BREAKING: Wicked Weed to be Bought by Anheuser-Busch

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BREAKING NEWS--Asheville, North Carolina's exciting and innovative Wicked Weed Brewery has announced that they will be becoming a part of the High End, Anheuser-Busch's group of assimilated former craft breweries that have tried to utilize A-B InBev's massive resources to improve and increase their beer production, to mixed (at best) results. Wicked Weed has 4 production and taproom facilities in Asheville, including the Funkatorium, the East Coast's only taproom and production facility dedicated to sour beers and similar styles. Many news services are reporting on this story, including Brewbound, who has the official press release and more coverage.

I will have more details and commentary on this story later today.

Six-Pack of News, Volume 24: Want a Corona with your Taco Burrito?

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Above is the clean title of this post. The dirty title involves slug sex. You're welcome.

In what should come as little surprise, given their massive population, China is set to become the world's largest craft beer-consuming country, according to trade research group Drink Sector. Already the world's largest consumer of alcohol overall, now Chinese citizens are demanding more offerings from small- and medium-scale breweries, including craft breweries IN China. (China Topix)

Between it serving as the capital of Florida AND as home to a major university (Florida State), it should come as no surprise that Tallahassee, Florida has become a burgeoning craft beer destination. The Tallahassee Democrat has more.

The folks at craftbeer.com love their lists, apparently. Here, I thought the VinePair staff were the only list freaks. Anyway, craftbeer.com offers a list of 7 easy-drinking dark lagers that help craft beer novices get started down the path of enjoying such beers. Additionally, they have also compiled a list of the top upcoming craft beer festivals in 2017. The list spans the country and includes many of the top craft beer festivals like GABF and locales like Asheville, NC and more.

canoe.com and The Canadian Press are reporting that Taco Bell's flagship store in Toronto, Ontario will start selling beer and wine this June. Additional Canadian stores will follow in the offerings and join select American stores in these offerings, which was news to me.

In Brewbound's recent news round-up, they note the on-going the craft beer industry's constant battle to modernize and adapt states' liquor laws to be more craft brewery-friendly. They specifically note issues in the states of Maryland and North Carolina.

Finally, I think it is generally accepted that alcohol tends to make humans more susceptible to sexy times. For a specific type of Spanish slug, not so much. Researchers in Europe are concerned over the spreading and mutation of the Arion vulgaris giant slug throughout the United Kingdom, and have recommended leaving out saucers of beer, which attract the slugs and cause them to drown. So, you know. There's that.

Beers in Review: 22 Days

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No more excuses. Let's get to it.

Leading off is arguably the most widely available craft beer in America. Magic Hat #9 is so iconic to Vermont's Magic Hat Brewing Company that it even gets its own heading on the Magic Hat website, separate from the rest of their "elixirs". #9 is seemingly available EVERYWHERE, yet I've never reviewed the flagship. Let's change that now.

Despite Magic Hat's seeming eccentricities, #9 seems to be designed to be accessible to everyone. Perhaps that's what makes the rest of the portfolio possible. This "not quite pale ale" pours a perfectly clear amber color and registers at 5.1% ABV and 20 IBU. A fairly mild beer in most aspects, the flavor notes include apricot and some peach along with hints of graininess and spiciness. Really, it quite simply tastes like beer, which, if you've read or watched previous reviews, you will know that is not something I say as a criticism. The beer has a light body with a fairly clean and dry finish. This is a fairly basic beer, overall, but it is quite drinkable. Obviously, many other beers are going to blow #9 away, but it is a solid beer that can be found most everywhere. That's not a bad thing.

From the eccentric megabrewers at Magic Hat to some similarly eccentric crafters based out of Louisville, Kentucky. Against the Grain Brewery (and Smokehouse) immediately break the mold by offering uniquely-named and uniquely-styled beers, with all of their non-kegged beer being served in 16-ounce cans with art that looks like it was done by the Bob's Burgers people. Clearly Everybody Wants Some is a pale lager that pours a hazy golden wheat color and comes in at 6% ABV.  I found the beer to balance pretty well, with mild hop notes blending with a mild maltiness. Sporting a light-to-medium body, the flavor profile also includes some mild grain and wheat notes, along with a bit of lemon. Now, here's the thing. I'm mentioning a whole of "light" and "mild" qualities to this beer, but AtG did a terrific job of making the whole add up to far more than the sum of the parts. This beer is, dare I say, surprisingly very good. You will see the words "pale lager" on this beer's label, but it plays much closer to a top-flight American-style wheat beer. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Video Review: An IPA That's Right Up My Alley

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Hello, friends. It's been a while. I get into the "why" in the video, but needless to say, I will try to keep the multi-day gaps between content to a minimum. Additionally, I remain committed to three videos per week, which means THIS is the first of three reviews between now and Sunday!

Today, I check out an IPA from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery that should be in my wheelhouse! Find out whether or not it was here:

Six-Pack of News, Volume 23: Taking "Sights and Sounds of the Game" Too Far?

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I can appreciate a beer specially made for a specific team or ballpark/stadium, but Terrapin might be taking it just a hair too far. They've set-up a small pilot brewery at the Atlanta Braves unnecessary new stadium, SunTrust Park, which will celebrate its inaugural Opening Day this coming weekend. Beer Street Journal reports that among the featured offerings at the new Terrapin Taproom and ATL Brew Lab will be Chopsecutioner, a unique variant of their flagship Hopsecutioner IPA with two notable differences: a lower ABV (Chopsecutioner checks in at 5% vs. 7.3%), and the AGING ON MIZUNO WOOD BAT CHIPS. This baseball-themed and woodbat-infused IPA will only be available at SunTrust Park.

The folks at Vinepair sure like their lists, and today is no exception, as they recently released their 14 Best Brewery Tours in the United States. It's generally larger/better-known craft entities, but just about everyone on this list has different tour types to satisfy everyone from the casual beer drinking to the most devout craft beer connoisseur.

As has been documented on this blog, financials from the craft beer industry have been a bit of a mixed bag in 2016, and Brewbound as a series of articles continuing to affirm the volatile state of the industry. First up is a round-up of layoffs, closings, and more at a handful of craft breweries. At the same time, Constellation Brands reported a 17 percent increase in revenues from its beer portfolio, which includes Mexican imports Corona and Modelo, along with San Diego's Ballast Point. Additionally, the Brewers Association trade group reported a 4.4% overall increase in American craft beer exports, totaling over 400,000 barrels of beer with a value of $121 million. This increase is driven by double-digit increases in exports to Japan and the Asia/Pacific region in general.

Finally, the website The Drinks Business has documented the analysis of three 100-year old bottles of beer found in a brewery in Záhlinice in the Czech Republic. Sensory and chemical tests were performed on all three bottles, to wide-ranging results.

Beers in Review: Welcome to the Party, Goodwood!

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Making their PRB debut is Louisville, Kentucky's Goodwood Beer and their Walnut Brown Ale! The Goodwood website lists the Walnut Ale at 6% ABV and 23 IBU--the local watering hole where I had this beer listed a slightly high ABV. As an aside, the Goodwood website really brings something neat to the website game by showing where on the tongue one should experience various flavors pertaining to each of their beers! Good show, Goodwood! The beer pours a deep, dark chocolate brown and has a medium body. I found this brown ale to be well-executed, with expected nutty and malty flavor notes, along with an initial very slight sweetness. This sweetness tended to go away through the drinking experience, as I detected a subtle unsweetened chocolate note at the very end of the drinking experience. There was also a little bit of a cola note, too--mostly early on, with that slight bit of sweetness. Since I had this Walnut Brown a couple of weeks ago, Goodwood's been creeping up on my radar more and more, even seeing it reviewed by some of my fellow beer bloggers and BeerTubers. I found this brown to be a very good start for Goodwood, and I look forward to checking out some of their other offerings.

Next up is Shakedown Street, a "dry-hopped tart Saison" (their description) from Southbound Brewing Company in Savannah, Georgia. At 5.2% ABV and 35 IBU, this Saison pours a hazy gold-peach color. It brings lots of funk at the front of the drinking experience. I also picked up citrusy lemon notes along with lemon and grapefruit rinds. A good amount of pepper is also present, and I also found a little bit of a white wine note towards the end of the drinking experience as it warmed up. Really solid stuff from Southbound. One of the more enjoyable Saisons I've had in a little while.

Beers in Review: Milking River Rat's 3rd Birthday!

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Happy April, everyone! Today's review post on River Rat Brewery's 3rd Birthday Party will tend to focus more on River Rat's core beers and lighter offerings, compared to Wednesday's post, which had several of River Rat's higher gravity and higher ABV beers.

In case you missed Wednesday's set of Beers in Review, you can find that post here. In addition, if you missed the event recap video, you can find it here!

In the recap, I gave a review of the 2016 edition of the Moncks Corner Abbey Dubbel Ale. Immediately after, I had the 2015 version of the Abbey Ale. It pours a bronze-to-orange color, is listed at 7.2% ABV, though this aged version seemed heartier than that, as I detected a ramped-up boozy note and boozy sweetness compared to the 2016. I also got a lot more dark fruit sweetness, especially raisin, and these combined with the Belgian candy and some sweet malty notes to give a feeling of fruitcake to the Abbey Ale.

With that Abbey Ale, I  took a hard left turn to their core 803 IPA. Also fairly high in ABV (7.3%), this light gold-colored beer brings plenty of grassy and especially piney hop notes that combine with a mildly sweet note. There is also a little bit of orange and orange rind in there. This IPA had a medium-light body, and the prickly carbonation stood out in the mouthfeel.

I started ramping down a bit with a few fruitier beers, starting with the Pineapple Pale Ale, which poured a very light gold color, and was very easy drinking, especially considering my palate was nearing the end of its usefulness. This pale ale had very nice pineapple notes with no sourness or acidity and very little sweetness. Overall, it tended to be more on the mild side, and in a normal drinking environment, I might want more out of this. But given the situation, I was fine with a milder beer.

Finally, I tried the Blackberry Saison, which was a hazy, ruddy gold color. This Saison featured plenty of funk aroma, which carried into the taste. There were also some pepper notes and a little bit of berry, as well. Frankly, at this point, my palate was starting to tap out, so I might want to give this one another go, if River Rat ever offers it again.

I also had the Twisted Lemon Wheat, but my palate wasn't up to giving impressions on it.

So, that wraps it up. I gave River Rat plenty of love in the event recap, so I'll just say it was awesome to have so many, and such a varied selection, of River Rat beers. This included a number of their offerings that I hadn't tried before. A very good event by River Rat.

Beers in Review: Notables from River Rat's 3rd Birthday

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A couple of weeks ago, I covered the 3rd Birthday Party for River Rat Brewery here in Columbia. If you missed it, you can find that video about the entire event here.  I have a whole lot of beers from that event to review, so you will be seeing them over a couple of BiR entries this week. For a few reasons (all same brewery, 5 beers per review instead of 2-3, etc.), the individual beer reviews will be slightly shorter than normal.  But River Rat had a number of special and rare beers to go with their excellent core line-up, so let's check them out!

I started off with the Sour Cherry Sucker Punch, and I told the full story of why in the video, but basically, don't let the word "Sour" fool you. This is a massive beer! It brings every bit of 12% ABV to the party, along with subtle cherry notes and a very mild sourness. Pouring a pretty reddish-copper color, Sucker Punch carries both a fruity sweetness as well as the expected boozy sweetness. If you can handle the alcohol it brings to the table, Sucker Punch can be highly enjoyable.

Next up was the 2016 edition of their Winter Warmer, which wasn't awful, but was easily my least favorite beer for the whole day. I think a fair amount of that can be owed to my mild aversion to the spicy seasonal beers that dominate the fall and winter months. Pouring a deep-brown ruby color, and clocking in at just 6% ABV, Winter Warmer brings cinnamon and a few other spices of the season, with the overall taste reminding me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (which is funny, since I believe they also have a beer that mirrors that cereal). It's mildly sweet, and really was fairly mild overall. I think a bit of a bolder beer could have been in order. Especially something intended for colder winter months.

Last year, River Rat collaborated with Tampa, Florida's Cigar City Brewing for an Imperial Stout (what I've now discovered they're calling a "Sweet Potato Pie Imperial Stout) called And I Shut My Mouth. A boozy sweetness dominates the flavor profile, which is not too surprising, given the reported 9.6% ABV (courtesy Beer Advocate) and the relatively mild-in-flavor nature of the supposed feature ingredient. While I wasn't looking for it at the time, I can't recall finding much of a sweet potato note in the beer. It did have some cocoa notes, along with maybe a bit of cola. Overall, I found it to be a tasty beer.

My last full entry for this review is the Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout. This Milk Stout was aged in bourbon barrels for six months before release earlier this year. Also sporting a massive 12% ABV, this stout pours a very dark cola color--it was very nearly see-through, but just too dark to get there. Between the barrel treatment and the style, this had a terrific mouthfeel, just absolutely smooth. It featured chocolate and overall sweet notes, along with a surprisingly low boozy feeling, considering the ABV. Another really nice offering. I do feel I should note that subsequently had their core stout, called My Morning Stout, but only got a few minor notes--cola, smokiness--likely due to the beer that had proceeded it. This was an error on my part.

After pushing through a fairly powerful line-up of beers, I took a bit of a palate break before moving more towards River Rat's core beers and lighter beers. You can read all about them this weekend. See you then!