Newbies – 5 Craft Beer Seasonals That You Need To Check Out

American Craft Beer|November 30th, 2015|

So many beers- So little time… Thanksgiving’s now behind us and the winter on its way and with that comes the beers of the season. And, yes, we’ve a number of interesting new releases that you’ll want to chase down…We’ve also some interesting offerings from Dogfish Head and Anchor Brewing that sound serious as well.

A Tribute To Fritz (San Francisco, CA) – That’s what Anchor Brewing is calling their new barrel-aged homage to their founder, Fritz Maytag. Clocking in at what we consider to be a reasonable 7.5% ABV, Anchor Barrel Ale is four different Anchor beers, aged separately in Old Potrero Rye Whiskey barrels and then blended together.

Hoppiest Beer Ever Documented (Milton, DE) – On December 11th, Dogfish Head will be debuting a special “draft only” release at their Rehoboth Beach digs. Brewed with an experimental hop referred to as “Alpha Beast” along with Simcoe, Warrior and Amarillo hops in CO2 extract, Dogfish Head’s Hoo Lawd is a dark IPA that has received scientific confirmation and documentation from two independent labs that this is, in fact, the hoppiest commercial beer ever brewed!

Winter’s Coming (Portland, OR) – Widmer Brothers has a new cold-weather seasonal that you may want to chase down. Widmer Brother’s Brrr Seasonal Ale is a full-bodied 7.2% Winter Red that was brewed with audacious amounts of caramel and chocolate malts and pairs brilliantly with a roaring fire.

Don’t Forget To Burton Up! (Cold Springs, MN) – Few people know that Ballantine Beer brewed the first IPA in this country’s history. And now they are bringing back a legendary holiday release. First brewed in Newark in the 1930s and back then, sometimes aged for up to 20 years in American Oak – Ballantine Burton Ale is an 11.3% malt-forward Strong Ale with hints of oak and vanilla that you need to track down.

Be Cold / Keep Cold / Drink Now (Boston, MA) – That’s the mantra of Samuel Adam’s latest addition to their popular Rebel family of IPA variants, which is hitting retail shelves this week. Rebel Raw is a massive 10% Double IPA that’s brewed for immediate consumption. You see, freshness is critical to this aggressively hop-forward brew which has the shortest shelf life (35 days!) in Boston Beer’s history.