Friday, December 1, 2017

Yep, Virginia, It's Another Bottle Share

was a fortunate participant in the latest #gvlbrewcrew bottle share. Friends have been traveling and brought back regional brews. All were excellent, couple of standouts were Jaune and Joie from Westbrook Brewing Company, Hop Fiend from Boojum Brewing Company, Snow Flurry from Mother Earth Brewery.

Special thanks to Bob Muller for sharing the La Folie Grand Reserve Geisha from New Belgium Brewing. Running out of superlatives here. Peruse the photo to see the others.


Tuesday, November 14, 2017

New Brew Saturday Success

Following up on the New Brew Saturday visit to Zillicoah Beer Company, here are the beers we, as a group, enjoyed and got excited about.
Their Pilsner was classic in style with very balanced flavors and a treat to the palate. Refreshing and dry.

Their Session Breakfast Porter was simply amazing; never knew you could even brew a porter with 3.8% abv. Chocolate and coffee notes up front, the lactose adding a very creamy mouth feel, clean finish. Certainly could have had more than one... but I was working, you know. 

I liked their IPA (surprise) cause among other things I am a fan of Mosaic and Galaxy hops, which this beer served up abundantly. Very drinkable.

My last taste was of the Imperial Stout, a big one at 10% ABV and equally big in body and flavor. Excellent mouth feel and lingering finish all contributed to making this a good Winter weather choice for sipping slowly, preferably with a friend (or friends) in front of the fire.
 

They have chosen to specialize in open-fermented farmhouse ales and lagers (check out their special lager glass tankard) and with Jonathan and Jeremy's brewing backgrounds combined with the satisfying beers we tasted, look for big things from this new venue.
Located on the French Broad River, they have a perfect location for next year's warm weather season. 


A note of caution tho: the entrance can be a little challenging so keep a sharp out for oncoming traffic when you turn downhill into the brewery. Some additional pics now, showing Jonathan working some yeast and Jeremy busily pouring as the crowd began to wander in.













Cheers!
 





Sunday, November 5, 2017

Sour & Cider at The Community Tap

Community Tap's Sour & Cider Social is now in the Greenville Fabulous Events history books, hope you were able to participate. I'm glad I was able to fit it in to my schedule (another beer event across town required research as well) and was ably rewarded; some very puckery beers were offered up, all very special. In between sampling the array of sours and ciders and gnoshing at the charcuterie table, ran into a bunch of familiar faces; Big Jon from the Bacon Brothers, Shawn and Lindsay from Birds Fly South, Harvin Bedenbaugh from The Den at Lowe's, Ed Creighton from The Wheel, Chris Hooper from the bike trails, Brent Hodgson from Sierra Nevada and many, many others. Obviously, it was a very popular event. As is my wont, I managed a few snaps when my hands were free of beer or cheese. The results follow: Mike Okupinski Anna Evans Okupinski Harvin Bedenbaugh Ed Creighton Chris Hooper Brent Hodgson













Monday, October 23, 2017

Carolina BrewHaHa - 2017



The 2017 version of Carolina BrewHaHa (http://www.carolinabrewhaha.com/) is now in the history books, and that history will show that it was another big success with some outstanding beers and new brewery attendees; New Groove Artisan Brewery in Boiling Springs one (http://newgroovebrew.com/) and Cooper River in Charleston another (http://cooperriverbrewing.com/).
The event was not overly crowded so it was easy to get to the beer pourers and for VIP ticket holders, some very special beers, including a two year old Cold Mountain from Highland Brewing, Asheville.

There was also good music (http://www.carolinabrewhaha.com/music) to sip beer and toe tap by, excellent brats and lots of friendly, like-minded beer lovers. A recipe for success, every year. Well done, Jake.

In between tastes, I managed to grab a few snaps. Maybe you or a friend are in here:






































See ya there next year!

Cheers.