Professor Good Ales

Written by Norman Miller for milforddailynews.com

Massachusetts had one of its best beer years in anyone’s memory in 2011, so it is going to be hard to top in 2012, buts several Bay State breweries have some big plans for the new year. This week, we’ll take a look at what some breweries will be doing in 2012.

The Boston Beer Company, the brewers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, has many new beers planned and a change for one of its existing beers.

In the spring, Samuel Adams will introduce its new seasonal, Alpine Spring, which is described as an unfiltered lager with “bright floral and citrus notes.” The Noble Pils, which has been the spring seasonal, will become a year-round beer beginning in March.

Also being introduced later this year will be the Whitewater IPA, which is a “fusion’’ style of beer – it has both the attributes of a Belgian-style white ale and an IPA.

The new Brewer’s Choice beer, which was chosen by a vote of Samuel Adams fans, will be the Mighty Oak Ale, which will be available in the new Brewer’s Choice mixed 12-pack.

Finally, Samuel Adams will introduce two new Single Batch series beers. They will be the Dark Depths, which is a Baltic porter, and the Cinder Bock, which is a smoky double bock.

The Cambridge Brewing Company, which started bottling its beers for the first time in 2011, has planned new beers for the new year, including Sgt. Pepper, a farmhouse ale brewed with peppercorns, Weekapuag Gruit, Heather Ale, Mind Left Body and Red God.
Continue reading “The Beer Nut: Big Plans a Brewin’ in the Bay State”

Written by Christopher Seward for ajc.com/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Red Brick Brewing Co. staffers arrived at work Friday in northwest Atlanta to find a refrigeration unit used to keep its specialty beer tanks cooled had malfunctioned.

On closer inspection, the staff at the brewery at 2323 Defoor Hills Road realized an electrical box that powers the $100,000 “chiller” had been stripped of its copper wiring.

Red Brick, formerly Atlanta Brewing Co., is the latest target of metro Atlanta thieves who risk electrocution to steal copper wiring and tubing from utility poles and air condition units at vacant homes and schools, churches, shopping centers and businesses.Each theft can cost a property owner thousands of dollars of damage for a few hundred dollars’ worth of scrap metal.

“We’ve been running around here like chickens with our heads cut off,” Red Brick Brewing President Bob Budd said Friday in a phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a theft problem in 17 years. It’s really kind of a shock.”
Continue reading “Copper Thieves Hit Red Brick Brewing, Put Beer in Jeopardy”

Homebrewers and the brewing business in India- The Professor

Written by Nupur Chaudhuri for indianexpress.com

A puree of raisins, reduced over a high flame, an addition of Italian seasoning – oregano, thyme, sage, seven types of grains and a blend of three yeasts. The result: Anuj Mundi’s Belgian Dubbel. Mundi is a Pune-based techie. He works as programme manager at Motorola Mobility. But when he’s not immersed in work, he’s devoted to his passion – brewing beer. His recipes have even been used to brew interesting new beers at the 1st Brewhouse (Doolally on Tap!) at Corinthians, NIBM Road. Since October 2009, Doolally has been serving up handcrafted beers, freshly brewed – from the dark brooding Black Magic Ale which immediately casts its spell from the first gulp to the Bavarian Wheat Beer, with a fruity nose, a delicate bitterness and prominent clove aftertaste. In Mumbai, the Gateway Brewing Company too is on its way to being the gateway to all the different styles of beer.
Continue reading “Grin & Beer It”

Written by Greg Kitsock for Washingtonpost.com/blogs

Washington had four breweries operating in the early 20th century before the city was dried up by Congressional fiat in 1916.

With a little luck, we should exceed that mark in the coming year, as 3 Stars Brewing Co. joins DC Brau, Chocolate City Beer and the Gordon Biersch and District ChopHouse brewpubs.

Look for 3 Stars to open during the first quarter of 2012. “We’re going through buildout,” says Dave Coleman of the brewery headquarters at 6400 Chillum Place NW, a former postal sorting facility about 3/4-mile from the Takoma Metro station. “We’re having a construction team do the schematics for the electricity and gas.”

Continue reading “D.C. is Fermenting a Brewery Culture”

Written by Jay R. Brooks for .mercurynews.com and The Bay Area News Group

Now that we’re safely into the new year, it’s time to make some new beer resolutions — and try some different kinds of beer this year.

For a number of years now, India Pale Ales have been the fastest-growing type of beer sold — and “seasonals” have been the biggest-selling category, which means people also are keen to try something new. But beer drinkers tend to stick to a small subset of the dozens of American craft beer styles. Last year, for example, seasonals were in the top spot again, and the next five best-selling beer categories were IPA, pale ale, amber ale, amber lager and wheat beer.

They’re all fine beer styles, and I drink my fair share of them, too, but they’re not exactly a diverse crowd. So this year, break out of your comfort zone and try one of these exceptional beers.

Craft pilsners

When microbreweries started making beer in the early ’80s, the vast majority made ales. They took less time to brew, required less aging and, some said, were more forgiving. But pilsners have been a popular beer style since their introduction in the 1840s. If you have enjoyed a beer by one of the big breweries, you’ve already had a version of a pilsner, with added corn, rice or other adjunct to lighten the color and flavor.

If you’ve had Pilsner Urquell, you’ve had the original all-malt pilsner. But a growing number of craft breweries now make a pilsner, and many of them are world class, too. Berkeley’s Trumer Pils, for example, is one of the best pilsners brewed anywhere. Moonlight Brewery’s Reality Czeck, a Czech-style Pils, and Lagunitas Brewing’s Pils are both excellent pilsners, also. They tend to be a little spicy — from the signature Saaz hop — and crisp and clean, but still very full-flavored.

 

Altbier

In German, “alt” means old, as these ales continued to be popular in Germany even after lager brewing became all the rage in the 19th century, especially around Düsseldorf and other parts of northern Germany. But Rich Higgins, at Social Kitchen in San Francisco, is making a great example of this old style, calling his Old Time Alt. It’s slightly peppery with great toasted malt character. If you can’t make it to the source, Alaskan Amber is also an alt, and is available in six-packs. Altbiers are delicate and complex, with spicy hops and usually a dry finish, though sometimes they’re nutty or bittersweet.

Oatmeal stout

 

Continue reading “Brooks on Beer: New Year’s Beer Resolutions”

Another interesting location for the brew business- The Professor

Written by Steven Jack for http://oswego.patch.com

The world of beer is no longer just Bud, Miller and Coors.

Craft brews have taken over the beer scene with double-digit increases in sales in the last few years. And now a group of three local guys want to bring their own brand of specialty beers to Oswego with a brewery proposed for the old Fire Barn location at 59 Main St.

Jason Thalman, Steve Woertendyke and Rafael Gomez are the co-owners of Misfit Craft Brewery. They will appear before the Oswego Plan Commission at 7 p.m. Thursday at Village Hall to discuss a special-use permit for the building that has sat vacant since 2009 when the Oswego Fire Protection District opened its new Station 1 on Woolley Road. If the commission recommends the project for approval, it could appear before the Village Board in the coming weeks.
Continue reading “Craft Beer Brewery Proposed for Downtown Fire Barn (Oswego, IL.)”

Written by Melissa D’costa for indiatimes.com

Beer drinkers have something to cheer about if a recent report is to be believed: The consumption of beer in moderate quantities (that means one to two glasses only!) could reduce the risk of heart disease.

The findings are based on a meta-analysis of several different studies conducted worldwide from over 200,000 people’s drinking habits, conducted by Italy’s Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura. It showed that moderate consumption of beer decreases drinkers’ risk of heart disease by 31 per cent, just as much as moderate consumption of wine.

Written by Andy Ingram for azcentral.com

You wouldn’t think that something as seemingly mundane as filtration could elicit such strong emotions among brewers and beer drinkers, but it does.

The underlying question is whether beer should be brilliantly clear — or “bright,” in brewer’s parlance — or if it’s OK to have a beer that’s hazy, even cloudy. This excludes, of course, American wheat beers and hefeweizens, which are cloudy according to style.
Continue reading “Beer Buzz: Filtered vs. Unfiltered Brews”