BRING IT.

The 2012 Nashville Beer Festival presented by Frugal MacDoogal is scheduled for Saturday, October 6, 2012, at

Public Square Park Downtown at 3rd & Deaderick, Nashville’s true green space, 1 to 5 pm.

The Fest celebrates great craft beer, beer education, food, fellowship & more. Tickets are $35. 

MORE INFO

The world’s favorite day of drink is upon us, so we caught up with Guinness Master Brewer Fergal Murray during his recent trip to Boston to talk about Irish-style grub, the perfect way to enjoy Guinness Black Lager and what it was like to pour a pint for the Queen.

When you’re in Boston, where do you enjoy Guinness?

There are so many good draft outlets in Boston—so many places that pour great pints. One of the top three in the world is Mr. Dooley’s. It’s got great atmosphere, with great craic. It’s out in the suburbs, and they’re doing a great job pouring a perfect pint.

What do you look for in a pub?

You never want to be disappointed by the bartender, and the pints should be poured correctly. You always drink with your eyes first, so the beer should look stunning, like a supermodel.

How did you get your start with Guinness?

You can come in through different routes. I came in as a scientist, but I found it a bit boring. I was young, keen and eager and wanted to show my mettle. It all happened for me in the brewery. That’s where I fell in love with making Guinness. I love the whole excitement of getting it ready to go out the gate. It took 10 years to get really acquainted as a brewer. It took another five years to become a master brewer, and it’s a life-long title.

Does the role of master brewer come with its share of pressure?

It can be pressurized, because you are the face of Guinness. Pouring a pint for the Queen was definitely the most stressful thing I’ve done. The whole room went quiet, but I nailed it and got a standing ovation. I have photographs on the wall at home. She was mesmerized by the look as the beer came into the glass.

Where do the more experimental ideas like Guinness Black Lager come from?

If the market wants something, we’ll do it. The American market wanted another product, so we put the Guinness character into a lager. We’ve got things going on all day long, and we’ve got the capability to make any beer. Research goes into mash times, different cereals, different yeast, high and low gravity brewing—just a thousand different ways of doing things. It’s an efficiency optimization program, really. There’s also a lot of thought and theory going on in the brewhouse. It’s a very scientific kind of place.

Is there a perfect way to enjoy Black Lager?

The best way to drink Black Lager is out of the bottle, cold, while you’re watching a match. Drink a pint of Guinness at the pub, but bottles at home.

Is there any beer other than Guinness in your fridge at home?

I’ve got some Smithwicks, and I do like a bottle of lager now and again, usually Carlsberg. But I just love going out for a pint. I’m a social animal. I don’t have kids, so I slog it down to the pub. Any chance, man. Give us a shout.

What’s your take on St. Patrick’s Day in the States?

You’ve got to love it. It’s a party and a fun day—a day when everyone wants to be Irish. If you’re going to be anywhere in the world on March 17, you’ve got to be in America. New York is amazing.

What about celebrating in Dublin?

There’s only one place to be in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day: The Storehouse at the Guinness brewery. Have a few pints at the Storehouse, then go find yourself in one of the great pubs. We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 365 days of the year. We’re a phenomenal race: Through thick and thin, we always have a little bit of fun.

Do you have a favorite dish to pair with a pint?

I’m always in heaven with 12 oysters and a pint of Guinness. Any seafood, like shrimp or crab, goes naturally with the beer. Then again, I don’t mind having a burger or beef stew. They’re so warming they need a pint of Guinness to help them go down.

From Draft Magazine

Chattanooga residents will soon have more choices of locally made alcohol.

Local resident Brad Lumley and his business partner Steve Ruggiero are planning a local beer brewery, called Good Fences Craft Beer.

(From left to right) Good Fences Craft Beer founder Brad Lumley and Barley Mob Brewers President Tony Giannasi, who Lumley said has been instrumental in his development as a brewer. Contributed photo.

“We will launch with one beer,” Lumley said, which will probably be a IPA. “I think we want to put our flagship beer out there first. That is going to get our brand out there.”

This month, owners of The Georgia Winery also announced that after months of work their product, which is made just over the state line in Georgia, is now available in Chattanooga stores.

Both these announcements come on the heels of the unveiling of a Chattanooga-inspired whiskey and the opening of Chattanooga Brewing Company last year.

“We have a lot of great breweries in town,” Lumley said. “People are obviously going to want something different.”

So, Lumley hopes to create a “big and flavorful” beer, he said.

Good Fences
Lumley started brewing in his home a couple of years ago. He started entering and winning contests and friends always asked him to make beer for them.

That’s illegal, so he didn’t do that, but it made him think about creating a business.

He joined forces with his neighbor—hence the name Good Fences—and they decided to start small.

They are currently looking for commercial or light industrial space to set up the brewery and they hope to have their first beer on the market by next June.

Lumley said he will keep his day job and brew during his free time.

“I’m not going to draw a salary (from Good Fences), so every penny we make, we are dumping back into the brewery,” he said.  

State and federal licensing plus equipment is expensive, so the initial goal is to break even and then get investors interested, he said.

Just an investment in equipment can cost $25,000, he said.

Source: International Business Times
By Lord Jorrel Polintan
November 16, 2011 1:30 PM EST
Research has proven that one to two glasses of wine a day is healthy for the body. However, what about the most common of spirits – the beer? Beer has often been painted to be bad for the health, but recent study suggests otherwise.
According to the study done by the Research Laboratories at the Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura “Giovannia Paolo II,” in Campobasso, Italy, drinking beer moderately has the same positive effects that wine has to the cardiovascular health.
Drinking wine moderately – two glasses for men and one glass for women – can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 31% less when compared to those who do not drink. Findings of the study show, for the first time, that drinking slightly more than an English pint a day of beer containing 5% of alcohol has the same protective benefit as wine.
Studying wine and beer separately, Simona Costanzo, first author of the paper, said that they have observed a reduction in cardiovascular risk with low to moderate drinking. However, with increased consumption, the protective advantage disappears up until the risk gets higher.
With these findings of beer being good for fending off the risk of cardiovascular disease, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, the head of the Statistic Unit of Research Laboratories and a pioneer in alcohol epidemiological studies, emphasized moderate and regular drinking, and that there is no place for binge drinking or any other form of heavy consumption.
Di Caselnuovo also cautioned that their data cannot be extrapolated to everybody. Citing women in their fertile age, alcohol can actually slightly raise their risk for some type of cancer, which can counterbalance the positive effect on cardiovascular disease.
The researchers admitted though, that the similarity between wine and beer and their positive effects on cardiovascular health is still unknown. What the researchers are inferring are, since wine and beer are different in composition, all except for alcohol, alcohol could be the key player.
Beer has been the subject of many studies before and since then, many benefits have been found just by drinking the humble spirit moderately. According to HealthMad.com, drinking beer moderately has positive benefits such as:
1. Raising the level of anti-oxidants in the blood stream
2. Source of vitamin B6 which is needed to make hemoglobin, the red coloring in blood
3. Aids in sleep and promotes relaxation
4. Can help reduce blood pressure and levels of insulin in the blood
5. Can reduce the incidence of kidney stones
6. Contains flavanoids which are natural oxidants that help the body protect against diseases

 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is not coming to Blount County, according to the Blount Partnership.

The Chico, Calif,. company notified the Blount Partnership this weekend that they would not build a brewery on property adjacent to the Pellissippi Place research and development park in Alcoa.

According to a press release from the partnership, issues this morning, Blount County has fallen out of contention for the brewery.

“Blount County is no longer under consideration for the Sierra Nevada project,” the release states. “We appreciate the interest the brewing company had in operating a plant in Blount County and understand their reasons for not locating here. The relationships established between Sierra Nevada and the state of Tennessee and county and city officials remain strong. The Blount Partnership will continue to work all business leads to bring more companies and jobs to Blount County.”

Partnership officials did not specify the reasons that Sierra Nevada cited in not choosing Alcoa.

Roanoke, Va., also was crossed off the brewery candidate site list.

More details as they develop online…

The Campaign for Real Ale withdrew its support from a beer festival – after organisers planned to serve drinks in plastic glasses.

Members of CAMRA were expected to turn out in force for the Bath Beer Festival in Somerset, which was held at the city’s Pavilion venue over the weekend. v

But the purists pulled their support after the decision was made to serve beer in plastic beakers – saying the rule goes against the ethos of CAMRA.

Bath and Borders CAMRA branch pubs officer Dr Andrew Swift said: ”It was felt that there would be a drop in attendance because some people would simply refuse to drink out of plastic glasses.”

Dr Smith described the decision to only allow plastic glasses as ”the straw that broke the camel’s back” expressing concerns at the rising costs and the ”irritant” of health and safety rules.

They praised organiser Chris Lilley for promoting real ale but criticised his decision to call it the Bath Beer Festival, describing it as ”misleading”.

A statement from the group said: ”After 33 years of running it successfully, the branch feels that to call his event the Bath Beer Festival – which, under CAMRA’s auspices had side stalls, souvenir glasses and an opportunity to buy the Good Beer Guide at discounted rates – is a trifle misleading and that the name the Pavilion Beer Festival would have been better and more accurate.

”We would also like to make it clear that we did not merely host the Beer Festival – we organised it – every bit of it, which is rather different.

”We would therefore like it be known that we wish Chris Lilley (from the Pavilion) well in his venture.”

Pavilion manager Jenny Jacob admitted her disappointment at CAMRA’s decision but continued with the event, which took place at the weekend.

She said: ”We were very disappointed that CAMRA Bath and Borders branch chose not to host the Bath Beer Festival this year at the Pavilion as the event has a long and successful history and we were keen to help find ways to address the points they raised.”

Thirty years ago a pair of young Americans who had fallen in love with Belgium started importing the virtually unknown beers of that country into the US. Since then Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield have brought us the likes of Duvel, Jenlain, Castelain, Rodenbach, Kwak, Blanche de Bruges, Affligem, Boon’s lambics and Dupont’s Saison.

To celebrate the wonderful culture of Belgian beer that we now enjoy in the US–and their 30th anniversary–they are sponsoring a “Coast-to-Coast Toast” on November 15th and they’ve asked us to invite you all to join in. I know that many of the best beer bars in my hometown of Chicago already have plans to participate and I suspect that many of you will want to do so as well–either as a host at your bar, store or restaurant or as a consumer to enjoy some great beers.

For more on Don and Wendy’s story see this piece by beer writer Lew Bryson http://greatbrewers.com/story/30-years-belgian-beers-happy-anniversary-vanberg-dewulf

For info on how and where to participate in the Coast to Coast toast, check out this link: http://belgianexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Toolkit-08.25.11.pdf

CHATTANOOGA STOUT FACEOFF!

CHATTANOOGA BEST BEER SERIES: FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT THE CHATTANOOGA MARKET
	WHEN: NOVEMBER 6TH 11 AM – 2 PM WHERE: FIRST TENNESSEE PAVILION WHAT: All the STOUTS locally made in Chattanooga, gathered in one place for a blind tasting. WHO: BIG RIVER GRILLE CHATTANOOGA BREWING COMPANY TERMINAL BREWHOUSE MCHALE’S BREWHOUSE MOCCASIN BEND BREWING  HOW: Tickets available at: http://www.eventbee.com/event?eid=822048304