San Francisco, CA -- Thursday, April 9, 2015 -- Mainstay downtown San Francisco craft beer haven ThirstyBear Organic Brewery releases a brand new limited-edition spring seasonal, Bulldog British Style IPA (7.6% ABV, 55 IBU, 17.8 *OG), in May 2015. In celebration of American Craft Beer Week (May 11 - 17, 2015), ThirstyBear hosts a special public release event for Bulldog British Style IPA and the 10th Anniversary release of the highly coveted Belgian-inspired Golden Hallucination (8% ABV) on Thursday, May 14, 2015 from 6 pm - 9 pm. Bulldog IPA will be available on draft and in growlers at ThirstyBear throughout May 2015.
In honor of bulldogs across the globe, ThirstyBear proudly partners with premier bulldog breeder Fog City Bulldogs for the inaugural, ThirstyBear "Best In Show" Bulldog Photo & Video Contest. Open to bulldogs of all breeds (English, American, French, etc), the "Best In Show" submission period runs from today (April 9) through Thursday, April 30, 2015; voting will take place for one week from Friday, May 1 - 8, 2015. Photos and videos should be posted on each dog owners' social media sites (and please like, tag and post to Thirstybear's Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram: @thirstybearbrew, and also use #thirstybearbulldogcontest on all submissions). Photos and videos can also be directly submitted to dani@thirstybear.com. ThirstyBear will select the Top 10 photos and videos for the public to vote on starting May 1, 2015. 
1st Place wins an exclusive brewery tour with Brewmaster Brenden Dobel (for the winner and 3 friends), private tasting of Bulldog British Style IPA, a sampling of Spanish tapas, and a doggie goodie bag filled with treats courtesy of BareBites, Benebone, EcoPawz, Himalayan Dog Chew, Kona's Chips, and Whole Life Pet Products. 2nd and 3rd prize winners will each receive a doggie goodie bag.
ThirstyBear Brewmaster Brenden Dobel (pictured above with English bulldog Kingston) comments about the brewing of Bulldog, "We start the process with bespoke floor-malted barley from Norfolk, England. This richly flavored base malt is combined with a touch of crystal malt for a juicy note, and then balanced with Biscuit malt, which provides a drier, toastier element to the mix. We also use two English hop pedigrees not often utilized in America: Challenger and Fuggle. With a higher alpha-acid content of 8%, Challenger provides the bulk of the hop bitterness to harmonize the sweetness of the generous malt bill. Challenger infuses cedar, green tea and sweet floral characteristics. The hop aroma is provided by the most revered and famous English hop Fuggle, which has been grown since 1860. It's a delicate hop that offers pleasant mint, grass and floral notes. An extra layer of complexity is provided by a robust 7.6% alcohol content, sure to make any beer aficionado to stand up and say cheers!"
Come join ThirstyBear and toast to glorious bulldogs of all kinds by submitting your favorite photo and/or video, and make sure to stop by the brewery onMay 14 to taste their latest seasonal, Bulldog British Style IPA!
UPDATE 1 May 2015 from ThirstyBear:
San Francisco, CA -- Friday, May 1, 2015 -- In honor of bulldogs across the globe, ThirstyBear Organic Brewery proudly heads to the finals for the ThirstyBear "Best In Show" Bulldog Photo & Video Contest. The mainstay downtown San Francisco craft beer haven partnered with premier bulldog breeder Fog City Bulldogs for the contest, which launched in connection with the release of their brand new spring seasonal, Bulldog British Style IPA (7.6% ABV, 55 IBU, 17.8 *OG). With more than 125 bulldog submissions, ThirstyBear selects the Top 10 photos and Top 5 videos for the voting round running from May 1 - 8, 2015. To cast your vote, please visit ThirstyBear's Facebook page as of today at 5 pm PST and "Like" your favorite photo and video.
Due to such an overwhelming response of bulldog submissions, ThirstyBear will award two 1st Place winners with the Grand Prize recognizing both the photo and video that receives the most "Likes". Grand Prize winners receive an exclusive brewery tour with Brewmaster Brenden Dobel (for the winner and 3 friends), private tasting of Bulldog British Style IPA, a sampling of Spanish tapas, and a doggie goodie bag filled with treats courtesy of BareBites, Benebone, EcoPawz,Himalayan Dog Chew, Kona's Chips, Primal Pet Foods, and Whole Life Pet Products. 2nd and 3rd prize winners in the photo submission category will each receive a doggie goodie bag.
In celebration of American Craft Beer Week (May 11 - 17, 2015), ThirstyBear hosts a special public release event for Bulldog British Style IPA and the 10th Anniversary release of the highly coveted Belgian-inspired Golden Hallucination (7.9% ABV) on Thursday, May 14, 2015 from 6 pm - 9 pm. Bulldog IPA and Golden Hallucination will be available on draft at ThirstyBear throughout May 2015; Bulldog IPA will also be available in growlers for a limited time for $30.
ThirstyBear Brewmaster Brenden Dobel (pictured above with English bulldog Kingston) comments about the brewing of Bulldog, "We start the process with bespoke floor-malted barley from Norfolk, England. This richly flavored base malt is combined with a touch of crystal malt for a juicy note, and then balanced with Biscuit malt, which provides a drier, toastier element to the mix. We also use two English hop pedigrees not often utilized in America: Challenger and Fuggle. With a higher alpha-acid content of 8%, Challenger provides the bulk of the hop bitterness to harmonize the sweetness of the generous malt bill. Challenger infuses cedar, green tea and sweet floral characteristics. The hop aroma is provided by the most revered and famous English hop Fuggle, which has been grown since 1860. It's a delicate hop that offers pleasant mint, grass and floral notes. An extra layer of complexity is provided by a robust 7.6% alcohol content, sure to make any beer aficionado to stand up and say cheers!"
ThirstyBear's Golden Hallucination stems from Dobel's admiration of a sparkling wine in Napa Valley. Observing the golden color, effervescence, dry mouthfeel, intoxicating aroma and high ABV, Dobel embarked on brewing a craft beer that was as close to a fine champagne as possible. The initial part of the recipe called for the lightest of malts known as Pils Malt, which was sourced from Bamberg, Germany, to provide the pale color. For an effervescent, fruity character, a Belgian yeast was selected for fermentation. Hop varietals that provided spicy, floral notes were then thrown into the kettle. Back in 2006 when brewing the first batch of Golden Hallucination was completed, the best way to describe the beer was a Strong Belgian Golden Ale.
Dobel comments, "As a nod of respect to the Belgian brewers who have a tradition of giving beers less than innocent names such as Mort Subite (Sudden Death), Malheur (Misfortune), Delerium Tremens or even wicked ones such as Duvel (Devil), we decided to name our beer, 'The Golden Hallucination.' We were also interested in honoring a famous beer bar in Brussels named 'The Ultimate Hallucination,' the Toronado of that city, if you will. That was ten years ago, and for the 2015 recipe, I added a generous dry-hop of Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand to help celebrate the 10th batch. Nelson Sauvin is known for its Sauvignon Blanc-like character, which plays well with the Belgian yeast. The latest batch also exhibits huge pineapple and mango aromas to complement the wine-like notes."
Come on down to ThirstyBear Organic Brewery on May 14 to taste their latest seasonals, Bulldog British Style IPA and Golden Hallucination!
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