One of Cigar City Brewing’s most sought after beers is Hunahpu. Hunahpu is imperial stout aged on Peruvian cacao nibs, ancho & pasilla chiles, cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla beans. It gets released at Hunahpu Day in the spring at the Continue Reading →
North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg, CA) plans on releasing “Grand Cru” this year. From the description, it is an ale brewed with agave nectar then aged in bourbon barrels.
Terrapin Brewing (Athens, GA) travelled to Jura, Switzerland in February to collaborate with Brasserie Franches Montagnes. (Actually, they were already on a European beer tour.) In the cold of winter, the two breweries created a rye based barleywine.
A beer 3 years in the making. The Lost Abbey will be release “Veritas” on May 28, 2011. This edition has been the most time consuming beer to produce to date by the brewery. Over the course of Continue Reading →
Avery Brewing’s Barrel Aged Series is widely popular & rare. Typically 50-60 cases are produced at the time. The 8th edition in this series is upon us. If you’re seeing the label, you’re pondering the name. Translating from Continue Reading →
Alesmith Brewing’s Decadence was first released in 2005 in honor of their 10th Anniversary. Each year the beer is released in honor of their anniversary in the fall, in varying styles. Previous styles include old ale, American strong ale, imperial Continue Reading →
Surly Brewing’s (Brooklyn Center, MN) fifth anniversary beer – “Five” will be available soon. Each year the beer is different, and nothing short of phenomenal. Last year I named Surly “Four” as one of the best beers I Continue Reading →
One of Cigar City Brewing’s most sought after beers is Hunahpu. Hunahpu is imperial stout aged on Peruvian cacao nibs, ancho & pasilla chiles, cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla beans. It gets released at Hunahpu Day in the spring at the brewery in Tampa.
Variations of Hunahpu have existed in the past, but only on draft. Cigar City looks to be bottling different versions of this imperial stout. Editions include all the spices above, aged in the following:
Hunahpu Aged In Whiskey – Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels
Hunahpu Aged in Rum – Flor De Cana Rum barrels
Hunahpu Aged in Bourbon – Four Roses Bourbon barrels
Typically, CC releases his beer only one day a year. These could be prep for the next Hunahpu Day (2012). At the last release day, CC offered up the same barrel aged variations of Marshal Zhukov, and Sea Bass.
North Coast’s Grand Cru To Feature Agave & Bourbon
North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg, CA) plans on releasing “Grand Cru” this year. From the description, it is an ale brewed with agave nectar then aged in bourbon barrels.
That’s pretty much all the info known at the moment. Judging by the size – looks like the bottle will be corked & caged like the Old Stock 2011 was.
Terrapin Brewing (Athens, GA) travelled to Jura, Switzerland in February to collaborate with Brasserie Franches Montagnes. (Actually, they were already on a European beer tour.) In the cold of winter, the two breweries created a rye based barleywine.
The barleywine – “Spike & Jerome’s Ale” is actually derived from 20% rye, 80% malted barley. Currently aging in rum barrels in Switzerland. The beer will be imported by B. United mid June for tapping by the end of June. bottles Mid-July.
Availability: 330ml swing top bottles BFM bottles (July). Draft (Late June). Limited to 20 kegs, 300 cases of bottles.
10% ABV
Other Terrapin News:
[unordered_list style=”bullet”]
Reunion Beer 2011 with Shmaltz Brewing will be brewed in July
4th Edition of Left Hand/Terrapin Midnight Project will be brewed this July also in Athens, GA. No style decided yet.
Side Project #16 – Flux Capacitor slated for winter 2011. A strong ale. Target ABV 12.1% ABV (1.21 gigawatts!) 88.8 IBUs (Miles an hour!) and full of Biff “Tannins”
SP# 15 “Indiana Krunkles” is doing very well, on shelves and in bars now.
A beer 3 years in the making. The Lost Abbey will be release “Veritas” on May 28, 2011. This edition has been the most time consuming beer to produce to date by the brewery. Over the course of the past 3 years, this strong ale has spent time in both wine and bourbon barrels.
The Lost Abbey Site Tells You All You need to know:
The Lost Abbey will release the next in its coveted Veritas small-batch barrel-aged beers on Saturday, May 28, 2011. The most complex and time-consuming beer released by the brewery to date, Veritas 009 took more than three years and periods in bourbon and wine barrels to create. With only 100 cases available, Veritas 009 will not reach general distribution and will be available for purchase directly from the brewery only. The 750ml cork-stoppered bottles will be $35 each and strictly limited to four bottles per person.
Veritas 009 is a substantial departure from earlier members of The Lost Abbey’s small batch experimental program, which were generally sour beers aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 15 months. Begun in late 2007 as dark base beer, it was sent to freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Kentucky’s Heaven Hill Distilleries. The beer aged for 15 months before it was moved into French oak barrels previously used for wine (primarily Syrah). Sour cherries were added and the beer was left to rest for another year and three months. Finally, in mid-2010, it was pulled from the barrels, blended, bottled and sent off to condition for an additional 11 months.
“It’s one of the most complex beers we’ve ever created,” Arthur said. “Veritas 009 has strong notes of cherry, red wine, cedar and dark cocoa accentuated by a pervasive acidity that makes for an incredibly deep finish. It’s an amazing beer and easily one of the most cellarable produced at The Lost Abbey. I have no doubt that it will drawn fans from both the craft beer and wine worlds.”
Interestingly, Veritas 009 came close to never being made available to the public. Begun as a private project of Arthur’s, the existence of the beer and the details behind it were kept secret until last year. Even after news of the beer leaked to the public Arthur declined to discuss it beyond acknowledging that he did indeed have a barrel-aging project referred to only as “KT”, a reference to the secretive order of the Knights Templar. It wasn’t until a sampling session that Arthur decided to move the beer into Lost Abbey’s public small batch program and release it as Veritas 009.
“There is so little and it took so long to perfect we actually considered issuing it as a private release, or not at all,” Arthur said. “But after sampling last week, we decided that it was just too good to keep hidden and the public should have access to it.”
A total of 117 cases (12 bottles each) of Veritas 009 were produced. 100 cases will be made available to the public on release day. More details are available below.
Veritas 009 Release Details
When: Saturday, May 28, 2011. 10am — 6pm
Where: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey — 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069 (click for directions)
Avery Brewing’s Barrel Aged Series is widely popular & rare. Typically 50-60 cases are produced at the time. The 8th edition in this series is upon us. If you’re seeing the label, you’re pondering the name. Translating from Latin, Meretrix means “prostitute.” Cicero referred to Clodia as a “meretrix” in his Pro Caelio speech in 56 B.C. Anyway, back to the beer. Meretrix is a sour ale brewed with sour cherries, aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.
No. 8. She’s patiently awaited you for two years. Aging gracefully in a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon barrels and accompanied by sour cherries, your Meretrix is now eager to serve.
The barrel aged series comes in 12 oz bottles, capped & foiled. Total production is 83 cases, 28 hoarded according to the label. Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, sour cherries, hops, our house brettanomyces yeast, lactobacillus, and pediococcus.
Availability: 12oz bottles. Brewery only release. Some making to select beer bars & stores across the United States.
Alesmith Brewing’s Decadence was first released in 2005 in honor of their 10th Anniversary. Each year the beer is released in honor of their anniversary in the fall, in varying styles. Previous styles include old ale, American strong ale, imperial porters just to name a few.
In Alesmith’s newsletter, this year’s release of Decadence is quite unique. It’s a 2 year old barrel aged edition.
[quote]This has proved to be a very interesting edition of BA Decadence. The 2008 batch, an English-style barleywine aged in bourbon barrels, took on a pleasant sourness. Such quirks of nature can provide intriguing drinking experiences, like the many excellent wild ales being produced today. We think you’ll enjoy this delightfully unconventional offering.[/quote]
Style: English Barleywine (barrel aged)
?? ABV
Also, the barrel aged edition of Speedway Stout is ready to go. Barrel Aged Speedway ranks among the top 100 beers in the world on Beer Advocate. It’s a big imperial stout with tons of coffee added. Don’t forget the chocolate flavors too. 12% ABV.
[quote]This edition of BA Speedway, barreled in ’09, is as good as ever. Excellent sweet boozey notes with accents of oak, vanilla, and pleasant oxidative aspects alongside the customary coffee and bitter chocolate roasted malt characteristics.[/quote]
Style: Imperial Stout (barrel aged)
12% ABV
Release Date: June 15, 2011
Availability: Sold at the brewery – limited to 4 bottles of Speedway per person, 1 bottle of 2008 Decadence per person, pending turnout. Alesmith starts handing out numbers at 8:30 am.
Surly Brewing’s (Brooklyn Center, MN) fifth anniversary beer – “Five” will be available soon. Each year the beer is different, and nothing short of phenomenal. Last year I named Surly “Four” as one of the best beers I tried in 2010 for an article I co-wrote for Paste Magazine. While last year was an espresso milk stout, Five will be a wild ale with some wine aging. In early February, a single barrel tasting of Five made an appearance, dubbed “Pentagram.” While Five is a blend of off all the wine barrels used for aging, Pentagram was just one barrel.
In the Surly brewhouse brewing our Anniversary beers mean one thing, forget what ya know and try something different. In honor of FIVE glorious years we bring you a 100% Brettanomyces fermented Dark Ale Aged in red wine barrels. Flavors of sour cherry, tobacco, oak and classic “Brett” barnyard funk balanced by Dark Munich malt chewiness. Enjoy immediately or age at cellar temperatures for a couple of years. 100% Brettanomyces fermented Dark Ale aged in red wine barrels.
Style: American Wild Ale (wine barrel aged) Availability: 750ml bottles, draft. One time release. Arrival: June, 2011 7.87% ABV
Previous Editions of Anniversary beers are:
One: A “quadruple Bock
Two: Fruit Beer, Oak Aged Stout brewed with cranberries
Three: Black Braggot. Brewed w/ 50% honey & 50% Munich Malt
Four: Milk Stout w/ espresso Bottle Artwork for Five – AestheticApparatus.com
