American Strong Ales

Weyerbacher Rhumpshaka Hits in April

A little something to drool over, especially if you are a fan of barrel aged beers. Weyerbacher Brewing (Easton, PA) Rhumpshaka.

The brewery took an 11% abv beer brewed with mostly pilsner malt and a touch of oats, and aged it Continue Reading →

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Bombers Arrive

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball fan? The brewery’s November release has arrived in bombers. The beer is an American strong ale.

A roasty, toasty, malty, hangover-halting beer. Especially formulated for when you wake up feelin’ like you need to shave your eyeballs to Continue Reading →

DuClaw’s Old Flame, Reignited

Don’t think about your ex at Christmas. Think about Duclaw’s Old Flame.

“A union of fruity esters and rich caramel malt sweetness, will seduce your senses and rekindle forgotten passions, while a warming 7% abv drowns your sorrows, opening your heart to Continue Reading →

Stone Double Bastard Returns

Stone Brewing Co’s (Escondido, CA) American strong Ale Double Bastard has returned for another year. The beer has been brewed each year since 1998. Originally, Double Bastard celebrated the first anniversary of Arrogant Bastard Ale.

 “Double Bastard Ale is not to Continue Reading →

Posted in Coming Soon, Headlines, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher Rhumpshaka Hits in April

A little something to drool over, especially if you are a fan of barrel aged beers. Weyerbacher Brewing (Easton, PA) Rhumpshaka.

The brewery took an 11% abv beer brewed with mostly pilsner malt and a touch of oats, and aged it for 9 months in 12 year old rum barrels. (Some date back to 1982.)

The resulting beer is unfiltered and has a profound boozy character. Huge coconut and passionfruit-like aromas fill your nose. The heat from the rum is immediately apparent and blends well with the vanilla and coconut flavors, which linger on your palate. It’s a sweeter finish with tannic notes commensurate with extended barrel aging.

“Rhum” is the old world way of spelling rum. Production is limited to 90 cases of 750ml bottles.

Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged. Rum)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Arrival: April, 2014

11% ABV

Enjoy this.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Lagunitas, Seasonal Return

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Bombers Arrive

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball fan? The brewery’s November release has arrived in bombers. The beer is an American strong ale.

A roasty, toasty, malty, hangover-halting beer. Especially formulated for when you wake up feelin’ like you need to shave your eyeballs to see the new day.

Style: American Strong Ale
Availability: 22oz bombers. November seasonal.

9.4% ABV 56 IBUs

Pic via @GreensBeer

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Duclaw Brewing, Seasonal Return

DuClaw’s Old Flame, Reignited

Don’t think about your ex at Christmas. Think about Duclaw’s Old Flame.

“A union of fruity esters and rich caramel malt sweetness, will seduce your senses and rekindle forgotten passions, while a warming 7% abv drowns your sorrows, opening your heart to a new love.”

This strong ale will help you celebrate the season the right now. Boozy.  Find this love at Duclaw’s locations on December 11th & 12th.

Style: Strong Ale
Availability: on draft, 12 oz bottles
Arrival: 12/11/13

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines, New Releases, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

Speakeasy Launches Blended Barrel Aged Series

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers (San Francisco, CA) is releasing a new, blended, barrel aged series called The Syndicate.

Each release will feature a blend of strong ales that have spend 9 months or longer aging in various American spirit barrels. For Syndicate No. 1, Brewmaster Kushal Hall made the blend in basically the the same way winemakers blend.

“This is certainly the most unique beer we’ve ever produced,” said Kushal Hall of the project. “There were so many factors to consider in the creation of this beer—the collective recipe writing, the brewing & fermentation of each of the component beers, the aging of each beer in the different types of bourbon barrels, and how the individual beers interacted with each barrel. We had to see how the the wood reacted with the beer and how the malts broke down and created new flavors.”

Syndicate No. 01 is a blend of six beers matured between 12-26 months in various bourbon barrels. The base beer was Old Godfather Barleywine (51%) which was aged for over two years. The rest of the blend breaks down like this –

The whole recipe looks like this:

  • Old Godfather (51%) Barleywine aged 26 months
  • Black Hand Volume 1 (15%) Imperial Stout aged 13 months
  • Two Minutes to Midnight (14%) Imperial Stout aged 12 months
  • Betrayal (11%)
  • Imperial Red aged 12 months
  • Double Daddy (5%) Imperial IPA aged 12 months
  • Payback (3%)
  • Robust Porter aged 18 months

Syndicate No. 1 will be available at the tap room on December 5th, 2013 at 3 pm, celebrating the repeal of prohibition. A handful of bottles will hit west coast retailers.

Style: American Strong Ale (Blended. Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 22oz Bombers
Arrival: 12/5/13

10.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Breckenridge Brewing, Seasonal Return

Breckenridge Christmas Returns. Twice The Amount

Breckenridge Christmas Ale just turned 21 years old. It can now drink itself.

This spicy winter ale celebrates it’s 21st release with double the amount of keg cans in circulation. If you are in Colorado, a handful of hand labeled 1 liter gift bottles will be available. Sold at the tasting room in Denver, Colorado.

“The mini-keg is perfect for Christmas Ale” says Todd Thibault, Director of Marketing for the brewery. “It’s what craft beer is all about – gathering together to enjoy good company and good drink.”

Style: American Strong Ale
Hops: Chinook, Mt. Hood
Malts: Two Row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Black
Availability: 12oz bottles, Liter Cans. Nov-Dec, Annually.

7.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Double Bastard Returns

Stone Brewing Co’s (Escondido, CA) American strong Ale Double Bastard has returned for another year. The beer has been brewed each year since 1998. Originally, Double Bastard celebrated the first anniversary of Arrogant Bastard Ale.

 “Double Bastard Ale is not to be wasted on the tentative or weak. Only the Worthy are invited, and then only at your own risk.” It goes on, “This is one lacerative muther of an ale.” Since 1998, Double Bastard Ale has been released once a year to Worthy individuals seeking its company.

Double Bastard is available seasonally in 22oz bombers, and draft. It can be cellared also.

Style: American Strong Ale
Availability: 22oz bombers, Draft. Seasonal

11.2% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines, New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

Barrel Aged Stone Double Bastard, AKA “Southern Charred” Released

Stone Brewing Co’s Double Bastard is will make waves again in barrel aged form. Double Bastard, the brewery’s strong ale, spent 10 months in heavy charred Kentucky bourbon and American oak barrels. After that, it was transferred to second use bourbon barrels for another 13 months. That’s 23 months in total.

Southern Charred joins Stone’s coveted Quingenti Series, and Crime & Punishment on a national distribution scale.

The dark amber ale was brewed with a huge malt bill and a belligerent amount of hops making it a heavy, bitter beast of a beer.

Southern Charred, along with Crime & Punishment and the annual release of Double Bastard are now shipping. See where below.

Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged, Bourbon)
Availability: 500ml bottles. Draft. Very limited

Distribution: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS,  KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, and WA

Arrival: Ships 11/4/13

11.2% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay