Chocolate

Westbrook Mexican Cake Hits Shelves Again

Westbrook Brewing (Mt. Pleasant, SC) has a hit on their hands with Mexican Cake – their first anniversary beer first released in May, 2012. The imperial stout is aged with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and habanero peppers.

People couldn’t get enough Continue Reading →

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Celebrating 20 Years

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Ale will celebrate the Easton, Pennsylvania’s 20 years of craft brewing.

Each time Weyerbacher releases an anniiversry brew, it’s different. 2015’s birthday beer is a Belgian-Style dark ale, brewed with coriander and the licorice flavors of star anise.

As Continue Reading →

Posted in New Releases, Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Xocoveza Extra Anejo Released in Quingenti Series

Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA) released a collaboration – Xocoveza Mocha Stout last year. The beer was a creation of home brewer Chris Banker, who brewed with not only the Stone team, but Cerveceria Insurgente from Mexico.

Stone Xocoveza Extra Anejo will grace the brewery’s coveted Quingente Millilitre Series, a souped-up version of the original release. In addition to the cocoa, coffee, peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg that was added to Xocoveza Mocha Stout, Stone has aged this edition in both red wine barrels and tequila barrels.

The base beer is the recipe of 2014 Stone Homebrew Competition winner Chris Banker, an intensely flavorful milk stout brewed with coffee and spices to mimic the rich flavors of Mexican hot chocolate.

Stone Xocoveza Extra Anejo will be available in 500ml bottles in very limited quantities. No distribution. Bottles were released at Stone World Bistor today.

Style: Milk Stout (w/ Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Coffee, Chocolate, Chilies, Lactose. Barrel Aged. Tequila. Wine Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 500ml bottles
Arrival: Late July, 2015

12.2% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Boulevard Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Boulevard Imperial Stout X – Aztec Chocolate Launches

Boulevard Brewing Company (Kansas City, MO) is releasing variations of their Smokestack Series Imperial Stout this year. Imperial Stout X – Coffee has already come and gone, making way for Boulevard Imperial Stout X – Aztec Chocolate.

Boulevard Imperial Stout X – Aztec Chocolate features cinnamon, dried pasilla negro and ancho chiles, plus cacao nibs.

The second installment, Imperial Stout X – Aztec Chocolate, takes inspiration from traditional drinking chocolate referred to as Xocoatl. The ancient Aztecs held chocolate in such high regard that in addition to its place as a holy drink in ceremonies, cacao beans were a form of currency…

Boulevard Imperial Stout X – Aztec Chocolate is now available in 750ml bottles.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolat, Cinnamon, Chili Peppers.)
Availability: 750ml bottles, Draft. Limited release.
Arrival: June, 2015

11% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Terrapin Beer Company

Terrapin Liquid Lunch Peanut Butter Jelly Porter, Side Project #25

Terrapin Liquid Lunch Peanut Butter Jelly Porter is the brewery’s Side Project #25. The Athens, Georgia based brewery shipped this new offering this week.

Taking a page from another peanut butter offering, Liquid Bliss, the brewing team has made your favorite lunch as a kid, boozy. We are assuming the crusts are cut off. We’re talking raspberries here people.

Cut off the crust and unwrap the flavor of this fruit centric beer. Hand crafted using real raspberries, “Liquid Lunch”  Peanut Butter Jelly Porter combines all the elements of a familiar lunch time snack.

Terrapin Liquid Lunch is now available in 22oz bottles.

Style: Porter (w/ Peanut Butter, Cocoa Nibs, Raspberries.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.
Release: 6/11/15 (Shipped)

7.7% ABV

Terrapin Liquid Lunch

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Beers

Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad

Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Seasonal Return, Westbrook Brewing Co

Westbrook Mexican Cake Hits Shelves Again

Westbrook Brewing (Mt. Pleasant, SC) has a hit on their hands with Mexican Cake – their first anniversary beer first released in May, 2012. The imperial stout is aged with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and habanero peppers.

People couldn’t get enough of it, so Westbrook brought it back in 2013, alongside some barrel aged offerings.

Here in May, 2015, Westbrook Mexican Cake is in distribution, quietly (or not so quietly) hitting shelves where the brewery distributes. This is your official heads up.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cocoa Nibs, Vanilla Beans, Cinnamon, Habanero)
Availability: 22oz Bombers, Draft. Limited Release, May each year.

10.5% ABV, 50 IBUs

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Celebrating 20 Years

Weyerbacher 20th Anniversary Ale will celebrate the Easton, Pennsylvania’s 20 years of craft brewing.

Each time Weyerbacher releases an anniiversry brew, it’s different. 2015’s birthday beer is a Belgian-Style dark ale, brewed with coriander and the licorice flavors of star anise.

As in the past, Weyerbacher Anniversary Ale will be available in 12oz bottles.

Style: Belgian-style Dark Ale (w/ Coriander, Star Anise.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles
Release: TBA

11% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Headlines, Ninkasi Brewing

Space Yeast Makes Ninkasi Ground Control

This past summer, Ninkasi Brewing unveiled the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP). The goal? Send yeast to space and back, and use it in a new beer.

The first mission of NSP took flight with a rocket that was launched by the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) and Team Hybriddyne from Spaceport America. 16 vials of brewer’s yeast were packed on the first flight. Unfortunately, the payload was lost in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for 27 days, and the yeast perished.

In October of 2014, six more vials of brewer’s yeast was sent 77.3 miles upward, and back to Earth safely. Neil Armstrong would have been proud.

“After almost two years of research, development, lab time, and two separate rocket launches to garner space yeast, we have finally completed our mission,” says Nikos Ridge, Ninkasi CEO and co-founder. “It was a project born out of passionate people coming together to try something new and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”

The result is Ninkasi Ground Control, an imperial stout brewed with yeast that has touched the stars.

Ninkasi Ground Control is nuanced Oregon hazelnuts, star anise and cocoa nibs. The brewery is “launching” the new offering on April 13, 2015 in 22oz bottles.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Hazelnuts, Star Anise, Cocoa Nibs)
Hops: Apollo, Bravo, Comet (See a theme?)
Malt: 2-Row Pale, Black, Chocolate, Munich, Crystal, Honey, Special Roast, Peated

Availability: 22oz Bottles
Distribution: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, OR, WA. Canada: Alberta, BC, Vancouver

10% ABV, 80 IBUs

Fun fact: Eugene, Oregon based Neal Williams is the artist behind the Ground Control label, whose works include concert posters for Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Matthew Band, Interpol, and The Head & The Heart. Image via Ninkasi Brewing.

by Reid Ramsay