Wicked Weed Brewing Co
Asheville, NC
Wicked Weed Dark Arts 2016: Rum aged
Wicked Weed Dark Arts, an American wild, barrel aged, imperial stout, returns again in October. This monstrous beer is an annual release, and 2016 marks just the third appearance.
Wicked Weed Dark Arts is brewed right up to the North Carolina alcohol cap of 15%. The 2014 edition was aged in bourbon, 2015 in tequila, and 2016 is aged in rum barrels.
A barrel-aged imperial stout of such a high alcohol content can be cloyingly sweet. Head of brewing operations, Walt Dickinson, uses Brettanomyces yeast to cut down on the sweetness and dry out the beer. Wicked Weed Dark Arts is typically brewed in late summer/fall, and racked to barrels for nearly a year.
When you think about really good spirits, they are innately dry (not sweet) and without residual sugar,” adds Walt, Head of Brewing Operations. “Barrel aged stouts can be cloyingly sweet, but because we use brett, Dark Arts is a dry beer. Any residual sugar not usually consumed by traditional brewers yeast will be consumed by the brett and you won’t have to fight through too much sweetness.”
Wicked Weed Dark Arts Wild Imperial Stout will be available in 16.9 ounce bottles starting October 21st. A coffee variant, Dark Arts Espresso, will be available as well on the same day.
Style: American Wild Ale (Barrel aged. Rum.)
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles, Draft.
Arrival: 10/21/16
15% ABV
Wicked Weed Metatropics a collaboration with Trois Dames debuts
Wicked Weed Metatropics, a collaboration with Switzerland based Trois Dames, debuts in bottles.
Collaborations have been frequent from Wicked Weed lately. The brewery released “Juiceless” a collaboration with Georgia’s Creature Comforts (an IPA brewed with zero fruit). Additionally, a beer geek panic inducing collaboration with Jester King is on the horizon.
Wicked Weed Metatropics might be the complete opposite of everything that the Juiceless collaboration actually is. Why? this India pale ale boasts a healthy dose of tropical fruits – pineapple, grapefruit, passionfruit, and mango. Wicked Weed throws out words like meta, and deconstructed, in the description.
Wicked Weed Metatropics is a collaboration beer that flips current IPA methodology on it’s head. Wicked Weed and Trois Dames love using hops to produce an equatorial, citrusy character, but decided to deconstruct this process to forge something new. This beer employs real pineapple, passionfruit, mango and grapefruit to emulate tropical hop flavors. The addition of Brettanomyces wild yeast takes this beer to new heights of meta refreshment.
Wicked Weed Metatropics is a 500 milliliter bottle release, as well as draft. Limited distribution starts the week of October 17th.
Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Mango, Grapefruit, Passionfruit, Pineapple.)
Availability: 500ml Bottles
Debut: Mid-October, 2016
6.2% ABV
Wicked Weed Barrel Aged Xibalba debuts
Wicked Weed Barrel Aged Xibalba, a barrel-aged edition of the brewery’s pumpkin beer, has hit shelves.
The imperial pumpkin ale boasts chilies, cacao nibs, and spices, back for a second year in 2016. Somewhere in the mix, Wicked Weed split off some into bourbon barrels. Check out the narrative below –
We meant to create something civilized. Honestly, we did. Under midnight skies, we imbued him with the velvety darkness of the cacao, the smoldering fire of chilies, the power of pumpkin, and the nuance of spices. However, our combination created an other-worldly beast, one whose intensity we could only hope to contain. We fearfully crammed him into our bourbon oak chambers. We heard him scream throughout the nights, and lay awake in terror as the barrels creaked. One moonlit night, our worst fears were realized, Xibalba burst forth, his power and strength surging beyond imagination. We fled in horror as he ransacked the temple, the subtle sent of bourbon ad spiced laying a civilized backdrop to the utter carnage.
Wicked Weed Barrel Aged Xibalba (aka she-bahl-ba) hits shelves this week in 12.7 ounce bottles.
Style: Pumpkin Ale (w/ Cacao Nibs, Chilies, Spices. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles, Draft. Seasonal
Debut: Mid-September, 2016
9.5% ABV
Wicked Weed adds DC and northern Virginia distribution
Wicked Weed Brewing (Asheville, NC) is adding Washington DC and northern VA distribution. Through their new partnership with Premium Distributors, beers from both their hoppy and sour portfolios will be available starting now. Owner and Head of Sales for Wicked Weed, Ryan Guthy, stated:
“When analyzing markets across the country, the DC and greater DC area were an instant attraction to Wicked Weed. We realized the strength of the craft market there and wanted to be a part of it.”
Wicked Weed fans in this new distribution area will have access to over 30 different brands from both sour and clean-side production regularly.
Read more: Wicked Weed news
Wicked Weed Xibalba Imperial Pumpkin returns
Wicked Weed Xibalba has returned to the Asheville, North Carolina brewery’s for a second time.
Wicked Weed Xibalba (aka she-bahl-ba) is an imperial pumpkin ale brewed with chilies, cacao nibs, and a host of spices. Perhaps a compelling reason to not rage against pumpkin beers.
For everything there is a season and tradition. That’s why our pumpkin ale, brewed with cacao nibs, ancho, serrano, and habanero chilies with fall spices, is brewed once a year during the onset of autumn. Inspired by the mythos of the ancients, Xibalba (she-bahl-ba) is an otherworldly reminder that seasons are fleeting and to be celebrated.
Wicked Weed Xibalba is a 16.9 ounce bottle release, available at the brewery and in distribution.
Style: Pumpkin Ale (w/ Cacao Nibs, Chilies, Spices)
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles, Draft. Seasonal
Latest Return: August, 2016
8.2% ABV
Wicked Weed Juiceless, a Creature Comforts collaboration debuts this weekend
Wicked Weed Juiceless, a collaboration with Athens, Georgia based Creature Comforts, debuts August 27th.
Collectively, the two breweries have bragging rights as they each brew some of the most popular India pale ales in the southeast. (See Wicked Weed Pernicious and Creature Comforts Tropicalia.) Both are known for being hoppy, juicy, and downright decadent IPAs.
RELATED: Creature Comforts teams up with Arizona Wilderness
Here in mid-2016, fruited IPAs are all the rage. The fruited subset of the most popular style in the craft brewing segment has made the biggest sales gains over past 18 months according the Brewer’s Association. When it comes to Wicked Weed Juiceless, the breweries tout “cracking the juicy code” without using actual fruit. They have created a juicy IPA without juice. It’s “Juiceless.”
How are they doing it? They are using the biggest, most fruit-forward hops around. If the label artwork is any indication, you’ll find hoppy pineapple notes.
Wicked Weed and Creature Comforts love the citrusy, crisp, hoppy flavor of fruited IPAs, but we wanted to put a unique twist on this delicious style. For this collaboration beer, we cracked the juicy code without using any fruit. Is it hoppy? Of course. Smooth? Certainly. Juicy? THE JUICIEST. Made with fruit? Absolutely not. All the fruit flavor, all from the hops. This beer IS what it ISN’T
Wicked Weed Juiceless will be a 16.9 ounce bottle offering, bottled by Wicked Weed in Asheville. The first bottles will be available alongside to most recent return of White Angel this weekend. Distribution to follow the first week of September.
Style: IPA
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles
Debut: 8/27/16
7.7% ABV
Wicked Weed Serenity, the brewery’s 1st bottle, gets new life
Wicked Weed Serenity, the brewery’s first ever bottle, is returning with a new look.
First released in March of 2014, Wicked Weed Serenity is a 100% Brettanomyces fermented farmhouse/wild ale. The beer was an instant hit, seeing limited release appearances since its inception.
The August 2016 release is only a 30 barrel batch, and won’t be hitting distribution.
This being a Brettanomyces Farmhouse Ale, we felt it more appropriate to give it a similar look to the rest of our Farmhouse series. With that in mind, we wanted to pay tribute to the original label by giving some insight as to what was happening in that mysterious and ominous castle in the mist. The central female character reaches for the sun in the hopes that she may help this organic structure continue to grow. – Wicked Weed Brewing
Wicked Weed Serenity is a 500 milliliter bottle offering, available at both Wicked Weed locations in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
Style: American Wild Ale
Availability: 500ml Bottles
Latest Return: August, 2016
Note: This article will continue to be updated with future appearances of this beer.
