American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Hey, we may not be professionals, but we know you don’t have the time or energy to hunt down the newest big game beers on the market. So we have our experts trolling the interwebs, holding an ear to the rail, and keeping a wet finger in the wind to catch drift of the best new beers blowing into stores as we speak. From Ommegang’s Third Game of Thrones release to Breckenridge’s Denver Comic Con Beer, we’ve found all sorts of beers you’ll want to chase down.
So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!
Fear the Dark (Petaluma, CA) – Whether you call them Black IPAs or Cascadian Dark Ales, they both taste great and will always be served into the same hole, so who cares. Lagunitas Brewing’sNightTime Black IPA is a big dog at 8.6% ABV and 76 IBUs, though he’s already been let out of the yard for a while, released at the end of April. Sporting flavors from all across the spectrum, Lagunitas gets it right again with a well-balanced beast of a brew.
Cheers to 25 Years! (Fort Collins, CO & Kansas City, MO) – Making the best in the Midwest and the Rockies for 25 years isn’t easy, though it’s even better when you combine two greats to celebrate an anniversary for the ages. Odell Brewing and Boulevard Brewing, who opened within a day of each other 25 years ago, are returning to their roots by putting out a collaboration English Strong Ale, set for release in November.
Some Sweet Sours (Portland, OR) – If you’re in Portland and you want a barrel-aged sour beer, you’ve gotta go to Cascade Brewing. Their 2013 vintages of the Strawberry and Noyaux sours are almost ready for release (any day now and early June, respectively). The Strawberry is a crisp wheat beer aged for 7 months, then conditioned on strawberries for another 8 months to provide some tart funk. Then there’s the Noyaux, which features Belgian strong blondes aged in white port barrels with raspberries, then blended with select barrels of strong blondes that were aged on the toasted meat from the apricot nut, or Noyeaux. Delicious!
Cosbrew? (Breckenridge, CO) – They do more than just ski up in them hills, as evidenced by Breckenridge Brewing’s third straight year of contributing their talents to the Denver Comic Con. This year’s limited release, Brews Wayne, fashions a split personality of a hearty amber ale, balanced by a lively and floral hop character. Set to be unveiled on May 30, don’t forget your cape, your mug, and an alibi for a forthcoming session of heroic deeds.
Ommegawd! (Cooperstown, NY) – Back with their fourth installment in their Game of Thrones beers, Brewery Ommegang is now unleashing Valar Morghulis, meaning “all men must die” in Valyrian… whatever that is. What makes this one different is that the style of beer decided upon was crowdsourced with a vote via their Facebook page. And the winner was this classic Belgian Dubbel style, which will be up on shelves this fall, available on tap and in 25 oz. corked bottles.
