Vincent and Suzanne’s winning entry will also be distributed by our brewery in kegs and a limited run of 22oz bottles, available everywhere that our beer is sold. And, just like last year, we are donating EVERY SINGLE PENNY from the sale of H.E.R.O. Chocolate Chipotle Stout directly to…

The Alysha Miller Harris Baby Fund, benefitting the wife and (as of this entry) unborn child of Ben Harris. Ben, a very popular employee of the Redhook Brewery in New Hampshire, died tragically when a plastic keg that he was cleaning exploded. While this charity is not local to us here in Maryland, it was set up to help a member of the brewing community, and at the end of the day we all face the same hurdles and dangers in this business, so drink up, help out, be a H.E.R.O.

Those of you who would like to support this very worthy cause beyond the H.E.R.O. campaign can do so by donating here:

The Alysha Miller Harris Baby Fund
c/o TD Bank
20 Portsmouth International Drive
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603-430-3812

4TH PLACE, JALEPENO WHEAT, brewed by Cody Gabbard and Peter Jones of Arlington, VA.

3RD PLACE, BELGIAN IPA, brewed by Jason and Theresa Hage of Owings Mills, MD.

2ND PLACE, S’MORES PORTER, brewed by Keith Hipsley of Fallston, MD.

1ST PLACE, CHOCOLATE CHIPOTLE STOUT, brewed by Vincent and Suzanne Powers of Nottingham, MD. This silky-bodied stout boasts a spicy, chipotle pepper bite perfectly balanced by smooth, sweet chocolate for one unique, very drinkable beer. Congratulations, Powerses, you’ve earned it!

Vincent and Suzanne’s winning brew will be produced by our brewery and distributed in kegs and a limited run of 22oz bottles, available everywhere that our beer is sold. And, just like last year, we are donating EVERY SINGLE PENNY from the sale of H.E.R.O. Chocolate Chipotle Stout to charity.

That’s where all of you come in. Email us at hero@duclaw.com with the story of an organization or individual in need of a hero by June 30th and we will choose one of these submitted causes to receive ALL of the proceeds from this promotion.

Keep those suggestions coming, and watch this blog for updates.

Cheers!

Dave

That’s where all of you come in. All you have to do is point us in the right direction. Email us at hero@duclaw.com the story of an organization or individual in need of a hero by June 30th and we will choose one of these submitted causes to receive ALL of the proceeds from this promotion.

We started this competition for the dual purpose of giving aspiring brewmasters a way to earn recognition for their craft, and as a way to give back to our community. Our mission is accomplished. Now it’s your turn.

“To be a hero is to live your life in a small cell whose bars are the principles and rules that define what you will and won’t accept. Misfortune, suffering, hopelessness. If I am privileged enough to live in that cell, to serve in that box with the word HERO written on it…then I say to you, from somewhere deep inside that box, what are you doing out there?” S.

Cheers!

Dave

Mysterium makes a damn good summer drinking beer. It has a strong spiced nose, but finishes surprisingly refreshing considering the flavor pop from the spices. And, I am happy to announce that this beer will be available all year round.  So, find some and enjoy!

Cheers,

Dave

ps – Today will be end of the 1st round of tasting for our H.E.R.O. contest.  It has been a pretty cool time, and we have had fun tasting so many good beers.  Our goal is to narrow it down to 10 beers going into the 2nd round, which has been surprisingly tough.  Every brewer who entered should be proud, there were some tasty beers!

Don’t pity us. We chose this life. We volunteered and now we must make the ultimate sacrifice by… tasting all of the entries for this year’s H.E.R.O. Homebrew Competition! Yes, it is a savage task, tasting and judging hundreds of amazing homebrews from around the state. But it’s got to be done. For the good of mankind.

So while you’re at your “normal” job today, safe from the dangers of too much delicious homebrew, find a quiet moment, look toward Abingdon, and whisper, “Thank you, DuClaw Brewing Company”. Because we do all of this for you.

Seriously, though, thank you to all of the homebrewers that entered this year’s H.E.R.O. competition. The deadline for entry has come and gone and now we begin the truly difficult task of narrowing down the field to find this year’s winner. Check back here for updates on our progress soon. The judging has begun!

Oh, and we heard the whispers. You’re welcome ;)

Dave

Retribution is the embodiment of patience, craft and perseverance. But, waiting 6 months to try our experimental blend was perhaps the ultimate exercise in these virtues. The resulting 15.5% abv 60/40 blend of Retribution and Colossus was nothing short of divine. Such an extraordinary beer requires extraordinary packaging. The bottle labels were printed on a 100 year old Chandler & Price platen press (similar to a Heidelberg) named “Bessy” by Gilah Press in Baltimore using specially selected paper to convey the handcrafted precision of the beer.

Because the labels were “crafted printed”, they do not have pre-applied adhesive, making them unusable in our automated bottle labeler. But, in the true spirit of our craft, our creative director and brewery staff numbered, applied the labels to the bottles, and wax sealed them by hand to complete packaging worthy of our Divine Retribution.

We put our hearts and souls into this beer, and it is BEYOND AMAZING. Only 168 bottles of DIVINE RETRIBUTION series #1 were produced and they will be hitting the shelves of select retailers today, so grab one of these extremely limited edition bottles before they’re gone! Oh, and in answer to the inevitable question this post will spur, YES, there will be a DIVINE RETRIBUTION series #2. What we will blend with Retribution in series #2, however, is the real question. Enjoy.

Craft be cherished…Rules be damned!

Dave

To answer some questions, we will be releasing this soon in 22oz bottles.  But, we will only have about 156 of them.  Stay tuned here at the blog to hear when (and where) they are going.  It will be posted here first.

I will be posting some more info on Divine and some other beers later this week (no promises though as Baltimore Beer Week is putting a strain on my time and liver)…

Cheers,

Dave

And we will be debuting our newest addition..RETRIBUTION, our Single Barrel Imperial Stout.  We aged this beer 6 months (192 days) in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, then bottled each barrel separately..no mixing.  We will have approximately 168 bottles per barrel and 20 barrels.  Each bottle will have which barrel it came from on the label (see pic at right).  Some barrels have strong notes of chocolate, some of bourbon, some of the wood sweetness and some of vanilla.  Each barrel is unique.  If you like bourbon barrel stouts, I think you are going to like this.

Here is a video from last year, just to jog your memory…

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Dave

ps – did I forget to mention our surprises? Well, you are just going to have to be there to find out….

http://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2011/08/duclawretribution-imperial-stout.html

Just to give an update of what is going on:

1) H.E.R.O., our home brew competition beer, a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, is being brewed today and schedule to release in 22oz late August

2) We should be submitting for label approval to the ATF for our October 22oz seasonal(s), that I think is going to knock your socks off.

3) Mad Bishop, our Oktoberfest, will be packaged in 12oz bottles soon and to hit liquor stores in mid August.  Yeah, it is getting crazy when you Octoberfest has to be out in August.

4) And we have been finalizing our surprises for the B.A.M. Octoberfest this year.

5) I will be posting the lineup sometime in August, so stay tuned.  It is looking like next year’s line up is going to be pretty freakin’ awesome.

6) We have two more 80bbl fermenters and a bright beer tank coming in late August to add about a 30% bump to our capacity, and that is not a moment too soon.

Also, I just wanted to thank everyone for drinking the beer and pushing us to do it more extreme, more cool, more session-able, more crazy, more retro and better than ever before.  We wouldn’t exist, or be able to do all of our the crazy stuff if it wasn’t for all the support out there….

Cheers!

Dave