Thursday, March 24, 2011

It's Official: Ommegang Coming To Louisiana with some friends

So about a year ago I told you that Ommegang was looking at entering into the Louisiana market and sure enough they are finally coming. Polly from Avenue Pub posted on BA about 10 minutes ago that Glazers will be the distributor and we should see them around June with a possible sneak preview for American Craft Beer Week in May. Because of Duvels ownership of Brasserie d'Achouffe
and Leifmans we'll see them as well. Great news!


Cheers!


The Beer Buddha

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Beer Review: Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde Lager, Big Swell IPA and CoCoNut Porter

I love beer in cans. Cans you can crush and put into your recycling bin and it takes up a hell of a lot of less room than bottles. And apparently according to the back of the Maui Brewing cans they "chill quicker, and can be enjoyed on beaches and in sensitive environments." They also state that "aluminum is the most recycled and most eco-friendly material." All of this is great but another one they are forgetting is that, at least in my opinion, cans protect the beer and the beer tastes better from the can.

Recently I had an opportunity to order some beer online(which I'll write about my experience here soon)from Brewforia.com. When I saw that they had some Maui Brewing beers to choose from I jumped at the chance to order some. I used to live in Hawaii when I was younger and have this weird infatuation with things Hawaiian. You should see my tacky Hawaiian shirt collection. I love them. Anyway, I had the opportunity to buy them and got them shipped to me. Here are my review of all three:



Brewery: Maui Brewing Company

Beer: Bikini Blonde Lager

Style: Munich Helles Lager(source: BA)

ABV: 4.50% ABV

Louisiana Availability: NONE

Price Range: $3.00-$4.00 per can

Appearance: This one poured a nice pale gold with a huge white head that disappeared quickly. Lacing present.

Smell: Nice malty aroma with a slight hop presence.

Taste: Nice sweet maltiness with a hint of hop bitterness and toasted bead.

Mouthfeel: Nice medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: A sessionable, tasty craft beer in a can. CAN it get any better?

Score: Photobucket 4 out of 5 Buddhas


Brewery: Maui Brewing

Beer: Big Swell IPA

Style: American IPA(source: BA)

ABV: 6.30% ABV

Louisiana Availability: NONE

Price Range: $3.00-$4.00 per can

Appearance: This beer poured a nice hazy amber color with huge white head which disappeared quickly. Lacing present but not long.

Smell: Grass, pine and fruit.

Taste: A nice Chuck Norris hop kick to the mouth with hints of grass, pine and fruit. Nicely balanced IPA.

Mouthfeel: Medium carbonation with medium body.

Overall: Damn good IPA. And again I love that these beers come in cans.

Score: Photobucket 4 out of 5 Buddhas


Brewery: Maui Brewing

Beer: CoCoNut Porter

Style: American Porter(source: BA)

ABV: 5.70% ABV

Louisiana Availability: NONE

Price Range: $3.00-$4.00 per can

Appearance: This beer poured black with hints of ruby highlights around the edges. Nice huge, off white head which dissipated quickly. Lacing present throughout.

Smell: Roasted coffee, chocolate, toasted coconut.

Taste: Again like in the nose: roasted coffee, chocolate and nice hints of toasted coconut. Wonderful malty sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Nice smooth medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: Damn fine porter! It's so nice to see great beers available in cans!

Score: Photobucket 4 out of 5 Buddhas

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Martin Wine Cellar/Shmaltz Brewing Dinner Recap



So this past Wednesday Martin Wine Cellar hosted a Shmaltz Brewing Beer Dinner at their Metairie location and I must say I was impressed. It's not that I didn't think Martins could pull it off but rather that they could offer such an awesome experience and only charge $40.

I have the belief that beer dinners really shouldn't be over $50. Yeah I know there are beer dinners in the $75+ range but too me that's just way too much money. I don't have that kind of cash nor if I did would I spend that kind of cash on dinner. For those that say it can't be done for less than that you should have been at this beer dinner because you would have been proven wrong. Travis Combel, a local beer geek and reader of this blog, commented that "it was possibly the best beer dinner I have ever attended". I have to admit, it was damn good.

So here is a shout out to Martins and Shmaltz Brewing for a fantastic and inexpensive beer dinner! Hopefully we'll see more. Special shout out goes to Mike Morgan from Martin Wine Cellar on Magazine!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Thursday, March 17, 2011

New Breweries Coming To Louisiana

So I was browsing through the beer list from International Wine and Spirits yesterday in order to bring in some new product to fill ALL the new space I have over at Cork & Bottle and saw something intriguing: two new breweries coming to Louisiana.

I called my sales rep Jared to confirm and sure enough they are just doing the legal stuff required to enter the state. The new breweries are Squatters Pub and Brewery and Wasatch Brewpub both from Utah. Here is the list of beers I saw on the sale list and their links to BA:

Squatters Pub and Brewing


Hell's Keep
Hop Rising Double IPA
Squatters IPA
Outer Darkness RIS

Wasatch Brew Pub


The Devastator Double Bock
*Little Slammers
Polygamy Porter
White Ale


*The one that doesn't have a BA link I couldn't find anything on BA or on their website.

More beer coming to Louisiana!!!! Alright!! Now we need to make sure we keep drinking it all. We need to increase the beer geek population here in Louisiana. We need to recruit!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Food Experiment coming to New Orleans with The Brunch Experiment


WHAT:  The New Orleans Brunch Experiment
WHEN: April 3, 2011 from 12PM- 4:30PM
WHERE:  Howling Wolf Music Club
TICKETS:  $20 in advance; $25 at door  Get them HERE

DETAILS:

Cookoff pros Nick Suarez and Theo Peck are excited to present the New Orleans Brunch Experiment, an amateur cookoff involving New Orleans’ finest home chefs. Dishes will range from savory to sweet and will feature our favorite meal of the week – Brunch! You may never look at brunch the same after attending the Food Experiments. Anyone can compete! Anyone can attend! And anyone can win! Sharpen your knives America, this is a call to all home chefs looking to be named the next cookoff king or queen of New Orleans.

The winner will not only receive cash and achieve culinary glory, but will be flown to Brooklyn, NY to compete in the National cookoff title, the super-bowl of cookoffs held at Brooklyn Brewery. You, along with our professional judging panel choose the winners!

Do you have what it takes to win? Are you experimented…



Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Beer Buddha's Baddass Beer Fest Giveaway Last Update

OK so tonite is the announcement for the final winner of the tickets to the Top of the Hops beer festival being held on the North Shore.  The last name to be pulled out of my trusty Abita beer bucket is.....Scott Schwin!  Congrats Scott!  To all the winners:  There is still room on the bus leaving Avenue Pub for the festival.  Contact the pub for more details.  See ya there!

For those that didn't win stay tuned because we're going to have all sorts of cool contests throughout this year!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Friday, March 4, 2011

The Beer Buddha's Baddass Beer Fest Giveaway Update

I'll make this quick because time is short with Mardi Gras going on. Tonite's winner was Riki Fink. Congrats Riki! That means there is only one more set of tickets to give away which will be given away next Friday. For those that don't win do not fret. I've got a bunch of cool giveaways I'll be doing throughout the year.

The blog will be back to schedule on the 9th which is the day after Mardi Gras. Well, I don't really have a schedule but I was doing the beer reviews every Tuesday so the beer reviews will be back on schedule Tuesday the 15th if not earlier. I've also got some cool posts coming up regarding online beer ordering and beer of the month clubs as well so stay tuned! And for those that missed my beautiful face at pint night on Fridays at Avenue Pub I should be back there Friday the 11th.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha