St. Patrick's Day in Decatur

Cletus and I hit The Marlay House, formerly The Grange Public House, last year and was an absolute blast. Beautiful weather on the patio and the grassy area. This year, TMH will have Irish music, dancers and pipers in the afternoon with a DJ at night. Food specials with the usual Irish suspects on tap.

TMH will soon feature The Porterhouse Brewing Company's beer from Dublin- a first in the city. Also coming soon will be Stoudt's Pils, Founders Red's Rye, Southampton Biere de Mars, Bells Oberon

Twain's will be smacking their annual cask of Blarney Stout with Jameson oak chips. Last year's was creamy, roasty, with a nice dose of Irish whiskey.


And from the Brick Store Pub's website:

The first great event of the year... And certainly one of the biggest. Live Celtic music (4-7pm and 8-11pm) and traditional Irish Fare featuring Irish Stew, Corned Beef and Cabbage, and Shepherd's Pie. Guinness,Victory Donnybrook, and Jameson will be flowing and we will also have some limited edition Rugby shirts available. SEE YOU AT THE PUB!

Back in Atlanta- Sierra Nevada Porter!

After a 4 year hiatus, the Sierra Porter is back in the Atlanta area on draft only. In Decatur, look for this at the Raging Burrito for only $3.60 a pint.

In the mid-1990s, this beer opened my eyes to the porter style of beer at the old Taco Mac in Sandy Springs (now Charlie Mopps). Dark brown in appearance, roasty body, moderately hopped and highly drinkable. You might remember this label as baby blue a few years ago, along with the yellow label for the stout which is missing from Georgia.

Some of my favorite bottled porters available here are made by Bell's & Founders. 5 Seasons Prado make a super creamy, nicely hopped version called Two Pence Porter. And note to Sweetwater- bring back Exodus Porter!

What to have in this Decatur blizzard?

Barrel Aged Yeti from Great Divide Brewing...why not? From the label:

This unique version of our monstrous Yeti Imperial Stout is aged for nine months in Stranahans Colorado Whiskey barrels and then bottle conditioned. The spirited aging process produces a hugely complex but mellowed Yeti, with its signature roasted flavors, hints of vanilla and oak, and a whiskeyed finish. Who says you can't tame a beast?

Soothing aroma of subtle sweet vanilla with a spicy whiskey vapor. Wonderfully carbonated with a lively espresso brown frothy head, that slowly dissolves into the blackness. Rich stouty flavor with all of the essentials- bitter dark chocolate, espresso & tobacco notes. This whiskey is certainly different from the other bourbon barrel aged stouts that I have had. Woody, spicy, herbal, tangy and moonshine hot! Somehow, this all plays together nicely in this beast of a glass.

Thanks to my good buddy JJ Fad for securing me two bottles of the 1104 produced. JJ enjoys Golden Tee, hiking around Denver and the occasional balloon ride.

Happy Belated Birthday LEONs!

Tuesday was LEONs 1st birthday so I wanted to share some pictures from 2008 soon after The Boys bought the building. Photos taken by Josh Vick @ Home Tour America...enjoy!

Firkin Madness/Orval Ambassador/Bruery Dinner

It's back-to-back-to-back Cask Ale tappage going on at the Brick Store Pub. These will be tapped concurrently, in no particular order:

Jurassain Imperial Stout (Cuvee Alex Le Rouge) 10%
RCH- Old Slug porter- 4.5%
Gwatkin- Norman Cider - cider- 7.5%
RCH- Santa Fe- Strong Ale- 7.3%
WinterCoat- Double Hop- Dbl IPA- 8.2%
Gwatkins- Golden Valley blend- cider - 6.0%

$5 for a 16oz pour (Alex Le Rouge will be $6)



BSP is now one of only 4 US pubs to be awarded the Orval Ambassador label! This award is based on presence, service & creativity. For more on this distinguished award, check this out:

http://www.orval.be/an/products/brewery/brewery6.ambassador.html



Lastly, mark your calendar The Bruery beer dinner, featuring owner/brewer Patrick Rue! The Bruery is based out of Orange County, CA and has quite the following amongst the beer geeks. There beers are truly all over the map, not limited to any particular style. Last year, The Bruery brewed a 20% Imperial Stout called Black Tuesday, which is one of the best IS I have ever had. The 20% was hidden so well that I had to limit myself to 4 ounces. I doubt that any BT will make it to the dinner on February 22, but you never know. 5 courses w 5 beers- $60

Correction- Larry Bell @ BSP Today 4pm

Not Tuesday as previously posted. Keg of HopSlam, Cask of Expedition Stout and a super rare keg of the Bell's & De Proef collaboration brew- Van Twee. This is the latest brew in the series of American brewers working with this tiny Belgian brewery. Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur was the first, making an excellent Belgian-style Pale Ale called Signature Ale.
From what I have read about Van Twee, it is a Belgian-style porter with Michigan cherry juice. See you at 4pm today!

Welcome Founders Brewing!

A big welcome to Founders Brewing from Grand Rapids, Michigan! Founders follows Jolly Pumpkin & Bell's Brewing as the third brewery from this great brewing state. According to an email from Green's, 8 varieties are on the shelves including their super tasty Centennial IPA made with 100% Centennial hops. Cletus brought me back a stash of their Imperial Stout from Bruisin' Ales last month, and it is one of my go-to Imperial Stouts. This one is bitter and hoppy and ages extremely well. Be sure to throw a 4-pack or 3 in your closet and forget about them for a year or 5.

Breakfast Stout is a huge hit among the beer geeks and is A rated on BeerAdvocate with over 1300 reviews. Description from the site-
Brewed with flaked oats, bitter and sweetened imported chocolates, Sumatra and Kona coffee. 60 IBU. Starting in 2006, Breakfast Stout will be released yearly on the first Saturday following Thanksgiving.

A forgotten style among most craft breweries is the Porter and Founders makes one of the better styles. I reviewed this last year and gave it a solid A-

Lastly, be on the lookout for their #1 most sought after beer- Kentucky Breakfast Stout. A different beer from their Breakfast Stout, KBS aged in bourbon barrels for 1 year. I was not a fan at first, but now have developed a love for this huge flavored complex imperial stout. KBS, rated #7 on BeerAdvocate's Top 100, is released annually in February so get it while you can.

I'm sure your better Decatur pubs will have some Founders on tap and will update you later. UPDATE- Brick Store tapped Backwoods Bastard yesterday, A- with 480 reviews. This 10% Wee Heavy is perfect for these frigid temps!