Rare Opportunity

Shmaltz Brewing’s – Jewbelation 13

Jewbelation 13! Recently released 22 oz. bottles and in rare findings – draft, Jewbelation 13 is the yearly anniversary release by Schmaltz Brewing.

Shmaltz Brewing was founded by Jeremy Cowan in San Francisco in 1996. The brewing was basically Continue Reading →

Brickstore’s 1st IPA Fest – CHEAT SHEET!

Brickstore’s First every IPA fest is Saturday, October 10th. Want a run down of whats tapping? Read on. I tried to run down the beers tap by tap. Perhaps even print it out and take it with you…

Posted in Allagash Brewing, Casks, Rare Opportunity

Allagash Curieux ’09 Cask, Tonight 6 pm!

Allagash CurieuxLet me start this off by saying, Allagash Brewing has always impressed me.  Furthermore, I can’t honestly think of a single offering by Allagash that I didn’t get excited to try, or have more of.  Today is no different.  Not only do we have an offering of the 2009 run of Curieux, but it’s a cask.

Curieux (French for curious) was the first release of a series of barrel aged beers by Allagash in 2004.  Curieux starts as Tripel Ale. (The term “tripel” comes from Belgium/Netherlands.  The theory is that it refers to strength as a series of marks.  X — Weakest, XX — Stronger, XXX — Strongest.)  The tripel is placed in Jim Beam barrels and cellar aged for 8 weeks.  The 8 weeks totally transforms the tripel in Curieux.  The oak transfers some of the bourbon flavor to the beer.  Vanilla, coconut, and bourbon become prevalent after aging.  11%ABV

For those of you that haven’t had this in the bottle or otherwise, its quite good.   Donald Munroe, managing partner of the Taco Mac Metropolis location sent this cask off to Allagash to have it filled.   Don’t pass it up.

Bottles of Curieux are at Hop City.  13.99.  (Bottles are corked and numbered.)

Taco Mac Metropolis, 6pm (11/13/09)
933 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 631-6526
@tmacmetropolis (on twitter)

Posted in Rare Opportunity, Shmaltz Brewing

Jewbelation Vertical Tasting @ Brickstore Pub

Jew 12 13

Recently, I wrote about Shmaltz’s Jewbelation 13 (Bar Mitzvah) release.   Quick recap- Jewbelation is released once a year starting with the 8th year, as a kind of an anniversary ale.   It’s unique each year and follows a theme.  8th year — 8 malts, 8 hops, 8% ABV and so on and so forth.

On Tuesday November 10th, Brickstore Pub is going to give you the chance to catch up.   Starting around 5pm bring your taste buds to the bar for Jewbelation 8,9,10,11,12 and 13 in a row.  Why should you do this?  Well, this is a great opportunity to see how additions of malts and hops change a beer.   If I can dig up the malt hop list for all the releases, I will post them.

5pm, 11/10/09

Brickstore Pub
125 E Court Sq
Decatur, GA 30030-2521
(404) 687-0990

Posted in Meet the Brewer, Orval Brewery, Rare Opportunity

Meet the Brewer – Francois de Harenne, Orval – Wrapup

Francois de Harenne (on rt.)

Francois de Harenne (on rt.)

Another great opportunity to meet a beer brewer has come and gone — and this time it was even more unique and special. Francois de Harenne made it all the way from Belgium to 5 Seasons Westside. I found it to be an honor to have Orval with the brewer himself.

As it turns out, Francois de Harenne’s great grandmother provided the land/money to rebuild Orval in the later 1920’s. Francois has been connect to Orval for generations now. He shared a lot of info out how the beer is brewed, and even shared tips about yeast and fermentation to homebrewers.

Again, special thanks to 5 Seasons West, Hop City, and Merchant du Vin.

Posted in New Releases, Rare Opportunity, Shmaltz Brewing

Shmaltz Brewing’s – Jewbelation 13

Jew 13

Jewbelation 13! Recently released 22 oz. bottles and in rare findings – draft, Jewbelation 13 is the yearly anniversary release by Schmaltz Brewing.

Shmaltz Brewing was founded by Jeremy Cowan in San Francisco in 1996. The brewing was basically an experiment; Jeremy used pomegranate juice in the first Hebrew beers. The beers were even sold out of the trunk of his grandmother’s car until Anderson Valley Brewing started brewing Cowan’s beers. (Anderson Valley’s beers haven’t made it into the Atlanta market yet…)

Eventually distribution grew from CA to New York City. By 2003, Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold hit 6 packs in NYC. There are now 6 full time beers in the Hebrew line up – Genesis Ale, Messiah Bold, Pomegranate Ale, Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., Rejewvenator, and Jewbelation. 2008 marked the National launch of Schmaltz’s Coney Island line of brews.

The Jewbelation series was first released 8 years in, (Jewbelation 8 ) and had 8 hops, 8 malts, 8% ABV. “13” keeps this tradition alive with 13 malts, hops and ABV. This edition has a large shopping list of ingredients.

Malts – Specialty Two Row, Canada Munich, Cara Munich 40, Chocolate, Crystal Rye, Dark Crystal, Flaked Spelt, Flaked Oats, Kiln Amber, Pilsner, Rye Ale, Vienna, and Wheat.

Hops — Ahtanum, Apollo, Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Crystal, Fuggle, Golding, Palisade, Simcoe, Tettnang, and Willamette.

13% ABV. 1 time release.
22oz. Bombers
4.99 @ Hop City.


Posted in Meet the Brewer, Orval Brewery, Rare Opportunity

Meet the Brewer – Francois de Harenne, Orval Brewery. TONIGHT!

Orval glass
While meeting a brewer of a beer can be a bit of a rare opportunity — here is one a bit more rare. Orval Brewer Francois de Harenne will be at 5 Seasons Westside Skybar today only.

Orval Brewery (Brasserie d’Orval) is a Belgian Trappist Brewery located in Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium. Now you may have seen the term “Trappist” used in the titles of various beers. Many people aren’t entirely sure what that means. Basically — the beer is brewed under control of Trappist monks. These monks are a branch of Cistercian orders, Roman Catholic, and follow the Rules of St. Benedict. (The spirit of this rule? Summed up in the motto – Ora et Labora or Work and Pray.) There is more to the Benedictine rules and this order (73 chapters), but at one point you need to stop reading my site and get back to work.

Since Orval is a Trappist brewery, you may have figured it is located on the grounds Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval . (Monastery.) Orval produces 2 Trappist beers.

Orval Trappist Ale — 6.2% ABV. First produced in 1931. Unique taste due to the unique yeast strain.

Petite Orval — 3.5%, ABV. Brewed solely for the monks at the monastery. AKA “Patersbier” or “Father’s Beer”

While there are more than 170 breweries that make Trappist Ales, only 8 are brewed under the control of Trappist Monks, and carry the “Authentic Trappist Product” logo on the bottle. Those breweries include Orval, Chimay, Westmalle, La Trappe, Rochefort, Aschel, Westvleteren, Koningshoeven (according to the Trappist Assoc. website.)

History of the Orval Brewery dates the earliest brewing around the year 1628. The current brewery was built in 1931, corresponding with Orval Ale’s first production. Another interesting fact about Orval. You may have noticed, or will today, that the logo has fish on it. In the fishes mouth — a ring. This logo explains the story of the founding of the Abbey.

Matilda of Tuscany (AKA Matilda of Canossa born in 1056) , a widow visiting the site of the Abbey, lost the wedding ring of her lost love. Saddened by this loss, Matilda prayed for the return of the ring. As an answer to her prayers, a trout appeared with the wedding ring in it’s mouth. In her excitement, Matilda announced “Truly this place is a Val d’Or!” (French for “Valley of Gold.”) From than statement, Orval is derived. The logo is the coat of arms for the brewery. To show her gratitude for the ring’s return she founded a monastery on the site. The spring in which the trout rose from the water still provides water to Orval for brewing.

Francois de Harenne of Orval Brewery will be at 5 Seasons sky bar from 4-530 pm. Special thanks to Craig at Hop City, and 5 Seasons Westside.

5 Seasons West
1000 Marietta St
Atlanta, GA 30318

Posted in Avery Brewing, Bear Republic Brewing, Bell's Brewing, Casks, Coast Brewing, Great Divide, Lagunitas, Left Hand Brewing, Moon River Brewing, Rare Opportunity, Red Brick, Stone Brewing Co., SweetWater Brewing, Terrapin Beer Company, Victory Brewing Company

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!

Posted in Meet the Brewer, Rare Opportunity

Peak Organic Brewing Owner & Free Tasting @ Octane Coffee

Peak Organic Pale

Peak Organic Pale

Tonight at Octane Coffee, meet the Co-Founder of Peak Organic Brewing Rob Lucente with Kraig Torres of Hop City.
Peak Organic Brewing Company started after buying brewing equipment for a friend. Over the course of that year, the friends incessantly brewed beer. Ultimately, Peak Organic Brewing was born.
Over time, Peak focused on brewing with organic ingredient and environmentally responsible practices. Beers in their current lineup include —

IPA — Amarillo & Simcoe hops — 7.2% ABV Recipe comes from Massachusetts home brewer friend.

Pale Ale — Cascade Hops, caramel malts. Close in bitterness to IPA.

Nut Brown Ale — Chocolate Malts, Caramel Malts. New Zealand Hallertau hops.

Amber Ale — Organic Crystal Malt. Munich Malt

Pomegranate Wheat Ale with Acai — Local wheat and coriander. Pomegranate and Acai (antioxidant rich fruit.)

Espresso Amber Ale — First “Fair Trade Certified” beer in US. Espresso beans in this beer are fairly traded. Hand roasted in Portland, ME. Dark Sumatran blend.

Maple Oat Ale — Peak is in New England, so this brew fits right in. Maine grown oats, from GrandyOats Granola Company. Vermont maple syrup from Butternut Mountain Farms. Copper colored ale, sweet finish.

Not all of the above brews will be featured tonight at Octane. However, this is a cheat sheet to what Peak brews, and gives you an 1 up in the conversation with Rob Lucente.
Tasting is free. Time — 5:30 pm. The beers you do find tasty are available across the street at Hop City.

Octane Coffee
1009-b Marietta street nw
Atlanta, GA
(404) 815-9886
www.octanecoffee.com