The Knack Factory has posted a short video on last week’s Sierra Nevada Beer Camp.
Category: Beer
Beer This Week
A new information service called Beer This Week (website, twitter) launched last Wednesday. The weekly email newsletter includes details on beer events, bottle releases, tap takeovers, and a complete list of beers on tap at local breweries.
If the first issue is anything to go by this is something local hop heads will definitely want to sign-up for.
Marshall Wharf Seaweed Brew
NPR has aired a report on Marshall Wharf’s brewing of Sea Belt, a beer that uses Maine sugar kelp as one of its key ingredients.
At Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. on the Belfast, Maine, waterfront, new beers begin their journey into draft lines and pint glasses inside two large tanks. Marshall Wharf has a reputation for making some unconventional beers — a stout with locally sourced oysters, for example, and a wheat-infused kolsch with jalapeno and habanero peppers. A few years ago, David Carlson, the brewing company’s owner, discovered a beer from Scotland, called Kelpie, made with seaweed.
“If there’s seaweed in Maine and it’s a good product,” he says, “why not try putting it in the beer?”
Del Ducato/Oxbow Beer Dinner
Piccolo will be holding a beer dinner on July 21st in collaboration with Oxbow and Italian brewer Birrificio Del Ducato. The 6-course dinner will feature beers from both brewers including a set of limited releases from Oxbow.
Del Ducato’s brewer, Giovanni Campari, will be attending the dinner. He’s visiting Maine to work with Oxbow on a collaboration beer.
The dinner is $100 per person, call Piccolo at 207-747-5307 for reservations.
Interview with Foundation Brewing
Epicurious has published an interview with Foundation Brewing.
“The biggest change,” he says, “is that something that was only a goal a short time ago is now a reality. You make plans, and when you really get into it, there’s a big difference.”
“How so?” I ask.
“We knew this intellectually,” John says, “but we really learned that when you are brewing, or doing some other task around the brewery, that you can’t leave until it’s done. So if it’s eight or nine at night, and you’re still in the middle of some process, you know you are staying late.”
Beertown USA
Draft magazine has paid a visit to Portland to explore our city’s rapidly evolving beer scene.
Bars like The Great Lost Bear and Novare Res have championed beer for years, and now there’s even more to root for: 13 [Maine] breweries launched in 2013 and a staggering 16 more will fling open their doors this year. Sense the excitement and convivial vibe in the city’s tasting rooms, and strike at the chance to taste East Coast Portland’s beer bounty.
The article highlights: Mama’s Crowbar, Rising Tide, Allagash, Bissell Brothers, Austin Street, Foundation Brewing, Salvage BBQ, Maine Beer Company, Pai Men Miyake, In’finiti, the Bier Cellar, Urban Farm Fermentory, and Central Provisions.
The article isn’t yet online but you should be able to find the July/August issue on newsstands soon.
Updated: the article is now online.
50 Best Breweries
Boston Magazine has published their list of the 50 Best New England Breweries. 15 of the 50 are in Maine.
Bissell Baby Genius
Boston Magazine reports that Bissell Brothers is working on a summer session beer called Baby Genius,
“So, we’re using all Australian hops with high alpha acids, which I’d never really used before Baby Genius. The hop bill is Ella, Galaxy, and Summer, which gives the beer a fruity, floral, melon-y profile. Australian hops are familiar enough without being alienating, but different enough to where it’s going to taste much different than other beers on the market.”
Beer Events: Pucker Up & Noshbow
Details on a couple of upcoming beer events:
- Sour beer fans take note, Pai Men Miyake is hosting a sour beer tap takeover this weekend called Pucker Up featuring beers from Petrus, Monks Cafe, Jolly Pumpkin, BFM, Loverbeer, Ritterguts, Troi Dames, Evil Twin, Allagash, Harviestoun, Off Color and Cantillon.
- Nosh and Oxbow are collaborating again this year to organize Noshbow—an all day block party on Oak Street. The 2nd annual Noshbow is scheduled to take place Sunday June 29. More details to follow, in the meantime check-out these photos from last year’s event.
Boston Globe: Bissell Brothers
The Boston Globe has published an article about Bissell Brothers.
Available in silver 16-ounce cans, The Substance is an aromatic IPA weighing in at 6.6 percent alcohol by volume. While the brew was intended to be the company’s flagship, cofounder Peter Bissell says he never intended to stick with one commercial release for so long. A batch consisting of 180 cases of the bitter, sticky brew typically sells out in two days.