Cask for New Years Eve!

I just found out that the Raleigh Times Bar will be tapping a cask of Foothills Brewing Total Eclipse Stout at 6:30 PM on December 31. Total Eclipse is really enjoyable on draft, I bet the cask version is tremendous.

Michelob Ultra?

You're probably wondering why the words Michelob Ultra are appearing on this blog... It has nothing to do with the beer. This morning a delivery driver was smart enough to try and fit his Michelob Ultra trailer under the bridge at Peace St. and N. West St. That did not work out so well for the driver. WRAL covered the incident briefly.

Triangle Bourbon Aged Abbey and Winter Stout

Triangle Brewery will be opening up at an unusual time to release these two seasonal beers. They will be pouring $4 pints on Wednesday, December 16th at their brewery. Growler fills of each beer will also be available! Their gates will open at 5pm.

Olde Rabbit's Foot Release Party

After hearing about this collaboration brew earlier this year, I was patiently awaiting the release. Lucky for me that time has finally come. The beer is Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout. The brewers also decided to add honey and cocoa nibs to this one of a kind beer. Olde Hickory Brewery, Duck Rabbit, and Foothills used their combined expertise to craft Olde Rabbit's Foot.

The party will start at 11am on December 12th at Foothills Brewing in Winston Salem. They are located on 4th St. Olde Rabbit's Foot will be released in 22oz bottles, pricing is to be determined.

Jujube and Dos Perros Beer Dinners

Three delicious sounding beer dinners coming up at these 2 Durham restaurants. One features Dogfish Head beers, and the other two feature a different brewery with each course. The menus are as follows:

The Dogfish Head Beer, 7 pm November 23, at Dos Perros ($45):

• Reception, 60 Minute IPA
• Tamal con queso y rajas (Green chile and cheese tamale), Pangea Ale
• Camarones con yerba santa y guajillo (Herb-wrapped shrimp with garlic and guajillo sauce), 90 Minute IPA
• Mole Coloradito (Roasted chicken with red mole), Raison D’Etre
• Borrego rostizado (Roasted goat with oregano), India Brown Ale
• Costillas con tamarindo (Tamarind-glazed beef ribs with roasted carrots), Palo Santo Marron

Beer Geek Winter Cage Match Dinner menus ($42 each):

7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Jujube

• Shrimp toast and sesame-fried plantains with sweet chili sauce, Victory Moonglow Weizenbock
• Seared scallop with cashews and black vinegar caramel, Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale
• Kung Pao deconstructed, Rogue Mogul Madness
• Black soy and shaoxing braised beef with turnip cake, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
• Five-spice ice cream with chocolate sauce, Bell’s Special Cream Stout

7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Dos Perros

• Chicharones y “chicharones” con nopales (Braise pork cracklings and cactus with crispy wheat chips), Victory Moonglow Weizenbock
• Almendrado de camarones (Shrimp in almond sauce), Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale
• Pierna de puerco en adobado (Roasted pork leg with adobo sauce), Rogue Mogul Madness
• Pato en mole negro (Roasted duck with black mole), Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
• Camotes con tamarindo (Candied sweet potatoes with tamarind syrup and pumpkin seed brittle, Bell’s Special Cream Stout

More info about the restaurants can be found here (Dos Perros) and here (Jujube).

Dogfish and Sierra Nevada Collaboration

Thursday, November 19 at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh will be the Raleigh debut of both Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada collaboration brews. They are called Life and Limb, and Limb and Life. I'll let the official Dogfish site describe the beers:

Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong beer that defies style characteristics-brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman "farm" at the brewery in Chico. The beer is alive with yeast-a blend of both breweries' house strains-bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska; it is the first beer we know of ever to use birch syrup in the brew.

Limb & Life is a companion to the big beer-an acorn off the larger tree. It is a 5% ABV small beer-a low-gravity beer made using the residual sugar as "second runnings" from the first larger brew, fortified with American hops.

At the Saucer you will have the chance to try both of these side by side. I'm sure they will not dissapoint!

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!

New Holland Cask @ Raleigh Times

Thursday, September 10 will feature two special beers from New Holland Brewery at the Raleigh Times. New Holland is out of Holland, Michigan, and brew some great beers, including their Dragon's Milk Oak Aged Strong Ale, and Night Tripper Imperial Stout There will be a "surprise" cask and also a keg of Oak Aged Mad Hatter IPA. The event starts at 6:30 and I'm sure the cask will be kicked pretty quickly. We should have plenty of time to stop by and then to a sports bar or home for the kickoff of the NFL season (as if we needed more excuses to drink beer) at 8:30.

Slam Dunkel in Secondary

I transferred the Slam Dunkel-weizen into a secondary fermenter on Sunday. Primary fermentation finished up with a gravity of 1.010. The beer was not as dark as anticipated. All the feedback I found from other dunkels said that 1lb of chocolate malt was too much, so I went with 1/2 lb. To attempt and remedy this, I added cocoa powder (mixed and heated with water) to the secondary fermenter. The beer should get some additional color and flavor from aging it with the cocoa, so hopefully it will actually look like a dunkel.

NC Cask Ale Fest - 3 Boys and Beers

Being as big a proponent of cask ale as I am, I had to post this event. The breweries to be featured include Highland, Triangle, Duck Rabbit, Foothills, Aviator, Top of the Hill, French Broad, and Lone Rider. There is also one cask from outside of NC, from Rogue Brewery. Hit the link below for more details. The event is this coming Saturday, August 29th, at 6:30 at Rigsbee Hall in Durham.

http://www.durhamcentralpark.org/events/meals-from-the-market/2009-meals-calendar/

Brier Creek Brixx Oktoberfest Tasting

Thursday October 15th, Brixx Brier Creek will be hosting an Oktoberfest themed tasting, with 8 different Oktoberfest style beers. Four will be on draft, and four additional bottles will be available as well. The price will be $5 for four tasters. Additionally they will have "Oktoberfest themed food" available to pair with the beers.

This will be a great chance to do some side by side tasting with a traditional German style lager. You can compare the German brewed ones with American interpretations. Which one will you like better?

We'll let them have a pass on the fact that Oktoberfest is actually in the weeks leading up to Oktober, not actually in the middle of Oktober.

Events "On Tap" for this week

Currently this is all we have for this upcoming week, but stay tuned, as i will be updating this as more becomes available:

Tuesday, 8/25:
This month's tasting at the Saucer will be a battle of East Coast IPAs vs. West Coast IPAs. All 9 beers count towards a saucer. There will be meats and cheeses for your pairing pleasure and the cost is $20. Tasting starts at 6:30. Here's the lineup:Reception Beer: Sunner KolschStone IPA vs. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA; Avery Maharaja vs. Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA; Great Divide Hercules IPA vs. Foothills Seeing Double IPA; Moylan's Hopsickle vs. Founder's Devil Dancer**Before everyone starts weighing in on Michigan not being on the east coast, it's close enough. I just wanted to add this to the lineup, because it's the only IPA they have that I haven't had a chance to try. I'm also aware that Colorado is not technically on the west coast, but work with me.For all the details go to http://www.meetup.com/TriBeer/calendar/11158701/

Big Boss Casks

Two special treats from the Big Boss guys this week:

Tuesday August 18th hit the Raleigh Times at 6 pm for "Kentucky Colonel" Woodford Reserve barrel aged Bad Penny brown ale

Thursday August 19th check out the Flying Saucer for a dry hopped cask of Angry Angel at 7pm

More cask ale please?!

Brewdog NC Release

Brewdog, a highly acclaimed Scottish brewery, will begin distributing their creations in NC. A release party is being held at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh and Charlotte. Riptide and Hardcore will be available in bottles, Dogma and Punk IPA will be available on draft. I've been reading great things about these guys, and I'm really excited to have the opportunity to try their brews. More info can be found at:

http://www.brewdog.com/beer.php

Bottles should be available soon at Sam's in Durham, and Carrboro Beverage Co.

The release parties are tonight, August 18th at 7 pm.

Next Batch in the fermenter: Wolfpack Basketball Slam-Dunkelweizen

The next in our line of Wolfpack themed brews, this one will be in place for the beginning of basketball season. After reusing our yeast from the Wolfpack Weizen, and adding a bit of chocolate malt, we are in the beginning stages of this tasty liquid. Interestingly, our beginning gravity was a bit lower than expected, and the color was a bit paler than we thought it would be. We may end up wishing we had used a bit more chocolate malt, but no doubt this one will be tasty. We will know more when we bottle later this week.

Also, thanks for the shout-out to the Raleigh Philosophical Society . Raleigh and the Triangle in general is really coming along in terms of "good beer" and its nice to see folks taking notice.

Wolfpack Weizen is Bottled

After a week of primary and a week of secondary fermentation on cherries, our Wolfpack Weizen is now in bottles slowly carbonating. The uncarbonated beer was tasty, we can't wait to try the finished version in a month.

Name That Beer!

No, this is not a quiz, or even beer trivia, instead it's a contest, from the Grove Park Inn. It is being run on Twitter, and all you have to do is submit names for their new beer, a Belgian Abbey style. The prize is a 2 night beer dinner for 4 package, including accommodations at the Grove Park! See the link for more information.

http://www.groveparkinn.com/twitterbrew/

Brew Night

Tonight marks our first of many (hopefully) beers to be brewed for Wolfpack tailgating. We've dubbed it Wolfpack Weizen and it will be a light, refreshing German wheat beer aged with cherries. It might be on the hoppy side for a wheat beer, but we wanted to make sure we had some hop character, and we're doing a small boil so we upped the hops a bit. The recipe is a mix of various weizen and fruit wheat beers I found around the internet.

Wolfpack Weizen
6.6 lbs wheat malt extract (liquid)
.5 lbs Cara-pils
.5 lbs Crystal malt 10L
(grain steeped at appx. 155 for 30 mins and rinsed)
2 oz Hallertau @ 60 mins
1 oz Tettnang @ 5 mins
Wyeast 3068 - Weihenstephan Weizen
1 week primary fermenation
1 week secondary on one can of Oregon Dark Sweet cherry puree

Then we should get 3-4 weeks in the bottles before opening night on September 3rd against South Carolina!!

Three Sheets is Back!

Thanks to the Fine Living Network, we can all continue wishing we had Zane Lamprey's job. FLN will start showing the all-new Season 4 tonight, July 20th at 10pm! It is amazing it took this long for someone else to pick up this show. It had been off the air since Mojo was cancelled on December 1, 2008. While the show is not purely about beer, it is a blend of travel and drinking that is entertaining and fun to watch. Click the link for more information.

Three Sheets

Another Special Duck-Rabbit Release!

From Beerinator.com:

The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, North Carolina's award winning microbrewery, is set to release its first lager, Duck-Rabbitor Doppelbock. Duck-Rabbitor is made with over 50% Munich malt and is hopped exclusively with Hallertaur hops. After fermentation the beer was lagered for 14 weeks prior to filtration. This beer is a malt lovers dream, with its full body and creamy mouthfeel. Duck-Rabbitor is a very limited release and will be draft only. The beer will start showing up in select markets where Duck-rabbit is sold in the upcoming weeks. We hope you enjoy Duck-Rabbit's first lager.

Sounds tasty, I'll be looking forward to this one for sure!

Sweetwater Dank Tank Barleywine

From a BeerAdvocate post, some information on Sweetwater's experimental "Dank Tank":

Atlanta, Georgia - June 4th, 2009 - SweetWater's Dank Tank experimental beer series now available in 22oz bottles. Emerging from the dark side of our brewers souls SweetWater's Dank Tank is ready to unleash round 4 from this series of one-hitters off the dedicated Dank 50 barrel Tank. On June 22nd DP Barley Wine will also have the honor to fill the first ever 22oz bottles to roll off the line in SweetWater's 12 years of heady brewing.

The Dank Tank is a series of Rarely Released Randomness and each offering will most likely never be seen again. Nick Nock, head brewer at SweetWater "There are so many styles that we are itching to brew. To have a tank at the brewery that is a toy for the brewers of SweetWater has been a blast." So when the itch gets so bad and we just need to scratch it, the next in the series will flow.

The DP Barley Wine is the biggest farm animal to come out of the SweetWater barn. We bucked up and threw everything, including the kitchen sink, into this jackass concoction. This donkey will take you for a ride at 10.2% alc. vol. and hee haws over 142.0 IBU's. Pucker Up!

142 IBU! Wow, I cannot find what Moylan's Hopsickle or Stone Ruination IPA clock in at on the IBU scale, but I am having a hard time imagining 142. One of the hoppier barleywines I've had was Stone Old Guardian, which is apparently "only" 110 IBU. Unfortunately to get a taste of this I'll have to drive to Asheville, or set up a trade with someone from the ATL.

Unibroue La Terrible

I know I haven't posted in a while, but wjat a way to get back in the swing of things! Had a change to enjoy a pour of this tasty brew at Tyler's in Durham after a work meeting got out a little early this week. At 10.5% ABV, I expected a taste typical of a high alcohol content brew. However, I was pleasantly surprised by that fact that the taste of the alcohol was very well masked, and the dark, sweet, fruity flavors were the first to emerge. It finsished with a brown sugar and pepper taste, and was very drinkable. As a high gravity choice, it is one i will need to be careful of. This can also be found on tap at the Flying Saucer as well, so I encourage you to partake at your leisure!

Clipper City Firkin @ Flying Saucer

Tuesday, May 19th, the Flying Saucer is going to be tapping a firkin of Clipper City Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA! Pours begin at 6, hopefully I'll be able to make it all the way across the street after work...If you don't know I do work literally across the street from the Saucer, I know, it's rough.

Friday Lunch - Tobacco Road Sports Cafe

I was debating places for my Friday lunch and was considering Tobacco Road Sports Cafe. I'd only been twice, and once was just for an after work beer. After Hallertau forwarded me a Greg Cox review of Tobacco Road (http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1516503.html), I figured it was meant to be.

After perusing the menu I went with one of Greg's recommendations - the Tarheel Ram Wrap. Since this is a beer blog, I won't get too detailed, but it was excellent and came with a heaping portion of my side choice - sweet potato fries. I paired it with a French Broad Wee-Heavy-er, which turned out quite well.

Their beer selection is adequate - certainly not Tyler's, but you will get no complaints from me. They had many local taps - Big Boss, French Broad, Highland, CBC, Lone Rider, among others. Their many, large HD tv's are certainly a great way to watch a game. A nice touch is their outside seating, which features TV's facing Glenwood Ave. so you can enjoy the weather and the game at the same time!

I walked out with a free 850 The Buzz Canes t-shirt too!

If you're looking for good food, beer and sports, this place is very hard to beat.

Thoughts on Cask Ale in Raleigh

After thoroughly enjoying the Raleigh Times "Super Duper Cask Party" last night, I think it is time that a local bar step up and offer Cask beer as a regular part of their lineup. It is quite obvious that Cask ale has quite a following locally, as every special event is packed. While the fact that the events are bringing out a big crowd is great, the Casks often get drained very quickly (1 hr) and it causes a couple of problems in my opinion. It promotes drinking faster than normal if you want to have more than 1 glass of the special offering. It does not promote a full appreciation of the beer and all of its flavors.

Now, yes, of course I could get my one pint, and sit and enjoy it as slowly as I would like, there is certainly nothing preventing me from doing that. The event and the beer would be much more enjoyable if it was possible to have a few pints over a few hours.

The bigger issue is simply that I really enjoy Cask Ale and it is frustrating having to attend special events to drink some. Then the Cask gets kicked so quickly and the wait for the next event begins.

There are plenty of bars in other locations that have a Cask in their regular lineup. We have some great breweries in the area that are obviously committed to producing Casks. I believe this has the potential to be very popular, and would definitely separate a bar from the rest of the crowd if they were to offer Casks regularly.

Raleigh Times Cask Ale Event

The Raleigh Times is hosting a special pre-beer fest cask fest this Thursday, April 30. Casks will be tapped at 6 pm and should include beers from Big Boss, Highland, Foothills, French Broad and Duck Rabbit.

Sounds like a great time to me!

Couple of updates:

Word on the street is that BIG BOSS will be bringing Woodford Reserve Barrel aged stout....

Foothills will be offering a cask of Hoppyum liberally dry hopped with cascade and whole leaf simcoe for this event...

Aviator Brewing - Fuquay Varina

A friend's wedding this weekend gave me the perfect excuse to stop by Aviator Brewing in Fuquay Varina. Lucky for me they even had a special release of the Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel that was aged in bourbon barrels! The brewery is located at the Triple W Air Park, off of Highway 401. It is actually in a "renovated" airplane hangar! They have a small little bar area, with their regular beers on tap for $4. The Bourbon Barrel Tripel was on a hand pump system separate from the bar. The guys were also grilling brats outside. I'd heard how small the place was, and was expecting to be fighting for space all afternoon. The actual bar area is very small, but the hangar gives plenty of space for people to hang out, it just gets crowded when everyone needs a refill of beer! Live music provided good ambience too. It is a little out of the way to make regular trips to Aviator, but special releases and new beers will warrant the drive - especially the Barleywine that they say is coming soon!

Victory Cask at The Flying Saucer

Thursday, March 26th, The Flying Saucer is having a cask conditioned version of Victory Hop Devil. The cask will be tapped at 7pm according to their website. Mmmm....cask conditioned IPA. Is it Thursday yet?

New Bar - Foundation

I've been aware that a new bar called Foundation was opening on Fayetteville St. for a couple months now.  It opened 2 weeks ago, and I finally made it out after work this afternoon.  Their space is a nice, cozy and relaxing renovation that is actually under Fayetteville St.  They do not serve any food - so they do charge $1 for their membership.  Inside you find a welcoming atmosphere, with a wooden bar, and multiple tables throughout the rest of the space.  There are 8 total taps - including 2 that will be rotating.  Foundation focuses on locally produced beverages, featuring only North Carolina beer, mostly North Carolina wine, and all of their liquors are from the United States - Rums are from the Virgin Islands.  I enjoyed Duck Rabbit Barleywine and French Broad Rye Hopper.  They just recieved the first keg of Fuquay's Aviator Brewing Tripel.  I was lucky enough to recieve a taste.  It had a nice yeasty, malty, sweet aroma.  I do not want to comment on tastes, as my palate was already deep into the Barleywine.  I look forward to trying the Tripel on its own - it is one of my favorite styles, and this is the first locally brewed example that I have been aware of.

If you are looking for a nice after work or late night spot for a drink or two, I highly suggest giving Foundation a shot - the atmosphere is great - no TV's, excellent music, and a very unique environment.  Pair this with a very well selected list of beers, wines and liquors and you have a winner in my mind!

Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner

Brixx at Meadowmont in Chapel Hill is hosting a Sierra Nevada beer dinner on Tax Day, April 15. It looks very appetizing, and the Sierra Nevada beers rarely dissappoint, although it would be nice to see some Bigfoot in there. I've pasted in the menu below:

Reception
Taco de Chorizo y Papas Con Queso Fresco Natural
Spicy Sausage and Potato in a Crispy Tortilla with Fresh Cheese
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

1st
Pozole Verde
Green Pork and Hominy Stew
Sierra Nevada ESB

2nd
Chile Relleno con Carne y Queso Fresco
Stuffed Poblano Chile with Beef and Fresh Cheese
Served with Almond-Cilantro Pesto and Red Pepper Chipotle Coulis
Sierra Nevada Summerfest

3rd
Taco de Pescado con Aguacate y Salsa de Frutas Tropical
Wood Roasted Mahi Mahi Taco with Avocado and Tropical Fruit Salsa
Sierra Nevada Torpedo

Dessert
Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cherries, Porter and White Chocolate
Sierra Nevada Porter

Tickets are $40/person, and can be reserved by calling (919) 929-1942.

New Big Boss Seasonal

We will be releasing our newest seasonal creation tomorrow, 3/19/09, at our taproom. It is our new "LIQUIDATOR" Dopplebock! It's weighing in at 7.8% and is delicously sweet and malty! It'll be on draft from 5 p.m. on, so come get ya some. Cheers!

Big Boss continues their ever expanding seasonal releases with a style that is fairly rare, yet always delicious. Should be great as usual! I do wish their seasonals would make it out to other bars and not just at Horniblows.

Boylan Bridge Brewpub Now Open

Well the impossible has finally happened, the Boylan Bridge Brewpub is finally open. They opened their doors to the public for the first time on Friday February 27 at 3:00 pm. I stopped in today for lunch to a very small crowd. There were two other tables of 2-3 people. I sat at the bar and had their bratwurst with onion rings. I paired it with the Southbound Stout. It was a quite tasty lunch, and reasonably priced too. The bartender said they had been quite crowded for dinner and at night, and they were expecting large crowds for the outdoor area with the good weather forecast for this weekend. They do sell growlers to go as well.

Duck Rabbit Cask!

Duck Rabbit will be bringing a cask of Bourbon Barrel Aged Milk Stout to The Recovery Room in Chapel Hill on Sunday February 15th. It will be tapped at 6:30. I've had a small taste of this beer from the brewery, and I'm really looking forward to a cask-conditioned version.

Triangle Brewing Company "Friday da Firkenteenth

Friday the Thirteenth has provided Triangle Brewing Company an opportunity to showcase a couple of unique casks at Tyler's Durham. From the ever present Rufus:

Triangle Brewing Company will be tapping 2 Firkins on Friday the 13 at Tyler's Taproom in Durham. The event kicks off at 5:00 pm with a cask of our 100th batch IPA! This IPA measures in at 6.7 abv. and has been dry hopped four different times with four different hops. This will be the only cask of the IPA, the rest will be released in 22 oz. bottles. The second cask will be our "Best of Both Worlds" Stout, that has been conditioned with coffee, chocolate, and raspberries. This will be a great event to end a long week. Hope to see you there. Cheers.

Looks like a perfect excuse to leave work at 4:30 on Friday! But who am I kidding, I'm never at work at 4:30 on Friday anyway...

Update from Boylan Bridge Brewpub

This note was posted on the forever-soon-to-be-coming Boylan Bridge Brewpub in downtown Raleigh. It remains to be seen when they will open...

"The Boylan Bridge Brewpub would like to thank everyone who has sent emails, called, or stopped by for a chat. We are just as anxious as you to open our doors and get pouring. After a few loose ends are tied and city permits finalized, we will welcome the neighborhood with happy hearts. We are not open today, however, and probably not tomorrow, but soon. Please keep watching.
– MC Palermo manager, Boylan Bridge Brewpub"

Big Boss Aces and Ates

This coffee stout is a limited release from Big Boss in Raleigh, this particular bomber being #2111/5000. The beer pours a thick head, but quickly evaporates. The smell off the bat is of dark, roasted coffee, and the taste does not disappoint. As you would expect, the beer tastes of roasted coffee and dark chocolate. The beer is actually brewed with Larry's Beans from Raleigh, and you can taste the freshness. The stout finishes with a bitter aftertaste, and is a complex and satisfying beer. At 8% ABV, this is smooth stout is one to be enjoyed. Pick one up at your local beer shop if it can be found, this one was found at Earth Fare in Brier Creek.

Moylan's Hopsickle - "Triple" IPA

Super Bowl Sunday calls for some serious beer - so we decided to break out this Imperial IPA from Moylan's. This beer has a reputation for being supremely hoppy - and it sure does not disappoint. Poured a cloudy golden orange with less head than expected for an IIPA. The aroma is like smelling a big bag of hops getting ready to go into a homebrew boil. Citrusy, flowery, piney, just about every possible hop character comes out here. Taste is much of the same, a gigantic explosion of hop bitterness, fruitiness, and it sticks on your tastebuds. The fresh hop feel lingers in your mouth long after the beer is gone.

Hopsickle is definitely a beer to experience. It makes no effort to be balanced or easy to drink, but for a $10 bomber this is appreciated. Splitting it with my wonderful wife, I hope it can last me through the whole first quarter of the big game.

Review: Victory Donnybrook Stout

This was enjoyed on tap at Tyler's in Durham as part of their Wednesday Pint Nights. This nitro pour had a creamy, thick head that stuck around a while. The first sip produced a surprisngly thin mouthfeel with a roasty caramel taste. The Donnybrook stout has a smooth drinkability, and with a reasonable alcohol content, you can drink a few without it being terribly filling or inebriating. I give this one a B+.

Big Boss Merlot Cask Belgian Brown

After seeing a note on beerinator.com about Big Boss' newest special release, I decided to stop by on the way home from work today. This is nothing like any beers I've had from Big Boss, and quite a great beer. Definite oak presence, and some nice fruitiness (from the Merlot I presume). I definitely recommend trying to get down to Horniblow's to try this special release!

Natty Greene's Coming to Raleigh!

http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2009/01/22/natty-greenes-coming-to-powerhouse-square/

Moving into the old Southend Brewery space. I've had great times at their Greensboro location, hopefully they keep the same quality offerings once they open up here in Raleigh.

Lone Rider Brewery - Raleigh

The first tour of this new Raleigh Brewery is tonight, Friday, Jan. 23 from 6 pm till 8pm. We are looking forward to seeing what they have to offer. Seems that their hefeweizen, dubbed Shotgun Betty is going to be their first regular release. I've heard that they also have a seasonal Robust Porter. Hopefully they will be a great addition to the ever-growing Raleigh beer scene.

Update:  Well the tour was packed, definitely a good sign.  There was even an appearance by NC State House representative Ty Harrell.  We were able to try both beers, as described above.  The porter was excellent, good creamy mouthfeel, and nice dark chocolate and coffee flavors.  Shotgun Betty was a bit sweet for my tastes, but it will surely be a popular selection at local watering holes.  Keg prices were very reasonable, at $124 for a 1/2 bbl and I believe $52 for a 1/6 bbl.  They are brewing on a 15 bbl system and said they were going to try and start bottling within 6-8 months.

Coming soon...