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Owen Ogletree's Brewtopia Brewsletter
April 10, 2018
Owen is founder/editor of Brewtopia.Info, columnist for Southern Brew News and Beer Connoisseur Magazine, lecturer at Knoxville's Brewing & Distilling Center, founder/director of the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting and Classic City Brew Fest, a BJCP National Beer Judge and Great American Beer Festival judge.
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Follow our craft beer adventures...
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- Athens, GA Beer Week Events
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Check out the exciting list of upcoming events for 2018's Athens, GA Beer Week taking place today through Sunday...
 TUESDAY, 4/10
- TERRAPIN takes over Fully Loaded’s Taps in Watkinsville.
- 05:00 PM - TRAPPEZE hosts a tapping of special Southern Brewing kegs including Nite Nite BA Stout.
- 05:00 PM - Creature Comforts' tasting room will offer pours of several bottled offerings to be purchased by the glass: Transmission, Southerly Love, Golden Door and Booger Hill.
- 06:00 PM - AKADEMIA beer dinner with special beer releases and food pairings. Limited to only 30 seats. Call Akademia to reserve your space.
- 07:00 PM - PULASKI HEIGHTS BBQ bottle share and ribs special.
- 08:00 PM - HI-LO Lounge beer trivia with prizes.
WEDNESDAY, 4/11
- 04:00 PM - HI-LO Lounge Scofflaw tap takeover.
- 04:00 PM - Terrapin's taproom is open with special brews pouring.
- TERRAPIN Industry Night at Terrapin’s tasting room ($3 beers with Service Industry paystub).
 05:00 PM - Creature Comforts offers a special tour experience led by Wood Cellar and Specialty Brand Manager Blake Tyers and will include 6oz tastings of DaySpring, Subtle Alchemy 001, Subtle Alchemy 002, Subtle Alchemy 003 and Triangulation throughout the tour, as well as a special look inside the barrel room(s). Each tour will last about one hour, and please be sure to wear closed-toed shoes. 21+. The tour experience is available for purchase here: http://www.creaturecomfortsbeer.com/shop/athens-craft-beer-week-special-tour.
- 05:30 PM - Southern Brewing Company's taproom opens with a lineup of celebratory beers.
- 05:00 PM - TRAPPEZE hosts a Creature Comforts Showcase, including rare kegs of Awaken My Love and Athena Paradiso.
- 06:00 PM - AKADEMIA / Peekskill collaboration beer debut at Akademia brewpub.
- 06:00 PM - CHOPS & HOPS beer dinner with Southern Brewing Company and Terrapin Beer. Three pairings from each brewery and a collaboration brew with Terrapin and SBC. $45.
THURSDAY, 4/12
- 04:00 PM - Terrapin's taproom is open with special brews pouring.
- 05:00 PM - Southern Brewing Company's taproom opens with a lineup of celebratory beers.
- 05:00 PM - TRAPPEZE does a vintage Terrapin stout tapping, including beers from 2014, 15, 16.
- 05:00 PM - HI-LO LOUNGE's taps are taken over by Akademia.
- 05:00 PM - Creature Comfort's taproom is open with special brews.
- 05:00 PM - BUTT HUTT Southern Brewing tap takeover with live music from Derek Edwards.
- 06:00 PM - BLUE SKY BAR - Terrapin Cumulus Lupulus Release Event.
- 07:00 PM - LITTLE KINGS hosts a "Beer Science Cafe" presentation led by Daniel LePage PhD and Blake Tyers of Creature Comforts.
FRIDAY, 4/13
 01:00 PM - Terrapin's taproom is open with special brews pouring.- 03:00 PM - Creature Comfort's taproom is open with special brews.
- LITTLE KINGS SHUFFLE CLUB - Friday Funday Terrapin Happy Hour.
- 04:00 PM - BLUE SKY Athens Beer Weekend Pre-game featuring Southern Brewing Company.
- 04:30 PM - Southern Brewing Company's taproom opens with a lineup of celebratory beers.
- 05:00 PM - AKADEMIA Paraskavedekatriaphobia 13% ABV imperial stout release celebration.
SATURDAY, 4/14
 11:00 AM - AKADEMIA special cask tapping and Cherry Street collaboration release.
- 01:00 PM - Creature Comfort's taproom is open with special brews.
- 02:30 PM - Southern Brewing Company's taproom opens with a lineup of celebratory beers.
- 04:30 PM - TERRAPIN 16th Annivesary Carnival at the brewery. $26 ticket includes beer samples, entertainment, a souvenir glass, and brewery tours.
SUNDAY, 4/15
 12:30 PM - TERRAPIN Kegs and Eggs – fill up before Classic City Brew Fest (just a short distance from Terrapin this year) with Kegs and Eggs Brunch.- 02:30 PM - 23rd annual CLASSIC CITY BREW FEST at the Athens Cotton Press. 55+ exclusive cask ales, local draft booths, special treat bottle tables and live Celtic music. www.BrewFest.net
 06:00 PM - POST-BREWFEST GATHERINGS at TRAPPEZE PUB, AKADEMIA, TERRAPIN, CREATURE COMFORTS and HI-LO LOUNGE. Trappeze will be offering special kegs, a cask, and hearty food plates. The free shuttle (limited seating) will run from the BrewFest to Trappeze after the festival.
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- Classic City Brew Fest Announces Exciting Cask Line-up!
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CLASSIC CITY BREW FEST
CASK LIST for Sunday 4/15/2018
 You won't find these amazing casks anywhere else around here but at the Classic City Brew Fest on Sunday...
- Akademia Don’t Be So Firkin Afraid. Akademia Brewing Company aged its 13% ABV imperial stout base, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, with cocoa nibs, smoked chipotle peppers and palo santo wood to create this distinctive firkin.
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 Bathtub Brewhouse Wet Willie ESB. Wet your whistle with this English tradition. Maris Otter malt and spicy East Kent Golding hops give this cask an appealing, malty backbone.
- BeeCraft Mead Dark Pearls is a multi-berry melomel featuring our own honey and blueberries from South Georgia. This cask includes split Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans and a stave of toasted American oak. Wassail!
- Blue Pants Peanut Butter Fudge Porter. This special cask includes additions of peanut butter powder and cacao nibs to enhance our popular Chocolate Oatmeal Porter. 6% ABV.
- Blue Tarp Blood Moon is a complex, bready, wheat ale brewed with beets and bergamot. Notes of cereal and pungent, spicy bergamot meld with complexity and color from the beets, creating a deeply mesmerizing ale.
- Burnt Hickory Killboy Powerhead is an "orange creamsicle" take on our extremely popular Blood Orange IPA we call The Didjits. This special cask hits 7% ABV and includes additions of orange, lactose and vanilla.
- Carolina Bauernhaus Wanderlust is our 7.5% ABV barrel-aged sour red ale that was dry-hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo for a luscious tartness balanced by spicy, fruity hop notes.
- Cherry Street Sweet Leilani BA Stout. This 10% ABV, bourbon barrel-aged, Russian-style imperial stout was housed in Buffalo Trace barrels with toasted coconut, coffee and vanilla beans.
- Coastal Empire Pickle Rick is our take on a dill pickle gose. Spiced with dill and coriander, this gose is tart and briny, which works nicely with the pickling spices. If you're a fan of pickle juice, this beer is for you!
- Creature Comforts Cosmik Debris is our seasonal double IPA with rich, mouth-watering malt notes enhanced by a juicy hop profile. This cask was dry-hopped with Strata. 8% ABV.
 D9 The Real Sticky Icky is a cryo-hopped IPA brewed with blue agave and then mix-fermented with our house strains of Brettanomyces and Saccaromyces. - Down Home Brewing T-Pom Pomegranate Wheat Ale is a 6.3% ABV, refreshing American wheat ale with subtle hop bitterness and a tart, crisp, dry finish and beautiful pomegranate notes.
- Dry County imPEACHment ‘n Cream sour peach IPA with lactose. This brunch-style IPA is lightly kettle-soured and then fermented on a heavy dose of peaches. A solid addition of lactose rounds out this delicious ale from Dry County Brewing in Kennesaw, GA.
- Eagle Creek ADAPTation IPA is our signature IPA with fresh strawberries. This cask's fruity notes from the berries beautifully enhances the IPA's tropical, piney hops.
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 Etowah Meadery It’s a juicy IPA Wanna BEE. Fermented with blood oranges and double dry-hopped with Amarillo, Galaxy and Mosaic, this orange blossom mead cask also includes a tad of honey for priming, zest from an orange, juice from oranges, and vanilla beans.
- Flowing Cups Irish Breakfast - Our take on an Irish Coffee, this bolstered "dry Irish" milk stout was brewed on St. Patrick's Day weekend with Irish whiskey-soaked charred oak chips, chocolate, vanilla beans and coffee. ABV: 6.5%.
- From the Earth Brewing Going Out West IPA is our beautifully balanced West Coast-style IPA with extra hop additions of Galaxy and Denali in the cask.
- Fyne Ales Sublime Stout (Scotland, UK) - A dark, deep ruby red stout with aromas of roasted malt and a hint of licorice. Mellow sweetness and a malty fruitiness are followed by a smooth, dry finish. Sublime Stout gets hopped four times, including dry-hopping in the cask.
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 Fyne Ales Superior IPA (Scotland, UK) is 7.1% ABV with Citra and Cascade hops backed by aromas of apricot and peach. Flavors of tropical and stone fruits lead to a pleasant, bittersweet finish. Superior IPA is generously hopped at four points of the brewing process, including dry-hopping in the cask.
- Gate City Russian Imperial Stout ranks as a rich, roasty, strong black ale with impressive mouthfeel and body. This version is brewed with coffee, cocoa nibs and coconut.
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 Good Word Brewing & Public House Poppin’ Wheelies is our crushable, 5% ABV, dry-hopped pale ale with a light malt complexity and elegant hop aroma, flavor and smooth bitterness.
- Highland AVL IPA with Amarillo and Juniper. AVL IPA is the updated version of Highland IPA with aromas of pineapple, mango and grapefruit along with a dry, resiny finish. AVL IPA is a refreshing take on the traditional West Coast IPA.
- Hi-Wire Brewing Golden Strong Ale is an 11.3% ABV ale offering notes of alcohol warmth, intricate fruity esters and malt complexity. Remarkably light in body for its strength, the beer also boasts flavors of tropical fruit and banana.
- Ironmonger James Jackson Strong Ale is our popular Crucible bourbon barrel-aged stout with hibiscus, ancho chili and cloves added to this cask, creating layers of additional flavors that include fruit, smoke and spice.
- Lazy Magnolia Bourbon Barrel-Aged Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale. This special cask of oaky, vanilla Southern Pecan contains habanero peppers and cocoa nibs for an added layer of vigor.
- Left Nut El Diablo Pollo. Like a fighting chicken, this dirty bird version of our Bridge to Nowhere IPA will knock your taste buds out of the roost with Columbus hops and the heat of Sriracha and jalapeños - all while simultaneously sheltering you under her wing with a rebound of voluptuous passion fruit juice.
- Lonerider Hop ‘Em High Double IPA. For a tropical twist on our North Carolina exclusive double IPA, this cask has been dry-hopped with Idaho-7, creating a citrus and pine-forward profile with subtle notes of tropical fruit and tea. 8.5% ABV, 85 IBUs.
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 Max Lager's Hopsplosion!!! IPA is hop-bursted with Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic, El Dorado and Azacca in the kettle, then dry-hopped three times in the fermenter with the same blend. This special cask also contains Citra and Mosaic Cryo Hops.
- Monday Night Galactic Luau is a version of our Han Brolo hazy pale ale with Simcoe, Mosaic and Mandarina Bavaria hops. Additions of toasted coconut, vanilla, lactose, pineapple, Mandarin oranges and strawberries create amazing flavors in this 4.7% ABV ale.
- Moon River Captain's Porter w/ Chocolate & Orange is a 6% ABV robust porter with rich notes of dark chocolate and coffee. This special cask is spiked with secondary additions of cocoa and orange zest.
- New Realm Perun Pale Ale is dry-hopped with experimental hop HBC 438 from Washington state’s Hop Breeding Company. The hop is described as having tropical fruit, pineapple, lime, cedar and coconut aromas and flavors.
- Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen Amigo Del Diablo. Our Midnight Rider Robust Porter was aged on three types of chili peppers (ancho, pasilla and guajillo), Madagascar vanilla beans, cocoa and Vietnamese cinnamon. Layers of flavors come together in a beer that would even make the Devil smile.
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 Pontoon Hop Hero is a hazy IPA with 40 IBUs and 7.1% ABV that was initially double dry-hopped with Enigma, Idaho 7, Citra and Amarillo. This cask was then dry-hopped with an impressive amount of whole leaf Idaho 7.
- Queenswood Pub Black-Bunny-Bam-a-Lam is an imperial carrot cake coffee milk stout. Creamy carrot cake and frosting notes sweeten the rich creamed coffee character. The ABV sits about 8.7%, and no bunnies were harmed in the making of this beer.
- Red Brick Dad Beer (Max Lager's collaboration). Brewed with a modified parti-gyle method, this beer was fermented in oak barrels in an homage to the British Burton Union system. Bright esters and soft oak notes provide a balance with the caramel and biscuit character. For an American twist, this 5.8% ABV ale was finished with Cascade hops in the whirlpool and cask.
- Red Hare Soft J IPA Milkshake Style. Brewed with loads of Citra, Amarillo and Idaho 7 hops, this hazy, juicy IPA includes additions of vanilla beans and lactose, creating an extremely creamy mouthfeel that will leave you begging for more.
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 Reformation Nolan is a 7.2% ABV, double dry-hopped American IPA with flavorful malt notes reminiscent of bread crust - all balanced by a burst of spicy, resiny hops.
- Scofflaw Hooligan IPA with peach, pineapple, mandarin oranges, blueberries and lactose. This awesome cask was dry-hopped with Mosaic, Galaxy and Vic Secret. 7% ABV.
- Second Self Din’s Fire - This magical concoction will light the way in any dungeon. This triple dry-hopped hazy IPA with a touch of red chilies provides a mouthful of spicy hop flavor backed by subtle warmth from the peppers.
- Service Brewing Tropical Pilsner. Our Rally Point Pilsner, a Bohemian-style lager, was "dry-hopped" with Tropical White Tea, providing exotic fruit flavors backed by elegant, floral hops. 4.6% ABV.
- South of the Lincoln. This Good Word / Lincoln Fill Station collaboration is a Mexican-style cerveza with Himalayan sea salt and Spanish limes. Ay, caramba!
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 Southern Brewing Company / MAZURT Collaboration Woodcutter’s Daughter is a 6% ABV American Brown ale/porter hybrid. "She comes from a town where they call her the woodcutter's daughter. She's brown as the bank where she kneels down to gather her water, and she bears it away with a love that the river has taught her." --"Let It Grow" by the Grateful Dead.
- Southern Brewing Company Kiwi Warpig - A collaboration ale done with Classic City Brew Fest founder/director Owen Ogletree, this tasty take on Warpig double IPA offers a New Zealand twist of kiwi fruit and Motueka hops from the "Land of the Long White Cloud." Made in honor of our New Zealand buddy John Sukroo.
- Southern Brewing Company Strawberry Peach Berliner Shake. Real strawberries, peaches and lactose sugar combine with our sour Berliner ale, creating this perfect "fruit smoothie" of a beer.
- Southern Prohibition Eat a Peach. This warming, malty, hoppy brew is made from our Crowd Control Double India Pale Ale with added peach rings.
- Steady Hand Double Dry-hopped Paradise Waits IPA. Tropical fruit and ripe citrus aromas and flavors are balanced with a medium bitterness and a touch of malt character. 7% ABV.
- SweetWater Cambium with Mango. Cambium is our light golden sour base at the Woodlands barrel facility, and this cask was created with added Colombian mango for deeper depths of fruity complexity.
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 Terrapin ATL Brew Lab Cloverleaf Dry Irish Stout is a traditional dry Irish stout on cask – jet black in color with a persistent khaki foam cap. Defined by its deep roasted malt character, it comes across as full in flavor but light in body. ABV: 4.1%, IBUs: 35.
- Terrapin Our Imperial IPA. Cumulus Lupulus got a little extra hop accumulation with additions of the grungiest hops added directly to this cask. Clocking in at 9.5% ABV and 85 IBUs, this brew makes it rain with Citra, Galaxy, Amarillo and Mosaic hops.
- Three Taverns Chocolate Cherry Hazel is a milk stout with notes of roasty sweetness enhanced by additions of chocolate, cherries, hazelnut and coffee. ABV: 8%.
- Torched Hop Hops De Leon NE. Behold the hoppiest beer we brew all year! This hazy IPA was dry-hopped during fermentation with Citra, Mosaic and Ella. While filling this cask, we added another dry-hop of Galaxy for good measure.
- Twain's Portlanta Oatmeal Brown Porter. This 6.6% ABV dark ale forms an ode to the old-style English porters of yesteryear. Light roasted coffee aromas from brown malt and pretzel crust flavors from specialty malts are upfront, leading to a caramel finish and a smooth mouthfeel from oats.
- Urban Tree Hotlanta Peachtree. We took our home state inspired peach cider and added fresh habaneros… just in case anyone wanted to feel the Georgia heat a few months early.
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 Variant Raspberry Lemon Gose is brewed with pink Himalayan salt, coriander, raspberry puree and fresh lemon zest. Expect clean acidity with multiple layers of complexity from the fruit and spices.
- Wicked Weed Oblivion is a sour red ale aged with blackberries and dates in red wine barrels for 12 months. Barrels were then blended to create depth, complexity and balance. This Flanders-inspired sour ale went straight from the barrel into the cask and was primed with date sugar.
- Wild Heaven Altair - A cryo hop IPA that's been dry-hopped in the cask with Loral cryo powder, providing a rich, spicy, resiny hop explosion on the palate. 6% ABV, 5 IBUs.
- Wrecking Bar O.G. English Bitter dry-hopped with New Zealand Pacifica hops. English Bitter is often overlooked in modern craft beer circles, so we decided to brew one of these quintessential session beers. Look for a light amber color, caramel/toasty malt notes, esters reminiscent of orchard fruit and a firm hop bitterness. 3.9% ABV, 35 IBUs.
CLASSIC CITY BREW FEST
Sunday - April 15, 2018
Athens Cotton Press
EXCITING NEW LOCATION!
This is a completely indoor event.
Only about 40 tickets remain!
Savor 55 exclusive cask ales, ciders and meads from the USA and UK, along with three "special treats" bottle tables, draft booths from local breweries, a BBQ food truck, and live Celtic music. We are so excited to experience this new format! As the event is all indoors, possible rain on Sunday will be no problem.
CLASSIC CITY BREW FEST SPONSORS:
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- Video from our Brewtopia South Africa Group Beer Tour
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Check out highlights from our Brewtopia.info craft beer tour of the beautiful region around Cape Town, South Africa. Click here to see Owen's video from last February.
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 Reformation Brewery
NOLAN The Wanderer IPA
From our friends at Reformation...
Expect notes of marmalade, grapefruit and sap amid a chewy malt background in this Simcoe dry-hopped, 7.2% ABV American IPA.
Nolan The Wanderer is a special collaboration between Reformation Brewery and Wander North Georgia.
Their story and ours have a lot in common. We have a shared love for North Georgia as a place we live, work, and play. And we both seek to have a lasting value to the surrounding community that goes well beyond our day-to-day business.
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- 04/15/2018 - CLASSIC CITY BREW FEST, Athens, GA. Featuring 55 exclusive cask ales, draft booths from local breweries, super rare bottle booth, live music, a new location, and a BBQ food truck. Classic City Brew Fest is a favorite craft beer event in the Southeast. Get TICKETS now. They will sell out this week!
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- Brewtopia Events on Facebook & Twitter
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 CLICK HERE and hit the Brewtopia Events "like" button on Facebook to see live photos and news posts as we sip, quaff and sniff craft beer around the world. Also be sure to "friend" Owen Ogletree on Facebook.
 Follow Brewtopia Events on Twitter.
COMING UP...
- Owen Ogletree and Ian Meents head to Coventry, England to attend the annual general meeting of the UK's Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Watch for photos and posts from the event and from many classic pubs and UK breweries!
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