Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Continues...

We are now getting into the real "meat" of Craft Brewers Week. I hope some of you made it out the last few nights to try the Gnarly Barley / Chafunkta collaboration or a few sour beers from Tin Roof, but if not, there is still plenty more craft beer week to go!

Tonight will be one of the biggest events, the Louisiana Craft Brewers Bash at The Irish House in New Orleans.  I'll be there for sure, and also hopefully will be making a stop at Avenue Pub to try some Parish stouts and I'm sure the plenty of other good stuff they'll have on tap. 

If you can't make it to New Orleans tonight, then I'd highly recommend an afternoon trip on Sunday to the "Make Pour Decisions" party at NOLA Brewing where they plan on rolling out 18 (yes, EIGHT-TEEN) beers for the event. If you can't make it to New Orleans at all, there will be a couple of chances to catch Abita's pumpkin and peach SOS in Baton Rouge.

Happy drinking!

Upcoming Beer Events! - Louisiana Brewers Bash, Brew At The Zoo, Beefstock, And More...

Hey everyone, time to start spreading the word about a few upcoming beer events in the area.  

September 22-28th - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week - All Over - It's that time of year again, I'll keep everyone up to date when specific events in Baton Rouge are announced, but I know of one in New Orleans for sure... 

September 24th - Louisiana Brewers Bash - The Irish House in New Orleans - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week is September 22-28, and this might be the only event that will feature 9 commercially producing Louisiana breweries.  For those keeping score at home, that's almost all of them, but unfortunately it appears that Great Raft won't be making the trip down. The event is being hosted by Jay Ducote of Bite And Booze.com, with food from Chef Matt Murphy of The Irish House.  I'll be at this event for sure, I'm excited to see what sort of special releases and casks our local breweries can come up with.

October 10th - Brew At The Zoo - BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo -  Another beer festival, this one at the Baton Rouge Zoo and yes, it will be featuring the local homebrew clubs. The commercial beer list is pretty typical, featuring a lot of local and regional beers plus the bigger craft beers available in the area, but the real standout should be the homebrew stations.  I know I'll be there serving up some beer with Brasseurs A La Maison, and I expect the other local clubs to be there as well.  

October 17th - Great Raft's 1-Year Anniversary Party - Great Raft Brewing Company - I'm unlikely to make it up there, but this should be a great time.  They have been working on several more limited release bombers and draft specialties, and for those who haven't been, the tap room is beautiful. The guys and gals up at Great Raft have been kicking ass, so if you ever find yourself up in Shreveport for this weekend or any other, check them out.

November 2nd - Beefstock - Tin Roof Brewing Company - Alright, so this one is more about the beef, but it is being held at Tin Roof, and everyone that attends gets some complimentary beer, plus the tap room is almost certainly going to be open by then. So, try plenty of beef, drink some beer, and catch some tunes. 

November 22nd - Grand Reserve Day - Parish Brewing Company - I don't know the details yet, but mark your calendars. Last year's event was a great time, and I'll likely be going again.

Tin Roof's Tap Room Coming Soon!

Hey friends, I'm back.  It has been a really busy 2014 so far and the blogging has slipped, but rather than just call it quits I think I'm going to do the opposite and return full strength!  A few days ago I stopped by Tin Roof Brewing to talk with William about their upcoming tap room.  Not too long ago tap rooms because legal in Louisiana thanks to a loophole left in an effort to allow distilleries and wineries to sell direct to the public.  Parish, Great Raft, and NOLA all have theirs up and running, and Tin Roof will be following soon.

The biggest hurdle facing the guys at Tin Roof is that they didn't start out their brewery layout with a tap room in mind.  For those familiar with the space, there is an area with tables on the far left, with the new brewhouse to the right and all the fermenters and bright tanks filling out the space.  The restroom and office are to the back left. Not too long ago they leased the space to the rear of the building and expanded their operations, primarily with storage for all the grain coming in plus empty kegs and everything else that goes into the process.  

The plan is to convert the entire left section into the tap room, moving the offices to the rear space and adding a conference / meeting room that can be used for special events.  William also told me that the plans include opening up to the grass field to the left of the building (where Iron Brewer has been held in recent years) to create a decked patio / beer garden.  I love the idea of a beer garden, we have enough nice days in the Fall and Spring, plus with some shade and fans going it would be tolerable in the Summer. If you're an Eskimo like me it will probably even be nice in the winter!  

The division between the tap room and the brewery is planned to be a long wall with windows down the length to allow everyone to see into the brewery and check out what's going on.  This sounds pretty similar to Great Raft's layout and I think it really works.  It's nice to see that connection between the tap room and the brewery to really make it feel like you're in the same place the beer is made, rather than just another bar.

Most importantly though, the beer.  William said that they are planning on having 10 taps pouring in the new bar, with all of the regulars plus a handful of special releases and experimental brews.  They were already working on a few batches in anticipation of the opening, and that really gets me excited.  Going and checking out the regular lineup is great for out of towners, visiting football fans, people just getting into craft beer, but for those like me and like my readers, it's the special releases that will keep us coming back.  

It really sounds like all the right ideas are in place to make Tin Roof a good place to stop in and drink some beers. The goal, according to William, was to be open in about a month, maybe the second week of August.  There is still a lot of work to do, but it's not unreasonable... and I'll be here to update everyone on how that goal is going.  

Cheers!

Iron Brewer - February 15th at Tin Roof Brewing!

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know about an awesome event coming up soon.  The Iron Brewer competition will be put on by Brasseurs A La Maison, at Tin Roof Brewing on Saturday February 15th.  The event will run from 2:00 until 5:00 and the cost of admission is simply canned good to benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank!  I'll be there along with Team Cream Ale to take home the victory as decided by the general public.

Each team was randomly provided a different style of beer and, in the spirit of romance and Valentine’s weekend, instructed to incorporate ingredients with aphrodisiac properties.

The event is open to adults 21 and over. Entry fee is at least one non-perishable food item for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, but attendees are encouraged to bring more to help the organization reach its goal of 2,500 pounds. Festival goers will be allowed to vote on a People’s Choice Winner.

“Last year’s event was incredibly successful and our teams had a great time, so we decided to do it again,” stated club president, Blake Winchell. “We have a variety of styles like stout, farmhouse, blond/cream ale, English bitter and more. Word on the street is that teams are using ingredients like chocolate, strawberries, chili peppers, honey, different types of herbs and who knows what else. It should be another great event.”

Created in 2010, Brasseurs a la Maison is Baton Rouge’s largest home brewing club with over 260 members. The club meets the second Wednesday of each month to sample, discuss and learn about beer and brewing. For more information on the Iron Brewer event or the club, visit www.brbrewers.com.

3rd Street Coffee Crawl! - Tin Roof Coffee Porter

Tin Roof Brewing Company is releasing their seasonal Coffee Porter at a pub crawl downtown tomorrow night in partnership with the Me & My Big Mouth Podcast!  Proceeds go to Triumph Kitchen, a venture started by Chef Chris Wadsworth formerly of Restaurant IPO and his wife Summer.  Tickets can be bought in advance online and include entry into a raffle for some pretty cool items. 

The banner below has pretty much everything else you need to know!

Beer Review: Tin Roof Rougarou Imperial Black Ale

By now I'm sure you've seen some pictures and hype about the latest from Tin Roof Brewing, the Rougarou Imperial Black Ale!  Not only will this be their "biggest" beer yet in terms of abv, but it will also be their first release in 22 ounce bottles.  I was able to pick up a preview bottle late last week, and the bottles should be hitting the shelves around town later this week!  They'll also be on draft at a few places starting at 5 PM tonight at the Bulldog, I'll try to update other locations when I hear about them.  

First impressions... I love the name.  It's perfect for a Louisiana brewed Imperial Black Ale.  I'm actually a little surprised none of the other local breweries had used the Rougarou name already.  The bottle itself is really sharp as well. Simple artwork, the name of the beer, the style, and the Tin Roof logo up on the neck. Time for a pour, this one was fresh off the bottling line when I picked it up last Thursday and Mandi and I split it on Friday, that's about as fresh as a beer gets.

The beer pours a rich black color, spot on for the style, with a little bit of off-white head.  The aroma was excellent, hoppy with some pine notes and a nice malt backbone.  It was spot on for what you'd want in this style of beer.  The taste up front was a little harsh on the bitterness, but I expect that to fade pretty quickly and maybe even by the time bottles hit retail shelves.  It wasn't bad, I just thought it was a little too bitter and it made it hard to pick out the hop flavors.  The back end of each sip was better, with the hops coming through more distinctly and playing well with the rich malts.

All in all, a very nice effort from Tin Roof, and in my opinion their best beer yet.  I'll be picking up a few more once they hit the shelves and am eager to try it on tap as well!

Louisiana Craft Brewer Week - Event Schedule!

Okay, yes, it's officially called "Louisiana Craft Brewer Week" and not Craft Beer Week or even Craft Breweries week.  Yes, I also think that's pretty dumb, but I didn't write the legislation and I'm sure there's some legal reason.Okay, not that that little rant is over, it's on to the fun stuff.

Louisiana Craft Brewer Week kicks off on September 23rd, next Monday, and runs to September 29th, the following Sunday.  There will be good stuff happening throughout Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and elsewhere, so I thought I'd share what I think are the most relevant to beer lovers in Baton Rouge.

Monday, September 23rd:
Avenue Pub - 6 PM - NOLA Brewing / New Belgium Brewing collaboration Swamp Grape Escape is released.  This is a limited beer brewed with muscadine grapes, and Louisiana Craft Brewer Week might be the only chance to try it.

Tuesday, September 24th:
Bulldog BR - 5 PM -  NOLA Brewing cask night, with a "Smoky Praline". This is their Smoky Mary with praline, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  
Niche BR - ?? - Parish Dr. Hoptagon's first Baton Rouge tapping.

Wednesday, September 25th:
Chelsea's - 6 PM - Abita tasting featuring Oak Aged Pecan Harvest Ale.
Chimes East - 6 PM - Tin Roof Brewing features a cascade dry-hopped cask of Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale.

Thursday, September 26th:
Bulldog BR - 6 PM - Tin Roof Brewing features a citra dry-hopped cask of Blonde Ale.

Avenue Pub - 7 PM - Stone tap takeover with Greg Koch.  Greg Koch is the founder/owner of Stone Brewing, and he will be in town to promote an impressive lineup of Stone beers, including many cellared releases and some fresh hoppy brews. 

Friday, September 27th:
Mathernes - 4 PM - Tin Roof tasting at both locations, featuring all products.
Tin Roof Brewing - 5 PM - Tours and tastings, featuring one of Tin Roof's beers on a hop randall.
Bulldog BR - 5 PM - Abita tasting featuring Oak Aged Pecan Harvest Ale.
Pelican House - 6 PM - Tin Roof "Blonde Sugar Sex Magic" release, this is a chili pepper infused blonde ale.
Avenue Pub - ?? - Lips Of Faith feature with Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing.  Lauren is the director of New Belgium's Lips Of Faith series and the whole lineup will be available plus some limited releases that Lauren is bringing from Colorado.

Saturday, September 28th:
New Orleans City Park - 1-7 PM - New Orleans On Tap - Lots of beer and live music, a good way to end the week of beer drinking!
Churchill's BR - ?? - Oktoberfest sampling.

I've also heard that Parish will be releasing Dr. Hoptagon, their new Black IPA during Craft Brewer Week.  If I hear any exact details I'll pass them on!

Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 - The Awards Show! (Part 2)

Okay... time for the second installment of the Beer Bloggers Conference 2013 Awards Show!  We left off in the first installment as we arrived in Boston for the official start of the conference.  Traffic sucked, we were late, and the trade show had already begun when we arrived.  That brings us to the first award of part 2...

Best Check-In Decision Of BBC13: Myself! When a busload of people arrive simultaneously, the lines can get rather long to get checked in... so I headed straight for the desk and left Jay and Dustin to grab my bad.  Mission accomplished, we were checked in, up to the room to drop off bags and back down to the trade show in no time. 

Best Beer From The Trade Show: Sierra Nevada Hoptimum! This isn't anything new, but we STILL don't have it on the shelves here in Baton Rouge, so it was good to try some of the 2013 version finally.  Other good options included the Ovila Saison from Sierra Nevada, the 80-Acre Wheat from Boulevard, the Robust Porter from Smuttynose, and a Woodchuck Farmhouse Cider.  There were several other beers, but I had left my phone in the room to charge and didn't get a good record... it happens.  Keeping a phone charged is a real challenge at this conference.

Most Interesting News From The Trade Show: Woodchuck! I was talking to the guys from Woodchuck (yeah, it's a cider, and yeah this is a beer bloggers conference... but whatever, I like cider.) and they have plans to do some dry-hopped ciders in the near future.  I know Woodchuck isn't "craft" since they are owned by C&C Group out of Ireland, and I don't really care for their typical ciders, but the thought of a dry-hopped cider certainly has me intrigued.

Most Ghetto Location For A World Famous Brewery: Boston Beer Company! Okay, so maybe the neighborhood wasn't really as bad as it seemed, and their full production brewery is elsewhere, but the original Samuel Adams facility is in one sketchy location.  Founder Jim Koch even alluded to this in his keynote speech, apparently they would give the local riff raff beer to act as a sort of security.  Plus I bet the rent was cheap... really fairly ingenious when you think about it.

Best Intro Speech: Julie Herz! Julia (with Craftbeer.com) was back to officially open up the conference. She's a great speaker, and she knows the industry better than just about anyone. And she really respects the bloggers' role in the industry... gotta love that.


Best Reason To Give People Free Beer: Jim Koch! It turns out he doesn't like speaking to a sober audience, so there was a can of Boston Lager on everyone's chair.  Joke's on him though, we had already been drinking for hours!  Which in no way stopped everyone from enjoying a Boston Lager.

Coolest Moment Of The Conference: Utopias with Jim Koch! After the keynote speech there was food and a lot more beer... and in smaller groups we were able to go into the barrel aging room and try some of the 2012 Utopias with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch.  The beer was amazing, far better than I expected and a lot more smooth than I would have ever guessed.  It was rich, boozy but not overpowering, and extremely complex.  Really the only thing bad about it was the two douchebags in the corner who felt like their personal conversation was more important than the rest of us listening to Jim.  I won't name names, but if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don't be that douchebag, and show some respect to everyone around you.  That said, it was still a pretty awesome moment.

Best Cheese - Day 2 Edition: Boston Beer Company! Seriously, we had cheese with every meal I think.  It should have been called the Beer & Cheese Conference.  

Best Sam Adams Beer Not Named Utopias: Sam Adams American Kriek!  I love a good sour and this one was really well done.  I wish I could find it locally, but so far I've struck out.

Most Beer Bloggers Crammed Into Too Small Of A Space: Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale! This place seemed really cool, had great decor, had a great vibe, and they had an array of Heavy Seas Beer on tap, but it just wasn't close to a big enough space for everyone at the conference.  If I'm ever back in Boston I'll do my best to make a return trip here for some pints and grub, but this time, we made a pretty quick exit after a few beers to make our way back to the hotel and call it a night.  It had been a long day!

Best Reason To Drink Before Noon: Because you can! Seriously, once the sessions started there was beer everywhere... people were passing bottles around the room, leaving them at the front table for whomever wanted a pour, etc.  The beer was flowing, it was 9:30 AM, and life was good.  

Most Entertaining Speaker At The Conference: Franck Evers! He's the "Global Draught Master" from Heineken, and he came to a beer bloggers conference.  Yeah, we thought that was a little weird, he thought it was a little weird, but he still is a really entertaining guy.  Just don't call him German, he doesn't appreciate that. And be sure to skim the head off of your beer, that's where hangovers come from.

Most Likely To Speak Fluent Russian, In French: Troika Brodsky! 

Best Beer At The Beer Pairing Lunch: Allagash Black! This one was paired extremely well with a Boston creme pie dessert.  The entire beer pairing lunch was excellent, thanks to the National Beer Wholesalers Association for putting it on!  

Best Beer At The Live Blogging Session: Night Shift Ever Weisse!  Wow, this is what a sour should taste like.  I had never heard of Night Shift Brewing before the conference, they are a small nanobrewery out of Everett, MA putting out some really awesome beers.  They have traditional styles, but also a sour series and even a barrel aging program.  It's really amazing what a little brewery can do in an area that's thirsty for great craft beer.

Honorable Mentions At The Live Blogging Session: Idle Hands Pandora, Thomas Hooker Old Marley Barleywine, and Rising Tide Daymark.  All of the breweries had some impressive beers with them, but these stood out the most.  

Best Red Carpet Rollout: Harpoon Brewery!  They really treated us right... a special Imperial White IPA created just for us, a tour held by one of the founders, and then a beer dinner in a private section of the massive tasting room.  They had all their taps opened up, and just kept bringing us more food.  And more food.  And then some more food.  Seriously, it was an insane amount of grub, plus all the beer we could drink.  I even snagged a nice Harpoon glass, but it broke on the trip home.  :-(

Best Cheese - Day 3 Edition: Harpoon Brewery! Seriously, it should have been called the beer & cheese conference.  

Best Beer Of The Beer Social: Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout! It was really a treat to learn that they were going to break this one out for us, and it did not disappoint.  Fantastic beer, excellent whiskey notes, and still among the best bourbon barrel stouts in existence.

Louisiana Breweries Represented At The Beer Social After-Party: Parish Brewing and Tin Roof Brewing! Thanks again for the guys at Parish and Tin Roof for donating some beer to bring and share.  All were a huge hit, especially the Parish Grand Reserve Barleywine.  It was highly anticipated and received rave reviews from the bloggers lucky enough to try some.  

Best Beer At The Beer Social After-Party: See, what had happened was, I had been drinking! I can't say for sure, I had been drinking all day and there was a lot of beer flowing. Untappd is telling me that I drank beers such as the Allagash Coolship Balaton, Wigglesworth Lord Falconer, Allagash FV13, Riverwalk Gnomad, Epic Ales Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour, Rising Tide Polaris, Backlash Declaration, and Anchorage Arctic Saison, plus many more than didn't make it to Untappd.  It was an epic night for sure, plus I checked in to some Parish Grand Reserve... you think I would bring it all the way to Boston and not drink a little?  Ha!

Most Amazing Feat At The Entire Conference: I made it to every session!  This did not happen last year in Indianapolis, but I pulled it off this year.  Go me!  even after being up WAY past my bedtime at the after-party the night before I was up and ready to go for the 9:30 Sunday session.

Most Generous Beer Bloggers: 2BeerGuys! Sean and Ryan, two Boston area bloggers who run 2BeerGuys.com were hooking us up all conference with some awesome local brews.  They really treated us southern folk right, even giving us some Heady Topper to bring home!   If they had a good beer out at their table, all it took was a tweet to find some showing up at ours.  If the Beer Blogger Conference is ever down here, we'll have to repay the hospitality.  

Best Beer Of The Final Day Of The Beer Bloggers Conference: Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout! Gerard of Beer In Florida brought this one to share, and after his report on the state of craft beer in Florida he broke it out and poured some.  So good, if this weren't so hard to find I'd have Cigar City a lot higher on my breweries wishlist.

Crazy Stat Of The Day:  Florida has almost 100 breweries! I could only name about 5, but apparently I'm a little low.  Puts Louisiana to shame, even on a per capita basis.

Best Reason To Not Have Died From Alcohol Poisoning: More beer!  Seriously, it never stopped... there was so much beer flowing, and it was still before noon.  Somehow we all survived the conference, but Dustin, Jay, and I didn't fly out until the next morning, so we still had some time to kill in Boston.

Best Place To Watch USA Soccer In Boston: The Banshee! The beer selection wasn't impressive, but they had some awesome burgers and they had USA soccer on every screen.  We watched the Gold Cup final there and then headed back to the hotel to crash.  It had been a long fun trip and we had an early flight to catch.

Best Fiance' Ever: Mandi!  For watching the house and the dogs while I was gone, love you baby!

Thanks again to everyone who helped put the Beer Blogger Conference together!  It was a fantastic time, expertly run as always, and a great learning experience as well.  Until next time... cheers! 

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!   

Looking Back At WYES - Friday Private Beer Sampling

Alright, I've had a few days to recover from a weekend of drinking in New Orleans at the two-day WYES Beer Tastings.  In case you didn't make it... here's what you missed at the Friday night Private Beer Tasting!

First off, the location this year for both events was at Mardi Gras World, in adjoining spaces.  This is phenomenal for people like me from out of town because I can get a hotel (went with the Hilton Convention Center location) and easily walk to both nights, plus be in range of everywhere else we want to go.  Last year the Friday night event was at the fairgrounds and the Saturday night event was at the UNO arena.  This location plus having the events at the same location is far superior.

That said, how about the venue itself?  For Friday night we were in a faux-plantation room complete with trees and illuminated night sky.  The beer tables were spread all along the perimeter and honestly the only complaint I could have about the space is that it was really dark.  Too dark to take good pictures of the scene as a whole, but I took some of the highlights!

A few weeks back I wrote about all the beer I wanted to try at the Friday night event and honestly, I didn't even get to them all.  There was just too much good stuff. 

My regrets were not getting to Abita at all... you all know I'm not the biggest Abita fan in the world, but they had the Strawator and a specialty cask on hand and I missed them both.  I also missed out on a couple of new offerings from Sam Adams.  I also missed most of what Cajun Fire had to offer... by the time I made their table it was just the Root Beer Ale left.  Damn. 

The Highlights!
Parish Single-Hop IPA series: Andrew had Pacifica, Calypso, and Chinook single-hop IPAs, and all were delicious while also education regarding the hop profiles.
Great Raft Ermahgerd Hops: Awesome double IPA from this Shreveport brewery in planning.
Gnarly Barley Porter Rican: Delicious as expected.
Mudbug Cajun Stout: Really a well done beer.
Tin Roof Rougarou Black Ale: I hope we see this more often from the local guys.
Covington Anonymous IPA: I hope we see this more often from the North Shore! 
The Homebrews: Brasseurs A La Maison, Brewstock, Mystic Krewe of Brew, and George's Beers all had some great stuff.  I didn't try every one, but I cam close.

The Misses.
Chafunkta Brewing FontaineBlue Berry Wheat IPA: I love these guys, but this just didn't do it for me.
Mudbug King Cake Lager: The beer itself was tasty, but I spent the next several still tasting the cinnamon sugar from the glass.  I think it would be a great addition to a regular pint but didn't work well in a festival setting.
Old Rail Cow Catcher Milk Chocolate Stout: I wasn't too impressed with this one... fortunately their Seven Sisters IPA was quite nice.
Main Grain / Bombastic Brewers Crawfish Beer: I don't think I'm alone in this one.  Yikes. I applaud the creativity, but sometimes it's a swing and a miss.  Fortunately Ron's other beer was a Rum Barrel Russian Imperial Cream Stout, and it was a home run.

The WINNERS!
Alright, as hard as it is to pick a winner, I came away more impressed with Crooked Letter Brewing out of Mississippi than anyone else.  Maybe it's because they were new to me, or maybe it's because they brought a couple of awesome beers.  Their Mystery Romp Coffee Chocolate Porter was phenomenal and probably my favorite beer of the night.  Their other offering, the Mariposa Pale Ale brewed with mango, jalapeno, and cilantro was also delicious.  Mystery Romp is the only one I went back to for seconds, so congrats to Crooked Letter for impressing me the most of anyone Friday night!

And now for some pictures...

Brasseurs A La Maison

 

Crooked Letter Brewing... in case you can't read the shirt!

Great Raft Brewing

George's Homebrewing

Brewstock Homebrews

Feature Beer Friday! - Tin Roof Perfect Tin Amber Ale

Alright, time to get local again, and it doesn't get any more local than a beer from Baton Rouge's Tin Roof Brewing.  Well, I guess my homebrew is a little more local, but I'm not going to be featuring myself on Feature Beer Friday!, I'm not quite that vain.
 
The Perfect Tin Amber Ale is one of Tin Roof's flagship and original beers, along with the Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale that I featured not too long ago.  Straight from their website:  "American-style amber ale brewed with a variety of the finest specialty malts available. These malts combine to form a distinct flavor profile with hints of toffee and chocolate. Its mild bitterness never lingers longer than you ask it to. The final product is a malty, medium-bodied, and easy drinking session beer.  You’ll love this malt masterpiece! Pairs well with most grilled or roasted meats.  Also great for chilis, stews, and brining."  Mmmm, now I want to cook some chili.

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (BiteandBooze.com), Jeremy Spikes (Whiskeybomb.com) and James Lawson.

Serving: 12 oz. can.

Appearance: Caramel color, clear with a decent head.

Aroma: Caramel flavor as well, malty and pretty standard for the style.  Jay said he could pick up the toffee but not the chocolate as much.  Maybe a little on the hoppy side for the style as well.

Taste: Still a little on the hoppy side, but very pleasant. 

Mouthfeel: Jeremy thought this would make a great session beer.  I agree, it's very easy to drink.

Overall: A solid easy-drinking local amber ale.


Overall Rating: 71.5
My Rating: 72

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week - Coming in September!

It appears that a resolution to declare the week of Sep. 23-29th Louisiana Craft Brewers Week has passed through the legislature!  Thanks to the Louisiana Craft Brewers Guild for helping make this happen.  And if you like local craft beer, consider becoming a supporter of the guild, I am!

This is great news for the local beer scene and I hope we get some good events and special releases from the now seven operational breweries in the State!

For more LA beer info, here's a video about Louisiana craft beer that my brother of Bite And Booze (I'm also going to steal his tap handles picture) produced with our friend Tommy Talley for Louisiana Travel!  http://youtu.be/iaRgNDMbBW0

American Craft Beer Week Update - Tin Roof Double Dry-Hopped Juke Joint IPA TONIGHT @ Pelican House

In case you needed more craft beer week in your life, I just saw that Tin Roof Brewing is going to be tapping a keg of their double-dry hopped Juke Joint IPA at Pelican House at 5:30.

NOLA's Girl Scout Cookie is tapped at 6 at The Bulldog... I'm thinking there's time for both!

American Craft Beer Week Update - NOLA Girl Scout Cookie TONIGHT

I initially thought the NOLA Girl Scout Cookie release was going to be tonight at the Bulldog, then heard it was going to be Friday, but now I'm hearing again that it is going to be tonight.

This was right there with the Tin Roof Bourbon Oak Chip Coffee Porter as far as ACBW offerings in Baton Rouge that I really wanted to try... so I'm going to head back to the Bulldog tonight.  The Tin Roof offering was gone in about half an hour, so don't be too late tonight!  It should be tapped at 6. 

They also had the Stone Enjoy By IPA on tap, so if you haven't tried it yet, there's a second reason to find yourself at Bulldog! 

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. 

Feature Beer Friday! - Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale

Alright, and I'm back.  Sorry about missing this post last week, but sometimes life happens and it turns out Beer Blogging isn't my full-time job.  Up today we have the third of four consecutive Louisiana beers that we featured on Jay Ducote's Bite And Booze radio show.  We started with the Abita Lemon Wheat, went to the NOLA Brown, we're on the Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal, and next week (in theory!) will feature the Covington Bayou Bock. 

The Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale from Tin Roof Brewing is as it claims, an American Pale Ale. "Generously hopped, this brew draws on pale, honey and caramel malts to provide the perfect balance between bitterness, aroma, and malt character. Pairs well with anything spicy…especially crawfish, gumbo, and jambalaya." Amazingly this will be the first Tin Roof beer to make it on Feature Beer Friday!, but I doubt it will be the last. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (BiteandBooze.com), Charles Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth podcast), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner.com), and Ross Marcotte.

Serving: 12 oz. can.

Appearance: Dark amber, decent head with good rentention.

Aroma: Hoppy with a nice malt base, Brenton and Jay both picked up some citrus notes in the hops and Charles thought it had a slight syrup aroma, which makes sense considering this beer uses Steen's cane syrup in the brew process.


Taste: I thought it was a pretty solid hop-forward pale ale.  It has a nice balance of citrus hops and malty syrupy sweetness.  Brenton described it as "pleasingly bitter" which is a great thing in a pale ale. 

Mouthfeel: A little lingering bitterness, but that's not a bad thing.  Decent body too, good mouthfeel for the style.

Overall: This is better than I remembered and I really commend Tin Roof for improving their recipe and making this isn't a really well-rounded APA.  Available in cans all over Baton Rouge, I can see myself drinking plenty of this over the Summer. 


Overall Rating: 77.2
My Rating: 72