The Blue Dawg Brewery is located in Baldwinsville, NY and
is owned by Anheuser-Busch. <more info>

The featured beer Wild Blue is brewed with a blend of German
hops from the Hallertau region in Bavaria and classic Aroma
hops from the Williamette Valley in the Pacific Northwest.
A combination of two and six row barely malt was also chosen
for this recipe. It has a burgundy color and a ripe blueberry
aroma.

They strongly advise drinking the beer out of a glass for full
enjoyment and also so that you can see it's redish purple color
and pink head of foam, they advise drinking it out of a large mouthed glass so you can smell the full effects of the blueberry aroma.

At this time Wild Blue beer is very popular in Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, and Missouri. In 2006 craft beer enthusiasts awarded
Wild Blue with a gold medal in the fruit category at the North
American Brewers Association Beer Awards.  This organization
recognizes top beers by style.

They recommend pairing Wild Blue with meat dishes such as pork
rib roast, or pork tenderloin.  It also makes a great dressing
as can be seen in the following recipe:

Wild Blue Vinaigrette Dressing

Blend 6-8 fresh hulled strawberries, 1/2 cup fresh raspberries, 1/2 cup
fresh blueberries and 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a blender until
smooth.  Add 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup
granulated sugar and 1/4 cup Wild Blue; blend briefly until combined.
Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and chill.

This beer is 8 percent by volume and is supposed to be available
on a national basis real soon.

After missing last week due to illness I have
decided to write a short article about some things I
have been thinking about for about a week and a half. Now
that my mind is clear again I wanted to take a brief
moment to inform all of our listners and readers (for those
of you that are technology challenged and read only.....
Hi mom!!) about one of the biggest kept secrets in Nebraska.......
The Nebraska Brewing Company.  Episode 80 we were graced with
the presence of owner Paul Kavulak and Head Brewmaster Dean
Dobmeier who talked very highly of this rather new establishment.

Last week several of us from the BrewCast panel ventured to
Papillion Ne, the home of The Nebraska Brewing company to
enjoy a wonderful meal and some great beer!!  On this adventure
we discovered that this wonderful establishment was everything
it was talked up to be and then some!! We are so impressed that
we have committed to taking a monthly pilgramage to The Nebraska
Brewing Company to record an Episode of BrewCast while trying out
their soon to be famous 8th tap (Beer in Development Stages).

Come meet the BrewCast Panel Wed. April 16th, 2008 @ The NebraskaBrewing Company!!

I will let it be known right now that I have a lot of respect for
any family/personally owned business in which the owner is very
active in the day to day operations of the business.  Paul may be
the owner but Dean and Tyson are just as passionate about the
business as he is, and because of this tremendous drive behind
the scenes I think this small establishment has a big future to
look forward to!!  I know that we look forward to coming back in
the near future.

I want to thank Paul, Dean, Tyson and their spouses for showing
us some really great hospitality while we visited their establishment.

The Boulevard Brewing Company began operations in 1988 when
John McDonald started construction of a brewery in a turn of the Century brick building in downtown Kansas City on on historic Southwest Boulevard.  A vintage Bavarian brewhouse was installed, and the first batches of beer were ready in the  fall of 1989.  The first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was delivered in the back of Johns truck to a nearby restaurant. Boulavard is now one of the largest Micro-Breweries in the United States. <click here for company website>

The following beers are available from the Boulevard
Brewing Co. at this time:

Pale Ale 5.1% abv
Wheat 4.5% abv
LUNAR Ale 4.5% abv
Bully Porter 5.4% abv
Dry Stout 4.9% abv
Irish Ale 5.3% abv - Only available Jan.- April
ZON 4.4% abv  - Only available May-Aug.
Bob's 47 5.5% abv - Only Available Sept.-Oct.
Nut Cracker Ale 6.9% abv- Only available Nov.-Dec.

Tours of the Brewery are available at the following times:
Thursdays @ 3pm
Fridays @ 1pm
Saturdays @ 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm

All brewery tours are free but reservations are                             required. Ph# 816-474-7095

Tours include the following:

Hear the history of Boulevard Brewing Company
Watch a video detailing how beer is made
Take a walking tour of Boulevardâs plant
Sample and learn about the different beers Boulevard makes

RECIPE:

Boulevard Dry Stout Ice Cream

1 cup Boulevard Dry Stout
1 cup Whole Milk
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup sugar
1 cup egg yolks
1 tablespoon cocoa

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat
until mixture begins to boil and reaches 185ÂF.
Do not overheat. Remove from heat and pour into a
pre-cooled metal bowl.

When mixture is cooled place in blender to smooth
the lumpy mixture.

Cool the mixture as close to freezing as possible,
and then freeze in an ice cream freezer according
to the manufacturerâs directions.

When serving sprinkle a small amount of cocoa over
the ice cream to counter the sweetness and enhance
the flavors of the stout.

Ownership of the brewery changed hands many times during the early years until it was incorporated in 1892 when it was officially named The Santa Fe Brewing Company. But by this time the interstate transport had become more refrigerated and faster than previous years.  The more established brewers back east in Milwaukee and St. Louis took advantage of this and actually forced the Santa Fe Brewing Company to close it's doors in 1896.

Now to the story of the modern Santa Fe Brewing Company.  In 1988 using open top fermenters and custom square vessells obtained from the defunct Boulder Brewing Company, Mike Levis began brewing the pale ale that was to be the first of many beers to come. Over the next 10 years after attending many Beer festivals many people started to take notice and the Brewery grew in popularity.  They added Nut Brown, and Wheat varieties along with offering seasonal brews. <click here>

In 1997 with the arrival of Brian Lock, Dave Forester, Carlos Muller, and Ty Levis the company started the  process of expanding it's operation.  They moved the breweries location to the Turquiose Trail just up the road from their former rental.  Their new brewery has the ability to brew ten times the beer that they could before and they are actively seeking other states to distribute in.

They currently are distributing beer in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, new Mexico,  Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Nebraska.

The following beers are available:
Santa Fe Pale Ale 5.5%
Santa Fe Stout  5.0%
State Pen Porter 5.0%
Santa Fe Nut Brown 5.2%
Santa Fe Wheat 5.25%
Chicken Killer Barley Wine 10%
Fiesta IPA 6.3%
Freestyle Pilsner 5.5%
Viszolay Belgian 7.5%

Brewery tours are held every Saturday @ 12noon with free samples of beer

ph# 505-424-3333

If you hadn't noticed we are big fans of Jonathan Coulton.  He provides us with free music for our podcast.  Please go to the link below and help bring him to Lincoln.  If enough people request him it might actually happen.

http://eventful.com/demand/D0-001-000059719-8

The North Coast Brewing Company which claims to be a pioneer in the craft beer movement opened in 1988 as a local brewpub in the historic town of Fort Bragg, which is located on California's Mendocino Coast.

Their head brew master Mark Ruedrich has developed a strong reputation for quality and has won more than 70 awards in national and international competitions. <brewery site click here>

They produce the following beers: Red seal Ale, Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Scrimshaw Pilsner,Blue Star Wheat Beer, Old No. 38 Stout, Acme California Pale Ale, Acme California IPA, Old Rasputin X-tenth anniversary, PranQster Belgian Style Golden Ale, Old Stock Ale, Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale, Le Merle.

They do brewery tours every Saturday at noon and reservations are not required. For more information you can call 707-964-2739.

This Imperial Stout is produced in the tradition of 18th Century English Brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great.  The style is a Russian Imperial which is black in color.  The Alcohol by Volume (ABV) is 9% and the Bitterness is 75 IBU's They recommend pairing the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout beer with chocolate cake.

Pietro Piegari traveled from Italy to the coal mining community of Krebs,
OK, in 1903.  Three years later at the age of eleven he offically changed his name to Pete Prichard when he signed on to work in the mines. At the age of twenty-one a cave in almost took his life, crushing one of his legs so badly that he was unable to return to work.

Looking for something to do to support his family the innovative young immigrant started brewing and selling Choc beer from his home in 1919.  The home brew originated in Indian Territory named after the Choctaw Indians who taught Pete how to brew the Beer. Soon many of the local miners began gathering in Pete's home to buy  and drink Choc. Next he began to fix meals to go along with the beer for the miners. >click here<

He officially opened a restauraunt in his home in 1925, and because everyone was used to going to "Pete's Place" it was only natural that this was adopted as the name of his Italian restaraunt. >click here<

During Prohibition he was convicted twice for breaking the Federal Prohibition act.  He served two full terms in Prison.  Even after Prohibition was repealed it was still illegal to produce home brewed beverages, which didn't stop Pete from serving homemade Choc Beer and Wine in his restaraunt.

It was served illegally in his restaraunt until 1980 when they were shut down by the Federal Goverment. A short time later a change was made in the State Laws which allowed the restaurant to sell beer once again in 1995.

The Basement Batch Pale Ale is claimed to be made with the same ingrediants and recipe used for the original beer.

This Brewery has a very colorful history and I encourage all of you to try some of their beers!!

Mostly because of time constraints on my be-half I am just going to shoot with what little info that I could find this week about the Kostritzer Brewery.  The main problem with getting information is that the Brewery is located in Bad Kostritz Germany. (Bad is the German word for Bath-referring to the fact that it was originally a community known for a famous Spa). Because their website is in German it would take some time for me to translate it.

The Kostritzer Brewery has been owned by the Bitburger Brauereu Since 1991. The Brewery was founded in 1543 and is one the oldest producer of Schwarzbier (Black Beer) in Germany.  One of the most famous persons to drink Kostritzer Schwarzbier is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was a famous German writer (1749-1832). >click here<

Types of beers produced:

Schwarzbier
Kranich-Brau
Edel-Pils
Diat-Pils
Bipop (a mixture of cola and beer)

Description of Schwarzbier Black Lager beer: Very Deep mahogany hue. Bready and lightly smoky aromas follow through on a medium-bodied palate with chewy malt character and a suprisingly clean finish where light hop bitters and smoky notes linger. >click here<

The Flying Monkey Brewery is the brainchild of two old friends from Wichita, KS. Robert Isler and Drew Jones started Brewing in March of 1996 in Overland Park, KS, and by June Flying Monkey Brand brews were appearing in a draft form in the Kansas City area.  They continued producing it in a draft form only until December of that year when their bottling line was up and running first producing 22oz bottles as a
preliminary promotion then returning to 12oz bottles for regular production. >click here>

Flying Monkey Brews four beers year round including: Wheat,Stout,Pale Ale,and amber.

They also brew a couple of seasonals including a Pilsner, and a Holiday Ale.

Their flagship beer is the Amber in which they went for a little sweater taste using two caramel malts, and it is pretty light. 

They were on a growing trend in 1999 producing about 4400 barrells a year, when a flood hit the Kansas City Area. The flood happened on a Sunday night and Drew had been at the brewery earlier that evening harvesting some yeast and when he left the parking lot was filliing up with water and he didn't think much of it at the time. Later that evening when he heard a noise coming from his basement he found that it
was flooded with water. A few minutes later Robert called him and said "You need tostart to look for another job!" After asking him what he was talking about he went on to explain that the Brewery was under five feet of water and he was standing at the end of the parking lot watching water gushing out of the garage doors. >to contact the Brewery>

It took them a month to get the brewery up and running, but they were still having to replace pump motors and other parts of the equipment for a while after the initial repair because of the long term damage caused by the flood.  A month after the article that I got this information from was written they sold their brewery to the Pony Express Brewing Co. which is also in Overland Park Kansas.

The Pony Express Brewing Company was founded in May of 1995 in Overland Park, KS. When Joe Effertz Jr. made the decision to start the Brewery in Overland Park, KS. it was truly a business decision related to the demographics of the craft beer industry.The two main factors figured into his decision was the fact that their is more money on the Kansas side of the river and also by having the brewery located in Kansas they can lay claim to being the largest brewery in Kansas. >my space page click here<

Unfortunately Nebraskans give Iowa a bad rap.  We make fun of Council Bluffs by referring to it as Council Tucky.  But I found some ways that Iowa is better. Their Hyvee has a much better beer selection.  I was able to find Kostrizer Black Lager which is a German beer that I haven't been able to find in Nebraska.  Stay tuned in the future to find out what the panel has to say about it.

In Iowa the bars stay open until 2 am, so if you live in Omaha you can cross over the river and drink one hour later.  For those that like to gamble it is legal in Iowa.  Not far from the casinos is a Quaker Steak & Lube.  It is a filling station themed bar.  It is very neat on the inside with motorcycles suspended from the ceiling and old fashioned cars on lifts.  Instead of serving beer in a pitcher, it comes in a cylinder with it's own tap called a lube tube.  They are known for their hot wings.  I recommend getting the onion rings which are served on an antenna.

The Tommy Knocker Brewery which has been open for 10 years now is located in Idaho Springs, Co. in the Historical Placer Inn originally constructed in 1859.  The Placer Inn is located 4/10th of a mile from the spot where George A. Jackson found his first gold in 1859. >more info

The brewery produces the following beers:
# = Award winning beer

Imperial Nut Brown                   Ale Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer
Ornery Amber Lager#                Maple Nut Brown Ale#
Jack Whacker Wheat Ale#          Butt Head Bock#
Pick Axe Pale Ale#                     Tundrabeary Ale#
Rye Porter                                 Black Powder Stout#

They also make the following soft drinks:

Root Beer                        Almond Creme
Strawberry Creme             Orange Creme
Key Lime Creme

**Click Here fore Info on Ordering Soda**

Their Beers are available in the following States:

Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

So where did they come up with the name Tommy Knocker??

The miners that migrated to the area started the superstitions and tales of little elf-like beings who lived in the cracks and crevices of the mines.  These little creatures were known as Tommy Knockers, rarely seen but heard singing and working. Their were two types of Tommy Knockers, the Mischevious and the Friendly. They were short in stature standing only two feet tall, and wore colorful shirts.

Their isn't much history to post about Texas SUX Beer, but
their is an interesting story behind this one of a kind beer.

Texas SUX brand beer is brewed under a trade mark licensing
agreement between BigStick Brew Company of Oklahoma City, and
BigStick Beer Company of Krebs, OK.  I don't have the details
yet as to why they have this agreement.  But I intend to find
some further information and put it up with a future post.

They claim that their beer is a premium American-style beer-dry
yet light bodied and full of flavor, with a touch of hops finesse.
Their beer is brewed in small batches from the clear waters of
Oklahoma's Lil' Dixie  >more info click here>

The beer is 3.2% by volume and is available state wide.

With the release of Texas SUX Beer on June 1, 2006 they launched
the first of many products under our trademarked flagship SUX Brand
Beer.

Because they are only a year old their really isn't a lot of
History to report on.

P.S. As I promised on the Pod-Cast I followed up on The Texas SUX
Beer that was for sale on E-Bay.  It sold for $20.00 with an additonal
$10.35 in shipping.  It appears as if the most of the value in this beer
is for collectors!!  Remember as I mentioned before this was for the
6-pack box and 6 empty bottles with caps.

I purchased this Beer @ 20th Street Liqour in Elk City, OK.  If you are passing through the area I highly advise checking them out because they had a very small but interesting selection of beers for sale.  I spoke with Daniel who is currently and employee but has aspirations to own the store himself and I can see why because he was very knowlageable about beer. One of his favorite breweries is Flying Dog Brewery. 

I have been attending racing events for over 10 years now, and
I am currently at The Chili Bowl Nationals which has turned into
a week long Midget racing event with drivers from many different
racing series. >click here for info on chili bowl>

The following are a few of the over 288 drivers entered into this
event and what series that they hail from:

Tony Stewart- Nascar
Kasey Kahne- Nascar
Cruz Pendregon- NHRA Funny Car
Gary Selzi - NHRA Funny Car
Jerry Coons Jr.-USAC Midgets
Danny Lasoski - World Of Outlaws Sprints
Jason Leffler - Nascar Busch Series
Johnny Rodriguez - USAC Western States Midget
(To see what midget racing is check out this link)

Anyway now that you know where I am at.......  I will go on with the
story!!  In all of the years that I have been traveling down the
road I have never seen a Micro Brewery / Premium Beer sold at a
racetrack.  Mind you that the events I attend are all grass roots
dirt track events where the number of fans in the stands are minimal
in comparison to Nascar, IRL, or NHRA Race events.

I posted this article  and photograph so that you could see how much
the Micro-Brewing industry has infiltrated the Grass roots of the
racing world. Since most racers and fans tend to drink Cookie Cutter
Beers I was suprised/impressed to find this Boulevard Brewing Co. Stand Selling Beer to the fans.

So who knows maybe Microbrewery Beer will be coming soon to a racetrack near you!!

Barley makes a trip to Vegas.  This is the happening place for New Year's Eve weekend.  There were a few celebrity sightings.  The Cathouse, a new nightclub in the Luxor had it's grand opening.  Some celebrities that were spotted on the red carpet were Adrian Brody, Kelly Osborne, Carrot Top & Penn (of Penn & Teller.)  Many others were spotted but aren't famous enough for the crowd to know who they were.

The average cost of a beer in Vegas is $6.  Most casinos have little convenience stores inside where you can purchase a tall boy can for $4.50.  Alcohol can be consumed outside and is sold 24 hours a day.  Most nightclubs are open until 4 or 5 am on the weekend and there are afterhours clubs that are open until noon.

If you are looking to drink for cheap Thursday nights the Rockhouse bar in front of Imperial Palace has free drinks for the ladies from 10 pm until 12:30 am.  Also when gambling if you stay in one area long enough a waitress will come and you can drink for free.  I didn't have the patience to wait for the waitress to come back.  On Fremont Street which is located off the strip in downtown Las Vegas beers can be purchased for a dollar and you can drink 99 cent margaritas by the yard.

There is a local Las Vegas brewery that brews Syn City beer.  It is sold on tap but not available in cans or bottles.  Too bad I would have liked to brought some home.

A creative drink that I did try since I like fruity beer is Blue Spice.  It is Blue Moon beer mixed with Blue Curacao and Triple Sec served on ice.  I didn't really care for it.  Beer and alcohol don't taste too well mixed.

Tom Peters and his wife purchased the Brewery about 3 years ago from former owners David and Janet Scott.  The new owners are working on expanding by placing custom brew equipment in existing buildings.  Their goal is to move closer to the New Belgium and Odell Brewing companies in Old Town. >news article

Their are ten employees at the Fort Collins Brewery, which is currently at approximately 100% operating capacity, producing around 8,000 barrells per year. (Note: Each Barrell Holds 31 Gallons of Beer).

Since the Peters took over the Brewery it has expanded into a more national market where it is available in the following States: Wyoming, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, North Carolina, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and even though it wasn't listed on their website we were able to purchase this weeks beer in Nebraska.

They are distributed by National Distributing Company which is also the same Distributor for Jack Daniels Whiskey.

Fort Collins three top selling beers are: >more info

Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat, Chocolate Stout, and Retro Red.

This posting is dedicated to our dead episode #66 1/2 when we drank
Anheuser-Busch's Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale.  I figured that the
history and our thoughts of the beer should live on for eternity
for everyone to read!

Pumpkin beer originated in america when early American colonists
migrated here from overseas their was a shortage of Barley and Hops
in the new world. The desperation of early Americans resulted in the
usage of Molasses,Wheat Bran,Pumpkins, and even persimmons! Their is documentation supporting that George Washington brewed beer in this
manor. >more info

The reason they used the pumpkins is for the fermentable sugars. Most
of the early recipes called for dried pumpkins and as you may all know
without adding additional spices pumpkins can be rather bland in taste,
so I can't even imagine what those early pumpkin beers would have tasted like.

In modern pumpkin beers they are roasted and added to the mash to provide both flavor, and some fermintable sugars, but only as an additon to the primary source of fermintables.  They also use any of the following spices to add additional flavor to the beer: Brown Sugar, cinnamon,ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, and clove.

The Jack's Pumpkin Spice that we drank is brewed with two-row, caramel and carapils barley malts, a blend of imported and domestic hallertau hops and domestic Saaz hops. Brewed by Anheuser-Busch Fort Collins, Co. it has a 5.5% alcohol by volume. >info

They recommend that you drink the brew in a tall fluted glass.

This beer received a thumbs down by all panel members.  We still encourage you to try this beer because it is a great part of American History that has made a small come-back in the past few years and it definately has a very unique taste to it.