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Brewtopia,
www.ClassicCityBrew.com, the
Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting and Classic City Brew Fest are operated by
Owen Ogletree
of Athens, GA. Owen is a BJCP National Beer Judge,
beer traveler, award-winning homebrewer, and beer columnist for Southern Brew News.
Since 1994 our events have raised thousands of dollars for Georgia
charities and educated multitudes of people in regard to responsible
appreciation of flavorful craft beers. No
guarantees are made regarding the accuracy of information
on our webpages, and details are always subject to change without
notice. Unless noted, all text, photos and video on this web
collection are by Owen Ogletree. Owen
always welcomes youre-mail and
input.
Click here to view the current issue of our Brewtopia Brewsletter!
Each
month, Owen publishes a fun, informative Brewsletter featuring beer
news and events from all over the Southeast and beyond. It's also the
primary way he gets word out about his special events and ticket sales
for the Classic City Brew Fest and Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Use the
blue SUBSCRIBE box to the far left to join our Brewsletter list. We
guarantee your privacy and will never share your email address with
anyone.
In this issue... Take
a gander at the brand new Brewtopia Brewsletter featuring Owen's Craft
Beer Bucket List, some amazing featured beers to sample at the April 15
Classic City Brew Fest, news from The Beer Wench on Georgia's new cask
ale brewpub, and an appeal for more BrewFest volunteers.
2012 Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting Report
The
2012 Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting showcased 38 traditional and specialty
cask-conditioned ales from some of the best craft breweries around the
USA and UK. After a morning judging panel, the free public
sampling
session was held 3-6 PM on the patios of 5 Seasons Brewing and Taco Mac
Prado. Everyone was impressed with the flavors
and excellent quality of these real ales. Thanks to Taco Mac, 5
Seasons, Peak Organic and all our wonderful volunteers for helping
making
this special event possible! Click here to see the full report with photos.
2012 Brewtopia Euro Beer Excursion
Our
4th annual Brewtopia group beer trip to Europe took us to Amsterdam, La
Trappe, Gent Belgium, Rodenbach, Gaverhopke, Alvinne, Gruut, Cantillon,
Heeren van Liedekercke, the best Kolsch taverns in Koln and the
greatest Altbier spots in Dusseldorf.
Click here
to see the photos and get the rundown on all the locations we visited.
The video to the right was recorded in the Uerige altbier brewery
tavern in Dusseldorf on the last day of our trip.
Happy Gnome Firkin Fest - St. Paul, MN
Owen Ogletree takes a stroll through the Happy Gnome's 4th annual Firkin Fest
held on March 26, 2011 in Saint Paul, MN. Close to 80 cask conditioned
beers were available for sampling at this remarkable real ale
celebration. Click on the video to the right to see what the
event is all about and hear from a couple of participating brewers.
From www.thehappygnome.com... For
five years, The Happy Gnome has pushed forward the craft beer scene,
growing our drafts lines to featuring 70 taps. Our tap list is
exclusively domestic craft and quality import, rotating through
seasonal selections and maintaining some favorites. The Happy
Gnome features a cask selection, supporting the movement for real ale
along with hosting Firkin Fest every March.
The Beer Wench's Arizona Craft Beer Report
The
Beer Wench and Owen Ogletree traveled to sunny (not) Arizona in
December of 2010 for craft beer, scenery and hikes. We discovered a
land of great craft beer, snow, red peaks and history. It was a magical
experience.
From the report... We
found several locations (brewpubs and bars) that are worthy of a visit.
My favorites are Four Peaks Brewing Company which has two locations and
Sunup Brewing Company, and Papago Brewing Company. The Four Peaks
brewery is located at the brewpub in Tempe, and the beer and food are
available at the pub in Scottsdale. All of the Four Peaks' beers were
good, but my favorite is the Hop Knot IPA. Kiltlifter is their popular
seller. The food is delicious. We did not eat at Sunup Brewing but the
food looked and smelled good. The beer is good. The special when we
were there was the Cherry Bomb-a cherry juice laden imperial stout-Yum!
Click here to
access informative and entertaining beer videos taken during Owen's
travels in 2008. These videos are also available by searching
"Owen Ogletree" on YouTube. 2008 videos include...
Belgian Beer Cuisine Restaurant
Savannah's Moon River Brewing Company
A Tour of an Authentic English Pub's Cask Ale Cellar
Thwaites Brewery Visit, UK
Traquair House Brewery, Scotland
Anchor Brewing and Distilling
Brick Store Pub's Beer Cellar
Stone Brewing's Beers in Georgia
Bavaria & Franconia Group Beer Trip 2011
After
hitting Belgium in 2009 and England in 2010, Owen Ogletree decided to
take his annual group beer trip to Deutschland in 2011. On the trip
were reps from Terrapin Beer Company, Taco Mac, Leon Farmer Beer
Distributors, Bell's Brewery, Clipper City and Great Western Maltings. Check the photo album for all the remarkable places we visited and beers we enjoyed.
Pictured to the right (L-R): Ayinger's in-house beer sommelier, Ayinger owner
Franz Inselkammer (the elder), Owen Ogletree, and Franz Inselkammer
(the younger) share a scrumptious beer in the Ayinger Guest House
kitchen.
UK Real Ale Journey
In
February of 2010 Owen Ogletree took friends from Terrapin Beer
Company, Taco Mac and Five Points Bottle Shop on an amazing week-long
journey for some of the best cask ales made in England. Stops included
Fullers, Hook Norton, Marston's, Sheffield, Kelham Island Brewery,
Samuel Smiths, Thomas Fawcett Maltings, Moorhouse's and the Fleetwood
Beer Festival. To see photos and details from the entire journey, click here.
8 Common Beer Misconceptions
Everyone understands that fermented grape juice produces wine, but many
seem in the dark regarding the complexities of beer - the world's most popular
alcoholic libation. A complex beverage with a myriad of ingredients, styles, and
methods of serving, beer involves intricacies that often confound the average
consumer. Read Owen's article to explore eight popular ale and lager misconceptions.
The Beer Wench's Kitchen
Click here to access all the past Southern Brew News articles from The Beer Wench on beer and food. Delicious pairings and
recipes are featured. The Beer Wench says "Remember to always eat
well and drink good beer responsibly!" Delicious articles include:
Hops grace almost every beer made today, and 98% of
all hops are grown
in five countries – England, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and the
United States. These nations produce hops with characteristic
sets of notable flavors and aromas. Hops from the U.K. impart a
woody, tea-like note to English ales. Belgian, German and Czech
varieties bless their brews with delicate flavors and aromas of
flowers. Most American hops are raised in the states of Oregon
and Washington and confer distinctive overtones of pine and citrus to
American ales. Click here to
read more of Owen's hop information that every beer drinker should know.
Pairing Craft Beers with Holiday Foods
Looking
for flavorful and interesting beverages to accompany festive holiday
meals? Wines can be expensive and quite high in alcohol, eggnog is
loaded with fat, and cocktails tend to send guests home way too early
with their designated drivers. Why not experiment with craft beer?
Today's
crop of exciting, personable gourmet beers from small breweries around
the world make for delightful pairings with a wide range of foods, and
the diversity of colors, aromas and flavors of these brews are sure to
ignite curiosity, conversation and interest among holiday merry-makers.
Many say that beer's sweet malt, creamy carbonation and moderate
alcohol content complement rich holiday fare better than any other
libation. Click here to see Owen's recommendations.
Taco
Mac's 30 Year Craft Beer Evolution
Atlanta's
sprawling chain of Taco Mac pub/restaurants began life in 1979 in a
pint-size location tucked away in a corner of the quaint Atlanta
neighborhood known as Virginia-Highlands. Two friends from Buffalo, New
York decided to buy a closed taco shop here and sell wings and a
variety of domestic and import beers. Because of very limited funds,
the guys opted to purchase new kitchen equipment and keep the old sign
and name. Click here to read Owen's
full article.
Taco Mac's Fred Crudder and Lance Crane
Owen Ogletree Judges at Great British Beer Festival
Owen
Ogletree was honored to be invited to help judge the 2010 Great British
Beer Festival in London. Real ales from all over England were nominated
by CAMRA members to be judged in the finals at the GBBF held at Earl's
Court in London.
This photo album also includes pictures and
captions from a special Thornbridge Brewery takeover at London's
delightful new Cask Pub & Kitchen.
Click here for Owen's GoogleMap of favorite pubs in the London area.
Rogue Ales - Newport, Oregon
Located in the scenic coastal town of Newport,
Oregon, Rogue Ales is a pioneering northwestern craft brewery loaded
with personality, vitality and great beer recipes. I've enjoyed the
wide variety of Rogue beers since the early 1990s and wanted to visit
the brewery since my first sip, but it took me until 2008 to finally
make the pilgrimage. I gathered together a group of six beer
aficionados from Athens, Georgia, made the flight to Portland, loaded
up a mini-van, and trekked down the lovely Oregon coastline toward
Newport. Rogue President (and son of the founder), Brett Joyce met us
at the brewery and gave us a quick walk through.
The allure of flavorful craft brewed beer is finally
casting its seductive influence on a large contingent of suitors in the
southeastern states. New breweries, brewpubs and beer-focused
bars and restaurants are dotting the landscape in cities that 10 to 15
years ago only offered standard American lagers. It's finally
cool in the South to come out of the closet and admit undying love and
devotion to craft beer. Click here to
read the article.
Dave Blanchard of Brick Store Pub, Decatur, GA
Oskar Blues - Mayberry Meets the Rockies
Oskar Blues Brewery opened in 1997
in the small, sleepy town of Lyons, Colorado (population: 1500) and
evolved into a brewpub in 1999. Today the popular spot plays host
to some of the nation's best beers, live Blues, and southern and
Cajun-inspired foods that reflect owner Dale Katechis' southern
roots. The owners and almost every department head of the brewery
hail from the South. Dale Katechis, his brother Chris and their
office manager (and mother) Ya Ya are all from Alabama. Sales manager
Wayne Anderson grew up in LaGrange, Georgia. Publicity director,
idea man and lead singer, Marty Jones comes from Virginia. Click here to read the entire article.
Oskar Blues Canning Line - Lyons, CO
Blind
Beer Evaluations
Check
out the comments
from our recent blind tasting of some outstanding Barleywines, Meads, Strong Beers (including Old Ales,
Strong Scotch Ales, Imperial Stouts, and Barleywines), Herb, Spice,
Fruit, Experimentals, Hard Ciders and Strong
Belgian Ales. A popular feature of this website is
our series of blind tastings of some commercial beers. Read
useful comments and unbiased reviews of all types of beer/cider/mead
before you buy them!
See the full
list
of links to all our blind tastings of commercial beers!
Recent Ale & Lager
Tasting!
Above: Jared Bailey, John Gayer, Christian Hampton,
Brad Fowler and Owen Ogletree.
Real
Ale Pub Photo Album - Herefordshire, UK
"Herefordshire is God's own country - really the last bit of
England that is still England." - Tim Webb, author of
CAMRA's Good Beer Guide to Belgium
Click here to see
Owen's photos and read about his Herefordshire pub picks.
Pictured above is Steve Dunn, brewer and
owner of the wonderful Dunn Plowman Brewery.
Owen's 2007
Great American Beer Festival Report
Kerri "The Beer
Wench" Allen and I were honored to be included in the panel of judges
at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.
Held October 11-13, the 2007 GABF was the first time that all four
public sessions sold out (in advance, no less). More than 46,000
people attended, and this magnificent event really demonstrates the
popularity of craft beers in today's market.
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