Topic Archives: Strong Ale
Round Trip Brewing First Orbit, their 1st Anniversary beer
Atlanta, Georgia’s Round Trip Brewing is releasing First Orbit, the brewery’s 1st Anniversary release.
The beer is a fusion of ingredients and techniques of a German-style Doppelbock and Belgian-style Quadruple. Took part of the mash and boiled it with dark candy sugar (called decoction mash) and returned it back to the main mash.
The beer was then fermented at cold temperatures and lagered for six weeks using Round Trip’s house lager yeast and Magnum and Tettnang hops.
After lagering for six weeks, the out-of-this-world fusion is a bold, malt-forward interstellar beer that is one giant leap for mankind.
The brewery celebrates its first anniversary on Saturday, March 12th. (Click for event details)
Round Trip First Orbit will be available in 12-ounce cans in 2-packs, in a unique stacked box.
Style: Strong Ale
Hops: Magnum, Tettnang
Malts:
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.
Debut: 3/12/22
10% ABV
For the 3rd time in a decade, Dogfish Head & Sierra Nevada release ‘Life & Limb’
Some of the newcomers to the craft beer scene probably don’t remember Life & Limb, the collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada. The first release of this collaboration occurred in 2009, followed by Life & Limb 2 in 2011. Now, the third release of this Life & Limb collaboration hits shelves, this time in 16-ounce cans.
This American strong ale is brewed with two different syrups – maple syrup from the Calagione farm in Massachusetts, as well as birch syrup. In the previous collaborations, the birch syrup was delivered to Chico, California fresh from Alaska.
Additionally, the breweries used estate barley from Sierra Nevada’s farm, plus a house yeast blend of both Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada.
We are proud to share our third version of the life and limb with its thousands of other branches who collectively comprise the craft brewing family tree. Sip slowly with friends and loved ones, savor long-because one could do better than be a swigger of birches.
The “canned on” date is dated in May. From the looks of it, neither brewery has really mentioned this release on social media as it seems to have quietly hit shelves nationally. Neither Sierra Nevada nor Dogfish Head responded for comment.
For its third release in 10 years, this unique collaboration – Life & Limb 3 is available in 16-ounce cans (by Sierra), very suitable for future aging in the event of a Life & Limb 4 release.
Style: American Strong Ale (w/ Maple Syrup. Birch Syrup.)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.
Debut: August 2019
10% ABV
Worlds Strongest Beer Is Now 65% ABV
The race to the strongest beer in the world is a bit like the race to the moon. Scottish brewery Brewdog has held the title previously – with Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%) and Sink The Bismarck! (41%). Brewdog even outdid the 41% entry with The End Of History, a 55% blonde ale shoved into a dead, stuffed squirrel.
It wasn’t long before they were then overtaken by Schorschbräu Schorschbock (57% ABV). The newest to the top? Brewmeister Armageddon, a Scottish brewery that clocks in at 65% AB. Modeled after the eisbock style. Eisbock (ice bock) is a German style created by flash
freezing the beer. The first to freeze is removed leaving the liquid more potent. In this instance, the process is repeated until the desired ABV is reached.
The world’s strongest beer at 65%. Ingredients include crystal malt, wheat, flaked oats and of course 100% Scottish spring water. We then freeze ferment the beer to bring up the ABV. Consume this like a fine whisky. Despite being 65%, the beer has a lot of flavour – malty, hoppy, slightly sweet and lots of yeast still in the beer. Be careful though, smelling it is probably enough to put you over the limit!
These bottles are available online, ERP $64.00 U.S.
Style: Eisbock (STRONG ALE!)
Availability: 300 ml bottles (10 U.S. oz)
65% ABV
Struise Kamikaze Boasts An Impossible 500 IBUs
De Struise is soon to release Kamikaze, a collaboration with Rio Brewing & Co. This Kamikaze boasts 500 IBUs (can humans even detect that?) and bourbon barrel aging.
… also known in different languages as KAMIKAZE. Second special ale brewed with brew master Ryohei Sugawara San from Rio Brewing Co. A stunning 500 IBU hop bitterness brings this 16% ABV pale ale back in balance. Oak aged for 6 months in Bourbon barrels before dry hopping this monster. This ale is unblended, unfiltered, unpasterized and bottle conditioned.
Style: Strong Ale (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 750 ml bottles
16% ABV
U.S. Release is uncertain.
Green Flash/ St Feuillien Bière De L’Amitié
The rumor of Green Flash Brewing coming to Atlanta has been the rumor most frequently repeated. While the San Diego County, California brewer is still not officially hitting the state, a beer Green Flash collaborated on is arriving. It’s called Bière De L’Amitié. Green Flash collaborated with Brasserie St-Feuillien from Belgium. Here’s the story –
During a recent twelve day Great Belgium Beer Tour, brewer’s from Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego County, California and Brasserie St. Feuillien of Le Roeulx, Belgium teamed up to produce the first-ever collaboration ale between American and Belgian family-owned breweries. The beer will be called Bière De L’Amitié, or Friendship Brew, and will be released in the United States in June 2010.
Dominique Friart, Administrator Deputy (C.E.O.) of St. Feuillien, visited Green Flash on a 2009 trip to the United States. Green Flash had collaborated with several U.S. breweries on special ales in recent years with great success, brews many Belgian-inspired ales, and has a great admiration for Belgian tradition. Mike Hinkley, Green Flash CEO, jumped at the chance to suggest the collaboration to Ms. Friart. After several conversations, both parties grew excited about the prospect of this brewing adventure.
A brewing date was scheduled for March 9, 2010. Over the months leading up to the brew, Chuck Silva and Alexis Briol, Green Flash and St Feuillien’s brewmasters, set out to create a brew that would bring together five generations of Friart Family traditional Belgian ale and the cutting edge and innovative brewing techniques used at Green Flash. Chuck Silva said, “Brewing with Alexis at St. Feuillien was a great honor, lots of fun, and I think we created a fantastic brew. This is a convergence of great Belgian tradition and Green Flash innovation.”
Bière De L’Amitié is a Blond Belgian Strong Ale, brewed with St. Feuillien’s traditional yeast and secret spices. For a Green Flash-style modern twist, rye and wheat malts were added to the mash and American Amarillo hops used in a late boiling kettle addition. Then the beer was dry-hopped with more Amarillo for even more hop flavor, aroma and zest.
Style: Described as Belgian blonde strong ale.
Availability: 750 ML Bottles. Corked & Caged. Draft offerings also. 1 time collaboration offering.
9.5% ABV
Arrival: Friday 8/6
Dogfish Immort Ale Returns
Immort Ale is a part of Dogfish Head’s occasional rarities collection. (Milton, DE) Immort Ale is an American Strong Ale.
Immort was first brewed at the Dogfish Brewpub in 1995, first bottled in 1997. If you recall Dogfish/Sierra Nevada’s collaboration ale contained maple syrup from brewer Sam Calgione’s family farm in Massachusetts. Immort Ale also has this ingredient, along with peat smoked barley, juniper berries, and vanilla beans. It’s a unique blend of English & Belgian yeasts, aged in oak lined tanks.
Immort shows up each spring, after the maple syrup harvest. Its a heavy hitter at 11% ABV. With all these ingredients, you can imagine there is a complex palette associated with this ale.
Ingredients –
Peat smoked barley, Vanilla beans, Maple Syrup, Juniper berries.
Aged on Oak
Yeasts – English, Belgian
Availability – 12oz/ 4pks. Rare draft offerings.
11% ABV
50 IBUs
Left Hand Double Sawtooth is back!
Returning from a 2 year absence – it’s Left Hand’s Double Sawtooth Ale, now dubbed Chainsaw Ale. Chainsaw Ale is a bigger, bolder version of their year round ESB release. Chainsaw isn’t an ESB, but classified as an American Strong Ale.
Here is the write up from Left Hand’s 2010 Schedule –
Back from a 2-year absence, Chainsaw kicks off 2010 with a new logo, but still the same bad-ass beer. It attempts to address an old saying that has plagues mankind since its inception. Many times we’ve heard “more is not always better.” Invariably the person on the other side of such a statement scowls at the ramifications. Here at Left Hand we realize that life cannot be reduced to or understood in absolute terms. Our 2008 version attempts to take exception with such broad statements about the human condition. Chainsaw is a connoisseur version of our award-winning Sawtooth Ale, designed to befuddle silly generalizations about life. It opens with toasted malt, toffee and fruit flavors, yet closes with a swirling effect of garden herbs, cardamom, dry port and black cherry. Full-bodied, 9.0% alcohol by volume.
Availability – 22oz bomber bottles, and draft offerings. Small batch seasonal release. Retail – Little steep, around $12
9%ABV
