Brooklyn Summer Ale is a modern rendition of the "Light Dinner Ales" brewed in England throughout the 1800's right up until the 1940's. They were also called "luncheon ales" or even "family ales", because they were refreshing and flavorful without being too heavy. We brew our Brooklyn Summer Ale from premium English barley malt, which gives this light-bodied golden beer a fresh bready flavor. German and American hops lend a light crisp bitterness and a citrus/floral aroma, resulting in a beer with a very sunny disposition.I had a chance to visit this brewery last summer. It's probably one of the coolest places on Earth. It's a cross between a brewery, a beer hall, a BYOF restaurant (if someone ever did invent a restaurant where you brought your own food,) and Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Brooklyn makes some pretty amazing beers, from Black Chocolate Stout and Pennant Ale, to Black Ops and Sorachi Ace. They're all worth a try. This is a solid summer offering, made even more solid by the fact that they can it, making it easy to sneak into the beach/theater/pool/library, pretty much wherever you're in to. There were a lot of PBW Events to choose from for Brooklyn. A Drag Show, a Dunk Tank, A Nintendo 64 Brewery Rep Challenge featuring, NHL94, Goldeneye, and Mario Cart. But, I'm dipping into an old Comedy Central Favorite... Blockbuster Late Fees (Mystery Science Theatre 3000) Movie Night. Tuesday, June 3rd at Underground Arts.
A night of LIVE movie haggling in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 with your favorite beer reps Dan Conway (Left Hand Brewery), Miles Moser (Brooklyn Brewery), and Mike Lubieski (Weyerbacher Brewing Co.).COMEDY-MOVIES-BEER This is a FREE event!You can check out all of the Brooklyn events here.
Another surprise, we've only ever had one Firestone Walker beer in the CBE. Until now. I'm not even going to try to describe what this Hoppy Pils is, because the website does a pretty damn good job:
Everything we love about classic German Pilsner with a hoppy Bohemian twist. Pils is a bright straw colored lager beer with playful carbonation topped with beautiful white foam lace. Delicate lightly toasted malt flavors underscore noble German hop character. Hallertau-grown Magnum hops deliver the lupulin foundation while generous amounts of Spalter Select hops bring floral aromatic and spicy herbal notes. As a twist on the traditional Pils, we dry hop with German Saphir for a touch of bergamot zest and lemongrass. A refreshing, light-bodied and hop-driven Pils.REMEMBER: Watch for bottled on dates located on the necks or bottom left corner of the label for each of our beers. Our beer is not pasteurized, so it is best when stored at 44F or below, out of light and within 120 days of the bottled on date...this ensures freshness and ultimately a great Firestone Walker beer!The note about freshness is pretty nice, it would mean a lot more if they printed it on the six-packs. Firestone Walker makes world class beers. They handle a hop as well as anybody. When I had the first Pils, I thought it was a little fruity/pear-like. It's dry hopped with Saphir per the label. I did a little research on that, and there isn't much. It's a hop designed to be substituted for Hallertauer Mittlefruh, because that strain is very susceptible to disease. It's well suited as an aroma hop. And a few sources say citrusy tangerine. I'm an idiot, I never denied that, so I apparently think pears tastes like tiny oranges all this time. I probably think tangerines taste like bananas. Firestone Walker is unfortunately not a sponsor brewer for Philly Beer Week. I follow their beer rep on the Twitter here, and I'm sure if they are doing events it will be broadcasted.
This is a pretty awesome website too. "There's a strong change you will be asked to play flip cup this weekend. Resist." That was the message that greeted me after I scrolled down for what seemed like forever to find my year of birth to confirm I was over 21. I was starting to get pretty depressed, so I was glad they put some thought into a nonsensical witty greeting. I had not had this beer, and didn't know what to expect. It was a little tart, similar to a shandy, and it was different enough to remain interesting, yet light enough to be a good summer beer. I always thought dandelions were a bad thing, and that the amount of them in my lawn pissed my neighbors off. Apparently, they are also good in beer...
The dandelion army emerges from the soggy soil under the cover of early dawn. Suppressed by winter forces, they’ve hunkered down for months, readying for the rising spring sun’s emphatic call to arms. Pistils are locked and seeds loaded for the timeless battle between seasons and earthbound souls that seek to be freed from confinement. Shots ring out in the dim light, buds burst above ground and spring advances into the promise of a new year.I have also been to the Magic Hat Brewery, and it's worth noting that it is a pretty cool place. They have tons of cool schwag, everyone there is really happy, and the beers they make under the Artifactory Series that you can just get at the brewery are pretty good. Magic Hat are also Commies and not a sponsor brewery of PBW. This PBW CBE Event Pick idea is striking out quickly, as I am now 1 for 3. I will add a link to this New Belgium event, because it said the word magic in it and was the only thing that came up when I searched for Magic Hat, and I also think it's cool they are coming to Philly.
Heavy Seas. Guess what, not at PBW. Damn. I could go back, and edit all of this nonsense out, but that is going to take time that I really don't want to spend. So you're getting another completely inconsistent and half incoherent Newsletter. You can send complaints to the editor at thecbeofficial@gmail.com I sent an e-mail there once, never got a response. They probably use the same customer service group that Sixpoint does. Anyway, I'm on record several times saying that I don't understand the White or Black IPA style. There are few breweries that do them very well, and I think the people that do (Firestone Walker, Dogfish Head, Stone, Deschuttes, and Sam Adams believe it or not,) have really sat down to think about the combination of wheat/roast and hops, and what's going to create some synergy and cohesiveness, instead of just throwing a shit-ton (industry term) of hops into a stout or wheat beer recipe. Yes, above contains individual links to my favorite black and or white IPAs. You can find them pretty much anywhere. Back to our Philly Beer Week Hating Maryland Brethren... This beer isn't bad. I liked the Chainbreaker from Deschuttes that we had a little better. This one has some alcohol punch that makes it a decent competitor, but I refer to my stance that these beers don't make sense. At all. Heavy Seas says...
Riptide white IPA is a beer brewed with a malt body similar to a Belgian style Wit with loads of torrified wheat. It’s hopped like an IPA, but we use a unique blend of Czech Saaz, French Strisselspalt, Calypso, Centennial and Cascade hops to create a big citrus nose and flavor with floral accents. To complete the feel of the wit style, we push the beer through our hopback which is loaded with Spanish sweet orange peel, Curaçao bitter orange peel, coriander, and a generous helping of hops. It’s fermented with a classic Belgian Wit yeast which provides all of the fruity and spicy notes you’d expect. We then blast the tank with our hop cannon which is loaded with Calypso, Strisselspalt, and Citra hops and more orange peel. The beer is then lightly filtered to retain all of the exceptional yeast character.This is going to be shocking, but this is a brewery that's actually within three hours of my house that I have not been to. They have a very decent website, including a page devoted to recipes using their beer as ingredients. They also sell beer shirts in Orioles colors. It's a pretty solid gimmick. Heavy Seas, because of your website, and my interest in your Uncharted Waters series, I have added your name to a very short list of breweries that I could actually make it to on a Saturday. Please be expecting me in 1-23 weeks. Love, Steve.
Our sixth Terrapin Beer. Athens, GA is almost a 12 hour drive from Conshohocken. Terrapin is on a list, but it's a completely different list, because there is no way that is a Saturday excursion. A new offering, Hi-5 IPA, canned and celebrating your ability to sneak it into the zoo/arboretum/subway, has been described by at least one CBE member as "Refreshing, very carbonated. Citrus, floral, bright. Perfect for drinking down the shore." Terrapin describes it as...
Like a memorable adventure along U.S. Route 101, “Hi-5″ California Style IPA leads you down a road of pure adrenaline and beauty. Capturing the majestic flavor of citrusy hops that roll off your tongue like a white cap on an ocean wave, this scenic wonder will keep you in awe, sip after sip.And finally, another PBW CBE Hot Pick. On Tuesday, June 3rd, you can visit Devil's Alley for Starr Hill/Terrapin GAVA Joe Happy Hour.
Starr Hill and Terrapin will be pouring their colaboration beer GAVA Joe(A Belgian style espresso stout) during happy hour. Along with the GAVA Joe we will have a $3 beer from each brewery on special during happy hour.
Southern Tier Farmer's Tan. We've had two other Southern Tier Beers before, Hop Sun and Harvest. Hop Sun was also one of the hoppy wheat/white IPA styles that I thoroughly enjoyed, but forgot to mention in my previous banter about the style. Farmer's Tan I was lucky enough to find on tap at Southern Cross in Conshohocken not too long ago. Session IPA's are all over the place, and I can't be upset about it, because they are all pretty good. From Founders Everyday, to Stone Go To, they are all late aroma hop additions, that you can drink several of while watching the Flyers blow an opportunity to advance in the Stanley Cup Finals.
When the sun hangs high overhead and the stars don’t glimmer until well into the evening, there’s nothing better than grabbing another beer. We specially crafted Farmer’s Tan to be the beer you enjoy on those long summer days. At 4.6% abv, it’s one of our lightest, with a smooth body and easy finish. We carefully limited the ingredients to two types of hops and two types of malts for a perfectly balanced, “sessional” India Pale Ale. We’ve got the beer covered. It’s up to you to keep the sunscreen on.Southern Tier apparently used this name for a pale lager summer seasonal before. It's like naming your first born Geoff, and then six years later naming his little brother Jeff. It's actually nothing like that, but it was a little confusing to weed through all of the Farmer's Tan stuff to make sure I got the right one. Bottom line, I'm ok with the session IPA trend, just as long as they continue to taste as good as this one does. Bonus, Southern Tier is also participating in PBW. The CBE Snap Pick is the Southern Tier/Repo Records Vinyl Swap on Sunday, June 8th. It's the last day of PBW, get funky.
Wow!! A record party/vinyl exchange with Southern Tier & Repo Records! Listen to Jon, from Southern Tier, spin vinyl all afternoon while drinking Southern Tier Chocklat, Creme Brulee, Pumking & Warlock!! Can you think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. PLUS exchange your vinyl with other enthusiasts with the help of Repo Records.Yes, for those of you wondering and for those of you keeping count, yes I follow John on Twitter. That's what it's for.
Worth noting, pretty much all of the images were taken from Google Image. And I'm pretty sure that's usable, free information. If it's not, see you in 3-5. Years, weeks, I didn't bother looking up what the actual damage would be. I wish there was a place where you could search information like that, but you just can't. It doesn't exist. So Hennepin. Farmhouse Ale, Saisom, toe-MAY-tow, tah-MAH-toe.
This style is a farmhouse ale, and is considered to be in the domain of the Belgian Saisons. Hennepin is a delicious brew for all seasons, it is spicy and refreshing.A moderately hoppy, farmhouse-style ale with a champagne-like effervescence, Hennepin has a crisp start followed by malt sweetness balanced with a firm bitterness. Hennepin has a bounty of great flavors: ginger, spice, orange and toasted grain. Pouring a bright golden color with a spicy-sweet balance of orange peel, sweet malt, hops and ginger, Hennepin makes way for a dry finish with a slight bite of ginger.That's from Ommegang's website, which is pretty awesome. They present the style, pairing, tasting note information as good as anyone can without a cheese pairing of the week. I haven't checking, but I'm pretty sure their website would be as good on an iPad as any other breweries. They are a little over 4 hours away, which makes them slightly difficult to do on a Saturday. But there is an added benefit of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yes, her name is Megan. And yes, you can go to Good Dog on Monday June 2, and attend Ommegash It'S Allagang.
Ommegash It's Allagang!!! Allagash and Ommegang Breweries will be doing a tap takeover from 5-8pm! Their delcious beers and the beautiful ladies who sell them (along with some of the people who brew them) will be here for everyone's education and enjoyment! The Beer Lineup from Ommegang will be The Fleur de Houblon, Gnomegang, Adoration, Chocolate Indulgence, and the Game Of Thrones Fire & Blood Red Ale! The Beer Lineup from Allagash will be the White, Double Ginger Wit, Fluxus 2013, Saison, and Avance!The Game of Thrones beers are good, or great depending on which one you have. I did not have an opportunity to have the Fire & Blood, but I have yet to have a beer from Brewery Ommegang that was mediocre. They're all pretty awesome. Even Hop House. Especially Hop House.
Finally, Dogfish Head Namaste. Dogfish Head, much like their beer, are originators of finely tuned social media/internet information. Their website even gives a wine comparable for all of their beers. This one, may be amongst 2-3 other beers Dogfish has ever brewed that fall under 5% alcohol. They refuse to join the canning revolution, so these will be slightly more difficult to sneak into the campground/lockerroom/ranoutofplaces than the other really great summer beers in #CBExv.
A witbier bursting with good karma. Made with dried organic orange slices, fresh-cut lemongrass and a bit of coriander, this Belgian-style white beer is a great thirst quencher.Great brewery to check out. If you look through their website and pay attention, they have a few weekends a year where they do special events which usually coincide with special tappings at the BrewPub. It's not down the shore, but there is still a beach. Yes, her name is Wendy. PBW CBE Hot Take... I was going to go with the Throwdown in Franklintown, a killer day at Kite and Key where you get to see a bunch of beer reps battle each other somewhere in between American Gladiators and Ben-Hur Style, but I'm going to go with 2-2-2 Take the Train with Dogfish Head. Because if you can drink 2 dollar World Wide Stouts and 120 Minute IPAs for two hours, very special things are going to happen.
Namaste was originally brewed at our pub in Rehoboth Beach with our Italian friend Leo from Birra del Borgo. It was a tribute to our friends at 3 Fonteinen brewery in Belgium, who had devastating production loss (1/3 of their annual production) in 2009. You can read more about the original brewing of this beer here on Sam's blog.
I'm going to fold laundry now. You're probably angry there is not a list of places to get growler fills on your way to the Jersey Shore. But don't fret. I've decided that's much better information to have in it's own post. I may even do it tonight. We'll see.
PS, if anyone wants to give Sixpoint shit because of how much Hi-Res sucks, you can visit their rep at the following events. I may make my way out to Whole Foods Plymouth Meeting on the 7th with my leftover can to throw at him. It's a shame, he's a really nice guy, but someone has to PAY!!!
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