Black Tuesday Update

I just wanted to update you on the status of Black Tuesday. It was bottled yesterday and I can report there is a healthy amount of carbonation in the bottles (2.5 volumes of Co2 for those interested). Since it has been in the barrels for a few more months than what has been already released, there is a bit more coconut and vanilla character. I personally like it quite a bit more.

I've heard a bit of concern about everyone getting bottles on the release date, and what time people should start arriving. We'll have 1000 bottles for sale of Black Tuesday on 10/27 (not including the 660 allocated bottles), so roughly 333 people would have to want 3 bottles each to sell out. Even though there is tremendous demand for this beer, I have a tough time believing we're going to get 333 people to show up on a Tuesday. If your plan is to arrive at 10 AM that day, please don't. In the interest of our neighbors around The Bruery, please arrive after 4:30 PM. I'll post this on our blog as well.

Also, if anyone's interested in hotels, here's some options:

-- Marriott Fairfield & Residence Inn, which is about 2 blocks away from The Bruery (actually about 50 feet, but you'd have to hop a fence) is $85 per night.

-- Holiday Inn Express (about 4 blocks away) is $80 per night.

These would both make great choices for pre and post get togethers and a place to crash for the night.

http://www.ffioc.com/

Only 20 days away, looking forward to seeing many of you!

1st Annual Black Tuesday Release - Tuesday, October 27, 2009

"I cannot help but raise a dissenting voice to statements that we are living in a fool's paradise, and that prosperity in this country must necessarily diminish and recede in the near future." - E.H.H. Simmons, President, NYSE, January 1928

Logistical Details:

-- Three (3) bottles per person (not including prior allocation purchases)
-- $30 per bottle
-- Ticket distribution starting at 5:30 PM. If you want 3 bottles, please request 3 tickets.
-- The number of tickets will correspond with the number of bottles available. Starting at 6 PM, we will sequentially be calling a range of numbers (will be displayed on the projector, not audible) and those ticketholders will purchase their bottles
-- Doors open at 6 PM and close at 10 PM
-- Those who purchased allocations will be able to pick up their bottles at this event or on a later date
-- Cash and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) will be accepted. No checks, please.
-- In the event that Black Tuesday does not sell out on the release date, additional bottles can be purchased on Friday, October 30th starting at 4 PM

Special Beers Available:

-- Special Cask: Chocolate Rain (Black Tuesday with Cocoa Nibs and Vanilla Beans)
-- Black Tuesday will be on tap, as well as our full lineup
-- We will also have several other special bottled beers for sale: White Oak and Bourbon Barrel Aged Partridge in a Pear Tree (and possibly Barrel Aged Autumn Maple if it hasn't sold out already)

Other Details:

-- 2010 Bruery Reserve Society memberships will also be for sale at this time. More details coming soon.
-- Light complimentary snacks will also be served.

Looking forward to a great release party!

Cheers,
The Folks at The Bruery

Who let the dogs in?

Here at The Bruery, we're HUGE dog fans (one of our best employees is a canine!) however, I just want to mention that as much as we'd like to, unfortunately we cannot allow dogs in our Tasting Room at this time.  

Sorry Fido (and Barley)!

The Bruery's got more grapes!

Last time we used Zinfandel grapes for a beer that was eventually blended with our young lambic and turned into White Zin, which has been a fan and employee favorite ever since we tapped the first keg. Well now we have a ridiculous amount of Pinot grapes...where will the fun lead?!

Anyone have some cool suggestions of homebrews they've done with grapes or simply ideas they've always wanted to try. You know we're always down for suggestions, though Patrick and Tyler also always have their own crazy thoughts as well. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

OktoBRUEfest! and a few other new items!

We may not make and Oktoberfest beer, but we still know how to celebrate this beer-centric tradition!

This weekend (October 2-4) we've lined up a whole three days of festivities at the Tasting Room.  Starting Friday with First Firkin Friday and as always we'll have a special cask on - a sneak preview of a new beer we'll be releasing soon.

Saturday, we'll be offering our Stimulus discount of 25% off all draft beer including growler fills.  On Sunday, Patrick will be manning the grill and serving up some brats to go with your beers,  and we'll be ending the weekend with one of our favorite events - Beer Geek Show & Tell!

If you haven't been to one of these before, we invite you to bring a 750mL/bomber/2 12oz bottles of a rare/special beer/exceptional homebrew that you'd like to share with everyone.  You'll then have a chance to taste what others have brought in.  It's a great opportunity to try some cool beers and talk with some fellow beer geeks about them.

Another item I want to mention is a new program we're implementing starting this weekend.  We will be putting up a new chalkboard in the Tasting Room and starting BRUE-it-forward.  In the spirit of sharing a beer with a friend, you'll be able to purchase a beer for someone else and we'll write their names on our BRUE-it-Forward board so that the next time they come in, they can redeem their beer and see that you purchased it for them.  The only thing better than enjoying a good beer is sharing one, right?  So come down and BRUE-it-Forward starting Friday.

Finally, we'll be announcing details about Black Tuesday this week, so keep your eyes open for that.  I promise it'll be a night not to be missed!  

Looking forward to seeing you all for OktoBRUEfest in the Tasting Room!

GABF

We all just got back from an incredible weekend at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO and we're pretty much spending the day recovering. 8 people from The Bruery went up for the festival and we really had an incredible time. We had the opportunity to get some behind the scenes tours of Odell's brewery, New Belgium Brewery and Avery Brewery as well as sneak a peak at The Great Divide's Brewery located right in downtown Denver. We Spent the days meeting up with other brewers and beer lovers from around the country and had the opportunity to share our beers with people from all over, which was really a great experience. Hopefully some of the other great breweries we discovered will become partners for some collaboration efforts in the future, which would be amazing.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to take home any medals this year (there were over 3,000 beers entered in the 78 categories), but there seemed to be a great outpouring of love for our beers on the show floor, and thats where it really counts. Since many of our beers are sort of bizarre for their style, its tough to win an award up against beers that are dead on for the style, but its really about producing a product that people enjoy. We did (or shall I say Rachel did) win the award for festival booth flair! And the line for Black Tuesday was insane.

For anyone who was at the festival and stopped by, thanks! And for anyone who didn't make it out, we highly recommend you do next year as it was one of the best trips we've been on.

OC Beer Fest

The Bruery crew and friends at the OC Beer Fest.

Cigar City Collaboration

In case you haven't heard yet, we'll be collaborating with Cigar City Brewing, a very highly regarded brewery out of Tampa, Florida. We chose each other to work on a collaboration because we share many similarities-- we're both adventurous breweries, we're both new, and people seem to like us.

The recipes we've been discussing are very interesting, but we won't divulge any details at this point. All we can say is it's going to spend some time in barrels, will be very special, and will be released next Summer, yet brewed in the next month or so.

We'll post more details as they become more definite. Cheers!

Know Your Bruers! (Part II)

Which of the following Bruery employees put their foot through the ceiling of The Bruery Provisions during its construction?

Poll Results

1. Patrick Rue, 32 %

2. Tyler King, 22 %

3. Jonas Nemura, 12 %

The Answer

Me! Assistant Brewer Jay Goodwin!

I started at the Bruery back in November of 2008 and I've been having a blast ever since. I get to brew beer all day and learn from all of the great minds of the Bruery!

I hope to see you around the tasting room soon!

PS: A special shout out to Bruery Provisions employee JD, who also had the joy of walking through the Provisions ceiling in the past few days.

Barrel Aged Autumn Maple, today at the Tasting Room!

At The Bruery, we've been staring at barrels of Autumn Maple for some time now, waiting until they were ready to share with the world.  Well that time has finally come!

Today at the Tasting Room we'll have 100% Barrel Aged Autumn Maple on cask for First Firkin Friday!  As if that wasn't enough, we are also going to be selling bottles of the stuff to take home with you.  Whether you cellar it, drink it now, or share with a few lucky friends, we think you'll enjoy the rich layers of flavor that this beer has to offer.

Like most special release beers, bottles are limited so keep that in mind when you make your trip out.  As always, the Tasting Room is open from 4pm to 10pm.  We'll see you soon!