Craft Beer Blast

January, 2013

Winter beers can include Imperial Stouts, Barleywines and Winter warmers. Drinking beer of the season ensures that your beer is fresh. Enjoy them now as some of these beers and the cooler weather will be gone too soon!

The "Style of the Month" for January is Barleywine Ale. It is usually a brewery's strongest offering and perfect for those cold January nights. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is a great example of Barleywine and is readily available this time of year. These beers are cellarable and can be put away for years. It is fun to try several vintages in a 'vertical' tasting.

The Brewery of the Month for January is Six Rivers Brewing in McKinleyville, CA. This brewery is the nearest to the giant redwood tree parks and trails. It's a great local spot with good beer, foods and local music on most nights.

South Florida Beer Week is coming up from January 19th through the 26th. There are too many events to list here; check the website often as there are more being added every week. The week finishes off at the Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival. Be sure to view last years video on the website.

2013 will be better than ever for craft beer. There are more breweries opening and lots of new beers appearing on the shelves. My mission of spreading the word about craft beer will continue. This year I will teach classes, host tastings, beer and food pairings and do whatever it takes to keep craft beer advancing. You can count on the 'Blast" to keep you informed.  

Happy New Year to All,

Larry

Jan 26, 2012 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM

  Jupiter Craft Brewers  

Festival / Field of Beers 

The Jupiter weekend events are the premier beer events in South Florida. They also mark the end of Miami Beer Week, a week long celebration of craft beer. The Field of Beers has beers paired with foods cooked by local chefs. Meet the brewers and chefs on the ball field at Roger Dean stadium in Jupiter. On Saturday, the main festival takes place. It is smaller and more organized than any other local festival and the vendors are all craft breweries. Tickets are still available on the website for the festival. The Field of beers sold out in less than 24 hours on line! See my 2012 Reviews page for a review of last year's events. See you there!

Style of the Month 

Barleywine Ale

The earliest Barley Wines were not well defined, but were simply the strongest beers a brewery made. Today, barley wine production makes use of modern brewing techniques, creating a variety of big, complex ales that can be aged like fine red wine. Barley Wine is brewed mostly from pale malt. The full flavor and rich color come from the amount of grain and the length of the boil, which caramelizes a lot of the sugars, deepening the color and the flavor.It is also heavily hopped to balance, often up to and over 100 IBUs.Sierra Nevada Bigfoot has become the standard that all American Style Barleywines are judged by. Michael Jackson said "Bigfoot captures the imagination, and its character is as big as the name implies, with a huge hoppiness in its earthy aroma, a chewy palate, and a great depth of flavor.

     Brewery of the Month

Six Rivers Brewery

Winner of many awards in Humboldt county, Six Rivers Brewery is the culmination of good food, great beer and love of a good time; providing quality and distinctive beer and food items, utilizing local and organic ingredients whenever possible. "The Brew with a View" is situated on the hill in McKinleyville, California looking over the Pacific Ocean. I visited last summer and found a big popular place. They have ten or more beers available including a wood - aged beer and a raspberry Iambic. A local blues band sounded good and the beer samplers were in small pilsner glasses. A great end to a Humboldt day of exploring the coast and the Redwood Trail. If you are in this area, Six Rivers is a must visit. My short review is on the 2012 Review page.