Archive for February, 2009

Doug Riley, head brewer of Asheville Brewing Co., is dropping by for a few hours to sample and celebrate the new Asheville Brewing bottles! We really dig their label art and they’ve got some of the coolest brewery merch in town. We’ve been really happy to add their brews to our shelves, and man, they sell like hotcakes! (Doug’s also one of the very first beer people we met in town, upstairs at Barley’s, and I like him because he never forgot that I prefer Jules over Julie. Completely unrelated, but just thought I’d throw it out there.)

ASHEVILLE BREWING Old School Pale Ale
The newest in Asheville Brewing’s beer line-up! “A very distinctive pale ale, this beer is 100% home-grown in the Western North Carolina mountains. A sweet front end belies the fresh English hops for a very earthy aroma & flavor. Just like Asheville, it plants a seed in your soul that stays with you for life.”

ASHEVILLE BREWING Shiva IPA
“A generous portion of American hops create a crisp citrus nose combined with a light, sweet finish—a well balanced beer that destroys the paradigm of an IPA.”

ASHEVILLE BREWING Ninja Porter
“An award winning porter of the highest order; a rich, full body cloaks a stealthy, chocolate finish. You’ll never see it coming.”

 More good stuff from Penalty Box Productions.

Greetings, Beerdom! Been awhile. Hope everyone is doing well.

Things are shaping up to be a busy week. Pisgah will be here in just mere hours to kick-off new 22oz bottle-conditioned Pisgah Pale, Valdez coffee stout, and Vortex II Russian Imperial Stout. Then, Thursday, we’ve got Doug Riley from Asheville Brewing coming in to sample his wares. In other local news, The Wedge announced new Sunday hours at the brewery’s tasting room. The Craggie Brewing fellows are brewing a barleywine and a kölsch this week. The Second Annual Highland Cup is scheduled for March 28, for all you homebrewers out there. And head brewer, Drew Barton, of French Broad is going to be the first local brewer featured on Know Your Brewer.

Not a big week beer-wise, but Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Strong Ale is in and a VERY limited supply of Terrapin’s Side Project, Dos Cocoas, a chocolate porter.

Brewgrass tickets on sale now
They are going to go quick this year. Don’t wait.

Art of Pisgah
This time they’re writing about the stuff on the wall.

Journalist in eastern NC says brewing is recession proof
And there’s another NC brewery opening up: Mother Earth Brewing Company. That name sounds way more “Asheville” than “Greenville.”

Oregon beer drinkers are really pissed
How would you like your beer to get a tax increase of 1900%? Yes, you read that right.

Wait, NY wants to get in on that
Gov. Patterson, not to be outdone by the west coast, also would like beer taxes to go up.

Stay out of our store, government
Look what’s happening in D.C. Ugh, really? You can buy a 6-pack, but you can’t buy one? How does that in any way make sense? The logic is lost on us. It’s especially great that they refer to “22oz of Belgian Trappist ale” with a picture of King Cobra and Hurricane. And, thus, Bud invents the shrink-wrapped 3-pack.

Thursday Tastings don’t work for Pisgah, what with their own big nights at the brewery and all that. But being that the new bottles are going to be here soon (bottle-conditioned Pale, Valdez and Vortex II in 22oz), they made a proposal and we said “yes.” (Awwww.)

You see, Tuesdays are kinda slow for both of us and we get bored sometimes, so why not have a Tuesday Tasting? Y’ know, to liven’ up that lost day of the week. (Have you ever noticed that no one really pays attention to Tuesdays, except our government?) Someone from the brewery will be there, but you just never know who will show up.

So, here goes:

Pisgah Pale Ale—”Our pale ale is a perfect blend of rich organic malts with whole leaf Chinook and Mount Hood hops. A crisp, clean profile makes this beer distinct. 31.8 IBU”

Pisgah Brown Ale—”This beer is an excellent session ale for those who like their beer a little on the malty side. A lighter body and balanced sweetness make this brown one to remember. Nothing fancy here. Just a rock solid brew.”

Pisgah Solstice—”Pisgah’s year round Belgian. A Tripel ale, this beer contains moderately fruity esters with an alcoholic complexity supported by a soft malt character. This beer is pale gold in color and 9.5% ABV.”

Pisgah Valdez—”This mouth watering stout is brewed with organic, fair-trade coffee beans from Dynamite Coffee Roasters and weighs in at a respectable 6.8%. The aroma of fresh coffee leaps from the glass, and finishes slightly dry. Treat yourself to the finest coffee stout this season.”

Pisgah Vortex II—”Treat yourself to the first of the Vortex series to be offered in a bottle. The strongest Pisgah beer to date, this Russian Imperial Stout would make any 18th century Czar proud.”