More Local Beer News! Southern Tier, Saint Arnold, NOLA...

Alright, as if American Craft Beer Week wasn't enough, here is even more local beer news:

Southern Tier officially releases in Louisiana today... just got this picture from Calandro's, looks like they also have some Parish Farmhouse IPA and Endeavour on the shelves, but the main point is all that Southern Tier.  Go get some!  The bar rollouts in Baton Rouge should be tonight at The Bulldog and tomorrow at The Cove. 

Also, today marks the official release of the Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel #3.  Like the Bishop's Barrel #1 this is an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels.  (All the Bishop's Barrel series are barrel aged, duh.)  Bishop's Barrel #1 was one of the best beers I've had from Saint Arnold, so I'm looking forward to this one as well.  It's only in bottles and only available at bars & restaurants, not retailers.  Look for it soon as the local places.  

More good news, NOLA Brewing is canning their Mechahopzilla Double IPA!  We knew this was coming, but it's still exciting to see the actual cans instead of just the artwork.  Look for this soon, don't know an exact release date.

Calandro's is also going to be running daily specials all week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.  Today is featuring the locals and the neighbors, Saint Arnold, Lazy Magnolia, NOLA, Tin Roof, Abita, and Parish.  Other breweries will be discounting on other days, follow their Facebook page for more. 

That's it for now... I'm sure other things will be popping up soon.  Chance of dieting this week: zero. 

American Craft Beer Week in Baton Rouge

Yeah, we're not New Orleans and as much better as the Baton Rouge beer scene has become, we still have no Avenue Pub.  If you want the best that Louisiana has to offer, that's your location... or check out the Beer Buddha for other New Orleans area picks. 

Unfortunately a lot of what I see about American Craft Beer Week in Baton Rouge is dominated by the "crafty" brands rather than the craft brands.  Crap like Blue Moon and Third Shift... maybe they're fooling some people, but not me.  That said, there is still plenty going on right here in Baton Rouge, and plenty to get excited about!  Here's the lineup:

Monday, May 13th:
4 PM - Close - The Bulldog - Southern Tier Rollout Party
6 PM - The Cove - Tin Roof's "Parliament Pale Ale" will be served, which is a Voodoo Bengal fermented with 1099 Whitbread yeast.  They describe it as: "Mild malty, slight fruity flavor, good flocculation, less tart and dry than normal british ale yeast."
6-7 PM - Chimes East - Sam Adams
7-8 PM - Chimes East - Sierra Nevada


Tuesday, May 14th:
6 PM - Chimes Covington - Tin Roof's "Blonde, James Blonde" will be on tap.  Just like above it's the normal blonde ale with the 1099 Whitbread yeast.  (Okay, so it's not BR, but it's BR's brewery...)
6-7 PM - Red Zeppelin - Magic Hat / Stone / Brooklyn 
6-Close - The Cove - Southern Tier Rollout Party 
7-8 PM - The Bulldog - Abita Special Release – Turbodog aged in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels

Wednesday, May 15th:
6 PM - The Bulldog - Tin Roof Parade Ground Coffee Porter aged in bourbon soaked oak chips . Aging for 6 months! This is probably what I'm most excited about in Baton Rouge.
6 PM - Pelican House - Green Flash / Schmaltz / Harpoon
6:30-7:30 PM - Mellow Mushroom - Abita
8:30-9:30 PM - Mellow Mushroom - NOLA 

Thursday, May 16th:
5:30 PM - Pelican House - Tin Roof Double Dry Hopped Juke Joint IPA— simcoe, centennial, cascade, columbus– A hop heads dream. 

6-8 PM - The Bulldog - Stone Brewing Best By 5/17/2013 IPA + a surprise variation of one of your favorite Stone brews + free Stone glass
Harpoon Barrel Series + free Harpoon glass
Brooklyn Brewmaster Series + free Brooklyn glass

Friday, May 17th:
5:00 PM - Tin Roof Brewery - Food Truck Friday Benefiting Cancer Services of Greater Baton Roug! Live music, Food  Trucks, and a great time! Goes until 9 PM.
5-6 PM - The Bulldog - NOLA Brewing has a cask of their "Girl Scout Cookie" which I believe is a mint-flavored Irish Channel Stout?  I'm interested in this one for sure. 
6-7 PM - The Bulldog - Samuel Adams Little White Rye

Saturday, May 18th:
5-6 PM - The Bulldog - IWS Showcase – Special tappings of specialty beers from artisan brewers. Prairie ‘Merica, Brash Bullocks, Yeastie Boys, Pot Kettle Black

Sunday, May 19th:
All Day - The Bulldog - Pot Luck – come get the best sort of leftovers ever!

Thanks to TheAleRunner, Brenton Day, for more information about the Bulldog's American Craft Beer Week events.
 
That's all that I've seen in town, other than the "crafty" tastings that I'm not going to post about.  I really like that Tin Roof Brewing is stepping up their Craft Beer Week game with some special releases.  I'm excited to try the NOLA Girl Scout Cookie as well. 

Review: Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 1

A while back I mentioned this upcoming brew from Saint Arnold Brewing Company (facebook - twitter), their first barrel-aged release under the new Bishop's Barrel series.  It's only available in a handful of bars/retaurants around town, but last I checked they still had some in stock.  Check The Bulldog, The Cove, and The Chimes for sure if you want to grab one before they are gone!  

This first release is a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and they knocked this one out of the park.  I was a little concerned at first that not being able to buy it retail and age the beer would leave it a little too "hot" and boozy, but I think Saint Arnold did a nice job of aging this one for us to let it mellow out before it hit the market.  The reportedly aged it for a whopping 10 months in Knob Creek barrels and the bourbon influence is astounding.  The vanilla and oak bourbon notes play right into the rich malt character of the stout base.  The beer isn't one to be chugged down, but rather sipped, and can easily be shared with a friend if you don't want to take down one by yourself. 

It's not a cheap beer, but this is definitely one that deserves to be tried if you are a fan of top notch craft beer offerings.  I'm thrilled that this beer found its way to Louisiana and that we were able to get a decent supply at the local bars.  Try it before it's too late, you won't regret it at all!  Well done Saint Arnold, well done indeed.  

Beer Olympics at The Cove - Week 2!

Alright, here is what you can look forward to in this week's episode of the Beer Olympics present by Raise A Glass on WHYR 96.9 FM Baton Rouge.  

First line-up: Worldwide Best Sellers!   These are the beers that you can find throughout the world, representing some of the biggest breweries out there.  They might not be what you consider the best, but they are the most popular.

Second up: Farmhouse / Saison / Sours!  Sticking with one style this time, we have 6 traditional farmhouse or saison style beers from around the world.  Originating as a French & Belgian style, we also have beers from Canada, Denmark, Italy, and United States to taste.  Tune in Friday at 6 or Sunday at 4 to find out who took home the gold medal!

Raise A Glass will be recording on location at The Cove on Corporate Blvd. almost every Wednesday evening this summer, starting around 6 PM.  Everyone is welcome to come out and drink a few beers along with us and maybe even have the chance to try the eventual winners!

Congrats to Nogne O Sweet Horizon from Norway for taking the gold medal in the Stouts competition last week.  Sweden took the silver with the Nils Oscar Imperial Stout due to a tiebreaker with the USA, which settled for bronze from to the NOLA Irish Channel Stout.  

The Raise A Glass Beer Olympics @ The Cove - Stouts!

Check out the stout lineup below for the first ever Raise A Glass (facebook - twitter) Beer Olympics event!  All Summer we'll be recording at The Cove on Corporate on Wednesday evenings (starting around 6 typically... but we might miss a week or two) and you are all welcome to come hang out and join in on some of the beers.  Many thanks to The Cove for their support of this season of Raise A Glass, it wouldn't be possible without their help and their beer selection!  

Now for the stouts... here are the first 8 beers up for a medal in the "Best Stout" category... NOLA Irish Channel Stout from the USA, De Struisse Black Albert from Belgium, Coopers Extra Stout from Australia, Kiuchi Hitachino Espresso Stout from Japan, Nils Oscar Imperial Stout from Sweden, 8 Wired iStout from New Zealand, Mikkeller Black Hole White Wine Aged from Denmark, and Nogne O Sweet Horizon from Norway.  Which ones took home the gold, silver, and bronze?  Tune in to Raise A Glass on WHYR 96.9 FM on Fridays at 6 and Sundays at 4 to find out... or find us on iTunes! 

Review: NOLA / Stone Pour Me Somethin' Mistah!

Alright, finally the big day had arrived... not that I was turning a whopping 32, but the release of the NOLA Brewing / Stone Brewing collaboration beer, Pour Me Somethin' Mistah.  Appropriate for any big New Orleans beer release, the party was taking place at Avenue Pub, my New Orleans beer bar of choice.  The release was announced back in mid January, so it had a month of hype building up to it.  After a quick early lunch at Cochon Butcher (delicious) it was over to the pub to wait for 1 PM to hit and the beers to start pouring. 

While waiting, the balcony bar had a few tasty warm-up brews, so it was the right time to check out the Saint Arnold Bitter Belgian, a very nice Belgian take on their Elissa IPA.  Not a bad beer and a great way to get the day started.  I followed that up with the NOLA 7th Street Wheat with grains of paradise and orange peel on cask and then it was time for the showpiece beer, the Pour Me Somethin Mistah.  

The first hint at the beer came from The Beer Buddha, who brought one out and immediately made a face like it wasn't rocking his world.  Uh oh... not a good start.  Dan brought one out for me, and my first taste was the same reaction.  It was still really cold, and tasted like an over-hopped porter, out of balance and not as rich and complex as I was hoping.  Damn.  Fortunately, I still had some cask 7th Street Wheat so I finished that while letting the Pour Me Somethin Mistah warm up a bit.  

Pour Me Somethin' Mistah, and 7th Street Wheat on cask.

Letting the beer warm was a great decision, as it really opened up and turned into quite the drinkable porter closer to room temperature.  The orange peel and molasses started come out in the flavor and the hops took more of a back seat to those flavors.  What started off disappointing finished a very nice brew.  For those in Baton Rouge, The Cove will have this one on tap in their front bar on Wednesday... just be sure to request a room temperature glass and take the time to let it warm up to unleash the full range of flavors.

My rating: B for this one.

Review: Epic Barrel Aged IPA

First off, thanks to Jay over at BiteAndBooze.com for hooking me up with this one as a Christmas present!  I've seen it at Calandro's lately and also at The Cove so here's a review while it's still on the shelves and available!  Epic is a brewery out of New Zealand that is fairly new to our market, but they have put out some really good beers.  For those that watched Brew Masters, the New Zealand collaboration beer was between Dogfish Head and Epic, so you might remember the brewery from there!

 

Now for this beer... I poured from a .5L bottle into an imperial pint... it's remarkably clear, with a frothy white head that takes up 1/4 or so of the glass on the pour. Really nice retention and some of the best lacing I've seen in a while. Good looking beer.

The aroma is expectedly hoppy with a hint of the barrel aging. The wood flavors come through more each time I stick my nose in but they still are the secondary flavor in this aroma.

The barrel aging comes through a lot stronger on the taste, but I'm not sure it's entirely a good thing. It's not bad but I sense a little confusion and competing rather than augmenting the natural style. It gives the beer too much going on rather than the right amount of flavor complexity in my opinion.

It's got good carbonation with a strong grapefruit hop finish.  I'm enjoying this one for sure but it's not 'world class' just a good beer.  This one, along with Epic's other brews, are definitely worth checking out if you want to try something different.

Beer Places: The Cove - Baton Rouge, LA

Alright, time to finally feature one of the best places in Baton Rouge to get a bottle of beer, The Cove on Corporate Blvd.  It's a rather nondescript place on the outside, tucked into the corner of a shopping center near Jason's Deli and Albasha, but the high-ceiling interior really gives it an interesting atmosphere.  there's a new scotch & cigar bar on the immediate right-hand side after walking in that I haven't had a chance to check out but I have a scotch tasting coming my way!  Maybe I'll take a break from writing about beer to give that a proper review in the future.

Two Epic beers from New Zealand.

 Carrying on, the hallway opens up into the main bar space, with a long bar backed by all sorts of whiskeys, other liquors, and lots and lots of bottles of beer.  Seriously, a LOT of beer, mostly imported because it's just a lot easier to get different imports than it is to get various domestic microbrews.  There isn't anything on tap so it's bottle only and some can get quite expensive.  Even for me the beer list can be intimidating at times, but it's usually not hard to pick out something I've never had for a reasonable price.  

A MOA beer from New Zealand at The Cove.

One of the main reasons I end up at The Cove is that the homebrew club I'm a member of, Brasseurs A La Maison, holds the monthly meetings there.  They are always accompanied by a tasting of a specific style and we almost always do a little pre and/or post-drinking at the bar.  Nothing wrong with that, right? 

An Epic / Dogfish Head Portamarillo, along with a Nogne O collaboration DIPA.

A Troubadour Obscura from Belgium

All this leads up to, of course, that if you're really looking for some crazy imported beer, The Cove is the place to go in Baton Rouge.

Review: De Dolle Dulle Teve (Mad Bitch)

File this one under:

Beer!

First off, I love the name.  Just say 'De Dolle Dulle Teve' real quick.  Kinda rolls off the tongue!  'De Dolle' is actually the name of the brewery, located in Esen, Belgium.  'Dulle Teve' is the name of the beer, which of course translates into 'Mad Bitch.'  I've had one of these before at the Cove and remember liking it a good bit, and Belgian Tripels are one of my favorite styles, so when I saw some at Calandro's, I figured it was time for another try. 

I poured this one from an 11.2 oz. bottle into a Chimay goblet... typical cloudy amber color with a ridiculous creamy frothy head. One of the biggest heads I've seen on a beer, especially in a goblet.  

Smells like sweet floral spices.. a hint of citrus, definitely some hops. Just like you want from a Belgian tripel.   The taste is more of the same, plus a hint of sweet caramel in there. Floral on the end of the sip, spicy and delicious.

A top notch tripel, but not my all-time favorite.

Taste: A

Value: B

Sorry for the delay between reviews... I've been trying to balance a low-calorie diet with the beer drinking since Thanksgiving, which isn't always easy.  I have a few more in the works that you should be seeing soon, including a Brooklyn Lager, Stone IPA, and a few more.

Until then, cheers!