Cock-a-Doodle-Do!: Tallgrass Velvet Rooster

 It turns out that today is CraftCans.com Craft Beer in Cans Day.    They are noting that January 24 is the anniversary of the first canned beer.  On that day in 1935, New Jersey brewer Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company first canned their Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale. A lot has changed since then, and most recently is the growing trend of craft brewers canning their beer.

Tallgrass Brewing from Manhattan, KS is leading the curve of this trend.  A little over a year ago Tallgrass switched over to an all-can brewery and have been going gang busters since.  Their latest offering is Velvet Rooster, the first canned Belgian tripel that I am aware of.  Innovation like this is getting notice across the country.  When I visited with the folks from Deschutes they were very impressed with what this smaller brewery from Kansas was doing.

Velvet Rooster comes in a four pack of 16 oz cans.  Tallboys!  I chose my Karmeliet Tripel glass to pour this tripel because I wanted to give it plenty of room for the head to expand.  The thick white foam nearly took up the entire volume of the glass.  The body below has a hazy honey color.

The smell has a pleasant sweet grain aroma with traces of melon and tropical fruits.  Taste has more of a mango flavor with vanilla notes.  This is a sweet beer, like most tripels are, but the dry qualities from the Belgian yeast keeps it from being too sweet.  The body has a creamy carbonation texture.  I would recommend sipping this slowly to experience the flavor changes as it warms.  This is another winner from Tallgrass.

Attention Chocoholics - Chocolate Ale Hits Next Week

"Life is like a case of Chocolate Ale...blink and it's gone"

The much anticipated Boulevard Chocolate Ale should start hitting KC shelves next week, probably on Tuesday.  Last year's release created a Chocolate Ale frenzy and it quickly sold out.  The collaboration with KC chocolatier Christopher Elbow was supposed to be a one shot offering.  Because of the high demand Boulevard has brought it back, and they promised that they made more to make sure more people can get their chocolate fix.  People are so antsy over this release, Boulevard had to explain some markets got shipments of Chocolate Ale before Kansas City.  Bottom line, it has to do with the mysterious Three Tier system.

I asked my local beer store if they were taking names for the release.  Some stores do and some don't.  Sometimes it depends on what their inventory is.  It would suck if a store didn't get enough to take care of everyone on a list.  Times like this it pays to be a regular.

Boulevard and Schlafly Proposed as Official State Breweries

On January 17th Missouri State Senator Maria Chapelle-Nadal, District 14 representing parts of Saint Louis County, introduced Senate Bill No 663 which would proclaim Boulevard and Schlafly as the official Missouri state breweries.

The Bill reads:

Section A. Chapter 10, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 10.190, to read as follows: 0.190. The Boulevard Brewing Company located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and commonly known by the brand name of "Schlafly", shall be selected for and shall be known as the official breweries of the state of Missouri.

75th Street Brewery Hosts The Big Chill

This looks like fun.  Our winter has been so mild so far, I'm expecting huge payback around February.  If that's true, high ABV beers and some chili will be just the thing.

Flights of Deschutes

Deschutes beers have been available in town for a bout a week now, however representatives from the brewery came into town today to make it official.  They hosted a release party at The Foundry tonight, featuring flights of the Deschutes beers new to our area, Mirror Pond, Black Butte Porter, Black Butte XXIII, The Abyss, and Hop Henge Experimental IPA.  I sat down with Brewmaster Brian Faivre, Digitla Marketing Manager Jason Randles, and PR Consultant Judy Campbell to talk about beer and kids.

One thing Brian seemed passionate about was aging beers.  On certain big beers from Deschutes, like The Abyss, they have a Best After date.  This indicates that the beer will age well and improve with time.  He explained that a lot of big beers, like imperial stouts, have too much "heat" in them when fresh.  Aging the big beer will help that heat mellow out and allows other flavors to come forward.  Brian explained that they have been working every year to find the right blend for The Abyss so it will b enjoyable fresh as well as with some age on it.  The trick is to have the self control to not drink the beer and let it sit.

Luckily, I still have a bottle of the 2008 The Abyss that I have been saving.  Brian said that '08 was a particularly good year and it has been aging wonderfully.  I have a feeling that I'm going to find an excuse to open it up sooner than later.