The Australian International Beer Awards had it's awards ceremony yesterday in Melbourne. The Eclipse was entered in the Hybrid Beer category and the Wood Aged subcategory.
Eclipse was awarded a Silver Medal.
Look for more bottles and draft of this wonderful beer soon. Only at the brewery!
Cheers!
Todd
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Belgian 'duo' on tap Saturday 3/7/09
Some of you have been waiting a while for the Tripel to come back and I'm happy to say that it is! Drunk Monk Abbey Dubbel is on as well. This brew is a bit different from the last Dubbel we brewed, and in my humble opinion...right on the money! Here is the 'sell sheet' for the Dubbel.
Our Abbey Dubbel makes it's return well over a year since the last batch. The 2009 version is lighter in color appearing a clear brown with slight reddish hues, is stronger at about 9.8%ABV and has a wonderful clean but distinctively Belgian flavor profile.
Kin to the Trifecta Tripel the Abbey Dubbel is brewed to with Belgian yeasts, fermented at a higher temperature than our other house ales. The benefit of the warmer fermentation temperature is that is creates more yeast derived flavors. The best way to describe these flavors is by the rather spicy aromas and flavors contained in this beer. We used a rather unique sugar in this beer known as Panusta which comes from the Philippines. It is a combination of Cane and Palm sugar which has been slightly caramelized and then packaged for use. Though it's contribution is not immediately apparent it's flavor has melded into the overall flavor profile well. The flavors best to describe the beer are notes of chocolate, mild malt, hints of cinnamon candy, faint banana and alcohol warmth. This is a great beer for any grilled beef, pork and poultry. Also with pasta and fish. A great sipping beer as well.
What makes it a Dubbel... In the Monastic brewing traditions of Belgium the brothers of Trappist Abbeys brewed beers for themselves called Singels or simples, the Dubbels were brewed for customers outside the Abbey walls and Tripels were brewed for special occasions. Our Dubbel and Tripel are brewed to emulate those brewed by the Westmalle Abbey near Antwerp, Belgium.
Cheers!
Brewmaster Todd
Our Abbey Dubbel makes it's return well over a year since the last batch. The 2009 version is lighter in color appearing a clear brown with slight reddish hues, is stronger at about 9.8%ABV and has a wonderful clean but distinctively Belgian flavor profile.
Kin to the Trifecta Tripel the Abbey Dubbel is brewed to with Belgian yeasts, fermented at a higher temperature than our other house ales. The benefit of the warmer fermentation temperature is that is creates more yeast derived flavors. The best way to describe these flavors is by the rather spicy aromas and flavors contained in this beer. We used a rather unique sugar in this beer known as Panusta which comes from the Philippines. It is a combination of Cane and Palm sugar which has been slightly caramelized and then packaged for use. Though it's contribution is not immediately apparent it's flavor has melded into the overall flavor profile well. The flavors best to describe the beer are notes of chocolate, mild malt, hints of cinnamon candy, faint banana and alcohol warmth. This is a great beer for any grilled beef, pork and poultry. Also with pasta and fish. A great sipping beer as well.
What makes it a Dubbel... In the Monastic brewing traditions of Belgium the brothers of Trappist Abbeys brewed beers for themselves called Singels or simples, the Dubbels were brewed for customers outside the Abbey walls and Tripels were brewed for special occasions. Our Dubbel and Tripel are brewed to emulate those brewed by the Westmalle Abbey near Antwerp, Belgium.
Cheers!
Brewmaster Todd
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Oregons Brewers Festival 2009
Yes! FiftyFifty Brewing will be pouring Manifesto Pale Ale at this years edition of the Oregon Brewers Festival. Held at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Downtown Portland, OR.
I always get excited about the OBF because it's just the biggest festival on the year's calendar.
With upwards of 70,000 people attending over the four day event our little brewery gets a lot of exposure...and that's a good thing!!! Of course Portland is the epicenter of the Pacific Northwest brewing scene, so there is a lot of beer to be consumed. There is also a really good 'foodie' scene as well. It goes without saying that it's scenically beautiful as well so I always look forward to heading up there for the event.
We're sending Manifesto Pale Ale to 'represent' our flagship beer and 'sort of' show them how it's done here in the mountains... Fun stuff!
If you want to hang out with me in Portland it's July 23-26.
Cheers!
Todd
I always get excited about the OBF because it's just the biggest festival on the year's calendar.
With upwards of 70,000 people attending over the four day event our little brewery gets a lot of exposure...and that's a good thing!!! Of course Portland is the epicenter of the Pacific Northwest brewing scene, so there is a lot of beer to be consumed. There is also a really good 'foodie' scene as well. It goes without saying that it's scenically beautiful as well so I always look forward to heading up there for the event.
We're sending Manifesto Pale Ale to 'represent' our flagship beer and 'sort of' show them how it's done here in the mountains... Fun stuff!
If you want to hang out with me in Portland it's July 23-26.
Cheers!
Todd
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Imperial Eclipse Stout.............
OK, I've got to brag a little bit...right? This weekend Imperial Eclipse Stout pours in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Strong Ale Festival and in Boston, MA at the Extreme Beer Festival's Night of the Barrels. Pretty cool stuff for a tiny little brewery in Truckee wouldn't you say? I'm sure we'll 'hold our own' against much bigger names in the business.
The bottles are back... Kyle and I are bottling again...by hand. Our bottler has proven to be a formidable foe and for now it has won.... We'll get after it again once we've whittled down the current work load... We've got about 20 cases of Eclipse to go for this round. Of course the warm aged stuff is a whole other animal...
The bottle numbering fairy needs to drop by the brewhouse and then the bottles can go on sale.
Cheers!
Todd
The bottles are back... Kyle and I are bottling again...by hand. Our bottler has proven to be a formidable foe and for now it has won.... We'll get after it again once we've whittled down the current work load... We've got about 20 cases of Eclipse to go for this round. Of course the warm aged stuff is a whole other animal...
The bottle numbering fairy needs to drop by the brewhouse and then the bottles can go on sale.
Cheers!
Todd
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
100 batches of beer, 100 batches of beer...
Sometime in April 2007 the first batch of beer brewed at FiftyFifty made it's way through the 10HL(8.5bbl) brewhouse and now is nothing more than a faint memory. Tomorrow, the 12th of February 2009 Kyle and I will brew the 100th batch of beer. That accounts for roughly 850 beer barrels which are 31 gallons each. I won't go into the math but it's a lot of beer over our bar at the brewpub. Sure some goes out to parties and events but most of it is sold at the pub. It's a pretty neat milestone for me as a brewer as I've only hit this mark at one other brewery.
Which beer you ask? It's Manifesto Pale Ale our 'pride and joy' and it's one of the most popular beers at the brewery.
We'll probably have a small celebration amongst the brewing staff and toast our efforts so far.
Of course we'll be toasting to the next hundred brews and beyond as well...
Cheers!
Brewmaster Todd
Which beer you ask? It's Manifesto Pale Ale our 'pride and joy' and it's one of the most popular beers at the brewery.
We'll probably have a small celebration amongst the brewing staff and toast our efforts so far.
Of course we'll be toasting to the next hundred brews and beyond as well...
Cheers!
Brewmaster Todd
Saturday, February 7, 2009
SF Beer Week and other stuff
Today well actually yesterday kicked off SF Beer Week. There's lot's of info to be gleaned from www.sfbeerweek.org Lot's of small events and a few big ones. FiftyFifty is participating today in the Bistro's Double IPA festival. The Bistro is a humble beer bar in Hayward, they've been carving a niche for themselves for a while and have a good following. This event sort of kicks off SF Beer Week so they've expecting about 500 people today.
Why SF Beer Week? I want to chime in on this just to serve up my perspective. Though the craft beer Renaissance started in the SF Bay Area and is known for such, there are people 'out there' that believe places such as Portland, OR, Seattle, WA or San Diego, CA deserve the title of might deserve the 'beer mecca' title. I'm not going to argue this point as there isn't much of one in my opinion. All these places have their merits but San Francisco and the adjoining Bay Area just have too much to offer to compare anywhere else...
Brewery Updates!!!
The bottler is challenging us a bit but should be in a more cooperative mood soon. Kyle, Andy and to a lesser extent myself have all given it a go. We're getting there but someone needs to bring us the magic wand and make it better/work... We'll be packaging soon so continue to watch this space.
Beer wise...
Landslide Double IPA has proved to be a hit. The return of Abbey Dubbel is almost here, as well as Rockslide, a new batch of Porter and more.
New Seasonal.. About this time last year or so we released 'Honey Rye' this year we wanted to take this beer in a slightly different direction. We are looking at substituting the Honey with Agave Nectar. The yet to be named beer should be refreshing, easy drinking and a great way to welcome spring!
All for now!
Todd
Why SF Beer Week? I want to chime in on this just to serve up my perspective. Though the craft beer Renaissance started in the SF Bay Area and is known for such, there are people 'out there' that believe places such as Portland, OR, Seattle, WA or San Diego, CA deserve the title of might deserve the 'beer mecca' title. I'm not going to argue this point as there isn't much of one in my opinion. All these places have their merits but San Francisco and the adjoining Bay Area just have too much to offer to compare anywhere else...
Brewery Updates!!!
The bottler is challenging us a bit but should be in a more cooperative mood soon. Kyle, Andy and to a lesser extent myself have all given it a go. We're getting there but someone needs to bring us the magic wand and make it better/work... We'll be packaging soon so continue to watch this space.
Beer wise...
Landslide Double IPA has proved to be a hit. The return of Abbey Dubbel is almost here, as well as Rockslide, a new batch of Porter and more.
New Seasonal.. About this time last year or so we released 'Honey Rye' this year we wanted to take this beer in a slightly different direction. We are looking at substituting the Honey with Agave Nectar. The yet to be named beer should be refreshing, easy drinking and a great way to welcome spring!
All for now!
Todd
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What 2009 has in store for us...
First of all Happy New Year... Yes, we've been busy, distracted, and just all around getting things in order for what's looking like a great year for the brewery. Where to start... The owners at FiftyFifty have enlisted a renowned Sushi Chef and have started the soon to open 'Drunken Monkey' Sushi, tapas and sake. I've seen the menu and it looks great, and the space is looking really good too. We'll be serving some FiftyFifty brews there as well as Japanese beers and course several sakes. The Drunken Monkey is located in the Rock just a few steps from the brewery.
Brewery wise there are many things in the works. The 2008 Imperial Eclispe Stout has already sold out of it's first bottling. There's more of course and we will be announcing the release date of the remainder of the bottles soon. We'll have the 2007 and 2008 version on tap as well...keep an eye on this space.
So far this year we've brewed a new Abbey Dubbel which promises to be a welcome return to the tap line up. The Abbey should be on tap by the end of January. We also made our first foray into brewing 'Double' IPA. We've been kicking around names for this beer and nothing is set yet but it will be 'uber' hoppy. Kyle and I had a heck of a time brewing this one as the amount of hop material in the kettle was making for some anxious moments when we were transferring from kettle to fermenter. Long story short the beer is happily fermenting and we're looking for this to be ready in the first week of February. Our new beer storage cooler is here and that means we're getting closer to distributing. Our draft Manifesto Pale Ale will soon be in select better beer locations. I'll be sure to keep that information updated here. Lastly, our 'bottling machine' is in transit and that means before long we'll have a few of our brands available in 22oz bottles. They will be for sale at the brewery and in the future at select retail outlets.
To close I just wanted to thank all of our friends and guests of the brewery. 2008 was a great year for the brewery and we couldn't do it without you guys! Our beer outlook is good for 2009 and I have a feeling the Imperial Eclipse Stout is going to bring us a lot of attention as the 2008 vintage is stellar and we are getting asked for it from folks across the country. Pretty amazing stuff!
Cheers!
Todd Ashman
Brewery wise there are many things in the works. The 2008 Imperial Eclispe Stout has already sold out of it's first bottling. There's more of course and we will be announcing the release date of the remainder of the bottles soon. We'll have the 2007 and 2008 version on tap as well...keep an eye on this space.
So far this year we've brewed a new Abbey Dubbel which promises to be a welcome return to the tap line up. The Abbey should be on tap by the end of January. We also made our first foray into brewing 'Double' IPA. We've been kicking around names for this beer and nothing is set yet but it will be 'uber' hoppy. Kyle and I had a heck of a time brewing this one as the amount of hop material in the kettle was making for some anxious moments when we were transferring from kettle to fermenter. Long story short the beer is happily fermenting and we're looking for this to be ready in the first week of February. Our new beer storage cooler is here and that means we're getting closer to distributing. Our draft Manifesto Pale Ale will soon be in select better beer locations. I'll be sure to keep that information updated here. Lastly, our 'bottling machine' is in transit and that means before long we'll have a few of our brands available in 22oz bottles. They will be for sale at the brewery and in the future at select retail outlets.
To close I just wanted to thank all of our friends and guests of the brewery. 2008 was a great year for the brewery and we couldn't do it without you guys! Our beer outlook is good for 2009 and I have a feeling the Imperial Eclipse Stout is going to bring us a lot of attention as the 2008 vintage is stellar and we are getting asked for it from folks across the country. Pretty amazing stuff!
Cheers!
Todd Ashman
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