Lazy Magnolia's "Ginger Jaque"

It seems like Jeremy recently learned the meaning of the word "quit," and until he gets his mojo back, he's asked me to guest blog for him. I don't posses his in-depth knowledge of all things beer, so hopefully he'll start back soon. In the meantime, he brought me a half gallon growler of Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company's "Ginger Jaque," to get me going. (Also, he asked me to watch his dog for a week, so if you ever see Jeremy heading your way with a growler of beer, you might not want to get too excited.)

But let's get to the beer. First off, the growler featured a hot, red head pirate lady on the front, and she had quite a front herself. So I was already pretty won over. Who doesn't like boobs, right Jeremy? Anyway, the Ginger Jaque poured nicely, with a warm amber color and not too much head. I thought it had a nice, smooth flavor, though I didn't notice any ginger flavor, which led me to believe that the brewer might have been a ginger, or something. However, when I shared a little with my friend William later, he wondered aloud after a few sips, "What's that smell? It smells like something from my backyard, but not the dog shit. Dandelion? No, it's ginger. We keep that by the back door." So I guess you can taste the ginger if you're more sensitive to it.

I'm just guessing, but I'd guess the alcohol content on it is pretty low. Certainly, there wasn't much of an alcoholy flavor, and I wasn't feeling much of a buzz after a few pints. Overall, I'd call it a pleasant beer, and I'd definitely drink it again.

Looking over other blog reviews (after writing the above), I note that the alcohol content is listed at a respectable %5, and many reviewers felt the ginger flavor was overpowering. The discrepancy probably comes from the fact that I'm more of a man than the other reviewers, and also part pirate. So, if you feel you could make it as a pirate, or at least grow a beard, I say give Ginger Jaque a try!

-- Dave

Best Ever Letter Ever Written to a Lawyer

I was told that I needed to do another post on this here Beer Blog. I'm not gonna name any names, but lets just say he sometimes goes by Dave, maybe.

I thought I would share some blog love. Here is a letter I found that is pretty darn funny. You wanna read it? If yes, just click HERE.

Christmas is around the corner!

Well ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is almost here and I decided to look back into the archives and repost one of my previously posted articles. This one was written a couple of years ago, but didn't make it into any publications. It's ok, nothing award winning. Unless you want to give me a trophy.

Enjoy.

Christmas Ale
By: Jeremy Myers

This time last year, I was reading an article in a magazine about Christmas ales. The story told of a man named Fernando in a far away country that did not have the luxuries of buying beer at a store. At the beginning of December, he and his friends would brew their own beers using recipes their fathers taught them. Only using ingredients found locally, they would each brew their special recipe and bottle them in old soft drink bottles.

Christmas Ales are nothing new and have been on the market for several decades. Whether you are into locally brewed beer or exotic imported beer, there is a Christmas Ale for you. Some breweries that are known for their hoppy beer typically will carry the hoppy flavors into their Christmas Ale. But most Christmas Ales have a malty character and have some spice added to the mix.

Spices have been a part of brewing for centuries and still have a great impact on brewing today. Usually, spices that are used in Christmas Ales are cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, coriander or a combination of them all. Many breweries use spices to show they have distinct flavor that cannot be duplicated and to show that they use ingredients indigenous to their area. There is nothing wrong with that, I actually support these breweries for using locally grown ingredients and I wish more breweries would follow this practice.

One of the most famous beers known for their Christmas Ales is Anchor Brewing Company. This year marks the 35th anniversary of their Christmas beer. While the recipe differs every year, it has become one of the beers everyone looks forward to tasting. This year, their beer has the same dark malt character, but with a sweet licorice taste. It is actually very interesting. Another famous ale on the market is Sierra Nevada’s ‘Celebration Ale’. This is one of those breweries that is known for creating hoppy beers and carries this into their seasonal beer. This beer pours relatively light but will have a very strong overwhelming hop aroma that will immediately tell you there are a ton of hops in it. I like this beer, but some will argue it is more of an acquired taste.

Besides American Craft beer, there are a few other countries that make festive ales. If you search around town you will find a couple of Belgian selections on the shelves. One in particular is Scaldis Noel. This beer is new to me, but has climbed into the top ten of all time. It has a very well rounded malt character and you will taste hints of caramel and vanilla. Another great Christmas Belgian beer is St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. This is a classic Abbey Style Ale spiced with some of the traditional Christmas spices.

This time of year is a great time to venture out of the normal routines that bind us all year. Whether you are celebrating with some friends or relaxing after a long hard day of shopping, a Christmas Ale is available at your local store. Sometimes we take for granted that beer is full of history and culture and dates back thousands of years. History that surrounds us every day and cultures that teach us who we are.

As for Fernando and his friends, they gather every Christmas night with their homemade ales to celebrate another year of friendship. They share memories, sing songs and enjoy the season that is meant for fellowship.

That sounds like Christmas to me.

Merry Christmas!

Yeti

It's this time of year that I am able to slow down. The temperatures start to drop, the days get shorter and I am able to do more blogging. Yesterday, I was hanging with the Beach Brewers gang at Wine World and grabbed four pack of Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout.
Needless to say, this is one of those nights when you really want something malty and smooth. At 9.5% ABV, this stout has a very balanced malt bill. With a big roasty character that fades into some rich caramel and toffee notes, this beer will hit the spot of any beer drinker on a nice chilly night. The flavors don't stop with the malts. This beer finishes with a really nice hop character. Weighing in at 75 IBUs, you can really taste the hops in the end.

Yeti is a very complex but well balanced beer. I will go on to say that this is one of the best Imperial Stouts out there.

Enjoy

Pensacola Bay Brewery

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving down I-10 near Pensacola and I had the bright idea of stopping at the new brewery. So, I pulled out the GPS and punched in the destination and away I went. As I found my exit, I found that I was just a couple minutes away. I was downtown in no time, but I noticed that traffic had gotten a little heavy. The lady on the GPS told me to take the next left, but there was a police car blocking the street. So, I went down to the next block, same thing. Turns out I decided to visit the brewery during the Pensacola Seafood Festival.

That's right, one of the largest festivals in Pensacola. After finding a nice parking lot and paying five bucks to park in that parking lot, I started my hike to the brewery. I got about half way there and found some freshly stone ground grits, you can't find those just anywhere you know. After a few more minutes, I was there! Located in the middle of Pensacola's Historic Downtown, is Pensacola Bay Brewery. Believe it or not, Pensacola Bay Brewery is the ONLY distributing brewery in the panhandle. There are a couple of great brewpubs in the panhandle, but you can't just go to the nearest beer store and grab their beer. Pensacola Bay you can.
After taking a quick look around I decided to grab a pint. Here is a little photo of their DeLuna Extra Pale Ale. Chiming in a 23 IBUs this refreshing pale ale will not disappoint. It is less than 5% and has a nice earthy citrus hop character. I totally recommend it to anyone.
And they sale growlers. I couldn't come back to Panama City empty handed. I grabbed a gallon of their Lighthouse Porter. A little more boozie, weighing in at 6.9%, but you really couldn't tell. This well balanced porter is probably one of the best American porters I've had in a while. I have also seen and tasted more of their beers in the Panama City area. I have seen the Lil Napoleon IPA and Riptide Amber. And I would recommend both to anyone because all of their beers are very well balanced and full of flavor.

So, if you are in the area or see any Pensacola Bay Brewery around, I say grab a pint.

You won't be disappointed!

Octoberfest is Here, again!

Once again, boys and girls, Octoberfest is among us. This weekend Downtown Panama City is having thier annual Octoberfest. You will find German sausage tents, beer tents and ECHO. Yes, the Emerald Coasters Homebrew Organinzation will be having their homebrew tasting. On tap will be a couple of Pale Ales, a sparkling mead and my Funky Oktoberfest gone wild. It is a Saison style beer that was fermented using wild Florida Yeast.

Anyways, come on by the booth and say hello to me and Dave and try a homerew. Also, if you want to read more about Octoberfest click here. This is my article that ran in the News Herald a couple of years ago.

2011 Emeral Coast Beer Festival

Hey everybody! I recently went to the Emerald Coast Beer Festival, in Pensacola, FL. It is usually held in September of every year and this will be the third year I have gone. This is my beer festival. I really only go to one a year and this is it. They have representatives from breweries all across the southeast and beyond. I counted over thirty breweries or brewpubs, eleven homebrew clubs and four distributors. This is good because usually when you go to a beer tasting or small festival, you will only see distributors and well, they don't really know much about what they sell.

Anyway, let's get started.

When the gates opened at 6 o'clock, I had a great idea. Instead of going straight to the tasting booths, we headed into and indoor area that "rookies" would only find later. We tasted a couple of brews in there and were surprised to find that this area was a scheduled stop for the Mcguire's Pipe Band.
Mcguire's Pub is a cool place to get a burger or a steak with a great beer.
Here is Gary from the Destin Mcguire's. Gary is a cool dude that knows a lot about making beer. So, if you are in Destin and want to ask a bunch of really weird questions, go see Gary. And I'm sure he appreciates me saying that.

And on to the festival...

Here's Ken from the Hoppy Homebrewers of South Mississippi

Mike from Emerald Coasters Homebrew Organization, Panama City Beach, FL



LA LagersMobile, AL
Now, some of you are saying, "Mobile Alabama isn't in LA"! Oh, but it is...LA means "Lower Alabama". I'm from LA, so I'm tired of hearing it.



Here's a dude with his kid from Terrapin Brewing, Athens, GA.
It was bring your kid to a beerfest week here on the Emerald Coast.


Here's my buddy Derrel from Chattahoochee Brewing, Phenix City, AL. He is opening his brewpub soon in Phenix City, so if you are in the area, stop by. This year, I tried his pale ale and porter. Last year he had a pilsner that was out of this world.
I tried four times to get a photo without his arm in the way of the banner.

Southern Tier Brewing, NY
Check out this guy...



Highland Brewing Company, Asheville, NC



NOLA Brewing, New Orlears, LA (and that's Louisiana).
I will tell you, they had a lemon/basil wheat beer that was Awesome. I don't drink a lot of flavored beers, but the basil and lemon went well with the wheat style.

And I suppose that just about does it for this year's festival. We had a great time and look forward to next year.

-Later