Month: November 2007

Brewery celebrates the start of the holidays with release of Older Viscosity, Amazing Grace and Gift of the Maji

SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Beer lovers will have a reason to put down the turkey leftovers and give thanks of another kind this weekend when Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey issues three new limited releases for the holiday season. Beginning at 11:00 am this Saturday, November 24th, brewery visitors will be able to purchase the following special brews:

Older Viscosity
The barrel-aged version of the popular Old Viscosity. A dark, strong ale aged over a year in American oak bourbon barrels, it’s a deep, silky black brew thick with luscious chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and caramel flavors balanced by notes of burnt wood and ash.
Release: 120 cases; 375ml cork-finished bottles. Maximum 6 bottles per person. 12% ABV; $10 per bottle.

Amazing Grace
A barrel-aged issue of the brewery’s lauded Lost & Found Abbey Dubbel ale. Aged 6 months in French Oak Red Wine barrels Amazing Grace matches an earth burnt umber color with rich aromas and complex flavors of figs, molasses and dried fruits.
Release: 80 cases; 750ml cork-finished bottles. Maximum 4 bottles per person. 8.5% ABV; $12 per bottle.

Gift of the Maji
The Lost Abbey’s first release of this Winter Seasonal ale, Gift of the Maji is a deep golden caramel-colored Bière de Garde brewed to a contemplative 9% ABV and bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces. Laden with toasted malt and caramel flavors accented by notes of grape, apple and cherry, its truly magical gift is a complexity that grows and softens as it ages.
Release: 170 cases; 750ml cork-finished bottles. Maximum 2 bottles per person. 9% ABV; $12 per bottle.

To ensure the largest number of people receive these limited releases, patrons will be required to present identification, and purchase quantities will be recorded. Those who attended the Lost Abbey Barrel tasting in October and reserved bottles at that time will be limited to purchasing the reserved amount.

Members of The Lost Abbey Patron Saints will be able to purchase their allotments of these releases one day in advance, beginning at 4:00pm on Friday, November 23rd.

More information on these releases can be obtained via email at lostabbey@gmail.com or on The Lost Abbey website at www.lostabbey.com

About Port Brewing / Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company is 2007’s Great American Beer Festival Small Brewery of the Year and produces a line of award-winning American ales as well as the groundbreaking Lost Abbey family of Belgian-inspired beers. Craft brewed under the direction of co-founder and three-time GABF brewer of the year, Tomme Arthur, five beers are issued under the Lost Abbey label year-round: Avant Garde, Devotion, Lost and Found, Red Barn and Judgment Day. Additionally, a number of seasonal and specialty releases including Ten Commandments, Cuvee de Tomme and the Angel’s Share, are offered at various times throughout the year. As many of these are blended and aged for up to 18 months in French Oak, Brandy and Bourbon barrels, Lost Abbey beers are universally recognized for their complexity, unique flavors, and bold, boundary-pushing styles. Port Brewing is located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069, USA. Telephone (760) 889-9318, web: www.lostabbey.com.

From the article:

King Arthur’s kingdom was in disarray.

After a triumphant weekend in Denver at the nation’s largest beer competition, Tomme Arthur returned here to find his brewery – Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey – under siege.

A balky capping machine had spoiled cases of Shark Bite Red Ale.

A glass supplier has run out of the distinctive bottles that hold the distinctive Lost Abbey ales.

The tiny brewery has so many orders, it’s unable to fill them all.

Still, it’s nice to be king. Last month at the Great American Beer Festival, the industry’s annual showcase, Arthur’s beers won three medals. Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey, which opened its doors in 2006, was dubbed the nation’s best small brewery, and Arthur was crowned the top small-brewery brewer.

» Read the rewst of the article (Via Sign On San Diego)

It’s official! On November 10th, 2007 we will open the doors at Port Brewing Company and release the 2007 Brandy Barrel Aged version of The Angel’s Share.

In order to accommodate more interest and demand in this beer, we will be opening the doors at 10 AM. We “may” have bottles of Older Viscosity available for sale as well. This all depends on our bottling situation this weekend. There is about a 25% chance these will be ready.

Please also note the following rules for this release:

• Bottles will be $15 per cork finished 750ml bottle.
• There will be a limit of 6 bottles per person.
• You will need identification to buy these beers as each person will only be allowed to purchase 6 bottles.
• This beer is being sold at the brewery only.
• We will NOT take email orders nor will we hold back bottles for pick up at a later date.
• We will NOT ship this beer to out of state patrons.

Once it is gone, it is gone.

There are about 90 Cases available for Sale next weekend.

In a little over one years time, The Angel’s Share has become one of the most desirable beers that we produce. As such, we are implementing the above rules this year to ensure that as many people as possible can secure their allotment.

We believe a system like this is necessary and we ask for your patience on Saturday as we test it out and work out the kinks for future releases.

Here’s a round-up of everyone who contributed to Session 9 (in no particular order). Enjoy.

• Boak and Bailey: Jukebox 1982
• The Session #9: Beer & Music – Black Flag, Six Pack « Beer Activist
• sullicom: Friday Fun Session
• Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home » Blog Archive » Session #9: Laissez les bons temps rouler!
• Beaumont’s Beer Blog: The Session Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine…
• On The House: The Session #9 – Beer & Music
• The Session: Beer and Music — Beer Haiku Daily
• The Best of American Beer & Food: The Session – tonal progressions + pairings
• Session 9 – Beer and Music – The Message in a Bottle « Mr. Thursday’s Curious Mechanism
• Beer at Joe’s: Music & Beer – Session #9/a>
• Knut Albert’s Beer Blog: Craft beer songs are needed (and a nomination)
• Pacific Brewing News: The Session: 1 Beer 3 Songs 3 Stories
• A Good Beer Blog: Session 9: When Beer And Music Shaped My Life
• The Beer Nut: Manic Stout Porters
• maeib’s Beerblog: The Session #9 – Beer And Music
• The Fermenting Barrel: Is Classic Rock the Sound of Fermentation?
• Wine Offensive: Session #9: Beer & Music Sooth Savage Beast
• Climbing: Session #9 – beer and music
• Lew Bryson Seen Through a Glass: The Session: Music and Memory
• Beer Philosopher: The Session #9 – Beer & Music
• My Beer Pix : Beer and Music (Or “The story of my life according to Barley”)
• Troublebrewing: the session beer and music.html
• Hop Talk: Beer and Music… and Giants
• Beer, Beats & Bites: The Session #9: Beer and Music
• BREWipedia.com: The Session 9: Beer and Music
• Beer Haiku Daily: The Session: Beer and Music
• Brewvana: The Session # 9–Beer and Music
• Barleyvine: Session 9 Beer and Music
• The Brew Site: Session 9 Beer and Music
• Beerjanglin’: The Session 9: Beer and Music
• Jumpin Jack’s Journal: Beer and Music
• Akelas Biggins: Music and Beer

Thanks to all who contributed and made this a great beer blogging day.

As I stated in my first post, I love music. The bitch of it is, I can’t play a lick. Nope, not me. I wasn’t given that talent. Seriously, I wish I had been. There aren’t many days when I wish I couldn’t just pick up a guitar or tickle the ivory as a stress reliever. It would be fantastic.

But, that doesn’t mean I don’t at least have some talent.My mom tells me, I have her voice. She’s probably right. I do enjoy singing but more often than not, I find it’s a solitary pursuit. Alone at the brewery with my Ipod plugged in, I am Pavarotti, Grobin, Manillow, Stipe, Petty and many others rolled into one. And the acustics in here while not great, aren’t that bad either.

But as this post is about music and beer and not singing and beer, we’ll steer the ship back to its original port. My taste in music is quite varied. It ranges from my love of Van Halen (my first ever album in 1984) through the trailer trash riffs of Guns and Roses (seriously is there a more complete album in that genre than Appetite for Destruction)? And at the back end of the spectrum in my youth how about a nod to old school singer and songwriters my parents spun on the turn table found in the guilty pleasures of John Denver and even Neil Diamond.

I went through a pop music phase pre high school which was immediately crushed by the Grunge movement in the early 90’s. Grunge music equaled cheap suitcase beer. In Flagstaff, I did the live Jazz thing on Sunday nights with Celis White by my side. And through all of these movements, there was always beer and never wine.

These days, my love of beer and music takes me in many directions. Each trip starts and ends with my Ipod. Seemingly there are a few constants and constraints with both. Besides a love of great beer, I find myself drawn to great music And at the head of my list, is a self professed love for great singers and songwriters. As far as I can tell, this will never change.

I am especially drawn to whole albums where these talents shine. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Chris Issac and lately the Fray and Augustana have done their part. Let’s not forget REM Automatic for the People and Midnight Oil Blue Sky Mine. It’s a long and varied list.

I also find that I love songs with a driving base line. I titled this session music in a bottle as the intro riff in the Police’s “Message in a Bottle” is excactly what I am talking about. I have always been a fan of my guitar weilding ax heroes. Whether it be Eddie Van Halen, Slash, or Eric Johnson, there is something about fantastic guitar picking that resonates with me.

In high school, I discovered the music of Eric Johnson. Ah Via Musicom- with Cliffs of Dover, Trademark and Righteous remain untouchable in my world. And the best part is, they all speak to me without uttering a single lyric. This would be my desert island disk (don’t ask about my beer- as long as there is one, I’ll be happy). If you haven’t heard the talented fret work of Mr. Johnson, I suggest you have missed something in life. But hey, that’s just me and my musical stylings.

But I wanted to finish my post today with the real reason that I chose to blog about music. It’s one of those things that just screams for a beer. So with that in mind I am going to suggest something that I am quite certain most of you have never sampled before. Jeff Babgy turned me on to Flogging Molly when we worked side by side in Solana Beach. They are an “Irish Styled” rockish band.

Some five years ago we attended a show of theirs in Phoenix, AZ that started with pre show beers at Four Peaks Brewing Company. We left the brewery and hit the show around 9. I recall vaguely watching Jeff walk up with pints of Guiness and Sidecars in hand. It remains the only “Car Bomb” I have ever consumed. It was vicious. The show was a spectacle of live music. It was above all drinking music.

Three years ago, Flogging Molly released an album titled “Within a mile of home.” It has become my quintissential “drinking album.” Sometimes, i’m struck by the Rum fueled accordian riffs, the overly bawdy scotch laced lyrics and even the finality of life found in the dirge filled somber musings of drunken sailors on leave. It is without fail, one of the finest drinking albums out there.

Here’s my suggestion, buy it. Throw it on the platter and hit play. Download it to your Ipod. Just do it. I love music a lot and this album continues to amaze me. Trust me when I say this. Everyone needs drinking music. I keep looking and I have yet to find a better drinking album than this. Even for those who drink Guiness and fight like the Irish.

Here’s a sample of the lyrics from “Whistles the Wind.”

Well it breaks my heart to see you this way
The beauty in life, where’s your God?
And somebody told me, you were doing okay
Somehow I guess they were wrong

So you drank with the lost souls for too many years
Time to be right cause they’ll cripple with fear
Never been righteous, go sell them, we’re wrong
Life’s only life with you in this song

Now there’s an ocean between us
Where I am and where I want to be
So you prayers in doubt, doubt not for me Well it breaks my heart to see you this way
The beauty in life, where’s your God?
And somebody told me, you were doing okay
Somehow I guess they were wrong

It’s August 1991. The weather in San Diego is unseasonably warmer than normal and it’s time to pack up and head out. I’m a seasoned 17 years old as I stuff my clothes, stereo and CD’s in my dill pickle green 1969 VW bus and point the compass east towards Flagstaff, Arizona where I will be attending Northern Arizona University.

Beer is not even a pimple on my oily butt at this point in my life. Sure, I knew what it was and what it tasted like, but I really didn’t know what “It” was. Now I most certainly do. And I have four years of college “studies” to thank for that.

1991 was a tempestuous year for me as my parents had recently separated and I wasn’t sure that leaving home for college was really the best thing to do. Maybe I was scared, confused or something. But leaving didn’t seem like something I should be doing. Turns out, I was very wrong.

With the van loaded and ready to go, I kissed my old life goodbye and we started the two Arthur car caravan. As many of you know, Volkswagen’s are moody little vehicles. My family owned 5 of them when I was in high school and they were constantly in need of our attention. As such, when it came time to leave for school, it was decided that we would take two cars to Flagstaff in case we needed to get parts for the van on the way across the desert.

My dad piloted the super pickle east out of San Diego through the mountains and down into the valley desert floor that separates San Diego from Arizona. For my part, I was instructed to follow the green machine on the ascent and descent in case my dad needed anything.

Deserts are desolate places and radios are pretty much useless. With this in mind, I made sure that I was stocked up on music. On the front seat of the Jeep I was driving was my stash of tapes (Cd players were very expensive still). As we headed out the mountains of San Diego, I reached over and grabbed a tape without thinking about it. It was Peter Gabriel.

Now, I remember the trip out of San Diego as clear as day. It was like I was leaving a very important part of my life behind. It was proverbially the journey from young man to just manhood. I never found any other way to describe it. For the first time in my life, I would be responsible for everything- without parental control everyday. Oh yeah, I was 17 years old too and more or less, on my own.

And little did I know it, I would “find” my new life in beer while I was in school in Flagstaff. On the second major grade out of town, I lost radio reception. I pushed the tape into the radio and sort of zoned out to the lyrics of Solsbury Hill as Mr. Gabriel refrained:

Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.

Understand of course that I was being pulled away from home. I was driving away from the life that I had known for 17 years. It was the only life I had known. Yet, there was something very magical waiting for me in Flagstaff. I just didn’t know it. I owe my now famous brewing life to that town.

It was a ten hour drive to Flagstaff that August. Volkswagen’s are like draft horses,very plodding and deliberate. They’re equally as famous for 0-55 in 6 minutes. Fast they are not. I must have exhausted half my tape collection on that drive and to this day, the only song that I remember listening to was Solsbury Hill.

This life that I am living right now owes Flagstaff everything and more. When I was in school, I met friends whose passion for beer convinced me that a life worth living necessarily includes beer. They are not mutually exclusive.

That was over 15 years ago. It’s crazy. Yet, those lyrics are still with me every time that I hear that song.

Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.

Music is a huge part of my life. I love lyrics. I love interpreting them. But most of all, I love it most when music and life align in a moment of clarity. It happens. This much I know. It happened on Interstate 8 East near Alpine that morning I left San Diego.

16 Years ago, I pointed my energies at a city 500 miles from home. In many ways, it was 500 Miles from Nowhere. You know, even Nowhere is a place if you never get there. It’s hard to imagine my life without beer. The thought of teaching high school English still appeals to me. Just not now. Right now, I am enjoying each and everyday surrounded by beer. I’m not sure I truly discovered beer; rather, I think beer discovered me.

Since that day I headed east with Peter Gabriel on my radio, the one constant in my life has been beer. And, every so often, a song comes into my life that reminds me of what music means to me as an artist. It’s about expression- just like the beers we brew.

Here are my last minute instructions for Session #9 Music and Beer- The Message in a Bottle.  It will be easiest on me if you post to please leave a pingback and/or a comment on your Friday post to www.lostabbey.com.  If this doesn’t float your boat, please email lostabbey@gmail.com” as the email address and we’ll collect from there.

I will be bottling our Lost Abbey Christmas beer known as Gift of the Magi on Friday while listening to the rado and will do a summary post round-up of allthe sessions on Friday evening so don’t worry if you’re late or I don’t have a collection of posts earlier in the day.

Get to it.  I expect to see an interesting collection of observations.

Tomme