Bell's + De Proef

Straight from beernews.org:

(Kalamazoo, MI) - Bells Brewery was named as the co-brewer for next year’s Signature Series collaboration with De Proef in Belgium. Bells’ John Mallet will travel over to Europe to work with De Proef’s Dirk Naudts this coming March. Past collaborators include Tomme Arthur from Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey and Jason Perkins from Allagash. Both beers were Belgian styles and it would be assumed that is the way the series will continue to trend. That said, Bells’ vast collection of beers only includes a relative handful of Belgian styles to date; it will be interesting to see what brew comes out of this joint effort.

I tend to love everything that Bell's makes, and what I've had from De Proef has been quite tasty, so this is a rather exciting collaboration. We'll see how far it will be distributed. Here in MN we get both Bell's and De Proef, so odds are good thus far.

Go here for the full press release.

New Yorker on DFH, etc.

If, for some reason, at some point, you wish there was a rather long, well-written article about extreme brewing with a rather overt focus on Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewing, I would send you here. It's 10 Internet pages (or about 10,000) words long, but well worth it. Here's the opening to get you on your way:

Elephants, like many of us, enjoy a good malted beverage when they can get it. At least twice in the past ten years, herds in India have stumbled upon barrels of rice beer, drained them with their trunks, and gone on drunken rampages. (The first time, they trampled four villagers; the second time they uprooted a pylon and electrocuted themselves.) Howler monkeys, too, have a taste for things fermented. In Panama, they’ve been seen consuming overripe palm fruit at the rate of ten stiff drinks in twenty minutes. Even flies have a nose for alcohol. They home in on its scent to lay their eggs in ripening fruit, insuring their larvae a pleasant buzz. Fruit-fly brains, much like ours, are wired for inebriation.

It meanders through different subject matters, starting with the origination of Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron, then shifts to Calagione's general penchant for extreme brewing, then on to the state of beer in America, and so on. Go read it!

Thanks to Josh/Matt for the link.

The First Thanksgiving: The Gift of Beer

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

For the first time in 28 years, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is going to be releasing a new full-time beer: Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA.

Apparently, initially, there was some confusion as to what this beer was or would be, but beernews.org went to the source and got this from Bill Manley, Sierra Nevada Communications Coordinator:

Yes, Sierra Nevada will be releasing Torpedo Extra IPA as a new addition to our year-round staple of beers. The tentative release date is January 15. This is the first change in our year-round lineup since we started back in 1980. The beer will be available in 6-packs, with the same distribution as all of our other year-round and seasonal beers.

There's a lot more information over at beernews.org, if you're curious what The Hop Torpedo is or what the confusion has been surrounding this beer.

Here are the details from Sierra Nevada:

Torpedo is in a grey area, somewhere between an IPA and a Double IPA…We are calling it Extra IPA…

7.4% ABV - IBU’s in the high 70’s to 80’s
Bittering hops: with Magnum
Finishing hops: Magnum, Crystal, Chinook.
Torpedo: Magnum, Chinook, Citra

I'm excited for this. I do love the IPAs, and Sierra Nevada is always pulling off fantastic hoppy beers (Pale Ale, IPA, Celebration, Harvest Series, ESB, etc.)...I'm sure this one will fit in rather well.

Full Sail's 2009 Brewmasters Reserve List

Full Sail Brewing Company has released their 2009 schedule of special Brewmaster Reserve beers. Full Sail, I've found, is always consistent and constantly surprising me. It's hard to go wrong with their core beers (IPA, Pale Ale, Amber, and Session), I went a bit overboard with how many six packs of both the LTD 01 and LTD 02 I went through, and the few Brewmaster Reserves that I've had (Prodigal Sun and Old Boardhead Barleywine 07) have been fantastic. So, it's with some excitement that I reprint at least the basic details of their new lineup. Open up this pdf for full details.

• Slipknot Imperial IPA (January to mid-March)
• Full Sail Imperial Porter (March to April)
• Kellhauler Scottish Ale (mid-March to June)
• Grandsun of Spot IPA (June to September)
• Vesuvius Belgian Style Golden Ale (mid-August to November)
• Lupulin Fresh Hop Ale (mid-September to November)
• Wreck the Halls (November to mid-January)
• Black Gold Bourbon Imperial Stout (February until it's gone)
• Old Boardhead Barleywine (08 released October 2008, 09 in October 2009)

I've yet to see the 2008 Barleywine anywhere around here, although I have snatched up two bottles of the 07 so far this year, and right now I've got a bottle of their 21 Anniversary Doppelbock waiting in the fridge for me. We'll see how long it lasts in there.

Don't Put Forks in your Beer and Other Useful Tips

Somehow, I came across this video. It comes from environmental news and commentary website, Grist.org. I embed to it for two reasons:

1) It gives you helpful information for the removal of fruit from your bottle of beer.
2) It's so, so ridiculously cheesy and weird that I find it funny.



If you liked this, you'll be happy to know there's more where this came from.

Really, though, stop putting fruit in your beer. Seriously. Stop it.

Ode to a Beer

Found this via Surly's website:

Furious Review

Surly Furious:
The best beer I have ever
had out of a can.

It comes from Beer Haiku Daily, a website that publishes...well...little snippets about beer in the form of haiku. Here are a few others that I enjoyed:

Liquid Love

With undue swagger
He proclaimed undying love
Then fell off the stool

Seasons

Autumn approaches.
Time for bocks, brown ales, dunkels,
and Oktoberfests.

I guess if I had to have a go with it, it would be something like:

Oh this barleywine,
So delicious and warming
When all else is cold.

Mike Rowe + Hops

Once, I had a dream that Mike Rowe saved me and a group of people from being trapped in some strange shielded colosseum in a jungle after the end of the world.

We can't all be fortunate enough to have fantastic dreams like that; so, for the rest of you, there's Dirty Jobs. And on this Tuesday, November 25, a new Dirty Jobs is airing in which we will see Mike Rowe pick some hops in Yakima, Washington at Hopunion. The fun begins on the Discovery Channel at 8pm (central), and again at midnight for people like me who will be watching Fringe at 8pm.

So, if you ever wondered what it would be like to watch someone harvest hops while doling out witty banter, this would be the time to tune in.

For some local stories from when he was in Yakima this past September, see these two links:

Yakima Herald
KIMA CBS 29

Jim Gaffigan Pale Ale?

Little late coming to this, but apparently Stevens Point Brewery from Stevens Point, WI is teaming up with Jim Gaffigan to promote the Point Jim Gaffigan Pale Ale.

I don't think I've actually tried anything from Point, but I have heard Gaffigan, and he's hilarious. Whether or not that hilarity somehow translates into a delicious beer, it's anyone's guess.

I can't seem to find information on this anywhere but on beernews.org, so who knows how accurate this is...still seems worth it just for the picture.

(via beernews.org)

New Beer from Jolly Pumpkin, Nøgne-Ø, and Stone

Oh how I wish I would be able to get my hands on this one. Three fantastic breweries collaborating to make a special holiday ale brewed with chestnuts, juniper berry, white sage, and caraway seed.

On Monday, November 24, bottles of this limited edition beer will be distributed to AZ, MA, CA, OH, WA, OR, CO, VA, MI and NY. If you look closely, you'll see that none of those states is MN or WI.

More information can be found on The Stone Blog or on the brewers' sites:

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Nøgne-Ø
Stone Brewing Co.

I'm back with Surly news

From Beernews.org:

Surly Brewing got label approval this week for Coffee Bender, a spin-off of its popular brown ale that introduces a coffee kick. This looks like it could be a winter seasonal though an email has been sent to Founder/Owner, Omar Ansari, for more info. While the year-round brands are available in some parts of Illinois, the other seasonal, Bitter Brewer, appears to only be available in Minnesota at the moment (when canned).

Read more at beernews.org.