Dear IPA Fans-
Rumors have been flying about the IPA situation at the brewery recently. Kyle and I persevere to craft the ultimate IPA and sometimes it takes us to interesting places. Our latest endeavor the EXP IPA takes us to new heights and this brew is a really, really great IPA. Alas, it isn't Rockslide is it...! A new batch of Rockslide is currently in the #2 slot in the brew schedule so it should be in the tank no later than 4/17/09. Ready for drinking about 14-15 days after that.
With the success of Landslide and the very positive response from the EXP IPA we're exploring new (to us) hop products that can deliver a hop wallop of unprecedented measure! These beers of course will have to take a back seat to Rockslide and to quash any rumors of Rockslide's demise as completely unfounded B.S. ...
Foggy Goggle will be back in production soon too. New batches of Trifecta and Concentrated Evil also will be on the brewing agenda...
More news from the brewery soon...
Cheers!
Brewmaster Todd
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Imperial Eclipse Stout earns a Silver Medal Down Under
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
Eclipse was awarded a Silver Medal.
Look for more bottles and draft of this wonderful beer soon. Only at the brewery!
Cheers!
Todd
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
