America's First Trappist Brewery Is Coming!

I know when you think Trappist beer you probably think about Belgium, but in reality Trappist beers can be brewed anywhere.  There are already Trappist breweries in the Netherlands and a relatively new one in Austria.  Before long, we'll be able to add the United States to the list! Now they won't be required to brew in the Belgian style, but it does seem like the upcoming Spencer Brewery at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Massachusetts is going to start out with a Belgian Golden ale.  I'll report back if I hear anything about specific dates and distribution, but my guess is that it's going to take some traveling or trading to get some in Louisiana.

Here's the link to the article on Thrillist.com.

We've fought for our right to remain silent, bear arms, and party, but the right to brew one of the super-elite, monastery-based Trappist ales has eluded Americans for centuries. All that's about to change, though, because of the heroic monks at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, who are gearing up to open the first Trappist brewery in the country.

In fact, the move will make America the fourth nation ever to have one of this specially recognized breweries. Currently, only eight exist -- six in Belgium, one in The Netherlands, and another in Austria -- due to the strict guidelines. A Trappist beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, so the brothers have to be members of The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, and production has to be under the control of the monks. BUT the brewery has to be of secondary importance, and once they've covered their basic living and monastery maintenance fees, the monks have to give any extra profits to charity. And make delicious beer.

Saint Joseph's is all set to met those qualifications with their "Spencer Brewery", which has been in the works for a few years now. The monks secured zoning rights back in '11 and have been hard at work building an adjacent brewery and preparing their inaugural suds. According to Beer Street Journal, their first offering will be "a full-bodied, golden-hued Trappist ale with fruity accents, a dry finish, and light hop bitterness". It'll come in 11.2oz bottles, but the official release date is TBD for now. Which gives you plenty of time to assemble your mash-up of chanting Trappist monks with "America F**k Yeah!" for the occasion.

Nine Beers Americans No Longer Drink

This morning I came across this article from "24/7 Wall St" about nine beers that Americans are no longer drinking, and it actually made me smile a little.  One of the first points in the article is that beer sales have fallen overall 2.3% from 2007 through the end of 2012.  This is no secret to anyone following the market trends (although beer sales were up in 2012 compared to 2011), but what they don't mention is that craft breweries have been on the rise through that same period.  

Craft breweries' production actually gained 15% by volume in 2012, so I think it's fair to say that craft beer in the USA is starting to at least make a dent in the big guys, as evidenced by the 9 beers on this list.  Source: Brewers Association.

To save you all some trouble, here they are:

9. Labatt Blue
8. Budweiser
7. Heineken Premium Light
6. Milwaukee's Best Light
5. Old Milwaukee
4. Miller Genuine Draft
3. Milwaukee's Best Premium
2. Budweiser Select
1. Michelob Light

Review: Parish 2013 Grand Reserve

Every now and then writing about beer has its perks... one of them came up recently when I was given a bottle of Parish Brewing's 2013 Grand Reserve in advance of the December 14th release date.  You can read all about the release party details in an earlier post... this one is about what you can expect when you get your hands on a bottle.  And you should definitely try to get your hands on a few.

It comes in a 750 ml bottle, with the same label as last year.  On the right side there's a little area where vintage and bottle number is handwritten, so you'll never forget the vintage of the bottles you might decide to cellar.  Just like last year they are topped off with some red wax, because have you ever had a bad beer that was dipped in wax?  Don't answer that... I'm sure you have, I'm sure I have... I just can't think of any right now.

The beer pours exactly how a big barleywine should... rich deep amber color with a large bubbly head.  It settles down pretty quickly to finish out the pour, then it's time to get the nose in there.  This beer is hoppy, hoppier than the 2012 release, but still has a massive rich malt backbone.  There are definitely caramel malt notes and I expect them to come through even more on the tongue.

Sure enough, the rich maltiness is even more present on the tongue but the hops are still powerful as well.  It's a far hoppier barleywine than the 2012 release on the tongue as well.  The alcohol content is present in the flavor but never overpowers the malt and hops. Each sip is packed with flavor and the flavors change as the beer warms up also, with the alcohol coming through a little stronger and the hops hitting a tad stronger than before.  

And the finish is ideal... a clean lingering blend of caramel and hop resin.  

I can't wait to grab a few more of these, I expect that they will only get better as they age!

Parish Grand Reserve Release Date Announced!

Alright Louisiana beer fans, the much anticipated release of Parish Brewing's Grand Reserve Barleywine is getting close!  December 14th, to be exact, with the first bottles being released at the brewery itself.  After the initial brewery release (3 bottles max per person, must reserve in advance) then bottles and kegs will be dispersed throughout the Parish distribution area.  

I've heard from Andrew, the owner and brewmaster, and he says that they have about 2000 bottles and 20 kegs this year, and they expect that 1200 to 1300 will be distributed while the remaining are expected to be sold directly from the brewery on Dec. 14th.  Last year there were 1300 bottles produced, so those in Baton Rouge looking for it on the shelves can expect a similar amount as we saw in 2012, but hopefully they will stretch a little farther as some of us will likely be buying bottles at the brewery!

In my opinion Grand Reserve is the best Louisiana brewed beer, so I'm quite excited about this release, and I'm very happy that there will be a brewery release as well as normal distribution.  Andrew told me they will also have a cask of the 2013 Grand Reserve at the brewery, as well as a keg of 2013 for snifter pours, and a keg of 2012 Grand Reserve available in 5 oz. pours for comparison.  There should also be several food trucks on site to add the to festivities.  

Sounds like a great day to me! 

Red River Brewing Company - Launch Today in Shreveport!

I don't know how many Shreveport readers of Facebook fans the BR Beer Scene has, but it looks like you're getting your second official brewery in about a month's span!  Red River Brewing Company is launching their draft beer this evening at Rotolo's, starting at 4 PM.  They are starting with their Louisiana Hay Ryed beer, a 4.5% rye-wheat hybrid beer with American hops.  

I don't know too much about Red River Brewing Company and haven't had a chance to try any of their beers, but it's still exciting to have another Louisiana brewery on the map!

3rd Street Coffee Crawl! - Tin Roof Coffee Porter

Tin Roof Brewing Company is releasing their seasonal Coffee Porter at a pub crawl downtown tomorrow night in partnership with the Me & My Big Mouth Podcast!  Proceeds go to Triumph Kitchen, a venture started by Chef Chris Wadsworth formerly of Restaurant IPO and his wife Summer.  Tickets can be bought in advance online and include entry into a raffle for some pretty cool items. 

The banner below has pretty much everything else you need to know!

Beer Review: Tin Roof Rougarou Imperial Black Ale

By now I'm sure you've seen some pictures and hype about the latest from Tin Roof Brewing, the Rougarou Imperial Black Ale!  Not only will this be their "biggest" beer yet in terms of abv, but it will also be their first release in 22 ounce bottles.  I was able to pick up a preview bottle late last week, and the bottles should be hitting the shelves around town later this week!  They'll also be on draft at a few places starting at 5 PM tonight at the Bulldog, I'll try to update other locations when I hear about them.  

First impressions... I love the name.  It's perfect for a Louisiana brewed Imperial Black Ale.  I'm actually a little surprised none of the other local breweries had used the Rougarou name already.  The bottle itself is really sharp as well. Simple artwork, the name of the beer, the style, and the Tin Roof logo up on the neck. Time for a pour, this one was fresh off the bottling line when I picked it up last Thursday and Mandi and I split it on Friday, that's about as fresh as a beer gets.

The beer pours a rich black color, spot on for the style, with a little bit of off-white head.  The aroma was excellent, hoppy with some pine notes and a nice malt backbone.  It was spot on for what you'd want in this style of beer.  The taste up front was a little harsh on the bitterness, but I expect that to fade pretty quickly and maybe even by the time bottles hit retail shelves.  It wasn't bad, I just thought it was a little too bitter and it made it hard to pick out the hop flavors.  The back end of each sip was better, with the hops coming through more distinctly and playing well with the rich malts.

All in all, a very nice effort from Tin Roof, and in my opinion their best beer yet.  I'll be picking up a few more once they hit the shelves and am eager to try it on tap as well!

Feature Beer Friday! - Red Stripe Dragon Stout

Huh?  A stout from Red Stripe?  Yeah, that's what I thought too, but apparently it does exist. In fact, Desnoes & Geddes, who brew Red Stripe, have a few other stouts in their lineup, inlcuding Guinness, but since D&G is owned by Diageo, that makes perfect sense.  I always knew that Jamaica was one of the brewery locations for Guinness but I never realized it was the same brewery that did Red Stripe.

Followed all that?  Great!  The real point is that "Red Stripe" brews a stout, and we had one to try. It comes in at 7.5% alcohol, and is listed on BeerAdvocate as a Foreign / Export Stout, which is a little stronger than a normal Dry Irish Stout, but not huge like a Russian Imperial Stout.  They are traditionally brewed in tropical climates and made to last a little longer before going bad.  Well, Jamaica classifies as tropical in my book, and it had to survive the journey to the USA... so here goes...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, with an off-white head. Hints of ruby but a general stout-ish appearance.

Aroma: Fruity and malty... odd to pick up fruit notes in this one. Jay and Brenton also picked up on some fruit notes so it's not just me.  

Taste: A little thin, not all that roasted, still some fruit flavors that are odd for the style. A little chocolate flavor as well.  

Mouthfeel: Thin. 

Overall: Honestly, it's not a bad beer, but it's mislabeled as a stout. I'm not sure what a better style would be... maybe some sort of English Old Ale, but not as strong as those typically run.  All said, I'd drink it again, but I'm not going to run out to buy more. 

Overall Rating: 66
My Rating: 61

Feature Beer Friday! - Brash Cold Ass Honky

Surprisingly, this is only the second offering from Brash Beers that I've had on Feature Beer Friday! and the first was a collaboration with Clown Shoes.  This week Brash gets this space all to themselves with some Cold Ass Honky.  I'm a little surprised that they received label approval with that name... but I guess this isn't Texas.  They seem to be a lot more strict on the other side of the Sabine. 

While most breweries out there are already releasing Oktoberfest beers, pumpkin beers, and other fall seasonals, this is Brash's summer seasonal and it's still on shelves around town. It probably won't be around too much longer though, so get it while the getting's good.

Here's what they have to say about the 8.5% dry-hopped saison: "Cold Ass Honky is our summer season and is available now. This saison is ridiculously dry hopped while still allowing the saison style to shine. We don’t call it farmhouse because it’s not. Think more trailer park saison. Get it while you can."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 22 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Hazy orange with a white head.

Aroma: Floral, citrus, and definitely some hops in there. Jay picked up tangerine flavors and Brenton also described it as spicy and grassy.  

Taste: Citrusy, funky, I really enjoyed the taste of this one.  Jay said that the hops on the saison were really nice and most of us gave it very high scores here.  

Mouthfeel: Bubbly, bitter end but in a nice way.  Brenton thought it needed more carbonation but I don't agree... I don't like overly carbonated beers though, so maybe to style it should have had a little more.  Maybe.

Overall: Jay, Brenton, and I all really enjoyed this one with top 25% scores. Chuck and Kevin didn't care for it as much but still both had it top 50%.  I think it's a perfect stronger summer seasonal with just the right amount of hops and funk balanced. 

Overall Rating: 72.4
My Rating: 79

Louisiana Craft Brewer Week - Event Schedule!

Okay, yes, it's officially called "Louisiana Craft Brewer Week" and not Craft Beer Week or even Craft Breweries week.  Yes, I also think that's pretty dumb, but I didn't write the legislation and I'm sure there's some legal reason.Okay, not that that little rant is over, it's on to the fun stuff.

Louisiana Craft Brewer Week kicks off on September 23rd, next Monday, and runs to September 29th, the following Sunday.  There will be good stuff happening throughout Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and elsewhere, so I thought I'd share what I think are the most relevant to beer lovers in Baton Rouge.

Monday, September 23rd:
Avenue Pub - 6 PM - NOLA Brewing / New Belgium Brewing collaboration Swamp Grape Escape is released.  This is a limited beer brewed with muscadine grapes, and Louisiana Craft Brewer Week might be the only chance to try it.

Tuesday, September 24th:
Bulldog BR - 5 PM -  NOLA Brewing cask night, with a "Smoky Praline". This is their Smoky Mary with praline, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  
Niche BR - ?? - Parish Dr. Hoptagon's first Baton Rouge tapping.

Wednesday, September 25th:
Chelsea's - 6 PM - Abita tasting featuring Oak Aged Pecan Harvest Ale.
Chimes East - 6 PM - Tin Roof Brewing features a cascade dry-hopped cask of Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale.

Thursday, September 26th:
Bulldog BR - 6 PM - Tin Roof Brewing features a citra dry-hopped cask of Blonde Ale.

Avenue Pub - 7 PM - Stone tap takeover with Greg Koch.  Greg Koch is the founder/owner of Stone Brewing, and he will be in town to promote an impressive lineup of Stone beers, including many cellared releases and some fresh hoppy brews. 

Friday, September 27th:
Mathernes - 4 PM - Tin Roof tasting at both locations, featuring all products.
Tin Roof Brewing - 5 PM - Tours and tastings, featuring one of Tin Roof's beers on a hop randall.
Bulldog BR - 5 PM - Abita tasting featuring Oak Aged Pecan Harvest Ale.
Pelican House - 6 PM - Tin Roof "Blonde Sugar Sex Magic" release, this is a chili pepper infused blonde ale.
Avenue Pub - ?? - Lips Of Faith feature with Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing.  Lauren is the director of New Belgium's Lips Of Faith series and the whole lineup will be available plus some limited releases that Lauren is bringing from Colorado.

Saturday, September 28th:
New Orleans City Park - 1-7 PM - New Orleans On Tap - Lots of beer and live music, a good way to end the week of beer drinking!
Churchill's BR - ?? - Oktoberfest sampling.

I've also heard that Parish will be releasing Dr. Hoptagon, their new Black IPA during Craft Brewer Week.  If I hear any exact details I'll pass them on!

Feature Beer Friday! - Dogfish Head Tweason'ale

Okay, time for more Dogfish Head... this beer is not available in LA, but we broke it out last time I had a few reviewers together, so here's the scoop.  It's one of Dogfish Head's seasonal offerings, but rather than being brewed once per year for a specific season, it's brewed 4 times a year between the main seasonal offerings.  And the special thing about Tweason'ale is that it's gluten free... for those that can't handle gluten.  I can, but I'll still give it a try!

Tweason'ale is brewed with strawberries and a sorghum base rather than barley.  It's a healthy 6% abv, but no IBUs.  Here's what they have to say: "For our first new 12-ounce 4-packs in nearly half a decade, we replaced the classic barley foundation of beer with a mild sorghum base. The hints of molasses and pit-fruit are balanced by vibrant strawberry notes and a unique complexity that comes with the addition of a malty buckwheat honey.
 
We believe health-conscious beer drinkers and the millions of Americans who suffer from Celiac disease can cut back on gluten while relishing the distinction and drinkability of this very special brew.
 
Tweasonale is a seasonal for between the seasons. It first hit shelves in late January 2012 and will be released four times a year through our national network of distributors."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: A clear copper color, bordering on red.

Aroma: Sweet, a lot of berry flavors and no bitterness at all.   

Taste: Sweet, a lot of berry flavors and no bitterness at all.  Seriously, the taste is exactly what the nose conveys, no trickery going on here.  

Mouthfeel: Clean and easy drinking, but fairly bland.

Overall: No one really liked this beer. I could see it appealing to some and especially to anyone who can't handle gluten, but for the group of us this didn't hit the mark at all.  Probably the only Dogfish Head beer I can say that about.


Overall Rating: 45.2
My Rating: 35

Feature Beer Friday! - Sixpoint Apollo

And we're back for some more Feature Beer Friday! action!  Up this week is one that's unfortuantely not available in Louisiana yet, but they were somewhat recent entrants into the TX market, so your road trips to Houston or to Dallas to watch LSU destroy TCU could land you plenty of Sixpoint beer.  They are from New York City, but they package all of their beers in cans, convenient for gameday, although plenty of their beers are a little on the strong side for a day of tailgating.  

Apollo is their summer seasonal, a perfect tailgating beer for the hot months at only 5.2% abv.  Their take: "The unmistakable flavor of a Bavarian Wheat, but with a clear golden brilliance and a Sixpoint twist. An entirely unique canned offering for the sun-worshipping ale lovers." Sounds good to me... let's review:

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 16 oz. can.

Appearance: A clear deep gold, bordering on orange.

Aroma: Green apples, yeasty funk, very enjoyable. Chuck found it to be sour smelling and Brenton noted that it had some bubblegum and banana aromas.   

Taste: Very tart, both Jay and Brenton mentioned that it had a jolly rancher flavor to it.  I found it to be very easy drinking despite the tart flavors, and it was definitely on the sour side.  

Mouthfeel: I thought it had a really good lingering apple flavor.

Overall: No one disliked this one, but a few of us (myself included) really enjoyed it. I stand by my assertion that this would make a fantastic tailgating canned beer.


Overall Rating: 65.2
My Rating:76

Feature Beer Friday! - SweetWater IPA

Alright folks... by now this one should be out in store around town... if it's not then it will be
any day now.  SweetWater is the latest brewery to make it onto the Louisiana craft beer scene, and last week we reviewed the SweetWater Blue.  Since then I had the opportunity to serve some beer at the Ultimate Tailgate benefit party in Covington.  The beer cart that Mandi and I were working was loaded with a lot of BMC, but also a good bit of the highly anticipate SweetWater beers.  I'm happy to say that the SweetWater was moving just as fast as any of the BMC products! 

This week, we have the SweetWater IPA, their take on a standard American IPA style. Here's what they have to say, "This mammouth India Pale Ale is loaded with intense hop character and subjected to an extensive dry-hopping process. Our IPA is unfiltered and as always, not pasteurized, leaving all the natural flavors intact.

The Beer You’ve Been Training For."


Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: On the border between gold and amber, with a little haze.

Aroma:Hoppy, but I found it to be a little mild.  Jay picked up some piney notes and Brenton also noted that it had some grapefruit aroma.   

Taste: Brenton described it as, "citrus & hop flavor with little bitterness." I think he means that as a good thing, and I definitely thought the flavor was better than the aroma.  

Mouthfeel: Easy drinking, a lot of hop flavor but not off-puttingly bitter.

Overall: We had a lot of variation in the scores on this one... as low as a 38 and as high as an 85.  I had it in the middle, and I think it's really a middle of the road IPA.  Brenton loved it, saying that it's "so drinkable for the amount of hop aroma and flavor." I'd certainly try some more.


Overall Rating: 61.6
My Rating: 56

Feature Beer Friday! - SweetWater Blue

 Alright, are you ready for some SweetWater?  They will be coming to Louisiana next week, and Brenton over at The Ale Runner had a few bottles sent to him in advance.  Well, that's perfect to include in a Feature Beer Friday!  I try to stay local and available and current, but sometimes it's just too hard to pass up the opportunity to review a Pliny The Elder or Great Divide Yeti, etc.  This time though, it's about as relevant as I can get... a beer that will be in our market within a week! 

SweetWater Blue is one of their 5 flagship year-round brews, and one of the three that should be coming to LA in the initial release.  It's only 4.9%, so this one isn't a big beer, but it's not trying to be.  Here's what they have to say about it: "Always the funky favorite at any outdoor beer festival, SweetWater Blue is a unique light-bodied ale with a hint of fresh blueberries. It begins with an appealing blueberry aroma and finishes as a surprisingly thirst-quenching ale."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Golden, with a little haze.

Aroma: A blueberry dominant aroma, Jay likened it to "bubble gum, berries, and blueberry muffin." Brenton just said it was refreshing.   

Taste: Strong blueberry flavor again, and Brenton again wrote "refreshing."   

Mouthfeel: Light and thin... but that's what they were going for, they even say it's light-bodied on their website.

Overall: Nothing special, but that's not what this beer is about.  I think it's excellent for what it tries to be, but it's hard to stack that up against some of the great beers we've reviewed for the segment.  Bottom line, if you want to try a blueberry beer, go get some of this.  If fruit beers aren't your thing, this one isn't going to change your mind.


Overall Rating: 58.4
My Rating: 58

Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 - The Awards Show! (Part 2)

Okay... time for the second installment of the Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 Awards Show!  We left off in the first installment as we arrived in Boston for the official start of the conference.  Traffic sucked, we were late, and the trade show had already begun when we arrived.  That brings us to the first award of part 2...

Best Check-In Decision Of BBC13: Myself! When a busload of people arrive simultaneously, the lines can get rather long to get checked in... so I headed straight for the desk and left Jay and Dustin to grab my bad.  Mission accomplished, we were checked in, up to the room to drop off bags and back down to the trade show in no time. 

Best Beer From The Trade Show: Sierra Nevada Hoptimum! This isn't anything new, but we STILL don't have it on the shelves here in Baton Rouge, so it was good to try some of the 2013 version finally.  Other good options included the Ovila Saison from Sierra Nevada, the 80-Acre Wheat from Boulevard, the Robust Porter from Smuttynose, and a Woodchuck Farmhouse Cider.  There were several other beers, but I had left my phone in the room to charge and didn't get a good record... it happens.  Keeping a phone charged is a real challenge at this conference.

Most Interesting News From The Trade Show: Woodchuck! I was talking to the guys from Woodchuck (yeah, it's a cider, and yeah this is a beer bloggers conference... but whatever, I like cider.) and they have plans to do some dry-hopped ciders in the near future.  I know Woodchuck isn't "craft" since they are owned by C&C Group out of Ireland, and I don't really care for their typical ciders, but the thought of a dry-hopped cider certainly has me intrigued.

Most Ghetto Location For A World Famous Brewery: Boston Beer Company! Okay, so maybe the neighborhood wasn't really as bad as it seemed, and their full production brewery is elsewhere, but the original Samuel Adams facility is in one sketchy location.  Founder Jim Koch even alluded to this in his keynote speech, apparently they would give the local riff raff beer to act as a sort of security.  Plus I bet the rent was cheap... really fairly ingenious when you think about it.

Best Intro Speech: Julie Herz! Julia (with Craftbeer.com) was back to officially open up the conference. She's a great speaker, and she knows the industry better than just about anyone. And she really respects the bloggers' role in the industry... gotta love that.


Best Reason To Give People Free Beer: Jim Koch! It turns out he doesn't like speaking to a sober audience, so there was a can of Boston Lager on everyone's chair.  Joke's on him though, we had already been drinking for hours!  Which in no way stopped everyone from enjoying a Boston Lager.

Coolest Moment Of The Conference: Utopias with Jim Koch! After the keynote speech there was food and a lot more beer... and in smaller groups we were able to go into the barrel aging room and try some of the 2012 Utopias with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch.  The beer was amazing, far better than I expected and a lot more smooth than I would have ever guessed.  It was rich, boozy but not overpowering, and extremely complex.  Really the only thing bad about it was the two douchebags in the corner who felt like their personal conversation was more important than the rest of us listening to Jim.  I won't name names, but if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don't be that douchebag, and show some respect to everyone around you.  That said, it was still a pretty awesome moment.

Best Cheese - Day 2 Edition: Boston Beer Company! Seriously, we had cheese with every meal I think.  It should have been called the Beer & Cheese Conference.  

Best Sam Adams Beer Not Named Utopias: Sam Adams American Kriek!  I love a good sour and this one was really well done.  I wish I could find it locally, but so far I've struck out.

Most Beer Bloggers Crammed Into Too Small Of A Space: Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale! This place seemed really cool, had great decor, had a great vibe, and they had an array of Heavy Seas Beer on tap, but it just wasn't close to a big enough space for everyone at the conference.  If I'm ever back in Boston I'll do my best to make a return trip here for some pints and grub, but this time, we made a pretty quick exit after a few beers to make our way back to the hotel and call it a night.  It had been a long day!

Best Reason To Drink Before Noon: Because you can! Seriously, once the sessions started there was beer everywhere... people were passing bottles around the room, leaving them at the front table for whomever wanted a pour, etc.  The beer was flowing, it was 9:30 AM, and life was good.  

Most Entertaining Speaker At The Conference: Franck Evers! He's the "Global Draught Master" from Heineken, and he came to a beer bloggers conference.  Yeah, we thought that was a little weird, he thought it was a little weird, but he still is a really entertaining guy.  Just don't call him German, he doesn't appreciate that. And be sure to skim the head off of your beer, that's where hangovers come from.

Most Likely To Speak Fluent Russian, In French: Troika Brodsky! 

Best Beer At The Beer Pairing Lunch: Allagash Black! This one was paired extremely well with a Boston creme pie dessert.  The entire beer pairing lunch was excellent, thanks to the National Beer Wholesalers Association for putting it on!  

Best Beer At The Live Blogging Session: Night Shift Ever Weisse!  Wow, this is what a sour should taste like.  I had never heard of Night Shift Brewing before the conference, they are a small nanobrewery out of Everett, MA putting out some really awesome beers.  They have traditional styles, but also a sour series and even a barrel aging program.  It's really amazing what a little brewery can do in an area that's thirsty for great craft beer.

Honorable Mentions At The Live Blogging Session: Idle Hands Pandora, Thomas Hooker Old Marley Barleywine, and Rising Tide Daymark.  All of the breweries had some impressive beers with them, but these stood out the most.  

Best Red Carpet Rollout: Harpoon Brewery!  They really treated us right... a special Imperial White IPA created just for us, a tour held by one of the founders, and then a beer dinner in a private section of the massive tasting room.  They had all their taps opened up, and just kept bringing us more food.  And more food.  And then some more food.  Seriously, it was an insane amount of grub, plus all the beer we could drink.  I even snagged a nice Harpoon glass, but it broke on the trip home.  :-(

Best Cheese - Day 3 Edition: Harpoon Brewery! Seriously, it should have been called the beer & cheese conference.  

Best Beer Of The Beer Social: Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout! It was really a treat to learn that they were going to break this one out for us, and it did not disappoint.  Fantastic beer, excellent whiskey notes, and still among the best bourbon barrel stouts in existence.

Louisiana Breweries Represented At The Beer Social After-Party: Parish Brewing and Tin Roof Brewing! Thanks again for the guys at Parish and Tin Roof for donating some beer to bring and share.  All were a huge hit, especially the Parish Grand Reserve Barleywine.  It was highly anticipated and received rave reviews from the bloggers lucky enough to try some.  

Best Beer At The Beer Social After-Party: See, what had happened was, I had been drinking! I can't say for sure, I had been drinking all day and there was a lot of beer flowing. Untappd is telling me that I drank beers such as the Allagash Coolship Balaton, Wigglesworth Lord Falconer, Allagash FV13, Riverwalk Gnomad, Epic Ales Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour, Rising Tide Polaris, Backlash Declaration, and Anchorage Arctic Saison, plus many more than didn't make it to Untappd.  It was an epic night for sure, plus I checked in to some Parish Grand Reserve... you think I would bring it all the way to Boston and not drink a little?  Ha!

Most Amazing Feat At The Entire Conference: I made it to every session!  This did not happen last year in Indianapolis, but I pulled it off this year.  Go me!  even after being up WAY past my bedtime at the after-party the night before I was up and ready to go for the 9:30 Sunday session.

Most Generous Beer Bloggers: 2BeerGuys! Sean and Ryan, two Boston area bloggers who run 2BeerGuys.com were hooking us up all conference with some awesome local brews.  They really treated us southern folk right, even giving us some Heady Topper to bring home!   If they had a good beer out at their table, all it took was a tweet to find some showing up at ours.  If the Beer Blogger Conference is ever down here, we'll have to repay the hospitality.  

Best Beer Of The Final Day Of The Beer Bloggers Conference: Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout! Gerard of Beer In Florida brought this one to share, and after his report on the state of craft beer in Florida he broke it out and poured some.  So good, if this weren't so hard to find I'd have Cigar City a lot higher on my breweries wishlist.

Crazy Stat Of The Day:  Florida has almost 100 breweries! I could only name about 5, but apparently I'm a little low.  Puts Louisiana to shame, even on a per capita basis.

Best Reason To Not Have Died From Alcohol Poisoning: More beer!  Seriously, it never stopped... there was so much beer flowing, and it was still before noon.  Somehow we all survived the conference, but Dustin, Jay, and I didn't fly out until the next morning, so we still had some time to kill in Boston.

Best Place To Watch USA Soccer In Boston: The Banshee! The beer selection wasn't impressive, but they had some awesome burgers and they had USA soccer on every screen.  We watched the Gold Cup final there and then headed back to the hotel to crash.  It had been a long fun trip and we had an early flight to catch.

Best Fiance' Ever: Mandi!  For watching the house and the dogs while I was gone, love you baby!

Thanks again to everyone who helped put the Beer Blogger Conference together!  It was a fantastic time, expertly run as always, and a great learning experience as well.  Until next time... cheers! 

Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 - The Awards Show! (Part 1)

Alright, after some deliberation on whether to write this post or not, I was convinced to post something about the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference.  Apparently enough readers & friends care, and that's flattering, so thanks you guys and here you go.  Beer Bloggers Conference 2013, Portland, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts... the best of the best!  (And some of the worst.)

Best Beer In The New Orleans Airport:  Abita Andygator! This was my first beer of the trip, while waiting to depart for Cleveland, and I think it's probably the best offering you're going to find in MSY.  Honorable mention would be Abita Turbodog, but it was only in bottles, and I generally go for draft when available.

Best Place To Drink In The Cleveland Airport: Great Lake Brewing Company!  That's what foursquare told us when we landed, and it was right next to our gate, so beers at Great Lake it was. Then the psychic ticket counter lady said, "Oh, you must be Eric, Jay, and Dustin" when we walked up... she even got the order right.  Yes, we were the last three people on the plane to Portland... and yes the stop for a beer was necessary.

Best Name For A Brewpub... Probably Ever: Gritty McDuff's! The beer was pretty good but nothing amazing... but that's an awesome name.  This was our first stop after checking into the hotel and walking to the old port section of town, which basically serves as a downtown in Portland.  This would also be our last attempt to walk from the hotel to the old port... it turns out cabs are pretty reliable in Portland.  Baton Rouge, take notice.

Best Place In Portland To Watch Tim Hudson's Career End: Commercial Street Pub! Really this place was a baseball fan's wet dream... they have about a dozen TVs and even though a lot were showing the Red Sox there were probably 5 other games going on around the room.  We had a few local craft beers, watching Tim Hudson's ankle explode, and then we attempted to move on to Novare Res Bier Cafe'... which brings us to the next award:

Hardest Place To Find In All Of Maine: Novare Res Bier Cafe! Okay, it didn't help that we had been drinking, and that it was at night.  It also didn't help that my phone was pointing us a mile or so away, and when we got there it turns out that was the Portland homeless shelter.  It also didn't help that once Dustin found it on his phone (not an iPhone) and we started going the right direction, his phone lost connection to the maps and we were once again in the dark.  It also really didn't help that the place is off of an alley and the address couldn't even be found on my phone.  So yeah, we didn't make it... at least not until the next day.

Best Place To Get Breakfast With A Beer In Portland: Hot Suppa! This fresh and local focused spot came highly recommended, so we decided to check it out for a late breakfast after getting a solid night's sleep in.  It lived up to the hype, plus they had 6 beers on tap, mostly local.  Local beers, good quality breakfast food... I liked this place a lot. I tried an Farmhouse Pale Ale from Oxbow Brewing, the Pemaquid Oyster Stout from Marshall Wharf Brewing, and a Bar Harbor Real Ale from Atlantic Brewing. Plus some scrambled eggs with ham, bacon, and feta complete with grits and delicious toast. 

Best New Brewpub In Portland: In'finiti Fermentation & Distillation! After leaving Hot Suppa! Dustin, Jay, and I walked down to the waterfront and headed toward to the old port.  We were about to stop at an English/Irish-styled watering hole when I noticed a brewpub sign across the street by the harbor.  Brewpub?  Yes please! We caught them just as they were opening, found a seat overlooking part of the harbor, and went to work on all of In'finiti's offerings.  My favorite was either the Sour Trouble (de Struisse collaboration) or the Transwesteit 12 Belgian Quad.  The oddest offering was definitely the Mar-GOSE-Rita... a German "Gose" beer, which is a wheat ale with salt and sometimes soured.  This one from In'finiti also had lime in it to give it a margarita quality.  It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't my style.  Unfortunately it didn't look like they had any of their own liquors ready yet... understandable, it takes a lot of time to produce good spirits.

Best Drink/Food Deal At An Irish Pub In Portland: Ri Ra Irish Pub! They had a deal where you could get a pint of Long Trail IPA and also a pound of either wings, mussels, or... I think fries? for $10.  We went with the mussels. 

Best Restaurant We Visited In Portland: Duckfat! If you're ever in Portland, go here.  At roughly 3:00 on a Thursday they were already packed with a waiting list.  Worth it.  I'm not a foodie or a food blogger like Jay is over at BiteAndBooze, but I still know good food when I eat it.  

Best Bar To Charge An iPhone: The Thirsty Pig! One challenge about a conference like this is keeping the phone juiced.  While Jay was making a pit stop at a local area hotel Dustin and I stopped in at Thirsty Pig (we would be back later the same night... but so what?) to grab some pints and charge the phones.  We went with the Peeper Ale and the Mo from Maine Beer Company... both American Pale Ales and both excellent.  They also do house-made sausages and hot dogs... too bad we had just eaten and were about to eat again.

Best Second Appearance On The Awards Show: Novare Res Bier Cafe! With a little more time to kill before the pre-conference excursion officially kicked off we finally found this place (right across from The Thirsty Pig it turns out) and we ordered a round.  And some t-shirts... my only non-beer or conference swag souvenir from the trip. 

Best Cheese - Day 1 Edition: Cabot Creamery! Our first official conference event kicked off at the Cabot Creamery, with all the cheese being paired with beers from Geary's, a local brewery.  Cheese would go on to become a theme of the weekend, this is absolutely not a bad thing.  Anyone who doesn't like cheese can't really be a friend of mine.

Best Beer Dinner Host: Kai of Sebago Brewing! Kai was the man, making us all feel extremely welcome for the Sebago beer dinner.  The dinner itself was pretty tasty as well, especially the lobster rolls.  Excuse me... the lobstah rolls.  In addition, Sebago had some really nice beers for us, inlcuding the Frye's Leap IPA, Patersbier, and Citra Saaz Down, a beer created especially for the conference in collaboration between Sebago and some of the local area bloggers.  We were also treated to a sneak preview of their newest seasonal, a Bonfire Rye smoked ale. 

 

Best Shameless Distributor Hookup: Patriot Craft Alliance! After the beer dinner at Sebago we all headed over to The Thirsty Pig for the after party... and Patriot Craft Alliance was nice enough to pick up the tab for all the Goose Island we could drink.  Yeah, Goose Island is now an AB-InBev brand, but with Bourbon County Stout and Paradisi on tap, I sure as hell wasn't going to say no.  Good beer is good beer, and those are some great beers.  

Best Third Appearance On The Awards Show: Novare Res Bier Cafe! This was our last stop in Portland, after a few Goose Island beers at The Thirsty Pig.  Most of the group eventually made our way across the street to the Novare Res Bier Cafe, but it was getting late and we had been drinking all day, so I called it a night after two beers here.  Novare Res really impressed me in general, really fun beer bar and I highly recommend both it and The Thirsty Pig for anyone heading to Portland, Maine. 

Best Place To Stop Between Portland And Boston: The Portsmouth Brewery! This turned out to really be a nice pit stop for lunch and beer.  The food was great, the people were awesome, and the beer was flowing freely.   The Portsmouth Brewery is a brewpub in downtown Portsmouth but they are sister-breweries with the larger Smuttynose on the outskirts of town.  This means that we had all the Smuttynose lineup at our disposal in addition to the Portsmouth beers.  Some of the highlights included the Bluebeery and Barleywine from Portsmouth as well as the Cluster's Last Stand and Durty from Smuttynose.

 

Best Beer Of The Trip, So Far: Portsmouth Royal Impy Stout!  The brewmaster broke this one out for us before we left, and it was a real treat for the collection of beer bloggers present.  Apparently the former brewmaster had left and in his absence Portsmouth has stopped making their renowned Kate The Great Imperial Russian Stout, so rather than make the same beer, the new brewmaster decided to make his own version of the ideal Russian Imperial Stout.  And he nailed it.  Rich, boozy, complex, just a real treat of a stout.  Best beer of the trip... so far.  There is still plenty left! 

  

And with that, I think the first half of this Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 Awards Show is done... tune back in for the rest, starting with the conference itself in Boston!

Feature Beer Friday! - New Belgium La Folie

And we're back... I ran out of new reviews right before the Beer Bloggers Conference, and just had the opportunity to get back on the radio with the Me And My Big Mouth radio show, which took over for Raise A Glass... so of course we did what I do best, drank some beers.  And we reviewed some beers, so Feature Beer Friday! is back!  

Up first is one that should be in Louisiana soon, the New Belgium La Folie, a sour brown ale that's part of their Lips Of Faith series. It was actually part of their initial Louisiana release, but supplies didn't last long at all.  The good news is that it should be on its way back, to replace the Pluot and Paardebloem in the Lips Of Faith lineup. The last I heard it was "in transit" so there's a good sign.  

Here's what they have to say about the 6.0% abv brew: "La Folie Wood Aged Beer is our original wood-conditioned beer, resting in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled. Peter Bouckaert came to us from Rodenbach, home of the fabled sour red. Our La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of Peter's beloved Flanders with sour apple notes, a dry effervescence, and earthy undertones.

Beginning in 2013 we'll do a single bottling of La Folie for the year. Collect the 22-oz. unique-to-2013 designed bottle and start a yearly wood-aged collection of goodness."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 22 oz. bottle, labeled 2013.

Appearance: Brenton described it as a "beautiful ruby red."

Aroma: Sour, tart, rich with a strong malt base too.  Brenton picked up a hint of oak, as well as fruits like cranberries and cherries.   

Taste: Puckering, like a "plum that's gone sour" as Jay described it. The rich malt base is still here, no hops at all, but that's not what this beer is about.   

Mouthfeel: Puckering, that's all you need to know here.

Overall: An awesome beer, and maybe my favorite of the Lips Of Faith series.  This will be one of the go-to sour beers for the beer geeks out there once it arrives in Louisiana.  Jay said this beer "is as if Tinkerbell's pixie dust was a sour fun dip."  I don't think you want to miss out on that.


Overall Rating: 87.75
My Rating: 88