We’ve got a few weeks left until the true Fall Equinox, but that doesn’t count in the beer world. The fall seasonal releases are pouring in—and quickly—so fans of Oktoberfest/Marzen styles and pumpkin beers rejoice! This list is everything arriving this week. Some are already here, some still coming tomorrow. But since we’re having beer floats with The Hop Ice Cream tomorrow, I’d better post these now or it won’t get done and you’ll be unhappy with me. We can’t have that.

Other limited releases that you want to grab NOW: Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, Dogfish Head Saison du BUFF, Rogue “21″ Old Ale, Sierra Nevada “30″ Ken & Jack’s Black Barleywine, Bell’s The Oracle Double IPA, and Stillwater Cellar Door.

[NOTE: The asterisk means seasonal beers and limited releases.]

BELL’S Oarsman*
BELL’S Octoberfest*
BELL’S The Oracle Double IPA*
COTTONWOOD Pumpkin Ale*
CHRISTOPHEL Nobel, Dry-hopped Tripel Lager
CRAGGIE BREWING Herkulean IPA* (growlers)
DE LA SIENE Stouterik
DOGFISH HEAD Bitches Brew*
DOGFISH HEAD Punkin’ Ale* (Friday)
DOGFISH HEAD Saison du BUFF*
FLYING DOG Dogtoberfest* (Friday)
HEAVY SEAS Prosit Marzen*
HIGHLAND Clawhammer Octoberfest*
HITACHINO Nopponia Rice Ale w/ Sorachi Ace
HOPPIN’ FROG Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale*
MOOSBACHER Kellerbier
MOOSBACHER Schwarz Weisse
NEW BELGIUM Hoptober*
NEW BELGIUM Lips of Faith: Belgo IPA*
PAULANER Salvator Doppelbock
ROGUE “21″ Old Ale*
SHIPYARD Pumpkinhead* (Friday)
SIERRA NEVADA “30″ Ken & Jack’s Black Barleywine*
SMUTTYNOSE Pumpkin Ale* (Friday)
SPRECHER Mbege Banana Ale (gluten-free)
SPRECHER Shakparo (gluten-free)
STILLWATER Cellar Door
STILLWATER Love & Regret
TERRAPIN Hopzilla* (Side Project #12)
WEYERBACHER Imperial Pumpkin Ale*

This Friday, September 3, we’re pairing up with The Hop Ice Cream for more BEER FLOATS!

This week’s event is a benefit for our charity, FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. The monies we raise go directly to the Asheville Chapter, which is one of the most traveled (yet least funded) portions of the 469-mile scenic roadway.

$5.00/pp for three different beer floats!

• Antebellum Ale Ice Cream with Craggie Brewing Antebellum Ale
• Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream (with cinnamon & cayenne pepper) with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
• Southern Comfort Ice Cream with Weyerbacher Insanity Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine

If you can’t join us, please consider an online donation to FRIENDS.

Firstly, big thanks to Pack’s Tavern for letting us use the beautiful Century Room (upstairs at the restaurant) to co-host the inaugural Blind Eye Beer Battle. While we definitely had some kinks in the process, overall the night was a gaggle of fun for about 40 beer people in attendance. This first BEBB featured a selection of local, regional and national brands of IPAs and Porters, eight in each category, with a pairing menu to die for.

We hope to do another in Fall!

The highest-rated IPAs: 1) Sweetwater IPA 2) Terrapin Hopsecutioner 3) Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
The highest-rated Porters: 1) Smuttynose Robust Porter 2) Founder’s Porter 3) Highland Oatmeal Porter

This post probably doesn’t belong here. At least the beginning part, where I apologize for slacking on the blog among many other things for personal reasons. You see, it’s been tough around here at the humble storefront with a spring/summer of traveling back and forth to care for, give support to, and simply love an ailing family member. That person was Jason’s mother, Susie. She got sick earlier this year and passed away a few weeks ago on August 9. (Some of you might know that Jason also lost his father and mentor only last September.) Needless to say, it’s been a difficult process doing everything we can to keep this place open with smiles on our faces, without a corporate system to back us up, a big staff, and government time to use (not abuse) like the Family Leave Act. It’s been a rough year for us here. It’s even harder as a small business owner.

We publicly want to thank a multitude of awesome people, especially Mike Guarracino, who is The Best Employee on Planet Earth. We often joke that it’s unfair he wins Employee of the Month all the time (because he’s our only employee), but seriously, in our time of need, this one amazing person has kept Bruisin’ Ales functioning with open doors. Without his flexibility, understanding and completely unselfish nature, we could have lost many days of business through emergencies, visits and other random happenings that occurred throughout the year. We hope that we are at least two-thirds the employers to him that he is as an employee to us. He gives 100% all the time. We realize how lucky we are. (Also, please note, he shaved his head this week, so now, both Mike and Jason have shaved heads and beards with dark hair. Jason is the tall one; Mike is the one with the bike and the dogs you all love so much.)

Others to thank: Terri Lechner and Jason Martin: Our oldest and dearest friends in Asheville—who helped paint the interior of the humble storefront in the colors of Belgium—also came in to help clean-up and keep the shelves full. Sophie Thompson: The daughter of friends, she helps us out in summertime with cleaning, glassware, folding t-shirts, sweeping and other random stuff. Sophie and her dad, Tom, came in for a few hours during the funeral week to help Mike stock. Rebecca Bedingfield: Bruisin’ regular, she ran errands for me while I was out of town, helped stock, made people laugh and helped a very heated crowd (from a sweltering A/C unit) survive the Duck Rabbit tasting the other week. Scott Witherspoon: Customer turned great friend, he’s weathered a couple Saturday hours, helping make recommendations to people. If I’m forgetting anyone, it’s not on purpose. My brain is fried. Just know how very thankful we are for everything that everyone has done to help us through.

…

The day after Jason’s mom’s funeral, I got a message from Joe at Blatz Liquor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Blatz Liquor folks are our comrades—a small, independent beer store in downtown, just two years our junior. I banter with them a lot on Twitter and while many people think that indie beer stores compete with each other, we really don’t. The truth is, we all recognize how difficult it is to be competitive in this business and regularly support each other. Solidarity, if you will. We are a tough bunch, doing what we love, following our passion for beer in a world where corporate megastores and groceries want to crush us. That’s the long and short of it. You probably know where I’m going with this: Blatz Liquor is closing today.

From August 14:

Today it is with great sadness that I must announce the closing of Blatz Liquor.

For 2 years we have worked as hard as possible to bring the biggest and best beer selection to downtown Milwaukee. We have gained an awesome group of regular customers and an even better group of friends. Sadly with some increases in monthly costs and a leveling in sales its just too much for the already slim profit margins to handle. It breaks my heart to have to do this, since day one at Chicago Ave. Liquor I had planned on opening a store downtown that catered to all the beer geeks and people that enjoy a glass of wine or a mixed cocktail like myself. I’ve sacrificed emotionally, physically, financially and loved every second of it.

Joe

So, today I mourn also the loss of my comrades. That last part just about sums it up. This business comes with many sacrifices. We’re lucky we live in a town where supporting local businesses is a top priority, however, that attitude or practice doesn’t trickle down to everyone. When Sam’s Club sells certain beers at our cost and the groceries sell beer at a no-profit margin and megastores like Total Wine or World Market kill us with bulk pricing, that essentially negates certain brands we, and other stores like us, could and would otherwise carry. I cringe when I hear someone say, “This is 25-50¢ less at whereever-it-is.” The truth is, independent beer stores like ourselves are not trying to rip anyone off. We are just trying to make a living doing what we love. Here’s a trade secret: Beer has the lowest profit margin of all things alcoholic. Here’s another fact: Unlike a lot of other indie stores, we sell only beer. And, there it is.

We opened this store because we love beer, beer people, and want to provide a great selection of hard-to-find rare goodies in addition to a hard-to-beat selection of imports and American craft beer from across the country. It’s not an easy business; it is a difficult business. But, like Joe, we love every second of it. So, when I send out a Tweet or post to Facebook the friendly advisory to “support your local, independent beer store today”—I mean ALL of the indie retailers, yours, across the country, not just Bruisin’ Ales.

Join me today by dropping in to your local indie beer store and buy a beer in honor of Blatz Liquor. Let’s hope that their closing is not a sign of things to come in these questionable economic times. I know we hope to be here for a very long time.

And if you’re in Milwaukee today, go visit them for the big, closing bash. We’ll be there in spirit.

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” —Oscar Wilde

Highlights From The Last 2 Years Of The Hop Cast from Hop Cast on Vimeo.

The upcoming Blind Eye Beer Battle we’re co-hosting at Pack’s Tavern just got even better with the release of the food pairing menu. The event is a blind beer tasting of IPA’s and Porters. Cost per person if $30. Make reservations with credit card by calling Pack’s Tavern at (828) 225-6944.

IPA’s

• Lamb Kabobs- seasoned ground lamb formed around and fried with a cucumber dipping sauce
• Sweetbreads- poached in IPA and seared, orange and chili pepper reduction with grilled black pepper peaches
• Sausages and Grilled Granny Smith Apples with Lusty Monk Mustard
• Rosemary Corncakes with Grapefruit Syrup
• Ginger Granita (shaved ice palate cleanser)

Porter’s

• Cheese Board- Cabrales, Humboldt Fog with Local Honey
• Papperdel with lamb and mushroom ragout
• Scallop with Arugula and Blackberry Couli
• Coconut Granita

From Farmville, NC, The Duck-Rabbit Brewery bill themselves as the “dark beer specialists.” Come meet Mary Eliza in the tasting room from 5-7pm tomorrow for a sampling of the following:

Brown Ale: “An American brown ale brewed with loads of hops from start to finish. (It’s hoppy and beautifully bitter.) Amarillo hops in the boil provide a spicy, citrusy bitterness. Saaz dry hops in the fermentor provide a refined flowery aroma. These hops are supported by a grain bill of seven varieties of malt. Oh yeah!”

Milk Stout: “A traditional full-bodied stout brewed with lactose (milk sugar). The subtle sweetness imparted by the lactose balances the sharpness of the highly roasted grains which give this delicious beer its black color.”

Porter: “This robust porter features a pronounced flavor of roasted grains reminiscent of dark chocolate. Also, Paul and Brandon add oats to the grist to give a subtle round silkiness to the mouthfeel. We’re confident that you’re really going to love this yummy porter!”

Schwarzbier (Seasonal): “This is a refreshing summer beer (sometimes referred to as a black pils). In Duck-Rabbit fashion, we’ve made ours extra schwarzy. It’s very dark and quite roasty. Lot’s of Hallertau hops give this an authentic German character.”

We’re so excited about this event, it’s a miracle that my mouth stayed shut about it. We have been wanting to do a blind tasting for ages now and it’s finally happening. Better yet, it’s just the first one. Check out the details below and we’ll see you there!

Pack’s Tavern & Bruisin’ Ales presents the inaugural Blind Eye Beer Battle

ASHEVILLE, NC—Pack’s Tavern and Bruisin’ Ales are hosting the inaugural Blind Eye Beer Battle series on Thursday, August 26, 6:00-9:00 p.m. The event will be held in the Century Room upstairs at Pack’s Tavern. This is the first in a series of educational and entertaining blind beer tastings that will be co-hosted throughout the year.

Bruisin’ Ales proprietors, Jason and Julie Atallah, will select the beers from local, regional and national favorites. Teams  of eight will be given score cards and blindly sample, taste and judge two flights of beer styles—Porters and India Pales Ales. Three ounce samples of eight beers of each style—that’s 16 beers total, eight porters, eight IPA’s—will be provided along with culinary delights to compliment the beers (and cleanse the palate) by Pack’s Tavern Executive Chef Edwin French.

Each team of eight community judges will discuss and rate the beers provided with a team captain tallying results as we go. In addition to judging on appearance, taste, and aroma, judges will also have to guess which beer they are sampling.

The overall favorite beer, based on total scores, will become Pack’s Tavern Beer of the Month pint special. As an added bonus, individual judges also have a chance at winning. The top three people who correctly guess the most beer brands blindly, will be awarded prizes from the hosts, including gift certificates and breweriana.

Only seven teams of eight will be allowed to participate for a total of 56 community judges. Cost per person is $30.

Pack’s Tavern is located at 20 South Spruce Street in downtown Asheville. Make reservations with credit card by calling Pack’s Tavern at (828) 225-6944.

Follow Pack’s Tavern on Twitter at @packstavern and Bruisin’ Ales at @bruisinales for information leading up to the event.

Just a handful of new stuff this week but super things!

FULLER’S Vintage Ale ’09
FULLER’S 1845
LAGUNITAS Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’*
SIERRA NEVADA Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale
SWEETWATER Motor Boat ESB*