Sunday, September 26, 2010

River City Brewing Co


Hand pulled beer
 River City Brewing Company
At the heart of Sacramento
Located at
545 Downtown Plaza Suite 1115
Sacramento, CA 95814

River City Brewer: Brian Cofresi

Monday, September 20, 2010

2010 Winners of the Great American Brew Fest

Great American Beer Festival Competition Winners Announced
Competition continues to grow; 2010 entries up nine percent.
Boulder, CO • September 18, 2010—The 2010 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition drew an impressive field of competitors, with 2010 topping last year's entries by nine percent. GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world, with 3,523 beers vying for medals (compared to 3,308 entries in 2009).

View the 2010 winners list or download a PDF list of the winners.

This year's GABF competition attracted 151 beer judges from 10 countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 79 beer categories covering 133 beer styles, establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S.

Among the highlights:

•The most competitive category was again American-Style India Pale Ale with 142 entries and a broader geographic distribution of winners than in the past.

•TAPS Fish House & Brewery was the first-ever winner of the new Brewpub Group of the Year category, with Brewmaster Victor Novak taking home the honors.

•The competition saw increased geographic diversity among medal winners, with an emerging trend of winners from the Midwest and the Southeast alongside the traditionally successful states like California and Colorado. "Other states appear to be emerging as the craft beer producer and consumer markets mature in their regions," said GABF competition manager Chris Swersey.
 
 
 
Special congratulations to the Northern California Brewers who participated and won at the Great American Brew Fest.

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management

Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake, CA

Mad River Brewing Company



Gold Winners:

Sierra 30 Jack and Ken’s Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico

Ryevalry, Bear Republic Factory Five, Cloverdale

John Barleycorn Barleywine ‘06, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake



Silver Winners

Estate Homegrown Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico

HE’BREW RIPA on RYE, Shmaltz Brewing Co., San Francisco

Collaborative Evil - Triple Rock, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse, Berkeley

Steelhead Extra Pale Ale, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake

Hop Crisis!, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco

Temptation, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa

Oh! Fest!, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Antioch



Bronze Winners:

Super Chili Pepper Madness, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake

Roggenbier, Bear Republic Brewing Co., Healdsburg

Puddle Jumper Pale Ale, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa

7 - Fity, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse, Berkeley

Red Rock, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse, Berkeley

Gold Country Pilsner, Auburn Alehouse, Auburn

Sunday, September 19, 2010

50 Back

Most beer lovers know that they can count on breweries to support their community by promoting events.  Two women are doing the same thing by brewing beer. 

50 Back Beer was collaborated by two women with a strong sense of giving back to the men and women who defend our country. Kimberly Rogers and Paige B. Haley are proud women who found a way to support what they believed in by producing America's favorite beverage. Literally 50% of all profit from the sale of their beer go to charities. The charities are primarily to support veteran's. If there is a charity that you think supports their purpose you can suggest it on their website.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Celebrator Publisher and editor let's us know how he's doing.

Changes

I am making some changes to the site.  Typical sites are rolling posts with labels.  I am moving away from that layout.  What you will find now are pages with specific headings dealing with main subjects.  I hope this makes the site more user friendly and less congested.

Sincerely,
The Beer Maven

A Conversation with Craft Beer Pioneer

This link will take you to an interview with Fritz Maytag.  The video clip can be viewed on the left.

No shortage of flavor here!

http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Best-Low-Alcohol-BeersBest Low Alcohol Beers - Imbibe Magazine

Looking for good beer that's easy on the alcohol can be challenging to find if you don't know where to look. 
Here is a great list of flavor packed beers which range from the smooth, dry roastiness of the classic stout at 3.7 ABV to the typical 4.9 of beers that can be found at your nearest supermarket, beverage outlet or while vacationing in Europe.

While some of the biggest objections by women in regards to beer drinking is the "heavyness" or "full" feeling some experiance, these are great beers to enjoy by themselves or with meals.  The lighter alcohol content can be a useful reference for women who are looking for a beer with lower calories.  In both cases it's a win-win combination.

Friday, September 3, 2010

World's Oldest Beer?


How does a 200 year old bottle of beer grab you? 
Aged in 32 degrees Farenheit and no light this beer sounds like it has been very well handled.

Actually, it hasn't been handled at all.  It has been lying quietly at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.  More accurately,  in a shipwreck found near Foglo in the archipelago south of the Island of Aland.    Divers date the wreck between 1800 and 1830.  The ship was most likely on its way from Denmark to Russia.
Denmark has always been a highly competitive producer of beer.  It often rivaled in production with Germany in the early 1500's.  Going back further, the first mention of hops in Sweden 1249 in a Cistercian monastary in Finland.

Sveds were hopping their beer long before the English were.  Richard W. Unger in his book Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance mentions that the difference between beer and ale had more to do with the addition of hops versus gruit.  For decades hops were not even permitted to be used in the production of beer until it became popular due to its preservative qualities and its ability to provide balance. 

Historical records strongly connect the region with beer brewing.  It should be no suprise that any ship did not carry any beer whatso ever, s it was almost mandatory as a beverage for the sailors. 

Currently the beer is being evaluated for aroma, appearance,flavor and mouthfeel.  Overall impression of the 200 year old beer will be posted by the judging panel.  No date is set as to when the results will be available.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/03/baltic.sea.beer/?hpt=T2