September 2010 Archives

I've been doing more tweeting than blogging these days, but several items in the last week or two deserve the relative permanency of a blog post.  In the spirit of the former "this week in blog," here are some craft beer items I don't want to fall "through the cracks."

• Schmaltz Brewing won a GABF medal for a beer we podcasted about!  Talk about serendipity.  Or, talk about Lenny's RIPA.
  
  
• Genny and Dundee Honey Brown are now being offered in 24 oz cans!  Coming soon to a store near you.
  
  
• Can entrepenurial RIT grads find success with a new brewery in Rochester?  Behold the video.
  
  
  

• An interview with a guy who works at one of the coolest breweries ever: Brewery Ommegang.
  
  
• Typographical craft beer wonderment for your wall. So. Many. Beers.

Several New York Breweries are bringing home Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals from the 2010 event in Denver, Colorado.  Leading the pack is the Ithaca Beer Co., winning gold for "Brute," an American-style sour ale.

From Ithaca Beer Co.'s website:

Brewed with vintage local hops, American Barley, Wheat and Corn, Brute is fermented on Oak for many months with Brettanomyces, then finished with a blend of three Champagne yeasts.  Enjoy the turbid citron hue, mature aroma, brash tartness and dry, quenching sparkle. 

Congratulations to Ithaca Beer Co. and the other winning breweries. We look forward to tasting success! Links are provided to the breweries websites so you can find more information on their award-winning brews.

List of 2009 New York medalists | Complete list of 2010 winners 

Gold

Category 16: American-Style Sour Ale (39 Entries)
Brute
Ithaca Beer Co.
Ithaca, NY

Silver

Category 18: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (77 Entries)
HE'BREW RIPA on RYE
Shmaltz Brewing Co.
San Francisco, CA (Offices and some brewing operations in New York) 

Bronze

Category 64: French- and Belgian-Style Saison (52 Entries)
Belgian Summer Ale
Great Adirondack Brewing Co.
Lake Placid, NY

Category 67: Belgian-Style Abbey Ale (76 Entries)
Three Philosophers
Brewery Ommegang
Cooperstown, NY

Category 72: Foreign-Style Stout (33 Entries)
Whiteface Stout
Great Adirondack Brewing Co.
Lake Placid, NY

Once a year, as summer wanes and the temperatures begin dropping, a certain acronym seems to be on the tips of the fingers of craft beer bloggers and Twitterati.

GABF (Gab-Fuh, as I pronounce it).

The Great American Beer Festival in Denver is one of the best known beer events in the world.  It's like the World Series of beer. 

I've never been.  And that won't be changing, at least this year.

And I know I'm not alone.  Others, hampered by fiscal realities and obligations, must also sit and listen to the all the buzz, filling the void created by all the surrounding excitement.

I've comforted myself in the fact that one can only drink so much beer in a day or even weekend.  But still. 

Residents of New York state have options to fill their void.  September 24th to October 3rd is Craft Beer Week in New York City.  I've been hearing a lot about GRNY (more acronyms!), or Get Real New York, a cask ale event taking place in the city during that week.

Yet, if you're an upstater like me, the city can feel as far away as Denver at times.

Don't cry for me too hard.  I recently had a grand time at the Mount Snow Brewers Festival in Vermont.  And soon I'll be attending the Custom Brewcrafters' Autumn Festival of Ales in Honeoye Falls near Rochester. 

As for GABF, there's always next year.