Get Your Heavy On

Don't forget about the super-special cask of Heavy Seas Below Decks that is getting tapped tonight at 5:00 pm at the Virginia-Highland Taco Mac location. That part of down is sure to be all "decked" out for the holidays, so it will be fun. Some people may take the opportunity to get "lit up" like the proverbial Christmas tree. Hey, it's a free country. Just be safe out there people.

This cask had red oak chips, cocoa nibs, cinnamon bark and dried persimmons thrown into it, plus it was dry-hopped with Brewer's Gold. No frankincense or myrrh though. Nobody really knows what that stuff is anyway. I mean, when was the last time you saw that on sale at Publix? Maybe Kroger has frankincense and myrrh, but I wouldn't know. I don't shop there.

If you can't make it out tonight, still try to enjoy your holidays. That may be difficult for you though, knowing what an awesome beer you could have drank, but didn't. But try anyway.

You may not hear from me next week. I have a busy couple of days before I leave for California for a New Year's Eve blow-out in San Francisco. So I guess I will see you next year. Bye!

I Am Back, And Don't Miss These Casks!

OK, so I have been out of communication for a while, sorry. I had a short week last week because I had to go to Florida for a few days. Sounds like we may be selling some beer down there next year. And then there was this little matter of a Cowboys/Buccaneers game I had to look into. Cool stadium, but the Cowboys just routed the Bucs, and it wasn't much of a game from a competitive standpoint. But for me to get to two Cowboys games in one year, neither of which were in Atlanta, is a pretty good accomplishment. I still haven't been to the new stadium in Dallas, but next year my birthday is on a Sunday, so...whoever makes the NFL schedule needs to be midful of that. Don't make the Cowboys play in some god-awful place that I won't want to go. I don't want to spend my birthday in Phoenix. Might be a nice place, but in the end of September, it is still about 150 degrees during the daytime. Buffalo might be cooler in temperature, but I am not even sure they have an airport. I think you fly into Pittsburgh and take a bus or canoe or something.

(You may find my opinions about other cities to be offensive to people who live in, or are from, those places. I am from Michigan. Flint, Michigan, so I have heard it all already. If I want to take a shot at some place, I can do that. If you haven't heard of Flint, it makes Detroit look like a pretty decent place.)

But there is only one city you need to be concerned with this week, and it is the good ol' ATL. On Friday there is a special cask of Jail House Misdemeanor at Taco Mac Perimeter. Think black IPA with pink peppercorns and cocoa nibs. It is going to be creamy and spicy all at once. And remember my trip to Baltimore where I got to make two special casks? And that were then en route to Taco Mac's loyal and voracious customers? Well, cask # 1 gets tapped on Friday at Virginia-Highland Taco Mac. This is Heavy Seas Below Decks Barley Wine, and we added cocoa nibs, cinnamon bark, red oak chips and dried persimmons. A persimmon is a fruit (pictured), which along with the barley wine, should provide a sweet background to the spices and oaky dryness. It was then dry-hopped with Brewer's Gold hops grown on the east coast. I am very excited to try it. If you are a credit seeker/accumulator, or just plain love beer, then you really need to come out for this one. It is a special item called Heavy Seas Spiced Below Decks. So if you have already had Below Decks, or a cask of Below Decks, this one is still unique. In fact, it is pretty much a one-time shot.

If you want to plan ahead to try the Loose Cannon cask I did while I was in Baltimore, then put Wednesday, January 11th on your calendar. We will be tapping that one in Decatur, and two other Decatur bars will be featuring unique Loose Cannon casks that same night. Call it a mini-pub crawl. A VIP from thre brewery, Joe Gold, will be in town for the evening. This guy is awesome, and really fun to drink beer with. You'll want to meet him. Trust me on that one.

Alright, that is all I have for you right now. Have a great week, and in case I get too swamped next week and can't post anything, have a great holiday season. Relax, drink alot of beer and enjoy some peace and quiet.

PS-- While in Tampa, I did drop in on Cigar City Brewing and saw their new expansion. What a great bunch of guys, and the beer was unbelievable. Every one of them (and I had "a few"). They are trying to get to the point where they can send some kegs our way, so don't despair. They know where we are, and they want us to have more of their beer as much as you want to have some. They just don't have any extra yet. But, man was that a great stop.