Archive for the 'Featured Breweries' Category

01
Sep
10

Featured Breweries – Tied House Brewery

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Categories: Beer Newsletters, Featured Breweries and Microbrew
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Tied House Brewery – San Jose, California

Tied House Brewery is one of the first original brewpubs in America, named in honor of a system of tied and free houses that emerged during England’s Industrial Revolution. A free house was privately owned, selling any type of beer. A tied house was a pub owned by a brewery and allowed to sell only that brewery’s beer, which “tied” them to that brewery.

Tied House opened in 1988 in downtown Mountain View, CA, the headquarters of Google, but more importantly, the headquarters of Tied House, where the great Coastal Fog beers now are made. Over two decades after they poured their first pint, they continue to perfect their award winning beer. So far, just in 2010, they have acquired six awards, including a 1st Place Gold. Quite impressive, as this is their first year producing Coastal Fog, and the awards are spread among several brews!

If you visit, don’t miss the Clubhouse Wall at the Tied House. More than 155 regulars have a numbered mug that hangs there, among the treasured multiple brew awards they’ve earned. Paying a small annual fee for their own mug, members get a bit more beer for their money, and Tied House logo gear and special invitations to local events. But perhaps the best feature is that the other side of the wall is their brewery, and famous kitchen!

They have proudly served 5 presidents, astronauts, and the revelers of 22 World Series, and now you are about to be served!

Coastal Fog IPA is brewed with copious amounts of Pacific Northwest hops. It’s a classic IPA with a balanced and substantial malt backbone.

Coastal Fog Amber Ale is rich and malty, with a light, hoppy finish, boasting flavors of roasted caramel and fresh hops.

Featured Beer from Tied House Brewery: Coastal Fog IPA and Coastal Fog Amber Ale.

www.tiedhouse.com

INDIA PALE ALE – Tied House’s Coastal Fog India Pale Ale – There is a long hoppy finish to this top fermented ale family of “beers of antiquity.” Medium bodied and heavily hopped with initial malt character, serve it at 13 degrees C / 55 degrees F with hearty main courses of red meats, Cheddar cheese or sharp salad dressing. (Goes well with nachos and wings, too!)

AMBER ALE – Tied House’s Coastal Fog Amber Ale – This honey-colored brew is full-flavored, boasting roasted caramel nuances and great body. It’s a top notch, top-fermented ale with perfect balance between hop flavor and malt character. It’s assertive, but not highly bitter. This Amber deserves to be paired with the best cuts of pork, bacon or ham.

Related: Beers featured in our Beer of the Month Club.

28
Jul
10

Featured Breweries: Virgin Island St. John Brewers – U.S. Virgin Islands

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VIRGIN ISLANDS ST. JOHN BREWERS, U.S. Virgin Islands

The Tap Room is St. John Brewery’s island microbrewery, and if you are fortunate enough to visit the Islands, don’t pass up the chance to visit. Located in Cruz Bay on St. John, it is the only craft beer draft bar on St. John or St. Thomas, home to the largest selection of microbrewed beers in the Caribbean. (They also offer their own root and ginger beers, and Green Flash energy drink.)

So how did it all get started? Two college buddies (one a NASA scientist, the other a physical therapist) quit their jobs, seeking the island life on St. John. Their first few weeks were spent bussing tables and calling an old boat with no electricity “home.” They graduated to being bartenders, and rented a tiny apartment. Then boredom set in – not with island life, but with island beer. Using Internet pointers and a $50 beer-making kit, they experimented with a mango pale ale and other brews, still keeping their bartending jobs.

BY 2004, their brews were being noticed, and they knew they were filling a void. The increased demand meant they needed to expand, needing a way to bottle and distribute the beer. (Early brews were housed in hand-sterilized glass water bottles; distribution was via a temperamental old Toyota.) Piece by piece, it all fell into place, and today they make killer brews, while maintaining the joy of island life and all it has to offer.

Island Summer Ale is an easy drinker, with a soft wheat body and a clean, crisp finish. It’s brewed with 2 Row British Pale Malted Wheat and Hallertau hops.

Liquid Sunshine presents refreshing flavors with notes of coriander and orange. You’ll like the smooth wheat mouthfeel.

Featured Beer from Virgin Islands St. John Brewers: Island Summer Ale and Liquid Sunshine Belgian Style Ale

www.stjohnbrewers.com

ALE – St. Johns Brewer’s Island Summer Ale – A soft, easy drinking, top-fermented ale that has a remarkably clean, crisp finish. This one, still expressive and complex, has the perfect personality to pair with tropical foods, grilled chicken and seafood.

BELGIAN PALE ALE – St. Johns Brewer’s Belgian Pale Ale – Belgian-style ales don’t fit neatly into any classic styles, but are in a top-fermented class of their own. They are brewed with herbs and spices, with light to medium body and a wide range of hop and malt levels. Excellent with salads, steamed mussels and light seafoods.

See some of our featured breweries in our Beer of the Month Club.

21
Jul
10

Featured Breweries: Uinta Brewery – Salt Lake City Utah

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UINTA BREWERY, Salt Lake City, Utah

The goal of Uinta Brewing when it was established in 1993 was to produce fresh, full-flavored beers for distribution. Uinta was the first distributing craft-brewed brewery in the city, and their brews quickly gained a strong following, as no other brewery was concentrating on supplying the demands of Utah’s many pubs and restaurants. Requests for bottled beer became louder and more frequent, so in 1996 Uinta began bottling its award-winning beers. It became the biggest craft brewery in Utah. Uinta’s flagship Cutthroat Pale Ale is the #1 selling craft beer in the state, and Uinta is one of the top 50 volume-producing craft breweries in the United States.

They moved to a new 26,000 square foot facility in 2001, and each of those square feet is dedicated to reducing negative impact on the environment using renewable energy. The Brewery is 100% wind powered, and they re-use their six pack carriers. Spent grain is donated to local ranchers for cattle feed, further reducing waste. This is just a sampling of how they protect the environment.

Proud of its many mottos, including “Keeping Utah the Way We Found It – Except with Beer,” and “Improving Utah’s Environment – Starting with Beer.” They provided comic relief during a major drought by coining the phrase, “Save Water – Drink Beer.”

We’re proud to bring you Uinta’s King’s Peak Porter, flavorful and complex. Dark mahogany with a creamy head, it’s rich with dark chocolate, fruit and coffee nuances. It brought home the coveted Gold Medal three years in a row, and is still going strong.

Solstice Kolsch Style Ale is a lighter style German ale, with refreshing, light, crisp hop character. Its subtle bitterness is invigorating.

Featured Beer from Uinta Brewery:
King’s Peak Porter and Solstice Kolsch
www.uintabrewing.com

PORTER – Uinta’s King’s Peak Porter – Porter was England’s first national beer, deriving its name from its popularity with street-market porters who drank it for its nourishment. Dark in color and robust, top-fermented porters are excellent with fresh raw oysters, shellfish, Porterhouse steak, chocolate and creamy fruit desserts.

ALE – Uinta’s Solstice Kolsch Style Ale – This is a light, crisp, top-fermented beer that uses a touch of bitterness to attain its spirited flavor. These beers of antiquity are known for their expressiveness and complexity. Enjoy this brew with grilled chicken or your favorite seafood.

Related: Join our Beer of the Month Club.