Gravity Head is a celebration of big (high gravity) beers. Starting around the first of March, 17 or so beers will be available on draft that contain an ABV of approximately 8% or higher. When one keg is empty, a new beer takes it's place. This goes on for 2-4 weeks. The beers are rarities for sure. There are beers you can't usually find, Founders CBS. There are beers that aren't so hard to find, but happen to be 6 years old,Rogue Old Crustacean 2004. Make no mistake, the beers you're going to get at Gravity Head aren't your normal beers.

This past Friday was the start of New Albanian Brewing Company's (Rich O's) annual Gravity Head Celebration. I ventured up to New Albany, IN after work on Friday to partake in the festivities. The parents of one of the guys I went with are members of Fossils (Fermentors of Special Southern Indiana Libations Society), a homebrewing club. They invited us to sit with them in the members section of Rich O's, would was most appreciated since it saved us an hour wait. These guys were class acts and some I hope to hangout with again.

The main reason I ventured to the opening day of Gravity Head was because one of the first 17 beers on draft was the Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout. The Breakfast Stout and KBS are amazing beers, so I knew I needed to get there during the first day it was on tap. I followed up the CBS, which was amazing, with the BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien. This is a sour beer that was very good. It is definitely official, I like sour and smoked beers.

I can't wait to go back before the end of this big beer celebration. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you're in the area.

 

So I'm sitting here drinking a Bell's X-Slam with Ashley and I noticed the cool head it produced. I poured the glass half full with Bell's Expedition Stout, then filled the other half up with the Bell's HopSlam. Made me start thinking of other beers/beer cocktails that produce great heads. The Boulevard Saison-Brett would fall into this category. Can you think of any others?

Most of us remember a time when we didn’t look too fondly on beer. Our first encounter with beer was not the “good” beer we have grown to love; it was most likely a Bud Light or for the unlucky few, a Natty Light. Most of our parents, and even some of us, grew up in a time where the microbrew scene was only a thought in the minds of pioneering brewers like Jim Koch. Because of this, no one can be blamed for our first exposure to beer being that of watery piss. Personally, I can remember the progression I went through in my beer drinking. Listed below are the different stages, in chronological order, I’ve gone through in my short beer drinking life. I would guess a lot of you have gone through similar stages.

Stage 1 – The Cheapskate (Age 21 to Age 22)
This is the stage where I started to drink beer. Before this stage, it was all liquor for me. Turning 21 had a lot to do with the switch over to beer because when I would go out, beer was cheaper than liquor. I was drinking whatever beer was the cheapest that month, which mostly consisted of Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light. I had no idea about beers besides the American staples. This was my life and looking back on it, what a sad life it was.

Stage 2 – Wannabe (Age 22 – Age 24)
Now I’m beginning to realize that there are other beers in this world besides the Great American Pilsner. I start frequenting a local beer bar (Flanagan’s Ale House in Louisville, KY) and attempting to finish their Centurion Club (drink 100 different beers). The great thing about this was their list of 100 beers didn’t consist of your baby beers. The list was made up of some big ass beers. I wanted to like these bigger beers, but I didn’t have the taste for them. Most of my venturing out into new beers ended with me chugging them so the pain of drinking them would be over.

Stage 3 – Poser (Age 24 – Age 25)
I start pushing out into “hoppy” beers and barrel aged stouts. This is where I start liking the taste of some bigger beers. I don’t know much about beer at this point, but I am enjoying the taste of these yummy microbrews. I’m drinking a lot of beers from the Bluegrass Brewing Company (local brewpub), Sierra Nevada is a staple, and I even venture out into the Sam Adam’s Triple Bock World (mistake!). At this point I know what I like, but I couldn’t tell you anything about want I was drinking. The extent of my beer vocabulary was hoppy, wheaty, and alcoholy.

Stage 4 – Lover (Age 25 – Present)
Finally, I learn what the hell I’ve been drinking for the past four years. I know the difference between lager and ale. I know what to look for in the different styles of beer. I start brewing my own beer. I start reviewing and writing about beer. I seek out new beer releases from breweries. I go to beer festivals and tastings. I rarely set out to drink more than a beer or two. I enjoy the experience of drinking a new beer and could care less about drinking to get a buzz. I am by no means an expert; I just enjoy the beer experience.

My journey to Beer Lover took about four years. I would guess this is a pretty average timeframe for most. Some people get stuck at a stage for years and others zip right through them. If you know somebody that is stuck in one of the three stages, give them a little nudge. Help them move up in the Beer World. Feel free to share your story by commenting on this blog post or by writing your own blog post on the User’s Beer Blog page.

Cheers!

Beau's blog post a couple of weeks ago inspired me to pull out my beers, take a few pictures, and tease myself with my "cellered beers" (whatever that means). Let me explain what I mean by tease. First, I am not referring to anything sexual. Although, I have heard people describe a beer as orgasmic. I'm sure I've been guilty of this a time or two. What I mean by tease is we beer lovers, for one reason or another, love to save our best beers instead of drinking them right away. In our head we think they will get better with age. This idea of "delayed gratification" when it comes to beer is silly if looked at from the outside. The non-beer lover would roll his eyes at the idea of saving beers. Who wants a sunked beer? Well, besides the Heineken drinkers of the world. To be able to pull out a six pack of beer you have had for two years (Bell's Expedition Stout in my case) is gratifying in a way that a true beer lover would only understand. We are sometimes looked at a bit weird. How could you pay that much for a beer? You drink how many beers a night? The people who ask these questions would look at the pictures of my Beer Porn and roll there eyes. I, however, look at these pictures with pride and consider it worth the tease.

If you want to share your Beer Porn, Sign In or Join, go to the User's Blog Page, and post a new entry (link in the top right corner).

Cheers!

If you are a registered user at justdrinkbeer.com, then you can start blogging right away. Start your own beer blog and interact with other beer lovers!

Struise Brewery, based in Belgium, is consistently ranked as one of the best breweries in the world. Its lineup of award winning beers, that individually are some of the best beers out there, can now be purchased online at the Struise Beershop. This is their second attempt at an online store, so here is to them being successful and me being able to afford to place an order.

Currently there are twelve beers and a Struise beer glass for sale at the online beershop. These beer include:

• Black Albert - 13% ABV
• Black Damnation - 12% ABV
• Den Grooten Tocht - 6% ABV
• Kloeke Blonde - 6% ABV
• Pannepeut - 10% ABV
• Pannepot - 10% ABV
• Pannepot Grand Reserva - 10% ABV
• Pannepot Reserva - 10% ABV
• Pipedream - 7.8% ABV
• Struise Rosse - 5% ABV
• Struise Witte - 5% ABV
• Tsjeeses - 10% ABV

I'm on a big and I mean BIG Belgian beer kick right now, so I'm definitely planning on placing an order. Anybody want to split it with me?

Sierra Nevada is what most beer lovers consider The craft brewery and what most craft breweries strive to become. Sierra Nevada started back in 1980, so next year is its 30th Anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, Sierra Nevada will release four collaboration beers. Fitting since collaboration beers are the new fad. The first is rumored to be released in March 2010 and is in collaboration with Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing. The other three beers will be brewed with Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewery and authors Fred Eckhardt and Charlie Papazian. This is pretty exciting to hear because of the quality of beers that should come out of this and because Sierra Nevada is widely available so the vast majority of people who care wil be able to get their hands on each collaboration beer.

Congrats Beau!!!

This Sunday, December 13th, the Louisville Beer Store will be holding a beer tasting of several Brooklyn Brewery beers, with a cost of $5. The lineup is to include:

• Brooklyn Winter Ale
• Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
• Brooklyn Local 1
• Brooklyn Local 2
• Brooklyn Brewmaster Reserve (TBA)

Also, Monday, December 21st, the Louisville Beer Store will be having a Brooklyn Beer Dinner at The Patron. This dinner is open up to anyone who RSVP's by email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or phone (502-569-BEER). The cost is $45 per person.

Check out Louisville Beer Store's new website. Looks good!

Boulevard Brewing Company posted on their twitter account that they will be releasing an Imperial Pilsner. This beer was brewed in collaboration with Orval Brewmaster, Jean Marie Rock. This beer is part of Boulevard's Smokestack Series, a line of big beers, bottled in 750 mL bottles. I've been lucky enough to try two beers (Double Wide Double IPA and Brett-Saison) from their Smokestack Series and both were top-notch. Because of this and the fact that Jean Marie Rock worked on this, I can say for the first time that I'm excited about trying a pilsner.