beer NOLA

I’ve this love/hate relationship with Sam Adams; I hate their flagship Boston Lager, and their pompous marketing, but I love their other beers and everything they’ve done for the beer community.

So it’s no surprise that their Longshot series of beer is right up my alley. It started a couple years ago, when they held a contest to find the best three beers in America (two from around the country and one from an employee) and produce and distribute them large scale.

Well the beers from the 2007 Contest have finally been released. Rodney Kibzey’s Weizenbock and Sam Adams’ own Lili Hess’ beer, a Grape Ale, are now available nationwide, including New Orleans.

Unfortunately, due the worldwide Hops shortage, Mike McDole’s Double IPA will be pushed back until early next year. Hats off to Sam Adams though for still going through with the production of it, and holding off until they can do it right.

Thanks to the work of local beer retailers, and the pressure they’re applying on local distributors, there will be at least a dozen new Belgian beers entering distribution at Martin’s and Steins, and who knows, maybe even Whole Foods. Look out for these beers arriving on shelves in the coming weeks.

• Des Rocs Brune
• Des Rocs Grand Cru
• Des Rocs Triple Imperiale
• Duchesse de Bourgogne
• Fantome Saison
• Nostradamus
• Saison DuPont
• St. Bernardus Tripel
• St. Bernardus Abt 12
• St. Bernardus Wit

Also, the beer guys from Martin’s, Stein’s and Acquistapace are working on convincing Glazers to bring Rochefort back!

A couple of beers from Rogue’s XSperience line of imperial beers are now available in New Orleans. The Rogue Imperial India Pale Ale (aka the I2PA or IIPA) and the Imperial Stout are now available at Whole Foods and Martin’s Wine Cellar.

I first tried these at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston back in February 2007. Now I love me a hoppy beer, and IPA is one of my favorite styles, but the I2PA is just a little too much for me. At least the hoppy punch is floral and not just straight up bitterness. Now.. the Imperial Stout is another beast. This is one of the best beers I’ve ever had, and probably in my Top 5 stouts that you can easily obtain. Soft, chocolaty and with a very complementary hoppiness, this stuff cellars real well and gets better with age.

I currently have a bottle in storage that I’m saving till 2009.So get out there, grab some bottles and pour one into your favorite goblet. Oh, and let it warm up a bit if you’re pulling it out of the fridge.

Finally! An Abita pub crawl that wont be a rehash of one they had at the same time a year ago! Abita, for the first time in many many seasons, shakes things up with a new crawl location: The Bywater.

Markey’s Bar / 640 Louisa St / 6pm-8pm (Registration)
Bud Rips / 900 Piety St / 8pm-9pm
Mimi’s in the Marigny / 2601 Royal St / 9pm-Till

This is the first Abita Pub Crawl that I’ve been looking forward to since the Marigny crawl of ‘06. Strange bars in a strange part of town with a style beer that most people dislike. Given the distance from colleges and downtown offices, hopefully this one wont be as overcrowded as previous affairs.