Friday BeerBuzz - 12 Oct 2012 The Teaser

Last Friday we had a great time on the WILK Friday BeerBuzz.  Of course it helped that we sampled three different beers, including a Barelywine aged for 15-months…but that wasn’t the best part.  Sampling beer is fun, but sampling it with the guys that make it is even better.  Jim Hahn & Don Abraczinskas were a lot of fun, and the Turkey Hill brewing Cask Pale Ale was fantastic….and did I mention three beers?  Yep, we also tasted the Turkey Hill Pumpkin Ale as well.  Get your butt down to Turkey Hill and try out their beer….trust me….do it!  You’ll thank me later.

So what will we be sampling this week? Hint:  This week we’ll welcome a new east coast brewmaster and we’ll sample two of his beers.

Tune in at 8:30AM and see what beer we sample on the Friday BeerBuzz on WILK…bringing good beers and good people together. (103.1FM or wilknewsradio.com)

Friday BeerBuzz 5 Oct 2012 - Turkey Hill Cask Pale Ale, Pumpkin & Barleywine w/Jim Hahn & Don Abraczinskas

WILK Friday BeerBuzz - 5 Oct 2012 Turkey Hill Cask Pale Ale w/Don Abraczinskas

Back in January we welcomed the manager and brewer for a great new local brewery into the WILK studios.  We sampled some beer and we talked about the brewpub, and really had a great time.  Jim Hahn & Oran Tansey were great guests and we really loved the beers.  A few weeks later, Mrs. BeerBuzz and I traveled to Bloomsburg, PA and spent the evening at Turkey Hill Brewing Co and everything changed.

When you visit Turkey Hill Brewing Co in person, you’ll realize what I mean when I say Turkey Hill is an amazing place to enjoy a beer.  If you ever want an example of “how to do it right” visit Turkey Hill.  Whether you have dinner in the restaurant, sit on the patio with a Summer Hefeweizen or sit in the pub to enjoy a hand drawn pint, you’ll find Turkey Hill is amazing.  From the converted barn structure to the hand-made tap handles and stone walls, Turkey Hill will draw you in and the beer and food will make you want to come back again and again.

Today we welcomed back Jim Hahn and Turkey Hill brewmaster Don Abraczinskas into the studio to sample some beer with us.  Don has been brewing for over 25-years and when you taste his beer you’ll see how his experience and attention to detail pays off in some wonderful brews.  When we visited Turkey Hill last January, Don had a new Belgian Dubbel in the tanks that was simply amazing.  His Journeyman IPA is wonderfully hoppy and his Saisons are first class.

Today we sampled a variety of beer from Turkey Hill.  I was really excited to sample Turkey Hill’s new Cask Pale Ale.  This is a classic easy drinking pale ale and a very sessionable brew as well.  To compliment that we sampled Urban Abbey Pumpkin Ale.  Don trademarked all his beers under the trade name Urban Abbey Brewing Co, so it’s great to see that original name survive in the beers @ Turkey Hill.  Urban Abbey Pumpkin is loaded with spice and gourd-flavor and it’s a wonderful beer especially for a crisp fall evening. 

As if that wasn't enough, we also sampled Don’s BIG Rolling Fog Barley Wine.  This is a big malty barley wine style brew.  Loaded with dark fruit flavors and a touch of boozy in the back bone, this is a great sipper of a beer and with the big ABV, you’ll want to sip this beer slowly.

Be sure to get down to Turkey Hill Brewing Co and try it for yourself.  It is literally just off the Rt 80 exit for Bloomsburg on Rt 487 so it’s easy to find….and once you try some of Don’s beers, you’ll want to come back for more.

Thank you to Jim Hahn & Don Abraczinskas from Turkey Hill Brewing, Nancy, John & Joe for yet another

fun Friday. 

The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together.

As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE.

Friday BeerBuzz - The Teaser (5 Oct 2012)

Last week we stayed traditional and featured an Oktoberfest-style beer during Oktoberfest season.   I decided to go with a classic Okto beer and chose Spaten Oktoberfest.  Brewers of the original Oktoberfest Style beer, Spaten was a perfect choice and a great way to introduce our listeners to the Oktoberfest tradition.

So what will we be sampling this week? Hint:  This week we’ll welcome a local brewmaster into the studio to sample some really unique beers.

Tune in at 8:30AM and see what beer we sample on the Friday BeerBuzz on WILK…bringing good beers and good people together. (103.1FM or wilknewsradio.com)

Friday BeerBuzz - 28 Sep 2012 - Spaten Oktoberfest

WILK Friday BeerBuzz - 28 Sep 2012 Spaten Oktoberfest

It’s not often that I find myself acting traditional.  For me some traditions are meant to be honored, and some are meant to be questioned.  This philosophy certainly holds true for the WILK Friday BeerBuzz and especially for my beer choices.  Think back to when I chose to feature a big Belgian Dark Ale in mid-summer, and flash back just one week when I decided to feature an ale from a brewery known for lagers.  Tradition in the beer world is sometimes meant to be stretched, and I’m the guy to stretch it.

With that said, it is with a profound sense of confusion that I announce today is different.  Not only did I choose to feature a beer style that is meant for this very week, but also a brewery that carries with it a significant tradition for this very style of beer.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or you’re currently too busy drinking in Munich, you know that Oktoberfest started in Munich on Saturday and will continue on for the next 16 days.  With that in mind, take a guess what style beer I chose to feature….go ahead…I’ll wait.

OK time’s up!  Today I chose to feature a traditional Oktoberfest beer and it comes from the brewery that claims to have brewed the World’s First Oktoberfest beer….Spaten!

Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu comes to us from Munich, Germany and the name actually means “Spade” as you can see in their logo…and it’s not just a spade but a malt spade.  The brewery dates back to 1397 and they have been brewing traditional German styles ever since.

Spaten Oktoberfest is a very typical Marzen-style beer.  Marzen is German for March and it’s used for this style because the beer is traditionally brewed in March and served in Sept for Oktoberfest.  Spaten Oktoberfest comes in at 5.9% ABV and 23IBU and believe it or not, it only has 180 calories in a 12oz bottle.  Spaten Oktoberfest is brewed to the standard of the Reinheitsgebot or German Beer Purity Law of 1516 which states it only contains, water, malt, yeast & hops.

As one of the Munich-home breweries for Oktoberfest, Spaten not only lays claim to brewing the World’s First Oktoberfest beer, but they also supply beers to the many of the largest tents during the Oktoberfest celebration in Munich…one even featuring 10,000 seats!

Celebrate Oktoberfest with a Spaten Oktoberfest and you’ll see why it has become such a popular Marzen-style beer.  This traditional German lager has been around for hundreds of years and I suspect it will be around for hundreds more.

Thank you to Nancy, John & Joe for

yet another fun Friday.

The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together.

As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE

Friday BeerBuzz - 28 Sep 2012 The Teaser

Last week we featured a beer that while it is not available yet in Northeastern PA, is clearly a favorite among my readers.  Check out the comments form last week’s posting and you’ll be surprised how many locals enjoy Shiner beer.  We really enjoyed Shiner Wild Hare and best of all, we had a great time talking to brewmaster Jimmy Mauric while we sampled it.

So what will we be sampling this week? Hint:  This week we’ll do something rare for me…feature a traditional seasonal beer during the correct season.  

Tune in at 8:30AM and see what beer we sample on the Friday BeerBuzz on WILK…bringing good beers and good people together. (103.1FM or wilknewsradio.com)

Friday BeerBuzz 21 Apr 2012 - Shiner Wild Hare w/Jimmy Mauric (Video)

WILK Friday BeerBuzz - 21 Sep 2012 - Shiner Wild Hare w/Jimmy Mauric

There’s a special little town just outside of Houston TX where very special beer has been brewed for over 100 years.  Dating back to 1909 when

the Shiner Brewing Association started brewing Bavarian-style beers for the families of fellow immigrants, the brewing traditions run deep in Shiner, TX.  In 1914 Kosmos Spoetzl was appointed brewmaster and the Spoetzl Brewery was born…and while many people may not be familiar with the name “Spoetzl,” beer lovers worldwide are very familiar with Shiner Beer.

Throughout the south, Shiner is known for their best selling Bock, and also for their classic Bavarian lagers, and whether it is a Dark Lager or a light Helles, Shiner has made a name brewing classic-styled lagers.  Of course on the Friday BeerBuzz we love featuring the best breweries & brewmasters, but we also like mixing things up a bit.  In that name I chose a unique Shiner beer that is NOT a lager, and is in fact their very first Pale Ale.

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale is a classic American Pale Ale and a really easy-drinking beer.  At 5.5% ABV and 32 IBU, Wild Hare carries the malt-heart of a Pale Ale with the hoppy nose and taste of a hop-forward Pale Ale.  The malt bill includes Munich & caramel malts, and they are balanced with Bravo and US Goldings hops for a clean, crisp fresh hop balanced flavor.  This is a perfect beer to celebrate the breweries 103rd anniversary and it’s a beer you should try for yourself.

We were also lucky enough to be joined by Spoetzl Brewmaster Jimmy Mauric to help us sample Wild Hare.  Jimmy has been working at Spoetzl Brewery since 1978 and after attending Seibel Institute, he took the Brewmaster helm in 2005.  It was fun hearing about the history of Spoetzl Brewery from someone who has been a part of the brewery for so long…and even more fun hearing what the future holds for Spoetzl Brewery.  Having personally tried almost every beer coming out of the little town of Shiner, I can tell you that Jimmy knows his stuff and all of the Shiner beers are first class…especially Wild Hare.  Stay tuned as Shiner beers work their way closer and closer to NEPA and be sure to try Wild Hare (and the others) when they do.

Thank you to Jimmy Mauric from Spoetzl Brewery

, Joe, LA & Bosco for yet another fun Friday.

The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together.

As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE

Friday BeerBuzz 21 Sep 2012 - The Teaser

Last week we brought you the premier of Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider and also your first look at Woodchuck Fall 212 cider.  These were both fantastic fall ciders and we had a great time talking to cider maker John Matson while we sampled.  John knows cider and these were two perfect examples.  Thanks again to John Matson & Nate Formalarie for helping us with the show and for hooking us up with some great Woodchuck cider.

So what will we be sampling this week? Hint: This week we welcome a very special guest with a very special beer.  The beer is named for the town and the beer celebrates a very special anniversary AND new style of beer.

Tune in at 8:30AM and see what beer we sample on the Friday BeerBuzz on WILK…bringing good beers and good people together. (103.1FM or wilknewsradio.com.com)