Don’t Miss This

Ouch. The Rare Barrel drain pours Wicked Weed

Wicked Weed sells to Anheuser this week and the reactions have been pretty brutal.

Jester King, who were/are friends and past collaborators, basically said “we’re cool” but aren’t working together anymore.

The Rare Barrel, California’s highly desired wild & sour brewery and Continue Reading →

Posted in Don't Miss This

Piss beer? Danish brewery makes pilsner from urine barley

You’ve probably heard someone say “this is piss beer.” This month we are closer to that being more real than ever. Enter Pisner, by Norrebro Bryghus.

Danish brewery Norrebro Bryghus doesn’t actually use urine in the brewing process, but the malt that goes into it has gotten a little “pissy.” The craft brewery in Copenhagen collected over 10,000 gallons of urine from Denmark’s Roskilde Music Festival in 2015.

Sustainability is key to this process.

Norrebro Bryghus refers to this as “beercycling,” where the collected urine was used to fertilize the barley fields instead of other fertilizers such as animal manure. Wonder what that field smelled like after the urine was applied? Us too.

Again, the urine wasn’t used in the brewing process. Like Stone Brewing’s recent use of waste water, the ick factor is very real. We have gotten used to the idea of manure for agricultural use. The thought of what comes out of music festival attendees going on crops isn’t the most palatable to everyone.

The beer is called Pisner, and brewery has created around 60,000 bottles of it.

Environmentally the process makes sense. Mentally, it might take a little getting used to. Would you drink it?

Image: Norrebro Bryghus/Facebook

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Wild Heaven Craft Beers, Don't Miss This

Wild Heaven Goodvice will be the brewery’s first imperial IPA

Avondale Estates, Georgia based Wild Heaven is on the cusp of releasing their first imperial IPA. It was almost exactly a year ago that the brewery released their first packaged IPA. According to head brewer and co-owner Eric Johnson, Wild Heaven Goodvice is nearly ready for the big time.

Johnson has chosen Loral, Ariana, and Ekuanot*, three very new varieties of hops and a hefty dose of lupulin powder. Using a cryogenic separation process, all the components of each hop fraction are preserved, producing two simultaneous products: concentrated lupulin powder, and debittered leaf.  All that hop talk boils down to an imperial IPA that will be extra dank.

If you aren’t familiar with Eric Johnson’s massive attention to brewing detail, he’s been test batching this beer for months. You might think the final release is a game of hop chemistry. For Johnson, it’s a complex game of hop combination and water chemistry. Paying close attention to the water ph has a direct effect on final hop aroma.

As for the name, Johnson says “there are all manners of vices, he hopes drinking this is a good one. Aka Goodvice”.

Some of the test batches are on tap in the brewery’s taproom now. Look for Wild Heaven Goodvice in 12 ounce cans and draft in the market in late May or June.

Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Loral, Ariana, Ekuanot
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: TBA

8.5% ABV

*Ekuanot was previously called Equinox.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Belgium, Don't Miss This

Hazy & tropical. New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Mandarina IPA

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Mandarina IPA is now hitting shelves nationally this month.

In late 2016, New Belgium signaled a few lineup changes with the addition of the Voodoo Ranger Series. Initial releases include Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA, and 8 Hop Pale Ale.

This month, New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Mandarina will be available for a limited time, perfect for warm weather drinking. The base beer is an unfiltered wheat based IPA that is big on trop hops including German Mandarina Bavaria and Australian Galaxy. Translation: juicy.

TASTE. Juicy is a great description. This new glass of haze plays jump rope with citrus flavors (like orange, lemon and grapefruit) and a touch of pine. This new Ranger finishes slightly sweet and smooth thanks to a blend of wheat. It’s like New Belgium bottled a sunny day.

Drink up now, because this summer a Passionfruit Imperial IPA is headed to the series.

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Mandarina IPA is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft for a limited time.

Style: IPA
Hops: Mandarina Bavaria, Galaxy, Cascade, Calypso
Malts: Pale, White Wheat, Red Wheat, Dark Wheat.
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.

Debut: Mid-April, 2017

6.5% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

Not even for charity. Breweries back out of Wicked Weed Invitational

The backlash from the sale of Wicked Weed continues. This time it’s with one of the brewery’s featured events, The Wicked Weed Invitational.

The prized sour and wild event held behind Wicked Weed’s production facility usually draws some the best sour brewers in America, like The Rare Barrel, Upland Brewing, Lost Abbey, Avery Brewing, and local Fonta Flora.

That sour taste in brewer’s mouths isn’t the beer. The sale to Anheuser-Busch has gotten some of the biggest backlash we here at Beer Street Journal have ever seen.

A day after the sale announcement, Wicked Weed announced their annual summer sour fling, The Funkatorium Invitational. Hoping to quell the the angry mob gathering outside the brewery’s doors, they also announced that 100% of the profits from the Invitational would be donated to Eblen-Kimmel Charities, assisting Asheville’s underprivileged community.

It is important to note that 100% of the profits from this event will be donated to Asheville’s Eblen Charities, a charity in which we firmly believe. Eblen-Kimmel Charities works to assist Asheville’s underprivileged community by providing needs including but not limited to healthcare, energy, emergency assistance, and housing.

Like dominos falling, one by one, breweries announced their lack of participation in The Funkatorium Invitational. The list includes The Rare Barrel, Three Taverns, Creature Comforts, Captain Lawrence, Birds Fly South, Almanac, Jackie O’s, Other Half, Fonta Flora, The Commons Brewery, TRVE Brewing , Oxbox, Jester King, Cascade Brewing, Beachwood, Breakside Brewing,Haw River, J. Wakefield… you get the idea.

What we, the beer drinking collective are learning is that a sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev is so polarizing and so tainting, that breweries won’t even work with you for charity.

Not even for charity. That’s sending a pretty damn strong message.

Thank the internet for the unofficial sarcastic image above. The list of “confirmed” breweries (all owned by A-B)

Ed Note: Updated article wording to 100% of profits instead of previously stated “proceeds”

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Rare Barrel, Beer News, Don't Miss This, Wicked Weed Brewing Co

Ouch. The Rare Barrel drain pours Wicked Weed

Wicked Weed sells to Anheuser this week and the reactions have been pretty brutal.

Jester King, who were/are friends and past collaborators, basically said “we’re cool” but aren’t working together anymore.

The Rare Barrel, California’s highly desired wild & sour brewery and past collaborator, hasn’t taken the news well either. Today they posted a picture of themselves pouring out their recent collaboration with Wicked Weed, that some weeks ago would have sent beer fans into a self induced tizzy.

Citing core values, The Rare Barrel is pulling out of the second half of their collaboration with Wicked Weed, refusing to serve their beer, and will no longer attend their festivals.

Another big ouch for the newest millionaires on the brewing block.

Full statement from The Rare Barrel below. PIC via The Rare Barrel/Facebook.

This has been an awkward and emotional last 24 hours for us.

Over the years, we’ve become good friends with the Wicked Weed crew. We’ve grown to really respect the people and their beers. We’ve shared many beers together, made a beer together, are in the process of making another beer together, enjoyed events around the country, and hosted Wicked Weed events at our barrel house. We’ve shared some really good times together over the last couple of years.

It’s about values.

Yesterday, Wicked Weed announced that they are selling their brewery to the megabrewery AB InBev (Budweiser, Shock Top). Here at The Rare Barrel, we’ve made a decision not to serve, collaborate with, or affiliate with AB InBev because our values do not align with theirs.

In order to stay true to our values, we’re pulling out of the second part of our collaboration, will not be attending their festivals, and will not be able to serve their beer in our Tasting Room anymore.

While our values diverge and we part ways, we wish the people at Wicked Weed all the best.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Lagunitas, Don't Miss This

A wet-hopped beer in May: Lagunitas Born Again Yesterday

Lagunitas has Born Yesterday, a beer brewed with wet hops flown in from Yakima, Washington and thrown in the brew kettle within 24 hours. It’s a real treat if you snag it fresh.The beer is massively aromatic, dank, bitter; all the things you want in a fresh hopped IPA that is sadly only available once a year. No need to wait until late summer for your next fix, because Lagunitas Born Again Yesterday has arrived.

The brewery boasts some kind of expensive, proprietary technology that has allowed them to preserve the wet hops (making them wet all year). That means they don’t have to wait for the next harvest to create “Born”. While hops are just starting to sprout, you can have a beer that tastes like the coming harvest.

Ours is a homegrown process of time dilation for the delicate hop cone that the flower doesn’t even perceive and so delivers its still newborn self to our kettle months and months after its birth. Questing has no end and we are still tweaking our process but we hope you find this mid-summer anachronism to be as satisfying as we do.

Lagunitas Born Again Yesterday is a limited release, unfiltered  “wet-hopped” beer, available in 12 ounce bottles and draft.

Style: IPA
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Latest Release: May, 2017

7.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

LeBron James isn’t happy with Great Lakes Brewing

It’s been a tough week for American beer. One of the biggest up and coming sour breweries sells to Anheuser-Busch, and another finds themselves at odds with basketball legend LeBron James.

The little debacle started after James missed a layup after being fouled in Game 1 of the NBA Semifinals. In a few short steps, James found himself eye to eye with the beer vendor and jokingly took the beer out of her hand and almost drank it.

The beer? Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold. If you are the brewery’s owner, social media manager, or even the brewer’s grandmother, it would be hard not to tweet out a picture of LeBron James holding your beer. That’s exactly what Great Lakes did the next day, along with offering discounts on Gold at the pub. (Side note: Great Lakes also made a beer called ‘Quitness‘ when he departed the Cavaliers a few years back).

A source with Great Lakes that didn’t want to be named mentioned that those tweets got James and his legal team in a huff, citing NBA players cannot endorse alcohol and that they are trying to benefit off of his actions. In our minds, he’s the one that picked up the bottle. Great Lakes just took advantage of the opportunity.

Great Lakes has since deleted the tweets referencing the “beer incident”.

Also, LeBron James isn’t a beer guy. In the press conference post game, he said “I’m not much of a beer guy. If she had some red wine, I probably would have took a sip.”

Image: Via screenshot/TNT

 

by Reid Ramsay