Don’t Miss This

Ecliptic Starburst IPA kicks off new can lineup

Portland, Oregon’s Ecliptic Brewing is releasing their first canned offering starting March 1st, after three years of brewing. Ecliptic Starburst IPA ships this week.

Owner and head brewer John Harris selected a counter pressure canning system from Codi Manufacturing out of Golden, Continue Reading →

AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout debuts

Alesmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout, a chocolate, vanilla bean, coffee laden edition of the venerable imperial stout, is on sale now.

A few times throughout the year, Alesmith uses their nationally known imperial stout as a brewer’s playground. This round, Speedway Stout Continue Reading →

Posted in Flying Dog Brewing, Don't Miss This

Flying Dog Dark & Stormy Ale is the first the new “Sub Rosa” series

Flying Dog Dark & Stormy Ale has been selected as the first experimental release in what the Maryland brewer calls the “Sub Rosa” Series.

In Latin, Sub Rosa means “secret” or “secretly” which makes the small-batch, one-off series aptly named. Cocktail fiends have already probably guessed, Flying Dog Dark & Stormy Ale is based on the drink by the same name.

A traditional Dark and Stormy cocktail features ginger beer, bitters, and dark rum. This beer-cocktail hybrid was created by Kyle Bolte of Flying Dog, and features a touch of ginger spice to offset the vanilla, cinnamon and molasses added to the base beer. Bolte spent what had to be some pretty boring hours of his day tasting rums and ginger beers to find the exact flavors he wanted.

Pairs well with a semi-deserted island with Scarlett Johansson. – Flying Dog

Flying Dog Dark & Stormy Ale will be available in 16 ounce cans at the brewery only, on March 11th. Each release will be limited to 50 cases, thanks to the limitations the pilot system. A “Lactose IPA” is slated for April.

Style:           (w/ Ginger, Molasses, Vanilla Beans, Cinnamon.)
Availability: 16oz Cans. Limited Run
Debut: 3/11/17

7.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Bruery, Coming Soon, Don't Miss This

The Bruery Chocolate Rain will soon be available to the general public for the first time

The Bruery Chocolate Rain will be available for public purchase for the first time in March.

One of the holy mothers of dessert beer in America started with a single cask at the first Black Tuesday release in 2009. Demand was instant, and The Bruery Chocolate Rain was finally bottled in 2011. The only downside to this beer? Only available to The Bruery Reserve Society members.

This March, it will Chocolate Rain for all. The base imperial stout features TCHO cacao nibs, and fresh vanilla beans. To top it all off, it’s huge. 19.6% alcohol by volume huge.

Rich in chocolate, vanilla, oak and bourbon, it truly puts the “imperial” in imperial stout.

On March, 24th, here’s how you get it.

  1. Ship in California. Buying online from TheBrueryStore.com, and shipping throughout Cali. The first 500 orders get special TCHO Chocolate.
  2. Tasting Room purchase. First come, First Serve on March 24th.
  3. Society Members and Preservation Society members have their own climate controlled storage for all releases throughout the year.

Again, 2017 marks the first time The Bruery Chocolate Rain will be available for public purchase, outside of society memberships.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate, Vanilla Beans. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles. Limited.
Latest Return: 3/24/17

19.6% ABV

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

Ecliptic Starburst IPA kicks off new can lineup

Portland, Oregon’s Ecliptic Brewing is releasing their first canned offering starting March 1st, after three years of brewing. Ecliptic Starburst IPA ships this week.

Owner and head brewer John Harris selected a counter pressure canning system from Codi Manufacturing out of Golden, Colorado, and selected Starburst to lead off the aluminum charge. The Sasquatch Agency created the can designs, keeping the brewery’s astronomical theme intact.

Starburst IPA features Amarillo, Azacca, Centennial, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops, backed up by 100% pale malt. The finished beer is full of citrus, fruit and pine.

“This next step for Ecliptic has been one that the entire team has stepped up and helped with,” said Harris.  “From making major changes in the brewhouse to design decisions for the cans, this process has been really exciting.” – Joe Harris, Owner/Co Founder

Ecliptic Starburst IPA is available year-round in 12 ounce cans and draft.

Style: IPA
Hops:  Amarillo, Azacca, Centennial, Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Year-Round.
Debut (Cans): 3/1/17

7.4% ABV, 75 IBUs

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

A 14% vanilla bean sucker punch. Orpheus Abandon All Hope

Orpheus Abandon All Hope, a barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla beans, debuts on February 22nd.

This release is actually the fourth iteration of this stout. The road to the final release has been paved with various blends of the Atlanta brewery’s imperial stout stock, with other beers like The Ferryman, or YE Who Enter Here.

The most popular blend, and imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans, has been chosen for Abandon All Hope. The beer has been aging in a blend of bourbon barrels for 12 months, with twice the amount of vanilla as previous blends.

This beer is huge. Honestly huge is an understatement. The imperial stout is downright chewy, smells of charred oak, vanilla and molasses, drinks like dessert, and laces so well it looks like the glass will never come clean.

Abandon All Hope is an overwhelming bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Rich notes of chocolate and oak on a pillowy blanket of vanilla come from a year spent in Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, Heaven Hill 10 year, and Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select barrels and aging on fresh vanilla beans.

Orpheus Abandon All Hope is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft. Extremely limited.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Vanilla Beans, Dark Candi Syrup. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Hops: Apollo
Malts: 2 Row, Munich, Chocolate, Beechwood Smoked Malt, Special B, Roasted Barley, Black Patent, Honey Malt

Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release
Debut: 2/22/17

13.9% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Martin House Brewing Company, Don't Miss This, New Releases

The borders of hell meet in Martin House Acheron

Martin House Acheron, the Fort Worth, Texas based brewery’s barrel-aged imperial stout, is now available in cans.

Does this beer look and sound a little death metal to you? Acheron in Ancient Greek means “River of Woe”, one of the rivers of Hades in Homer’s The Odyssey. In Dante’s Inferno, the Acheron river forms the border of Hell. Like we said… metal.

Martin House Acheron dark, burly, and boozy. The 12% alcohol by volume imperial stout is unblended, aged six months in whiskey barrels. The brewery finished it with a touch of brown sugar, balancing the bitterness and increasing the ABV.

…this 12% abv stout will satiate your sinuous desires for something bold, burly, boozy, and barbarous.

Martin House Acheron is available in 12 ounce cans, in 2-packs. Think of it as two extra ounces when compared to the traditional 22 ounce bomber.

Style: Imperial Stout (Brown Sugar. Barrel Aged. Whiskey.)
Hops: Columbus
Availability: 12oz Cans
Debut: Mid-February, 2017

12% ABV

PIC: Martin House Brewing

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Abita Brewing, Coming Soon, Don't Miss This

Spring: Abita To-Gose, brewed with key limes

Spring will bring Abita To-Gose to the French Quarter. (As well as everywhere else you can find Abita.)

In 2017, expect to see the Louisiana based brewery release a not only fresh takes on some of their most well-known beers, but also debuting a few new styles. Abita To-Gose the gose seen above being one of them. The brewery has introduced fresh key limes into a German-style gose. The result – a sour ale with a touch of salt and citrus.

In New Orleans, go-cups mean the fun (and the beer) doesn’t always stay inside the bar. To-Gose is Abita’s refreshing take on traditional Gose beer, brewed with malted wheat and barley, sea salt, coriander and German Perle hops. Fresh key limes added during aging create a sour ale with a kick of citrus, spice, and salt.

According to the brewery, Abita To-Gose should be available around May, 2017, in 12 ounce bottles and draft.

Style: Gose (w/ Key Lime, Sea Salt)
Hops: Perle

Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: Spring, 2017

4% ABV

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

AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout debuts

Alesmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout, a chocolate, vanilla bean, coffee laden edition of the venerable imperial stout, is on sale now.

A few times throughout the year, Alesmith uses their nationally known imperial stout as a brewer’s playground. This round, Speedway Stout goes full-on dessert beer. The brewery has added vanilla beans, cacao nibs, and locally roasted coffee. What we’ve heard is that these variants are fantastic. Now is the chance to find out for yourself.

RELATED: AleSmith releases Speedway Stout in cans

Each quarter we stretch our creative muscles and brew a variation of our year-round imperial stout. This quarter’s variation, originally created for the popular 3 day Speedway Grand Prix event in our Tasting Room, features vanilla beans from Madagascar and Papua New Guinea, cacao nibs from Brazil and Madagascar, and locally roasted Colombian coffee from Swell Coffee Co. This beer balances the aromatic quality of the vanilla beans, the nuttiness of the cacao nibs, and the earthy fruity notes of the coffee with the roasty, chocolatey flavors of our imperial stout.

AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout will be available in 750 milliliter bottles. The brewery is pre-selling this online now, $22 dollars per bottle.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cacao Nibs, Coffee)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: 2/18/17

12% ABV

by Reid Ramsay