree rocks the stage from 10:30-12pm.

Don't miss out on this great event, which is the main annual fundraising event for the Friends of Will Cancer Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 public charity.

To get tickets, please visit www.curemeimirish.org. If you are in the Braintree, MA area, you can also visit Bin Ends in Braintree to purchase you tickets as well. While you're there, you can pick up some amazing wine, but also some wicked good local craft beer. It's one of our local places that has a lot of brews we're looking for!

Cheers,

Adam & Sarah

Update on New Ipswich Ale Brewery

2012-01-31T10:00:00.001-05:00

Ipswich brewery moving forward with new building

We came across this article from the Salem News today, providing an update on the progress on the new Ipswich Ale Brewery in Ipswich, MA. According to the report, the new facility will more than triple their capacity, which of course means they can pump out more liquid goodness for everyone to enjoy.

Cheers!

Portsmouth Beer Week Movie Premiere

2012-01-30T17:13:00.004-05:00

Here's the official press release on some special events happening next month on New Hampshire's Seacoast, courtesy of 2beerguys.com and Sea Coast Beverage Lab:

PORTSMOUTH, NH (January 30, 2012) -- On Friday, March 2nd at 7pm, the third annual Portsmouth Beer Week is proud to present the East Coast Premiere of Alison Grayson’s documentary on women in the craft beer industry, “The Love of Beer”. More than two years in the making, the film examines why women, a small segment of the craft beer industry, do what they do from their everyday lives to their struggles in work. It’s not for feminism or equality, it’s for “The Love of Beer.”

In collaboration with the Portsmouth Music Hall, 2beerguys.com and Seaco astBeverageLab.com present the “Love of Beer” documentary in the gorgeous main theatre. Joinus while we explore & learn about the women of the West Coast beer scene and their inspirations -- this will be an event you won’t want to miss! In addition to being the East Coast premiere of the documentary, it will also feature a panel of special guests. After the movie, leaders in our local craft beer community will be speaking about their experiences in the industry. The panel will be hosted by Amber Jansen of 2beerguys.com (full panel list will be announced soon).

This marks the third straight year that Portsmouth Beer Week has delivered a documentary premiere to the East Coast, with “The Love of Beer” following “Beer Wars” (2010) and “American Beer” (2011). Our partnership this year with the Portsmouth Music Hall is representative of our commitment to supporting local business, as they themselves are tremendous supporters of their community and of documentary film-making.

It all starts at 6pm when the doors open for drinks and a meet-and-greet, followed by the 75 minute documentary premiere at 7:00pm, concluding with the panel discussion on-stage at 8:30pm. Ticket cost is $8.50. Details on the event’s after-party are soon to follow.

Music Hall Premiere Info:
6:00pm Doors Open
7:00pm Documentary Screening
8:30pm Amber Jansen MCs an onstage panel
Advance Tickets On Sale Now

About the Portsmouth Music Hall:

Portsmouth Music Hall, called “the beating cultural heart of New Hampshire’s seacoast” by The Boston Globe, is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner. Acclaimed signature series bring top authors and artists to both stages, while HD broadcasts and independent film fill both screens.

The Music Hall
28 Chestnut Street | Portsmouth, NH 03801
Box Office: 603.436.2400
http://theloveofbeermovie.com/

About Portsmouth Beer Week:

2Beerguys.com and Seacoast Beverage Lab have teamed up with local establishments to host the 3rd Annual Portsmouth Beer Week. Portsmouth Beer Week is a collective celebration of beer within the Portsmouth community. Local breweries (including Portsmouth Brewery, Smuttynose, Redhook, and Throwback) and regional breweries (Boston Beer Company, Sebago, Woodstock Inn and more) have also teamed up with local establishments to provide some unique offerings to their draught lineups. All of this is leading up to Monday which has both ceremoniously and affectionately become know as "Kate the Great Day".

Our goal is to foster a collaborative environment, so we can push Portsmouth further along into the national eye as the great beer city that we locally know it as.

Portsmouth Beer Week
February 27-March 5, 2012
pbw@2beerguys.com
http://portsmouthbeerweek.com

Watch City Brewery: Rescue One Kölsch

2012-01-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

I'm definitely late getting to this, BUT...It definitely needed to be mentioned. Last month a Worcester Fire Fighter lost his life in an attempt to save another. The tragic loss hit close to home for Waltham based Watch City Brewing Co. brewmaster Aaron Mateychuck, as his brother James works within the WFD. Therefore, in an effort to raise some money for The Jon Davies Children's Fund, the brewery is creating a unique beer for the masses.

Here is the official press release:

Watch City Brewing Company, in conjunction with the Worcester Fire Department, will be sponsoring a fundraiser to benefit The Jon Davies Children’s Fund in lieu of the tragic event that occurred Thursday, December 8, 2011. Firefighter Jon D. Davies, Sr., a 17 year Worcester Firefighter, assigned to Rescue Squad 1, passed away from injuries suffered while working in the line of duty trying to rescue a resident from a fire at 49 Arlington Street in Worcester.

Watch City Brewing Company, under the brewing supervision of Aaron Mateychuk (Brewmaster of Watch City Brewing Company and brother of James Mateychuk, WFD Firefighter on Engine 5), Assistant Brewer Kelly McKnight and five Worcester firefighters (all to be named at a later date), will brew a Kölsch style beer. The beer will be named “Rettung Eins Kölsch or Rescue One Kölsch”. A portion of every keg sold will go to The Jon Davies Children Fund.

Kölsch or Köelsch is a local specialty beer brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw-‐yellow hue with prominent, but not extreme,. hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German pale lager. Furthermore, Kölsch is warm fermented at a temperature around 13° to 21°C (55° to 70°F) and then cold-conditioned, or lagered. Besidesthe style, the German connotation has no meaning other than to be a quality, easy drinking beer that will quench the thirst of firefighters and patrons alike.

The Worcester Fire Department will be supplying Watch City Brewing Companythe logo from the fire station to be used for all “Rescue One Kölsch” tap handles and any point of sale material. The price for a ½ bbl (15.5 gallons) for the “Rescue One Kölsch” will be $155.00 and will be sold in this size only.

Any inquires or questions regarding this beer and fundraiser can be directed to Head Brewer Aaron Mateychuk or Assistant Brewer Kelly McKnight. They can be reached at WCBC by calling 781.647.4000 or email atbrewmaster1965@rcn.com.

Wachusett to Launch Imperial Black IPA

2012-01-20T18:23:00.006-05:00

I got a press release the other day from Kim at Wachusett Brewing Company, announcing a new Imperial Black India Pale Ale set to launch this month. From what the release describes, it looks like this will be another great beer to the stable of Wachuestt's already impressive line up. Here is the official release:

Wachusett Brewing Company Introduces Imperial Black IPA

Westminster, MA -- Wachusett Brewing Company will be releasing the newest edition to their current ensemble of IPA’s in January 2012. While creating this Imperial Black India Pale Ale our master brewer Howie and his crew incorporated a variety of unique IPA style ingredients. Calypso and Zythos hops compliment the smooth malty flavors of Crystal & Munich. Dry-hopped with Falconers Flight and Centennial, the undertones of roasted and wheat add up to masterpiece of brew.

The 7.3%, 70 IBU jet black, unfiltered ale will be available in 22 oz. bottles and draft until August 2012. The edition of 12 oz. bottles will be in the Box of Brews variety pack scheduled to hit the shelves in April.

The First Taste Imperial Black IPA release party will be hosted at the brewery on January 26th, 2012. A limited amount of tickets are available for the event, and can be purchased in advance by contacting Kim@wachusettbrew.com or calling 978-874-9965 ex. 28.

The Imperial Black IPA will be available for sampling at the brewery and for purchase through the Wachusett Brewery Store starting January 27th. The store is located on 175 State Road East in Westminster, MA. For more information on hours of operation and tours, contact 978-985-9925 or visit the website at wachusettbrew.com.

Wachusett will also be holding a "First Taste" event at their brewery next Thursday, January 26th from 7-9pm. Including in the price of the ticket (price hasn't been confirmed, but was previously $20) and include:

- A limited edition Imperial Black IPA Glass
- Tour of the Facility
- Hors d'oeuvres provided by McNally's Grill & Pub
- Live accoustic set by John Dupont

Of course, there will be plenty of Imperial Black IPA on tap for you, and it is sure to be a fun event!

We missed out on the launch of their Wet Hop beer event in the fall, but made the launch of their Imperial Pumpkin beer in August and had a great time!

For more information on the event and beer, please contact Kim at the brewery.

Beer Summit turns 10! Jubilee Tonight

2012-01-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to post this earlier, but tonight is the first day of the Beer Summit Winter Jubillee. Not only is the Winter Jubillee a great event which features the finest of handcrafted winter beers, but it marks the 10th anniversary of the Beer Summit!

As always, they will have three sessions: Tonight from 5:30-9pm, and two sessions tomorrow 12:30-4pm and 5:30-9pm. Tickets are still available for tonight and tomorrow afternoon, but are sold out for the late session tomorrow.

Head over to the Beer Summit website for more details, including the full brewery list, and to get your tickets! Also, check out their Facebook page for the full beer listing!

Upcoming Beer Events @ British Beer Co.

2012-01-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

I got this email last Wednesday from Graham at the British Beer Company regarding some great upcoming beer events/tap takeovers/beer dinners. They all look great, so hopefully you'll are able to make some of them!

Tap Takeover
Thursday January 19th – All Day
British Beer Company Westford

www.britishbeer.com/local/westford

Troegs Brewing of Pennsylvania will be invading the Westford pub starting at noon. We'll be pouring some favorites along with a few rarities. The list includes: HopBack Amber, Troegenator Double Bock, DreamWeaver Wheat, Pale Ale, JavaHead Stout, Scratch Beer #55 and Mad Elf. The Scratch Beer is an experimental beer series where the brewery can try new ingredients and brewing techniques, this one being a Double IPA. Each Scratch Beer is brewed in very limited quantities and is rarely available outside Tröegs' very own Tasting Room.

Our chef’s will be creating some exclusive lunch and dinner specials with these award winning beers including several tasty appetizers and entrees. Chew on this special: Troegenator Fried Chicken - Pink peppercorn spiced fried chicken served with a sweet corn cheddar potato hash and steamed French green beans with a Troegenator chicken gravy. Drool...

Stone and Allagash Bash
Saturday January 21st – All Day
British Beer Company Franklin

www.britishbeer.com/local/franklin

Stone and Allagash Brewing will be taking over eight tap lines at the pub all day Saturday. We’ve pulled together a kind of East Coast vs. West Coast battle, in a friendly way. Beers include: Stone Arrogant Bastard, Levitation Ale, More Brown than Black IPA and 11-11-11 Vertical Epic. And from Allagash: Dubbel, Black, Curieux and Odyssey. More Brown than Black is a collaboration between Stone, Ninkasi Brewing and the Alchemist pub of Vermont (which got destroyed by Hurricane Irene). Proceeds from the sale of this beer will go directly to the Waterbury (VT) Good Neighbor Fund, a non-profit organization aiding families affected by Hurricane Irene.

Stone and Allagash reps will be in the pub from 2-6pm offering some tastings and education. There will be a free cheese tasting from 3-5pm compliments of Cabot Cheese. Our chefs will be creating some spectacular lunch and dinner specials by using and pairing up these unique beers. Here’s one of the scrumptious delights: Arrogant Bastard Angus Stew - Cuts of beef slow braised in Arrogant Bastard Ale with carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, leeks, button mushrooms and fresh herbs. Served in a piping hot crock topped with crispy onion tanglers and a side of freshly baked country bread.

Wild Game Dinner with Fullers
Wednesday January 25th – 6:30pm
British Beer Company Sandwich

www.britishbeer.com/local/sandwich

Our intimate pub in Sandwich on historic Route 6A makes the perfect backdrop for a Game Dinner. With a fire blazing, a bagpiper, wild game trophies hanging from the walls, muskets and ceremonial swords on display – one might mistake the pub for a banquet room of an eighteenth century Highland Inn.

This dinner will be presented in a Grand Banquet Buffet style and will feature Elk, Wild Boar and Quail. Fullers Beer will play an essential role as an ingredient in many of the recipes along with recommended pairings. This will not be one of those "small plate" events that leaves you wanting more - it will be a bona fide feast! We've also invited Master of Whiskey Jim Zimmerman to offer tastings of Classic Malt Scotches - Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Oban and Talisker - representing each of the six major distilling regions in Scotland. Here's a glimpse of the feast: Leg of Wild Boar – presented at a carving station, rubbed with an array of seasonal aromatic herbs then roasted and glazed with Fullers E.S.B and black cherry. Tickets are $50 per person (all inclusive) for the Game Dinner and can be purchased at the pub (or call 508-833-9590).

Media Contact:

Graham Wilson

grahamwilson@britishbeer.com

Follow: @BritishBeerCo

Cure Me Im Irish: Update

2012-01-12T11:06:00.006-05:00

As we indicated on Facebook today, we have finalized the brewers line up for the 2012 Cure Me I'm Irish event. It was a busy, but successful day as we were able to confirm the final two breweries over the course of the day.

You probably recall our second segment of "Meet the Brewer" in October with Helder Pementel. Well, seeing how we had such a good time with that, hanging out at the Samuel Adams / Beer Summit Octoberfest, it seemed like he and his business partner Maggie would have fun at Cure Me I'm Irish and the guests would love their beer. We also learned this week that his brewing company would be distributing throughout the state of Massachusetts, which makes this a good fit for both of us.

With that being said, we're happy and pleased to have Backlash Beer Co. coming to the party on March 10th.

Last but not least comes a great breweries to visit, especially when spending time in one of our favorite places - Woodstock, VT. It also helps that they make some great beers, and one of our go-to IPAs (and probably many, many other people's go-to IPAs).

We're very excited to have Harpoon Brewery round off our group of 10 and pour their brews for everyone in attendance.

So there you have it!! All ten breweries have been confirmed. Once again, they are:

Mayflower Brewing Co - Plymouth, MA
Smuttynose Brewing Co - Portsmouth, NH
Cape Ann Brewing Co - Gloucester, MA
Cody Brewing Co - Amesbury, MA
Baxter Brewing Co - Lewiston, ME
Stone Brewing Co - San Diego, CA
Atlantic Brewing Co - Bar Harbor, ME
Boston Beer Co. / Samuel Adams - Boston, MA
Backlash Beer Co - Boston, MA
Harpoon Brewery - Boston, MA & Windsor, VT

Get your tickets today at www.curemeimirish.org!

Ticket Details for Cure Me I'm Irish

2012-01-11T08:29:00.005-05:00

Just to let everyone know, tickets are currently on sale for the 2012 Cure Me Irish event, which is being held on Saturday March 10, 2012 from 8pm to Midnight. The event will once again be held at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA, which is located conveniently near I93.

Tickets holders will receive heavy appetizers, open beer & wine (cash bar for hard alcohol), a chance at some great prizes, and a cup for te beer tasting - which will run from 8-11pm. Also, the U2 tribute band Joshua Tree will be performing from 10:30pm to Midnight.

Tickets are currently priced at $75, but will increase to $90 after February 20th. So, it's recommended that you act quickly and get your tickets ASAP and save a few bucks. Tickets can be purchased online at www.curemeimirish.org right now!

Also, there are a block of hotel rooms for the hotel adjacent to Lombardo's for a special rate of $89. Please see the Cure Me I'm Irish website for further details.

The Friends of Will Cancer Foundation, LLC is a registered 501(c)3 public charity.

Cure Me I'm Irish: Update

2012-01-10T14:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the delay on this folks, but there has been a lock down put on us at work regarding the internet, so I haven’t been able to post as often as I’d like to. However, I thought it would be a good day to announce the next three confirmed breweries for the 2012 Cure Me I’m Irish event. I hope you’re as excited as we are!

After receiving confirmation, and announcing the first five breweries at the end of December, we received a Facebook message from Jeff Nelson, one of the New England sales reps for a certain Arrogant brewing company out of San Diego county California, asking if they could take part. Well, not being the one to turn away a brewery eager to help out, let alone one that makes such superb beers, simply because they are not a New England brewery, we instantly said a resounding “Yes!!” to Jeff. It was a no brainer really.

We’re happy to have Stone Brewing Company on hand as the sixth brewery for the beer festival! Jeff said he’s got some vintage kegs he’s going to bring to the party, and who knows what else he’ll bring. All we know is that we’re pretty pumped to have Stone on board.

Similarly, we received an email from Jon Hill the very next day asking if we were still looking for breweries to help out! Holy crap, the second brewery to contact US to see if they could be a part of this event…it was such a cool feeling, and obviously the event was generating some buzz. Well, details were given, and we’re also happy to confirm Atlantic Brewing Company as the seventh brewery. They’ve been handcrafting beers and have been the premier microbrewery in Bar Harbor, Maine since 1991. They brew about 3,000 barrels of beer each year, and will be increasing their distribution in Massachusetts this year, which makes this a perfect match for the beer festival!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the better part of the past 25 years, you will no doubt be very familiar with brewery number eight to confirm. They really need no introduction, but we’re just super pumped to have them and we’re curious to know what they’ll be bringing to the party. We’re very pleased to have Boston Beer Company, better known as Samuel Adams, coming to pour their beers to those in attendance.

With that the brewery list comes to eight confirmed and very excited breweries to date – Mayflower Brewing Co, Smuttynose Brewing Co, Cape Ann Brewing, Cody Brewing Co, Baxter Brewing Co, Stone Brewing Co, Atlantic Brewing Co, and Boston Beer Co. There are some breweries yet to confirm; however, we are in strong pursuit of other great New England breweries to round out the list.

As always, check the website often for updates on the event! More info can be found at www.curemeimirish.org as well. You can also follow the event on Twitter (@CureMeImIrish, also @BrewEngland) and on our respective Facebook pages!

Cheers,

Adam & Sarah

The Year in Beer - 2011

2011-12-31T12:34:00.000-05:00

This is our way of closing out 2011 with a bang! The Year in Beer - 2010 wrapped up what was a busy year. We managed to post 92 times, but we vowed to increase that in 2011. Well, I think we succeeded at doing that. But even still, we weren't able to get in all the things we had hoped to.

2011 was an incredible year in both Sarah and my personal lives, as well as the New England Craft Beer world. As you might have read, Sarah and I were married on June 18th. We had awesome beer on draft - Harpoon IPA and Summer, which was a small, but significant detail that made the day even more enjoyable for us and our guests. I also graduated from UMass Boston in August, finishing up my undergraduate degree that I've been chipping away at two or three classes at a time since 2005.

2011 started of with a furry. In the first three months we posted almost as much as we did the prior year. We also organized our first ever beer festival as part of the annual "Cure Me I'm Irish" event on March 5, 2011 at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA. Mayflower, Cape Ann, Cody Brewing, Blue Hills, and Magic Hat poured hundreds of samples for the 1,000 guests in attendance. Truthfully though, it was all pretty stressful. So, we took an unexpected, and unannounced break for the month of April. But, we came back with a fury in May covering American Craft Beer Week with a slew of beer reviews.

Hurricane Irene also hit Vermont incredibly hard, flooding the Longtrail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners and completely destroyed the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury. Also, the great debate on the Farmer Brewer License issues that plagued the folks at Idle Hands Craft Ales for a while was eventually worked out. The ruling eventually turned out favorable, and allowed the brewery to acquire an affordable license to begin commercial production.

Twitter and Facebook became an even bigger part of Brew England in 2011! Although I'm unsure how many Twitter followers we had coming into '11, but as I write this we have 743 followers. This time last year we had 447 Facebook fans, and now we have 735! Hopefully we can get to 1,000 very soon. Thanks to our friend Chris Cappella, we also got a new logo and banner and couldn't be happier about it!

Instead of breaking down all the other posts, I strongly encourage you do revisit some of the posts by clicking through each month on the right hand side of the page. Please let us know your thoughts as well.

I will, however, highlight some of our favorite's from 2011...

Top Beers of 2011:

Baxter Brewing Co. Stowaway IPA - This is by far one of my new favorite New England IPAs. It's bold, it's malty, it has a nice crisp and floral character to it. Baxter is currently available throughout Maine, and in Eastern Massachusetts; however, the brewery has plans to be distributed throughout Massachusetts by March of 2012. Look out for this brewery, as they're making a lot of noise.

Notch Session Pils - To my delight, Chris Lohring is making beer. Not only is he making beer, he's making great beer. The Pils is a well balanced brew that is high in flavor and low in ABV...meaning you can enjoy several of these in a sitting and not be stumbling out the door of your favorite pub. It's really how beer should be.

Mayflower Brewing Spring Hop Ale - This was a great seasonal beer introduced in 2011 by Mayflower. The first time we had it was at the 2011 "Cure Me I'm Irish" event, and it did not disappoint. It took a while to find it afterwards, but was worth the search. Hoppy, malty, and moderate drinkability made this a great offering!

Maine Beer Company Mean Old Tom - This was the third beer I tried from Maine Beer Co. this year, and was by far my favorite. I'm becoming more fond of Stouts, and this coffee stout from Maine did not disappoint.

Throwback Brewery Fat Alberta - You might not expect a beer to be rich and creamy, but the awesome peanut butter and chocolate flavor from the Fat Albert is incredible. Sadly Throwback's beers are only available in the Granite State, but they are growing in a grassroots style, but their buzz is growing rapidly.

Mystic Brewery Descendant - Dark and tasty, this beer from Mystic Brewery is available in both oaked, and unoaked varieties, which adds notable differences to the liquid. One of Massachusetts' newest, their 'Fermentorium' is located in Chelsea, MA, boasting a large set up where they meticulously monitor the fermentation process of their brews, with an incredible attention to quality and detail.

Rising Tide Brewing Company Ursa Minor - Unfortunately, when I visited the Rising Tide Brewery during the AHA Rally Portland, I only got one bottle of Ursa Minor. This beer is a Weizen-Stout, which is basically a stout fermented using a Hefeweizen yeast strain. It yields an awesomely light and fruity beer, with some nice dark malt notes you expect from a typical stout.

Very Honorable Mention: Jack's Abby Hoponius Union India Pale Lager, Backlash Beer Convergence, Slumbrew Flagraiser IPA, Ipswich Ale Brewery 5 Mile Stock Ale, Clownshoes Beer Blaecorn Unidragon, Wachusett Brewery Imperial Pumpkin

Favorite Beer Event:

Beer Summit Winter Jubilee - Held at the Castle at the Park Plaza in Boston, the Beer Summit does a great job putting together a solid line up of breweries, and not overselling the event. There never seems to be super long lines, unless a particular brewery has a special beer they're bringing to the party. Even still, you don't wait very long at all.

So what's up for 2012?

Beer, beer, and more beer of course! Even though we upped the posts from 91 to 168, we'd still like to provide more content. That means more beer reviews, more Guest Blog entries, more Adventures in Homebrewing posts (sadly took a nose dive this year), and more "Meet the Brewer" segments. We'd also like to get to attend more beer events, and take a beer vacation to Vermont to hit several of the smaller breweries off the beaten path.

There's also a possibility that we'll make the trip to Colorado next year for the Great American Beer Festival. Our buddy Dave Lagueux is about to begin his new job brewing at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO, and he suggested we come out in the fall. After seeing Brian of Seacoast Beverage Lab's updates and recap of the 2011 Kate the Great Day in Portsmouth, NH, we look to attend part of the Portsmouth Beer Week in March as well.

Finally, and in the more near future, we'll be organizing the beer festival as part of the 2012 "Cure Me I'm Irish" being held on March 10th at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA. We announced there would be 10 breweries next year, as opposed to only five this year, and that the first five breweries were already confirmed. We're close to solidifying the last five as of this week, and the event is going to be even better. More details will be posted in the next few days on tickets and how you can help out!

We hope you had as great of a year that we did, and we look forward to bringing you more in 2012! Thanks for reading and supporting Brew England and New England craft beer!

Tuesday Night Tasting - Samuel Adams: Old Fezziwig Ale

2011-12-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Boston Beer Co. / Samuel Adams – Boston, MA
Old Fezziwig Ale, Brewed with Cinnamon, Ginger, and Orange Peel
5.9% ABV, 12oz available in Holiday Mix 12-Pack

For being my clear favorite seasonal brew within this winter mix pack, I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to actually review the Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale. I’ve been a fan of this beer since the first time I tried it, which must have been back in 2004 or 2005.

The Old Fezziwig pours a rich, earthy brown and slight reddish tinge liquid, with a light brownish head. Although the head doesn’t linger too long, it does leave a nice layer of foam which sits atop the brew inviting you in to take a sip. The beer features a pleasant nutty and slightly sweet malty aroma. Subtle hints of the spices used in the brewing process come through as well.

The Fezziwig has a slight sweetness from the caramel malts, balanced by rich notes from the chocolate and specialty grains. It’s pleasantly sweet without being too one dimensional. It should also be pointed out that although it’s brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel, no one of these ingredients overpowers the other.

The mouth feel of this beer is mild and quite silky smooth. I find that it finishes rather dry and isn’t too heavy. Because of this, and despite the fact that the ABV is moderate at just under 6%, the Old Fezziwig Ale is a very drinkable beer. Sadly though, this is only available in the winter Holiday Mix Pack (and allegedly available on draft, though I’ve never seen it before) and not in six or 12 packs alone. However, if it were, I would happily purchase more! This is, in my opinion, the highlight of this winter mix twelve pack.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Cure Me I'm Irish: Update

2011-12-27T17:47:00.004-05:00

Wow. All we can say is wow. In the course of about 10 days (we'll call it seven, considering the holiday weekend), we were able to solidify half, or five of the breweries, for the beer festival at the 2012 "Cure Me I'm Irish" event. Sarah and I were actually able to book a few of them within the first few days of reaching out, and wrapped up two more in the past week or so.

So, you're probably wondering who will be on hand (so far) pouring their awesome, and I mean AWESOME brews for you. You may remember some of them from this year, but we've added a few more that we're PUMPED about! Well, without further delay, here's who's coming so far...

Mayflower Brewing Company - For the second straight year, our friends at Mayflower were the first to confirm. Last year they even debuted their Spring Hop Ale at the 2011 event, which was a huge hit. Who knows what they'll have in store for us all in a few months?

Smuttynose Brewing Co. - What can we say about Smuttynose? Well, for one, they make great beer. They also have a cool brewery and tour. They're also a staple in New Hampshire's Seacoast (Adam's home state), and we're excited to have them on board!

Cape Ann Brewing Co. - Tom and TJ will once again be pouring their fine Fisherman's beers, and you know they always come with a great attitude and are ready to party. They are always a hit, and I expect the same from them in '12. We've made a request for their Greenhorn Double IPA, but it's typically only available at their pub. We'll see if it makes an appearance.

Cody Brewing Co. - Sean Cody and his team returns for their second year as well. This year they had two beers that were big hits, both their No Name IPA and Wheelers Brown. I ran into Cody in November and talked about the event and said if the event was happening, he wanted in! Well, we spoke over the weekend, saying Cody Brewing would be there!

Baxter Brewing Co. - Rori from Baxter called this afternoon saying "We are a go!" What better news could we have received? Well, we say equally as awesome was the news is that Amber Road (much to our surprise) was already creeping into the Massachusetts market, but that they hoped to have all three of their beers distributed to the entire state of Massachusetts by the time of the beer festival!

So there you have it folks...The first five breweries to confirm for the 2012 Cure Me I'm Irish / Brew England beer festival. If we were only having five, this list would be killer. What makes it even better is that we still have five more breweries to add. If all goes as well as the first five, the next five should be confirmed within the next few weeks.

Check back often for further updates on the last five breweries to be confirmed. There's a Friends of Will meeting tomorrow night at the new Dave & Busters in Braintree, which will provide an update on ticket information and other details. Once we have full details on ticket pricing and availability, it will be posted here!

Cheers!
Adam & Sarah

Under Construction

2011-12-22T13:43:00.004-05:00

It's never a bad thing to get an email from Ipswich Ale brewery simply with this picture inserted...

As you may recall, we reported in May that the investors for the new Ipswich Ale Brewery had filed for bankruptcy, halting any plans for new construction. Well, one can only assume the brewery has found new investors, and has resumed construction!

More to come on this exciting news!

Harpoon Looking to Add Beer Hall

2011-12-20T16:33:00.003-05:00

Hopped-up tours on tap at Harpoon - BostonHerald.com

I just read this on the Boston Herald and saw it linked on Facebook! Hopefully Harpoon gets approval by the city of Boston to build a beer hall as the brewery in Windsor, VT has a great pub area, which would fit in nicely in the Seaport area!

Rare Craft Beer Tapping @ BBC Pembroke

2011-12-16T15:44:00.004-05:00

I got an email from Graham at the British Beer Company, who asked me to share an event they're having tomorrow. It looks like they're going to have some choice seasonal brews on tap, which is not to be missed!

One of the great gifts that the holiday brings us now-a-days is a smashing variety of Christmas style beers. That’s enough of an excuse for the British Beer Company to celebrate – Christmas Cheers to the Beers! This Saturday December 17th in Pembroke the BBC will be tapping several rare/seasonal beers.

They include: Goose Island's Nut Brown, Troeg's Mad Elf, N'Ice Chouffe (from Belgium), Avery's Old Jubilation, Gritty McDuff's Christmas Ale and St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. Santa will be dropping in to see who’s been naughty and nice from 1-2pm and we’ll be collecting unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots all day. A unique specials menu featuring these beers and pairings will be available for lunch and dinner.

Here's a quick peek at some of the lunch and dinner specials:

Goose Island Duck Confit Egg Rolls
N'Ice Chouffe Smoked Haddock
Old Jubilation Roasted Red Beet Salad
Gritty McDuff's Smoked Prime Rib

If you go, please try to bring a new unwrapped toy (if you go between 1-2pm) as it was reported this morning on the Boston news outlets that the Toys for Tots were experience an extreme shortage of gifts this year.

Cheers!

2012 Cure Me I'm Irish Beer Tasting!

2011-12-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

As you may recall, the 2011 Cure Me I’m Irish event was a great time! It was the first time Sarah and I had set up a beer tasting, and it seemed to run smooth and was a huge hit to the guests. We had Mayflower Brewing Co, Cape Ann Brewing Co., Cody Brewing, Blue Hills Brewery, and Magic Hat all come and pour samples of their beers for the guests in attendance.

A while back we posted on our Facebook page that we were asked once again to set up a beer tasting as part of the 2012 Cure Me I’m Irish celebration. After a few weeks, it didn’t look as if we were going to be able to work the tasting into the event. However, I’m happy to say that the details have been worked out and we will once again be helping out the Friends of Will Cancer Foundation with their event!

Although the line up is yet to be determined for the 2012 event, it does project to be even better than the 2011 event. This year we are happy to announce that there will be 10 regional breweries pouring their fresh, handcrafted beers from 8-11pm for those in attendance.

The celebratory fundraiser event will be taking place on Saturday March 10, 2012 once again at Lombardo’s in Randolph, MA. The 2011 event was also held at Lombardo’s and we were able to help raise over $89,000 for the Friends of Will Cancer Foundation and the NB Alliance. Finite details of the event, as well as ticket information are still being worked out, but once we have that information we will definitely be posting it here!

Stay tuned for much more information on the 2012 Cure Me I’m Irish event in the upcoming weeks!

Adam & Sarah

NH BrewFest Raises $19k

2011-12-05T13:18:00.005-05:00

I got the following press release from Redhook related to their New Hampshire BrewFest we gave away VIP Tickets for. I was happy to hear the event was such a success, and that local organizations were the beneificiaries of significant donations

Here's the presser:

New Hampshire BrewFest Raises $19,000 for Local Organizations
New England Beer Lovers Turned Out in Record Numbers at Redhook Brewery

Portsmouth, N.H. – Nov. 22, 2011 – The third annual New Hampshire BrewFest, hosted at Redhook Brewery on Oct. 15, attracted a record number of attendees and raised more than $19,000 for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas New England Chapter and Prescott Park Arts Festival. The BrewFest featured more than 120 quality brews from 31 breweries as well as food and music. This year‘s BrewFest saw record breaking attendance of more than 4,000 tickets sold with both sessions selling out days before the Fest. Each organization will receive $9,556, nearly $2,000 more than the previous year.

“This year’s BrewFest was a great success and showcased New England’s diverse brewing talents. We want to thank Redhook Brewery for being an exceptional host,” said Jason Perkins, president of Master Brewers Association of the Americas New England Chapter. “The proceeds will go toward an annual two week training course scholarship for brewers, send a brewer to the MBAA National conference, and continue to bring in brewing experts for our quarterly meetings.”

The Master Brewers Association of the Americas works to improve members brewing skills through scholarships and professional training sessions.

“We are proud to be supported by the NH BrewFest; an event that encourages the art of craft brewing,” said Ben Anderson, executive director for Prescott Park Arts Festival. “The funds go directly toward our programs, and have allowed us to continue to grow and expand our offerings, as well as help keep all of our events free of fixed admission.”

As a nonprofit organization, the Prescott Park Arts Festival has presented music, art, theater, and dance to families on the banks of the Piscataqua River for the past 36 years, and was just voted Business of the Year by the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

Harpoon Beer Dinner @ Jerry Remy's

2011-12-02T14:48:00.004-05:00

Jerry Remy's in Boston's historic Fenway area will be hosting a Harpoon beer dinner on December 14th. It's looking like a fun event with great food and drink. Tickets are $48 per person, plus tax and gratuity, but Friends of Harpoon can receive $5 off the ticket price.

Here are the full details about the event:

Harpoon Beer Dinner at Jerry Remy's Fenway (Boston, MA)
Location: Boston, MA
Date: 14-Dec-2011 Wednesday
Time: 06:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Delicious beer and food have always gone perfectly together, so make sure to come and enjoy the expertly crafted menu at Jerry Remy’s Fenway on December 14th at 6:30 PM during the Harpoon Beer Dinner!

Executive Chef Jacqueline Kelly and Harpoon brewer Jesse Brenneman worked together to create a menu that highlights the flavors of both the food and the beer.

The menu is as follows:

Welcome
Roasted Whole Garlic Bulbs on German Style Wort Bread

Appetizer
Beer and Cheddar Soup, paired with Leviathan Barleywine

First Course
Ceviche of Pacific Northwest Steelhead Salmon, paired with UFO Pale Ale

Second Course
Korean Style Pork Buns with Yuzu pickled onions and salted bacon mole, paired with Harpoon Munich Dark

Third Course
Roasted Long Island Duck Breast Hen of the Woods with Herb Spaetzle, paired with Leviathan Triticus

Dessert
New York Style Chocolate Stout Egg Cream

Is your mouth watering yet? Tickets for the dinner cost $48 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Stop by Jerry Remy’s Fenway or call them at (617) 236-7369 in order to make reservations!

We also have a great deal for our Friends! Just mention that you are a Friend of Harpoon when making your reservation and bring your card to the dinner and you will receive $5 off your ticket price.

You won’t want to miss out on this delicious event!

Location:
Jerry Remy’s Fenway
1265 Boylston Street
Boston, MA

Tuesday Night Tasting - Goose Island Brewing Co: Christmas Ale

2011-11-30T11:30:00.000-05:00

Goose Island Brewing Co. – Chicago, IL
Christmas Ale 2011 – American Brown Ale
6.2% ABV, 12 oz and on draft

We first tried the Goose Island Christmas Ale when we visited their Wrigleyville brewpub in Chicago last December, but saw the four pack at Luke’s in Rockland over the weekend. It instantly brought us back to one of our favorite cities to date, and despite their recent agreement to be sold/distributed by InBev (which was incredibly sad news), we had to pick it up.

This year’s Christmas Ale has a rich cherry brown/garnet color, with a light off white, fluffy head. The head lingers for a bit, before dissolving into the beer. We used a snifter style glass to taste the beer, and in the right light it actually looks like a Christmas bulb, which helped us get even more into the Christmas spirit!

The beer has a mildly floral nose, with slightly sweet and spicy notes. You can catch a glimpse of cocoa and ginger, and the brew also has a nice malty balance.

Although the 2011 Christmas Ale is a brown ale, it definitely has a sweeter flavor to most browns. It certainly has the malty characteristics you find in the average brown ale, but it finishes sweeter. Sarah feels that it might be a bit to hoppy, but I think it could use a slightly bigger hop profile. It does end with a moderate bitterness factor though. As the beer warms, as in most cases, the malt begins to dominate as well as increases its sweetness.

The mouth feel of the beer is mild. Despite the color and ABV, this beer is not all that heavy. The sweetness lingers, but not in a bad way.

The Goose Island Christmas Ale comes in a four pack, but is also available on draft (may be difficult to find in the general Boston area). With a mild balance and moderate ABV, you can definitely handle one or two pints or bottles in a single sitting.

Tuesday Night Tasting - Throwback Brewery: Fat Alberta

2011-11-23T13:00:00.007-05:00

Throwback Brewery – North Hampton, NH
Fat Alberta Imperial Stout brewed with Peanuts and Cocoa Nibs
10% ABV, 78 IBU, OG: 1.101, 22 oz and possibly soon on draft

Although both Sarah and I tried Fat Alberta, as well as the full line up of Throwback’s beers when we visited Annette and Nicole in March, this was our first try of their beers at home. On our way back through New Hampshire’s seacoast on Sunday, we decided it would be fun to stop by Throwback to pick up a few bottles of Fat Alberta, and to our surprise it was PACKED. Little did we know, the brewery was having an actual launch party for the beer that day.

But, on to the review…

The color of this Imperial Stout is a dark espresso toned body, with a thick, fluffy, chocolaty brown head. The head itself fades rather quickly, but is a really nice color! The aroma…well, the scent of roasted peanuts immediately hits your nose, but is pleasantly blended with a rich chocolate aroma. We have to say, it’s quite inviting.

The flavor of the stout is of rich dark chocolate covered peanuts. Perhaps the hops (notice the high IBU) help give it the slightly bitterness of dark chocolate, but it’s incredibly subtle – fear not if you’re not big into a bold hop profile, because this is nowhere near beers like that.

Sarah and I have slightly altered views on the flavor. Sarah says that the Fat Alberta has an earthy, nutty peanut flavor, which is enhanced by the beers dark chocolate flavor. She also says (which I do agree with) that it’s rare for a “flavored” stout to taste like what it’s supposed to. Southern Tier tends to do a great job at matching their beers to what the label says they’re supposed to be. Unfortunately, other brewing companies fall short of doing that.

While I didn’t entirely disagree with Sarah’s assessment, I thought the peanut flavor to me is creamy like you get with peanut butter. It's not sweet though like in peanut butter, which is probably balanced by the dark roasted malts.

We both thought the mouth feel is moderate to full, but without being too heavy. Most "regular" stouts are rather lighter bodied (despite their color) and low in alcohol, but this is an Imperial Stout and is a bit heavier. Still very nice.

The Fat Alberta Imperial Stout is seductively drinkable. It is incredibly smooth going down, and simply tastes amazing. Be careful though, as the brew clocks in at 10% ABV and can easily sneak up on you. If you're drinking this by yourself, you can probably put down the bomber, but it's also a great beer to share with a friend!

Make Mine a Mead!

2011-11-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

Mead, also called honey wine, is made primarily from water, honey, and yeast – and then different flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon, orange or berries and spices or whatever kind of flavor combination sounded interesting/delicious to the mead maker. It has basically the same alcohol content as wine and to me it tastes a little like those honey-straws I used to see as a kid – which come in the same wide array of flavors. Only the mead has alcohol in it, so in that way it is actually a step up from the honey straws.

Adam and I spent Saturday night in Portland ME and one bar we had heard a lot about was Novare Res Bier Cafe – famed for its Belgian beer and local brew selection. I was immediately drawn to the Blueberry Mead from Maine Mead Works because when in Maine, one must try something that involves blueberry. It was incredible and led me to order the Dry Hopped Mead immediately after, also a stellar choice. I knew that I would be leaving Maine the next day with at least a couple of bottles of mead to try.

After checking out of the hotel on Sunday morning, we popped next door to Downeast Beverage Co. to purchase some souvenirs. Lucky for me, they had a nice supply of mead from Maine Mead Works (though not the blueberry – boo!). I selected the Lavender Mead and the Dry Hopped Mead to come home with me and could not resist opening up one of them last night.

The Lavender Mead from Maine Mead Works smells deliciously of, guess what? Lavender! Not in your face guest soap Lavender but mild and sweet and almost a little spicy lavender. In fact the slight “edge” that Lavender has really cuts the sweetness of this honey wine. It was very fragrant and smooth – which is why I thought it would be best served in a tulip style glass (the glass pictured is actually an “Ice Wine” glass we purchased on our honeymoon).

I think this would be a great addition to a tea party, maybe served with Madeleines or scones. It is also, and I speak from immediate recent experience – an excellent before bed beverage.

Stay tuned this week for more reviews from our trip to Portland, including our experience at Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston, ME and Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, NH!

Visit Maine Mead Works
51 Washington Avenue
Portland, ME
(207) 773-6323

2011 Infinium Pre-Release Party

2011-11-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday night the Boston Beer Company celebrated the upcoming release of the 2011 Infinium Ale by hosting a pre-release tasting at their brewery. This is the fourth event over the course of the previous week, and the second one I attended, and could’t have been more fun.

I brought my buddy, and occasional Guest Blogger Mike Micalone, as well as my buddy Mike Talley along with me, and from the moment we walked in I knew we were going to have a great time.

Mike Talley next to a 134 bbl wooden fermenter

There was a special pre-gala portion of the event set aside for media personnel, such as bloggers, as well as the spot local celebrity, which was held inside the Barrel Room Collection room within the brewery itself. Meg, one of the reps Mike Micalone and I have run into at the AHA Rally, MA BrewersFest, and Beer Summit/Sam Adams Octoberfest, guided us to the room, where we saw some familiar faces. Brian Aldrich from Sea Coast Beverage Lab, Sean from 2Beerguys.com, Becca, Lindsay, and Heather from MA Girls Pint Out were all inside enjoying the Infinium and light spread that was laid out.

After about 15 minutes of socializing, Jim Koch came into the room to everyone’s delight. He right away came up to myself, Mike Talley, Brian, and Sean, introduced himself, and asked for feedback on this year’s Infinium. He was genuinely interested in finding out our thoughts on it, which I thought was incredible, considering whom he is.

Jim then gave a brief speech, giving the 30 some odd people in the room an idea of how they came about collaborating with Weihenstephan on the beer (which was quite amusing), the process of making the beer itself, and the specific purpose behind the particular style of beer that Infinium has developed into. After his chat on the beer, he then introduced three of the Boston area’s finest mixologists, who had each concocted “beer-cocktails” specifically using the 2011 Infinium Ale.

Ran Duan, Mixologist at Sichuan Garden Restaurant and Bar created his Sowa Market Shandy, which consisted of cardamom pomegranate syrup, lemon juice, celery bitters and Infinium. Adam Lantheaum, of The Boston Shaker, made his Germania's Toast with Jo Snow cardamom rose water syrup, aphrodite bitters, and Infinium. Lastly, Bob McCoy, of Island Creek Oyster Bar prepared his Winter Shandy with cinnamon syrup, fresh meyer lemon juice, angostura bitters, soda water, and of course Infinium.

L to R: Ran, Adam, and Bob

All three of these gentlemen spoke as passionate about their beer cocktails as Jim Koch himself spoke about his Infinium Ale. It was really cool to see how psyched Ran, Adam, and Bob were about mixing these drinks for us, and they were all some really interesting drinks for sure. They're not the typical drink I would go for, but it was a great opportunity to try something new.
After everyone gave their speeches, the rest of us continued to mingle, take pictures, and meet some new people. There were some folks from Yankee Brew News, as well as Brewing News, which all have a vast knowledge of the regional breweries and brews, which was nice to chat back and forth of where we had each been as well as spots I need to check out. As it turns out, and I knew to a certain extent, that there are many places in Vermont that I must visit in the next year or two.

Dan Hausle of WHDH TV, Channel 7 in Boston made an appearance as well, sans camera crew. I introduced myself and managed to chat with him for a good 10-15 minutes. As it turns out, Dan is a craft beer lover, and according to his profile on the WHDH website he's also a homebrewer (I wish I knew that last night). It turns out he's from Buffalo, NY as well, so it provided a good opportunity to talk sports as well (and make fun of him for his teams performing rather poorly at times).

After hanging out in the Barrel Room for a while, we headed into the brewery and other tasting rooms to get a few more samples of some of the other fine offerings by Samuel Adams. While in the tasting room the Mikes and I met Chris, a military veteran who currently works as the building manager at the Boston Beer Company's corporate headquarters, who happened to be helping out pouring drinks. We shared a few funny stories about trips to Cooperstown, NY and where to find Old Fezziwig on tap - we're still waiting to see where in the Boston area you can find it (I've never seen it on tap). Once we find out, we'll make sure to share with you!

Overall, it was a great evening. Jess, Meg, Chris, and Jim all made this night a really enjoyable experience that I hope to partake in again sometime soon.

Infinium Ale will officially be released next week, and should retail for around $20. Last year I managed to try a few bottles, and really enjoyed it. This years is equally as good, if not better than last year's release, and is definitely a bottle you can enjoy with friends.

Tuesday Night Tasting- Baxter Brewing Co: Stowaway IPA

2011-11-16T13:26:00.006-05:00

Baxter Brewing Co. - Lewiston, ME
Stowaway India Pale Ale
6.9% ABV, 12 oz cans and on draft

This was the second beer I've had from this all-canery brewery out of Maine, with the first being their Pamola Xtra Pale from a few months ago. I have to say, I couldn't be happier with the Stowaway IPA. The first time I had it was back in September when I was in Portland, ME, and found it on tap. It's equally as good in a can!

The Stowaway pours a pale mix of orange and red hues. It's nicely carbonated with a light, foamy head that rests peacefully on top of this hoppy treat. The aroma is vibrant! It's hoppy, floral, and you can pick up the maltiness of this brew. It even has a faint sweet scent to it as well.

The flavor is down right enjoyable, which backs up the aroma with a great balance between the malt, hop, and bigger characteristics. It finishes with a nice floral and slightly malty ending, certainly not dry, but gives you a feeling that you just want more!

The mouth feel on the Stowaway IPA is moderate. It's quite bold, which is what I like in an IPA. The balance between the ABV and IBU fits in perfect for this brew.

Without a doubt, the drinkability level on this beer is high. This is by far one of my new favorite regional IPAs, and Baxter Brewing has a winner and keeper with this beer. Any hop head must try this beer, so keep your eyes out for it. Baxter's beers are popping up all over Massachusetts, so it shouldn't be difficult to find.

Sarah and I are spending this weekend up in the Portland, ME area, and have plans to make the trip to Lewiston to visit the Baxter Brewing Co brewery. I'm also excited as I'll be able to pick up their newest release, Amber Road, while we're there. I've been told it's a great time, and I don't doubt it!

Craft Beer Cellar Turns 1!

2011-11-10T08:47:00.006-05:00

Happy birthday to Craft Beer Cellar! One year ago today, Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow opened this quaint little craft beer store in Belmont to hundreds of thirsty patrons. One year later, they are still growing and celebrating the greatness that is beer!

Yesterday, Kate and Suzanne sent out an emailed newsletter detailing how they plan on celebrating. Here is a list of events for today, from the newsletter:

12 to 2 Peak Organic Brewing Company
Co-Owner Rob Lucente will be tasting us on their newest brew, Local Series MA, boasting all MA ingredients (take that ABCC)! Also, Rob should be properly honored for christening our space . . . he was the first person to bring us a beer, for samplin', of course.

2 to 4 Cape Ann Brewing Company
Tom Ryan, First Mate O'Sails, will surely have his fish net strung all over the darned place, but that's definitely one of things we love about these guys - they are passionate.

4 to 6 Mayflower Brewing Company
Christiana Bencivenni will be rockin' some Thanksgiving Ale, and should be noted for being the first person to bring us coffee, when we were still rippin' down walls.

6 to 8 Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
Martha Holley-Paquette, Co-Founder, Dann Paquette, BrewMaster, and Anya, Captain of all Things Pretty, will be towin' the rubber on our anniversary, and what a class act of a brewery to do so; awesome in so many darned ways! PS: Our #1 selling beer since day one is Pretty Things Jack D'oR!

Aside from the tastings, the ladies have some other surprises in store for those who visit throughout the day.

Sarah and I first visited Craft Beer Cellar in February, and have been back several times since then. However, what stood out to me more than their incredible selection is that Kate and Suzanne are ridiculously generous and genuinely kind people. As you may recall, Sarah and I were asked to set up a beer tasting as part of the 2010 Cure Me I'm Irish event. In addition, we gathered up donations to be raffled and auctioned off. Suzanne and Kate didn't think twice about getting involved, and donated several gift certificates to their store, after literally meeting us once. We knew we had crossed paths with great people.

What also adds to their awesomeness was also contained within their email yesterday. It read, "...we've decided to get behind a couple of local organizations, in 2012, in hopes that the little we can give will help in some small way. The idea is very simple, we do good, and well, we do good by giving back. We'll be donating 10% of our net profits to these two organizations, for the year:

Belmont Food Pantry
https://sites.google.com/site/thebelmontfoodpantry/

and

Belmont Affordable Shelter Fund
http://www.town.belmont.ma.us/Public_Documents/F00010DFC/housingtrust/index "

This just really stands out as a good company helping their community, and it makes me happy to read that.

If you have an opportunity to get to Craft Beer Cellar today to take part in their one year anniversary, I definitely suggest you do. If you can't get there today, make it a priority to go sometime soon. You WILL NOT be disappointed, I guarantee it.

Happy birthday again to Suzanne, Kate, and Craft Beer Cellar!

Beer Summit Harvest Fest

2011-11-08T12:12:00.002-05:00

The annual Beer Summit Harvest Fest is just 10 days away, and tickets are going fast! Per usual, there are three sessions - Friday night from 5:30-9pm, Saturday Session I: 12:30-4pm and Session II: 5:30-9pm.

Beer Summit has confirmed 61 brewers who will be pouring 200+ beers over the course of the weekend. They even make it easy for you to navigate the floor, with this PDF version of their brewery layout. If you haven't been to a Beer Summit event before, you're definitely missing out as they are a good time. In fact, my buddy Joe and I volunteered for the Winter Jubilee this past January and had a blast.

All three sessions are being held at the Castle at the Boston Park Plaza at 130 Columbus Ave. Click here to purchase your tickets, but don't delay as all three sessions are likely to sell out.

Samuel Adams Taste of Boston

2011-11-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

This free event 'sold out' so quickly that I didn't even have time to post it for you, which is another great reminder of why you should sign up for some brewery's monthly email newsletter...

Samuel Adams will host their monthly open house, which they have dubbed the "Taste of Boston" and will run from 6-8pm tomorrow at their Jamaica Plain brewery.

More specifically, there will be:

- Private Brewery Open House
- Samples of Limited Release Beers
- Keepsake Pint Glass & T-Shirt
- Traditional Boston Appetizers (Boston Creme Pies, Clam Chowder, Clam Cakes)

I'm not entirely sure what other things are in store for those who RSVP'd yes, but Sarah RSVP'd for us (fortunately) so we'll be there. We'll make sure to tweet about it, and recap the event later this week!

Slumbrew Launch at the Independent

2011-11-07T09:00:00.002-05:00

Friday night marked the official launch for Somerville Brewing Company, aka Slumbrew, at the Independent in Somerville, MA. They had an unofficial, official launch at Craft Beer Cellar the previous Friday, but unfortunately due to a car fire and heavy traffic I was unable to attend. However, I was making sure that I didn't miss the event at the Independent!

Although I'm not entirely familiar with Union Square in Somerville, the Independent was rather easy to find. I have to say, the GPS/Maps function of my new iPhone 4s is incredibly accurate, so I was able to find the bar fairly easy. The event was starting at 5pm, and with the traffic I got there right around then.

When I walked into the Independent, I realized that this was a place I would need to come back to. They have a great line up of craft beers, including brews from Pretty Things, St. Bernadus Apt 12 (which I've never seen on draft anywhere), Berkshire Brewing Co. and so many more. But, the most important part is that they were serving fresh kegs of Slumbrew!

The two beers on tap were Flagraiser IPA, which is a hoppy and pleasantly bitter. It clocks in at 80 IBU and 7.5% ABV, which gives it a bit of a punch. The other beer available was Happy Sol, which is an incredibly drinkable hefeweizen which is brewed with 1,000 lbs. of blood oranges per batch. My initial thought was that the Happy Sol would be overly fruity and too sweet, but to my surprise and enjoyment, it was so smooth and balanced that I really enjoyed it.

While sitting at the bar, I ran into Slumbrew owner Caitlin Jewell's cousin Sam, and her friend Bill, who both live in Bermuda. I was flying solo that night, but I didn't fear as I can always start up a conversation and meet new friends over a few pints. We had a great time hanging out, and it helped make the night.

In a short time, the bar started filling up. By filling up, I mean getting packed. I had to feed the meeter, and I noticed a line of at least 20 people deep outside, trying to get in. The bar seemed to already be over capacity, but that didn't matter as there was such a great turnout for the Slumbrew launch and everyone seemed to be in great spirits.

Before leaving, I got a chance to speak with Caitlin and her husband Jeff, the brewer and other owner of Slumbrew. The two of them are incredibly sweet and gracious, and were a pleasure to speak with. They both invited Sarah and I to come check out their pilot brewery in Somerville, and then to go out to dinner, which we'll have to take them up on soon.

Jeff happened to have a few bottles of their Porter Square Porter, which even though it wasn't on draft, he was giving out samples. The porter has a noticeably sweet chocolate body to it, and it should as it's brewed with Taza Chocolate nibs. It's going to be a great late fall/winter drink, so stay tuned for more info on this brew soon!

Overall, it was a great night. I was happy to see so many people turn out for the launch, and you'll definitely be seeing these Slumbrew beers on draft and in your local package stores very, very soon.

Beer Trade

2011-11-04T14:47:00.005-04:00

Today, I finally completed my first beer trade. See, Sarah's cousin Tracy, who is originally from Massachusetts, currently lives in San Francisco and has access to some great beers you just can't get out here. Back in March we decided to do a trade so we could get some beers that are impossible to get on either coast.

I had only one real request - that she send two bottles of Russian River's Pliney the Elder and/or Pliney the Younger. I had also stated that I wouldn't mind something from Alaskan Brewing Co. as I have a few friends who live in Anchorage, AK and figured it'd be cool to see what they can drink up there.

Well, Tracy came through! She sent two bottles of Pliney the Elder, a bottle of Russian River Damnation, Alaskan Brewing Co.'s IPA, and one more that I simply can not remember. Unfortunately, with the wedding, school, work, etc. I couldn't find the time to return some beer. Having chatted with another one of Sarah's cousins that just moved to southern Oregon, we decided to do a beer trade as well...but, I couldn't do one with him until I sent Tracy some beer. This was the week to get it done

I wasn't going to drop the ball again, so I hit Supreme Liquors in Quincy for most of my beer needs on Monday. Originally I was going to send her Mayflower Brewing Co's Porter, Wachusett Brewing Co's Green Monsta IPA, Berkshire Brewing Co. Steel Rail Pale Ale, Pretty Things Jack D'or, Baxter Brewing Co's Stowaway IPA, and Smuttynose Brewing Co's Old Brown Dog Ale. Through the powers of Twitter, Martha of Pretty Things let me know that their beer is actually available for purchase in San Francisco, so I knew I couldn't send that to her. I mean, the point of the trade was to send beer you can't buy yourself...so instead of sending the bottle of Jack D'or, I replaced it with a bottle of Backlash Beer's Convergence.

I still had all the packaging Tracy sent my beer in, so I simply reused it. It made it super convenient, as we essentially sent each other the same size bottles, so I knew hers were going to fit. With lots of bubble wrap, and large zip lock bags in case of breakage, I packed the little buggers into their box for the week long journey from the East Coast to the West Coast.

With good luck and weather, Tracy should receive her beer next Friday...just in time for the weekend! I look forward to seeing what she thinks of the beer I sent, but I know she's going to love them.

It's Time to Get Blatant!

2011-11-04T09:00:00.002-04:00

Blatant Brewery, the brainchild of owner and brewer Matt Steinberg, officially 'opened its doors' to the Bay State on September 30th, 2011 when Matt brewed his first batch of Blatant IPA. Matt, who has been a brewer for many years, was probably most noted as being the Director of Operations at Mayflower Brewing Company in Plymouth, MA. From '07-'10 Matt helped Mayflower first came to the market and grow within the state, before deciding to start his own brewing company.

Founded in 2010, Blatant Brewery is currently brewing his beers at the Buzzards Bay Brewing Company in Westport, MA. The system he uses is capable of producing 50+ barrels per batch, and accounts are starting to order Matt's India Pale and Session Ales. Available as draft only (for his first batch of IPA & Session), he is going door-to-door so to speak bringing samples of his beers to bars, restaurants, and taverns, in an effort to get the word out about his beer.

The British Beer Company in Framingham is getting in on the action by hosting a launch party on Thursday November 10th.

Here is the full press release:

What: Launch Party for Blatant Brewing
Where: British Beer Company in Framingham
When: Thursday November 10th from 6-9pm
Who: Join Brewer/Founder Matthew Steinberg

It’s time to stop fooling around and be Blatant about your beer.

The British Beer Company welcomes the most recent Massachusetts based artisanal brewer into the family with open arms. On Thursday November 10th the BBC will celebrate the launch of Blatant Brewing with founder and brewer Matthew Steinberg in attendance. The BBC is thrilled to offer their customers a chance to be one of the first people in the world to enjoy the hoppy goodness of Blatant.

Matthew has been brewing craft beer for 15 years. He has worked in many sectors of the industry, including small brewpubs, a large brewpub chain, a large craft brewer, a contract brewery, and most recently a start-up craft brewery. At Offshore Ale Company on Martha’s Vineyard (‘03-‘07) Matthew designed and brewed many world class beers, earning him a reputation as a creative and innovative brewer. As the Director of Operations for a start-up craft brewery, Mayflower Brewing Company (’07-’10), Matthew designed and introduced four new year round beers to the Massachusetts market plus 2 seasonal offerings.

Come hoist a pint of Blatant IPA (6.5% ABV – 65 IBU) or Session Ale (3.9 % ABV – 22 IBU) with Mathew from 6-9pm at the BBC in Framingham. All Blatant beers are handcrafted by the brewer at Just Beer, Inc. out of Westport, MA. As with any new craft brewery, we’re sure that Mathew will be looking forward to customer comments and feedback as we all blatantly enjoy the first pours of Blatant Beer.

Be Blatant!

Media Contact
Graham Wilson
grahamwilson@britishbeer.com
Twitter: @BritishBeerCo

Blatant Beer
Mathew Steinberg
mathew@blatantbrewey.com
Twitter: @BLATANTbeer

British Beer Company
120 Worcester Rd. Framingham, MA
www.britishbeer.com/local/framingham

Sam Adams Releases Limited Series

2011-11-01T10:43:00.006-04:00

The Boston Beer Company, famously known as Sam Adams, has released four limited release beers, which are now available in stores. I'm not entirely sure how long they'll be on the shelves for, but I saw two of them yesterday at Supreme Liquors in Quincy.

The beers are...

The Vixen - a chocolate chili bock, sure to add a kick

Tasman Red - described as a Red Ale meets IPA, the Tasman Red clocks in at 50 IBU, which should give it a nice bitter aroma and flavor

Third Voyage - a Double-IPA (yes please!) that is brewed with Cascade Hops from around the globe

Griffin's Bow - a blonde barleywine that's aged on oak, giving it vanilla, lemongrass, and coconut notes

I saw The Vixen and Tasman Red yesterday, but I will definitely be on the hunt for Third Voyage soon. Truthfully though, I'll probably try them all.

Slumbrew to Debut Today at Craft Beer Cellar

2011-10-28T10:53:00.003-04:00

Today marks the official first day you can taste, and purchase, your very own bottle(s) of the Boston area's newest brewery - Somerville Brewing Company, or simply known as Slumbrew. Run by Caitlin Jewell and Jeff Leiter, Slumbrew will officially release three of their beers today at a special 'launch' party at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont from 5-7pm.

You'll be able to sample (and purchase):

Flagraiser IPA - 80 IBUs with the illusive Galaxy Hop (sounds like my favorite already)
Happy Sol - a Blood Orange Hefeweizen, brewed with over 1,000 Blood Oranges
Porter Square Porter - a dark beer made even more rich by dry-hopping with Taza Chocolate Nibs

In addition to tasting the brews, you'll also be able to meet and speak with Caitlin and Jeff, who have been developing recipes for these beers (and others) in their Somerville Brewlab. The Brewlab, which always seems to remind me of the Beat Laboratory Dale has in the movie Step Brothers, is a nano-scale (non-commercial) brewery inside a small 350 square foot building. Caitlin and Jeff hold monthly get togethers, where they sample test batches and enjoy the company of their fellow beer enthusiasts. Sadly, I haven't been able to attend on of their meetings yet, but I plan to meet the both of them this evening at Craft Beer Cellar.

Slumbrew's beers don't officially go on sale to the general public until next week (I believe), but this is an exclusive pre-sale party at one of the finest craft beer stores in New England. If that wasn't enough, there will be some free tasty pizza from Stone Hearth Pizza right next door.

Visit Slumbrew's website, visit them on Facebook, and meet them tonight at Craft Beer Cellar, which is located at 51 Leonard Street in Belmont.

Beer Dinners at 5 Napkin Burger in Boston

2011-10-27T15:11:00.004-04:00

So I heard it through the grape vine (read: I read it on the Massachusetts Girls Pint Out Facebook page) that there are two upcoming, sure to be awesome, beer dinners happening at 5 Napkin Burger in downtown Boston.

The first of what may be several beer dinners is set for next Thursday November 3rd at 6:30pm. The fine brews of Smuttynose Brewing Co will be on hand to pair their Star Island Single, Old Brown Dog Ale, Robust Porter, and Homonuculus, with the tasty treats offered by 5 Napkin Burger. The menu includes: Spicy Tuna Taquitos, Grilled Lamb Kofta Skewers, Deep Fried Pickles & Pastrami, Spinach & Artichoke Crostini, Beer & Cheddar Soup, choice of 5 Napkin Burger or Italian Turkey Burger and a Smores Pie.

Tickets are just $35 and includes tax and gratuity, beer, and food and can be purchased through Eventbrite.com by clicking here.

5 Napkin Burger's second beer dinner will be on Thursday November 17th at 6:30pm and will feature beers from Gloucester's own Cape Ann Brewing Company. Tickets are also $35 and includes tax and gratuity, beer, and food, but the menu and beer have not been finalized.

For the true hardcore beer and burger joint loving fools, you can purchase tickets for both events for $70.

5 Napkin Burger is located within the Prudential Building at 105 Huntington Avenue.

Baxter Brewing to Release Amber Road

2011-10-27T12:09:00.005-04:00

If you are friends with me on Untappd, you've probably seen me check in Baxter Brewing Co's Stowaway IPA or Pamola Xtra Pale Ale over the course of the past few months. That's because Baxter, a Lewiston, ME (sorry guys) based all-can brewery (beers also available on draft), officially began distributing their beers in Boston and the North Shore of Massachusetts. If you have not had either of these beers, I highly recommend it; however, if you have had these beers before and are like me, you've been pining for a new beer from Baxter Brewing.

Well, you won't have to wait too much longer, as November will see the launch of their third offering - Amber Road. According to the company's October newsletter, Amber Road will clock in at 5.5% ABV, 35 IBUs, and have a nice malty presence.

Amber Road officially launches November 1st, so keep your eyes out for it in your local package stores! According to an email I received about two minutes after posting this, Amber Road will not be available in Boston until the new year, but if you're in Maine, you can get it before it's released to the public by visiting their brewery as there is a limited supply available.

It looks like I'll be taking a ride to Maine in the next few weeks!

Wachusett to Launch Homegrown Hop Ale

2011-10-25T09:55:00.004-04:00

I received an invitation to the first taste, along side the follow press release about a new beer being launched by Wachusett Brewing Company. I attended the first taste of the Imperial Pumpkin Ale back in August, so if this event is anything like that it will be a great event!

Wachusett Brewing Company Introduces Homegrown Hop Ale

Westminster, MA -- Wachusett Brewing Company’s Homegrown Hop Ale is hitting the taps for the first time since its release in 2009’s Hometown Brewery Series. The 4%, 28 IBU unfiltered and wet-hopped session ale will be released in late October and is the lightest beer they’ve ever brewed.

The limited-time offering will only be available for sampling and growler-fills at the brewery. With a crisp hop character and clean finish, Homegrown Hop Ale was a favorite upon its release in 2009, and they are expecting to fly through the 70 kegs being filled.

The First Taste: Homegrown Hop Ale release party will be held on October 27th, 2011 at the brewery. A limited amount of tickets will be available for the event, and can be purchased in advance for $20 by contacting kim@wachusettbrew.com or calling 978-974-9965 x28.

For more information on the release party, visit their website at wachusettbrew.com. Enjoy With Friends.

The brewery is located on 175 State Road East Westminster, MA. For more information on the release party, visit their website at wachusettbrew.com.

And the Winner Is...

2011-10-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

I'd first like to thank those who posted comments for the ticket giveaway. Everyone had great reasons they should win, but unfortunately there could only be one winner. So after reading all the stories of who should win the tickets to the New Hampshire BrewFest, I have decided to award the tickets to...

Lane.

Portsmouth, NH is a great city to visit, and no one should have the prominent memory of having piss dumped on them. I hope you're able to erase (or ease) the memory of that fateful day by enjoying many a tasty brew this weekend at the Redhook Ale Brewery.

I have to say though, it was a tough decision as everyone had great reasons for wanting the tickets, and I'll have to reconsider how I pick winners, because let me tell you...drawing a number is a much easier decision.

SO Lane, please email me (brewengland at gmail dot com) your full name and if you know who you're taking, please include their name. Your name(s) will be placed at the will call window for Saturday's VIP Session, which runs 12-1pm (VIP portion), plus the afternoon session from 1-4pm.

Please report back and let me know how it went!

Cheers!

Ipswich Ale Brewery to Release 5 Mile Series

2011-10-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

In the wake of the recent Farmer-Brewery licensing issue which came into the light during the month of August, the Ipswich Ale Brewery is set to release a limited-edition, single batch (aprox. 60 barrels) series of beers beginning this month. Their new series will be called "5 Mile", which aims to use at least 50% of its beer's ingredients from the state of Massachusetts, along with at least one ingredient used to brew the beer from within 5 miles of the brewery in Ipswich, MA.

The first beer in the series is called 5 Mile Stock Ale, which is an ale dry hopped with Cascade hops (grown on the brewery's grounds), as well as malted barley acquired through the Massachusetts BSA (Brewers Supported Agriculture). Based on the description of the new brew, it sounds like it's going to be hoppy and delicious.

To kick off the new series, the Ipswich Ale Brewery will be hosting an official 5 Mile Stock Ale Release Party, where you can by the beer straight from the brewery. The release party will be Saturday October 29th from 11-4pm at the brewery itself, which is located at 23 Hayward St in Ipswich, MA.

The release party comes as a bit of a surprise, as I don't recall any actual events like this being put on at their brewery (I seem to recall someone saying it was due to a licensing issue), at least over the course of the past two or three years. Hopefully this is a successful event, and that they can put on more events like this in the future.

Meet the Brewer: Helder Pimentel

2011-10-07T11:00:00.001-04:00

Last month while hanging out at the Beer Summit / Sam Adams Octoberfest at the Castle, guest blogger Mike Micalone and I ran into Helder Pimentel and Maggie Foley of Backlash Beer Co. We had met the previous week at the MA Brewers Fest, and recognized each other.

The four of us ended up chatting about beer (who would have predicted that!?) and wound up hanging out for most of the night. I mentioned to Helder that I had just posted Part I of Meet the Brewer: Dave Lagueux, and asked if he would be interested in being the second brewer to be interviewed, and he happily agreed.

Here's what we had to discuss...

Brew England: Some people probably already know this, but Backlash's beer is contract brewed at Paper City Brewing Company in Holyoke, MA. What made you decide to contract brew versus opening your own brewery? Do you have future plans for opening your own facility?

Helder Pimentel: Choosing to go contract was mostly a function of how little start up capital we had. We felt like we had a really good concept for the beers we wanted to brew and the brand in general, but gathering the necessary funding to open a brewery seemed like it would take too long. So instead we reached out to Paper City and have had great success with them thus far.

In terms of opening our own facility, it's definitely a really romantic idea for us. I feel like every homebrewer wants their own brewery some day. Realistically though, it just seems like a longer term goal. We want to stay focused on making the best beer possible and getting out to meet as many people as we can. It's what we do best!

BE: Unlike some other brewing companies who have the local brewery brew, package, and ship their beer, you actual go to Paper City to brew the beer yourself. Does Paper City give you cart blanche as far as using their facility? Do they only give you a certain barrel size for each of your batches, or can you tell them how much you'd like to brew? Do they help you scale up your recipe to yield a certain quantity?

HP: While we do show up for each brewing session and we hand label/dip/stamp each of our bottles- we do have a distributor (Burke distribution). We have a great working relationship with Paper City where I bring in my recipe that I've developed on our pilot system and the head brewer (Jay Hebert) at Paper City gives me some pointers for scaling up the recipe on his particular system- because all systems have their own intricacies and ultimately, he's been brewing on that system for 20 years.

Helder applying labels to bottles of Groundswell at Paper City Brewery

BE: How did you come up with the name Backlash Beer? Your logo is pretty distinct, and rough around the edges...how was that created as well?

HP: People often ask what we're "Backlash'ing" against. The Backlash to us really represents the craft beer movement and an effort to take back beer from what it has become in the past few decades. We want to help energize the craft beer movement by recruiting new people to it. Our logo pretty much embodies the aggressive approach we're taking in fighting back against the big, old beer establishment.

BE: Groundswell was your inaugural beer, and it seemed to be met with much anticipation. When you decided to launch your beer, what made you decide to go with a Belgian style beer?

HP: We initially planned on launching a little bit later than we did (September versus July). Being that we were going to launch in the summer we wanted something that was refreshing and approachable on a hot day. Also, we wanted a style that we both loved drinking. I first developed Groundswell some time ago at home and felt that it was really appropriate as a launch beer because it's a brew that seasoned craft beer drinkers seem to respect and enjoy, while at the same time appealing to folks who have just entered the craft beer realm or are curious about craft beer.

BE: How many barrels of Groundswell were produced?

HP: Groundswell was produced in a really small quantity. In terms of brewery barrels (BBLs), it was only 20 barrels in size. When you take into account how much was bottled into bombers, we only had 32 kegs left to sell.

BE: I know there were a few Boston area beer stores that carried Groundswell...how fast did it sell and are there any bottles left? Do you plan on brewing this beer again in the near future? Any plans for it being your flagship beer, or is it too early to tell?

HP: Groundswell flew- The bottles literally sold out of the distributor in 4 days. We initially hadn't planned on brewing it again for some time, but our customers have been quite adamant in us making it again. We're leaning towards Groundswell being our year round beer.

BE: The MA Brewfest was the first beer festival for Backlash Beer. Can you tell me about the experience - did you receive a lot of feedback at the event? Was there a lot of Tweets and Facebook Messages afterwards? Did you see a spike in sales after (not sure if you have that information)? Also, do you have any confirmed beer events coming up?

HP: Wow- the MA Brewer's fest was insane. We have worked/poured for other companies at beer events but doing our own was really special. And the reception was just wicked. Our line got to be pretty long, which is a good and bad thing. We only brought one keg so it seemed like a lot of people were coming to our table first, which is flattering to say the least.

We promoted the event mostly through Twitter and Facebook, so we did see a lot of feedback on there. It's hard to tell if we had a spike in sales, but we definitely saw a spike in Facebook 'likes' and Twitter followers. We do actually have a confirmed event coming up. We're doing the beer summit in November at the Castle. We'll be pouring Convergence, our next beer (Saison).

BE: According to your website Backlasbeer.com, "Declaration" is your next beer to be launched. Can you give the readers some insight as to what they can expect from this beer, and do you have a release date yet for it? Are you planning on brewing the same number of barrels you did of Groundswell?

HP: Declaration was supposed to be our second beer, but sourcing hops for it at this point in the year is nearly impossible. For that reason, we decided to launch Convergence (our Super Saison) in the meantime. We're hoping that by waiting one brew, we'll have a new season of hops to choose from, and be able to brew the recipe the way we intended it rather than try to work with what hops are available.

BE: The hops were held up for Declaration? Does that mean they weren't enough produced to meet the demand for the hop varieties? Out of curiosity, what hops go into Declaration?

HP: The hop varieties that we had designed Declaration around are always in high demand and because they're proprietary strains, the supply is often limited. Also, being that we're at the tale end of the 2010 season, many varieties are sold out- so that doesn't help. A few of the varieties we have ear marked are Simcoe and Amarillo.

BE: So with Declaration on hold for now, can you tell me more about your Super Saison "Convergence"? What makes it so special?

HP: Convergence is brewed with a shit load of rye to add some spicy character to it aside from what the yeast itself contributes. It's different from a typical Saison in that it has a good amount of Belgian fruit esters to compliment the spiciness- it's almost a hybrid style. We call it a "Super Saison" because typically Saisons are lower in ABV and Convergence clocks in at 7.5%

BE: With the success you saw selling out of Groundswell so quickly, are you brewing the same amount of barrels of Convergence?

HP: No, we're brewing twice as much of Convergence and putting more of it into bottles this time. A lot of people who found out about Groundswell a little later never really got a chance to try it- so we want to avoid that this time around.

BE: With the rapid sales of Groundswell, have accounts already made requests for the next batch from Backlash Beer?

HP: Yes almost immediately after selling out Groundswell a bunch of accounts started to ask about what was next. It seems as though Convergence will be met with much anticipation!

BE: Do you have an official release date for Convergence? According to your Facebook page, it hasn't been released, so can you give Brew England the scoop??

HP: The beer is making it's way to our distributor's warehouse today actually. Once it's in inventory and orders come in, I would expect it to be on shelves a few days later. I'm thinking early next week.

BE: Besides the aforementioned brews, do you have any idea what other types of beers you're likely to produce over the next year or so?

HP: We definitely want to do Declaration as soon as we can source the hops. We have our chocolate espresso stout (Stealth) slated for the winter as well. Somewhere in there we'll make one of our brews year round. I'm always tinkering with recipes/ideas so a new brew could pop up at a moment's notice- but that is as far as we've planned out for now.

We again want to thank Helder for taking the time to submit to a barrage of questions! If you haven't started following them on Twitter, or become a fan of them on Facebook, definitely do so to keep up to date on new releases and future projects!

Tuesday Night Tasting - Backlash Beer Co: Groundswell

2011-10-05T10:45:00.000-04:00

Backlash Beer Co. – Boston / Holyoke, MA
Groundswell – Belgian Style Blond Ale
7.3% ABV, 22 oz and on draft

A lot of buzz had been brewed up for the release of Backlash Beer Co.’s first beer, Groundswell. Both owner/brewer Helder Pimentel and his business partner Maggie had been attacking the beer world from a social media standpoint leading up to the release, which was great from a marketing perspective. I had Groundswell for the first time at the 2011 MA Brewers Fest where Backlash had the longest line, which eventually was the reason their keg went dry. When I saw a bottle at Curtis Liquors in Weymouth over the weekend, I knew I had to pick up a bottle and give it a try!

The bottle itself is pretty cool. It’s a dark brown bottle, with a black label, and white lettering. What makes the packaging even better is that the bottle is wax dipped (only other wax dipped bottle I’ve found was Ska Brewing's True Blonde Dubbel while in Chicago), and their brass knuckle emblem was stamped onto the cap within the wax.

On to the beer itself…

The bottle pours a medium golden blond liquid, which features a medium white foamy head. It didn’t linger too long before fading into the brew itself. It had a notably nice carbonation level as well.

The aroma was full of fruity, slightly spicy, and citrus notes. The flavor was similar to the aroma as well, as it was crisp, yet soft. It had far more hop characteristics than I expected; however, considering I’m a hop head I enjoyed the nice surprise. You can certainly pick up the citrus from the hops, and the fruitiness from the yeast, which gives Groundswell a nice balance. It’s not overly malty, which is good for this style of beer.

The mouth feel was moderate, which is surprising based on the color. You might expect the beer to have a lighter flavor and mouth feel, but it was not, which I liked. Groundswell also packs a medium drinkability level. It has a pleasant flavor, isn’t too heavy, and is quite enjoyable. It’s a good beer to share with friends, and would probably work well as a four pack due to its 7.3% ABV.

If you haven’t checked out Backlash Beer’s Groundswell yet, I would suggest giving it a go. The new brewing company has recently bottled their upcoming release of Convergence, a Super Saison, which should be hitting the shelves and tap lines very soon!

Follow Backlash Beer on Twitter and check out their Facebook page for all their beer related news, not to mention right here for an interview with Pimentel

Meet the Brewer: Dave Lagueux, Part II

2011-09-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

In case you missed Part I of the interview, I would strongly suggest catching up on that first!

Here's Part II:

Brew England: How did your parents feel about you going to Chicago to learn how to brew beer? Did they see that you could succeed at it and be happy doing that for a living? Were they skeptical?

Dave Lagueux: They weren't skeptical. They saw me working a lot for free, and how interested I was in making beer. I've always had an interest in mechanical/technical things, and they were happy to see me use that side. I think my parents understood that it was a trade like anything else. I can't thank them enough for being supportive and putting up with all the beer I had (and still have) around their house.

BE: You mentioned that you worked for Lowell Beer Works for about a year...What brought you to Trumer Pils in California? Did you transition immediately from New Hampshire to California?

DL: We toured a lot of breweries in Europe, but one of my favorites was the Trumer Brauerei in Salzburg. The tour was great, and the brewery is incredible. I saw an opening for a shift brewer at the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley and sent my resume out. The next thing I knew, I was in California for a week-long working interview. I guess they liked me, because I've been at Trumer for over two years! I left Beerworks after a year to come out and work here. It's been a great experience so far!

BE: Moving from New Hampshire to California must have been a big move for you! When you were deciding to take a job in California, what were some of the things that influenced your decision? What was the working interview like?

DL: I think the biggest factor in me moving to CA was that my brother Mike was living in the Bay Area as well. I knew it would be nice to move to some place new, and it would be great to hang out with him while he was living here. I went to visit my brother for a few days and happened to see the opening at Trumer around the same time. I got in contact with them and said that I'd be in the area for a day or two.

I knew that working at Trumer would be a great experience for me, so I just went for it. They asked me to extend my trip and work for a few days. The working interview was a great way to figure out if I liked California enough to live here, and if I liked working at Trumer. It was also a good way for them to figure me out as well. I met all of the guys at the brewery, and shadowed them as they did their jobs. I remember washing kegs for a very long time. I busted my ass doing that. I wasn't about to leave that place after 4 days of work without a job.

A picture of the brewery at 2am

BE: You said you're a shift brewer at Trumer, correct? Was this the position you were hired for initially?

DL: Yes. I came out here with enough experience to do all of the necessary tasks. Though being a "shift brewer" at Trumer is sort of different than most places our size. We are cross-trained to do every job in the brewery. I rotate around every 2 months, and switch between an AM shift (5am-3:30pm) and a PM shift (3pm-1:30am) Monday to Thursday. I might run the brewhouse for a few months, then to the cellars, then filtration. It keeps us really on our toes. It's easy to forget little things that can have a huge impact.

The Trumer Pils bottling line

Six 800bbl (25,200 gallons each) Maturation Tanks

This helps figure out the scale of the brewery!

BE: What do you like most about the brewery there? Do the other brewers have similar backgrounds as you?

DL: I'd say I like the 4 day work week the most! No, I like the fact the we rotate around the brewery and get our hands involved in everything. My favorite shift is probably filtration, just because it's so complicated. It was probably what I was least familiar with when I started. It still seems funny to me that I can filter 12,000 gallons of beer in my shift. The guys I work with have all kinds of backgrounds. A few guys have related degrees, like Chemistry and Food Science. Other guys got into brewing some other way, like I did. Most of us have had some formal training as brewers either at Siebel or UC Davis.

BE: It seems like being a brewer can be a lot of fun, but at the end of the day it's still work. What do you do outside of work for fun?

DL: My girlfriend and I ride our bikes a lot. We do a lot of outdoor activities and cook a lot of food. We've been making a point to see all the important spots out here in California like Yosemite and Big Sur. Just last weekend, we did a kayaking/camping trip in Half Moon Bay which was really awesome.

BE: California is home to many great breweries, and a lot of us on the East Coast only know about some of them (Stone, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, etc). What are some of your favorite beers out there? Are there some small breweries or brewpubs that you really like?

DL: I love Ballast Point, down in San Diego. Upright Brewing in Portland is another one of my favorites. They're brewing lots of interesting Saisons. There's a lot of great brewers out here doing interesting things. Locally, I like Drake's, Black Diamond and Firestone Walker. We're really spoiled out here with the selection of Belgian beers, too.

I'd really like to thank Dave for being the first interview conducted here at Brew England. He gave a lot of great insight on his transition from homebrewer to commercial brewer. Stay posted to new posts coming soon, including a Meet the Brewer segment with Helder Pimentel of Backlash Beer!

Contest: NH BrewFest at Redhook

2011-09-28T14:17:00.002-04:00

As announced last week, Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, NH is the host for the 3rd Annual NH BrewFest on Saturday October 15th, and we have a pair of VIP Session Tickets to give away!

Just a quick reminder about the finer points to the festival overall:

- 30+ Breweries
- 100+ Beers
- Live Music
- Food
- Session 1 runs 1-4pm
- VIP Session 1 gets you in at 12pm, an hour before the general public
- Session 2 runs 6-9pm

Now to the important part...how to win the FREE VIP SESSION TICKETS!

In the past, we have simply asked those who enter our contests to simply state their favorite beer by XYZ brewery, but we've decided to change things up a little bit. While we still want to know what your favorite Redhook beer is - mine is Longhammer IPA, we also want to comment on this post letting us know why you should get the tickets.

You'll also want to be following Brew England on Twitter and be a fan of us on Facebook, because I mean hey...why not be following or liking us on Twitter and Facebook? You'll earn extra bonus points if you Tweet "I just entered for a chance to win free NH BrewFest tickets at www.BrewEngland.com!" (please Cc: us using @BrewEngland so we can see) or by writing on our wall on Facebook...but, remember the comment here is the 'official' way to enter the contest!
The cut off date to enter is Friday October 7th at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced at noon on Tuesday October 11th.

Good luck!

22nd Annual Harpoon Octoberfest Boston

2011-09-26T15:19:00.003-04:00

Harpoon Brewery will be hosting their 22nd Annual Octoberfest this Friday and Saturday at their Boston brewery. Both sessions will give incentives for Friends of Harpoon card holders, but you don't have to be a FOH to attend.

Friday's session runs from 5:30-11pm with doors closing at 9:30pm. If you show your FOH card, not only will you have an exclusive line (pretty much guarantees you'll skip many people), but you'll receive 1/2 price admission! The ticket is $10 and includes one drink ticket. You can bring one other person to skip the line, but if they aren't a Friend of Harpoon they'll be stuck paying full price for their admission, not to mention all their beers.

Saturday's session runs from 2-9pm with doors closing at 7:30pm. You and a friend can still use the FOH entrance, but unfortunately the admission is full price and does not include any of your beers. However, all Friends who enter through that line and have your FOH card scanned are entered to win a prize package!

Get more information on this cool event here.

Friend of Harpoon Night on Thursday

2011-09-26T14:56:00.004-04:00

Harpoon Brewery, in conjunction with the British Beer Company Pembroke, will be having a Friends of Harpoon Night this Thursday from 7-9pm. The BBC will still be pouring their other selection of beers, but all FOH card holders should show the Harpoon rep their cards, and they will buy you a pint of their Octobefest. I also highly recommend you get there early, because there will be a limited supply of Harpoon IPA glasses handed out (while supplies last).

Last year Sarah and I went to the British Beer Company Walpole for Harpoon's 100 Barrel Series Pint Night, where we not only received a free pint of the latest 100 Barrel Series beers (which was the Glacier Harvest '10 Wet Hop Ale), the special 100 Barrel Series glasses, but the rep who was there also hooked Sarah and I up with free tickets to the Harpoon Octoberfest Friday Session! I can neither confirm nor deny they will be handing out tickets again this year, but the pint and glass alone were worth the trip.

British Beer Company Pembroke is located at 15 Columbia Road.

Meet the Brewer: Helder Pimentel

2011-09-23T11:11:00.002-04:00

Coming soon...

A few weeks ago my buddy and fellow Guest Blogger Mike Micalone ran into Helder and Maggie from Backlash Beer at the Beer Summit/Sam Adams Octoberfest at the Castle. We hadn't been inside the event for more than 20 minutes when we saw them, said hello, and actually spent the next few hours hanging out and getting to know the two of them.

We were very, very into having a good time that night...

I had just concluded Part I of my interview and initial Meet the Brewer segment with Dave Lagueux, and was telling Helder about it. I asked him if he would be interested in being the second interview, and he instantly said yes!

So in the next week or so you'll see our interview with Helder here at Brew England, and it is sure to be a lot of fun!

Reminder: QAS Wine & Beer Tasting, Tonight!

2011-09-23T09:29:00.002-04:00

This is just a friendly reminder that the "Quincy Animal Shelter's 2011 Wine & Beer Tasting presented by Frozen Freddies" is happening tonight at the Kennedy Center in Quincy, MA from 6-9pm. This event is the featured and most attended fundraiser for Quincy's only animal shelter, which is a NO KILL shelter (very important to us).

Tickets are just $30 (cash or check) and are available at the door or online by clicking here. Every paying attendee is automatically entered to win a $125 gas card, and the price of admission includes samples of wine and beer, as well as light refreshments and entertainment. Canton, MA based Blue Hills Brewery, along with Atlas Liquors, Shop-N-Save Liquors, and National Wine & Liquors will be on hand to give out samples of their selected liquid refreshments!

Sarah and I are excited to attend this special fundraising event, and hope to see some of you there!

If you missed the original announcement, or want additional information on tonight's event, please click here to read the full press release!

NH BrewFest at Redhook

2011-09-22T15:28:00.007-04:00

Redhook Brewery Hosts Third Annual New Hampshire BrewFest: Oct. 15 A Celebration of over 100 Fine Craft Beers, Local Food, and Good Music;Tickets on Sale Now – VIP Package Available

Portsmouth, N.H. – Sept. 21, 2011 – Redhook Brewery, Master Brewers Association of the Americas New England Chapter, Prescott Park Arts Festival, and 100.3 WHEB & Rock 101 are teaming up to host the third annual New Hampshire BrewFest on Saturday, Oct. 15. Featuring more than 100 quality brews, the annual BrewFest will take place at Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth, N.H. The New Hampshire BrewFest encourages New Englanders to come out and enjoy great craft beer, food and music and will benefit the Prescott Park Arts Festival and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.

As a nonprofit organization, the Prescott Park Arts Festival has presented music, art, theater, and dance to families on the banks of the Piscataqua River for the past 36 years, and was just voted ‘Business of the Year’ by the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce. The Master Brewers Association works to improve members brewing skills through scholarships and professional training sessions. The NH BrewFest will send two brewers to training courses to help raise the quality of beers they craft for all to enjoy.

What: Third Annual New Hampshire BrewFest
Join Redhook Brewery, 100.3 WHEB & Rock 101 in sampling more than 100 fine craft brews with 31 hardworking brewers. Hosted in Redhook Brewery’s backyard, this charitable event benefits the Prescott Park Arts Festival and the Master Brewers Association. Open to those 21 and over, the BrewFest will also feature local food and live music from Jeff Conley Band and The Raft.

When: Saturday, Oct. 15, times vary (see below for details). Tents will be available in the event of rain.

Where: Redhook Ale Brewery, 1 Redhook Way, Portsmouth, N.H. 03801

Tickets: NOTE: The N.H. BrewFest offers two sessions. Entrants are only permitted to attend one session. Pre-sale tickets are available online at http://www.brewnh.com/ and Redhook Brewery’s Cataqua Pub. Pre-buying tickets is advised as space is limited. Food is not included with admission and all purchases at the gate and inside the event are cash only.

Session 1 Matinee: 1-4 p.m., $25 Advanced, $35 Day-of-Fest

Session 1 ‘VIP’ Matinee: 12 –1 p.m., Pre-session plus 1-4 p.m. $45 Advanced purchase only with Live Music by Jeff Conley Band

Session 2 Evening: 6-9 p.m., $30 Advanced, $40 Day-of-Fest with Live Music by The Raft

VIP Upgrade for Session 1:
VIP upgrade includes face time with the Brewers one hour before the Session 1 Gates open. Guaranteed full selection of all the flavors the brewers are pouring and help tap the first kegs of the day. No beer lines, no waiting.

About Redhook Redhook was born out of the energy and spirit of the early 80’s in the heart of Seattle. While the term didn’t exist at the time, Redhook became one of America’s first “craft” breweries. From a modest start in a former transmission shop in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard, to the current breweries in Woodinville, Wash., and Portsmouth, N.H., Redhook has become one of America’s most recognized craft breweries. While Redhook has “grown up” over the past 30 years, one thing has never changed – it’s still brewing great beers like ESB, IPA, Copperhook, Pilsner and seasonal brews. Most importantly, Redhook makes sure it has fun doing it. Redhook's beers are available in both draught and bottles and are distributed nationally through a network of wholesale distributors. For more information, visit http://redhook.com/.

BBC Walpole Oktoberfest

2011-09-22T10:57:00.003-04:00

I didn't get a chance to post this last week, but I thought I'd let everyone know that the British Beer Company is having their annual Oktoberfest this Saturday September 24th from 2-6pm. Food, beer, music, lederhosen (maybe), and more will be available at the Walpole location this weekend, with some of your favorit local breweries pouring their fresh beer.

Here's the press release:

What: Octoberfest
Where: British Beer Company in Walpole
When: Saturday September 24th from 2-6pm
Why: It’s a mini Beer Fest with 20 breweries and 75 beers

It’s that special time of the year again: football, foliage and of course…Octoberfest at the British Beer Company in Walpole. This autumn affair scheduled for Saturday September 24th from 2-6pm is really a mini beer festival with over 20 breweries and 75 different beers available to sample. Octo(BEER)fest might be a better title. Nothing says “party” like a big tent out front of the BBC, with live music, right next to a mobile Paulaner beer truck!

There will be plenty of fresh seasonal beers to sample, along with some of the most highly rated flagship beers in the world. Beer lovers will be able to savor brews from these gracious purveyors and all proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Walpole Community Food Pantry. Good beer for a good cause!

Breweries include: Allagash, Mayflower, Wachusett, Peak Organic, Notch, Berkshire, Shipyard, Stone, Harpoon, Guinness, Paulaner, Wolaver, Otter Creek, Sixpoint, Avery, Hobgoblin, Monty Python, Troegs, Cape Anne, Ommegang, Full Sail and Sam Smith.

In addition to all the beer tasting and reveling outside, three casks will be available at the bar. Beer soaked sausage and brats will be donated by the BBC along with a variety of delicious cheese that’s perfect for pairing with beer. The Racky Thomas Band will be busting out the blues up on the patio as brewers share knowledge and pour their sweet nectar.

Media Contact
Graham Wilson
grahamwilson@britishbeer.com
Follow: @BritishBeerCo

British Beer Company
85 Providence Highway (Route 1), Walpole
http://www.britishbeer.com/local/walpole

Beer Nut Homebrewing Contest

2011-09-16T10:57:00.001-04:00

The Beer Nut: Enter our Homebrewing Contest.

The Real Beer Nut, aka Norman Miller, is putting on his second annual homebrewing contest on Sunday October 23rd at Strange Brew Beer & Wine Making Supplies at 416 Boston Road East in Marlborough, MA.

Entries must be dropped off at the MetroWest Daily News at 33 New York Ave in Framingham from now until October 20th (anytime between 9am and 5pm) and will be scored on aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall impression. The Grand Prize winner gets the chance to brew a special beer (for some reason not their own winning beer) at Wormtown Brewing Company in Worcester with Brewmaster Ben Roesch. That beer will then be available for purchase at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, MA, Peppercorn's Grille & Tavern in Worcester, Prezo Grill & Bar in Milford, with the possiblity of more being added!

The contest is full of local beer geek judges, including Norman himself, Wormtown's Roesch, Jack Hendler of Jack's Abby Brewing in Framingham, Aaron Mateychuk of Watch City Brewery in Watham, Brian Powers of Strange Brew, and a sixth judge to be named later.

Visit Norm's blog to find out the full details and categories in which you can submit your homebrews for. Last year my buddy Mike and I went to the Horseshoe Pub, where the contest took place. This year looks to be a different event if you plan on attending, as there is no food or beer (as far as I can tell), but it would be a good opportunity to mingle with fellow homebrewers and possibly win some cool door prizes!

Ipswich Ale Harvest Festival

2011-09-15T11:15:00.003-04:00

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, why not consider hitting the Ipswich Ale Brewery's Harvest Festival on Saturday! The weather is supposed to be sunny, but cool, which should make for a true fall-like day. Here are some of the important details:

*Great beer and Mercury Soda Pops from the Tapmobiles
*Live Music by the Orville Giddings Band
*Delicious Food from Tennessee's BBQ
*1860's Rules Vintage Base Ball (all day)
*Good times with friends and family

The event is taking place at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, located at 5 Littles Lane in Newbury, MA and runs from 12pm – 6pm. Admission is free, but drinks and food are available for purchase - I have confirmed that beers will be $4 for a 16 oz beer (not a bad deal if I do say so). The Ipswich Ale Website doesn’t provide much in the form of other details, but you can check out their Facebook page, as well as the Harvest Festival Facebook event page to RSVP.

The brewery would like to emphasize that this is a family friendly event. There will be children’s activities, such as pumpkin decorating and other games for kids of all ages (even the adult children). The farm also has a bunch of animals, which the children can get up close to.

It sounds like this is going to be a fun event!

50 Back Launches Bottle Cap Campaign

2011-09-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

If you're like me, you probably haven't heard much about 50 Back, a Pepperell, MA based brewing company, who is attempting to raise funds for American Veterans. Built into 50 Back's name, is its mission - to donate 50% of their proceeds to charities which directly support veterans and their families.

I know that I had heard of this company, somehow, but didn't really know much about them at all, until I received the following press release:

50 Back --The Brew of the Brave--Launches Bottle Cap Campaign
$1.00 Purchase Helps Keep 50 Back Marching Forward

(Pepperell, MA) – 50 Back, The Brew of the Brave, wants to keep marching forward in its quest to support veterans, active duty military personnel and their families. The company has launched a Bottle Cap Campaign, asking those who support the brand to purchase a magnet, pin or golf ball marker made from a limited edition 50 Back Bottle Cap. Each item is priced at $1.00 and is available online at http://www.50back.com/.

50 Back aims to sell 120,000 bottle caps by December 31, 2011. Funds raised through the campaign will help 50 Back implement additional marketing strategies, increase brand recognition, increase sales support and enable 50 Back to continue its mission of helping veterans and their families.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the success of 50 Back to date,” said Kimberly Rogers, co-founder of 50 Back Brewing Company. “There is great demand for the product and in order to meet this demand, 50 Back needs to expand. We are asking those who believe in what we do to help.”

Created in 2010 by Massachusetts residents Paige Haley and Kimberly Rogers, 50 Back is an American-style lager. For every purchase of 50 Back Lager, the company donates 50% of the proceeds to charities committed to supporting veterans and active duty service members and their families, all of whom who have sacrificed to protect our nation and the freedom for which it stands. Today, more than 250 restaurants and retail outlets proudly carry 50 Back Lager.

50 Back Brewing Company currently supports five veteran organizations, including the USO, Homes for Our Troops, the Ahern Family Charitable Foundation, the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, and America’s VetDogs. In addition to Massachusetts, the product is available at Harris Teeter stores throughout North Carolina, and is proudly sold on Fort Bragg.

“By raising money through the bottle cap campaign, we hope to expand the reach of 50 Back to a wider audience,” said co-founder Paige Haley. “The more beer we sell, the greater impact we can make on veterans and active duty military personnel and their families. Everybody wins with this campaign.” For more information on 50 Back, please visit www.50back.com.

Meet the Brewer: Dave Lagueux

2011-09-09T12:30:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I reconnected with an old buddy of mine, Dave Lagueux, on Facebook. Dave is a professional brewer and currently works for Trumer Brauerei, a brewery located in Berkeley, California, and he was kind enough to submit to the tortures of an interview with Brew England.

Dave and I originally met back at Central High School in Manchester, NH, something like 12-14 years ago (holy shit, I can’t believe it was that long ago). We were both musicians – he one of the best drummers I’ve ever met, and me a guitar and trombone player – and played together in a jazz band during my senior year (his junior year). We actually wound up being in a ska/punk band called 5 Bucks! after high school for about a year, touring the greater New England area and beyond.

Dave behind the kit at Axis in Boston during the Hometown Throwdown

Adam playing on stage at Cafe Eclipse in Concord, NH

I would become a working stiff after graduation, but Dave ended up doing a few tours with 5 Bucks! before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. He eventually joined the Boston based band Big D and the Kids Table and extensively toured the US playing the Vans Warped Tour and in support of studio albums. After touring with the bands, Dave worked at a few New England area breweries before participating in the Siebel Institute of Technology’s World Brewing Academy in both Chicago, IL and Munich, Germany. Dave returned to work at Lowell Beer Works, before moving to California to work at Trumer Pils.

Part I:

Brew England: Assuming you drank crappy beer, what got you into better beer? Did you start getting away from say Bud, moving to fuller beers like Killian’s, Sam Adams, etc?

Dave Lagueux: I guess I never really had a phase when I was drinking swill beer like that. The very first beer that got me excited was Newcastle. Then I got into those amazing beers from Unibroue. I have to say though, I really respect those macro brewers. To produce beers like that is very difficult, and to make it on that scale, with that level of consistency is really admirable.

BE: You graduated HS, you went to Berklee, took time off to tour the world with Big D and the Kids Table, and then returned to Berklee - right? When you were done with Berklee, what did you imagine you would be doing? How did that transition into the world of beer? What sparked your interest?

DL: I went to college for music. I have a BA from Berklee College of Music. I was kind of overwhelmed with things when I finished music school. I didn't know if I wanted to go to graduate school, or play music on a cruise ship or something. I knew that I had to somehow make money by playing music- not an easy task. I had been homebrewing for a while, and my girlfriend Megan paid for me to be a "brewer for a day" at Milly's Tavern in Manchester, NH. If I didn't get involved in brewing, I'd probably be playing weddings with a cover band every weekend.

BE: What got you into homebrewing?

DL: I started extract homebrewing right after college, and then went on to the all-grain thing pretty quickly. A lot of the things I brewed were for my own benefit. Sure, I wanted to make tasty beers, but I also wanted to understand what one variety of hops would taste like, or one base malt. I got a kick out of brewing "single hop" beers, with one variety.

BE: You mentioned that your girlfriend paid for you to be a "brewer for a day" at Milly's? How did that work? What did you get to do during the day?

DL: I think we saw it in the menu, and she ended up giving it to me as a gift. I showed up on a brew day, and just watched the process and marveled at all the fancy equipment. I had been homebrewing for a while, so it was a totally new experience for me. At the end of the day, I was excited and I just asked the brewer if he needed help in the future. Unfortunately it wasn't a paying gig, but I got some experience and got a lot of free beer.

BE: Tell me about your volunteering stint at Milly's Tavern - what was your "schedule" like? How many days a week, what did you do there, etc?

DL: Milly's was a great experience for me. The brewer at the time, Mike Roy (now at Franklin's Brewery in Hyattsville, MD) really helped me get a handle on pub brewing. Mike's a super patient guy who brews some delicious beers. He's a great teacher who let me get my hands dirty and ask a million questions. Mike even let me ruin a few batches of beer!

I would usually work 2 days a week, unpaid, doing some brewing, a little cellar work, and a lot of keg washing. My experiences at Milly's were really valuable because they helped me understand that even though brewing is really hard work, it was something that I was interested in doing for a living. I decided that I needed to learn more about brewing if I wanted to get my foot in the door somewhere. Mike really encourage me to go and do the Siebel program.

BE: Could you explain for the readers what cellaring is? What's the difference between the brew house operations and cellaring?

DL: In a production brewery there are usually two sides of the operation, hot and cold. Brewhouse means you're making wort all day on the hot side. Milling, Mashing, Boiling... although some folks think you're the "king of the castle" it's probably one of the most boring jobs in the brewery!

The term "cellar" comes from back when breweries had underground cellars for fermentation and we still use that term today. At Trumer a cellarman is responsible for harvesting yeast and cleaning and sanitizing everything the wort will contact, like pipes to carry wort/beer or individual tanks. Other responsibilities include tank transfers, filtration and carbonation.
As brewers, we rotate around these shifts pretty frequently, but I think the cellar shifts are my personal favorite. Handling yeast and beer can be tricky, and I like that.

BE: How did working at Milly's transition to working for Pennichuck Brewery? Tell me about your time spent there - how long did you work there? What did you do there specifically? Did you create any of your own beers? Did you do tastings, tours, events?

DL: Mike Roy moved on to bigger and better things, and he passed me off to a guy who was working at Pennichuck named Damase Olsson. Damase completed the Siebel/World Brewing Academy program out in Munich. He's another guy who is full of patience. Damase got me involved in some brewhouse stuff, cellar work and packaging. I didn't brew any of my own ideas, but I remember the first time I saw beer on the shelves that I had packaged. It was glorious!

I worked with Damase up until I went to Siebel, so probably about 6-7 months. I used to read all of Damase's Siebel books during the lunch break at work. I think it gave me a little head start, or at least I knew I was getting into by looking at the books ahead of time.

I think the only real promotional event I worked with those guys was the Great International Beer Festival in RI. Some of what I was learning rubbed off on my homebrewing. I was still doing that a lot.

BE: You mentioned that working at Milly's gave you a handle on pub brewing - what did you mean by that? Do you find a greater difference between pub brewing and brewing at a brewery-only facility?

DL: Milly's showed me the direct connection between pub brewer and customer. It's like a chef working in an open kitchen- customers can see you working and they get excited about that. Pub brewing usually means you're a one man show. Production oriented brewing is just that- production. I work with a team of 10 other brewers and we all make it happen together. We're not really able to get away with variations in a production environment, where you could get away with more in a pub. If something doesn't turn out quite right, you can always call it by a different name!

BE: How big were the batches of beer you were brewing at Millys? Pennichuck?

DL: Milly's had a 15bbl system, manufactured by DME. Pennichuck was using a 15bbl system as well, but we filled 30 bbl fermenters.

BE: Tell me about the Siebel/World Brewing Academy? Meaning, your experience living in Chicago, the program itself, exploring the city, going over to Munich...

DL: From Pennichuck I went off to Chicago, to study at Siebel/World Brewing Academy in the spring of 2008. The program was split between theory in Chicago and practical brewing in Munich for a total of 3 months. The theory portion is pretty in-depth, but really only scratches the surface of what we know about brewing. In Munich, the practical side was cool. We worked on two beers, a Pilsner and a Weiss beer, building the two recipes and then seeing them through filtration and packaging. We also did some lab work out there.

BE: Did going to Siebel give you a good understanding of the craft? Did you learn things you never expected to know about the industry? Was it more geared to becoming a brewer, or did it also incorporate the business of beer?

DL: Brewing is funny. It's only of those things where you can't really learn it all. It's almost like "the more you know, the more you know you don't know" with this stuff. There are so many inter-related sciences in brewing. For me, Siebel provided a good science background that I didn't have before. The fact that I had some experiences in breweries also helped. I was able to take the subject matter beyond a PowerPoint presentation. That's probably the best advice I can give anyone who is interested in doing this for a living: Work first, even if you're working for free.

Getting his hands dirty with some brewing science!

BE: Chicago is such a great city! You mentioned you studied Theory versus Practical at Siebel - was that all you did in Chicago? When you weren't in class in Chicago, what did you do for fun?

DL: When I did the Siebel program it was 7 weeks in Chicago doing the theory side of things. We checked out a Breiss Maltings, Miller, and Goose Island. I think the program is longer now? In my time off, I did a lot of exploring. I had never been to Chicago before so I had a lot to see. I think Chicago has become one of my favorite cities.

BE: How long were you in Germany for during the program? What did you like most about your time in Munich? What time of the year was it? What else was there to do besides brewing/class?

Dave in Germany

DL: I arrived in Munich on Easter Sunday. Everything was closed except for the beer gardens! I spent 5 weeks there, doing the practical side of the program. I think the best part of Germany was working on Doemens' awesome brewery. It was tiny, around 5 bbls, but it had all the bells and whistles you would see on a huge system. It was a Huppmann system, completely automated and able to do multiple decoctions.

We also took 10 days and travelled around Europe to various manufacturers and brewers. We went to Hopsteiner, Weyermann, Krones, Ziemann, KHS, Pilsner Urquell, Brauerei Hofstettner, Frankenheim, Reisdorff, Chodovar, Budvar, Rothaus and the original Trumer in Salzburg.

BE: Did going to Siebel give you a good resume, which could land you a position in a commercial brewery?

DL: Sure, but I think it was a combination of experience and education that ultimately got me a job. After school, I was ready to hit the ground running.

BE: How did you wind up brewing at Lowell Beer Works after Siebel? Also, what did you do there? Was it brewing for distribution, or just for the local brewery?

DL: My friend Mike helped me out again. I was looking for work while I was in Germany and I had two weeks of downtime from when I got home, to when I had a job in Lowell. Mike Roy was brewing at their brewpub in Salem, and he helped me get in touch with Beer Works. I started in Lowell while they were still building the brewery. I got involved in some setup and construction initially, which was really interesting. Eventually we had a shiny new brewery to work in. I produced a lot of the same styles for those guys, most of which was sent out to the various pubs. It was fun work. I worked there for a little over a year, just as they were starting to get their bottling line running.

BE: You mentioned you were involved in some of the construction - could you be more specific? Were you setting up bright tanks, kettles, mash tuns, etc? Did you get hands on and technical with the equipment, or did they leave that to engineers and whatnot?

DL: Beer Works had a good crew of contractors who handled all the serious stuff like pipe fitting, welding, plumbing and all the electrical. I helped unload and assemble the vessels, clean them and eventually get them up and running. It was a great experience for me to see how it all came together. You'd think that when you order a brand new brewhouse and put it into place everything will just work perfectly, but that's not usually the case. It was fun working out all the kinks.

Check back for Part II of the interview, which will cover Dave's transition to California and his current duties at Trumer!

3rd Annual Dogfish Head Fest @ BBC

2011-09-08T13:37:00.006-04:00

Other than hearing from Kate at Craft Beer Cellar letting me know my (first) keg of beer for my recently purchased kegorator (Harpoon Brewery Octoberfest) has arrived, I just got an email from Graham at British Beer Company with the best news I've heard all day.

The following press release is for immediate release:

What: Third Annual Dogfish Fest
Where: British Beer Company in Downtown Plymouth
When: September 17th and 18th
Who: Dogfish Head Brewing
Why: 19 Kegs

Dogfish Fest is one of the British Beer Company’s most popular and anticipated events of the year. So much so, they have turned this year’s event into a two day festival for fans to revel in this Country’s most celebrated craft brewery. Every single tap at the little BBC in historic Downtown Plymouth will be dedicated to Dogfish Head Brewing on Saturday and Sunday September 17-18.

The final line-up is official, all the following kegs are under lock and key, guarded by beer ninjas: Black n Blue, Red n White, 60 Minute IPA, Hellhound On My Ale, Palo Santo Maron, Namaste, Pangae, Sah'Tea, My Antonia, Festina Peche, Punkin, Theobroma, 90 Minute IPA, Indian Brown, Raison d'Etre, Midas Touch, Chateau Jiahu, Olde School and finally 120 Minute IPA. That’s 19…19 kegs of beer.

Dogfish Head’s greatest invention outside of the beer itself is a contraption called the Randall. This device filters beer through fresh herbs, fruits, spices or just about anything that can be squeezed into it. After the beer absorbs all the goodness and flavors…the best part is - someone gets to drink it! There will be three Randall's in service for Dogfish Fest.

This is a picture of the Randall, the Enamel Animal

Beers to be Randallized:
Punkin Ale run through cinnamon sticks and vanilla.
Festina Peche run through strawberry and kiwi fruits.
90 Minute IPA run through fresh whole leaf hops.
Indian Brown run through fresh coffee beans.

Taps will start flowing at noon on Saturday and Dogfish Head heads will want to get to Plymouth before any of the 19 kegs kick. Cheers!

Media Contact
Graham Wilson
grahamwilson@britishbeer.com
@BritishBeerCo

British Beer Company
6 Middle Street in Downtown Plymouth
http://www.britishbeer.com/local/plymouth

Fall Has Officially Begun!

2011-09-07T15:10:00.003-04:00

Even though the calendar reads September 7th, it is 'officially' fall. I mean, it's after Labor Day, the kids are back to school, Boston has doubled in capacity thanks to all the college students (I say thank you very, very loosely), and Fall Seasonal beers have made their way to your local package/liquor store shelves.

Part of me wants to put off drinking these beers. I'm a summer kind of guy. I mean, my birthday is July 29th, so I was kind of born to love summer. Giving in to the rash of Oktoberfests and Pumpkin beers means acknowledging that the warm weather is giving way to cool, brisk days/nights. It's something that I've hesitated doing in the past, but I have to honestly say that I really do enjoy fall - it's the dreaded season that comes afterwards that I'm not to fond of.

Anyway, if you can't be 'em, join 'em (whatever the hell that means in terms of seasons)! This is somewhat misleading, considering I've already had several Oktoberfests and Pumpkin Ales, but...so what? who cares? I'm a grumpy old man sometimes, and want to hang onto the warm weather for as long as I can, but it's a losing battle when it comes to the calendar.

Having said that, I'm really looking forward to fall. September usually means the unofficial official "Fest Season", with last Friday's Mass Brewers Fest kicking it all off. The Beer Summit/Sam Adams Octoberfest is THIS Friday and Saturday, and Jim Koch and crew are rolling out the cooler weather beers in awesome fashion. Tapping of the keg Friday, all day session Saturday...good stuff!

As you have probably seen, Harpoon Brewery released their UFO Pumpkin, which is an unfiltered, slightly sweet, unfiltered pumpkin ale. While it's not the best I've ever had, it's also no the worst. It has a pleasant aroma, a slightly malty and sweet body, and is fairly drinkable. If you haven't tried it, it's worth the cash for a six pack (or a pint if you see it out somewhere). I also tried the Woodstock Inn's Autumn Ale Brew, which had some similar qualities. I wasn't blown away by this beer, but it was still cool to try - and at only a few dollars at Bert's Better Beers, you can't go wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised by the awesomeness that is Brooklyn Brewery's Oktoberfest. It has the perfect blend of malty and sweet flavor, with a floral aroma, and great color. I quickly went through the six pack I bought. A full review is likely in order, and even though it's not a New England beer, it deserves some recognition for being a great beer.

Sarah and I also opted to knock back the bottles of Berkshire Brewing Co.'s Oktoberfest (one of my personal OFest favorites), as well as the Southern Tier Brewing Co's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin last night. We can't say enough about either beer, and don't be surprised to see a full right up of these either. At around $5, you can't beat a bomber of the BBC Oktoberfest, and the Pumking can be had for relatively short money as well - I definitely recommend both!

What beers are you looking forward to specifically? We'd love to hear what you're drinking, or soon will be drinking!! You can comment here, but you should also check out our poll posted earlier today on our Facebook page!

Guest Blogger: Oktoberfest Ale Update

2011-09-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

by Mike Micalone

It's time for part two of my three part series on Adam and me brewing our Oktoberfest beers. If you missed part one you can check it out here.

Waiting for a beer to ferment can be pretty tedious. If you're too impatient you can end up opening up the fermenter before the beer is fully fermented. Now this isn't the worst thing in the world but my philosophy has always been to open the fermenter's lid a few times as possible so avoid any foreign bodies. After 17 days in the primary fermenters it was time to do some dry hopping (get your mind out of the gutters people, I said drying hopping).

Dry hopping is the process of adding hops to your beer to create a more aromatic beer. Hops that are used early on during the boiling process tend to add to the bitterness of the beer where hops towards the end or even after the boil are just for aroma. Both Adam and I's Oktoberfest recipes called for us to dry hop the beer. This can be done in a number of ways but the way most commonly done is to add the hops to the bottom of a secondary fermenter and siphon the beer directly on top of them.

Before I dry hopped our beers I decided it would be good to grab a gravity reading from each batch to ensure they were fully fermented. Using my (third in a long line of very fragile) hydrometer I found that my beer was sitting at 1.010 for a reading and Adam's was at 1.009. This tells me that all the heavy sugars that were once in the beer when the beer was much denser (a gravity reading of around 1.058 for my beer before it was fermented) had been converted to much less dense alcohol.

After taking the readings I decided to try out the green beer. Green beer is the term used for beer that's been fermented but not conditioned and carbonated. My beer had a lighter, more golden color, a lighter body and slightly bitter taste due to the amount of hops I used. Adam's beer was more of an amber color with a fuller body and a more malty taste than mine. Mine was pretty much crystal clear while Adam's was a little harder to see through. This could have possibly been due to the different colors of the beers or that some of the proteins in the beer have not settled out yet.

Next I prepared the secondary fermenters by sanitizing them and then adding a bed of hops to the bottom. In mine I added 1/2 ounce of Tettnang hops while Adam's called for 1/2 ounce of Hallertauer. I used my auto-siphon and moved the beer for each of the primary fermenters to the secondary ones. I took care not to aerate the beer too much since the beer already has a slight bit of carbonation to it. I also made sure not to pull any of the trub (left over grains, hops and yeast) from the bottom of the fermenters.

If I wanted to I could have saved the yeast from the bottom, washed it and reused it in a batch of beer within the next few weeks. I've done this in the past but decided I didn't have anything that called for German style yeast that I was planning to brew. I inserted the airlocks, closed the lids and tucked the fermenters away for another 7-10 days so they can absorb the aroma from the hops.

Stay tuned for the final part where I talk about bottling and sampling the finished beer!

Beer Summit/Sam Adams OFest Beer List

2011-09-01T14:05:00.002-04:00

The Annual Beer Summit Samuel Adams Octoberfest is just over one week away! The festive event is scheduled for both next Friday & Saturday September 9th & 10th, with special guest Jim Koch making his yearly appearance on Friday for the ceremonial tapping of the keg! Guest Blogger extraordinaire Mike Micalone actually won tickets to Friday's event through The Real Beer Nut Norman Miller's blog last week, and he is such a good friend (or is it that I'm such a good friend), that he is taking me with him!

Seeing how the OFest is coming up next week, I figured I would share the full list of beers that will be available for purchase and your enjoyment.

So without further delay, here is the list of beers on tap for this kick ass event:

OctoberFest
Blackberry Wit
Black Lager
Cherry Wheat - If you haven't done so, try a Cherry Wheat with a wedge of lime
Boston Ale
Boston Brick Red - Hard to find on tap, but readily available at the TD Garden for Bruins games
Boston Lager - Perhaps my favorite offering by Samuel Adams
Cherry Wheat
Dunkelweisen
East West Kolsch - Part of the Summer Mix Pack
Latitude 48 - Very solid IPA
Oaked Aged Porter
Sam Light
Simcoe - Part of the Deconstructed Latitude 48 mix pack
Oaked Ale/Maple Pecan - Mike tried it at the AHA Rally in Boston
Pumpkin - Introduced last year at the Beer Summit/Sam Adams OFest!

So if you haven't already purchased your tickets yet, this list might just give you a little incentive to do so. Tickets for Friday's session, which runs from 5-10pm, are $37.50 and include FOUR (4) beers, beer stein, live music, food (additional fee), and of course seeing Jim Koch tap the keg. Saturday's session, running 12-10pm, is $16.50 and includes your stein and your first beer (Octoberfest).

Click here for full details and ticketing information.

MA Brewfest Beer Line Up

2011-08-31T13:41:00.007-04:00

So the Massachusetts Brewers Guild posted the full line up of brewers and their brews for this Friday's 2011 Mass Brewers Fest...How can you NOT get insanely excited about the following list?? I dare you...Rather I double, no double-DOG dare you!!

Have you had any of these beers? The beers with links have been reviewed, and you should check them out!

THE BEERS:

Cisco Brewers
Whale’s Tale Pale Ale, Pumple Drumkin, The Grey Lady, Indie IPA

Rapscallion Brewery
Honey Ale, Blessing

Wachusett Brewing Co.
Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Green Monsta IPA, Blueberry Ale, Octoberfest

Berkshire Brewing Company Inc.
Steel Rail EPA, Berkshire Oktoberfest Lager, Berkshire Bock, Lost Sailor

The Boston Beer Company
Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Octoberfest, Chocolate Chili Bock, Imperial White, Maple Pecan Porter, Oaked Ale

Cambridge Brewing Company
Cambridge Amber, CBC HefeWeizen, Mind Left Body, The Black Ryder

Clown Shoes
Clementine White Ale, Tramp Stamp Belgian IPA, Hoppy Feet Black IPA

Notch Brewing Company
Notch Saison, Notch Pils, Notch Session Ale

Harpoon Brewery
UFO Pumpkin, IPA, Chocolate Stout, Uncle Fester

Watch City Brewing Company
Toasted Ah Ah Pale Ale, Titan German Red Ale, Monkey Monk Saison, BeeJezus Botanical Fruit Ale

Haverhill Brewery/ The Tap
Kolsch, Alt, German Pilsner, IPA, Pale Ale, India Schwarzbier

Gardner Ale House
Oma’s Altbier, Chair City Pale Ale, Summer’s End, The Hef

Blue Hills Brewery
IPA, Watermelon Wheat, Okto Brau, Antimatter, Imperial Red IPA

Wormtown Brewery
Pumpkin Ale, Octoberfest, Be Hoppy IPA, Buk Rye Pale

Frosty Knuckle Brewing Co.
Frosty Knuckle Ale, Helles Alt, Frosty Knuckle Sea Spray IPA

Ipswich Ale Brewery
20th Anniversary Imperial Pale Ale, Ipswich Harvest Ale, Ipswich Oatmeal Stout, 375th Summer Barley Wine

Mayflower Brewing Co
Golden Ale, Porter, IPA, Autumn Wheat

Cape Ann Brewing
Greenhorn Double IPA, Fisherman’s Tea Party Barleywine

Cape Cod Beer
Cape Cod Red, Cape Cod IPA, Cape Cod Beach Blonde

Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
Jack D’Or, Baby Tree

Backlash Beer Co.
Groundswell

Amherst Brewing Co.
Anniversary Ale, Wedding Wit, Cascade IPA, Cask

Jack’s Abby Brewing
Smoke & Dagger, Copper Legend, Hoponius Union, Saxon Sons Pilsner Cask

Irene Washes Out Vermont Breweries

2011-08-31T09:00:00.003-04:00

Long Trail Brewery in VT is shown under flood water

The effects of Tropical Storm Irene is being felt by residents and businesses all over the state of Vermont, who along with Eastern New York were hit the hardest by last weekend's storm. Pictured above is the Long Trail Brewery, located in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, which was build basically over the Ottauquechee River, was flooded. According to beernews.org and Beer Advocate, the brewery wasn't tottally washed out, although they have water in the brewery and their deck is under water. Production is halted, although they have beer fermenting under normal conditions.

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waturbury, VT. Also according to beernews.org, the brewery itself was totalled, but they have their sets on rebuilding. Fortunately for the Alchemist, their cannery is located up the street and out of the flood zone, and is still up and running.

Pictures and video show the massive devastation felt all over the Green Mountain State. Bridges and roads have been washed away, cutting off only exits to several towns - including Killington, VT. The road running through the Quechee Covered Bridge, which spans the river and leads to Simon Pearce was destroyed, and washed down stream.

This is what the bridge typically looks like, from the deck of Simon Pearce

Here's a video from CNN.com showing the bridge over the weekend:

This is also an excerpt from Simon Pierce's President Rob Adams posted on their website:

"As you’re likely aware, Mother Nature dealt Vermont a tough hand as Irene dumped 7+ inches of rain on a saturated landscape. The Mill in Quechee bravely took the brunt of this storm as the Ottaquechee River, running adjacent to the Mill, rose rapidly on Sunday afternoon. Despite a valiant sandbagging and pumping effort, the river was just too much and flooded the glassblowing, hydro turbine, and some of the kitchen operations located on the lower levels of the building. Thankfully, the river peaked before any significant damage was done to the main floor that includes the restaurant and retail store."

Sarah and I were both sad to hear about the devastation of one of our favorite fall vacation spots. There will no doubt be many months of recovery for the entire state of Vermont and surrounding towns, and we will try to keep you posted on the repairs.

National Craft Beer Pulled from RI

2011-08-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

Glass is half-empty in Rhode Island

This was an interesting read I saw on Boston.com today. It seems that in an effort to meet more demand, Dogfish Head, Avery Brewing Co, and Great Divide Brewing are pulling their distribution from the Ocean State.

You may have read specifically about Sam Calagione's Dogfish Head brewery, located in Milton, Delaware, growing so quickly that they have had to actually reevaluate their increase to production, in an effort to focus on quality. Because of this, DFH and the others have pulled their distribution from Rhode Island in order to fill orders from other states.

It's Rhode Island's loss, but the gain of several other states. As the author Steve Greenlee suggests, it wouldn't be a shock to see those from around the border of Massachusetts to cross over to fill up on their national favorites! On the plus side, there have been additional Massachusetts breweries increase their distribution to the Ocean State - notably Mayflower Brewing Co. from Plymouth, MA, who began distribution to RI earlier this year. There are likely to add Rhode Island to their list, due to its proximity to more area breweries.

Brass City Brew Fest - Next Saturday

2011-08-30T10:10:00.003-04:00

Connecticut will hold another huge brew fest next Saturday September 10th, 2011 from 1-5pm at Library Park in Waterbury, CT. There's also a VIP session from 12-1pm. Only 2,000 tickets will be sold (500 VIP tickets - an extra $10), and it is expected to sell out again this year!

With a colossal list of breweries, this is set to be a great event! Some notable New England area breweries pouring samples are: Berkshire Brewing Co, Coastal Extreme (Newport Storm), Cisco Brewers, Narragansett, Red Hook, Willimantic Brweing Co., Otter Creek, Shipyard, Trinity Brew House, Sea Dog, Sebago, and so many more! Other great craft brewers include Chimay, Rogue, Stone Brewing Co, Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues, and Ommegang to name a few. The full list can be seen by clicking here.

Tickets are just $30 in advance, and $35 at the door - with a Belgian Beer tent for an additional $10 per person. Overall, there will be more than 250 beers, plust live music, food, door prizes, Beer 101 seminars, and more! Click here to purchase your tickets!

QAS 2011 Wine & Beer Tasting

2011-08-29T13:05:00.006-04:00

Sarah found this upcoming fundraiser online, and suggested that we both attend. I figured I'd find out a little more about it, and share it with you all! Blue Hills Brewery in Canton, MA is partnering with Frozen Freddies, and the Quincy Animal Shelter (QAS) for the "Quincy Animal Shelter's 2011 Wine & Beer Tasting presented by Frozen Freddies."

The event is Friday September 23rd, 2011 from 6 - 9pm at the Kennedy Center (440 East Squantum Street in Quincy - near Marina Bay), and every ticket holder gets entered to win a $125 gas card. Tickets are just $30 and it includes samples of wine and beer, as well as light refreshments and entertainment. You can purchase your tickets at the Quincy Animal Shelter, or at the door.

Here is the full press release:

QUINCY ANIMAL SHELTER’S 2011 WINE AND BEER TASTING PRESENTED BY FROZEN FREDDIES

For immediate release

QUINCY, Massachusetts, July 28, 2011 – The Quincy Animal Shelter, Inc., (“Shelter”) announced today that it will be holding its sixth annual Wine and Beer Tasting presented by Frozen Freddies on Friday, September 23, 2011, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Center, 440 East Squantum Street, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Event goers will have the unique opportunity to learn about and sample distinctive wine and beer selections presented by local purveyors and regional brewers while enjoying light refreshments and live entertainment. Tickets are $30 per person and each paying attendee will automatically be entered to win a $125 gasoline card. They may also buy chances on amazing raffle prizes, including two certificates for direct, round-trip travel on JetBlue® Airways.

“The wine and beer tasting is a popular affair and the Shelter’s principal annual fundraiser. In addition to vital financial contributions, it raises awareness about animal welfare and the benefits of adopting, said Board Representative Sandra Morse. “We are delighted to have Frozen Freddies—a dedicated member of the community and long-time supporter of our organization—as official presenter of the event again this year. Their generous contribution, and that of other donors, allows us to continue to care for displaced animals in the area.”

“We are proud to underwrite this fundraiser for the Quincy Animal Shelter,” said Dawn Gaffney, Frozen Freddies’ proprietor. “The volunteers do an amazing job nurturing the animals and finding homes for them. Many of our customers bring the entire family to our store for yummy treats, including their adopted pets for a ‘puppy cup’—vanilla soft-serve ice cream topped with a dog biscuit. We encourage the community to attend the wine and beer tasting. It’s a festive occasion that has become a ‘can’t miss’ Quincy tradition.”

The fundraiser will be held at the Kennedy Center, conveniently located on East Squantum Street (off Quincy Shore Drive, near Marina Bay), with free parking and handicap accessibility. Proceeds will be used for the direct care and adoption of Shelter animals, including food, medications, examinations, spay/neutering and training. Participating suppliers include Atlas Liquors, Blue Hills Brewery, National Wine & Liquors and Shop-N-Save Liquors.

Tickets to the 2011 Quincy Animal Shelter Wine and Beer Tasting presented by Frozen Freddies may be purchased in advance, through September 9, for pick up at the “will call” table. Contact Shelter volunteers at 56 Broad Street, Quincy, or order online via http://www.quincyanimalshelter.org/wineandbeer2011.html. They may also be purchased at the door on the night of the event; cash or check only. (You must be at least 21 years old to attend, proper identification required.) For more information, call 617-376-1349.

About The Quincy Animal Shelter
The Quincy Animal Shelter is a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and a recognized Massachusetts charity. It is a 100% volunteer-run, no-kill animal facility focusing on the care and humane treatment of the city’s homeless canine and feline population. Since its incorporation in 1999, the Shelter has placed more than 5,500 cats and dogs into loving and forever homes across New England. It receives no government funding, relying solely on the generosity of its volunteers, area businesses and the community for support. To learn more about the Shelter, become a volunteer or foster care provider, or to make a monetary contribution, visit QuincyAnimalShelter.org.

About Frozen Freddies
Frozen Freddies—a locally owned establishment since 1994—offers many delicious flavors of hard, soft, and sugar free ice cream; frozen yogurt and sorbet. This quaint, neighborhood corner store also dishes up mouthwatering sundaes; airy flurries; novelty treats; ice cold slushes, frappes and other refreshing beverages; frozen cakes and hand-packed containers to-go. Air conditioned, sit-down service is available. Located at 435 Washington Street, Quincy, the ice cream parlor is open every day, April through October. For more information, call 617-328-7772 or visit them on facebook.

For more information regarding this announcement, contact:
Contact: Sally Hayward
Email: SallyAHayward@Hotmail.com
Telephone: 617-257-7975

Hop Picking at Jack's Abby Brewery

2011-08-26T14:15:00.000-04:00

As you may have seen on our Facebook page, I found out a few weeks ago that the Hendler boys at Jack's Abby Brewing Co. were planning a Hop Picking event at their brewery in Framingham. Considering I haven't had a chance to stop by the new brewery yet, or try their beer, I figured I'd take the opportunity to pay them a visit to help them with their hop harvest, and recruited my buddy (and guest blogger) Mike to come as well.

First off - the day could not have been nicer! I had gone up to New Hampshire the previous day to hang out with my buddy PJ, and it was nice; but, Sunday was a picture perfect weather day (at least to begin the day). The drive to Framingham was very pleasant, as the sun was out, and the mid 90's punk (Rancid's "Let's Go") was blasting away in my car. It took me around 40 minutes to get there, which was nice compared to the almost two hour drive to get to NH on Saturday.

Anyway, once we got there we walked in to see that the 15 or so volunteers had already begun picking the hop cones. I have to say...I have NEVER seen so many hops in my entire life. Sure, I've seen the commercial where Jim Koch of Samuel Adams fame visits Bavaria in Germany to choose his hops, but that was on TV and you can't really get a sense of the magnitude of the plant. The Jack's Abby crew have their hops - Willamette, Cascade, Centennial, and Mt. Hood growing organically in/around Bennington, VT, and brought in at least two to three dozen plastic bags of freshly cut hop vines to their brewery. They were dumped out on several tables, and everyone just picked away.

We quickly introduced ourselves to Owner/Brewer Jack and Eric Hendler before Mike and I picked our spots. I let him know I have this little website, and he was quick to thank him for the support here and on Facebook. Anyway, Mike and I proceeded to fill a 2-3 gallon bucket with freshly picked hop flowers within about 20 minutes. We couldn't believe how many flowers we were picking!

Drinking on the job and a Jack Hendler Photo Bomb

Around the time we filled our first bucket, Jack announced that there was beer and snacks available on a help-yourself basis, which was my cue to grab Mike and I a few beers. Jack had poured a few pitchers of both their Oktoberfest and India Pale Lager. I filled up our cups with the Oktoberfest, and went back to work. I have to say, the beer was very, very good. Malty, slightly sweet, and actually pretty refreshing and not heavy. What motivation for being productive!

Mike getting VERY into picking hops, while looking good!

What was cool about this event, was that Jack's Abby Brewing was actually brewing their batch of Wet Hop Beer (official name yet to be decided) while we were picking the hops! Even now and then Jack would make an announcement that they were about to mill their grain and mash, then about 30 minutes later he announced they were transferring it to the brew kettle, and so forth.

Everyone was cruising along, and providing enough flowers to fill up the biggest hop back I've ever seen. I'm probably underestimating the amount, but it probably had to hold a good 30-35lbs of hops alone. From what I heard, they strain the wort through the hop back and into the fermenter (or it might have been from the mash to the brew kettle) to pick up all the hoppy goodness!

After a good two hours or so of picking hops, Mike and I decided we needed a short break. We took the opportunity to hit the tasting room, while grabbing a bite to eat. We tried the full current line up of Jack's Abby beers: Saxon Sons Pilsner (a nice malty beer), Hoponius Union India Pale Lager, Smoke & Dagger (similar to Harpoon's Munich Dark), Red Tape Lager (think a slightly hoppy red lager), and their Oktoberfest (malty, slightly sweet, delicious).

We returned to picking more hops, which seemed to go on forever, but thankfully there were great tunes playing (on vinyl nonetheless) on the stereo, and people were having fun. Having the opportunity to drink some tasty beer in the process didn't hurt either, and it made the day go by pretty quickly. It was also pretty cool that the wet hop beer was actually being brewed as we were working!

Earlier in the day Jack had offered up any hops to the homebrewers in the house, and to no one's surprise there were several. Mike and I left with a good amount of the hops, as did others, which are currently being dried out. We're planning on using them very soon in some of our homebrew batches.

The crew also raffled away two tickets to the upcoming 2011 Mass Brewers Fest to the person who guessed the closest to how many pounds of hops were picked that day. As a group we picked a combined 168lbs of hops!!

These were most of the hops

If you haven't stopped by Jack's Abby Brewing yet, it's worth a visit. The beers are great, and the guys are too.

Jack's Abby Brewing is located at 81 Morton Street in Framingham, MA. Stop by, say hello, and grab some beer - you won't be disappointed!

AHA Rally Portland - TONIGHT!

2011-08-24T12:08:00.002-04:00

Tonight is the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally at the Allagash Brewing Co. The event runs from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the brewery, and none other than the “Godfather of Beer” Mr. Charlie Papazian (Brewers Association President and founder of the Great American Beer Festival in Denver) will be there to greet his fellow homebrewers!

I’m pretty excited. I haven’t been to Portland in probably close to two years, and it will be my first visit to the Allagash Brewery. By now you’re probably familiar with Mike, and he’s coming along too! We also have tentative plans to grab a bite to eat at Nosh Kitchen Bar, Gritty McDuff's, and perhaps a visit for some beers at Novare Res Bier Café – both in Portland. My buddy Tristan Omand is actually performing some of his new music live tonight at Slainte Wine Bar & Lounge not too far at 10pm. Seeing how we’re staying in Old Orchard Beach overnight, I think a nightcap at Jimmy the Greek’s as well. No matter what we wind up doing, there’s plenty to keep us busy!

Tonight’s AHA Rally is free to all current AHA Members. Non-members can register for the AHA at the door for a discounted price (I think it’s $35).

Here are the full details of tonight’s event:

Rally Host: Allagash Brewing Company
Address: 50 Industrial Way Portland, ME 04103
Web: Allagash.com

-Meet special guest Charlie Papazian!
-Meet Rob Tod and the Allagash brewers.
-Take a VIP brewery tour of Allagash, Maine Beer Co and Rising Tide Brewing Co.
-Special Beer Release Free Gift to Attendees: a 10oz Allagash Chalice
-An opportunity to mingle with local homebrewers.
-Chance to win great prizes from the AHA and Host!

I'm looking forward to meeting up with some MAINEiacs tonight who enjoy some tasty brew and the craft of beer!

Press Release: Farmer-Brewer Ruling

2011-08-24T09:18:00.002-04:00

I figured I would post this, as it was emailed me from an intern in the Massachusetts State Treasurer's office yesterday afternoon. I figured it was a good thing to post, considering I learned on Facebook on Monday that the Farmer-Brewery license for Idle Hands Craft Ales was approved!

TREASURER GROSSMAN ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AFTER HIS MEETING WITH CRAFT BREWERS ON AUGUST 8, 2011

Treasurer Steven Grossman, as a long-time small businessman, was concerned that an ABCC decision that would have required small brewers to grow (or contract for) half their ingredients would have harmed many of those breweries and hurt the Massachusetts economy. Accordingly, the Treasurer and ABCC Chairwoman Kim Gainsboro announced on Monday, August 8 that the commission had withdrawn its decision.

The Treasurer and the Chairwoman also met with the leadership of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and a number of small brewers from across the state. At that meeting, the Treasurer reiterated his belief that a workable solution must be developed on this issue that protects and creates jobs, supports the economy, and enhances the Commonwealth’s agricultural industry. Therefore, ABCC will hold a number of hearings to seek public comment about the ways in which the farmer brewer license can help maximize the performance of the Massachusetts-based brewing industry.

The hearings have not yet been scheduled. If you are interested in participating, please check our web site http://www.mass.gov/treasury. The schedule will be posted there.

We think that through such a public, transparent, and open process, the public and all the parties involved will have an opportunity to make their views known and help shape future policies. Additionally, we will work with the Legislature to determine if changes to the laws governing the brewing industry are warranted.

As the Treasurer has said, too often government fails to acknowledge when it makes a mistake. Farmer brewers have created 1,100 jobs in the Commonwealth and have boosted the hospitality and tourism sectors as well as creating a robust market niche for themselves. We are committed to ensuring that the industry and its small businesspeople will continue to have an opportunity to succeed and contribute the Massachusetts economy.

Haverhill Brewery Riverfront Brewfest

2011-08-23T12:38:00.003-04:00

The Haverhill Berwery and The Tap Brewpub are holding their annual Riverfront Brewfest on Saturday September 24th. There are two sessions for this great event, which will feature from 20 local and regional breweries! The first session is from 12:30-4pm and the second session is 5:30-9pm. Of course, there will be plenty of beer, food, and live entertainment for everyone.

Discounted tickets are available online for $25 and you can click here for the afternoon session and here for the evening session. Tickets should be available at the door, but are likely to increase to at least $30 the day of the event.

Confirmed brewers to date are: Haverhill Brewery, Notch Session (on cask), John Harvard's, High and Mighty, Clown Shoes, Ipswich Ale Bewery, Martha's Exchange, Sam Adams, Cape Ann Brewing, Boston Beer Works, and Jack's Abby, with more to be added!

The Haverhill Brewery at The Tap Brewpub is located at 100 Washington St in downtown Haverhill, MA - located on the Merrimack River. It is a great restaurant with a superb deck (and jukebox) - one of Sarah and my favorite places to visit, especially in the summer time!

First Taste at Wachusett Brewing Company

2011-08-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

Towards the end of July I received an email from Stacy Furtado, the Marketing Director at Wachusett Brewing Company, announcing the pending release of their newest and strongest beer - Imperial Pumpkin. Within the same email was an invitation for Sarah and I to attend their "First Taste" at the brewery on August 11th. Even though I was supposed to be in class, I opted to skip school and attend the event instead - which admitably I knew was going to be much more fun.

Unfortuantely Sarah had to work late, so I was flying solo to Westminster. I knew it was going to be a long drive, as on a good day it's close to an hour and fifteen minutes, so I mentally prepared myself. Despite hitting several patches of traffic, I still managed to get there in just about an hour and a half. If you know anything about Route 2 West of Boston (and West of 95N/S), but east of 495, you know the kind of traffic I'm talking about...

I must say, had it not been for the traffic, the drive would have been spectacular. Westminster, and the surrounding towns, are quite nice. It's definitely going to have to be a drive Sarah and I take during the fall, because it becomes very scenic.

I arrived to the brewery at 6:15pm, a little late, but better late than never. Now, as soon as I stepped out of my car I realized that I had in fact locked my keys in my car. Holy shit, was I pissed. This is only about the third time in my life this has happened, but each time it happens it's a pain in the ass. Thankfully I had my wits about me, and called AAA right away (it's a good thing I did too, because it took them about an hour and a half to arrive, and retrieve my keys).

Nevertheless, I wasn't going to this little inconvenience ruin my evening. I bolted inside, where I (finally) met Stacy. We are friends on Facebook and Twitter, and converse somewhat regularly, and in fact she was the one who sent a donation on behalf of Wachusett Brewing Co. to the Friends of Will "Cure Me I'm Irish" event back in March, but we had yet to actually meet face to face. She was nice enough to get me my First Taste of the Imperial Pumpkin, as I made the call to AAA.

My first impressions were "Wow, this is very, very good!" As I examined the beer some more, I could see just how tasty the brew was. It has a sort of golden brown hue to it, and it is incredibly fragrant. I have a bottle at home that I will do an actual review of, but I need to let you know that this is certainly one of the better pumpkin beers I've tried to date.

As I was sipping on my first beer, I ran into Norman Miller, aka the Real Beer Nut, as well as Rebecca and Kristen from Massachusetts Girls Pint Out, so at least I knew that I had some people to hang out with during the event.

Since getting far more involved in Brew England, Sarah and I have been invited to some really cool events. We seem to run into Norm quite a bit, as well as our buddy Josh from Lost in the Beer Aisle, and the past few events have run into the gals from MGPO. Needless to say, it's nice to run into people you know who share a similar passion for craft beer.

Rather quickly after grabbing the Pumpkin Ale, a small tour was about to start, led by President Ned LaFortune. The brewery was rather condensed, and it was a familiar story as we walked by the boil kettle, mash tun, etc, but we all learned that the expected 2011 sales of (my personal favorite) Larry Imperial IPA was already reached by May of this year...hopefully we'll start to see it in six or twelve packs!?

After the tour, I needed another beer, so I went back to the new tasting room and grabbed a Larry Imperial IPA (why not?). As great as it is in the 22oz bottle, it is incredibly delicious on tap and at the brewery! Equally as nice on draft (and at the brewery), is the Milk Stout. If you have not had one, the other, or both - you are sincerely missing out. These have to be my two favorite brews by Wachusett. You. Must. Drink. These. Beers.

More schmoozing took place with some of the aformentioned beer enthusaists, but I also met Jen, who writes for the Yankee Brew News publictaion you've probably seen at your local brewery or beer bar. Jen is a cool lady, and we had a few good laughs about the beer industry and some of the naming choices of Clown Shoes Beers.

Just prior to heading out, Stacey brought me two bombers of the Pumpkin Ale to take home with me. I couldn't have been happier, as I had such a great time at the event. I met some cool people, caught back up with people I haven't seen in a while, and enjoyed the event.

You should start seeing the 22oz bottles of Wachusett Imperial Pumpkin at your local stores and bars this week, if you haven't already seen them! If you have spotted them, let us know where you found them and what you thought of the beer!

*Once again, I have pictures for this post, but am having trouble uploading them. Once I the issue has been resolved, I will add the pics!

Guest Blogger - Time for Oktoberfest!?

2011-08-19T15:00:00.007-04:00

by Mike Micalone

I know August might seem early to talk about Oktoberfest but to a homebrewer August is the perfect time. For those who have never homebrewed, brewing a batch of beer can be as quick as a few weeks or as long as 2-3 months. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle since I've found letting the beer condition really helps in taking some of the unnecessary bite out of the beer.

A traditional Oktoberfest (aka Marzen) is brewed as a lager, not an ale. Lagers are a cold fermenting beer that takes several months to ferment and condition. Ales ferment at warmer temperatures and have quicker fermentation times. Marzen was originally brewed in March (thus the name) and was left in caves until late summer and then brought out for Oktoberfest in late September. Now, as much as I would love to toss a 5 gallon bucket of beer in my fridge for 5-6 months, I'm pretty sure my wife would toss me out in the street. Most homebrewers who are in a similar boat are left with brewing an ale version of Oktoberfest.

This past weekend Adam and I decided to undertake brewing not just one Oktoberfest, but two! Mine was an all grain recipe that I developed using software called BeerSmith, with the ingredients I purcahsed from Witches Brew in Foxborough, and Adam's came as part of a partial grain kit from Beer & Wine Hobby in Woburn. After sanitizing our equipment we proceeded with brewing our awesome concoctions!

The first step was to heat up some water up to 167 degrees Fahrenheit. While that was happening we roasted some 2 row pale malt for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. That, along with some chocolate, Munich and Vienna malt were cracked and added to a cheesecloth bag and put into a 2 gallon cooler (called a mash tun) to wait for some of the water we were heating. After the water reaches the right temperature, it is added to the two mash tuns to completely soak the grains. Rather than get into a whole dissertation into how the whole mash process works or how much water was added to achieve the proper water to grain ratio it goes without saying that this is part of what makes homebrewing feel similar to commercial brewing. After 30 minutes in the cooler for Adams grains and an hour for mine we then rinsed the grains with some more hot water (known as sparging) and started to bring the liquid to a boil in our brew pots.

Waiting for wort to boil is like watching paint dry so we took the time to try out some of my Centennial Brown Ale that I brewed a few months ago and had on tap in my basement. After getting Adam's wort to a boil it was time to add his extracts and start working on his hop schedule.

What's a hop schedule you might ask? It's the times during the boils that you add various types of hops to add some bitterness to your beer. My hop schedule included adding Tettnang and Hallertau which were added at 10 minute intervals for my 60 minute boil. Adam's only had Hallertau and were added at 30 minute intervals for the first hour and then at 15 minute mark until the 90th minute. We also added some Irish Moss at the last 15 minutes of the boil to help pull some of the proteins out of the beer and help make it clearer.

After the boil it was time to break out my immersion chiller to bring our beers down to around 70-76 degrees so we could pitch our yeast.

The immersion chiller is nothing more than coiled up copper tubing with two hose connectors on it. With it cold water is pushed through the piping and pushed out the other end. The cold water draws the heat from the recently boiling wort and takes it out to the drain. This device helps make a process that normally takes 3-4 hours only take 15 minutes.

After chilling our wort it was time to move it to the fermenters. We poured it in, added enough water to make it to a volume of around 5 gallons and then took a gravity reading using a hydrometer. We take a gravity reading so we know when the beer is done fermenting. You see, beer is really a bunch of sugars that get converted to alcohol by the yeast. When the sugars are done being converted, the density of the beer reaches a certain point depending on the style of beer you are brewing and what ingredients you added. We added our yeast, waited 10 minutes, aerated the wort and sealed the lid. On the lid is an airlock that is half full of water. This is used to indicate when the beer is fermenting.

The next day I found both beers actively fermenting. In around 10 days I hope to do some dry hopping (to be explained when I post about the rest of the brewing process for this beer), wait another week or so and then move our beers into most likely bottles. Stay tuned for more next month after the beer is finished!

This is Part I of this edition of "Adventures in Homebrewing." Stay tuned for Part II soon!

You can find Mike on Twitter under the handle @Mickle623!

Contest Winner for BHB Oktoberfest!

2011-08-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

First off, I'd like to thank those who left comments on the site letting us know what your favorite Blue Hills Brewery beers are. It seems like most of you really enjoy the Black Hops IPA, which is a good choice. That was actually the first BHB beer I reviewed last year!

Without further delay, the winner is...

JaySto!

Even though your favorite was the Watermelon Ale (we don't hold it against you), which was actually reviewed by Sarah in January, we'd still like to congratulate you on winning the pair of tickets! So, JaySto - please email me your full name, and if you know the name of your guest their name too, to brewengland@gmail.com. There will be a pair of tickets waiting for you at the door.

For those who didn't win this contest, do not fret! There will be more contests to come soon, as this is the start to a very exciting and busy time in the beer world in New England.

As a reminder, tickets are still available to the Blue Hills Brewery Oktoberfest, which again is taking place Saturday September 10th from 12-6pm at the Irish Cultural Center located at 200 New Boston Road in Canton, MA. A full line up of Blue Hills Brewery beers will be available for purchase, along with food, music, and activities!

Tickets are just $12 in advance - which you can purchase here, and just $15 at the door!

Prost!
Adam & Sarah

Maine Brewers Festival - Portland, Maine

2011-08-18T13:35:00.000-04:00

The annual Maine Brewers Festival makes its triumphant return to Portland on November 4-5th, 2011 at the Portland Expo. The details are still in the works, seeing how this event is still a few months away, but they already have confirmed D.L. Geary Brewing Co, Gritty McDuff's Brewing Co, Sea Dog Brewing Co, and Shipyard Brewing Co, with many more yet to be added.

Tickets are already on sale and start at just $32 for Saturday's Happy Hour (afternoon session) from 1:30-5pm, and the Evening Session 6:30-10pm, but there are packages available for a few different options. Friday marks the Evening with the Brewers VIP session, wich includes gourmet food paired with local Maine beers, and a moderated panel discussion with Maine brewers!

Click here to get more information on the event, and here to purcase your tickets!

Sam Adams to Release Harvest Collection

2011-08-17T13:15:00.001-04:00

There is a HUGE rash of fall beers popping up all over the place. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Wachusett Brewery was releasing their new Imperial Pumpkin Ale, I just picked up a six pack of the Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin UFO, and I just got the Samuel Adams "What's On Tap" monthly newsletter. Within the email, they mentioned the release of their Harvest Collection mix 12-pack.

Sam Adams has been very good at putting out seasonal mix 12-packs, and have gotten into it more over the past year or so. Last fall, they released their brand new Harvest Pumpkin Ale at the Beer Summit's Octoberfest celebration. This year, much to my delight, they are releasing another special beer - Bonfire Rauchbier.

Now, last year on my 30th birthday we went to the AHA Rally at the Sam Adams Brewery in Boston. Aside from the Glacier beer, which is/was a single hop Pale Ale (I loved this beer), we also got to try the Rob's American Rauchbier. This was a great beer that went incredibly well with the bbq we had that day. I imagine the Bonfire is either the same, or a similar recipe, and I'm excited to try. It should especially go well with some of the awesome fall food dishes Sarah prepares.

Anyway, I will be on the lookout for the Harvest Collection in the next week or so. I highly recommend picking up a pack, as it includes Boston Lager, Octoberfest, Harvest Pumpkin, Black Lager, and Irish Red - which are all solid beers!

Tuesday Night Tasting - Notch Session: Saison

2011-08-17T11:54:00.003-04:00

Notch Session – Boston / Ipswich, MA
American Session Saison
3.8 ABV, 22 oz and on draft

I picked this beer up not too long ago at Craft Beer Cellar, and actually reviewed this beer a few weeks ago. Unfortunately there are no additional pictures as our USB hookup to our camera is missing in action. Hopefully I can find it, as it’s far better than the other camera we have.

The color of this Saison is a beautiful deep golden orange hue, with a big, fluffy, white head that lingers! The head appears to sit atop the liquid like a cloud. The aroma is quite pleasant and robust. It has a floral and fragrant hop character, with hints of orange, citrus, and tones of nice Belgian like yeast. It is also perfectly carbonated.

The flavor is smooth and soft. You can pick up the slight piney, citrusy, and floral flavor you typical see from farmhouse brews. Yet, the malt provides a nice balance. It is lower in alcohol compared to most Saison and other Belgian beers, so it doesn’t quite have the same bit. But, considering this is a “Session Saison” it makes the mark!

The Notch Saison has a mild mouth feel, and surprisingly so, considering the low gravity of the beer. It also has a high drinkability level. All of owner/brewer Chris Lohering’s beers are incredibly drinkable, which comes with the Session style…but, that doesn’t mean this beer can’t stand up to other Saison and Hefeweizens.

The Notch Session Saison is yet another solid, solid beer which I suggest you try why the weather is still warm!

BHB Oktoberfest Contest Drawing This Week!

2011-08-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

This is just a friendly reminder that the contest we announced for a pair of free tickets to the Blue Hills Brewery Oktoberfest celebration is ending THIS WEEK! The event is taking place on Saturday September 10th from 12-6pm at the Canton Irish Cultural Center and should be a good time had by all!

A reminder of how to enter:

In order to be entered into the contest, please post a comment here letting us know what your favorite Blue Hills Brewery beer is, where you most like to drink them (ie: at home, at the brewery, a favorite festival, the best bar in town), and share this post with your friends on Facebook & Twitter (and Google+ if you're on it).

The cut off date to enter is this Thursday - August 18th, and the winner will be announced on Friday August 19th at 12pm.

Redhook to Release Late Harvest Seasonal

2011-08-15T13:27:00.006-04:00

Redhook Brewery, which has an East Coast Brewery in Portsmouth, NH is set to release their Late Harvest Seasonal beer. According to the following press release, it's a big hit on the East Coast, so this will be only distributed to the fortunate New England (and beyond) craft beer lovers!

Here's the full release:

Redhook Brewery Releases Late Harvest Seasonal in its East Coast Markets
“Better late than never.”

Portsmouth, N.H. – Aug. 15, 2011 –Redhook is bringing back one of his favorite fall seasonal ales, Late Harvest, for his East Coast fans. Redhook Late Harvest is a great beer to celebrate the bounty of fall and enjoy while tailgating, sitting around a bonfire or recharging after raking up the leaves in the front yard. The seasonal ale is an easy-drinking, robust, full-bodied brew with a rich flavor. Late Harvest will be available August through September in grocery stores in 12-ounce bottles and on draught throughout Redhook’s East Coast markets.

“Late Harvest is one of our more popular brews in New England,” said Andy Schwartz, brewmaster at Redhook’s Portsmouth, N.H., brewery. “We have a lot of fun brewing this beer. It uses four different malts to really bring out a distinctive flavor while maintaining a smooth, bold profile.”

Redhook Late Harvest features a deep chestnut color and roasted malt aroma and flavor. Its rich taste is the result of using the different malts, yet the robust profile remains balanced. Late Harvest has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 5.9 percent, 32 international bittering units (IBUs) and 194 calories per 12 ounces. Late Harvest will retail for approximately $8.99 per six-pack.

AHA Announces New Logo

2011-08-15T11:54:00.001-04:00

Here's the release from the American Homebrewers Association (AHA):

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is excited to present a new logo to represent the organization. The AHA's most recent logo was more than a decade old, and the time was right to freshen up the look and feel to reflect the fun and passion for homebrewing found in the AHA membership and the hobby as a whole.

The new logo incorporates several graphic elements that represent the fundamentals of the hobby, including a hop cone, a barley stalk and a tall glass of beer, on a circular background that evokes the shape of a bottle cap. AHA Director Gary Glass explains the design process: "It wasn't easy, and the AHA staff and our graphic design team took the redesign seriously. We're thrilled with this new visual representation of the AHA, our members and the broader homebrewing community."

White Birch Brewing in Draft Magazine

2011-08-10T13:30:00.000-04:00

Bill Herlicka, owner and brewer at White Birch Brewing in Hooksett, New Hampshire, was profiled in the June/August 2011 issue of Draft Magazine. The article, which you can get to by clicking here, gives a nice little profile on Bill, who started as a homebrewer, and transitioned from his career in Finance to running a seven barrel brewery in a small town (which happens to be my hometown).

The article goes on to profile some of White Birch Brewing's flagship, rotating, and apprentice beers, which are readily available at Bert's Better Beers in Hooksett, as well as package stores in MA, PA, and other states. The article is a fairly quick read, but will certainly get you interested in trying Herlicka's beers if you haven't already.

The brewery is actually moving from their current location at 1368 Hooksett Road to the former Auto Wholesalers building (right down the street) at 1339 Hooksett Road. The new space is substantially bigger, with a huge parking lot, which will allow for expansion of not only White Birch Brewing's production, but will provide them with far greater space for events - such as their Southern New Hampshire Brewers Festival which took place last month. This is also prime real estate, right on the busiest road in town, and will give the company far greater exposure!

Congratulations Bill!

First Annual Metrowest Brew Fest

2011-08-10T10:52:00.005-04:00

The First Annual Metrowest Brewfest, in conjunction with Fifth Avenue Liquors and the Holliston Business Association, will take place on Thursday October 13th from 6:30-9:30pm. The event is still in the planning stages, so the list of brewers is still being set, but to date the confirmed brewers are Magic Hat, Oskar Blues, Troegs Brewing Company, and Sierra Nevada; however, there are likely to be several more local and regional brewers to be added to the list!

Advance tickets will be $25, and admission at the door is $30. Tickets can be purchased at Fifth Avenue Liquors and the Holliston Business Association (both online) shortly. Beer, food, and live music will be in abundance for sure!

The event will take place in the barn and on the grounds of the Holliston Historical Society in Holliston, MA (547 Washington Street). Once more infomation becomes available, I will update everyone!

Throwback Brewery Opens Tasting Room

2011-08-10T08:43:00.003-04:00

Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, NH will officially open their newly constructed tasting room. Owner/brewers Annette and Nicole received their state approval yesterday, and are planning on opening THIS SATURDAY! From 12-5pm you can stop by and taste five of their amazing beers, not to mention take some of their fresh, hand crafted brews in their stylish new swing-top growlers! If five hours on Saturday wasn't enough, they will also be open from 12-3pm on Sunday to meet your beer needs.

***Correction! Empty Growlers are just $12, plus the cost of beer (price varies, based on what goes inside)! This weekend, they will have their Spicy Bohemian, Hog Happy Hefeweizen, Dippity Do, Hopstruck, and Maple-Kissed Wheat Porter available for sample and purchase. They plan to roll out a few additional flavors next month, and will likely keep things interesting trying out different beers each month.

The bar and retail area was added last month, and was not yet constructed when we paid Annette and Nicole a visit back in March. The ladies had a VERY successful launch party a few weeks ago in Dover, NH, and followed that up at the Southern NH Brewers Fest in late July.

Throwback Brewery is located at 121 Lafayette Road in North Hampton, NH and is definitely worth the trip!

Great News on the ABCC Ruling

2011-08-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Alcohol board backs off small brewer rule change

The Boston Herald announced yesterday that the decision to change the Farmer-Brewery license requirement will not go into effect. Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman announced yesterday that the ABCC decided to eliminate the change, which would have required breweries with a farmer-brewer license to produce 50% of their grain and hops, after yesterday's meeting.

So, that is really, really good news for brewers and consumers, not to mention the economy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Their article also indicates that the commission will hold a series of public hearings, so they can obtain feedback from consumers and brewers. Once I know of these hearings, I will be glad to post them here!

Take a quick look at the Herald's article!

Brown backs tax cuts for brewers, Hedlund files bill in response to ABCC

2011-08-05T16:07:00.001-04:00

Brown backs tax cuts for brewers, Hedlund files bill in response to ABCC

This is a MUST read! Lots of developments on theABCC crap going on. State Senator Robert Hedlund is on the case, in response to Idle Hands Craft Ales rejected farmer-brewer license. Senator Scott Brown is cosponsoring a bill to finally reduce the excise tax imposed on each barrel of beer a brewery produces.

This reduction of excise taxes will only help the smaller craft breweries grow, produce more beer, create more jobs, and become more competitive with the giants of InBev an MillerCoors. Of course, converting people from that foamy light beer to better beer is another way!

There are more articles I found online while digging through Facebook and Google that I will share with you all soon!

Fourth Annual Summer Brew Fest

2011-08-05T15:00:00.005-04:00

In celebration of International Beer Day, which today, I'd like to inform everyone of yet ANOTHER great beer festival coming up!

The Indian Ranch has announced a HUGE brewfest happening later this month. On the shore of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (seriously, that's the name - don't ask me how you say it) in Webster, Massachusetts, the Indian Ranch known for it's camp ground, classic rock (Blue Oyster Cult is playing tomorrow), and (mostly) country concerts. However, they will hold their 4th Annual Summer Brew Fest on August 27th, 2011 from 2-6pm.

Local and regional craft brewers will be on hand, and confirmed to date are: Harpoon, Narragansett, Sierra Nevada, RedHook Ale Brewery, Longtrail Brewing Co., Wormtown Brewery, Wachusett Brewing Co., Maine Beer Company, Paper City Brewery, Ipswich Ale Brewery, Sherwood Forest Brewers, Watch City Brewery, Clown Shoes Beer, Peak Organic, Woodstock Inn, and Olde Burnside Brewing Co. just to name a few. There will also be some National brands, as well as imported beers from Spain and Scottland.

Tickets are just $20 if purchased before August 13th, and $25 after the 13th. Admission includes 15 beer sample tickets, a souvenir tasting cup, live music, *pole-ish horseshoes, and more! Award winning BBQ will also be available for purchase from B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, and pulled pork and other BBQ favorites from Tiny Tim's Cafe and Catering.

While Webster, MA is in **Central Massachusetts, it's actually only about an hour from Boston, Providence, and Springfield. Sarah and I were recently in Oxford, which is only a few miles away, and I was surprised that it didn't take very long to get there.

You can purchase your tickets at the Indian Ranch box office, or through Ticketmaster by clicking here. Please note this event is rain or shine!

* I previously stated I didn't know what pole-ish horseshoes in, but in fact I do know what it is - I just didn't know what it was called. Man, where have I been hiding?

**I previously stated Indian Ranch was in southeastern MA, but Webster is kinda near Worcester (about 15 miles) and somewhat on the Connecticut border. Sorry for any confusion!

Redhook Fest - Tomorrow

2011-08-05T13:59:00.004-04:00

I have no clue why I didn't announce it earlier, but the 15th Annual Redhook Fest is TOMORROW at the Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, NH. The gates to this party open at 2pm, and the even goes well into the night. It is also rain or shine, but is bound to be a great time! Tickets are just $30 in advance, and $40 at the doors.

Here is the official press release:

15th Annual RedhookFest Tickets Now On Sale

Citizen Cope to Headline Redhook’s 30th Birthday Bash

Portsmouth, N.H., Join Redhook Brewery for his 30th birthday bash and the 15th annual RedhookFest. The monumental birthday will be headlined by indie rocker Citizen Cope and is expected to attract thousands of craft beer and music lovers from across New England for a summertime bash in the brewery’s backyard. For this year’s birthday celebration, Redhook has partnered with 100.3 the ROCK Station to offer live music, food, and Redhook beer. Opening acts include, Mitten, Soulive, and Robert Randolph & the Family Band. RedhookFest is open to all ages, however photo ID is required for the purchase of alcoholic beverages and minors must be accompanied by a parent. The festival will include a vendor village complete with games, activities, and prizes from local cultural and adventure-based businesses.

Tickets for RedhookFest are on sale now and are $30 when purchased in advance, $40 at the door. Kids 12 and under get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Tickets can be purchased at Cataqua Public House, located at Redhook Brewery and online at the brewery’s Web site, http://www.redhook.com/.

What: Redhook Brewery’s 15th Annual RedhookFest/30th Birthday Party· An all ages, general admission, festival style event· Featuring headlining musical guest Citizen Cope· Festival activities include a 40ft. rock wall, dunk tank, etc.· Prizes provided by local businesses Sky Dive New England, 3 Rivers Rafting, Sunday River, Alpine Adventures Ziplines, and more· Redhook beer and food from local vendors will be available

When: Saturday, Aug. 6
Gates open at 2 p.m.
Music begins at 2:30 p.m.

Where:
Redhook Brewery
1 Redhook Way
Pease International Tradeport
Portsmouth, NH 03801

Who: Thousands of food, music and beer lovers from around New England

Tickets: Available now at the Cataqua Public House at Redhook Brewery or online at www.redhook.com. $30 advance / $40 day of show Kids 12 and under get in free with adult admission

An Update on the Farmer-Brewer Issue

2011-08-05T08:45:00.002-04:00

Treasurer Steve Grossman offers hope of rescue for craft beer industry from his agency’s red tape

So, yesterday's post about the Alcohol Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) was no mistake; however, it may have been an instant knee jerk reaction to a preposterous idea. Thanks to the ladies at Craft Beer Cellar for posting a link to this article on their Facebook page, it seems that Massachusetts' State Treasurer Steve Grossman had no idea that the ABCC was modifying their requirements for breweries to produce 50% of their hops and barley to qualify for a farmer-brewer license. Grossman has to approve any changes, which if passed, this new requirement would hurt incredibly - but, according to the article he is on the side of small business.

There's a meeting between Grossman, the ABCC, and representatives from the craft beer industry next Monday, and we'll hopefully have some news to share with you. For now, take a look at this Patriot Ledger post from yesterday.

Happy National IPA Day!

2011-08-04T13:31:00.002-04:00

Today is National IPA day! I didn't actually know about it, or perhaps realize it, until a few days ago, but an impromptu package store run last night made me realize that I needed some hoppy brews in order to celebrate this evening properly! I ended up stopping at Atlas Liquors in Quincy, which has a rather decent selection of craft beers.

With that being said, I got the following beers:

Haverhill Brewery Leather Lips IPA - a great IPA with a modest IBU of 50. Although the number is low, the flavor and bitter bite is definitely there! Haverhill Brewery uses Centennial, Nugget, and Chinook hops to give the IPA its bold flavor and aroma.

Great Divide Brewing Co. Rumble - an American IPA aged on French and American Oak. It's said to have a heavy addition of Pacific Northwest hops, and who doesn't love that!?

Stone Brewing Co. Ruination IPA - a COLOSSAL dose of Columbus and Centennial Hops help give this beer 100+ IBU, enough to ruin any other beer you may chose to drink after the Ruination IPA. A serious beer for serious hop heads, it's not for the run of the mill IPA fan.

Although I killed off the last of my Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPAs last night, I still have one 16 oz. can of Sixpoint Craft Ales Bengali Tiger. The Bengali Tiger is sufficiently hoppy, clocking in at 66-69 IBU. I had to represent New England, which is why I went with Leather Lips (one of my favorite beers by Haverhill Brewery), but the Rumble just kind of caught my eye. You can also never really go wrong with a big beer like Ruination IPA.

I hope everyone participates in what might be my new favorite holiday of the IPA! I tend to celebrate India Pale Ales regularly, but there's nothing wrong with having a special day to honor such a great style in beer!

What will YOU be drinking?

Massachusetts Lawmakers: Counter Productive

2011-08-04T10:30:00.003-04:00

For anyone who reads this blog and enjoys any of the craft beers brewed right here in Massachusetts, you will probably be as steaming mad as I am after reading this Boston.com article titled "Rule Change Alarms Small Brewers" released today.

Essentially, the Massachusetts legislature is trying to redefine/regulate those brewers in MA that have a Farmer-Brewery license. By definition, those who operate under a farmer-brewery license are required to produce at least 50% of their own grain and hops, or get them from a domestic source (read: a Massachusetts farm). According to the article, around 25 of the state's breweries would be affected by this redefining.

While the revamping of the definition of farmer-brewery is meant to increase and promote the state's agriculture - meaning, adding more farms in the sate, it is INCREDIBLY counter productive. Although the state probably has hundreds or thousands of acres of land suitable for growing barley and hops, one might find it hard to believe that someone will simply open a specialized farm for such a thing. Meanwhile, these small breweries are going to be severely impacted and even forced into closing operations.

What the article points out, and almost all of the brewery tours we've been on indicate, that spent grain from brewing sessions are given to local farms for feed of the animals. Additionally, breweries purchase local fruits and other ingredients to incorporate into their beers.

When asked what the changes in the law would do, Cape Ann Brewing Company's owner Jeremy Goldberg was quoted in the article saying, "We would have a brewery that couldn't serve [beer] on the premises,’’ said Goldberg, who said it could be very hard to get the local liquor license he would need to operate in Gloucester without his farmer-brewery license. “It is going to kill my business.’’

This redefining effort was spurred on after an application request submitted by would be commercial brewery Idle Hands Craft Ales of Everette, MA was discussed during a commission hearing in July. The request was subsequently rejected, leaving Idol Hands Craft Ales in a tough spot while they try to figure out how to get their beer to the market.

Please take a moment to read the article on Boston.com and show your support by leaving comments here and on our Facebook page.

1st Annual Portland Brew Festival

2011-08-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

The 1st Annual Portland Brew Festival will be taking place on Saturday and Sunday September 3rd & 4th in beautiful Portland, Maine. There will be 25+ breweries on hand pouring their liquid gold for you! Not limited to just Maine breweries, there will be three buildings for exhibitors, over 75 varieties of regional craft beer, home-brewing supplies and demonstrations, food, music, and way more.

As you would expect, there will be some well known regional brewers, such as Shipyard Brewing Co, Samuel Adams, and Sea Dog Brewing Co pouring their beers. Other, less-known breweries, such as Baxter Brewing Co (Lewiston, ME), Tuckerman Brewing Co (Conway, NH), High & Mighty Beer Co (Holyoke, MA), Casco Bay Brewing Co (Part of Shipyard Brewing Co in Portland, ME), The Prodigal Brewery (Center Effingham, NH) and Martha's Exchange (Nashua, NH), will be on hand as well to introduce themselves to you (or refill your glasses if you've had some of their brews before)!

There will be three sessions - two on Saturday: 12 - 3:30pm and 5 - 8:30pm, and a Sunday afternoon session 12 - 3:30pm. All tickets are $30, and are on sale now! Click here to purchase tickets.

British Beer Company Westford Turns 1!

2011-08-03T08:50:00.004-04:00

Get ready to celebrate! The British Beer Company Westford is celebrating their one year anniversary! Here's the press release I got from the Director of Marketing at the BBC:

What: One Year Anniversary Weekend Celebration
Where: Westford British Beer Company
When: August 12-13th
Who: The Silvertones with Ricky King Russell and Danny Banks (Saturday)
How: With a Wachusett Brewing Tap Takeover (Friday)

It’s been a brilliant first year for the British Beer Company in Westford, MA. The BBC would like to thank all their customers for their devotion and to the community as a whole for their support. The BBC was awarded Restaurant of the Year in Middlesex County via the Chamber of Commerce. They also received the following awards from WickedLocal.com: Best Bar, Best Lunch Venue, Best Dinner Venue, and a Silver Award for the Regions Best Bar. Very humbling… So how about a celebration with some free BBQ! On Saturday August 13th the BBC is going to fire up a grill out by their spacious patio and offer up free vittles while the Silvertones featuring Ricky “King” Russell and Danny Banks bang out the blues. The Berkshire Brewing Company will also be out on the patio offering samples from their diverse portfolio of beers. Later that night the Pablo Palooza Band performs.

Kicking off the weekend on Friday the BBC teams up with Wachusett Brewing Co. for a big ole Tap Takeover. Seven tap lines will be devoted to this local brewery’s beers: Octoberfest Ale, Imperial Pumpkin, Country Pale Ale, Belgian White, Larry, Green Monsta IPA and Blueberry Ale. That’s right – it’s time for Pumpkin beer again! Kegs will be tapped at noon and will flow all day! A crew from Wachusett will be in the pub from 5pm to 10pm to offer knowledge and give away cool stuff. The night ends with Drunken Uncles…the band, at 10pm.

More about Ricky “King” Russell: Described as "The Kingpin of the Blues" by the Boston Globe, Ricky always delivers from the heart. He has appeared with such notables as John Lee Hooker, Ronnie Earl, Susan Tedeschi, Toni Lynn Washington, Roomful of Blues and many others. He was the featured artist at the original House of Blues in Cambridge and Harvard University has bestowed upon him an honorary "Doctorate of the Blues."

Guest Blogger - AHA Rally Boston

2011-08-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

by Mike Micalone

"Take a drink, and you'll sink, to a state of pure inebriation," Pawtucket Pat from "Family Guy"

These words were being sung in my head as I was walking into the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally at the Samuel Adams Brewery on last Thursday. If you're a homebrewer and aren't part of the AHA I highly recommend you sign up just for the rallies alone! The people at Sam Adams did a great job of welcoming the local members of the AHA to their brewery. Hell, even if you're not a homebrewer and just enjoy craft beer I recommend taking a tour of one of the grandfathers of the craft beer industry.

When I arrived (and after I was done singing to myself) I was handed a name tag, pint glass with a raffle ticket, a small sample cup, a card for four samples and one taste test, and two poker chips (good for a BBQ dinner and a sample of the Patriot's Homebrew Contest winner).

Not a bad start for a free event! A trip through a tunnel with all kinds of information about brewing leads into a room with a bunch of barrels of beer (for the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection) and several 25 barrel fermenters that I would love to try and brew a batch of beer in.
The first stop after passing by the fermenters was to taste test the two beers they had setup for us to vote on. Our vote was going towards the final decision which one would get put into a future mix pack. The first was beer brewed on a bed of oak chips that had a subtle smoky taste to it. The second one was a darker beer with a hint of maple syrup and pecans in it. Despite not being much of a maple syrup fan (I know, sacrilegious for a New Englander to say this!) it wasn't half bad. I cast my vote for the first one and moved on.

After perusing a display of products that Beer & Wine Hobby of Woburn had setup I moved into the tap room to get myself one of my four samples. I decided to start with a Deconstructed Latitude 48. They get their name from the fact that the regular Latitude 48 has five different types of hops in it. Sam Adams decided to brew different versions of the beer focusing on just one type of hops. The one I had was based on Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops.

My buddy Mike from work arrived just as I was ready for another beer. I decided to sampled the East-West Kolsh. This beer was fairly light and ended up going well with the BBQ food setup they had outside in the beer garden. The beer garden was particularly cool to me since I got to sit next to some hop plants they have growing. It made me realize that my hops have a ways to go (more on this in a later post).

After eating some great BBQ I decided it was time for another sample. I decided to go with a Hefeweizen they had on tap. It had a good flavor and aroma overall. Its lighter body was perfect for the weather outside. We were all ushered outside for some raffles and to hear from Jim Prucha, this year's winner of the Patriot's Homebrew Contest. Each year Sam Adams hold a competition to decide a beer to be brewed and served on tap at Gillette Stadium during Patriots games through out the season. Jim brewed a Baltic Porter (which is somewhere between a Russian Imperial Stout and a regular porter) which had a great full body, smooth chocolate undercurrent and pleasant aroma that is sure to keep any fan warm during the cold winter months in New England.

After taking an opportunity to hear Jim field any questions on his brew, the AHA held raffles for a few door prizes that included some T-shirts, books, good bags with brewing supplies, and the grand prize - which was a pair of tickets to the Mass Brewers Fest. I managed to win a t-shirt that had the motto of the AHA ("relax, don't worry, have a home brew"). I would have been disappointed I didn't win the tickets if I didn't already buy mine earlier in the week.

After grabbing another Deconstructed Latitude 48 (my favorite beer out of the ones I got to sample), I took a chance to talk to a few homebrewers about their setups and what they've brewed in the past. Overall I say it was a great first rally and it makes me even more excited for the AHA Rally at Allagash Brewery in Portland, ME later this month!

You can find Mike on Twitter under the handle @Mickle623!

Blue Hills Brewery Oktoberfest & Contest!

2011-07-30T12:00:00.002-04:00

Blue Hills Brewery, located in Canton, Massachusetts, is proud to present their Annual Oktoberfest at the Irish Cultural Center on Saturday September 10, 2011 from 12-6pm.

There will be food, music, activities, and of course lots of fresh Blue Hills Brewery beer for you to sample! Tickets are only $12 and can be purchased online here. Tickets will also be available at the door, but are $15. The Irish Culture Center is located at 200 New Boston Road Canton, MA. Tickets are limited, so it's recommended that you purchase them online ahead of time! Drink tickets are rumored to be around $5 each.

As mentioned on our Facebook page Thursday, we are having another contest! You can win a pair of tickets to the Blue Hills Brewery Oktoberfest through us here at Brew England...

In order to be entered into the contest, please post a comment here letting us know what your favorite Blue Hills Brewery beer is, where you most like to drink them (ie: at home, at the brewery, a favorite festival, the best bar in town), and share this post with your friends on Facebook & Twitter.

The cut off date to enter is Thursday August 18th, and the winner will be announced on Friday August 19th at 12pm.

Good Luck!

Guest Blogger: For the Love of the Brew

2011-07-29T08:31:00.007-04:00

by Mike Micalone

I'm not sure when my love for homebrewing really started; but, I can tell you that what started me down the path was a love for craft beers and a feeling that I can brew beer that was just as good as (if not better!) what some microbreweries were brewing.

My adventure in homebrewing started 10 years ago when I bought a Mr. Beer kit because I thought it would be a fun way to make some craft beers (which from what I can remember was just starting to get its legs under it as an industry) on the cheap. So, there I was in the kitchen of my first apartment after college, trying to brew this batch of beer using the stuff that came in the kits with no clue what I was doing. Did I pay attention to proper sanitation (a must in the brewing process) or that I got the beer to a proper temp to pitch the yeast for good fermentation? Not at all! But I had fun and despite drinking beer out of 2 liter soda bottles, I made some half-way decent beer.

Many life circumstances led to the 9 years I spent away from homebrewing. Thanks to Adam (and an increased passion for craft beers) I was led down a path that has brought me more joy, frustration, and anxiety than I would ever imagine. From clearing out the kitchen of any passersby to make sure no foreign agents infected my beer to watching in wonder as the fermentation lock first started to bubble (indicating my beer was fermenting and turning from a pile of sugar into awesome alcohol), I have been borderline obsessive about brewing. I purchased a basic setup to start brewing 5 gallon batches of beer and got started again.

My first brew, PMB (Post Mr Beer), with a true homebrewing kit went as well as can be expected. I was making an all extract version of a German Light beer from a kit I bought online. Seemed fairly simple: clean everything really well with a bleach type solution, boil some water, add the extract and hops to create a wort (the base of any beer), boil for 60 minutes, put it in a bucket, fill it up to 5 gallons, pitch the yeast, put the lid on, sit and wait a few weeks, bottle it and then wait a few more weeks to drink it. Ok, maybe not as simple as I thought once I write it down, but still not rocket science! Everything went perfectly up to the point when I needed to get the wort to a temperature so I could pitch the yeast. I waited 2 hours for the beer to cool (it started at a boil so I'm not sure why I would think it would cool that quickly) and eventually had to MacGyver it to bring it down in temp in a reasonable amount of time.

The beer came out well enough to make me want to try it again. This time it was an Oktoberfest for the Boston Brewin' homebrew club meeting being held at my house.

To add another level of complexity I decided to try and experiment with the hops I put in as well as add some actual grains rather than just doing an all extract version. Everything was going smoothly up to the very end when I went to put an airlock into a hole in the lid (this is used to tell when the beer is fermenting) and the rubber grommet used to hold the airlock in place fell right into the beer I just brewed. A little ingenuity saved the batch of beer (which came out surprisingly good!) and led me to keep brewing.

In the past year since I started to brew again I've brewed 10 batches of beer, each one increasing in complexity and with their own share of trials and tribulations. With this I have added more and more equipment and built a good relationship with my local brew shop, so I could get timely ingredients for my latest concoctions. I’ve read books, magazines, and forum posts on different brewing techniques. I've switched from bottling my beer to putting them in kegs and serving them off a dual tap kegerator. I've reused yeast that helped make a batch of beer to help ferment my next batch of beer. I converted a 5 gallon water cooler into a mash-tun (used to steep grains when brewing beer) so I could brew beer without extract (known as all-grain brewing). I planted two different types of hops on the side of my house and might try planting more depending on how this goes.

Through all of this my love for good quality beer continues as I strive for the perfect brew.

**A special thanks to Mike Micalone for his guest blog post! You can look forward to more posts by Mike in the near future. He can be found on Twitter under the handle @Mickle623!

Craft Beer Comes to Boothbay, Maine

2011-07-28T10:37:00.003-04:00

I know I'm late posting this, but there is a HUGE craft beer festival at Boothbay Resort in Boothbay, Maine on Saturday. Presented by the Maine Brewers Guild, 2o of your favorite Maine breweries will be on hand pouring their hand crafted beers, with special reserve brews making an appearance. Maine Beer Company, Rising Tide Brewing Co., and Allagash Brewing Co. have also collaborated to create a special beer specifically for this event.

If that wasn't enough for everyone, Sam Calagione - founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, will be a special guest of the event! Sam will be bringing his award-winning beers, including but not necessarily limited to Bitches Brew and 120-Minute IPA.

Tickets are $50 and include your beer samples, and a traditional southern BBQ! A special commemorative tasting glass will also be given to the first 400 people who purchase tickets. The event will run from 1-4pm, rain or shine. You can purchase tickets here, and get more details about the event here.

Guest Blogger - Mike Micalone

2011-07-28T08:21:00.004-04:00

About a week ago I approached my buddy Mike and asked if he wanted to do a post on Brew England. I've known Mike for close to eight years - when we met he was at the time dating (and eventually married) one of Sarah's close lifelong friends Jenn. We've become very close friends over the past several years, and he was recently a groomsman in Sarah and my wedding. We also used his kegerator during the wedding to serve up some tasty Harpoon Brewery craft beers!

Mike had mentioned a while back about documenting his own "Adventures in Homebrewing" as he has quickly become obsessed (again) with brewing his own beer, and the fact that he planted his own hop plants this year, but with the wedding and everything we kind of lost track of what was going on.

Nevertheless, Mike has come through and has written a great introduction to his own "Adventures in Homebrewing." He quickly moved from all-extract "kit" type brewing, to partial grain brewing, to all grain brewing. It never fails to come up in conversation or casual texting that he's buying more ingredients for his next brewing session, which is motivating me to get cranked back up in brewing.

Over the course of the next few months you'll see Mike doing more posts. In fact, he's going to the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally tonight at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery (unfortunately I can not be there), and will be doing a full recap for us. In addition, he and I will both be attending the AHA Rally at Allagash Brewing Co's Portland, ME brewery next month, so we'll likely team up on that recap.

Anyway, Mike's first post will be up today or tomorrow afternoon!

Dogfish Head & Cape Ann Brewing Tastings This Friday!

2011-07-27T11:17:00.004-04:00

I wanted to make sure everyone knew there are two awesome beer tastings coming up this Friday July 29th. Sarah and I are planning on hitting both of them, well…because it’s my birthday, we like beer, and because we do what we want!

The first one is a special limited release Dogfish Head Brewery tasting at Bin Ends in Braintree, MA from 5-7pm. Known more for their discounted wine, Bin Ends has an awesome beer selection. In fact, they were one of our first Brew England Visits back in early 2010. It’s hard to go in there and walk out with only wine – I often pick up a few different beers while I’m there. Bin Ends always seems to have wines available to sample while you’re there, but almost always has beers new to the store open for sample.

If you haven’t visited Bin Ends yet, it’s worth the trip. In addition to great wines and beers, they also have a small section of spirits, including many aged whiskeys. Bin Ends is located at 236 Wood Road in Braintree.

The second tasting on our schedule is at the one, the only – Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, MA. From 5-7pm, our friend TJ Peckham from Cape Ann Brewing Co will be on hand pouring Fisherman’s Brew, IPA, and their summer special Bavarian Wheat. I actually picked up a bottle of the Bavarian Wheat the last time I was at Craft Beer Cellar, and it is sitting in my fridge waiting to be cracked open. Who knows, perhaps I’ll open it tonight in anticipation? The Bavarian Wheat was also recently on tap at Tavolo in Dorchester, another great restaurant with local, craft beers!

Craft Beer Cellar is located at 51 Leonard Street in Belmont. It is worth the drive from just about anywhere in New England. If you haven’t been to this store, you are really missing out!

Cheers!
Adam & Sarah

Wachusett Brewing Co. to Launch Imperial Pumpkin

2011-07-25T12:16:00.002-04:00

Wachusett Brewing Company announced Friday that they will be releasing their new beer, an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, next month.

Here is the official press release from Wachusett on the beer...

Westminster, MA -- Wachusett Brewing Company is releasing their newest beer, an Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This will be the fourth release in their line-up of 22 oz. beers and will hold the title of the strongest beer they have ever brewed at 8% ABV.

The Imperial Pumpkin will be an ale brewed with pumpkin puree and accented with Belgian Candi Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger. It will contain a generous amount of Two Row Barley blended with Carmel Malt and then fermented with Northwest Yeast, creating a unique profile for any fall beer drinker.

The Imperial Pumpkin will hit the coolers, shelves and select draft locations in early August. In celebration of the release, Wachusett will be holding a launch party at their brewery in Westminster, MA on August 11th, 2011 from 7-9pm. There is a $20 cover fee for the launch party, which includes: A first look at Wachusett Brewing Co's new Tasting Room, a limited edition Imperial Pumpkin glass, a private tour of the brewery led by President Ned LaFortune, and snacks. Tickets are available at the brewery, and you can email info@wachusettbrew.com for more info!

2nd Annual Mass Brewers Fest

2011-07-22T08:32:00.003-04:00

With today being forecasted to hit 101 degrees in Boston, it might be a good time to think about cooler temperatures. One way to do that is by telling everyone about the 2nd Annual Mass Brewers Fest!

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Brewers Guild, attendees will sample 80+ beers from 20+ Massachusetts Breweries. The event is taking place on Friday September 2nd, 2011 from 6-9:30pm and will be held at the World Trade Center Head House Concourse, which is a beautiful indoor/outdoor on Boston's waterfront (very accessible via the Silver Line).

Tickets are $35 and include a souvenir sampling cup...however, the first 500 tickets are only $29! There will also be live music, and one would assume a chance to purchase some grub.

Click here to purchase your tickets!

American Homebrewers Association Rally - Portland

2011-07-21T14:22:00.003-04:00

So I mentioned earlier this month about the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally taking place at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston on Thursday July 28th. Well, the AHA has announced a second New England area Rally, this time at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, ME.

Here are the details:

When: Wednesday August 24th, 2011 from 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Allagash Brewing Co. - 50 Industrial Way Portland, Maine

What makes this event even more special is that the God Father himself, Charlie Papazian, will be in attendance. For those of you familiar with Charlie, you are probably as psyched as I am. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Papazian, let me give you a brief run down of who this guy is.

Charlie Papazian founded the Association of Brewers, is the current President of the Brewers Association, and the founder of the Great American Beer Festival - the annual event and competition held in Denver, CO. Charlie has also written "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing", commonly referred to as the "homebrewers' bible", the follow up "The Homebrewer's Companion", and several other books and publications. He also is a contributing author in the AHA's periodical magazine "Zymurgy."

During the AHA Rally you can meat Charlie, meet Rob Tod and the Allagash Brewers, take a VIP tour of the brewery, try a special beer release, have the opportunity to win great prizes, and mingle with fellow homebrewers. Space is extremely limited, so you need to RSVP as soon as possible. Don't forget you must be a member of the AHA to attend, so it is recommended that you join before the event, although they will provide discounted memberships at the brewery on the 24th!

New England Quickly Becomming The Hub of Beer

2011-07-20T13:19:00.004-04:00

This summer is shaping up to be pretty eventful in the world of beer. By world, I mean overall, not the actual planet Earth. Well, come to think of it...perhaps the planet earth!?

Anyway, to our pleasure there has been a lot of beer news about New England! As we mentioned earlier this week, Jack's Abby Brewing opened its doors for production in Framingham, MA. Last night was the Keg Kick Off Party for our friends at Throwback Brewery in Dover, NH. But, in case you hadn't heard, there are even more breweries popping up in the region.

Mystic Brewery, a Chelsea, MA brewing company, received their license to begin production brewing on July 6th, 2011. Backlash Beer Company, a Boston based brewing company, produced their first limited batch of Groundswell Belgian Style Blond Ale just last month. Most recently, Trillium Brewing Company, is going through the application and zoning process to open their brewery, to be located in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood of Boston.

I'm sure there are many other brewing companies that I am leaving out, but as a one man (and one woman) operation, it's tough to sometimes get more info outside of the greater Boston (and New Hampshire) area. But, if anyone knows of new breweries, or even craft beer stores that are opening, PLEASE let us know! It has always been the mission of Brew England to recognize and help promote craft brewers and enthusiasts in New England (with the occasional recognition and nod to our national fellow craft brewers), so please feel free to help us out!

A great start is to find these companies on Facebook, Twitter, and their websites, not to mention recommending our website, Facebook page, and Twitter account! Another way is by attending craft beer tastings and festivals, trying these new beers - or beers you haven't had before, and then telling your friends about them! Many of the upcoming beer events are listed here as well, and are updated as often as possible. Hopefully we'll see you out at some of the events!

Cheers & Happy Summer!

***UPDATE!***

Adam from The Tasting Life, not to mention JC from Trillium Brewing Co, reminded me of Idle Hands Craft Ales out of Everette, MA. They are in the finishing stages of releasing their first batch of beer! It wasn't until I visited their website where I realized that I ran into the head brewer and owner Christopher Tkach (who is from my home state of NH!) at the Beer Summit Winter Jubilee back in January!

Jack's Abby Brewing - Open for Business

2011-07-18T15:27:00.004-04:00

I announced on our Facebook page back in early June that there was a new brewery set to open this summer in Framingham, MA. Well, today I received the official press release...

Jack’s Abby Brewing Begins Production
Opens Doors to Framingham Brewery

Framingham, MA – July 18, 2011 – Jack’s Abby Brewing, today announced the start of production at their Framingham, MA brewery.

The company also announced the opening of a gift shop and the beginning of tours at the Framingham facility. Public tastings are scheduled to begin this month.

“After months of hard work we are excited to begin production of what we believe will be exceptional and unique lagers,” said Jack Hendler, owner and brewer of Jack’s Abby Brewing. Hendler, along with his brothers Sam and Eric, founded Jack’s Abby Brewing in January 2011.

Initial production will focus on three lagers:

Saxon Sons Pilsner
Saxon Sons Pilsner is a wonderfully aromatic, sunshine golden-colored lager featuring a lemony floral nose followed by a dry finish. Brewed and conditioned for extended periods, balancing the traditional bohemian Pilsner malt backbone with unique hops added to our hop back. The name pays tribute to the Saxony Ice Company started by the Hendler brothers’ grandfather. 5.4%

Hoponius Union
Hoponius Union is an India Pale Lager that offers a twist to the traditional IPA since it is fermented cold and aged for extended periods. The perfect union of aromatic American hops and lager fermentation creates a huge citrusy-hoppy aroma and clean, bitter finish. 6.7%

Smoke & Dagger
Smoke & Dagger is a dark, black beer, cloaked in mystery, that gets its roasted and smoky notes from traditional beechwood-smoked malt and chocolate malt. Smoke & Dagger is full bodied and malty with little to no hop character. 6.0%

Jack’s Abby plans to produce seasonal varieties as well as other special occasion lagers and possibly ales in the future.

The Company is currently producing all of its lagers in Framingham facility which currently has a 20 BBL Premier Stainless brewhouse and five 40 BBL fermenters. A special hop back is used to infuse hop flavor and aroma into the beers before fermentation. The brewery also features a tasting room as well as a small garden next door for growing hops and brewing spices.

Beers will initially be available to restaurants and bars in kegs and at the brewery in 64 ounce growlers filled on request. Regular (12 ounce) bottles are expected to be available for sale in 2012. The company will self-distribute its beers to restaurants and bars to start.

About Jack’s Abby Brewing

Founded in January 2011 by three brothers who grew up in a family business, Jack’s Abby Brewing is a craft brewery specializing truly distinctive lagers featuring locally grown hops, traditional German brewing standards, and American innovation.

The name, Jack’s Abby Brewing, pays homage to co-founder Jack Hendler’s wife, Abby, while evoking the tradition of monastic groups in Europe who create handcrafted beers in their abbeys. The brothers are inspired by the tradition of craft brewing using quality local ingredients, mindful labor and great recipes to create delicious, authentic beer.

Explore Your Craft Contest

2011-07-14T12:06:00.008-04:00

First off, I would like to thank all of those who commented, shared the links, posted on Facebook, or retweeted us. Please continue to help spread the good word about BrewEngland.com, it is really appreciated!

Without further delay, the winner of the two tickets to Widmer Bro's & Draft Magazine Explore Your Craft contest is...

Lindsey, aka @andoverliquors!

Lindsey, please shoot me an email at brewengland@gmail.com with your full name and the name of your guest (if you know who you are bringing). Your name will appear on the guest list at the door of the Estate.

Congratulations and see you there!

Adam & Sarah

BrewEngland Vistis: Throwback Brewery - North Hampton, NH

2011-07-13T14:00:00.000-04:00

Back in January I was pleased to hear that there was a new brewery set to open in 2011 in North Hampton, NH called Throwback Brewery. I was quick to post on here, and of course continue spreading the good word about craft beer on New Hampshire's Seacoast. Well, after a few months of occasional emails to owners Annette Lee and Nicole Carrier, I successfully broke them down enough to offer up a tour of their new facility.

Sarah and I wanted to make a nice little weekend out of the trip, and we figured that my brother Dennis and sister-in-law Beth would like to join us, so we booked a room in Portsmouth for apres-tour shenanigans.

Let me start off by saying that if you pay a visit to Throwback Brewery, you will quickly learn that you are about to spend some time with two of the nicest women we have met. Both Annette and Nicole could not have been more pleasant and inviting to the four of us when we arrived.

The brewery itself is set back off of the road, in what is a small industrial park with similar warehouse style buildings. Knowing that we were expected, we showed ourselves in.

At first glance, the brewery looked a lot different than what we saw on their website. Since January, I had been keeping track of their build out process on their blog, and was happy to see that their hard work was just about finished. When you walk in you can see their logo painted on the wall, with nice new, empty, swing-top Grolsch style growlers waiting to be filled.

The logo was just about to be completed at the time of our visit

Further ahead was their new brewing system, which was still in the process of being hooked up to the building's gas system.

A view from the top of the stairs

They also had plenty of kegs stored up...

In order to make some of their lager beers, the fermenting wort needs to be chilled. The ladies of Throwback Brewery got pretty inventive, by retrofitting a few air conditioners to create temperature controlled fermenting closets.

In the world of commercial brewing, taxes play a big part. Breweries are taxed for every barrel of beer they produce (1 barrel = 31.5 gallons). Regulations require every tank that produces a final product to be labeled, so that there is a precise measure of how much beer is produced and therefore taxed. Annette and Nicole thought, "why not go with a Muppets themed system?", and you can see in the picture they did just that. They have other thanks which feature Ms. Piggy, Fozzie, the Swedish Chef , Beaker, and of course Kermit.

The Throwback walls are also donned with a picture of Statler and Waldorf, from the Muppet Show. You may recall that the tandem would always heckle the "performers" on the Muppet Show from the best seat in the house. Annette and Nicole use the picture as a form of motivation, and sighted it reminded them of their dad and friend checking in on them.

Now, it doesn't take me very long to reply to the question "So, do you want to try some beer?" I had to try to play it off as if I wasn't as excited as I was, but I'm pretty sure I didn't hide it very well. So, we headed up to Nicole and Annette's office to do just that - try some beer. Some wasn't probably the best word to describe trying eight beers, but whatever...

Quickly from the hidden stash came several bottles of beer, which again, made me a very happy guy!

The first two beers we tried were the Hog Happy Hefeweizen German Style Wheat beer, followed up by a variation of the Hog Happy called Ryezen Shine - which part of the grain bill was filled with Rye.

Hog Happy is on the Left and Ryezen Shine is on the right

The Hog Happy was a very nice wheat offering. It was light and refreshing, and you could pick out the banana tones fairly easily. The Ryezen Shine had a deeper body and mouth feel to it, but you could notice the similarities in the two beers. Both were very enjoyable!

Next up was the Smoked Chipotle Lager. There was a pronounced, but not overpowering smokiness to it.

Their Red IPA was up next, and was great. It had a mild sweetness to it as you find with a lot of reds, but then it had a great blend of hoppy bitterness to it. The Red IPA was definitely one of my top three beers of the day!

The following beer was the Dippity-Do American Brown Ale. From what the ladies were saying, people seemed to shy away from the brown at their tastings, and they couldn't figure out why. Perhaps it was the name, which can remind people of not so pleasant things; however, the name Dippity-Do seems to easily roll off the tongue and is kinda fun to say! Either way, the beer was nice. It had a nice malt balance, and was enjoyable! It was followed up by a Maple Kissed Wheat Porter, that was also dark and delicious.

The final two beers are hard to explain in words that seriously do them justice...Annette and Nicole poured us all a sample of their Campfire, which is a smoked porter. It poured black as night, and smelled and tasted nice and smokey. My sister-in-law Beth put it best as "It really DOES taste like a camp fire!" which gave us all a nice chuckle!

The final pour of the visit was their Peanut Butter Chocolate Imperial Stout, which was incredibly good. I mean, it tasted JUST like a peanut butter cup, with a perfect blend of peanut butter and chocolaty goodness! All that was missing was a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream for a supremely delicious ice cream beer float!

During and after the tasting we continued our great conversation. Annette completed the Concise Course in Brewing Technology through the Siebel Institute's World Brewing Academy while holding an internship with Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, NH. Naturally, I wanted to pick her brain a bit. We also discussed the process of label approval, which has to go through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which seemed like an interesting process to say the least.

All in all, we spent close to two hours there sampling beers, trading stories, and sharing our love and passion for hand crafted beers, and those that use choice, local, and quality ingredients. The ladies could NOT have been nicer and more welcoming to us all. It was sincerely the best brewery visit we have been on, and I know they will be a hit with their great line up of beers!

Nicole on the Left and Annette on the Right

Throwback Brewery is located at 121 Lafayette Road in North Hampton, New Hampshire. They will officially be opening their doors in the very near future, and will host special "Growler Nights" where you can stop by the brewery and purchase freshly filled growlers of their beer.

Reminder: Explore Your Craft Contest ends Thursday!

2011-07-12T08:11:00.003-04:00

This is just a friendly reminder that the contest for to win a pair of free tickets (valued at $150) for the Widmer Brothers Explore Your Craft event at The Estate in Boston ends THIS THURSDAY!! We have a few people who have "submitted" their entry, so if you haven't done so yet time is running out!

If you have followed Brew England on Twitter, or liked us on Facebook, please make sure to let us know you would like to be considered for the tickets! The easiest way is to share this using the easy one-click function below the post, and by leaving a quick comment here letting us know you shared the info!

The lucky winner will be drawn at 12pm on Thursday, and we MUST have your full name and email address. The winner will be placed on the guest list for Saturday's event, which is sure to be a great time! There are a limited amount of tickets still available through the Estate - click here for ticket information.

Kate & Suzanne from Craft Beer Cellar On the Air!

2011-07-07T12:16:00.004-04:00

Tune in to The Callie Crossley Show on 89.7 WGBH (or click here to liste online) today at 1pm to hear Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow, two of the coolest women I've met recently - and owners of Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, MA - talk about their shop, cool brews, and anything else that might pop up.

Ned Friedman, director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain will also be joining Callie, Kate, and Suzanne to talk about beer.

What is cooler than this? I know I'll be listening!