Your intrepid beer writer is recovering from an obscenely massive beer tasting, so you'll have to be satisfied with some random tidbits of news and information this week.
Beer and Chocolate. Two great tastes that taste great together. Summits Wayside Taverns are having their annual Belgians, Barleywines & Bodacious Chocolates event this week, pairing the titular Belgians and barleywines, as well as some choice stouts and porters, with chocolates from Ghirardelli, Scharffen Berger, Lindt, El Rey, Valhrona and more. A full gourmet dinner is also included for $69.99 per person. Featured beers include Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Lindeman's Peche Lambic, Sweetwater Happy Ending Stout, Rogue Old Crustacean, and Hebrew Jewbelation, among others. The event takes place 7 p.m. tonight (Mon., Jan 12) at the Cumming location; Tues., Jan 13, 7 p.m. at the Snellville location; and Thurs., Jan 15, 7 p.m. at the Woodstock location. Call the individual stores for more information.
Terrapin Side Project No. 4: Dos Cocoas. Speaking of chocolate, this chocolate porter is in stores now, as well as on draft at the Brick Store Pub and other draft houses around town.
Shmaltz Beer Lunch. Heres a fun, less expensive twist on the usual beer dinner: Have it at lunch. On Sat., Jan 17, Steinbeck's Ale House in Oakhurst will serve a four-course lunch paired with beers from Shmaltz Brewing Company for just $25 per person.
There will be two seatings, one at 12:30 p.m. and one at 3 p.m. for the late risers. The first course is roasted shrimp in a lemongrass broth paired with Coney Island Albino Python, a lager in the style of a Belgian white ale. Pork satays with pickled vegetables and fried shallots will be served with HeBrew Messiah Bold Ale. After a palate cleanser shot of Coney Island Lager, HeBrew Origin Pomegranate Ale will accompany an entrée of duck confit crepenette with mascarpone risotto and tomato jam. Dessert will consist of a sliver of Taleggio with a cream biscuit, Bentons bacon, and bittersweet ganache, washed down with HeBrew Jewbelation Twelve. For more information and to purchase tickets, call Steinbecks at 404-373-1116.
Plan Your Beer Year. Several breweries have announced their 2009 schedules for seasonal beers and special releases. Dogfish Head put theirs in this handy poster format.
Weyerbacher Brewing Company has added two of its one-off Brewers Choice series beers to its regular seasonal lineup: Fireside Ale, made with 10 percent smoked malts, and Alpha, a Belgian pale ale hopped with American Simcoe and Cascade hops. And in more good news, founder Dan Weirback has promised no price increases for the year. Heres a look at what you can expect month-by-month:
January Fireside Ale (dark ale with smoked malts)
February Heresy (oak-aged stout) and Insanity (oak-aged barleywine)
March Slam Dunkel (dunkelweizen)
April Blanche (Belgian white)
May Muse (saison)
June Alpha (Belgian pale ale)
July Fourteen (anniversary)
August AutumnFest (Oktoberfest) and Imperial Pumpkin Ale
September Harvest Ale (wet-hopped ale)
October Winter Ale
November QUAD (quadrupel)
December T.B.A.
(Photo courtesy Steinbeck's)
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Jeff, Sorry but I lost your phone number. I was hoping to give you some details on a few up coming events at Five seasons Sandy Springs to see if you could offer some help. Sorry for the short notice but this sunday 1/18 at 3pm is a prelude to the atlanta cask Ale tasting I will have two different casks available for people to sample and vote on. Next is the release of The Inaugural Ale this is a Steam beer to commemorate Tuesdays inaugaration.It will be Tapped at 11 am on Tuesday for all who are celebrating. We also have The Raspberry Truffale which is a collaborative effort between Five Seasons and Boulder Colorado's Avery Brewing Company. Thanks For your help. If You would like to elaborate on any of this call me at 404 226 8386. Kevin McNerney Brewmaster Five Seasons Brewing CO.