(Lafayette Hill, PA) - Made under the moniker of Barren Hill Brewing, two beers debuted in bottles this weekend: General Lafayette Chocolate Thunder Porter and Abbey Blonde. The beers are part of the brewery’s Small Batch Series. They will soon be joined by Abbey Brune, a Belgian-style Dubbel.

The Porter was made with multiple malt varieties including English Marris Otter and chocolate. It is among the brewery’s most popular ales with an A- rating after 25+ beer reviews at Beer Advocate.

The beers can be found in parts of the Pennsylvania area and are distributed by Bella Vista Beer Distributors. At the moment, General Lafayette draft beers can be found at the General Lafayette Inn as well as places like Mahogany on Walnut, Brigid’s, Chaucer’s, Capone’s, and TJ’s Everyday. The Tiedhouse is supposed to open up later this summer and will offer several GL beers on tap.

Post from: beernews.org

General Lafayette bottles make their debut

(Escondido, CA) - Stone Brewing will host the second annual Stone Sour Fest tomorrow, July 20, from 11am-9pm at its brewery in Escondido. I have been tracking the late additions, and this week, Lost Abbey was added to the mix (2008 Sinners, Isabelle Proximus, and Red Poppy) as well as some rare treats from Valley Brew up in Stockton. I would attempt to do a top 10 but it would be futile with this list. Over 30 draft selections and around 40 different beers in bottles. $30 gets you ten taster tickets though a few rare selections might cost two tickets. More info including full beer list here.

Post from: beernews.org

Stone Sour Fest 2008 happens this Sunday!

(Chico, CA) - Sierra Nevada Chico Estate Harvest Ale will become the latest to be bottled as part of the brewery’s Harvest Ale Series, a batch of beers known for the inclusion of wet hops. This one will feature hops grown at Sierra Nevada’s Chico Estate. The beer should be available toward the end of August though its distribution will be more limited than that of the recent Southern Hemisphere release.

According to the press release on Beer Advocate, the beer was previously only available on draft as “‘20th Street Ale.’” That now changes as Bill Bales (presumably), Sierra Nevada Brewing CFO, notes that the brewers estimate total production of 200 bbl’s, still enough to hit most or possibly all markets but with little depth.

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, a re-release, should be hitting stores now. The beer was released for the first time in bottles last year. Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, another annual release with fresh hops, should be out in late September, climate-permitting.

Post from: beernews.org

Sierra Nevada Chico Estate joins Harvest Ale Series next month

[7/20 Update: Perseguidor Batch 3 and Weizen Bam will be among the beers available at the Michigan Summer Beer Fest this coming week.]

(Dexter, MI) - More sour madness. Rumors are swirling on BA that Jolly Pumpkin Ales will soon release the third batch of its sour ale blend. Apparently the release date is set for Friday, August 1, at noon with an extremely limited number of cases at play, presumably in the single digits. The 750 mL bottles should go for $16 a pop.

The Jolly Pumpkin Perseguidor releases are among the brewery’s top-rated beers. Each blend is unique as different beers are used each time. The common thread is that each blend is aged for six months or more. Batch 1 was a blend of La Roja and Bam Biere. Batch 2 was a blend of Oro de Calabaza and Bam Biere. No word yet on what has been blended for Batch 3 but we’ll keep you posted if we learn of it before the release date.

Related Stories:
Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam Farmhouse Wheat Beer becomes #4 in Bam Farmhouse Series
Beer notes: Jolly Pumpkin brews Lambic, Left Hand changes stout, Haandbryggeriet Haandbakk

Post from: beernews.org

Jolly Pumpkin Perseguidor Batch 3 to be released on August 1

(Asheville, NC) - Word came last night from Julie Atallah, owner of the #2 rated retailer in the world according to RateBeer, Bruisin’ Ales, that North Carolina beer stores will soon be able to ship beer out of state. Atallah says that her Asheville beer shop got its FedEx permit and is awaiting finalization of the states to which she can ship.

Let’s break down what this could mean to beer people around the U.S. North Carolina has had a quietly up-and-coming beer scene for a while now. Unfortunately, some of the better brewers and brewpubs in the state don’t distribute very far, if at all — Pisgah Brewing, perhaps, being the prime example.

Pisgah’s ‘green’ philosophy has been well-documented; the brewery has no interest in large trucks carting its beers around the country. Aside from trading in the forums, this may become the only other loophole in Pisgah’s initiative. A look on the Bruisin’ Ales site shows that the store has previously stocked the brewery’s gem, Valdez. Unfortunately, there is never a guarantee that special releases like these will be made available for shipping. Even so, their other beers are certainly nothing to scoff at and several of them have been bottled. 17 of Pisgah’s 18 brews are rated B+ or better on Beer Advocate. Bruisin’ Ales reported Hellbender, a Barleywine, Cosmos, a Baltic Porter, and Solstice, a tripel, all available on store shelves as of yesterday evening.

This goes far beyond Bruisin’ Ales and Pisgah Brewing though. Ever wanted access to fellow Asheville breweries, Highland and French Broad (who just started bottling their ESB and Wee Heavy-er Scotch)? How about The Duck-Rabbit Brewery? Or easier access to Terrapin beers?

There are four North Carolina retailers in the RateBeer Top 50 and over 30 on Beer Advocate rated A- or better. Hopefully, some of these stores will try out the online beer market. Regardless, this opens up a pocket of the country to which most of us have never had access, and that is pretty exciting.

Post from: beernews.org

North Carolina beer shops get OK to ship

(Pleasantville, NY) - Captain Lawrence Brewing will release its top-rated beer, Cuvee de Castleton, on Saturday, July 26 at 12pm ONLY at the brewery. According to an e-mail sent out to Captain Lawrence fans on Wednesday morning, 90 cases have been produced and the bottle limit will be four per person at $15/750mL bottle.

Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton is a “Golden Ale that has been aged in French and American oak barrels with both Brettanomyces (wild yeast) and Muscat Grapes, for over a year.”

It won gold in the Sour Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival in 2007 and is currently listed as one of the top 100 beers in the world on RateBeer.

Post from: beernews.org

Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton to be released July 26

(Fort Collins, CO) - Odell Brewing has begun a barrel-aging program and hopes to release the first beer in the series of one-offs later this summer. According to the press release, “Woodcut No. 1 will have hints of vanilla and dried fruit flavors derived from the medium toast of the oak cask.” The beer will be sold in 750 mL bottles, each one signed and numbered, as early as August.

Odell has not yet become a household name to beer connoisseurs across the country. That is starting to change in 2008 though. The brewery has made strides in its craft program over the last year. Odell won three medals at the World Beer Cup and three at last October’s Colorado event, theGreat American Beer Festival. Most notable among the medal achievements? How about taking home gold in the heralded American IPA category at both fests. In addition, the brewery successfully hosted its second Small Batch Beer Festival on May 31.

A sign that this brewery has criminally flown under the radar is the fact that this news actually came out three months ago. It was even printed in the newspaper (only the cached link works for now as the article has been taken down). We’ll keep you posted as to a release date as soon as we see the information.

Post from: beernews.org

Odell Brewing launches into barrel-aging foray with Woodcut No. 1