Sorry it has been a while since my last posting.  After our 6th anniversary extravaganza, our new kettle got fired up and Brian and I got to work!  The new kettle is working great and we have popped out some new creations from it, “Cinamama” (cinnamon IPA) and “Garde de Maple” (biere de garde with maple syrup).  But before I get to far ahead of myself, let me back it up a bit.

To everyone that attended out 6th Anniversary Extravaganza, thank you.  We all had a great time celebrating with all of you, and can’t thank you enough for your passion, enthusiasm, and business over the past year.  To all the people that purchased STAFF memberships, thank you for the boost in capital, it helped us purchase a keg washer/filler from Two Brothers Brewing Co.  This machine alone will take Jackie O’s to the next level.  We can’t thank you enough.

2011 was an incredible year for Jackie O’s.  We had 5 bottle releases, brewed over 700 barrels of beer, created a plethora of new brews, established a farm, got the keys to a 7500sq/ft building, and are well on our way to installing a new 20bbl system that will get us closer to a goal of being available state wide.  Highlights for me have been all the bottle releases, GABF, ACBF, visiting Hill Farmstead, and being part of the awesome growth at the brewpub.  Thank you all for your support!

2012 is going to be a big year for Jackie O’s.  We are shooting to have the new brewery operating by mid June.  We will begin our own honey production, placing hives at our farm and all around Athens county.  Our goal is to have our own estate honey that will take care of all of our brewing and kitchen needs.  I am shooting for 4 bottle releases in 2012.  The First release will be in March, most likely in late March.  Some beers to expect for that release, Kentucky Monk, Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition, and some other barrel aged goodies.  Until then, we will be crackin out the brews here at the pub and slowly moving the destruction/construction process along at the new production facility.  Here are some pics of the interior and exterior of our new building located at 25 Campbell st….

We will be installing a 20BBL NSI brewhouse that will feed 40BBL fermenters that are being fabricated by Metalcraft.  We have already purchased a hot liquor tank, cold liquor tank, 3 brite tanks, keg washer filler, and fork lift.  We will keep you posted on progress and new pieces of equipment when they are purchased/arrive.  Our initial product will be draft only.  After a while, we will begin packaging into bottles or possibly cans, maybe both.  Once again thanks for your interest and support and heres to another kick ass year.

Cheers, Brad

Fluff will be open around 7am saturday morning for bottle share/ doughnut/ danish/ coffee/ what eva.  Can’t wait for this weekend, it’s going to be one to remember.

Cheers, Brad

Here are prices and allocations…

Cellar Cuvee 5, 2 bottle limit, $16/bottle

Bourbon Barrel Middle Of Nowhere, 2 bottle limit, $16/bottle

Cellar Cuvee 6, 1 bottle limit, $18/bottle

Slim Pickin’s, 1 bottle limit, $18/bottle

Chunga’s Old Bruin, 1 bottle limit, $18/bottle

Rum Barrel Dark Apparition, 1 bottle limit, $18/bottle

Wood Ya Honey, 1 bottle limit, $16/bottle

Cherry Wood Ya Honey, 1 bottle limit, $16/bottle

Bourbon Berry Grove, 1 bottle limit, $16/bottle

Oil Of Aphrodite, 1 bottle limit, $14/bottle

More info will follow soon, tap lists, more details, music, and surprises.

Cheers, brad

There are more labels that will be posted soon, and some very exciting news/hints about what to expect at the extravaganza.

Cheers, Brad

Here is the flyer for Friday’s beer dinner at the OU Inn,

Cheers, Brad

Things have been a little different here at the brewery.  Our kettle is dying, after almost 17 years of service it sprang multiple leaks upon my return from GABF.  No worries, we have some new stuff hitting the taps, and most importantly a new kettle arriving in about 2 1/2 weeks tanks to Metalcraft Fabrication from Portland OR!  I can’t wait to get a new kettle in here and crank out some serious beer.  A new batch of OPA just hit the taps and Razz.  Next week look out for Drawn and Portered and Hop Ryot.  We are gearing up to bottle all of the sours for the anniversary next week.  More bottling will take place the following week when I am in Vermont brewing at Hill Farmstead.  Shaun Hill, Chad Yakobson (Crooked Stave), and I will be brewing a Nut Brune.  Can’t wait!

Things are shaping up for the next release here is the tentative tap list.

Great Googly Moogly (Imperial squash, spiced, chocolate porter)

Dark Apparition

Berliner Weiss

Funky South Paw

Oil Of Aphrodite

Mystic Mama

Matriarch

Hocking Triple

Java the Stout

Drawn and Portered

1/2 Shark Alligator 1/2 Man (imperial red)

Hop Ryot

Scottish

Baklava Braggot

6th Anniversary Sour Blend

Cellar Cuvee 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.

Rum Barrel Dark Apparition

Wood Ya Honey

Cherry Wood Ya Honey

Bourbon Berry Grove

Bourbon Barrel Middle of Nowhere

Chunga’s Old Bruin

Slim Pickin’s

Brown Recluse

Captain Barley Heart

Cab Cherry Man

Bolero Brown

Kopi Dark Apparition

Dark Apparition Nuts

Coffee Oil Of Aphrodite

Chocolate Cherry Oil Of Aphrodite

Coffee Ice Apparition

Ice Oil Of Aphrodite

Dark Apparition Nitro

Matriarch Nitro

Double Dry Hop Matriarch

Java The Stout Nitro

I have my work cut out, hope to see you all there!

Cheers, Brad

Our Baklava Braggot is on draft and is tasting great.  It has a much more balanced character than I thought it would upon the first attempt.  At 8.1%abv it packs a bit of a punch.  Burnin’ Hill is almost gone, Single Hop Simcoe is on its way out, as is Hocking Triple.  This weekend Funky Gold Verbena and Razz Wheat will hit the taps.  Next week expect to see Barking Pumpkin, Mystic Mama, and some new nitro brews.  This week we brewed more Firefly, Appleachian Ale (apple ale), and OPA.  Next week we will be brewing Razz Wheat, Drawn and Portered, and Hop Ryot.

I have a beer dinner at the OU Inn tomorrow (10/7/11).  These have been going over great and I look forward to a great evening of beer and food.  The tasting starts at 6pm.  The price is $25/person or $45/couple.  Here is the menu….

Romaine salad with picadelli cheese, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon spiced crisps, and pumpkin ale vinaigrette

Funky Gold Verbena 4%abv golden ale brewed with lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon zest, and paradise seed

 Pumpkin Ravioli with fried sage & beet jus 

Firefly Amber Ale 4%

 Seared Sea bass with Raspberry Bordelaise a top Red Lentils 

Hocking Triple, 8% brewed with local honey

 Braised Sweet Breads with Fire Roasted Corn Jonny Cake 

Scottish Ale 6.75% brewed with peated malt, slightly smokey

 Grilled Pork with Roasted Spaghetti Squash and New Mexico Chili Coulis 

Baklava Braggot 8.1% brewed with walnuts, honey, lemon verbena, and cinnamon

Coffee Braised Short ribs with Roasted Celery Root  

Bourbon Barrel Aged Middle Of Nowhere Stout 9% oatmeal stout brewed with local honey and maple syrup

 Look for an update concerning Cleveland Beer Week events this weekend. Cheers, Brad

Cellar Cuvee 5

Cellar Cuvee 6

Wood Ya Honey

Cherry Wool Ya Honey

Bourbon Barrel Middle of Nowhere

Slim Pickin’s

Chunga’s Old Bruin

Rum Barrel Dark Apparition

Expect 4 to 5 DA nanos for in-house consumption.

That is all for now. I will keep leaking info about this release for months now, so keep your eyes peeled to the blog for more developments.  Info on our Cleveland beer week events is coming together nicely and I will post some firm details in the coming week.  If you are in Athens this weekend, check out the Paw Paw Festival in Albany and taste the largest assortment of paw paw beer ever assembled on the planet!

Cheers, Brad

I had announced at the release that our next bottle sale will be October 15th.  This date has been cancelled due to the fact that it is Homecoming weekend at OU (Athens).  This would never work, so we have pushed the date back quite a bit, the 22nd is darkness day, 29th is the Halloween celebration in Athens (huge), and early November brings us closer to our Anniversary Extravaganza on December 2 and 3rd.  So our final decision is to have the LAST sale of 2011 on December 3rd.  Expect 8 to 10 different beers in glass, 38+ brews on draft, music, food, and tons of beer lovin!  It is official the next and final sale is Dec. 3rd.

GABF is coming around the corner and Art and I are getting very excited about going out to Denver.  We will be pouring 5 brews on the floor, and have entered a total of 12 beers for judging.  All of our judge beers are in Denver now, and the fest beers will arrive at our drop off on Monday.  Here is a run down of what we are submitting for judging and pouring…

Java The Stout, Coffee beer category
Oil of Aphrodite, Specialty beer category
Kentucky Monk,  Barrel aged strong beer category
Chomolungma,  American style brown ale category
Hocking triple, Belgian style abbey ale category
Razz Wheat, Fruit wheat beer category
Remus, American style brett beer
Rum barrel Oil of Aphrodite, Barrel aged strong stout
Dynamo Hum, Barrel aged sour beer (w/ fruit)
Brown Recluse, Belgian style sour ale, flanders/oud bruin
Drawn and Portered, Robust porter
Dark Apparition, Imperial stout

Beers being poured at the festival

Java The Stout
Oil of Aphrodite
Kentucky Monk
Chomolungma
Hocking Triple

This week we are brewing a Baklava Braggot brewed with local honey, local black walnuts, organic lemon verbena (grown on Jackie O’s farm), andthe brew will be conditioned on cinnamon sticks.  It is being fermented with a blend of our American ale yeast and our Belgian yeast. The beer should come in at about 7.5% to 8%abv.  Really looking forward to this brew and had a blast brewing it yesterday.  Tomorrow we will brew a Belgian IPA.  Next week we will catch up on the standards Firefly, Razz, and Mystic Mama.  The following week we will brew another batch of pumpkin ale and the Funky Gold Verbena.  Java The Stout just hit the taps Tuesday, Single Hop Simcoe hits today, Hocking Triple will hit Saturday.  Next week, South Paw will go on tap andwill be served at the Paw Paw festival that weekend.  Hop Ryot will also go on draft and possibly Burnin’ Hill.

November 12th I am making a pilgrimage to Hill Farmstead to take part in a brewers seminar.  Shaun and I will brew, nut sure what yet, but we have some ideas.  Other brewers may join in.  Should be a great weekend.

Cheers, Brad

Tickets will be placed outside early in the morning (4am-ish) of the 27th.  The “tickets” will be tear-away calendar pages.  Take your page and return to your car, hotel, or venture to Fluff Bakery if it is after 7am for breakfast and bottle sharing.

The Public House will open at 9am for breakfast and brews.  The bottle sale will start at 11am on the Public House side.  You can bring bottles into the Public House but, keep it to a minimum.  Help the wait staff out by putting empty bottles or unused glass ware out of the way of what you are currently tasting/using.  They will gladly remove what ever is done.  They are not trying to steal your snifter or a empty bottle that you would like to take home, they are only trying to keep your table clean and comfortable.  If you are done at a table and choose to leave or travel to the brewery for more beer, please let the wait staff know so that they can clear your table for another group to sit down.  There will be an initial wait after you are seated, due to the amount of people that arrive for the release.  It is a difficult task to get food, tasters, and beer in front of everyone at once.  Be patient and we will do our best to get your orders to you in a timely fashion. They Brewery will open at noon and will feature many different brews on draft from the public house.  If you venture over to the brewery before you have your bottles, be aware that we will pass over your number if you are not present.  Best bet is to have someone get you tasters/beers from the brewery side until your number/date is called.

Last release, we had some issues with people grabbing multiple numbers in the early morning, and then using all numbers during the sale after doing a quick change of shirt/hat after each usage.  DO NOT TRY THIS AGAIN.  Grab ONE (1) number.  If the amount of people present permits a second sale I will advise you to keep your number, after the initial sale is over we will go back through the calendar for the second sale.  We will also be watching every one to ensure that no one “works the system.”  These events are about sharing, having a fun time, meeting people, and celebrating beer.  Don’t ruin it by trying to get double/triple allotments, that will leave another beer lover empty handed.  If we do catch someone, the will be removed from the premises and barred from future releases.  Just play by the rules and everything will be awesome!

Here are the beers that will be for sale…

Brandy Barrel Superfly ~325 bottles – $16/bottle – 2 bottle limit

Oil of Aphrodite ~ 325 bottles – $14/bottle – 2 bottle limit

Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite ~200 bottles -$18/bottle – 1 bottle limit

Dynamo Hum ~ 200 bottles – $18/bottle -1 bottle limit

Funky South Paw ~ 200 bottles – $14/ bottle – 1 bottle limit

As we have done before, we will sell ALL of the bottles to ensure that everyone goes home with something.  If there are more than 200 people that arrive, it will be impossible to put the “new releases” in to everyones hands but I will do my best to pull from our cellar to ensure that no leaves Athens without a bottle or two or 10.  There will be a few growler fills at this event.  We have been extremely busy and I am stretched so thin that the majority of the offerings are 15 gallons or less.  I apologize about the lack of growler fills for this event, but I assure you there will be a lot to try while you are here.

There will be some new shirts for sale, along with older shirts as well.  Logo pints and tulips will be for sale.  Hats, and growler coozies will be sold too.  We take cash and credit.

Here is the tap list….

PUBLIC HOUSE
Oil of Aphrodite
Brandy Barrel Super Fly 9%abv $2/6 imperial amber ale aged in brandy barrels for 8 months.
Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite
Dynamo Hum 6% $3 (4oz only) Cabernet barrel aged framboise
Razz Wheat
Mystic Mama IPA
OPA
Shade Abbey (Growlers)
Dark Apparition
Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition 2011
Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition 2010 $3(4oz only)
Brandy Barrel Dark Apparition
Imperial Porter
Shade Of Brandy
Barking Pumpkin
Barking Pumpkin Nitro $1/4 Served on nitro
Firefly (growlers)
Chomolungma (growlers)
Hogwash 5.2%abv $1/4* smoked ale brewed with lavender and local maple syrup

BREWERY
Oil of Aphrodite
Chocolate Cherry $2/6 Infused with organic coco nibs and cherries
Chocolate Mint $2/6 infused with organic coco nibs and organic chocolate mint
Vanilla $2/6 Infused with organic vanilla beans
Coffee $2/6 infused with locally roasted coffee “Dawn Chorus”
Nitro $2/6 served on nitrogen
Drawn and Portered
Drawn and Portered Nitro $1/4* served on nitro.
Mystic Mama IPA
Shade Abbey (Growlers)
Firefly (growlers)
Brown Recluse
Cab Cherryman
Bolero Brown
Bee Keeper
Barking Pumpkin
Single Hop Cascade 3.5 %abv $1/3.5* golden ale brewed with cascade hops
Kentucky Monk
Cheers, Brad