Don’t Miss This

Sierra Nevada issues recall over bottle flaw

Sierra Nevada issued a beer recall over the weekend, regarding certain 12 ounce bottles in their lineup.

The voluntary recall covers a limited number of bottles purchased in 36 states, primarily on the east coast, and southeastern U.S.

The affected beer has Continue Reading →

SweetWater Grass Monkey hits shelves in February

SweetWater Grass Monkey is a new seasonal on deck from the Atlanta, Georgia based brewery.

The brewery recently released Squeeze Box, a follow-up to this summer’s extremely popular seasonal release – Goin’ Coastal (brewed with pineapple). Coming soon – SweetWater Grass Monkey, Continue Reading →

Posted in The Veil Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Love cookies? The Veil Brewing Hornswoggler, aged on Oreos debuts this week

The Veil Brewing will debut a new edition of their chocolate milk stout Hornswoggler, that has been conditioned on hundreds of pounds of Oreo cookies.

No need to worry about dunking this one. The brewers at The Veil Brewing has done it for you. 16 ounces cans of this decadent beer go on sale on Tuesday, January 24th, in the tap room. As you can probably imagine, thanks to the extended aging on Oreos, there are extra fermentable sugars left over in this beer. Keep it cold, and drink it fresh if you find yourself possessing these cans.

The Veil Brewing Hornswoggler with Oreos is available in 16 ounce cans. Other editions of this milk stout includes the base milk stout, and an edition with Coconut.

Style: Milk Stout (w/ Lactose. Cocoa Nibs. Oreo Cookies.)
Availability: 16oz Cans. Brewery only. 60-80 Cases.
Debut: 1/24/17

7% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

Sierra Nevada issues recall over bottle flaw

Sierra Nevada issued a beer recall over the weekend, regarding certain 12 ounce bottles in their lineup.

The voluntary recall covers a limited number of bottles purchased in 36 states, primarily on the east coast, and southeastern U.S.

The affected beer has a package date between December 5th, 2016 and January 13th, 2017, with a brewery code of “M” for Mills River (North Carolina). Apparently there is a potential for a small piece of glass to break off and fall into the 12 ounce bottle. There is nothing wrong with the beer, this is only a packaging flaw.

The recall applies to the following states:

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachussets, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia.

Sierra Nevada posted a link on their website regarding the recall.

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

One hop just not enough for you? Time for a Shmaltz Hop Orgy

Can’t commit to just one hop? Find yourself enjoying multiple hops at one time? Shmaltz Hop Orgy might be where you need to be.

The new 12 pack case features four different hop forward offerings for you to indulge in. As Shmaltz puts in: “Because 3-Ways are for wine drinkers“. Each case features three bottles each of:

Hop Orgy (6% ABV): A copper/gold light-bodied IPA, bursting with luscious, aromatic fruit notes of the tropics and citrus notes accented by pine and cedar characters.

Hop Manna (65 IBUs, 6.8% ABV): Shmaltz’s flagship, World Beer Championship Gold Medal winning IPA. Dry-hopped with Centennial, Cascade and Citra for a fruity aroma with lively floral and citrus flavors. Shmaltz’s first-ever single IPA, Hop MANNA® offers session after session of hop nourishment from the Shmaltz Tribe to yours. Hop MANNA® is now available in new 4-packs, in addition to 22-ounce bottles, draft, and nestled inside the Hop Orgyô variety pack.

Hop Momma (5.8% ABV): A session-ish IPA brewed with peach, apricot and Habanero pepper. Fruity hops accentuate the added flavors, making this Momma fresh and juicy with a subtle pepper kick.

Hop Mania Imperial IPA (7.8% ABV): An Imperial IPA that’s dry-hopped with more Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops. Adding manic amounts of hops and playing up the malts throughout the brewing process gives Hop Mania Imperial IPA® a complex character and heady aroma. While the 7.8% ABV gives this beer strength, the mouthfeel is deceptively smooth. Hopheads rejoice — Manna has gone Mania!

Look for the 12 pack to hit shelves in Shmaltz Brewing’s 35 state distribution.

You decide the appropriate level of eye contact.

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

SweetWater Grass Monkey hits shelves in February

SweetWater Grass Monkey is a new seasonal on deck from the Atlanta, Georgia based brewery.

The brewery recently released Squeeze Box, a follow-up to this summer’s extremely popular seasonal release – Goin’ Coastal (brewed with pineapple). Coming soon – SweetWater Grass Monkey, a wheat ale.

RELATED: A look at SweetWater’s new sour facility

The early spring seasonal features a base wheat ale brewed with lemongrass, plus a healthy dose of Lemondrop hops in both the boil and dry hop phases of the brewing process. According to the brewery, the light malt bill allows the piney, grassy, and lemon flavors shine.

Spring got sprung with this funky monkey. We dropped a big stash of Lemondrop hops into both the kettle and the dry hop – delivering a big citrus blast – and topped it off with a Lemongrass addition for a refreshing twist. Light in body with bright citrus notes, this is an extremely complex but very easy drinking brew.

SweetWater Grass Monkey will be available in both 12 ounce and 16 ounce cans, as well as draft until April, 2017.

Style: Wheat Ale (w/ Lemongrass)
Hops: Lemondrop
Malts: 2 Row, Wheat

Availability: 12oz, 16oz Cans, 12oz Bottles, Draft. 
Debut: February, 2017

5.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in AleSmith Brewing, Don't Miss This, Seasonal Return

AleSmith My Bloody Valentine: pours red, 6.66% ABV

AleSmith My Bloody Valentine, the bloody red distant cousin of the brewery’s Halloween beer Evil Dead Red, is back in action.

Valentine’s Day either brings joy to some, or misery to others. Perhaps that speaks to the versatility of this beer. The red ale is appropriate colored for the Hallmark holiday, with an appropriate/inappropriate 6.66% alcohol by volume.

It has intense notes of caramel, toast and bittersweet chocolate, balancing an intense bouquet of floral hop aromas. The finish leaves a pleasant, full-bodied sweetness on the palate that leaves you pining for more!

AleSmith My Bloody Valentine is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft in January, and February.

Style: Red Ale
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft
Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, CT, IL, MI, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VA, WA, Wi
Latest Return: January, 2017

6.66% ABV

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

Coffee & beer fans, don’t miss the Terrapin Single Origin Coffee Brown Series

Athens, Georgia based Terrapin Beer Company  has rebooted their Single Origin Coffee Series, a collaboration with coffee roaster Jittery Joes. Terrapin Single Origin Coffee Brown Ale is on shelves now.

In 2016, Terrapin launched the first Single Origin Coffee lineup. The brew team created a simple base stout that would show off the flavor of the coffee. Jittery Joe’s roasters is less than a mile from the brewery, who hand selected and roasted the beans.

For this round, Terrapin chose a brown ale to accentuate the flavors of thecoffee. The base brown ale has been specifically created with very muted hop flavor in order boost the new coffee varietals.

Coffee vs. Beer. Beer vs. Coffee.

The first round taught us a lot about coffee’s impact on the beer. The base beer recipe truly was perfect to show off the contrast in the coffee beans that Jittery Joe’s brought into the fold. This edition is no different. The four coffees featured are fantastic, and really pop thanks to the muted brown ale base. A real treat for the coffee snobs in your life. Our only suggestion – drink a bit closer to cellar temperature – 45-55 degrees for full flavor.

Terrapin Single Origin Coffee Brown Ale brings with it four different coffees:

  • Costa Rica Tarrazu – Milk Chocolate, Cherries
  • Ecuador Zamora-Chinchipe – Sweet, Citrus
  • Indonesia Bali-Kintamni – Dark Fruit, Black Pepper
  • Kenya Ndaroini – Marzipan, Slightly tart

Terrapin Single Origin Coffee Brown is available in 12 ounce bottles, in a mix 4-pack release (one of each bottle).

Style: Brown Ale (w/ Coffee.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: January, 2017

?? ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Sam Adams, Don't Miss This

Samuel Adams Rebel IPA recipe reformulated with exclusive hops

The “Rebel” that changed it call is a little different going forward. Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, which debuted in 2014, has been reformulated.

It has taken four years for the Boston brewery to tweak the changes to Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, in an undertaking called Project Lupulus. The experiment was put in place to work with new varieties of hops that aren’t yet available to the public. Hops are in extremely high demand, so finding a future winner for a recipe gives you an advantage on stock.

The hop variety that has risen from months and years of experimentation is HBC 566 and HBC682, two hops that are proprietary and exclusive to the brewery. HBC 566 boasts lemon, lime, and orange and eucalyptus flavors, while HBC 682 is used for bittering.

“This is the first time we’ve significantly changed the recipe of a flagship beer.  As hop varieties evolve, we want to use the new varieties to keep brewing the best beer possible,”- Jim Koch, Founder – Boston Beer Company

In total, seven hops make the new Samuel Adams Rebel IPA – Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Mosaic, HBC 566, and HBC 682. Caramel malt was also removed from the recipe, leaving only Two Row malt.

Samuel Adams Rebel IPA (reborn) is shipping nationally on draft and 12 bottles.

Style: IPA
Hops: Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Mosaic, HBC 566, and HBC 682

Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft
Debut (New Recipe): January, 2017

6.5% ABV 

by Reid Ramsay