Beer News

Stone In Berlin. Koch Still Says No.

It is not new news that Stone Brewing Co.’s CEO, Greg Koch, has been eyeing a few European locations for a new brewery site.  Sign on San Diego reported yesterday that the Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders has written Continue Reading →

Black Tuesday. Gone In 60 Minutes

The Bruery just tweeted that Black Tuesday is all gone.  It took about 60 minutes.  The website was slow moving, but was stable the whole time. (Yeah, I’m looking at you ticket agent for 3 Floyd’s Dark Lord Day)

Bottles were Continue Reading →

Black Tuesday ALREADY on Ebay

Black Tuesday is still on sale, as you read this.  BUT, you can pay 2/3 more and buy it on Ebay. Right now.  Pic via @Brewkkake

Jester King Takes Texas To Court

Jester King Craft Brewery (Austin, TX)  has filed suit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).   The lawsuit states the the TABC code violates their 1st & 14 Constitutional Amendments.  I tried to simplify what is going down Continue Reading →

Posted in Beer News

Victory Dark Intrigue Releases On Dark Wednesday

Victory Brewing is on the cusp of releasing Dark Intrigue.  The brewery took Storm King Stout and aged in Jim Beam and Heaven Hill barrels all summer.  Victory describes the transformation like this:

It’s like Clark Kent going into a phone booth and coming out as Superman, only more delicious and less crime-fighty.

On 11/23, Dark Intrigue will be released at the Downingtown location.

Per Victory, Here’s What You Need To Know About Dark Wednesday:

– Dark Intrigue will be available by the bottle and by the case from the retail shop at our Downingtown brewery and brewpub.
– It will go on sale when our retail shop opens at 11:30 a.m. You are welcome to begin lining up earlier than that, and we anticipate that Dark Intrigue fans will start arriving around 9 a.m.
– Each person will be limited to one case of Dark Intrigue, no exceptions.
– The cost will be $15 per bottle, $180 per case. (There are 12 bottles per case.)
– We know you’re excited to drink your newly purchased Dark Intrigue, and we’re excited to have you try it, but under no circumstances can you open a bottle of Dark Intrigue in the parking lot. Pennsylvania has very strict open container laws, and drinking beer in our parking lot is illegal. If you open it in the parking lot, it will be confiscated. We don’t want to do that, but we have to follow the law of the land. So please, wait until you get home to open it so we can all avoid any issues.
– Like all beer purchased at our retail shop, it is not permitted to be opened in the restaurant.
– In addition to the beer, you will also be able to buy the bourbon barrels where Dark Intrigue was aged. The barrels will cost $40 each, cash only, and you can buy as many barrels as you can fit in your vehicle. You cannot pay for the barrels at the same time you pay for your Dark Intrigue. We will have a separate station for barrel purchases set up outside. If you want to purchase a barrel on Dark Wednesday, please e-mail[email protected] to reserve yours. You will have to pay and pick up the barrel on Dark Wednesday.

Style: Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 750ml bottles, limited Draft.
Release: 11/23/11

Good Luck!

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Cigar City Brewing, Cool Stuff

Cigar City Featured On Drinking Made Easy

Drinking Made EasyZane Lamprey and the show Drinking Made Easy recently traveled to Tampa, Florida.  To Drink.  Among all the bars and restaurants they visited, Cigar City Brewing was a stop (and a no brainer.)

The show airs on November 9th, at 8pm on HDNet.

 

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone In Berlin. Koch Still Says No.

It is not new news that Stone Brewing Co.’s CEO, Greg Koch, has been eyeing a few European locations for a new brewery site.  Sign on San Diego reported yesterday that the Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders has written Germany’s Klaus Woweriet praising and recommending Koch and Stone Brewing’s World Bistro and Gardens citing it as a great tourist attraction.

“It is with all of this in mind that I heartily recommend inviting Stone Brewing Co. to your community,” Sanders concluded. “I’m sure they will become every bit as valuable to Berlin as they have grown to become in San Diego.”

[Sign On San Diego]However, check the comments, Koch is singing a different tune.  He says that the letter was sent last July and alludes to the fact that they are nowhere near naming an official location for the European brewery to be.  Stone is currently focusing their efforts on their expansions in San Diego including expanded production, barrel aging, event, and hotel space.

Koch says he will keep checking the papers to find out… I guess we will too.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, The Bruery

Black Tuesday. Gone In 60 Minutes

The Bruery just tweeted that Black Tuesday is all gone.  It took about 60 minutes.  The website was slow moving, but was stable the whole time. (Yeah, I’m looking at you ticket agent for 3 Floyd’s Dark Lord Day)

Bottles were $30, with a limit of 3 per person.  The brewery(The Bruery, lol) has said on numerous occasions that there will be more opportunities to get Black Tuesday throughout the year.

Personal opinion? One of the better rare beer releases I’ve seen in a while.

 

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News

Black Tuesday ALREADY on Ebay

Black Tuesday is still on sale, as you read this.  BUT, you can pay 2/3 more and buy it on Ebay. Right now.  Pic via @Brewkkake

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Jester King Brewery

Jester King Takes Texas To Court

Jester King Craft Brewery (Austin, TX)  has filed suit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).   The lawsuit states the the TABC code violates their 1st & 14 Constitutional Amendments.  I tried to simplify what is going down in Te-has…

Recap:
1st Amendment: Free Speech
14th Amendment: For this issue: Equal Protection Clause.

Jester King is legally NOT allowed to tell the beer drinking public where the beer is sold.  Essentially, you can’t ask the brewery where they can get a bottle of _______.   In more legal-ease code crap, have you ever seen beer labels in Texas, or special beer labels FOR Texas?  They have to say things like – malt liquor (under 4% ABW) , or Ale (Over 5% ABW).

This results in nonsensical and somewhat comical situations where we have to call pale ale at or below 4% ABW “pale beer” and lager that is over 4% ABW “ale”. The State has arrogantly and autocratically cast aside centuries of rich brewing tradition by taking it upon itself to redefine terms that reference flavor and production method as a simple shorthand for alcoholic strength. 

Furthermore, terminology like – “Strong” or “low alcohol.”  I.E. No Belgian Strong Ale, American Strong Ale etc.  ILLEGAL!

We are not allowed to put the alcoholic content on anything the State considers advertising, which includes our website and social media. We are simply seeking to exercise free and truthful speech about the beer we make and strongly believe that the State has no interest in keeping you from knowing the type of beer we make, how strong it is, or where it is sold.

Jester King believes their 14th Amendment rights have been violated because they are unable to sell beer at the brewery, only retailers. They maintain they should be able to sell directly to the public.  Brewpubs in Texas find themselves at the other end of the issue.

We are suing because the State has no rational interest in maintaining special restrictions aimed at limiting the sale of beer.

Any brewery not based in Texas must obtain a special license to sell in the state. Wineries are distilleries do not have to do this.  This makes it harder and financially cumbersome to small craft brewers.  Basically, not fair across the board.

We have chosen to pursue these matters in federal court after witnessing the lack of progress that has resulted from previous attempts to address the inequities of the TABC Code legislatively. During the last legislative session, there were bills aimed at giving breweries and brewpubs similar rights to Texas wineries, but these bills never even made it out of committee.

Fight the power. [PressRelease]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Brewery Expansions, Oskar Blues Brewing

Oskar Blues Expansion Begins, Deviant Dales In Tallboys

Oskar Blues Brewing (Lyon, CO) has broken ground on their new brewery expansion.  A few changes go along with the expansion:

New canning line.  (See image below)  This is a picture of the new canning line. It takes the can production from around 160 cans per minute to over 300.

12oz AND 16oz formats.  Oskar will be making tallboy cans

6 new 200 barrel fermenters.  That’s 37,200 more gallons of fermenting space.  Brings the grand total of 35 fermenters on site

1 Additional 400 barrel Brite Tank (12,400 gallon capacity)

Total output in 2011 is on schedule to be 80,000 barrels (2.4 million gallons) or 26,453,33 cans. (If they only made cans of course.)

The brewery expansion builds over the “game room” and gift shop area of the Tasty Weasel – aka the tasting room.  Below you’ll see pics of the game room area before the expansion began.

NEW BEER! Deviant Dale’s IPA. A GABF silver medal winner, soon to be in 16oz cans.

Pic of the New Canning Machine 

 

The Old Game Area Adjacent To The Tasty Weasel (Expansion is going here)

by Reid Ramsay