The Mash - Santa Fe Brewing

"The Mash" will be a (bi-) weekly-ish installment of breweries that peak my curiosity from around the world.
The first installment will be the "Santa Fe Brewing Co.".
(from brewery website)

The History:
They are located in nonother than Santa Fe, New Mexico. They opened the brewery in 1988 (NM's 1st microbrewery) and use custom square vats for open fermentation. The brewery now boasts a 30bbl system and a bottling line.

The name has historical beginnings as it was first used in 1877. An early advertisement of the local brew stated " Guaranteed equal to any St. Louis or Milwaukee beer!"

Famed anthropologist Adolph Bandelier noted in his journal:
April 27, 1889. Went to Mass. In the afternoon to the brewery. It was "Bock" day.
April 28, 1889. Unwell, as might be expected; could do nothing at all.

The Brewers:
Brian Lock, Ty Levis and a chap named Nick are the current brewers.

The Beers:
They make 6 beers year round and 3 beers on a seasonal basis. The beers are distictive as the cap bares the NM zia symbol found on its state flag. The beers of distinction are their "Chicken Killer Barleywine" and "State Pen Porter" (my fav.)
Year round:
Santa Fe Pale Ale
State Pen Porter
Santa Fe Nut Brown
Santa Fe Wheat
Chicken Killer Barley Wine
Fiesta I.P.A.
Seasonal:
Santa Fe Stout (available feb-may)
Freestyle Pilsner (avail. may-august)
Vizsolay Belgian (august-feb)

Anyway, if you are in the area do stop by the historic brewery and pick up some tasty beer. I recommend the Porter and Barleywine. Visit their website at www.santafebrewing.com.

Prost!

Dissapointed

I recently learned that The Lost Abbey will be releasing a limited edition of beers for to spread the holiday cheer. As you know The Lost Abbey recently won many awards at the GABF, including small brewery of the year. Every so often they have a special release party. This weekend will be no different as they will be releasing the following:

(from brewery website)

OLDER VISCOSITY
The barrel-aged version of Old Viscosity. A dark strong ale aged over a year in American oak bourbon barrels, it's a deep, silky black brew thick with luscious chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and caramel flavors balanced by notes of burnt wood and ash.

AMAZING GRACE
A barrel-aged version of the brewery's lauded Lost & Found Abbey Dubbel ale. Aged 6 months in french oak red wine barrels. Amazing grace matches an earth burnt amber color with rich aromas and complex flavors of figs, molasses and dried fruits.

GIFT OF THE MAJI
The Lost Abbeys first release of this winter seasonal ale, Gift of the Maji is a deep golden caramel-colored Biere de Garde brewed to a contemplative 9%ABV and bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces. Laden with toasted malt and caramel flavors accented by notes of grape, apple and cherry, its truly magical gift is a complexity that grows and softens as it ages.

Praise the souls who were lucky enough to purchase their lot.
Oh by the way, I am dissapointed because I am out of town for this occasion...not a lucky soul!

More green for same old green

I have heard all about hops and their price increase, but I was still shocked by the price increase at the homebrew store that I shop at, especially since I live in the west coast. The prices increased by 40%-100% depending on availability and popularity. The regular prices used to be $2.50/2-ounces and have skyrocketed to $3.50-$5.00/2-ounces, with some hops unavailable. After a brief conversation with some of the workers they admitted that they will have to change a few recipes and stop producing a couple of their beers. I find this very disappointing and a saddening state of affairs.

Although, I do not see this hop shortage and price spike to be over soon, I hope that over the next year that hop prices and availability will become more reasonable soon.

Best Beer Bicycle

Burn calories as you drink them for a 0 calorie intake...ingenious!