Oak Aged

Jester King’s New “Fēn táo”

Jester King Brewery’s next release will be 分 桃 (pronounced Fēn táo) , a barrel-aged wild beer refermented with peaches from their home state of Texas.

Fēn táo was slated to release last year, until a last freeze destroyed the peach Continue Reading →

Collaboration: Cigar City & Evil Twin

Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL) and Evil Twin Brewing (Denmark) team up  in a new ale born from fermentation history. Before the rise and popularity of wood barrels, the Greeks aged wine in ceramic vessels amphoras (something Cantilon has done Continue Reading →

Perfect Name? Surly Misanthrope

Just because Surly Brewing (Brooklyn Center, MN) is building their dream destination brewery, doesn’t mean their new beer innovation slows down. This dislike of humankind creation is Surly Misanthrope, an American wild ale.

Simply put, just as the description states, Misanthrope Continue Reading →

Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks Drops a New One

Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA) will release a new offering from the Barrelworks on Saturday, July 12th.

Bretta Weisse, is a berliner weisse inspired wheat beer, that underwent secondary fermentation with amixed culture of brettanomyces and lactobacillus. Prior to bottling, the Continue Reading →

Posted in Firestone Walker Brewing, Headlines

From the Barrelworks: Firestone Walker Agrestic

Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA) will release a new wild ale from their Barrelworks on September 20th, Agrestic Red Wild Ale.

Agrestic is a spin on Firestone’s DBA British Pale Ale. It was racked (transferred to oak barrels on racks) with a blend of wild and sour bacteria and yeast.

The final blend that you’ll taste as Firestone Walker Agrestic are specially chosen lots of wild ale, ranging from eight to 24 months in French (87%) and American (13%) oak barrels.

Toasted oak and lemon pith swirl on the nose and palate, followed by harmonious notes of vanilla, coconut, Earl Grey tea and spice. The finish is crisp, with mouthwatering acidity and chewy tannins.

Firestone Walker Agrestic will release in 12.7oz bottles at both the Barrelworks and brewery in California.

Style: American Wild Ale (Oak Aged)
Availability: 12.7oz Bottles
Arrival: September 20th, 2014

6.6% ABV

 

agrestic |əˈgrestik| adjective chiefly literary of or relating to the country; rural; rustic.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Headlines, The Unknown Brewing Co.

Unknown Brewing’s Beer with a Really Long Name is Brewed with Scorpions

The Unknown Brewing Company (Charlotte, NC) is releasing a follow up to to the very recent Vehopcirator Imperial IPA. This name is much longer than the first – La Jordana del Escorpion en Fuego Hacia la casa del Chupacabra muerto.

This roughly translates to “The Path of the Fiery Scorpion through the House of the Dead Chupacabra”. Shortening it to Escorpion en Fuego, the beer is an imperial Mexican lager, with agave nectar, seranno peppers, and aged on tequila oak staves. Oh, just in case that wasn’t enough, 99 (food grade) scorpions.

 When asked if these scorpions would affect the flavor, head brewer and owner Brad Shell responded “I’m not sure, that’s not the point. The point is this beer needs scorpions. Some things just have to happen”.

Unknown Brewing Escorpion en Fuego releases on The Day of the Day, November 1st in 22oz bombers and draft.

Style: Mexican Lager (w/ Seranno Peppers, Agave Nectar. Scorpions. Oak Aged. Tequila.)
Availability: 22oz Bombers, Draft.
Arrival: November 1, 2014

10.1% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Jester King Brewery

Jester King’s New “Fēn táo”

Jester King Brewery’s next release will be 分 桃 (pronounced Fēn táo) , a barrel-aged wild beer refermented with peaches from their home state of Texas.

Fēn táo was slated to release last year, until a last freeze destroyed the peach crop. The base beer is an ale with wild yeast, and local sour bacteria, racked to the brewery’s foudres (oak vats) with the fresh peaches from Vogel Orchard in Fredericksburg, Texas. Jester King doesn’t just add the peaches for flavoring. The peaches are refermented along with the beer, much like wine.

分 桃 will be released on Friday, September 12th at Jester King at 4pm. Limited 1 per person, per day. $16.

Style: American Wild Ale (Oak Aged. Peaches)
Availability: 500ml Bottles (150 cases available)
Arrival: 9/12/14

6.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines, Innis & Gunn

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

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Cigar City Brewing, Evil Twin Brewing, Headlines

Collaboration: Cigar City & Evil Twin

Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL) and Evil Twin Brewing (Denmark) team up  in a new ale born from fermentation history. Before the rise and popularity of wood barrels, the Greeks aged wine in ceramic vessels amphoras (something Cantilon has done recently.) The ceramic vessels were susceptible to oxygen, and were repaired with Aleppo pine sap. The use of the sap gave the wine a unique flavor, one mimicked in this collaboration, Columella.

This ale was inspired by the origins of a Greek wine called Retsina, which was produced over 2,000 years ago. The Greeks used ancient vessels for storage and transport of the wine that were made of mostly ceramic called amphora. These vessels pre-dated the more common storage vessel of today, wooden barrels. Ceramic was susceptible to flaws and breakage, allowing more oxygen ingress into the wine. The Greeks found a solution to mending these vessels by using sap from the Aleppo Pine (which we emulate by aging the beer on spruce wood). The resulting unique aromatic character became so popular with the Grecian people that they continued this method following the discovery and dominance of wood barrels. 

Cigar City / Evil Twin Columella will be available in 22oz bombers.

Style:   (Oak Aged)
Availability: 22oz bombers, Draft
Arrival: TBA

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines, Surly Brewing

Perfect Name? Surly Misanthrope

Just because Surly Brewing (Brooklyn Center, MN) is building their dream destination brewery, doesn’t mean their new beer innovation slows down. This dislike of humankind creation is Surly Misanthrope, an American wild ale.

Simply put, just as the description states, Misanthrope is a Belgian-style beer aged in oak barrels with the wild yeast Brett.

This Belgian-style saison ale is aged in oak barrels with Brettanomyces. Golden in color, it has notes of tropical fruit wrapped in an oaky horse blanket, and, you know, other stuff that combine to produce blah blah blah to create blah and etc. It is best served cool and enjoyed alone or with a tolerated companion. 

Surly Misanthrope will be available in 750ml bottles.

Style: American Wild Ale (Oak Aged)
Availability: 750ml Bottles.
Arrival: TBA

?? ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Firestone Walker Brewing, Headlines, New Releases

Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks Drops a New One

Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA) will release a new offering from the Barrelworks on Saturday, July 12th.

Bretta Weisse, is a berliner weisse inspired wheat beer, that underwent secondary fermentation with amixed culture of brettanomyces and lactobacillus. Prior to bottling, the beer was aged 8 months in in 1,700-gallon French oak foeders. (Big wood vats.)

“Napoleon called Berliner Weisse the ‘Champagne of the North,’ but we’d like to think that Bretta Weisse would render him speechless,” said Barrelworks Director Jeffers Richardson.

Firestone Walker Bretta Weisse will be available in 500ml bottles, limited to 350 cases. The brewery is offering two pre-purchases sessions for the release, both sold out, unfortunately.

Style: American Wild Ale (Oak Aged)
Availability: 500ml bottles. Limited to 350 cases

4.9% ABV

by Reid Ramsay