American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
(Courtesy Sierra Nevada Brewing)
Labor Day Weekend is ON and American craft brewers are addressing things with an intriguing roster of beers you’re gonna want to have around as we say goodbye to summer.
Best Fest (Chico, CA / Mills River, NC) – Few beers signal the end of summer and fall’s arrival like the return Sierra Nevada’s annual Oktoberfest beer, an annual release where the brewery partners with a legendary German brewer.
Brewed this year in collaboration with Brauerei Gutmann, Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest Festbier is a smooth and balanced 6% ABV special release with a rich biscuity malt profile and an uber-clean finish.
Prost! (Hershey, PA) – Pennsylvania has a rich German heritage, so it shouldn’t surprise that Tröegs Independent Brewing makes one of the best Oktoberfest beers in the nation.
Brewed but once a year and crafted using a traditional brewing technique called decoction, Tröegs Oktoberfest Lager is a 6.1% ABV seasonal release with bright notes of sweet caramel, fresh-baked bread, and flowering herbs. A kettle addition of Hallertau Tradition hops adds subtle floral and herbal undercurrents to this toasty sweet Fest Lager.
(Courtesy Tröegs Independent Brewing)
“It’s one of our simplest recipes and only uses two types of malt,” said brewmaster and co-founding brother, John Trogner. “It starts with a base of pilsner malt, then we add a touch of Munich to impart a bready flavor. By boiling a portion of the mash, we create a bright, dry maltiness. The yield is a rich, complex malt character.”
Labor Day Ready (Boonville, CA) – Anderson Valley Brewing, a Northern California brewery renowned for its standout ales, introduced a lager last year that’s a perfect Labor Day beer. Lagered for an almost unheard-of sixty days Anderson Valley’s modestly named The Pilsner is a flavorful and complex, 5.2% ABV German-Style Pilsner with a soft, crisp, clean, and delicious character.
(Courtesy Anderson Valley Brewing)
“The Pilsner pilot batch was one of the most beautiful, delicious beers I have tasted in a long time,” said AVBC President Kevin McGee. “When the brewing team came up with the idea to brew a German Pilsner, my initial reaction was why do we want to do a Pilsner? They’re temperamental and difficult to brew really well, take a lot of time, and tie up a lot of equipment. But then I tasted the first batch the team made and the ‘why’ became really clear.
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