Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse: Beer Brewing

Friday, February 10, 2012 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (ET)

Durham, NC

Beer is an important food group for most college students, so knowing how to make your own if things go south is essential. Learn about the basics of homebrewing in this hands-on workshop.

Hosted by Duke Campus Farm:

The Duke Campus Farm is a one-acre fruit and vegetable farm that provides the Duke community with fresh, delicious, sustainable produce and an educational facility around all things food related.

Alas no, just missed it. It’s hard to tell if it was simply a beginning homebrewing class or if they were taking the “brew in any situation” angle. I hope it was the latter, especially considering they have a whole series of “Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse” events.

Worthy Brewing (Bend): This Friday the 24th at 3pm is the groundbreaking ceremony for the new brewery and beer garden headed up by Roger Worthington and Chad Kennedy on their land on the east side of Bend. In addition to (I believe) a 30-barrel brewery there are also plans to build out an educational facility and—best of all, in my opinion—a beer garden. I’ll be in attendance and will be posting pictures, stop by if you’re in Bend!

Fire on the Mountain Brewery (Portland): This new entry into Portland’s brewing scene isn’t open yet but I noticed on the latest Oregon Brewers Guild 2012 guide it was listed to open this spring; looking it up (linked on the OBG) reveals that it’s going to be Fire on the Mountain wing company’s new Fremont location: “Under the guidance of Brewmaster Ben Nehrling, we strive to provide consistently high quality ales and lagers. Ben has been brewing professionally for seven years splitting his time between McMenamin’s Highland Brewery and the Concordia Brewery at the Kennedy School. He is very excited to be on board with long time friends at Fire on the Mountain. Together, they are committed to matching fine quality beer with fine quality food in a relaxed and communal atmosphere.” Should be interesting to watch this one develop.

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 02/20/2012” »

This week, some post-release checks of Chocolate Ale, our current Smokestack seasonal offering, revealed that certain batches of the beer had begun to exhibit flavors and aromas not intended by our brewers, attributes not detected prior to the January release of the beer.

As you might imagine, we are dismayed by this discovery, and are conducting exhaustive investigations in an effort to pinpoint the problem. At this point we know enough to confirm that it was limited to three batches of Chocolate Ale bottles – it did not extend to other Chocolate Ale bottles, to Chocolate Ale draft beer, or to any other Boulevard beers. We can also confirm that the batches in question are not harmful to consume, but may simply display an undesirable flavor.

We stand behind all of our beers, and accordingly are offering a full refund to any consumer who purchased a bottle of Chocolate Ale from the following batches: 2011-1, 2011-2, or 2011-3. The batch number can be found on the back label of the bottle, in the upper right-hand corner (click here to view image – the batch number is indicated by the last digit on the top line.). To receive a refund, send us the name of the store where you purchased the beer, the purchase price, your name and mailing address, and a scan or photo of the back label from your bottle of Chocolate Ale, batch 2011-1, 2011-2, or 2011-3. If you purchased more than one bottle, please include a photograph of all bottles together.

You can e-mail this information to refund@boulevard.com, or mail it to “Chocolate Ale Refund, Boulevard Brewing Company, 2501 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64108.” You can expect a check within 2 to 4 weeks of your submission.

I had a bottle of Chocolate Ale last weekend and it was one of this batch; instead of chocolate, it tasted very much like a chili beer (though not spicy hot). Kudos to Boulevard for recognizing and getting in front of the problem, it’s always good to see a brewery (particularly a big one) willing to do what it takes to maintain their quality and treat their customers right.

Now I just hope the bottles that made it to Bend aren’t all in that batch!

Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland): Sanjay over on the Not So Professional Beer Blog reports that Hopworks has received approval and is getting ready to can their Organic IPA! I don’t know if this was previous news that I missed but I find it really exciting for HUB and canned craft beer in general. The cans will be 16-ounce “pounders”, similar to the ones Fort George and others are releasing, and Sanjay has a nice image of the approval HUB IPA can label over on his blog; it looks good and those cans will definitely stand out on the shelves.

Speaking of Fort George Brewery (Astoria), this Saturday the 18th as part of Stout Month they are holding their “Festival of Dark Arts: A Carnival of Stouts” from 2 to 10pm: “Stout Beer Fest and festival of all dark arts.  The Festival of Dark Arts is sure to appease all the senses.  Over 15 Stouts to taste, all of which not previously showcased in Stout Month!  The Fest is ALL AGES/FREE ADMISSION.  $8 for festival tasting glass.  $1 a taste.  Also for your senses will be: Belly dancing, fire dancing, fire eating, a live blacksmith forge, on site tattoo artists, dark cuisine, music, tarot card reading, and a HUGE art show featuring some of Astoria’s great artists showcasing their “dark art.”  This is not your Mom’s beer fest.  This is an all day Stout Carnival.” They have an absolutely fantastic tap list lined up—if you’re anywhere near Astoria on Saturday, get thee to the Carnival!

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 02/14/2012” »

What “Wheat IPA” actually means in this case is “Belgian IPA” as it marries a Belgian Wit style of beer with (usually) an American-style IPA hop and (usually) strength profile; it’s a style that’s not only been coming out of Belgium but is also being popularized here in the States by the likes of Stone Brewing’s Cali-Belgique, Deschutes Brewery’s Chainbreaker White IPA, Great Divide‘s Belgica, and others.

And it’s such an unlikely style for an A-B craft arm to brew that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it.

Shock Top Wheat IPA is 5.8% abv, and no idea what the IBUs are.

Appearance: Orange color, honey-like, hazy from the (recommended) swirled pour. Fluffy, substantial head.

Smell: Has that nice summery Wit aroma of coriander and sweet orange peel, with a touch of estery fruitiness. Mellow.

Taste: Interesting blend of Wit and earthy English-style IPA; neither really dominates. The “Wit” aspect is dampened and tempered by a gentle earthy bitterness—not terribly hoppy but quite a bit moreso than most A-Bs. Finishes clean and a bit muted.

Mouthfeel: Between light and medium-bodied, with a bit of a sharp edge to it.

Overall: Decent, a bit different, I’ll give A-B props for doing one like this. I don’t know if it quite hits the mark but it’s drinkable and not harsh (which I think could happen to any example of this style).

Shock Top Wheat IPA on Untappd. BeerAdvocate: 2.88/5 (4 reviews). RateBeer: 2.48/5, 16th percentile.

This is slated to hit the shelves nationally on the 6th (Monday), and at first blush—it’s rather interesting and actually not bad at all. I’ll be drinking more and writing up review notes for it this weekend sometime.

(And no, I don’t automatically turn my nose up at macro-brewed brands remember—I’m a beer geek, not a beer snob, and I’m always interested in trying new beers—whether from A-B or the newest nanobrewery down the street.)

Some details from the press release:

The newest full-time addition to the Shock Top family, Shock Top Wheat IPA is a unique hybrid style that brings the refreshment and smoothness of a wheat beer and marries it with the crisp, hoppy bitterness of an India Pale Ale (IPA).

To create the new beer, brewmasters started with Shock Top’s signature recipe, adding citrusy Cascade and Magnum hops and dry hopping the beer for several days to give Wheat IPA the rich, hoppy aroma that is the signature of IPAs. Containing 5.8% alcohol by volume (ABV), Shock Top Wheat IPA will be sold nationwide in six- and 24-packs of 12-ounce bottles and on draught.

Which interestingly puts it at about the same level as Deschutes‘ Chainbreaker White IPA (just recently announced as the newest year-round addition to their bottled line-up).

More soon.

Just what is an “apocalypse” anyway?

The original definition of the word refers to a writing or work which acts as a disclosure of hidden information, akin to a prophecy, and from the Biblical Book of Revelations it came to be associated with the end of the world.

Modern usage defines “apocalypse” to mean a great disaster, and commonly it’s viewed as leading to the end of the world as we know it. And while this sounds pretty straightforward, modern times and pop culture has given us a variety of apocalyptic scenarios to choose from:

• Zombie epidemic
• Meteor strike
• New Ice Age
• Technological collapse
• Nuclear war
• Epidemic/disease outbreak
• Environmental catastrophe
• Natural disaster
• The Mayan 2012 “end of the world”
• Alien invasion

Sort of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” for the end times, and shows that we have a (unhealthy?) fascination (obsession?) with the Apocalypse. Or rather, it shows that we have a fascination with the post-apocalypse, as much of the focus is actually on life and survival in the post-apocalyptic aftermath.

One of the most common visions of the Post-Apocalyptic world is one of a societal and often technological collapse, with survivors banding together to scavenge, forage, survive, and rebuild. Often they have to start from scratch. We get details of food (foraging, hunting, growing), defense (weapons, fortifications, building armies), building (shelter, agriculture, attempts to recreate “lost” technology), but one question has been repeatedly coming to my mind lately:

Where are the beer brewers?

Continue reading “Apocalypse Beer” »

Here are the details from the comments:

Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café will be opening our Ale Café in early February!!! (Bottle Shop coming soon thereafter!)

The Ale Café will offer a rotating 12 tap selection of craft and specialty beer, along with wine and other beverages, to be paired with delicious, healthy food, such as smoked meats, panini sandwiches, appetizers, soups, salads, as well as awesome vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options (whipped up by Chef Bethlyn Rider). We’ll also have chilled single bottle and canned beer you can purchase from our coolers to drink at Broken Top Bottle Shop or take to-go. We won’t charge you a corking fee on the bottled and canned beer you buy to drink here. And, you can buy your to-go beer as single bottles or cans, mixed-and-matched in any number, 6-packs, and 12-packs. Come on by in early February and taste some great draught beer, have some scrumptious food, and pick up some beer to go!

COMING SOON… the Bottle Shop!!

The Ale Café portion of Broken Top Bottle Shop is only the beginning!! We’ll soon be expanding into the suite next door in order to offer you over 700 varieties of single bottle and canned beer in our retail Bottle Shop. Only Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café will offer this unique combination of tasty food, a variety of draught craft and specialty beer, and a grand selection of bottled and canned beer for on- and off-site consumption.

After visiting on Saturday, I have to say I’m fairly impressed with the overall plan they have laid out for the new venture and the enthusiasm the new owners are bringing to the shop/beer bar. On the one hand, the space was already set up as a beer bar, so they’ve kept much of that the same, with some repainting, a new foot rail running along the bottom of the bar, more artwork for the walls, and so on.

On the other hand, they are revamping the kitchen—adding some equipment, reorganizing for efficiency—and have added an impressive smoker/grill/roaster that will sit on a corner of the patio and offer a whole new level of food than was available before. The menu is going to be vastly expanded, and yes, there will be a focus on vegetarian/vegan options (something that—in general—Bend is largely lacking).

And of course, the expanded bottle shop is going to be the biggest change: Broken Top will be gradually moving into the space next door, which previously hosted a wine shop and tasting room, and will be able to offer over 700 different beers (as noted above)—this is going to be huge and once fully realized, may well be the largest single selection in Central Oregon. (The Brew Shop currently has at least 500 different beers, and while I don’t know specific numbers both Whole Foods and Newport Avenue Market in Bend have fantastic beer selections as well.)

They plan to be open by this weekend (yes, the first weekend in February) though that will only be for the beer bar portion. They will be open seven days a week, from 11am to until 10pm, maintaining largely the same hours as the Abbey Pub (though the Abbey was closed on Sundays).

After meeting and chatting with the owners I can say I’m fairly excited to see the new place open: they are extremely nice and accommodating, and their enthusiasm for Bend and beer is infectious. I’m looking forward to heading over there (hopefully this weekend!) and sampling the new menu while drinking some really good beer.