Vegetable/Fruit Beer

New Belgium Frambozen

This beer should be on your Thanksgiving beer pairing radar.  New Belgium Brewing’s (Ft Collins, CO) Frambozen has made a seasonal return. It is a brown ale infused with fresh pick raspberries from the pacific northwest.  The berries are turned Continue Reading →

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager

Here’s another pumpkin beer to add to your drinking lineup.  Lakefront’s “Pumpkin Lager”.  Lakefront Brewing travels here from Milwaukee, WI.  Let’s get to know this beer.

History: In 1989, Lakefront Brewery owner, Russ Klisch was ready dusty brewing tome, tipping Continue Reading →

NEW RELEASE: Pink Killer

They name grabs your attention.  So will the pour.  This beer just found it’s way into the United States.  The beer is called “Pink Killer” from Belgian brewer Brasserie de Silly in Belgium.  Even the name of the brewer catches Continue Reading →

Wittekerke “Framboise”

Sometimes I find out all I need on a new beer release.  Sometimes I don’t. This is one of those times.  Wittekerke has a new release here in the United States.  You know this brewer by other  releases in it’s Continue Reading →

Fruli!

Fruit beer.  Yeah, I said it.  For some that’s an instant turn off.  For many I’ve been talking to recently (guys and girls alike) it’s intriguing.  With good reason.  There are beers in the past that have given fruit beers Continue Reading →

21st Amendment Launch Day!

Everyone seems pretty excited that San Francisco brewer 21st Amendment is launching Georgia.  There have been some sightings of the cans (21st Amendment comes only in cans!!!) but today marks the full fledged launch.  Your favorite craft beer stores and Continue Reading →

Posted in New Belgium, Seasonal Return

New Belgium Frambozen

This beer should be on your Thanksgiving beer pairing radar.  New Belgium Brewing’s (Ft Collins, CO) Frambozen has made a seasonal return. It is a brown ale infused with fresh pick raspberries from the pacific northwest.  The berries are turned into a pure juice on site, and then loaded into an oxygen free CO2 truck for the trip back to the brewery.  There the juice is delicately handled, and added to the fermentation process.

Commercial Description:
Frambozen begins with the aroma of fresh red raspberries, followed by the ripe seductiveness of a fruity brown ale with depth and delicate malt notes. It is deep ruby in color, with flavors just as rich. Every year, New Belgium sends a delegate to the Pacific Northwest to oversee the process of turning freshly picked berries into a pure juice to be added in fermentation. The coming of Thanksgiving at New Belgium is ushered in with the first sighting of our cellar operators scuttling about, covered head to tow in a festive crimson berry wash.

Beer Rundown:
Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer
Hops: Target
Malts: Pale

Pure raspberry juice

Taste Expectations: Sweet raspberry with a touch of chocolate.  Caramel malts.  Flavor resembles a truffle.

Food Pairings: Duck/Goose. White chocolate cheesecake. Goat cheese. Sweet desserts.

Availability: 12/6pks.  Draft.  November-January. Winter Seasonal.

6.5% ABV

15 IBU’s

Fun Fact: Frambozen is derived from the Flemish word for raspberries

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Lakefront Brewing, Seasonal Return

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager

Here’s another pumpkin beer to add to your drinking lineup.  Lakefront’s “Pumpkin Lager”.  Lakefront Brewing travels here from Milwaukee, WI.  Let’s get to know this beer.

History: In 1989, Lakefront Brewery owner, Russ Klisch was ready dusty brewing tome, tipping one of our fine lagers and came across a beer recipe that Thomas Jefferson had brewed with pumpkin at his home in Monticello.

Taste Expectations: Pours a light orange with an off-white head.  Flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves meld well with a slightly sweet background that actually does taste a bit like pumpkin.  Caramel and munich malts reinforce this beer’s mouthfeel and lend to the malty sweetness.

Availability: 12oz/6pks. No Draft.  Seasonal offering.

6% ABV

Fun Fact: This beer is a lager – while most pumpkin beers are ales.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases

NEW RELEASE: Pink Killer

They name grabs your attention.  So will the pour.  This beer just found it’s way into the United States.  The beer is called “Pink Killer” from Belgian brewer Brasserie de Silly in Belgium.  Even the name of the brewer catches your attention.

What is “Pink Killer?”  It’s a fruit beer that focuses of the use of grapefruit.  Grapefruit juice was used in the brewing process, and is very evident in the pink colored pour. Commercial description:

“Fruity and thirst-quenching, sweet yet not sickly, Pink Killer is a beer based on malt, wheat and pink grapefruit, which explains its very unique colour and the hint of bitterness typical of this fruit, in turn quenching the biggest of thirsts with a flavoursome taste.”

Beer Rundown:
Style: Vegetable/Fruit Beer
Hops: Hallertau
Spices: Coriander, Orange peel

The brewery as states this beer has sugar, and “flavorings.”  No clue what “flavorings” are included.  Be certain though this beer has a lot of grapefruit in it, with a sweetness through out.

Availability: 11.2 ounce capped bottles.  Sold as a single, 3.99.
4.7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases

Wittekerke “Framboise”

Sometimes I find out all I need on a new beer release.  Sometimes I don’t. This is one of those times.  Wittekerke has a new release here in the United States.  You know this brewer by other  releases in it’s portfolio- the self titled Wittekerke, and Petrus Pale Ale.  Wittekerke is a label from Belgian brewer Bavik.

This new release is called “Framboise”, also known under another alias “Rose.”  Framboise translates to “raspberry” in English.  As you might have figured, it’s a fruit beer with this commerical description –

“A blend of regular Wittekerke, the best Belgian wheat beer, known for its fruity aroma and taste, together with 10% of the purest Raspberry fruit, and a dash of the Petrus Aged Pale ale, the original mother beer that is aged in oak for up to 3 years. This combination is made in heaven, beer-heaven at the Bavik brewery in Belgium.”

Taste Expectations: My favorite description – Raspberry Jello.  Fruity and sweet.  Lots of raspberry in this beer.  Like sweet beers? This one is for you.

Availability: 11.2 oz bottle/6 pks.  No current draft offerings.

4.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Now Tapping

Beer Spotlight: 5 Seasons West’s Watermelon Wheat

Back with a vengeance as it were.  5 Seasons West’s watermelon beer made it’s debut last summer at the brewpub.  Let’s just say it was well received.

Watermelon starts off as an American Wheat ale brewed with copious amounts of German malts and wheat malts.  Some specialty malts were also used for some extra complexity.  Then comes the watermelon.  Lots of watermelon.  600 lbs of locally grown organic watermelon.  All 600 lbs of watermelon had to be peeled, de seeded, and then pureed.   All of this had to be done in a little blender, so the process was time consuming.   The pureed watermelon is then added directly to the serving tank, so the flavor is fresh and straight forward.

Crawford had this to say –

“It is so important to use real fruit and not an extract.  You can really taste the difference.”

I couldn’t agree more.  Real fruit makes a difference.  Each glass has a fresh watermelon flavor that is not overwhelming, and is well balanced by the wheat flavor.  This  is a great hot weather beer.  Remember, each glass is actually served straight from the serving tank with the watermelon suspended in it.  It’s the freshest fruit beer you can have in Atlanta.  Each glass also has a slice of fresh watermelon on the rim!

>5% ABV

5 Seasons Westside
1000 Marietta Street Northwest
Atlanta, GA
Twitter: @5SeasonsWest

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases

Fruli!

Fruit beer.  Yeah, I said it.  For some that’s an instant turn off.  For many I’ve been talking to recently (guys and girls alike) it’s intriguing.  With good reason.  There are beers in the past that have given fruit beers a bad name.  Syrupy, sticky, sugary.  Almost like something you picked up at a 7-11.  Which is not to say that this beer I’m about to speak of will change your life, but it is different.  It’s called “Fruli”.  There are those 2 dots over the u in the name but I can’t figure out how to make that happen on a keyboard.  If you can, comment on the post. (Don’t be mean, I’ll delete you. Ass.)  Fruli hails from Belgium.  Here’s the story-

Fruli starts off as a Belgian White beer.  Unfiltered, hints of coriander, orange peel and spice.  Then it gets interesting.  It gets blended with fruit juice.  Namely strawberries.  Real ones. Fresh ones.  The result?  A beer that is suitable for hot days, or dessert.  Granted, this beer isn’t going to  impress the macho man, or uber beer geek.  However, if you are someone who like fruit beers, or just like a little flavor experimentation, Fruli is a beer foryou.  Mind ? No.  Interesting?  Yes.  I’ll remember this beer.  It’s unique.

Taste Expectations: Strawberries.  I’ll say it again.  Strawberries.  It is sugary, with a beer binder that brings it all together.  It’s like a dessert at the end of a drinking session.

Availability: 8.4oz/4 packs.  Capped and foil topped.  Estimated retail, $10

4.1% ABV

Fun Fact – The beer has a fan site http://www.frulibeer.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Meet the Brewer, New Launches

21st Amendment Launch Day!

Everyone seems pretty excited that San Francisco brewer 21st Amendment is launching Georgia.  There have been some sightings of the cans (21st Amendment comes only in cans!!!) but today marks the full fledged launch.  Your favorite craft beer stores and bars will be receiving kegs today.

The 2 launch titles are –

Brew Free or Die IPA — IPA, 7% ABV.  West coast IPA brewed with Warrior hops, and finished with Columbus and Cascade.   Dry hopped with Amarillo, Ahtanum, Simcoe.  Malts include 2 Row Pale, and Imported Munich.  70 IBU’s.  Best selling beer in the 21st Amendment Pub.

Hell or High Watermelon — Wheat beer, 4.9% ABV.  Wheat beer, with secondary fermentation with fresh watermelon.  Uses Magnum hops, and 2 Row Pale and American Wheat malts.  The watermelon flavor is solely pureed watermelon. No extracts or syrups.  Yeast is a top fermenting ale yeast.  17 IBU’s

To celebrate this long awaited launch, (rumors of this release go back at least 6 months..)  the brewers of 21st Amendment Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan will host a few launch parties around Atlanta.

Here’s your guide –

June 26th

Young Augustine’s
327 MEMORIAL DR SE
ATLANTA, GA 30312-2244
June 26th 7pm Meet and Greet with Cheese and food pairings

June 27th

The Porter Beer Bar
1156 EUCLID AVE NE
ATLANTA, GA 30307
June 27th 7pm Meet and Greet with Cheese and food pairings

June 28th

Taco Mac Metropolis
933 PEACHTREE ST NE
ATLANTA, GA 30309
June 28 Meet and greet 7pm

June 29th

Cypress Street Pint & Plate
817 WEST PEACHTREE ST NW STE E125
ATLANTA, GA 30308-1150

Come meet these brewers and celebrate their launch in Georgia!!!   Updates on who receives the beers coming ASAP! Follow @ATLBeerMaster on Twitter!

by Reid Ramsay