Beers in Review: With a Blonde Stout That KILLS It!

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Before we get to that stout from a PRB-debuting brewery, I bring you one from Thomas Creek Brewery. Trifecta IPA was originally created as a collaboration with Greenville-based The Community Tap bottle shop and beer curator (now getting airtime on this blog as part of The Funk Collective event) several years back. It is now part of Thomas Creek's year-round rotation. This IPA comes in at 6.9% ABV and 86 IBU. Pouring a fairly clear amber-to-gold color, I got lots of floral notes, along with a mild sweetness that is more prominent earlier in the drinking experience. There are also some straight-up citrus hints throughout, as well as some citrus rind bitterness that combines with the natural hop bitterness to create a potent bite that is most noticeable towards the back of the drinking experience and ramps up overall as you drink the beer. It has maybe a hair more hop bite than most that claim to be "American-style" IPAs, but I find this to be a really solid beer overall.

Next up is a blonde stout from Legal Remedy Brewing Company, a brewery that I had never had before but has been lauded extensively by work colleagues of mine, and they have talked about this World Court Mocha Blonde Stout as being particularly notable. I didn't quite know what to expect from a color standpoint, but it turned out to be a fairly standard clear gold color. Clocking in at 6% ABV and 24 IBU, I got a whole lot of nice coffee and white chocolate aromas, which is rare for my nose to pick up. Those aromas play directly into a straight forward flavor profile that includes the coffee and a mild roasty note as well as a well-managed sweetness level coming from the white chocolate that doesn't get in the way at all. I found perhaps a slight grainy or bready note as well that, when put with the rest of flavor profile, gave me the impression of blonde brownies. Simply, this is a terrific beer. It has amazing flavor notes that are well-balanced to truly nail a somewhat unusual style in the blonde stout.

The Funk Collective Update: More Details, Participating Breweries, and More

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On Wednesday, I told you about a new sour and rare beer festival that is being presented by 2 South Carolina breweries and one SC-based bottle shop/beer curator. Now, Birds Fly South, Revelry, and The Community Tap have released more information on The Funk Collective, a two-day invitational event to be held this July in Greenville, SC.

For starters, the two breweries, will alternate years of hosting the festival. Greenville-based Birds Fly South is hosting this year, with the festival moving to Charleston, home of Revelry Brewing, next year.

On Friday, July 7th will be the Upstate (next year Coastal) Brewery Showcase, a VIP-only event for 150-200 people and will feature about 15 breweries offering their sour beers for tasting, along with a limited group of rare bottles from across the country.

 

The Funk Collective main festival will be held on Saturday, July 8th. Over 30 breweries from across the country have committed to attending the festival, which will also feature sour beers.

Tickets for the Saturday Festival only or the Friday/Saturday combination are available here. Also found on that page is a current list of participating breweries for each session. It appears that Friday-only tickets, intended to be a VIP Experience, are not available.

Most importantly, this festival will donate all of its net proceeds to Asheville, North Carolina's Eblen-Kimmel Charities, the original benefiting group Wicked Weed's Funkatorium Invitational, and an unintended victim of the WW/ABI acquisition. Since their mass-pullout from WW's now-postponed and "evolving" event, many craft breweries have donated to Eblen-Kimmel as a show of support to a charity that should not be forced into hardship because of Wicked Weed's decision. The Funk Collective event will be another way to help that group.

Video Review: Beers of Summer, Part 2

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Today, I check out two more Summer seasonals as part of the Beers of Summer series. This includes one of my all-time favorite beers which might be having a little bit of difficulty, or at least an identity crisis. Check out my thoughts on beers from Victory Brewing Company and Bell's Brewery here!

South Carolina's Craft Beer Community Taking Advantage of Wicked Weed's Event Issues

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One thing that was affected by the Wicked Weed/ABI fallout from earlier this month was July's Wicked Weed Funkatorium Invitational, a sour beer event that was supposed to feature some 70 breweries from across the country. Once the acquisition news was released, most of the independent craft breweries backed out, and WW announced their intent to postpone, reschedule, and "evolve" the Invitational, which is likely just code for "maybe people will care less about the acquisition in 4 months."

Well, yesterday, some members of the South Carolina craft beer community saw a sour beer-sized hole in the beer festival schedule, and jumped on the opportunity. Greenville's Birds Fly South Ale Project is partnering with Charleston's Revelry Brewing Company and Greenville-based bottle shop and beer curator The Community Tap to put on The Funk Collective, a two-day show featuring funky and sour beers.

Day One of the event will consist of "local artisan food & brews and rare bottles", while Day Two will be the main festival, which will feature funky and sour beers from over 25 breweries. Most importantly, this festival will donate all of its net proceeds to Asheville, North Carolina's Eblen-Kimmel Charities, the original benefiting group of the Funkatorium Invitational, and an unintended victim of Wicked Weed's decision. Since their pullouts from the WW event, many craft breweries have donated to Eblen-Kimmel as a show of support to a charity that should not be forced into hardship because of Wicked Weed's decision. The Funk Collective event will be another way to help that group.

Birds Fly South's Ames Webb released the following statement on the event:

“This gathering of funky brewers isn’t a statement on the WW decision. All of the good in the craft community should be highlighted. We founded the Funk Collective with Revelry Brewing Co. because the funk and sour community is strong and we need to continue to come together and celebrate it.”

The event will be held on July 7 and 8. Participating breweries and more information will be released later this week, and I will keep you apprised of the latest on this festival.

Video Review: Checking One Off the Bucket List (Pliny the Elder!!!)

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Well, the surprise is spoiled in the post title, but I don't care. I almost feel like this beer is far beyond my comprehension and ability, but my parents made a hell of an effort to get it from California to South Carolina, so I GUESS I'll have to drink it! Check out my unworthy thoughts on Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder!

Six-Pack of News, Volume 25: An Acquisition News-Free Edition!

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Man, it seems like that ABI/Wicked Weed news hit the fan a couple of weeks ago, and everyone else decided to stay the hell out of the news cycle for a while. I tried to do this news round-up about a week ago, and there was nothing but new releases out there. But, I was able to scrounge up some actual news, so let's get to it!

The Colorado Rockies baseball team celebrating their 25th season playing in Denver, the Denver Post documented how the Rockies, and especially the building of Coors Field, spurred the craft beer scene in Denver.

I admit, this piece from The Full Pint's co-founder is more opinion piece than news. But bookmark this list, and watch it for the next decade.

Portland, Maine's Shipyard Brewing Company is not happy with Columbia, Missouri's Logboat Brewing Company over the name of one of Logboat's beers.

Justin Kendall at Brewbound documents some the activities of the Massachusetts state alcohol task force, which is tasked with modernizing the state's alcohol laws and unwittingly playing referee between distributors and small craft brewers.

Brewbound (among others) is also reporting that New Belgium Brewing's longtime brewmaster Peter Bouckaert will be leaving New Belgium to work at a rebranding small-scale brewery and coffee producer in Fort Collins, Colorado (home of New Belgium).

Finally, in a Vinepair article that could have some NSFW-ish content in it, the English brewery Cerne Abbas is producing a Pilsner brewed with the aphrodisiac plant watercress. The beer's label contains at least one double entendre and, fair warning, cave drawing-style art of a man with a club and a significant erection. Frankly, you should all be proud of me for acting like such a grown-up in writing this summary.

 

Video Review: Beers of Summer, Part 1

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I was going to save this for tomorrow, but it's already made, so what the hell. Double post day!

Today, I give you the first part of the 3-4 part Beers of Summer series, which will continue into next week (with hopefully something special coming in this weekend's video review). Today, I check out year-round Witbier offerings from Ballast Point Brewing Company and Avery Brewing Company. Check them out!

Beers in Review: Twice In A Week!

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Sidecar Orange Pale Ale has been part of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's line-up for a few years now, since SN started expanding beyond their signature pale ale. To live up to its name, Sierra Nevada uses Mandarina hops as well as orange peel in the brewing process. The result is a bold orange-colored beer that has 5.3% ABV and 35 IBU. Flavors include plenty of orange and orange rind, and maybe a bit of grapefruit, along with a good amount of hop bite towards the back of the drinking experience and pushing into the aftertaste. There were also some hints of pine and hop candy, with a very slight juiciness in the mouthfeel. I found this pale ale to be pretty decent overall, though I feel like previous years' versions were more memorable, and perhaps had more orange?

Next up is Savannah, Georgia's Southbound Brewing Company. I found their Scattered Sun Witbier to be a fairly standard, well-executed beer. It pours a slightly hazy yellow-gold color. Coming in at 5.2% ABV and 15 IBU, this Belgian Wit brings lots of flavor, with flavor notes that include a bunch of orange and other citrus in the front half, along with banana, cloves, all spice and other spices, and just a bit of banana. Scattered Sun checks off all the boxes for a Witbier, and I found it to be really tasty!

Video Review: So Malty. So Good.

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My return to normal content continues with today's video review! Last week, I bought a full six-pack of one beer for the first time in a long time. While I wanted to make sure it was something I could review, I also wanted something for around the house--high quality but fairly easy-drinking. Nothing too taxing or overbearing. I came up Thomas Creek Brewery's Appalachian Amber Ale. Check out my thoughts!

Beers in Review: Triple Play

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With my seemingly endless blog posts about Wicked Weed and AB-InBev, I seem to have pushed nearly everything else aside. But now, the big news has passed, and we can start getting back to normal. My BiR list is so backed-up that today I will bring you not two, but THREE entries! Let's dive in!

First up is a collaboration between Charlotte's Unknown Brewing Company and Greenville, SC's Birds Fly South Ale Project. 10-Minute Vacation is a lager (4.3% ABV) flavored with Muscadine grapes and dry-hopped with Mosaic and Equinox hops. The pale yellow lager with a light-to-medium body brings a mild sweetness coming from the grapes that ramps up as the lager warms. The grapes and the sweetness from them really serve to smooth out a great deal of what would be pretty considerable grainy notes and hop bite. Both of these things do still exist, but are knocked down in intensity, with the grains being found earlier in the drinking experience, while the hop bite comes through at the very end.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is famous for its 60-, 90-, and 120-minute IPAs, and makes a number of other quality brews, but Raison D'Extra is something else. A ramped-up version of their Raison D'Etre Belgian-style Dark Ale, D'Extra comes in at a massive 16-18% ABV! I had the opportunity to try the 2014 version recently, and the booze notes, while present, are surprisingly downplayed in a mid-teens ABV beer. Pouring a cloudy icea tea color, D'Extra is dominated by raisins, cherries, plums, and other dark fruits. There is a fair amount of sweetness, along with some tobacco notes, and some other spiciness (perhaps cinnamon?). I got a small sample (4 oz.) of this beer, and it was really good, but I wouldn't want too much more than that sample glass. I could see it becoming overwhelming.

Finally, I went back to one of my old favorites, Highland Brewing Company, and St. Terese's Pale Ale. It pours a clear golden color, has a medium-to-heavy body, and comes in at 5.1% ABV. Lots of different hop flavor notes are present in this Pale Ale, including lots of citrus, some grassy or leafy notes, and a bit of pine. There is also a slight sweetness and some bready malt notes, along with the slightest hop bite. I found this to be a really enjoyable pale ale, as I've come to expect from Highland.

AB-InBev Continues to Throw Its Weight Around

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I swear, I don't want to be this guy forever. But the wave's still going, so I'm riding it.

It's fair to say AB-InBev has had a mixed bag of press this past week or so. While the entire craft beer world is fairly pissed at them, the stock price seems to have spiked in reaction to the Wicked Weed acquisition. After all this, they decided their next step was to continue their bullying ways.

Paste Magazine has picked up on public comments from several independent craft brewers that among the assets ABI picked up in 2015's SAB-Miller acquisition were SAB-controlled hop farms in South Africa. South Africa is a unique and growing region for hops, and many of these hops were set to be sold to independent craft brewers, but ABI recently decided to pull them from the market and use them exclusively in their own High End brands to give them a distinct advantage.

Paste has all the breweries' comments and more, including a response from ABI, where they blame the pullback on low crop yields.

 

In non-ABI news, stay tuned tonight for a brand-new Beers in Review AND a new video review tomorrow!

Update Update: Wicked Weed Event NOT Dead, Feels Happy, Thinks It'll Go For a Walk

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On Sunday, I noted the mass exodus of breweries from Wicked Weed's Funkatorium Invitational, in response to WW's recent acquisition information. Well, WW is doing its best "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" impression, because the Invitation is not dead, but it will take a new form.

Earlier today, Wicked Weed released a statement saying the Invitational will continue in an "evolved" form that will take place in September. Roughly 55 breweries (including virtually all independent craft breweries) pulled out of the Invitational, originally scheduled for July. Is Wicked Weed hoping some time will heal wounds and bring some of the exiting breweries back into the fold? Or will Wicked Weed truly be able to "evolve" this event into something else--something that will not need the participation of non-Big Beer brewers?

Update: Could Wicked Weed's Funkatorium Invitational Be Dying? Or Dead?

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Talk about the story that just won't die.

As I documented on May 4th, a casualty of Wicked Weed's acquisition news could have been their upcoming Funkatorium Invitational this July. It appears that this event is, indeed, dying. In the day after Wednesday's acquisition news, a slow trickle of breweries announced their intentions to withdraw from the Invitational, including South Carolina's Birds Fly South Ale Project. Later that Thursday the trickle of exiting breweries turned into a river, and word is over 50 breweries have pulled out of the event. Porch Drinking has a comprehensive list of breweries that have withdrawn.

By some people's estimations, only 13 legitimate craft breweries remain committed to (or at least haven't yet pulled out of) the event. There are a handful of additional breweries still committed, all of which are owned by larger corporations, including a couple of Wicked Weed's new ABI brothers. All told, just 19 of about 70 original breweries remain a part of the event. It is worth noting that Wicked Weed reiterated its commitment to the event on Thursday, but have not commented further after the wave of retractions.

More on this story as it develops.

Commentary: No, Heineken is NOT Anheuser-Busch

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Frankly, I had hoped to be well past the point of talking about acquisitions and buyouts and the like by this point in time. But the beer world had other ideas, as hot on the heels of Wednesday’s Wicked Weed news and fallout came word Thursday that Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Heineken B.V. purchased the remaining portion of California’s Lagunitas Brewing Company. Heineken now completely owns the brewery after purchasing a 50% stake in 2015. (Report courtesy Brewbound.) Of course, this immediately spurred reaction comparing this transaction with the Wicked Weed/A-B InBev acquisition news that had taken the beer world by storm the previous day. There is some fair sentiment about buying American-owned beers, if that’s what is important to a person. But it would be a blazing overreaction AND oversimplification to equally react to these two transactions.

It is important to keep in mind that Lagunitas is no novice of the craft beer world. They have spent nearly a quarter-century in the game, and are the 9th-largest brewery in the United States, according to The Brewers Association. While ABI has a couple of craft beer long-timers in their High End group, most notably original High Ender Goose Island, many of their acquisitions have been around for roughly a decade or less. Wicked Weed pushes this issue, having only been in business for about five years. In my view, the group at Lagunitas has put extreme levels of blood, sweat, and tears into their brewery, and it shows in the nationwide success of their brand. They obviously see major backing as a necessary next step for their goals, such as opening a European brewery, as mentioned in Lagunitas founder Tony Magee’s letter on the matter. After 24 years, I believe Lagunitas has earned the right to see where this next step takes them. Wicked Weed can make no such claim, having only been in the craft beer industry for a handful of years.

Additionally, unlike the Wicked Weed news, this is not an out-of-left-field partnership. As mentioned earlier, Heineken acquired the first half of Lagunitas in 2015, and instead of feared homogenization, Lagunitas has continued in their eccentric ways, releasing beers like Aunt Sally and The Waldo’s that ARE out of left field. The leaders of Lagunitas already know what to expect from their new bosses at Heineken, and vice versa, because the breweries have already been working together for nearly two years! Had there been any consternation about this partnership, it likely would have shown itself by now, and the next step of this purchase would not have happened.

Finally, quite simply, Heineken IS NOT ABI! When I look at Budweiser, I don’t really see Elysian, Goose Island, or now Wicked Weed all that much. I see the pale lager-led bullies that use their immense financial resources to turn state laws in their favor and bribe their way into more and more shelf space at your local supermarket. While I may not be a big fan of Heineken beer, it IS a major global brand, having their claws in major world entities like Formula 1 racing and UEFA Champions League football (soccer), as well as partnering with major media opportunities. But their non-Lagunitas beer portfolio consists of all international brands (Amstel, Tecate, and more) that, while adequately-represented in the United States, have not assimilated the beer industry like ABI has. That makes the Lagunitas news much easier for me to swallow.

Read the full press release on the news here.

South Carolina-based Brewery (Among Others) Pulls Out of Wicked Weed Event (UPDATED with additional commentary)

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UPDATE, 9:13PM: In addition to everything below, I would also like to add the following article from the Craft Beer Joe blog. He does a nice job taking on this issue from many different sides.

One of the potentially significant casualties in this Wicked Weed acquisition by ABI is an upcoming Wicked Weed event called the Funkatorium Invitational. To be held this July, the Invitational was an opportunity for brewers from across the country to come together and celebrate one of Wicked Weed's biggest successes: the development of the sour beer.

In light of yesterday's news, outlets are reporting that at least a dozen of the 70 breweries scheduled to appear at this event have now pulled out. Despite the setbacks, which may continue in the coming days, Wicked Weed remains committed to the event, but is offering refunds to those who desire them.

Among the pullouts is the Greenville, South Carolina-based Birds Fly South Ale Project. As a South Carolina-based blogger, I was eager to hear their plans on the Invitational specifically, as well as their thoughts on the matter as a whole. I reached out yesterday, and this afternoon, BFS's Ames Webb responded to me with their public statement, which is now available on their website:

“In the southeast and across the nation small breweries face significant limitations and challenges because of the economic and legislative efforts put forth by large breweries and distributors. These initiatives create an environment that stagnates innovation, collaboration, and creativity. Smaller operations constantly must find ways to work within these damaging state-level policies, and the results are a severe limitation in financial, cultural, and quality-of-product growth.
At the beginning of this Birds Fly South journey we want to take the culture lessons that have been passed down from our craft brewery friends and mentors to establish an identity our Greenville community and our BFS Flock can be proud of for years to come.
As such, Birds Fly South has decided to withdraw our scheduled participation in the upcoming Wicked Weed festival. This decision is not related to the individuals who work in the extensive Wicked Weed family, and does not come without our entire team involved. We are all trying to make the best choices for ourselves and our families. We understand this is a business decision for Wicked Weed, however we simply cannot participate with the direct lobby group that is influencing SC laws that in turn negatively impact our closest friends.
Our choice is to stand strong in unison with small independent craft breweries. To us this means focusing on what we need to do locally in support of smaller, independent brewers. The concepts and spirit of this craft beer fellowship are the foundation of who we are: an alliance of talented makers, united in our passions, ethics, and practices.”

BFS makes an excellent point about ABI's actions that "negatively impact our closest friends". ABI won't only utilize their lobbying resources on state lawmakers all across this country, they use their significant financial resources to strong arm their way into more and more shelf space in grocery stores, gas stations, distributors, and more, ALL at the expense of independent craft brewers and their (in some areas) dwindling commercial footprint. I also love use of the word "fellowship" in the final paragraph.

Anyway, my personal thanks to Birds Fly South for their cooperation. I will post more on this ongoing story as needed.

More Wicked Weed fallout (UPDATED)

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First off, if you are interested, here is the press release straight-up. It was included in Brewbound's article I posted earlier today, but the above presents the release without comment, editorializing, or further information.

One thing I failed to note in my video was the fact that about a week ago, Wicked Weed announced on Facebook that their brewpub would be closed today until 5pm for "staff training". No word on whether this covered the Funkatorium as well, or if this announcement was anticipated and the training was related. But it sure feels that way.

Ben Dofflemyer at the Asheville Blog makes a very good point about the likely all-along intentions of Wicked Weed's investors, and covers some of the local and state craft beer industry reaction to Wicked Weed's decision.

Ben's post notes Jester King Brewery's decision to no longer offer Wicked Weed beers at their Austin, Texas tasting room. Here is a full statement on the matter as a whole from Jester King. It's also worth noting that Jester King has pulled out of Wicked Weed's Funkatorium Invitational event, currently scheduled for July 8th. It will be interesting to see if other breweries follow suit. As a South Carolina-based blogger, I have reached out to Greenville, SC's Birds Fly South Ale Project for comment on the matter. I believe they are the only brewery on the invitation list. I will update if I get a response.

WRAL's article includes a statement from the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild.

Huntington Beach, California's Beechwood BBQ & Brewing documents the recent time when they inadvertently did an interview for The High End's (A-B InBev's "craft" beer arm) new blogging venture, The Beer Necessities, how that venture shows the duplicitous nature of ABI and other megabeer corporations.

In the interest of some balance, because I admit I've fallen pretty hard on one side of this issue right now, is an Uproxx article from last week (published in response to BrewDog's receipt of capital from Pabst Blue Ribbon's parent company) about the pros and cons of "selling out".

Finally tonight, Chris Furnari at Brewbound has much more on this deal, including comments from Wicked Weed's group and the President of A-B's High End group.

If there is more reporting later in the week, I will make additional blog posts.

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It has been a hell of a day. In over 1 1/2 years of beer blogging, it's easily been my busiest, most prolific day--and this was supposed to be a day off from work! I won't say it was fun--frankly, for me personally, the news was highly disappointing. But I loved the engagement on Twitter and Facebook throughout the day. My great thanks for all of that engagement, AND to everyone who has checked out the website and the livestream video. We should all do this again sometime. Just for a less-crappy reason.