Session Beers

Jester King Le Petite Prince Hits Bottles Soon

Jester King Brewing (Austin, TX) debuted Le Petite Prince a low alcohol table beer in early December.

Death rays, probes and world domination? No, none of that here; our Little Prince just doesn’t have the desire for such things.  He’s quite content exploring Continue Reading →

Jester King Le Petite Debuts Today

Jester King Brewing (Austin, TX) debuts a new session ale today. Le Petite Prince Farmhouse Table Beer is is quite quaffable at a mere 2.8% abv.

Le Petite is inspired by the same Wallonian (Belgium) region table beers. They too were Continue Reading →

Notch Brewing Saison Promoted

Notch Brewing’s Saison has been promoted to year round status.  This saison (or Worker’s Beer) is a mere 3.8% ABV.  Starting in 22oz bottles was a way to test the demand for a low abv session saison.  6-packscarry Continue Reading →

NEW RELEASE: Harpoon Pott’s Landbier

Harpoon’s 100 Barrel series is what the brewery calls a return to their roots.   The 100 Barrel series is exactly as it sounds.  Small batch, one of a kind, 100 barrels.  Throughout the year, a different Harpoon brewer will Continue Reading →

Peak Organic Summer Session

Some drinkers see the word organic and they grimace.   I guess the word organic has gotten a “bean sprouts and tofu reputation.”  I won’t lie, even I am guilty of that thought before my first taste of a Peak Continue Reading →

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, Beer News, New Releases

Drink Up! 21A’s Bitter American Is Here To Stay

You want a low abv session beer tailgate with, beach it up with, or just drink the crap out of,  21st Amendment’s Bitter American is where it’s at.  It’s just 4.4% (don’t even leave a comment about 4% vs 5% session debate.)   Bitter has a lot of hops without all the booze.  It’s flavor packed.  And now, won’t be going away so easily.  

Press Release:

(San Francisco, CA) — 21st Amendment Brewery rings in the New Year with great news for craft beer lovers everywhere. Days after it was named one of the “Top 10 Beers of 2011″ by the Washington Post, the popular winter seasonal Bitter American is being brought back, but this time as a year-round offering.

“People were “Bitter” when we ran out last year. Yep I said it, Bitter!,” said 21st Amendment Brewery co-founder Nico Freccia. “We got so many emails and tweets asking us to make this a year-round beer, we just couldn’t ignore them. It’s the perfect antidote to the big beers of winter and also the perfect summer brew.”

“Bitter American is a great beer during colder times when strong beers seem to be pretty prevalent,” added founder and Brewmaster Shaun. “When we first brewed this beer it really scratched the lower-alcohol-session-beer-itch that I would get when I was tired of drinking barley wines, imperial stouts and other stronger hoppy beers. I wanted and I think a lot of good beer drinkers want a session beer where you can enjoy a few pints of a beer with huge flavor but without all the alcohol. Bitter American is a mere 4.4% ABV. It’s got all the flavor & you can keep moving.”

If you’d been rocketed into space against your will, you might be a little bitter too. Bitter American is our long-overdue tribute to unsung, unwitting heroes everywhere. This American session ale packs a lot of hop and malt flavor into a refreshingly lower-alcohol brew, making it the perfect beer to have on hand when you have history to make.

“The amazing thing about brewing Bitter American is achieving a balance between malt flavor and hops,” says O’Sullivan. “Our secret is the use of a special, imported English heirloom malt called Golden Promise. This malt has a rich, full body and distinctive flavor that gives the beer a complex, light caramel and toasty flavor. It sets up a nice firm malt backbone allowing us to hop up the beer for incredible aromas and flavors without over bittering the beer.”

Availability: 12oz cans, Draft.   CA, OR, WA, AK, ID, MN, OH, MA, NY, NJ, DC, MD, PA, VA, GA and NC.

About 21st Amendment Brewery
Who the heck are these guys? Hey, we’re Nico and Shaun. We live for great beer. In 1920, there were thousands of breweries across America making unique handcrafted beer. The passage of Prohibition wiped out this great culture. After thirteen years without beer, the states ratified the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition in America. At the 21st Amendment Brewery, we celebrate the right to brew beer, the freedom to be innovative, and the obligation to have fun. www.21st-Amendment.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Jester King Brewery

Jester King Le Petite Prince Hits Bottles Soon

Jester King Petit PrinceJester King Brewing (Austin, TX) debuted Le Petite Prince a low alcohol table beer in early December.

Death rays, probes and world domination? No, none of that here; our Little Prince just doesn’t have the desire for such things.  He’s quite content exploring weightlessness and the simple wonders of new experience.  Alien encounters aren’t necessarily a thing to be feared.  With a simple shift of perspective something initially foreign can become quite familiar, even comforting.  Such wisdom from such a small fellow; maybe bigger isn’t always better after all.

Style: Table Beer (Farmhouse style)
Hops: East Kent Goldings. Czech Saaz
Malts: Pilsner, Two Row, Pale, Caramunich, Acid
Yeast: Farmhouse

Availability:  Draft, 750ml bottles soon
Arrival: Draft already available. Bottles TBA

2.8% ABV

 

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Jester King Brewery, New Releases

Jester King Le Petite Debuts Today

Jester King Le Petit Prince FarmhouseJester King Brewing (Austin, TX) debuts a new session ale today. Le Petite Prince Farmhouse Table Beer is is quite quaffable at a mere 2.8% abv.

Le Petite is inspired by the same Wallonian (Belgium) region table beers. They too were quite seasonable, brewed during colder months as it was beneficial to the brewing process. The low abv made these beers great to server to farmers & field workers (without getting them drunk.). They were great at hydrating in the absence of clean drinking water.

This prince starts showing up on draft handles today, and over the weekend. Bottles soon to follow.

Style: Farmhouse Ale

Hops: Czech Saaz
Malts:  Pilsner, Wheat, Caramunich, Acidulated Malt
Yeast: Farmhouse

Availability:  Draft, 750ml bottles soon

2.8% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Notch Brewing

Notch Brewing Saison Promoted

Notch Brewing’s Saison has been promoted to year round status.  This saison (or Worker’s Beer) is a mere 3.8% ABV.  Starting in 22oz bottles was a way to test the demand for a low abv session saison.  6-packscarry a higher packaging cost.  With such a positive response, the promotion is now official.  Saison launched in June, 2011.

Brewed in the traditional Saison style of Belgium, this is the classic farmhouse beer. Originally brewed by farms to slake the thirst of seasonal workers (les saisonniers), this refreshing beer had a lower alcohol content that is not often seen in today’s modern Saison. Notch returns the Saison to its roots, not only in alcohol content, but by using local ingredients much like the Belgian farmers. The wheat used in Notch Saison is malted by Valley Malt in Hadley Massachusetts.

Style: Saison

Hops:   Mt Hood, Styrian Goldings
Malts: Pils, Red Winter Wheat, Oats, Belgian
Yeast:  Belgian Saison Yeast

Availability: 22oz bombers, Draft through 2011. 2012 – 12oz bottles.

3.8% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Harpoon Brewing, New Launches

NEW RELEASE: Harpoon Pott’s Landbier

Harpoon’s 100 Barrel series is what the brewery calls a return to their roots.   The 100 Barrel series is exactly as it sounds.  Small batch, one of a kind, 100 barrels.  Throughout the year, a different Harpoon brewer will create a recipe from start to finish.  As a finishing touch, the brewer signs the label.  It’s completely their creation.  Like a piece of artwork.  To date, there have been 31 releases from the 100 Barrel Series.  Make way for #32.

Edition #32 is Pott’s Landbier.  A little name backstory for you – Landbier is German for “country beer” or a simple, everyday session beer.  It’s 4.8% ABV so it definitely qualifies.  I’m not going to try to summarize this beer’s bio as Harpoon has done so well already –

“The origins of this beer go back to 2003 when a group of German brewers, including Rainer and Joerg Pott of Pott’s Brauerei, took a tour of American breweries that included Harpoon. A few years later in 2007 Joerg joined the Harpoon staff for the summer months to learn more about American craft beer.

During Joerg’s 3-month tenure at Harpoon, the idea of brewing a beer together was mentioned often, but the timing never quite seemed to work out— until now.

Pott’s Landbier, or “country beer,” is a traditional session lager with a decidedly malty backbone made up of a blend of German and North American malts. The smooth malt character is tempered by the German bittering hop Magnum, which lends a clean, crisp balance. This beer is finished with more German hops for a spicy herbal palate and aroma. Fermented with Pott’s proprietary lager yeast — and imbued with over 240 years of German brewing tradition — this is just the beer to quench your summer thirst.”

Pott’s is classified as a Vienna lager.  Vienna lager was developed in Vienna in 1841 by Anton Dreher.  Vienna lager is described as a reddish brown or copper colored beer with medium body, and slight malt sweetness. (There’s more to that, but you get some of the idea.)

Known Ingredients –

Hops – Magnum

Yeast – German Lager

Availability – 22oz Bombers.  Draft.  One time, small batch, 100 Barrel brew.  On shelves now until sold.

Taste Expectations –  Hot summer days make for great session beer drinking.  It’s a strongly carbonated amber lager, with bready caramel malts and a noble hop flavor.  It’s light and crisp.

4.8 ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer Spotlight, New Releases, Peak Organic Brewing

Peak Organic Summer Session

Some drinkers see the word organic and they grimace.   I guess the word organic has gotten a “bean sprouts and tofu reputation.”  I won’t lie, even I am guilty of that thought before my first taste of a Peak Organic brew.

Let me do tell you that there is no reason to grimace.  Peak Organic Brewing is a very well intentioned brewery with an emphasis on the good things in life.  Recently, Peak released Summer Session Ale, a wheat ale.  As craft beer gets more bold and extreme, it is easy to lose touch with session beers.  (Ideally less than 5% ABV)  As the weather gets warmer, I find my desire for light, refreshing beers increasing.  While extreme, inventive, strong, and bold beers make craft beer great, I think its time to focus back on some session beers for a bit.  In honor of summer, hammocks, beaches, and lawnmowers.

This is the first release of Peak Organic Summer Session. I spoke to Rob Lucente, owner of Peak about Summer Session.  Rob is a great guy with a lot of passion for his business and craft beer.  Peak has almost been overwhelmed with the great response from Summer Session’s release.  Rob describes Summer as “a wheat beer marries a west coast pale ale.”  Summer Session is brewed with locally grown Maine wheat.  Ingredients –

Hops – Amarillo. Dry Hopped generously with Amarillo

Malts – 2 Row and a touch of Carapils-

Availability – 12oz/6 pks and Draft.  Summer Seasonal

Taste Expectations – Very approachable, light & crisp ale with notes of citrus and lemon peel.  Light hop aroma.

5% ABV

Fun Fact – The images on Peak Organic beers and 6 packs aren’t stock photos.  They are photos ( with stories) of people enjoying a “Peak” moment in life.  Its feel good drinking! More at www.peakbrewing.com

by Reid Ramsay