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The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s news and happening in and around the Charlotte, NC area!  

  • September 16th Saturday 21 pm-8 pm Blue Blaze Brewing is having Oktoberfest. The brewery will have traditional German-Style beers and JJ’s Red Hots will be crafting a limited edition brat using Alpine Weisse Oktoberfest Ale. This brat will then be sold at their restaurants between September 16th through October 3rd. More information On Blue Blaze Brewing’s Facebook page.
  • September 16th Saturday 12 pm-10 PM NoDa Brewing Company Oktoberfest. Celebrating Germany’s Oktoberfest with the release of our very own fall brew! Our Oktoberfest is brewed with Epiphany Malting’s Oktoberfest and Munich Malts, making a clean, crisp, and (you guessed it) malty brew that you’ll love! Not only will you be able to sip on this draft brew in the tap room, but you’ll also be able to purchase a custom stein to take home, worthy of all your Oktoberfest celebrations! Plus, TIN Kitchen will be serving up a special Bratwurst (and all of their regular tasty dishes). This is one celebration you don’t want to miss.
  • September 22nd-24rd Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Mecktoberfest Mecktoberfest, OMB’s fall “Über-seasonal” brew, releases Monday, August 28th at OMB. More info about that event is here:https://www.facebook.com/events/119537582012904
    This event is for our Mecktoberfest celebration…It’s beer-drinking season at OMB! Seasonal favorite Mecktoberfest will be on tap along with your year-round essentials: Copper, Capt Jack, Southside & Hornet’s Nest. Mecktoberfest is one of our largest events of the year and full of the sounds of Bavaria! The German bands are high-energy with audience dancing and sing-along participation encouraged. Friday:
    3-6pm – Mountain Top Polka (German band)
    7-10pm – Holzhackern Tyrolean Band (German band)
    Saturday:
    11a-6p – Local acts
    7-10pm – Holzhackern Tyrolean Band (German band)
    Sunday:
    11a-2p – Mountain Top Polka (German band)
    3-6pm – Holzhackern Tyrolean Band (German band)
    More food menu details are on the way. Expect classics like Schnitzel, Spätzle, & Knockwurst.
    You don’t want to miss this authentic Oktoberfest experience. Prost!
    This is a free event. Under 21 welcome. Dogs welcome outside.
  • September 23rd Saturday Sugar Creek Brewing Company 11 am Fall Fest 2017. Fall is finally here, and we’re celebrating with an all-day party at Sugar Creek Brewing’s Fall Fest 2017! This event itself is FREE and will offer fun for the whole family (dogs included). The event kicks off with “Fall Into Desserts,” a dessert festival hosted by Love Desserts CLT in our Sugar Creek warehouse from 12-6 PM. Experience 20 local bakeries and dessert shops under one roof! Admission to the desert festival is $10 which includes entry into the event, complimentary non-alcoholic drink (Apple Pie Punch or Cranberry Harvest Punch), and candy. Tickets can be purchased here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/love-desserts-fall-into-dessert-tickets-37427224837 While that’s going on, we’ll also have live music, a pig roast, games for kids, and plenty of local vendors to shop from, including:
    Glory Days Apparel
    Johnny Fly
    Southern Fragrances Candle Co
    WildlyUrban
    Charlotte Mobile Makery
    CLT Find
    Purple Girl Designs by Amber
    Pet Wants Charlotte: The Urban Feed Store
    Tabletop Campfires
    Pink Daisy Co.
    Thank You Mother Earth
    Bajari
    And more!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week happening in and around the Charlotte, NC area!

  • September 1st Friday NoDa Brewing Company 12 pm-10 pm Gordgeous Release Party. This is the release of their pumpkin beer Gordgeous.
  • September 16th Saturday 21 pm-8 pm Blue Blaze Brewing is having Oktoberfest. The brewery will have traditional German-Style beers and JJ’s Red Hots will be crafting a limited edition brat using Alpine Weisse Oktoberfest Ale. This brat will then be sold at their restaurants between September 16th through October 3rd. More information On Blue Blaze Brewing’s Facebook page.
  • September 16th Saturday 12 pm-10 PM NoDa Brewing Comopay Oktoberfest. Celebrating Germany’s Oktoberfest with the release of our very own fall brew! Our Oktoberfest is brewed with Epiphany Malting’s Oktoberfest and Munich Malts, making a clean, crisp, and (you guessed it) malty brew that you’ll love! Not only will you be able to sip on this draft brew in the tap room, but you’ll also be able to purchase a custom stein to take home, worthy of all your Oktoberfest celebrations! Plus, TIN Kitchen will be serving up a special Bratwurst (and all of their regular tasty dishes). This is one celebration you don’t want to miss.

Hi-Wire Brewing White Grape Grisette

Posted on by Evan

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I picked up another Hi-Wire Brewing beer, this is White Grape Grisette with Sauvignon Blanc Grapes, 5.5% ABV which is added late in the fermentation, and this Grisette is dry-hopped with Citra, El Dorado, and Equinox. This beer brewed with Saison yeast and Brettanomyces.  I purchased this from the Good Bottle Co, 125 Remount Rd here in Charlotte. White Grape Grisette pours a bright yellow color with a two finger bright white slightly foamy head with good retention that leaves behind a little amount of lacing with an aroma of funky green grapes and a faint yeasty Sauvignon Blanc note. Taste is much like a Saison but with a little more fruity flavor with the usually funky Saison yeast note, you get on a Saison. A Grisette is a form of Saison. White Grape Grisette finishes nicely, fruity with a little funky yeast note and has a slightly bitter fruity aftertaste that lingers for a little bit with a medium mouth feel. This Hi-Wire Brewing White Grape Grisette is good and gets a B+. The white grapes or Sauvignon Blanc grapes add another layer to a good beer. I recommend trying this one for yourself. I found it refreshing and easy to drink and I would have this again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Bhranari Brewing Company Molly’s Lips Black Gose with Orange Blossom

Posted on by Evan

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Now this beer from Bhranari Brewing Company, Molly’s Lips Balck Gose 4.0% ABV. This Gose-style beer is brewed with black malts, smoked English sea salt, coriander, and a hint of orange blossom. The Bhranari Brewing Company in Asheville North Carolina is named after the Hindu goddess of the Bees. Molly’s Lips pours a deep black color with brown edges and a two and a half finger beige head with decent retention, giving off a tart aroma with faint orange and some roasted dark malt notes and a with flavor of Sweet yet tartness up front then sea salt and roasted notes in the middle with a very faint coffee like note on the back of the mouth. The finish is on the lighter side for a dark beer with a slight tart roasted note with a salt roasted aftertaste and a lighter mouthfeel for a dark beer. This is a different and interesting take on a Gose-style beer and It’s not that bad, it gets a B-. Just not used to a dark or black Gose beer and it found there to be a slight conflict of flavors going on between the roasted black part and the Gose base, but it was not so bad. It just could have bee better, and Bhranari Brewing Company, Molly’s Lips Balck Gose isn’t a beer that I will be rushing back too soon. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Legal Remedy Brewing Co. World Court Mocha Blonde Stout

Posted on by Evan

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This past Saturday I had a sample of Legal Remedy Brewing Co. in Rock Hill South Carolina World Court Mocha Blonde Stout, 6.6% ABV at my local Harris Teeter. I decided to take some home and give it a review. This stout is brewed coffee and white chocolate. World Court pours a hazed bright yellow like color with a one and a half finger white head the somewhat nice retention. The aroma is strong with white chocolate and some coffee notes, that then gives you not quite the same on the flavor. It’s less of the white chocolate sweetness and more coffee with a slight coffee roasted note with slight mocha qualities to it. World Court has chocolaty sweet finish with a hint of coffee and a sweet slight chocolate aftertaste that lingers on the tongue. The mouth feel is medium and over I thought this World Court Mocha Blonde Stout was interesting sound more than it tasted. It wasn’t bad. I give this beer a C+, Interesting thought. I think that after two or more you’d be over the flavor on this beer. I might have this again but not soon. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s  happenings in and around the Charlotte, North Carolina Area.

  • August 24th Thursday 3 pm-10 pm Birdsong Brewing Company is having a release party for its Autumn seasonal, Wake Up Porter.
  • August 28th Monday 11 am-10 pm Olde Mecklenburg Brewery is releasing its Mecktoberfest beer. 
  • September 4th Monday 2 pm-7 pm Free Range Brewing Funky Farm Day. Live Music, and beer. Free to the public. More information on Free Ranges Facebook page. 
  • September 16th Saturday 21 pm-8 pm Blue Blaze Brewing is having Oktoberfest. The brewery will have traditional German-Style beers and JJ’s Red Hots will be crafting a limited edition brat using Alpine Weisse Oktoberfest Ale. This brat will then be sold at their restaurants between September 16th through October 3rd. More information On Blue Blaze Brewing’s Facebook page.

Service Brewing Old Guard Bière De Garde

Posted on by Evan

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Service Brewing in Savannah Georgia a military themed brewery brews Old Guard Bière De Garde, 6.6% ABV. Old Gaurd is part of Service Brewing seasonal series. The brewer says that one of the greatest military honors is the privilege to serve with the 3rd U.S. Infantry, otherwise known as the Old Guard. In 1996 SGT (Sargent) Heather Johnsen woman to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier proudly joined the ranks. Old Guard is brewed with their strain cultivated from honeycomb from their own brewery’s apiary or bee farm. house yeast st Old Guard pours a deep orange-copper color with a two-finger beige head that slowly fades down to some minimal lacing that gives nice sweet notes of ripe fruits, sweet malts, and some slight honey, that beckons you into the taste of more ripe fruits with nice sweet malts and honey. The honey is full on flavor with some malts swarming around it with little balancing effects. Old Guard has a nice sweet finish of honey with a sweet after taste that coats your mouth. Mouthfeel is on the fuller side but Old Guard is somewhat easy to drink. This Service Brewing Old Guard Bière De Garde is a B+. This beer might be too much flavor after about three or four. That holds this beer back that is otherwise tasty and something that I recommend trying. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 Aged with French Oak

Posted on by Evan

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For some time now I have been looking for this Unibroue Grande Réserve 17, 10.0% ABV. This is a dark ale aged in French Oak and bottled refermented. This Ale was originally brewed in 2007 to celebrate the brewery’s 17th anniversary, and it was such a success that they kept brewing it. This particular bottled was bottled in 2015 making it two years old.  I picked this Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 up at Whole Foods. Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 pours a deep brown dark color with a two-finger beige head with nice retention giving off sweet brandy/wine notes with touches of nice toffee and slight caramel on the nose, leading into a taste of slightly alcoholic sweet brandy with notes of toffee, raisin, and caramel. This beer drink smoother than it should for a 10.0% beer. Which might be a little dangerous. Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 has slight boozy semi-sweet finish with some toffee and an aftertaste of slight semi-sweet alcohol brand notes. The mouth feel is full. Overall this Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 is good for a big beer, it is a definite A. Miss slightly on the boozy finish but only just. I highly recommend Unibroue Grande Réserve 17 and I will be going back to this lovely beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week happening in and around the Charlotte, NC area.

  • Sunday, August 19th LOSO Neighborhood, LOSO Neighborhood Block Party 11am-10pm, free admission. Yancy and Southside Dr.
  • August Saturday 19th 12 pm Triple C Brewing 5th Anniversary Block Party 
  • Monday, August 28th 11 am The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Mecktoberfest Release.
  •  September 16th Saturday 12 pm-10 pm Sycamore Brewing. Join us this September for a Celebration of Fall & Pumpkin Beers! Featuring an amazing tap list of Seasonal Fall Beers including – ‘Gourd Have Mercy!’ Awesome Giveaways for the first 200 guests!!!
    Live Music on 2 Stages, Outdoor Pouring Stations, 5 Food Trucks, Very Good Times!!
    Bands:
    Of Good Nature
    PMA Positive Mental Attitude
    Late Night Special
    Colby Deitz Band
    Below the Belt
    And more!

Gizmo BrewWorks Lavender Kolsch

Posted on by Evan

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I just found a new local North Carolina brewery Gizmo BrewWorks. They haven’t been open very long, something like a quarter of a year. But I have heard that this new brewery in Raleigh, NC brews pretty wonderful beers. So I pick up this from Reids Fine Foods at South Park Mall, Union Lavender Kolsch, 5.1% ABV. The brewery says this is a good wedding season beer. I didn’t know a thing like that existed. Union Lavender Kolsch pours a somewhat clean and clear yellow color with a thin white quickly dissolving white head with very little left behind. The aroma perfumed with a slightly sweet floral note and some sweet crispness as well and gives you a similar taste. There is nice sweet crisp floral flavor but Union isn’t overly floral. I have had some beers brewed with lavender and they taste like you’re drinking perfume, this does not, but it does finish with a slightly sweet floral note that is also crisp and has a nice lingering after taste of the said Lavender, with a nice lighter mouth feel. Over all this was a good beer an A-. But if you were to have three the Lavender flavor would be a bit much, so two is enough to enjoy. Going into this beer the Kolsch drew me in and I was slightly hesitant about the Lavender part, but I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised how well balanced it was. I recommend Gizmo BrewWorks Union Lavender Kolsch. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!