Seasonal Return

Left Hand Oktoberfest Seasonal Returns

Summer is winding down, and fest beers are arriving. Left Hand Oktoberfest marks the transition into cooler days.

If the brewery is continuing their brewing trend, Left Hand started work on this malty lager this past spring. It takes two months to Continue Reading →

Posted in Left Hand Brewing, Seasonal Return

Left Hand Oktoberfest Seasonal Returns

Summer is winding down, and fest beers are arriving. Left Hand Oktoberfest marks the transition into cooler days.

If the brewery is continuing their brewing trend, Left Hand started work on this malty lager this past spring. It takes two months to perfect.

In the past thanks to the pains of brewery expansions, Oktoberfest wasn’t found in every market. Fans will be happy to know it’s in all the brewery’s markets these days. Fest follows this summer’s Good JuJu in the seasonal lineup.

Pouring a brilliant copper in color, the märzen lager entices the imbiber with notes of warm biscuit reminiscent of home and fall tradition. Oktoberfest begins with the toasty sweetness of the malt up front while the noble pedigree hops allow for a dry crisp finish at 6.6% ABV.

Left Hand Oktoberfest is available in 12-ounce bottles and draft, seasonally.

Style: Oktoberfest
Hops: Magnum and Spalter Select
Malts: Munich and Pilsner

Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft
Distribution:

6.6% ABV

Fun Fact: Head Brewer Guenzel’s silhouette is blended in the left side of lion’s mane, a signature feature of many of Left Hand’s beer labels.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Veil Brewing, Seasonal Return

The haziest batch yet: The Veil Brewing Master Shredder

The Veil Brewing Master Shredder is back on sale again this week – the brewery’s “house” India pale ale.

This “house IPA” is a staff favorite and called “super crushable.” This batch is apparently the haziest batch they’ve released to date. The August 8th release is the last round of this beer for a few months.

The Veil Brewing Master Shredder is available in 16-ounce cans at the brewery in Richmond, Virginia. $14/pack.

Style: IPA
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Latest Return: 8/8/17

5.5% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Hop Concept Brewing, Seasonal Return

The Hop Concept Mosaic and Eureka IPA is back for only the second time

The Hop Concept Mosaic and Eureka IPA is hitting shelves again this month – only the second this beer has appeared.

The hoppy wing of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey says heavyweights Eureka and the Mosaic hops meet in this India pale ale. Together, the two bring everything from pine to tropical fruits into each sip.

Mosaic, probably one of the most aptly named hops fuses an array of tropical fruits, citrus, and berry with mild herbal, earthy, and pine characteristics. Heady Eureka hops emphasize heavy pine, underlined by mild floral notes and rounded out with dank aromas.

The Hop Concept head brewer Steve Churchill loves Mosaic hops, and this year’s allotment is some of the best they had. Pairing them with Eureka is a big flavor bonus.

Look for The Hop Concept Mosaic and Eureka IPA in 22-ounce bottles starting the first week of August.

Style: IPA
Hops: Eureka, Mosaic
Availability: 22oz Bottles
Latest Return: August, 2017

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale is back on summer shelves

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale is available once again ahead of the fall season.

In a fast paced world of seasonals and one-off releases, tried and true beers like Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin – incidentally one of the most popular of its style, has found earlier and earlier release dates over the past few years.

This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! We have added lots of pumpkin along with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove, giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor.

Imperial Pumpkin and Southern Tier’s Pumking are typically the first pumpkin beers on shelves, even when there are plenty of pool days left.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale is available in 12-ounce bottles and draft, seasonally.

Style: Pumpkin Beer
Hops: Simcoe
Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft. July- November, Seasonal.

8% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Funky Buddha, Seasonal Return

Snap, Crackle & Beer. Funky Buddha Sticky Treats returns

Funky Buddha Sticky Treats returns to the brewery’s lineup again on July 16th. Let the dessert drinking begin.

As a kid you craved Rice Krispie treats. As an adult, eating them doesn’t bode well for your waistline. Funky Buddha has the perfect solution for you – Sticky Treats.

As the name suggests, this beer is all about the sticky dessert bar. Funky Buddha Sticky Treats is a blonde ale, brewed with marshmallow and touch of rice for authenticity. This beer is light and smooth, and quite vanilla forward. Our unofficial estimates say that this beer has less sugar than the dessert. But WAY more alcohol. That’s winning as far was we are concerned.

Sticky Treats will be available at the brewery in Oakland Park, Florida on Sunday, July 16th. 22-ounce bottles are $7 dollars, with no sales limit.

Style: Blonde Ale (w/ Rice. Marshmallows.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.
Latest Release: 7/16/17

?? ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Birds Fly South Ale Project, Seasonal Return

Birds Fly South Paper Airplanes is all the funk you love

Birds Fly South Paper Airplanes is returning to the Greenville, South Carolina brewery’s lineup again on Thursday.

The Brettanomyces forward pale ale is brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops, and fermented in the brewery’s oak foudres.

Our fully funky Brett-centric pale ale! Once our Brettanomyces Foudre has reached a sweet spot, we begin a long blending and re-fermentation process with a fresh Belgian Pale Ale. We then dry hop with Nelson Sauvin to add a level of wine complexity that only this hop can provide. Slightly sour, all funk. Aged at least a month before release.

If you are a wild ale drinking, then your love affair with Brettanomyces yeast must be pretty strong by now. Look no further. Paper Airplanes requires a good bit of patience (a love) in order to get it right. Shawn Johnson, founder of Birds Fly South tells Beer Street Journal – “finding the sweet spot takes time. The beer tells US when it’s ready. Not the other way around. As far as flavor goes, think funky, musty, and of course, wild.

Birds Fly South Paper Airplanes is a 750 milliliter bottle offering, returning to the brewery’s lineup again on Thursday, July 13th.

Style: American Wild Ale (Oak/Foudre Aged)
Hops: Nelson Sauvin
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Latest Return: July, 2017

6% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal 

Paper Airplanes ages at the brewery in Greenville, SC

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Burial Beer Co, Seasonal Return

Burial Beer Winnower, with chocolate & raspberries

Burial Beer Winnower returns to cans and draft once again June 8th.

Asheville, North Carolina local French Broad Chocolates brought Burial Beer the cocoa nibs, and the brewery combined them with fresh raspberries. It was up to the brewers to find balance. Burial refers to the beer as an extreme luxury (a mortal sin). You decide.

What which we crave, we seek endlessly. Whether morning, noon, or night, our dreams are overrun with unearthly delights. Our eyes wide, seeking an out of body experience, lost in the depths of decadence. But we learn. The Winnower peels back the layers of excess, uncovering the beauty of balance. Blended among a backbone of well-kilned chocolate malts, our mild, black Porter rests upon 300 pounds of local, French Broad Chocolates cocoa nibs and an immense amount of crushed raspberries.

Burial Beer Winnower will be available 16oz cans (4 packs) at the brewery on June 8th.

Style: Porter (w/ Raspberries, Cocoa Nibs.)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Distribution: NC, GA, NY

Debut: 3/10/17
Latest Return: 7/8/17

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay