New Brews & Other News - November

First the bad news. If you have not heard, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. eliminated Tennessee off their short list. Doug Brumley over at Fledgling Brewer broke the news. I have no hard feelings toward Sierra Nevada. Business decisions are not always easy to make among finalists. They have not released any explanations or listed factors that led to the elimination. Hopefully this will be a lesson to lawmakers that antiquated beer laws need to be changed because they are hindering economic growth. Speaking of Sierra Nevada, Celebration should be hitting the shelves any day now - how ironic.

On the high gravity side: Abita has released 25th Anniversary Vanilla Doubledog. It's basically an imperial version of Turb Dog with vanilla. I think I may need to try this one. Sweewater's winter spiced beer Festive Ale is also on the shelves, and very tasty. I know that this is a little late, but there may be a few bottles from the Samuel Adams Small Batch Series releases floating around. Look for  Vixen Choclolate Chili Bock, Tasman Red IPA, Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine, and Third Voyage Double IPA.

On the low gravity side: Look for Yazoo Fall Lager anywhere Yazoo is sold. If you like a lager with an extra hop kick, you want to check this out. I also spotted Hop Project 60 on the shelves.

The Music City Brewers Brewoff is this weekend. It is being held at the Mariott in Goodletsville. For more information, visit the website here.

12 South Winter Warmer sold out in about 3 hours! Sadly, there are people scalping these tickets on Craiglist. I know that it's the norm for sold out events, but selling tickets for a CHARITY EVENT to line your own pockets is not cool. Matt Leff from Rhizome Productions really knows how to put a beer festival together. He is bringing in lots of special and limited release kegs, including an offering from Jackie O's (Athens, Ohio).  Christmas will be coming early for the beer geeks and tickers.

For those of you attending, be sure you have a designated driver or take a cab home. Many of the beers will have a higher alcohol content and will impair your ability to legally drive, in addition to threatening the safety of others on the road. A DUI in TN is very costly and will be on your record for life. Be responsible. End of public service announcement.

That's it for now. I will try and find a beer to review in the next week or so.

Cheers

Smitty