BrewScoops, Nov. 17
Arriving just in time to make your holidays merry and bright, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has released a hoptastic collection of its off-centered ales in one special box. The IPAs for the Holidays 12-pack contains four varieties of IPAs including: Sixty One (12-pack EXCLUSIVE) A marriage of two Dogfish Head innovations: beer-wine hybrids and continually hopped IPAs. Dogfish took its 60 Minute and added Syrah grape must to create an IPA with equal parts fruity complexity and pungent hoppiness. 60 Minute IPA: A continually hopped super-fantastic East Coast IPA brewed with a slew of great Northwest hops for a powerful, but balanced, citrusy hop character. 90 Minute IPA: A continually hopped Imperial IPA whose powerful malt backbone stands up to the extreme hopping rate for a pungent, not crushing flavor. Indian Brown Dark IPA: A boisterous brown ale meets well-hopped IPA is brewed with aromatic dark malt, organic brown sugar and dry-hopped liberally for your holiday-drinking pleasure. While diverse in bitterness and body, the IPAs for the Holidays 12-pack unifies with vibrant aromas and intense hop flavors that emphasize Dogfish Head’s commitment to continual hopping innovation, creativity and experimentation in brewing, along with dedication to always using fresh culinary ingredients in their beers. dogfish.com/brewery/fishfinder
Brewery Ommegang is pleased to introduce their latest limited edition brew: Ommegang Smoked Porter. A departure from Ommegang’s traditional Belgian-style beers, this nod to a traditional English beer is brewed with subtle additions of smoked malt and a touch of Saaz hops to add additional depth and character. This 7.6% beer pours a deep dark brown – almost black – with a thick tan head. Aromas of cocoa, burnt sugar, and roasted malt give way to subtle hints of smoke. The flavor follows the aroma with rich notes of cocoa and roasted malt, followed by caramel sweetness and mild smoke. A medium-full body leads to a well-rounded finish with lingering smoke on the backend. Available in limited quantities in 4-packs and on draft while supplies last in these states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TX, VA, VT, WV, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I. ommegang.com
Every few months, a Summit Brewer gets a crack at crafting a unique, one-off beer – no rules, no budgets, no outside influences. These beers are known as the Summit Unchained Series, celebrating brewers’ skill and creativity. Summit Unchained 26: Westie 7th, a 7.5% Belgian-Style Dark Ale whose name is a nod to this St. Paul brewery’s neighborhood, incorporates a Belgian dark candi syrup with rich notes of dark fruit, dark caramel, and rum. A blend of specialty malts supports and highlights these flavors, while subtle, noble-type hops lie back and let the candi syrup shine. Finished with a Trappist-style ale yeast, traces of fig and raisin round out the beer. On draft and in 6-packs of 12-oz. cans for a limited time. summitbrewing.com
The latest examples of the Genesee Brew House Pilot Batch series are perfect holiday companions. The limited-edition 7.5% Genesee Brew House Dark Chocolate Scotch Ale is a full-bodied beer with decadent flavors and aromas of 72% dark chocolate swirling around rich malt notes of caramel and toffee, creating an elegant and complex experience. Available on draft and in 4-pack bottles at select locations throughout the East Coast, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes. Genesee Brew House Coffee Stout took two years of experimentation with a variety of coffee beans from coffee roasters in the Fingers Lakes and Western New York, and some international beans and coffee flavors, to nail down this recipe. The final coffee mixture combines elements of 10-15 different recipes. The result is an ale that’s an English-style stout at its core – robust and dry, but with an extra punch of roast and huge coffee notes in the nose and on the tongue. Find it in 6-pack bottles throughout upstate New York, as well as on draft in select bars and restaurants. geneseebeer.com
Brewed in collaboration with Robinsons Brewery, British rock legends Iron Maiden launched its latest beer Hallowed in the states. The brew was celebrated with a kick-off party at Coral Springs, Florida’s Rock N Roll Ribs, a restaurant co-owned by Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain and his longtime friend, Mitch Tanne. The use of Belgian yeast is a landmark occasion, as Robinsons hasn’t changed the yeast used in its beers since 1942. The yeast will also lend itself to a higher ABV than found in previous Iron Maiden beers. The bottle art features Iron Maiden mascot Eddie garbed in traditional monk’s robes as a tribute to the beer’s Trappist Belgian inspiration. The 6% ale is packaged in a 330-ml bottle and will only be distributed for four months. ironmaiden.com/ robinsonsbrewery.com/
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant released Citra IPA in cans, making one of their most popular seasonal beers available in conveniently portable packaging for a limited time. The beer is a single-hopped 5.8% IPA, loaded with copious amounts of Citra, with flavors of peach, lychee and tropical fruit. Iron Hill is making more of their beers available to fans in cans, and this is their latest in a growing series of top-notch canned craft beers. Available while supplies last, in four-packs of 16-oz cans and on draft at all 12 Iron Hill locations. ironhillbrewery.com
Boulder Beer Co. brings back its limited release beer Slope Style Red IPA, now in cans for the first time. The brewery initially launched Slope Style in bottles and draft in 2014, dubbing it a Winter IPA. Feeling that a can was the better vessel for this particular beer, the brewery decided to change it up this season and release it in 6-pack cans. They also changed the style descriptor to Red IPA, as a better description of what’s inside. At 6.4% and 60 IBUs, with a blend of five malts and a generous amount of Horizon hops, Slope Style is a hearty, cool weather Red IPA. Available in most markets where Boulder Beer is sold in 12-oz 6-pack cans and draft, and on the shelves as long as the snow flies. boulderbeer.com
Passion Fruit Gose is Passport Beer #44 in Catawba’s 2017 Small Batch rewards program. At 5.4%, this refreshing wheat ale was soured in the kettle with Lactobacillus, and features additions of passion fruit puree and sea salt. Brewed in their Asheville South Slope brewhouse, the beer is available in Catawba’s four tasting rooms, and in limited distribution in NC, SC, TN, AL, GA, and now in the Dominican Republic. catawbabrewing.com
Expanding their experimental beer offering out of the Mod Project, Ska Brewing is excited to release the 5.1% Sour Apple Gose. The scent of sweet apple blossoms give way to a honey and lemony tartness from the citra. Following Pink Vapor Stew and Tart Mexican Logger, the Gose is the third brew to be released from the Mod Project at Ska. The project delivers assorted, seven-barrel-batches of blended and experimental offerings, with varying levels of tartness to complement the blend of local fruits used in producing them. Available on draft and in 12-oz. cans across all of Ska’s markets of distribution. skabrewing.com
Deschutes Brewery’s winter seasonal, Jubelale, is celebrating its 30th bottling this year. This 6.7% winter ale differs from many of Deschutes’ other beers in its malty and dried fruit character, along with the use of EKG hops which have a light herbal and spice quality. Available where Deschutes is sold through December. Perhaps one of the most lauded beers in the brewery’s lineup, The Abyss is beloved by many for its depth and complexity. Hints of molasses, licorice and other alluring flavors make it something not just to quaff, but contemplate. This year, in addition to the 11.1% Imperial stout, Deschutes’ brewers added two more limited edition versions of the beer. One is 100% barrel aged in tequila barrels and the other 100% aged in rum barrels. This Reserve Series is extremely limited (22-oz. wax-dipped bottles and draft). For several years, Deschutes’ Bond Street Series Hop Henge Imperial IPA has been dubbed experimental – as brewers annually redesign the beer with a different blend of hops, ingredients and techniques. They’ve finally landed on an 8.3% version everyone agrees should be added to the year-round offerings. Featuring Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and Galaxy hops, this beer is the culmination of a long and tasty investigation of hoppy goodness. Available in six-packs of 12-oz. bottles and on draft beginning in January. A consistent national and international award-winner, Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale (NWPA) was named after a classic lift chair at Deschutes Brewery’s home mountain of Mt. Bachelor in Central Oregon. With the citrus punch of a big IPA, several select European and domestic malts round out the edges for a complex, 6.2%, 60 IBU copper-colored brew. Available January – April everywhere Deschutes is sold
To help support victims of the devastating fires in northern California, Deschutes brewers at the Portland, OR, pub have created Sonoma Pride Porchata, a milk porter spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, almond and cardamom. The beer is released and on tap at Deschutes Brewery’s Portland pub, with a portion of each pint sold going to help those in need after the tragic fires in Sonoma County, CA. Note: Sonoma Pride was originally conceptualized by Russian River Brewing Co. in July 2015 to celebrate the bounty and greatness of Sonoma County. Under the dire circumstances the area is facing, they have redirected use of the Sonoma Pride name to help those in need. Several leading breweries have joined the program, brewing special beers for the cause. Coming Soon: Black Butte Whiskey! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was this limited edition whiskey. The delicious result of a collaboration between Bendistillery and Deschutes Brewery, this malt whiskey – which has been double distilled from the wash of Black Butte Porter – will be released later this year in bottles and for purchase by the glass at both pubs. First released in 2016, it sold out in 29 minutes. The 2017 version was aged in new #4 char American oak barrels, and the resulting liquor retains the malty, chocolatey notes of Black Butte Porter while gaining woody, earthy flavors from the oak. The body is full while the spirit drinks dry and clean. deschutesbrewery.com
