Craft Beer Cellar Turns 1!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.