American Strong Ales

7 Stone Beer Blend: Mixtape Debuts Today

A blend of 7 different Stone Brewing beers debuts today.  Mixtape Ale – GK & LU’s Blend Volume 1, is a blend of Stone Levitation IPA, Smoked Porter and Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, plus library beers including 2011 Imperial Russian Stout and Continue Reading →

He’Brew Funky Jewbelation Sneaky Peeky

Coming in March from Shmaltz Brewing – He’Brew Funky Jewbelation.  #6 in the brewery’s barrel aged series.  Check out this label sneaky-peeky of Da Funk the brew will be bringing…

About Funky:
The sixth member in the Limited Engagement Barrel-Aged Continue Reading →

Abita Bourbon Barrel 25th

Abita Brewing is now shipping a bourbon barrel edition of their 25th Anniversary Ale.  Released a little over 4 months ago, 25th is a double edition of Turbodog, brewed with vanilla beans.  The bourbon edition has spent over 5 months Continue Reading →

Lost Abbey Deliverance Released Today

This small batch blended ale from Lost Abbey is released today (1/7/12).  A blend of bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout and brandy barrel-aged Angels Share, Deliverance is the epic battle being waged between heaven and hell for Continue Reading →

Stone & Bottleworks Celebrate With 13th

Bottleworks is a specialty beer store based in Seattle, Washington.  They have close to 1,000 bottles, growlers, and cellared beers, even chocolate.  This year they celebrate their 13th Anniversary.  Each year they do a special collaboration with a Continue Reading →

Posted in New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

7 Stone Beer Blend: Mixtape Debuts Today

A blend of 7 different Stone Brewing beers debuts today.  Mixtape Ale – GK & LU’s Blend Volume 1, is a blend of Stone Levitation IPA, Smoked Porter and Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, plus library beers including 2011 Imperial Russian Stout and Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout infused with sage, peppers and lemon thyme.  GK = Greg Koch. LU = Laura Ulrich.

This isn’t Koch’s first foray into blending. He’s been at it for some time. One example that sticks out in my memory was his blend of multiple years of Stone Imperial Russian Stout. With its bringing together of greatly differing beer styles, this “mixed tape” is more ambitious.

The beer will debut tonight at Neighborhood in San Diego, California tonight at 6 pm.

Neighborhood
777 G Street
San Diego, California 92101 

[SanDiegoReader]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Terrapin Beer Company

Terrapin 10th Anniversary Ale with a little fun math

 

Terrapin Beer Co celebrates 10 years in April, 2012.  As promised by the brewery, the label contains a mathematical equation.  The guy you see there is Leonard Euler, and his equation,  Euler’s Identity.   Many mathematically inclined tout his identity equation as one of the most beautiful in the world.  Beautiful?  Totally.  Euler’s Identity combines 5 math constants, and 3 arithmetic operations.  It’s pretty fascinating if you’re into that kind of thing.  (Don’t worry, you don’t have to do the math as you can see.)

Here’s the beer equation: Chouffe yeast, coriander, 2 types of orange peel, chamomile, nelson sauvin hops.  You’ll see it around Terrapin’s Carnival time.

Style: American Strong Ale
Hops: Nelson Sauvin
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release. 
Arrival: April 2012

9.969% ABV

The quote on the label is actually by Benjamin Pierce, speaking about Euler’s Identity.   The actual equation looks like this.  The gif below demonstrates the equation.

It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don’t know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Shmaltz Brewing

He’Brew Funky Jewbelation: A 6 Barrel Aged Blend

He'Brew Funky JewbelationI keep mentioning this newbie coming soon from Shmaltz – mainly because it sounds like it is going to be fantastic.  Above is the spiffy bottle artwork for the He’Brew Funky Jewbelation release.  The brewery has plans on blending & bottling on Monday and will ship out shortly after.

Funky Jewbelation breaks down like this:

Jewbelation Fifteen – Aged 3 months
Vintage Jewbelation – Aged 9 months
Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. – Aged 1 month
Origin – Aged 14 months Reunion Ale ’11 – Aged 7 months
Messiah – Aged 14 months

That brings the barrel math to 73% aged in rye whiskey,  27% aged in bourbon barrels.  It’s the 6th barrel age

Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 22oz bombers, Draft
Arrival: Late March, 2012

9.8% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Shmaltz Brewing

He’Brew Funky Jewbelation Sneaky Peeky

Coming in March from Shmaltz Brewing – He’Brew Funky Jewbelation.  #6 in the brewery’s barrel aged series.  Check out this label sneaky-peeky of Da Funk the brew will be bringing…

About Funky:
The sixth member in the Limited Engagement Barrel-Aged series, Funky Jewbelation® will feature a blend of six Shmaltz beers aged in bourbon and rye whisky barrels for 2 to 14 months depending on the style, and will dance in at about 9.5% alc. Past barrel-aged all-stars also include 2010 Great American Beer Festival Silver Medalist HE’BREW R.I.P.A. on Rye®;

2011 World Beer Championships Gold Medalists HE’BREW Vertical Jewbelation® and Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead®; and the 99-rated (on RateBeer.com) HE’BREW Genesis 15:15®, a 15% ABV barleywine brewed with grapes, figs, dates, and pomegranates, which was released in Fall 2011.

Style: Strong Ale (Barrel Aged)
Availability: March/April, 2012

?? ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Abita Brewing

Abita Bourbon Barrel 25th

Abita Brewing is now shipping a bourbon barrel edition of their 25th Anniversary Ale.  Released a little over 4 months ago, 25th is a double edition of Turbodog, brewed with vanilla beans.  The bourbon edition has spent over 5 months in barrels.

About 25th:
The robust dark ale has flavors of chocolate, toffee and vanilla. It’s brewed with generous amounts of pale, caramel and chocolate malts and Willamette hops. Whole natural vanilla beans are added during the aging process. 25th Anniversary Vanilla Doubledog is packaged in a commemorative, 22-ounce bottle illustrated with a design inspired by classic New Orleans wrought iron. This Doubledog brew is a tribute to Abita’s Turbodog, which was originally created as an anniversary beer in 1989. Today, Turbodog is an Abita Flagship brew and sold year-round.
Abita produced around 10 barrels (310 gallons) of this beer.  Sold in 7.75 gallon kegs, thats around 40 purported floating around in the wild.

Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged)
Additions: Vanilla Beans
Availability: Draft only. One time brewed.

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Lost Abbey, Seasonal Return

Lost Abbey Deliverance Released Today

This small batch blended ale from Lost Abbey is released today (1/7/12).  A blend of bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout and brandy barrel-aged Angels Share, Deliverance is the epic battle being waged between heaven and hell for the souls of mortal men… and your enjoyment in a glass.

Aroma — The expressive fight for souls on earth begins with molasses and raisins clashing for supremacy. There’s a struggle between licorice and caramel to see which will support with a dash of cocoa exuding as well.

Taste — A lively beer on the palette wrestling in a tug of war of sorts for your affection. At first there is booze. Then there are figgy notes with a rum edge that almost develops were it not for the bakers chocolate and bitterness that are somehow crushed by the long wave of ethanol numbing your receptors. Clearly this is not a beer for the faint of heart or weakened souls. This is fortuitous beer to accompany you on your journey to heaven or hell should you be delivered.

Style: American Strong Ale
Hops: Magnum
Availability: 12.7 oz bottles. No Draft release.

Flavor & Aroma Per Lost Abbey: 

Aroma — The expressive fight for souls on earth begins with molasses and raisins clashing for supremacy. There’s a struggle between licorice and caramel to see which will support with a dash of cocoa exuding as well.
Taste — A lively beer on the palette wrestling in a tug of war of sorts for your affection. At first there is booze. Then there are figgy notes with a rum edge that almost develops were it not for the bakers chocolate and bitterness that are somehow crushed by the long wave of ethanol numbing your receptors. Clearly this is not a beer for the faint of heart or weakened souls. This is fortuitous beer to accompany you on your journey to heaven or hell should you be delivered.

Release Details: 

On sale at the tap room on 1/7/12.  $15 a bottle, 6 bottle limit.   After today, the beer will go into LA’s full distribution network.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone & Bottleworks Celebrate With 13th

Stone Bottleworks 13th Anniversary

Bottleworks is a specialty beer store based in Seattle, Washington.  They have close to 1,000 bottles, growlers, and cellared beers, even chocolate.  This year they celebrate their 13th Anniversary.  Each year they do a special collaboration with a west coast brewery – last years being  XII from The Bruery.  This year’s Imagination Series beer is on from Stone Brewing – 13th Anniversary Ale.

13th boasts 13 hop additions, and 13 malt additions.  Strong Ale anyone?

When it came time to brew Bottleworks’ 13th anniversary beer, we turned to Stoen to brew this behemoth.  “The Matts” travelled down to San Diego in December to help create this 13-hop, 13-grain monument to our 13 years of selling great craft beer!

Style: American Strong Ale (or barleywine)
Hops:  Bravo, Target, Columbus, Cascade, Delta, Warrior, Magnum, Apollo, Calypso, Perle, Galena, Chinook, Mt. Hood
Malts:  Pale 2-Row, White Wheat, Aromatic, Weyermann Chocolate Rye, Light Munich, Brown Crisp, Oats, Crisp Light Crystal, Caramunich, Baird’s Chocolate, Lightly Peated, Simpsons Dark Crystal, Crisp Amber

Availability: 22oz bombers. Sales limited to Bottleworks. Seattle, Washington
Arrival: TBA

13% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay