Beer-infused cupcakes, and they are all for me
So there we were at a craft beer tweet-up at Edgewood Corner Tavern, minding our own business. Drinking some beers, being dorky. The usual.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange girl walks up with a box. We immediately thought “Oh crap, anthrax.” But it was worse.
Free cupcakes, infused with our beer, Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale. We had been talking to Kristen of Eye Candy Cake Company on Twitter. She mentioned she might have a surprise for us, and she was right. These things look delicious. But the question remains… how did they taste?
Beer-infused cupcakes also taste delicious. A chocolate cupcake is the perfect complement for our Drafty Kilt, which is brewed with a little bit of chocolate malt. Kristen, we’re impressed. We want you to know that we approve of putting beer in cupcakes. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
When we formulate our beer recipes, one of things we keep in mind is how our beers will pair with foods. As a company that stands for the weeknights, we realize that a lot of our beer will be consumed with food. It’s cool to see people experimenting with our beers – we’re always available for taste tests!
It is easier to dress like a pirate than a Scotsman
This was the main takeaway from our Hop City beer tasting at Octane this week, in which we gave free pint glasses to those who dressed as pirates or wore kilts.
This makes intuitive sense, once you think about it. A kilt is a commitment. An eye patch is easy. A kilt costs serious money and requires someone who has either really high self esteem or no fashion sense to wear one (sometimes both). An eye patch can be as easy as wrapping a dirty napkin around your eye, in some cases. See below for exactly what I’m talking about.
We’ll start with the pirate family… including the one and only kilt-wearing man we served.
Let not the cuteness of this young pirate fool you. For he will STEAL YOUR BOOTY!
The bird makes the outfit. Unless that’s a part of her arm? In which case I suggest immediate medical attention.
Perhaps he’s not dressed “as a pirate,” but that’s a pirate expression if I ever saw one. I wonder what unfortunate swashbuckling incident led to 4 pirates simultaneously losing sight in their right eyes? Probably an octopus with hot pokers for arms. (And yes, I know the real reason pirates wear eye patches.)
You aren’t fooling anyone, sir. That is a napkin over your glasses. But we’ll count it, because you do look ridiculous, and that’s the first rule of pirate fashion.
Sell it with that face, Captain Duct Tape!
And finally, the cutest pirate couple AAAARRRH-ound.
Ale Sharpton shows us some love
Atlanta-based beer writer Ale Sharpton showed up on Monday and wrote a little diddy about us. My computer is telling me that “diddy” isn’t a word. Well, Mr. Computer, perhaps you should take that up with THIS GUY. You should probably read the whole article, as it is an epic storytelling masterpiece of one man’s massive Monday night, but here’s an excerpt:
After a series of turns and side streets, it’s West Side location turned out to be a backyard with steaming beer vats, a hop vine, an open garage with a custom-made refrigerator specifically to run draft lines through holes drilled in its door and about 30 folks holding Monday Night glasses filled with homebrewed IPAs (the “Rye” and “Toasty”) chatting it up.
Update: Apparently the word is “ditty,” not “diddy.” Thanks, Mr. Computer!
HOToberFest was neither “HOT” nor “oberFest.” Discuss.
Ah, HOToberFest. It was a lot of fun last year, and it was a lot of fun this year. A highly recommended Atlanta-area beer festival. Sarah and I decided to accidentally wear the same exact shirt. We looked like idiots. Drunken idiots. Skipping through the festival. Moving on…
Notably, this was sweet little baby Oliver’s first beer festival. Oliver is Joel’s new lil’ man and brewer-in-training. It still surprises me how awesome Oliver is with a dad like Joel. It just goes to show you…
We had the opportunity to meet up with a lot of our buddies at HOToberFest, including John AKA @AtlantaBeer:
But here’s the thing. John and his wife were technically “VIP,” so we weren’t allowed behind the “fence.” At least they didn’t “flaunt it.” Oh wait…
A field trip to JailHouse Brewing in Hampton, GA
A few weeks ago I took a field trip to Hampton, GA to visit with Glenn Golden, the man behind JailHouse Brewing, Georgia’s 4th distributing craft brewery. Glenn visited us back in the summer and officially started selling beer in late 2009. First, a little housekeeping. John, the man behind the @AtlantaBeer Twitter account accompanied me. I will say no more about this because John is a rogue and a thief and he turned the volume down on my music as we were driving. Forcing me to have conversation with him. But again, I will say no more about this.
Glenn was a gracious host. Despite the rain, he opened up the brewery just for us. The picture above is actually a fairly accurate “full tour.” There’s a small little tasting room and entryway through the window. Grain and kegs are stored in the room behind you if you’re facing this way. Here’s the cool part. Are you ready? JailHouse is built in an old jail. A lot of the bricks and bars are original. And it felt pretty authentic. There were times I even thought that John was an escaped convict. Glenn did most of the build-out himself and with the help of friends.
So that’s the downstairs. And then there’s the upstairs…
The upstairs is currently nothing but sub floor and a breeding ground for male deer heads. Glenn’s long-term goal is to build it out for concerts and other events. Which would be pretty sweet. But I bet John would drive down there and turn the volume down on the concerts, now that he knows where Hampton, GA is. Buzzkill.
Currently JailHouse is selling two beers, Slammer Wheat and Mugshot IPA. Both are American, in that they use primarily American yeast, malts and hops. Both are also unique derivatives of the style, in my opinion.
Glenn also shared a high gravity stout that he’s been working on. There aren’t any current plans for production, which is unfortunate because it was my personal favorite of the three beers we shared. Check out those sweet tap handles! I was glad to hear they were done by the same guys we’re using for our tap handles, Tap Handles Inc.
Thanks to Glenn for opening up his doors (and his heart) to us! For those of you who DON’T live in Hampton, you can also buy JailHouse beers on draft in East Atlanta Village at establishments such as Gravity Pub and Grant Central Pizza.
MNB interviewed on branding a brewery by The Business of Beer
John over at The Business of Beer sat down with us as part of his new The Startup Dialogues series. We talked about building a name, logo, and packaging for a new brewery. Check it out. Leave a comment. Heckle the locals.
Love at the Pub ? new book about Brick Store Pub out tomorrow
If you live in Atlanta and know anything about beer, chances are you’ve been to the Brick Store Pub. We’ve had multiple Monday Night Brewery planning meetings at this grand beer lover’s paradise, and we aren’t alone. Brick Store seems to attract community.
Tomorrow, 11/11, Mary Jane Mahan is releasing her book, Love at the Pub, which is:
An insider’s guide to craftsmanship, conversation, and community
We haven’t read the book yet (it hasn’t been released) but we HAVE spoken with Mary Jane. She’s passionate about the intersection of beer and community, which makes her A-OK in our book. We did start out of a bible study, after all. We have also shared our own thoughts on community and beer with Mary Jane. Needless to say, Joel didn’t have much to say.
