by Luke on October 31, 2009
Just wanted to wish all the BlogAboutBeer.com readers a very happy, safe and (good)
beer-filled All Hallows’ Eve! There’s still plenty of great autumn and some good pumpkin-themed beers out there and since the Halloween is on a Saturday for once, what better excuse to do you need to get crackin’? Enjoy! More on the history of Halloween from Wikipedia:
Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while “some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, [it is] more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain or Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)”. The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly “summer’s end”. A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf).
The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half”, and is sometimes[5] regarded as the “Celtic New Year”.
Have fun, be safe, drink beer. Happy Halloween, all!
by Luke on October 30, 2009
The good folks at Redhook sent me a bottle — yes, FTC the bottle and the glass were both free — of their newest limited release bomber, the Treblehook Barleywine-style Ale. Redhook really did up the packaging right, including the accompanying snifter-style “limited release” glassware from drinking the beer from.
The one thing I’m not sure about, however, is whether or not this is a redesign of the existing Treblehook or not. Maybe it’s just because of my proximity to the Redhook brewery in Portsmouth but I coulda sworn last winter during a stop through Portsmouth, the Treblehook (at the time in 4-packs of 12 oz bottles) was all over the place. So I’m not sure if this is a different beer or not. From what I remember of that one and what I can remember after a full 22 ounces of this one, they don’t taste all that different…
Anyway, the beer has a nice bright orangey-brown hue and is pretty clear. The small off-white head disappeared quickly but left some nice lacing on the sides of the snifter glass. The aroma of the beer is great – there’s a lot of floral hoppiness on the nose, which you don’t always smell in a barleywine (and which I don’t remember from previous incarnations of the Treblehook, but again maybe that’s just me). It almost smells like a double IPA more than a barleywine.
The mouthfeel is really quite interesting in this brew. Although it’s not particularly carbonated, there’s a really interesting tingling sensation left all across the tongue. It might be from a combination of small intense carbonation and the bitter hop oils; I’m not sure. Either way, all of that hop character definitely comes through in the taste as well. Again, there is a much larger hop presence than you normally find in a Barleywine (not that that’s a bad thing at all). And don’t worry, there is still all of the sweet fruit and caramel flavors you’d expect from the style. However, I think I should have let this one sit in the cellar a little bit longer. It’s definitely one I feel would get better after a few more months to mellow.
At an ABV just above 10%, this is definitely a bomber to take your time with and share with a friend throughout the evening. Again again, with an ABV like that, this is definitely one you can let age for a bit. Also, for a beer this big, the price is certainly right (Portland folks, I’ve seen it on the shelves at Downeast Bev; I don’t remember for how much, but I remember thinking that it was impressively affordable for such a big beer) to give it a try.
In the end, not the best Barleywine I’ve ever had but definitely an interesting and unique take on the subject. I think I’d give it an A- myself, and assuming it is the same Treblehook its always been, the folks at BeerAdvocate agree. Good beer, interesting take, good price, give it a try.
Note: If you represent a brewery and would like your beer reviewed on BlogAboutBeer.com, please contact me for more details.
by Luke on October 28, 2009
Just a quick update/reminder/announcement that the annual Maine Brewers Festival is coming right up. Maine’s largest 
brewfest is next Saturday November 7th at the Portland Expo Building here in Portland, Maine. This year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever, with many old-time Maine favorites returning to the festival after various hiatuses (hiati?), including Allagash Brewing and DL Geary’s. Plus this year’s festival will include festival first-timers, Maine Beer Co. (check out my recent interview with the company’s founders) and potentially the small one-man show that is the Freeport Brewing Co.
Best of all, this year’s festival will include, for the first time ever, a table near the registration booth featuring the Maine Brewers’ Guild and the Maine Beer Writers’ Guild. A table being manned by yours truly (and Josh from brewsandbooks.com) all afternoon! So if you’re a regular reader, please be sure and stop by the booth and introduce yourself and pick up some literature. If you’re new to Maine or new to craft brew, stop by and have any questions you can think of answered (technically that’s what we’ll be there for). And best of all, I’ll be blogging and Tweeting (and maybe streaming some video, if I can figure it out in time) live from the festival. Be sure and follow me on Twitter and watch for the Hash Tag #mebrewfest to stay up to date.
But if you plan to attend, you’d better hurry because as of this past Monday, the Sebago brewpubs had only about a dozen tickets left among them and RSVP beverage on Forest Ave had “less than 100 tickets left” and, well, that’s it! So it sounds like not only will there be no tickets left at the door this year, but there might not be any left by the time you read this!
If you did get your tickets in time, I’ll see you there!
by Luke on October 26, 2009
Although alerting everyone to this contest will certainly hinder my chances of winning, I’m just a nice guy like that. It appears that the folks at Kegerators.com are hoping to build their Twitter following and are giving away some free kegerators to do so. Here’s the low down: They are going to give away an EdgeStar Kegerator on February 1st. Want to win one? Here’s all you have to do:
- Follow @kegerators on twitter.
- Simply tweet “Just entered to win a Kegerator. Just follow @Kegerators and retweet. http://xr.com/kegerator”
Now here’s the fine print:
The Contest is open to U.S. residents twenty-one (21) years of age and older only.
So we will start around 400 followers. If we get to 5,000 followers we will give away a 2nd kegerator and if we get to 10,000 followers also a 3rd kegerator with a dual tap tower!!!
Such an easy contest to enter!
We will direct message the winners starting on Feb 1st (hence why you need to follow) and give you 24 hours to respond until we get a winner.
Good luck! And if you’re not yet following me on Twitter, please do so @livingstonmedia
by Luke on October 23, 2009
This is a guest post by a good friend of mine, Josh Christie. Josh is the author of brewsandbooks.com and a fellow member of the Maine Beer Writers Guild. You can also follow Josh on Twitter @jchristie.
My name is Josh, and I have a problem.
I’ve become addicted to beer trading.
To be fair, I’m not making a serious effort towards recovery. I don’t even think I genuinely have a problem. I can certainly quit any time I want to. I’ll stop as soon as the weather gets cold and I have to worry about the brews freezing in transit.
Seriously, I can stop if I want. Right now, however, I’m having a hell of a lot of fun.
Being in Portland has a lot of benefits, especially for a beer-lover. Along with a couple fantastic beer bars in Novare Res and the Great Lost Bear, Portland is home to many great breweries. Add to that the fact that beer from Atlantic and Bar Harbor Brewing is readily available, and you have access to beer that people in the other part of the country are dying to get their hands on. Cadillac Mountain Stout and a number of Allagash brews are the stuff of legend on sites like RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate. Call it the charitable, Maine-loving bastard in me, but I want as many beer lovers in the US to try these concoctions as possible.
Hey, and if I can get some awesome stuff in return, win-win.
As much as I’ve waxed poetic about the “Beer Nirvana” (all credit for the term goes to Luke at this fantastic site, by the way), there are so many brews that just aren’t distributed here in Maine. Lots of things from Rogue and Stone, along with whole breweries like New Belgium, Alesmith, Terrapin, Schmaltz … the list goes on and on. The addiction arose via the Want/Got lists on Beer Advocate, where you can match beers you have with the wants of others around the country, and vice-versa. From there, it just comes down to making contact with your “partner” and setting up a trade. The process doesn’t come without risks, as the legality of shipping with private carriers is sketchy, to put things lightly. However, the community that exists at BeerAdvocate is helpful and accommodating, and anyone that wants should be trading in no time.
Unfortunately, trading can be an expensive hobby. On top of the beer you’re paying for, you have to pay shipping fees, which can almost double the cost of your trade. In the end, I think that the costs and risks are worth it. I’ve already gotten a number of my favorite brews from my time on the west coast, some incredibly inventive beers I’ve tried at the Extreme Beer Fests in Boston, and even the “holy grail” of Belgians, a Westvleteren 12.
While not for everyone, trading beer has proven to be a great experience for me, and a windfall in terms of beer. If you stumble across this and want to try some of the libations of Portland, ME, feel free to drop me a line – I’m on Beer Advocate as umfskibum. Oh, and let me know if you can get Foothills’ Sexual Chocolate – I’ll totally make it worth your while.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to write a guest post for BlogAboutBeer.com, I’d love to have you! Please drop me a line with your idea and a little background info. Thanks!
Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic.