PRB Video: River Rat Brewery's 3rd Birthday Party!

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As promised, I am glad to bring you a recap and some highlights from the 3rd birthday party of River Rat Brewery here in Columbia!

Before we get to the video, I must apologize for the two cardinal sins I committed in this video. The first is a production sin: filming vertically with my phone. I think this is the first live event for which I've actually done video, so I am learning, and will not make this mistake again. Promise. The second mistake is about midway through the video, when I refer to a beer as a "double" instead of a Dubbel. My bad.

As mentioned in the video, I tried many River Rat beers at the event, and they will be making their way to some Beers in Review posts in the not-too-distant future!

Enjoy the video! (You better--it was a pain in the butt to make!)

Details of PRB Coverage of River Rat Brewery's 3rd Birthday

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As previously mentioned, Columbia's River Rat Brewery will be celebrating their 3rd birthday tomorrow. I will be covering the festivities for PRB, as well as checking out several of the notable beers River Rat will have on tap for the celebration. Here's how you can find out all about it:

-I will be livetweeting the event on the PRB Twitter feed.

-I will be posting the beers I try live on the Untappd app, also available via PC.

-Either Sunday's or Tuesday's video will be dedicated to coverage of the event.

-Beers from the event will be included in Beers in Review posts over the next couple of weeks.

-Videos from the event will be posted, available for Patrons via Patreon.

I hope to see some of you at River Rat tomorrow! Cheers!

Video Review: Catching Up With Everyone Else

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In today's video review, I check out the much-reviewed Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Tropical Torpedo. It seems like every BeerTuber on the planet checked this beer out during my personal Booze-Free February, so I finally get caught up with everyone else. Check out my thoughts on the beer, as well as notes on upcoming goings-on here at PRB.

Six-Pack of News, Volume 21: Bud Light Weighing Heavily on A-B InBev

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It really seems like a lot of the "news" on the various beer news sites right now is nothing more than glorified or enhanced press releases for breweries' various new or returning offerings. I want to stay away from that in these news aggregation posts, as it is an easy out that can lead to ignorance of REAL beer news. Maybe beer release posts could become their own thing in the future. We'll see. Anyway, let's get to the beer news!

In one of the early Six-Packs of News, I noted Stone Brewery's efforts to build a hotel that is set to open in 2018. Well, Scottish brewers BrewDog have expanded their plans to open a brewery Columbus, Ohio to include a crowdfunding campaign to open up a beer hotel with ALL of the beer amenities. Craftbeer.com has all the awesome details, which includes IPA hot tubs and the ultimate shower beer set-up!

Also from craftbeer.com, a major newspaper printing error calls the indy cred of Maui Brewing Company in to question.

The folks at Vinepair sure like their lists, and today is no exception, as they help out the craft beer novices and neophytes of the world with the 7-Step Method to Tasting Beer.

Bryan Roth at Good Beer Hunting recently published an excellent profile on Asheville, North Carolina's Highland Brewing Company.

Intermittently in these Six-Packs, we've discussed financials from various breweries, as well from the craft beer segment of the beer industry AND the beer industry as a whole. Well, A-B InBev reported their 4th quarter and fiscal year 2016 numbers, and reported "mid-single digit" declines in Budweiser and Bud Light sales. Despite this, Budweiser as a core brand did increase global revenue by just under 3%, and other brands like Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra, and the High End beer group reported strong growth. Brewbound has all the details.

Finally, in local news, Columbia's own River Rat Brewery will be celebrating its 3rd birthday THIS SATURDAY! Congratulations, River Rat! I plan on checking out their birthday party and covering it for the website, so stay tuned this weekend and next week! (Free Times)

 

Beers in Review: Back to a Threesome

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I'm going back to doing three beers in this review, mostly because I had a really good beer today that I want to share. That will be the last one up.

But first up, a couple from the weekend. First up is an offering from one of A-B InBev's latest High End acquisitions, Virginia's Devils Backbone Brewing Company. Their core IPA, Eight Point IPA, clocks in a 6.2% ABV and 70 IBU. The particular watering hole where I had this beer was pretty dimly lit, so I called it a "roughly gold" color,but your actual mileage may vary. I also noted a highly carbonated mouthfeel. Overall, the flavor profile brought varied flavors to the tasting experience, but all were mild to medium in intensity, with no one flavor standing out or overpowering the others. I got a little bit of citrus, mild to moderate pine notes, some sweetness in the front half of the tasting experience, and a moderate (constant, but not overpowering) hop bite that carried into the aftertaste. This hop bite, really, was the most prominent flavor note of them all, so I wasn't a big fan of that. A decent, drinkable, if unremarkable, IPA.

Next up is the final beer from the Shiner Family Reunion variety pack from Spoetzl Brewery near Austin, Texas. The Bohemian Black Lager poured like a very dark cola to near black color, with 4.9% ABV, 18 IBU, and a medium-to-heavy body. It's a fairly basic schwarzbier (black beer). I got toasty and roasty malt notes with a slight graininess at the start of the drinking experience, and a very slight grainy note throughout. I also noticed that the beer had a fairly high amount of carbonation, but was a quite smooth and gentle drinker. Basic but good enough.

Finally, from Alpine, California's Alpine Beer Company is their Session IPA, Hoppy Birthday. Coming in at 5.25% ABV and 69 IBU, this beer pours a crystal clear gold color. Six different hops are used in this Session IPA, resulting in a bit of pine and lots of grassy field notes. I think I also got some hop candy flavors, fueled by a mild sweetness throughout the tasting experience. I probably need to track down some hop candy, just to be sure. It had a dank aftertaste, and the mouthfeel brought some interesting carbonation. It was a prickly sensation in my mouth, almost to the point of being a tad rough. This was a very minor note, as the flavors of Hoppy Birthday were truly outstanding.

Video Review: Just Like Riding a Bicycle

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So, Booze-Free February has ended for me. It went fine. Honest.

But it's March 1st, which means I'm back on the review scene! And I lead off with a collaboration between Against the Grain in Louisville, Kentucky and Magic Rock Brewing out of the United Kingdom. Now, my palate needs to get used to beer again, and re-calibrate a bit, but I think I got the gist of this beer out. Check out my thoughts on Shades of Grey here:

 

I will be back tomorrow, with ANOTHER video review, getting me back on my normal thrice-weekly schedule! See you then!

Beers in Review: From the Big Boys of Craft Beer

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Today's BiR offerings will come from two of the most widely available craft breweries: New Belgium Brewing Company and Boston Beer Company (aka Samuel Adams).

We lead off with New Belgium's Citradelic Tangerine IPA, which comes in at 6% ABV and 50 IBU. The name says it all, as Citradelic brings the fruit through the use of Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, Galaxy, and Azacca (along with a half-dozen other varietals) hops and tangerine peel to infuse orange, orange candy, and grapefruit notes into this IPA. I personally also got a significant amount of grassy hop notes, along with just a hint of pine. The IPA pours a crystal clear orange-gold color, and I also found a mildly juicy mouthfeel and a medium-heavy body within this beer. This is quite the nice citrusy, fruity IPA. If that is up your alley, find this Citradelic IPA.

Next up is Sam Adams' Hopscape, which was, unfortunately, the substitute for the kicked keg of Bell's Hopslam. But such is the curse of supply and demand. Officially deemed a wheat ale, Hopscape pours a moderately hazy yellow-gold color, and comes it 5.5% ABV and 30 IBU. It's the Sam Adams winter seasonal, but to me it plays more like a spring beer. I got a whole bunch of prominent grassy and wild/dandelion green notes. I got less of pine, citrus, and a little bit of funk. It was a decent beer, and fairly good for Sam Adams. I could have used more of the lesser notes to make a little more complex ale.

 

 

Six-Pack of News, Volume 20: It Only FEELS Like 5 Months Between Six-Packs

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Boy, I've been hitting all kinds of milestones recently. One year of video blogging AND 100 videos. 400 different beers reviewed. And now, a whopping 20 news round-ups! Just since May! AMAZING!

 

 

...let's get to it.

In what I imagine is a bi-weekly question for this city, the Asheville, NC Citizen-Times asks whether their fair city has too many breweries.

The folks at Vinepair sure like their lists, but in this news round-up, I would like to direct you to a map of the highest-rated brewery in each country, per the Untappd mobile app (find me @pourlyreviewedbeer!). Thankfully, the United States is repping itself well by having The Alchemist be our top-rated brewery!

Headlining a Brewbound news round-up of its own (and as mentioned on this week's "This Week in Beer" webcast!), Amazon plans to sell beer and wine at its super high-tech brick-and-mortar convenience store in Seattle called Amazon Go. This round-up also includes news on the possible U.S. return of the classic alcoholic beverage of the 1990s, Zima. So, we also have that going for us...

Brewbound also has news and the press release on the trade group The Brewers Association's election of a new board of directors for 2017. The press release also notes that there are now over 5200 "small and independent craft brewers" in the United States.

I note the updated brewery number, because All About Beer magazine recently reported on the extended waits brewers now face in getting their operating permits. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) says breweries now wait an average of 166 days, over 5 months, to receive their operating permits, as of September 2016. This is a 28.6% increase in wait time from the previous year, and more than double the wait time in 2013.

Finally, the team at craftbeer.com has details on the new brewery and expansion plans for Russian River Brewing Company, makers of the Pliny pair of beers, among many others. Construction will begin in April with a target completion of late 2018.

 

 

Beers in Review: In Which I Am Pleasantly Delighted

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We'll talk about this mini-commentary thing momentarily. First, the beer reviews!

The Beer Camp collaboration series has turned into an ever-growing hit for the long-time craft beer artists at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and they’ve bridged the gap between the 2016 and 2017 Beer Camp variety packs with this Golden IPA, which uses wheat malt and experimental hops to put a spin on what turned into Sierra Nevada’s Spring seasonal. This IPA pours a clear yellow-straw color and is 6.5 ABV while rating 50 IBU. Dominant grassy aromas push into the initial flavor impressions, which include wild field grass and dandelion greens. Pushing deeper, I got a mild sweetness and a barely-perceptible hop bite, along with a slight hint of a grainy note. Sierra Nevada (and friends) knock another hoppy beer out of the park.

Next up is, frankly, an unexpected treat, the Gose from Asheville, North Carolina’s Hi-Wire Brewing. Like so many in this style, this Gose rates low in ABV (4.2%) and IBU (a mere 5), while pouring a hazy straw color. Hi-Wire utilizes Pink Himalayan salt here, and the salty flavor does differ greatly from the types of salt that one would expect to be used in such a Gose., though I admit I struggled to describe HOW, exactly, the flavor differs. It was an interesting flavor sensation, though, that blended lemons, coriander, and a few other spices that all united for a nicely balanced flavor profile where no one item, not even the unique salt, overwhelmed the others. Somewhat surprisingly, I found this to be an excellent execution of the Gose style, and leads me to perhaps give Hi-Wire more consideration. Frankly, I don’t have a good reason for my typical bypassing of this brewery. It just sort of happens. But it will not anymore. A really terrific entry from Hi-Wire!

Now, regarding last night's hoped-for video commentary and plans for March--the interweb gods were just not smiling on me. I am going to record and bank the video for posting hopefully tomorrow, otherwise later this week. The release of the next video review will depend on THAT video's release, as well as the whims of the interweb gods.

Regardless, I will see you all soon! Cheers!

Video Review: An Entry from Yards

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Greetings, all. It's been a few days. I now bring you a review of Yards Brewing Company's very good IPA. Check it out!

 

As a programming note, if my internet decides to work with me, I might do a YouTube live stream around 8pm Eastern for a little while. I have a brief commentary I want to discuss, and I will talk about the next things up for PRB after the alcohol-free month of February concludes. Keep an eye on www.twitter.com/pourlyreviewed for info on whether this will be happening or not!

Beers in Review: Completely non-Valentine's Edition, Honest

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No lovey-dovey beers here! Except in the ordinary "loving beer" type of way. Let's get right to it!

Some time ago, Ballast Point Brewing Company aimed to create “medium-bodied” stout at their pilot brewery. The result was The Commodore American Stout, which contains 6.5% ABV and rates 62 IBU. This year-round stout pours pretty close to black, as expected, though I would probably define it as being “light-bodied”, not the medium Ballast Point claims. Perhaps that is simply picking nits, as there is no question the brewers hit their target on what certainly is a lighter-bodied stout. Flavor notes include some mild spices and bittersweet chocolate, along with a moderate coffee note—fairly standard stout offerings. There is also a fairly strong smoky note, and smoky notes tend to be a turnoff for me. They work in this beer, which is quite tasty overall, with no flavor note (including that smoke) overwhelming the rest of the stout.

I can’t quite tell if it’s global warming, or just the law of averages (the average winter high in Columbia, SC is in the low 60s Fahrenheit), but it’s felt like such a warm winter that it seems like we should abolish winter beers. Despite yet another bunch of days at or above 70 degrees, my next beer up is Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Winter Solstice Ale. The Winter Solstice comes in at 6.9% ABV and a mere 6 IBU. This take on the winter warmer style pours a nice reddish-copper color and brings hints of caramel and toffee. There are also considerable spice notes, which I believe I was interpreting as an iced tea flavor. The beer also brings a slight sweetness. Anderson Valley really brings it when it comes to the Summer and Winter Solstice ales. This is a tasty and terrific ale!