Don’t Miss This

Posted in Don't Miss This

HBO kills off the Bud Knight in epic Game of Thrones fashion

Last night during the lowest scoring (and most boring) Super Bowl on record, Anheuser- Busch InBev dropped nearly $60 million dollars on advertising. That’s nearly one and a half times more cash then they spent on acquiring Goose Island back in 2011. One of last night’s more interesting commercials by the largest brewery was a crossover featuring HBO’s Game of Thrones show.

Like them or hate them, Budweiser has had some pretty iconic marketing over the years. We’re talking Spuds Mackenzie dog in the ’80s, Bud Frogs of the ’90s, the Wazzap??? set of commercials that started in 2000. As of late, you’ve been hearing the word Dilly Dilly (AB trademarked that) and the Bud Knight, set in a medieval era. Last night the Bud Knight met a gruesome end at the hands of The Mountain from Game of Thrones.

Not just knocked off a horse. But dead. Like… super dead.

For those interested in marketing, it’s Budweiser ending the medieval marketing campaign on their own terms and it’s pretty brilliant. Dilly Dilly and the Bud Knight didn’t just fade away. They left in a skull squishing, dragon scorching fashion that was 10 times more dramatic and interesting than the Punt Bowl going on in Atlanta (and not being watched by Saints fans).

Folks on social media have drawn dozens of parallels to the Bud Light marketing and Game of Thrones, leading some to wonder where’s Bud’s cease & desist order, since the company hands those out like candy on Halloween. Maybe HBO’s version of the C&D came at the hands of The Mountain (played by GoT actor, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).

Why? Apparently, HBO decided to kill the Bud Knight.

According to a piece in Morningstar, HBO approached Anheuser-Busch in August of last year. They saw the crossover potential promoting the show’s last season from a mile away. The true GoT fashion, they were going to kill the Bud Knight in a violent way. AB InBev didn’t like the violent turn in the tv spot, but finally gave the go-ahead.

Bud Light’s agency, Wieden+Kennedy, collaborated with HBO and Droga5 on the 60-second spot, “Joust.” The team tapped David Nutter, who directed the gory “Red Wedding” scene from season 3 to direct the Super Bowl spot. Let’s face it, if Nutter could have had full say, you’d have seen Bud Light spill out of the Knight in some twisted, bloody way.

The head squish is pretty tame in comparison.

Budweiser mentions in a press release that the commerical ends with the Bud Knight laying on the ground motionless, taking precaution not to use the word “dead,” but we all know you don’t survive The Mountain’s hands.

However, the medieval Bud Light marketing isn’t completely done. Expect to see #ForTheThrone themed Bud promotions leading up to the final Game of Thrones episodes in starting in April. GoT fans, don’t miss the extended edition below.

Oh, and HBO – there better not be a Bud Knight crossover in the show. Just saying.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Skaalvenn Distillery, Don't Miss This

When vodka freezes outside, it’s freaking cold

This polar vortex is cold, dangerous, and has been deadly. Low-pressure area of cold air that hovers around the North Pole can travel southward during the winter. With it, comes some incredibly cold air. Extremely cold, even for places with harsh winters, like Minnesota. How cold is it? In Minnesota, vodka can freeze.

Pretty sure at one point in your life, you’ve put a bottle of vodka in the freezer to get it as cold as possible. Typically, there’s no danger there as the freezing point of 80 Proof vodka is around -26 degrees Celsius, or -16 degrees Fahrenheit.

Skaalvenn Distillery located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota (near Minneapolis) left some of their vodka outside overnight during this cold outbreak. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly – it froze. Or at least got very slushy. As you can see in Skaalvenn’s picture above, that handful that looks like a snowcone is the distillery’s 80 Proof vodka registering at -21 degrees Fahrenheit.

When your vodka freezes, it’s freaking cold.

At the time of this piece, it’s a balmy 4 degrees, Brooklyn Park, as the sun rises. Temperatures should climb into the 30s finally by Super Bowl Sunday.

Image: Skaalvenn Distillery, www.skaalvenn.com 

https://twitter.com/Skaalvenn/status/1090639933935665154?s=20

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Great Divide, Don't Miss This, New Releases

New Yeti Sighting: Great Divide Chocolate Cherry Yeti

Great Divide Chocolate Cherry Yeti is the latest “Yeti” to join the on-going series.

The Denver, Colorado-based brewery’s Yeti Imperial Stout is easily one of the most well-known for the style in the U.S. Since its inception, the “Yeti Clan” as the brewery calls it, has grown to include Oak Aged, Chai Yeti, Vanilla Oak Aged Yeti, and Barrel Aged Yeti. As 2019 gets rolling, Great Divide has released a new edition – Cherry Chocolate Yeti.

This release uses the epic Yeti Imperial Stout base and blends sour cherries and cacao nibs.

The roasty malt backbone of Yeti melds perfectly with the cherries and cacao to make this one a smooth sipper. A Yeti in a cherry orchard can be a great thing!

Great Divide Chocolate Cherry Yeti is available in 12-ounce bottles and draft.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cocoa Nibs. Cherries.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: Late January 2019

9.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Firestone Walker Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA may be the best hazy IPA we’ve had yet

In the wild west of hazy India pale ales, one of the best breweries out there is about to release one of their own after a year of experimentation. Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA debuts this month.

Firestone’s brewmaster Matt Brynildson recognizes this hazy IPA trend got its start on America’s East Coast, but according to him, he also sees it starting with Bavarian hefeweizens. This may help explain the flavor profile in Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA.

This can of hop-haze boasts a creamy mouthfeel and tropical-banana aroma according to the brewery. (Where the Bavarian influence comes into play.) The brewing team amplified the esters from the yeast and paired it with fruity hops.

Firestone Walker killed it. In the world of hazy IPAs, Mind Haze is immediately one of the best we have ever had. This beer hits all the high notes of a hazy IPA; it’s a tropical juicy hop explosion, that finishes soft and almost creamy. No weird vegetal or underfermented flavors that some poorly made hazys possess. Brynildson and the brewing team took their time perfecting this beer before releasing it and you can truly taste it. This is a hazy slammer of a year-round release that raises the bar for the style.

 “We’re not relying on residual yeasts or starches for turbidity. The haziness and mouthfeel of Mind Haze are cultivated by more stable means, namely using 40 percent wheat and oats in the grain bill while nailing the timing and interplay of our hop additions,” says Brynildson.

It’s this hazy IPA meets Bavaria flavor that Firestone Walker hopes really puts their own “stamp” on the style.

Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA hits the brewery’s entire distribution footprint this week in 12-ounce cans and draft.

Style: Hazy IPA
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: January 2019

6.2% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Holland Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

New Holland Dragon’s Milk White, a “lighter” barrel-aged stout debuts in cans

New Holland Dragon’s Milk White debuts year-round in the coming weeks. 

The Holland, Michigan based brewery had Dragon’s Milk, a barrel-aged imperial stout, for many years now. It is will one of the most popular year-round barrel-aged stouts in America. Over the past few years, we’ve seen variants of Dragon’s Milk – Chocolate Orange, Banana Coconut, S’mores & more.

After a few days of social media teasing, we now know there is a second Dragon’s Milk to be found year-round – Dragon’s Milk White.

We equate a “white stout” to something like Crystal Pepsi. If you close your eyes, it kind of tastes like Pepsi, or in this case, a stout, but looks nothing like it in color. This stout pours a golden color instead of something resembling motor oil. New Holland states Dragon’s Milk White is “smooth and creamy”, with “flavors of oak, vanilla, cocoa and a hint of bourbon”.

If this wasn’t something completely new, this is the first time you’ve seen any Dragon’s Milk in a 12-ounce can.

Expect to see New Holland Dragon’s Milk White in 12-ounce cans and draft year-round this year.

Style: Stout (White Stout) Barrel Aged. Bourbon.
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Year-Round
Debut: Late January 2019

6% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in SweetWater Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

SweetWater will debut Peach Love & Happiness Berliner at their 22nd bash

SweetWater Peach Love & Happiness debuts as a spring seasonal February 16th.

Ahead of warmer weather, and just in time for the Atlanta based brewery’s 22nd Anniversary Party, comes SweetWater Peach Love & Happiness. This new Berliner Weisse is dosed with peach puree.

…Peach, Love, and Happiness brings color to spring with ripe local peaches in this golden effervescent and tastily tart Berliner Weisse.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, plus Anders Osborne and Samantha Fish all headline their 22nd birthday bash, where the first taste of Peach Love & Happiness, as well as SweetWater’s 22nd Anniversary beer release, can be found.

EVENT: SweetWater 22nd Anniversary

Expect this new spring seasonal in 12-ounce cans, 12-ounce bottles, and draft.

Style: Berliner Weisse (w/ Peaches.)
Availability: 12oz Cans, 12oz Bottles. Draft. Spring Seasonal.
Debut: 2/16/19

4.7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Rogue Spirits, Don't Miss This, Rogue Brewing

Rogue Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey debuts, after two years in stout barrels

Before we delve into Rogue’s newest spirit, you need to understand the labor-intensive process that led up to it. It’s a pretty long process.

The best place to start has to be Rogue Farms, the brewery’s agricultural arm of their operation in Independence, Oregon. It is there the brewery grows the hops and malts used in a plethora of their beers, especially Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout. It only gets more complicated from here.

Before the brewery in Newport, Oregon is busy making an imperial stout, the Rogue distillery had taken some beer mash to distill into white whiskey. That whiskey hasn’t been aging in barrels Rogue simply just ordered from a cooperage. Rogue’s got one of those too. In-house barrel-maker Nate Linquist makes barrels out of Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana) that are then charred before the whiskey is left to age.

Once the whiskey was done, Rolling Thunder was transferred into the wet barrels for barrel-aging for months before bottling. Pretty labor intensive for a barrel-aged imperial stout.

Now, Rogue has gone a step further. Those barrels that once had Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout were filled again with Rogue barrel-aged whiskey to finish in the stout touched barrels for an additional two years.

Farm to brewery. Brewery to distilling. Coopering, charring, aging. Rogue continues to do it all. Now you can get Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey for your spirits collection. According to Rogue, this new whiskey release boasts prominent notes of chocolate and coffee that complement the flavors of whiskey-soaked Oregon Oak.

Rogue Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey is available in 750-milliliter bottles nationally in limited quantities.

Rogue-Rolling-Thunder-Barrels

Rogue Rolling Thunder rests in barrels in Newport, Oregon. PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay