Ahh good morning everyone!

Figure today I can touch on a few things since I have been lazy on Saturdays Blog-Wise. So I’ll go over some local stuff as well as stuff on a nation-wide level.

1st of all THANK YOU!;
Thanks for commenting on yesterday’s blog, nothing is better than being able to interact with you the readers. The video blog seemed to be a hit so I will try to incorporate it into the blog as much as possible. While I cant guarantee that my editing/filming will get better I will continue to attempt to entrain you all with my shenanigans.

New Blog/Sites in the works;
Well if you follow Twitter there was a heated debate between two friends. Well regardless there is a new site you should check out DailyBeerReviewS but also check out DailyBeerReview . Both are different 100% and both are just fantastic for the Beer Community.

Another exciting new blog will be unveiled shortly. Yes The Cerveza Chica is leaving me…well not really but she is working on starting her own blog discussing life, beer, and living with a beer nut. It should be pretty interesting. I will make sure all you reader know where you can catch it. I would guess you can expected 3-5 posts a week from her, so like this site it might be worth to hit the RSS button.

DogFish Head TV?!?

Yep, Sam Calagione, of Dogfish Head Brewery will be staring in a new TV series called “BREWED”. You can read more about it here BREWED from BEERNEWS. While I have heard lots of different things regarding the release, we should expect to see this after the 1st of the year (2011). I have also heard rumors to expect cameos from other major people in the industry as Dogfish usually has a lot of different people walk through the door.

Pike Brewing Company Making Waves in SFL!

Well Lebron James wasn’t the only thing taking its talent to South Beach.  Pike Brewing company out of Seattle has landed in South Fla. and is an exclusive to Total Wine and More.  How are they drinking…well from what I hear they are pretty spot on beers that are very solid.  I personally will be able to tell you first hand what they taste like tomorrow as I have been invited to a super secret tasting of the line.  I will try to run down all 7 or so bottles in one quick post.  Price?!?  From what I saw last night $3.99 a bomber for the cheapest…not to bad!  Stay tuned tomorrow for additional information.

Reviews in the works;

I have been dragging my feet lately as stated above when it comes to restaurant and beer store reviews.  Coming in the near future will be official reviews of Knightly Spirits in Orlando, Total Wine and More, Bx Depot, and anything else you all want to read about.

60 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
6.0% ABV

C. Pours Clear
H. Light Amber in Color
N. Citrus, Floral Hops, Grass, and Hints of Pine

Cerveza Chica; I will start by saying that I like most of the stuff that DFH puts out so I was fine with drinking this beer. I have drank quite a bit of it over the years so was surprised to find out that the Ferm and I haven’t already reviewed it. He is a hop hound whereas I am not, but nonetheless this beer is pretty good. It is not overly carbonated or overly bitter in my opinion. The hops used in this beer I believe are just right. It is a pretty good beer I think to introduce someone into craft beer because it isn’t too crazy and fairly straightforward. You can’t really go wrong with this beer. I wouldn’t say it’s delicious but it is drinkable and not overly high in alcohol which makes you be able to have more than one in a sitting. Definitely worth picking up especially if you are new to the craft beer scene.
Score:3.77

Ferm; Ahh, an old friend. This was one of the beers that broke me into the IPA style of beer. This is a very balanced single IPA. The malt backing is present and a nice balance of hops. It has a good medium body, but is still easy to drink. It’s just a nice refreshing beer for a warm day, or hell any day.
Score:3.92

Overall: 3.845

Tryst
4 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach
561-921-0201
trystdelray.com

Well, Friday night after my day trip to Orlando, I’ll cover the details of that next weekend. The Cerveza Chica and I ended up hitting up what we were told was a local favorite for food and craft beer. Tryst, in downtown Delray Beach.
Tryst is a nice little restaurant that has a very good craft beer selection. We were told to go and check it out during happy hour as their drinks are all 2-4-1, and they have 50% off select menu items. Due to work I typcally can not make it out to a place for Happy Hour, so Friday, since I was off work, was a prime chance for us to check out the place.
The establishment is defiantly “trendy”, seemed like a young professional crowd. It was cozy inside though, very welcoming. We ordered the following food; Cheese Platter, Mussels, Some Kind of Sweet & Sour Shrimp, and Chicken Pad-Thai. The food was good but the portions were relatively small, but for 50% off I won’t complain. The best thing out of everything was the cheese plate, it was divine.
As for the beer….Tryst has a limited rotating tap selection that is very good considering most places only carry Non-craft on tap. They carry Dogfish Seasonals, Stone, Victory, and more on tap. Pretty diverse selection of beer. Their bottle list was VERY impressive. They even had the insanely hard to find Hunahpu’s from Cigar City in bottle. This is surprising since there were such a limited amount of bottles brought south, and since it was a limited released beer.
The service was good, and not rushed. The waiter did want to make sure that we were educated about the drinks we were purchasing, and offered free samples of other beers/wines that were up-sales.  Which was really nice even though we both knew exactly what we wanted.
Overall it was a very good experience, although I don’t think I would go back off Happy Hour and eat. The food was very good but not worth the non-happy hour price.  Parking was also a bit of a challenge as it is with any where on Atlantic Ave.
Worth checking out!

Isabelle Proximus
The Lost Abbey
San Marcos, Ca
7.00% ABV

C. Clear
H. Golden Yellow
N. A little citrus and lemon, bit of funk to it

Ahh Isabelle how I have longed to have you touch my lips….OK sorry that was a bit over the top. How can you not be super geeked out to try a beer that was a collaborative effort of five brewers – Sam Calagione (Dogfish), Tomme Arthur (The Lost Abbey), Adam Avery (Avery Brewing), Rob Todd (Allagash), and Vinnie Cirulzo (Russian River)? Well first and foremost thanks to my buddy Chris for sharing this with me. Your awesome and Happy Belated Birthday!

Well to the beer, remember the saying “Too Many Cooks In the Kitchen Ruin the Stew”. Well its a damn good thing that this list of five super-brewers were not making stew. They instead collaborated on a beer that poured Golden in color and was a little cloudy. I am not going to lie I didnt even give it a proper smell before I dug right into the beer. When it touched my lips I was shocked. I honestly thought that this beer was going to be average and a HUGE product of “Beer Hype”. Boy was I wrong. This was a sexy beer from every angle and the flavor was straight heavenly. It was strong lemon and citrus flavors, very similar to other “Sour” beers. A good amount of acidity. Hints of hibiscus/sweet flower flavors. That barnyard funk / farmhouse was present.

While this is not an easy beer to come by currently, being that it was released in 2006 in very limited quantities, if you get a chance to try this….don’t pass it up. This is a fine example of an American Wild Ale. An amazing treat!

Score: 4.995

Yep this upcoming week is American Craft Beer Week!

What is that? Well here is some history from American Craft Beer Week.
“Look for American Craft Beer Week promotions featuring craft brewers in breweries, restaurants, and better beer stores (There were more than 500 events in 2009.), become a fan of American Craft Beer Week on Facebook for more information on events around the country and toast the week with a delicious beer brewed by one of the over 1400 craft brewers in the US.

Small brewers are small businesses; they provide so much to their local communities and have reshaped American beer culture. On April 22, 2010, U.S. Congress began discussing House Resolution 1297 (PDF file) supporting the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.
For the Homebrewers

Homebrewers, American Craft Beer Week has not forgotten about your role in helping us get 10,000 fans of American Craft Beer Week 2009. This year we have a homebrew recipe from the American Homebrewers Association’s Big Brew celebration. American Craft Beer Wheat can be brewed in early May, and then you can tap it May 17-23!.”

So what are you doing for Craft Beer Week? Well there is no reason why you should not celebrate this week, and no reading my blog (while appreciated) is not celebrating actively.

Here are some of the events in the local area this upcoming week!

Monday 05-17-2010
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Weekly craft beer meetup. Bring a bottle of something rare to the area to share and enjoy good beer company.
Vine and Barley: Ft. Pierce; Terrapin Keg Tapping Party, 6pm, Come to the tapping of a few special Terrapin kegs; Oak-aged Wake-N-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and Terrapin ‘Side Project ‘Monk’s Revenge Double IPA/Belgian Tripel

Tuesday 05-18-2010
Boca Beer Lovers: TBA; This is a monthly meetup group that shares good beer (Google Boca Beer Lovers for more info)
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Avery Brewing – We will feature Maharaja and offer a tasting of some of their other beers.
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Come meet the Founder & CEO of Harpoon, Rich Doyle. Specials and win some SWAG!

Wednesday 05-19-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach; from 10-12 for their American Craft Beer Week edition of their Beers of Abraxas tasting. 12 – 3 oz. pours of their finest American Craft Beers for $15.
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Dogfish Head- Until we run out, we will compare “08 and ’09 Worldwide Stout and feature Aprihop on tap
Drinking Made Easy w/ Zane Lamprey; Ft. Lauderdale: Come witness the EPIC miracle himself Zane Lamprey from Three Sheets live on stage at the Culture Room

Thursday 05-20-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Southern Tier- We will feature Oak Aged Unearthly and who knows what else will be poured
Whole Foods: Boca Raton; Join Matt “Can a brother get some samples?” Villei from Shipyard for a tasting at Whole Foods in Boca from 3-5pm. FREE!

Friday 05-21-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Cigar City- We had to include this brewery in the mix as it is a Florida brewery- Can anyone Say Hunahpu Imperial Stout, we will have some pours of this delicious brew and maybe some glassware, and we are not done.
Total Wine: Boca Raton; If you missed him at Whole Foods you can catch Matt from Shipyard at Total Wine in Boca for a tasting of Shipyard and Sea Dog from 5-7pm

Saturday 05-22-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach: HUGE Beer Tasting for only $20.00 which includes Food, Water and a sampling on beers. Also bring what you have and share with everyone!
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Amazing Beer Dinner; showcasing some great food and brews.

Remember that there are tons of bars carrying a great selection of Craft Beer. So check out The Lodge, The Funky Buddha, Charm City Burgers, Brother Tuckers, Trist, Bar Louie, Grease, Havana Hideout, and more!

So there you have it, if you can’t find something to do this upcoming week….well then I’m sorry…I tried! Have a Craft Beer and enjoy a week long celebration!

Slainte!