Swamp Rabbit Brewing 3rd Anniversary

Hmmm... a rainy morning. So, how to compensate for the lack of sunshine. Well, one way would be to revisit a time yesterday where there was no rain, just a lot of people enjoying the day and their beers. A lot of people.

That's exactly what happened yesterday during Swamp Rabbit Brewery and Taproom's Third Anniversary Party. With a crowd that size, it was clear that there were no parking places left in Travelers Rest. A crowd that required 3 food trucks to supply the hungry hordes.... or at least those wanting to pair good food with their good beers. In between sips of a most excellent India Pale Lager, I managed to get a few snaps of the festivities.

Hope they brighten your day.

Now, it's just wait until the 4th Anniversary and do it all over again.
Cheers!

Mitch Steele's New Job

To long time fans of Stone Brewing, the name Mitch Steele is reverential (he wrote a book on brewing IPAs) and now Georgia beer lovers will be able to enjoy his new incarnation as co-founder and brewmaster at the newly named New Realm Brewing. Anticipated to open in Fall of this year, the Atlanta Beltway will get another reason to hop on a bike (is that a pun??) and reward you with a beer-friendly rest stop. Torched Hop is already very near that Beltline (a former railroad track bed) so plenty of destinations to inspire one. More details below:

 http://www.brewbound.com/news/2017/mitch-steeles-georgia-brewery-gets-name?utm_source=Brewbound&utm_campaign=64f28e6599-mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6026cb3473-64f28e6599-168720889

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 From Goodwood

Glad I stopped by Cork & Tap last evening for the tap takeover by Goodwood Brewing from Louisville, KY, where brewery rep Nathan (Nate) Grabowski poured samples of their unique brews. Every beer brewed touches wood in some form, usually with barrel aging but some with wood chip infusions. Combined with the limestone water that has made Louisville Bourbon-Central, these beers were all low abv (6% range) and very tasty, with a complexity that the wood aging brings. Available were the Lousiville Lager, brewed with white ash (which, as you know, is what Louisville Slugger baseball bats are made of), a bourbon barrel aged ale with plenty of flavor but not so heavy on the bourbon notes; especially tasty was their Saison aged in red wine barrels. 

These brews will start showing up in retail outlets soon and of course on tap as their distribution grows. Local distributor rep Whitney Ellis from Breakthru Beverage was on hand to assist Nate in pouring and describing the beers.

I welcome these distinctive beers to our neighborhood.

Nathan (Nate) Grabowski, Goodbeer Regional Rep, poured the samples.

Cheers!

Devil's Backbone Comes to SC

Remember back in February when Devils Backbone Brewing Company and Chris from Upstate Craft Beer Co. brewed a collab double IPA to mark DB's entry into the South Carolina market? See pic below. Well, the payoff is now here and this afternoon that IPA will be released, along with some other new DB arrivals to Greenville.

I expect lots of beer drinking bliss. See ya there.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1750610988600651/


Cheers.

American IPA, Session Style

Turning the conversation to session IPAs, especially relevant since Upstate Craft Beer Co. is today brewing another iteration of Jason Uhrinek's and my original session, Citra Kollision, which as you might guess is a delightful vehicle for Citra citrus wonderment, with some Mosaic added during the dry hop because, well, it just seemed right. Last batch was 5.1% abv, so this one will probably be the same, maybe a tad less.

In any event, all the wonderful hop flavors, with restrained alcohol. Here are some more thoughts on session IPAs in general.

http://draftmag.com/the-session-ipa-scale/

Cheers!

National Parks and Beer!

Being a lifelong fan of our National Parks and a somewhat shorter time of beer, here comes a good way to enjoy them both. Not necessarily at the same time. I should also mention that Uinta makes some of my favorite beers. Dubhe, anyone?

http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/articles/uinta-brewing-announces-beer-brewed-to-support-our-national-parks-w467233