Feature Beer Friday! - SweetWater IPA

Alright folks... by now this one should be out in store around town... if it's not then it will be
any day now.  SweetWater is the latest brewery to make it onto the Louisiana craft beer scene, and last week we reviewed the SweetWater Blue.  Since then I had the opportunity to serve some beer at the Ultimate Tailgate benefit party in Covington.  The beer cart that Mandi and I were working was loaded with a lot of BMC, but also a good bit of the highly anticipate SweetWater beers.  I'm happy to say that the SweetWater was moving just as fast as any of the BMC products! 

This week, we have the SweetWater IPA, their take on a standard American IPA style. Here's what they have to say, "This mammouth India Pale Ale is loaded with intense hop character and subjected to an extensive dry-hopping process. Our IPA is unfiltered and as always, not pasteurized, leaving all the natural flavors intact.

The Beer You’ve Been Training For."


Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: On the border between gold and amber, with a little haze.

Aroma:Hoppy, but I found it to be a little mild.  Jay picked up some piney notes and Brenton also noted that it had some grapefruit aroma.   

Taste: Brenton described it as, "citrus & hop flavor with little bitterness." I think he means that as a good thing, and I definitely thought the flavor was better than the aroma.  

Mouthfeel: Easy drinking, a lot of hop flavor but not off-puttingly bitter.

Overall: We had a lot of variation in the scores on this one... as low as a 38 and as high as an 85.  I had it in the middle, and I think it's really a middle of the road IPA.  Brenton loved it, saying that it's "so drinkable for the amount of hop aroma and flavor." I'd certainly try some more.


Overall Rating: 61.6
My Rating: 56

Feature Beer Friday! - SweetWater Blue

 Alright, are you ready for some SweetWater?  They will be coming to Louisiana next week, and Brenton over at The Ale Runner had a few bottles sent to him in advance.  Well, that's perfect to include in a Feature Beer Friday!  I try to stay local and available and current, but sometimes it's just too hard to pass up the opportunity to review a Pliny The Elder or Great Divide Yeti, etc.  This time though, it's about as relevant as I can get... a beer that will be in our market within a week! 

SweetWater Blue is one of their 5 flagship year-round brews, and one of the three that should be coming to LA in the initial release.  It's only 4.9%, so this one isn't a big beer, but it's not trying to be.  Here's what they have to say about it: "Always the funky favorite at any outdoor beer festival, SweetWater Blue is a unique light-bodied ale with a hint of fresh blueberries. It begins with an appealing blueberry aroma and finishes as a surprisingly thirst-quenching ale."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Golden, with a little haze.

Aroma: A blueberry dominant aroma, Jay likened it to "bubble gum, berries, and blueberry muffin." Brenton just said it was refreshing.   

Taste: Strong blueberry flavor again, and Brenton again wrote "refreshing."   

Mouthfeel: Light and thin... but that's what they were going for, they even say it's light-bodied on their website.

Overall: Nothing special, but that's not what this beer is about.  I think it's excellent for what it tries to be, but it's hard to stack that up against some of the great beers we've reviewed for the segment.  Bottom line, if you want to try a blueberry beer, go get some of this.  If fruit beers aren't your thing, this one isn't going to change your mind.


Overall Rating: 58.4
My Rating: 58

Grapes & Grain - August 23rd - Benefiting The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

If anyone is looking to support a good cause AND drink some good beer, I have found the perfect event for you!  The Louisiana chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be holding the Grapes & Grain fundraiser featuring craft beer, wines, and food from some of the best area residents.  The event takes place on August 23rd at Benedict's Plantation in Mandeville. 

Tickets are $50 for General admission and $100 for VIP, and can be purchased here:  http://louisiana.cff.org/grapesandgrain

You can get updates by liking the page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Grapes-and-Grain/372013589512372?ref=hl

And here’s the Times Picayune article about it:  http://www.nola.com/community/st-tammany/index.ssf/2013/08/grapes_grain_fundraiser_to_ben.html

The craft beer list looks to be as follows:

Chafunkta

New Belgium

SweetWater

Bayou Teche

Tin Roof

Covington Brewhouse

Gnarly Barley

Main Grain

So not only do you get to support a great cause and try some craft beers, but you'll get a sneak peak at Gnarly Barley and Main Grain, two breweries in planning on the North Shore. Plus some other great local breweries and you can't really go wrong with New Belgium or SweetWater either.  Plus there will be wine and food, but that's not really what I blog about.

If you're looking for something to do on August 23rd, check it out!   

Catching Up On Louisiana Beer News - NOLA - New Belgium - SweetWater - Ballast Point

Readers, I've been away at the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference learning how to be a better beer blogger.  And drinking, doing a lot of drinking.  It turns out the Beer Bloggers Conference is almost as much about the drinking and meeting new people as it is about learning how to be a better bloggers.  Almost.  

While I've been gone, here are some of the goings-on in the Louisiana craft beer world.  One of the things I learned over the weekend is that regurgitation of information isn't the key to a good blog... putting out original content is.  I'm going to ignore that advice this once and throw out some links to the LA bloggers that couldn't make the conference.  Then I'll get back to that advice and tell you what I think!

NOLA Brewing is teaming up with New Belgium from Fort Collins, CO for a special Louisiana Craft Beer Brewer Week release!  As reported by The Beer Buddha, the beer will be a Belgian-style single (or Abbey Ale) brewed with local Muscadine grapes, and named Swamp Grape Escape.  The name throws me off, because I keep wanting there to be an "ape" in there by itself, but there isn't.  No Swamp Ape, no Grape Ape... it's making my head hurt!  The beer though, I'm excited for, as New Belgium makes some great Belgian-style (duh) ales and I love the use of a local ingredient. And I'm really thrilled to see another big brewery come into Louisiana for a collaboration with the local guys. Not too long ago it was Stone coming down and brewing with NOLA, now New Belgium. Having these collaborations can only be a good thing for the local beer scene.

SweetWater Brewing out of Atlanta, GA is coming... I wrote about them being on their way back in April, but the official release date has been announced as August 19th!  I imagine that they will start at Avenue Pub, but Mockler Beverage in Baton Rouge has their local distribution rights and they have announced that the SweetWater team will be in town on August 21st to promote the new beers.  So worst case we're looking at August 21st in Baton Rouge.  They will most likely be starting with the core styles similar to New Belgium's market entry, with beers like the 420 Extra Pale Ale, SweetWater Blue, and their flagship IPA.  Honestly of all these, the Blue interests me the most because it would instantly be the best blueberry beer available in Louisiana.  There is a lot of competition for best pale ale or best IPA, but SweetWater would have blueberry on lock down. Hopefully more styles will follow!

Brenton over at TheAleRunner reported that Ballast Point Brewing out of San Diego, CA is planning on making an early 2014 entrance into the Louisiana market.  He even went so far as to confirm this with their VP of Sales/Marketing!  One of the other big points at the conference was to confirm with your sources and not just post rumors, looks like Brenton didn't need the conference to know that.  As he said, the popular and highly rated Sculpin IPA will probably be the biggest score, and we'll just have to see which other Ballast Point beers make it our way.

Sweetwater Brewing Coming To Louisiana In 2013!

I think everyone down here assumed when Sweetwater Brewing out of Atlanta, Georgia started on their massive brewhouse expansion that it would eventually mean Louisiana availability, but now it's confirmed.  The guys at Sweetwater quadrupled their capacity and that means more beer and more markets.  They are expanding distribution in their 6 current states and adding Kentucky, Louisiana, and Virginia to the list!  They are expected to be in the three new states during the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2013.  Knowing how optimism and reality usually coincide, bet on the 3rd quarter!  

Here's the full article at The Full Pint if you want to read more! 

So what does this really mean?  How good of a brewery is Sweetwater? I think that really depends on which beers make it our way.  They have a solid year-round lineup that I think we can expect to see, including the 420 Pale Ale, IPA, Exodus Porter, Blue, LowRYEder and Georgia Brown. I've had the 420 Pale Ale on Feature Beer Friday!, the IPA, Blue, and Georgia Brown are all good beers, but I've never tried the Porter or the LowRYEder.  Sweetwater also does a "Catch & Release" seasonal series and a limited "Dank Tank" series.  The Dank Tank series is what I'm really hoping we see here, but I think the year-rounds and seasonals will be a great addition also.  I'll certainly be looking forward to seeing plenty of their beer on tap at places like The Pelican House around town.  Another good addition to the Louisiana and Baton Rouge craft beer scene to go with New Belgium and Southern Tier.   

Feature Beer Friday! - Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale

Alright, I know, another Feature Beer that isn't locally available.  That's one of the problems with Louisiana, but it does make traveling a little more exciting to pick up beers that aren't locally available, right? Sweetwater hails from Atlanta... now I HATE Atlanta, but it's because of their sports teams, not their beer.  Atlanta, from all I've heard and read, has one of the best craft beer scenes in the South, so they have that going for them.  Which is nice.

Sweetwater Brewing has been in Atlanta since 1997, which is fairly old in the craft brewing world.  The 420 Extra Pale Ale (named for the interstate that goes around Atlanta, right?) has been one of their regulars since 1997, and they list it as their most popular beer.  I know it's pretty easy to find wherever Sweetwater is distributed, even at places like the Atlanta airport. Needless to say based on the name, it's an American Pale Ale, brewed more in the west coast style, as the founders of Sweetwater were both Colorado/West Coast trained in the brewing arts.

Now, on to the review!      

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), James Lawson (Whiskeybomb.com), and Blake Winchell (Brasseurs A La Maison).

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Light in color, white head that fades quickly.

Aroma: Hoppy, but nothing amazing, Jay thought it had a slight cantaloupe quality to it. 

Taste: Hoppy as well, Jay said it was totally drinkable and could go for more without being offended or having some taste overload.

Mouthfeel: Just alright... like Jay said before, it's a very easy drinking pale ale.

Overall: I thought that this one was a decent flagship brew, and Blake really thought it was better when he's had it before on draft.  Of the four of us, James was the least impressed, saying, "a road sign that says "IPA 20 Miles That Way," only a point in the right direction."  I can see where he's coming from, but I think that's what makes this one a lot more of a session beer than a bigger IPA would be. 

Overall Rating: 60
My Rating: 62

Review: SweetWater Happy Ending Imperial Stout

I picked up this one on the recent beer run to Gainesville... I've had SweetWater beers before while visiting friends in Alabama but at the time the laws prevented anything stronger than 6 (or 8) percent alcohol from being sold, so this one was off the table.  Fortunately the laws in Alabama have been changed, so it's a little easier to get good beer there, but they still have some work to do.  SweetWater Brewing is a pretty sizeble micro-brewery out of Atlanta, Georgia.  If you're ever there, check them out.

 

I had this one poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint glass.  It's a pretty impenetrable dark brown color, nearly black, with a bubbly light brown head. Great looking brew, just what you'd expect from an imperial stout.

The smell is chocolate malt and a little metallic tinge to it. Just alright on the nose... nothing special.  The taste, on the other hand... yum. It's rich, chocolatey, a little roasted bitterness on the end. Very little booziness mucking it up, just a well done imperial stout.  The mouthfeel is a little thin, but not bad... really easy to drink for a 9% abv stout.

Solid beer, wish I had another in the fridge!  One thing about this 365 in 2011 trip I'm on, I'll know which beers I want to stock up on next time around, and which ones I can skip!

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B+

Imperial Stout