Monday, November 28, 2011

New Orleans Beer Guide: A New Local Beer Project


Just wanted to let you all know about a new beer project I am working on along with some other great local bloggers. Make sure you check out NOLA Beer Guide.

The Beer Buddha is still going to be around I just wanted to create a project that I could focus on New Orleans beer along with some other great writers. Check it out and stay tuned cause it's gonna be great!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Beery Christmas: Beer Gifts For Your Beer Nerd 2011 Edition


Turkey Day is over and the gift giving holidays are right around the corner. I say gift giving because why limit your gifts to only Christmas. I'm pretty sure they receive gifts during Hanukkah too! I came up with a nice little list of 10 items I think your significant beer nerd other would love to have! Enjoy!


1) Beer shoes




I really love these shoes from Brewshoes. I was going to have a beer clothing list but these shoes are so baddass I gave them their own. These shoes are not only great looking dress shoes but they also have a beer design on the sole of the shoes. Classic.

2) A membership to beer of the month club

Beer of the month clubs are a great idea. In the immortal words of Uncle Eddie from Christmas Vacation, "Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year". How truly wise of Uncle Eddie. You can receive beer all year long! My recommendation is to use www.craftbeerclub.com. I was fortunate enough to get a three month trial and loved the beers I received. All three months found me with beers I have never had a chance to try before. And that is hard to do.




3) Subscription to beer magazine and/or craft beer books

I recommend the following:

Magazine:

Draft Magazine


and Beer Magazine


Books:

The Oxford Companion to Beer by Garrett Oliver


The Great American Ale Trail by Christian DeBenedetti


Brewed Awakening by Joshua Bernstein


4) Beer memorabilia

I recommended this last year and will recommend it again. I love local New Orleans beer memorabilia and I'm sure your beer nerd would too. ebay is the easiest place to find what you are looking for. Some good ones to look up if you are from New Orleans are: Falstaff, Regal, Jax and Dixie.

5) Beer candy


What beer nerd wouldn't want hop infused chocolates? Check out Hopcandyinc.com for some great gift ideas for this holiday season and according to their website get your orders in early!

6) Beer T shirts


All beer geeks love beer shirts. All my peeps know that's pretty much all I wear. I will wear more than just craft beer shirts too. I love the old school beer shirts like the one pictured above. I recommend going to WearYourBeer.com. And yes they are a sponsor on this site! For a more local flair you can go to Funrock'n at 3109 Magazine St. They have some iron logos of breweries such as Falstaff and even Schwegmann's beer. They have shirts or you can bring your own.

7) Mixed beer case

Getting a mixed case of beer is always a great idea! Either from your local beer store like Steins Deli here in New Orleans or if you think your local beer nerd has exhausted his/her local resources go online. I recommend www.brewforia.com.

8) Homebrewing Equipment

Pic courtesy of Brewstock.com

Perhaps your local beer nerd has been considering homebrewing. Go to your local homebrew shop and either have the owner put together a kit for you or you can get a giftcard so your beer nerd can put together their own. Here in New Orleans the place to go is Brewstock which is located uptown at 3800 Dryades St.

9) Beercentric Restaurant Gift Certificate

pic courtesy savorcraftbeer.com

Most likely you live in a town that has a great restaurant that supports the craft beer movement. Buy your beer nerd a gift card to the restaurant! This gift can benefit you as well as most likely you'll be taken to dinner! Score! Some great craft beercentric restaurants here in the New Orleans area are my friends over at Squeal BBQ and also at Boucherie and Gordon Biersch.

10) Become a member-owner of a brewery


In Austin, Texas is a co-operative brew pub called Black Star Co-op. For a small fee of $150 you can buy your beer nerd one share in the brewery. And what are the benefits of being a member-owner? According to the brewery website:

-Voting power!
-Member appreciation events
-Patronage refunds
-Bragging rights
-”Beer with the Board” specials
-Free “Birthday” Beer
-Eligibility to join University Federal Credit Union www.ufcu.org
As the co-op develops, more benefits will become available.

This is such a unique and fun gift!!


If you have any fun beercentric gift ideas please share them with us!


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Avenue Pub's The Kindness of Strangers Swedish Beer Event

So it's true! Sweden can make something other than bikini models and IKEA furniture and we have proof! Once again The Avenue Pub has gone above and beyond to get us New Orleanians the chance at trying the best beers in the world!

From The Avenue Pub:

The Kindness of Strangers Swedish beer event January 21st, 2012

In April of last year I met the owner of a very famous beer bar in Sweden. Stene loves New Orleans and wanted to throw a Mardi Gras party at his bar in Stockholm. Working with Shelton Bros we figured out a way to ship kegs of Abita and NOLA to Sweden. The idea was that they would be filled with Swedish beer and then returned to the Pub. Those kegs are on their way back to us now and we have scheduled the event for Saturday Jan 21st. what I didnt expect was the beers Stene would choose to send us. More than a few have never been in the US before and there is little chance they will return. The Stormskaporter is surely one of the most coveted imperial stouts in the world. It's made in tiny batches and only available in a few places in Sweden. Stene basically gave us one of his allocated kegs. An extraordinary gift.

The Stormskaporter will be the most expensive keg I've ever bought. once the US taxes and registering fees are paid the keg will cost $675 for a 1/4 barrel. That's before our local distributor gets hold of it. Shelton is donating their labor on this so there is no mark up expect for shipping. Because of this generosity we have decided to make at least part of this event charitable. The brewers of Narke lost their son to cancer very recently and we are waiting for their direction on how to donate the funds. We don't have a price yet on the rest of the beers so I haven't set a price or format for the event. We are letting Boucherie have some of the kegs for a Swedish beer dinner. More on that after the first of the year!

Please share this email around to all your beer loving friends. These beers is worth the trip:)

NILS OSCAR
Coffee Stout

Kalas ÖL (Dark lager)
Christmas Beer (Scottish style wee heavy 8%)
annual christmas beer, recipe changes each year no reviews yet as it is new.
Hop Yard (Strong IPA)

Närke

Slättöl

Skvatt Galen (With bog myrtle witch was used before hops was common)
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-skvatt-galen/130786/
InternationALE

Smoked Porter
no review found
Tanngnjost & Tanngrisir (Smoked Double Bock)

Stormakts Porter Konjaks

Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri

Barley Wine 2009 ( Gold Medal today at World Beer Awards)
Tjockhult Tjinook ( first time on keg outside Oliver Twist & Akkurat)

Sotholmen Extra Stout

Mysingen Midvinterbryggd (Christmas ale in the style of Anchor Christmas)

Skebobruksbryggeri

Sovereign Golden Ale. ( Very easy to drink Britt styled Ale)

Oppigards TBA

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Polly and gang for continuing to make New Orleans a much better beer town!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Brewhaha on Bayou Road

Come celebrate New Orleans' brewing traditions at the 3rd Annual Brewhaha at it's new location on Bayou Rd! We'll have even more local brewers, coffee roasters, and artisans, plus great music and food.

When: Saturday, November 19 · 11:00am - 4:00pm

Where: Bayou Road (between North Broad and Desoto)
2500 Bayou Road
New Orleans, LA

Admission: FREE; Beer, Coffee, Food and Crafts are on sale

BEER:
Abita
NOLA Brewing
Lazy Magnolia
Bayou Teche
Heiner Brau/Covington
Tin Roof
Pelican Brewing (Tastings)
Mudbug Brewing (Tastings)

Brews:
Bayou Brew (Flavored Teas)
Society of New Orleans Baritas
Coffee Roasters of New Orleans

FOOD:
Crescent Pie & Sausage Co.
Buttermilk Drop Bakery
Coco Hut
Cajun King
Mchardy's Fried Chicken
Latino Farmers Cooperative
Big Will and the Warden

MUSIC:

11am ~ Opening Ceremony - Prayer Song and Libation - Zion Trinity
11:30 - 12:30 J.D. Hill Blues Band
1:00 - 2:00 Zion Trinity
2:30 - 3:30 Sharon Martin and First Take
3:30 - 4 Festival Closing Celebration & Ceremony

*Domino Sound Record Shack spinning rare grooves on the Brewhaha Stage during breaks.

Art/Craft Vendors:
Coming Real Soon (Picture will be posted also)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Marine Corps AND Check Out Novemberfest 2011


I know it may seem odd that I am wishing the Marine Corps a Happy Birthday but anyone who knows me well enoungh knows that my father is a retired Marine Corps colonel and I spent 22 years of my life as a Marine brat. How does this relate to beer you ask? The Marine Corps was born in a bar that's how! Happy Birthday Marines! Ooh Rah!

That being said a buddy of mine in Houma, LA named Jason Sanner is putting on a beer festival down in the swamps of Houma. This is the third year of the event and every year the proceeds go to a charity of his choice. This years he is donating the proceeds to local Iraq/ Afghanistan military veterans. Being a military brat this is important to me. Supporting our volunteer troops is a must in my opinion as they fight every day for our freedoms we seem to always take for granted.

Below are the details of this amazing three day event!


Novemberfest 2011 Weekend Schedule

Friday 11/25

6:30pm-2:00am: Art Versus Novemberfest
-featuring paintings, photography, and sculpture from over 20 local artists
-Music: Open Mic all night!
-Beer Specials all night on featured Novemberfest Craft and Import Brews

Saturday 11/26

2:00pm: Mud Bug Brewery Beer Pairing Lunch at The Duke
-5 sampler size courses expertly prepared by Chef Matt Dolese, paired with tastings of 5 ALL NEW Mudbug Brewery Beers! Cost is $40.00 per person in advance only.

6:00pm-2:00am: Novemberfest Main Event
-6pm: Mud Bug Brewery Exclusive Beer Tasting featuring Craft Beers brewed in Thibodaux that have never before been served to the public!
-6pm: Special Q&A Session with Mudbug Brewmeister Leith Adams
-6pm: Steaming Hot Beer-Marinated Grilled Bratwurst on the bun with all the trimmings.
-6pm til: Tastings of various other selected Novemberfest Featured Beers and Microbrews, with several available for purchase at a discount after tasting.
-8pm: Charity Raffle benefitting LOCAL military veterans injured while serving in the Middle East. (Prizes include… $150.00 tattoo from Eddie Snyder of TattooMania, Artwork by local artists, Gift Certificates to local businesses, Novemberfest merchandise, and More…)
-9pm til 1:45: Live music! (Bands To Be Announced)
*Admission to the Main Event is $10.00 for Beers, Bratwurst, and Bands or incl with P.O.P. Weekend Bracelet.*
*Admission Saturday night for Bands only is $5.00*

Sunday 11/27

1:00pm-Close: BBQ, Bikes, & Blues Sunday
-Live Blues music performed all day
-Full spread of delicious BBQ prepared by Chef Matt Dolese of The Duke and Mudbug’s special Roasted Chipotle Smoked Ale!!
-3pm: 2011 Novemberfest Critical Mass Bike Ride & AlleyCat Bike Race ($5 Entry fee for race)
*Admission for Sunday is $10.00 per person in advance or at the door*
[*Pay One Price Weekend Bracelets will be available for $50.00 at The Boxer & The Barrel in advance starting on November 17 and at the door on the weekend of the festival*]



I'm hoping to check out at least one of these days! Sounds like a great event and it's all for a great cause! Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Friday, November 4, 2011

Beer Fridge Friday: November 4, 2011

Todays fridge comes to us from Adam over at Adam's Beer Blog. Thanks Adam!!


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

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha