Kidney Fest 2016

Kidney Fest, a Homebrew & Craft Beer fundraiser to benefit Jeannie's Kidney Fund, will take place this Saturday (9/24) from 3-8pm at Marker 48 Brewing in Weeki Wachee, FL. This is the third charity beer fest in two years to contribute to Jeannie's Kidney Fund.

Tickets are $25 prior to the event ($30 at the door) and include unlimited samples of over 60 different homebrew & craft beers. To purchase tickets visit jeannieskidneyfund.com, or stop into Marker 48.

This year's festival includes a SMaSH (Single Malt, Single Hop) beer competition in which participating brewers will have their SMaSH concoctions judged by a panel of judges (of which I have the pleasure of being a part) and the winning beer will be awarded a hand-carved wooden trophy signifying their smashing success (see image below)!

The festival will also include raffle prizes, auctions, food trucks, and live music! 

All proceeds from this event will help with ongoing medical costs resulting from Jeannie's kidney transplant surgery.

Join in on the discussion and receive updates on the beers and special auction items by viewing the Facebook Event Page for Kidney Fest.

Kidney Fest Beer/Brewery List

Jeannie’s Kidney Fund Summary

Jeannie was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease aka Kidney Failure and was on daily dialysis for 9 hours a day, every day.

While waiting for a transplant donor, Jeannie's son,Eric, bravely signed up to donate his kidney to another family in exchange for one given to Jeannie. Thankfully, Jeannie received a successful transplant on March 4th, 2015!

This fund for Jeannie is established to help offset some of the expenses incurred with the transplant procedure and lifelong recovery.

Three (more) Tree House Beers for Review

This is a continuation from a previous post where I sampled Julius. The bar has been set high, and I am excited to share my tasting notes from the remaining three Tree House Beers that I recently received.

Lights On 

American Pale Ale

5.6% ABV

Being that this is only the second beer I've ever tasted from Tree House, my only point of comparison is Julius--two radically different beers, and yet, I found some obvious similarities that show a distinct craftsmanship from the brewers. 

Strong and pleasant aroma--strong hop notes and a subtle orange peel aroma as well. As you can see from the image, the beer poured a thick hazed pale-orange color. Not as vibrant as Julius, but a similar haze and orange aroma.

Lights On tastes of grapefruit, orange zest, lemon, mango, and other tropical fruits. This is a very flavorful and citrusy pale ale that packs a balanced bitterness, making this an approachable and highly drinkable beer. It's not quite as juicy as Julius, but one could argue this beer had more going on in terms of depth/layers of flavors.

Haze

Imperial IPA

8.2% ABV

Similar to the previous two beers I've sampled, Haze is...well, hazy. This beer pours an almost identical color and "thickness" to Lights On and Julius. The aroma is similar as well: tropical fruits and some citrus zests dominate the nose.

On the palate, Haze begins with notes of orange, lemon, and pineapple. There's not much of a hop bitterness here, and I enjoy the more prominent malt presence that's in this beer. Still, there is a clear theme going on with Tree House's IPAs: they pack a punch of juicy (often tropical and citrus) flavors. Haze tips the scale more on the tropical side of the scale, but the signature orange flavors are certainly there. 

Also noticeable is the heaviness of this beer. I found Haze to have almost a "chewy" feel to it: quite thick and juicy--but that is definitely not a knock on the beer in any way. As an imperial IPA, Haze does not disappoint and provides the flavor and mouthfeel to satisfy the genre.

Single Shot

Milk Stout

6.4% ABV

I was excited to try this one as it was so very different from the previous three that I sampled. There was such a clear theme and pattern detected in the pale ales, that I was curious to see what Tree House would do with a stout.

Single Shot is labeled a Milk Stout or Sweet Stout, depending on which site you're looking at. Either one works well in my opinion. As soon as I cracked open the can, I was met with a sweet coffee aroma, something similar to a cafe con leche. 

If you are someone who likes their coffee with lots of cream, this beer is for you. Single Shot tastes of rich coffee and sweet cream flavors. There is a hint of chocolate in the middle, but this beer doesn't shy away from being a sweet coffee stout and nothing else. The finish is very smooth. There's absolutely no bitterness from hops nor coffee. This is a rich and smooth, sweet and bold stout. I would love to try this one on Nitro and have a nice creamy texture to go with the sweet cream flavors. 

-------

After tasting four different Tree House beers, it's clear that those of us who live in Florida are missing out on some well crafted beers! I thoroughly enjoyed each one and have to thank Nine State Brewery one last time for sharing these beers with me. Be sure to check out Tree House Brewing Co by visiting http://treehousebrew.com/ and show some love to Nine State by giving their facebook page a Like!  https://www.facebook.com/ninestatebrewery/

Julius-Tree House Brewing Company

I received a message recently from Eric of Nine State Brewing. He asked if I had ever tried anything from Tree House Brewing Co. I explained that I hadn't but would love the opportunity and, just like that, I received a packaged containing these four beers. Eric's only request was that, in return, I provide my readers with honest and in-depth reviews of each beer. Challenge accepted!

After doing some research on each of the four beers, I decided to start with Julius and work my way through each one, posting a review as I go, based on the hop profiles of each beer,taking into consideration the beers that should be consumed fresh.

Brewery: Tree House Brewing Co.
Location: Monson, MA
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.8%
Beer Apostle's Final Grade: A+

Julius is Tree House's flagship American IPA. Julius has a perfect score of 100 on both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, and has become one of the more sought-after American IPAs as of late. Just a quick glance on any of the beer trading forums and you'll quickly see there is a considerable buzz around Julius. However, I will state for the record: I am not one to fall in line with the hype around beers. Without naming specific labels, there are several "whales" that dominate the ISO forums that, in my humble opinion, are not worth the trouble people go through just to get their hands on a beer that may not be much (if any) better than the beers brewed at your local microbrewery. With that being said, I trusted the endorsements given by many who have tried Julius and was eager to give it a taste for myself.

As soon as I opened the can, the aroma from Julius instantly fill the room. Just as if I had lit a candle, the kitchen filled with vibrant scents of citrus and tropical fruits. There was also a considerable amount of orange notes detected.

Julius pours a deep haziness. This is as cloudy as I have seen an IPA. The color is spot-on: a beautiful orange hue to match the theme and label.

Complex layers of citrus and tropical fruits attach the palate. Julius is just as sweet and juicy as advertised, and full of oranges--both fruit and rind flavors. But for as juicy and fruity as Julius is, there's also a good amount of bitterness that balances this beer. I have seen some reviews labeling Julius as sweet with little bitterness, but I would have to disagree. I get a good amount of bitterness, but it's just not overpowering. As for a malt profile, there's not much of one. Julius is juicy, tropical, and citrusy.

Overall, Julius is as near a perfect IPA as I have tried. In many ways, I find this to push boundaries on what my archetype of an American IPA is or was. Julius' juiciness is unmatched. And the amount of fresh orange flavors that are packed into this beer is impressive. As far as I can tell, Julius deserves the credit and even the hype. It's refreshing and delicious, and I wish I would have received more than just one can.

To see more from the Beer Apostle, be sure to check out the Archives section! Have questions or feedback, contact me and share your thoughts! And don't forget to join in on the discussion by following  on Twitter and Facebook!

Beersgiving: Pumpkin Beer and Charity Event

Tickets are now available for Beersgiving, a charity beer festival that includes a pumpkin beer contest, over 60 homebrew and craft beers,  live music, raffles, auctions, and more!

Beersgiving is more than just a beer festival, it’s an event to raise money for Jeannie’s Kidney Fund. Jeannie was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease, (Kidney Failure) and was on daily dialysis for 9 hours a day, every day. While waiting for a transplant donor, something that could take years and is never a given, her son Eric took matters into his own hands and bravely agreed to donate his kidney to another family in exchange for one given to Jeannie.

On March 4^th, 2015, Jeannie received a successful transplant and was on her way to a healthy recovery.

Eric and Jeannie accepting a "Kidney Trophy" at April's Homebrew and BBQ

Beersgiving exists to bring the beer community together to enjoy great locally brewed beer, and to raise awareness and funds to offset the costly medical bills the family has since incurred.

This is the follow-up festival to last April’s “Homebrew and BBQ” event that successfully brought in hundreds of craft beer fans, as well as local homebrewers and craft breweries. The event was one of the most enjoyable beer events I attended all last year. There was great beer, food, music, and there were several brewers on hand who were happy to talk about their craft. 

Beersgiving is expected to draw an even larger crowd, and will have plenty of local brewers on hand as they compete in the pumpkin beer contest. The competition is an exciting addition to the event and gives local brewers an extra incentive to bring some of their best pumpkin-inspired brews. The pumpkin beers will be tasted and critiqued by a panel of four judges, and I am honored to announce that I will be serving as one of the judges at the event.

 All proceeds of this event support Jeannie’s Kidney Fund. To purchase tickets, simply visit: http://jeannieskidneyfund.com/shop/beersgiving/

Ticket includes unlimited samples of over 60 homebrew and craft beers! A turkey dinner will be available as well for purchase. Pumpkin Beer Competition, Live Music, Raffles, Auctions...what's not to love?

Come have a great night out and support a great cause for one of our local residents!The event takes place at Pine St. Pub, Inverness, FL.