Thursday, October 25, 2007

Odds and Suds

Some news of interest.

A once beloved beer from the now defunct Heavyweight Brewing Company is making a return. Perkuno's Hammer is a highly regarded Baltic Porter, which is sort of a hybrid between an Imperial Stout and a Dopplebock. Naturally, this style emerged in the Baltic region of Europe in the 18th century, and traditionally uses a lager yeast instead of an ale yeast, which is what gives it the dopplebock-like characteristics. The Hammer is being reborn as the Victory Baltic Thunder, and was brewed back in May. I got word from Victory that we may see this beer here in North Carolina in the early part of next year. If you don't want to wait this long, you can try the Okocim Porter, which is a geographically true Baltic since it is brewed in Poland. I have seen these at the European Market on Patton Avenue.

Bruisin' Ales announced today a special beer tasting this Tuesday evening. Adam Avery, brewer and President of Avery Brewing Company, will be on hand to sample a wide variety of his bigger beers. Adam is highly regarded in the craft brew world, and it is a testament to the beer culture in Asheville that he is paying us a visit. The tasting is free, and you will get a chance to meet one of the preeminent brewers in the country. You don't want to miss it. They also are the only North Carolina beer store that is carrying the Sweetwater Donkey Punch Barleywine (cringe), so you might want to pick up a bottle while you are there.

As already covered in the Mountain Express and Citizen Times, Hops and Vines has recently opened in West Asheville on Haywood Road across from Digable Pizza. They carry a variety of craft beers as well as Pabst Blue Ribbon for your non-craft drinking friends. In addition, they also stock a nice variety of wines, and have hired a part time wine consultant who will assist in stocking the store, wine tastings, and is available for creating your own wine event (hmm.... beer consultant has a nice ring to it.) Owner Alex Buerckholtz's true love is homebrewing, and he has everything you need to get you started. He plans on having beer brewing classes, where for a fee you can learn to brew beer with a small group and then get to take home the finished product. Hops and Vines is having their official Grand Opening on November 3rd from 2-8. Their will be beer tastings from Highland and Pisgah, wine tastings, and a homebrewing demonstration.

And finally, for you science geeks, I was sent a link to a podcast by my good friend. The Naked Scientists explore several different aspects of brewing (sorry, they aren't really naked). The podcast itself covers several subjects, but there are direct links to the interviews on the lower right hand side of the page. I thought the Natural History of Beer was quite interesting.

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