I’ve had trouble finding feel good drunken sign-along punk rock as of lately but this one from Altanta’s The Bastard Suns always serves me well. Enjoy!

Summer is over. Any way you want to cut it, any last heat wave that comes rolling in, Labor Day has come and gone. So put away your seersucker suits and white pants, fall is upon us. And with the nail in the summer’s pervertible coffin, it’s time to drink up all those delicate saison’s and farmhouse ales to make room for fresh hop brews, pumpkin beers, and the influx of winters bevy of imperial stouts.

Upright Brewing’s Four Play is one such summer beers that I’ve been sitting on for a while now since my last trip to Portland. A young brewery barely over a year old, Upright has been making waves in the PDX beer scene turning out amazing belgian inspired brews from a town best known as a hop-lover’s paradise. Four Play is their commemorative one-year anniversary brew.

“Four Play is a Belgian-style sour beer that has been aged since March of 09 in Pinot Noir barrels with an addition of cherry puree, lactobacillus and brettanomyces to sour and dry out the beer. It is very tart, dry and complex like a wine with notes of oak, pinot, wheat and terroir. The beer is very limited with only 5 kegs being produced and 80 cases of 750ml bottles.”

So was it worth the wait? Despite an initial flimsy head and non-existent lacing, I’d say a resounding yes. This is a tart and funky, complex farmhouse. The Brett flavors come forward, as do a lot of cherry notes (from the addition of Cherry Puree) that mingle well with the innate characteristics of the Pinot Barrels. There’s also a nice lime peel note and a subtle dry finish from the barrel aging. The Pinot aging is really excited and a nice break from brewing’s current fascination with Bourbon barrels. Overall, it’s an impressively complex brew for a mere 5.0% ABV and a great one to knock back on those warm days of our impeding Indian Summer.

Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale (Barrel Aged)
Brewery: Upright Brewing (Portland, OR)
ABV: 5.0%
IBUs: ???
Hop Variety: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
Malt/Grain Variety: Organic Pale, Wheat, Organic Munich, Rolled Wheat
Adjuncts: Cherry Puree
Yeast: French Saison, Brettanomyces Clausennii, Lactobacillus, Delbrueckii
Availability: One Time Release

Today is the release of Founder’s Nemesis 2010 here in NYC and it seems that every good beer bar is chomping at the bit to release their keg. While the rest of the country seems to have seen a nice supply of bottles early, this is our first taste of their Anniversary brew and things are doubly exiciting as Founders is relatively new to the New York Area. “The 2010 release of Nemesis is best described by our brewing team as “a dark barley wine that pours black with a subtle mahogany hue. Brewed with 5 malts and no shortage of hops for a pleasantly bitter booming flavor. Roasty and toasty with a multitude of tastes that melts on your tongue.”

So the question is asked… Where will you drink your Nemesis? Below is a handy guide to release events in and around NYC today. Cheers!

DeCicco’s Food Market (Ardsley) – 21 Center St, Ardsley, NY, 12:00pm
Growler Fills and Bottles

4th Avenue Pub – 76 4th Ave bet Bergan and Wyckof St, Brooklyn, 3:00pm
Also pouring: Black Biscuit

Rattle N Hum – 14 E 33rd off Madison Ave, 4:00pm

Hop Devil Grill – 129 St Marks Place, 4:00pm
Also pouring: Centennial IPA, Reds Rye and Allagash Fluxus!

The Good Life – 1039 Park Blvd, Massapequa Park, NY, 4:00pm
Also pouring: Founder’s Canadian Breakfast Stout

Puck Fair – 298 Lafayette St off Houston St, 6:00pm

George Keeley – 485 Amsterdam Ave, 6:00pm
Also pouring: Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Curmudgeon, Pale Ale, Centennial IPA, Porter, Red’s Rye PA

The Double Windsor – 210 Prospect Park West at 16th St, Brooklyn, 7:00pm
Also pouring: Curmudgeon, Red’s Rye PA, Centennial IPA, Porter

Birdsall House – Peekskill, NY, 7:00pm
Also pouring: Centennial IPA, Porter, Curmudgeon

Sunswick 35-35 – 35-02 35th St,, Astoria, 7:00pm
Also pouring: Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Red’s Rye PA, Pale Ale

The Gate – 321 5th Ave at 3rd St, Brooklyn, 7:00pm
Also pouring: Cerise, Pale Ale, Porter, Devil Dancer, Cetennial IPA, Red’s Rye PA (Cask)

Despite summer’s last hurray this week, fall is right around the corner. And while pumpkin beers are already lining the shelves of better beer stores and bodegas alike, is best to let those sit for a while (or – in the case of Southern Tier’s Pumking – buy them up and store them) and enjoy the original fall seasonal; the Oktoberfest beer. Without getting all beer-geeky, back in the days before refrigeration (or if you live in a Brooklyn apartment like I do) it was impossible to control temperatures and brew in the summer. So in March (hence Oktoberfest beer’s other name, Märzen) a dark, copper beer of higher alcohol would brewed and stored up through the summer months to be enjoyed in the fall.

Well, fall is upon us and while I’ll be spending the next few month’s enjoy traditional examples of the oktoberfest style from Ayinger, Spaten and Weihenstephaner, American brewers are once again bringing a new twist on the traditional.

That means its the perfect time to time to pull out Avery’s The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest, an 9.3% ABV punched up version of the traditional brewed annually in August and released the following year. Like all Oktoberfest beers, The Kaiser has a big malty backbone, amber-brown color and bone-white head. It wafts like caramels, marshmallow fluff and assorted dark malts. But where The Kaiser really stands out is in the taste as it is filled with powerful candied-apple flavors, underlying hints of lime peel, subtle floral notes and a very pronounced, spicy finish. The combination of red-apple flavors and a peppery finish really makes The Kaiser a unique beer with a lot of complexity when you want it and a good old fashioned drinking beer when you don. Plus, with a manageable price tag, it’s one that you can revisit throughout the season. Its worth noting that The Kaiser does pack an obvious presence of alcohol but seeing how it has already aged a year before it hits the shelves, I think aging it further would only mute the unique pepper notes and is not worth the trade off.

Style: Imperial Oktoberfest
Brewery: Avery (Boulder, CO)
ABV: 9.3%
IBUs: 24
Hop Variety: Magnum, Sterling, Tettnang, Hersbrucker
Malt Variety: Two-row barley, Vienna, Munich 10L, m-100, aromatic
Availability: annual, limited release

Last month, boutique distilleries around the globe descended upon Manhattan’s Touch nightclub for the NYC Indy Spirits Expo, a celebration of boutique spirits brands. This was a great opportunity for hundres of cocktail enthusients, store and bar owners to meet distillers, brand owners, importers and, of course, taste some of the finest spirits the world around.

Now, I’m a big cocktail fan but it seems that stronger beverages get little love here on IDrunkThat. I often look at all of these spirits brands as big, far off corporations that offer little incentive for me to set fingers to keyboard. But the Indy Spirits Expo completely negated that preconception and provided a crash course in the spirits revolution. What interested me most about these distilleries was how similar their story was to that of the craft beer brewer. These were bootstrapping individual risking house and home to break new ground in the world of spirits and, since personal distilling is highly illegal, doing it without the amateur experience of homebrewing. From milk-based vodka from Vermont to carbon-negative rums from California, these individuals were shedding the stalwart practices of traditional distilling left and right.

As with all liquor-based events, I immediately gravitated towards brown spirits. The first clear standout for me was New York’s own Tuthilltown Spirits’ Hudson Whisky Four Grain. Blended from corn, rye, wheat and malted barley, this bourbon uses a unique process of retaining its slurry through the entire first distillation for a unique, grassy, earthen flavor. Another clear winner was the much-anticipated Whisky Pig rye from Shoreham, Vermont. Whisky Pig is a new venture from David Pickerell who served as master distiller at Maker’s Mark for more than a decade. This was a huge rye with lots of vanilla, orange peel and spice notes but without the usually grainy flavors of rye. This is an easy rye to love and one that non-rye drinkers can feel comfortable with

But it wasn’t all whiskys at the Indy Spirits Expo. Everywhere you turned someone was breaking ground. Philadelphia’s Blue Coat Gin, for example, was distilled using organic juniper berries, American citrus peels and assorted other botanicals. The result was an herbaceous, woodsy character that was surprisingly soft on the palate and will quickly become a new favorite for the gin and tonic drinker. Also notable was the Vermont Spirits Gold. Distilled from first running of maple sap, this unique vodka had wonderful caramel undertones which will marry perfectly with white russians and other rich cocktails (as will there Vermont Spirits White, a lactose based vodka.)

As with all events, a few items were a miss, a few items were just okay and the tasting palate was in poor shape by the end of the evening. But overall, the Indy Spirits Expo presented a stellar line-up of next-level spirits. I’d recommend an event like this to any cocktail lover looking to get out of their comfort zone and learn a little more about the source of their spirits.

If you are looking for any of these bottles, most of them can be picked up from event sponsor, DrinkUpNY.com and big thanks to Mutineer Magazine for inspiring (and organizing) my attendance.

Click here for more photos from the Indy Spirits Expo

The first in a series of music celebrations of good old fashioned drinking.

Last weekend (okay two weeks ago) I got a chance to hit the left coast for a few days and attend the Mammoth Blues and Brews festival in Mammoth Lakes, California. It’s a real treat to attend these event outside of the East Coast area as it offers a chance to explore new, exciting brews that the locals often take for granted. Blues and Brews delivered on this and more with top notch music, great food and – of course – some excellent beers.

Held in a fenced off, shaded lot some 8000+ feet above sea level, beer and blues lovers lined up hours in advanced to get into the festival, get their prime lawn chair spots, and post up early on lines for world renowned breweries such as Russian River, Lost Abbey/Pizza Port, Ballast Point and The Bruery. Over 60 breweries attended in total to round out world class blues that included Los Lonely Boys and a bevy of local food providers.

What stood out most about the festival – aside from the amazing back drop of the Sierra Nevada mountains – was the overall quality of the event. Many of the breweries offered four or five different lines to taste rather than the traditional festival duo and while big name breweries definitely drew lines, great beer was never more than an arms-length away. Even the longest wait was only a few minutes unlike New York’s Brewfest a few month’s back. Finally, it’s worth noting that the Mammoth Lakes residents were awesome, accommodating and some of the nicest people I’ve had a chance to share a drink with in a long time.

Standout brews from the festival clearly were the limited, time-released pours that all seemed to happen concurrently. From about 2:30 onwards it was a mad dash to try some amazing, limited beers. It all started with Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River popping two of the biggest Supplication bottles I have ever seen. The sour, funky treat did not disappoint and quickly turned the Mammoth Blues and Brews Festival from your standard fare into a standout affair. From there it was a mad dash over to Ballast Point or some Barrel Aged Sea Monster which is a beast of stout with tons of coffee, chocolate and black currant flavors.

Following Ballast Point it was a short walk over to Firestone Walker to try some of their fabled Parabola; another serious barrel aged stout. This one went like wildfire and I could not discern much from my 1 oz. pour although the crowds loved it. Rounding out the damn-good-beer marathon was a trip over to The Bruery for ultra-rare 100% Brett Termented Autumn Maple. The Autumn Maple is already a spicy, complicated fall beer and the addition of wild yeast resulted in a cacophony of funky, earthy, vegetative, spiced flavors. It could take days to discern all the layers of flavor here and it I wish I had some to take home for proper review rather than this spur-of-the-moment taste on my already-destroyed palate. From what I could gather from all the big flavors, though, is that this is definitely one to hunt down. Other notable offerings were the Port Brewing Revelations, a citrus-twisted tripel, and the new Sierra Nevada Tumbler, a slightly smokey malt beer which was a refreshing departure for the brewery.

Click here for more photos Mammoth Blues and Brews 2010

Like all good beer festivals, the party did not stop just because the taps did and Mammoth Blues and Brews continued with meaty treats (a giant smoked turkey leg) and after-hours beers with in the company of the Sudwerk Brewery boys and the ladies of Port Brewing. A few hundred good people of Mammoth Lakes also joined it. It was great to see everyone out in good spirits even after the gates closed as brewery often pack up and head home right after last call. Overall, this is one of the best beer festivals I attended all year and – if Jet Blue can keep those flight prices down – I’m sure to return in 2011.

The New York craft beer community was out in full force once again to celebrate the latest release of the Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmasters Series; Detonation Ale. A serious hop monster, with a walloping 10.2% ABV, Detonation Ale takes no pity on your palate from start to finish. But oh, what sweet, sweet punishment it is from one of the tastiest IPAs I’ve run across in a long time

Detonation Ale is the big brother of a local Brooklyn Brewery favorite, Blast. It pours a rich orange color, holds a good amount of caramel sweetness, and hits with a punch of seven different hop varietals. The Amarillo and Sorachi Ace hops really come forward for a brew with a bit more citrus and a lot more complexity than the Blast. I found myself comparing it a bit with Founders Devil Dancer – in both character and intensity – which is good company to be in. Overall, this is another stellar brew from the team over at Brooklyn Brewery and definitely ranks as one of the best IPAs on the East Coast.

Brooklyn Detonation Ale is mighty tasty. It probably even gives you fresher breath And whiter teeth, but we can’t prove that part. Nor can we support the claim that it concentrates the mind on life’s better aspects. However, we can guarantee that it’s terrific with pork tacos, Thai food, Indian dishes, burgers, and sharp cheeses. So have yourself some Brooklyn Detonation Ale – after all, isn’t it about time you blew up?” – Garrett Oliver

Changing pace from their usual in-house release events, Brooklyn took the Detonation out to The Audubon Center at The Boathouse in Prospect Park. Despite an early rain, hundreds of New Yorkers arrive with good spirits and eager palates. The event did not disappoint as Detonation, Brooklyn Weiss, Local 1, Local 2, Brooklyn Lager and Sorachi Ace all poured in abundance. Tasty treats were provided by Brooklyn’s own The Meat Hook, Dumpling School and Ovenly. Needless to say, they did not last long. Overall it was another great Brooklyn Brewery release party and I am sure we will all be anxiously awaiting the next one. Look for Detonation to hit the finer taps of the greater NYC area shortly (sorry, no bottles).

Click here for more photos from the Brooklyn Brewery Detonation Release Event

Beer Stats:
Malts: British floor malted Maris Otter, German pilsner malt, British crystal malt
Other sugars: First pressing Demerara sugar, Mauritius
Hops: Willamette, Amarillo, Palisade, Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, Cascade and East Kent Golding
O.G.: 21.5 Plato
ABV: 10.2%
(More info at brooklynbrewery.com)

Style: XXXX Mild
Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project (Cambridge, MA)
ABV: 10.5%
IBUs: 75+
Availability: single brew, limited release

Next up in my “quick, drink this beer, there’s no more room in the fridge” series is the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project’s February 27th, 1832 Mild Ale, the first in their historical recreation series. This XXXX Mild Ale, brewed without refrigeration, is a recreation based on a brewday document uncovered by brewing historian Ron Pattinson. The result is a surprisingly hoppy, surprisingly strong mild unlike any you will find on the shelf today. From the back label:

In Dickensian London, “mild” ales weren’t necessarily the watery dark beers we know today. The term “mild” indicated that the beer was sold young, rather than aged. So here you will find a young and hoppy beer from the past.

Appearance: 1832 Mild Ale pours a ruby brown with a thick, pale-tan head that recedes quickly and leaves a nice lacing that slithers down the glass after each sip.

Smell: The nose wafts like a barley wine with big hits of sweet syrup, lemon preserves and campfire ashes. There are earthy, herbaceous undertones as well not unlike Pine-Sol or Murphy’s Oil Soap.

Taste: I was surprised at how little flavor there was upfront in this big beer. It hit my palate totally flat. I thought “too cold, perhaps?” but knew it was not. Amazingly, however, the flavor here revved up from the finish and began to envelope the mouth sip after sip (weird, I know.) The finish started with a wave of syrupy malts, candied lemon peel, woodsy notes and a definite presence of alcohol. Afterwards, flavors of light molasses, Robotusin and chalk-dust developed and, as it warmed, there were strong herbaceous flavors not unlike an absinthe sans the licorice.

Mouthfeel: Despite the strong hop character here (for a modern day mild), the 1832 Mild Ale has a non-agressive carbonation that left my mouth with a thick coating and – after the first glass – I found myself reaching for a bit of water to clear things out.

Drinkability: Sip this one well and sip it often (if you could find it again). This is a very complicated and enjoyably contemplative brew with many levels that deserve attention. I would definitely reach for another bottle, especially to relax after a long day. This would not, however, be my first choice on a night out at the pub.

Overall: This is a wicked monster of a beer that pulls no punches and doesn’t pander to the crowd one bit. It sips like an old man’s beer and the earthly flavors lean more toward one who appreciates a rye whisky than a modern beer drinker. Despite some of the more interesting flavor notes, it was all very well balanced quite enjoyable. I could see this pairing perfectly with a nice cigar to highlight the ashy notes or even with a smoked duck breast at dinner.