If you don’t know who Gary Vaynerchuck is by now, he’s the social media rockstar taking over the wine world with his book Crush It! Though he’s a wine dude, he has a great interview with Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery, sampling the big brews. (Thanks to Reggae Mike for the heads-up on this one.)
Soul of a World Class Pub, Entrepreneurs Celebrated in Homage to Hops
Local Book Chronicles American Dream, Community Infatuation with Legendary Drinking Institution
Decatur, GA—After more than twelve years of serving fish and chips and the best beers in the world, the magical influence of the Brick Store Pub, #2 rated beer bar on planet earth (BeerAdvocate) will be shared through Love at the Pub: An Insider’s Guide to Craftsmanship, Conversation, and Community at the Brick Store Pub, released Wednesday 11.11.09 online at www.loveatthepub.com and Amazon.com.
“The instant success of the Brick Store back in 1997 became the tipping point for the City of Decatur’s economic revitalization,” says author and former employee Mary Jane Mahan. “In fact, the Brick Store’s relaxed atmosphere makes it recession proof today. We need solid societal havens like this Pub without the distraction of TVs where we can talk authentically about our families, careers, and lives over a great pint and comfort food.”
Love at the Pub is a three-part tribute to warm craftsmanship, caring business philosophy, and community soul as it flows through the four walls of the Brick Store Pub. From eloping couples to Belgian ale-drinking ministers to start-up magazines, hundreds of patron “Brick Stories” are weaved into a narration that imparts an aura as friendly as Cheers, as mystical as The Alchemist, and as cool as Apple. In addition to being a portal into a world of relaxed, open barstool conversation over great beer pints, Love at the Pub is an inspirational roadmap for anyone who yearns to own and operate a world-class beer bar.
“This book is a perfect snapshot of what our community-minded Pub is all about,” says co-owner Dave Blanchard who built the Brick Store with his two business partners on sweat equity and a baseball collection for collateral. “We grew in the craft beer niche while remaining focused as a welcoming spot for the neighborhood.”
For more information, visit www.loveatthepub.com or contact the author at 404-375-3493.
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Hey, all! It’s Father’s Day this weekend and what says love better than beer? NOTHING! We’ve got some great ideas for dear old Dad.
Bruisin’ Ales Gift Certificates: Have a fussy father? Let him pick his own bounty! Good for anything in the store—beer, tees, hats, books, glassware and more!
Le Baladin Xyauyu (Italy)—One of the best barleywines we’ve ever had. Truly fantastic. Fruity, sweet and boozy, this is the perfect after-dinner beer. Serve in a snifter at room temperature. Especially sentimental, as the beer is named for brewer Teo Musso’s daughter’s imaginary friend. Awwww. [13.0% abv]
Cantillon Saint Lamvinus (Belgium)—Beer or wine? The most exclusive of the Cantillon fruit lambic line, St. Lamvinus is a lambic made with Merlot grapes aged in oak barrels. Serve at room temp in a red wine glass. For a lighter variety, try Cantillon Vigneronne, made with Muscat grapes and aged in oak. [5.0% abv]
Malheur Dark Brut (Belgium)—Sparkling beer! Skip the normal bubbly and toast to Dad with the beer world’s version of Champagne. Malty, sweet, and tart. Want a lighter version? Try the Malheur Bier Brute. [12.0% abv]
De Molen Storm & Averij (Netherlands)—A Belgian-style Imperial IPA. Big fruity hop aroma with a little yeastiness of orange peels, mango,pine-needles, peaches, hay and wet grass. Super yum. [8.0% abv]
T-shirts/Miscellany:
Beerlanthropy Tees—We’re all beerlanthropists around here. Is your Dad? With a center-back small Bruisin’ Ales logo.
Brewery Tees & Baseball Caps—A wide variety from your favorite breweries.\
The Brewmaster’s Table—The original beer & food pairing book, written by Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery.
“Beer Y’all“—Get Dad the DVD about beer in North Carolina. Good stuff.
Beer Soap & Shampoo—Really. It’s awesome stuff.
Mix It Up:
At Bruisin’ Ales, you can make your own sixer or box of single craft beers. Perfect for the Dad who wants to try a bunch of one style or several varieties!
Rough-and-tumble Amish? For reals?
They say life is stranger than fiction. Some teenage Amish boys were pulled over for possessing beer in their horse-drawn buggy. Golly gee, we hope they were celebrating American Craft Beer Week at least. Someone is going to be shunned, that’s for sure! Call Dwight Shrute.
“B” for Beer in Portland
How do we get Tom Robbins to Asheville, Portland’s sister beer city, to talk about his new book? Malaprops, I say! He’s from Blowing Rock for gosh sakes!
NC passes smoking ban
Gov. Perdue signed into law yesterday an official smoking ban in restaurants and bars. Every person seems to think this is such a big deal with North Carolina being Land of Tobacco, but honestly, we don’t think it matters much. At least not to us.
Palm Beach reviews… Weyerbacher Insanity?
Nice! “I paired it with a fat ass burger topped with a rough salsa made of roasted jalapenos. The sweetness cut through the fat of the burger and the heat of the salsa, while the smokey, oaken qualities brought out the beefiness of the meat. I’d drink it with hearty, spicy, or meaty foods, or just sip it slow like a fine scotch.” Agreed!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm from PA Dutch Country. I never thought there would be opportunity to put an Amish buggy on our blog. Never.]
Happy Earth Day, everybody! Please—ALWAYS—recycle/reuse your packaging and bottles.
Craft Brewers Conference in Boston
The CBC is this week and all the heavy, middle, and lightweight brewers are there. Greg Koch of Stone just delivered a keynote this morning. Bill Drew from the upcoming Craggie Brewing is there. We also know of the forthcoming Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, as well as COAST from Charleston, SC are in attendance. Anyone else know of other local brewers who made the trip? You can follow the conference on Twitter (#cbc09). It’s pretty interesting stuff.
More UK pubs closing
As the “duty escalator” adds more and more taxes to alcohol, more pubs are going to close. This makes us so sad. “Pubs play a vital role in the economy and in local communities. Yet six are closing every day and more than 2,000 have gone in the last 12 months alone. The Chancellor’s unfair and unjustified announcement today condemns thousands more to shut for good.”
New book about beer
Tom Robbins (who is from Blowing Rock, NC) has a new childrens-style book out, called “B is for Beer.” Here’s a little Q&A about it, too. We want that!
Denmark awash in craft beer
Denmark is the new, hip place for craft beer in the world (think Mikkeller, Norrebro Bryghus). The Toronto Star has a great write-up about the boom its created. “In 2003, there were six craft breweries in the country. Today? Probably somewhere between 120 and 140, serving a population of 5 million.” Impressive!
