Newbies – 5 Special Craft Beers You Need To Check Out

American Craft Beer|March 2nd, 2016|

So many beers- So little time… With winter waning, we’re beginning to see some “changing seasons” offerings. …Plus we’ve some great new releases from Oskar Blues and the Brooklyn Brewery that you may need to chase down.

Here Comes The GUBNA (Longmont, CO / Brevard, NC) Oskar Blues will be returning a big-time spring seasonal for its fifth incarnation in March. Fueled on a special employee hand-picked selection of aromatic and resinous hops, 2016 GUBNA Imperial IPA is a 10% India Pale Ale “dry-hopped out of its mind” with prodigious amounts of hand selected Eldorado and Comet hops along with Idaho Experimental 007 hops from Jackson Farms.

Two New Porters From The Brewers Project (Dublin) – “The Brewers Project” is a special Guinness series of innovative small batch beers, created in their test brewery, in the heart of their St James Gate home. And they’ve just released two interesting takes on the Porter (both available in one beautifully crafted four-pack) that they developed over there.

Guinness Dublin Porter is based on recipes derived from brewer’s diaries going back to the 1770s. An historical recreation of the kinds of low alcohol porters that were popular when Charles Dickens, John Keats and Bram Stoker were all in their prime.

Guinness West Indies Porter began as a higher gravity export recipe, brewed with extra hops to help the beer withstand the long sea journey and the Caribbean tropics. At 6.8% ABV, this is a much more full-bodied take on the porter, richly flavored with notes of toffee, chocolate and caramel.

Bock Off! (Rochester, NY) –Genesee Brewing is once again celebrating winter’s passing with an enhanced take on a beloved spring seasonal that they’ve been brewing since 1951. Brewed as part of their Pilot Batch Series, Genesee Brew House Double Bock is a deep amber 7% ABV version of the German tradition.

Enter Winter / Exit Spring (Brooklyn, NY) – The Brooklyn Brewery has an interesting late winter/ early spring seasonal. Brewed as protection from this transition season’s sudden squalls and soggy weather, Brooklyn Insulated is 5.6% dry-hopped Dark Lager with black barley fueled notes of roasted coffee and a dry warming finish.