Newbies – New Releases That You Want to Look Out For – January 16, 2014

So many beers, So little time…Newbies is your essential map to the “best of the best” and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Ninkasi’snewest ReNEWale to the latest from New Belgium and Indeed, we’ve got all kinds of new releases you’re going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies – your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!

The Spring Is Back in New Belgium’s Step (Fort Collins, CO) – New Belgium Brewing is getting ready for the change of seasons and they’ve fashioned something special to celebrate it with. Spring Blonde is their 6% ABV Belgian-style golden ale brewed with sweet pale malts. It pours bright copper and sports a light bitter finish that perfectly mirrors the spring. New Belgium Spring Blonde was brewed as a tribute to traditional Belgian ale and it’s rolling out now – so you know what to do!

Major Gonzo Release Alert (Frederick, MD) – Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter, a homage to Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, will be released exclusively at Flying Dog Brewery on Monday, February 3^rd and you do not want to miss this. Typically released once a year in extremely limited supply, Flying Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo is a massive 9.5% ABV porter, six months in the making, with the beer aged for a minimum of three months in oak whiskey barrels.

It’s A New Year at Ninkasi (Eugene, OR) – Ninkasi Brewing is kicking off the year the right way – with a new beer! Each year, their brewers collaborate to brew a different beer under the ReNEWale label and this year, they used a house alt yeast strain (the same one they used in Sleigh’r) to brew it. ReNEWale 2014 is their newest seasonal release – a 5.4% ABV Alt Pale Ale that’s malty, crisp, and smooth – and it’s available now through March.

Victory Honors its Homebrewing Roots (Downingtown, PA) – Victory Brewing Company has a special beer release set to hit retail shelves along the East Coast in late-February and it couldn’t be timelier. Scheduled for release around the brewery’s 18th anniversary, Victory 1337 Ale is a salute to the legislation that legalized homebrewing with a throwback recipe from co-founders Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet’s early days as homebrewers. As Victory continues its expansion into a second full-time production brewery in Parkesburg, PA, this limited edition 6.3% ABV commemorative ale, packaged in 22 oz. bottles and kegs, also celebrates the brewery’s future.

Indeed Gets Smoked! (Minneapolis, MN) – The Indeed Brewing Company has just announced the release of their 2014 Hot Box Imperial Smoked Pepper Porter at Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub on January 28. Hot Box is a collaborative beer created by Indeed’s Head Brewer Josh Bischoff and Northbound Smokehouse Brewer Jamie Robinson. Currently the only beer produced by two local breweries in Minnesota, Hot Box features hickory-smoked peppers and malts cold-smoked over a special blend of wood by the Northbound Smokehouse crew.