Topic Archives: Big Beer Series
Smuttynose Scotch Ale 2013 Has Some Wine Aging
More Smuttynose news this week. The brewery’s Big Scotch Ale is less than a month away. The 2013 release will feature a little variation, a blend of red wine barrel aged Scotch Ale.
The red wine blend should add an interesting complexity to an already bold beer. The brewery describes the base beer flavor as: …caramel and subtle roasted malt flavors, Scotch ales can feature smoky flavors (derived from a small measure of peated malt) or, more traditionally, no smoky flavor.
Look for this in 22oz bombers in mid-October.
Style: Scotch Ale (Partially Wine Barrel Aged)
Availability: 22oz bombers. October
Arrival: October, 2013
8ish% ABV
Smuttynose Zinneke, a Bourbon Barrel Belgian
A Smuttynose Big Beer: Zinneke, a Belgian style stout aged in bourbon barrels.
Named in honor of the doggy denizens of Brussels, this hybrid beer is a mix of what we love best in a big, roast stout, but fermented with a Belgian yeast, which brings out a beautiful, fruity nose. We set aside a portion of the batch to age in bourbon barrels to allow the stout’s chocolate and caramel flavors to marry with the wood’s natural vanilla and toastiness. The final blend pairs well with both savory dishes and favorite desserts.
Style: Stout (Barrel Aged)
Availability: 22oz bombers
Arrival: TBA
?? ABV
Smuttynose 2012 Big Beer Releases
2012 Big Beer Series line-up:
January- Baltic Porter
March- Really Old Brown Dog
May- Wheat Wine Ale
June/July- Homunculus
September- Scotch Ale
October- Stout (possibly Imperial, possibly something new)
December- Gravitation
A couple of release have been moved into the 2012 schedule. Smutty addresses this:
…Due to increased demand for our core brands, we lost the ability to have more than one Big Beer in process at a time. This caused two significant delays in 2011′s series and a few small ones as well. We still wanted to brew Baltic Porter and Really Old Brown Dog, so we’ve simply bumped them onto 2012. Otherwise, we tried to make the new schedule with realistic ease-of-production in mind. On other words, we hate missing deadlines and as a result, we set deadlines that were more attainable than last year’s.
Below is the is the 2011 (and part of 2012) schedule for you to compare.
– Wheat Wine Dec. ’10
– Barleywine Jan. ’11
– Imperial Stout March ’11
– Maibock April ’11
– Homunculus (was Short Batch 1 – the Gnome) July ’11
– Farmhouse Ale August ’11
– Gravitation Sept. ’11
– S’Muttonator Oct. ’11
– Baltic Porter Nov. ’11
– Really Old Brown Dog Jan’ 2012
Smuttynose S’Muttonator
Throughout the year, Smuttynose Brewing (Portsmouth, NH) releases bombers in the “Big Beer Series”. Each one a different style, all fairly aggressive & high octane. The 2011 lineup was just released. As the year winds down, meet their late fall seasonal S’Muttonator.
Commercial Description:
As the name implies, a doppelbock (double bock) is a very malty German lager beer. Typically quite sweet with some roasted malt undertones, doppelbocks range in color from deep amber to nearly black and are normally associated with the winter season. Traditionally, German brewers have used the suffix “-ator” in naming their doppelbock beers; we have, too.
Style: Doppelbock
Taste Expectations: Caramel, toffee. Vanilla notes, with a waft of faint coffee. Touch of alcohol shows up too. Malts are nicely layered.
Availability: 22oz bombers. Some rare draft offerings. Late fall 2010 seasonal.
Food Pairings: Braised pork, lightly seasoned red meats. Chocolate desserts.
8.5% ABV
