Great Cause
5 Years Today. Virginia MacLean
5 years ago today, Virginia MacLean lost her battle with Multiple Myeloma. She is the name sake for a series of beers called “Reunion: A Beer For Hope.” MacLean was best friends Alan Shapiro of SBS Imports, who helped create the beer to honor Virginia, and raise money and awareness for the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research.
The most recent release was brewed with Terrapin & Shmaltz Brewing. Another edition is planned or release later this year.
SweetWater Waterkeeper Back For Year 2
SweetWater Brewing’s Waterkeeper Hefeweizen is headed back to shelves. Starting in late May (read: now) is hitting southeastern tap handles. Last year, Waterkeeper Hefeweizen debuted to raise awareness of the Waterkeeper Alliances around the south. The brewery gets it’s water from the infamous Chattahoochie River that flows near the city of Atlanta. To date, SweetWater has earned $350,000 toward the campaign.
Waterkeeper® Hefeweizen is cloudy golden in color, brewed with wheat and two-row barley malt, and Sterling and Hallertau hops. A refreshing brew for summer in the South, this Hefeweizen ale rings in at 5.7% ABV and underneath its fluffy white head it delivers banana and clove notes from the Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast with a hint of lemon.
In addition to the Chattahoochee Waterkeeper they began work with Waterkeepers® across the Southeast including: Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation and French Broad Riverkeeper in North Carolina, Charleston Waterkeeper in South Carolina, Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Mobile Baykeeper in Alabama, along with Apalachicola Riverkeeper and St. Johns Riverkeeper in Florida.
SweetWater will host their first-ever regional concert series this year featuring bluegrass band and headlining act Railroad Earth. The series kicks off on June 20-24, touring Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston and Jacksonville with Waterkeeper Hefeweizens flowing at each show. Visit: http://waterkeeperbrew.org/
More on the beer and the cause: www.waterkeeperbrew.org.
Weyerbacher’s Last Chance IPA Benefits Animal Rescues
Weyerbacher Last Chance IPA is rumored to be replacing Hops Infusion. Portions of the proceeds will benefit local animal rescue organizations.
Style: IPA
Availability: 12 oz bottles, Draft.
Arrival: TBA
5.9% ABV
Cigar City Homefront IPA For Wounded Heroes
Cigar City Brewing is among one of six breweries participating in “Hops For Heroes.” The collective series of beers raises funds for Operation Homefront, a charity that provides financial assistance to the families of wounded service members. The participating breweries include: Cigar City, Sly Fox, Perennial Artisanal Ales, 21st Amendment, St. Arnold, & Fremont Brewing. The idea for these beers came from MLB pitcher Chris Ray, Fremont Brewing, & COTU Brewing in Seattle, Washington last year. Each of the beers is aged on wood bats donated by Louisville Slugger.
Homefront IPA is a collaborative beer developed in 2011 by Fremont Brewing Company and COTU Brewing Company in order to raise money and awareness for Operation Homefront, a charity who provides emergency assistance to our military heroes and their families. Cigar City Brewing, along with several other craft breweries, have joined forces to expand this effort nationwide. Aged on Louisville Slugger maple bats, this IPA improves the lives of our soldiers. All proceeds from the sale of this beer go to Operation Homefront.
Style: American IPA
Availability: 750 ml bottles
Arrival: TBA
6% ABV
For more on the charity, visit Operation Homefront
You Can Own The Only Bottle Of Schlafly Titanium
On April Fool’s Day, Schlafly released a “joke” video about the making of Schlafly Titanium (an obvious play on Bud Light Platinum.) A beer so rare, there’s only one. Now you have a shot at this ultra rare gem – or at least the empty bottle from the video. The auction (already up to $350 dollars) is for the empty collectors item, a $50 dollar gift certificate for the Tap Room or Bottleworks, a VIP tour (up to 10 peeps) and 2 tickets to the Repeal Of Prohibition Festival. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to The Gateway Chapter of The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society. [Ebay]
Terrapin Releasing “Tree Hugger” In April
Terrapin Beer Company will release a draft only beer in April dubbed “Tree Hugger.” There’s a little backstory on this one.
Terrapin’s Spike Buckowski got pretty friendly with the altbier style on a recent trip to Germany. Altbiers originated in Dusseldorf, Germany and are malty-nutty in flavor. Tree Hugger will play off this style, but a little hoppier. A hoppy altbier.
Some of the proceeds of Tree Hugger will benefit Decatur Green Fest. The fest is a free concert on the Decatur Courthouse Square featuring local and regional musical artists benefitting the Dogwood Alliance and the Oakhurst Community Garden Project.
Style: Altbier
Availability: Draft only
Arrival: April, 2012 (Tentative)
?? ABV
New Belgium’s 2012 Tour De Fat Schedule (New Cities!)
New Belgium Brewing’s “Tour de Fat” Announces National Schedule, Including First-time Festivals in Atlanta and Washington, DC
Rollin’ Into a City Near You; Countdown Begins for Crafting Costumes
Ft. Collins, CO, March 27, 2012 — New Belgium Brewing today announced the much-anticipated Tour de Fat 2012 schedule. Now in its 13th season, Tour de Fat brings together passionate bike lovers for a day of two-wheeled revelry while raising money for local nonprofits. Tour de Fat is a thrilling rite of passage that includes an unparalleled costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, dazzling entertainment, local food, unusual bike contests and much more. Coming to 15 cities across the country, New Belgium has added Atlanta and Washington, DC to this year’s lineup.
In 2012, Tour de Fat, which is a free event, will exceed the $2 million mark for money raised for local nonprofits through beer and merchandise purchases. Funds generally go to organizations in the world of bike advocacy, with money spent in a wide variety of ways, including trail maintenance, safety education, lobbying for better bicycle communities and a wide variety of other impactful initiatives.
The pinnacle of Tour de Fat is the ceremonious car-for-bike trade. At each Tour de Fat, one person becomes the center of the show as he or she gets up on stage, hands over car keys, and pledges to live one year car-free. Tour de Fat is now seeking volunteers to accept the swapper challenge. Each car-for-bike swapper will choose a local bike shop to help them turn their $2,250.00 budget into their ultimate car-replacement commuter bike. The cars will be auctioned by Vehicles for Charity, with proceeds to benefit local cycling organizations.
Swappers are chosen after submitting an application that describes why they are willing to trade in their vehicle for a shiny new bicycle. To submit an entry, go to the New Belgium Tour de Fat Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/
“This is a big year for Tour De Fat as we added two terrific cities to the roster and look to surpass $2 million in funds raised for organizations that do great things for bicyclists and beyond,” said Matt Kowal, Tour De Fat Impresario. “In addition, our community of car-for-bike swappers is about to grow, which is a highlight of our whole year. Bike advocacy should always be this much fun.”
A few tidbits about Tour de Fat:
- Start sewing, collecting and dreaming up something to wear as Tour de Fat encourages embracing your inner costume-loving self. Come dressed up to help put on the most colorful, respectful and creative bike parade ever witnessed in each city.
- Tour de Fat seeks to leave as small an environmental imprint as possible and composts and recycles waste. Bring only what you need and watch for proper receptacles. We’ll do the rest!
- All performers grab your attention from alternatively empowered stages decked out in recycled materials; trucks and transport use biofuel sourced from recycled waste oils; and all vendors operate off the grid.
- This is a pro-bike celebration, not an anti-car rally. Non-cyclists are more than welcome to join the festivities.
In 2011, Tour de Fat traveled to 13 cities, attracting a total of 69,550 festival attendees and 41,150 parade cyclists. In addition, the festival raised $331,428 and boasted an impressive 90 percent diversion of waste from landfills.
See https://www.facebook.com/
Tour de Fat 2012 will cycle through each of the following cities:
Nashville, TN — June 2 — Centennial Park
Washington, DC — June 16 — Yards Park
Durham, NC — June 23 — Diamond View Park on the American Tobacco Campus
Atlanta, GA — June 30 — Historic 4th Ward Park
Milwaukee, WI — July 14 — Coast Guard Event Area, McKinley Park
Chicago, IL — July 21 — Palmer Square
Minneapolis, MN — July 28 — Loring Park
Boise, ID — August 18 — Ann Morrison Park
Fort Collins, CO — September 1 — Civic Center Park Area
Denver, CO — September 8 — City Park
Los Angeles, CA — September 15 — Los Angeles State Historic Park
San Francisco, CA — September 22 — Lindley Meadow in Golden Gate Park
San Diego, CA — September 29 — Golden Hill Park
Tempe, AZ — October 6 — Tempe Town Lake
Austin, TX — October 20 — Fiesta Gardens
About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces nine year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Ranger IPA, Belgo IPA, Sunshine Wheat, Shift Pale Lager, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.
