The Birmingham News has a story about the Asheville beer scene that covers the Asheville Brews Cruise that also the local stops along the way, including the breweries and Bruisin’ Ales.
[The Birmingham News]

The Beer Guy names Kasteel Rouge—one of our favorite beers—his Brew of the Week. This Brune aged with sour cherries for six months is a nice switch from the traditional Belgian lambic. Not as tart and incredibly smooth. On tap at the Thirsty Monk, which opens tonight.
[Brew of the Week] 

Boston.com has a good write-up about Sam Adams 2007 Utopias. This year, the brew has its own special glass. “The 2007 vintage has its own glass, specially designed by Georg Riedel of the Riedel glassware company. A sleek snifter sits on a solid half-moon base; the bowl curves out at the top, in order to deposit the liquid at the tip of the tongue, so the taster gets sweetness before the alcohol bite hits the palate.”
[Boston.com]

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week, we’re heading across the pond to sample some brews from countries we haven’t visited before. Cost will be $2/pp (at the register) and we’ll be giving that to our charity, Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Susan Mills, Executive Director, and Greg Brown, VP of Adminstration, will be on-hand for part of the tasting to tell you exactly how they help maintain America’s favorite scenic drive. You all helped us raise nearly $1,000 for them in 2007!

Tusker Lager is the beer made famous by Ernest Hemingway. Brewed in Kenya with malt grown in the Kenyan Rift Valley, Tusker is known as “the beer from the shadow of Kilamanjaro.” The words Bia Y Angu Nchi Yangu on the label are Swahili for “My beer, My country.”
[Africa / Lager / 4.2%abv]

BFM La Meule is one of the hidden gems at Bruisin’ Ales. This deliciously creamy blonde ale with sage pairs well with most anything. “In the depths of La Meule lurks a truly amazing fresh, herbal kick that’ll instantly convince you this one deserves to be put in a class of its own.”
[Switzerland / Blonde / 6.0%abv]

Lammin Kataja Olut is a variation of the juniper-laced Sahti by replacing the Finnish Baker’s yeast through a regular ale yeast. “This brew has a very robust shelf life of over 12 months. Dark orange in color, with peachy, citrusy and lemony notes on the palate. Rather big body with a dry, almondy finish.”
[Finland / Sahti / 8.0%abv]

Nogne-O Winter Ale is a dark ale “with a rich, complex taste of caramel.” Nogne-O has recently been named the 23rd Best Brewery in the World. Dark and sweet, this is a nice finish before we send you off into the cold!
[Norway / Porter / 8.5%abv]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone pinch me. Today’s our day off and admittedly we try to catch up on things unrelated to beer. Then, our Brewsician called and said “They’re up.” Having to ask what that meant, he told us to get to the computer and check out the world’s largest beer competition, Ratebeer Best. We had hoped we might garner a 2008 mention somewhere on the list, but as a relative newbie to the beer world, nothing was expected. And nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. Down at the bottom under Beer Places, we clicked and just under the amazing Knightly Spirits was our name. Bruisin’ Ales. #2. In the world.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. To everyone.

(Even better? This validates the constant state of sleepy we’ve been operating under for over a year.)

Don’t forget to get tickets for the Winter Warmer festival at The Garage tomorrow.

The weekend is also POPAsheville, Asheville’s local music festival organized by Stephanie Morgan of Stephanie’s ID. There will be 34 pop/indie/alternative band performances, all showcased between 7:30pm and 2:00am both nights at The Grey Eagle, the new Rocket Club, and Stella Blue. Tickets for the entire weekend are only $15 and a wristband will get you into all three venues for both nights. 

Our sources at Brooklyn Brewery give us news that the previously-only-on-tap Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen Weisse will be released in the 750ml format in March. Bottles will be extremely limited. Garrett himself confirms here. 

Asheville’s beloved Edgy Mama has a great article on beer and health in her MountainXPress column this week. She says beer is good for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another good shipment arrived this week. There is so much here we can’t wait to dig into. If we had to pick one this week, we’d probably go with the Brasserie Ellezelloise Hercule Stout. Brasserie Ellezelloise (pronounced “EL-ZEL-WOZ”) makes the only true Belgian Stout. (The De Dolle Special Extra Export Stout is as it says: for export only.) Even better—and we’re mystery buffs—the beer is named for Hercule Poirot, the famed Agatha Christie sleuth who is more or less Belgium’s answer to Sherlock Holmes. The fictional Poirot is from the real town of Ellezelles, where Brasserie Ellezelloise is located.

Fans of the Fraoch gruits of Scotland will also enjoy the Jopen Koyt—a spicy Belgian gruit with a recipe dating to 1407.

BLAUGIES La Moneuse
CANTILLON Grand Cru
DE RANKE Kriek
ELLEZELLOISE Hercule Stout
FANTOME de Noel*
JOPEN Koyt (gruit)
LA CHOULETTE Des Sans Culottes
MIKKELLER Big Worse Barleywine
ØLFABRIKKEN Abbey Ale (Special Reserve) 
SWEETWATER Happy Ending*
WEYERBACHER Twelve*