Saturday, March 28, 2015

Ale on BeerPop! Radio Part 1


My dudes Aaron Rolka and Dan Fontaine showed hella love during this one!
Photos by my brother Lamont aka Monzter.
This interview was a fun one!

Whaddup!!!

A week ago, I got invited to sit in on the always entertaining BeerPop! podcast hosted by my homies Aaron Rolka and Dan Fontaine to talk about how I got to where I am now, our mutual love for beer, shit literally being on beer labels, and even superheroes to name a few subjects! The link here: Ale Sharpton on BeerPop! Part 2 will be on IPAs featuring my dog Willie The Kid coming soon.
This episode is hella entertaining (although I do speak my sailor's tongue quite a bit throughout the interview), as I shout out a couple of the best beer bars in Atlanta just a block away from our recording, the Argosy and Midway; some of the pioneers of the game including Matt Simpson, the Beer Sommelier, and legendary 2011 Beerdrinker of the Year, Phil Farrell; plus other some other fun subjects to name a few. The setting was outside during a majestic day in East Atlanta, and of course, the beer was flowing. We poured the Against The Grain Rico Sauvin at 8 percent ABV pimpin' Nelson Sauvin hops out of Louisville, Kentucky here:

And then we discussed their absolutely bugged out Brown Note label that is literally on some shit here:


Upon further review, once I blew it up and looked more closely at this artwork, crap is not shooting out of his ass as I originally thought. It just looks like that. The skid marks are still there front and center though!
Ultimately, cheers to originality. Especially if the beer is awesome like these Against The Grain homies do.
Thanks again Aaron and Dan for having me on! Stay tuned for more radio appearances soon including the epic one with ABL Radio's Day One Radio with Willie The Kid and IAMCLASSICHIPHOP hosted by Star. Evidently, I love being on the mic! 
I owe it all to y'all! 

Cheers!
Ale
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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March Madness, Ale Style!

Kickin' it at the Secret Stash Bash on March 7th with the homies! From left to right, Gary aka G-Unit (IG, @craftybrewer3000), Willie The Kid (@TheWillieTheKid), Lee aka L-Boogie (@TheThirstyGiant), Kenny Anderson (@Chibbs_1) and Tyler aka T-Diddy (@GreenFlashTyler) all got their sip on!
(Photo by my bro Lamont)
This month continues to be nuts regarding beer!

Cheers Y’all!

I think March Madness will have a totally new meaning in my life after all the events and happenings I have taken on so far along with what’s on deck. 
My Girl Scout Joint! 
Photo by @AtlFoodWriter
From hosting my Girl Scout Cookie Beer Pairing with Hop City and Scout Mob, to making two satellite radio appearances on ABL’s Day 1 Radio at 52:30 (hear it here) and BeerPopShow Podcast; my awesome beer dinner with Food 101; schooling basketball legend Kenny Anderson on beer during the Secret Stash Bash; four article deadlines; contributing to EBONY Magazine writing about ales; and hosting the Blood, Sweat and Beer documentary during the Atlanta Film Festival last Sunday (which was EXCELLENT), I trust you see what I mean! Oh, and I still did my March Madness brackets although they suck this year.
Speaking of the Blood, Sweat and Beer film, I had a blast showing some southern hospitality to the directors, editors, funders, and filmmakers—Alexis and Chip—leading up to their Georgia debut last Sunday at the historic Plaza Theatre in the Highlands. 
Alexis and Chip killed it!
(Photo by Lamont Byron)
After introducing the viewing, I had the pleasure of seeing this film with about 200 others and can honestly say that I was BLOWN AWAY! It was not only a humorous, informative, and entertaining approach to what it takes to start a brewery, but it honestly pulled at the heart strings while making us thirsty at the same time! I started the Q&A afterwards by simply asking the audience, “Who would have thought beer could bring you through so many emotions?” This one hits home.
I strongly suggest you see this film by going to the official Blood, Sweat, and Beer website here to find out how to get it or get a viewing schedule. Even if you don’t like beer (which is almost blasphemous to even suggest), everyone will enjoy this production, I promise!
Stay tuned for my listing of events coming up in the very near future. I need to take a breather! (Yeah, right. Like that’s gonna happen.)

Much Sippin’ Love!

Ale
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Saturday, March 21, 2015

An Interview with Blood, Sweat and Beer filmmakers!

Plus a major update on the afterparty 's new venue following the viewing!

Whaddup!!!
Okay, with only a few hours left before the Atlanta Film Fest, Taste Of Atlanta, and yours truly premiere the documentary Blood, Sweat and Beer this Sunday, March 22, at noon (see all the details here), I have two new MAJOR updates:
  • After the screening of the Blood, Sweat and Beer documentary at the historic Plaza Theatre, the afterparty will now be hosted a block away at the Highland Inn Ballroom from 1:30 to 4 pm. in order to make the venue closer and get rid of the need for transportation. This is because we don’t want the threat of rain to hate on our steez and, of course, we've got your back!
  • I had the chance to link up with Alexis and Chip—the dynamic directors and filming crew of the Blood, Sweat, and Beer documentary— here in Atlanta last night, and hooked up an interview to give everyone a more detailed inside scoop of the film. They just arrived from Maryland, so we didn’t waste any time grabbing a cold one (or three) and talk about the happenings during the production of this awesome project. Here is Alexis and Chip breaking down some of my questions:

Ale: What influenced you to do this project?
Alexis: Chip and I both love craft beer! We travel a lot—especially during the screening our first documentary The Dream Share Project (www.thedreamshareproject.com) at colleges across the U.S.—and our favorite thing to do after an event is find local breweries or fun beer bars to check out. We noticed such fast and exciting growth in the craft beer world, we thought there had to be some good stories out there in the industry.

I can dig that! What was the most difficult hurdle in making this film?
Alexis: This production was created and self-funded by Chip and I! We did everything from set up interviews, to travel, to film, to edit, to pick out music...it was all us, which seems a little crazy in retrospect. Last November, we were lucky enough to have a bunch of wonderful people donate to a Kickstarter we did, which helped raise the funds we needed for finishing the movie off including sound mixing, color correction, etc.

Wow, you really were grinding to make this a reality. What did you learn the most regarding the brewing industry?
The brewing industry is a very collaborative one; people love to work together to make good brews and support one another. That kind of camaraderie isn't something you necessarily see in other industries.

Amen to that. What was your most memorable experience during the filming?
Alexis: One of my favorite experiences was being at the DC Homebrewers Club, filming their meeting at Bluejacket, when all of a sudden the homebrewers started freaking out! Charlie Papazian (Association of Brewers and GABF Founder) had wandered into Bluejacket and their meeting! We had literally just emailed him that day to set up an interview in Colorado in the next two weeks, and when we introduced ourselves he was like "It's you guys! You just emailed me!" That was pretty weird, yet awesome at the same time.

That is crazy! What was your favorite beer (both of you) during the making of the movie?
Alexis: Tough question! I can't pick a fave, but there was some awesome stuff I drank, including Cigar City Cafe Con Leche, Firestone-Walker Velvet Merlin, all of the insane sours I tried at Cascade Brewing in Portland, Oregon, Eagle Rock Revolution extra pale ale, Green Bench's Saison De Banc Vert, Backshore Brewing S’mores Stout, the Brew Gent's Chai Wheat...too many to name!
Chip: I also loved the Cigar City Jai Ali, Dogfish 90-minute (my go-to beer), Mountain Sun Girl Scout Cookie Stout, everything at Hair of the Dog in Portland, Oregon, all the Bruery bottles we were lucky enough to score, Backshore Brewing Fist Pumpkin Ale, Brew Gent's Imperial Red…like Alexis said, too many! A lot were actually consumed during the editing too.

Now those are some crazy brews. Wowzaz! So what's next for you?
Alexis: Our next project is ongoing! We are planning a 25-plus city screening tour to bring Blood, Sweat, and Beer across the U.S.! 

Here is how we can follow this necessary documentary across the country. Follow…
Twitter: @bloodsweatbrew
Instagram: @bloodsweatbeermovie


Cheers!
Ale
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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Come see the documentary Blood, Sweat, and Beer!

The Atlanta Film Festival, Taste of Atlanta, and yours truly will feature this film on Sunday, March 22 plus an afterparty!

Hey Craft Beer Lovers!

As usual, I always have something going on and this event promises to be a major one! Working alongside The Atlanta Film Festival and Taste of Atlanta’s Food On Film, we will be presenting the revered independent documentary Blood, Sweat, & Beer, featuring the fruition of two craft breweries—The Brew Gentlemen Beer Company and Shorebelly Brewing Company—on Sunday, March 22nd at Noon at the historic Plaza Theatre. Killer!
Capturing everything from brewing their first batch of flagship beer recipes to dealing with infuriating lawsuits, this moving film will affect all viewers…and make them thirsty. To quench the latter, there will be an afterparty at Highland Inn Ballroom beginning at 1:30 p.m. Serving up delectable fare from some of Atlanta’s finest eateries and, yes, beer from Georgia’s local breweries, we are partying hard! 
As for your homey Ale, I will be conducting a Q&A directly after the viewing followed by a few of my strongly suggested food and beer pairings at the Callanwolde, so you know it will be a blast! (If you are familiar with how I get down, there will also be a few more surprises on deck!) The most kickass thing is all of this will be only $10 if you get your tickets and more info on Scout Mob here!
On the real, hurry up before they’re sold out! Seriously, that will happen.

Cheers!

Ale
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Saturday, March 7, 2015

Who Shot Ya Part 2!


From the awesome sign in Cleveland to my favorite of Burnt Hickory's Scott Hedeen above, here are some dope shots!

Hey Everyone!

Since Who Shot Ya? was such a big hit before, I wanted to share some of my favorite photos I have taken during a few of my beer excursions for your enjoyment in this installment of Who Shot Ya? Part 2. I hope you dig 'em.
Oh, and a shout out to everyone who was involved with them including my brother Lamont who took the one with me in it. (I couldn't take credit unless I had a timer. Ha!)
Hope to see you front of my lens soon!

The roulette table at a party I threw at Brunswick's in Marietta, Georgia. Get your roll on!
The great Chef Jason Paolini during the Three Taverns beer dinner at Holeman and Finch.
The Ponce City Beer Fest was a blast. Lamont took this.
A gorgeous bottle selection at Red, Wine and Brew in Burford, Ohio. 
This was at the beer fest at the Delta Hangar. It was definitely a fly experience for brews!
Some taps going up at Hop City.
During my trip to Cleveland, this sign at the Market Garden Brewery made me thirsty!
The one and only legendary DJ Evil Dee showing me some love.
How about some BBQ at Krog Street Market? Grand Champion has your back!
My dudes for life, DJ Jamad (left) and Floyd The Locsmif doing what they do best during my bro Eric Nine's art show
One of the best beers in the world at the Argosy.

Happy Sippin'!
Ale
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ALE MAX Returns to Fuse Craft Beer & Sneaker Cultures!

Yup! It's that time again! Ale Max Day , the event put on by my boy Craig and I, will be in its second year, and it's going to be an...

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