The BR Beer Scene

Review: Bayou Teche Courir De Mardi Gras

2012-02-24T15:11:00.000-06:00

Many thanks to Dan for giving me a couple of these! The good news is that I got the hook up, the bad news is that it's because he didn't really like it. That's alright though, different styles for different folks, and Dan is quite the hophead, so a "Biere De Garde" might not be up his alley at all.

The "Biere De Garde" is a French-Belgian style of beer, typically malt-heavy with a noble hop flavor flavor and lighter color. The average alcohol range for these is 6% to 8% but this offering from Bayou Teche Brewing comes in at a lower 5%. That probably makes it a better beer for Mardi Gras in South Louisiana even if it's not expected for the style.

Poured into a Chimay goblet, it's a golden orange color with minimal head. Not much retention or lacing at all on this beer. The aroma is biscuity, malty with a little funk to it. I don't pick up any real hop presence.

The taste is more of the same, except it gets a little bitter hop note at the end of the sip. That adds a nice dimension that was missing on the nose. Really easy to drink, it's a little thin and the bitterness lingers on the finish.

It's enjoyable but I won't be rushing out for another. Maybe it's just the style, but just an average beer to me.

My rating: C

Review: Newcastle Founder's Ale

2012-02-17T11:29:00.000-06:00

Not too long ago I received an e-mail from Newcastle's marketing team over here in the USA about trying and reviewing their latest beer, the Newcastle Founder's Ale. And do you really think I'm going to turn down the opportunity to try the beer and write about it? Hell no. So, not too long after that I had a couple of bottles of beer waiting for me when I got home, and a few days later it was time to break out this Founder's Ale and see what it's all about.

Newcastle is pretty much synonymous with their famous brown ale, which has its origins way back in 1927 in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1960 the brand merged with Scottich Ales, and was eventually bought out by Heineken International. Currently the famous "Newcastle" brand is brewed in Edinburgh, Scotland as opposed to Newcastle, and is quite popular here in the United States.

This beer is one of their recent attempts to diversify the brand, starting with their Summer Ale, then the Werewolf (a fall beer), a Winter IPA, and now their Founder's Ale, which is labeled as an English Pale Ale. The beer pours a dark orange color, filtered with a sizable head. Not a bad looking brew at all.

The first I noticed on the aroma is a strong malt flavor... toffee and biscuity. The hops are pretty well muted and don't expect the same kind of hop profile from an American Pale Ale. You're not going to get that in the English version of the style. The flavor is yeasty, with caramel notes and a slight hop flavor that lends more sweetness than bitterness.

It's nothing revolutionary or amazing, but this is definitely an easy drinker. It's well blended and a beer that I could definitely see throwing back if it made it our way on tap. Pitchers would go quite well with some bar food and football, the alcohol content is a tame 4.8% but the flavor is definitely still there.

My rating: C+

Beer Review: NOLA / Stone Pour Me Somethin' Mistah!

2012-02-12T16:26:00.000-06:00

Alright, finally the big day had arrived... not that I was turning a whopping 32, but the release of the NOLA Brewing / Stone Brewing collaboration beer, Pour Me Somethin' Mistah. Appropriate for any big New Orleans beer release, the party was taking place at Avenue Pub, my New Orleans beer bar of choice. The release was announced back in mid January, so it had a month of hype building up to it. After a quick early lunch at Cochon Butcher (delicious) it was over to the pub to wait for 1 PM to hit and the beers to start pouring.

While waiting, the balcony bar had a few tasty warm-up brews, so it was the right time to check out the Saint Arnold Bitter Belgian, a very nice Belgian take on their Elissa IPA. Not a bad beer and a great way to get the day started. I followed that up with the NOLA 7th Street Wheat with grains of paradise and orange peel on cask and then it was time for the showpiece beer, the Pour Me Somethin Mistah.

The first hint at the beer came from The Beer Buddha, who brought one out and immediately made a face like it wasn't rocking his world. Uh oh... not a good start. Dan brought one out for me, and my first taste was the same reaction. It was still really cold, and tasted like an over-hopped porter, out of balance and not as rich and complex as I was hoping. Damn. Fortunately, I still had some cask 7th Street Wheat so I finished that while letting the Pour Me Somethin Mistah warm up a bit.

Pour Me Somethin' Mistah, and 7th Street Wheat on cask.

Letting the beer warm was a great decision, as it really opened up and turned into quite the drinkable porter closer to room temperature. The orange peel and molasses started come out in the flavor and the hops took more of a back seat to those flavors. What started off disappointing finished a very nice brew. For those in Baton Rouge, The Cove will have this one on tap in their front bar on Wednesday... just be sure to request a room temperature glass and take the time to let it warm up to unleash the full range of flavors.

My rating: B for this one.

Abita Cans Are Out!

2012-02-09T07:54:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, in case you haven't seen them yet, Abita beer in cans should be out or on the way to a store near you!

(New Orleans) The Abita Brewing Company is pleased to announce the debut of three of its flagship brews in cans: Amber, Purple Haze® and Jockamo I.P.A.® The Abita cans will appear in stores, restaurants and bars in the New Orleans area Monday, February 6 and with wider distribution across the region and the nation to follow.

I've already heard word of them at Calandro's, Whole Foods and Albertson's in Baton Rouge already, so if you feel like checking out some canned Abita, there's a good start!

Abita joins NOLA and Tin Roof in the canned Louisiana craft beer market, although NOLA and Tin Roof each only can one of their offerings each. Southern Star is another canned craft beer out of Conroe, TX that we get here in Baton Rouge. Obviously cans have their place wherever glass is forbidden like the beach, canoeing, and Mardi Gras. In fact, the Abita cans are here just in time for Mardi Gras! For my money though, I'd rather grab some NOLA and Tin Roof.

January Resolution Results!

2012-02-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, for those who missed it, my 2012 goal was to walk at least a mile per drink consumed. You can read all about the rules here, but I wanted to take a quick look at how January went.

Total Miles: 127.55

Total Drinks: 118.5

Average Miles: 4.11

Average Drinks: 3.82

Highest Daily Mileage: 9.41 Miles (1/9)

Highest Daily Drink Total: 9.5 Drinks (twice, 1/21 and 1/28)

Lowest Daily Mileage: 1.58 Miles (1/23) and 1.63 (1/24)

Lowest Daily Drink Total: 0 Drinks (5 times)

So what does this tell me? I think the most eye-opening bit is the two lowest days, of 1.58 and 1.63 miles. Both of these days were weekdays where I spent most of the work day sitting at my computer, then headed home and had things to do where I didn't get a chance to go walking at all. A simple walk around the block with Abbey could have added about a mile to those totals. Unfortunately I think this is what a lot of my days looked like in 2011. The good news is that it's really easy to take that under 2 miles per day and turn it into an average of slightly over 4.

The highest mileage was a day where I walked Abbey in the morning, then walked the full LSU lakes with Mandi, and walked Abbey a short ways again after the BCS championship game (BOO!!) that night. I didn't quite get to 10, but still, 9.41 miles is a good bit.

The two highest drinking days were Saturdays spent going out. The first one was Avenue Pub for their Swedish beer tasting, followed by a few drinks at Mama Ford's birthday party. The only reason this day wasn't higher was that Avenue Pub was only pouring half-pours of all the Swedish beers and they were almost all below 7% abv. The second 9.5 drink day was a Saturday in Houston where Mandi and I went to the Karbach Brewery then to the Petrol Station for some more beers. Both of those places serve a lot of high alcohol beers so even though I tried less beers they counted for more drinks.

What's the plan for February and beyond? Basically more of the same... walk more and drink less. As long as I can keep those miles above the drinks I'll be doing just fine.

Review: Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

2012-01-30T12:28:00.000-06:00

I'm sure many of you have seen the Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA (@sierranevada)
around the stores locally, but it's time for a quick review in case anyone out there is debating buying a 6-pack. Or just wants to know what I think.

I actually picked these up while at Spec's in Houston but it's all over Baton Rouge as well. I've seen it recently at Calandro's and Matherne's and I have no doubt that other go-to beer places (or even the bigger grocery stores) will also have some 6-packs on the shelf. This is one of Sierra Nevada's four seasonal ales to go with the Summerfest, Tumbler, and Celebration Ale. It's a bit early for a Spring beer, but as they say, it's meant to "create a complex ale for the tumultuous transition to spring." And so far in 2011-12 we have barely had a winter anyway!

Back to the beer... I poured into a Karbach Brewing pint glass, it's a dark amber color, clear with a white head. Not bad looking, but nothing absolutely amazing.

The aroma is really strong with rye and not surprising from Sierra Nevada a good many hops. There is a faint caramel malt balance underneath as well. The flavor profile is quite similar to the aroma except the hops are more pronounced while the malts fade. The rye adds a nice spice to the beer similar to a rye whiskey.

The mouthfeel is very medium bodied beer with a strong rye aftertaste. Another good beer from Sierra Nevada. Obviously if you aren't a hops fan this is one to avoid, but if you like the hops this one is worth buying a 6-pack or sharing with some friends.

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!