Rogue News

In a collaboration of crafts, Rogue Brewmaster John Maier and Rogue Spirits Master Distiller John Couchot have joined forces to create a distinct, innovative series of brews called John John Ales. The series will take Rogue Ales legends and age them in Rogue Spirits barrels. A 3,100 gallon batch of John John Ale produces 1357 cases of beer.
The first of the John John series is John John Dead Guy Ale, Rogue's award winning Dead Guy Ale matured in Rogue's award winning Dead Guy Whiskey barrels. The cross collaboration of these two products starts with the distilling of Dead Guy Ale wort to create the Dead Guy Whiskey. The Whiskey is aged in Oak Barrels and bottled, then the Oak Barrels are taken from the distillery, by forklift, across the parking lot to the Brewery where they are filled with Dead Guy Ale and matured for three months. Each John John product will be a limited release, starting with John John Dead Guy Ale, followed by the John John Juniper Pale Ale, Rogue's Juniper Pale Ale matured in Rogue Spruce Gin barrels, and the John John Hazelnut Brown Nectar, maturing Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar in Rogue's Hazelnut Spiced Rum barrels.
John John Dead Guy Ale will be available on draft and in 22oz bottles at select retailers in January 2010.
John John Dead Guy Ale is made with Northwest Harrington, Klages, Carastan and Dare malts, Saaz and Rogue Micro Farm Revolution hops, Rogue's signature Pacman yeast and free range coastal water. John John Dead Guy Ale is a German Maibock, deep honey in color with a malt aroma, a caramel, vanilla, and oak finish. http://www.rogue.com/

Ho Ho Ho

This one is for Cookie. I was trawling through some of his posts and saw he liked beer trees. This is the same shit, much larger smell. Enjoy.
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Guinness Factory Burns

It's a sad day when a brewery catches fire. Sadly today was one such day as a fire at the James Gate Brewery in Dublin left a trail of destruction and two Guinness loving firemen dead. Tim and I pass on our condolences and thoughts to the families affected by this tragedy over the Christmas period. Total Blessed Care.

CAMRA Vista Social Club

When I lived in London I was employed by a large West London brewery which is situated on the Thames. When I first started working there, the operations side of the business produced both lager and ale. When I left to move back to Australia the brewery only produced lager, but lots of it. Sadly the brewery will soon no longer produce any beer at all, but that's another story. There was a joke around the office which referred to the CAMRA Vista Social Club. It was a jovial term for those obsessed/hung up on the revitalisation of ale.
It was suggested and perceived amongst the industry that CAMRA were akin to aging musicians the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC). The joke was that the BVSC were aging musicians who were strong in numbers but not strong in getting a message across. They never go their act together, played and supported shit music and were more or less just a fringe group who hangout together playing music that the majority of the population just ignored. When the people/market wanted rock, pop and dance - BVSC supplied Cuban Classical.
I guess this pretty much sums up CAMRA. They are basically an antiquated group/elitist social club of fringe beer drinkers who are 100,000 members strong but still have not put a message across. They insist that we drink 'Ale' when the market is screaming out for golden lagers.
While I am going to sit on the fence whether CAMRA are good or bad, have a point or lost their way - whatever. I see why the majority industry use this cheeky little nickname. I really don't care too much, but find it highly amusing.

Beer: The Weapon

The mugshot to the left of this text is Melva Ann Wixon, 49 of St. Petersburg. Melva was recently arrested on a domestic battery charge after a dispute involving beer which occurred in her apartment. Now I have heard of Stella being referred to as 'wife beater' before but this incident takes the cake.
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"Cops say she'd been drinking at a bar before going home to the apartment she shares with her boyfriend, Eric Hartman. He was sleeping -- until she poured beer on him.
Seems Wixon was in a lather because her boyfriend plans to move to Ohio. After she poured beer on him, he wasn't a happy camper either. He called the cops. Wison went to jail.
Now she really has something to brew about..."
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So basically this Hartman chap got his balls in a twist 'cause his Missus tipped some beer on him? Only in the US would this be considered assault. Surely the cops have better things to do than deal with morons such as these fools?

Kids and Beer

Today just gets better. It turns out that kids in the USA are beerhounds. This four year old kid got pissed on a can of beer, stole his neighbours Christmas presents and then went for a walk down the street. God Bless the silly season!

A Break

I'm taking a break. The end of the year is always a rush to get things done - on both the work and home front. This leaves me short of time to spend writing the old blog. Not that I take it seriously anyway, but its time I would rather spend elsewhere none the less. I wouldn't want to be considered a beer writer either, or feature in wikio (schmikio) rankings. For me personally it's been an interesting year. I moved across the globe and started a new job, set up a new home and it feels like I am embarking on new adventures.
I have changed as well, since leaving the UK I see cask ale in a new perspective. It's a marginal and outdated way of packaging beer and represents such a small percentage of beer consumed (even in the UK). A bunch of ostriches with their heads in the sand keep this outdated traditional way of doing things alive. A consumer group without a cause, a social club for the socially inept? Those who refuse to accept the brilliance that is lightly filtered, unpasteurised keg beer (or proper real keg), are the ones missing out and ironically its the same people who complain about lack of innovation in brewing.
I think being back in Australia takes a lot of relevance out of the beer blogosphere. Not may people in Australia read blogs, actually on an international scale not many people read beer blogs full stop except other beer bloggers. I keep finding things like BrewDog stunts, Protz's opinions, Pete Brown's books, whisky barrel ageing, beer writing guilds, tickers, trolls and CAMRA becoming continually less relevant and utterly more boring. I think the best way to describe the situation (and in the words of P Brown) It's jumped the shark. That's why I am going to take a break, a few weeks off to recharge the batteries. When I return things will be different. This blog will still appeal to beer geeks, but its going to have a wider remit. It's going to be cynical, sharp and critical. It's going to feature, slander and criticize beer, boobs and stupidity. Basically taking the seriousness of the beer blogging, beer reviewing and video blogging world and pissing it up the wall. No one is safe, everyone will be a victim but the truth will be told!
I'll see you all early next year.
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Take Total Blessed Care

Protz Gets Smashed

As if BrewDog's Tactical nuclear Penguin is not potent enough to get you smashed by drinking it, but proud communist and leftist beer writer Roger Protz has been smashed by writing about it. In two un-researched blog posts it seems old Protsky tries to tow the CAMRA line and writes some misinformed dribble. For a professional beer writer, you would hope he would at least have researched the subject matter before passing comment and being critical.
My favourite part of the whole debacle - It seems Gazza Prescott has stuck the boot in with the term 'CAMRA scum'. Funnily enough, it was the only comment that Leon Protsky Protz even tried to rebuttal!
Pure Comedy