WSJ: Anheuser-Busch InBev might sell Rolling Rock

From the Wall Street Journal:

Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is exploring the sale of its storied but struggling Rolling Rock brand, according to people familiar with the matter.

The potential sale comes three years after Anheuser-Busch Cos. bought Rolling Rock from Belgian brewer InBev NV for $82 million.
[Visitors look over a display case of beers made by the Anheuser-Busch Cos. July 14, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri. Anheuser-Busch Cos. ] Getty Images

Visitors look over a display case of beers made by the Anheuser-Busch InBev in St. Louis, Missouri.

InBev, whose brands include Stella Artois, acquired Anheuser-Busch for about $52 billion this past autumn to form the world's largest beer maker by sales, and is selling assets to help repay debt from the deal.

Sales of Rolling Rock, whose ad slogan is "Born Small Town," have been on the decline in recent years. But the brand could appeal to beer companies seeking to expand in the U.S. market by scooping up an established name. The pale lager, which originated 70 years ago in Latrobe, Pa., is sold in distinctive green bottles, and is most popular in the eastern U.S.

Full story here.

Winter Hook Winter Ale still in Redhook variety packs -- and still good

I was surprised that my purchase of a Redhook variety pack would contain a winter seasonal. It's April, right?

But the Winter Hook Winter Ale is still good.

The Redhook variety pack ($15.99 at a local Food Lion) comes in a cardboard box with no window on the contents inside, so the word "seasonal" on the outside didn't let me know what season I was allegedly in.

The pack included three of my personal favorite, Redhook ESB, along with three each of Long Hammer IPA, Blonde Ale, and Winter Hook.

I also tried the Long Hammer IPA last night (for the first time? I can't remember). I give Redhook credit for not over-hopping their IPA. Those highly hopped IPAs are fun for experimentation and maybe some pairings, but for drinkability, I'll stick with the basic IPA recipe.

By the way, I recently re-discovered the IPA produced by our local New South Brewing Co. -- outstanding.

beer

Beer notes...

* The inaugural Myrtle Beach Beer Fest was a huge success. I'll have more to say about it soon.

* Pete Velez of Gordon Biersch told me (at the fest) that he was planning to have an oak-aged winter bock on tap earlier this week.

* I saw the design for New South Brewing's canned White Ale, and it hits all the right notes: it has a classy microbrew appeal while also appearing bright, fresh, and upbeat.

* Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery will soon have (if it doesn't already) a blackberry beer on tap. Eric Lamb told me that the price for raspberries has gone through the roof.

Act 2 and Potatoheads to play Beer Fest

Mike Shank of Festival Promotions has announced the live entertainment for the Myrtle Beach Beer Fest.

Session I, noon-3 p.m.: Act 2

Session II, 4 p.m.-7 p.m.: Potato Heads


The beer fest is at The Market Common on March 28. Get your tickets now!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

MB Beer Fest Update: food for VIP tent finalized

The Myrtle Beach Beer Fest presented by the Weekly Surge (March 28 at The Market Common) will have a VIP tent with food and as many as 10 beers unavailable to those with regular admission. Mike Shanks of Festival Promotions, who is working on the fest with the Surge, sent an email tonight that updates the VIP beers and grub:

The VIP Ticket is $70 and is tented, includes food, non-alcoholic beverages, additional beers from the general admission, a 5-oz tasting glass and dedicated port-a-johns. Those tickets will not be sold the day of the event, and can be purchased online at www.myrtlebeachbeerfest.com or by calling my office at 843-712-2618.



Here is the menu for the VIP Tent:



Spicy Pork and Sauerkraut Sandwiches



Bavarian Potato Salad



Grilled Brats with Hot mustard Onion Relish



German Chocolate Squares



Autumn Apple and Pear Salad with Pecans



Pretzels



Spiced Nuts



I also currently have the following beers for the VIP Tent

Magic Hat Number 9

Stella Artois

Sam Smith Nut Brown

Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout

Delirium Tremens

Sierra Nevada Seasonal Torpedo Ale


Eventually I expect to end up with about 10 beers for the VIP Tent.

Lion Stout at Longbeard's Bar & Grill

Last night I had dinner at Longbeard's Bar & Grill, 5040 Carolina Forest Boulevard (it's on that piece of Carolina Forest Boulevard that sits near U.S. 31, on the east side of River Oaks).

I tried the Breckenridge Avalanche amber ale for the second time. A pint from the tap was $4.25. It's a decent amber, but I should add a precaution for those who like such beers: it's the least-sweet amber I have ever had.

The highlight was Lion Stout in the bottle for $4. This stout from Sri Lanka was, to borrow the words of the late beer critic Michael Jackson, "soft, fresh and quite delicious."

Of course, stouts aren't for everyone, because they tend to have formidible accents of coffee and/or roasted nuts, which strike some palates as mere bitterness.

In the case of Lion Stout, it had just enough chocolately sweetness in the malt to take the edge off the bitterness.

But for those who like the darker beers, Lion should be King of the Stouts.

By the way -- my wife and I loved Longbeard's fried catfish, and we gave our server, Amanda, high marks.

TBonz Gill & Grill taps Irish Stout today

TBonz Gill & Grill locations in Charleston and Myrtle Beach will tap the seasonal Irish Stout today (March 6).

The St. Patty's Day beer is made by New South Brewing Co. of Myrtle Beach.

Not so Pamlico ... amber ale, that is

I recently found Pamlico Amber Ale at the Food Lion near the Forestbrook Road and U.S. 501 exchange (six bottles for $7.79).

Like most craft beers and microbrews, Pamlico Amber Ale has a basic quality to it. Let me put it this way: it's not cheap, mass-produced, straw-colored beer.

Beyond that, it's just not that interesting. The flavor profile doesn't attempt to do very much.

I'll look forward to trying other Pamlico brews.

New South Brewing to start canning

From my new column in the Weekly Surge:

Soon, you’ll be able to purchase a six-pack of New South Brewing Co.’s White Ale in area grocery stores.

You can already buy the Myrtle Beach microbrewery’s beers at local bars and restaurants. New South has been producing kegs of several types of beer for 10 years.

But now a canning machine is primed and ready to go, said owner Dave Epstein, who has been finalizing the art work and labeling for his cans.

“We’re still on track for late next month or early April,” Epstein said. That’s to start canning. The famous White Ale – the microbrewery’s “flagship” brew – should appear in local package stores and grocers by May, maybe late April.

Beer distributors, rather than New South, will make the sales pitches for the White Ale to individual stores and chains, so Epstein doesn’t yet know for certain where you’ll be able to buy his beer. But those distributors have long-standing relationships with area retailers.

“Anywhere you find a good selection of beer, hopefully you’ll find us,” Epstein said, adding that local golf courses are also a target market.

New South will start with ringed six-packs and White Ale, but of course, Epstein plans for more.

If the microbrewery can keep up with demand during the summer months, and if everything runs smoothly, Epstein will add a second beer in the fall. Twelve-pack cartons are a possibility, eventually.

The price for that locally brewed six-pack? That’s yet to be announced. Epstein noted that the baseline price for most microbrews is $8 for a sixer. Whatever you pay at the checkout counter, Epstein said it will be competitive, on the lower end of the microbrew price scale.

Red Hook's Double Black

Red Hook's ESB is one of my all-time favorites.

Their Double Black, a limited release, is about as dark as I like it: an Imperial Stout "enhanced by coffee and dark malts with a big, roasty flavor," according to the label.

I liked the smoothness. The bitterness did not overwhelm my taste buds. I could also tell, much like my experiences with Rogue beers, that the water used in the brewing process was high-quality.

I found Red Hook Double Black in a one-pint, six-ounce bottle for $4.79 at Kroger in the Galleria shopping center, corner of Lake Arrowhead Road and U.S. 17.

Again, it's a limited release, so seek it while it may be found.

cheers,
Colin

Herren Pilsner at the MB GB

I've been meaning to tell you all -- I visited Gordon Biersch at The Market Common over the weekend, and tried the seasonal Herren Pilsner.

It's unfiltered -- and outstanding.

Chief Brewer Pete Velez's notes on the Herren Pilsner read, "Unfiltered German style pilsner. This spicy flora aroma leads to a delicate body with a lightly hopped bitterness and crisp finish."

Like I said, the waitress said it was a seasonal, so try it soon.

Beach HomeBrew no longer at the Galleria

What happened to Beach HomeBrew? It's no longer in the Galleria shopping center at the corner of U.S. 17 and Lake Arrowhead Road.

And, the Beach HomeBrew MySpace page has disappeared, too.

Does anyone know if the store has relocated?

I hope Ed Waldorf did not go out of business.

But the way this economy has been, a lot of companies have gone out of business.

Best places in Myrtle Beach to drink session beers

In my Weekly Surge column, I recently gave the low-down on session beers and the best places to drink them in the greater Myrtle Beach area. Read it here.

A few words about coffee

Lately, Kristi and I have been starting our days with Cashua Coffee, roasted right here in South Carolina.

Cashua roasts in Florence, roughly a half-way point between owners Jason and Cathy Savage of the Columbia area and Joshua and Neva Campbell of the Myrtle Beach area.

Kristi has known Neva for years, and the Campbells used to hang out in our old, departed coffeehouse, The Living Room Coffee Bar & Used Books in Myrtle Beach.

Kristi and I have been very happy with Cashua's roasts and offerings. So far, we've tried their winter blend, Kenya, Nicaragua, Brazil, Espresso blend, and probably another varietal that I'm forgetting. Cashua has been as good as Larry's Beans (of Raleigh), which we served at The Living Room.

Scroll down this page to find Columbia-area and Myrtle Beach-area retailers that carry Cashua, or order Cashua online by clicking here.

This morning, however, Kristi chose a larger cup than usual, and unaware that I had not poured any coffee for myself, she finished all but what amounted to an inch's worth in the bottom of my mug.

Running late as usual, I compromised.

So now I'm in my office at Coastal Carolina University, sipping a quickly cooling 16-ounce cup of Starbucks Sumatra, purchased at the Piggly Wiggly in Carolina Forest on this freezing, windy morning.

Logging into email, I noticed that Yahoo News announced that Consumer Reports once again has picked Eight O'Clock Bean's Colombian for its best coffee. (Read the report here.)

Starbucks, Consumer Reports said, did not rank among the top ten coffees.

I've heard this Eight O'Clock Bean claim several times before. It's a consistent winner among big media outlets, like network morning shows, as well as Consumer Reports. But I've tried it before and wasn't impressed. Something of body and quality seemed to be missing. Larry's Beans, Cashua Coffee, and even Starbucks seem to offer broader flavor profiles. But because I am a devoted coffee drinker, I will give Eight O'Clock Bean's Colombian another try sometime soon.

By the way, Yahoo Food lists Michaele Weissman's 10 Ways to Judge Good and Bad Coffee.