Full COOP lineup expected in cans this year
News broke on social media this morning* about Oklahoma City’s COOP Ale Works posting its excellent F5 IPA for sale in four packs of 16 oz. cans — but that’s not all we’re going to get from COOP this year.
I have confirmed that all of COOP’s six flagship beers will be available in cans this year, with a target date set in the September/October range.
That would mean that Native Amber and Horny Toad will be joined in 16-oz. four packs by F5, Gran Sport Porter and Zeppelin German Wheat. COOP DNR will be released in 12-oz. four packs.
COOP’s JD Merryweather says beer consumers can expect redesigned cans/packaging and that everything will look very sharp.
Sounds like a busy spring and summer is in store for COOP. Keep it tuned to the blog for more updates.
(H/T to BierGarten Wine and Spirits for the F5 tip)
Daily Pints
-Another string of new beers are coming into state liquor stores, including summer seasonals!
1. Anchor Summer Beer
2. Sam Adams Summer Ale
3. Erdinger Pikantus Weizen-Bock
4. Sierra Blanca Nut Brown
5. Sierra Blanca Alien Imperial
6. Rogue Juniper Pale Ale
7. Hacker-Pschorr Dunkle Weiss
-Congrats to Red Earth Brewers President Wes Glinsmann who proved he may be better than the rest of us at picking brackets. Wes can now call himself back-to-back defending champion of the The Thirsty Beagle March Madness Bracket Challenge. He picked Louisville to win the title, and that worked out well for both Wes and Louisville.
Countdown: 1 week to go until Tulsa Craft Beer Week
We’re officially only one week away from the start of the inaugural Tulsa Craft Beer Week. Organizers over there have put together a great lineup of events, including the centerpiece event — an outdoor beer-tasting festival at BierGarten Wine and Spirits.
The bulk of activities through the week will take place at R-Bar, 3421 S Peoria Ave., and McNellie’s, 409 E First St.
Here’s a quick rundown:
Monday, April 15
-Choc Beer Dinner at R-Bar (Tickets $50)***
-COOP Firkin/Pint Night at McNellie’s
Tuesday, April 16
-Great Divide Tap Takeover at R-Bar
-Marshall Firkin Crawl at McNellie’s locations (A different firkin at each of the Mcnellie’s group locations, with each one only opening after the other is floated)
-COOP Five-Course Beer Dinner at Hey Mambo, 114 N Boston Ave. (Tickets $55/person, $100/couple)
Wednesday, April 17
-Green Flash West Coast IPA Pint Night at R-Bar (With exclusive glass)
-Choc event at McNellie’s
Thursday, April 18
-Local Tap Takeover at R-Bar
-Prairie Artisan Ales Dinner at McNellie’s (Tickets $50, reservation required by emailing tiffany@mcnellies.com)
Friday, April 19
-Outdoor Festival at R-Bar featuring special firkins (Tickets $25)
-Prairie Tap Takeover at McNellie’s
Saturday, April 20
-Grand-finale outdoor festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot next to The BierGarten, 807 East A St. The festival is sponsored by the Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers. Proceeds from the event will go to FOAM. Tickets will be $25 each with a free ticket given to designated drivers. There will be a free glass handed out after the event. The glass will be sponsored by The BierGarten and Boulevard Brewing. The festival will include beer from Choc, Marshall, COOP, Mustang, Prairie, Boulevard, Great Divide and FOAM. Food will be provided at an additional cost by Billy Sims BBQ. Organizers want to remind potential festival-goers that there will be NO ticket sales the day of the event. All tickets must be purchased in advance at www.tulsacraftbeerweek.com, where you can also find additional information about all the events.
***I just got an update on the menu for the four-course Choc dinner at R-Bar on Monday, and man, does it sound good! Check it out:
-Course 1: Roasted cauliflower and saffron soup with sunflower seeds and Moroccan creme fraiche, with Choc Spring Pilsner
-Course 2: Bacon-wrapped dates and arugula salad with smoked almonds, neufchâtel, honey and balsamic, with Choc 1919
-Course 3: Spiced rack of lamb served with a caper and raisin relish, rosemary roasted fingerlings, baby carrots and lamb jus, with Choc Oklahoma Pale Ale
-Course 4: Cinnamon oranges with vanilla and honey yogurt and candied pecans, with Choc Biere De Garde
Wow. Organizers recommend you check the event website regularly this week for more details to be added as menus and beer lineups are finalized.
Daily Pints
-The pint night at McNellie’s OKC tonight is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
-At McNellie’s Tulsa, it’s Sam Adams Alpine Spring
-At McNellie’s Norman, it’s Boulevard Tank 7
-Speaking of McNellie’s OKC, they scheduled their next Beer University for April 23. The event will feature a guided tasting of roughly 18 Oklahoma beers. The cost is $25; reservations can be made by emailing jenny.price@mcnellies.com.
-Free Kindle beer book on brewing ancient recipes right here.
How about another free beer book? TTBFBFBF!
Another Friday arrives, another week slammed to the canvas and held down for the three-count. And that means it’s time for another round of TTBFBFBF! (That’s The Thirsty Beagle Facebook Free Book Friday, for the uninitiated.)
Today’s offering is “Beer: A Genuine Collection of Cans” by Dan Becker and Lance Wilson.
This soft-cover book contains 351 pages of beer can pictures. It’s a neat pictorial tour through the history of beer cans — and it can be yours simply by liking the Facebook post associated with this blog post. I’ll pick the winner at approximately 5 p.m. today.
Daily Pints
-A pint night for the new Mustang DoppelHopper IPA has been set for April 12 at TapWerks.
-Speaking of April 12, that’s the night of Broadway and Brew — an outdoor beer tasting at the Myriad Gardens to benefit Lyric Theatre.
-And one day later, the annual Beer Sprocket event is set for April 13 in Choctaw. More to come on that on the blog next week.
-While we’re at it, don’t forget that April 15 is the kick-off of the inaugural Tulsa Craft Beer Week.
-Right on the heels of Goose Island 312 and Honkers, I’m hearing reports of Goose Island IPA now arriving at liquor stores in the Oklahoma City area.
HB 1341 passed by committee, presses on toward finish line
Oklahoma House Bill 1341, what we’ve come to know as the beer sample bill, is inching ever-closer to the finish line.
The bill, which would allow the state’s licensed brewers to offer on-premise samples, this morning passed through the Senate Business and Finance Committee by a vote of 6-1, Marshall Brewing Co.’s Wes Alexander reports.
The bill now will come up in front of the Senate’s scheduling committee so that it can be slotted for a hearing by the full Senate. If approved by the Senate, it would go on the governor for approval.
A little less than two months remain in this year’s legislative session, so it may be a few weeks before we hear about the bill again.
Marshall Brewing, the bill’s primary backers, encourage supporters to contact their state senator. A searchable database of the state’s legislative leaders can be found right here.
Daily Pints
-Spring and summer beers are flooding into the state this week. Here’s a sampling of what several stores are reporting in stock:
1. Troubadour Magma Belgian-Style IPA-Triple
2. Petrus Aged Red
3. Blanche de Namur Belgian Wit
4. Green Flash Rayon Vert Belgian-Style Pale Ale
5. Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer
6. Sam Adams Beers of Summer 12-pack mixer
7. Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest 6-pack
8. Goose Island Honkers Ale
9. Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat
10. Shipyard Summer Ale
11. Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale
12. Kronenburg 1664 Blanc
13. Czechvar Premium Dark Lager
14. Baltika 8 Wheat Ale
15. Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager
16. Widmer Bros. Columbia Common Spring Ale
17. Shiner Ruby Redbird
18. Sierra Nevada Summerfest
19. Anchor Summer Beer
-The second of three Goose Island pint nights at TapWerks is set for today. Tonight’s offering is Honkers Ale.
-Speaking of TapWerks, just saw on the Twitter that the pub got 15 kegs of the latest Prairie Artisan Ales offerings. Expect to see them on tap soon.
-The monthly beer special for McNellie’s OKC is Shiner Premium for $3.
Beer sample bill set for Senate committee hearing
A beer-related bill working its way through the Oklahoma Legislature appears poised to take the next legislative step.
House Bill 1341, which would allow licensed Oklahoma breweries to offer beer samples on site, is pending a hearing in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. HB 1341 supporter Marshall Brewing Co. reports this morning that the bill is scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The bill breezed through a House committee and easily passed the full House. It needs approval from the Senate Business and Commerce Committee before it can take the next step of advancing to the full Senate.
Complicating matters is the fact that the committee faces a Thursday deadline to hear bills that still need to move on for Senate approval.
Marshall Brewing is asking those in favor of the bill to contact members of the Senate Business and Finance Committee, as well as their representatives in the state Senate.
Marshall brewmaster Eric Marshall said passage of the bill would put brewers on level ground with the state’s winemakers, who are allowed to offer on-premise samples.
“We have effectively been doing our job with one hand behind our backs. Few craft breweries have the traditional marketing methods available due to restrained resources,” Marshall said. “Visitors are typically more impassioned to support small local craft producers when they can experience the products and crafting first-hand. The opportunity to explain the business and culture of craft beer and brewing to the public while offering small limited samples will help our industry grow, offer more jobs, pay more taxes, and create a culture of craft beer tourism similar to most other states, like Colorado.
“This is good legislation for business and tourism in Oklahoma, and we need people to voice their support.”
The roster of the Business and Finance Committee can be found here, while a directory of legislators can be found by clicking here.
Marshall releases limited German-style draft offering
Marshall Brewing Co. has a busy first few weeks of April lined up, highlighted by the release this week of a limited-edition new beer.
Marshall will release its draft-only Munich Dunkel at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Fassler Hall in Tulsa. Here’s some information about the beer provided by Marshall:
Brewmaster Eric Marshall is fluent in German and owns a degree from the University of Tulsa in German. Further, Eric received a degree in International Brewing from the prestigious World Brewing Academy in Munich.
But that is not where our affinity for German culture ends. We source all our malts for brewing from Weyermann Malting of Bamberg. We also draw inspiration for some of our beers from Germany. The newest of these is a limited release draft only Munich-style Dunkel.
The Munich Dunkel was fermented using our German lager yeast yielding a smooth but complex deep copper beer with hints of nuts and caramel. Mt. Hood hops have been used sparingly to provide balance for the sweetness of Munich, Pils, and Vienna malts. A medium mouth-feel and lower ABV produce a smooth lager that is highly quaffable.
You can find the Munich Dunkel for a limited time at select locations across Oklahoma to include Fassler Hall in Tulsa where the beer will be released April 3rd. Ein Prosit!
What else does Marshall have on tap?
-On April 10, Marshall will be part of an outstanding beer dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Tulsa’s Smoke on Cherry Street. The four-course meal will feature food from four local farms and beer from four local brewers: Marshall, Prairie Artisan Ales, Black Mesa Brewing and COOP Ale Works. The cost is $44 and space is limited — you can make a reservation by calling (918) 949-4440.
-On April 11 there will be a Firkin Happy Hour at 5 p.m. at Grandad’s Bar featuring whiskey- and oak-infused Revival Red Ale.
-On April 13, Marshall will be featured at Saturday Night Firkin Fever at McNellie’s Abner Ale House in Norman. A special edition of Revival Red Ale will be tapped at 6 p.m.
-And then of course Marshall will take part in the inaugural Tulsa Craft Beer Week from April 15-20. You can find a listing of all things TCBW right here.
-Lastly, Marshall is encouraging beer fans to mark down on their calendars the week leading up to May 18. That just happens to be American Craft Beer Week, and it’s also the week Marshall will celebrate its five-year anniversary, culminating with the release of Marshall 5, a special barrel-aged red ale. The release of 5 is set to happen May 18 at a street party outside McNellie’s Tulsa. Many of you may know that May 18 is also the date of the third annual Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival at TapWerks — is it too much to ask for a little 5 to make its way to OKC that day?
Daily Pints
-Roughtail Brewing went live last night with a release party at TapWerks. All three of their beers are quite tasty, and all are pretty aggressive on the hop front — so be warned if you’re skeered of hops. My personal fave is the Red Republic Ale.
-The CNBC Beer News FB page is running a contest/poll for best beer labels. Oklahoma’s own Prairie Artisan Ales is in the running.
Free beer book! It’s TTBFBFBF!
Time for another round of The Thirsty Beagle Facebook Free Book Friday! Today’s offering is “The World Atlas of Beer,” by Tim Webb and Stephen Beaumont.
This is a 256-page, hardback coffee-table-style book that includes a brief history of beer and its origins and then pages of high-quality photos and descriptions that walk you through the beer associated with dozens of countries around the world. The book retails for $30.
All you have to do is like the Facebook post associated with this blog post for a chance to win it for free.
Daily Pints
-Goose Island kegs started popping up on tap around the state this week, and now the bottles have arrived as well. That’s a Goose Island IPA six-pack at The BierGarten in Jenks, where owner Freddy Lamport said he scooped up a good chunk of the state’s initial allotment. Lamport reports we should see 312 Urban Wheat Ale hit the market early next week as well, probably followed shortly by Honkers Ale.
-Follow-up on an item I mentioned on the blog yesterday: The Bluebonnet Brew-off Homebrewer of the Year award that was given to and then taken away from Oklahoma brewer David Johnson was not a result of a “label mix-up,” as I wrote yesterday. It was a result of Bluebonnet organizers tallying scores incorrectly.
-Heard recently that Black Mesa ESB and Blond are now on tap at Roman Nose State Park, which just happens to be the semi-official camping spot of The Thirsty Beagle.
-McNellie’s Tulsa announced this morning that the annual McNellie’s Harvest Beer Festival is officially set for Sept. 21 this year.
-McNellie’s OKC announced that the annual McNellie’s Pub Run — including the Guinness Challenge — is set for May 4.
Beer pizza crust recipe an easy fix
Truth: I love pizza.
I also like making it at home. What I don’t like is messing with complicated recipes and having to involve yeast (I like to save all my yeast for my beer, thank-you-very-much), waiting for dough to rise and pre-baking, etc.
In searching for a way around these issues, I stumbled across a fast and simple beer pizza crust recipe that I’ve been trying out, and thought I would pass it along.
The ingredient list is quite concise:
-3 cups flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-Salt to taste
-12 oz. beer
-Olive oil to lightly coat dough
Method: Combine and mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add beer. Mix. Dough will be sticky, so sprinkle liberally with flour to allow handling.
I spray a cookie sheet with no-stick spray, then plop the dough ball down and spread it to the corners. Once the dough is spread, coat with a light layer of olive oil.
No you’re ready to top with sauce, cheese and fixin’s.
Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes, depending how crisp you want the cheese/crust.
The pizza pictured above I made with a bottle of Green Flash Double Stout, mozzarella, ham, bacon and pepperoni. I’ve made the crust with a chili pepper porter that imparted a great spiciness and with an IPA — although I have to admit that gave the crust a slightly antiseptic taste. On second thought, I’d probably steer clear of overly hoppy beers.
Hope you might find this recipe helpful. On a separate-but-related note, there’s a great local resource out there if you’re looking for other fun beer/food combos. Check out the Oklahoma-based Ales Kitchen blog, where I got a great beer-brined turkey recipe last Thanksgiving-time.
Daily Pints
-Full results have been posted for the Bluebonnet Brew-off. There’s even a little controversy at hand. Oklahoma homebrewer David Johnson had been named Homebrewer of the Year, which would have been the first Oklahoman in about 15 years to take that title. An apparent labeling mix-up led Bluebonnet officials to strip him of the title, however, Johnson reported today on FB. Still, it shows there a plenty of excellent homebrewers here in the state.
-Reminder: Tonight — Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale pint night at TapWerks.
-24 facts you didn’t know about beer! (You probably already knew some of them. But interesting nonetheless.)
-Here’s the latest coverage from the annual Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C.
Roughtail Brewing gears up for long-awaited release
After several years of planning and a path that’s led through two states, three different cities and two different buildings, Roughtail Brewing Co. is all-systems-go for launch.
The start-up craft brewery will officially kick things off at 6 p.m. Monday with a release party at TapWerks featuring all three of its inaugural offerings and some special menu items.
You may be asking yourself some questions, like, “What are their beers like? Where can I find them? Will they be in liquor stores?” I took the liberty to ask the guys at Roughtail all those questions. Here’s my conversation with Roughtail’s Blaine Stansel:
The Thirsty Beagle: Let’s start with the nuts and bolts of your release: When will we see your beers on tap? I know Monday at TapWerks for sure; what’s the timeline for a wider distribution?
Blaine Stansel: We have lined up accounts at various other establishments around town already, but it’s really a matter of when they run out of the current beer they have on draft and how long it takes the distributors to pick our beer up. As we are new to the game I do not believe any of the distributors will be stocking our beer in their warehouse yet, so all orders will be dropped/shipped from the brewery to the bars. With that said I think that within two weeks of launch you will see our beer in local establishments across the metro. Without naming names you can expect to see us in Norman, Edmond, Midtown, the Plaza and of course TapWerks. As we add new accounts I will update the website and the social media outlets. When we add enough accounts we will have a map on the website showing where you can find us. Also expect to see an iPhone and Android app before year’s end to help find our beer when you are on the go.
TTB: What beers should we expect to see? Give me the styles and a little description, if you don’t mind.
BS: All three of our initial beers will be served at Tapwerks on April 1. This includes the Roughtail IPA — it is intensely hoppy, with a very firm bitterness. Citrus, pine, and resin aromas dominate and a malt backbone is present, but, not overwhelming, making this a very drinkable IPA. Red Republic Ale — this ale is our take on a session beer, made to be very drinkable but without sacrificing flavor. Grapefruit aromas are boldly present while a slight caramel note balances things out without becoming sweet. This beer is dry, thirst quenching, and satisfying. 12th Round Ale is a robust, strong American ale. While firmly bitter, this beer is more evenly balanced between hop and malt. Strong toffee and nutty toasted malt makes the first impression, followed up by a citrusy burst of hops. The beer is surprisingly dry and drinkable, much like our other offerings.
TTB: Will we be looking at draft-only for a while? Where do you stand on canning plans? Is bottling an option you guys are looking at?
BS: Yes, we will be draft only for a while. Hopefully by year’s end we will have our offerings in cans. Bottling is potentially an option if we decide to do some one-off large-format bottles, but nothing has been finalized on that yet. For now, we’re just trying to get through all the rigmarole of starting a brewery. Once we get our feet on the ground we’ll be doing some fun stuff.
TTB: More broadly speaking, this has turned in to quite a long and winding road for you guys. Midwest City is technically the third city you wanted to set up shop in, correct? What have you learned from having to jump through all the hoops and deal with all the administrative hurdles? Does dealing with all that make it even sweeter to finally get your green light?
BS: Sure it’s our third city, but we’ve really only been kicked out of one, so that’s a positive. [Blogger's note: Gotta keep your sense of humor!] What we have learned is that the Roughtail upper management is now willing to work as consultants for any brewery in Oklahoma who wants to open up shop. But what we have really learned is that it’s really hard to get started in the brewery business in Oklahoma. I feel bad for the guys over at Huebert’s, but thankful they blazed the trail for guys like us. I can’t imagine how tough it was for those guys. I also feel bad for the guys over at Prairie Wolf Spirits and Twister Distillery, I can’t imagine what they are going through. I don’t think dealing with all the hoops makes it any sweeter for me personally. All it did really was grey some more of my hairs.
TTB: Talk a little about Monday’s release party at TapWerks — what is in store for guests that night?
BS: Like I said, TapWerks will be featuring all three of our beers. They are also going to be creating some special dishes for us using our beer. They will be serving a new menu item, which is their fish tacos battered in the Roughtail IPA. They will also incorporate our 12th Round strong ale into their BBQ sauce and will smother the pulled-pork sandwich in that. Finally they are going to use our Red Republic Ale in place of vinegar in their coleslaw. We are also going to be offering discounted apparel and merchandise. We will be offering the embroidered work shirts for $35, the T-shirts for $15 and koozies for $3. Stickers will be free.
Daily Pints
-The first of three Goose Island pint nights at TapWerks will be tomorrow at 6 p.m. Round 1 will feature 312 Urban Wheat Ale, which checks in at 4.2 % ABV and has won three GABF gold medals (2006, 2007, 2010) in the English Style Summer Ale category.
-Update on Tulsa Craft Beer Week outdoor festival tickets: Organizers are saying tickets must be purchased in advance — none will be sold day-of. You can buy tickets by clicking here.
-Hoping to bump into your local Oklahoma brewer at the grocery store today? Fat chance — the brewers are all in Washington, D.C., right now for the annual Craft Brewers Conference. Here’s a link that will get you into some news and notes from the conference.
2013 Wild Brew collaboration beer revealed
The 2013 vintage of Wild Brew was brewed this month, and the brewers have released information on the style and bottle label.
As you can see from the label, the Spelt Saison style is new this year, following a Rye Saison in 2012. As you can also see, this year’s collaboration includes three brewing entities: Choc Beer Co., The Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers and Prairie Artisan Ales.
Last year’s beer and the 2011 version — a Belgian-style IPA — were collaborations by Choc and FOAM, and the 2010 version — also a Belgian-style IPA — was a collaboration between Choc and Marshall Brewing Co.
Never tried a Spelt Saison before? Don’t fret, you’re likely in the majority. I asked FOAM member and BJCP judge Freddy Lamport for a description of the style.
Lamport informs that spelt is a distant genetic relative to wheat, and imparts a dry, tart, and earthy character and aroma. The German-grown malt is ideal for Saison and Belgian wheat styles.
The flavor is akin to cream-of-wheat cereal, with a nice nutty richness, Lamport said. The main attribute that spelt lends is to the mouthfeel, giving it a wonderful, full creaminess.
An official release party for the 2012 version was held in early June last year, so you might expect that same time frame this year. And of course if you can’t find any on tap or in stores, you can always try to make the actual Wild Brew fundraising event, which is set this year for July 27.
Daily Pints
-A new poll shows beer has edged out wine as the drink of choice for women ages 25-34.
-Beers and brackets, Disney style!
-If you happen over to the McNellie’s OKC website and see a Green Flash pint night listed for Thursday, March 28, don’t be fooled. That’s a typo — the pint night was last night.
