One of the coolest dudes in craft beer, Don Chartier, is back in town! Officially known as the Northern Hemispherical Vice Captain for Supply Vectored Marketing Analysis, of Lagunitas Brewing Co., he will be our host for Thursday’s Lagunitas Tasting with a most excellent line-up of beers. (Don has the monikker “Mr. Nice Guy” and we can indeed confirm that.) Don has worked for several other big-name breweries before landing at Lagunitas—Fullsail, Bridgeport, and Sweetwater to name a few. So, what’s on the menu? A bunch of Lagunitas goodness, that’s what! See you Thursday, April 19, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Czech Style Pilsner
“Like Adam and Eve, Issac and Ishmael,Mao and Confuscious, Good and Evil, Day and Night, Hittites and Visigoths, John and Lorena, or Groucho and Moe, Ales and Lagers are as different as can be. Still, we must love each other for who they are, separately but equally, with liberty, and justice, for all. Cheers!” [6.2% abv]
A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
“Sneaky Smooth with a Touch of What We Call Wheatly-esque-ish-ness. Crispy Wheat and Pale Malt flavors with a Big Round & Juicy Hop Finish. Everyone Needs A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Sometimes. You Can Get It All Year Now… in a Six-Pack!”[7.5% abv]
Wilco Tango Foxtrot
This Beer was Supposed to Follow Up the 2009 Correction Ale with the Name ‘2010 Recovery Ale’ but it doesn’t Look Like We’ll be There Anytime Soon. Makes You Wonder…. WTF? [7.83% abv]
India Pale Ale
“Thanks for choosing to spend the next few minutes with this special homicidally hoppy ale. Savor the moment as the raging hop character engages the imperial qualities of the Malt foundation in mortal combat on the battlefield of your palate!” [6.2% abv]
Hop Stoopid Ale
“For those mornings when you have to cut right to the chase, this is the one. Sure to blast through just about anything still lingering from the night before, this mouthful of Hops and huge rich Malt has a gaurantee built right into the name!” [8.0% abv]
Bison Honey Basil
Cricket Hill Hopnotic IPA
Cricket Hill Nocturne Black Lager
Cricket Hill Reserve Brown Ale
Cricket Hill Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter
Dark Horse Sapient Trip Ale
Dogfish Head Sah’tea
Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break
Flying Dog Wildeman Farmhouse IPA
Flying Dog Underdog Atlantic Lager
He’Brew Hop Manna IPA
He’Brew Funky Jewbilation
Hopfenstark Ostalgia Blonde
North Coast Old Stock Ale Otsuchi 2012 750ml
Oskar Blue Deviant Dale’s
Outer Banks Oak Barrel Aged Weisse
Outer Banks Oak Barrel Aged Sour Ale
Outer Banks Oak Barrel Aged Old Stock Ale
Pisgah Summer Ale
Saranac (High Peak Series) Chocolate Orange Porter
Stillwater Table Beer
Stone Russian Imperial Stout 2012 – Available Tuesday 4/17
Uinta Hyve Honey Ale
Widmer Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout
Woodchuck Cidery Farmhouse Hard Cider 750ml
AVIATOR Hogwild IPA
AVIATOR Hot Rod Red Ale
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2006
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2007
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2009
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2010
EPIC BREWING Sour Apple Saison
CASTELAINE Jade Blonde
DOGFISH Midas Touch
DOGFISH Red & White
DUCK RABBIT Barleywine
DUCK RABBIT Rabid Duck
GREAT DIVIDE 18th Anniversary
GREAT DIVIDE Colette
GREAT DIVIDE Chocolate Yeti
HANSSENS Gueuze
HARVIESTOUN’S Old Engine Oil Engineer’s Reserve
HEAVY SEAS Plank II
NANTAHALA Noon Day IPA (growlers)
NATTY GREENE’S Imperial Stout
NEW BELGIUM Shift Pale Lager
NEW HOLLAND El Mole Ocho
SOUTHERN TIER Jah-va
SMUTTYNOSE Really Old Brown Dog
STOUDT’S Double IPA
SWEETWATER Road Trip
VICTORY Otto
WILLIAMS BROTHERS Scottish Heavy 80 Shilling
ZATEC Dark Lager
ZATEC Bright Lager
Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11
“Not your typical chili beer! The famous mild green chilies from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico add layers of delicious flavor with a very mild heat component. The base beer itself is very reminiscent of a European amber beer, with Perle and Pacific Jade hops, Munich and other roasted German and Belgian malts, hopped and brewed to a very Stone-like 65 IBU and 9.4% ABV. Cinnamon is a wonderful spice if used judiciously, which we did here-it doesn’t by any means dominate the beer’s flavor, but definitely adds a subtly complex spice note that blends amazingly well with the banana esters and green chili.” [9.4% abv]
Double Bastard Ale |2009|2010|2011|
“This is one lacerative muther of an ale. It is unequivocally certain that your feeble palate is grossly inadequate and thus undeserving of this liquid glory…and those around you would have little desire to listen to your resultant whimpering. Instead, you slackjawed gaping gobemouche, slink away to that pedestrian product that lures agog the great unwashed with the shiny happy imagery of its silly broadcast propaganda. You know, the one that offers no challenge, yet works very, very hard to imbue the foolhardy with the absurd notion that they are exercising ‘independent’ thought, or attempts to convey the perception it is in some way ‘authentic’ or ‘original.’ It’s that one that makes you feel safe and delectates you into basking in the warm, fuzzy, and befuddled glow of your own nescience. Why so many allow themselves to be led by the nose lacks plausible explanation. Perhaps you have been so lulled by the siren song of ignorance that you don’t even notice your white-knuckle grip on it. You feel bold and unique, but alas are nothing but sheep, willingly being herded to and fro. If you think you are being piqued in this text, it is nothing when compared to the insults we are all asked to swallow streaming forth from our televisions and computers. Truth be told, you are being coddled into believing you are special or unique by ethically challenged “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” marketers who layer (upon layer) imagined attributes specifically engineered to lead you by the nose. Should you decide to abdicate your ability to make decisions for yourself, then you are perhaps deserving of the pabulum they serve. Double Bastard Ale calls out the garrulous caitiffs who perpetrate the aforementioned atrocities and demands retribution for their outrageously conniving, intentionally misleading, blatantly masturbatory and fallacious ad campaigns. We demand the unmitigated, transparent truth. We demand forthright honesty. We want justice! Call ‘em out and line ‘em up against the wall… NOW.” [10.5% abv]
Stone Russian Imperial Stout |2009|2010|2011|
“Brewed in the authentic historical style of an Imperial Russian Stout, this beer is massive. Intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol) and heavy on the palate, this brew goes where few can – and fewer dare even try. The style originated from Czarist Russia’s demand for ever thicker English stouts. Expect our version of this mysterious brew to pour like Siberian crude and taste even heavier!” [10.5% abv]
Stone/Bear Republic/Fat Heads TBA (Texas Brown Ale)
“But what of the rest of the name: TBA? Like, as in… To Be Announced? Trusted Business Advisor? Text-Based Adventure? Tracheobronchial aspirate? Mmm… not quite. The acronym alludes to a classic but little-known beer style called Texas Brown Ale, which, strangely enough, has its roots in California. You see, back in the 80s, there was this homebrew recipe for a brown ale supercharged with Cascade hops that was floating around NorCal homebrew circles. And even while it started gaining popularity, beers that were made in this style failed to fare well in homebrew competitions since there was no recognized category they could be entered in. (They were wayyyy too hoppy and bitter to be considered a traditional brown ale.) But when a competition in Houston, TX, decided to judge such entries in what they would call the “California Dark” category, the American Homebrewers Association followed suit soon after, though they perplexingly changed the name to Texas Brown Ale. Bear Republic / Fat Head’s / Stone TBA pays tribute to this style, while taking some inspiration from one of the pioneering beers of the time, Pete’s Wicked Ale. (The original recipe though, not the lightened up imitation that was later introduced, which arguably led to its ultimate demise.) In developing this little homage to TBA (and Pete), we did incorporate a few new twists, like Ricardo’s addition of brown sugar and molasses to add a touch more complexity. It also represented the first time Stone has ever used Cascade hops in our 15+ years, which Matt Cole just couldn’t seem to believe.” [7.1% abv]
This tasting will be $15/pp with proceeds to our dear friend, Debrissa McKinney, vocalist in local band Josh Philips Folk Festival, to help offset her healthcare costs. Tickets by reservation via phone to Bruisin’ Ales beginning on May 17. Thirsty-five spots will be available.
We appreciate your support. Drink great beer for a great person!
On Friday, May 1 5:00-7:00 p.m., as part of Asheville Beer Week, we’re proud to be launching growlers of Mystery Brewing in WNC. This small-batch nano-brewery, founded by brewer and author Erik Lars Myers, was mostly funded by Kickstarter. A little bit about the brewery:
Our mission is to create a cornucopia of high-quality, small-batch, rustic ales for the discriminating consumer, to test the boundaries of creativity and style. In short, to make outstanding beer.
How do we plan to do it? It involves using fresh, high-quality ingredients and a steady hand at the kettle. But that’s just half of it. The other half of it is right here. The power of the internet, social media, and networking is here to see. Think of this as your own internet brewpub where you can sidle up next to the brewmaster and ask a question — because you can.
What’s so Mysterious?
It’s a bit of a throwback. “Mystery” in its original definition meant the “art and craft of a trade.” Brewers were among the first organized trade groups; there is evidence of a guild of brewers as early as 12th Century London: “the Master, Keepers or Wardens and Commonalty of the Mistery or Art of Brewers of the City of London”. So, it’s a tribute, it’s recognition that there is just as much art to brewing as there is science, and it’s a gentle reminder that to move forward and create a truly excellent future, sometimes you have to look at the past.
We will be offering a FREE four-beer flight, but due to the nature of the brewery, it’s going to be a MYSTERY of what those beers will be. Small batches mean small yields, so we’ll provide you with more information as we get it.
