Stone Brewing Does Europe?

Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of the Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, CA, has been using his Twitter account over the past few days to hint at some big news regarding Stone. Well, the news just hit and it looks like Stone is exploring the possibility of opening a brewing facility in Europe. Very interesting indeed. If this does actually happen (and it very well may not), it could re-write the book on American Craft Beer production and distribution.

A comprehensive video explaining their thought process, where they're at and where they'd like to get to with this project was just posted on the Stone Blog, so I'll let it do the rest of the talking:

Stone to open a Brewery in Europe? from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Hopback, beer, Stone, California, Europe, Greg Koch

TTB Find of the Week: Flying Fish Exit Series Goes to Twelve Ounces

In what I personally see as a great move, New Jersey's Flying Fish Brewing Co. appears to be taking their Exit Series to twelve ounce bottles. For those that don't know the story behind these beers, they each "focus on a unique aspect of an individual exit" of the New Jersey Turnpike. The series seems to really be taking off for the brewery and this is the next logical step in getting the beers into the hands of more consumers.

The Exit 4 label seen here was uncovered today on the TTB site's approved label list. No word yet as to if each beer in the series will be given twelve ounce status or if it will only be select offerings that carry over from the standard 750ml bottles.

While I tend to find much of the regular Flying Fish lineup to be mediocre, the Exit Series has certainly renewed my interest in the brewery. Exit 4 (an American Trippel) was very good, Exit 11 (a Hoppy American Wheat) was even better and I've had a bottle of Exit 1 (Bayshore Oyster Stout) in my fridge for some time now and it has been calling out my name recently.

Check back often for updates on availability of other beers from the series.


Hopback, beer, Flying Fish, New Jersey, Exit 4, American Trippel, Exit 11, Hoppy American Wheat, Exit 1, Bayshore Oyster Stout, Exit Series

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Don't know why, but I'm a sucker for any sort of Christmas beer: slap a Santa Claus, snowy landscape or a decorated tree on the label and chances are I'll buy it. Damn you, cheap marketing ploys. Of the myriad of Christmas-time offerings from American Craft brewers, there are of course a handful that really stand out as the cream of the crop. One of those is Our Special Ale from Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco. It's been a few years since I've enjoyed this one, but it's a whole new experience regardless. This may be the 35th Anniversary of OSA, but Anchor changes both the recipe and label each year, and each year OSA fans rave about what a great beer that particular year's batch turned out to be. The concoction for 2009 is no exception.

It pours wonderfully, with a murky brown ruby body and a somewhat creamy beige head that leaves thick rings of soapy residue on the glass.

The aroma and flavor are, for lack of a better term, like Christmas in a glass. There's a healthy dose of molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon and spruce, with perhaps a bit of pine as well. Throw in a touch of caramel and even some cocoa in the back for good measure. Everything just noted is balanced impeccably for a unique and impressive aroma. The flavor remains balanced yet allows for some of the characteristics to breathe through a bit more. Molasses leads the way up front and blends with a bit of a fruity flavor, while the finish is dry and a bit earthy even from a bit of roasted malt, but also a bit spicy from a dose of cinnamon and even a pinch of nutmeg. Spruce and pine mix in throughout the entirety of each sip but shine the most in the middle and just before the finish.

What really makes this beer what it is might be the mouth feel. Carbonation is kept at lower levels which leads to a medium bodied, heartier, chewier beer that just feels traditional, like you should be taking your mug of OSA from the bar and pulling up a chair next to Ben Franklin and Paul Revere in a Colonial tavern. A bit nerdy? Perhaps, but it is what it is.

You want to try this beer. Really. It's that good. Spices are not over the top and invasive as they are with, say, Harpoon's Winter Warmer, but they're not subtle either. Everything just blends together and hits the mark across the board, and the end result is a great beer to enjoy either with friends and family during the holidays or all by your lonesome next to the Christmas tree and fireplace.

Hopback, beer, Anchor, San Francisco, California, Christmas, Ale, Our Special Ale

BIG Plans for Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary

With their uber-hyped Life and Limb collaboration with Dogfish Head still trickling into certain markets, Sierra Nevada has decided once again to smack it's fans upside the head with some incredibly cool news for it's 30th anniversary in 2010: more collaborations with some of the pioneers of the craft brewing industry, with proceeds from said beers going to select charities. See below for more details in the official press release, but if you're looking for rumors about the beers, Brewed For Thought notes that the collaboration with Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing looks like it may be an Imperial Stout, the third beer may be brewed with both Charlie Papazian and Fred Eckhardt and the fourth may be a barrel-aged blend of existing Sierra Nevada beers. Again, these are all rumors, but they all sound pretty intriguing to me.

And now for the full release:

Four collaborations for Sierra Nevada's 30th.

Chico, CA (12/14/09)--Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will mark 2010 with a yearlong celebration of the trailblazing brewers who helped transform America into the world's most exciting brewing nation. Next year is the 30th anniversary for the Chico-based brewery, and Sierra Nevada is teaming up with the founders of the movement to benefit select charities and beer drinkers across the country.

March of 2010 will see the first of four beers in a series of collaborative projects with America's craft-brewing pioneers: Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing; Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewery; and authors, homebrewers, and beer advocates Fred Eckhardt, and Charlie Papazian. Together, this group is credited as 'the men who launched a thousand breweries;' and without them, our current day craft-beer-renaissance might never have happened.

"We wanted to pay tribute to the original pioneers who helped me and hundreds of others get started," said Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman. "Few people in the craft-brewing world have accomplished more than these guys, and we thought it might be fun to get the original crew together and make something special."

This project will begin where craft brewing started--Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco. Maytag bought the historic brewery in 1965, and his vision for American beer changed everything. In December 2009, these pioneers gathered at Anchor to catch up, reminisce about craft beer's beginnings, and share their vision for the project.

"I feel honored to sit at the table with these guys," said Grossman. "Without the help that these guys gave me in the early days, I never would have gotten started. Each of them has shaped craft beer in some meaningful way, and without them, who knows what American beer would be today?"

The beers will be released periodically throughout the year, starting with the first release in March, and continuing until Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary on November 15. These limited-release 750ml cage-and-cork bottles will be available at select retailers and beer-centric bars.

These beers will be much more than a tribute: Proceeds from the project will go to benefit select charities chosen by the four pioneers.

Sierra Nevada started in 1980 with a humble hand-built brewhouse and some interesting ideas about beer. Today it's America's longest-running craft startup, and boasts the number-one best-selling craft brand in the country--the legendary flagship, Pale Ale.

A lot has changed in the generation since Grossman first met these brewing pioneers. When Sierra Nevada first opened its doors, there were less than 50 breweries in the United States. Today, there are more than 1,500 craft breweries in operation, and American brewers lead the world in variety of styles, innovation, experimentation, and quality.

http://www.sierra30.com/

I'd get in line for these now if I could. This just sounds like an amazing project all around. How about that 30th Anniversary logo, by the way? Stunning.

Check back often for more details as they are released from the brewery...


Hopback, beer, Sierra Nevada, California, Dogfish Head, Life and Limb, collaboration, Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, Charlie Papazian, Fred Eckhardt, Ken Grossman, Jack McAuliffe, New Albion

Motownphilly

Brewery mergers have been the talk of the town in recent days, so let's go the opposite direction and talk splits. A little over two years ago Tom Kehoe, founder of Yards Brewing Company, and Nancy and Bill Barton, Yards co-owners since 2001, came to an agreement to part ways. In a nutshell, Kehoe retained the Yards name and existing recipes and relocated the brewery shortly thereafter, while the Barton's held onto the Yards facility (originally constructed as a part of the Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company in 1885) and equipment in the Kensington section of Philadelphia and formed the Philadelphia Brewing Company in 2008. The brewery now cranks out four regular beers (Newbold IPA, Rowhouse Red, Walt Wit and Kenzinger), along with a handful of seasonal offerings. I had the good fortune to sample a bunch of their stuff recently and here's how they all fared:

Kenzinger (4.5% ABV, a "golden session ale" and PBC's flagship beer) was up first and it looked amazing: a crisp golden color with a huge rocky, foamy head that lingered atop the liquid. Everything finally settles in and leaves hefty gobs of residue on the glass. Quite frankly, the head out of the bottle was actually a bit too crazy, as even the most careful of pours foamed up very easily. Regardless, this one was incredible looking.

There's a blend of sweet, subtle hop juice, some caramel and a bit of grainy bread in the aroma, and these all carry over to the flavor where they meet up with a nice hint of pepper which hits you with a quick hop bite at the finish of each sip. Mouthfeel was maybe a touch thin, but this is a light bodied beer so that's to be expected to an extent.

Kenzinger was ridiculously easy to drink and quite enjoyable. Simple, flavorful and certainly one to revisit.

Next we had the Walt Wit (4.2% ABV, Belgian Style Wit) which poured with your typical (for the style) looking cloudy golden color and hits you with the basic wit aromas and flavors of lemon and other citrus notes, some wheat, a bit of yeast, and some herbs and spices such as coriander. The flavor brought the citrus and wheat to the forefront a bit more for a slightly bolder taste than aroma but overall everything was fairly tame. Balanced? Yes, but tame.

In terms of fitting within the style, this one did, but fell pretty close to the middle of the pack as it was average in just about every area. I wouldn't say to pass on it, but don't expect to be wowed either.

I was most curious to see what PBC's take on an IPA would be, as it's been the "in" style for some time now. Everyone's brewing them and most are going big with Double IPA's as well. I'm happy to say that the Newbold IPA (6% ABV, India Pale Ale) took one of the more unique approaches to the style that I've seen recently.

This was another one that looked amazing, with a nice murky amber color and a huge off-white head that is chunky as hell and which also left large patches of itself on the glass as it subsided.

The aroma and flavor were where this one started to stray from IPA territory, yet remained in character for the style at the same time. Sweetness and earthy malt dominated, with a good bit of fruit presence as well. Hops were in the mix for sure, but not nearly to the level that you'd expect, even for a basic IPA. They did come to the front a bit more in the flavor yet still remained tame, to the point where I'd say it even leaned toward a Pale Ale, yet not. I liked the murky, smoky undertones here as well. Weird. Good.

Interesting stuff and an odd one to pin down, but I liked it. A lot of atypical flavor and really unlike any other IPA I've ever come across.

Finally we had Joe (5% ABV, Coffee Porter) which was just released to the market in bottles and was a world apart from the three beers just discussed.

It's near black in color and had a rugged, coffee/chocolate aroma and flavor to it, yet was cut with a good amount of sweetness for balance. Come to think of it, the chocolate was actually more cocoa-like than straightforward chocolate. Coffee took over in the flavor yet still remained fairly balanced as the cocoa mellowed out a touch. A big fault of many porters is that they come at you with a hefty stout like body, but this one did not. It's certainly medium to full bodied, yet remained thin enough and spot on for the style.

I personally can't stand coffee as a stand alone beverage, but find myself liking a lot of coffee stouts and porters, and Joe was yet another one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

So there you have it. Overall I'd say there's some solid stuff coming out of the Philadelphia Brewing Company tanks with a few of the beers having some unique twists on their respective styles. When you sample four beers from a brewery and really enjoyed three of them with the worst thing you have to say about the fourth is that it was tame/average, that it's a nice place for them to be, or so I think. Hell, it's just one man's opinion, and who says I'm right anyway? If you live within their distribution area (only Pennsylvania and New Jersey right now as far as I know), pick up some of their stuff and prove me wrong...or right.


Hopback, beer, Philadelphia, Brewing, Nancy Barton, Bill Barton, Yards, Tom Kehoe, Kensington, Kenzinger, Walt Wit, Newbold IPA, Joe, Coffee Porter, Pennsylvania

Two Vermont Craft Brewers Plan to Join Forces

Here is the official press release on the Long Trail/Otter Creek merger news reported last week. Click here for the original post, which was later updated with my thoughts on what could potentially happen to the brands:

(Bridgewater Corners, VT) Excitement reigns at two local Vermont breweries in Middlebury and Bridgewater Corners, as word comes of a signed Letter of Intent by Long Trail Brewing Co. to acquire the Otter Creek Brewery, home to Otter Creek and Wolaver's Certified Organic brands. Long Trail anticipates the completion of the diligence process in the coming weeks.

"We are excited about the potential of two great Vermont companies joining forces," according to Long Trail Brewing's CEO, Brian Walsh, "We hold the same, proud Vermont traditions as creators of award winning craft beer. Our roots are in Vermont, and we are looking forward to growing our business together."

Long Trail and Otter Creek are Vermont's oldest craft breweries, with a combined brewing history of nearly 40 years. The brands are poised to continue to grow and develop in Bridgewater Corners and Middlebury, Vermont. As Mike Gerhart, Otter Creek and Wolaver's Brewmaster puts it, "We're all extremely excited about the partnership with Long Trail. There's a lot of creativity and talent in this building. Now, we'll have the resources and tools to up the ante and make each other stronger, pushing the craft beer envelope. At the end of the day, it's about making great beer." Bill Hill, Chief Financial Officer at Otter Creek added, "This is a great opportunity for each of Otter Creek's constituencies; our consumers, our distributors, our suppliers, and our associates."

Long Trail received the 2009 Vermont Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence, recognizing the brewery's innovative approach to preserving and protecting the environment. "Wolaver's is a natural extension to our ECO Brewing™ program," said Walsh, "to have a brand with such strong commitment to sustainability, and being one of the first certified organic craft beers in North America."

Two great, local, craft breweries are now looking toward the future as they continue to develop all three brands, right here in Vermont.

Hopback, beer, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Wolaver's, Organic, Vermont

TTB Find of the Week: Two New from Harpoon

It appears as if Boston's Harpoon Brewery is expanding the offerings in it's regular lineup as well as getting ready to introduce the latest beer in it's Leviathan Series.

First up we have Harpoon BPA, a Belgian-Style Pale Ale that according to the neck label is a "golden amber ale that boasts a mellow malt body and a spicy, fruity aroma." This looks like it is a larger scale bottling of the BPA that was brewed in 2006 and offered at both the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival and the BeerAdvocate Belgian Beer Festival that year, and has sporadically popped up here and there since then. It seems to be a take on their IPA, just brewed with a Belgian yeast strain. No word yet as to if this will be a seasonal or one-off offering or if it is a new year round addition to the Harpoon family, but I will update if and when the brewery provides more details.

Next is an Imperial Red for the Harpoon Leviathan Series, of which each "big beer" is brewed in 120 barrel batches. This one comes in at 9.2% ABV and is "a deep amber ale [that] has an intense hop flavor that balanced by a complex malt character." The label continues on to note that the "yeast's fruity esters blend perfectly with the citrus hop aroma."

Belgian Pales and IPA's seem to be more and more popular these days so Harpoon's take on it will be interesting to see, and at the very least if it is simply the Harpoon IPA with a different yeast strain, it'll be nice to compare the two side by side, a la Victory HopDevil and Wild Devil.

As for the Imperial Red, both the 100 Barrel Series and the Leviathan Series are always interesting and more often than not are also well done, so this is another offering to look forward too...










Beer, Hopback, Harpoon, Boston, BPA, Belgian, Pale Ale, Leviathan, Imperial Red

Zero Hour, Nine A.M.

Going back five or six years, Bear Republic was amongst the Holy Trinity of breweries (at least to me) to seek out as a New Jersey resident. Stone Brewing Company and Bell's Brewery completed the trifecta, with none of them being available in the state at the time. Save for the likes of Sierra Nevada, Anchor, Anderson Valley and North Coast, California breweries weren't really making a big push here and Bell's was sticking to it's Michigan roots by remaining primarily a Midwest brand. I can recall a trip or two up to Half Time Beverage in Poughkeepsie, NY and coming home with a haul of stuff from these breweries (well, not Bell's as they weren't and still are not in New York either) and feeling like a kid just back from the candy store. Fortunately, Bear Republic and Stone have been available now for some time in New Jersey, so I can now drive five minutes down the street as opposed to two plus hours north to satisfy my craving (Bell's on the other hand, is still leaving the state in the dark...come on, Larry, you're in Pennsylvania...just keep going across the river!). Unfortunately, because they are in New Jersey now I skip over them more than I should, as I can get them anytime. Tonight I decided to revisit one of the beers that has eluded me (my own fault) for a while now: Red Rocket Ale.

I remember this one being much hoppier overall, with a distinct pine flavor to it, but it is much more subdued and balanced now...or perhaps I just remember incorrectly. Regardless, it's still nothing to scoff at. Caramel malt takes hold of you in both the nose and flavor and guides you throughout. Along the way, you pick up some toasted malt and the aforementioned pine hops, as well as a decent bit of darker fruit, although I'd say the fruit comes into play in the aroma more than it does in the flavor. While the ABV is fairly tame (6.8%), there's a definite alcohol presence here, but this time it comes through more in the aroma than the flavor, where it primarily keeps to the end of each sip. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and has what can best be described a a 'stickiness' to it. Interesting, in a good way.

This isn't exactly the beer I remember, as noted above, but it's close enough and works just fine as is now. Maybe I did pull a Roger Clemens and misremember this one (kinda fitting given the beer name here), or maybe my taste buds have changed over the years...who knows and really, who cares as long as it's still good in the end? Starting with the great looking pour that's a deep amber color with a huge foamy off-white head, and ending with the last sip, I've got no complaints at all with the Red Rocket Ale. It's a nice hybrid of the Red and Scottish styles and will be finding it's way back into my refrigerator soon.


Beer, Hopback, Bear Republic, California, Red Rocket, Ale, Stone, Bell's

Long Trail to Purchase Otter Creek

Word on the street is that Long Trail Brewing Company of Bridgewater, Vermont will be purchasing Otter Creek Brewing Company, which is located in Middlebury, Vermont. Otter Creek also brews the organic Wolaver's line of beers. No word yet on how things are going to shake out in terms of all brands staying in the market, movement of production or closure of any facilities. Otter Creek would not confirm or deny the sale, saying only that they "have no meaningful information regarding this," and a Long Trail rep basically gave the same answer when I placed a call there to find out more. Read a bit more about craft brewery consolidation here at Andy Crouch's site as he is also reporting the news. Thanks to Keith Giberson for the news tip and stay tuned for an eventual press release...

2009-11-25 UPDATE: For what it’s worth, here’s my gut reaction to the sale: I don’t have a problem with the decision for either party, provided Long Trail keeps the Otter Creek and Wolaver’s brands in the marketplace. I sincerely hope this isn’t Harpoon/Catamount redux where Harpoon talked a big game about respecting the Catamount brand and products and how they were going to continue on with them in the marketplace, yet when push came to shove, Catamount was left to die after a brief mini-revival.

Keeping Wolaver’s alive is a no-brainer to me. While still holding a small piece of the pie, organic food and beverage is a growing segment for sure and Wolaver’s has been the leader in organic beer for about a dozen years now, especially in New England and much of the rest of the East Coast. Shutting the brand down would be a crushing blow to the organic beer market as a whole.

As for Long Trail and Otter Creek, clearly there’s going to have to be a bit of consolidation of portfolios, yet if you look at what each offers, there really isn’t a huge amount of crossover in terms of competition within the same style. From that perspective, I think this merger is a near perfect fit. The big one to look at right away would be the two flagships beers, Long Trail Ale and Copper Ale from Otter Creek, as both are Altbiers. In the end, the company that is making the acquisition usually does and likely should win out when it comes to cutting something from either the acquired company or their own, so if one is eliminated I’d expect it to be the Copper Ale.

Other than that, there really aren't many spots where they're brewing the same thing: Long Trail has an IPA, fruit/wheat beer and a beefed up Altbier rounding out their year round beers while Otter Creek offers up a Pale Ale, Porter and Euro-style Lager. It’s a witbier, Scottish Ale and Amber Ale for Long Trail seasonals versus Kolsch, Pale Wheat, Amber Ale and Brown Ale seasonals from Otter Creek. Sure. autumn is a bit of a hiccup with Long Trail Harvest Ale and Otter Creek’s Oktoberfest and the Belgian White and Otter Summer are fairly similar, but overall brewery vs. brewery you’d be hard pressed to put two together and have as few internal competition issues as you see on the surface here.

The “Big Beer” Series is a bit stickier, and although they’ve also been surprisingly different thus far, I’d expect one of them to be dropped at some point.

As details emerge we’ll all have a better understanding of where this is heading, but for now this seems to be a good match with any capacity increase Long Trail is looking for from this acquisition hopefully coming at the minimal expense of the Otter Creek line of beers.

2009-11-28 UPDATE: Per a post from Otter Creek Brewmaster Mike Gerhart that just went up on BeerAdvocate, it looks like the official announcement and details are coming this Monday morning, as he notes that "Long Trail and Otter Creek will be sharing some extremely great news." Gee, I wonder what it could be...



Hopback, beer, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Wolaver's, Organic, Vermont, sold

Jumpin' Jack Flash

Long live American Craft Beer! While the craft beer boom has been amazing here in the United States over the past decade, it really started in earnest only a few years earlier around the mid 1990's, yet there are a handful of craft breweries that have been champions of the industry for much longer than that. One of these pioneers is the Boulder Beer Company located in Boulder, Colorado, which is celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year.

The brewery was founded in 1979 when "two Colorado University professors applied for and received the 43rd brewing license issued in the United States." Over the years they have grown considerably, now distributing in 30 states and holding a spot amongst the Top Fifty Craft Brewers in America, according to the Brewers Association. Their biggest reason for growth in recent years has arguably been the popularity and expansion of their Looking Glass Series of beers, which includes favorites such as Hazed and Infused and Mojo IPA. For their 30th anniversary, Boulder revisited the series once again by introducing Flashback Anniversary Ale, an India Brown Ale. What is an India Brown Ale, you ask? Well, in a nutshell, it's a hoppier version of the Brown Ale style, which traditionally leans toward the malty and sweet side of things overall.

So, what is presented here is a deep amber beer that does indeed come across with a big roasted malt profile in the aroma, and also gives off a very healthy dose of bread notes, along with a good bit of pine from the hops. This continues on into the flavor with a lot more of the roasted malt coming through, to the point where a bit of smokiness is almost brought out at times. Hops are mostly picked up toward the finish of each sip where the aforementioned pine blends with a nice burst of citrus and provides a good bit of slickness to the mouthfeel.

This one is definitely what it set out to be: a hoppy brown ale, and I liked it yet can't completely wrap my head around it. The hops seemed out of place, yet very much enjoyable at the same time. Maybe it was just a matter of experiencing the style in a new way. Every time I caught myself feeling that I wasn't crazy about it, I was drawn back in for another sip. It certainly makes you think, and I like that. It's one of the more interesting and unique beers that I've experienced in some time. Personally, I usually prefer a heartier/maltier/rugged/chocolaty brown ale, but that's not what Boulder was going for here and I think they did a nice job with a slight twist on the style. It's a worthwhile addition to the Boulder family for sure.

Congrats on 30 years and here's to (at least) 30 more!



Hopback, beer, Boulder, Colorado, 30th Anniversary, Flashback, Hazed and Infused, Mojo IPA, Looking Glass