The Best City in America Shows Its Love for Craft Beer

There aren't too many cities in the United States like Charleston, SC. It has so much history, culture, things to do... and now it is showing the world it has a large and growing love of craft beer too.

By all reports, this weekend's Brewvival hosted by COAST Brewing Co. and Charleston Beer Exchange was a huge success. Congratulations to all who worked so hard to put together this event. We can't wait to be in attendance next year.

Cheers!

United States of Beer

The Houston Press recently published a map of the The United States of Beer on their beer blog. The intent was to determine what beer seemed most fitting to be associated with a state. Some made a lot of sense (Missouri - Budweiser) and others were a stretch (MGD 64 - Florida). Not a whole lot of educational value in this one, just something for fun to debate.

Cheers!

P.S. They also did a Soft Drink Map too and Coca Cola didn't make the list for Georgia. Not sure how that one happened.

Bottling Shipwaters Super Chocolate Stout

Today we bottled our chocolate stout and we're looking forward to being able to taste it soon. During the process today, we were reminded that bottling your homebrew can old and kegging (as seen here available on Amazon) provides a convenient alternative.

Here's a nice video from Kegworks.com on how to turn an old fridge into a kegerator.

Great Divide's Denver Pale Ale (and Cheese!)

This is our second review of a Great Divide beer and one of the beers we did with the cheese pairings. It pours a faint honey color that is very clear with little carbonation and a small disappearing head. The pale ale gives of a piney hop aroma with a very light sweet scent. The taste is orange and spicy with little to no sweetness and the flavor lingers long on the tongue.

This English Style Pale Ale is 5.4% ABV

73.125 / 100 Overall
Look: B-
Smell: C-
Taste: C-
Feel: C-
Buy Again? No

So... how did this beer pair with the cheeses in our cheese trial? See results below:

Muenster: No - the pairing muted the flavor of both cheese & beer
Smoked Gouda: Maybe
cheddar: No - the two flavors didn't work together at all
Gorgonzola: Yes - Removed the bitter from the beer and made it sweet & refreshing. Almost made a Pale Ale remind you of a Hefeweizen
Blue: Yes - Same effect as the gorgonzola

Cheers!

Hacker Pschorr Weisse Review (and Cheese)

Hacker Pschorr Weisse is a German import Hefeweizen that pours a cloudy amber color (think apple cider) with a nice thick bright head. The smell is sweet and citrus like, but there is something hidden behind these scents that is uncommon in Hefeweizens. You definitely pick up a whiff of yeast in all the fragrance going on. The beer tastes light and sweet. You detect less citrus than you'd expect compared to the smell. It is light and crisp and finishes dry.

This 5.5% ABV Hefeweizen rates 89.625 / 100 Overall
Look: A-
Smell: A-
Taste: B+
Feel: B+
Buy Again? Yes to Maybe

Now, with this tastings we tried to go a step further. We paired this beer with different cheese. Completely ignorant on cheeses, we simply purchased some common types that we recognized and tried each with the brew. We asked ourselves two very simple questions... did the pairing work & why. The results are below.

Muenster: No - the pairing muted the flavor of both cheese & beer
Smoked Gouda: Yes - Intensified both beer & cheese
cheddar: Yes - Intensified both beer & cheese
Gorgonzola: No - Yuck, just yuck
Blue: No - See gorgonzola

The tastings were really fun. We'd definitely recommend giving it a try. Go into it blind like we did or research pairings here.

Cheers!

An Excessive Tasting Night

After reading an article from The Nibble about pairing beer and cheese, we at Shipwater thought we'd up the ante on this week's tastings. Not only did we do the random 6-pack from Total Wine, but we also picked up five varying cheese varieties to try with each beer (beer and cheese list are below). The results were very interesting to say the least. Beers that were so-so suddenly turned wonderful when paired with some cheeses, some pairings didn't work for either beer or cheese, and others amplified both wonderful flavors.

While we did enjoy ourselves tremendously, I can tell you that there is only so much cheese a normal person can eat in one setting. We split the beers, sampling the three lightest first with the cheeses. It was very wonderful and interesting, but very very filling. We just didn't have the room for the next three beers with the cheese. As any good craft beer fan would do... we just dropped the cheese.

Reviews will be coming soon for each of the beers and how they rate with cheese. See the list of beers and cheese below. Cheers!

Beers:
Hacker Pschorr Weisse Bier
Boulder Beer Mojo IPA
Great Divide Denver Pale Ale
RJ Rockers Bald Eagle Brown
North Coast Brewing Old #38 Stout
Southern Tier Dark Robust Porter

Cheeses:
Muenster
Smoked gouda
Sharp cheddar
Gorgonzola
Blue

Simple and Quick Beer Pouring & Glassware Tips

A very simple and quick video to watch for tips on correct glassware and properly pouring a beer. I like his point at 3:59, "When you pay a little more for your beer you want to get the most out of it".

If you'd like to read more about proper glassware, check out this article from CraftBeer.com

Hope you enjoy... Cheers!

Beer and Food Pairings

What is the biggest thing that wine has over beer? The common recognition of food & wine pairings.

When it comes to beer and food, not many people think of the two complimenting one another (outside of maybe a hot dog & light beer at a ballgame), but this just isn't true. A sweet stout and a chocolate cheesecake can make for an interesting dessert combination. A spicy food like curry chicken can be ever so enhanced with a cold IPA.

Try this handy guide the next time you're looking to intensify a meals flavor through beer. If you want to take the experience a step further, check out the book "The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing & Cooking with Craft Beer".

Cheers!

Thomas Creek's Deep Water Dopplebock

Thomas Creek is our local brewery and they do an exceptional job with their beers (also, the nicest people you'll ever meet). Their Deep Water Dopplebock is one our our favorites in the Thomas Creek family of beers. It pours a dark and ominous black color with a minimal head (it almost looks like a lesser carbonated cola). The smell is not too intense, you can pick up a roasted coffee scent, but really no sweetness. The taste is very similar to the smell. A roasted malt flavor fills the palate followed by a quick hint of spicy bitterness going down. The beer is smoother and easier to drink than you'd expect for a dobblebock, but in our opinion that turns into a pleasant surprise since this is a beer you'd like to enjoy for a couple rounds.

This beer comes in light for a dopplebock with a 6.5% ABV

Overall: 89.50 / 100
Look: A-
Smell: B
Taste: A
Feel: A-
Buy Again? Yes

How Well Do You Know Your Labels

Like beer? Think you can name some of the big brands with a little hint? Try this online beer quiz. No craft beers, but it is still fun.

Cheers!

Video Review of Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale

Here is review of Stone Highway 78 Scotch Ale from Draft Magazine

Support American Craft Beer Week May 16 - 22

Red Brick Brewing's Laughing Skull Review

This is a beer near and dear to my heart as it was my first introduction into the craft brew world. In the late 90's, this beer existed as a Bohemian Style Pilsner brewed by the Atlanta Brewing Company (since rebranded Red Brick Brewing) for the Vortex restaurant in Little 5 Points. When I was a student at Georgia Tech, ABC was located right across the interstate and was known for not carding visitors on a tour. I'd never tasted small brewery craft beers before I took the first of many tours and I was soon blown away by all the different flavors. Of all the beers I sampled, Laughing Skull always was the most memorable... was it the taste or the funky looking label... I'll never know.

Laughing Skull was reintroduced to the world in late 2009 as an amber ale that pours bright with a medium head. The scent of the beer is minimal. It is a very crisp and refreshing taste with only a mild hop bite in the beginning. As for the mouth feel, it is a highly drinkable thin beer with little carbonation. This is a wonderful alternative to big brand beers for those hot summer days.

Overall 82.75 / 100
Look: B
Smell: C
Taste: B+
Feel: C+
Buy Again? Yes

Cheers!

Brew Night

Last night we racked the Super Chocolate Stout... Can't wait to bottle and drink. Here's the pic's

A Must See for Any Beer Consumer... Beer Wars Movie Trailer

We at Shipwater just recently finished watching a very educational, entertaining, and eye-opening film... Beer Wars. Created and directed by beverage industry veteran, Anat Baron, this film sets out to expose you, the consumer, the behind the scenes activities of what brewers large and small must do to get their beers on the prime shelf space at your local retail store. You will see the depths that the Big 3 (or now, Big 2) beer companies will go to to make sure that their brand is on the tip of your tongue when the bartender asks you, "What will ya have"? You'll also be introduced to the mavericks fighting these beer giants... beer heroes like Jim Koch, Dick Yuengling, Sam Calagione, and Kim Jordan.

Whether you are someone who likes to sample from different small breweries or are a devoted Miller Lite drinker, this is a movie you should watch. It goes well beyond beer, and speaks to the larger issue of consumer choice.

Cheers!

The Beer To Try Before You Die

Need a challenge? Let's try these 50 beers before you die.



Cheers!

The Beer-Launching Refrigerator

There's a Fight Going on in Texas

Big brand breweries appear to be afraid of the simple craft brewers in Texas. Looks like lobbiest such as Rick Donley, president of the Beer Alliance of Texas, are arguing that while it is completely ok to distribute the big brand beers all throughout the state, small craft breweries are a danger to Texans.

Want to silence these individuals... then follow http://texasbeerfreedom.org/

Cheers!

Southern Tier's Imperial Choklat Stout

Chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate!!!!!! Wow, that is pretty much the only word needed to describe this creation from Southern Tier's Blackwater Series of Imperial Stouts. The beer pours dark with a thin desert-sand colored head. The stout smells of Hershey's cocoa powder which introduces you nicely to the first taste. Going down you first pick up the milk chocolate flavor, but the sense quickly turns to a more bitter dark version. The taste finishes with a slight hop bitterness just to prepare the palate for the next sip. The beer is very filling and the sticky sweet feel stays with you throughout the glass.

This 11.0% ABV imperial stout was rated out of a growler poured from The Community Tap here in Greenville. If you are in the area, check them out... they have a wonderful selection.

Overall Rating: 91.63/100
Look: A
Smell: A-
Taste: A-
Feel: A-
Buy Again? Maybe

Cheers!

Beer Rip-Off!!!

Don't Miss Your Local Beer Festivals

Beer festivals play an important role in the craft beer community. If you haven't been to one, I highly encourage you to mark the next local festival on your calendar. You will meet great people that are just as passionate about good beer and you, taste wonderful foods, and sample some of the finest ales. You won't find cockiness or showboating, just a friendly atmosphere that you wish could last the year round. Our last stop was Asheville's Winter Warmer Beer Festival where we had a wonderful time (see pic). Next stop is Greenville's Top of the Hops.

Check out this beer festival calendar to find the next one near you.

Cheers!

Special and Limited Releases Can Make Craft Beer a Challenge

One of the best parts of craft beer is that you just can't get it anywhere anytime. It isn't like you can go down to your local convenience store to pick up your local breweries winter seasonal in the middle of summer much like you could a Bud Light. Now, when you are really craving a certain beer, this lack of supply can be frustrating.

This year, use Draft Magazine's list of 10 special releases that you don't want to miss to make sure you are left out in the cold.

Cheers!

DFH 90 Min Imperial IPA Review

Tonight we're #gettngslizzerd on Dogfish Head's 90 min Imperial IPA. This is a very complex and flavorful IPA that pours a bright glowing amber color and leaves a nice lacing head. The smell leaves you wondering about the taste. You know it is an IPA, but the malt balances well against the aroma hops. The flavor is bursting with citrus that you'd expect from an IPA but with a sweet malty goodness. The feel is quite smooth but leaves a dry aftertaste.

I'm worried that I'm not ranking the beer high enough. For quite some time this was my favorite IPA, but then I had Thomas Creek Brewery's Up the Creek and that flat out changed my perception of this beer style forever. All IPA's are measured against this... Had I not had an Up the Creek before, this one would rank much higher.

Coming in with an ABV of 9%
Overall Grade: 82.50 / 100
Look: A-
Smell: B-
Taste: B-
Feel: B-
Buy Again? Maybe

#gettngslizzerd

If you haven't already heard... Dogfish Head, craft beer fans, and the Red Cross come together after a Twitter faux pas to make the world just a little better. So happy to hear stories like this. Read the story here.

-Cheers

America's Best Beer Cities... Where's Asheville?

Esquire recently published its list of America's 7 Best Beer Cities and I'm stumped because Beer City, USA (AKA Asheville, NC) is not on the list.

Asheville, NC won Draft Magazines title of Beer City, USA in 2010 not only for its vast amounts of flavorful beer, but also for the degree to which beer culture inspires the local flair of the city.

So... kudos to Esquire (and any other publication) for spreading the word on this wonderful world of beer culture. We are a community of people inspired by extraordinarily unordinary ales... and Asheville has a lot of that.

Cheers!

So Many Styles

Confused by all the beer??? Here is a good link to help you through the various styles.

Cheers!

Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout Rates a Yahoo!!!!! from Shipwater

Tonight we tasted Terrapins Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout and were very happy with the selection. After purchasing a growler of the brew from Total Wine we quickly came home and drank it up.

The beer pours dark with a nice rich head. I'd expect more lacing from a milk stout, but was still very impressed. The only downside of the beer (other than being brewed in Athens, GA -- THWG) was the smell. The scents were surprisingly difficult to pick up for such a flavorful beer. What you do pick up in smell though is scents of coffee & chocolate. The taste is full of sweet milk chocolate coffee and lingers with a very slight bitterness. The beer is surprisingly drinkable for such a flavorful stout.

This beer comes in with ABV: 6% IBU: 30 O.G.: 16.7.

Overall: 87.63
Look: A
Smell: B-
Taste: B-
Feel: B+
Buy Again: Yes to Maybe

Cheers!

Blue Moon an Intro Into the Craft Beer World?

Interesting article from DrinkCraftBeer.com. I for one believe that it is an great introduction into more unique beers. We at Shipwater believe that every beer has its place.

Cheers!

I Am A Craft Brewer

Dogfish Head's Burton Baton

This beer is a real favorite here at Shipwater. Sam delivers again with this blended English Old Ale and Imperial IPA. Dogfish ages these in oak tanks at the end of fermentation which really adds to the already exciting flavors.

The beer pours a light amber, even orange tint with a light tan head. The smell is even better than the site with heavy floral and citrus scents. It is sweet to taste at first, but then complex flavor of hops, citrus, and malt take over. It provides a smooth refreshing feel followed by a wonderful explosion of citrus & acid that lingers long on the tongue with a pleasant after tastes.

Measuring in a 10.0% ABV and 70 IBU. This beer is memorable.

Overall: 93.63
Look: A
Smell: A-
Taste: A+
Feel: A-
Buy Again? YES

Something Different on the Cheap

Don't want to spend too much cash, but looking for a drink that is something more than the norm? Well, then stop in at you local Trader Joe's. They have some very good beers and wines that will satisfy your craving without breaking your bank. We're repeat customers of the Stockyard Oatmeal Stout from Goose Island Beer Company.

Want some cheap wine that isn't the normal "name brand"? How about some Two Buck Chuck. I'm enjoying the cabernet sauvignon right now as I type.

For something a little different, check out Trader Joe's.

Cheers!

Brew Day! - Super Chocolate Stout for the Super Bowl

What a great day. The Stillers (or Steelers for those outside of Pittsburgh) go for their 7th tonight, we have our Chocolate Stout brewing, and Sinatra playing.

What do you listen to when you brew? Let us know... maybe we'll give it a try and see if it works as well for us.

Cheers!

Beer Festival Coming to Greenville

Hey everyone! Look what's coming to Greenville this summer... Top of the Hops Beer Festival.

We hope to see you there!

A Good Read

Just a quick post to share a good read. I recently received a copy of Sam Calagione's book on entrepreneurship, "Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery".

Whether you're a fan of business, beer, or both; so far this is a great read. Check out the link below. I hope you enjoy it like I do.

Cheers!

Shipwater's Beer Ratings

Beer rating is one of the more enjoyable things we do at Shipwater. It allows us to drink a variety of beers (good & bad) and give out our opinion. And, since this is only our opinion of the beer... we're NEVER wrong!

Like most beer ratings, we rate on 4 categories: Look, smell, feel, and taste. We also dish out some bonus points for whether or not we'd buy the beer again. Just because a beer ranks high or low doesn't influence whether it would be bought again. Michelob Ultra, for example, recently rated low on our blog, but I assure you it will be bought again at our house.

A letter grade of A+ thru F is assigned to each of the categories by those reviewing the beers. Each letter grade has a corresponding number:
99 for A+
95 for A
90 for A-
89 for B+
85 for B
...
Then, a bonus points are assigned or taken away (+3 for buy again, 0 for maybe, -3 for wouldn't buy again). After all is added up, we average the scores and come up with the overall grade out of 100.

Nothing too scientific, but a whole lot of fun. So read our reviews, try the beers, and rate for yourself. That is the best thing about beer and wine... there is always another brand or type to try.

Cheers!

Michelob Ultra

We at Shipwater believe that every beer has it's place. This leads us to our next review.. Michelob Ultra. This is one of those beers that you just have to take for what it's worth. This beer was designed so that Anheuser-Busch could capture a piece of the low carb beer market and this beer does that and then some.

The beer has a very surprising sweet smell upon opening. The surprises die down after that. You get what you expect in a low carb light beer (2.6 carbs / 95 cal / 4.2% ABV). This is something you drink for refreshment not flavor.

Overall: 68.4/100
Look: D+
Smell: C
Taste: D+
Feel: F
Buy Again: Yes

Great Divide's Hibernation Ale Review

Our very first review is Great Divide Brewing Co's Hibernation Ale. This is Great Divide's Winter Seasonal beer. It is an English-style Old Ale that is 8.7% ABV.

The beer pours an orangish amber color and doesn't seem to leave much head at the top of the pint. It gives off a distinct floral aroma that grows stronger after the first taste. Speaking of taste, it can be best described as sweet & malty with a harsh bitter finish that lingers on your tongue.

Overall Score: 88.75 / 100
Smell: B+
Look: B+
Taste: B
Feel: A
Buy Again? Yes to Maybe

Beer & Wine Ratings

Shipwater will be reviewing beers and wines throughout the year. Check back often... we will be reviewing your favorites soon.

Welcome

Welcome to Shipwater Brewing's blog.  This is a blog devoted to all things beer and wine.  We are an aspiring craft beer brewing company who hope to start from small beginnings and grow into something special.  We'd like to use this blog to share our thoughts and feelings on a variety of beers and wines and hopefully update you on our progress as we grow from simple home brewers into something more.  So, thanks for joining us here at the Shipwater Brewing blog...  a place where dreams can come true.