El Toro Beer, Durham Bulls, Fullsteam?

I ran into an interesting survey this morning, involving baseball and beer. It seems that the Durham Bulls are interested in reinventing an old brew that was called "El Toro". They are looking for opinions from beer and baseball fans. The survey can be found on Fullsteam's site here.

Ballast Point Sculpin Firkin!

This is pretty last minute, but on Thursday, November 5th at 7pm, the Flying Saucer Raleigh will have a firkin of Ballast Point Sculpin. Sculpin is an IPA that is 7% ABV. I have not had the chance to taste this beer, and its overall A rating on Beeradvocate.com has my mouth watering right now.

Ballast Point is out of San Diego, CA, so for a firkin to get all the way to Raleigh is quite amazing. More info on the brewery can be found here.

Mini Beer Haul from Minnesota

On a quest to find some Hamm's beer (my last name for any of you who don't know) we wandered into a Surdyk's Liquor store in Minneapolis last weekend. We found Hamm's, but only in a 30pk, which we neither wanted or needed. I was curious to try it, but not that curious. Lucky for us though, Surdyk's proved to be quite the store.

Since we had not been planning on a beer haul, we really didn't have much room to bring stuff back, so we only chose 3 bottles. I settled on a Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series - The Sixth Glass (quadruple), Avery's Mephistopheles Stout (15.92%!!), and a Two Brothers Bare Tree 2008 (wheatwine). Needless to say I was very pleased with finding these beers, the Mephistopheles has eluded me for a few years now, and I think I got the last bottle in the store. We also picked up a four pack of Pere Jacques (Dubbel) from Goose Island to enjoy over the weekend. I couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for the Bourbon County Stout that is raved about.

Fullsteam Interview

Sean Wilson, who led the Pop the Cap movement (thanks again!) has founded Fullsteam Brewery with a distinctly different approach. They certainly will not be brewing your typical craft beer styles. Experiments have included a sweet potato beer, a rhubarb beer, and a beer called Hogwash. The Hogwash is discussed at length in the interview, so I won't spoil it for you, but it sounds delicious to me. These beers will be in their "Plow to Pint" series, aimed at using fresh local ingredients. "Workers Compensation" beers will be offered as well, and should include more traditional, session style brews.

The interview can be found at BBQJEW . The Fullsteam website with much more information is at www.fullsteam.ag.

Wilson and brewer Chris Davis do finally have a location at 726 Rigsbee Ave. in Durham, where they are attempting to open by the end of the year.

Triangle's Abbey Dubbel is Back

Available on draft at Alivia's in Durham and at the brewery for growler fills! Might have to work in a trip to the brewery for a growler fill this weekend. The bourbon barrel version is due out later this fall.

Prices of Casks Around the US

I'm attempting to find some data on average or typical cask prices around the US. The most pertinent data that I'm looking for is on special event casks, where bars bring them in for one night, not bars that keep casks around regularly. Note that this does not necessarily mean special or limited release beers in the cask. I'm going to start with a thread on BeerAdvocate, which can be found here:

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2273789

Flying Saucer New Drafts

Flying Saucer Raleigh will be introducing 20 new drafts, all on Thursday, September 3. They will include many fall themed beers, including a few pumpkin beers and oktoberfests as well. There are also a few anniversary beers (Stone and Great Divide) and even an authentic Belgian (Triple Karmeliet). The full list is below (with prices!):

Aviator Steamhead 4.50
Brooklyn Ofest 4.50
Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA 7.5
Bell's Octoberfest 4.75
Post Road Pumpkin 4.5
Sierra Nevada Debockel 4.5
Old Speckeled Hen 5
Heavy Seas DIPA 7.5
Lonerider Bootleg Brown 4.5
Bosteels Triple Karmeliet 7.5
Smuttynose Farmhouse 5
Great Divide 15th Double IPA 6.5
Cottonwood Pumpkin 4.5
Stone 13th Ann. 6
Stone Cali-Belgique 6.5
Harpoon Leviathan 7.5
Shipyard Peak Organic IPA 4.5
Shipyard Peak Organic Brown 4
Cottonwood Almond Stout 4.5
New Belgium Hoptober 5

Too many to try, not sure what will be first!