New Releases

The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man

The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man debuts on November 28th.

By now a song by either The Spinners or T.I. is stuck in your head. There’s a Richmond, Virginia based brewery that has a beer to go with the tune. The Continue Reading →

Posted in Terrapin Beer Company, Headlines, New Releases

All about Galaxy hops. Terrapin Beyond the Galaxy debuts in January

Terrapin Beyond the Galaxy, a single-hopped IPA debuts in January 2018. 

If you haven’t picked it up in the name, Terrapin Beyond the Galaxy is all about one single hop. One of the most sought after in the brewing industry – Galaxy. Thanks to this Australian born hop, Beyond the Galaxy is full of tropical fruit and pineapple flavors, according to Terrapin.

Beyond the Galaxy is deep gold in color with a soft, juicy bitterness that will take you on a voyage where no man has gone before.

Sad news for the fans of Terrapin Mosaic IPA. This new single-hopped creation will send Mosaic into retirement.

Terrapin Beyond the Galaxy will be available in 12-ounce cans and draft in January 2018 as an early spring seasonal.

Style: IPA
Hops: Galaxy

Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Spring Seasonal.
Debut: January 2018

6.3% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

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

Throwout the playbook on barleywines. Monday Night Entente Cordiale just changed the rules

For years now we’ve tried various attempts at brewers recreating the famed “chocolate orange” dessert in fermented form. Quite a few came close. Monday Night Entente Cordiale gets it right.

First of all, throw out everything you know about a barleywine. You won’t need that info here. Sure, Monday Night Entente Cordiale is a barleywine, or at least was – at one point in time. What is it now? A symphony of nuanced flavors that hide the 13% alcohol by volume perfectly.

“Every bit of this beer is intentional,” says Peter Kiley, Monday Night’s Head Brewer. “We didn’t just have some empty barrels and decide to throw something into them.”

As a kid, Kiley loved the Chocolate Orange candy, especially around Christmas. They are pretty big in England, plus the base beer being an English-style barleywine, the idea was already taking shape. Monday Night’s first barleywine appeared back in 2014, at the hands of the brewery’s creative (experimental) brewer, Josh Johnson. “It came out great,” Kiley says, but like everything else we are doing, it about finding the time to scale up the recipe and do it right.

Kiley stuck with thoughts of Chocolate Orange dancing in his head, and Johnson with his English-style barleywine, Monday Night Entente Cordiale was born.

Every addition to Entente plays into the stylistic weakness. Barleywines are big and boozy and hard to approach for some. Cognac barrels plus some fresh orange zest add a citrusy flavor to the big caramel notes of the base beer. The almost creamy, dessert-like flavor is thanks to whole cocoa nibs and vanilla beans Entente Cordiale was laid to rest for months on.

Kiley and Johnson absolutely nailed it. For years we’ve drank various beers inspired by the Chocolate Orange candy. Many come close. Monday Night achieved it in the most unlikely way, with the most unlikely style. No imperial stout or even English-style porter here. A barleywine that is high on the alcohol by volume but you wouldn’t know it, that tastes like a creamy, subtle mix of the chocolate orange candy or dare we say it – Grand Marnier.

All in all, that what you can expect from Monday Night’s new Garage facility. Creative, deliberate beers. “The Garage will be innately polarizing,” says Kiley. “People will most likely love it or hate it.”

Monday Night Entente Cordiale has limited availability in market now, on draft and 750-milliliter bottles.

Style: Barleywine (w/ Cocoa Nibs. Orange Zest. Vanilla Beans. Barrel Aged. Cognac.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft.)
Debut: Christmas Week, 2017

13% ABV

About the name: Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on April 8, 1904 between the United Kingdom. Ireland and the French Third Republic which saw a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations.

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

Far from evil & damn tasty: Schlafly The Devil’s Farmhouse

Schlafly The Devil’s Farmhouse joins the Rare Ibex Series on December 22nd.

Schlafly Brewery is one of the biggest names in Saint Louis, Missouri brewing. The 26-year-old brewery is known for a great many beers, but none so hard to come by as the Ibex Rare Series. Don’t feel bad if you aren’t too familiar with Schlafly Ibex. They are truly limited to just a few thousand bottles, whenever a beer decides that it’s ready.

For the second time this year, the Ibex Rare Series has born another unique fruit – The Devil’s Farmhouse. The name doesn’t conjure up thoughts of Christmas, but the design and rarity are indeed perfect for the season. Something truly special, worth sipping with loved ones.

A plethora of malts, including rye, wheat, and dark malt is what the Brettanomyces has been feasting on for over a year. This is no ordinary farmhouse ale. It’s every bit as dark, brooding and complex as the devil himself, hardened by 18 months of aging in wine barrels with sweet red cherries and black currants. Every sip is a wave of farmhouse Bretty funk, tart, and fruity flavors, with the slightest hint of oak. You are sipping little nuances of oaky time, captured in a sexy 750-milliliter bottle.

No this isn’t a beer for mass consumption. Nor is it something easily replicated. It’s beer and brewer passion, elevated. In this case, the devil is truly in the details.

Schlafly The Devil’s Farmhouse will be available starting December 21st in the brewery’s tap room, plus limited distribution, $30 dollars each.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Black Currants. Cherries. Wine Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles. Limited release.
Debut: 12/22/17

7.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Red Brick Brewing, New Releases

Strap in, Red Brick Journey Without Maps is just the start of great things

Red Brick Journey Without Maps Double IPA is a gamechanger for Atlanta’s oldest brewery. Every drop in this can marks the start of the beginning of something new for the first brewery on Atlanta’s Westside.

The name might very well be an allusion to their decades of brewing in the Empire State of the South, and their every-so-often bumpy path that brings us to today. Red Brick Brewing’s (or, the artist formerly known as Atlanta Brewing Company) journey might have needed a map at times, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t exactly where they need to be now.

If you think of the city’s brew scene like a high school lunch table, you have the hipsters (Monday Night Brewing), the hippies (SweetWater), the artistic kids (Wild Heaven), band geeks (Orpheus), and the video game playing nerds of Red Brick. They’ve always done their own thing and we have a real soft spot for that. After this release, it might be hard to call these folks the “nerds” anymore.

California native and brewmaster Garett Lockhart was named President of the brewery back in 2015. Hailing from a state that not only boasts more than 500 breweries but sets the bar high for the rest of America’s breweries, there was no doubt he was going bring that flair to Atlanta’s oldest. In the beer industry, change is good. Really good.

Hitting the gas pedal on the future didn’t stop at Lockhart, but it was also the recent addition of Gavin McKenna as the Director of Brewing Operations. He spent years working with Neal Engleman at nearby Wrecking Bar. With McKenna at the kettle, the future is bright.

Red Brick Journey Without Maps Double IPA is a fantastic example of what’s coming from this brewery. It’s a massive departure from the India pale ales you’ve seen from Red Brick. This new kid features Citra, Eukanot, and Denali hops, with a touch of wheat a flaked oats; very embodiment of the “modern IPA” with a huge hoppy nose, a wave of tropical juicy hops, and soft but slightly bitter finish. Do you want haze? Red Brick literally has this marked on a map. Just find the tap room.

Redbrick Journey Without Maps Double IPA will be available in 16-ounce cans at the brewery starting December 7th (a day that still lives in infamy).

Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Citra, Eukanot, Denali
Malts: 2 Row, Wheat, Flaked Oats

Debut: 12/7/17

8.1% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases, The Veil Brewing

The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man

The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man debuts on November 28th.

By now a song by either The Spinners or T.I. is stuck in your head. There’s a Richmond, Virginia based brewery that has a beer to go with the tune. The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man is available for the first time this week.

Imperial doesn’t cut it when describing this beer. The Veil calls this a “quadruple IPA” that breaks the 13% alcohol by volume mark.

Hopped with an irresponsible amount of Citra, Enigma, Amarillo, and Mosaic. This one is outta boundz!

The Veil Brewing Rubber Band Man is available starting Tuesday, November 28th at in 16-ounce cans.

Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Citra, Enigma, Amarillo, Mosaic

Availability: 16oz Cans
Debut: 11/28/17

13.1% ABV

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

Nutella inspired Terrapin Moo-Tella truly delivers

Terrapin Moo-Tella has joined the brewery’s Special Reserve Series.

This specialty lineup started in 2013 with a white chocolate edition of Moo-Hoo, Terrapin’s chocolate milk stout. After a heated round of fan voting, White Chocolate Moo-Hoo snagged a return to the series again (on shelves now).

Since White Chocolate, the series has grown to include dessert inspired releases like French Toasted Wake-n-Bake, and Tiramisu-Hoo.

Now for Terrapin Moo-Tella. The Nutella inspired beer uses their Moo-Hoo Milk Stout, brewed with Nashville based Olive & Sinclair cocoa nibs, and a touch of hazelnut syrup. Brewery co-founder “Spike” Buchowski chose the syrup route because of potential nut allergy issues. Don’t let that slow you down. Moo-Tell really delivers.

Terrapin’s Special Reserve Series milk stouts are a bit more robust and bold than their seasonal Moo-Hoo. As far as Moo-Tella is concerned, the beer truly delivers a Nutella-inspired experience. The nose is a blend of hazelnut and chocolate, with a creamy milk chocolate finish that becomes more and more like the dessert spread as it warms.

Our 2017 Reserve Series release ‘Moo-Tella,” is a Chocolate Imperial Milk Stout so decadent you could eat it with a spoon. The intermingling of Olive and Sinclair chocolate and the rich flavor of hazelnuts creates an experience so pleasurable it should be shared with friends.

Terrapin Moo-Tella is now available in16.9-ounce bottles hitting the market the week of November 12th.

Style: Milk Stout (w/ Hazelnut. Cocoa Nibs. Lactose.)
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles. Limited Release.
Debut: November 2017

8.5% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, New Releases

Bell’s Christmas Ale returns with a boozier new recipe

Bell’s Christmas Ale is hitting shelves ahead of the 2017 holiday season with an updated recipe. 

What sets this Christmas release by Bell’s Brewing apart, is that it is actually brewed without spices, which isn’t always easy to find in winter seasonals. For years this beer has been a standout on shelves among winter warmers and strong stouts.

Bell’s Roundhouse returns in cans

For the 2017 season, Bell’s has updated the recipe, changing it into a traditional Scotch ale. The brewery describes this new recipe as having “rich and malty with notes of caramel and a warm finish.” The old recipe finished a little over 5% alcohol by volume. The new version is 7.5%.

This traditional Scotch Ale is rich and malty with notes of caramel and a warm finish. Certain to make any occasion festive, or at least a bit more bearable. Enjoy with the company of friends and family.

Bell’s Christmas Ale is available through the end of the year in 12-ounce bottles and draft.

Style: Scotch Ale
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft. Winter Seasonal.
Release: November – December 2017

5.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay