We are especially interested in the following categories…

Category 16:  Best Brewpub

Category 18:  Best Bar

Category 19:  Best Apres-Ski

Category 55:  Meteorologist (Dave Bush of course!)

Category 85:  Web Developer (Moosedog Studios, our very own Robin
Hoover)

Category 100:  Place to get Body Art (Good Ink, our much deserving
tattoo artists upstairs)

Thank you all for your loyalty and support over the years.

That is it for my groveling.

On to the beers.

First of all, disregard my cask Holy Cow announcement on my last blog. It will not be on until August-ish.  Good things come to those who wait…..

I have a double batch of Focal Banger sitting on the dry hops as you read this.  This IPA will be poured at the pub, and at this years Vermont Brewers Festival.  It will be known as Ball n Chain IPA at the fest in honor of my niece’s wedding the same weekend.  I will be at that wedding, and my head chef, Jeff Lang, will be running our tent for the event.  We will also be pouring our annual lager, Your Mother, a German-inspired Pilsner.  This little beauty was fermented with a classic strain of lager yeast,  heavily hopped with Hersbrucker and Opal, and cold conditioned for 14 weeks.  Since half of it will be given away at the festival, it will only be making a BRIEF appearance at the pub.  3.5 barrels of Pilsner does not last long in the summer…..

With an additional fermenter coming online soon, I may be able to sneak a batch of Fluxcapacitor through the system in the late summer.  I will be carbonating and kegging the Wee Wittle Wabbit on Wednesday.  This not so Wee Heavy is stunning, and will sit patiently until 10/10/10, its release date.

I also have a batch of Farmers Daughter aging in the cellar.  I’ve been very pleased with this spring’s string of Belgian-style ales.  This one is no exception.  A little more bitter than past versions, but everything else stayed the same.

Honky , our house white ale, is absolutely at its best these days.  I had one the other night, and the phenolics have settled so nicely into place.  Well balanced and very drinkable.

Menage a Trois  will be on for the next 3 weeks or so.

If you haven’t been in during the last two weeks, I suggest you do.  El Jefe is making an off-season appearance, and it won’t be around long. I give it 2-3 more weeks.

As with all of my beers, the benefits of unpasteurized and unfiltered beer is that you get to taste them evolve over the course of their existence.

Before you know it, I will be brewing Rapture and Ouroboros.  Stay tuned, and stay thirsty.

John

Mingle in our bar and sample cheese provided by Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery.

Allison Hooper, Founder and Co-Owner of Vermont Butter and Cheese, and Adeline Druart, Raffineuse and Master Ager,  will be present to discuss their cheeses and cheesemaking processes.  We are honored to have these true pioneers of American Hand-Crafted cheeses at The Alchemist!

Alison will also be signing her book, “In a Cheesemaker’s Kitchen“, which be available for sale (in case you forgot yours!).

Finally, all evening (until 10:00pm), we will feature additional menu items that have been taken from or inspired by Allison’s book.

Come celebrate Vermont cheese with us!

Petit Mutant, and Heady Topper fans should probably come in sooner, than later.  Both will be gone in about a week.  You won’t see Heady for a while, and the next batch of Petit won’t be released until winter.

There is a little bit of Celia Saison left, so if you want to taste the best gluten-free beer in the world, come and get it.  We recently won a Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup for the Celia.  The next gluten-free offering is getting brewed in two weeks, Celia Pale Ale.

I have had MANY requests to bring back the IPA, but it was just too bitter in my opinion.  So I will compromise with making a 25-30 ibu hop bomb to be released some time in May.  We will most likely have a two week gap in our gluten-free offering around the early part of May.

Brecky is back on tap.  This is the second batch, and I changed things up a little.  Instead of 5.5%abv, it is at 7.5%.  This makes a big difference in the final taste, the most obvious is that the new batch is a little drier.  All in all, it is still an incredibly satisfying beer.  Don’t look for it to come back any time soon, it was a bitch to brew, and I always get a terrible yield.  That is the double whammy death knell for any beer.  Should be on through May.

Sterk Wit will be around for a few more weeks. This is one of my favorite batches so far.

Coming down the line are a couple of old favorites.  When the Heady Topper is gone, we will be releasing this years batch of Shut The Hell Up!.  An American mild ale coming in at 3.8% abv.  LOADED with Simcoe hops, and absolutely oozing with the flavor and aroma of pink grapefruit.  As always it will be served in a larger glass so that our employees will have the option of offering their indecisive customers a “nice tall glass of Shut The Hell Up”.  Good stuff….

Menage a  Trois will come on tap when the Petit is gone.  This Belgian-inspired strong golden ale has been aging in my cooler for the last ten weeks. Smooth, delightful, and nicely phenolic.

The new batch of Honky is just about done fermenting, and will replace the Sterk Wit.  Honky is our house white ale brewed in the traditional manner, using coriander and Curacao orange peel in the kettle.  Light and Summery, just in time.

So that is it.  Hope this helps.

Drink good beer…..