Schlitz Is Back

Schlitz, the brand that was once the number one selling beer in America saw a long decline in quality until it finally faded away. Now it's back. The brewmaster resurrected the original recipe and now, the brand is in limited release. I look forward to tasting this one. Read the full article at the link below.

Case Study | Schlitz Is Back - The Moment Blog - NYTimes.com

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Congratulations Colorado Brewers!

Well, the GABF has come and gone once again. It's always great to attend the festival and related happenings around town. Denver is truly a beer geek's paradise during GABF week. Opportunities abound for brewers and beer lovers of all sorts to mingle, converse, share ideas and proudly showcase their beers to a multitude of sophisticated palates. This year, about 110 of those palates belonged to the judges, who sampled, evaluated, scored, deliberated and ranked the best of the 3,308 entries in this year's competition.

Colorado brewers did extremely well this year (as they always do), winning 45 medals. More awards than any other state!

Special congratulations go out to Dry Dock Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co. They received the Small Brewing Company of the Year and Large Brewing Company of the Year Awards, respectively!

For the complete winner's list, searchable by state, visit:

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/medals/medalists.aspx

GABF Week at the Falling Rock Tap House

Fellow beer lovers,

Here's a list of special tappings etc. at the Falling Rock Tap House, the unofficial headquarters of the GABF. Hope to see you there.


Monday September 21st:

5pm. 13th Annual GABF Kickoff Tapping Party. Every year we save kegs to tap at this event. We will be tapping 10-12 kegs at 5pm of harder to find specialty beers from breweries from all over, some sent in just for this event. Some of the breweries: Avery, Russian River, Lost Abbey, Port Brewing.

Wednesday September 23rd:

4pm Flying Dog 20th Anniversary Beer Tapping
5pm Pyramid Snowcap Unveiling
9pm Artisanal Imports Come try out some of their offerings including a new, limited offering, Koenigshoeven (La Trappe) Isid'or 125th Anniversary Beer
Marty Jones & the Great Unknowns with special Guests the Rolling Boil Blues Band

Thursday September 24th:

3pm Boulder Beer Stranahan's Aged Mojo
10pm Upstairs - Stone Brewing. The Folks over @ Stone sent us a few fun kegs to try out like this year's Vertical Epic & a couple others.
10pm Downstairs - Shelton Brother's. Dan Shelton imports some of the most distinctive beers from all over the world as well as running an Export program also. Come & sample some of the beers that Dan is exporting (like Jolly Pumpkin) as well as some of the interesting beers that Shelton Brothers imports. Cost $20
11pm Jewbilation Bar-Mitzvah Schmaltz Brewing is turning 13 so it's time to celebrate. We'll have Jewbilation and oak aged Lenny'y Rye IPA on tap.

Friday September 25th:

Noon Sierra Nevada Kill-A-Keg See if we can drain a keg in less than last year's 15 minutes 4 seconds.
12:30 Sierra Nevada Estate. Not only did Sierra Use Hops grown on their own Property, they grew the Barley as well. Try out this new, very limited edition Wet-Hopped Ale.
1pm Meet Chris Brouwaerts, Founder of Brasserie La Chouffe from Belgium.
2pm Left Hand/Terrapin Brewing Depth Charge Espresso Milk Stout Collaborative Brew on Cask
10 pm Downstairs All About Beer, Dogfish Head & Others "Up Your Reinheitsgebot - an Evening of Impure & Illicit Beers" Taste Exotic beers from Dogfish Head, Avery Allagash & New Belgium that definitely plead the 5th on the German Purity Law of 1517.

Saturday September 26th:

4pm Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Beers on tap. Try out some of Boulevard's Specialty Offerings.
10pm New Belgium Brewing Rarities with Special Guests Elysian Brewing Company. Come try out some of New Belgium's Harder-to-Find Beers on Tap. We'll have Love, La Folie, Transatlantic Kriek, La Fleur Misseur & Le Terroir. Also in the House will be Beers from Elysian Brewing.

Denver Beer Fest

VISIT DENVER to Sponsor Denver Beer Fest in September
An Anticipated 60 Events to Celebrate All-things Beer at Locations Across the Mile High City

DENVER – (DRAFT, 2009) – To celebrate Denver’s claim as one of the world’s great beer cities, VISIT DENVER is presenting the first Denver Beer Fest (www.DenverBeerFest.com), which will take place September 18-27, 2009.

“The Denver-Boulder-Fort Collins urban area brews more beer than any other metropolitan area in the United States, giving the Mile High City claim to another moniker – ‘the Napa Valley of Beer,’” said Richard Scharf, president & CEO, VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The week-long celebration of beer-centric experiences will include beer tastings at restaurants, beer-paired dinners, “meet the brewer” nights, beer tappings, brewery tours and a variety of entertaining beer events.

Denver Beer Fest will be a celebration of all things beer leading up to America’s most prestigious beer festival and competition, the Brewers Association’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Denver Beer Fest is also sandwiched in between the two weekends of Denver’s Oktoberfest on Larimer Street.

“Denver has so many beer attractions that it seemed natural to pull them all together under one umbrella the same week as the GABF and Oktoberfest,” Scharf said. He described how many of the breweries visiting Denver for the GABF have historically held special beer-tasting dinners and events, but there was no central place to look for information.

“The GABF had their events on their Web site, Oktoberfest had their information on their Web site, and brewers had information about their events posted on a variety of restaurant Web sites so someone would have to look at 15 resources to see everything that was going on,” said Scharf.

The Web site, www.DenverBeerFest.com, will be a one-stop shop for all things beer that week.” He explained that a similar beer extravaganza in Philadelphia, timed around their annual beer festival, created 60 beer events the first year, but swelled to 600 new beer events the second year.

Two landmark events bookend the 10-day Denver Beer Fest:

• Oktoberfest on Larimer Street: This 40-year Denver tradition will be held Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27.
• The Brewers Association’s 28th Great American Beer Festival (GABF) at the Colorado Convention Center: The GABF, Sept. 24-26, has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as offering the largest number of beer’s tapped of any place on earth and attracts 46,000 beer lovers each year, as well as the nation’s top beer writers and critics. More than 400 breweries are expected to attend, offering more than 2,000 beers for tastings and medal competitions.

“VISIT DENVER started Denver Restaurant Week five years ago to increase awareness of Denver’s fine dining,” Scharf said. “In five years, we’ve seen Restaurant Week grow from 84 restaurants to 225 this past year, with nearly 300,000 special-priced meals being served. We are inspired by the success of restaurant week, and the business it drove for our local restaurants. We hope Denver Beer Fest will increase awareness, both locally and nationally, of Denver’s important role in the nation’s brewing industry and of how many fine beers are made and sold in Colorado.”

Some of the beer events VISIT DENVER is planning during Denver Beer Fest include:

• Former brew pub owner and current Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will tap the first keg and read a proclamation declaring Sept. 18-27 as Denver Beer Fest at Oktoberfest on Sept. 18 at 4 p.m.
• Rioja, Vesta Dipping Grill, Stubens, TAG, Elways, Wynkoop Brewing Company, Rialto Café, Oceanaire, the Tavern, Duo and many other restaurants will be offering beer-pairing dinners, many with the brewer present.
• Pints for Prostates will be hosting a beer tasting of twenty rare beers.
• “Beer and Burlesque, Tastings and Tassels,” an Avery Brewery tasting and “meet the brewer” night at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, Sept. 21.
• The Golden Hotel will be promoting events featuring the rare Coor’s Barman beer.
• The Dusty Boot will have a bartending contest to benefit charity.

Information on Denver Beer Fest and a current of list of events can be found at: www.DenverBeerFest.com. People should check back frequently as more events are being added every day.

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating 100 years of promoting the Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $2.9 billion in annual spending in 2007, while supporting 65,000 jobs. For more information on Denver call 800-2-DENVER or visit Denver’s official Web site at VISITDENVER.com.
C * H * E * E * R * S

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:
Rich Grant: (303) 571-9450 or rgrant@visitdenver.com
Jen Elving: (303) 571-9451 jelving@visitdenver.com

Beer and red wine marinade may cut cancer risk from beef

Beer and red wine marinade may cut cancer risk from beef

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That's right folks, cooking with beer is not only tasty, but may be beneficial to your health. Click on the link above to read the full article. After reading, pop open a beer, fire-up the grill and try out one of my favorite grilling recipes.

Michael's beer marinated grilled flank steak:

1 flank steak (about 1.5 lbs.)

8 oz. beer (nothing too bitter; Brown Ale, American Lager, or Amber work well)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in a 1 gal. size zip lock bag, add steak and squeeze-out excess air from bag before sealing. Marinate in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.

Prepare a grill for direct high heat. When hot, oil grill grate with a paper towel dipped in oil. Grill steak for about 5 min on the first side, flip and cook 4 min on the second side for medium-rare. Grill temperatures will vary, times are approximate. Remove steak from grill and let rest 5-10 min before slicing.

After resting, thinly slice steak diagonally across the grain and serve. Try pairing the steak with the same beer you used in the marinade.

Serves 6

Notes:
Flank steak is a lean and flavorful cut of beef that is best cooked quickly and served rare to medium-rare to retain it's natural juices. I do not advise cooking flank steak past medium doneness (unless you are the sort of person who enjoys chewing on doggie toys).

US Open Beer Championship Winners Announced

Congratulations to Avery Brewing, Fort Collins Brewery, Oskar Blues and Silverton Brewery, Colorado breweries that won medals in the 1st annual US Open Beer Competition.

The competition was open to professional brewers AND home brewers who competed side-by-side in 50 beer catagories. One home brewer took home a Gold.

For more information and the complete winner's list, visit: www.usopenbeer.com

Odell Brewing Company embarks on new expansion

It was golden ales not golden shovels on June 9, 2009, as Odell Brewing Company officially broke ground on its new expansion. The project, which includes an expansion of the existing manufacturing, office, and tap room facilities, will help the brewery accommodate increased and enhanced brewing operations. “While we are expanding capacity, we are really viewing this as an investment in innovation in both style and process,” said brewery owner Wynne Odell. Not only will the brewery gain much needed space, but it will also improve its creative brewing processes with investments such as a single-serve packaging line and a new barrel aging cellar. Odell Brewing has partnered with local businesses RB+B Architects, BHA Designs, Northern Engineering, and Delta Construction for the project. The brewery has also incorporated multiple environmentally friendly installations and “green” considerations in its plans. “The design team made a concerted effort to create a facility that is both healthy and efficient,” said project manager Brendan McGivney. The brewery will work with Abound Solar on a roof mounted photovoltaic system. Abound’s solar panels, installed by Wirsol, will generate 50 KW of energy, which is approximately 1/3 of the brewery’s summer daily peak demand. Solar tubes in the brewery’s new warehouse will provide natural lighting, and a day-lighting system will actually turn off light fixtures when this natural light is sufficient. The brewery will also include a water recovery system in its bottling line that will capture clean rinse water and use it for landscape irrigation. In addition to the building, the brewery will include improvements to its parking, shipping, and overall landscaping. Drought-resistant plants will be used throughout the landscaping, and porous pavers will be used in the parking lot to minimize rain runoff. These porous pavers will be showcased by the city of Fort Collins as one of their Low Impact Development Pilot Projects. Odell Brewing expects to complete the expansion in early 2010.