Topic Archives: Star Anise

Posted in The Bruery, Headlines

The Bruery 10 Lords A Leaping, featuring 10 different spices

The Bruery 10 Lords A Leaping

The Bruery 10 Lords a Leaping will be the 10th release in the ’12 Days of Christmas’ Series.

A decade ago, Placentia, California based The Bruery debuted the first in a line of 12 Beers brewed in honor of nearly 250-year-old “Twelve Days of Christmas” song. The first beer should be obvious – A Partridge in a Pear Tree, a Belgian strong dark brewed with spices.

Each year, the style has varied, from Two Turtle Doves to this year’s coming release – The Bruery 10 Lords a Leaping.

In lieu of 10 Lords, the brewery has 10 spices “leaping” into this seasonal release. The lineup includes coriander, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, anise, dried apples, and cloves.

Wassail is known for warmth and spices. The tenth verse of our Twelve Beers of Christmas™ saga goes leaps and bounds beyond a traditional winter warmer, drawing inspiration from the dark, spiced ales from Belgium and our love for experimental brewing in SoCal. 10 Lords-A-Leaping is a dark imperial wit ale featuring 10 different spices… which complement the spiced notes imparted from the yeast and prance upon the rich, dark-fruited character of the specialty malts.

The Bruery 10 Lords A Leaping will be a 750-milliliter release.

Style: Imperial WItbier (w/ Coriander, Orange peel, Cinnamon, Ginger. Nutmeg. Allspice. Mace. Star Anise. Dried Apples. Cloves)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: Late Fall 2017

10.5% ABV

Past Releases: 

9 Ladies Dancing – Tiramisu Inspired Strong Ale (2016)
8 Maids-A-Milking –
Imperial Milk Stout (2015)
7 Swans-A-Swimming
 – Belgian-style quadrupel (2014)
6 Geese-A-Laying – Belgian-style Dark Ale, with cape gooseberries (2013)
5 Golden Rings – Golden Ale, with cinnamon, allspice, ginger, pineapple (2012)
4 Calling Birds – Belgian-style Dark Ale, with gingerbread spices (2011)
3 French Hens – Belgian-style Dark Ale, partial French oak aged (2010)
2 Turtles Doves – Belgian-style Dark/Porter Blend, with pecans and cocoa nibs (2009)
A Partridge in a Pear Tree – Belgian-style dark ale with candi sugar (2008)

Posted in Boulevard Brewing, New Releases

Boulevard Rye on Rye “Sazerac” debuts for beer/cocktail lovers

Boulevard Rye on Rye Sazerac Cocktail

Boulevard Brewing’s Smokestack Series, a collection of big, unique, beers, has grown considerably over the past year or two. The venerable Smokestack Imperial Stout has recently been joined by Raspberry and Coconut variants. Now, Rye-on-Rye, the barrel aged rye beer, has its own variant – Rye-on-Rye Sazerac.

Variations of the classic sazerac cocktail includes cognac, whiskey or absinthe. The brewing team at Boulevard nuanced this edition with lemon peel, cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise in order to mimic the liquor and flavors of the bitters in the cocktail.

As a special treat for fans of our popular Rye-on-Rye ale, Boulevard Brewign Company offers the 2016 Rye-on-Rye “X” series. The “X” factor stands for key ingredients added to the special release, giving it a unique character. Inspired by the classic Sazerac cocktail, we included lemon peel, cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise in this edition before allowing it to ge in Templeton rye barrels.

Boulevard Rye-on-Rye X “Sazerac” is now available in 750 milliliter bottles for a limited time.

Style: Rye Beer (w/ Lemon Peel, Star Anise, Cardamom. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: August,  2016

11% ABV

Posted in Don't Miss This, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Celebrating 20 Years

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Ale will celebrate the Easton, Pennsylvania’s 20 years of craft brewing.

Each time Weyerbacher releases an anniiversry brew, it’s different. 2015’s birthday beer is a Belgian-Style dark ale, brewed with coriander and the licorice flavors of star anise.

As in the past, Weyerbacher Anniversary Ale will be available in 12oz bottles.

Style: Belgian-style Dark Ale (w/ Coriander, Star Anise.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles
Release: TBA

11% ABV

Posted in Don't Miss This, Jester King Brewery

Jester King Coquetier, A Sazerac Inspired Offering

Jester King Coquetier is a new barrel aged aged offering on sale at the brewery starting tomorrow.

The brandy barrel aged farmhouse ale is brewed with cubeb peppercorns, anise seed, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Jester King Coquetier grabs its inspiration from the traditional New Orleans cocktail, Sazerac.

Lemon zest recalls the cocktail’s traditional garnish, a thin sliver of lemon peel resting on the rim of the glass. The beer was aged in French brandy barrels, as the cocktail originally called for Cognac brandy.

Jester King Coquetier was brewed in April of 2014. The beer was first fermented in stainless steel using the the brewery’s unique blend of micro-organisms. After stainless, Coquetier was aged in 600 liter French brandy barrels for seven months before being refermented in bottles.

750ml Bottles of Jester King Coquetier will be available April 24th, at 4 pm.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Cubeb Peppercorns, Anise, Lemon Zest & Juice. Barrel Aged. Brandy.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft. 4,500 bottles. Limited.
Release: 4/24/15

7.5% ABV

Posted in Coming Soon, Headlines, Ninkasi Brewing

Space Yeast Makes Ninkasi Ground Control

This past summer, Ninkasi Brewing unveiled the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP). The goal? Send yeast to space and back, and use it in a new beer.

The first mission of NSP took flight with a rocket that was launched by the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) and Team Hybriddyne from Spaceport America. 16 vials of brewer’s yeast were packed on the first flight. Unfortunately, the payload was lost in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for 27 days, and the yeast perished.

In October of 2014, six more vials of brewer’s yeast was sent 77.3 miles upward, and back to Earth safely. Neil Armstrong would have been proud.

“After almost two years of research, development, lab time, and two separate rocket launches to garner space yeast, we have finally completed our mission,” says Nikos Ridge, Ninkasi CEO and co-founder. “It was a project born out of passionate people coming together to try something new and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”

The result is Ninkasi Ground Control, an imperial stout brewed with yeast that has touched the stars.

Ninkasi Ground Control is nuanced Oregon hazelnuts, star anise and cocoa nibs. The brewery is “launching” the new offering on April 13, 2015 in 22oz bottles.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Hazelnuts, Star Anise, Cocoa Nibs)
Hops: Apollo, Bravo, Comet (See a theme?)
Malt: 2-Row Pale, Black, Chocolate, Munich, Crystal, Honey, Special Roast, Peated

Availability: 22oz Bottles
Distribution: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, OR, WA. Canada: Alberta, BC, Vancouver

10% ABV, 80 IBUs

Fun fact: Eugene, Oregon based Neal Williams is the artist behind the Ground Control label, whose works include concert posters for Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Matthew Band, Interpol, and The Head & The Heart. Image via Ninkasi Brewing.

Posted in Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, New Beers
Posted in Beer News, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher Blanche now White Sun Wit

The beer formerly known as Weyerbacher Blanche, is now known as White Sun Wit. Sun will seaonally return in April.

White Sun Wit (4.6% ABV) is a crisp and hazy Belgian-Style Wit.  White Sun Wit is Weyerbacher’s thirst-quenching spring and early summer ale.  The nose has a light spiciness from the coriander, orange peel, grains of paradise, and star anise.  The palate reveals a mild, refreshing and effervescent wheat beer that finishes with just a hint of tartness.  Available from April through July.  Enjoy!

Style: Witbier (w/ Coriander, Orange Peel, Grains Of Paradise, Star Anise)
Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft
Arrival: April -July, Seasonally

4.6% ABV