Beer Releases and Approximate Dates

Some have asked what we're coming out with in the future.  While I still want to keep some tricks under my sleeve (mostly just in case plans change), this will be what we're seriously planning to release.  

Seasonals:

Saison De Lente-- Mid-February

Trade Winds Tripel-- Late April

Autumn Maple-- Late August

Two Turtle Doves-- Late October

Special Releases (Small, brewery only releases):

- Cuvee Jeune: A young blended sour beer, release sometime in Spring/Summer when ready

- Papier: Our 1st anniversary beer, tentative release date of May 9th, brewery only release in 2009 (Approx. 16%)

- White Oak: Early summer, this barrel aged wheat wine is coming out very nicely (12% ABV)

Special Draft Releases:

For those in Southern California, Hottenroth Berliner Weisse is coming back in late January!  We brewed this batch a bit differently this time around, so it's a bit more tart and a bit less grainy.  Same ABV of 3.1%, this is a great session beer.  I think we nailed it.

Around the same time we release Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, we'll be releasing Humulus Ambre.  It's a continuation of our hoppy Belgian-influenced beers, this time a moderate 6% and loaded with American hops.

Cask Releases:

We don't plan these ones so much, but I can tell you about what we'll be putting on this weekend and next month.  For the first Friday in January, we'll have Humulus Gold, loaded with extra hops.  Which ones?  I forget, so you'll have to come by and try it out.

In February, we'll have Orchard Mole Poblano, Black Orchard aged with roasted cocoa nibs, roasted poblano peppers (with seeds removed), and cinnamon.  Think Black Orchard meets the delicious mole poblano sauce.

We have some other beers on the horizon, but I know they won't be ready for some time.  We have an Imperial Stout aging in rye and bourbon barrels that's approximately 18% ABV.  It's coming along nicely but still needs quite a bit of age until it reaches what I'd consider it's peak.  Our Flemish Red is coming along well but the funk is still developing in this one.  We brewed a beer with about 30% Zinfandel grapes and a base blonde strong ale which is aging in barrels. My best guess is we'll release this around August or September.  I'd forget about these releases for awhile if you want to save your sanity, I certainly have.

For a few festivals and at the brewery, we'll soon have Melange #3.  This is a blend of White Oak, Imperial Stout and Papier.  I'm excited about this one-- I'm too impatient to try these barrel aged beers when they're good and ready to be released, so this release is totally self serving.

What should I be posting about?

When I was in the initial phases of starting The Bruery, this blog was a great way for me to bitch and complain.  Today, I don't have much to bitch and complain about.  Well... I always have things to complain about, but the blog isn't the greatest medium for my bitching these days.

Many people discovered The Bruery from this blog, and I want to keep it a source of information about beer and share how I started a brewery.  I'd like to gather some comments on this and see what you'd like me or anyone at The Bruery to write about.  Post away and let me know what you'd like to know.

Potential topics I was thinking about because they are relevant to what I'm currently doing (some may be interesting to a general audience, some are extremely dry but useful to aspiring brewery owners):

-- Choosing Distributors

-- Expansion (Space, capacity, and employees)

-- Barrel aging / approach to flavor

-- Merchandise

-- Guide to getting a job in a brewery

-- A Checklist to State and Federal Regulations

-- Taxes

-- A Guide to Successful Delegation (I wish I could find a good source on this right now!)

-- Importance of tasting rooms / tours in production breweries

-- The Bruery in 10 Years: How Big is Too Big?

Gifts Under $20 for Girls

Best Gifts Under $20 for Girls
Stuck for a good gift for daughter, granddaughter, goddaughter, niece or gift exchanges? Here is a gift guide for tween (or preteen) and teen girls. Each gift in this list is available at Family Dollar, Walmart and sometimes Target for $20 or less.
View more »

And the winner is...

Our friends at Durham Region Baby announced the winner of our Jungle Safari gift basket and its Racheal of Port Perry!

Congratulations Racheal and wishing you the best of luck with the new baby due in 3 weeks!

Movie Gift Choices for Women

Top Ten Chick Flicks of All Time
Need a few chick flicks to share with your best pals on a girls night in? These are the 'piece de resistance'. Laugh and cry together with these films. These films remind us why it's great to be a girl!
View more »

Surprises

God, thank you for surprises from loving people, but thank you more for the surprises you grant to me each and every day. Surprises like pennies on the sidewalk, beautiful pink and orange sunrises, your voice at unexpected moments, the blooming of a flower, the beauty in a child's eyes, a hug from someone special, a door held open by a stranger, kind words from friends and colleagues, the feeling of your presence that makes my heart want to burst wide open, laughing with friends until I cry, having your voice leap off the pages of your WORD, wild leaps of faith where I think I just might fly, the taste of chocolate, the feel of swimming in water, and a million other secrets and surprises just between us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gift Basket Give-Away

Durham Region Baby is a blog and resource site for parents of young children. They have useful information about the local community, product reviews and of course wonderful give-aways.

Their recent give-away prize is our beautiful Jungle Safari Gift basket. It includes:

• one hooded towels
• two bibs
• two soft toys
• three washcloths

Retail Price: $55

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, Dec. 16 and the winner will announced on Dec. 17. Check out the Durham Region Baby blog for give-away details.

Breathing

"Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD." -- Psalm 150:6

If you're breathing then you are qualified to praise and worship the Lord. How many times have I used my words carelessly? How many times have I prophesied my own trouble? How many times have I eaten the fruit of my own mouth? Oh, to let my words be few; let them be choice words; selected just for you!

Today's prayer: "God, I praise you today for everything you are and everything you've done. I praise you today because I'm breathing in oxygen you created with lungs so wonderfully made. I purpose this day to be selective and choosy when spending my words. I shall value them as gold coins. Help me not to waste a single one. Today, I choose PRAISE!"

Bad Hair Day

"What are you looking at? You've heard, "If you hang out at the Barber Shop long enough you are going to get a haircut." If you allow your eyes to see things they shouldn't, you will eventually wind up doing it. Satan gives a very bad haircut, and in the long run it will turn out to be an expensive one (see Proverbs 13:15; Judges 2:13-15). Don't have a bad hair day." (from the Elijah List, 12/7/08)


Today,'s prayer: "Abba, keep my eyes on you. Don't let them stray for a moment. Keep my eyes in the WORD and away from advertisements and commercialism; two things that run rampant this time of year. I purpose this day to give honor to you and not to the god of mammon. Forgive me in the areas where I've already blown it and set my path aright. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Welcoming Out-Of-Towner Guests

What we love about the holidays is how it brings families and friends together in celebration. Many of us have out-of-towners visiting and some might be your house guests for a night or two. It’s a thoughtful gesture to put together a welcome gift basket for them to make their stay with you more comfortable and memorable. It’s really easy and doesn’t have to be too extravagant.

You can use a traditional wicker basket or choose a more interesting container such as a trendy gift box or tote bag. Use your guest room setting as an inspiration, for example coordinate the colours of the basket with the guest bed linen.

Items you can include in the gift basket could be face towels, shower caps, frangrance candle, bath crystals, sample size lotions, creams and shower gel. Practical items would include city maps, local attractions information, and a list of important phone numbers. You can also add bottle of water and house slippers.

A welcome basket could also be given to guests that are staying in a hotel or even out-of-towner wedding guests.

Gift with Style

We really love this classy and sassy Giftalicious gift wrapping collection! Gift bags are much easier to present your gifts in for the holidays instead of wrapping them up. They come in the following gorgeous designs:

Dreamy Demask (Ivory & Green)
Devine Demask (Plum & Cranberry)
Precious Metal (Gold & Silver)
Soiree (Lilac & White)
Silent Snow Fall (White & with pearlised Red snow flakes)

The collection includes two sizes of gift bags, gift pop-up boxes and gift card boxes*. Contact us for more details and order your Giftalicious collection today!


*Tip: Insert your gift card in one of these high-quality boxes and include them with the table setting for each guest. They will add a beautiful touch to your set-up and will be a wonderful surprise for your guests.

We are on Baby Lifestyles!

Baby Lifestyles is a resourceful online baby magazine that publishes articles on baby showers, baby shopping trends and so much more. Their December issue has a very interesting article on Diaper Cakes and Finest Expressions' co-founder, Zakia Omer was interviewed for it! The article also includes our beautiful diaper cakes pictures so do stop by to take a look.

Now shipping to the Continental United States!

Finest Expressions is now shipping to the Continental United States! Orders will be shipped via Canada Post and will vary in delivery times depending on the destinations. Please contact us with your order details and we will send you an online invoice to make your purchase payment. Delivery rates will also vary depending on the destination chosen.

We are committed to providing all our customers with superior customer service, so if you would like rush orders, custom designs or sibling gifts, do let us know and we will arrange it for you. (Additional charges will apply)

Please be sure to check out our Holiday delivery deadlines to make sure you place your orders ahead of time.

Holiday Gifts Are Now Available!

Check out our holiday gifts under the Seasonal Section of our website!

Distribution in Oregon, Northern California, and Better Looking Website!

Lots of good things have been happening at The Bruery.  Our beers are now distributed in Oregon, and are making their way around Portland as we speak. In a few weeks, our beers will also be available in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano Counties.  I'm very excited to have my beers in such beery destinations.

 Also, we have a new, redesigned website.  Soon we'll also have food pairings and recipes from The Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton.

Cheers,

Patrick