Boulevard has started releasing the 2012 version of Chocolate Ale to distributors. If you don’t know about Chocolate Ale, it is part of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, and is a limited release beer. Brewmaster Steven Pauwels collaborated with Kansas City Chocolatier Christopher Elbow to brew this beer, which, in terms of the general public, is probably the most sought after beer that Boulevard brews.

Last year, the beer was released in Kansas City a few weeks before Valentine’s Day, and it literally flew off of the shelves. Boulevard originally planned this beer as a one-time release, but due to consumer demand, they released an announcement stating they were “blown away by the reaction” and that “due to overwhelming feedback...[Chocolate Ale] will be back for next Valentine’s Day.” The demand was so high that bottles were selling for double, sometimes triple, the MSRP of $8.99 at local stores. I also saw bottles on auction sites, such as eBay, selling for up to $50.

If you live in the Kansas City Metro area, you will have to wait until at least January 30 to get your lips on this year's version. As reported by Brad on the KC Beer Blog, this is when Boulevard's local distributor, Central States Beverage, will start delivering Chocolate Ale to bars and restaurants. Bottles should begin showing up a liquor stores on January 31, and don't be surprised if there is a limit of 1 or 2 bottles per person.

If you live outside of Kansas City, but in an area that usually has Boulevard Smokestack beers, chances are you can get your hands on some Chocolate Ale right now. Distributors in most areas are not waiting until the end of January to release the beer to the public. This brings me to the original topic of this post. Why would a beer, brewed in Kansas City, be released in Kansas City after it's been released elsewhere?It would seem to me that Kansas Citians should be the first to savor such a highly sought-after beer.

I don't know all of the in's and out's of the brewing industry, but what I do know is that past limited releases from Boulevard have been available to others outside of Kansas City first. I'm sure most of the blame can be put on the distributor, because once the beer leaves the brewery, it is out of Boulevard's hands. This update from Boulevard mentions that "the beer began to be placed on the trucks of certain distributors beginning on January 4th" and "[o]ur Kansas City distributor will pick up its allocation at the end of the month, and plans to begin delivering the beer to bars, restaurants, liquor and grocery stores throughout the city on January 31st."

My question is, why can't Boulevard allow Central States to be the first to pick it up (at the end of this month), and then release let the rest of the beer to their other distributors afterwards? I'm sure, in this case, it has to do with the timing of the release and Valentine's Day, but what about other limited releases like Saison-Brett and Bourbon Barrel Quad?

If you want to read a good write up on how to get Chocolate Ale on January 31, check out this article written by Sarah Gish. You can also check your favorite beer blogs for updates throughout the upcoming weeks.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what beer I'm going to brew next. So far, I've brewed the following:

• Irish Red Ale - this extract kit was included with the homebrew equipment kit that I ordered from Midwest Supplies. It's drinkable, but nothing special. Still have a few hanging around in the basement.
• IIPA - this was a Pliny the Elder clone extract kit that a friend ordered from MoreBeer!. Since he didn't have any homebrew equipment at the time, he came over and I showed him how to brew. I thought this beer turned out really good, but tasted nothing like Pliny (which is okay by me).
• Under the Mistaletoe - this was my first all-grain brew. I found a recipe for a winter warmer on homebrewtalk.com, and tweaked it a little using BeerAlchemy. I just had one a couple of days ago. It is finally carbonated and is drinking pretty good.

Now that I have these three brews under my belt, I'm getting a bit cocky. I know I should slow down, take it easy, and do some basic brews so I can get more comfortable with with the brewing process. But, screw that.

Last night I dusted off a book that's been laying around for a while, "Extreme Brewing" by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery. I was looking for some inspiration, and I think I found it. In the book, Sam discusses the ways one could age beer with wood at home. One of those ways is to age the beer with wood chips in a secondary fermentation vessel.

That sounds fun, right? I mean it seems like every brewery is aging beer in some sort of barrel. Some of my favorites are: Black Betty by Nebraska Brewing Company (a Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels), Boulevard Imperial Stout (aged in whiskey barrels), and Black Xantus by Nectar Ales (a Russian Imperial Stout aged in...yep, bourbon barrels). Notice a trend?

Ok, so I'm going to brew an Imperial Stout. But, I'm not sure that I want to use wood chips that have been soaked in bourbon. I mean, EVERYBODY is doing that. This got me thinking about a beer that I had recently that I really enjoyed - Rumpkin by Avery Brewing. Rumpkin is an Imperial Pumpkin Ale that was aged in rum barrels for six months. Rum...that sounds interesting. I think rum could impart a very interesting flavor to an imperial stout.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do another brew in a bag, or get off my fat, lazy ass and finally build a mash tun. I do know that I plan on soaking an ounce or so of oak chips in rum for a few days, rack the beer over the chips, and then let it sit for a few months. I'll take random samples until I think it's ready to bottle. I'll definitely make updates to the blog along the way.

Below is the recipe that I'm going to use. It's going to be a three-gallon batch.

Christmas is a few days away, and I just finished putting labels on the beer that I brewed to give as presents to a few lucky individuals.

I wanted this beer to not only taste good, but I wanted it to look good in the bottle. Knowing absolutely nothing about graphic design, I reached out to somebody on Twitter that I know loves beer and just recently graduated with a degree in graphic design (winning combination, huh?). Enter Chelsea, aka @ChelseaisBeta. She did an amazing job of turning some random ideas into a kick ass label. If you like sarcasm, beer, technology, graphic design, or if you were raised by wolves, you must follow her on Twitter.

As far as printing the labels, it was a piece of cake. All you need is a printer and the labels. I went with the 3M 3200-S shipping labels. They are self-adhesive 2" x 4" labels, and are perfect for a 12 oz. bottle. I just downloaded the template from the website, inserted the picture, hit print, and voila, the labels are ready to be placed on the bottle.

Below is a slideshow of the photos that I uploaded to Flickr. I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate). Cheers!

A couple of weeks ago, I brewed my first all-grain batch of beer. I used the Brew in a Bag method, which I first heard about on Basic Brewing Radio episode. Brew in a Bag is an easy way to brew, and if you are already an extract brewer, you won’t have to spend much money to make your first all-grain beer.

Equipment used during mash/boil:

• 5-gallon brew kettle
• Nylon mesh bag
• Thermometer
• Malt/Specialty grains

I only have a 5-gallon kettle, so I was not able to do a normal 5-gallon batch, which was fine by me. I actually like the idea of making smaller batches of beer, because it will allow me to experiment more without feeling bad about dumping 5 gallons of beer if it sucks.

I started by lining the kettle with the nylon mesh bag and added 4 gallons of water. The next step was to turn on the burner (I did all of this on my stovetop) on high until the temperature reached ~170F. Once the water was at the desired temperature, I turned off the burner and slowly added all of my grain to the pot. I used about 9 lbs of grain, and the water level was at the top of the kettle. This prevented me from putting the lid all the way on, so I had to take some of the water out. Lesson learned: use less water.

Once all the grains were mixed together, I placed the lid on the pot and set my timer for 60 minutes. About every 10 minutes, I stirred the grains and checked the temperature to make sure it was around 151F. I did have to raise the temperature at about the 30-minute mark, because the temperature had dropped to about 148F.

Once 60 minutes was up, I lifted the bag out of the kettle and twisted it around to get as much liquid out as possible. Once most of the wort was out, I sat the bag in a plastic bucket, placed my brew kettle back on the burner, and turned the heat up to high.

As far as the Brew in a Bag part goes, that is pretty much it. I now had about 4 gallons of wort in the brew kettle, and was ready to complete all of the familiar steps needed to finish brewing beer. I added the hops at the specific times, and also added honey during the last 10 minutes. Once the boil was complete, I chilled the wort down to ~80F with my wort chiller, transferred the wort to the fermenter, and pitched the yeast. I ended up only getting about 2.5 gallons of wort into the fermenter; my target was 3 gallons. Lesson learned: it’s okay to add water to fermenter to get to desired volume.

After the beer fermented for 2 weeks, it was time to bottle. Since this is a Christmas beer, I decided to add spices at the time of bottling. I combined 2 cups of wort with the following: 3 oz. of priming sugar, a cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean (split and scrapped), a ½ T. each of dehydrated bitter orange peel and fresh grated ginger root. I brought this concoction to a boil for 10 minutes, and then removed from the heat let steep for 15 minutes. Once finished, I added this mixture, along with the rest of the beer to the bottling bucket, and bottled as normal. The final yield was 24 bottles.

Overall, I really enjoyed using the Brew in a Bag method. It was really easy, and I hope that it’s my first step into making a better beer (although my extract beers haven’t been bad). Below is the recipe for this beer.

Under the MistAletoe

Batch Info:

• Pre-boil Gravity: 1.063 (15.42 Brix)
• Original Gravity: 1.089 SG (22.4 Brix)
• Final Gravity: 1.016 SG (11.6 Brix)
• Color: 17.2 SRM
• IBUs: 52
• ABV: 10.4%

Fermentables:

• 8lb 0oz of 2-Row
• 5.00 oz of Medium Crystal
• 5.00 oz of Special B
• 3.00 oz of White Wheat
• 2.00 oz of Chocolate Malt

Mash at 151F for 60 minutes

Boil:

Hop Additions

• 0.50 oz of US Centennial (all of boil)
• 0.25 oz of US Centennial (30 minutes from end)
• 0.25 oz of US Centennial (5 minutes from end)

Other Boil Additions

• 1 tsp. Irish Moss (10 minutes from end)
• 9.60 oz of honey (10 minutes from end)

Boil the wort for a total of 60 minutes.

Chill the wort to 80F and rack to fermenter. Pitch 1 vial of White Labs WLP530-Abbey Ale and ferment at ~68F.

Bottling:

Boil 2 cups of beer with 3 oz. of priming sugar, a cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean (split and scrapped), a ½ T. each of dehydrated bitter orange peel and fresh grated ginger root. Boil for 10 minutes, and then remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Once finished, add mixture, along with the rest of the beer to the bottling bucket, and bottle beer.

It’s another week in Kansas City, and another beer festival has been announced. It seems like these things are popping up everywhere.

Just last weekend, KC Beerfest went down out at the Legends Shopping Outlet in KCK. I missed this event (well, I wouldn’t say I missed it), because my family and I took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Hell, I would rather sandpaper the asshole of an alligator in a phone booth than deal with colostomy bags and trucker hats at KC Beerfest. But, I digress. This post is not about a beer festival that features Shock Top or Labatt Blue Light Lime.

The Strong Ale Fest, presented by Beer KC, has the potential to be one of the “can’t miss” beer festivals of the year. For those of you that aren’t familiar, Beer KC represents three of the best beer bars/restaurants in the Kansas City metro area – McCoy’s Public House & Brewpub, The Foundry, and Beer Kitchen. This will be the second inaugural beer festival put on by the fine folks at Beer KC in 2011; earlier this year, they held the first annual KC Craft Beer Festival.

What: First Annual Strong Ale Fest

Date: Saturday, November 12, 2011

Time: 1pm to 5pm

Location: McCoy's / Foundry parking lot in Westport

Cost: $30 in advance, or $35 at the door. Tickets can be purchased here or at all 3 Beer KC restaurants.

Brewery list:

• McCoy's Public House
• 75th Street Brewery
• Southern Tier Brewing Company
• Green Flash Brewing Company
• Gordon-Biersch Brewery
• Grand Teton Brewing Company
• Stone Brewing Company
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company (recently won the Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year at GABF)
• Avery Brewing Company
• Unibroue
• Tallgrass Brewing Company
• Boulevard Brewing Company
• Schlafly / St. Louis Brewing Company
• Bell's Brewery
• New Belgium Brewing Company
• O'Dell Brewing Company
• Free State Brewing Company

Additional details from the organizers: Featuring 30 brews clocking in at no less than 8% ABV, this is a great opportunity to try some rare & higher-alcohol beers without committing to a whole bomber or 750ml bottle - all while contributing to a great cause: the AIDS Walk Kansas City.

As announced in this post by Adam Nason of beernews.org, Bear Republic Brewing Co. (located in Healdsburg, CA) will no longer be distributing their beers to the states of Kansas and Missouri.

This is sad news for this beer drinker, because Bear Republic beers are some of my favorites that are distributed to my area. Their Racer 5 IPA holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the first IPA’s that I ever drank, and it’s been a staple in my fridge ever since. It’s a very well-balanced American IPA that’s heavily hopped with the 4 C’s (Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial).

An added bonus is that Bear Republic distributes (well, soon not to) to both sides of the Kansas and Missouri state line. Why is this a good thing? I live in Kansas, but some of my favorite breweries, such as Jolly Pumpkin, Founders, and Bells, are not distributed to Kansas. Fortunately for me, it's a short 5 mile drive to my favorite liquor stores in Missouri, so I'm not too worried about traveling to another state to buy beer. However, there are times when I just need to make a quick run to the liquor store by my house, and that's usually where I pick up my Bear Republic beers.

So, if you are like me, go out and stock up on your favorite Bear Republic beer while you can. Here’s what I’ll be hoarding:

Racer 5 IPA

Big Bear Black Stout

Red Rocket Ale

Hop Rod Rye

Another beer festival is just around the corner here in Kansas City. I've lost count at how many beer fests we've had in town this year, but I've been to two - the Parkville Microbrew Festival and Hop Fest.

As a beer geek, I usually get excited about beer fests. I love trying different hand-crafted beers, and that's what these events are normally all about - bringing the best local and regional breweries to one place for fesivalgoers to enjoy different offerings from each brewer.

Unfortunately for me, KC Beerfest falls short of being a beer festival that I'm excited about. I've perused the list of beers that will be available, and to be honest, there's just nothing there that excites me. Yes, there will be some good beer there, but I just don't think it's worth dealing with drunken amateurs to try two or three beers that I haven't tried yet.

That being said, below are the details of the event. I'll leave it up to you on whether or not this is an event you should be excited about.

What: Fifth Annual KC Beerfest

Date: Saturday, October 22, 2011

Time: 2pm to 5 pm

Location: The Legends Outlets, Kansas City, KS

Cost: $30. If purchased at the gate, the cost is $35. They also have $10 tickets available for designated drivers over the age of 21.

Additional details: The festival will be located in the parking lot adjacent to the parking garage at Legends Outlets and will feature a variety of domestic and imported beers. There will be live music and some of the bars and restaurants from The Legends will have food stands available. Attendees will receive a commemorative KC Beerfest sampling glass.

For more information on KC Beerfest, or to purchase tickets, you can visit their website. Also, you can follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Proceeds raised by the KC Beerfest benefit the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City, both 501(c)3 organizations.

Before I started homebrewing, I started to save the bottles of the beer that I was drinking. I did this because, well hell, why buy new bottles when the bottles I am drinking out of will serve as a perfect vessel for my homebrew. Yes, it's a little more work to reuse the bottles, but it's well worth it. Plus, you're helping save the environment, maaaaannnnnn!

Once I was ready to use the bottles that I had saved up, I scoured the Interwebs to find out the best way to get the labels off the bottles. I can tell you that I didn't expect to find so many unique ways to do this. Some suggestions included the use of milk, vegetable oil, a credit card, and so on. I thought that there had to be a better way.

So, today I'm going to share with you how I remove labels from commercial beer bottles to reuse for homebrew. Why do I remove the labels? Simple, a craft brewer takes pride in their beer, and the label is a part of that beer. No, the label doesn't make the beer taste better, but one associates a beer by it's packaging.

Without further ado, below is a list of equipment and the steps needed:

Equipment

• 5 gallon bucket - I use the Home Depot Homer bucket
• Oxygen based deteregent (i.e. Oxi Clean)
• Warm tap water
• Sponge with scratchy surface
• Dishwasher (optional, but preferred)

Steps

1. Fill the bucket up about 3/4 full with warm water.
2. Add detergent. If using Oxy Clean, use about 3/4 of a scoop full. I just switched to the Target brand detergent, which has a smaller scoop, so I used 2 scoops full.
3. Let the bottles soak for about an hour or so. After an hour, you should see some labels start peeling off by themselves, or even floating to the top of the bucket. If not, it's okay, they should peel off when you take them out of the water.
4. Start taking the bottles out of the water. MOST labels will peel right off and leave little glue on the bottle. There are some, ahem Lagunitas, that use a lot of glue, so you will need to scrub the glue off with the scratchy surfacy of a sponge.
5. Give the bottles a quick rinse, both inside and out
6. Put the bottles in the bottom rack of your dishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher, then I would rinse them a few more times to make sure all of the detergent is gone.
7. Once all of the bottles are in, run the dishwasher on normal cycle. Important note: DO NOT ADD SOAP. The hot water from the dishwasher will clean and sanitize the bottles.
8. Once the dishwasher is finished, remove the bottles and store until you're ready to use.

And, there you go. It's that simple. One thing to note, as I mentioned in step 7, the bottles are sanitized at this point. However, if you store your bottles for a few days or weeks, it is a good idea to sanitize them again before filling them with beer. You can do that by running them through the dishwasher again, or dipping them in your favorite sanitizer before you bottle.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any comments, please leave them below. Cheers!

According to the brewery's Facebook page, Nebraska Brewing Company is now distributing some of the beers in their portfolio to Kansas City.

They have signed a distribution deal with North Kansas City Beverage. According to the post, the distributor has received the following beers: Infinite Wit, IPA, and Hop God. They should also receive Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale "shortly." It appears that these are only draft versions, so you will not be able to purchase bottles at liquor stores (for now, at least).

The brewery, located in Papillion, NE, has distributed to St. Louis for a few months, and I'm glad they are headed to the good side of the state.