Events coming up this week at Big Boss

--THURSDAY--*BIG OPERATOR CASK @ REVOLUTION PIZZA-Charlotte* When- Thursday @ 7pm Where- Revolution Pizza / 3228 North Davidson St/ Charlotte / 704-333-4440 More - http://www.revolutionpizza.com/JJ is headed down to Revolution Pizza in Charlotte for a Big Operator Cask. He’ll tap that thing at 7pm. Don’t be late!

--SATURDAY--*SLACKERS & DOCO @ TPHMH - Raleigh* When- Saturday @ 10 pm Where- Pour House Music Hall - Raleigh More- http://www.the-pour-house.com/ Music- http://www.theslackers.com/The Slackers bring their “Jamaican rock n roll” sound to Raleighwood with local support from DOCO. The Slackers are the real authentic deal and have shared the stage with Rancid, Joe Strummer, Floggin Molly, Jimmy Cliff, Pennywise, Toots & the Maytals and The Pogues Show support for the Rude boys!--

FEBRUARY @ Tolliver’s Crossing – Asheville--At Tolliver's, Big Boss is the brewery of the month for February!! Celebrate Groundhogs Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and all days in between with Bad Penny/ Hell's Belle Draft specials- $3.25 plus Angry Angel Bottles- $3.00 all month long.http://www.tolliversirishpub.com/

Advance notice:February: Broadstreet Beer Dinner/ Bark and WineMarch: St Patricks DayApril: Cuegrass Festival / Hickory Hops / World Beer Festival

http://www.bigbossbrewing.com/event.php

On draft in the Big Boss taproom: -ANGRY ANGEL Kolsch Style Ale -BAD PENNY Brown Ale -HELL'S BELLE Belgian Blond Ale -HARVEST TIME Pumpkin Ale -BIG OPERATOR Belgian Black Raspberry -SACK TIME Amber Rye- LTTLE LARRY Belgian Pale ale

Holiday Spice Homebrew

I was lucky enough to get the ingredients for a 5 gal batch of homebrew for Christmas. The beer is American Brewmaster's Holiday Spice Ale. I was hoping to brew it a bit sooner than the 3rd week in January, so that it would be ready while we still had some colder weather. The full body and spice additions make this style of beer perfectly suited for cold winter days.

Out of the box, the kit was designed for an all-extract recipe with slightly under a pound of specialty grains to steep. Since the last brewday was our first attempt at a partial mash, I decided to add some 2 row barley to the grains and make my own mini-mash. In some leftovers from previous recipes, I had 10 oz of melanoidin 2-row malt. Melanoidin is typically used in German style lagers, to add malt character and flavor. The kit included a spice bag that was added to the boil for the last 10 minutes. It contained a stick of cinnamon, a small chunk of ginger, and a few cloves. One pound of light clover honey was added after the boil was complete as well.

Everything went smoothly, and it was maybe my cleanest brewday yet. Original gravity was measured at 1.073, slightly higher than the 1.071 target, because of the change I made to add a partial mash to the recipe. The Holiday Spice Ale should stay in the fermentation bucket for a little over a week. Hopefully it will still be cold enough to enjoy this beer after it carbonates.

Lexington Avenue Brewery opens in Asheville

I was in Asheville over New Years, and heard a lot of buzz about the new brewery about to open, Lexington Ave. According to ncbeer.org, it appears they opened on Jan. 7. Looks like they are going with the "gastropub" concept and are going to be brewing naturally carbonated brews. This just adds to the already robust craft brew scene in Asheville. They are located at 39 N Lesington Ave., and should be added to the list when visiting western NC in search of good beer.