Topic Archives: Belgian Strong Ales
Service Brewing SBC 2 marks the brewery’s 2nd
Service Brewing SBC 2 debuts later this month. A celebration of the Savannah, Georgia based brewery’s second birthday.
Service is veteran owned, started by Kevin Ryan, former U.S. Army Company Commander. He and his incredible fiancé Meredith Sutton have put 11 beers into production, nearly 50 different R&D beers, and even more notable- raised $28,000 dollars for various charities.
Service Brewing SBC 2 is described as an American-Belgo-style ale, different from anything the brewery has created to date. Their house yeast, cultured from the Service apiary (Army bees!), gives the beer the Belgian-like characteristics, and fruity ester flavors. Combine that with blood orange zest and a healthy dose of Citra hops, and your birthday beer is complete.
SBC2 marks our second anniversary craft beer in honor of those who serve our country, and we humbly continue our duty of donating a portion of our revenue to support them. Thank you for helping achieve our mission as we dedicate SBC2 to all the charities out there making the world a better place.
Service Brewing SBC 2 is a 750 milliliter bottle release starting July 23rd.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (w/ Blood Orange Zest)
Hops: Citra
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: 7/23/16
9.5% ABV
Unknown Brewing 2.5 features bourbon & fruit
Unknown Brewing 2.5 (ish) is the second release in the Charlotte, North Carolina based brewery’s on going Anniversary Series.
Last year, brewery founder Brad Schell realized at one point that he had completely forgotten the brewery’s first birthday. (Owning a burgeoning brewery will do that.) If you know anything about Schell and well, the whole brewery’s less than normal mentality, then you’ll fully understand his next move. Throw a 1.5 ish birthday party. And… do it again next year.
Unknown Brewing 2.5 is hitting shelves in North Carolina. South Carolina, and Georgia. The beer is a blend of both a Belgian-style red ale, and a Belgian-style golden ale, aged in bourbon barrels with apricots, blackberries, and cherries. Truly a party in a bottle. Last years is pictured on the left in the image above.
Unknown Brewing 2.5 is a limited 22 ounce bottle offering.
Style: Belgian-Style Strong Ale (w/ Blackberries, Apricots, Cherries. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited.
Debut: June/July, 2016
9% ABV
Odell Prop Culture releases April 15th
Odell Prop Culture joins the brewery’s Cellar Series on April 15th.
The basis for this project is the magic that yeast performs. Odell has been experimenting by PROPagating different Belgian yeast strains. The cultures have been blended in different primary and secondary fermentations.
We let the Saccharomyces cultures do the heavy lifting by converting the bulk of the wort sugars while the Brettanomyces cultures did the fine tuning to round out the flavor profile. The result of our experimentation led to PROP CULTURE, a project of 10+ yeast strains working together to create a fruit forward collage of flavors like pineapple, pear, mango, and banana balanced by a clove like spiciness.
Odell Prop Culture will be available in 750 milliliter bottles starting April 15th. Full availability details are forthcoming.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale
Availability; 750ml Bottles
Release: 4/15/16
7.1% ABV, 27 IBUs
Heavy Seas Plank IV, the 4th in the series
Heavy Seas Plank IV is the fourth offering to join the brewery’s unique “Plank Project” Series.
Heavy Seas started the Plank Project back in 2011. The project’s concept is to push the boundaries of what wood will do to the base beer’s flavor. The wood’s flavor has been altered/manipulated with heat for a more unique flavor transfer.
To create Heavy Seas Plank IV, the brewery aged a Belgian-style strong ale on four different wood styles that have been kilned, almost to the point of charring, including Poplar, Cherry, Jamaican allspice, Cuban cedar.
A deep garnet hued brew with rich caramel malt flavors dominate the nose and pallet. Fruity esters of plum, raisin, and dates abound,” says Christopher Leonard, Heavy Seas Brewmaster and Operations Manager.
Heavy Seas Plank IV is available in 22 ounce bottles in March and April in all 18 states the brewery currently distributes.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (w/ Candi Sugar, Cane Sugar, Wood Aged)
Hops: Perle, Hallertau Mittlefrue
Malts: 2-row, Munich, Caramel Munich 60, Caramel Munich 80, Caramel Munich 120, Chocolate
Availability: 22oz Bottles
Release: March, 2016
11.25% ABV, 22 IBUs
SweetWater 19, a Belgian golden in wine barrels
2016 marks Atlanta, Georgia’s biggest brewery’s 19th year. To celebrate, meet SweetWater 19 Golden Belgian Style Ale.
Readers of Beer Street Journal will recall that last year’s birthday beer was intended to be a sour ale. However, anyone that knows anything about wild ales knows that the beer is ready when it’s ready. That sour is still in the barrels.
While not the sour ale that everyone is still clamoring for, SweetWater 19 is a golden Belgian-style ale, aged in both Merlot and Cabernet barrels.
This Golden Belgian Style Ale matured for over a year on brett in Cabernet and Merlot barrels, then was blended with a bright, citrusy hop-forward Belgian style IPA. Four plus two equals seven here, as the finished product is bigger than the sum of its parts. The art of this crafted cuvee is in the hop profile with a Belgian style nose up front, followed by woody undertones and a complex finish. After 19 years we’re still all about brewing great beer, supporting the communities who drink it and having a kick ass time along the way.
Much like the previous releases, SweetWater 19 will be available in 750 milliliter bottles, corked & caged. The brewery has not yet announced this offering.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (Barrel Aged. Wine Aged.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft. Limited Release
Release: TBA (Typically February/March), 2016
7% ABV
Maplewood Creepy Ginger
Maplewood Creepy Ginger, a year-round Belgian-style strong ale.
This beer is more than a hilarious name – the name serves as a double entendre, as it boasts organic ginger root that has been added post fermentation. A nice, spicy touch to this beer’s light and slightly boozy body.
Brewed to celebrate one of the red-headed founders of Maplewood Brewing Company, the Creepy Ginger is a Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale brewed with a pilsner malt base and a healthy amount of spelt.
Maplewood Creepy Ginger is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (w/ Ginger)
Hops: Warrior, Centennial
Malts: Pilsner, Spelt, Caramalt
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Year-round
Debut: 2015
7.8% ABV, 23 IBUS
Image: Beer Street Journal
Almanac Valencia Gold Headed to Bottles
Almanac Valencia Gold is headed to bottles in the near future. Embodying some of the best products of California, Almanac Valencia Gold uses orange blossom honey, and Valencia oranges. Sounds like beaches and sunlight.
Valencia Gold is an aromatic Belgian-style ale that celebrates the vibrant and pioneering history of San Francisco’s sunny Mission District. This imperial ale is brewed with fragrant orange blossom honey and fresh Valencia Oranges from California’s Central Valley and dry-hopped with tangerine-scented Mandarina Bavaria hops. Pour this pure California sunshine into your favorite tulip glass and enjoy with fresh Dungeness Crab or winter citrus salads. ¡Salud
Almanac Valencia Gold has already made draft appearances for San Francisco Beer Week. 22oz bottles will release in the near future.
Style: Belgian-style Strong Ale (w/ Honey, Oranges)
Availability: Draft, 22oz Bottles
Bottle Release: TBA
8.5% ABV
