Happy Thanksgiving, Y'All

Wishing a very special Thanksgiving to all my fellow craft beer lovers. In case you are interested, these are my Dinner choices:
http://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/fade-to-black-vol-5/
http://www.sierranevada.com/beer/seasonal/celebration-ale
And now, a toast to lots of leftovers and turkey sammiches tomorrow!!
Cheers.

Fresh, Wet Hopped and Seasonal IPAs

I seem to be on a fresh hop/seasonal IPA streak; first with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Celebration (6.8% abv)and, second, with Victory Brewing's Harvest (6.5% abv). According to the SN website, "Wet Hops are un-dried hops, picked and shipped from the growing fields within 24 hours."
 
That means fresh, by anyone's definition. Not sure if I'll choose one of these for turkey-day dinner, but no doubt I'll have one while making the dressing!

Essential ingredient for dressing: fresh corn bread.

http://www.victorybeer.com/beers/harvest-ale/

Stout Night at The Growler, UPDATED

Just in time for the holiday food orgies, here's a chance to try some stouts and maybe make a decision about what to have with your turkey.
The Growler Station is the place to be this evening!

We tasted 3 stouts:
Bells Double Creme
Left Hand Fade to Black
Thirsty Dog Siberian Night

All were excellent examples of the style, but Siberian Night won the night, so to speak, for me and several others. Paired very well with the fig-cheese-bacon appetizers that Kay made. Our friend Mairr Uhrinek (with help from Jason) made an elegant pumpkin cream cheese roll that went with all three stouts but especially the Double Creme.

A very successful, educational evening, we all had a good time and no one got their clothes dirty!! Win-win.

Thanks to Big Jon and Courtney for doing the hosting chores.


And if you need some refresher info about stouts, this link does a good job of displaying the different categories. I for one am all  about Oatmeal Stouts.

http://draftmag.com/features/the-stout-matrix/

For People Who Like Beer Lists

And you know who you are.

Here's another one, this time a personality identifier, or what your beer says about you:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/theresabeerforthat/what-does-your-beer-say-about-you

Cheers and good luck.

Cold Mountain Returns to Asheville for 2014

Well, technically, it's coming to Highland Brewing, cause they make the beer. Eagerly anticipated by NC and SC Winter Ale lovers, it's being released today, but I can't make it until Saturday!! Supply is limited so they are rationing the amount one can purchase each day. Kay and I should come away with two bombers each. That'll get us thru the next week.
I recommend this beer highly (is that a pun?).

Cheers!

Photo from HBC website.

Greenville Craft Beer Fest Now A Pleasant Memory

Come and gone, but what memories are left behind: perfect weather, good crowd and, of course, several new beers to try, along with some of my long-time faves.


I'll start posting pics and comments as I finish up the editing (I took a lot of photos!) so come back often to catch the updates!

I've long been a fan of Abita beers and this Fest offered up a new one: A Pecan Harvest Ale, brewed with pecans and barrel aged in oak. I was eager to try it, had to wait until 1 pm, but it was worth the wait. First of all, it was not sweet as I feared but well balanced, a bit of nutty flavor in the finish but overall very drinkable and, as indicated in the photo, probably pairs very well with food. I never had the chance to try it, time being critical with so many other brews to try. I would definitely have it again. They were also pouring Hop Gator, a Helles Doppelbock, and Restoration, a Pale Ale.

The Clemson Brew Crew were there of course, giving live action demos of the brewing process for those who, despite spending a good deal of time in brewery tap rooms have never had the inclination to brew their own. John Mangel, in the photo adding water to the mash tun (barrel) makes it look easy and the results are always very tasty.

Local favorite, Quest Brewing was there, pouring Cantaloupe Island Witbier and an Edelman Altbier. Not your usual suspects, but they were very popular.

Quest rep always happy to answer questions about their brews.

One of the newer breweries on the Charlotte scene is The Unknows Brewery. I and others chose their IPA as one of the festival's best:

Another local, Swamp Rabbit Brewing, with owner/brewmaster Ben Pierson on hand to help pour, attended the festival for the first time. Their Black IPA was frequently requested, as was their Marzen Oktoberfest. I suspect they'll be back next year:

Sometimes, you just need to take a break and savor the sampling.

The advantage of using the Fluor Ballpark as the venue is the space provided. Big turnout but no crowd bottlenecks, so trying to gain access for a new beer was never a problem.

Cheers for now!!

Stout For A Chilly Afternoon

This is what I had to warm up an otherwise dreary afternoon at the Greenville Growler Station:

http://greatdivide.com/beer/year-round/yeti-imperial-stout/