"Channel Crossing Series" release party, Thursday May 20

Photo: Brian Stillwater and Steve Jones, in the brewhouse at Pratt Street
Alehouse.


On April 27, I was on hand as Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal Ales teamed up with Steve Jones of Pratt Street Alehouse (Oliver's Ales) to craft "Channel Crossing Belgian Bitter."

Steve described this beer as "an Anglo-Belgian hybrid of sorts. 14 barrels of what we’d loosely term a Biere de Garde, brewed using a mixture of English Halcyon Pale Ale, crystal, chocolate and malted wheat, German melanoidin malt and Franco-Belges pilsen malt, hopped with Czech Saaz, English Bramling Cross, First Gold and Kent Goldings and fermented with Brian’s Saison yeast."



Wort flowing into the fermenter.

OK, my interest is piqued, I'll admit. Even more so when I read Steve's blog http://www.prattstreetalehouse.com/news/ this morning, which mentions several different dry-hopped firkins of this brew:

"We hope that you will be able to join Brian of Stillwater Artisinal Ales and myself on Thursday evening from 6pm to celebrate the launch of our Channel Crossing Belgian Bitter. $5 will get you your first fill and a souvenir glass and refills are $3 thereafter. The beer will be on draft and in cask in a firkin with French Oak and three pins dry hopped with Czech Saaz, Kent Goldings and Bramling Cross respectively. Celebrate American Craft Beer Week in style with us."



Brian, checking the brew.

Spent hops.




Steve and Brian having a beer break.



The brewhouse at Pratt Street Alehouse.



Thumbs up from Steve!

See you all Thursday night!

Lambic article in Taps: Canada's Beer Magazine

I'm happy to say that I have a 1,500 word article about Lambic

beer and Belgium's Lambic breweries in the Spring issue of

Taps: Canada's Beer Magazine.

The article is richly illustrated, with a dozen photos I took at

these hallowed places.

Thanks to Taps editor Karla Dudley for helping me promote

this great style of beer and these fine breweries and blenderies.

The magazine is available both on-line and in print. See:

http://www.tapsmedia.ca/

Enjoy!

Trappist Beer Dinner at Victoria Gastro Pub-Tuesday May 11

I will be speaking, along with Merchant du Vin rep John Brown, at a Trappist beer dinner at Victoria Gastropub in Columbia, Maryland tomorrow, Tuesday May 11.

This dinner will feature the Merchant du Vin-imported beers, from Orval, Rochefort, and Westmalle.

I plan to show photos from inside these breweries and parts of the Abbeys during the dinner.

Here is the menu: http://www.victoriagastropub.com/File/Trappiste%20Menu.pdf

Cheers!

Special casks of Stillwater Ales Stateside Saison at Max's Tuesday night

Photo: Brian Strumke, aka Brian Stillwater, of Stillwater Artisanal Ales.

This Tuesday night, May 4th, Max's Taphouse in Fell's Point will have two special pins of Stateside Saison in Max's Mobtown Lounge starting at 6 pm..

These are some of the first casks of batch 2 of Stateside Saison.

The first is brewed with Calendula Flowers, French Oak and Schisandra Berries.

The other is Stateside with Chamomile Flowers.

Brewer Brian Stillwater tells me even he hasn't yet tasted these creations, which are sure to be superb...and to go quickly!

See you there!