Leinenkugel's Going National with Classic Amber

Leinenkugel's has always been a great stand-by, a brewery that creates a lot of different styles that are all tasty and affordable. But Leinenkugel's has always been a very Midwest brewery, with only a few styles finding themselves throughout the nation (e.g., when I was in Boston last year, the only Leinenkugel's I saw on tap was, not the standard Honey Weiss or Original, but the Sunset Wheat). Well, much to the delight of my brother, as well as other Leine-lovers across the nation, the brewery is taking steps to change this:

But the beer that got its start quenching the thirst of 19th-century lumberjacks will shed whatever's left of its regional image Monday with the national launch of a new brew, Classic Amber. The beer, a potential flagship for the Chippewa Falls, Wis, brewery, is meant to compete with the nation's bestselling craft beer, Samuel Adams.

With the Classic Amber, this is the third new beer Leine's has launched within the last three months. While I didn't enjoy the Fireside Nut Brown, I thought the 1888 Bock was a refreshing, accurate take on the style, and I'm excited to try their newest, the Classic Amber. Here is the description from the brewery:

Leinenkugel's Classic Amber Lager
Our signature all-malt lager is a celebration of genuine ingredients, time-honored brewing traditions and authentic craft beer flavor. With its brilliant amber color, premium blend of Pale, Caramel and Munich malts, and subtle, yet complex citric hoppiness, you simply can't go wrong with a Classic.

Check out the full description here, and look for it in stores early March.

Via The Star Tribune

For the Nerds: WoW Beer Steins

For all the nerds out their who like to get their beer on whilst dabbling in a little WoW, you can now drink your beer in WoW beer steins! I know! It's absolutely ridiculous!

Via Kotaku

Bell's Batch 9000 Info

According to a string of posts on Beeradvocate, we're getting close to Bell's newest every-1000-batches special release, the Bell's Batch 9000. According to a post by Larry Bell:

The saying goes,"give the customer what they want."
Remember 7000? Well that was kind of weak, so we are trumping up that recipe to make something bold. You want something for the cellar? You got it.

The 7000 was a 12% Imperial Stout, so hardly a beer that you'd call weak, and hardly a beer that you'd think about making bold unless you were going to do something crazy. Here's hoping.

Beer Haul: Cellar's Lexington/Larpenteur

Made my way over to the Cellar's at Lexington/Larpenteur to hit up the 50% off sale (they are closing the store soon). Slim pickings, but I managed to pick up the following:

1. De Regenboog, 't Smisje BBBourgandier
2. De Regenboog, 't Smisje Kerst
3. Saint Somewhere, Saison Athene
4. Fantome, Brise-BonBons

All for the low-low price of under $20. I'm enjoying the BBBourgandier right now, and we'll see how long the others last.

The store is closing soon, so if you're going to check it out, check it out soon. They still had plenty of De Regenboog left (including Regenboog's Guido, Catherine the Great, as well as the two mentioned above), a stockpile of Moylan's, and a few other finds.

Spiraling Downward toward Icehouse

I'm really amused by evenings like this. This is the list of beers I had on Saturday night, in order:

1. Surly Three
2. Surly Furious
3. PBR
4. PBR
5. PBR
6. Icehouse

Yes, I finished with Icehouse...and I feel good about it.

Buddhist Beer Bottle Temple

In Cambodia, a group of Buddhist monks collected 1.5 million beer bottles and built a temple with "...a main temple, guest bathrooms, prayer rooms, a tower, a crematorium, and more. They even created vast mosaics of Buddha out of the collected beer caps."

Neat!

Read More:
Article 1
Article 2

Top 5: Barleywines

In light of Bigfoot finally hitting the scene here, I present to you my All-time Top 5 Barleywines:

1. Sierra Nevada, Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
2. Great Divide, Old Ruffian Barley Wine
3. Victory, Old Horizontal
4. Full Sail, Old Boardhead Barleywine Ale 08
5. Left Hand, Widdershins

Sierra Nevada's Potential Yeast Fuel

I stumbled upon an interesting article about how Sierra Nevada is trying to use old yeast to create high-grade ethanol fuel. And this isn't Sierra Nevada simply jumping on a bandwagon of any sorts; apparently, "...it has an extensive recycling program, in which less than one percent of its waste goes back into the landfill, and it has one of the largest privately owned solar installations in the country." Impressive.

No note of exactly how the process will work or the expected outcome but still a short, informative read.

Via The Orion (Chico State's student run newspaper)

Update on New Great Divide Beers

Great Divide's two newest ventures--Claymore Scotch Ale and Espresso Oak Aged Yeti--are out as of February 13. I personally haven't seen them in stores in the MSP area, but as we get nearly everything else they brew, I'm hoping that they'll pop up soon.

Also, go check out their new website they launched to coincide with the fancy new labels, or if you want to read up on the newest beers.

Don's Steamin' Wife Lager

Brother-of-a-friend Don Osborn got a nice bump on MNBeer for his photo of his Steamin' Wife Lager. Not much but a picture and a mention, but I just enjoy how connected and small-world-ish the beer scene is here in MSP.

Also: Steamin' Wife Lager. Funny name; nice photo.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo & Bigfoot

Finally. It took much longer than it should have, but both Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA and Bigfoot Barleywine have hit the Twin Cities market. I picked up a six-pack of each at Thomas Liquors.

The Torpedo is nice enough. At a modest price and 7.2% alcohol, it's an economical, tasty choice. It won't replace my IPA standards (Two Hearted, HopDevil, Titan, and more-so lately, Crooked Tree), but it's always nice to have more options year-round.

The Bigfoot is as I remember and all that I love in a barleywine: big malt, big hops, and big alcohol. I am disappointed that it hit so late in the season; but, it's snowing outside right now and that gives me justification enough to plow through a few more six-packs before it's gone until next year.

Update: despite the lack of care for the brewing process or the nomenclature, I stumbled upon this review that does a nice job of describing the flavor of the Torpedo Extra IPA.

Review: Bud Light & Clamato Chelada

Tastes like shit.

~For Kyle

Redhook Tripel in April

Redhook will be releasing a new beer in April: a tripel. A tripel from Redhook? Hooray!

Here's the info off of the beeradvocate forums:

Belgian Tripel is deep golden hued with subtle hints of vanilla, clove and cinnamon. Fruity, spicy and warming with a complex but soft malt character.

Belgian Tripel Overview:
IBU: 22
Alcohol by Volume: 8.0%
Original Gravity: 19.3 plato
Shelf Life - 180 days

Availability
For a limited time only, Belgian Tripel will be available in 22oz bottles and 1/6 barrel draught, nationwide

STR Date: April 20, 2009
Probable retail price- $7.99 per 22oz bottle