The Visitor Center is open every Saturday 12 Noon to 3PM for Tours, Tastings & Sales

Verboten is available in bottles and on tap for growlers. Come by for a sample!

We also have 750ml bottle cases of Merry Monks’ Ale and Double Simcoe IPA. TINY is sold out.

Merchandise
We have a wide assortment of men’s and women’s Ts to fit your style, caps for your noggin’, glassware and bottle openers. Check out our Weyerbacher Hoodies.

North Carolina come on and raise up…

My spell-check wanted to change raise to rise.  Microsoft don’t do gangsta! 

The first week of May brought me back down South.  See, I’m a good southern boy (South Carolina to be exact) residing in the North and I have not made my way through North Carolina in awhile.   Actually, this would be the first “sales” trip I have ever made there.    As you will soon see why, it should have happened long-ago.

I put sales in quote above because I do not do actual sales.  Bob Fauteux, our Sales Manager that traveled with me, would certainly agree with this assessment.  I was more on a mission to let the folks of NC know what we’re about.  Bob would go east and I would travel east to the side of the state that I know best.  This is my side of the story.

We first met with the trusty staff at Freedom Beverage, our NC distributor, in Greensboro where their office and warehouse are located.  They were kind enough to show us around and make sure that I saw as many good beer folks as possible.   We had a short day in G’boro so we could only fit in a few places before our event that night, but I did get to meet Dave at The Brewers Kettle in High Point.  Dave was a nice guy with a nice selection of beers and I encourage you High Pointians (High Pointers?) to head over and check it out.  Our event took place at the Bestway on Walker Ave.  This is an old grocery that has changed hands several times over the years between major names and now is an independent grocery owned by a black belt beer connoisseur.  We had a great sampling in the beer aisle.  We had plenty of room because this was one huge aisle and one huge selection of beers from around the world.  If you are a resident with driving distance of this place, I recommend making the trip.  I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning and time to jump into to my rental and hit the road for two days in Charlotte.  I have to mention that I had not been to Charlotte in close to 15 years and then it was a very sleepy city.  If you went downtown (or Uptown as the locals say) at 5:05 everyone would have already hit the road headed for home leaving you standing by yourself with only the crickets for company.  I was very happy to find that this had dramatically changed.  I was treated with a tour of the area that took me to all points of Charlotte.  Some of the neighborhoods were really cool.  They were lots of shops, bars, and coffee shops around to make you want to stay around awhile.   We hit several bars, restaurants, and retail outlets and I was very impressed by the love of craft beer and dedication to quality and flavor.   If you look for craft in the area you will most certainly find yourself at Brawley’s Beverage on the south side, Duckworth’s in the current location or the new larger location opening soon, or maybe one of the Flying Saucer locations. 

Our last evening  in Charlotte we participated in an event at The Common Market organized by Darrin, Chad, and Charles (more folks I’m sure) of The Charlotte Beer Club and Tom and the guys at The Common Market.  This place was very cool.  I want this place in my neighborhood.  Part grocery, part coffee shop, part deli, part bar…..  Anyway, The CBC guys rounded up a bunch of folks to come out and hear me talk about Weyerbacher.  They really made me feel welcome and impressed me with their passion for good beer.  Great night!

Next stop Asheville…   I went to Appalachian State University in Boone which is around two hours north of Asheville.  A few of my friends settled in Asheville after college, so I have visited a bunch of times in the last few years.  I always liked Asheville, but the explosion of craft beer has made it one of my favorite places to visit.  The beer culture in Asheville is an amazing thing to witness and take part in.  Asheville is home to Bruisin’ Ales.  They might have the biggest selection of Weyerbacher beers outside of the brewery itself.  The people at Bruisin are truly beer royalty.  I tried to meet the owners Jason and Julie, but I was unable to pull them off of the Caribbean beach where they were sunning themselves.  I’ll be coming down again soon and I will definitely make it by again.

The people at The Thirsty Monk (downtown) hosted an event for me Thursday evening which went phenomenally well.  I have to give a shout out to my friends Sandy and Brian for hitting the pavement and getting the people show up.  They must have been responsible for half of the people there.  Cheers!  We had Hop Infusion, Double Simcoe IPA, Heresy, and Insanity in tap.  I think everyone enjoyed the beers and went less thirsty.

We ended our work week with a tasting at The Greenlife Grocery.  We sampled four different styles that the grocery was carrying.  Most common question was, “Is this local?” followed closely with “Where is Easton (or Eastern) PA?”  A lot of folks in Asheville are intensely loyal customers of locally made products and who could blame them with all the great local breweries they have.  I hope that they make a little space in the fridge for us out-of-town-boys once in awhile.

I will certainly have to make another stop in NC soon.  It seems like the perfect place for Weyerbacher Beer.  Thank you North Carolina for your Hospitality.

Cheers,

CW

Weyerbacher will be distributed by Capitol Beverage in the Twin Cities area and subbed out to a few other wholesalers in surrounding areas.

Merry Monks Takes Bronze!: The World Beer Cup awards ceremony was held last month in Chicago, and Chris, Chris, Bob and I were on hand when Merry Monks was announced as the Bronze Medal Winner in the Belgian-Style Tripel Category.   Over 3000 beers were entered from 44 different countries.  You can see our excitement at the announcement by going to our website and clicking on the video on the home page. Top 3 Tripel in the world!!!

~Dan

Completely Revamped Website: Going live in mid-April our spiffy new website is the creation of Josh Lampe of StandingStone Media and our head brewer Chris Wilson.  Content, content, content! We’ve got content!  Videos, pics, news, events, blogs from Chris and Dan and more.  Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think.  We think you’ll love it.

Comments from Chris Wilson: I’m back!  Did you miss me?  I have been away from the brewery for the past two weeks.  The first week I was on a much needed vacation but the other I was traveling for work down in North Carolina.  I spent a day in Greensboro, 2 days in Charlotte, and 2 days in Asheville.  I was very impressed with what I saw.  I found it very easy to find a great beer no matter where I went.  I grew up in SC and went to college in NC so I thought I was familiar with the area.  It turns out that a lot has changed since the they “popped the cap”.  Asheville kicked ass as expected.  Charlotte had a great number of new bars and restaurants with a focus on craft beer or at least a good beer list.  Greensboro had “Bestway”, the store that just might have the best beer selection in the state!  Big thanks to Darrin, Charles, and Chad of the Charlotte Beer Club and Tom of the Common Market for putting together a fantastic event.  We had about 40 or so people from the area to come out and hear me talk about Weyerbacher. Great people, great beer, great time!  I’ll be putting up a post on the website with all the details by the end of the week.

I should get on to what’s brewing.  While I was in NC, Dan Hitchcock (busy) was busy brewing up one of his own concoctions.  (when the cat’s away…) He was brewing up the next in the Brewer’s Select Series, Kilo.  It is going to be a summer saison made with Chamomile, Grains of Paradise, and Coriander.  It has not completely fermented but I think it is going to be awesome.  You can count on Kilo being served at Philly Beer Week events throughout the 10-day “week”.  We are also hard at work brewing up Fifteen for next month’s release.

Comments from Chris Lampe:

Verboten is in bottles and the conditioning is done.  I had to make Dan wait a little bit to make sure, but it is now ready to ship so look for it on the store shelves now!  This is now my lawn mower beer!!  In other news, we will have the date coder running this Thursday so look for “bottled on” and “expired by” dates on the bottle soon!  See recipe below.

Chris L.

Next month’s release:  Fifteen.  Smoked Imperial Stout 11.8% ABV.

Sales Manager Bob Fauteux: Bob loves this concoction, see what you think:  Sweet Simcoe,  Pour half a pint of Double Simcoe in a pint glass then pour a half pint of Old Heathen slowly over the back of a spoon to get the layering effect.  Prost!

Tarragon Roasted Chicken with Pearl Onions & Baby Potatoes served with Verboten & Mustard Gravy & Smothered Green Beans
Recipe available at our web site www.weyerbacher.com

1 -4.5 to 5 pound chicken, free range is best, all natural is great

2 T Unsalted butter, softened

2 T Kosher salt

2 t Ground black pepper

2 T Good olive oil

9-10 Sprigs fresh tarragon

1 lb Peeled pearl or cippoline onions

1 lb Baby potatoes, (any variety) cut in half the long way, kept submerged in cold water

3 T Good olive oil

2 t Kosher salt

¾  t Ground black pepper

1 C Good low sodium chicken broth

4 T Reserved fat after roasting

4 T All purpose flour

1 C Weyerbacher’s Verboten

1 T Whole grain mustard

1 T Fresh tarragon, chopped fine

1 lb Green beans, trimmed

Method:

1. Remove chicken from packaging.  Remove any giblets and excess liquid.  Put on half sheet pan, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and allow to air dry in the refrigerator for one hour.
2. After that hour remove chicken from refrigerator.  Insert you finger between the skin and the breast to create enough space for the butter.  Put one tablespoon of butter between the skin and each breast.  Once it is under the skin you can smooth it out by pressing on the skin.
3. Rub the chicken with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Then season with salt and pepper.  Season the back and the cavity.  This will seem like a lot of salt, but it is not.  Stuff the springs of tarragon inside the cavity of the chicken.  If you have butcher’s twine, tie the two legs together.
4. Allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for at least half and hour, but no more than one hour.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Drain potatoes in a colander.  In a large bowl add the potatoes, onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and toss to coat evenly.
6. Arrange the potatoes and onions around the chicken on the sheet tray.  Make sure all the potatoes are cut side down.  The onions can be on top of the potatoes if necessary.
7. After letting the chicken sit at room temperature put the chicken in the oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  The only way to be sure the chicken is done is to use a thermometer.  It should read 165 degree or above.
8. When the chicken is done, turn the oven down to warm (150 degrees), and transfer the chicken to a heat-safe container along with the potatoes and onions.  Put the container back in the oven to rest.  Put roughly one gallon of water into a soup pot with one tablespoon of salt on high heat.
9. Add the chicken broth to the pan you cooked the chicken on.  Try to scrape up all the caramelized bits, while avoiding anything that may be black.  Put this liquid into a heat proof measuring cup.  Carefully take 4 tablespoons of the fat off the top and add to a sauce pot.  Remove any excess fat and discard, saving the broth.
10. Put the sauce pot over medium heat and add the flour.  Stir with a whisk and cook for couple of minutes.  Do not let the roux take on any caramel colors.
11. Remove from the heat and add the beer, broth, and mustard.  Bring up to a simmer and let cook until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Leave covered, over low heat until ready to serve.
12. By now your water should be boiling.  Add the green beans and cook until al dente.
13. Add the chopped tarragon to the sauce.
14. When the green beans are done, remove them from the water and toss them with a ½ cup of the sauce.
15. Carve your chicken and serve family style with plenty of cool Verboten…for the adults only, please.

Verboten in draft and bottles has shipped to several markets already, with the rest to follow in the next week or two.  A Belgian-Style Pale Ale, Verboten packs a lot of flavor into a 5.9% ABV session beer.  Beer writers Jack Curtin and Lew Bryson are both pleading with us to take this beer year ’round.   Let us know what you think of the idea once you’ve tried it.