Author Archives: Al

About Al

Forty-something, married, with two kids. I generally prefer the English styles - ESB, IPA - but am willing to try just about anything. You can reach me at al@hop-talk.com.

Volunteers needed for FirkinFest – May 19

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How would you like free admission to the Firkin Festival which concludes Frederick Beer Week?

All you need to do is donate a couple hours of your time working the event.

Here are the details:

We are looking for volunteers to help us out with our 2nd annual Frederick Beer Week Firkin Fest.

May 19th  from noon- 6pm located at Still Point Farm in Mt Airy, Maryland will be the setting for this wonderful beer-centric event.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Melissa Sines at melissa.sines[at]gmail.com. (Let her know you heard about it on Hop Talk.)

Volunteers will receive free admission to the festival with 2 beer tokens to be used BEFORE or AFTER your scheduled shift.

Shift will include

  • Set up- 10am- 12 noon
  • Front Gate (2 shifts)
  • Token booth (2 shifts)
  • Break Down 5pm- 6pm
  • Runners

Maryland Craft Beer Festival – May 12

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On Saturday, May 12th from noon – 6:00pm, visit the Eventplex at the Frederick Fairgrounds to kick-off American Craft Beer Week and Frederick Beer Week with this celebration of Maryland Craft Beer, produced by the Brewer’s Association of Maryland (BAM), a non-profit comprised of the brewers of Maryland.  Up to 20 Maryland breweries will be present with over 80 different beers. The event includes on-site brewing demonstrations, rare bottles and kegs, one of a kind casks and VIP craft beer gifts that will blow your mind! This family-friendly festival features live music, fresh foods, kid’s activities, and local exhibitors.

Tickets to the festival are on sale now.  Admission price: Adults: $17 Advance / $25 at the door; VIP: Advance $32 / $40 at the door; Designated Driver and Youth ages 12-20 $10; Kids under 12 FREE. Regular adult admission includes six tasting tokens and souvenir glass. VIP admission includes ten tasting tokens, a souvenir glass, early entrance for access to rare beers and unique casks, as well as a list of gifts that will make your craft beer friends totally envious!

BREAKING RUMOR: One extremely lucky VIP winner will receive a tasting of a Maryland Brewery Collaboration Beer by Heavy Seas and Barley and Hops brewed solely for this event.  The winner will also receive plenty more awesome prizes – from home-brew classes and supplies to exclusive entry into ACBWeek events, glassware and all sorts of brewery swag.

The last day to purchase tickets at the advance ticket price is May 11th at 9:00pm.  This is not your average beer festival, because it’s put on by the brewers themselves – and we’re breaking out the good stuff!  For more information about the Maryland Craft Beer Festival, visit www.mdcraftbeerfestival.com.

Leave a comment to let us know if you’re going. I expect to be there helping man the Frederick Beer Week booth, so stop by and say hello.

Beer porn

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Beer Porn from NW Film Center School of Film on Vimeo.

The filmmaker, Michael O’Connor, describes the film on BrewPublic:

Is anybody looking? Quick, make sure the boss is down the hallway, your wife is off shopping, your parents are snug in their bed. Then, turn the lights down low, draw the window shade, and break open a big box of tissues. We know what you sweaty-palmed perverts are looking for: hardcore pint glass on tap handle action! You like ‘em big? We got IMPERIAL sized pint glasses. You like ‘em moist? We got the foamiest, stickiest fluids spilling and spraying! You like ‘em warm? We even got cask conditioned ale, suckah!

This is a smutty little flick we’ve been passing around the barstools in private, but it was only a matter of time before it ended up on the Internet. Share it with friends, pass it around to the other kids on the block, but have an extra pair of clean jeans handy… and keep an ear out for Mom!

(via Brookston Beer Bulletin)

Weeping Willow Wit

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Weeping Willow Wit, from Mother Earth Brewing

They say:

This beer style is over 400 years old, and continues to enjoy overwhelming popularity. Offering low hop bitterness, it is easy to enjoy. It pours very hazy, with a light gold color… we say it’s like summertime in a glass. Bitter orange peel and fresh coriander add zest and depth to this refreshing beer.

Pale, pale yellow with a white fizzy head. About all the aromas you’d expect from a wit: coriander, cloves, banana, lemon, peppery hops. The flavor is well-balanced. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of these but it makes a nice change of pace from my usual. I’d gladly have that again.

Sadly, that’s the end of the beers gifted to me by Chris. Thanks, dude!

Endless River Kolsch

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Endless River Kolsch, from Mother Earth Brewing

They say:

A clean, crisp beer, Kolsch offers a very slight fruity flavor and aroma. It is light gold in color, with a delicate head. This light-bodied beer appeals to nearly everyone who samples it. Expect to enjoy a slight tang in the finish.

Pale gold with a white, fizzy head. Light aroma, fruity. Maybe some melon? Medium-light body, with a good dose of carbonation and a pleasant bitter finish. I could go for a few of these on a hot day.

Buckshot Amber Ale

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Buckshot Amber Ale, from Natty Greene’s Brewing

They say:

full-bodied with rich, smooth flavor and notes of caramel and toffee

Honey-colored with an off-white head. Aroma is very light. I mean, I know my sense of smell isn’t the best but I’m just not getting much of anything. Things get a little better as it warms, but it’s still very light. Flavor is light with a bit of maltiness. Not really any hops. It’s okay, I suppose. My palate might be spoiled by all those IPAs.

Sweet Josie

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Sweet Josie Brown Ale, from LoneRider Brewing

They say:

A temptress who will seduce you, Sweet Josie is crafted in the American Brown style. This is a complex beer balancing a nice hop bitterness with a generous amount of chocolate and aromatic malts. 6.1% ABV.

Medium chocolate brown and clear. Less than a fingers-width of head. Roasty maltiness in the aroma, which is light; maybe a little caramel. I’m not getting any hops at all. Body is light, but there’s a good bit of roasty bitterness in the flavor. I was afraid I wasn’t going to like this much, but I rather like it quite a bit.

Highland Gaelic Ale

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Gaelic Ale, from Highland Brewing Company

They say:

A deep amber colored American ale, featuring a rich malty body. Cascade and Willamette hops add a complex hop flavor and aroma. This ale is exceptionally balanced between malty sweetness and delicate hop bitterness.

Clear, dark-copper color. I didn’t get any head to speak of. Aroma is light; maybe a bit of caramel? It’s got a medium body, some toastiness in the flavor but a good beet of sweet. Not a lot of hop character.

Good, but not a style I generally go for.

Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

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My good friend Chris stopped at Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville, North Carolina and got me a gift. Or, rather, six gifts. Here’s one:

Baltic Porter, from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery

(They aren’t currently listing this beer on their website, so it was tough to find a blurb about it.)

[D]eep, rich and velvety soft. A full blooded roasty character is balanced by complex alcohol notes. Strong (9% alcohol by volume) yet unfailingly subtle, this special brew warrants sipping and savoring.

It pours a deep, opaque brown, with only a little fizzy light brown head. I get some chocolate in the aroma, and maybe a little caramel. Some…licorice? Mouthfeel is rich and smooth, with only a little alcohol heat. The flavor is as big as the aroma. That is one hearty beer. I wish I had a fireplace and a club chair. I’d have that again.

Craft beer in Japan

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CNN’s Eatocracy blog has an interesting post up about the craft beer scene in Japan, with a focus on Coedo Brewery.

Earthquakes and blackouts aside, it hasn’t been easy for Coedo, founded in 1997 by boss [Shigeharu] Asagiri’s father-in-law. It wasn’t until prohibitive laws against small commercial breweries were repealed in 1994 that a microbrew scene in Japan could emerge.

Even since then, breaking the chokehold the big four Japanese brewers – Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo – have on the domestic and international beer market has been a challenge. What Coedo produce in a year is the equivalent to what just one of the big boys produce in a day.

The taxman in Japan still takes around $2.50 on every liter of beer brewed there, which has led to the big breweries creating cheaper “beer-like” drinks (alcoholic and often additive-rich) and further diluting the market among a local population more familiar with types of sake than varieties of beer.

“For most (Japanese) people, beer is just beer, no one orders it by name; it’s no fun, but it should be,” says Asagiri. “Beer is exciting!”

Eatocracy: Craft beer from the Land of the Rising Sun

(tip o’ the hat to Max)