The collaborative brew, Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen Weiss, is almost here and isn’t it pretty? What an awesome label, using the traditional Schneider design with the Brooklyn Brewery’s ”B” in the center. Good things happen when brewers get together and this one sure is special. For those not familiar, the beer name is a play on words of the Berliner-Weiss style, though the beer itself is an 8.2% abv Hefe Weizen. The version above was brewed in Germany at Schneider, but from the info below, it seems they’re doing it all over again this month up in Brooklyn using American hops.

From B. United:

This unique beer is the result of the long friendship of Schneider brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler and Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver. The two brewmasters feel that Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse represents the quality, tradition and terroir of the Bavarian Hallertauer hop region paired with the innovation and creative energy for which Brooklyn is famous. The brewers at The Brooklyn Brewery eagerly await the July visit of Hans-Peter Drexler, when they will create Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse in Brooklyn. This will be a very similar beer, fermented with the Schneider yeast, but it will be dry-hopped with American hops selected by Hans-Peter Drexler.

This limited brew has already left the importer and should arrive soon.

Source/Image: B. United

This weekend is the annual Belgian Comes to Cooperstown shindig at Ommegang in upstate New York, the biggest and baddest of the Belgian beer fests in the USandA. This is such a cool festival (though, no, we’ve never gone) because you can camp out for the weekend among some of the best beers in the world and eat traditional Belgian food such as a piping hot pig roast, mussels, Belgian stew, brats, burgers and fries, and Belgian waffles. Over 150 different Belgians will be poured and this year is different, too. It’s smaller than 2006 and they sold advance tickets only to get a proper headcount and avoid the semi-disaster that was last year. (Many importers ran out of beer the first or second days because nearly 40% of people bought day-of tickets. Ooops.)

It’s normal to be extraordinarily jealous about not getting to attend these events, so in order to make ourselves even more pouty and miserable, we deliberately seek out who’s bringing what to the festival just so we know what we’re missing. Shelton Brothers is arriving with the motherload. They’re even hosting a Struise Battle of the Quads:

We’re also hoping to have a few bottles each of Struise Pannepot and Pannepøt on hand for a mano y mano battle, to the death. That will happen at 3:00, sharp. Sharp, I say!

Look for Pannepot at Bruisin’ Ales within the next few weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We picked this up from a BA forum post today, The 10 Most Bizarre Beers. Seems like Uerige is the only brewery bottling for the “only unexploited niche in the beer market”—the blind. And indeed, we checked: Uerige has braille across the bottom of their bottles.

Leave it to the Germans to find the only unexploited niche in the beer market: the blind! Dusseldorf’s Uerige beer, one of the world’s finest, is now releasing new bottles with a braille label. Thus, Uerige has created the first beer for the blind. Blind activist (and beer drinker) Joana Zimmer rejoiced, “You often have no idea what’s about to go in your mouth. But with this bottle you are clearly told what it is—and that’s fabulous.”

That is very cool and infinitely more practical than the drive-up ATM’s that have braille on them.

Image: Uerige

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the craziest beers we’ve added in some time is this new brew from Japan’s Hitachino, XH Extra High. One word describes this beer: Intense. XH used to only be available in Japan proper (in fact, their website still says that) and has only recently made its way to the USA.

What makes this beer so intense? XH is a Strong Belgian Dubbel aged in Shochu casks for three months. Shochu is “weaker than whiskey, but stronger than wine and sake.” (Wikipedia) The beer itself is 7% abv, but the flavor is like nothing you’ve tasted before (or since). If you like beer and you like shochu or sake, you will love XH. For the record, we are also quite fond of their Ginger Brew.

Image: B. United 

Bruisin’ Ales will have limited hours during Bele Chere next weekend. We will be open Friday and Saturday from 12-5pm and closed Sunday.

[edit] Bele Chere held their kick-off party last week and the website has been updated to show the events, music, and arts and crafts. Thirty percent of the artists will be local this year. Looks like the big addition to the music line-up is Rusted Root. But, thankfully, on the beer end, our local breweries will have a space in the Taste of Asheville tent. Hooray!

We’ve not been in Asheville long, and it’s been years since we’ve been to Belle Chere, but loads of people have told us how what we remember as a funky little celebration of culture has turned into a beast out of control.

The Citizen-Times today reported that city council voted uninaminously Tuesday night to “return [Belle-Chere] to a more locally-based festival.” This is Belle-Chere are we remember it and hopefully all the bad blood will subside and we can rejoice in south’s largest street festival.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times