The BR Beer Scene Year In Review

2010 is almost over folks... and that means I'm seeing 'year-end awards' and 'best of 2010' lists everywhere.  The Beer Buddha put out his "Beery Awards" for 2010.  Jay over at Bite And Booze recounted his 10 most memorable posts of the year.  Beernews.org released their top 10 craft beer stories of 2010, and I think it's a fantastic list of the most important craft beer stories.  They really did a good job with that one.  

For myself and the BR Beer Scene, 2010 was absolutely a great year... full of great beers, great travels, and great people.  I made another trip to Parish Brewery in Broussard, LA to taste even more of Andrew Godley's delicious creations.    I made several trips to the Avenue Pub in New Orleans with friends to various tastings and other beer events.  I was able to travel to places like Alaska, Seattle, and Gulf Shores and try the local beers and others I can't get in Baton Rouge. Tin Roof Brewery opened its doors in Baton Rouge, and all along the way I tasted and reviewed and wrote about scores of beers.  

I was planning on writing a post about my top 10 reviewed beers of 2010, but honestly, my new page on my favorite beers covers at least half of them, so that's kinda pointless.  I could talk about my favorite posts of the year, but really I just covered most of that in my paragraph above.  Instead, I'm going to look to the future of The BR Beer Scene and my beer journey, and make ten seven beer and blog resolutions for 2011.

Resolution #1:

Visit more breweries... let's make it at least 6 in 2011.  Some of these will be easy.  I'm way overdue for a trip back to the Parish Brewery, I'm sure I'll be checking in on the guys at Tin Roof, and who doesn't love a Spring weekend day spent drinking at Abita?  Saint Arnold is in some new digs over in Houston that I'd like to check out, but past that I'm going to have to go out of my way and find a few places to visit.  I'm up for the challenge though... bring it on!

Resolution #2:

Get published somewhere other than my own blog.  I can make this happen I'm sure... might not be anything major, but I can pull it off.

Resolution #3:

Keep home-brewing... Dustin Davis and I just started getting into it within the last month of 2010, and I want us to really put out some tasty and creative home-brews in 2011.  

Resolution #4:

Enter a home-brew contest.  This really goes hand in hand with #3, but by the end of the year I'd like us to be confident enough in a beer or two to see how it stacks up. I know our friends and family will enjoy our beer just about no matter what, but we'll need to know what our peers think.

Resolution #5:

Drink a beer stronger than I ever have before.  Right now the strongest beer I've tried and reviewed was Samichlaus at 14% abv.  I'm going to find one even bigger, there are plenty out there!

Resolution #6:

Continue to get in better shape and lose weight as I simultaneously continue to enjoy beer and write about it.  Since beer and diet don't go well together this is going to mostly mean more exercise, more running, and then enjoying beer maybe in a little more moderation.

Resolution #7:

There are 365 days in 2011... I think I should try 365 new beers.  This will be tough to work in with resolution #6, but I can do it.  I'm not going to be posting a review per day, probably more like 3 or 4 at a time with other posts mixed in about beer events, home-brewing, and maybe even how #6 is coming along.  I also might cheat a little and count a beer if I haven't had a chance to really review it and write about it the first time.  Or if I try new Parish beer that is an evolved recipe from what I've previously tasted.  At any rate, I'm looking forward to this... anyone want to join me?

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

-Eric

Gulf Shores / Orange Beach - Part 3

I'd be remiss if I didn't conclude the beer adventures of the Alabama Gulf Coast with two beers widely available at any place we went: Yuengling and Landshark lagers! 

Yuengling has a near legendary following in Baton Rouge and around the country, and I have to attribute this to nostalgia.  Or in the case of Baton Rouge, lack of availability.  As far as beers go, it's a middle of the range lager, certainly a step up from the Buds and Millers of the world but not a world-class brew.  

 

Yuengling is America's oldest brewery, originating in 1829 in Pottsville, PA, surviving prohibition, and has expanded to become one of America's largest breweries.  They now produce over 2 million barrels of beer annually among their several breweries, and maybe one day soon we'll see Yuengling in the Baton Rouge market?

Landshark Lager, a Jimmy Buffett creation, is without a doubt the flagship beer of the Alabama Gulf Coast, and with good reason.  The beer is "produced" by Margaritaville Brewing Company, which is actually just a marketing company.  The reality is that Landshark Lager is an Anheuser-Busch product cleverly marketed using the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville brand.  It's really a brilliant move, and the beer dominates the market in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  It doesn't hurt that it's branded as a beach beer, and Jimmy Buffett and his family is closely associated with the region.

 

As for the beer itself... eh... skip it.  Nothing more than a macro lager with hints of 'cerveza' and marketed as an 'Island Lager.'  Trust me, there's nothing special about it.

 

 

And that concludes the quick beer tour of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach... some definite highs when Jay and I found some fantastic beer unavailable in Baton Rouge, but as a whole this isn't a beer nerd's dream destination.  Not that there's anything wrong with hitting the beach with a margarita in hand!

Gulf Shores / Orange Beach - Part 2

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to hit up local beer & liquor stores and see what's available that I can't find in BR, or the semi-regular beer runs to Houston.  After breakfast Jay and I found one that was open in Gulf Shores, and decided to check out the selection.  

We knew we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend hanging out drinking at the suite, but still we figured a couple of six-packs was a good idea, right? 

Jay and I decided on some Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale, and Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  We had both tried another Tommyknocker beer the day before and enjoyed it, and I've been hearing great things about the Bell's Two Hearted for years.  

First for the Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale... I poured it from a 12 oz. bottle into a straight glass. Not ideal but it's the best option here! Has a cola appearance, small head but I'll give it some leeway.

I really like the smell. Delicious malt flavor and the alcohol is mild. The taste is good but a little thin on the mouth. Same malt flavors but nothing else happening. Again, can't pick up the high abv.

All in all I'm happy with this one. Definitely worth a try and better than the average nut brown ale.

 

My rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B

Now for the Bell's Two Hearted Ale!  Just like the Tommyknocker brew, I had to use a straight glass, as that was the best option at the condo in Gulf Shores. Next time I'm bringing my own glassware, especially when I have all sorts of room to pack stuff and I know I'll be looking to try some different brews. 

The beer poured a deep yellow color with a big fizzy head... definitely a good looking beer!  There is a great nose to it, full of mild hoppiness with a malt balance. The taste is more of the same blend of hops and malt. I really like the balance this beer displays and would recommend it whole heartedly to anyone trying to get into hoppy beers.

If anything, it reminded me a lot of Parish Brewing's En Vie APA that I was able to taste a while back.  It's the same style, and really had the balance between hops and malts nailed.

My rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A

Two good choices, in my opinion, and next time I'm over there, I'm definitely going to try some other new ones, and stock up on some Bell's!

Gulf Shores / Orange Beach - Part 1

Greetings everybody!  It's been a few weeks since Jay and I were lucky enough to take in a weekend at the beach, so it's past time to fill you in on the beach beer scene.  The first stop, after navigating through I-10 traffic and checking in to the Phoenix All-Suites West and grabbing a quick look at the oil-free beaches was a place called Live Bait at the Wharf.  The first thing Jay and I did, after the introductions of course, was hit the bar and see what they had to offer.  Unfortunately the selection wasn't impressive, just Blue Moon, Land Shark Lager, and something called the Tommyknocker Pickaxe Pale Ale.  Okay, easy choice here, when in doubt I always go with the beer I've never tried first. 

I know it's not the best picture ever, but I was armed with only my smaller camera this time.  The beer itself, however, was pretty damn good.  It turns out Tommyknocker is actually a Colorado brewery, not local at all, but it's still a brewery I've seen in Baton Rouge, so I'm happy to give them a try.  The Pickaxe Pale Ale was a well balanced APA with good malt and hop presence but not overpowering in either direction.  APAs are quickly becoming one of my favorite styles, and this one wasn't even the best of the trip... more on that later of course.  For the food options at Live Bait, check out Jay's Bite and Booze blog where he'll cover that in full. 

That was it for the first night, and it was back to the suite to crash.  The place was pretty nice, actually, a converted condo into a suite, with a master bedroom, pull-out couch, and a small bunk-bed in the hallway that would be perfect for kids or college cheerleaders.  Plus it had a full kitchen and a half-bath to make the stay even easier.  I'd consider a place like the Phoenix West again for my next trip to Gulf Shores.

The next morning it was on to a place called Tacky Jack's over in Orange Beach.  It had received good reviews from what Jay and I had heard, and had a very cool seaside ambiance to it.  Upon recommendation we started off with some 'hair of the dog' bushwhackers, even though we weren't hungover.  I mean, it seemed like a good breakfast drink, and you can't drink all day if you don't start before noon!  The 'bushwhacker' is a delightful sweet concoction of white rum, coconut rum, and coffee liqueur all mixed in with some vanilla ice cream, and then topped off with a 151 floater.  I'm not usually one for sweet drinks, but this one is famous around those parts and it was mighty delicious.  Delicious enough to go back for a second, that's for sure!  (The food was alright... as Jay will describe...)

And that was it for breakfast... on our way back to the suite we stopped in at a liquor store to see about some beers that can't be found in BR, but that will have to wait for Part 2!

A Special Thank You To Gulf Shores / Orange Beach

This past weekend I had the pleasure of bring treated to a weekend of drinking and dining and other activities thanks to the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.  I had never been before, and it was great to see the area, see how the beaches were clean and oil-free, and experience some of the nightlife and dining the area has to offer.  The trip wasn't necessarily aimed at beer bloggers, but don't worry, I still had plenty of beer to tell you about later.  Including a handful of beers that I had never tried before!  For now, I just wanted to thank the following:

First and foremost: the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau and their wonderful employees.

Phoenix All Suites Hotel West

Live Bait at the Wharf

Tacky Jack's Grill & Tavern

King Neptune's Seafood Restaurant

Chris Nelson  and Alabama Kayak Adventures

Lulu's at Homeport Marina

Wintzell's Oyster House

The Hangout in Gulf Shores

All of these places contributed to a fantastic weekend... which I will be writing about in more detail shortly! I'm sure Jay will be as well over at Bite and Booze, and the rest of the bloggers will be and I'll have links to them as well.