Don’t Miss This

Bell’s Pooltime Ale returns for a second summer

Bell’s Pooltime Ale is shipping once again, a part of the brewery’s speciality lineup.

Bell’s Pooltime Ale is a Belgian-style wheat ale, brewed with Montmorency cherry juice from Traverse City, Michigan. Until 2016’s aluminum debut, it had been a few years since the Michigan Continue Reading →

Posted in Don't Miss This

10 Barrel to match funds raised for ‘anti 10 Barrel banner’

Sometimes the best way get back at your enemies is kill them with kindness. 10 Barrel Brewing looks like they are taking they are going to take the high road when it comes to their objectors.

A San Diego beer fan (going by the same name on GoFundMe) has raised over $2,000 dollars to fly a banner of the 10 Barrel San Diego Brewpub grand opening party this weekend. The banner is slated to read ’10 Barrel is Not Craft Beer’.

A few of our readers have noted across social media that $2K sounds like a waste of money. That’s cash that could be spent on something more worthwhile.

Within an hour of publishing our piece about the banner, 10 Barrel reached out in about an effort of their own. For each dollar raised from the GoFundMe campaign, 10 Barrel will match it, and donate it to local charities.

10 Barrel co-founder sent over this statement:

“While we really appreciate these efforts increasing the awareness of the opening of the pub, it’s a shame these folks aren’t putting their time and money into more important civil causes and helping those truly in need.  With that, we’ll be pouring some great beers on May 27th and hope many new friends come join us,” – Garrett Wales, 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Birds Fly South Ale Project, Don't Miss This

Birds Fly South Skin & Bone, one of the brewery’s best

Birds Fly South Skin & Bone, a collaboration with Tarpon Springs, Florida’s Saint Somewhere Brewing Company.

This beer was originally one of the first offerings by Birds Fly South Ale Project, based in Greenville, South Carolina. between the first release and this month’s returns, the brewery has opened a beautiful, wood heavy tap room in the city’s West End Water Tower District.

Skin & Bone is one of the best releases in the brewery’s budding arsenal. This beer hits on all the notes you chase in wild ales – tart, funk and funk. Each sip finishes with mellow hints of the chardonnay barrels. Looking back over 2016, Skin & Bone was easily one of the best new beers we tried. Definitely don’t miss this second round.

Birds Fly South Skin & Bone is on shelves now in upstate South Carolina in 750 milliliter bottles.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Peaches. Wine Aged.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Latest Return: May, 2017

5.8% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

New Belgium’s Peter Bouckaert is leaving the brewery

New Belgium will be losing their longtime brewmaster after 21 years. He is departing for a smaller project later this year.

Bouckaert got his professional start with Belgium based Rodenbach back in the 1980’s before heading to Boulder, Colorado. By 1999, Bouckaert had introduced La Folie which is still one of America’s most well-known sour beers.

He won’t have to go far for his next venture. Bouckaert is joining a new farm brewery initiative called Purpose Brewing and Cellars, opening in Fort Collins in 2017. Zach Wilson and Laura Sickles purchased the brewery (previously known at 1933 Brewing) in December of 2016 and have overhauling the brewery’s approach and branding.

In addition to replacing Bouckaert, New Belgium is in the process of replacing former CEO Christine Perich who left last November.

No formal timeline has been announced for his departure.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Good People Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Good People Juco Southern IPA is big on hops & low on ABV

Good People Juco Southern IPA is the latest summer seasonal from the Birmingham, Alabama brewery.

If you aren’t familiar with the term, “Juco” is short for junior college. The hop-forward offering is a quite sessionable 4.2% alcohol by volume. (Translation: Good for all-day drinking.)  This beer rocks flavors of pine and lemon zest thanks to generous doses of Columbus, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Equinox.

Taste

Talk about a rush of hop flavor. This beer is as hoppy and dank as the 6% to 7% IPAs that folks are standing in line for. The “session IPA” season hits full swing when the temperature rises. Great news for your liver. There have been some really good ones, but we haven’t been floored until this beer. Don’t look for a thin or watery beer in this can. JUCO is that bold hop flavor you need in an IPA that won’t leave you floating facedown in the pool after an afternoon of drinking. Think of it as adding a little “class” to your summer.

Scoring high grades in flavor and hoppy taste, JUCO isn’t worried about achieving a lower ABV than our flagship IPA. In fact that’s what a chill summer class is all about. This may be the best 6 beers of your life.

Good People Juco Southern IPA debuts on May 1st on draft, and 12 ounce cans in mid-May.

Style: IPA
Hops: Columbus, Mosaic, Simcoe, Equinox
Malts: 2-Row, Vienna, and Crystal 40
Yeast: California Ale

Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: May, 2017

4.2% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Don't Miss This, Seasonal Return

Bell’s Pooltime Ale returns for a second summer

Bell’s Pooltime Ale is shipping once again, a part of the brewery’s speciality lineup.

Bell’s Pooltime Ale is a Belgian-style wheat ale, brewed with Montmorency cherry juice from Traverse City, Michigan. Until 2016’s aluminum debut, it had been a few years since the Michigan based brewery brewed

“Poolside is a beer we haven’t seen for a while. It was incredibly well received and we thought it was the right time to bring this seasonal favorite back,” Bell’s Vice President Laura Bell said.

Bell’s Pooltime Ale will be available in limited quantities in 12 ounce cans/ 6 packs starting in mid-May, across the brewery’s entire distribution area.

Style: Witbier (w/ Cherry Juice)
Availability: 12oz Cans. Limited Release
Latest Return: May, 2017

5% ABV

Ed Note: 2017’s release is called Pooltime Ale, instead of Poolside Ale. Image via Bell’s Brewing

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

AB InBev makes a statement on South African hop allocation

There has been another eruption of outrage in the craft beer industry today. AB InBev owned South African hops will not be available to non-AB owned breweries in 2017.  Following a viral memo from an independent distributor today, the craft beer industry is none to happy.

The memo claimed that due to, “believing this will afford them a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” AB InBev refuses to sell surplus hops to craft breweries outside of their portfolio.

However, this statement from AB claims a lower harvest yield this year and a goal to grow and sell more South African hops in 2018.

South Africa is not a traditional hop growing region. SAB’s R&D efforts made it possible to grow hops in South Africa but it is still less than 1% of the world hop acreage and production. This year, South Africa suffered from low yields. Previously, SAB has sold a small surplus of locally-grown hops to the market. Unfortunately this year we do not have enough to do so given the poor yield. More than 90 percent of our South African-grown hops will be used in local brands Castle Lager and Castle Lite, beers we’ve committed to brewing with locally-grown ingredients. In support of the local industry, we additionally sell hops to South African craft breweries. This means that less than five percent can be allocated to other Anheuser-Busch InBev breweries outside of South Africa.

Knowing the high demand for South African hops locally and abroad, we are working to expand local hop acreage. Depending on the 2018 crop outcome, we may once again be able to sell more hops to breweries outside of South Africa. –Willy Buholzer, Global Hops Procurement Director, Anheuser-Busch InBev

Let’s all hope one way or the other we get more access to those delicious South African hops next year.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Wicked Weed Brewing Co, Don't Miss This

Wicked Weed Funkatorium Invitational date moved, will be “reimagined”

Wicked Weed Brewing is moving the date of their Funkatorium Invitational from July to August 26th. The charitable festival will not go on as planned.

Following the announcement of the brewery’s sale to Anheuser-Busch, dozens of sour and wild brewing invitees rescinded their participation. So many jumped out in fact, that the Invitational cannot proceed as planned. Refunds for those that have already purchased tickets are being offered.

There is a “Counter” festival in the works, benefitting the same charity. Some ex-pats of the Funkatorium Invitational will be in attendance.

In the meantime, the Invitational will be “re-imagined” between now and the new August date.

Questions to the Wicked Weed on what the new direction will be have gone unanswered by the brewery. Their full statement is found below.

The Funkatorium Invitational is an important event for us. The mission of this festival has always been centered around the sour beer community and giving back. Over the course of a weekend, breweries from around the country come together through numerous events to celebrate where this amazing community is and where it can go, all while benefitting the city of Asheville.

This year, it has become clear that we can no longer host the festival with the original vision in mind. We respect the decisions of those who have decided to no longer attend, and we understand that the impact of bringing this community together is more important than Wicked Weed.

Just like the sour beer community, Eblen Charities is still of paramount importance to us. With that in mind, we will evolve the Funkatorium Invitational and host a reimagined festival to raise money for Eblen’s cause on August 26, 2017.

Just as a reminder, if you purchased local tickets you can still get a full refund at our Funkatorium location. More details will be released as they become available.

Editor’s Note: Article has been updated with the date August 26th due to a change by Wicked Weed.

Image: Wicked Weed Brewing

by Reid Ramsay