Topic Archives: Elderflower
Boulevard Spring Belle Saison Hits Shelves
Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City, MO) has a pretty busy 2015 ahead of them. There are many new releases coming in Boulevard’s various series’. Among those, Boulevard Spring Belle Saison.
Spring Belle Saison welcomes warmer weather, a farmhouse ale with a floral overtone.
Spring Belle marries the crisp, spicy flavor of a traditional farmhouse ale, with its citrusy hop notes, to the fresh floral aromas of chamomile, rose petals and elderflower.
Boulevard Spring Belle Saison is now avalablle 12oz bottles and draft.
Style: Saison (w/ Elderflower, Chamomile, Rose Petals)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft. Spring seasonal
Launch: March, 2015
?? ABV
Image via Boulevard. Read more: Boulevard Brewing
Innis & Gunn Uses Rare Oak in New Stateside Offering
Already available in the United Kingdom is Innis & Gunn Rare Oak Pale Ale. The offering is aged over rare Scottish oak, historically used for ship building. Rare Oak Pale Ale not only uses unique wood, but the addition of elderflower, and sweet gale (aka bog myrtle). A couple of years ago, the brewery released a draft only Oak Aged Pale, without the herb additions.
This refreshing Pale Ale has been matured over rare Scottish oak, which hasn’t been used in brewing since the days of the Anglo-Spanish wars and the Armada, when huge areas of Scottish forest were felled to build ships.
The beer is finished with the addition of sweet gale which grows wild in the Scottish Highlands and was used traditionally as an alternative to imported hops by brewing in Scotland.
Innis & Gunn Rare Oak Pale Ale will be available in 11.2 oz bottles.
Style: Pale Ale (w/ Elderflower, Sweet Gale. Oak Aged)
Hops: Super Styrian, Whitbread Golding
Malts: I&G Malt, Crystal Malt, Wheat
Availability: 11.2 oz Bottles, Draft.
Arrival: TBA
5.8% ABV
New Belgium Brews Ancient Style in Next Lips of Faith
A long time ago, before hops became widely available in brewing, spices were used to bitter beer. A mixture called fruit, was the bittering agent, a mix of spices such as juniper berries, ginger, aniseed, sweet gale, mugwort, yarrow & more. The use of gruit was mostly phased out by the 16th century.
New Belgium Brewing’s upcoming Lips of Faith release revisits a time where gruit was used to bitter. For Gruit, the brewery used a mixture of bog myrtle, horehound, yarrow, wormwood and elderflowers.
Just to brush you up on the spices, horehound has been used in cough drops for hundreds of years. (Black horehound is a sedative. Let’s assume it’s not in Gruit.) Yarrow and bog myrtle have been been used for both culinary and medicinal uses. Have you ever heard of absinthe? A big flavoring ingredient in that “green fairy” drink is wormwood.
Look for Gruit in 22oz bottles, and draft. Official New Belgium announcement coming soon.
Style: Gruit (w/ Yarrow, Bog Myrtle, Wormwood, Elderfower)
Availability: 22oz Bombers, Draft
Arrival: TBA
6.6% ABV
Read more: Lips of Faith Series
Saint Somewhere & Prairie Artisanal Collaborate
Saint Somewhere Brewing Company (Tarpon Springs, FL) and the up and coming Prairie Artisanal Ales (Oklahoma) have teamed up on a new farmhouse ale. Plus tôt L’etat, which means “the earlier state,” is brewed with persimmon and elderflower. Look for a release announcement to come.
Brewed in collaboration with our friends at “Prairie Artisanal Ales” in Oklahoma. A rustic farmhouse ale brewed with persimmon and elder flowers with a bit of Florida terroir.
Style: Farmhouse Ale (w/ Persimmon, Elderflower)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, Corked & Caged
Arrival: TBA
6.5% ABV
Propolis Brewing Beltane
Mikkeller Spontaneous Series: SpontanElderflower
Danish brewer Mikkeller has a spontaneous series beers, each with different fruit or spice addition. The base beer is a lambic before the addition. Each one is a definite departure from lambics of the past. In 2013 look for a lambic release with elderflower – a floral herb that adds a tropical note to drinks and beer.
Style: Lambic (w/ Elderflower)
Availability: 11.2oz bottles
Arrival: TBA (2013)
7.7% ABV
Angry Orchard “Elderflower” Now Available
Angry Orchard Hard Cider has just launched a new offering – Elderflower. The addition of elderflower gives the cider a fruity, floral note. Look for it in 12oz bottles.
This cider has tropical notes from the elderflower balanced by a fresh, bright, fruity flavor reminiscent of lychee, pears, and citrus. This flower complements the crisp apple flavor resulting in a balanced sweetness that brings the fruit and flower together
Style: Apple Cider (w/ Elderflower)
Availability: 12oz bottles. Also in mixed packs
5% ABV
Apples: Amere De Berthecourt, Beden, Medaille D’Or, Michelin, Binet Rouge, Brairtot Fuji, Golden Delicious, Joana Gold, Elstar, Granny Smith, Gala, Braeburn