BrewScoops – Fresh Hop, Pumpkin & Oktoberfest
By Gail Kearney
Gailekearney@gmail.com
Cold Soak IPA and Cold Crush Pilsner were recently released by Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. in 16-oz cans. No hops were added to the boil. Cold Soak has Citra, Bravo, Amarillo & local Cascade from Stone Barns. Cold Crush has Nugget & Cascade. Both beers used 10lbs of wet hops per barrel.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is getting ready for fall, ya’ll! Debuting in 1995 and now one of America’s best-selling pumpkin beers, Punkin Ale, a full-bodied brown ale, is now available on taps and shelves. Clocking in at 7%, and brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Another a-peel-ing, draft-only, release is Carobock, a Bavarian-style Weizenbock known for being rich and malty with notes of chocolate, bananas and toasted malt. At 8%, this ale is brewed with malted wheat, dark Munich malt and chocolate wheat and is fermented with traditional weizen yeast to boost the banana and spice notes that typify the style. The off-centered and ever-inventive brewers at Dogfish wanted Carobock to be a play on a delicious chocolate covered banana, so they selected toasted carob pods to provide intense, earthy chocolate flavors and rounded out the brew by aging it on Madagascar vanilla beans. dogfish.com/brewery/fishfinder
Shipyard is conducting efforts to boost its 2017 Pumpkinhead sales. The brewery is expanding a Pumpkinhead Rimmer program that was started years ago by innovative bartenders throughout New England and has become a popular tradition. 
The cinnamon sugar rimmer has become the trademark Pumpkinhead presentation. To further build sales, Shipyard is conducting a campaign that instructs bartenders on how to create 20 different Pumpkinhead beer cocktails, one for each of the beer’s 20 years. Pumpkinhead is a refreshing 4.5% amber ale is made with pale malt, malted wheat, US and European hops, and Shipyard’s house ale yeast. It is fermented in the brewery’s unique large-scale open fermenters. It is a super-sessionable pumpkin beer with ample body, subtle pumpkin pie spice notes and a gentle bite of hops on its finish. shipyard.com
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant has released Pumpkin Ale in cans. This annual release is hotly anticipated by mid-Atlantic beer lovers. It will be packaged in a completely new 16 oz. can design. A medium-bodied copper ale; malty sweet, with balancing bitterness and brewed with real pumpkin, it is spiced with traditional pumpkin pie spices and vanilla instead of finishing hops. Iron Hill has long embraced pumpkin as a harbinger for the fall and their brewpubs celebrate with festive and fun events throughout the harvest season. They first brewed their traditional Pumpkin Ale as a companywide offering in 2010; and, in 2015, added it to their seasonal can lineup. Available while supplies last in draft pints and growlers at all Iron Hill locations, as well as in four-packs of 16-oz. cans.
Iron Hill celebrates Oktoberfest with the highly-anticipated annual release of their Oktoberfest Lager beer. The popular German-style festival beer’s release marks the end of summer and the transition into the comforting beers of the fall and winter months. It is a traditional German-style festival beer, a medium-bodied lager with wonderful malty and bready aroma, and a firm malt flavor balanced with mild bitterness and a clean, dry finish. Available in draft pints, growlers and 4-packs of 16 oz. cans through Sunday, Oct. 15 . ironhillbrewery.com/
Saint Benjamin Brewing Co. adds River City, their authentic German-style Oktoberfest Lager, to their lineup with flagship Pilsner Prosim. Honoring Philadelphia’s German brewing tradition, though it evolved into a distinctively American style, Saint Benjamin Brewing has brought the traditional Oktoberfest style back with this classic German festbier, complementing the familiar deep copper color and rich malt flavor with a small dose of American hops. This latest offering is available both on draft and in 12 oz. cans. stbenjaminbrewing.com/
Brewery Ommegang is proud to announce a brand new year-round offering, Fruition. This refreshing 5.3% dry-hopped wheat ale begins as award-winning Witte as the base beer and is then given a tropical twist with the addition of mango, kiwi, and passion fruit juices. The result is a slightly tart and fruity, hop-forward beer that’s exceptionally drinkable. Fruition pours a pale straw color with moderate haziness and a fluffy white head. Tropical fruit and citrus aromas dominate the nose and the flavor follows suit with tart tropical fruit and citrus up front, followed by a smooth mouthfeel with a medium body. The finish is resoundingly dry with nice effervescence. Fruition is available now in 12 oz. six-packs and on draftin the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VI, VT, WA, WI, and Washington D.C. ommegang.com
Founders Brewing Co. released its popular 5.5% extremely drinkable seasonal Mosaic Promise IPA in 15-pack cans through November. Brewed using only one hop, Mosaic, and a single malt, Golden Promise, gives it juicy mango and earthy pine flavors with powerful aromas. Founders’ most popular year-round and seasonal brews are now packaged in the 15-pack can format, with additional beers packaged in six and nine-pack cans.
Fall is Here —and so is Breakfast Stout. It all started with an espresso bean. Over a decade ago, co-founder Dave Engbers was offered a chocolate-covered espresso bean while bartending at the Founders’ Taproom in Grand Rapids. Washing the bean down with a Founders Porter, Engbers decided to launch an experimental trial with beer, chocolate and coffee. Oats were added to the mix, and Breakfast Stout came together. This limited release is available in four-packs across their distribution footprint, through December. foundersbrewing.com/
Get it while it lasts – Reisky & Spies Bourbon Barrel-aged Old Ale – an extremely rare beer brewed and barrel-aged by Genesee Brew House. Aged for nine months in Kentucky bourbon barrels, it is a 10.3% sipping beer with rich and complex malt notes of dark chocolate and subtle fruit intertwined with flavors of bourbon, vanilla and oak from the barrel aging. Genesee Brew House teamed up with Iron Heart Canning to pack this special beer by using a mobile canning line right on-site at the Pilot Brewery. Only 60 barrels of the rare beer was released in four-pack, 16 oz. cans and draft. geneseebeer.com
