Casks

Brickstore Pub’s Cask Lineup! Tapping Now!

Lee Dickson at Brickstore Pub has been busy.  Busy setting up a bit of a marathon cask lineup.   This past weekend, BSP tapped Highland Brewing’s 15th Anniversary.  Tapping now is Brasserie Franches Mongtanes Alex La Rouge.  Recently imported by B Continue Reading →

CASK ALERT! Oak Aged Terrapin Rye Squared

I just finished a call with Terrapin with some fun news.  First and foremost, you can look forward to a cask with new releases.  Especially with the seasonal series.   Up next? Terrapin Rye Squared.

Rye Squared is Terrapin’s next seasonal, Continue Reading →

CASK ALERT! Highland 15th Anniversary

Highland Brewing out of Asheville, NC just celebrated its 15th Anniversary over the weekend.  In order to celebrate its 15 years of craft brewing, Highland has released 15th Anniversary Auld Ashville Vintage Ale.

15th Auld Asheville Vintage Ale is an Old Continue Reading →

Posted in Casks, RCH Brewery, Wintercoat Brewery

Brickstore Pub’s Cask Lineup! Tapping Now!

Lee Dickson at Brickstore Pub has been busy.  Busy setting up a bit of a marathon cask lineup.   This past weekend, BSP tapped Highland Brewing’s 15th Anniversary.  Tapping now is Brasserie Franches Mongtanes Alex La Rouge.  Recently imported by B United in congruence with brewer/founder Jerome Rebetez’s rare visit to the US.  This cask is RARE!!  Each cask in the lineup below will tapped one after the other.  16 oz pours will run you about $5 each.  (Alex La Rouge is $6)  Tapping starts now.  I will update you when the next taps! (Note: List below is not in order)

Brasserie Franches Montagnes – Alex La Rouge —Imperial  Stout,10.2%.  One of 16 casks sent to North America.  Very Rare.   Bourbon Vanilla, Black Tea Leaves, Black Pepper.  Hints of wet hopping.

Wintercoat- Mols Øl -Scottish Gruit/Ancient Herbed ale, 6.4% ABV.   Wintercoat hails from Sabro, Denmark.   Brewed in a former barn, literally in stalls where horses were kept.  Wintercoat specializes in English style Ales, and are unfiltered and unpasteurized.  Mols Øl is Danish inspired using local ingredients.  Mols refers to a peninsula in Denmark, declared a national park in 2009.  Mols Øl has barley wheat, rye, and oat malts.  Juniper branches are used to strain the mash.  Wild thyme is added to the hops.  Appears deep red, amberish in color.  Malty, smells of herbs, with a slight sweet finish.

RCH Brewery – Old Slug – English Porter, 4.5% ABV.   RCH stands for Royal Clarence Hotel where the brewery got started in the 1980’s in England.  RCH’s old brewery had a slug problem.  Old Slug Porter laces the glass leaving a trail like a slug… thus the name.  This porter has hints of coffee and chocolate.  Black Currant and Black Cherry tones are notable.  Tasty, and sessionable.

Gwatkin- Norman Cider , 7.5% ABV.  Gwatkin Cider is created in the English countryside.  Gwatkin ciders have won numerous awards.  The Norman Cider apple is imported from Normandy, France.  The juice from this apple ferments quickly, creating a new medium bodied cider.    Sold in wine bottles in England.

RCH Brewery – Santa Fe- Strong Ale, 7.3% ABV.  Carmel malts, mild bitterness, some alcohol tones.  Subtle hop flavors.

Wintercoat- Double Hop– Imperial IPA, 8.2% ABV.  Brewed with ale yeast.  Hop and malt balance, especially with Double hop being a well hopped beer.  Some bitter in finish.

Gwatkins- Golden Valley Blend– Cider , 6.0% ABV.  The name Golden Valley comes from a small place in Herefordshire England where cider has been traditionally brewed for centuries.   Local apples are grown and pressed for Golden Valley Blend.  Medium Bodied cider brewed with Apples, natural sugar, and trace sulphur.

Brickstore Pub

125 East Court Square

Decatur, Ga 30030

www.brickstorepub.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Casks, Terrapin Beer Company

CASK ALERT! Oak Aged Terrapin Rye Squared

I just finished a call with Terrapin with some fun news.  First and foremost, you can look forward to a cask with new releases.  Especially with the seasonal series.   Up next? Terrapin Rye Squared.

Rye Squared is Terrapin’s next seasonal, after the wildly successful Wake & Bake.  Rye Squared is a beefed up version of the year round Rye Pale Ale.  As Terrapin describes it – “Double the malts, double the hops, double the flavor of the original Rye Pale recipe.”   Here is your ingredient rundown –

Hops – Magnum, Fuggle, East Kent, Golding, Cascade,  Dry hopped w/ Amarillo

Malts – 2-Row Pale, Munich, Malted Rye, Victory Malt, Honey Malt

Rye Square is 9.5% ABV and cellars well!

Rye Squared 2010 will be debuting on Cask at Midway Pub in East Atlanta 2/1/10  @ 6 pm.  This featured cask is an oak -aged version of Rye Squared.

Midway Pub

552 Flat Shoals Avenue Southeast
Atlanta, GA 30316-2065
(404) 584-0335

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Casks, Highland Brewing

CASK ALERT! Highland 15th Anniversary

Highland Brewing out of Asheville, NC just celebrated its 15th Anniversary over the weekend.  In order to celebrate its 15 years of craft brewing, Highland has released 15th Anniversary Auld Ashville Vintage Ale.

15th Auld Asheville Vintage Ale is an Old Ale.  Old Ale is a style that refers to malty, dark beers that originally hail from England.  Old would refer to the ale being held by the brewery for a long period of time.  Typically, the English Old ales were in the 5% ABV neighborhood.  When they exceed 6%, the term “winter warmer” came into play.   American old ales seemingly push 9% ABV or higher.

Highland 15th Anniversary has a strong malt profile from British malts.  Brewed from a traditional British Ale yeast, 15th is bittered by Stryian Bobek hops hailing from Slovenia.  Sterling hops are added for a small spicy kick.

15th Anniversary Auld Asheville Vintage Ale will make its debut in Atlanta this Saturday (1/30/10) on cask at Brickstore Pub.  Tapping time???  TBA.

The ale is 9.5% ABV.

Brickstore Pub

125 East Court Square

Decatur, Ga 30030

www.brickstorepub.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Casks, Now Tapping, Victory Brewing Company

CASK ALERT! – Victory Brewing’s Hop Devil

Now tapping at Taco Mac Prado’s “The Fred” is Victory Hop Devil.   Hop Devil is an American IPA brewed year round by Victory.

Hop Devil is brewed with whole flower American hops.  (Whole hops are the whole flower dried and uncompressed.  They also typically provide more hop aroma than hops in pelete form.  They also bitter beer less than other forms.)  Imported German 2 Row Malt is also used in Hop Devil.

As always, casks are unfiltered and unpasteurized.

6.7% ABV.

NOTE:  You must be a member with at least 13 beers (probably more now, not 100% sure) on your list in order to gain entry to “The Fred.”

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Casks, Meet the Brewer, Rare Opportunity

Meet the Brewer, Jerome Rebetez of Brasserie Franches-Montagnes

Another exciting event in an already exciting week in beer in Atlanta.  Tomorrow, Swiss Brewer/Owner Jerome Rebetez of Brasserie Franches-Montagnes from Jura, Switzerland makes his way to Brickstore Pub.

At 23, Jerome Rebetez starting home brewing in his parents kitchen.  Focusing on unusual ingredients, the beers Jerome produced won him a contest in Switzerland designed to help you realize your dream job.   Taking the money from the contest, Jerome founded Brasserie des Freiberge in 1997.  (Brasserie translates to Brewery.)  In a short time, Jerome had jumped to the forefront for Swiss brewing.   His beers have a strong character, with a deep complexity, and very unique ingredients.  Franches—Montagnes contain special spices like Sarawak pepper, and sage.   These artisan ales are as individualistically crafted as European wines.

The beers of Franches — Montagnes have been in Georgia for a while now, and aren’t always easy to come by.  Franches — Montagnes  is a very small brewery with limited production.  This visit is especially exciting as its Rebetez’s first visit to the southeast during his yearly visit to the states.

Starting at 5 pm Brickstore will be tapping 2 rare casks —

Curvee  Alex La Rouge (Alex the Red) — Imperial Stout, 10% ABV.  Bourbon Vanilla, Black Tea Leaves, Black Pepper.  Hints of raw hopping ( aka wet hopping)

La Tarry Suchong — Amber, 6% .  Smoked Tea leaves.  Malts are smoked in Beechwood. Uses Lapsong Tary Suchong, a smoked Chinese tea.

Bottle offerings —

L’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien — Sour Ale, 11% ABV.  Matured for months in oak barrels previous used to age wine.  Fruity wine like palette with sharp acidity.

La Dragonne (The Strap) — Black beer, 7% ABV.  Served warm. No carbonation or foam, yet has a strong aroma.  Uses various Swiss Christmas spices.  Sweet & Spicy with a bitter finish.

It all kicks off at 5 pm, 1/21/10.  Join Brickstore Pub and Jerome Rebetez in his first and rare trip to the south.

Brickstore Pub

125 East Court Square

Decatur, Ga 30030

www.brickstorepub.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Casks, Meet the Brewer, Now Tapping, Rare Opportunity

Bell’s Brewing Tap Lineup for Larry Bell Visit!

For those of you headed to the Larry Bell meet and greet tonight at tonight at Taco Mac Metropolis, there is a full lineup of Bell’s beers tapping.

Here is the full lineup, get your glasses ready..

Amber — Amber Ale, 5.8% ABV.  Flagship Bell’s offering. Mostly Pale Malts, with some Munich & Caramel Malts.   Malty sweet flavor w/ nice American hop balance.

Porter — 5.6% ABV.  Dark malts with roasted tones.  Subtle chocolate & coffee tones.  Gold medal winner in Brewers Association World Cup 2008

Two Hearted Ale — IPA, 7% ABV.  Centennial hops. Pale & Caramel Malts.  More HERE.

3rd Coast — American Blonde, 4.8% ABV.  Brewed with Pale Malts, and a strong addition of American Hops.  Crisp, bitter, refreshing.   Year round offering.

Java Stout — Imperial Stout, 7.5% ABV.  Personal Favorite!  Sumatra coffee beans, blended with chocolate and roasted malts.  Full flavored, beautifully balanced.  Very short seasonal offering.

Double Cream Ale — Milk Stout, 6.1% ABV.  Sweet stout with roasted malts. Creamy, with subtle chocolate and coffee flavors.  Much more subtle than Java stout on the coffee side.

Winter White Ale — Witbier, 5% ABV.  American Wheat Ale, brewed with proprietary blends of Hefe and Belgian Yeasts.  Very light, wheaty, and fresh.

Best Brown Ale — Brown Ale, 5.8% ABV.  Strong malty character.  Toasted sweet malts. Hoppy  undertones.  Sweet finish.  Sold Oct — March.

Christmas Ale — Scottish Ale, 5.4% ABV.  Caramel and toffee flavors.  Bold without being overbearing, Christmas ale has sweet and malty notes with very little bitter in the finish.  Rare offering.  Grab this one.

Cherry Stout — Fruit beer/ Flavored Stout. 7% ABV.  Fantastic sour cherry flavor from Michigan.  Has a chocolate covered cherry flavor.  Subtle coffee.  Van Twee takes some inspiration from Cherry Stout.

Expedition Stout — Russian Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV.  Strong on toasted malts. Chocolate aromas, bitter chocolate flavors on the palette.  Perhaps even some sweet molasses too.

CASK!! Cherry Stout — I had the opportunity to try this yesterday at Brickstore Pub.  Great cask offering, with subtle sour cherry flavors with a coffee/chocolate finish.  Well balanced and flavorful.

Van Twee- This draft offering is especially rare opportunity.  Bell’s brewery John Mallett collaborated with De Proef in Belgium  It’s a dubbel, porter blend with sour cherries, and beet sugar to bottle condition.  More on Van Twee HERE! 2 taps for Van Twee tonight.

There are delays with Hopslam, while it’s not completely ruled out, it’s not looking good.

It all kicks off at 6 pm!  See you there!

Taco Mac — Metropolis

933 Peachtree St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Allagash Brewing, Bell's Brewing, Casks, Heavy Seas, Now Tapping, Shmaltz Brewing

The Porter Beer Bar Hosts – Firkin Madness!

The Porter Beer Bar, nestled in Little 5 Points kicks off “Firkin Madness Week” starting tonight!  Owner Molly Gunn has set up a great lineup of firkins, each tapping at 6 pm, and flowing until gone.

Here’s the lineup —

Tuesday – (Note — Porter closes at 11 pm today)

Bells Two Hearted Ale — IPA, 7% ABV.  Lots of Centennial Hop flavors.  Pale & Caramel Malts.

Wednesday

Allagash Black — Belgian Stout, 7.5% ABV.  German 2 Row Barley, Torrified Wheat, Oats.  Belgian Dark Candy sugar. Hints of chocolate and coffee.

Thursday

Schmaltz Lenny’s RIPA – Double IPA, 10% ABV.  Boasts Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe, Crystal, Chinook, Amarillo, Centennial.  Dry hopped w/ Simcoe, Amarillo, Crystal.  Lots of malts too.

Friday

Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale —IPA, 7.2% ABV.  3lbs hops per barrel, hopped 3 times.  Great on cask!

Aventinus Eisbock –  Eisbock, 12% ABV.  Highly rated bock.  Slightly boozy, with malts and caramelized sugars.  Dark fruit flavors.

Saturday

T’Smidje Reserve — Details forthcoming…

Again, it all kicks off Today (1/19/10) at 6 pm. New cask every night through Saturday.

The Porter Beer Bar
1156 Euclid Ave NE,
Atlanta, GA 30307
www.theporterbeerbar.com

by Reid Ramsay