Opal

The Tugawar anchor in Beer vs. Wine of the culinary world. This is the beer to lure to wine people to the other side. A citrusy, tropical, sauvignon blanc feel and not too hoppy Farmhouse Ale that goes the  distance. This beer is so well balanced and drinkable, I think it's a benchmark in the style. 

www.firestonebeer.com

Gimme 5 with Todd Haug of Surly Brewing

I'm thinking Gimme 5 will be a once a month thing. September is compliments of master brewer and super shredder Todd Haug. Not only can he write great music, he also has Surly coiled like a snake and ready to strike. "Hell" is coming....

BT: Congrats, you have a new Brewery under construction. Tell us a bit how Surly has grown and how much more "Hell" you'll be able to brew.

TH: Thanks Dave! Can't wait to have one of your bands play there! Eight years in and we've been adding new production equipment and staff every year. In 2014 we are brewing at 42,000 BBLs annual production. With new brewery in addition to existing brewery, which we are keeping,we should be able to produce 65,000 BBLs in 2015. Regarding Hell production we can make 720 BBL batches at the new plant compared to our current 64 BBL (we are brewing about 90 BBLs/week of Hell currently). But,Hell takes longer to produce so until we get more fermenters at Surly MSP next spring we'll be limited to about 360 BBLs/wk of Hell production :-)

BT: Your gateway beer?

TH: Early teenage years-

PBR,MGD

17+...I blame my band mates in Powermad, especially Jeff Litke.

Anchor Liberty Ale

Sheaf Stout

Pete's Wicked Ale-when it had Pete the dog on the label

Summit Great Northern Porter

"Rare" keg of Samuel Adams Boston Lager at my 21st BDay party

BT: Brewing mentor?

Jon Lindberg-former Summit Brewing

Dick Cantwell-Elysian Brewing

BT: Preferred brewing soundtrack?

TH: METAL! GoatWhore, High on Fire, 1349, Amon Amarth, Municipal Waste, Opeth, Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, ETC! METAL and some EDM for a change.

BT: What's on deck for new beer styles/collaborations?

TH: EIGHT-Oat-Wine in Rye Whiskey Barrels out this fall

First ever Barrel Aged Darkness, 30K bottles going out end of October kicking it off with 2 big metal shows October 24 & 25th.

SOOO many ideas that I haven't been able to realize since being maxed out! Next year!

But a few.....

Draft only No Hop Saison brewed with Dandelion greens,on tap now

Draft only-Licorice Porter for Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats first show in  MSP, Oct.1st.

1349 Black Ale collab with 1349, Lervig and Surly out in bottles late this fall!

Stone Berlin 2016

More I can't discuss yet.......

ww.surlybrewing.com

Apex Predator

This beer rips, hunt it down. A muscular dry hopped Saison with tons of fruity flavor that will make you stalk bars, bottles shops, your friends house or any other place that carries Off Color Brewing. Mr. Laffler has definitely marked his territory with this one. 

www.offcolorbrewing.come

A Night To End All Dawns

New Jersey bringing it. The big stout game is a rough one and the focus of bigger, bolder and more viscous are the usual chess moves here. The thing is, it's pretty difficult to make one truly stand out amongst the heard and against the warriors. Kane Brewing has done this. This killer beer is released once a year and worth the trip to stand in line or hunt down. The Tony Soprano of stouts in NJ. 

www.kanebrewing.com

Chevalier Bertrand Du Guesclin

Or you can just say Chevy.  The first Foeder conditioned beer from Three Floyd's. There is a ton a flavor going on here. Sour, funky and blueberry goodness, well balanced and refreshing without anything going out of bounds. In the Sour Beer Volleyball Championships, the Floyd's have Gabrielle Reece spike this one down your throat. Be stoked. 

www.3floyds.com

Black Albert

My favorite stout from Belgium. Blacker than black and a 13% flavor steamroller that will as they say...tattoo you from the inside. No light can penetrate this Cthulhu like liquid, no palate can escape the oozing fog like flavors of chocolate, carmel and coffee AND no memory will forget this amazing beer. 

*Black Albert is also 1/4 part of the Voltron "Baller Stout" made for Three Floyd's 15th Anniversary. 

www.struise.com

Gimme 5 with Three Floyd's Chris Boggess

Welcome to the first Gimme 5. Gimme 5, like the rest of the beer related things on this blog, is for fun. 

A little fun fact look, without going full nerd. Ladies and Gents...Three Floyd's head brewer and hair metal flag flyer, Chris Boggess.

BT: Who or what is your earliest brewing influence?

CB: 2 answers - 1. My friends Lee Robberson and Laura Batchelor home brewed in college (mostly Laura, she was a domestic powerhouse, she could do anything by scratch and usually kick it's ass). I used to bum around at their house all the time and drank as much of their beer as possible. 2. My brother Tim bought me a Mr Beer homebrew kit when I was living in Houston. I made some really bad beer with it but realized making beer was cool. I was soon brewing professionally a year or so later. 

BT: What beer changed the game for you?

CB: Anchor's Liberty Ale 

BT: The one place you'd love to see your beer on tap?

CB: I'd like to see our beer(Space Station Middle Finger) on tap in the International Space Station.

BT: IN THE BEGINNING (Motley Crüe ref) What was the biggest hurdle to jump from home brewing to commercial brewing?

CB: The biggest hurdle was getting the job! The differences are so huge it's tough to compare them. 

BT: Preferred band to brew to and do you think it has an influence on the beer?

CB: I used to listen to a lot of Slayer brewing beer in the early days. The speed and intensity works perfectly with doing manual labor. It helps me focus therefore helping me make better beer!

Now it's not just one band or type of music anymore because we have lots of people working in the brewery. 

MEKONG

I can't believe I haven't written about this Richmond, VA jewel already. Mekong has won best craft beer bar in the nation two years straight (www.craftbeer.com) and the vote is coming up again. I'm hoping for a Threepeat 'cause this place is so special. The sickest beer selection, great staff, great food and amazing patrons. An amazing spot to learn about new beer styles and meet new people who are very enthusiastic about beer without any type of attitude. 

An Bui, the Chief Beer Officer is one of the greatest hosts of all time, as his knowledge and passion for beer is conveyed through generosity, finding those gateway beers for countless people.  A truly one of a kind experience/must visit destination. 

Monday Night all 50 taps are only $5...even Abbaye De Saint Bon Chien, which is on tap all year long!

Here, Beer is truly The Answer and be sure the try the Mekong Chicken Wings ;)

www.mekongisforbeerlovers.com

Brick Kiln

I consider Barleywine the Haymaker of beer in a sense. They're usually for the colder months and have a Big Ben like ABV, huge and you'll be on your way in no time. Jackie O's has a great track record with big beers and this is no exception. Remember Bambi meets Godillza? Sub out Bambi with The Raisinettes and you got Brick Killn.

www.jackieos.com

Grätzer Ale

The Grief/Dystopia split 7" record came with a razor blade and grim suggestion. This beer collab between 3 Floyd's and New Belgium looks the part, adorned with blood red ink and Zombies gaining speed to ghost ride the bicycles they've just stolen, but this dark pouring, smokey & lightly sour ale, drinks like a fresh breeze on a spring day. Light and crushable at 4.5%. Would be sick with cherries and chocolate. 

www.3floyds.com

www.newbelgium.com

Tired Hands Brewing

This small batch brewery in Ardmore, PA specializes in awesome. With a focus on farmhouse style, Saisons, Sours and a love for hops (think IPA Wrestlemania), all the beers here scream excellence. I have not had a bad beer from them. Tired Hands stands in a class of their own with all their beer having its own character among a sea of breweries who have similar idea. The pub itself has an ever changing beer and food menu to keep anyone coming back. TH is in my opinion, also a gateway for change, as I've seen many non beer folk converted within its halls. There is truly something here for everyone and if you haven't been already, pack your bags now. Cheers to TH for creating something simple, special and initiating change for beer drinkers. 

**A Tsunami of people flooded the pub upon the opening of their two year release party this past weekend, reaching capacity in just four minutes. 

www.tiredhands.com

Bohemian Pils

I want it to rain this beer and then I want to float down a river of it with a giant stein. So crisp, so clean and ever so refreshing. Low ABV, high flavor, endless guzzling. The only US pilsner that has made me feel like I'm in Prague drinking the freshest Czech pilsners from a Tank Bar. Possibly the best US style Czech pils. Benchmark beer. 

www.hardywood.com

Jever!

I love this German beer. Easy drinking pilsner that enables you to anchor yourself to any bar and talk about anything for hours and actually make sense. Session city.  They should hand this out at marathons instead of Gatorade. Reinheitsgebot, a lot.

www.jever.de

Bourbon Sour Porter

Almanac Brewing of San Francisco has it's own unique approach, coining the phrase "Farm To Barrel",  where they select a certain farm for each beer in the named series exclusively.

Tart, vanilla, bourbon and chocolate are what lurks in this gracefully complex beer. Lots of work went into this beer! Developed in twice used bourbon barells, (first bourbon, then beer) impregnated with sour cultures, then left to mutate and take on the qualities of it's host barrel and contents kinda how The Thing imitates other life forms. Don't let this one get away.

www.almanacbeer.com

Strangeways Brewing

Wampus Cat, Strangeways' Triple IPA just escaped and is wreaking wonderful havoc on taste buds citywide. This wild animal of a beer is one of many ongoing reasons to check out this Richmond, VA based brewery. Always experimenting and pushing beer boundaries, always something new to taste and always 25 house beers on tap!  From new releases to ever changing variants of flagships, Strangeways is the Frankenbeer of Richmond.
www.strangewaysbrewing.com

Genealogy of Morals

This beer made by Hill Farmstead Brewing is astounding. A wheat imperial stout with coffee, aged in various bourbon barrels for 15+ months and then bottle conditioned more even more.  A true liquid work of art and I actually think this gorgeous beer will convert wine snobs who shun beer. If Tom G. Warrior were a beer, he'd be this one.
www.hillfarmstead.com

Gudeløs

The Brewery Devil's Brew: Bryggeriet Djaevlebryg. This Godless stout is has its own spine, tasting on the sweet side with a sense of smokiness and a hint of licorice. Gudeløs also chooses it's own battle, for each bottle sold of this 9 FL OZ of the beast, one Danish Crown goes to the Danish Atheist Society.

Fear be gone!, bottoms up.

WWW.DJAEVLEBRYG.DK

BLAKKR

The Deicide Trifixion and Ghidorah have nothing on this hoppy, resiny, three way collaboration potion from the black depths of the IPA underworld. Three Floyd's, Surly and Real Ale have raised the bar with this yeast beast. Noseferatu of the incantation scent realm and BLAKKR than squid ink, these liquid evil tentacles render you submissive. 

www.3floyds.com

www.surlybrewing.com

www.realalebrewing.com

Czechvar!

The OG Budweiser, the real deal and one of the most easy drinking beers ever produced. If you haven't had this wonderful pilsner, then you need to hunt it down and taste the true greatness of this beer. If found on tap and fresh, you'll feel like you've discovered the fountain of youth after drinking a few of these. Desert Island Beer? Absolutely. 

www.czechvar.com

Jewbelation Fifteen

As soon as I typed Fif, all I could think of was Dave Chapelle."I plead the Fif..."Fif". Genius...anyway. "Fif"teen is the carmel, molasses, burnt sugar Exodus from sober to drunk. An American strong ale, that gets the job done and then some at...you guessed it, 15% alcohol. Minus my song and dance here, I thought this is a really good beer.  A lot of nice flavors blend with the high alcohol content and drink rather smoothly.

www.shmaltzbrewing.com