Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Rock 'n' Hops Is What's Up During Jazzfest Weekend



Dude.  Have you ever seen the beer selection at Jazzfest?  Pretty shitty huh?  Well here is an event during Jazzfest where the beer ain't shitty.  And the money you spend going to this event benefits The Grammy Foundation's Musicares.  The event is this Saturday, May 4th 8pm-2am.  

So yeah, badass beer, kickass music and Taceaux Loceaux.   If you were thinking of going to Jazzfest don't.  Go to this event instead.  If you already have tickets to Jazzfest you should go.  You spent a lot of money on those tickets.  But then you should go to this event also.

Here is the info from the event:

Don't let your Jazzfest fun settle once the Fairground lights dim! Head a little ways down Tchoup for Rock 'N' Hops--an evening of New Orleans craft-brewed beer and Louisiana music benefiting MusiCares. There will be two stages featuring a rotating line up of bands and acoustic performances, a truckload of Taceaux Loceaux munchies, and plenty of NOLA Brewing beer for those concertgoers ready to keep the festive spirit alive and well into the hot New Orleans night. This event is brought to you by NOLA Brewing and The Breton Sound, a band of NOLA natives ready to introduce you to their inventive take on New Orleans rock music.

Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, The Breton Sound, Royal Teeth's Gary Larsen & Nora Patterson, Andrew Duhon, Coyotes, Bantam Foxes, Liam Catchings & The Jolly Racket, The Wooden Wings' Cherie LeJeune, & ALL YOU CAN DRINK BEER!

Doors at 8 p.m. 21+ only $20 in advance and that includes all-you-can drink NOLA Brewing beer!

A benefit concert for MusiCares


Shamarr Allen


The Breton Sound

Stein's Deli Moves Beer to Back Room. Yes, This Is News.

You ever walk into Stein's Deli and think, "Damn, there is like a billion people in here how the hell am I gonna be able to look at the beer selection?"  I know I have.  The best beer selection in the city was always hampered by the people wanting some badass sandwiches.  I've also walked out of Stein's Deli smelling like Stein's Deli.  It's like a new cologne.  Mmmm what's the smell.  Stein's.  But that's a whole 'nother post.

This post is to let ya'll now Stein's moved most of the beer selection to the back room.  Getting to it is like a speakeasy kinda deal.  Pretty cool.  It also made shopping for the beer SO much easier.  I saw some seriously awesome beers in there.  Haven't been in awhile since I haven't had a beer budget due to making a job change.  I have some serious beer buying to do when I get my paycheck!!!

Here are some pics:

The coolers in the front,  And the table they call Big Jew

A sign that you are almost there

Beer.

More beer.

Brooklyn Silver Anniversary

Always been a big fan of the Bitter Monk label

Best sign ever.


Go check Steins out!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

American Craft Beer Week: Avenue Pub


Okay, so basically I copy and pasted from Avenue Pub's website.  Okay, so I DID copy and paste from Avenue Pubs website.  It's easier.

American Craft Beer Week events happen at other venues but I need those other venues to reach out to me if you want the events posted.

American Craft Beer Week 2012, May 13th - 19th

The Brewers Association, the national non-profit association on behalf of the majority of today’s U.S. breweries, and publishers of CraftBeer.com, celebrate the culmination of these events each May with American Craft Beer Week (ACBW), The Mother of All Beer Weeks. A chance to introduce Beer Lovers to some of the finest new brews in the country! Click to read the “Declaration Of Beer Independence” (PDF file) (This is NOT the final list. we are still waiting on commitments from breweries -subject to change)

Sunday May 12

Kick off Crawfish boil with Bayou Teche! Join the Knott brothers as we eat some mudbugs and drink their very special beer!


  • Baiser Francais (French Kiss with Alsatian Hops) 
  • Cocodrie Belgian 
  • Tripel Passionee dry hopped with New Zealand hop varietal Moteuka


Monday May 13

Southern Tier Rolls out in La


  • 2 Time IPA Live 
  • Pumking 
  • Crème Brûlée 
  • Oat 
  • Mokah 
  • Hope Sun (Bottle Pour)


Tuesday May 14

 Beer & It’s Bourbon

 Tuesdays are our whiskey education days so during ACBW we serve up some spectacular Bourbon Barrel Aged beers with a side of the Bourbon in whose barrels they are cellared. Many of these will be online throughout the week but Tuesday will be the only night we will pour the bourbon with the beer. All are a la carte so if you just want the beer that's okay too.


  • Against the Grain Bo & Luke w/ Pappy Van Winkle 12 yr 
  • Brooklyn Cuvee Elijah Ghost Bottles w/ Elijah Craig 12 yr 
  • Bayou Teche Barrel aged Biere Joie w/ Jack Daniels 
  • Northcoast Old Rapsutin Barrel Aged w/ Heaven Hill 
  • Abita Bourbon Barrel Turbo Dog w/ Buffalo Trace 
  • Lazy Magnolia Southern Gentleman w/ Schmalz Rejewvantor w/ Sazerac Rye 


Greg from Schmaltz will be with us for the evening!


Wednesday May 15th

Funky Town: Sours, Saison & Funky Beers


  • Stillwater – Lower Dens 
  • Local Option – Gose 
  • Local Option – Dampf Loc 
  • Against the Grain – Tickle Me Elmo 
  • Saint Arnold – Bishop’s Barrel Number 2 (Sour Cherries aged in White Wine Barrels) 
  • Hill Farmstead – La Vermontoise 
  • Hill Farmstead – Fantôme Collaboration


Thursday May 16th

 Hop Head Night (aka Kill Your Palate Night)


  •  NOLA Double Dry Hopped Mechahopzilla on gravity 
  • Tin Roof Double Dry Hopped Juke Joint IPA 
  • Stone Double Dry Hopped Ruination
  •  Lazy Magnolia Double Dry Hopped 
  • Timber Beast on gravity 
  • Stone Enjoy By… (end of date) 
  • Brash & Ska Collaboration – Skankin Dirty 
  • Brash – The Bollocks Double IPA 
  • Sierra Nevada Hoptimum 
  • Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere


Friday May 17th

American Craft Cask Crawl down St. Charles Ave. with Irish House

Firkin tappings at Irish House and the pub!

At the Pub: Parish brewing hibiscus Canebrake Parish Envie NOLA Citra Blonde Brash Item

At Irish House: Parish New Zealand Dry Hop NOLA Brewing (style TBA)

Saturday May 18th

American Craft Beer Week Grand Tasting!

We turn over all the taps and open all the bottles of the fabulous American Craft beers we can get our hands on!

Full tap & bottle list coming soon!

Definitely hoping to make it to many of these events!  See you there!


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Kick Ass Beer Rooms: James Lutring

Okay, so we used to do the beer fridge photos on here which was awesome but I wasn't getting a whole lot of pics after awhile so I let it go.  After seeing James Lutring's Beer Room I thought it would be cool to do a blog post called Kick Ass Beer Rooms.  I was just going to keep it Louisiana but thought it would be more fun to see anyone who wanted to send photos.

So here we go.  The first photo courtesy of James:


The Star Wars poster kicks ass.  That and the random Tie Fighter in the back.  Thanks James for sending the photo!  Love the room!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha


Thursday, April 18, 2013

WYES International Beer Tasting: 30th Anniversary

It's almost that time again!  WYES Beer Tasting Weekend is a couple months away!  Just got word that the event will be held at Mardi Gras World this year AND they will be celebrating 30 years!  This is an interesting change of venue and I think will be beneficial for the event!  I know that the change will allow breweries and vendors to sell merchandise this year which is awesome!  

As always I've partnered with WYES to give away tickets.  I will be working on a clever way to give those tickets away.  

I really look forward to trying all the homebrew beers every year!  I imagine we will also get to see a good number of the breweries entering the state.  New Belgium and Southern Tier should be there for sure!

I haven't heard anything about the food situation but I attended the Private tasting last year and the food choice was awesome(Zea's)but was tough to get as they kept running out.  Hopefully the change in venue will help with that!

Here are the details:




5th Annual WYES PRIVATE BEER SAMPLING
Friday, June 21, 7-10pm
Mardi Gras World 1380 Port of Orleans Place
$50





30th Annual WYES INTERNATIONAL BEER TASTING
Saturday, June 22, 6-9pm
Mardi Gras World 1380 Port of Orleans Place
$30 in advance
$40 at the door

Buy tickets here.

They will also be selling Designated Driver tickets for $15.  I'm not sure what exactly this gets you other than entrance into the event.  If I find out I will let ya'll know!

Hope to see ya'll there!  I'm hoping to make both events this year!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sweetwater's Brewhouse Expansion Means 2013 Louisiana Distribution


Was reading The Full Pint website today and saw an article about Sweetwater Breweries brewhouse expansion.  Here is the link

Note where it states: Rolling into the second and third quarter of 2013, the brewery will begin shipping its unpasteurized ales in three new states including Kentucky, Virginia and Louisiana bringing SweetWater’s availability to a total of nine U.S. states across the Southeast.

This is awesome!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Beer Review: Abita Lemon Wheat



As I sit here brewing my first 5 gallon batch of beer(I started with 1 gallon batches) I have the opportunity to sip on some of Abita's new Lemon Wheat.  Now in full disclosure an Abita rep had this delivered to my house in the hood by another Abita rep.  Shout out to Leo Basile and Keith Pulmilia for doing that!

I tried it for the first time last night and I liked it.  Not because Abita delivered it to my house but rather because in this world of high ABV beers and punch you the testicles hop presence it's nice to sip on something light, crisp and sessionable(4.4% abv).  This beer is a fantastic beer for summer time.

Yeah, I know I will catch shit and honestly I don't care.  You know me, I never do.  I drink what I like as should you.  Never let others dictate your tastebuds.   Hell, there is a reason I buy Abita Strawberry every year.  I like it and am not afraid to admit it.

Some folks will disagree with me here but I honestly think Abita is finally going in the right direction.  Being able to maintain not only their appeal to the majority of beer drinkers but also to us beer geeks.  I would think their current rank on the Brewers Association's Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies would speak volumes.  A Louisiana brewery is ranked in the  top 20(#14).  That's quite a feat and a jump from last year.  Congrats Abita!  Now if you'd just start bottling that Black IPA!  Here is my review:

Brewery:  Abita Brewing

Beer:  Lemon Wheat

Style:  Wheat Beer

ABV:  4.4%

Louisiana Availability:  Of course.  Seasonal though.  May through September.

Appearance:  Hazy straw color with a nice, foamy white head.  Lacing present throughout.  Apparently I cleaned my glass well!

Smell:   Hit immediately with light citrus notes but balanced nicely with hint of graininess.    Very low hop character.

Taste:  Nice citrus note with a subtle spiciness and slight breadiness.  As in the nose their is little to no hop character which can be expected in this style.  Has a dry finish with a slight tartness.

Mouthfeel:  Medium body with medium high carbonation.

Overall:  A simple yet tasty brew perfect for Louisiana summers.  Nice sessionable ABV which means you can drink a bunch and feel good about yourself in the morning.

Score:  3.5 out of 5 Buddhas  photo 3.jpg





Sunday, April 7, 2013

Bret Lyttle Bed Review: Three Beers, a Seagrams Wine Cooler and Drunkiness

After a strange and drunken night at the new Coyote Ugly in Destin involving fat girls and a mechanical bull Bret wanted to do a bed review.  I really wish I could record these and just upload them to the blog.  They are much funnier than you read.  I can only type so fast and some stuff I probably shouldn't.

Conversations about religion, thongs, men waxing ass cracks and life at the beach took place today.  That and Bret being distracted by his wife while she walked around in panties and bra "all day" made for an interesting video chat.  We even get a review from Sara.  It was a clearly a good day at the Lyttle house.  Remember:  These are HIS reviews.  I only write them down.  As accurately as possible. Here they are:



Beer:  Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer

Bret:  English beers are underrated.  This is by far one of my favorite beers.

Aroma- Nice caramel and toffee aroma.  No hop aroma at all.

Taste:  Nice and malty brew with a hint of vanilla.  This is what Newcastle wished they tasted like.

Rating:  4 out of 5 Buddhas  photo 4buddhas.jpg




Beer:  Sam Adams Summer

Bret:  This beer is nostalgic for many reasons.  Many I cannot discuss.  They are the Dave Matthews of beer.  They are not as refined as the rest of the craft beer world.  The attention to detail is gone.  They have the ability to brew amazing beer but they don't.

We had a nice long discussion about Sam Adams and their ability vs what they actually brew after this comment.

Aroma:  Smells like flat lemon beer.

Taste:   Light carbonation.  Light citrus notes.  Light hops.  Very unimpressive.  Tastes very watered down. I would like a little more flavor but it's not bad.

Rating:  3 out of 5 Buddhas   photo 3buddhas.jpg



Beer:  Dogfish Head Aprihop


Aroma-  Smells like a urinal.  In a good way.  (Disclaimer:  Not sure how this is good but this is Bret's review)

Taste-  Sweet citrus note of an apricot.  Slight hoppiness.  Very well balanced with the hops unlike Sierra Nevada which hops the fuck out of fucking everything.  This one is perfectly balanced.  Perfect balance of things that should be balanced.

Rating- 5 out of 5 Buddhas  photo 5buddhas.jpg



So apparently they had a Seagrams Escapes Peach Fuzzy Navel sitting around.  Thought it would be funny for Sara to review this one.  I never asked why this was sitting around their house though.  Somehow it seemed fitting she was in bra and panties.  Felt like a high school hazing ritual.

Seagrams Escapes Peach Fuzzy Navel (with natural flavors)

Smell:  Smells like peach Gummi-Os

Taste:  SO BAD!  Taste like peach Jell-O.

Rating:  Drain pour   photo drainpour.jpg

Glad she didn't like this one.  Would have hurt my opinion of Sara a bit.  I know she likes the good stuff!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha


Friday, April 5, 2013

Bayou Teche Releasing Biere Joi Lagniappe


I got an exciting email this morning from the folks over at Bayou Teche Brewing!  In about three weeks they will be releasing a beer called Biere Joi Lagniappe which looks to be a coffee/chili beer.  If you were a fan of their Christmas release Joie à Tous (Joy to All) you gotta know you're gonna love this one!  I for one can't wait!  Here are the details I received from the brewery:


Bayou Teche Brewing is releasing the next in their Lagniappe Series of bieres, Biere Joi Lagniappe. Lagniappe is the Louisiana French word that expresses the little something extra that a merchant adds to your purchase. We aged a one-off, high gravity Bière Joi in oak barrels and threw in coffee from Mello Joy, chile de árbols from Primo’s Peppers, and chocolaty cacao nibs – just a little lagniappe.

The malt bill for this special release of Biere Joi is quite different from previous batches. Spiked heavily with French Coffee Kilned barley malt and a double dose of Belgian Dark Candi sugar, the ABV now hovers around 7.5%. After fermentation, the ale is racked into Jack Daniels barrels with then spiked with French roasted coffee from Mello Joi. After four months in the barrels, the best tasting barrels were racked onto and aged on locally grown organic Chile d’arbols from Pimmo’s Peppers and copious amounts of cacao nibs.

This very limited release (only about 150 cases) is Bayou Teche Brewing’s most complex (yet very approachable) beer. Biere Joi’s nose is entirely whiskey and oak – and lots of it. Our brewmaster, Gar Hatcher describes the first sip as “at first you notice the coffee, then in the middle a little of the woodsy-chile spice flavors of the d’arbols peak through. The finish is a long and tongue-coating chocolaty goodness – comparable to freshly baked fudge brownies.

Biere Joi – Lagniappe Series should be available in about three weeks or so. The beer is available in 22 oz. Belgian style bottles and in an extremely small amount of kegs (probably only one or two). It is the second in the five series of limited edition beers slated for release from our brewery in 2013.


Be on the lookout for this one for sure!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

4th Annual Bugs 'n Brew For Drew Crawfish Cookoff and Beer Festival




Beer is awesome.  Eating crawfish is awesome.  Listening to live local music?  Is awesome.  Doing all the above for a great cause?  Is awesomerest!

Check out this event:

The 4th Annual Bugs & Brew for Drew Crawfish Cook-off and Beer Festival will take place April 20th in the River City Plaza at Mardi Gras World. This year we’re stepping it up a notch and moving the party to the banks of the Mighty Mississippi! We’ll have over 50 teams from around the city boiling up their best crawfish and beer on tap by local craft breweries such as Abita, Nola Brewing, Bayou Teche and Tin Roof, just to name a few. Proceeds from this event benefit The Drew Rodrigue Foundation and its various charitable activities.

 Here are some of the great things going on at this years event:


  •  Crawfish Boil Cook-off open to the public, with more than 50 teams competing for the titles of Best Crawfish and Best Lagniappe 
  • Local Craft Beer Exposition with participating breweries like Abita, Nola Brewing, Bayou Teche, Tin Roof, and many more. There will also be free tastings from up-and-coming breweries and home brewers.
  • Live Music 
  • Entertainment for your kids 
  • A raffle including gift certificates to local restaurants, local artwork, vacation packages at hotels along the Gulf Coast, and more 


You can also check out the results and photos from last year here. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, and you’ll get all the latest info as soon as its available.

 Breweries 

Several local breweries from the Louisiana Craft Brewers Guild such as Abita, Nola Brewing, Bayou Teche and Tin Roof will be there offering you some of their best brews to help you wash down a few pounds of crawfish! And on top of that, a handful of local breweries in-planning and a few members of local home-brew associations will be offering free tastings, so come out and raise a glass with us!


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Southern Tier Rollout Party Info

As I said earlier Southern Tier is coming to New Orleans.  Now we have an official date.  May 13th.  Avenue Pub.  Here is the link to the Facebook page.

Well, I guess I can stop writing the blog now.  New Orleans is officially an awesome craft beer town.  Mission accomplished.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha