Beers

For the first time at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), October 9th-11th, 2008, in Denver, Colorado, the Brewers Association will have a State Guild’s pavilion on the floor of the festival. Oregon was one of the states that was able to secure booth space at this prestigious event.

Since Fresh Hop beers are a major push for Oregon Brewers Guild members during October and we are in a unique position in Oregon to make more than 30 different fresh hop beers, the Oregon Brewers Guild will pour only Fresh Hop beers at the Guild booth at the GABF.

The Guild will have will have beers from the following breweries:

1. Rock Bottom Brewery in Portland will have Hop Harvest a Fresh Hop Ale.
2. Full Sail Brewing Co. of Hood River will have Lupulin Fresh Hop Beer from their Portland Brewery.
3. Hopworks Urban Brewery of Portland will have their Fresh Hop Vienna.
4. Laurelwood Brewing Co. of Portland will have Fresh Hop Kolsch from their NE 51st Ave Brewery.
5. Ninkasi Brewing Co. of Eugene will have their Fresh Hop Beer.
6. Rogue Ales of Newport will have Independence Ale with hops from their Alluvial hop farm.
7. Deschutes Brewery of Bend will have a Sterling Fresh Hop Beer from their Portland Brewery.
8. Pelican Pub and Brewery of Pacific City will have Elemantal Ale their fresh hop beer.
9. BridgePort Brewing of Portland will have their Hop Harvest Ale in bottles.

Looking ahead to cooler weather and falling leaves, Redhook Ale Brewery will soon release its Late Harvest Autumn Ale, set to be on store shelves across the country August through October. With new packaging this year that continues to feature classic fall iconography including an owl and a full moon, Late Harvest will be available for the first time throughout the West Coast.

“Redhook seasonal craft beers are carefully blended to tie a robust, full flavor with a particular time of year. Late Harvest pairs perfectly with the crispness of autumn thanks to its rich complexity of specialty malts,” said Doug MacNair, brewmaster for Redhook Ale Brewery. “With our expanded distribution on the West Coast, craft beer fans across the country can look forward to this seasonal beer every year.”

With a roasted malt aroma, this chestnut colored brew will warm up any chilly evening. Distinct flavors cater to the craft beer lover, with two varieties of hops and four carefully selected grains, great for toasting the season alongside a grilled burger or other tailgate cuisine. Late Harvest is available in 12 oz. bottles and on draft nationwide.

Batemans Brewery of Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, England will return to the U.S. market in September for the first time in a decade. Two of their beers will be imported initially: Batemans Triple XB (XXXB) Classic Pale Ale and Batemans Combined Harvest Multigrain Beer.

Founded in 1874, Batemans is one of the few remaining multi-generational family brewers in England. Now under the guidance of fourth-generation of family management, the Brewery has prospered not only on the strength of its flagship Triple XB (XXXB) but also by an imaginative expansion of the range of bottled ales. “Our family’s struggle to remain independent was richly rewarded as Triple XB (XXXB) was named Champion Premium Bitter at the Great British Beer Festival four consecutive years,” noted Managing Director Stuart Bateman.

According to the brewery, Batemans Triple XB (XXXB) is a classic English premium pale ale, with a deep bronze color, and a pleasing interplay between grassy hops and a solid malt backbone. Combined Harvest is a smooth golden ale brewed with wheat, rye, and oats in addition to malted barley. It has an initial sweetness that is quickly overtaken by a gentle hop bitterness and crispy fruit acidity. Both products will be sold in cases of 12-16.9 ounce (500ml) proprietary bottles, with a suggested retail price of $4.99 per bottle.

The Democratic National Convention is coming to town — Denver, Colorado, that is — and local brewers are turning patriotic. Great Divide Brewing is releasing a single batch of Liberally Hopped American Pale Ale to salute the DNC.

This historic occasion calls for an equally memorable beer, and Liberally Hopped American Pale Ale easily rises to the challenge. This medium-bodied, light copper-colored beer features a truly empowering combination of Pacific Northwest hops to complement its all-American malts and ale yeast. Its moderate hop bitterness and refreshingly piney hop flavor and aroma come together with a smooth and subtle malt character to create a superbly balanced American-style pale ale.

“We wanted to create something special for the convention,” says head brewer Taylor Rees, “and we decided that of all possible styles, an American pale ale would be the best choice, in terms of both taste and symbolic value. It’s bold and flavorful, but still approachable and highly drinkable. It’s a populist beer that has plenty of substance; I can’t think of a better match for the Democrats in 2008.”

“Beer and Denver go hand in hand,” adds Great Divide founder and president Brian Dunn. “The convention will be a showcase for Denver, and as downtown Denver’s only packaging brewery, we felt like we should do our part to represent Denver’s world-renowned beer culture. Liberally Hopped is an excellent beer that should prove to anybody who doesn’t already know that Denver, among its many other qualities, is a world-class beer city.”

At 6.1% alcohol by volume, this classic American-style pale ale will appeal to a broad coalition of palates, and pairs well with an equally diverse array of cuisines. Liberally Hopped American Pale Ale will be available on draft only and for a very limited time at local bars and the Great Divide Tap Room.

For a number of years, Todd Ashman had the idea to formulate an interesting and unusual beer, share that recipe, and conduct tastings of the various interpretations. This collaboration would serve to demonstrate that just as each brewer has a distinctive brewing style, each brewery also has attributes that make it unique; the local water supply, brewing equipment and ingredient sources all contribute to the distinctive character of a beer. Todd found that special beer in Concentrated Evil: a strong, dark, Belgian-style ale that was originally brewed at Todd’s home base, FiftyFifty Brewing Company in Truckee, California. Concentrated Evil is made with a variety of unusual ingredients including raisins, exotic sugars and aromatic spices. The complex array of flavors and moderately high level of alcohol make this an outstandingly unique beer. Todd chose fellow brewers Zac Triemert and Matt Van Wyk to participate as he has worked with both gentlemen in various capacities.

Zac Triemert, Co-President and Co-Founder of the newly established Lucky Bucket Brewing Company, holds a bachelors degree in microbiology and a masters degree in brewing & distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Zac is the winner of numerous national and international brewing awards. Zac is also a member of various committees for the Brewers Association and a member of their Board of Directors. Zac’s newest venture is opening Nebraska’s first craft distillery. Operations for The Sòlas Distillery begin next spring. When asked about this brewing project, Zac stated: “Concocting this collaboration beer with two brewing friends continues to be a terrific amount of fun. We all plan to put our own unique spin on what is already a great beer. After these beers have sufficient time maturing in wood, the tasting events will be a kick.”

Matt Van Wyk is Brewmaster for Flossmoor Station Brewing Company in Flossmoor, Illinois (Todd Ashman’s alma mater). He attended the renowned Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois in 2001. Matt was formerly a science teacher and previously worked at three other Chicago area breweries. Matt is the recipient of several regional, national, and international brewing awards. In 2006 he was awarded the Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year and Flossmoor Station was named Small Brewpub of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado. “It is an honor to be asked to participate with these two great brewers in this collaboration project. It just shows what a great industry we work in where cooperation is often more valued than competition. Crafting a beer with Todd and Zac has been a great experience,” said Matt.

Todd Ashman began his long brewing career in 1987 as a homebrewer. After completing a craft brewer’s apprenticeship program, Todd brewed professionally in New Mexico, Illinois and Wisconsin. In 2004 Todd joined the Brewers Supply Group division of Rahr Malting as Staff Brewmaster. In 2007 Todd returned to brewing and his native California as Brewmaster for FiftyFifty Brewing Company. He has received numerous regional, national and international brewing awards. Many of those awards have been for beers that utilized unusual and unique ingredients and/or processes. Todd’s thoughts: “I’ve been thinking about working on a Collaboration for sometime now. I really wanted to work with a couple of brewers that knew each other and I’m really glad that Matt and Zac signed on to try this out. These guys have amazing brewing talent and the end result of our Collaboration will not only be fun for our customers at our respective breweries but especially fun for folks at the 2008 GABF. The chance to try our respective beers under one roof will be great!”

As Sierra Nevada Brewing puts their newest seasonal release, it’s “fresh from the field to the glass with no stops along the way.” With the third installment of Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Ale Series, they introduce a beer that is close to the brewery’s heart. Chico Estate Harvest Ale is a beer made with hops grown just feet from the brew house. They grow the hops themselves, pick them, and put them directly into the beer, still bursting with the signature flavors that have put Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. on the map. Hops this fresh can be found nowhere else.

By stealing a page from the winemaker’s playbook, Chico Estate Harvest Ale will use all of the hops grown in the brewery fields for one big full-flavored Sierra Nevada beer. Typically, hops are collected and dried for use throughout the year, but as they dry, the precious oils and resins break down and some of the big flavors become muted. With Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Ale series, the brewery takes care to use the freshest hops possible, and in the case of Chico Estate and fall Harvest Ales, they use only “wet” or undried hops to add not only bitterness, but the full range of character and flavors that the small but mighty hop has to offer.

The Chico Estate Harvest Ale was originally called 20th Street Ale, and was available only on draft. At the end of August, it will be bottled for the first time under the new name.

Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan, the co-founders and iconic personalities behind the 21st Amendment Brewery, recently announced, “We Drink What We Can, We Can What We Drink!” The brewpub in San Francisco’s South of Market district has taken two of the pub’s beers, the award-winning, but renamed, “Hell or High Watermelon” Watermelon Wheat Beer and “Brew Free! Or Die” IPA, and dressed them up in the finest package for a beer: the can.

“Craft beer in a can? Quite CAN-didly, that’s the number one question we get around here,” says Chief Hop Head and Brewmaster O’Sullivan. “The can is actually a brilliant CAN-cept all around for craft beer,” adds Chief Watermelon Officer Freccia. “Cans are simply better for the beer–they keep it fresher by protecting it from light, they are lined so they don’t affect the flavor of the beer and they fit the craft beer drinker’s lifestyle by going places where glass just doesn’t dare—like beaches, pools, boats, parks and golf courses”. And cans are better for the environment. They use less energy to produce and transport, and they are far more often recycled than glass.

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, an American-style wheat beer made with hundreds of pounds of fresh pressed watermelon, and Brew Free! Or Die IPA, a big, hoppy beer to be reckoned with, will both be available in cans in stores and bars throughout San Francisco beginning on Tuesday, July 22nd. To celebrate, the 21st Amendment is throwing a “Can Release Party” at the legendary Toronado bar, 547 Haight St. in San Francisco at 6 p.m. on that day. The beers will be distributed by DBI Beverage in San Francisco and will also be available in limited supply throughout California with wider distribution to follow. For up to date availability, events and promotions, visit their website.

In their own words:

Who the heck are these guys? Hey, we’re Nico & Shaun. We live for great beer. In 1920, there were thousands of breweries across America making unique hand-crafted beer. The passage of Prohibition wiped out this great culture. After thirteen years without beer, the states ratified the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition in America. At the 21st Amendment Brewery, we celebrate the right to brew beer, the freedom to be innovative, and the obligation to have fun.

Here’s to original beer…IN YOUR FACE!