Stone Domination at Aces & Ales Tap List

| April 27th, 2012 | No comments

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Stone returns to Aces & Ales this year for Stone Domination on May 18th-20th. CEO and co-founder Greg Koch will be in attendance on the 18th for a meet and greet.
$15 gets you a 9oz Stone-etched tasting glass with your first fill included. Tasters are $4 each after that. Or you can get 12oz pours of all beers for $7 if you’d rather do without the commemorative glass.

Aces and Ales released the tap list for this event at the Great Vegas Festival of Beer. I’ve included it below for reference. You don’t want to miss this!

– Bruery/Elysian/Stone La Citrueille Cèleste de Citracado
– Jason Fields and Kevin Sheppard/Troegs/Stone Cherry Chocolate Stout
– Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale by Stone Brewing Co
– Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels
– Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
– Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA
– Arrogant Bastard Ale
– Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
– 2011 Double Bastard Ale
– Cali-Belgique IPA
– 2010 Stone Imperial Russian Stout
– 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels
– 2011 Stone BELGO Anise Imperial Russian Stout
– Stone IPA
– Stone LeVariation Ale
– Stone Levitation Ale
– Stone Mix Tape – GK & LU’s Blend Vol. 1
– 2010 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
– 2011 Stone Old Guardian BELGO Barley Wine
– Stone Pale Ale
– Punishment
– Stone Ruination Double Dry Hopped with Amarillo Hops
– Stone Smoked Porter
– Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers
– Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean
– Double Dry Hopped Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale

What the Craft Beer Scene can Learn from the Metal Scene

| January 18th, 2012 | No comments

What craft beer can learn from metal 

I originally sat down to write about more of my San Diego visit, but then I found inspiration from another source:  Sam Calagione’s rant about overrated breweries. (which you can read here: http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/4343008)

Since I picked up …And Justice for All, I have been a metalhead.  Through Metallica, I discovered Slayer, then Iron Maiden, then Testament, S.O.D., Death Angel, Sodom, and the list goes on.  Next thing I know, thanks to accidentally tuning in to 91.5 college radio (back in 1994), I was plunged into a whole new world of darkness.  I discovered extreme metal.  Metallica, Testament, and Death Angel were replaced by Darkthrone, Cannibal Corpse and Decide. What does this have to do with beer you ask?  Follow with me.

I used to hate beer…HATED it.  Budweiser, Coors, Corona.  I asked myself how anyone could drink this crap (Note: I still do.).  One day at a wedding, my friend Jason made me reluctantly drink a beer with him.  That beer was Newcastle, and a new love for beer began.  From Newcastle, it was Guinness, or whatever fancy sounding beer that I could find at my local grocer.  After reading an online beer blog, I went in search of Dogfish Head and Stone.  My tastebuds, and my life to an extent, would be forever altered.

After my first experiences with true craft beer, I knew I could never go back.  From Stone and Dogfish Head, I went on to try Rogue, Anchor, New Belgium, and the like.  The more I got into beer, the more I started to seek out lesser known breweries and indulge in the fermented goodness that they had to offer.  I still loved my Dogfish Head and my Stone, but I started to see them as breweries that were too well known to satisfy my palette.  I made a huge mistake.

Fast forward to the early turn of the century.  The bands I mentioned earlier, Darkthrone, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide were not what they used to be.  People started calling them mainstream and searching for darker and more obscure music.  Xasthur, Leviathan, and Pest were in, while the old guard were overrated.  Metal fans became divided.  Black metallers hated thrashers.  Death heads hated power metallers.  The Neo-Socialist black metal fans hated everyone (and everyone hated them).  Words such as “trendy” were being aimed at bands that never sold more than 10K records, and the genre became more about street cred, than about the music.

I already see this happening with craft beer fans.  People are turning their noses up at great breweries, because they have become “too big.”  It’s becoming more about trying the most obscure ales that you can, rather than drinking the more common craft beer that  you can find at your local wine shop.  Stout fans talking crap about Stone.  Porter fans snubbing hef lovers.  Everyone still hating InBev fans.  (That last one is not a bad thing.)

If you haven’t heard about the bands I listed earlier, I wouldn’t be surprised.  I expect it.  As metal fans became more divided we effectively killed every chance we had of the bands we love becoming big.  As the scene split further and further, the originators were left behind, and new bands still have trouble gaining any following.  I wish I could say there is a happy ending to this, but there isn’t.

However, there are bands that have “made it.”  I’ll use the bands Enslaved and Emperor as examples.  What these bands did, was refuse to rest on their laurels.  They continued to experiment and to push the boundaries of what they could do.  While the so-called true metalheads may shun them, they have an entire fan base that is happy to enjoy the music that they craft.  Sound familiar?

Dogfish Head and Stone have never sat back and become complacent.  They continually work at crafting new and interesting brews.  They continue to gain new fans and continue to grow.  

As craft brew fans, we need to applaud this.  We need to support the breweries that are doing things to help the industry grow.  When we start throwing around terms like “overrated,”  we start to polarize one another, and the community begins to slowly break down.  If the community breaks down, then the brewers that work so hard to produce the liquid that we love will never be able to see that work pay off.

I love Stone beer.  I love Dogfish Head.  I would love to see more and more beer drinkers reaching for 60 min. IPA and Arrogant Bastard than Bud Light and Coors.  I myself realized that the more I searched for obscure beer, I was missing out on fantastic beer that was sitting right in front of me.

This is not to say that seeking out new brews is a bad thing.  It’s just that we can never forget what got us here, and the breweries that are trying to make it better for everyone.  I believe that Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head and Greg Koch from Stone want to see craft beer continue to grow.  At the end of the day, they’re beer geeks, just like us.  So I urge everyone to continue to spread the word about craft beer and to show respect to all craft breweries.

No one remembers great metal bands such as Manes, Death Reality and Mindset Rage.  If we continue to break apart our community, the same fate may be in store for a lot of great breweries.

 

Top 10 (or 17) IPA’s of 2011

| January 6th, 2012 | No comments


India Pale Ale. Better known as it’s modern day, and less historically accurate cousin, IPA. One of the most popular craft beer styles in America, especially here on the west coast. In 2011, I had 52 different IPAs total. Of these 52 different IPA’s, I’ve managed to choose my favorite 10 that I had the pleasure of consuming this year. And by 10, I really mean 17. Enjoy, in no particular order:

Dogfish Head 120 Minute/90 Minute/60 Minute IPA/Aprihop

This might look like 4 different beers, but to me I see 4 different variations of the same beer. These are the most approachable of the IPAs, with more so a strong hop aroma and flavor rather than bitterness. 

The 60 and 90 are available year round. The 120 is only available a handful of times a year, and is hard to find when it is. Aces and Ales happened to get it on tap and Whole Foods and Khoury’s sold out of the bottles immediately. Aprihop is a variation of the 60 Minute with apricots thrown in, available in the spring time. 

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA/IPA

Stone IPA is one of my favorite IPAs and a great example of the “west-coast style IPA.” This is a strongly bitter beer with a bright, citrusy aroma. It is available nearly everywhere that sells beer and on tap at nearly all the PTs as well as Millers Alehouse and Yardhouse. 

Cali-Belgique is the same beer, but made with a Belgian yeast strain. This is the best Belgian style IPA I’ve had. The Belgian yeast adds a little bit more fruitiness to the beer that compliments the citrus flavors. 

Despite being a year-round brew for Stone, Cali-Belgique can only be periodically found in Las Vegas.

Lagunita’s Sucks Holiday Ale

Probably the heaviest hop aroma of all these beers, this IPA is incredible. Loads of sweet, citrusy aroma. Very sweet and smooth body and very drinkable. 

This is only a seasonal ale that was brewed in place of Brown Shugga’. This is still available in bottles around town and is currently on tap at Tenaya Creek Brewery.

Coronado Cask Idiot IPA

Neither the cask version, or the normal version is available in Las Vegas. I had this beer in San Diego. I never had the normal version, but the cask version was probably the smoothest IPA I’ve had. It wasn’t overly bitter and had a bit less aroma then the other IPA’s on this list. Being as it was on cask however, is what made this beer stand out from the rest. Soft texture, lightly carbonated and full of earthy, piny hop flavor. 

 Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin IPA/Sculpin IPA

Sculpin IPA is one of the highest rated IPA’s on Untappd. It is another “west coast style” IPA in that it has a strong bitter bite with huge grapefruit flavors and aromas. 

Ballast Point recently started distributing to Las Vegas, but are keeping Sculpin in California. 

If you visit the brewery in San Diego, they may have Habanero Sculpin on tap. This is a version of Sculpin with habanero peppers thrown in. The pepper flavors compliment the hop bitterness perfectly, and it adds a nice burning finish!

Baird/Ishii/Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA

A truly incredible and unique beer. This one had mixed reviews from people as they felt that the citrusy hops didn’t go well with florally aroma and tea flavor. Like I said, it’s very unique and I thought it was awesome. Sadly, it was only brewed once and was never available in Las Vegas.

 Maui Flyin’ Hi.P.Hay/21st Amendment Hop Crisis

Technically two different beers from two different breweries, but I’m grouping these together as they were both amazing IPAs and both from cans. Both had amazing hop aroma bursting out of the can and a great citrusy flavor.

Maui Flyin’ Hi.P.Hay is apparently a limited release beer, but I feel like I saw it in town recently. Maybe not?

21st Amendment Hop Crisis is also a limited release beer and sadly, the brewery does not distribute to Nevada.

Dogfish Head Hellhound on my Ale

As you can tell, many of these IPAs are being described as “citrusy.” This beer actually was brewed with lemons! As such, it had a nice sweet lemony flavor pairing with the harsher citrus bite from the hops. 

This was a special release beer commemorating blues guitarist Robert Johnson. It was brewed twice last year and may still be available in town.

 Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

Variation of the IPA style, a black IPA is both hoppy and roasty. This particular beer is probably the greatest black IPA there is. Very full bodied, soft texture and a wall of leafy hop aroma.

Brewed this summer for Stone’s 15 anniversary, there are no plans to brew this again. Good news is that it’s still available in town. I recently saw it at both Khoury’s and the Las Vegas Blvd Whole Foods. If you can’t find it, then you should try…

Stone Double Dry Hopped Sublimely Self Righteous Ale/Sublimely Self Righteous Ale

This beer is available year round in bottles and can be found on tap at Yardhouse. Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is very similar to Stone’s 15 Anniversary ale except there is a little less alcohol and less body making this less filling and more drinkable. Still has the wall of hop aroma that hits you right before your first sip, this is one of my favorite beers!

Earlier this year Aces and Ales had a double dry hopped variation. What this means is that there was even more hop aroma bursting out of the glass, making this an even more flavorful beer than it already is!

 

All of the above images were taken from the respective brewers’ websites.

 

Beer on a Budget

| December 31st, 2011 | No comments
Beer on a budget

It’s no secret that times are tough.  Unemployment, rising fuel bills, and higher food costs are just some of the troubles facing us in this turbulent economic time.  One thing I continually hear from my less enlightened beer swilling friends, is that craft beer is just too expensive.  Not so, I say!  There are plenty of reasonable, bank account friendly craft beers that are time tested and beer geek approved!

Stone Brewing Company – IPA, Smoked Porter, Arrogant Bastard Ale
First and foremost, we’ll start with the Escondido based brewery which is arguably the most vocal when it comes to bringing craft beer to the mainstream.  While you can rarely go wrong with any of Stone’s excellent beverages, the above beers will give you the most bang for your hard earned buck.  For $3.99 per 22oz. bomber, you can take home a delicious IPA, Smoked Porter, or the infamous Arrogant Bastard Ale.  All 3 are varied enough to impress a wide array of palettes, and the infamous gargoyle logo looks great to boot.

Deschutes Brewery – Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA
With their higher end beers such as The Abyss and The Stoic, Deschutes Brewery from Oregon have been carving out a nice niche for themselves in the craft beer arena.  However, it is the tried and true staples of their beer lineup which have helped give them the credit they deserve.  At roughly $8.99 for a six-pack, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, or Inversion IPA will have any self respecting beer lover salivating.  Throw in the seasonal Jubelale, and you have a fantastic mix of beers that will run you slightly more than a six-pack of Newcastle or Blue Moon, but with 10x the flavor!

Wasatch Beers – Apricot Hefeweizen, Polygamy Porter, The Devastator
Wasatch have been brewing quality beers out of Park City, Utah since 1986, and are an oft-overlooked player in the craft beer market.  At roughly the same cost of a 6-pack of Shock Top, you can pick up their fine Apricot Hefeweizen which is sure to be a hit amongst those that prefer their beer a bit lighter and enjoy a fruity finish.  The Polygamy Porter is a great choice for the coffee lover in your life, while The Devastator Double Bock will please the adventurous lot who want a bit more bite to their beer.  All run roughly $7.99 for a six pack.

Anchor Brewing – Anchor Steam Beer, Anchor Liberty Ale, Anchor Porter
WIth a history dating back to as early as 1896, Anchor Brewing company has been riding the beer roller coaster with a dedication to crafting fine brews.  Many consider Anchor to be the first true craft brewery, a term that hadn’t even been coined when they first started bottling their iconic Anchor Steam beer in 1971.  To this day, you just can’t go wrong with Anchor.  The next time you’re thinking of dropping $6 for a six-pack of Sam Adams or Leinenkugel, I urge you to avert your eyes, and instead look for the yellow carrier.  Any of Anchor’s year-round beers will run you close to $7.99 for a 6 pack.   When you crack open your first bottle of Anchor Steam and get a good whiff of the caramel and citrus notes, you’ll know that you’ve made a fiscally responsible choice!  Your bank account and taste buds will thank you!

Where to Buy
When it comes to the best place for your craft beer needs in Las Vegas, you just can’t beat Khoury’s Fine Wine and Spirits.
Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits 

For those of you that enjoy the bar scene, Aces and Ales has no competitor.  There you will find the rarest and best beers on tap in town!
Aces & Ales

I can be found on:
Twitter: @aaguilar13

Craft Beers Worth Saving For New Year’s

| December 28th, 2011 | No comments

Great suggestions from Food Republic. All of the suggested beers are very unique beers in that they are attempting to be a sort of “champagne beer,” either by using champagne yeast, being blended with wine, or using “Brett” bacteria to give it some wine-like tartiness.

If you are looking for a more traditional style of beer, but still want something fancy for New Year’s, here are four of my suggestions:
Chimay Grand Reserve
Nothing says celebration like a Belgian beer made by monks. This is my go-to special occasion beer. It’s a very good, balanced beer that pleases everyone, even the non-beer drinker types.

Stone BELGO Old Guardian Barley Wine
A very full flavored, robust beer. If you can’t find the BELGO version (which is very likely since it is only brewed every other year), then get it’s non-Belgian yeast-fermented, slightly less awesome brother. 

Anchor Christmas Ale
Brewed once a year, specifically for Christmas and New Year’s. Well spiced without being overdone.

Tenaya Creek Imperial Stout
Being released today at Khoury’s Fine Wine! Either drink it this New Year’s or age it a year and drink it next year before the world ends!

Double Bastard with chipotle peppers at Aces & Ales

| December 28th, 2011 | No comments

I’m a sucker for chili beers. If you are a fan of spicy foods, you would love it too.

Pair with something light for a contrasting flavor, like fish, salads, ceviche etc. Or pair chili beers with spicy foods if you want to really punish yourself.

The Craft Of Stone Book Review

| October 20th, 2011 | No comments

A vast and expansive book, The Craft of Stone Brewing Company succeeds in so many levels for its varied topics and sections. You need not only be a Stone fan, or even a beer fan, to enjoy this book as it also includes various food recipes as well. Even better, the entire book is written in the same arrogant sarcasm that Stone is known for. After all, the subtitle is Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes and Unabashed Arrogance!

While the book does include other topics, the main point of the book is on the company. The history of how Greg Koch and Steve Wagner met along with how the company grew is detailed. The book is filled with side bars from each other giving different perspectives on how each felt at different stages. Also included is stories of other people involved in the history, like the illustrator for the now recognizable gargoyle motifs.

The real highlight in this section is the history of their beers. Every official beer they’ve made is listed along with a brief history or flavor profile and primary hops used. Also included are each year of their anniversary beers, each year of their Vertical Epic series and their collaborations. The only beers not listed here, are the ones released after this past spring and their beer variations (bourbon aged, double dry-hopped, chipotle pepper etc).

The other section of the book that deserves a mention is the recipes. Recipes included are from Stone’s World Bistro and Gardens restaurant as well as a few extras. Many of the recipes can be used as a starting point for your own dishes such as Arrogant Bastard batter, hop vinegarette, or barbecue sauce.

The second part of this section is the homebrewing recipes. A brief overview of how to brew beer is provided for those new to brewing. Despite the short overview, it is a very thorough guide that can definitely be used as your only source for beginning to homebrew. Recipes include a few of Stone’s year-round beers as well as some of their anniversary and collaboration beers. This chapter really highlights Stone’s open honesty, and even arrogance, in that they are giving you recipes for their beers. They even give you the water profile for their brewery so you can match their water chemistry. A few obvious beers are omitted, like Arrogant Bastard, but nonetheless, they are willing to share their secrets. It’s almost as though they are daring you to attempt to recreate their beers.

As I mentioned in the beginning, this is a very thorough, entertaining book, well worth the read for any food or beer aficionado.

Stone Double Bastard

| October 18th, 2011 | No comments

Best to disregard this press release. It’s unlikely that you possess the sophistication to fathom the overwhelming gravitas of the potation it discusses. Thus, stop reading now. Hit delete and retire outside with your fizzy yellow beer. But if, by some infinitesimally minute chance, you are one of the Worthy craft beer cognoscenti and you’ve somehow surmised that you’re prepared for today’s release of Double Bastard Ale, then do proceed. With caution.

Link to full press release on Double Bastard: http://tinyurl.com/6hys9zw

Crime and Punishment

| October 4th, 2011 | No comments

Last night, Greg Koch posted the above photo along with the caption “I predict a Crime will happen this week. I also expect Punishment. #crimeandpunishment”

Let me use this as an opportunity to talk about some of my favorite beers: In 1997, Stone released Arrogant Bastard, an aggressively bitter, malty beer. To celebrate the one year anniversary release of Arrogant Bastard, Stone released Double Bastard, an angrier version of Arrogant Bastard. Stone later released OAKED Arrogant Bastard in 2004, a version of Arrogant Bastard with oak chips added to smooth out some of the harshness. Finally, in 2010, Stone released Lukcy Basartd as a celebration of the 13th anniversary of Arrogant Bastard. Lukcy Basartd is a mix of all 3 of the Bastard beers.

Not content with the aggressiveness of these beers, Stone created two more beers earlier this year using these beers as a base: Crime and Punishment. Crime: Double dry-hopped Lukcy Basartd, meaning even more hops are added after fermentation, aged in an oak barrel with chili peppers added. Punishment: Double Bastard aged in an oak barrel with chili peppers added. Punishment is obviously the spicier/angrier version of the two. Double Bastard is a far bitterer beer than the rest and adding peppers only makes it burn more.

As awesome as these beers are, they are hard to find. When they were last brewed, the kegs were available at various special events and festivals held by Stone. Crime was in Las Vegas earlier this year at Aces and Ales so I had a chance to try it there. It’s likely that these new batches will be used again for special events or as part of Stone’s specialty bottled line: Quingenti Millilitre, which are currently difficult to get a hold of as well.

Few people can handle drinking any of the Bastard beers, and even fewer can handle Crime and Punishment, but if you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend at least trying these out, just for the experience!