COOP invited to Colorado beer festival
Oklahoma City’s COOP Ale Works has been invited to take part in the ninth annual Boulder Strong Ale Festival, the brewery announced recently. The festival will be hosted by Avery Brewing Co. on Feb. 18-19. The Friday session will be 5 to 10 p.m. and the Saturday session will be noon to 5 p.m. COOP announced they will share DNR and the 2009 Territorial Reserve Oak-Aged Imperial Stout. Other breweries taking part will be:
-Allagash (Maine)
-Cambridge (Massachusetts)
-Deschutes (Oregon)
-Dogfish Head (Delaware)
-Moylans (California)
-Ommegang (New York)
-Oskar Blues (Colorado)
-Pizza Port (California)
-Pumphouse (Colorado)
-Redstone Meadery (Colorado)
-The Bruery (California)
-Trinity Brewing (Colorado)
-Victory Brewing (Pennsylvania)
A limited number of tickets may still be available. If you’re interested in a road trip, click here for tickets.
Mustang Brewing Co.’s newest beer is…
Ladies and gentlemen, I promised on Friday that you’d get an exclusive beer announcement today. Well, say hello to the newest addition the Mustang Brewing Co. lineup…
Mustang Pawnee Pale!
As you can see on the label, Pawnee Pale will be an American pale ale. Here is the beer description provided by Mustang president Tim Schoelen:
“Bringing the best of Old World East and New World West together is what makes Pawnee Pale a truly American-style pale ale. A tantalizing blend of German Perle and U.S. Pacific Northwest hops give this beer a moderate, citrus, hop quality. American, British, and caramel malts provide a rich maltiness not found in most pale ales. At 6% ABV and 42 IBU’s, Pawnee Pale is distinctly hopped, yet still carries that session beer quality you have come to expect from Mustang.”
Schoelen said Mustang has received many requests for an IPA, but struggled with how they could make one in the session beer range. Thus an American pale ale was the answer. The Pawnee Pale was anonymously debuted at a tasting panel at McNellie’s OKC in December, and Schoelen said it by far was the choice of beer fans among the six beers tested that night. The beer is set to be released March 1, and you can expect it in stores a week to two weeks after that.
But stop the presses, people! On top of the fact that we just announced the release of a new beer, The Thirsty Beagle has even more exciting news to pass your way: Pawnee Pale will be Mustang’s first beer brewed in Oklahoma. Through a partnership with Choc Beer Co., Mustang will brew all of its kegs of Pawnee Pale at the Choc facility in Krebs. Bottles will still be brewed in Wisconsin. But the Pawnee Pale you get on tap at local watering holes will be an Oklahoma-made product.
This will be Choc’s second beer partnership in Oklahoma, following last year’s release of Choc/Marshall Wild Brew, and obviously Mustang’s first in-state brewing partnership. Schoelen also confirmed that Pawnee Pale hopefully will not be the last beer brewed at Choc. A second beer tested at the tasting panel will also be released in 2011, Schoelen said. One potential plan would see demand for Pawnee Pale ramp up beyond what can be produced locally, sending brewing to Wisconsin to make room at Choc for the next addition to the Mustang line-up. However it shakes out, it sounds like another big year ahead for Mustang.
Big-time beer announcement coming Monday!
Hello beer fans of Oklahoma! Please check The Thirsty Beagle blog first thing Monday morning for an exclusive beer announcement! You’ll see it here first, people! I can’t stop using exclamation points! Until then, here’s some beer news to tide you over.
-Congrats to McNellie’s Tulsa for making the list of Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Beer Bars in America.
-One man’s list of the top 10 beer moments in Oklahoma in 2010. I found this link on Facebook, and a few people there commented that Oklahoma legalizing homebrewing should have been on the list. I would have to agree. But otherwise, a good list.
-Word on the street is that the first public offering from Redbud Brewing Co. will be in stores any time now. Cuvee 1, a Belgian-style golden ale. Check your local store for availability. I’ll have more on Cuvee 1, and the upcoming Cuvee 2, coming up on the blog.
Red Earth Brewers pick new logos
The newest homebrewing club in the Oklahoma City area — the Red Earth Brewers — recently announced that a call for new logos for the club resulted in a pair of choices.
To recap, the club started with this:
And now has upgraded to this and this:
Personally, I prefer the hand/mug logo over the bottle cap logo. I’m not sure if one will win out over the other eventually, or if the plan is to use both. Any REB members know the scoop?
Choc Oak Aged Quad update
I spoke recently with Choc’s Zach Prichard because I’ve really been looking forward to Choc’s new Oak Aged Quad. Here’s a quick update: Choc is expecting to have the Oak Aged Quad in bottles by the end of this week. After that, it’ll spend two to three weeks in the bottle for conditioning. Beer fans can expect to see Oak Aged Quad on store shelves by the end of the month. In case you don’t remember my earlier OAQ post, here’s a refresher: Choc will release only 1,080 numbered, corked-and-caged 750-ml (25.4 oz.) bottles. The beer is a spin-off of Choc’s award-winning Signature Belgian-Sytle Quad. The OAQ will check in at 11% ABV.
News coming soon from Mustang Brewing
I traded e-mails recently with Mustang Brewing president Tim Schoelen following his recent tasting panel event at McNellie’s OKC. Schoelen and Mustang brewmaster Gary Shellman rolled out six varieties of beer for the panel as they look to select the next addition to the Mustang lineup. Schoelen reports that one beer stood out over the other five, and that Mustang fans should be on the lookout for news on a new beer pretty soon.
Try a new beer today at McNellie’s
Not an advertisement for McNellie’s here. A tip, actually, that Chase Healey — formerly of COOP Ale Works, now of Redbud Brewing — will be sampling some of his new Redbud Pale Ale starting at 5 p.m. today at McNellie’s OKC.
In other local beer news:
-Pete’s Place Beer Dinner Vol. 6 is set for Jan. 14 in Krebs. Call (918) 423-2042 to make reservations.
-The final cases of Marshall’s El CuCuy India-Style Black Ale shipped last week, so pick some up soon if you want to try it, or want to try some more.
-Mustang Brewing released this statement in mid-December. Meant to post it sooner: “The final 600 cases of Mustang Amber Lager will be bottled (Dec. 15). Get it while you can! We’re putting the brakes on any more Amber Lager production until next winter. Golden Ale and Washita Wheat will stay available year-round in bottles and kegs. Our new beers for 2011 will be announced soon.”
