DuClaw Brewing Company

Working here definitely has its share of uniquely memorable moments. The first time that you taste a new beer that the public will not get their hands on for months. The first time that you experience the “Colossus Frenzy” at the MD Brewers Oktoberfest. The first time that you’re a suspect in a police pornography investigation. WHOA… Who where with the what now?

Halfway through production on the Black Lightning video, we were visited by an agent of our local Sheriff’s Department. He was taking some photos of the video studio, which was decorated as the execution chamber for the video. We assumed that the agent had heard about our cool electric chair replica (built specifically for the video) and came by to check it out. Pointing to a futon (seen in the 2010 Celtic Fury video and used since for the occasional siesta) stacked in the corner, the agent asked, “So you have a bed in here, too?”

The agent added, “A few weeks ago, two of my deputies were here checking out an alarm when they saw the futon set-up like a bed, surrounded by cameras, with lingerie and a chair constructed to strap someone into it and bondage gear lying next to it. Do have an explanation for that, sir?” Rut Ro Raggy!

Luckily, we did have an explanation. The deputies saw film lights and cameras we use for our videos. The lingerie they saw was the Goddess costume from the 2010 Pax Nemesis video. The bondage gear was a belt modified to hold a sword shaft in place to make it look like an actor had been stabbed, for a Celtic Fury video. And the chair, well of course that was for Black Lightning. The sheriff was eventually convinced (along with the liquor board) that while we were guilty of tasteless humor, we were not in fact manufacturing porn, and we all had a good (nervous) laugh. He assured us that no mention of this would be made in report, and that we would not have to worry about this getting out.

Well, at least not from him….

Today (Thursday) only, all DuClaw beers on are $1. That is right, Venom, Serum and the boys (and girl) are all $1, all day long.  And for you wine drinkers out there, all of our bottles are $10 all day too (that is basically the same price you pay at your favorite liquor store my friends)!

And if that is enough to get you moving, we are also previewing our NEW ARTISANAL PRETZEL STICKS. They are handmade, each day, at all of our stores and baked fresh.  They will be offered on most salads and as a pretzel stick appetizer. These babies will be on our new menu rolling out this September, but today only you get a sneak preview of these utterly delicious, scrumptious, addictive little sticks.

All the details are here. Hope to see you at the stores, cause this is a deal you will not want to miss!

Cheers,

Dave

Before I get to announcing the final three firkins, Flying Dog Brewery is running a contest for you to select their firkins they are bringing this year to our Real Ale Fest. To vote, follow the link here.

Ok, now down to business.  The final three firkins will be:

4) Double Spiced 31 (yep, 2x the cinnamon and nutmeg)

5) Dark Cherry & Vanilla Infused Black Jack Stout

6) Diablo Noir (an extremely devilish blend of Devils Milk (2009) and Black Jack (2008))

As a little bit of insight, in the firkins where we are adding either more spice or some type of fruit (which is 5 out of 6) we will not be able to taste them until the day of the fest. But, the Diablo Noir blend I have been able to taste.  It was good.  So good, you might be seeing more of these blends from us.

I hope to see you there. And if you need tickets you can get them here.

Cheers,

Dave

Tomorrow at the MD Brewer’s Springfest in Frederick we will be unveiling our second release in our eXile series.  eXile Batch #2 is a…..Imperial Belgian Wit (yep Sawtooth’s big brother, hence the big bad wolf hints.  I know, very sly of me).  It is just above 7% abv, with quite nice spicing, but man is it drinkable.  So if you ever find yourself on a hot day and thought “boy, I wish I had a high alcohol beer that was awesome and quenched my thirst”, well we have the beer for you. So come out tomorrow to the Springfest and get the first taste before it goes on tap at the units.  Oh, the units tap date, almost forgot.  That would be Thursday June 10th, 11am.

And speaking of the Springfest, we have one hell of a lineup of vintage beers.  We are bringing 16 beers in all.  Here is the list:

1) 2009 Mayhem

2) 2008 13 Degrees

3) 2007 31

4) 2005 Repent

5) 2007 Sawtooth

6) 2006 Devil’s Milk

7) 2008 Naked Fish

8) 2008 Blackout

9) 2006 Blackjack Stout

10) 2009 Pax Nemesis

11) 2008 Twisted Kilt

12) 2007 Mad Bishop

13) 2010 Serum Double IPA

14) 2004 Misery Wheat Wine

15) eXile #1 Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter

16) eXile #2 Imperial Wit

Well a race that was much more exciting that the Kentucky Derby was finished this week.  That is right, the Vote for the Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Jack! It was a tough fight, all the way to the end.  The lead went back and forth a couple times, and the comments were intense (somehow we even defined a new word ‘Stoutie’.  Look it up in the Urban Dictionary).  In the end, Arundel Mills just edged Bel Air out for the keg.  It was a hard fought fight by all, and all should be proud.  But a special congratulations goes to the Mills crowd, enjoy the sweet, sweet taste of victory.  Well at least about 125 pints of it!!!

Well gotta go, as my boy just took a good spill and the tears are rolling!

Cheers,

Dave

We have a brawl on our hands, as our gracious patrons are conducting a comment war on the blog.  It seems our tie breaker policy has people worried.  Click here to see the footage of our last tiebreaker pit fight between our customers.  But please, make sure no children or weak stomach people are nearby when viewed!  And remember, fight for your right for Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Jack Stout.  Get out and vote!

Ok, here is the deal. The festival mistakenly forgot to put our final keg of Bourbon Barrel Aged (BBA) Black Jack on tap. So now we have this extra keg in our way, and we need to get rid of it. So Bo, Jim and I had a meeting on what to do with it.  After a few diligent hours of drinking, we decided that we should really make a decision. So, after a couple more beers one of us came up with the great idea to put it on tap at one of our stores for Cinco de Mayo!

At first we were glad that the strenuous act of making a decision was over.  But, as Jim was leaving work around 1pm , after a hard day of watching Bo brew, Bo reminded us that we only have one keg…..and we have three stores.  It was at this point we realized that we have even a tougher decision to make.  It also became quite clear to Jim that he was not going to make it home in enough time for his 1:30 nap.  But, we had to decide what restaurant would get our only keg of Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Jack Stout. After an intense debate, a few more beers and a grueling match or rock, paper, sissors; Jim, Bo an I came to a conclusion.  And that is…..we are too scared to make any real tough decisions.

So, we are leaving it up to YOU to decide where it will be tapped.  There is a poll posted on the right hand side of the home page of my blog. Go there to cast your vote for which store is to receive our only keg.  Do it quick, as the polls close on  April 30th at noon.  Make your voice heard!

Cheers,
Dave

I must have been drunk when I came up with this idea, but here it goes. This Thursday, all day, all beers are $1! You heard (errr, read) me right. $1. A buck. A single dollar (plus the State’s cut) for any DuClaw beer. And if that wasn’t good enough, all wines are $10 off a bottle.

And if that wasn’t good enough, we are previewing TWO NEW SLIDERS that are on our new menu, coming out this May. The two sliders are a Chipotle Chicken slider with Lime Crema. Basically, we make a pretty spicy Chipotle BBQ sauce and cook finely shredded chicken in it. When then top it with a cool Lime Crema to slightly cut the heat. The second one is a mini version of our crab cake sandwich, complete with a signature dijonaise sauce. And after trying both personally, they will knock your socks off! But, they are only available this one day, until the new menu launch in May. So get’em while they’re hot!

And to recap, this Thursday ONLY:
1) $1 beers all day long
2) $10 off all wine bottles
3) Two new awesome sliders available for preview
4) I make horribly bad financial decisions when I attempt to drink a whole bottle of Colossus by myself.

See you Thursday! Cheers,
Dave

30″-36″ of snow on a weekend. Correction, on a SUPERBOWL weekend. No other way to say it than, it sucks. Fill the growlers, buy the six packs and dig in my friends, cause it is not looking pretty. Good luck, as we are going to need it!

Hello and welcome to the launch of my blog. First I would like to thank you for stopping by and taking a read, I hope it can at least be a pleasant distraction for you. Now, with the pleasantries aside, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. What is the blog for?!

Is it for me to promote our beer and food? Is it for me to asks questions about what you want to see change? Is it for me to post random musing about issues that might not matter much to most people? Well the long and short is YES, and a whole bunch more. There will be a good amount of inside tidbits (prior to emails, talk from staff or loose rumors on the street) of new beers, menu changes and upcoming events. There will be some special promotions known just to the blog readers (and anyone who the blog readers happen to tell…). There will be discussions of not only our beer, but of other brewery’s beer that I (or you) find enjoyable (God, I love my job – drinking beer, then talking about it!). There will be talk about wines on our list and other wines that I (or you) like or just want to discuss (wait…beer and wine?). And as I said before, A WHOLE LOT MORE!

Cheers!

Dave