Schenk’s Cream Ale
Aaron Schenk’s Cream Ale is flying off the shelves. Everyone wants to try the brew by the guy that won both the Highland Cup and one of the spots in the Sam Adams Longshot. (We hope you win, Aaron!) And, it’s pretty darn cool, that Highland kept this brew in local distribution only. We’re lucky! Even more remarkable to me is the detail they got of Aaron’s fine tattoo work on the label. Nifty. Drop by for the tasting today! We’re sampling St. Terese, Oatmeal Porter, Cattail Peak Wheat (almost gone!), Kashmir IPA, and Schenk’s Cream Ale. Aaron will be there for a time, so you can chat him up!

Asheville Pizza & Brewing is bottling!
No, net yet, but Doug Riley of Asheville Pizza & Brewing dropped in for a visit to let us know the Shiva IPA and Ninja Porter are going in bottles very soon. Beer spies also report rumblings that the brewery is considering a move to all-organic, too. This has not been confirmed, but wouldn’t that be something?

French Broad has two new beauties
French Broad Brewery just keeps rolling out the beer down there in Biltmore Village. Drew’s new Saison is very, very nice. (I believe it’s on-tap now at The Thirsty Monk, but we had it at the source.) As Jason says, many American-made Saisons seem to be missing something. It’s a tough style to replicate. Drew’s has just enough funk on the nose and we dig it. Also, what did our eyes see at the brewery? Rye-Hopper—a rye pale ale with a mid-level 7.0% abv. This beer—developed by Asst. Brewer Chris from a homebrew recipe—is only available at the brewery, so go give it a shot. We’re so happy to see French Broad make a hoppy beer in the hophead town.

Someone from Pisgah is tying the knot
Someone at Pisgah is getting married this weekend and while we’ll keep it private out of respect to the groom and bride, Bruisin’ Ales wishes you congrats and a lifetime of happiness, family, and beer. We hear they’re having King Cobra and Bud Light Lime at the reception! Classy!

We love Tom
Just for this.

[EDIT: The MontainXPress website apparently had a major f-up with the online tallying, and everyone is requested to revote. By September 12, which is THIS Friday. Please vote for Bruisin' Ales!]

It’s that time again. Time to vote for your favorites of WNC at MountainXPress. Last year, we tied for #3 Best Wine/Beer Shop. Can you help us get to #1?

Big Boss Brewing Co. of Raleigh, NC, has sealed the deal with Empire Distributors and should be available in Western North Carolina in the upcoming weeks. “Initially Bad Penny, Hell’s Belle and select seasonals will be available on draft and Angry Angel, Bad Penny and Hell’s Belle in bottles.” (Hell’s Belle was a huge hit when we had it at the ballpark last June.) Now, who’s going to pick-up the draft lines? For a full list of their offerings, click here.

[Image: Big Boss Brewing Co.]

Craggie Brewing Co.:
The last Craggie Brewing tasting was amazing, with a dead-on English-style ESB, a nice stout, and a strawberry porter. Strawberry Porter!! We had seconds on that one. The brewery sent us an update this morning, and they are sure busy, busy, busy:

Brewing two golden ales using US & UK goldings. One will be fermented with Pacific/east coast/ California ale yeast strains and the other will be fermented with a Burton ale yeast strain. Next Thurs, we will be also brewing two more ales—a pre-civil war receipe and another TBA. We also have a Belgian Wit Brite abbey conditioning and a Dunkelweiss fermenting. Plus a lager and a schwartzbier lagering. GOT BEER?

Highland Brewing Co.:
Schenk’s Cream Ale, the recipe of the winner of the Highland Cup, was released at the Highland brewery yesterday. We should be seeing it in-store very soon, as our tasting is next week. Just on the heels of that brew is the new Clawhammer Octoberfest. And, don’t forget the release of Imperial Black Mocha Stout the day after Brewgrass Festival.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing is giving away Brewgrass tickets… with a catch
The Beer Guy has the story, but here are the nuts and bolts of it:

Two tickets will be given to the beer lover who e-mails the brewery with best reason why he or she deserves them. Keep that begging down to just 100 words or less. Going on and on won’t get you anywhere.

And two more tickets will go to the aspiring filmmaker who submits the best You Tube video along the same lines. Those clips must be 60 seconds or less. And each set of winners also gets $50 for cab fare.

First thing to do is click over to www.ashevillepizza.com to get going. The deadline for entries is Sept. 15, so that doesn’t leave much time to get creative here. Please do not e-mail or call me. I can’t help you.

Also, the article notes that APB’s newly-named Old School Pale Ale has gone organic. (And, yes, we do see the irony in that.)

Pisgah Brewing Co.:
Pisgah Brewing Co. is releasing Valdez this week, only this time in big 750ml bottles, like Solstice, Hellbender, etc. Beer spies say that this batch is a tad heftier than the first—maybe a hair over 7.0% abv this time around—and also bottle-conditioned. Asheville Coffee Roasters provided the fair-trade beans again for popular coffee stout. (And, the beer is pronounced Valdez, as in Juan Valdez the coffee roaster, NOT Valdese, like the oil spill.)

Join us for the Ommegang Dinner tonight with Asheville Tourists as they take on the Greenville Drive. Event starts pre-game with a reception at 5:30. $50/pp, including a FREE Ommegang ballcap, FREE Ommegang glass, game admission, and a five-course menu!

Terrapin is coming out with a variety 12-pack
It’s true! Terrapin is also adding a new beer addition called Sun Ray, a wheat beer—for now, only available in the mixed packs. (Sun Ray will be available in sixers by spring ‘09.) Now we’ll see if we actually end-up with any of these 12-packs. Speaking of, if you haven’t tried the barrel-aged Rye Squared, it may still be on upstairs at the Pinthouse.

Founders, Founders, Founders, Founders
Everyone’s talking about it, the arrival of Founders Brewing. No bottles yet, however, it seems that the Flying Saucer in Raleigh already has Dirty Bastard and Breakfast Stout on tap. Pretty hefty choices for warm weather.

From the Incredibly Stupid Department
An Iowa community college president stepped down after photos of him pouring beer directly into a woman’s mouth from a mini-keg surfaced online. Way to go! If I got $400K severance for every time I did something stupid, I’d be rich! Damn you, digital cameras!

Mumpower’s son clocked someone at Wild Wings
You just have to read it.