Stillwater Artisanal Ales
Stillwater’s Music Inspired Release #2: Small Black
Stillwater Artisanal Ales is releasing the #2 in their music inspired Sensory Series, Small Black. Each release is a collaboration between Stillwater’s Brian Strumke and a musical artist (Small Black). The song – Breathless from their new album Limits of Desire.
“After many listens to the new album (Limits of Desire) we agreed on the track ‘Breathless’ as inspiration for the beer. The tune instantly jumped out as a summer anthem…Uplifting pads, soothing vocals, and a solid 4/4 kick give the song a powerful drive while still maintaining its beauty and elegance.In constructing the accompanying beverage I took a similar direction – a dark black beer that maintains the elegance of the song…And while the beer is dark, it’s extremely light bodied.” – B. Strumke
Style: Black Saison
Availability: 12.oz bottles, Draft. 35 states via Twelve Percent Imports
??% ABV
Look At Stillwater’s 3D Label
3 Dimensional televisions maybe be all but dead, but 3D beer labels aren’t’ Stillwater Artisanal Ales (Baltimore, MD). Why Can’t IBU? (a pun on International Bitterness Units) dons a 3D label, and a great name.
Why make a beer label in 2 dimensions. Lame. Look for more 3D offerings from Stillwater soon.
Beer Goes Film Noir with “The Perfect Crime” [VIDEO]
A little beer film noir. Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Evil Twin Brewing narrates this shorty about the new collaboration featuring himself, Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal Ales, and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing Co. The beer is a smoked black saison. 6.8% ABV, 60 IBUs
Stillwater Launches Special Offerings For Baltimore Beer Week
Stillwater will celebrate the 3rd annual “Stillwater Day” on October 21, 2012.
3rd annual Stillwater Day during Baltimore Beer Week featuring the exclusive bottle release of the ‘Then & Now Project’ this first release is an small run of dry-hopped / brett conditioned Cellar Door sold in pairs (only 100 sets will be available). One bottle is to be enjoyed fresh and hoppy and the other is to be enjoyed 6 months to 1 year later so you can experience the transformation that takes place when the hops fade and the brett develops its wonderful funky, tart flavors.
-BOTTLE SALES START AT 10
There will also be the usual ‘pop up’ bottle shop featuring many Stillwater rarities and a limited run of bottles from the collaboration with Union Craft titled ‘Hard Times’, an urban farmhouse ale brewed with Plum Wood smoked malt.. all this paired with an insane Stillwater draft selection.
Draft List:
Folklore – Tale of Van Winkle
Debauched (Brunello Barrel Aged)
of Love & Regret
Why Can’t IBU
Hard Times (Union collab.)
Bronze Age (Hoff Ten Dormaal collab.)
25 to One (vintage)
Premium
Cellardoor
Stateside
Existent
Autumnal
Folklore
As Follows
Table Beer
Kopstootje
Perfect Crime European Blonde
Prefect Crime American Blonde
Perfect Crime Smoking Gun
Perfect Crime Hollow Point
Why Can’t IBU (cask)
*NOTE* Out of town visitors can make a weekend of it! As the night before (Oct 20) we will be hosting at Of Love & Regret (www.ofloveandregret.com) the ‘Roast of Casey Hard’ Max’s head beer honcho and the following night (Oct 22) Fleet Street Kitchen (www.fleetstreetkitchen.com) is hosting a upscale 5 course Stillwater Beer Dinner.
Stone, Stillwater & Evil Twin Create “The Perfect Crime”
Recently, Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Evil Twin Brewing, (2 “gyspy brewers”) travelled to Escondido, California to collaborate with Stone Brewing Co. The triumvirate pulled off The Perfect Crime. The result is a smokey black saison that really fits the mysterious nature of these traveling breweries.
I first heard the term “gypsy brewer” in reference to Mikkel Borg-Bjergso, back in 2008, when we brewed our very first collaboration beer with Mikkel and Peter Zien of AleSmith. And now we are thrilled to welcome two more famous gypsy brewers to our brewery: Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso of Evil Twin Brewing ( Mikkel’s brother– hence the name) and Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal Ales. Jenne and Brian have brewed together before, and both have excellent pedigrees in brewing unique Belgian- inspired beers. Their shady influence was felt throughout the brewing of this mysterious block beer, and we were excited to be able to brew it. – Mitch Steele
Style: Saison (Smoked)
Availability: 12 oz bottles, Draft
Arrival: TBA
7.5% ABV
Note: Official PR from Stone forthcoming
Stillwater Announces New Sensory Series
Stillwater Artisanal Ales just announced the Sensory Series, a new collaboration series with between Stillwater and musical artists. The first release is based on “In the End is the Beginning” By Lower Dens. Founder/Brewmaster Brian Strumke has brewed an interpretation of the song in beer form.
What is edition #1? Brian Strumke describes it as this “White but not bright” is how I described the song and that is what I have set out to create with beer itself. Light in body and color intermingled with aspects of dark fruits and a floral earthy spiciness, gently accented with a hint of smoke”
Each bottle will have a QR code linking to an exclusive performance of the song to listen to while you drink the beer.
Style: Saison (w/ Hibiscus)
Availability: 12.7 oz bottles, Draft. 35 states via Twelve Percent Imports
6% ABV
Stillwater Artisanal And Lower Dens Announce First Collaborative Beer (PR)
Stillwater Artisanal And Lower Dens Announce First Collaborative Beer: “Stillwater Artisanal, Sensory Series V.1 – Lower Dens”
Lower Dens on Tour with Grizzly Bear, Extend Worldwide Tour Dates!
LOWER DENS TOUR DATES
09-27 Cincinnati, OH – MidPoint Music Festival *
09-28 Bloomington, IN – Russian Recording $
09-29 Champaign-Urbana, IL – Pygmalion Music Festival
09-30 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre ^
10-01 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue ^
10-04 Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium ^
10-05 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre ^
10-06 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom ^
10-07 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom ^
10-09 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre ^
10-10 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre ^
10-11 Tuscon, AZ – Club Congress !
10-12 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace +
10-13 Austin, TX – Red 7 +
10-14 McAllen, TX – Fall Back Records +
10-15 San Antonio, TX – The Korova +
10-16 Dallas, TX – Club Dada +
10-17 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s # @
11-27 Paris, FR – Le Nouveau Casino —
11-29 Haarlem, ND – Patronaat
12-01 München, DE – ON3 Festival
12-03 Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain
12-04 Hamburg, DE – Molotow
12-05 Kortrijk, BE – De Kreun
12-06 London, UK – The Forum &
12-08 Camber Sands, UK – ATP Festival
12-09 Brighton, UK – The Haunt
12-10 Bristol, UK – Louisiana
12-11 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
12-12 Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
12-13 Glasgow, UK – King Tuts
12-14 Belfast, IRL – Auntie Annies
12-15 Dublin, IRL – The Grand Social
12-16 Cork, IRL – Cork Operahouse
12-18 Istanbul, TR – IKSV
* w/ Dirty Projectors
$ w/ Night Beds
^ w/ Grizzly Bear
! w/ Half Moon Run
+ w/ Jennifer Castle
# w/ Wicked Poseur
@ w/ Bed Moves
& w/ Kurt Vile, Dark Dark Dark
Find more info at http://www.stillwatersensory.com
The Stillwater Sensory Series is a collaboration between Stillwater Artisanal and singular musical artists. In this first collaboration, Stillwater is working with Lower Dens to make an ale based on an interpretation of their song, “In the End Is The Beginning.” On the bottle itself, a QR code will link to an exclusive Lower Dens performance of the song. Ultimately, this is a true artistic collaboration that aims to create a full sensory experience – sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste.
“With Stillwater, we set out to create an environment of intrigue; from the visual aesthetics of the packaging to the lack of definitive style of the beer, subtle complexity is also our hallmark.. we are asking the consumer for consideration, to interact with the product,” says Brian Strumke, Owner / Brew Master. “It instantly rang clear to me that [Lower Dens] were seasoned mature artists.. there were hints of beloved nostalgia but nothing obvious or trendy; driving repetition with intricate overlays allows the listener to take the back seat for a ride while also tempting you to look deeper within.. these were all traits that I related to, from my days as an electronic music artist and now as a beer designer.”
‘In the End is the Beginning’ is taken from the band’s second studio album, Nootropics (pronounced No-eh-tro-pics), released earlier this year on Ribbon Music. The song is lengthy, contemplative: an end-of-the-world song wherein the narrator readies him/herself for whatever’s next.
“Brian explained the Sensory Series and immediately we were on board,” says band member Jana Hunter. “He took something we spent a lot of time on and put a lot of thought and ourselves into, and he offered the same.”
“White but not bright” is how I described the song and that is what I have set out to create with beer itself. Light in body and color intermingled with aspects of dark fruits and a floral earthy spiciness, gently accented with a hint of smoke” states Strumke. The beer itself will come in the form of individual 375ml bottles and also 20L kegs and initial distribution with span 35 states via Twelve Percent Imports – Brooklyn, NY.
The band has spent a lot of time touring since the release of their debut album Twin-Hand Movement in 2010, including recent stops at festivals both here and abroad such as Pitchfork Music Festival, Primavera, among others. Lower Dens will hit the road again later this autumn and will see them perform at this year’s installment of ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas and include support dates with Kurt Vile and Grizzly Bear. A full list of dates are below.
Praise for Stillwater Artisanal:
“an existentialist commentary on a brewer imposing his own view on the beer universe. ” -Washington Post
“Top 10 most influential craft breweries today.” -Huffington Post 2012
“#2 Best New Brewer in the World – 2011” -Ratebeer.com
Praise for Lower Dens’ Nootropics:
“Richly detailed, dark, and ethereal, the album is a feast for sound-first listeners drawn to expressive shifts in color and tone.” — 8.2/10 Pitchfork
“Sometimes trance-inducing, sometimes wildly dynamic, the album is a sumptuous, woozy feast that proudly dances on the lines between nirvana and reality.” — 8/10 Spin
“It’s an ambitious mission statement to go along with a richer sound.” — NPR
Lower Dens is:
Jana Hunter
Will Adams
Geoff Graham
Nate Nelson
Lower Dens online
http://lowerdens.com/
http://facebook.com/lowerdens
http://www.ribbonmusic.com/label/lower-dens/
