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Owen Ogletree's Brewtopia Brewsletter
June 22, 2022
Owen is founder/editor of Brewtopia.info, columnist for Southern Brew News and Beer Connoisseur Magazine, lecturer at Knoxville's Brewing & Distilling Center, founder of the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting and Classic City Brew Fest, a BJCP National Beer Judge, and judge for Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.
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Follow our craft beer adventures...
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- Beer Reviews from Around the Southeast
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By Owen Ogletree
 Canebrake Louisiana Wheat Ale
Parish Brewing Company
Broussard, Louisiana, 4.9% ABV
American Wheat Beer
Color comes across as deep gold with light haze and fluffy off-white foam. Aroma notes include cereal and wheat with mild fruity esters and light floral hops. Look for a flavor profile made up of a rich, slightly sweet wheat character balanced by a touch of bread crust and a clean fermentation character. This refreshing ale also offers mild honey notes and a nuance of citrusy hops. Nicely drinkable and pleasing.
 Carolina Creek Pilsner
Two Blokes Brewing
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, 4.8% ABV
Golden in hue with brilliant clarity and a moderate snow-white head, this beautiful lager throws aromas of pilsner malt and luxurious, floral, spicy noble hops. Great aroma profile for a typical Czech-style pilsner. Flavors include honey-like malt accentuated by a deep European hop flavor and a mouth-watering level of bittering hops. The lager yeast provides a clean layer of mild complexity that consists of an appealing sulfur hint that's often found in the style. This beer would be fantastic in a half-liter mug in a classic Prague pub, or anywhere else for that matter.
 Depth Perception
Terrapin Beer Company
Athens, Georgia, 9.1% ABV
Double IPA
This powerful IPA boasts a copper color with thick off-white foam and sparkling clarity. The nose picks up lovely crystal malt hints and hop complexity, while the tongue is treated to notes of toasted bread, stonefruit esters and appealing hop flavors. The rich malts make an ideal canvas for pine and citrus hop flavor notes and light bitterness. Delicious and boozy, this imperial IPA ends with a dryish finish and almost perfect technical merit.
 Juice Lab PBR
Ology Brewing Company
Tallahassee, Florida, 8% ABV
Fruit Smoothie Imperial Berliner
With massive additions of passionfruit, blood orange and raspberry, this strong sour ale looks intensely thick, chunky and murky like raspberry puree with low foam. Strong fruit aromas emerge reminiscent of raspberries, berry seeds and citrus. Almost no classic "beer" character comes across in this medium-bodied fruit ale. Tart fruit flavors dominate with raspberry upfront, followed by citrus and metallic passionfruit complexity. Fans of fruit smoothies and thick fruit margaritas will most likely enjoy this offbeat beverage.
 Lower Falls IPA
Highland Brewing
Asheville, North Carolina, 3.9% ABV
Session IPA
Expect a lovely golden hue with good clarity and a moderate head. Aromas focus on a simple malt character and crisp hop notes. This refreshing session ale showcases hops that impart notes of lemon, grapefruit, peach and pine resin, and the light body ends with a pleasant dryness and mild hop bitterness. This immensely drinkable, low alcohol IPA offers meager calories and ABV but still shines as an ideal beer for warm days and an active lifestyle.
 Nashville Mule
Southern Grist Brewing Company
Nashville, Tennessee, 5.4% ABV
Sour Ale with lime & ginger
The appearance includes a deep gold/orange color with a slight haze and a medium-sized white head. Aromas include cereal grains, lime zest, spice and maybe a hint of vanilla. Tastes a bit like a classic lime popsicle. Malt notes are balanced by mild acidity and fruit nuances, and the ginger character seems restrained. Expect a light body with a smooth, mild fruit aftertaste highlighted by just a hint of pickled ginger. Makes for a refreshing summer ale that would pair well with tacos.
 Southern Pecan
Lazy Magnolia
Kiln, Mississippi, 4.4% ABV
Brown Ale with pecans
This beer pours with an attractive mahogany hue and a khaki-colored, creamy head. Look for aromas of nuts and dark malts highlighted by mild fig and plum esters and notes of caramel and light chocolate. Flavors match the aroma notes, with a gentle malt character accentuated by a pleasant nuance of pecans. Hop levels are low, allowing the refreshing malt and nut character to shine. The experience ends with a dryish, clean finish of dark bread crust.
 Sunburst IPA
Wild Heaven Beer
Avondale Estates, Georgia, 6.5% ABV
American IPA
The beer boasts a rich gold color with a soft white head and brilliant clarity. Honey-like malt comes through in the aroma along with hints of Juicy Fruit gum, mild esters, floral hops and perhaps a nuance of eucalyptus. Flavors include fruity esters, earthy malt, woody/resiny hops, lightly caramelized sugar and a hint of cumin. Ester and hop notes include mild pineapple and papaya, and the brewing water seems enriched with a noticeable mineral profile. This IPA sports a medium/light mouthfeel and a dry finish with light bitterness.
 Zod Double IPA
Xul Beer Company
Knoxville, Tennessee, 8.4% ABV
Double IPA
Look for a dark gold color with moderate haze and a thick, white, fluffy layer of foam. The nose picks up aromas of wheat, oats, chalk, biscuits, fruity esters and earthy, floral hops. This medium-bodied, strong IPA offers light sweetness with a moderate Mosaic hop character of blackberries, kumquat, kiwi and pears. The ale finishes with mild hop bitterness and light malt sweetness that would pair well with a dish of Indian spinach curry.
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- Come with Owen to Italy!
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Registration is now open for our long-anticipated Brewtopia group beer trip to Italy! If you are interested and fully COVID vaccinated, SIGN UP HERE.
ITALY'S CRAFT BEER SCENE
October 8-15, 2022
We will trek on our private charter bus from Rome to Milan.
$1795 per person (double occupancy) - add $399 for a single room.
- We begin in Rome to experience fountains, history, the Colosseum, and amazing beer pubs and eateries.
- Head north on our private charter bus to Florence to witness Piazza del Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Piazzale Michelangelo, and more. Brewpubs and amazing cuisine evening.
- VIP tour and tasting at Birra Toccalmatto brewery.
- We stay in Milan for the rest of the trip. Milan is considered Italy's best craft beer city.
- Check out Milan's cosmopolitan sites such as the famous Duomo cathedral and massive city cemetery.
- The group will visit Milan's best craft beer brewpubs and bars and enjoy mouth-watering cuisine.
- We fly home from Milan.
- Price includes tours, charter bus and driver, guides, information, breakfasts, and hotel. Food and beer for most group meals and gatherings are also included. WHAT A DEAL!
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- Craft Brewers Conference Top Eight Experiences
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By Owen Ogletree
Last May's annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) was held in the lovely beer town of Minneapolis, Minnesota and was attended by over 10,000 brewers and beer industry folks from around the world. The exciting awards ceremony announcing this year's World Beer Cup winners capped off the seminars and happenings of this extraordinary event.
Don't think that CBC is only for professional brewers. Craft beer judges, media, bloggers, homebrewers and dedicated beer enthusiasts also find the conference rewarding, enriching and entertaining.
My "top eight" favorite aspects of attending CBC:
- Hearing cutting edge news about beer trends, new hop varieties and advances in craft brewing techniques.
- Checking out the massive exhibit hall ("BrewExpo America") and speaking with industry innovators, ingredient suppliers and equipment manufacturers. Many hop supplier booths offer tastes of single-hopped beers that showcase each hop's special characteristics.
- Sipping brews in the conference's multitude of hospitality suites and open houses.
- Congratulating the winning brewers at the World Beer Cup awards ceremony.
- Popping into special beer events and tastings held around the host city. The highlight of 2022 was a gigantic open house and festival at Rahr Malting Company that celebrated the 175th anniversary of the respected malt supplier.
- Attending a celebration of German hops at Minneapolis' exceptional Utepils Brewing. A Bavarian hop queen was even in attendance.
- Catching up with wonderful craft beer people from the USA and abroad.
- Seeing a new focus in the craft beer industry on inclusion, cooperation and community service. A fascinating example was Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo's inspiring keynote speech that highlighted the myriad of ways that Russian River values the community and does whatever it can to assist in community needs.
The 2023 Craft Brewers Conference will take place in Nashville on May 7-10, 2023. Mark your calendar and consider attending!
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 Southern Brewing Company
TANGERINE FRUIT FLASH
This American Pale Wheat Ale from our friends at Southern Brewing Company in Athens, Georgia offers 4.7% ABV and impressive additions of tangerine. The fruit complements the tasty wheat/cereal grain nuances and makes for a lovely beer to enjoy during the hot summer months. The powerful citrus flavors end with a clean, crisp, refreshing finish. This ale would also make a terrific brunch beer.
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- 06/25/2022 BRICK STORE PUB'S 25th ANNIVERSARY. Head to Decatur, Georgia to check out the welcoming celebration that will feature guest chefs and a range of rare, extraordinary beers and cask ales.
- 01/21/2023 ATLANTA CASK ALE TASTING. Mark your calendars for one of Atlanta's favorite craft beer fests that's returning in 2023 to the wonderful Bold Monk Brewing. Tickets will go on sale here in late July.
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- Follow Brewtopia Events on Social Media
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UP NEXT...
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Owen Ogletree, The Beer Wench and Ashton Smith head to Greece to explore the young craft beer culture and visit with brewmaster Kjetil Jikiun of Solo Brewery on the island of Crete.
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