Flat Earth Bottle Recall: Dear Flat Earth Believers, we are bummed to announce that we have recently pulled all of our bottled beer products from retail shelves. Our beer is still available on draft in fine pubs and restaurants. This is in response to a quality control concern with a small number of bottles that have failed on store shelves. We are currently still determining the exact cause of these failed bottles but we have ruled out any contamination at our brewery…
Archive for the 'beer' Category
pintprice.com - the price of beer anywhere in the world (via)
Special Release at The Happy Gnome
Eric and I stopped in at the Happy Gnome tonight for a sampling of two special beers, the Harviestoun Ola Dubh and one from my new favorite Wisconsin brewery, the Tyranena Devil Over A Barrel.
The Tyranena is a special version of the Devil Made Me Do It, part of their Brewers Gone Wild series, but 60% of it is aged in bourbon barrels. The beer is an Imperial Oatmeal Porter, brewed with coffee beans. If only I could substitute this for my morning coffee and breakfast.
“Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is a collaboration between Harviestoun Brewery and Highland Park, Distiller of the Year*. It is based on Harviestoun’s award-winning Old Engine Oil. With more than a stylistic nod to the classic Imperial Porters (and Stouts) of the nineteenth century, this deliciously rich, dark, 8% a.b.v. beer is the first ale to be aged in malt whisky casks from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, the first with genuine provenance.”
The Ola Dubh was outstanding, much smoother than I expected it to be, but at $9 a glass, we only had one.
For a snack we split the Duck Confit Bruschetta (braised tuscan kale, goat cheese, port wine poached pears) which was unbelievably good.
Nightlife: Beer-geek revolution - It’s almost clichéd to say this, but it’s true: Beer is the new wine. And one of the best places to experience beer at its finest is at Busters on 28th, a hidden gem in south Minneapolis. “People aren’t coming in to have six Budweisers,” said owner Nick Miller, who also co-owns the Happy Gnome. At Busters, he said, customers define excess as: “How hoppy is my beer?” After finding success with Busters, Miller said he’s hoping to open two more beer bars this summer.
UPDATE: See also, Revenge of the beer nerds
Flat Earth’s leap of faith is paying off: Despite Flat Earth’s popularity and the Williamsons’ ambitious 2008 goals (find retailers in Wisconsin, move from one to two brews a week), not much has changed from the first days. All beers are still bottled one at a time, and Jeff takes care of everything from phone calls to promotion
F*&^ the H*ppy F&ing Gn&me - Al, the beer guy at the Blue Nile gets an email from someone who had a conversation with the owner of the Happy Gnome. Basically the Gnome is upset that the Nile gets so many of the Surly events, and that he doesn’t understand why people go there anyway. He feels he should get them because he has more taps. I just can’t believe the arrogance of this guy.
New video episode of What Ale’s Thee? They talk about a new specialty beer store that Alvey is opening up soon, hopefully in Northeast. This is excellent news. No liquor, some wine, no Coors or signs saying how cheap the beer is. It will be all quality beer - local, craft, Belgian, etc. It will be called The Confict’s Pint, named so because Jason Alvey is from Australia. More at MNBeer.com
Beers in 2007
On September 22, I decided to log each and every beer I consumed, where I had it, who with, bottle or tap, and a rating. Just a simple Google Spreadsheet called Beer2007. Last year I also pretty much stopped drinking crappy beers, both at home or out - I’d either order something good or not order at all. No more cases of Premium in the fridge just to have on hand or settling for an average beer with dinner, and instead replaced by expensive craft brews and road trips to Hudson to pick up special beers that we can’t get in MN.
Highlights? Surly Darkness, Town Hall Eye of the Storm and Czar Jack, and the Goose Island Imperial IPA stand out but there were so many wonderful beers out last year.
Also last year I started cellaring beers that I thought would be worth it. I’m not sure if it’s worth the extra price to have to buy some for now and some for later, but it’s kinda cool to know that I have a ton of beer in the basement that I can’t have.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to follow along with the Brew52.com but I’ll probably continue drinking 
Brew52.com “sampling a different Minnesota brew each week for an entire year. Oh for fun!” (via s4xton twitter)
