Join us with Chad Walker from Freedom Beverage this Thursday in the Tasting Room as we sample the best beers of Japan. Fruit, cheese, crackers and chocolates will be served.

Beers on the tasting flight include:  

Hitachino Weizen–”German style Hefe Weizen with banana, clove, and vanilla like flavors with a touch of toasty wheat malt and hops.” [5.0% abv] 

Hitachino Red Rice Ale–”Complex sake like flavors with malt sweet notes. Hints of strawberries in the nose and palate. An intriguing mix of sake, malt , and bitter notes in the finish.” [7.0% abv] 

Hitachino Japanese Classic Ale–”Bottle-conditioned fine creamy head on top. Medium bodied feel with sweet bitter taste. It has a unique note of cedar and complex spicy yet mild aroma of British traditional hops such as Kent Goldings and Challenger.” [7.0% abv] 

Hitachino XH (Extra High)–”Strong Belgian Brown Ale matured in distilled Sake barrels for three months.” [8.0% abv]

The posts are going to be slow this week, as half of Bruisin’ Ales is heading up to the Big Apple for a little adventure to the Brooklyn Brewery with the man himself, Garrett Oliver. We’ll report on that later.

Great times were had at The Brewgrass Festival this past weekend as we sampled all the new stuff and some old favorites. We were able to try the new Highland Imperial Kashmir, French Broad’s Pale Ale, Catawba Valley’s King Don Pumpkin Ale, Foothills Sexual Chocolate, Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen-Weiss, Duck-Rabbit’s Baltic Porter from last year’s vintage, and Sweetwater’s Donkey Punch (barleywine).

Nice to see all you old and new friends come into town for the festival! Above left is our friend Dan, who drove from Columbia, SC, with friends. We also enjoyed seeing Rustan, Jeff, and KP again, and spending some quality beer time with John and Melissa, James and Michelle, Aaron and Melissa and out-of-towners Deuane and Carolyn, and Jim and Joan. Thank you for your beer goodness.

Bruisin’ Ales will be closed for Brewgrass on Saturday today. (We’re sorry, but we like beer, too, and it’s pretty rare that we get a day off for a festival.) And we welcome all our friends arriving for the festivities! We’ll be open Friday 12-9pm and Sunday 12-4pm as usual, provided you’re not heading to Highland Brewery for the Imperial Kashmir release. 

Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen Weiss keg coming to Barley’s
According to a thread on Beerinator, Barley’s Asheville is getting a keg of the Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen Weiss, the version brewed at Brooklyn Brewery. We called them to confirm the news this afternoon and while they are not sure when they’re getting it or when it will put on, it IS coming. This is a keg-only release in the South, so be sure to get out and try it. We’ve heard it’s really hoppy. (We almost feel bad for complaining last week, but not really.) Updates to follow.
Source: Beerinator

Brewgrass is sold-out and don’t show up without a ticket
Tony Kiss writes about the Brewgrass Festival today. All 3,500 tickets were sold out weeks ago. “If you don’t have a ticket, please don’t come,” said Brewgrass founder and director Doug Beatty. “The tickets are gone.”
Source: Asheville Citizen-Times 

James Bond loves his Guinness
The only way Daniel Craig can get through his workouts for the upcoming Bond movie is with a Guinness afterwards. “Daniel joked the only thing keeping him going is to have regular pints of Guinness. He said it’s all part of his regime, and that Guinness is really good for the heart.”
Source: Stuff.co.nz

Former brewermaster of Steelhead on 5-month brewing trip
Female brewer and former brewermaster of Steelhead Brewing in Eugene, Ore., is on a beer tour. Teri Fahrendorf is traveling to brew with other brewers across the country. And she wears trademark pink rubber boots. You go, girl. Keep up with her travel blog.
Source: Joe Sixpack

It’s official: You can buy beer in stores in PA
My old friends, rejoice. You can now buy beer at convenience and grocery stores, presumably in quantities of less than a case. For all the great beer available in Pennsylvania, it’s time the archaic beer laws changed which only allowed take-out services in bars and brewpubs.
Source: Herald Standard

The Demon Hunter has arrived. Sorry for the gore and all, but it’s just too amazing that we can’t get Black & Blue because of the guy’s bruised eye, but we can get a beer with a severed head on the label. How Mel Gibson. And being that we watched Apocalypto this week, the reference just seems fitting.

What else?

BISON BREWING Golden Bock (back)
CONISTON Old Man Ale (new)
DAMM Estrella (back)
DE GLAZEN TOREN Saison D’Erpe-Mere (back)
DOGFISH HEAD Golden Era* (new)
HITACHINO Espresso Stout (new)
NOGNE-O Brown Ale (new)
NOGNE-O Porter (new)
PISGAH Equinox* (back)

Image: Birrificio Montegioco