In just over a week, the Brewers Association will host SAVOR, their annual beer and food pairing event at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. For those fortunate enough to have already purchased tickets to the incredible sold out two-day event, they will have the privilege to try the collaboration beer from Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery called SAVOR Flowers. It will only be available to attendees of the event who will each receive a cork and caged 750ml bottle of the special brew to bring home with them and it will be available to sample at the event as well.

Both Sam Adams and Dogfish Head have continuously pushed the envelope of what beer could be and they have steered away what beer should be and I am so excited to have received a bottle of this and I can’t wait to try it. As we know, beer is made from four main ingredients – yeast, hops, barley, and water – and all but one, water, have been messed around with to create new and exciting beers. For SAVOR Flowers, they have decided to change this. Through an age-old distillation process, they created rosewater which would serve as the base liquid of the beer and this in turn inspired them to continue exploring the use of flowers and eventually dried lavender, hibiscus, jasmine and rosebuds would be introduced into the brewing process to create SAVOR Flowers. Also to be used would be a new hop breed simply known as #369 that is known for its intense floral notes which Jim Koch would acquire 30 pounds of from Yakima, Washington.

The beer would then be aged in Barrel One, the same bourbon barrel Jim used to age the premier batch of the first “extreme beer”, Samuel Adams Triple Bock in 1993. According to Sam Adams, Barrel One is the first barrel originally used for spirits which was then used to age beer and for the last 18 years it has been filled with Samuel Adams Triple Bock.

According to Jim Koch of Samuel Adams, “Sam and I had a great time gathering these ingredients, and I am excited to collaborate with such an innovative brewer on this beer for SAVOR. Sam’s originality and imagination are endless – he came up with the creative idea of distilling rosewater for this brew. We share the same intense passion for pushing the conventional definition of what beer can be and we put that same passion into our beers.”

Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head continues, “Jim is the godfather of craft beer, and he’s got unbelievable ideas about what beer can be, along with the knowledge and palate to make those crazy beer dreams come true. I am with him on his philosophy and thrilled to be working together on this groundbreaking brew. We share a commitment to elevating beer to its proper infinite height, as both a beverage and a pairing for food.”

It’s 2011. To many, it’s just another year. For those really into beer, it’s the year Sam Adams
Utopias is released. Released every odd year since 2003, Utopias is the world’s strongest naturally fermented beer. “But what about the beaver that had the 110 proof bottle of beer in it??” First of all, it was either a squirrel or a stoat, depending on which of the eleven bottles produced you saw. Second, that was achieved through ice distillation, which essentially is freezing alcohol to where the water freezes and separates and the alcohol left behind is a more concentrated product than what was started with, which they do repeatedly until they get the desired strength. Sam Adams, however, manages to achieve a staggering 27% alcohol by volume beer all at the hands of yeasts that are typically reserved for wine and champagne, along with ale yeast.

Utopias itself is brewed using traditional methods and is a blend of several malts and three variety of Noble hops; Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Tettnang Tettnanger — and it is then blended and aged in a variety of different barrels. Sam Adams uses some fairly obscure barrels, some of which have been filled holding liquids for as long as 18 years before being blended into the final product. This year’s batch was finished in sherry casks from Spain and Madeira and port casks from Portugal, all of which gives it tremendous depth and flavor. Continue Reading »

L to R: Jim Koch, Max Riedel, Randall Grahm

Alongside Gary Vaynerchuk and Zane Lamprey’s Mutineer Interviews that are available for free online, we’ve also added Mutineer Interviews from Jim Koch of Sam Adams, Max Riedel of Riedel Glassware, and Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard to the online collection.

Check out the entire Mutineer Interview collection.

You may have noticed a drop in blog posts last week on the Mutineer Blog. This is because we were feverishly working around the clock to finish the April/May issue of Mutineer Magazine, which will be the first issue of MM nationally distributed at bookstores and newsstands across America.

We’ve taken the magazine to a whole new level, with top-notch stories and an improved layout; the Mutineer Magazine vision is really starting to come together. If you are already a subscriber, you should receive your copy in the next week or two, and if you aren’t a Mutineer Magazine subscriber, then you should head over to our subscription page and join the mutiny!

Here is a preview of the features in the upcoming issue:

Wine Feature: Drugstore Winemaker

by Chess Katier
Chess tells his own story of leaving behind a dark life of drug dealing to pursue a career as a wine horticulturist. With illustrations by Seattle artist Hunter Lea, this piece will be unlike anything you’ve ever read in a wine magazine.

Beer Feature: Pairing Food With Beer

by JJ Bagley
JJ Bagley talks to beer experts Charlie Papazian (Brewers Association), Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery) and Jamie Emmerson (Full Sail Brewing) about the art of pairing beer with food.

Spirits Feature: 12 Questions

We surveyed 16 spirits blogs on questions ranging from absinthe to the ultimate orange liqueur in a margarita. You’ll be surprised by the answers.

Wild Card: Finding Coffee and Community in Seattle

by Erin Jimcosky
Erin Jimcosky explores the independent coffee scene of the Seattle area to capture the experience of some of the world’s most inspired brewhouses.

Special Report: 2009 American Wine Blog Awards

For the first time ever, the American Wine Blog Awards results will be published in print. Check to see if any of your favorite blogs won, and check out anyone your not familiar with!

The Mutineer Interview: Jim Koch

Jim Koch of The Boston Beer Co./Sam Adams gives a no-holds-barred interview with JJ Bagley about the rise of Sam Adams, the craft beer scene in general, and Koch’s signature hangover cure.

Special Report: Drinking My Way Around the World

by Zane Lamprey
Three Sheets host Zane Lamprey opens his personal photo archives to take readers from Las Vegas to Croatia and everywhere in between. We’re talking automatic weapons, black eyes, and Star Trek. Things will get crazy.

Haven’t subscribed yet to receive your copy of Mutineer? Subscribe here.

Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch has something new brewing for the holiday season, Chocolate Bock. This seasonal beer uses Scharffen Berger chocolate in the recipe to create subtle layers of chocolate flavor. Continue Reading »