Coozie Up With A Good Beer (Or Five....)

The distillery of Woodford Reserve. Go there. Do yourself a favor.

Hey everybody. In case you are wondering where all of the great beer events are in July, I am here to tell you that although they do exist, they may be a little sparse. Please forgive me, but this month I am going to be gone quite a bit, so it is difficult to be in two places at once. This weekend I am going to Philadelphia, and will be working in a visit to Victory Brewing on Friday. That is one of my favorite breweries that I have never  been to before. I have some other things going on for Saturday that will not involve any actual breweries, but plenty of beer drinking for sure. Then later this month I will be gone for a week in Oregon, visiting breweries and checking out the Oregon Brewer's Fest. That's not going to suck. So as you can see, July is going to be kind of busy, and of course tomorrow is a holiday too. Please try not to blow off any fingers while playing with fireworks tomorrow, unless you are the town redneck/idiot, and then by all means, entertain us. It's your calling.

Below is the menu for the first annual, All-American Extrava-CAN-za beer dinner. That's right, all canned beer from US craft breweries, and good-ole American-themed food, with a chef's twist. The date is Tuesday, July 31st at our Duluth location. You can view a prettier copy of the menu if you click here, and that should take you to where you pre-pay for this event. It will sell out, so if you are planning to go, you should get signed up sooner than later. It is already a third full. Anyway, take a look at the menu, get hungry and thirsty, and think about it. You may notice that this is the first dinner (that I can remember) with no pork or beef, so if you know someone that would love a beer dinner, but there is always something they don't eat on the menu, this might be the one for them. There will also be a souvenir coozie for you to take home. It is the same one from Can Jam earlier this summer, so if you got one of those, well, now you can have a set. And in case you were wondering, you will get an entire can of beer with each course. And yes, you will get a glass to pour it into if you like, or you can drink it straight from the can. Whatever makes you happy. We're not here to judge.

The First-Annual American Extrava-Can-za

Taco Mac Duluth, Tuesday, July 31st

Reception- Shrimp and sweet corn fritters with corn cream &

Horseradish red potato salad rounds

New Belgium Shift-

A pale lager from one of America’s oldest craft breweries. Lightly hopped yet full-flavored, this beer is named for the free beer that brewery employees get when they clock out. How cool is that?

First Course- Grilled peach and blue cheese salad

spiced pecans, champagne vinaigrette

Abita Amber-

The first beer ever offered by Abita, starting in the late 80’s, and still their leading brand. This extremely versatile beer is smooth and malty, with slightly caramel flavors balanced out by a touch of Perle hops.

Second Course- BBQ spiced Salmon

watermelon salsa, cheese grits

21st Amendment Bitter American-

Have the “extreme” beers left you feeling bitter about, well, life in general? Then here is a session ale that bridges the gap between drinkability and your love for all things hoppy. Low ABV plus higher IBUs equal good-old Yankee Ingenuity.

Third Course- Pit Smoked Barbecue hen

Vidalia onion and chipotle bbq sauce, baked potato pie, garlic green beans,

corn spoon bread

Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale-

The critically acclaimed trailblazer that changed the way craft beer lovers perceive canned beer. Before 2002, nobody expected delicious, heavily hopped, real American-style ale to be flowing from a pop-top. Recognize the original.

Dessert- All American shortcake

strawberries, blueberries, sweet cream

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale-

Named for Adam Avery’s late Labrador Retriever, this deep russet beer is sweet and slightly nutty, with hints of vanilla. Generous amounts of crystal and chocolate malts are tempered by subtle hopping. Is this the best brown ale made in America? You decide.

On Friday the 13th at The Fred there is an event called Mikkeller vs. Evil Twin. Those are two of the most coveted gypsy brewers from Denmark. Gypsy brewer does not mean that the people are, in fact, real gypsies, but that they brew in other people's breweries, wandering from place to place to make incredible and expensive beers that people love. More info to come later, but there should be eight or so draft beers that will be super crazy and delicious. It will start at 5:00pm when we open. Mark your calendars and start austerity measures around the household. You'll need some extra loot for this one, but hey, you're worth it.

And as we approach August, you will start hearing more and more about this special Woodford Reserve that we hand-selected from the distillery. I just pulled those pictures from my new camera. It appears to be working great, so expect not just a cool slide show from Woodford, but more and better pictures for all of my upcoming adventures. Happy 4th of July everyone. Bye!