That’s right. The two beers that we revealed over the summer will be released as summer fades into fall. The beers went on sale at the Stone Brewing store today but for those far from Escondido, you should be able to order the beers from SouthBayDrugs.com as Joey expects them in Tuesday or Wednesday. Cali-Belgique will be available year-round but stock may be inconsistent. As far as the Belgian Style Triple Ale, this is a one-off product, the result of a collaboration with Alesmith and Mikkeller. Just how ‘available’ this one will be in the coming weeks is unclear at the moment.

The blog celebrates its six-month anniversary today, but rather than go into any of that, it seems more fitting to pay my first proper tribute to Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter, who passed away one year ago, today. I was late into the game, having first stumbled onto craft beers a few years ago. As such, I unfortunately, never had the opportunity to meet Michael. Others who have met him are blogging about him today as well sharing their stories: Brookston Beer Bulletin,
Yours for Good Fermentables.

It seems as though many tributes that happened at the time of his death ignored the fact that he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease in his later years. PD is a motor system disorder, a common symptom for which is slight to severe trembling. I have been fortunate to have not come across the disorder in any of my family or among my friends. I have only encountered it once, having worked with an older woman with PD who wanted to send out a book of poems that she had written to friends and family. Helping her gave me a better appreciation for something easily taken for granted: one’s good health and well-being. For those who would like to know more, I am by no means an expert, though the NINDS could be a good place to start learning more about the subject.

Michael lived in London, England, a city where I enjoyed residency for a very short three months. In honor of Michael and fond memories of London, I looked around my place for any English Ales I could find. The closest thing to an English brew (proximity-wise) that I could find is a recently purchased Traquair Jacobite Ale brewed in Scotland. Michael has written about it in his Great Beer Guide. I will be raising a glass in his memory.

(Lovell, ME) – It’s not April Fools as far as I know, but if it was April 1st nobody would believe it. Ebenezers Pub Owner, Chris Lively, announced on Beer Advocate earlier today that Struise, at some point this week, took a trip down to Portsmouth Brewery in New Hampshire to brew a special batch of Black Albert. And according to Lively, there are “hopes” of blending it with Portsmouth Kate the Great at the brewpub. Ratebeer’s #1 brewers in the world meet Beer Advocate’s #2 beer on the planet. How often do we see a collaboration of this magnitude?

The guys from Struise are attending Ebenezers Belgian Beer Festival in tiny Lovell, Maine, which winds down this weekend. All the details of what they have been brewing, blending, and sharing with festgoers can be found right here.

(Anchorage, AK) – Midnight Sun Brewing released a list of its upcoming beers recently. Here is the dish straight from the fingers of Brewery VP, Barb Miller (you can receive these newsletters as well by signing up at the website – linked above):

Pluto Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale
Aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels with Brettanomyces, will be released on FRI 8/29 [...] [more info on the Planet Beer Series]

FRI 9/12 – The Viking Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale
Brewed with dark malts, star anise and sweet-ripened raisins, this is a very special commemorative beer created for our dear beer friend, Dave “Yano” Yanoshek, who died in a boating accident in late JUN. Yano’s love of life and his BiG LauGH will be Continue on! »