May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day

Well, it's Memorial Day, which means it's time to head outside, fire up the grill, and kick back with your favorite summer time brew. It's the unofficial start to summer, and who doesn't lover summer?!

However, let's not forget why we celebrate, the men and women who bravely died defending our freedom in our great country. These men and women paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could enjoy our summer without fear. It's because of brave soldiers that we are able to enjoy this day, and we honor those folks today, all of them, but especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

So, today, if you see a member of the armed forces, thank them for defending our freedom and maybe even buy them a nice Summer Brew.

May 27, 2011

Beer Review - Starr Hill Brewing Co Festie

I have to thank my brother for sending me a very awesome birthday day present a few days ago: 14 beers! These beers, with one exception, are not available in my market, so I will be making notes as I enjoy them.

The first of the 14 beers I decided to taste was from Starr Hill Brewing Company out of Crozet, VA. I was sent a bottle of their Festie, Amber Lager beer, as the can describes . The beer, as expected, poured amber in color with a small, off white head. I noted hints of caramel and toffee, but only faintly, as I began to smell the aroma. The taste of the beer was more flavorful than the aroma led me to believe, with a nice malty taste with caramel notes. The beer hit the spot on this nice summer day.

This beer has a nice mouthfeel overall and is a nice refreshing brew. It is not overly complicated; simple is sometimes better.

May 21, 2011

Brewery Visits - Fat Head's Brewery and Saloon

Fat Head's has started gaining some popularity in the Cincinnati area, and around the country, so I decided to go take a tour of this small brewery in North Olmstead, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

If you've never been to Fat Head's, or never had their beer, you're missing out. This place has the feel of your corner pub, but it's also a nice family restaurant. The first thing you notice when you walk in, is their logo:



The bar itself has a very nice selection of beer. Of course, they pride themselves on their beer, brewed on site, but they also have a very large selection of other craft beers from many other breweries. I ended up trying one of their beer's, Hop Juju, an imperial IPA. They had a cask version and a non cask version. I decided to go with the cask.


It was very tasty indeed. Lots of pine, but very smooth an easily drinkable at 9.5%

After a drink, it was time to check out the brewery. Since the brewers were all out at the Cleveland International Beerfest setting up when we visited Fat Head's, we were greeted by one of the managers, who also happened to be the owner. Sadly, after drinking so much the rest of the day, I have forgotten his name. Anyways, the brewery is on site and is very visible from the bar area. You can actually see their mash tun, boil kettle, and several fermenters. Though I was not their when they were brewing, I imagine you could watch the Brewers Mike and Matt (and others) brew their award winning beers. 
Fermenters

The tour was brief, but exciting. The brewery has produced just over 3500 barrels in the short time it has been open. Their 10 barrel system has them brewing almost every day of the week, just to keep up with the growing demand of their beers, not only in their saloon, but around the Ohio area. I was told that they keep looking for ways to make their award winning beers better, as well as trying new recipes to make even more award winning beer. 

Fermenters
Grain Mill




As we wrapped up the tour, we began to wonder when we would start to see some of this beer around Cincinnati (apart from at Cincinnati Beer Fest and other Fests) and we were treated with a nice bit of news: Fat Head's brewery is looking into several sites in the Cleveland area to open a production brewery! I would love to see some of these tasty brews at my local grocery store. 

In all, this place was really cool. Go check it out if you can. It's an awesome time. As a prominent wall in their saloon says:


May 9, 2011

Groupon Deal today: 50% off the Prohibition Resistance, Summer Lager Tours

Today's Groupon deal for the Cincinnati area is a very cool one. Today you can get tickets for the Prohibition Resistance tours for half off! If you have not been to these tours, I highly recommend them. Check out more info straight from the website:

A brewery, like the beach, is a relaxing oasis that allows tired travelers to bask in golden hues, frolic in frothy spumes, and get in splash fights with siblings. Savor sudsy fun with today’s Groupon: for $15, you get two tickets to the Prohibition Resistance: Summer Lager Tourfrom the OTR Brewery District (a $30 value). The tour begins at 1 p.m. in Findlay Market on Saturdays and Sundays, starting May 21.
The two-hour Prohibition Resistance: Summer Lager Tour shepherds ale enthusiasts through several blocks of pre-Prohibition-erabreweries in the historically German-populated Over-the-Rhine district. Knowledgeable guides embark from Findlay Market, a public bazaar in continuous operation since 1855, to delve into mid- to late-19th-century beer bubblers. Clyffside Brewery’s opulent high bays soar overhead, and Jackson Brewery’s cavernous lagering cellars delve deep enough to encounter fabled beer-breathing fish. Alongside decorative cornices and bull's-eye windows, tour takers investigate the social and political dimensions of hops hawking. Though the tour does not include beer tasting, tour-goers may visit the Over-the-Rhine Biergarten afterward to discover for themselves the origins of the German word: “bier,” meaning “beer,” and “garten,” meaning “to gargle voraciously.”

To get tickets, click HERE

May 3, 2011

Cask Conditioned 1861 Porter Tapping - Christian Moerlein

On May 19, Christian Moerlein will be tapping a cask conditioned version of their 1861 Porter. Here's the info directly from their Facebook Page:


Unfiltered. Unpastuerized. Unequaled.

Come to Arnold's and experience the traditional brewing technique, tapping, and service of the Arnold's 1861 Porter - served at 55 degress and a carbonation level of 2.2 volumes in honor of American Craft Beer Week and Arnold's Bar & Grill 150th Anniversary.

Tapping starts at 6 p.m.

This is the traditional way of brewing and serving beer, just like you would have experienced in 1861!

A cask conditioned beer, sometimes referred to as a "real ale", is an unfiltered, unpasteurized beer that still contains live yeast, which continues conditioning the beer in the serving vessel. This is known as a secondary fermentation. This process creates a natural CO2 carbonation and allows malt and hop flavors to develop resulting in a richer tasting drink with more character than a standard force carbonated keg. Real ale is always served without any extraneous gas to push the beer out of the keg.