Malt Beverage made with cherry puree

The label doesn't have much other information, but here's what we were able to dig up from TheBeerSpot.com:

 - It uses on fresh Michigan tart cherries
 - These cherries are added in five different additions to get balanced tartness
 - It will be 6.5% abv
 - Cerise will be available April through August
 - Packaging will be 4-packs of 12oz bottles and it will retail for about $9.99

The New York Times, often led on this topic by wine critic Eric Asimov, will occasionally put out a craft beer article in their Food & Wine section. Their most recent, though, is especially interesting to us as a local brewery got some pretty big praise from Mr. Asimov and his tasting panel. The article featured the team tasting 25 different barrel aged craft brews from across the world. The caveat? Each beer is available in stores in New York City (it is the New York Times after all).

The panel’s #2 beer was from Milford, NH. Pennichuck’s Pozharnik Espresso Russian Imperial Stout took home 3 stars and the silver medal on this day. Now they didn’t have to tell us that this was a great beer, we already knew that! With heavy chocolate and coffee flavors backed up by just a bit of bourbon, it’s quite delicious on a cold day. The New York Times mention even generated this article in Milford, NH's local paper, The Cabinet: “Local Beer Rates High in Taste Test”

It’s always great to see local beers getting praise in the national press. Pennichuck still doesn’t see very wide distribution, but those who can get it definitely believe it’s world class. Another local got recognized as well. Maine’s Allagash, a Belgian Style brewery got a nod for their Odyssey, a Belgian Style Trippel aged in bourbon barrels.

Also placing in the top 10 for the Times’ article were:

1) Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes 2006 Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien, Switzerland 11% alcohol (25.4 oz., $34.95)

2) Pennichuck 2008 (33.8 oz., $17.95) Pozharnik Espresso Russian Imperial Stout, Milford, N.H. 10%

3) Bavik Petrus Aged Pale (11.2 oz., $3.50) Belgium 7.3%

4) Jolly Pumpkin (25.4 oz., $9.50) La Roja Amber Ale, Dexter, Mich. 7.2%

5) Dogfish Head (12 oz., $4.60) Burton Baton Imperial India Pale Ale, Milton, Del. 10%

6) Allagash Odyssey (25 oz., $22.95) Portland, Me. 10.3%

7) Harviestoun (11.2 oz., $11.95) Ola Dubh Special 16 Reserve, Scotland 8%

8) De Dolle Oerbier (11.2 oz., $12.95) Special Reserva 2007, Belgium 13%

9) Great Divide (22 oz., $12.95) Yeti Imperial Stout, Denver 9.5% (aged on wood chips, not barrel aged)

10) Captain Lawrence (25 oz., $21.95) Smoke From the Oak Bourbon Barrels, Pleasantville, N.Y. 7%

We here at DrinkCraftBeer.com just got news that Mayflower Brewing Company's IPA is now going to be available in bottles. In a blog post on the Mayflower blog dated February 4th, 2009, they stated that the much heralded beer is now available in bottles. Up until now it had only seen limited distribution in kegs. As stated by the company, "Although quantities are limited, we have packaged enough to satisfy our existing customers and plan to brew enough to provide a steady and growing supply throughout the year."

It appears that the Mayflower IPA in bottles will appear is stores near you on this time frame:

 - Boston Area: Wednesday, February 4th
 - South Shore: Thursday, February 5th
 - Plymouth/South Coast/Cape: Friday, February 6th
 - Western Mass: Coming Shortly

Having had this beer on tap several times, it definitely ranks up there as one of the best IPAs made on the east coast. We can't wait to have a six-pack of this brew in our fridge!

Surly Brewing Company (Minneapolis, MN) - Surly is adding 180 barrels of fermentation capacity. The three 60 barrel fermentors arrived today.

Philadelphia, PA - Philly Beer Week 2009 (PBW) is thrilled to announce an exciting collaboration with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA): Sip Safely with SEPTA, an unlimited, all-day, bus-trolley-rail pass that will be sold for $9.00, valid any one day between March 6 and March 15.  This pass is valid on SEPTA services, to encourage PBW participants to travel safely, rather than driving from event to event.  Sip Safely with SEPTA passes will be available for sale at most SEPTA locations starting January 30.  For a complete list of sales locations, or to purchase a pass online, please visit
www.phillybeerweek.org and click on travel. 

"Nothing is more important to Philadelphia's reputation as the best beer drinking city in America than making sure our drinkers are safe," says PBW co-chair and noted author Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell.  "We are delighted to be able to offer this affordable, convenient alternative to driving to ensure that Philly Beer Week is not only fun but also responsible."

The pass is valid for unlimited rides, all day long, until the end of service, and will feature a festive, specially designed PBW 2009 logo to signify SEPTA's partnership with Philly Beer Week and their unified commitment to the safety of participants. 

Sip Safely with Septa passes are not valid on Regional Rail Trains arriving in Center City before 9:30 AM and are not valid for travel to or from stations in the State of New Jersey.

Philly Beer Week 2009 is the second annual celebration of Philadelphia's dynamic and diverse brewing culture.  More than 10,000 attendees are expected to attend the over-200 events, tastings, tours and educational seminars on all things beer and brewing.  National and international brewing celebrities will attend, as well, bringing with them their incredible depth of knowledge and of course, kegs and casks of their esteemed lagers and ales.

Questions about Philly Beer Week 2009 should be directed to Profile PR; call (215) 985-2106.  For general information, including the ever-expanding schedule of events and list of participants, please visit www.phillybeerweek.org.  For SEPTA travel information, please visit www.septa.org or call 215.580.7800.

Cambridge, MA - Cambridge Brewing Company has announced the release of their CaCow! Chocolate Milk Stout. This is a milk stout, a rather rare style, brewed with lactose sugar as well as oats and flaked barley to impart some sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.

From Will Meyer's, the head brewer at Cambridge Brewing Company, "In the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries, doctors often (erroneously) prescribed Milk Stouts to pregnant and lactating women to aid in the production of milk for breast feeding their babies (or perhaps just to sooth their frazzled nerves)."

Somerville's own Taza Chocolate (you may remember them from Drink Craft Beer, Eat Craft Chocolate) provided cacao nibs to age this 6.4%abv beer on, giving it a roasty finish. Will says they also used house-made vanilla extract to complement the richness and roast of the nibs with a little sweetness.

DCB Note: Tried it this afternoon. Wow! The vanilla is just a hint in the smell and complements the roasty chocolate very nice. A super smooth mouthfeel on this from the oats and flaked barley. The chocolate is great in the taste, not a sweet chocolate but a very earthy flavor probably more from the malt. It's slightly sweet, but far from cloying. This is definitely a beer that you could have more than one of.

Harpoon Brewing Company (Boston, MA) - The next beer in the Leviathan Series will be a Belgian Quad. It's currently in the tanks.

Dogfish Head Brewing Company (Delaware) - Dogfish Head has added 6 new 300-bbl tanks and they are up and running. This is a huge amount of capacity they've added!

Lost Abbey Brewing Company (San Marcos, CA) - Lost Abbey will be releasing Red Poppy, their Flanders Red Ale brewed with cherries, on January 31st at the brewery.

Bell's Brewing Company (Kalamazoo, MI) & De Proef (Lochristi, Belgium) - John Mallet, Bell's Production Manager (Read our interview with him), will travel to Belgium to brew the next beer in the De Proef Brewmaster's Collaboration Series. Bell's will join former collaborating breweries Allagash and Port Brewing Company.

Shmaltz Brewing Company (New York, NY) - Shmaltz, makers of He'Brew - The Chosen Beer, are set to add Coney Island Block Head to their Coney Island Craft Lagers line. This will be a 10% "Tough-As-Nails Strong Lager." It's set to be available January-April 2009.

From the Left Hand Brewing January Newsletter:

Brewer's Corner

Our new and improved brew house is now up and running - pumping out 60 Barrel batches in about the same time as the 20 barbell batches took. We are able to take advantage of the improvements to the bottling line implemented in the past 2 or so years.

When I first started back in 1999, our bottling line consisted of the present 12-head rotary filler along with a cold glue bottle labeler, and a relic of our early days: a 4 bottle Meheen (a little better than manually filling) for our 22oz bombers, and a 6-head "Cow" for filling the 750ml Big Bo's. Back then, ALL of the 22oz bottles had to be labeled by hand one at a time in advance of filling. A couple of Summers ago, we obtained conversion parts for our filler and labeler which allowed us to fill all three sizes using one machine set. This not only reduced the labor for us, it increased the quality and consistency of our Beer, and did it much faster than before. What used to take a full day (or more!) could now be done in a few hours with less waste and better worker satisfaction.

The increase in productivity brought some problems of its own. We were used to getting all our cases already built, stuffed, and filled with glass. We would unload the glass by hand sending the empty cases to the end of the line where they would be filled with the finished bottles. This meant keeping a "stash" of cases & glass in each style we would be bottling in the near future. Any leftovers would then have to wait until the next time that flavor was ready for packaging. The space and time this was taking in our inventory would soon become unacceptable. We needed something more flexible.

That turned out to be "Bulk Glass" and un-built cases. Through several experimentations, we arrived at a nearly automatic bulk glass depaletizer, which allowed us to load glass on the line without flipping full cartons, and a fully automatic and customizable case erector. The case erector allows cases to come in to us as flat boxes (almost 700 in the space that 108 occupied originally). The cases are opened, bottom flaps are positioned, glue applied and the case assembled faster than we could unload them the old way. Additionally, a 6-pack "popper" prepares the carriers for insertion into the mother cartons. The ready-to-fill cartons are sent to the packing station where they are filled as before.

The switch to flat cases and bulk glass not only reduced the inventory space, but eased and sped up production. Without all the manual handling of packaging prior to production, the workers are in a much better mood at the end of the day. (Thank YOU!)

With the new brew house more than able to keep up with packaging, we are looking forward to the new-and-improved bottling line in the near future. More automation, faster speed, built-in quality control - all to bring to you more of the quality beers you seem to like so much! And we do to!

'Till Next Time,
Tom Glitzner
Bottling Tech (guru)