Boulevard teased their drinking public with this boozy pic. Beers are being sampled from around 119 barrels in preparation for blending. Any guesses on the mystery beer?
Be on the lookout for this at upcoming festivals. Right now Sierra Nevada blending a bourbon barreled edition of Ovila Quad. Destined for festivals. There are other bourbon barrel Sierra Nevada beers out in the wild, including Barrel Aged Continue Reading →
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 →
You knew this beer as Abacus. ZD Wines has a wine called Abacus also. The winery thinks you are too dumb to know the difference, and sued Firestone Walker for trademark infringement. They settled out of court, and FW Continue Reading →
You’ve seen “My Antonia” twice. Once in the U.S. under the Birra Del Borgo label, and once under Dogfish Head Brewing’s label. It started a collaboration between the 2 breweries (you’ll see more about the brewery if they ever releases Continue Reading →
Had a little chat with the southeast’s most popular beer bachelor from Heavy Seas Brewing, Kevin Fox. Looks like the Baltimore based brewery has finalized details about their second Plank release. Just a recap – this series was announced in Continue Reading →
Haandbryggeriet is a small brewery just south of Oslo, Norway. In fact, they are so small the brewery is run on a voluntary basis in the brewers spare time. Haandbryggeriet is very innovative, as they experiment with numerous ingredients to Continue Reading →
Boulevard teased their drinking public with this boozy pic. Beers are being sampled from around 119 barrels in preparation for blending. Any guesses on the mystery beer?
Be on the lookout for this at upcoming festivals. Right now Sierra Nevada blending a bourbon barreled edition of Ovila Quad. Destined for festivals. There are other bourbon barrel Sierra Nevada beers out in the wild, including Barrel Aged Trippel, and Bourbon Fritz & Kens. Be on the lookout for a Barrel Aged Bigfoot this year too.
Note: A reader mentioned that this batch could be ANOTHER small batch edition of a Sierra Nevada Quadrupel. Is it Ovila? Pure speculation that it is. It’s been in the barrels for a while, which would have been around the same time Quad was bottled in preparation for shipment. Pure speculation on our part.
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.
You knew this beer as Abacus. ZD Wines has a wine called Abacus also. The winery thinks you are too dumb to know the difference, and sued Firestone Walker for trademark infringement. They settled out of court, and FW stopped using the Abacus name as of June, 2011. So that leaves the question – How the hell did they brewery decide on §ucaba? Imagine Abacus in a mirror. Backwards it would look pretty much like this Abacus = §ucabA. Hopefully ZD doesn’t sue for mirrored trademark infringement.
About the beer:
Big boozy bourbon and American oak aromas combined with soft chocolate malty undertones. Complex malt flavors framed in oak, with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla, tobacco, coconut and just a touch of dark cherry. This is definitely a sipping beer, best served in a brandy snifter. This ale pairs well with dark chocolate and sturdy cheeses.
Style: Barleywine (Barrel Aged)
Hops: Bittering–Bravo; Late Kettle–East Kent Golding
Malts: Munton’s Pale, Crisp Maris Otter Pale, Munich, Dark & Light Crystal, Chocolate
Availability: 22oz bombers, boxed. Limited Draft.
Arrival: Tap room debut, 1/28/12
Distro Area: CA, NV, OR, WA, AZ, CO, MO, Chicago, MA, NJ, NY, VA, PA, DC, MD
13% ABV
Release Party Deets:
The Beer formerly known as Abacus debuts with its new name on Saturday January 28, 2012 at the Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles CA.
Offerings for the day include:
– §ucaba and 13 other Firestone brews available for sampling
– $15 Cheese and sausage sampler (by Luna Red) paired with 4 Firestone beers (including §ucaba) and keep the embossed FW cheeseboard!
– $14 Pours of §ucaba in special Proprietors Reserve Tulip (by Rastal) and keep the glass!
Doors open at 11AM beer and food pairings available while they last!
For more information contact Hospitality Manager Veronica Jaurez:
[email protected]
(805)225-5911 ext 607
You’ve seen “My Antonia” twice. Once in the U.S. under the Birra Del Borgo label, and once under Dogfish Head Brewing’s label. It started a collaboration between the 2 breweries (you’ll see more about the brewery if they ever releases Brew Masters 6.) Sam Calagione brewed it at Borgo outside Rome, Italy, with owner/brewer Leonardo DiVencenzo in October 2008.
Headed stateside is a barrel aged Antonia – Old Antonia, coming this year. Ratebeer describes Old Antonia as this:
Double IPA version of the My Antonia only avaible on keg. Made for the “Un Mare di Birra” beer cruise.
Aged in Domaine Dupont calvados barrels (apple brandy) for more than a year.
Style: Imperial IPA (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 11.2 oz bottles
Arrival: TBA
11.2% ABV
Had a little chat with the southeast’s most popular beer bachelor from Heavy Seas Brewing, Kevin Fox. Looks like the Baltimore based brewery has finalized details about their second Plank release. Just a recap – this series was announced in early 2011. Plank is a brand new experiment by Heavy Seas showcasing unique wood aging treatments to add nuance and flavor to the beer. Each beer is allowed time to age on the wood during secondary fermentation. Plank I was an old ale aged yellow poplar – the first aged on that kind of wood.
That brings us to Plank II. It will be a doppelbock, aged on roasted eucalyptus and poplar. Heavy Seas has found that different head treatments applied to the wood changes the flavor profile, thus changing the beer. Hallertau hops will be used in this brew. (Brewing begins in January.)
Availability: 22oz bombers
Arrival: March, 2012.
7.5% ABV
note: Not official artwork. I did that in the car on the PA turnpike headed to the NHL Winter Classic
Haandbryggeriet is a small brewery just south of Oslo, Norway. In fact, they are so small the brewery is run on a voluntary basis in the brewers spare time. Haandbryggeriet is very innovative, as they experiment with numerous ingredients to make some really interesting brews. One in particular — Dark Force. Force is officially classified as a Russian Imperial Stout brewed with copious amounts of wheat malt. Its a creamy, chocolately, coffee laden delight.
A new Dark Force will U.S. glasses next year – Dark Force Reserva. It’s all the deliciousness of Dark Force, with oak barrel aging. It’s sounding delicious already.
Style: Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 16.9 oz bottles.
Arrival: No set date, 2012. Imported by Shelton Brothers
9% ABV
Below is the original Dark Force…
