From Monday April 13 - Sunday April 20, 2009 is the Mayflower Week of Pins at Redbones in Somerville, MA. "What is a pin?" you may ask. Well, it's a cask that holds about 5.6 gallons of beer. For some of the less beer initiated you may even ask, "What is a cask?" A cask is a traditional English vessel to serve beer from, like a keg. The difference is that the beer is put into the cask uncarbonated, and the beer is naturally carbonated by adding yeast and a little sugar or wort to the cask. It's served at cellar temperature (usually about 45-50 degrees F) and has a smoother, less carbonated mouthfeel. The temperature and light carbonation allow more flavors to come through. Also, modern craft brewers normally do special things like add dryhops or wood chips to the cask to increase the complexity of the beer.

(Picture at right is of Mayflower Assistant Brewer Ryan Gwozdz making a cask of Porter)

Each pin will be tapped at 6pm and go until it's empty, which will probably be very quick, so don't expect to get any of the previous night's beer. So get your butt over there! Here's the lineup:

Monday - IPA dryhopped w/ Amarillo
Tuesday - Pale dryhopped w/Sorachi Ace and Amarillo
Wednesday - Golden dryhopped w/ Sorachi
Thursday - IPA wethopped w/ Glacier
Friday - Porter dryhopped w/ Willamette
Saturday - porter dryhopped w/ EKG
Sunday - Pale dryhopped w/ cluster

Location Information:
Redbones
55 Chester Street
Somerville, MA
617.628.2200

Anytime we hear Ron Jeffries is working on something new we get exited. For any of you who haven't tried Jolly Pumkin's beer, you're missing out. What has us really excited is something very new though. Ron has started Northern United Brewing Co (NUBC). NUBC will be comprised of three new Jolly Pumpkin cafe's, one in Dexter (next to JP brewery), one in Ann Arbor and one on the Old Mission peninsula just north of Traverse City. In addition to the cafes they are adding two breweries, North Peak and Grizzly Peak, the top two brewpubs in Michigan. Both North Peak and Grizzly peak have been around for over a decade, we're excited to see some expanded distribution since we haven't tried their beer. 

If all this isn't excting enough, next to the location in Traverse City they will also be christening a brand new 10,000 BBL production facility which will produce non-sour Jolly Pumpkin beers. Non sour Jolly Pumpkin? We dont' even know what that's going to be, and they're still working that out, or just keeping it tight lipped for now, but we'll be following this closely as it develops.

 

New beer from Southern Tier is always an interesting prospect. Iniquity, an imperial black ale sure seems like it will be interesting to say the least.

 From the label: 

" The hexagram talisman has been used around the world for centuries to invoke magic and god luck. The six-point start is also the customary  symbol of brewing representing the essential and pure ingredients of the craft: water, hops, grain, malt, yeast and of course the brewer.

Wishes of good fortune often collaborate with the brewers creativity to yield dramatic results. We carefully chose this name for this imperial IBA. Iniquity - a word opposing goodness. Why? This beer is contrary to what one  may expect from an IPA; this is an ale as black as night. It is the antithesis of of Unearthly.

Some may consider it an immoral act to blacken and ale. We suggest they don't rely on conventional standards. Allow the darkness to consume you. Cheers!"

 

We're ecstatic that that Troegs finally started distributing near us, and now after discovering this beer we're even more excited.

Dubbed the "Flying Mouflan" the label states:

"This alluring ale is like "pushing our Nuggest Nectar off the side of a cliff" tastes like hops dipped in candied sugar and rolled in dark chocolate nibs. Patient beer lovers who cellar the Moulfan will be rewarded with mellowed hops and lucious malt."

At 9.3% abv this seems like quite the beer. Can't wait to try this one!

 

Chico, CA (03/06/2009) —Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is pleased to announce the release of Kellerweis Hefeweizen into their year-round portfolio of beers. This is the second new year-round release from the brewery in 2009, and a great addition to their lineup of world-class beers.
 
    The name Sierra Nevada is synonymous with hops, and lots of them. Kellerweis is an exception to that rule, but fortunately, no less exceptional.
 
   Several years ago, the brewers began working with a unique Bavarian hefeweizen yeast strain unknown in this country. This amazingly flavorful yeast was so exciting that they began working on a recipe for a traditional German hefeweizen with the Sierra Nevada twist. Traditional hefeweizen is a style that seems deceptively simple, but in reality is devilishly complex.  For years the brewers weren’t satisfied with the beer; something was missing. In a flash of inspiration, an epic trip was arranged. The brewers took a whirlwind tour through the legendary Bavarian wheat breweries to see what they were doing. It was there they realized the advantages of making wheat beer using the traditional system of open fermentation.
 
   Sierra Nevada had been making a portion of their beer using the difficult and labor-intensive technique of open fermentation for years. Most modern brewery fermentation takes place in closed, stainless-steel tanks; this method is efficient, quick and clean.  In closed tanks, however, the yeast doesn’t have the opportunity to coax as much complexity from the fermenting beer. Using shallow open fermentation, the yeast has space to build layers of flavors and aroma that would otherwise be impossible.
 
   After seeing the technique in use in Germany, the inspiration to make Kellerweis in the open system took hold. The name is an homage to the German Keller, meaning cellar—the name breweries give to their fermentation systems, and weis, or weiss—the German name for “white” or wheat beer, hazy with suspended yeast.  
 
  Kellerweis is a light and refreshing beer with deep complexity of flavor. The yeast provides hints of fruit flavors and spices, including ripe banana and clove. This hazy-golden beer glows with suspended yeast creating a velvety texture; perfect for a sunny California day. Sierra Nevada’s Kellerweis Hefeweizen will be available in 6-packs starting in early summer 2009.

We just got word that Sixpoint Craft Ales is having some trouble with the Federal Government concerning their Hop Obama Ale. In a Facebook message, owner Shane Welch sent out the following information:

Sixpoint was raided by the Feds and they put the kabosh on our Hop Obama. Naturally, I was infuriated by the censorship so I decided to do what I've done from the start - turn it into a story and allow the company to serve as a platform for delivering the story. However, this was quickly squashed by the Feds as well. Apparently, they did not want us making the beer NOR did they want me to create a story out of it.

Then, the plot thickens....The Department of Homeland Security gets involved. We recently received an official cease and desist letter from them claiming we must take immediate acts to shut down and exterminate our production, dissemination, and distribution of this brand or the Federal government will enact punitive fines and/or seize control of our brewery.

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