The BR Beer Scene

Attend a "Raise A Glass" recording 1/24 at Roux Wine & Spirits!

2012-01-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow night, January 24th, we will be having our first ever on location recording of the Raise A Glass radio show. The recording will be at Roux Wine & Spirits, on Airline Hwy. in Prairieville in the same shopping center as the Rotolo's. If you want to google maps it, the address is 17540 Airline Hwy, Ste E, Prairieville, LA 70769. The party starts at 7, with the Final Four episode being aired, and then we will tape out finals episode where we name the Raise A Glass whiskey tournament champion! The owner will have all of the Final Four whiskeys on hand to try and if there is a tie among the four panelists, the crowd is the tiebreaker! It won't be aired live, but we will be recording as if it was.

It would be fantastic to have a good turnout, so please come out and bring some friends. There will be good booze, good people, and good fun! If you haven't been following the whiskey tournament you can always catch up on iTunes here!

And always, Raise A Glass.

Review: Big Flats Beer

2012-01-18T09:08:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I had to try it.

Big Flats 1901 Lager Beer, for those blissfully unaware, is the new-ish lager from Walgreens that sells for a whopping $2.99 per 6-pack. It's contract brewed (of course) through World Brews which does contract brews for other stores like Trader Joe's and Costco.

The real question is... just how bad is this beer? Is it so terrible that even the 50c per can price tag is too high or is it drinkable enough to where I might pick up a few for a canoe trip if the money is tight? Surprisingly I think the answer is the latter... this beer is by NO means good, it's a pretty mediocre beer at best, but it's cheaper than the big boys and in situations where quantity is valued over quality there's not reason not to grab a few packs. It's not like I'm looking for a quality beer when I do reach for the Bud Light or Miller anyway right?

So, in short, I think this beer accomplished its goal, which is to be a cheap as hell minimal flavored lager. The 4.5% abv is coming in between the light beers and the mainstream adjunct lagers and the flavor is about on par, as in minimal. So, the next time I feel like bringing some cheap cans of alcoholic water canoeing, this might be the ticket.

Unless of course the bank account says I can afford some cans Tin Roof Amber or NOLA Blonde... then the Big Flats is off the list.

Coming in February - Stone / NOLA Collaboration Beer!

2012-01-17T18:18:00.001-06:00

I'm sure that any of you who read any beer forums or have Facebook and follow the local breweries/bars already know this, but get ready for some Stone Brewing / NOLA Brewing collaboration beer! It's going to be an Imperial Porter that is brewed with satsuma orange peels and Steen's molasses. The name will appropriately be "Pour Me Something Mistah" which I think is great despite the length.

Look for a release party on Feb. 11th (if all goes to plan, and that's my birthday, so thanks Stone and NOLA for that awesome present!) at Avenue Pub, then hopefully the beer will make its way to local tap lines. It will only be available on draft it seems, so that limits the options for drinking some, but I'm going to make damn sure to try it.

Stone has been one of the best craft beers in our market since they entered a couple of years ago so it's extremely exciting to see them teaming up with one of the best local breweries. This is nothing but a good thing for Louisiana craft beer. Cheers!

Draft Magazine's 100 Best Beer Bars in America - 2012

2012-01-17T08:13:00.003-06:00

And it's back, Draft Magazine's list of America's 100 Best Beer Bars! The 2011 version featured a couple of New Orleans beer bars... Avenue Pub (duh) and Cooter Brown's. This year, however, Cooter Brown's failed to make the cut, so Louisiana is down to one of the top 100 beer bars in the country, as Avenue Pub is on the list yet again. So congrats to Polly and everyone at the Avenue Pub for some much deserved recognition!

Unfortunately it's also time to talk about a few bars that I feel were snubbed... two from Houston, the Petrol Station and the Ginger Man Pub. Neither made the list, and in fact only one beer bar from all of Texas made the cut this year, the Draught House Pub & Brewery in Austin which I have not had the pleasure of visiting. I guess it's hard for me to REALLY be critical when I've only been to two beer bars on the list, Avenue Pub and Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse. Despite that, I really feel like the Petrol Station especially is deserving of a spot as they were named the most bitter bar by Stone Brewing! That's a pretty special accomplishment and it shows up in their tap list.

I guess there just isn't enough room for all the great beer bars out there, but maybe in 2013 I won't have to mention who I feel got snubbed!

Raise A Glass - Whiskey Tournament Sweet 16!

2012-01-13T14:57:00.000-06:00

Just an update on the Raise A Glass season 2 Whiskey tournament! We are down to our final 16 whiskeys so things are really starting to get good! Be sure to tune in Fridays at 6 or Sundays at 4 on WHYR 96.9 FM in Baton Rouge, or listen and catch up on iTunes! It's also never a bad idea to follow the show (or myself) on twitter!

Click on the bracket to see an enlarged version!

Review: Epic Barrel Aged IPA

2012-01-13T09:17:00.000-06:00

First off, thanks to Jay over at BiteAndBooze.com for hooking me up with this one as a Christmas present! I've seen it at Calandro's lately and also at The Cove so here's a review while it's still on the shelves and available! Epic is a brewery out of New Zealand that is fairly new to our market, but they have put out some really good beers. For those that watched Brew Masters, the New Zealand collaboration beer was between Dogfish Head and Epic, so you might remember the brewery from there!

Now for this beer... I poured from a .5L bottle into an imperial pint... it's remarkably clear, with a frothy white head that takes up 1/4 or so of the glass on the pour. Really nice retention and some of the best lacing I've seen in a while. Good looking beer.

The aroma is expectedly hoppy with a hint of the barrel aging. The wood flavors come through more each time I stick my nose in but they still are the secondary flavor in this aroma.

The barrel aging comes through a lot stronger on the taste, but I'm not sure it's entirely a good thing. It's not bad but I sense a little confusion and competing rather than augmenting the natural style. It gives the beer too much going on rather than the right amount of flavor complexity in my opinion.

It's got good carbonation with a strong grapefruit hop finish. I'm enjoying this one for sure but it's not 'world class' just a good beer. This one, along with Epic's other brews, are definitely worth checking out if you want to try something different.

Looks Like The LSU / Tin Roof Beer Is Off.

2012-01-11T17:55:00.000-06:00

This isn't a huge surprise due to the backlash from some people within the LSU community and the difficult licensing process, but it's still disappointing that the LSU / Tin Roof beer project is officially over. Here's the article on WAFB, or on the Business Report if that's more your style, but basically LSU has decided not to continue to pursue licensing and has removed the beer from its agenda.

So what does that really mean to Baton Rouge beer drinkers? Not a whole lot... the beer is already out as Bandit Blonde on tap around town and will continue to be produced as the Bandit Blonde as far as I know. And I can't see any reason not to as the name alone presents no licensing or copyright problems. All this really means is that the cans, when released, won't be adorned with any LSU logos.

What I really want to know is what this might do (if anything) to the potential education tie-ins between LSU and Tin Roof? It seemed to me that it would be a great opportunity for students to get hands on with the brewing process as part of LSU's Department of Food Science. It would be a shame to miss out on that aspect of the partnership just because the beer licensing didn't work out.

Oh well... I guess we won't be seeing any of this on the shelves:

Dogfish Head's January 2012 Release Schedule

2012-01-11T14:09:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I know, we don't get Dogfish Head here, but I know a lot of you make trips to Houston on occasion, or perhaps the Florida panhandle where the DFH beers can be found. If you can't make a beer run, maybe you have a friend or family member that can.

So, if you get the chance, here are some of the Dogfish Head upcoming special releases, via their facebook page.

January beer release updates for ya!
Tweason’ale – will begin shipping to wholesalers the week of 1/16 and should be hitting retail between 1/23 and into early Feb (depending on when your local wholesaler takes delivery).
Namaste – will begin shipping to wholesalers the week of 1/30 and should be hitting retail between in early Feb.
Noble Rot – will begin shipping to wholesalers the week of 1/23 and should begin hitting retail the week of 1/30.
2011 World Wide Stout – will begin shipping to wholesale the week of 1/23 and will begin hitting retail the week of 1/30.

Of all these, the one I want to try the most is the World Wide Stout, so I'll be on the lookout for that one, and I wouldn't pass up the other three!

Beer Business Daily - What's In Store For 2012?

2012-01-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

While browsing beernews.org I came across this article about one beer journalist/analyst's predictions for 2012 as it pertains to the beer industry. It's a little lengthy, but here are some of the highlights plus my thoughts on how it might affect beer drinking down here in South Louisiana. Well, if the predictions are correct of course.

We will see an unprecedented number of new packages and brands coming from the big brewers this year, as they seek ways to bring drinkers back into the fold. This will cause some complexity issues with wholesalers and the requisite griping as their numbers of SKUs increase and blended margins erode.

Hmmm, first off SKUs refers to Stock-Keeping Units... and basically what he thinks is that the big guys (Bud, Miller, Coors primarily) are going to try ever different ways to package their beer and come out with new similar brands. In case you hadn't noticed, take a look at the BMC part of the beer cooler next time you're at a grocery store. There are about 73 different ways to buy Bud Light. You can probably buy 4 different 6-packs at most stores! 12 ounce bottles, 12 ounce cans, 10 ounce cans, 16 ounce cans! WHICH ONE DO I WANT?? Do they really think that offering all the different packaging will influence other people to buy Bud Light instead of the next one? Maybe a small amount of the time, but mostly it's because each different package takes up more shelf space until eventually just the Bud Light packaging options takes up a whole section of the cooler if not spilling over into the next one... which is where the Budweiser starts, or maybe the Natural Light, or perhaps the Michelob Ultra? What this means for us though? Not much I think... BMC will continue to dominate the shelf space but places like Calandro's and other stores that we go to for craft beer are going to keep their shelves full as long the market remains.

Craft beers will continue to driving beer growth and take share within the category, to the tune of maintaining double digit growth. However, 2012 will be the year that we see in bas relief that demand isn't the problem -- it's supply. We really are going to see capacity constraints create shortages. Sierra Nevada and New Belgium will break grounds on new eastern breweries, but they won't come online for some time. The winners will be those who can supply the beer. I suspect more breweries will withdraw from markets.

Hmmm, now this one I unfortunately agree with, although it might not really be unfortunate. Growth in the craft beer sector is a VERY good thing and all signs point to more growth but I really do think brewing companies withdrawing from markets because they are at capacity and can't even satisfy core markets is a strong possibility. In fact it's already been happening around the country from time to time. Some breweries are expanding, others are gaining drinkers and being forced to pull back. In Louisiana though, what does this mean to us? I don't see brands like Stone or Sierra Nevada going anywhere but could ones like Ommegang and Brooklyn and Jolly Pumpkin cut us out if they can't meet demand elsewhere? It's certainly possible if the beers are sitting on shelves longer here than their other markets.

2012 will be the year of cider. As the larger craft players and even big brewers get into the cider game, and they will, not to mention current cider makers expanding and international cider makers entering the market, cider will start getting lots of press, industry attention, and a wider consumer base. I expect we'll see some regulatory issues in some states on whether cider is a wine or a beer.

Cider huh? That would be fine by me, I enjoy a good cider from time to time and there are several brands available in Baton Rouge like Strongbow and Crispin.

We will see increased deregulation efforts at both the state and federal level. The fight to deregulate will intensify this year, with both privatization efforts, deregulation by defunding, turf wars between the FDA, FTC, and TTB, more deregulation lawsuits against states by winery interests. In addition, I think we will see a rash of new First Amendment challenges by craft brewers challenging state laws.

This has already started in Texas with the Jester King lawsuit I talked about recently. Their success is only going to help motivate brewing groups in other states to do the same and open up the industry even further. One of the next big hurdles is at least partially circumventing the three-tier system and allowing breweries to sell (in some fashion) directly to the public.

Craft brewers will experience more sharp elbows among each other as regional brewers expand into others' back yards, shelf space tap handles relative to the number of SKUs becomes more of an issue, and talent gets poached.

This is a big one... I can think of at least 4 new breweries on the way or in the works in South Louisiana, plus breweries like Parish, Bayou Teche, Tin Roof, and NOLA are still expanding their breweries and lineups. So far there is far from an over-saturation of local beers and it seems like all the up and coming craft guys are more focused on a synergistic relationship than a cutthroat scenario. Could this change as the local guys get even bigger and start fighting over tap handles and shelf space? Absolutely, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens in 2012 where bars in town can't carry all the local brands and have to make those choices. Tap handles are the biggest concern, and are always at a premium.

So there you go... the article covers many other topics if you want to read it, and I think some are very astute predictions and could hold true around us.

Bayou Teche Courir de Mardi Gras

2012-01-06T08:55:00.000-06:00

It looks like Bayou Teche Brewing is about to (or maybe just did!) release their latest brew, a French farmhouse styled beer called Courir de Mardi Gras. The full press release can be checked out on The Beer In Me forum, but I'm excited to find and try this latest release. I've never been a big fan of the LA 31 Biere Pale but all the other Bayou Teche beers have been awesome and they have a knack for hitting on the local culture and ingredients.

If anyone sees the 6-pack around Baton Rouge, be sure to let me know... I'll do the same.

Cheers!

The BR Beer Scene 2012 Resolutions

2011-12-31T12:34:00.003-06:00

2011 was a great year, as I talked a bit about yesterday, and along with all that drinking came a lot of hits, website success, and also a little weight gain.

In 2012 I know I'm not going to stop drinking... it's just not going to happen even without the 365 new beers goal or trying to visit different breweries. I just enjoy beer (and whiskey) too much to quit. I am, however going to try to limit my drinking by imposing a new "rule" upon myself that I have to walk a mile for every "drink" I consume.

That's right, I have a pedometer on order and once I figure out my stride length and how many steps are in a mile I can start counting it up and seeing where I'm at. The average person walks about a mile a day naturally, but I have a pretty sedentary day job so I might not ever be at that number. So the goal will be, of course, to monitor my miles walked, and always keep ahead of the curve as I also track all of my drinks consumed.

As far as "drinks" go, here are my guidelines to follow:

One normal beer (7% or less) in a pint or less quantity is equal to one drink. I know there's a lot of variation between a 12 oz. Michelob Ultra and a pint of Stone IPA but it would be a real pain to count all those calories so one beer = one mile for this one.
One normal beer (7% or less) in a bomber or 750ml is equal to two drinks. I drink plenty of bombers so this will likely come into play.
One strong beer (over 7%) in a pint or less quantity is equal to two drinks.
One strong beer (over 7%) in a bomber or 750ml is equal to four drinks.
Any beer over 12% is triple in value to a normal beer.
Two tastes of whiskey (as in, the Raise A Glass tourney) will be equal to one drink.
One pour of whiskey (or other liquor) will be equal to one drink.
A double pour is of course equal to two drinks.
Any whiskey mixed with a sugar-filled beverage will be doubled in value. (Diet drinks or water do not double the value.)
A glass of wine (approximately 5 ounces) constitutes one drink.
A full bottle of wine equals 5 drinks.
Each size up on a daiquiri/margarita will be one drink. Small = 1, medium =2, large = 3, extra large = 4, etc... unless they are the sugar-free variety, then cut it in half.

Sharing is allowed. If I split a bomber with a friend it only counts as half that bomber's worth. Sharing of any other beverages can be distributed appropriately, as it pertains to bottles of wine especially. For beer tastings, the standard pour will determine the amount of drinks. A 4 ounce pour is 1/4 of a pint and 1/4 of a beer if it's standard. And so on...

So, that's the plan... a mile per drink all year long. I might get a little behind at first with New Year's day football and all the bowl games on Jan. 2nd, and then the BCSCG on Jan. 9th, but I'll catch up on the miles. I promise!

Cheers, and here's hoping you all have a fantastic 2012!

The BR Beer Scene Year In Review - 2011 Version!

2011-12-30T16:20:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I must say it has been a fantastic year for my blogging and beer drinking habits, as I look back on all of the "resolutions" I set for myself at the beginning of 2011. Did I accomplish all of them? Honestly, no, I didn't. Let's take a quick look though before I get into some goals for 2012.

Visit at least 6 breweries. I accomplished this one, visiting the Tin Roof Brewery in Baton Rouge, Parish Brewery in Broussard/Lafayette, Freetail Brewery in San Antonio, Saint Arnold Brewery in Houston, No Label Brewery in Katy, and the Bozeman Brewery in Bozeman. Each of them presented a unique experience and I would (and almost certainly will) visit them all again!
Get published somewhere other than my blog. Hmmm, in a way I did accomplish this as the Raise A Glass radio show featuring myself and Jay Ducote of BiteandBooze.com is on the air and published on iTunes. It wasn't really the point of the goal, but I suppose it does meet the letter of the law.
Keep Homebrewing. Mission accomplished here, I brewed several beers throughout 2011 and also a mead. I plan on doing even more homebrewing in the future now that I'm done with resolution #7 which you'll see later!
Enter a Homebrew contest. I never really did this, but I did serve some homebrews at the Tin Roof Homebrew Appreciation Night. Still though, I can't say that counts because it wasn't a contest, just an open house/tasting. Strike 1.
Drink a beer stronger than I ever have before. This was accomplished twice over... once with the Brewdog Tokio* Imperial Stout and also with the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. Check!
Continue to get in better shape and lose weight as I simultaneously continue to enjoy beer and write about it. Well, I can't honestly say that I accomplished this one. I didn't gain much, but I am up about 5 pounds from the start of the year. So crap... strike 2.
There are 365 days in 2011... I think I should try 365 new beers. This was the big one, and I accomplished it with flying colors, drinking around 460 (and counting for another day) new beers this year. I finished it off with a Westvleteren 12 as number 365 back in October. I did fall behind in blogging about all the beers, but can you really blame me? That's a lot of brew!

So there you have it... 7 resolutions, 5 success stories and 2 strikes. I guess it takes 3 strikes to be out, so I'll keep on blogging about beer!

My goals for 2012 will be a lot simpler and mostly focus on that Resolution #6 that I failed to accomplish but also some aspects of the rest. Check back tomorrow for that post!

Authentic Beverages vs. the Texas ABC - ruling announced!

2011-12-20T14:31:00.000-06:00

Earlier this year Authentic Beverages (not sure exactly who they consist of but I think Freetail Brewing, Jester King, and a few others were part of the lawsuit) put forth a lawsuit against the Texas ABC declaring portions of their Alcoholic Beverages Code to be unconstitutional. Earlier today the judge in the case sided with Authentic Beverages regarding half of the lawsuit, and with the Texas ABC on the other half.

So, what does this mean to consumers like me who might be in Texas looking to buy/drink some beer? Honestly, not much yet. It does allow the breweries to properly name their beers with regards to style, as well as display the alcohol content. They are also allowed to direct customers to locations that carry their beer which was previously illegal.

The lawsuit was hoping to also do away with restrictions preventing the breweries from selling directly to the consumers but this part was unfortunately the part that was not ruled unconstitutional. It's a step in the right direction though, and look for more legislation in the future regarding this part of the issue. All in all, although it might not affect us over here too much, it's still a good step and proof that the small breweries CAN indeed get things done legally to help the world of craft beer.

For more reading on the subject:

Scott Metzger's blog, the founder and owner of Freetail Brewing.

Beernews.org's post about the case.

Jester King's blog post/press release.

Stone Brewing 2012 Special Release Dates!

2011-12-19T15:58:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, I was just browsing BeerNews.org, because I'm a masochistic SOB and I enjoy reading about all the beers we can't get in Baton Rouge. Seriously, the first page of news includes beers from Goose Island, Russian River, Summit, Victory, and Lost Abbey. We can't get any of those in Louisiana and only Victory (and maybe Summit?) over in Texas. There was one item of interest to those of us down here, the Stone Brewing 2012 Special Release Dates! I don't know that all of them will find their ways to our shelves, but in 2011 the Anniversary Ale and Vertical Epic did for sure. Here you go:

Stone Old Guardian Barleywine – Feb 13th
Stone Imperial Russian Stout – April 16th
Stone 16th Anniversary Ale – August 13th
Double Bastard Ale – October 29th
Stone Vertical Epic – 12.10.12

So, be on the lookout for any of those on the shelves around those dates, and drink up!

New Breweries Every Day! (well... almost...)

2011-12-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

Much thanks to Dustin Davis for bringing this article to my attention via his blog, Sports on Tap! Apparently there have been 50 new breweries opened up in the last two months across the United States. FIFTY! That seems like an awful lot for just two months, but I'm not going to complain. Unfortunately none of them are in Louisiana, but there are a couple in Texas so maybe I'll get a chance to try their beers or check them out soon?

First up is a nano-brewery out of Beaumont called Cornel's Brewing Company. Apparently they debuted with a Mexican-style lager but have some much more interesting beers in the works such as a Pecan Pie scottish-style ale, a vanilla porter aged in bourbon barrels, a rye pale ale and a "Smokin' Hot Blonde" that will be aged with roasted poblano peppers. Now some of those really sound intriguing and I'm going to have to make a pit stop in Beaumont on one of my future Houston trips and see what I can find! (Yes, the articles say they released their first beer in July, so I'm not sure why they would count as opening in the last two months... but they are on the list?)

Also new in Texas is a brewery called Wicked Beaver Brewing in the town of Wolfforth. Just where the fuck is Wolfforth you ask? Well, a google map search (yeah, I had no clue either) shows that Wolfforth is in the middle of nowhere. Zoom out a few times and it turns out the Wolfforth is not too far from Lubbock in the Texas panhandle. They take pride in brewing their beers with no automation (so really a commercial scale homebrewer, awesome!) and they started off strong with a Black Ale as their first beer. Very nice!

I know there are a few coming closer to home as well... I haven't heard much news about the Pelican Brewing Company or Iron Rail, but they've got to be getting closer to being on the market. Add in new brewing facilities for Bayou Teche and Parish Brewing and it's still an exciting time for craft beer drinkers in Louisiana as well.

Brewery Review: Left Coast Brewing Company

2011-12-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

Alright, time to talk about a brewery instead of a specific beer! Left Coast Brewing started distributing to Texas back in August, so if you're ever at Spec's over there look for a few of their regular lineup plus maybe a seasonal or two! The first one I tried was the Hop Juice Double IPA, probably their signature beer, and it was well received among all of the IPAs we had lined up at the IPA Day tasting! I need to try it again in a more isolated setting and really appreciate a good beer.

Since then I've also had the chance to try the seasonal Una Mas Amber Lager and the year-round Voo Doo Stout. Both beers also impressed, but especially the Una Mas which really had a lot of flavor for the typically less than powerful style. The Board Walk Saison, a summer seasonal was also a pretty solid beer and the year-round Trestles IPA was good but not quite as impressive as the Hop Juice Double IPA.

The next chance I get I'd like to try their year-round Asylum Tripel and the other two seasonals, the Wedge Black IPA and Ale Epeteios Imperial Stout really look appealing to me. Maybe one day these guys will be in Louisiana. Expansion from California to Texas is a step in the right direction.

Cooking With Cholula Hot Sauce - Part 2

2011-12-10T13:46:00.000-06:00

Alright, a couple of posts ago I made some spicy fajitas with some Cholula chili garlic hot sauce and washed that down with a Nogne O Imperial IPA. I was itching to try another one of these Cholula flavors so it was time for some chili lime pork! This really was a pretty simple dish... pork tenderloin filets, with some olive oil, Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning, one lime juiced up, and then the chili lime hot sauce!

While the pork was cooking (about 45 minutes in the oven on 375) it was time for a side, dish, so I whipped up some lentils real quick and boiled them in a little crab boil for an extra kick. With about five minutes left for the pork I added some shredded cheese because who doesn't like cheese? Shortly after that, a quick spicy dinner was served.

I'd recommend another IPA with this dish, something fresh and hoppy to work well with the spices and the lime. And just because this dish has some lime, don't just grab a cheap Mexican import and throw a lime in it. Please! Cheers!

Westvleteren 12 in the United States - Update!

2011-12-09T10:23:00.002-06:00

It looks like the talk of Westvleteren 12 making it's way to the United States is more than just talk. Recently they have submitted (and had approved) the labeling for the bottles in our market. They can get away with just a custom bottle and a cap in Belgium but the rules here are a lot more strict and bottles have to contain certain information about the beer. The craft beer guys over at Beernews.org are all over this Westvletern 12 stuff. Or, Westvleteren XII as it turns out.

Here's a look at a possible front label for the bottles which are expected out in Spring 2012:

And here's the possible back label:

Now the real question is, how much will these gift packs cost? The rumors have them wholesaling for $50 to $60, so I think a $100 price tag for the pack of 6 bottles and two glasses is what we should expect. Will I still buy one? Absolutely... but probably just one at that cost. How about you? Post a comment and let me know if you'd be in the market for $100 per gift pack.

New BR Beer Scene Logo!

2011-12-02T13:20:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, just a quick post to show off the new BR Beer Scene logo. It's about time I put one together and now it'll represent Baton Rouge while the previous title logo on the site was a bar in Seattle! A very awesome bar for the beer drinkers among us, but still in Seattle.

The title version is up above, but here's the regular version as well:

Let me know what you think about it!

Cholula Hot Sauce & Nogne O Imperial IPA

2011-11-22T16:27:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I received a set of four hot sauces from Cholula, a Mexican company claiming to be the "flavorful fire" so I figured it was time for a little cooking and beer pairing. The 4-pack of sauces came with the original flavor, chili lime, chipotle, and chili garlic. I had some fajita beef on hand, so I figured a garlic and jalapeno beef fajita with some chili garlic hot sauce would be pretty tasty... especially paired with the right beer!

The recipe itself was pretty simple, diced up pieces of beef with some olive oil, minced jalapenos and garlic, Cholula chili garlic sauce, and a little Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning. I blackened the beef in a cast iron skillet while I debated which beer would be good with some fajitas. With the hot sauce, another round of hot sauce coming, and the cajun seasoning, I anticipated a bit of a spicy fajita, so I opted to go for a Nogne O Imperial IPA (@nogneo). I figured a big hoppy beer would counter the spice well and help quench a little bit of burning between bites.

After the meat was done cooking it was fajita time... a few black olive slices, a generous helping of shredded cheese (4 cheese Mexican blend!) and a little more garlic chili Cholula hot sauce completed each one. They ended up really nice, spicy and flavorful which was complimented well by the extra hoppy Nogne O beer.

Cheers, and always remember to drink well when you eat well!

Review: Stone Vertical Epic 11/11/11

2011-11-16T12:22:00.002-06:00

I'm rushing this review out because it's a beer from Stone Brewing (@stonebrewingco) still on the shelves at a few local places like Calandro's (@calandrosmkt for you twitter people, where I bought a bottle) and probably a few other usual suspects when it comes to more limited beer releases.

This is the tenth release of the Stone Vertical Epic series, starting on 02/02/02 and culminating next year on 12/12/12. I guess they thought of the idea a year too late to start in 01/01/01, but oh well, still plenty of beer to enjoy! The main point of "Vertical Epic" is the idea of a vertical tasting. In beer terms, and probably wine as well, a vertical tasting is going through and tasting many successive years of the same beer release. This of course requires the patience and storage to age beers for years and the money up front to buy beers that you might not drink for, in this case, a decade. Recently I've been working on increasing my beer cellar so of course another one of these will be added for aging, and to be drank when the 12/12/12 Vertical Epic from Stone is released!

Now on to the beer itself... of course I had to buy one for immediate consumption! This one is a "chile beer" which just means that it has some chile peppers in there but doesn't really describe the base of the brew. For this one I poured into an imperial pint, but I think a snifter would be even better for next time, or for anyone who tries one after reading this.

It's a ruby red color, clear with a couple of fingers of off white head. There isn't much lacing but some good looking pooling on the surface of the beer. I let it warm a few degrees before drinking because the fridge is at 37 and that's just too cold for a good beer like this. Once the beer fridge / kegerator is up and running I'm going to be keeping it right around 45 degrees, which is much better for a tasty beer.

The smell is rather malty with some strong cinnamon notes. There's a little Belgian floral hop note in there as well. Pretty appetizing. The taste is a lot more chile in there with a flavor that closely resembles a Belgian dubbel. I'm a big fan of the interaction. It's very easy to drink with a minimal alcohol note despite a strong 9.4% abv and the chile flavors really enhance the rest of the taste.

Another winner from Stone, grab one of these if you can, the price was very reasonable (I think $7 or $8 if I remember right.) I felt higher about it than the BeerAdvocate community, but at a decent price it's absolutely something worth trying. If you really aren't sure about a chile beer, buy one to try and if you like it find another one to age.

My Rating: A

BeerAdvocate: B

The Full Whiskey Tournament Field!

2011-11-13T22:40:00.010-06:00

For those who missed out on the Raise A Glass Whiskey Tournament selection show on the radio over the weekend, here if the full field of 68, er, 64 whiskeys that are still alive!

Click on the bracket for a full-sized version.

Please write in the comments, tweet me at @BRBeerScene, tweet the show at @RaiseAGlass, or post comments on my facebook page and let me know what you think about any of the match-ups. In the event that the judging panel of myself, Jay Ducote, James Lawson, and Jeremy Spikes (with possible other guest panelists) are split on a vote, then the reader/listener participation is the tiebreaker.

The field after the #1 seeds was set randomly, so there are some interesting first-round match-ups and some big-time upsets in the making. Tell me what you think and who you think should win!

Here are the four sections of the bracket broken apart:

Raise A Glass - Season 2: The Whiskey Tournament

2011-11-10T12:18:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

I'm excited to announce that Season 2 of Raise A Glass will be premiering on Friday, Nov. 11th, at 6PM on WHYR radio 96.9, Baton Rouge. For those that can't catch it on the radio, the show will also be up on iTunes shortly after appearing on the airwaves, and you can find the Raise A Glass iTunes page here!

In season 1, we developed some ideas for the radio show where we stuck to a topic every week and gave bits of info about the topic such as 'How It's Made' and 'Drinking In Time' and 'Liquor in Foreign Places' but we decided to try something a little different for season 2. Instead of focusing on a new topic each week, we are going to have an overriding theme for the season, and in this case it's going to be whiskey!

A few days ago it was time to record the first episode, so I got together with Jay Ducote, my co-host, brother, and the author of Bite And Booze, our producer James Lawson, and our good friend Jeremy Spikes to set the field of 64 whiskeys in our season-long whiskey tournament. We had representatives from all over the world, although mostly from the United States, Scotland, and Ireland. I cant reveal the entire brackets yet, you'll have to listen for yourself or check my blog out later, but I did want to get some feedback on a few first round matchups!

So, who do you have in the following preview matchups:

Lagavulin scotch vs. Cragganmore scotch?

Baker's bourbon vs. Booker's bourbon?

Black Bush Irish whiskey vs. Millar's Irish whiskey?

Reader/listener input through the season will help us determine the matchup winners, so let me know what you think, tell me what your favorite whiskey is, and what you would want as your top seeds, and those will get consideration for advancing.

All in all, I'm looking forward to this season, it should be a lot of fun discussing and comparing all the different whiskeys. And maybe season 3 will be a beer tournament instead?

Could It Be? Westvleteren 12 in the Unites States?

2011-11-08T16:36:00.000-06:00

Apparently unbeknownst to most people outside of Belgium, Westveletern had a crazy one-day large-scale release of Westvleteren 12 gift packs. They released 98,000 "boxes" as they called them in an effort to raise money to restore parts of their abbey. The one-day release apparently rivaled large release parties in the USA like Dark Lord Day and the Pliny the Younger release, except it was at a chain of stores across Belgium instead of just in one location!

Here is the full BeerNews.org writeup about it.

What's of most importance to us, though, is the last tidbit... where this article is translated as saying, "Almost all revenue, 2.3 million will be devoted to the renovation. A similar formula should also be born abroad in 2012. Some 70,000 boxes should be sent beyond our borders." Whoa... 70,000 gift packs of Westvleteren 12 leaving Belgium? You have to assume that at least part of that will be coming to the United States, so keep tuned and keep on the lookout for this next year. I'm sure it'll be a crazy event, I know I'll grab as much as I can even if it's $30 or so per pack, or whatever 25 Euros is exchanging to these days... probably more. I paid $20 per bottle just to try it so a 6 bottle and 2 glass pack, hell yeah.

Here's hoping this is true, I'd love to have a few of these in the fridge waiting for me when I get home.

Beer Travels: Bozeman Brewing Company in Bozeman, Montana.

2011-11-04T13:17:00.000-05:00

Alright, time to finish off one of my New Year's resolutions with brewery trip #6 on the year, a visit to the Bozeman Brewing Company up in Montana! After flying in, and a quick rest stop for lunch at Mandi's aunt's place, we headed to the brewery for their nightly open house.

Apparently law in Montana allows the brewery to sell three pints per person (or one growler refill) per night directly, but only between the hours of 4 to 8. I guess that's an interesting way to allow breweries to sell direct, but only in smaller quantities, or give daily growler fills to the locals. So, we picked out a table in their tasting room, and headed to the bar for the first round, the Amber Ale and Belgian Dubbel.

The space was a little small but it is a small town, and they had 8 of their beers on tap, some of the regulars it seemed plus a few special releases. I did like the atmosphere of the bar area / tasting room a lot and they had a handful of tables with barstools plus some popcorn available.

The beers were outstanding, and cheap! The regular pints were $3.50 and snifters of some of the special releases like their Imperial IPA and Barrel Aged Imperial Stout were only $5. I really liked the Imperial IPA a lot, and Mandi loved the Barrel Aged Imperial Stout which was aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for a very different and interesting flavor.

The standards were quite good as well, and one of the real highlights was the fresh hop ale made from local hop varieties. It was a real treat and the epitome of drinking local. Apparently Montana is a real hotbed for hops farms... I did not know that.

All in all a great experience and if I'm ever back in Bozeman I'll be stopping in to see what's new on tap. A must-try for any beer lover stopping through. And with that, I'm am done with another New Year's resolution!