Event Update

Apparently I had too much Colt 45 Blast! while writing that last post. The event featuring Bell's specialties (including 2 casks) is on Thursday, February 10th. What we have this coming Friday the 4th is a small keg of Sierra Nevada Hoptimum (pictured). See, I know when I am doing things, just not exactly sure what it is sometimes. Gimme a break please. See you around.

A full re-cap and slideshow from this weekend's Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting are coming soon. It was awesome. But you knew that already, whether you were there, or just wish that you were.

They Do Serve Beer In Hell. This One.

In case you have not read the book (or worse yet, seen the movie), I They Serve Beer In Hell, save your money and energy. I found the answer: Colt 45 Blast. A blueberry and pomegranate flavored, 12% alcohol malt liquor. That, friends, is what you have to drink in hell. So if you happen to find yourself in some type of crack-infested ghetto in the next month or so, please stop and grab me a 40 of this exquisite beverage. I have to try it just to say that I did. Not to mention, the label seems to imply that you'll have intense psychedelic hallucinations when you drink it, so I am looking forward to that.

For the record, I was loaned that book a few years ago, and it was pretty funny. If you can get past the desire to punch the writer for being such a selfish a-hole who is infinitely impressed with himself for being such a selfish a-hole, it's a good read. I did not see the movie, and from what I have heard, no one else did either. The only thing worse than reading about someone like that guy is watching someone like that guy. If I want to do that, I could just go to a club in Buckhead on the weekend. No thanks.

Here come some events....woo-hoo! Write these down:

• Tonight there is a small firkin (called a "pin") of Left Hand Fade To Black Smoked Baltic Porter at Windward Pkwy. We will only get about 50 pints out of this thing, so you better get there early.
• Speaking of Left Hand, on Wednesday, February 2nd we will have the Left Hand High-Gravity Bonanza at the Mall of Georgia store. On tap will be this year's Fade To Black, plus a cellared keg of last year's FTB Foreign Export Stout. You mean the one that took home a gold medal from the GABF but has not been brewed again or seen since? Yeah, that one. We have been sitting on it since last winter. There will also be kegs of 2009 Left Hand Imperial Stout and 2009 Widdershins Barley Wine. In the words of Glen Quagmire, and I quote: "Giggity".
• On Thursday, February 10th there is a crazy Bell's event at The Fred. There will be some beers there that you really, really want. Trust me on this one. That is all I am saying at this point.

PS: Due to the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting event at The Prado this weekend, The Fred bar will be closed for a VIP party until 9:00 pm. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please mark that on your calendars.

See you around.

Event Change!

I am very sorry to let you all know that the Heavy Seas Black Cannon cask did not make it in town for tonight's event at Deckard's. We will still have an insanely delicious cask of the Heavy Seas Siren Noire Imperial Chocolate Stout, along with many other Heavy Seas specialties. I hope to see your shining faces at Deckard's tonight. Remember, event starts at 6pm.

Good Grief! That's A Lot Of Beer Events!

Don't forget about this week's events. It is going to be a busy one. We have our internal contest tomorrow to see who gets to participate in the Guinness Perfect Pour Contest being held next month. How do we decide which two of our 100+ bartenders gets to contend for the prize? They pour a bunch of Guinness drafts, that's how. And then somebody has to drink them. Rough life, I know. Sorry, but this is closed to the public. More on the GPPC coming soon.

You can get into Deckard's on Wednesday though. Read my post from last week for details. Basically there is going to be a ridiculously good cask of Heavy Seas Siren Noire Chocolate Imperial Stout and a keg of the new Black Cannon. More delicious Heavy Seas beers and $6 apps expertly paired with the beers will complete the picture. I will be there for sure. Everything starts at 6:00pm. See you then.

On Thursday we have the Port & Lost Abbey event that was rescheduled from the ice disaster last week. The owner and brew master, along with a slew of his beers, will be at Kennesaw Taco Mac at 7:00 pm. Some of their incredible beers will be available at 5:00, but the dude won't be there until 7:00, and the top-secret bottled beers we have won't be available until then. These are very limited and expensive. There, now you've been warned. Count on me being there.

Woodstock is unveiling their new draft wall on Friday until further notice. This store had installed like 54 new lines, so if you live near there, life just about 54 times sweeter. I will be there as well. Told you I was going to be busy. If anything changes, you will be notified as soon as I am.

Sorry for the lame picture. I took my new Flip Cam to the Falcons game on Saturday, but you don't want to relive that debacle. Unless you are a Packers fan, and in that case, congratulations. You have a really good team, and I can't say a bad thing about you as far as fans go. Generally a good bunch of people. But then again, their team won, so they were in a good mood.

That's all I have time for now. Have a great week, and get out there and drink some beer. I know I will.

Get Blasted On Wednesday

Like IPA's? Who doesn't these days, right? If you are anything like me, you are also really digging the recent trend towards making black IPA's, or Cascadian Dark Ales, as they are also called. I don't know about you, but CDA's doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like "black IPA". Anyway, the beers are great, and a new one has just sailed into Atlanta--Heavy Seas Black Cannon. Take all of the deliciousness of Loose Cannon and imagine it dark. I can't wait to taste it. Deckard's is going to be pouring some of this beer for the first time on Wednesday, along with tapping a cask of Heavy Seas Siren Noire, an incredible chocolate Imperial Stout. Some other Heavy Seas favorites will be on deck as well, and you can meet Kevin from the brewery if you are interested. The food menu will have some great looking pairings, too. Check it out:

Loose Cannon- Oysters “Rockafella” (Crispy salami, Habanero cream, Spinach, Manchego Cheese)
Black Cannon- Jerked Swordfish
Below Decks- Goat Cheese and Gorgonzola Fritters
Marzen- Grilled Kielbasa with Beer-Braised Saurkraut

These are all appetizer sizes at $6.00 each. So you can have a few beers, get a small plate, and just have a super-duper good time in general. If you have always wanted to be somewhere that you could talk like a pirate, this would be that place. Which reminds me of a joke about a pirate that walks into a bar with a steering wheel hanging from his waist. Don't know that one? Come see me at Deckard's for the rest of the joke. It's a good one.

The Lost Abbey & Port Brewing thing is definitely on for Thursday at Kennesaw Taco Mac. If you do not know about these beers, check out some of their ratings. Pretty much everything is high 90's and a few 100's (extremely rare) on a popular beer rating web site. Not that you need other people to tell you what you like or don't like, but when a consensus of people are in unanimous agreement, that usually means that you are on to something good. But then, of course, the prevailing sentiment can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Like, "Gee, I am not sure that this is good, but everyone else thinks it's good, so I better go along with the crowd so that I don't look stupid." On second thought, don't look up their ratings. Make up your own mind. I just looked at a 99 rating for a beer I think is garbage. It is made by a really geek-famous brewery, so nobody has the guts to say it sucks.

Also, we are going to be busting out the new draft system at Woodstock really soon. The work is starting to wrap-up, so that store will see 54 new taps very soon. Could be as early as next Friday the 21st. Other notable upcoming events are:

• All Taco Mac locations (yes, TN & NC too) will be releasing the new Red Brick Helluva Bock on Friday, February 4th at 5:00 pm. I bet if you went in earlier they would probably pour you one though.
• Huge night of Bell's specialties at The Fred on February the 10th. More details will follow.
• A cask of the next Terrapin "Georgia Theater" Series, a smoked IPA called Hoptaneous Combustion. Yes, you are right, that does sound intriguing. You can count on the fellas at Terrapin to keep thinking up unique and tasty brews. I had a Moo-Hoo last night, and man is that a great beer.

That is all I can think of right now. Enjoy your weekend, and look for me on TV tomorrow night. I landed some tickets to the Falcons game, and I assume that most of the city will be watching. This game is going to be huge for the team if they can pull off a win. Those Packers are looking pretty tough these days though. Should be an awesome game, and the dome will be a tremendous atmosphere.

PS--Thanks to all of the understanding people who came out on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All locations were open during the ice freak-out, and we were very busy. Typically that is not a problem, but due to the limited number of employees we could get into work, it was a little challenging. There are even some reports of yours truly bartending and running food. All true. Our company president was waiting tables at a few locations this week as well. Hey, what can we say? We know you needed somewhere to get a few beers and a bite to eat. Ice doesn't change that.

OK, Mother Nature, You Are Really Starting To Piss Me Off Now

In case you were not inconvenienced enough by the "ice situation" we are experiencing here in the southeast, get this: Now we have to postpone the Port Brewing/Lost Abbey release at Kennesaw scheduled for tomorrow! See? You see what I am saying? This weather has crossed the line now. You want to cripple the whole city? Fine. Whatever, I can work from home. I know how to cook. But when you mess up my beer events, you've gone too far.

So why did we have to postpone it? Something about trucks not being able to get here, flights being delayed and cancelled...that kind of crap. Oh well, I guess we'll shoot for next Thursday. Stay tuned.

PS--Do you realize that one integral part of our society that goes largely unnoticed has been especially hurt by this weather situation? Beer trucks. That's right, no beer trucks have been able to run all week. So every beer you drink from now until everything thaws out is bringing us closer and closer to THE END OF THE BEER SUPPLY AS WE KNOW IT! This is real people. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Coolers are looking thinner and thinner, kegs are running out without replacements. What if another front comes through and does this again next week? What then? Truly, what then? You think this whole mess sucks right now, try it without any beer in sight. Frightening. Be careful out there, and if you see someone delivering beer, give him a hug.

This Guy Has A Gigantic Drinking Problem

I went to see the Salvador Dalí exhibit at the High Museum on Saturday. It is pretty awe inspiring to be in the presence of such amazing and unique works of priceless art. I am not very knowledgeable about art in general, but when you see original works, as opposed to pictures or reproductions of them, up close and personal, it is pretty impressive. And when you think about the brain of the person who created them, well, we’ll never see another person like that ever again. I can definitely say that I am glad I went. Unfortunately, like apparently the rest of the city, I waited until the last minute. I got there when it opened at 10 am, and there was already a line. Regardless, it was worth it, especially since two of the really huge paintings had not been viewed publicly or in the U.S. since the late 50’s. I had never even seen a picture of The Madonna of Port Lligat or Santiago el Grande. One belongs to a museum in Canada and another to a private collection. So take my advice if you are smart, the next time something comes to town that you really want to see, don’t procrastinate like everyone else.

When I was leaving I saw one lady getting huffy with the museum staff about the wait times to get inside. Listen lady, the museum has had this thing since August. It isn’t their fault that nobody decided to go until it was almost over. I am sure the wait was non-existent in September. What is wrong with people? Why did she think that ruining someone else’s day with her bitchy attitude would accomplish anything? Or are some people just so selfish that they don’t care about anyone other than themselves, and if they are not happy, then goddamn it, you aren’t going to be either? If you are miserable, please keep it to yourself. Strangers don’t care, and your friends and family already know it. But hey, if I had a face like hers, I guess I would be pissed off about it too.

Are you ready for the Lost Abbey and Port Brewing launch at Kennesaw on Thursday? I know that I am. These are some seriously good beers, and there are going to be a good amount of them. If you want to know exactly what we are going to have, you’ll have to show up. At last count there were going to be about eight different beers, all draft, and then a few super-special bottles showed up just for the event. I will get it all sorted out this week, but I doubt that I will have time to post them here before Thursday. The owner/brew master and his right-hand man will be there from 7 to 9 pm. We will be saving anything in short supply until then, but you can get the draft beers after 5 pm.

I have some casks of Peak Organic Spring Simcoe coming at the end of the month. As soon as I have an ETA I will set up some dates and locations for these. Same story with some firkins coming from Fuller’s. Those are looking more like early to mid-February. Speaking of February, I will be going on a beer trip to Germany and Amsterdam for 10 days in February. I just got a new Flip camera to take video of some of the key spots we stop, so look for videos to be posted here once I figure out the whole situation with doing that. I am looking forward to this trip, as you can imagine. We will be seeing some of the greatest and most historic breweries in Germany. The short detour to Amsterdam is really just for sight-seeing, but we will get a tour of Heineken while we are there and explore the pub culture extensively.

If you need an idea for Valentine’s Day, we have you covered. Do you need a romantic dinner for two, but still want to drink good beer? Done. But your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/booty call doesn’t drink beer? No problem. Deckard’s is doing a three-course, fixed price menu over the Valentine’s Day weekend for $35.00 per person (plus tax and gratuity). For another $10.00 per person you can add pairings of Ommegang beers, or wines from Deckard’s collection, to each course. The special menu and pairings will be available on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. You will need to make reservations (404-941-3520), but you already knew that, it’s Valentine’s Day. There’s nothing romantic about waiting for a table. So yes, finally, someone thought about the beer drinkers on a holiday where you have been being ignored for centuries. No more! Enjoy.

That’s it for now. You folks have a great week, and I will get you all of the details on these events as soon as I can. Since I was not allowed to take pictures at the Dalí exhibit on Saturday, I took my own surrealist picture for you. This is clearly the hand of a giant holding a can of Budweiser. That’s right, I know a giant. And he likes Budweiser. What’s so hard to understand about that?