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Jailhouse Comes to Athens and Northeast Georgia

So we are happy to announce we've partnered with Leon Farmer to bring Jailhouse to Athens and Northeast Georgia and we're loving it. The folks at Leon Farmer know craft beer, are excited about working with local breweries and are all about introducing folks to what is new in Georgia. Other local products they distribute are Monday Night Brewing and Red Hare. We're happy to be working with these great people to take Jailhouse into new territory. 

The beauty of being with Leon Farmer is they are a Bud distributor. What that means for Jailhouse is there is no stone unturned for potential outlets that can carry our beer in their distribution territory. What that translates into for you, the consumer, is our products will be easy to find in more of the off-the-beaten-path destinations. The resources of such a large distributor with the personal dedication to our brand is just a great combination and we are super excited to be moving forward with them.

As of now, they are currently selling Slamer Wheat, Misdemeanor Ale, Mugshot IPA, and Breakout Stout. In the very near future we will be shipping them Saison Reprieve. Once we've settled in a bit we look forward to all Jailhouse offerings becoming available in the Athens and Northeast Georgia territories.

Come see us at the Classic City Beer Festival on April 7th.

Seasonal Beers for 2013

Here it is March already and we are about to release our first seasonal of the year. As in the past our first seasonal release will be Saison Reprieve. A light refreshing Farmhouse ale that has beauty in its simplicity. I hope you will be enjoying it as much and as often as I will be this year.

What's different about Saison Reprieve in 2013 is we will be brewing it for a while. In the past we tried to cram as many seasonals in the year as the schedule would allow and only made one batch of each variety. This year we are doing just the opposite.

After much debate and a long hard look at the "lineup" we have chosen to only release two seasonal brews in 2013. However, we will keep them on the market longer making them more readily availble on draft and in the package stores.

With Saison Reprieve being brewed until late summer (most likely through July), we will follow, in the fall, with a new beer not yet released from us in the past. Restraining Order Porter has been on the schedule for two years running but it, for one reason or another, never made it out. We are currently brewing pilot batches of this beer, also something we've not done in the past, that can be sampled during brewery Visitation on Saturday's from 2-6. We're currently pouring our first batch.

Some of the seasonals we will not be brewing this year are as follows:
-Conjugal Visit (returning in January 2014)
-Dead Man Walking
-Smokey

It's not that we don't love these beers. I know I for one will miss all of them. We really are just focusing our efforts on fewer varieties this year so we can keep them on the market for longer.

I invite you to look for these seasonals at your favorite local Jailhouse purveyors and give them a try. 

Smokey 2012

It is that time of year again. Time to brew what just may be the most unusual beer Jailhouse brews. Smokey Wheat! I really can't recall how I came up with this idea but I'm sure glad I did. I love that Smokey is a mashup of styles and turns conventional brewing to style on its head.

Smokey is a time marker of the year for us too. I know when we brew Smokey the end of the year is approaching and the weather is beginning to cool. Case in point, my temp guage read 57F on my way into work. Time for campfires and football. Time for gatherings with friends over a pint or two. Time for exploring the culinary richness of fall. These are all the reasons we brew Smokey Wheat.

I'm sitting down with my recipe now thinking to last years batch and what I would like to do differently. There is much to explore with this beer but all the changes are subtle. I've always been proud of how Smokey turns out and I want this one to recreate the last two years' brews but also tell its own tale. In 2010, Smokey had a more prominent roast intensity and a hint of sweet smoke. 2011 we dialed up the smoke just slightly and backed off the roastiness. The result was more sessionable but still balanced and not overwhelmingly smokey.

I always shy away from literal interpretations of what a recipe change will do for a beer. I respect that each change becomes a living, organic evolution. That doesn't mean caution is thrown to the wind. Each change has a desired and calculated effect but to distill it down to a perfect science takes away the "Christmas Morning" effect for me. I guess we'll all wait and see what Smokey has in mind this year. Off to the grain bin.

Buford T. Justice: What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.