Red Brick
Red Brick – Beer and Tricycles!
I would hope by now you have been on a tour of a brewery. Basically, tour the brewery, taste the lineup, talk with friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I don’t care how many times I have toured a brewery, it doesn’t get old. Let’s take this a step further. Want to tour a brewery, try their lineup, and race tricycles? Then get over to Red Brick tonight.This once a month addition to the Red Brick tour, anyone (over 21! DUH!) can participate in the race. Organized into 4 person teams, racers pedal around the brewery relay style. COSTUMES ENCOURAGED! Races will take place in sessions up until June 2010. Overall winners of the race sessions win a party at the brewery. (1000 dollar value.)
Tapping at Red Brick for the tour tonight are Red Brick Blonde, Pale, Brown, plus 2 more potentials. Red Brick Octoberfest was so popular, it’s already gone. There are great things happening at Red Brick these days, so stay tuned.
Drink beer. Pedal hard.
2010 Trikey Schedule!
Session Three
7th Race: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
8th Race: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
9th Race: Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Session Four
10th Race: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
11th Race: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
12th Race: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Follow me on Twitter – @atlbeermaster
Red Brick’s Winter Ale Returns
Just shortly after Red Brick’s very successful release of 15th Anniversary Ale comes their seasonal release, Winter Ale.
Winter Ale is a Belgian dark ale, 8.2% ABV. Winter is one of the stronger of beers in the Red Brick lineup. For this ale, Red Brick used a Trappist style yeast ( see various previous posts about Trappists.) This strain of yeast gives the Winter some nice banana/clove flavors. Loads of caramel malt are also in Winter, complimented by 40+ lbs of Belgian candy sugar. Belgian candy sugar is indeed a sugar, used to boost the ABV of beer, without the yeast producing invertase (an enzyme that breaks down sugar) – which can give the beer an off flavor.
As described by Red Brick – “Winter Ale is chestnut brown in color, aromas of dark fruits, bananas (bananas foster?), rise from an alcohol laced head. Plum-like flavors with accents of raisins, crusty French bread, and caramel followed by gentle warming are enjoyed with each sip.”
Winter Ale is great now, and lays down well. Available December – early March.
Available in bottles & kegs.
Laughing Skull Hits Shelves!
Red Brick finally received label approval from state of Georgia for Laughing Skull.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Red Brick / Vortex was resurrecting the Laughing Skull beer. Laughing Skull was once a Bohemian Pilsner discontinued in 2004. Back from the dead, Skull is now an Amber Ale. This new amber Ale Red is a lighter, hoppier version their brown ale. 11 different malts were used, in the new “Skull” including caramel (40/60/120), Victory, Bonlander & a little chocolate malt. Hop content includes Bravo and Cascade hops.
In the end, Amber is about 5.5 — 6.0%. Despite being an amber it has a bit of an American Pale Ale finish.
Available in 6-packs, and kegs. My apologies for not knowing the price at this time.
(Image above is from Hop City. As you see, they have it in stock!)
Red Brick’s 15th Anniversary Ale has arrived!
This is a big week for Red Brick Ales (Atlanta, Ga.) Not only are they debuting their 15th Anniversary Ale, but its release heralds a new era of bottling by the brewery.
The 15th Anniversary ale is Red Brick’s signature Brown Ale. The Brown Ale boasts a list of ingredients, including 7 malts (Victory, Bonnalander, Caramel 40/60/120, 2 Row Barley, Wheat Malt). Hops include Zeus and Fuggle. When possible I include the ingredients in these brews. Hopefully knowing the hop/malt combinations help you get a better understanding of how they affect the brews.
Next stop for this brown ale was a Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrel. That was 13 months ago. Yes, it’s been sitting on bourbon wood for 13 months. When a beer is aged on wood, especially bourbon, whiskey, or wine, it’s a relationship of trades. First and foremost, the beer gains flavor. The wood in the barrel was used to flavor the bourbon initially. During the process, the bourbon passes flavors to the wood and vice versa. The same is true in the instance of the 15th Anniversary Ale. The brown ale has picked up bourbon flavors from the wood and even passed a few flavors back.
The result of this aging? Deliciousness. The vanilla flavors the brown ale picked up after aging are nearly addictive. 15th Anniversary has appeared on a couple of taps as a sneak preview and it lasted for literally minutes.
15th Anniversary ale is also the debut of Red Brick’s 22 oz bottles. It will be the first of many, as I’m told. Brewer Dave McClure has a few upcoming brews he will be putting in the bomber bottles. Another thing to note about 15th is that it is very limited. 200 cases of the 22 oz bottles. Estimated retail, around $9.00.
While this hasn’t been officially tested- Red Brick estimates 15th Anniversary is somewhere between 9 – 10% ABV
UPDATE 12/16 – Hop City Received 22 oz bottles today. Total Wine @ Perimeter, Tower ATL
Brickstore’s 1st IPA Fest – CHEAT SHEET!
No catchy picture for this one. Its a long post.
Brickstore Pub on Saturday October 10th is hosting its first “Hop Harvest” Fest. All 25 taps will be featuring IPAs. Here is a little back-story on the India Pale Ale, in case you never fully knew the style. If you were going to draw up a family tree, the Pale Ale would be the father of the IPA. Pale ales were denoted by the use of pale malt, circa 17th century. The pale ale style has changed over time, and by the mid 18th century coke fire malt was used to produce a beer that was actually paler than its predecessors.
Now, I tell you about pale ales to lead to this. George Hodgson Bow Brewery is attributed to the world’s first IPA. This IPA was a pale ale as described above, that was well hopped, termed October Beer. (See posts about origins of names and style.) This October beer was meant to be cellared for a year or longer. The East India Trading Company (think high school history class,) exported Hodgson’s beer to India — which survived very well on the long trip, thanks to the hoppy nature of the beer acting as a preservative. Ultimately after business deals going bad with Hodgson, other breweries began producing this hoppy style of pale ale, and the demand for an “India Pale Ale” was born.
There’s your history lesson. Knowing the style helps you appreciate your beer. So here is a cheat sheet of the line up of the 25 IPA’s to be featured on Saturday —
Smuttynose “Big A” — Double IPA (DIPA) 9.2% ABV. Part of Smutty’s big beer series. Seasonal release.
Moylan’s “Hopsickle” — DIPA, 9.2% ABV. Tomahawk, Cascade, Centennial hops. VERY hoppy beer, Novato, CA.
Avery “Maharaja” — DIPA, 10.2% ABV. Columbus, Centennial, Crystal, Simcoe hops. Caramel malts. Produced Mar- Sept. Maharaja in Sanskrit means “Great King.” Boulder, CO.
Lagunitas “Hop Stoopid” — DIPA, 8.2% ABV. Hop content unknown. Brewed with Hop extracts, not whole hops. Lagunitas quoted “So hoppy it will take the enamel off your teeth.” Petaluma, CA.
Sierra Nevada “Harvest Ale” — IPA, 6.2% ABV. First Brewed in ’96. Centennial & Cascade wet hops. Brewed same day hops are picked. Chico, CA.
Left Hand “Warrior” — IPA, 6.6% ABV. Wet hopped w/ Warrior Hops. Left hand balances with strong malt backbone. Crystal, Pale, & 2 Row. Seasonal Offering. Longmont, CO.
Bells “Two-Hearted Ale — IPA, 7% ABV. Hop content not published, but home brew recipes for Two hearted all use Centennial hops. Kalamazoo, MI.
Victory “Harvest Ale” — American Strong Pale, 7.7%. This is NOT, and will NOT be available in GA according to Victory Brewery. 3 hop varieties. Downingtown, PA.
5 Seasons Prado “Hop Gasm” — IPA, 7%. Brewmaster Kevin McNerny previously of Sweetwater Brewing’s first creation at 5 Seasons. 5 different hops, including Simcoe & Amarillo. Atlanta, GA.
Stone “Sublimely Self Righteous Ale” — American Strong Ale, 8.7% ABV. By taste, I call this a black IPA. Originally Stone’s 11th Anniversary Ale. It was so popular, it was re released again as Sublimely. It is no longer made, or sold. This is your one shot deal. For me its liquid gold. Escondido, CA.
Green Flash “West Coast IPA” — IPA, 7%. Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, Cascade. A rare find in GA! Be one of the first to try this on tap. San Diego County, CA.
5 Seasons Westside “Hop Bomb Express” — Crawford Moran’s Dry Hopped, Raw hopped IPA rendition. Recently offered cask style at Westside. Very hoppy and rare opportunity. Atlanta, GA. (SEE PREVIOUS POSTS about Hop Bomb.)
Sweetwater “Wet Dream Special” — Special Version of the latest in the Dank Tank – Wet Dream, a Double Red. More info to follow. Atlanta, GA.
Terrapin “Big Hoppy Monster” — DIPA, 8.7% . Whiskey Oak Aged!! Warrior, Centennial, Cascade, Ahtanum, dry hopped w/ Simcoe. Lots of malts in this too — including 2 Row Pale, and Munich. Athens, GA.
Great Divide “Fresh Hop” — Pale Ale, 6.1% ABV. Wet Hopped Pale. Hop content isn’t documented, but grapefruit is present. Denver, CO.
Red Brick “Zingo Pop” — DIPA, ? ABV. Brewmaster Dave McClure’s experimental brew, on Sabco homebrew equipment. Zingo Pop is a name Dave uses when he’s not sure what to call it. Atlanta, GA.
Moon River “Swamp Fox Rosemary IPA” — IPA, 7% ABV. Centennial, Chinook hops. Dry hopped with Rosemary. Moon River will be at Decatur Beer Fest. Savannah, GA.
Bear Republic “Racer 5” — IPA, 7% ABV. Columbus & Cascade Hops. Multi Medal Winner @ various fests. Cloverdale, CA
Hebrew “Lenny RIPA” — DIPA, 10% ABV. Barrel aged version of Hebrew’s DIPA. Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe, Crystal, Chinook, Amarillo, Centennial, and dry hopped with Amarillo & Crystal. “Obscene amount of hops” San Francisco, CA & NYC, NY
Coast Brewing “Hop Art” — IPA, 7.7% ABV. Nugget, Amarillo, Cascade hops. Caramel Malts. Bottled by hand. Unfiltered, Unpasteurized. Rare Georgia find! North Charleston, SC.
Upstairs!!!!
Stone “Cali — Belgique” — Belgian IPA, 6.9% ABV. Columbus, Centennial. Dry hopped w/ Chinook. IPA w/ Belgian influence. Thus the name draws from Dutch &French Belgian. IPA w/ Belgian Yeast strain. Limited release year round. Escondido, CA.
Het Anker “Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor” — Belgian IPA, 8% ABV. Hallertau, Saaz hops. Mechelen, Belgium
De Leyerth Urthel “Hop It” — Belgian IPA, 9.5% ABV. European Hops. Pilsner Malts. Hoppy, spicy, fruity. Ruiselede, Belgium.
Houblon Chouffe — Belgian IPA, 9% ABV. Tomahawk, Saaz, Dry hopped w/ Amarillo. Unfiltered. Unpasteurized. Achouffe, Belgium
De Ranke “XX Bitter” — Belgian IPA, 6.2% ABV. Brettanomyces yeast. Wevelgem, Belgium.
Great Divide “Belgica” — Belgian IPA, 7.2% ABV. American & European Hops. Belgian Pilsner malts. Denver, CO.
Changes can occur any second… be sure to check back!
Red Brick Resurrects “Laughing Skull”
Largest graphic Red Brick could give me!
If you are new to the Atlanta beer scene, then you probably haven’t seen bottles of Laughing Skull. Laughing Skull beer was a contract brew between Red Brick and The Vortex restaurant, first brewed in the late ‘90s. Laughing Skull was originally a Bohemian Style Pilsner, produced in bottles and drafts, until early 2005.
Current owner/CEO of Red Brick Bob Budd recently re-approached the Benoit brothers of The Vortex in resurrecting this brand, and as of September 15th, the deal is done. Starting around October 1st, Laughing Skull will return to taps in the State of Georgia. HOWEVER!!! This time around, be looking for an amber ale, not a bohemian pilsner.
This new amber Ale Red Brick is producing is a lighter, hoppier version their brown ale. 11 different malts were used, in the new “Skull” including caramel (40/60/120), Victory, Bonlander & a little chocolate malt. Hop content includes Bravo and Cascade hops.
In the end, Laughing Skull Amber will clock in about 5.5 — 6.0%. LS despite being an amber should have a bit of an American Pale Ale finish. The “Skull” hits Georgia taps in October, not only in bars, but also available in Atlanta package stores for keg purchase. Bottles to arrive in November.
