BHAM BEER BUZZ: March 2015

Monday, March 30, 2015

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Brews

We are working on a project, a picture book of sorts. It's going to be a while before we get the book done, but here is a sampling of some of the pictures you'll find. We take a lot of pride in what we do, and I think these shots show it. All of these photos were taken by our fantastic beer loving photographer Jeremy. Sometimes you don't want to read a blog, you just want to be lazy and look at pictures. Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, this should be plenty! Keep an eye open for our coffee table book, we're hoping to have it out within a year or so. Until then, we hope you enjoy these pics...

CHEERS!

Magic City Brewfest 2013 @ Sloss, Blue Pants Brewery

Magic City Brewfest 2013 @ Sloss, Good People Brewing Co.

Harris Stewart from TrimTab Brewing @ Magic City Brewfest 2013

Magic City Brewfest 2013 @ Sloss, TrimTab Brewing

Magic City Brewfest @ Sloss, Old Black Bear

Elliott and Bo from Druid City Brewing @ Magic City Brewfest 2013

Dan from Fairhope Brewing Co. @ Magic City Brewfest 2013

CahaBones spotting @ Magic City Brewfest 2013

Eric from Cahaba Brewing Co. @ Magic City Brewfest 2013

TrimTab Brewing Co.

One of our first visits to TrimTab Brewing Co.

Cahaba Brewing Co., Pride Of Dixie event @ World of Beer 5 Points

Pride Of Dixie event @ World of Beer 5 Points

Cahaba Brewing Co

Cahaba Brewing Co.

Cahaba Brewing Co

Alabama Brewers Guild, Eat/Drink Birmingham

Monday, March 23, 2015

A Brew Review - Grayton Beer's Franklin County Stout

Franklin County Stout

Grayton Beer Company
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
7.2% abv Oyster Stout

Stout: a dark beer made using roasted malt or roasted barley, hops, water and yeast.

Oyster: a common name for a number of different families of saltwater clams, bivalve mollusks that live in marine or brackish habitats.

Now that we have a couple definitions laid out in front of us, we can start talking about beer. You may be thinking, I know how Stout relates to beer, but why oyster? Well, that’s because today, I am drinking an Oyster Stout. The awesome people at Grayton Beer Company hooked me up with a bottle of their Franklin County Stout, a 7.2% abv beer brewed with oysters. Yes, real, bivalve sea animals. I’m going to be honest, I was looking forward to trying this because I like the brewery and the people who work for them, not because it’s an Oyster Stout. I don’t like seafood, but I love beer especially Stouts, so I had to give it a try. This week’s Brew Review features this unique style. Stouts are one of my favorite styles, so I may be a little harder on this beer than I would, say a Kolsch. Let’s see what it’s all about...

Appearance…

I was Impressed as soon as I poured the brew into my glass (sorry I don’t have a Grayton Beer glass). A thick tan head formed effortlessly on top of the dark, jet black brew. It retained that beautiful head for a decent amount of time. After a few minutes, the foam dissipated but left a nice, khaki ring around the top of the liquid. I wish there was a little more lacing, and I did notice a lot of sediment on the bottom of my glass after the beer sat for a little while. It is a good looking beer, but I wish there wasn’t so much stuff hanging out on the bottom of my glass. 7/10

Aroma…

I love the smell of a good Stout, and this beer smells like a good Stout. Rich, dark chocolate notes are accompanied by the typical roasted coffee scents you find in a quality Stout. But that’s not all that is there, a smell something else too. I get light amounts of cinnamon and a little lemon. The more the beer warmed up, I also got a little chili pepper vibe and some salty brininess. I really enjoy the smell of this beer, I hope the taste matches. 9/10

Flavor…

This is a key factor when it comes to a beer. People want a beer that taste good above anything else. Flavor here is not an issue. When the beer was still cold, I got lots of rich velvety dark chocolate. If the flavor was to end there, I would have been happy. But it didn’t, it gave me a lot more and that’s not a bad thing. As the brew warmed up, I started to get some flavors that matched the aroma. The salty, briny flavor started to poke its head out. That paired, again, with a light lemon note. One thing is for sure, as the beer warms up, it really warms up. I got more of the chili pepper spice on my palate as well as the back of my throat. I didn’t however, get any oyster flavor and that’s not a complaint. 8/10

Mouthfeel…

This beer was spot on when it comes to mouthfeel. Thick enough for a 7.2% beer, but not super sticky. I guess you could call it right at the beginning of what would be considered heavy. The carbonation is also right where I like it for the style. The body was in as good of shape warm as it was cold. 8.5/10

Overall…

I was a little skeptical at first. An Oyster Stout? I know it’s not a new style, just one I’m not too familiar with. Grayton Beer Company did a really good job with this one, and it’s a beer I would definitely drink again. That is if Andrew will give me another one. It’s not available in Alabama yet, but I hope that changes. My overall score of this black libation is…

8.25/10

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

A Brew Review - Stone's Delicious IPA

Delicious IPA

Stone Brewing Company

Escondido, California

Gluten reduced India Pale Ale

7.7% abv

Stone, we all know who they are. The makers of the hoppy American Strong Ale, Arrogant Bastard. They also brew some of the best IPA's in the country. Stone is know for a lot of things, brewing hop forward beers is one of those things.

This review is on one of Stone's newest offerings, Delicious IPA. This IPA is a little different from some of their previous brews, mainly because of the reduced amounts of gluten found in this beverage. Gluten sucks for Craft Beer. There are a decent amount of people out their who can not drink beer due to certain allergies. Gluten allergies are one of the main ones. Craft Beer, generally contains a sizable about of gluten. Stone spent over a year researching and developing this beer. They still use real Craft Beer ingredients, so you don't have to worry about not having a "real" beer. It's just that they have created a way to brew that has REDUCED the amount of gluten found in the beer. There is still some gluten, so it can't be labeled as "Gluten Free", but they are small amounts. This brew was produced with one goal in mind, to provide a high quality Craft Beer that almost everyone could enjoy. They say that they have done that... But does it taste good enough to deserve the name "Delicious"? Let's find out...

Appearance...

This brew looks good! A very nice, beautifully clear golden amber color sits just below a perfect white head. As the foam slowly starts to dissipate, there is a generous amount of lacing left behind on the sides of my glass. I hope this brew smells and tastes as good as it looks. 9/10

Aroma...

There is a lot going on here. The label says this beer is brewed with Lemondrop and El Dorado hops. I'm not too familiar with those, but if that's what's in this beer, they may become some of my favorite hops! At first I got lots of lemon and grapefruit scents paired with some mild pineapple and tropical notes. As the beer warmed up a little, I got some earthy and floral notes as well as some faint, but apparent fruit ester notes. This is not the hoppiest beer I've smelled, but it smells pretty damn good. 8/10

Flavor...

Here's the most important part of reviewing this beer, the flavor. After all, it is called Delicious. To have the balls to name a beer that, you'd better be pretty confident in the taste. My first sip was pretty bitter, but that's common for me with most IPA's. After a drink or two, things started to open up. Being Gluten Reduced, I was a little worried that this beer would be kind of boring, that was totally not the case. I got tons of citrus right up front, and as I drank, the bitterness level maintained quite nicely. It's not just all hops in the flavor though. One things that makes an IPA a good IPA, is the balance of hops and malts. This beer does that well. I got some bready almost toast like flavors, but they weren't super prominent. They were there, and just sweet enough to take the edge off of some of the bitterness. As it warms up, you start to notice that 7.7% abv., that keeps me from giving it a 9+ in this category. That being said, this brew is tasty, it definitely doesn't miss the gluten. 8/10

Mouthfeel...

Again, because of the reduced gluten, I didn't really know what to expect in this category. I was a little worried it would be too thin. Fortunately that wasn't the case. An IPA is not supposed to be really thick, you're looking for a smooth, medium body. That's exactly what you find here. The carbonation is perfect, but as I mentioned above, it is a little warm in regards to the alcohol. Because of that I cant give it a 10. 9/10

Overall...

If you follow Craft Beer news, you'd know that Stone has killed some of it's more popular beers. Levitation their Amber, Sublimely Self Righteous their Black IPA and their Pale Ale have been discontinued to make room for beers like this. Now, while I'll miss two of those brews, this beer will definitely keep me happy. It is everything you'd want in a world class IPA, minus some of the gluten. I give this brew an...

8.5/10