The Alchemist Pub And Brewery

Cask this Friday is Red Cow!

Double dryhopped with a QP of dank Vermont grown Cascades from Boehme Farms here in Waterbury.
Not to be missed!

My oh my , it has been a long time….

It’s 2010, and the beers are flowing like crazy here at The Alchemist.  I’m sure some have come and gone since my last update and I apologize for that.  If you missed any of them , I guess you should have come in!!!

Right now, we still have a little bit of our Blackout and Beelzebub left on tap. These are a few of the stouts I spoke about brewing this winter.  The next one, Knuckle Dragger , is waiting patiently in the cooler.  It should be released some time in the next two weeks.  It is a Belgian-inspired milk stout, and it is going to be really nice, best batch yet, I believe.  Sterk Wit is also done fermenting, aging, and awaiting release in the next few weeks.  When I get to work tomorrow, I will be racking and carbonating this years batch of Petit Mutant.  This American wild ale was brewed back in June, spent a lot of time on a lot of cherries, a little time on french oak, and then a lot of time in stainless steel.  Tart, sour , and full of deep cherry character, yum……

I’ll be brewing two batches this week.  First comes a batch of Broken Spoke, an all Amarillo brew.  It’s been a pale ale, an IPA, and a few variations in between.  This one will be about 60 IBU and 6-7% abv.  Usually it is exclusively Amarillo , but I have 7 pounds of Vermont grown Cascades in my cooler that I may just dump in at the end of the boil….. should be nice.

The other this week is Menage a Trois, a Belgian-style strong golden ale.  It will be fermented with the Bastogne yeast, but I may up the hops a little and add some Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, again, we’ll see…..I WAS just drinking Orval last night….

Heady Topper is on tap right now, it is just delicious, come and get it while it’s fresh, because it won’t last long.  I also released Celia Saison, our latest gluten free offering. The flavor of the sorghum is really suited  to the style, and you’ll probably see it back again in summer.  The next gluten free beer will be a very hoppy pale ale some time toward spring.

Other than that , I think I’ve got you up to date.  Hopefully, by summer, I will have my new tanks in, and you’ll have cask Holy Cow on 7 days a week!!!!

Stay tuned.

John

Two quick notes for you guys:

We will be closed for the following days this coming holiday season:

• Christmas Eve:  December 24
• Christmas Day: December 25
• New Year’s Day: January 1

Sometime during the holiday season, or very shortly thereafter, John also has some things in the pipeline that will be coming to fruition, namely a new batch of Beezlebub, the return of Petit Mutant, and an all new mild ale.

In the meantime, we’ve sure got lots of snow and look forward to seeing you as we kick off this winter season.

Happy Holidays!

Well, it certainly is about time I get a new blog out to you folks.  For the last three days my house has been full of flu ridden people with 102` fevers, good stuff…

The first of several stouts is now on tap.  Brecky, our first oatmeal stout is flying out of the taps.  Last week I brewed a batch of Beelzebub, a very hoppy and very roasty American stout.  It really is a labor of love to brew that beer. All of the roasted malts make for a VERY difficult mash.  It will come in at about 8% A.B.V. and has 80 I.B.U.’s of hoppy goodness.  I will be brewing a batch of Blackout tomorrow whether my fever is gone or not.  Our friend Stacy has been busy making the coffee for this coffee stout and it will be on tap the same time Beelzebub is on tap.

This year’s batch of El Jefe will be racked and carbonated on Wednesday for a release on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  For those of you unfortunate enough to have never tried El Jefe, it is an American dark IPA, or as we like to call it, an India Dark Ale, IDA.  I brew this beer with only Simcoe hops which give it a distinct aroma of spruce. It certainly lives up to its motto, “ Bold, Black, and bitter as hell”.  At 6.5% A.B.V., it is a very sessionable and drinkable.  It goes VERY quickly, so don’t bet on it lasting into January.

On December 10th, I will be brewing the beer for release on 10/10/10.  I had been back and forth as to what this beer should be, but with the death of my dear friend, Greg Noonan, I decided it would be a Wee Heavy.  My head chef, Jeff Lang, will be helping me during a very long brew day.  It will be brewed by using the first runnings of two mashes, and will also produce a “small” beer from the second runnings. The working title for the Wee Heavy will be Wee Wittle Wabbit.  I know it’s silly, but I think it will be incredibly funny to hear people order it and sound like they are talking baby talk.  If anyone would have laughed at the idea, it would have been Greg.  The small beer has no name yet, but it will be along the lines of Shut The Hell Up, hoppy and low alcohol content.

The next stout to be brewed this winter will be a batch of Knuckle Dragger, a Belgian-inspired milk stout.  When I bring in the Belgian yeast, I will do a string of beers with it.  Definitely a batch of Sterk Wit, maybe some Menage a Trois, maybe a batch of Honky as well.  If you have any requests, let me know. I will be sure to ignore every one of them… (j/k)

Until my next update, have a safe and happy holiday season.  Don’t drink and drive.

John

My Dear Alchemist faithful,

I don’t know if you are aware of the bullshit one of my fellow brewers is going through, but you must have a look at this. The following is a letter I received from my professional associate Jeff Baker.  Please take the time to read it, and

PLEASE

do your part to never buy another Monster product again.  (it’ll only make you fat anyway),

AND

send this to as many of your friends as you can (especially
if they drink that crap).

To whom it may concern:

I am writing you today to bring your attention to the legal action pending between Hansen’s Natural of Corona, CA, and Rock Art Brewery of Morrisville, VT. I am also writing to ask for your company’s assistance.

Hansen’s has issued Rock Art a “cease and desist” order regarding their barley-wine ale “The Vermonster.” The order claims that use of this term is in violation of national trademarks held by Monster Energy, a subsidiary of
Hansen. Their lawyer has stated that continued use of this term will “undoubtedly create a likelihood of confusion and/or dilute the distinctive quality of Hansen’s Monster marks.” Rock Art has responded with an offer to stay out of the energy drink business if Monster will allow him to continue in the beer business. Their lawyer responded claiming that
Hansen is not concerned with Rock Art entering the non-alcoholic business, but rather that her client has plans to start business in the alcoholic beverage category.

Rock Art Brewery has consulted with 5 trademark lawyers thus far, and all have quickly agreed there is no trademark infringement and have dubbed this a “nuisance suit.” Rock Art will most likely win any legal battle, but will be responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, something the brewery claims they can’t afford. Matt Nadeau, owner of Rock Art Brewery, says that although this is not a do-or-die situation for the brewery since he can change the name of the beer, he is standing up for his legal rights. His company is undoubtedly clear of any legal wrong-doing, yet since Rock Art grosses less than Hansen annually, he will most likely have to concede to their whims. When a publicly-traded corporation which grosses more than $600 million annually takes frivolous legal action against a family-owned company with less than 10 employees it can only be described as bullying.

To show support for a fellow Vermont independent company many businesses have removed Hansen/Monster products,
signage, displays and advertisements from their stores and restaurants.

This list includes Beverage Warehouse (retail, Winooski), Pearl Street Beverage (retail, Burlington) and Val’s Wild Tomato (restaurant, Winooski) while many others statewide are considering doing the same.

Here’s where you come in:

I am calling on all Vermont breweries to stand united with Rock Art. When one Vermont craft brewer is attacked by a corporate giant it is an attack on all Vermont craft brewers. I urge you to show your support by issuing a Press Release that your brewery is standing united with Rock Art. You can also contact Hansen/Monster (see below) and remove Hansen/Monster products from your workplace. Please consider notifying your staff and employees of the situation so that they can also show their support. Lastly, please consider calling Rock Art and let them know you’re on their side. They need all the help they can get right now. Their contact info is below.

If we stand together as Vermonters we can help protect small, independent Vermont companies from being run out of business by outside mega-corporations.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope you and your company will show your support soon!
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker
Burlington, VT

Here are important links that have both some more background and contact information. Do your part, post comments across the web, join groups, MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Thank you for taking the time to support the little guy.

-John

Facebook Group Against Monster

Beer Advocate Forum

National News Coverage

More National News

Kick Monster In The Teeth (send ‘em an e-mail!)

Rock Art Brewery Support Page

and I’ve saved the best for last, a fantastic video interview with Matt: