Schoenling Bock Tapping

Well, Bockfest is less than a week away. That being said, before the big parade, there's another event that must take place: the unveiling of this year's Schoenling Bock! In case you don't know, for the past couple of year's the  winning bock beer recipe during the Bockfest Bock Beer Homebrew contest is used to make this beer! That's right, a local homebrewer creates this very unique beer.

This year's event, like prior years, will be at Mecklenburg Gardens. The unveiling will officially take place Wednesday.at 6:00pm. Be sure to go out and try this beer before Bockfest!

Click here for more info

Beer Review - 21st Amendment Monk's Blood

It's been awhile since I've reviewed a beer. It's not that I haven't had any, it's just that I've never been in a spot to review. That being said, I decided it was time to do another review when I found Monk's Blood while out shopping today. I've heard a lot about this beer and people seem to be talking it up quite a bit, so what the heck, let's give it aq god.

As with all other 21st Amendment Brews I've had, this one comes in cans (which appears to have the story of how the beer got it's name). I poured this in to a 16oz pint glass. This beer pours a very dark brown with a sizeable, slightly tan head. The head on this one is about 3 finger widths. Aroma is of dark fruits, raisins and plums. The taste is similar, dark fruits, plums, with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla. There is also a touch of oakiness in the background that just barely seems to make it's presence known. The mouthfeel of this beer is very smooth, nice and creamy.

I enjoy this beer. If you've had it, what do you think?

Rivertown Brewing Co. Pint Night

In case you didn't see this:

Rivertown Brewing Company Come join us this Thursday night 02/24/2011 at the Cock N Bull in Glendale Ohio. Be the first to recieve the all new Rivertown Pint Glass! Starts at 6pm!

Meeting the Arrogant Bastard

Friday night there was a fantastic event held at Jungle Jim's in which the founder and CEO of Stone Brewing Co. Greg Kich, came out and talked to over 500 folks about his beer. It was great to see all the people out to support craft beer! I was lucky enough to snap off a few photos (from my camera phone, so quality is a bit lacking) so I decided to share.

Cincy Beerfest - a Wrap-up

Did you make it out to the Cincy Beerfest? If not, why? The event was great; Duke Energy Convention Center had a lot more room than last year at the Hyatt which meant less walking right in to someone! (Alright, so that did still happen, but last year it was very cramped and this year you had at least some room to move around) If you did make it out, what did you think? Was it as good as you thought it would be? Better?

Let's get down to the real meat of the event though, the beer. I know that you, just like me, tried an excessive amount of beer and there is no way you remember them all, unless you brought a notebook. Well, I didn't bring a notebook either, but I did note some of the beers I had that really stood out, in my mind. This list is in no particular order:

• Rock Bottom's Cincinnati Chili Beer
• Rock Bottom's Tazza Mia Espresso Porter
• Ellzebelle Triple Belgian Stout (Official Beer of Beerfest and created by a local homebrewer)
• Listermann's Cincinnatus Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
• Bell's Batch 10,000
• Left Hand Brewing's The Stranger

You may have noticed from the beers listed, most of the stuff that really stood out in my mind was made locally. This is great news for us Cincinnatians who love to see the local brew scene grow! I hope we see more stuff like this next beerfest!

In all, Beerfest was a very good time. The volunteers I talked to seemed to have a good knowledge of the beers they were serving. (I have been to fests in the past where folks had no clue) There were also several owners and brewers at the event from various breweries. There was plenty of space in the Duke Energy Center, though I think they will need to expand the amount of space next year already. I know the 5th annual will be even better!

AB InBev, MillerCoors to Merge?

I was scouring the internet for my news today, when I happened to get a link to a very interesting news story. I had heard rumors of this news story for about a week or two, but today is the first time I've actually seen in writing that AB Inbev and MillerCoors may actually merge. The story if from the Dayton Business Journal and they are reporting that analysts have stated that this would be a very lucrative move for Anheuser Busch and Miller Coors, but what about the Craft Beer Industry? Here's the link to the article: A-B InBev, SABMiller merger likely

In my estimation, this can only be bad news for the craft beer industry. These giants already control an impressive amount of market share and this will not help a small operation to break through any barriers. Think about it: These 2 giants already spend a ton of money in an effort to make sure that their product is placed in the perfect spot in your local grocery store. They spend millions and millions of dollars on ads telling you to buy their beer. They do everything they can to ensure that they will be the beer you choose when having a party and if they merge, the amount of money they can spend on that will be astronomical! 

Now, more than ever, Craft Brewers need to work together. It will be tough to enter a market with such a strong force, but by helping each other, craft brewers can keep moving forward. I recently linked to another blog from the FullSteam Brewery down in North Carolina (http://www.fullsteam.ag/blog/2011/02/that-brewery-sucks/) where they talk about how local breweries support each other by doing things such as ordering grain together, or suggesting other North Carolina beers to add to taps at bars in the state. I am not sure if other states breweries do this as well, but I believe that if they are not, now is the time to start! 

A merger of these two giants may increase their profits dramatically, but I am afraid of the affect it will have on the craft brewer. I look forward to a day where most of the market is held by small, local craft breweries and not 1 or 2 mega breweries.

My day as a brewer

Just the other day, I had the opportunity to volunteer with a small micro brewery in the area. I won't say which one, but needless to say, it's a very small brewery. Regardless, this was a unique experience.

If you've never done a batch of homebrew before, brewing for a brewery is very unique. I never knew what the life of a brewer was like until I tried it. There was quite a bit to do: mash, sanitize, bottle, label, squeegee, etc... It was never ending.

I had a chance to brew my first all grain batch with this brewery as well. I had never mashed in, or sparged before, but it seemed so easy. I had a chance to stir the mash in order to make sure the grains were converting in to sugars. This was an awesome feeling.

Sure, working in a brewery can be hard work, there's bottling to do, which can get a little monotones, and cleaning, etc.... but in reality, you are making a product that people love, and that's what counts.

Cincy Beerfest

I have come across the beer list for the upcoming Cincy Winter Beerfest: Beers

After looking at this list, it looks like there will be some enjoyable beers to have. Oddly enough, I am intrigued most by the Rock Bottom Cincinnati Style Chili, Chili Beer. I love beer, and I love Cincinnati style Chili; could they be good together? I am not sure, but I am willing to find out.

By the way, the event is February 11th and 12th and if you don't have tickets, I recommend you pick them up now! You can get them here :http://www.beerfesttickets.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=12

If you have not been, it's an awesome event. Come out and have some beers and meet some really cool people.