Bourbon

Posted in Second Self Brewing Company, Coming Soon, Headlines

It’s more than just beer. It’s art. Second Self Manic Pixie Dream

It’s hard not to judge a book by it’s cover. The same goes for beer. As beer gets infinitely more creative, so has the artwork that goes along with it. Atlanta’s Second Self Beer didn’t just brew a great beer and slap a label on it. Manic Pixie Dream is a “next level” kind of collaboration.

This story starts a bit before the beer was brewed. Brewery co-founder Jason Santamaria has been a fan of Keith P. Rein’s artwork for a while. The guy is best known for the Slaughterhouse Starlets Series. Basically, he takes famous females like Winona Ryder or Taylor Swift and juxtaposes them into a murdery, Dexter-like composition. When Santamaria married his wife Liz, he noticed Keith P. Rein to be the dominant in each other’s art collection.

All Santamaria needed was a good reason to reach out to is favorite artist. As it turns out, Rein has always wanted to do a piece for a beer can. Manic Pixie Dream was born.

The Second Self team went big when it comes to the beer. The base is an 11% alcohol by volume Russian imperial stout, that has been aged in Blis barrels. The mere mention of Blis will make a beer fan salivate. Blis Gourment is a Michigan based company that ages maple syrup in bourbon barrels. After the maple syrup is drained, what you have left is a playground for one hell of an awesome beer. As an added bonus, Second Self infused locally roasted Batdorf & Bronson coffee.

Santamaria and Rein weren’t satisfied with just creating one label. Especially with a beer as complex as this one. Blis barrels are hard to come by, and recipes like this one are expensive. Ultimately, this beer is in short supply. Created simply for your own happiness. A bit like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl movie trope.

Coined in 2005 by film critic Nathan Rabin after watching Kirsten Dunst’s character in Elizabethtown, MPDG is a  “bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” Other examples include Kate Hudson’s character in Almost Famous, Natalie Portman in Garden State, or Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot.

With Manic Pixie Dream in mind, Rein drew four different iterations of Pixie. Each label breaks out a component of the beer – Coffee, Maple Syrup, Bourbon, and Grains. Besides the incredible artwork, the beer is fantastic. Truly a sipper, where the each of the components starts to pop as the beer warms. After the barrel-aging, you’re drinking at near 14% alcohol by volume beer.

Second Self is holding a special release event on February 26th where attendees can purchase all four cans. The brewery is planning on making Manic Pixie Dream a series going forward, with an evolving list of styles (including a sour/wild ale).

This is one of the few times we have found ourselves torn between the beer or the artwork that’s more exciting. A few more sips and we might just decide.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee. Barrel Aged. Maple Syrup Bourbon.)
Availability: 16oz Cans. Brewery Only.
Debut: 2/26/17

13.9% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Nebraska Brewing, New Releases

Nebraska Brewing MOAB, the biggest “Betty” to date

Nebraska Brewing MOAB, aka “Mother of All Bettys”debuts on Friday, February 17th.

The La Vista, Nebraska based brewery is known for their Black Betty Imperial Stout (aged in whiskey), and Sexy Betty (aged in brandy barrels). Nebraska Brewing MOAB takes “Betty” to the next level.

The brewery uses twice as much grain and double mashed (two grain soaks) in order to get the hefty amount of fermentable sugar to make a stout this big. No other sugar was used in the brewing process.

After primary fermentation, the beer was transferred to four different bourbon barrels for six months of aging. The result is the biggest Betty yet.

MOAB will be available on draft on Friday, February 17th. The bottle release has been delayed until it meets brewery standards.

Style: Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: Draft, Bottles. Extremely Limited.

Debut: 2/17/17 (Draft)

?? ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Funky Buddha, New Releases

Funky Buddha The Love Below, with chocolate and cherries

Funky Buddha The Love Below goes on sale at the brewery again on February 15th.

The base beer is Funky’s Nikolai Vorlauf Imperial Russian Stout, that has been aged in both Cabernet barrels and bourbon barrels. The barrels were then blended together with real cherries and 100% chocolate.

Thick and sultry, this is a beer best consumed with a very special friend.

Funky Buddha The Love Below will be available at the brewery again on February 15th, 2017.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cherries, Chocolate. Barrel Aged. Cabernet Sauvignon, Bourbon.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles
Debut: 2/15/17

12% ABV, 40 IBUs

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Wicked Weed Brewing Co, Don't Miss This

Perfect breakfast beer. Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Imperial Stout

Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast, a bourbon barrel-aged edition of the imperial stout is now available.

Back in January, the Asheville, North Carolina based brewery release French Toast Stout in cans, limited only to the brewery. The imperial stout is brewed brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup, mimicking the popular breakfast food. Since then, the beer has been upgraded to bottles.

Out in the world now is Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Stout, a bourbon barrel aged edition of the hit stout. The flavor is a pleasant balance of cinnamon and vanilla, thanks to both the vanilla beans and bourbon oak. As the beer warms the French toast favors really bloom. Get this beer, and some challah and eggs and go nuts. Beer is perfect for breakfast.

Bourbon Barrel Aged French Toast Imperial Stout is a delicious testament to smoldering intensity. Prepare for the smooth vanilla, zesty cinnamon, and sweet maple syrup of the original to be epically enhanced by the finest Kentucky bourbon barrels. This sweet treat’s time in oak barrels has forged an entirely new creation. Taste this beauty after its Bourbon-barrel transformation, and give in to sweet intensity.

Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Stout is a 12.7 ounce bottle release, hitting distribution starting in late January.

Style: Imperial Stout (Cinnamon, Vanilla, Maple Syrup. Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 12.7oz Bottles
Debut: January, 2017

10% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Hair Of The Dog Brewing, Don't Miss This, Omnipolo

Hair of the Dog Maja, an Omnipollo collaboration debuts

Hair of the Dog Maja, a collaboration with Stockholm, Sweden’s Omnipollo, debuts today.

The base beer is a 10% alcohol by volume barleywine, with nuances of vanilla, maple and bourbon. The beer went into the barrel with vanilla beans in February of 2016. 100% bottle conditioned.

This beer is pale in color and has the aromas of peaches and pleasant memories of the past. In the mouth, pineapple mixes with marshmallow, ample and whimsy. Produced with the help and guidance of our good friends at Omnipollo to provide a truly unique drinking experience.

Hair of the Dog Maja is a 12 ounce bottle release, available the brewery in Portland, Oregon starting today.

Style: Barleywine (w/ Vanilla, Maple. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles
Debut: 2/11/17

10% ABV

Image: Hair of the Dog

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Wicked Weed Brewing Co

Attention lovers: Wicked Weed Chocolate Covered Black Angel is ready

Wicked Weed Chocolate Covered Black Angel first appeared as a last minute surprise when the Asheville, North Carolina brewery released Angel of Darkness in December of 2015. The beer was just a blip on the radar for many, as the release was extremely limited.

Good news. This bit of dessert beer goodness is back in action – on sale now at the brewery once again.

Chocolate Covered Black Angel is a spin on the brewery’s Black Angel, a bourbon barrel-aged dark sour/wild ale, featuring extra Montmorency cherries, plus 100 pounds of cocoa nibs from local chocolatier, French Broad.

Chocolate covered Black Angel is our sour aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. After the beer rest in barrels, we then blend into steel tanks with over 2 pounds per gallon of tart Montmorency cherries and copious amounts of Honduran cacao nibs from French Broad chocolates.

Wicked Weed Chocolate Covered Black Angel is everything you love about Black Angel, plus the added richness of cocoa. When we say decadent, we mean it. Each sip finds vanilla bourbon oak dancing with the chocolatey flavors, finishing slightly tart, thanks to that hefty dose of cherries. Love poems n to included.

 

Those seeking Wicked Weed Chocolate Covered Black Angel will find 500 milliliter bottles waiting for you at the brewery in Asheville. Go now.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Cherries, Cocoa Nibs. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 500ml Bottles. Brewery only.
Latest Return: February, 2017

7.2% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Don't Miss This, The Bruery

The Bruery White Chocolate goes public on Valentine’s Day

The Bruery White Chocolate, a decadent bourbon barreled beer brewed with vanilla beans, is being distributed for the first time in 2017.

The name might scream imperial stout, however the base beer is actually a wheat wine, aged 100% in bourbon barrels for a year with vanilla beans and cacao nibs. The Bruery affectionately refers to this beer as “white oak sap,” as it 100% bourbon barrel-aged and is the wheat wine component of now retired White Oak ale.

After nearly a year in used bourbon barrels, the beer comes out rich in coconut, honey, caramel and vanilla. To compliment the already rich flavors of this beer, we’ve added cacao nibs and fresh vanilla beans to give this beer the delicate flavor of white chocolate…hence the name.

 

Earlier we reported that the alcohol by volume of this beer was 16.6% (as stated on the brewery’s website.) The future release of this beer will be 13.8%, allowing most states to sell it.

The Bruery White Chocolate will be available in 750 milliliter bottles to the brewery’s Society members on February 6th. The first day the general public can buy this beer will be Valentine’s Day 2017.

Style: Wheatwine (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cacao Nibs, Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 750ml bottles
Updated Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI

Latest Return: 2/14/17

13.8% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

Ed Note: Corrected mention of “White Oak Sap” as it has never been released publicly. ABV was also updated. 

by Reid Ramsay