Whale Meets Wooden Robot - Greenville Cheers!

If you made it over to The Whale today for the Wooden Robot Brewery event, featuring four of their most popular brews, you could have joined me in welcoming Mikey Foster, Sales Rep, to the beer-appreciating GVL community and tasted some very special brewery-only beers that he conveniently brought along: Aww Fudge, a fudge stout was just velvet on the palate and no hint of the 12.8% Abv. A "Bring me my slippers, I'll be here awhile" type of sipper.

Also a Saison, Alternating Currents (guess the fruit) that was so fresh and fruity that I could have it morning, noon and night. And with an ABV of 4%, why not? Yummers.
 
Despite the occasional power outage, it was an evening of treats and we were told that starting next week, we will see a lot more Wooden Robot kegs available!
Love good news, don't you?
Cheers!

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!
 

Funk Festive Friday Fun Filled

The Funk Collective's first night was filled with festive, friendly beer lovers who had an amazing selection of mostly Upstate beers from which to choose. And today's Funk Fest will offer even more. I'll write about that tomorrow but for now, a few fotos of fun-loving folks frequenting the tap tables! Big congrats to Shawn, Lindsay, Ames and the crew of volunteers who made the first night so special.


Birds Fly South Ale Project

Brew Wars Winning Beer Announced

The war is over!! I knew you'd be glad to hear that. And by over I mean you can continue to drink the spoils, so to speak.
Well of course I'm talking about the Brew Wars that happened at Thomas Creek Brewery, with the final skirmish happening yesterday, voting for the favorite by an eager and curious public.
Zach Newton, Brett Terrapin, Josh Caprell & Adam W teamed up in pairs to create something unique from the Trifecta base beer: Super Dank and Farmhouse DIPA. I tried both, each was worthy of winning and of serious drinking, and now the victor can be revealed:
Super Dank won by two votes! An honest election with serious candidates and a minimum of ballot stuffing. So, they are now on tap for you to judge for yourself. Actually, there are no losers here, just two new fine beers to enjoy. Some pics from the event, including the brewers demonstrating the professionalism and poise that accompanied the challenge.

 Cheers to all!!

Good News for List Lovers!

And it's a big one;

https://beerandbrewing.com/4hu9l5fApqygCm6o6u4wGk/article/craft-beer-and-brewing-magazine-best-in-beer-2016-readers-choice-and

Cheers.

Quest Brewing Gets Gold

In case you haven't heard, Quest Brewing Company just won gold at the World Beer Cup for their (and one of my top ten beers) Ponce in the Field Beer category. This is big, folks. Congrats to Don Richardson, Andrew and the entire Quest crew for this well deserved accolade. I love this beer.

Staying on subject (Gold Medals et al) for a bit longer, I have been told by Don Richardson that the Quest Brewing Company Medal winner, Ponce, will be on tap again this Saturday. Made me think back to when I first had it. Might have been at last year's GCBF at Fluor Field, where Joe was pouring it. Could have been before that. The point being that I have liked that beer for a long time!! Again, congrats to everyone at Quest for this achievement.

Cheers and congrats!!!

Upstate Craft Beer Co. Softly Opens

Just back from a very rewarding visit to Upstate Craft Beer Co. where they are quietly open before the big opening on December 26 (put that on your calendar as a must not miss!). Had their charcuterie; intensely flavored selection of cheeses and sausages, which I paired with Birds Fly South's Saison to start, then added a New Belgium Hop Stout. Interesting how each beer seemed to bring out different flavors in the food, especially the peach-ginger-pepper jam.
While munching and sipping away, Co-owner Jack McDonald was being interviewed for Channel 7 TV, while fellow owner/brewmaster Chris Hardin was busily brewing away on a Dunkelweisse. Good times were had by all. They are opening each day ('cept the 25th) at 10am so lunch is calling you. I'll certainly be back, one cause it's in my neighborhood, but also cause it's gonna be a favorite spot to hang out and play dominos.

Catch the action here:

 

 Cheers to their newly opened nano-brewery!

Bottling Birds Fly South's Brand New Eyes

Gathering my notes and photos from this past weekend which was filled with beer-related activities. One, the Loose Reed interview you know about. Another event I found really interesting and educational was watching Shawn and crew bottling Birds Fly South's first ever bottling of Brand New Eyes, a Farmhouse Ale brewed with Motueka hops. At 5.5% abv, this saison is almost a session beer, which befits the style. You can get more detailed info on this brew at their website, bfsbeer.com.
Shawn Johnson, owner/brewmaster, continues his brewing relationship with Thomas Creek Brewing, where the bottling took place, until next year when his newly leased facility will take shape. He gave me a heads up about a bottle share and BFS beer drinking opportunity that will happen early next year, perhaps mid-January, as a fund raiser and an only opportunity for the public to see the space before actual construction begins. Watch THIS space for further details as they become available.


Catch the action below:

That's the process, a table-top operation in this instance. Haven't opened the bottle Shawn gave me yet, but I'll post tasting notes when I do.

Cheers!

Birds Fly South's Shawn Johnson - Profile

Many successful brewmasters today describe their first attempts at brewing as a failure. Such is the case with Shawn Johnson, brewmaster and co-owner with wife, Lindsay, of Greenville's Birds Fly South Ale Project Brewery.

Lindsay, l, and Shawn with friends at Swamp Rabbit's 2015 Septembrew Fest.

Shawn with Bob Sylvester Saint Somewhere Brewing in FL.

According to Shawn, his first attempt ten years ago, a pale ale made from a kit, was a disaster. But, unfazed he continued and from experience working with Bob Sylvester at St. Somewhere Brewing, in Tarpon Springs, FL, plus his own continued home brewing skills, he has set a course to offer the Upstate (and everyone else eventually) a brewery focusing on Farmhouse Belgian style ales with an emphasis on sours. 
All this while maintaining a full-time active service career as an aviation engineer in the US Coast Guard, moving to our area in 2014.




Shawn is enthused about this style of beers, largely the result of his work with St Somewhere, but it appears to be the style that just spoke to him and he's become an evangelist on the subject. He says he wants to produce "pitcher sours," beer that people will want to drink again and again.


Currently he brews at Thomas Creek Brewery while waiting for the appropriate space to become available which will allow him and his wife to finally make their dream of having their own brewery come true upon his retirement from the service.

Brew day at Thomas Creek, always a Friday due to scheduling restrictions.

Barrel storage at Thomas Creek. Sours gotta age!

His brews are aged in prepared wooden barrels, usually white or red wine barrels ,  using the solera method, which Wikipedia describes as " a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues." According to Shawn, this means a "continuous supply of sour for blending fresh beers, and more important, local sourced fruits and spices."




BFS has three core saison-style beers that I've tasted, most recently at a Community Tap event which featured Shawn pouring samples to us uninitiated in farmhouse/saison sours:
Brand New Eyes,a dry-hopped tart saison; Rustic Sunday, with rye and Rumblefish, a hoppy pale ale.

Shawn is very good at explaining saison complexities.

Tasting at The Tap. Brook Bristow (wearing lawyerly tie) appears to really appreciate sours.

Just finishing up after a timely release is a seasonal sour Pumpkin, which might sound unlikely but I enjoyed the taste I had of it, fresh from the fermenter. He also released a session sour-IPA, Yoder which was intended as a one-off but was so successful that he's not ruled out making it again.

Florida photos by Blake Coleman.

If you'd like to know more or even follow BFS, visit their Facebook page (and learn about his recent trip back to Florida for some collaborative brewing with old and new friends) or to really support sour beer, their Gofundme page will let you do just that.

So, while Shawn is waiting for his ideal brewery site to appear, you can look for his beer at the usual suspects' taprooms. I can personally attest that these beers are worth searching out.

Cheers!