Another new sponsor

I’d like to take a minute to thank Rafters Sports Bar at The Wharf in Orange Beach for their sponsorship of Free The Hops. If you’re in or around Orange Beach, stop in for a beer and tell them thanks for supporting our fine organization. Lets keep on freein’ them little ole hops!

Free The Hops in the news

A couple of stories popped up this past weekend after the introduction of the Brewery Modernization Act in the House. Notice that this bill encourages business in the state of Alabama, not more or stronger beer. The restrictions that are in place now are obviously not conducive for business to thrive. We’ve shown this state that we like our good beer. Now let’s show them that we like good, LOCAL beer.

From al.com: Alabama bill aims to help brewpubs through deregulation

Mobile’s now a “Select” market for Abita

The Abita Brew Pub was where I first tried an Abita Select Witte.

I can remember clearly when Purple Haze, Amber and, on occasion, Turbo Dog were the only offerings from Abita that could be found anywhere in Mobile. Those days called for ridiculous road trips to the swamps of Louisiana for a case of Strawberry Harvest Lager or a taste of whatever was brewing for the select taps at the Abita Brew Pub.

Thanks to the success of Free The Hops and the addition of Hopjacks to the downtown bar scene, Abita’s seasonal offerings, as well as their “Select” series, have made their way to south Alabama.

We recently stopped in at Hopjacks for a taste of Abita’s newest “select” offering, an imperial stout. This style, perfect for cold and rainy winter nights, is a bit of a departure for Abita, whose core line of beers are mostly session lagers brewed in the German style.

According to the brewery’s Brewmaster blog, this ale is brewed with British pale, caramel, chocolate and roasted malts, as well as oats to give the beer a fuller and sweeter taste. These malts certainly overpower any hop presence, giving it both the smell and taste of chocolate, coffee and toffee. Calling it an imperial stout may be a bit of a stretch, however, as this version doesn’t carry the heft of other imperial stouts, such as Old Rasputin, Brooklyn Chocolate Stout and Terrapin’s Coffee Oatmeal Stout. That’s not to say you can sit down and slug a dozen of ‘em in a sitting — at 8.5% ABV, this is no Guinness. Perhaps imperial porter would be a more apt description? Either way, the beer is delicious and a welcome addition to the tap selection along the Gulf Coast.

If you’re hoping to take some home with you, you’re out of luck; “select” offerings from the brewery are only available on draught.

Tasting at Gourmet Galley next Friday night, 1/22

Hey everyone. January’s been a little crazy, but we’ve managed to nail down a Free The Hops tasting at Gourmet Galley next Friday. I’ll have more information soon, but plan on being there from 6-8 for some great beer.

Thanks for your patience.

Update: I just found this info from Shari at Gourmet Galley:

When: Friday January 22nd
Time: 6 – 8 P.M.
Where: Gourmet Galley
6808 Airport Blvd
251-343-3555

COST: $10 per person ($5 each for club members)

What: A wide selection of high gravity beer to sample,
and catering provided by Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe.

Call to reserve your spot today.

P.S. Recent arrivals, with more on the way for the tasting…..
Tommyknocker – Cocoa Porter – Winter Warmer
Tommyknocker – Alpine Glacier Lager
Durango – Dark Lager
Bell’s – Double Cream Stout
Flying Dog – Double Dog – Double Pale Ale

Dan

Happy Birthday, Lazy Magnolia

The Sun Herald in Biloxi has a great story about Lazy Magnolia, which is celebrating its five-year anniversary this month.

Until some Alabama breweries decide to make their way down to the Gulf Coast (I’m talkin’ to you, Good People), Lazy Mag is our local brewery, and they make some tasty beers. So head on down to your favorite watering hole, have them draw you a pint of Mississippi beer and raise a toast to many more years of good beer on the Gulf Coast and beyond.

Slaínte!

What could be: A tour of Brewery Ommegang

Free The Hops is on the verge of yet another campaign to change Alabama’s outdated beer laws, focusing this year on brew pub and brewery reform. Currently, a brewery in Alabama isn’t allowed to let you taste the beer they brew, nor can they sell you any of their great product.

We recently took a tour of Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y., where they aren’t bound by statutes that govern tastings and sales, and the experience was a memorable one. In fact, unlike many Southern breweries, such as Lazy Magnolia and Abita, the tour we took occurred while beer was actually being brewed and bottled right before our (safety-goggle-bespeckled) eyes.

The view of Brewery Ommegang as you turn off the highway is a beautiful one, especially in a light snowstorm.

We arrived at the rural brewery south of Cooperstown amidst a blustery snowstorm that assured us we’d have the tour to ourselves. I imagine the brewery is a beautiful site on any day of the year, but in a mild snowstorm it was like coming upon an age-old European farmhouse brewery far from civilization.

The wind drove the garland over the sign constantly. It was pretty cold.

The fog has lifted. Celebrate with a stout

Old Rasputin for breakfast, Fort Bragg, Calif. May, 2009.

It’s winter in Mobile, when cool, crisp evenings break up seemingly endless days of gray skies and cold drizzle. Nights like these seem to be made for sipping an imperial stout around the fire.

Russian imperial stouts are big, bold beers that originated in the 18th century not from Russia, but from England. It’s said that Catherine The Great fell in love with the milder English stouts on a visit to Great Britain and requested that some be shipped to her in Russia. When the beer arrived, however, she was disappointed to find it had spoiled on the long journey. Brewers at the Thrales Brewery in London used more hops in the ensuing batches to preserve the beer, and the result was the stronger “imperial” stout.

One particularly tasty example is North Coast’s Old Rasputin. The Northern California brewery’s Russian imperial stout, the nation’s best-selling, wasn’t available in Alabama before this year’s passage of the Gourmet Beer Bill. Now, it can be found nearly everywhere quality beer is sold.

Like all good examples of the style, heavily roasted malts contribute deep chocolate and espresso aromas to the Old Rasputin, which pours midnight-black with a creamy, dark-tan head floating on top. The alcohol isn’t overwhelming, but it does provide a nice warming feeling as it flows over your tongue and down your throat. Notes of chocolate linger throughout the aftertaste.

Save the pint glass for your Guinness — this one calls for a glass with a wide body, like a brandy snifter or red wine glass, to help focus the intense aromas right where they belong: in your nose. Take it out of the fridge just before you sit down to dinner; when you’re finished eating and are ready to enjoy the rest of your evening with a delicious beer, this one should be at the perfect temperature, about 50 degrees, to bring out all the flavors.

Keep in mind that at 9 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), this beer is intended to be sipped slowly. You’ll not only stay more sober, you’ll get a more rewarding experience from this fine example of a Russian imperial stout.

$3 Pints return for Free The Hops night at the Royal Scam!

The Royal Scam is bringing back a very special offer for Free The Hops members this Thursday night. All draft beer pints are just $3. That includes Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan, Sweetwater 420 and Abita Andygator!

The Scam is also currently serving some kickass burgers, house fries and honey chipotle wings that are out of this world, so make sure you bring your appetite as well as your thirst. Oh, and $25 if you haven’t already signed up for a Free The Hops membership. It’ll make the beer taste better, we promise!

New in Mobile: Magic Hat #9

I was happy to hear recently that Magic Hat #9 has been added to the tap lines of a few local establishments in south Alabama. The Burlington, VT, brewery has been a favorite of mine since I picked up my first themed 12-pack a few years back, and it’s a good sign that they’re bringing their flagship beer to the market.

The brewery calls #9 a “not-quite pale ale,” but I’d refer to it more as a nicely hopped apricot ale. It smells slightly of apricots, and finishes with a distinct dry aftertaste that leaves a pleasant impression on the palate. Unlike fellow fruit beers like Sweetwater Blue and Abita Purple Haze, though, #9 is more beer than fruit flavor. The alcohol content is just 4.7 percent, meaning you can order a few of them after work and not be stumbling over the other patrons at the bar before happy hour is over, and I’d guess that this beer will please a wide variety of beer drinkers, from the seasoned snob to the newly minted hop-head.

It’s a beer whose arrival is tied to the Free The Hops movement in an indirect way — while their beer doesn’t tip the scales on the alcohol content, it’s a new, fun brewery whose beers are coming to town, and it’s the enthusiasm of our fellow beer drinkers that has helped that happen.

It appears that Magic Hat is teasing us for now, dipping a toe in the market by delivering the #9 only on draft and only at Hopjacks and the Mellow Mushroom. Hopefully, they’ll decide we like their beer and want more of it, especially on the shelves of local stores.

Road Trip for a Cause: Free The Hops presents Brews For Clues

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend and plan to be in Birmingham, this event looks like a good time for a good cause:

Free the Hops and the Autism Society of Alabama are teaming up this Saturday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. for Brews for Clues, an event at the Sloss Furnaces featuring entrees from Birmingham-area restaurants with beers meticulously selected to create a perfect food pairing. 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Autism Society of Alabama.

Don’t miss out on this unique event featuring music from Honeybaked, get your tickets now. We’ll even have both the Alabama and Auburn football games showing on big screens.