Friday, October 28, 2011

Beer Fridge Friday: October 28, 2011

My little brother sent us a picture of his beer fridge. I still don't get the Miller Lite's when he has access to Yuengling but whatever. Thanks Jordan!



We want to see your beer fridge so send us your pics to thebeerbuddha@gmail.com!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Saint Arnold Santo Release Party


From Fat Harry's:

Saint Arnold Santo Release Party

Where: Fat Harry's
When: Saturday October 29
Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm

Come out and be the first in New Orleans to drink Saint Arnold's Santo. It is a Black Kolsch and delicious. Essentially it is brewed using a Kölsch recipe with the addition of Munich and black malt. It is light bodied and floral yet with a distinct dark malt flavor. Also, Nicole with Saint Arnold will be around passing out some pretty cool Saint Arnold gear.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Abita Releases Its Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout

From Abita.com

Photo courtesy Abita.com


Brew made with real Louisiana Oysters

Abita is proud to introduce their newest Select brew, made with real Louisiana oysters. Last year the Abita Brewing Company sponsored a home brew competition and offered the winning brewer a unique prize, a chance for their beer to be brewed by Abita and distributed as an Abita Select offering. The winning home brewer is Kerry Dale Yoes of Zachary, with Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout.

Photo courtesy of Abita.com

Home brewers from around the region gathered in November of last year at the Abita Brewery to compete. Yoes’ beer was the judges favorite and earned him the “Andy Award.” The award was named in honor of Abita’s first home brew contest winner, Andy Thomas who created the base recipe for Abita Andygator many years ago.

Abita Celebrates Louisiana Seafood

“We are especially pleased to offer this new Select because it contains real Louisiana oysters,” said David Blossman, President of Abita Beer. “We want the world to know that seafood fresh from Louisiana is ready and waiting for them to enjoy in so many ways...including as an ingredient in craft beer. Using Louisiana ingredients in our brews, from strawberries and satsumas to pecans and oysters, is just another way Abita Beer keeps their promise to always stay Louisiana True.”

Abita’s Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout is made with pale, caramel, roasted and chocolate malts. Oats are also added to give the beer a fuller and sweeter taste. The roasted malts give the beer its dark color, as well as its intense flavor and aroma. The flavors of toffee and chocolate are prevalent but not overpowering. The beer is hopped with Willamette hops. Since the beer gets so much flavor from the malts there is not a lot of hop flavor. There is just enough bitterness to complement the sweetness of the malt. Finally, freshly shucked Louisiana oysters are added to the boil. The salt from the oysters gives the beer a more intense aroma and mouthfeel.

Abita Select is an exclusive premium draft product line from Abita that features a new style every few months. These specialty brews can be found only on tap and only at certain restaurants and bars. Consumers can locate Abita Select by using the beer finder on the Abita website or downloading the free Abita iPhone app.


About the Abita Brewing Company

The Abita Brewing Company was founded in Abita Springs, La., in 1986 and is the
oldest and largest craft brewer in the southeast. Abita is the 24th largest commercial
brewer by production volume in the nation and the 15th largest craft brewer in the United States. Sales for the company should exceed 130,000 barrels this year.

Abita Brewing Company produces seven flagship brews year-round: Abita Amber, Golden, Light, Turbodog, Purple Haze, Jockamo I.P.A. and Restoration Pale Ale. Abita also offers five seasonal beers, three Harvest brews, four Big Beers and a draft-only series of Select beers.


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Friday, October 21, 2011

Beer Fridge Friday: October 21, 2011

Brenton Day from Baton Rouge sent us his pic! Enjoy!



We need your beer fridge pics! Send 'em to thebeerbuddha@gmail.com

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Parish Brewing Bottle Designs

Andrew posted these to his Facebook page last night. The bottle designs look amazing!







Can't wait to get these down here in New Orleans!!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Friday, October 14, 2011

Beer Review: The Bruery Autumn Maple


I really like success stories like The Bruery. This California brewery been around for about 2 years and already they are in 21 states including Florida where I was fortunate enough to pick up the beer on review. It's your typical homebrewer turned commercial brewer story but The Bruery is anything but typical. They are a brewery that enjoys pushing the boundary of what is possible and are constantly pumping out new and inventive brews to the craft beer drinking public.

I took a little vacation to Ocean Springs, Mississippi about 3 weeks ago and the wife let me take her along on a quick run into Pensacola which is two hours away. Hell, Mississippi didn't have anything so why not?

We first stopped in at Four Winds which based on Beeradvocate.com reviews was supposed to be the "BEST" beer store in the Panhandle. Let me stop here and say I was seriously offended after having walked into this place. Look, I worked at Chans Wine World in Destin and Destin IS part of the Panhandle. Chan's puts this store to SHAME. And I'm not saying that because I worked there but just in general. Unorganized, unsanitary and numerous health code violations. And the beer selection was pathetic. One of the things I cannot stand in a beer selection is it not being organized. It drives me wild.

My wife and I just up and left and walked over to Richies East which was a little better but not much. At least I could find what I was looking for. Perhaps I should move to Pensacola and open a beer store. Hmmmm.

Anyway, enough of that. I picked up The Bruery Autumn Maple and cracked this bad boy open today. It says they used yams but I'm from the South. What's a yam? They're called sweet potatoes. Below is my review. And as a bonus I also posted a Sweet Potato Pie Recipe from the Queen of Soul Leah Chase from Dookie Chase restaurant. Enjoy!

Brewery: The Bruery

Beer: Autumn Maple

Style: Belgian Style Brown Ale

ABV: 10%

Louisiana Availability: No

Price Range: $8-10

Appearance: Amazing rich, rust colored brew. Nice frothy head with nice sticky lacing.

Smell: Immediately hit with the smell of SWEET POTATO(I am from the South). Smells so much like a sweet potato pie. Hints of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg with a dominant hint of sweet molasses.

Taste: This is like a sweet potato pie in the bottle. All the attributes are there. Like in the nose: sweet potato, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses and vanilla. VERY sweet beer. Flavors are very pronounced when beer warms up.

Mouthfeel: Medium full body with low to medium carbonation.

Overall: This is definitely a beer to serve during Thanksgiving. Perhaps as a dessert beer. Extremely sweet almost too much so. I would like to try the oak aged one. i bet that must balance out that sweetness a bit with a nice boozy bourbon kick.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 Buddhas Photobucket

Me drinking beer with Leah Chase.

And now here is the recipe!

Sweet Potato Pie- Leah Chase's Recipe

Crust:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup finely-chopped pecans

1/2 cup cold butter (the original recipe calls for vegetable shortening)

1/4 cups ice-cold water, or as needed

In a food processor, pulse together all the dry ingredients and the butter into short bursts until the mixture forms pea-sized lumps. Add the water through the feed chute as you pulse until the mixture forms a stiff dough and pulls away from the sides of the food processor bowl. Form the dough into a 6-inch disk and wrap it in plastic; chill for one hour. The dough can be made in advance. It can be kept refrigerated for several days and even frozen.

Filling:

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs total), peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon melted butter

Pecan halves for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Roll the chilled pie dough into a 12-inch round and press into a 9-inch pie pan. Flute the edges. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust is set and beginning to brown slightly. Remove the pie pan from the oven and let it cool.

3. Put the sweet potatoes into a medium pot and cover them with water by an inch. Bring to a boil. Boil slowly until the potatoes are tender with no absolutely no resistance at the center when pieced with a fork.

4. Drain off the water and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Do not use a potato ricer or food processor.

5. As you mash the potatoes, add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; then whisk in the eggs, milk, and vanilla. The butter goes in last.

6. Once the filling is well-mixed, pour it into the baked pie crust. Arrange pecan halves around the outside edges and sprinkle the top of the pie with more ground cinnamon. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the filling is set and the edges of the crust have browned.

7. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Beer Fridge Friday: October 14, 2011

Uh oh! We missed last week so I had to come at you strong! Ray Grace sent us three pics! Enjoy!




We need your beer fridge pics! Send 'em to thebeerbuddha@gmail.com

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

5 Brewtacular Halloween Brews

A scene from AMCs The Walking Dead.


Halloween is right around the corner!!! My family and I have been slowly putting up the decorations and thinking about possible costumes. The kid is going as Dorothy from Wizard of Oz this year and didn't like my idea of Zombie Dorothy. Not sure about the wife but I may go as Guy Fieri if I can find a spiked wig. I think I can pull it off for sure. Just some pinky rings, an armband and a button up shirt with some Dickie shorts right? Oh, and the sunglasses on backwards.

Here in New Orleans, Halloween seems to be more of an adult holiday than a kid holiday. Parties everywhere! And of course Bourbon Street becomes one huge Halloween party every year! It's crazy!

If you're having a party and are looking for some special beverages that'll help make it that much more "Halloween", I have a list of great beers that not only taste great but have great Halloween tie ins as well.



1) Coney Island Freaktoberfest- How could you not start off with this blood red lager from Shmaltz Brewing Companies Coney Island line-up? When a beer comes in at 6.66% abv and is made with 6 malts and 6 hops it IS the perfect Halloween beer. This one will blow your mind from a sensory standpoint. Trust me.


2) Reaper Ale Mortality Stout- It's called Mortality Stout and has a skull on the front. What more could you ask for? This foreign stout from Reaper Ale in California pours a dark black and has hints of roasted malt and mocha. Oh, and check out the website for sure! Great Halloween website!!


3) Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! Rigor Mortis ABT- This Quad style ale from Dieu du Ciel! is great for Halloween for obvious reasons. It is a nice malty beer with hints of chocolate, caramel and dark fruit.


4) Squatters Brewpub Hell's Keep- This amazing golden strong ale from Squatters Brewpub in Utah is perfect for Halloween. Great taste and amazing logo.


5) Squatters Brewpub Outer Darkness- This Russian Imperial Stout again from Squatters Brewpub has an amazingly rich flavor of roasted malts, chocolate and coffee with hints of licorice and molasses. And the logo on the bottle is awesome.

So there you have it! I'm sure there are more and I would love to hear your thoughts of great beers for Halloween so leave a comment! Happy haunting!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Spent Grain Dog Biscuits: Halloween Style

Spent grain. There are all sorts of things you can do with it. Make bread, place in your compost pile or even do what NOLA Brewing does and give it to feed cows and make yummy cows.

At New Orleans on Tap I ran into Melanie, who is the brewer at NOLA and she was handing out homemade spent grain dog biscuits. I thought that was a pretty kick ass idea and decided to give it a try. I figured that I have two dogs(Falstaff and Elvira) and I wanted to see if they'd enjoy it.

I decided to include my daughter because I thought it would be a nice Daddy and Daughter Day activity for our full blown D & D Weekend since the old lady is out of town. Now I don't homebrew due to this disease I have called laziness but I know someone who does. NOLA Brewing. So me and the kid took a quick trip down to the brewery and grabbed a tupperware full of some NOLA Blonde spent grain. After we got home I was ditched for a singles game of dress-up and Phineas and Ferb so I was on my own. Oh well.

Overall the process was really easy! The toughest part was getting through the smell of the peanut butter as I have a strong dislike for it. Gagging while rolling out the dough was pretty funny though.

Here is the ingredient list and some pics!

Ingredients:

4 cups spent grain
4 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
Water- Use very small amounts of water while kneading to soften

**And for those that are worried about hops coming into contact with the spent grain don't worry. Hops do not generally come into contact with the spent grain. Hops are bad for dogs though so watch out! Thanks to Melanie from NOLA Brewing for that little bit of important information!

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Roll out(I used a beer bottle)into a dense layer on a large cookie sheet. Make the shapes you want. Cookie cutters work well. Bake for about half an hour at 350 F then lower the oven temperature to 225 F for 8 to 10 hours to dry them very thoroughly to prevent mold growth. Store in an airtight container.

Ingredients


Spent Grain


Roll it out bitch


Skulls are hardcore.



My skull army.


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

NOLA Brewing Cans: First Look

Okay, so it may not really be the first look especially if you follow NOLA Brewing on Facebook but whatever. Here ya go:




Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Parish Brewing: Erection of the Brewery



Okay, so it's true. I am still very juvenile and always will be. I just really wanted to say erection in the title and here was my opportunity.

Now that's out of the way we can get to the reason behind the post. Louisiana's hot new nano brewery Parish Brewing Company is making some great progress with the build out of their new brewery.

I spoke briefly with owner Andrew Godley via Facebook about a possible New Orleans release date and he said "Prolly(sic) February. But we will not commit to a date until we've installed the tanks arriving in December." Either way I can't wait to drink some of their beer! Here are some pics I got from their Facebook page of the build out:




Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

NOLA Brewing Can Release Party



The cans are ready and we're celebrating BIG! Join us Thursday, October 27 at Tipitina's!

We're kicking off the night with Colin Lake, followed by Flow Tribe and we're ending the night with Big Sam's Funky Nation!

As if great music wasn't enough, we want to give you some beer! That's right, you've waited long enough so your first can of NOLA Brew is on us!

And, don't forget to pick up your free limited edition NOLA Brewing coozie designed by Elise Thomas.

We're ready to celebrate -- we hope you can make it!

Tickets, $15 More information Go here


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Monday, October 10, 2011

2nd Annual Outlaw Homebrew Competition Recap

Ah.... Mississippi. God your beer laws are retarded. This past weekend I had the opportunity to drive to Hattiesburg, MS and help judge a homebrew competition. An illegal homebrew competition. Yes, despite the fact that the federal government legalized homebrewing back in '78 they unfortunately allowed the states to make up their own minds as well and some states felt that the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't want homebrewing in their state. Mississippi(along with an ABV cap of 6%)is one of them. And on a side note I think the bible actually says that Jesus was a homebrewer. I'm pretty confident about this one. He turned water into wine. That's homebrewing right?

Want this shirt? Go here

Anyway, through Keg & Barrel Brewpub and Raise Your Pints the Outlaw Homebrew Competition was created and what an amazing event. Held on the grounds of the Keg & Barrel, I must say it was awesome and I want to thank John Neal for inviting me to be a judge there. I had a blast and it was so much fun seeing people so passionate about their beer.

I had the luxury(then the curse) of judging Wheat beers then IPAs. My palate was destroyed after the IPAs. 19 IPAs is a lot. They set us up in an RV for judging and we were pretty much sequestered until we were done judging. After judging was over we were allowed to mingle amongst the homebrewers. There was some great beer out there!

Overall this was an amazing event and I had an awesome time. I hope to be invited back next year! Next year though we need to get some local Louisiana homebrewers involved in this competition! Thanks again John Neal of Keg & Barrel and Raise Your Pints! Here are a few pics from the event!






Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Thursday, October 6, 2011

NOLA Brewing Releasing Cans October 27th

I just heard that NOLA Brewing will be officially releasing their canned beers on October 27th. I'm waiting for more details but what I do know is the release party will be held at Tipitinas.  Check back soon or sign up for The Beer Buddha to hit your email for more info as I get it.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

A Great Week for Louisiana Craft Beer: The Beer Buddha on Ginty and Brady Rock 92.3


Okay so it appears that this week is a great week for craft beer in Louisiana. After an awesome stint on Tom Fitsmorris' Food Show yesterday I was able to weasel my way onto the Ginty & Brady Show on Rock 92.3. I will be on this Friday at 7:30 am. Jason Ginty seemed really pumped about dranking some beers!

Not sure what beers I will be bringing quite yet but I do know I will be pimping local fo' sho'! Can't wait to talk about Louisiana craft beer! Make sure ya'll are listening and call in if they ask! We need to promote local baby!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

PS And for those out of town you can listen live on the 92.3 website!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Q & A with Josh Erickson from Pelican Brewing Company


Okay so a couple months ago I told you about a new brewery coming to Louisiana called Pelican Brewing Company which will be based out of Mandeville. Well recently I was able to get some answers to some hard hitting, important questions I had from owner Josh Erickson. Enjoy!


BB) Do you have an official release date for our beer and what beers will you be brewing?

JE) Unfortunately no official release date yet as there are too many unknowns (some out of our control) for us right now to pin down a particular date (distributor contracts, legal permits, etc). So instead we are giving folks a "window" for availability, and that window is sometime in the first Quarter of 2012 (Jan - Mar). Can you tell I work in the Software Industry? :) About our beers, one of our initial release brews will be called Voo Ka Ray IPA. It's an Imperial IPA that utilizes a "late-hopping" technique that gives it lots of hop flavor and aroma without being overly bitter. Our other initial release brew is called Old 504, and it's a Vanilla Coffee Robust Porter. My wife Jamie, who is the better more reliable half of PBC, came up with this recipe, and every time we get a compliment on it, she makes sure and reminds me who came up with it! I take it with a smile because I know as a team, we can make some great brews for all to enjoy!

BB) Who will be distributing your beers?

JE) We are still in negotiations with multiple distributors, so stay tuned for this answer! I can tell you that the distributors we've talked to are all very excited about Pelican Brewing Company and the craft beer scene that's gaining momentum in our area. This gets us even more excited and motivated to get our beers to the public ASAP!!

BB) Who's hotter? Daisy Duke or Wonder Woman?

JE) This one much harder. I mean how cool would my kids be if Mom dropped
them off at school in an invisible plane, not to mention Mom at a PTA
meeting with a lasso. However, DD has a close place in my teenage heart,
that no super heroine can replace, so DD with the win.

BB) What issues have you faced trying to start up the brewery? Have you found the states three tier laws restricting?

JE) I would say that because we love this business and have a passion for brewing, that any "issue" we face while opening a brewery, to us, looks more like an "opportunity" (at least that's what I tell myself when something comes up :)). So some "opportunities" we've faced would include suppliers, government officials, etc, that won't even bother talking to you until you're completely legal or have followed certain steps in the exact order that they see fit. But let me say these have been in the minority, the majority of our experiences have been great and most everyone has been helpful along the way in getting us going! About the 3 tier laws, we haven't found this to be restricting yet, but we might have a different answer for you a year from now. :)

BB) What is your brewing background? Homebrewer? School trained?

JE) I come from a home brewing background. If you count Mr. Beer, my first beer was brewed back in 1998. Since then, my brewing took a back seat to my wife Jamie and I raising our 4 sons (she did way more than I did :)). Once our boys got older, I started to get back in to home brewing, especially since now I had 4 new assistant brewers!! All my "training" comes from my own experiences and University of Google, or more specifically Home Brew forums, a GREAT resource for anyone looking to get into brewing beer.

BB) Hall & Oates or Air Supply and why?

JE) H&O, that was easy, only because the Kiss I can't resist.

BB) What beers do you enjoy when not drinking your own?

JE) I enjoy many types of beers and will try anything at least once. But if I were to give you what I enjoy from most to least, I'd go... 1) My friend's home brews, 2) Any/all local craft beers starting from the smallest guy to the biggest guy (in that order), 3) The rest of the craft beer section at the store. :) I really don't enjoy one particular brand over another, and will mix it up all the time based on my patented system mentioned above. As far as styles go, I would say IPAs are my favorite, with brown ales, porters, and stouts duking it out for 2nd place.

BB) IPAs and Sours are the HOT beers in the craft beer drinking world right now. Will you be brewing any?

JE) IPA yes (as mentioned above), Sours, not YET. While some of us "hard-core" craft brewers are finally acquiring that sour beer taste, with the limited number of taps we'll have available initially (because of our small size), we had to go with our 2 favorite brews as our initial releases. Once we get bigger, we can take more risks and see if we can convert the masses over to Sours!


Thanks to Josh for partaking in this Q and A! Be on the lookout for their beers to hit shelves sometime next year!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Monday, October 3, 2011

The Beer Buddha on the Tom Fitzmorris Food Show

I stole this photo from somewhere on the World Wide Web.

So tomorrow I will be appearing on Tom Fitzmorris' Food Show getting an opportunity to talk about beer in New Orleans and sample some brews to some foodies. Fitzmorris is a legend here in New Orleans when it comes to reviewing and discussing New Orleans cuisine and I'm honored to appear on his show.


The radio station is WWL 1350 AM and the show will be from 3pm-6pm. Check it out! I don't know if they do the whole live streaming thing but it appears there is a podcast and you can get WWL App for your phone! Wish me luck!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Sunday, October 2, 2011

New Orleans on Tap Recap

Yesterday I was able to make it out to the New Orleans on Tap beer festival at City Park. This event is put on by The Bulldog and the LSPCA with all proceeds go to the LSPCA. I missed the event last year but thankfully made it this year and I must say what a kick ass event.

It was different than most beer festivals that I have attended in that you don't pay to get in but rather pay for tickets. This is genius as it allows you to pick and choose the beers you want instead of feeling like you MUST try everything in order to get your moneys worth. You can choose to pay your tickets for a sample size of 3 oz or a larger 9 oz size. This has got to be the future of beer festivals. Loved it!

They also had two live bands with Rotary Downs and Flow Tribe who both laid it down. And there was a very special guest appearance from Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune who make up the craft beer dynamic duo The Beer Chicks. They were there filming a new show for the Food Network. Can't wait to see that show!

This whole event was a helluva lot of fun and in my opinion is NOT to be missed!!! Here are some of my pics from the event. Maybe next year I'll get better pics! I was busy dranking!


The Abita stage


Longest line had to be Gnarley Barley's.


Gnarley Barley's tap handles. Made from broken skate boards.


Me with Polly from Avenue Pub, Christina Perozzi and @BrewSleuth


Me with Zac from Gnarley Barley


Me with Brad from The Shed BBQ. If you know good BBQ you know The Shed!



More people drinking!

Be there next year people! I mean it! It was a great time! Thanks to The Bulldog, LSPCA and to all the other companies who helped put this together!! And a special thanks to Polly from Avenue Pub who let me tag along as a volunteer which I did turribly as Charles Barkley would say.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha