Headlines

Really big rabbits and Odell Flemish Giant

Odell Flemish Giant, a future potential release in the brewery’s Cellar Series.

Consider this beer a tribute to the Belgian Flanders-style that is inspiring so many brewers in America. Odell Flemish Giant will have spent a year hidden a way in oak by Continue Reading →

Anchor Liberty IPA to debut soon

Anchor Liberty IPA, an all new IPA debuts this month.

San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing has some pretty hardcore bragging rights when it comes to India pale ale in the United States. In case someone asks you, they were one of the Continue Reading →

Posted in Avery Brewing, Headlines

Avery Apricot Sour joins ‘Botanicals’ as 4th release

Avery Apricot Sour, the fourth installment of the brewery’s Botanicals & Barrels Series, debuts at month’s end.

The barrel-aged series debuted with Raspberry Sour in May of 2015. Not long after, Vanilla Bean Stout was added to the series, and most recently Tangerine Quadrupel Ale.

The brewery is leaning back “tart” with Avery Apricot Sour. Just like its predecessors, each beer comprises of the four usual beer ingredients, and one specially chosen outside ingredient. The same mixed sour and wild culture in Raspberry Sour is used Apricot, with more lactic acid in the finished beer.

“As the second sour of the series, it is brewed with the same bacterial and yeast cocktail as Raspberry Sour, however the result is a more lactic beer with minimal malt character and a ton of apricot”. – Special Project Brewer Leigh Audin

Avery Apricot Sour will be available in 22 ounce bottles and draft starting January 30th.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Apricots. Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: 1/30/17

7.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in SweetWater Brewing, Coming Soon, Headlines

SweetWater 20th Anniversary Ale gets funky in February

Marking the double decade milestone, SweetWater 20th Anniversary Ale will debut in February.

If we could sum up the just the last 5 years of Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing Company, it would be growth. The brewery has jumped from a 25 barrel brewhouse to a 400 barrel system, added cans, expanded lab and quality control, added distribution states, bottle conditioning. and most recently, a multi-million dollar sour & wild facility. So much good coming out of 195 Ottley Drive.

In February, the brewery will mark their 20th year with a party featuring the band Moe. as well as releasing SweetWater 20th Anniversary Ale.

For the past few years, SweetWater has been working on their own house blend of Brettanomyces. A part from some small batch releases, this is the first time the beer has seen the big time. The base beer is an imperial IPA brewed with brewery staple “hop hash”. (Hash is the potent chunks leftover after hops are pelletized.)

Described as extremely hop forward, the American wild ale is fruity, herbal, and citrusy, with a touch of funk in the finish.

Can’t make the party? SweetWater 20th Anniversary Ale will be available in 750 milliliter bottles in mid to late February, 2017.

Style: American Wild Ale
Hops: Bravo, Mosaic, Citra
Malts: Pilsner, Maris Ottler, Wheat, Flaked Oats, Midnight Wheat

Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft.
Debut: February, 2017

9% ABV, 81 IBUs

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines

Creature Comforts to open second facility in Athens

Athens, Georgia based Creature Comforts has maxed out production at their current facility. A second location is in the works.

The brewery has selected the historic Southern Mill complex on nearby North Chase Street for the second facility. The mill was originally built in 1900, and is currently being redeveloped into a mixed-use development.

The new location will add an additional 50,000 barrels of extra capacity, in addition to the 28,000 barrels being produced at the downtown location. (That’s around 2.4 million gallons of beer annually.) Creature Comforts notes that the expansion will bring 25,000 barrels of Tropicalia into production annually.

The second 36,000 square foot facility will house a 85 barrel, four vessel brewhouse from Steinecker, a 24-head rotary Krones canner, and an initial fermentation capacity of 50,000 barrels.

Creature Comforts is investing $8 million dollars in the new location. Ground breaking will occur in May, with completion in October, 2017.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Dogfish Head, Headlines, New Releases

The newest “a-peeling” can: Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood

Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA has been canned for the first time, following 60 Minute IPA the Delaware brewery’s new can lineup.

Fruit nuanced India pale ales have taken the beer world by storm over the past year, and 2017 will be no different. The beer debuted in 2016 in the brewery’s “Occasionals” lineup, but demand is dictating otherwise. Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA has been promoted to year-round status, exclusively in aluminum.

Flesh & Blood’s base is an imperial IPA, brewed with fresh lemon flesh, and blood orange juice.

 “We’ve been experimenting with fruit and citrus IPA’s since 1996 when we released Aprihop, an IPA brewed with apricots. The India Pale Ale is the biggest craft beer style in America and the most popular breakout subset style in the fruit IPA. We think the fruit IPA category will surge the fastest in 2017 and we are proud of Dogfish Head’s innovator position in this realm.” – Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head founder and CEO

Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA as well as 60 Minute IPA are now shipping to all distribution markets as of January, 2017.

Style: Imperial IPA (w/ Lemons, Blood Orange)
Availability: 12oz Cans. Year-Round
Debut (Cans): January, 2017

8.5% ABV

Image: Dogfish Head

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Odell Brewing, Coming Soon, Headlines

Really big rabbits and Odell Flemish Giant

Odell Flemish Giant, a future potential release in the brewery’s Cellar Series.

Consider this beer a tribute to the Belgian Flanders-style that is inspiring so many brewers in America. Odell Flemish Giant will have spent a year hidden a way in oak by the time you have this in your hands. Flemish Giant features flavors of raisins, figs and plum.

Recently, the brewery released Prop Culture in the Cellar Series.

Native to Belgium, the Flemish Giant is a breed of rabbit that dates back to the 16th century and tips the scales at 20 lbs. Burrowed in oak barrels for a year, Flemish Giant is our tribute to this prodigious hare and it’s homeland, the birthplace of the Flanders-style Sour Red Ale. Look for notes of tart ruby grapefruit and cherry to hop to the nose while sweet raisin, fig and plum favors thump the palette.

Ghent, Belgium is thank for one of the largest rabbits on earth – the Flemish Giant. First bred in the 16th century, the rabbit weighs on average around 15 pounds. (Honestly, there is a Monty Python movie sense that comes to mind.)

Odell Flemish Giant will be a 750 milliliter bottle release. The brewery has not yet announced this beer.

Style: Flanders Red Ale (Oak Aged.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: TBA

6.6% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Bruery, Headlines

The Bruery The Order ships nationally this month

Shipping nationally this month is new The Bruery The Order, a Belgian-style ale.

Taking a page from monastic breweries, The Bruery The Order is a Belgian-style abbey ale, brewed with dates and coriander spicing.

Monastic breweries wrote the book on complex ales that weave notes of dark fruits, spices, caramelized character and warmth into each sip. The Order summons that tradition and adds local inspiration. Our darkening, Belgian-inspired abbey ale features dark-fruited character from dates, Belgian-style sugars and subtle spicing from coriander, which compliments the Belgian yeast esters.

The Bruery The Order releases to the brewery’s Society members this week, publicly on January 17th.

Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (w/ Dates, Coriander, Candi Sugar.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft.
Debut: January 17, 2017

Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI

10.6% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Anchor Brewing, Headlines

Anchor Liberty IPA to debut soon

Anchor Liberty IPA, an all new IPA debuts this month.

San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing has some pretty hardcore bragging rights when it comes to India pale ale in the United States. In case someone asks you, they were one of the first to brew it. Liberty Ale is as historic as it is tasty.

IPA is the the most popular style in the craft brewing segment. It constantly evolves, tastes change, and new hop varieties hit the market. Anchor, much like many other established breweries, realize this.

This new recipe features Cascade hops, plus newer varieties of El Dorado, and Nelson Sauvin. The resulting IPA is “mouthwateringly complex and robust aromas of pine and citrus in this crisp, American-style IPA.”

Liberty IPA is our re-imaging of craft-brew classic Liberty Ale, envisioned through the lens of today’s IPAs. We first brewed Liberty Ale in 1975, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere’s midnight ride. This revolutionary forerunner of the modern IPA introduced America to the Casade hoping nearly lost art of dry-hopping. Like its predescor, Liberty IPA is made with two-row pale malt and Cascade hops. It is the combination of Cascade with new hop varieties -in both brewhouse and cellar – that creates the mouthwateringly complex and robust aromas of pine and citrus in this crisp, American-style IPA. The label, like Liberty Ale’s, features a bald eagle, whose symbolism runs deep for all Americans including Native Americans.

Anchor Liberty IPA will be a 12 ounce bottle and draft release nationally starting in January, 2017 for a limited time.

Style: IPA
Hops: Cascade, Plus new varieties.
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft
Debut: January, 2017

6.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay