Another Carolina brewery will launch next Thursday in Asheville: Mother Earth Brewing from Kinston, NC. Owner Trent Mooring and Brewmaster Josh Brewer (great name, eh?) will be coming along to chat beer and put beverages in your hands. The evening starts with a tasting at the humble storefront from 5:00-7:00 p.m. followed by four Mother Earth taps at The Thirsty Monk. Please join us, beer people, as we welcome a new North Carolina brewery into the mountains! We had the great opportunity to share a beer with Brewmaster Josh way back in late 2009 and we’re excited to have him back.

About the brewery: “Take the goodness of garden-grown products, the warmth of small town life, the earthy ethic of rock ‘n roll, a deep respect for a time-honored craft…and you have the ingredients of Mother Earth Brewing. Born in the summer of 2008, Mother Earth is the dream-child of Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring, two guys from Kinston, North Carolina, a sweet southern town in the heart of the old tobacco belt.”

Endless River Kölsch
“A clean, crisp beer, Kolsch offers a very slight fruity flavor and aroma. It is light gold in color, with a delicate head. This light-bodied beer appeals to nearly everyone who samples it. Expect to enjoy a slight tang in the finish.”

Weeping Willow Wit
“This beer style is over 400 years old, and continues to enjoy overwhelming popularity. Offering low hop bitterness, it is easy to enjoy. It pours very hazy, with a light gold color… we say it’s like summertime in a glass. Bitter orange peel and fresh coriander add zest and depth to this refreshing beer.”

Dark Cloud Munich Dunkel
“Steeped in a long history dating back hundreds of years, this “old-fashioned” beer is again in vogue. Lager is the German word meaning “to store,” so this beer ages three times longer than our ales do. “Dunkel” means dark in German, but don’t let the color fool you, it is by no means heavy, overbearing or bitter. In fact, it proves to be a very drinkable session beer.”

Sisters of the Moon IPA
“Made with hops grown in the good ‘ol USA… you’ll proudly support American farmers when you drink this beer! Light copper in color, it has an intense hop aroma and strong hop bitterness. Our hopback process uses fresh hop cones to take this IPA to unexpected places. Prepare for a mouthful of flavor.”

Todd, the assistant brewer from Catawba Valley Brewing Company in Morganton, NC joins us this week in the tasting room! Five beer flight including the new Hyper Monkey Java Stout! Notes from the brewery:

White Zombie (ABV 4.7%)
Hazy golden white in color, our interpretation of a Belgian White (Wit) Ale is brewed with two row barley and unmalted wheat. The appearance is hazy due to the high protein content of the unmalted wheat. The addition of bitter orange peel and freshly ground coriander seed gives this very refreshing, low alcohol beer a wonderfully complex fruity and spicy aroma. The addition of English hops is subtle and detected with the smack of the tounge, which is followed and finished with a delicate slice of bread.

Firewater IPA (ABV 6.4%): A complex cross between an English and American style IPA. Olympic Gold in color, Firewater IPA boasts a unique malt backbone. Along with a hefty amount of two row barley, munich, caramel-40, carapils and a touch of wheat dominate the recipe. Six different hop varieties showcase the best England and the United States has to offer.

Indian Head Red Ale (ABV 5.2%)
Our interpretation of an an Irish Red Ale. Dark ruby in color, this very malt focused beer is achieved from the incorporation of specialty malts such as caramel60, caramel-120 and special B. Four different hop varieties lend a very complex and balanced non-traditional approach to this delicious style of beer.

Brown Bear Ale (ABV 5.0%)
Probably our most delicious malt focused product. The incorporation of four specialty malts such as caramel-60, caramel-120, special B and chocolate create the color of a sun burnt brown bear. Caramel, toffee and chocolate immediately saturate the taste sensations with English hops waiting around until the very end to surprise the palate.

Hyper Monkey Coffee Stout (ABV 6.1%)
With the ability to block out the sun, this stout is black in color and truly opaque. A heaping portion of specialty malts such as caramel-120, chocolate, roast and carapils contribute to a deceivingly thick body with little viscosity. Organic, fair trade Central American coffee is added post fermentation to confuse the consumer into believing that the day is just beginning. You’re welcome.

Charleston Brewvival
We had a blast last weekend at Charleston Brewvival. First a first go at hosting a beer fest, we’ve got to say that our friends at COAST Brewing and Charleston Beer Exchange really blew it out! Firstly, Brewvival was not an invitational open. “Opens” are festivals throughout the year to which breweries are invited. Breweries can send whatever beers they want and it often costs nothing more than just travel expenses. These are the many, countless festivals nationwide that a brewery can take part in, so who goes to what can often be last-minute or just basically a crap shoot. (Much of it depends on city’s and festivals’ reputations.) Brewvival was an “invitational”—an organized, planned festival where the organizers actually bought the beer. In other words, these were hand-selected brews of the rarest and hard-to-find kind. We had so many things we never had before, and in some cases, may never have again. And the fest was not for the newbie or faint of heart either—many strong brews with much food and water required. The cost of $50/pp was a little hefty for some wallets, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for and at Brewvival, you definitely got that and then some! We almost wish Brewgrass would switch to this type of fest even if it means the cost goes up a bit. Asheville would dig it!

Up above is Jason & I sharing a beer with Greg Koch from Stone Brewing Company. And we also got to meet Patrick Rue from The Bruery! More pics on the Bruisin’ Ales FB Page. We’re sad to say we forgot the camera, so you gotta deal with the crappy Blackberry phone pics…

New this week… errr, rather last week
We didn’t even get the New This Week up before we left. We’re sorry. Here you go!

BREW DOG Divine Rebel Barleywine (collaboration w/ Mikkeller)
BREW DOG Storm IPA
BREW DOG Tokyo*
FLYING DOG Raging Bitch Belgian IPA 20th Anniversary Ale*
FOUNDERS Double Trouble IPA* (back in stock)
HOPPIN’ FROG Hop Dam Triple IPA*
PINKUS Münster Alt
THE BRUERY Saison de Lente*
THIRSTY DOG Cerberes Belgian-style Tripel
WEYERBACHER Heresy Oak-aged Imperial Stout*

[UPDATE: Thanks for Uncle Jedi for clarifying my wording. Some days I just have the dumb.]

Jimi Rentz, owner of Barley’s Taproom in Asheville, gave us a really awesome opportunity: Our own tap downstairs! The Bruisin’ Ales Tap will be a regular feature from here on out of rare, limited, cool, and delicious brews outside the local/regional circle. Mixing a little variety into your local brews… first up? Dogfish Head Red & White! We’re hoping it will go on the beginning of next week!

I started the day with a little shout to Twitter this morning regarding North Carolina not getting any Bell’s Batch 9000 in bottles. The reason being that North Carolina requires the ABV (alcohol by volume) to be printed on any beer over 6.0% abv. The brewery’s southeastern rep replied to inquiries stating:

“To wait for the beer to finish fermenting to get the finished abv then have the packaging produced then submit the label to the TTB for approval was really not an option.  It would have taken too much time to wait for the beer to finish fermenting, get the packing produced, and hope there would be no problems with TTB label approval.”

In other words, the brewery didn’t want to wait on the product for a final ABV measurement and had the labeling printed and readied while the beer was in the tanks. Further, it was suggested that NC needs changes to the labeling requirements. That, I agree with, but not in the sense that these folks are talking about. They’re saying ABV should not be a requirement, because it isn’t in some states. The truth is, Batch 9000 finished with a final gravity of 12.5% abv, according to BeerAdvocate. That’s a full 2.5% below the legal limit cap in North Carolina. Clearly, someone had a clue that the beer would make it under—just not the exact ABV, but the law says the beer’s printed alcohol by volume must be within .20% of what it is. (Batches will always vary slightly.)

You can’t fault Bell’s for wanting to streamline the bottling process. Tank time is a precious commodity in the craft beer world and as the old saying goes, time is money. However, as someone who promotes and sells a lot their product, it feels like a slap in the face to know that Bell’s purposely excluded this product from our market. While no one has said as much, the fact that labels were printed with no ABV on them, immediately excludes the product from NC. And before everyone gets riled-up, let me state for the record: 1) I’m not bashing Bell’s, the brewery (other than being a miffed retailer over the sales losses of a beer I could move, and quickly); 2) Bell’s is a well-run machine of consistency; and 3) I love most, if not all, of their beers.

What this whole thing is, is a greater problem with “truth in labeling.” You hear that term a lot these days over MSG, wine, even vitamins. I think there should be uniform labeling requirements for beer across the board. A consistent packaging method for both the producer and consumer. I have never understood the arguments for why beer should be different. I just went into our wine cabinet and pulled out at least nine different bottles of wine from California, Argentina, France and Italy. Every single one of those has an ABV printed on it. Not only does this tell me how strong the beverage is that I’m drinking—it lets me decide whether or not I should have it. Beer has the most varied ABV’s in its craft, from kinderbier (with none or barely detectable ABV) to BrewDog’s newest, Sink the Bismarck at 41.0% abv. To not have this information printed on the label seems irresponsible at best.

I opened up questions to other folks, who mostly agreed with me. And there are other reasons to include health-related information on the labels. Some people need it for diabetes, gluten-free diets, caloric counts, etc. Be advised, there are some breweries, such as Dogfish Head and Rogue that do print this information on their website as well as this handy guide. But none of these really help you in a situation where you’re not immediately hooked into the web. Here are some comments from other beer drinkers:

@mikegeorger: @bruisinales Should be something like this on either the bottle or packaging http://twitpic.com/153jlw

@mygothlaundry: @bruisinales They should have calories on there too as well as ABV. I wanna know when 2 beers should be my entire daily intake.

@beercentric: @bruisinales Excellent point. Myself, being diabetic and managing love of beer and need of insulin, that number is important!

@cutefont: @bruisinales I think the abv should be on the label. Drives me nuts when its not. I like to know it. Makes a difference to me

@hookedonwinter: @bruisinales I like when a brewery lists as much information as possible. OG, FG, hops, grains, everything!

@ruinationpress: @bruisinales @hookedonwinter should be easy to measure FG and THEN print labels…quality first, not sales .#commonsense

Really, there seems to be no excuse as to why truth in labeling is not a big issue for this industry. “Organic” labels have been redone, there are other FDA requirements for certain things. Is there really any reason we can’t get an ABV printed label on every beer? And maybe some of that other stuff above while we’re at it?

ALLAGASH Black
AVERY Collaboration Not Litigation (Batch #4)
BELL’S Consecrator Doppelbock
DOGFISH HEAD Red & White
FOUNDER’S Nemesis Wheatwine
GREAT DIVIDE Whiskey Barrel-aged Old Ruffian
GREAT DIVIDE Whiskey Barrel-aged Yeti
OKOCIM Porter
ROGUE John John Dead Guy Ale
ROMAN Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold
ROMAN Ename Tripel

Charleston Brewvival is next weekend
Show of hands, who’s going? We’ll see you all next weekend in Charleston, SC for the first Brewvival, put on by our friends at COAST Brewing and the Charleston Beer Exchange. This looks to be a very impressive event with loads of beerlebrity-ness (Greg Koch/Stone Brewing) and crazy beers (The Bruery Oude Tart). From the mountains to the beach! Let’s do this! Get tickets here.

3rd Annual Highland Cup Homebrew Competition
The 3rd Annual Highland Cup is upon us! For all you homebrewers in Asheville—and there are a lot of you—here’s a chance to let your talents shine. The deadline for entries is next Saturday, February 27. Registration is limited to residents of NC, SC, GA, FL, VA and TN. The winner gets their beer brewed and sold commercially under the Highland label, plus a trip to Denver’s Great American Beer Festival in September.

Asheville’s BeerCity Spring Festival
The date’s been changed to June 5, but the event is moving forward! Still waiting for a location announcement, but we still have a minimal amount of pre-sale tickets at the humble storefront. Get them early before tickets go on sale online. [UPDATE: Pre-sales have been halted. I'm trying to figure out what's going on.

We love, love, love our new radio spots for 1310 Big Wise! Have a listen!

Bruisin’ Ales – Kilt Lifter Jan 2010
Brusin’ Ales – Chocolate Yeti Jan 2010

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.)

Valentine’s Day is upon us and whether you’re happily occupied with a significant other (or not), it’s a great day for beer. Yes, most think of Valentine’s Day as the day of wine and chocolate—or a champagne toast—but we suggest you try beer. Beer can be romantic, and we’ve got a bunch of suggestions for you that warrant celebration of your “taken” status. Or, if you prefer, your “single” status.

Romance
Try something special this year, something new and exciting. We’ve got many options for you. Sparkling ciders, “champagne” biere, or perhaps a splurger you’ve been wanting to try, but didn’t have the occasion to do so. The fact of the matter is: You can get an absolutely fantastic bottle of beer for the price of a cheap or median bottle of wine. Beer, for all intents and purposes, is still an affordable luxury in this economy.

Christian Drouin Poiré—[France, cider] “The lightness and elegance make Christian Drouin Poire a traditional drink in the Normandy region. Its fine bubbles are naturally produced in the bottle. With its delicate marriage of crisp acidity and discreet sweetness, Poire is both refreshing and festive. Serve chilled in a champagne flute, as an aperitif. It also goes beautifully with salad (artichoke, endive), shellfish (oysters), terrines, steamed fish, goat cheese and fruit sorbet.”

Hanssens Oudebeitje—[Belgium, lambic] One of the most unique lambics  from the last independent lambic blenders, Oudebeitje is made with strawberries. Tart with a subtle fruity finish, this matches perfectly with a gourmet cheese selection and chocolate-covered strawberries. Serve chilled in a champagne flute and put a sliced strawberry over the rim of the glass for garnish. If strawberries aren’t your thing, try the Hansenns Kriek instead with chocolate-covered cherries.

DeuS Brut des Flanders—[Belgium/France, Champagne biere] Brewed in Belgium and finished in France, DeuS is nothing like beer as you know it. First brewed at Bosteels, then transferred to the Champagne region of France where it is treated much like a champagne with the bottles inverted and the yeast expunged and bottle re-corked. Serve chilled in a flute and drop a raspberry in the drink for garnish.

Malheur Dark Brut—[Belgium, biere brut] Brewed by De Landtsheer, this sparkling beer will appeal to the dark beer lover. Often called “black chocolate” in the U.S., Malheur is an effervescent, malty sparkling beer with hints of caramel, toffee and a sweetness like cotton candy. Perfect with dark chocolate truffles.

Cheeky
Perhaps you want something more tongue-in-cheek this holiday. A beer that says something about your significant other in name alone. Try these out for size.

Victory Wild Devil—[United States, Belgian-style IPA] You’ve got a wild guy or a wild girl, so let them know that you love them for it. Victory’s Wild Devil is Hop Devil IPA brewed with a strain of Brettanomyces (aka, Brett) for a sour, tart, yet still citrusy, hoppy finish. Serve this with oysters on the half shell. (We all know what oysters do.)

Dieu de Ciel! Aphrodite—[Canada, stout] Also know as Aphrodisiaque in its hometown of Montreal, this cocoa stout is named for the Greek goddess of love. Flavors of vanilla, dark chocolate, bourbon and roasted malt marry nicely to produce a well balanced beer. Subtle hops and cocoa add a touch of bitterness. This dessert beer is brewed with organic fair-trade cocoa and first rate vanilla beans. This beer has been a periodic winner since 2003 at Mondial de la Bière in Montréal. Serve mildly chilled in a chalice or tulip with berries on the side.

Flying Dog Horn Dog—[United States, barleywine] Horn Dog Barley Wine is a strong, dark and malty English-style barleywine that is aged for a minimum of three months before being packaged. Sweet and viscous like a port, this beer will only get better with age when stored at optimum conditions. Give your guy a nice cigar to go with this one. Give your girl a box of truffles.

Lagunitas Lil’ Sumpin’ Extra—[United States, imperial wheat] Tonight’s the night you make a little extra effort, so give them notice. This wheat beer is not a traditional witbier. More malty on the backbone but still light in color with a fruity finish.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute—[United States, IPA] Ladies, do you have a 60-minute man? Well, give him a hoppy 60 Minute beer as a primer for your 60 minutes.

Bitter
So, you hate Valentine’s Day. Despise it. You’re drowning your sorrows over someone or maybe celebrating your newly-single status now that said someone is out of your life. Good riddance! No pairings here, because you’re probably eating ramen noodles, potato chips and ice cream while making a voodoo doll, so no need for anything fancy.

Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard—[United States, American strong ale] The label says it all, “This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth…”

De Dolle Dulle Teve—[Belgium, tripel] This beer had to have its label changed to meet labeling standards in the U.S. Because “dulle teve” means “mad bitch” in Flemish.

Founder’s Curmudgeon—[United States, English-style old ale] “Think classic sea fairing ports, local pubs, and weathered old fisherman. This old ale is brewed with molasses and an insane focus on the malt bill, then aged in oak. The result is a strong, rich, malty-delight that’s deceptively smooth and drinkable.”

Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted—[Scotland, blonde ale] Award-winning blonde ale with a lemon twist finish.

Left Hand Fade to Black—[United States, export stout] “Pours black with licorice, espresso beans, molasses and black cardamom with notes that give way to self-loathing, burnt opportunities and smoked relationships.” Perfect.