American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
So many beers, So little time…With so many craft breweries, releasing so many beers, we thought it might help to provide a weekly update on all the new beers that are hitting the streets…So welcome to this week’s edition of Newbies – your guide to great new craft beer releases!
Stone Just Farking Around with Wil Wheaton (Escondido, CA) – Okay, we’re going to try to make this as clear as we can because there are a lot of pieces in play here. Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout is a special collaboration between Stone, Wil Wheaton–actor, homebrewer, and w00tstock innovator–and Drew Curtis, the twisted mind behind Fark.com. The 13% ABV Imperial Stout they collectively came up with was brewed using wheat (at Wil’s insistence) and drew upon Drew’s Kentucky roots by adding rye and pecans to the mix and aging it in bourbon barrels. This truly unique collaboration started hitting markets on Monday – so you know what to do!
The Great Pumpkin Parade Begins (Portsmouth, NH) – Actually we’re surprised we had to wait so long to start seeing these begin to roll out. Smuttynose Brewing Company has announced that we’ll be seeing their popular Pumpkin Ale in stores this week. Also on July 19, they’ll be releasing their collaboration with Stone, Cluster’s Last Stand, which features the once-dominant Cluster hop as a “tribute to the original American IPAs and the hops that made them great.”
208 Goes Year-Round in 2013 (Victor, ID) – The Grand Teton Brewing Company has announced that their popular 208 Session Ale is now available year-round.It’s brewed with 100% Idaho-grown grain, hops, and pure Idaho spring water. The package imagery is inspired by and pays tribute to Idaho’s rich agricultural heritage and its diverse and beautiful vistas. The name comes directly from the 208 area code that encompasses all of Idaho.
Full Sail Gets All Experimental Again (Hood, OR) – July is Oregon Craft Beer Month and to celebrate it, Full Sail Brewing has released the newest beer in their Brewer’s Share Experimental lineup. Faria’s Clara is a Helles Lager that the brewer Francisco Farias Martinez refers to as his first “shiftie” (their term for an after-work beer). According to Francisco, the name, ‘Clara’ means ‘clear’ in Spanish. “I thought this style would be the perfect shift beer to share with the crew on the warm summer afternoons that July will bring,” he said. He describes his special edition 6% ABV Helles as being light in body and sporting a delicate hop flavor.The Brewer’s Share series is a lineup of small-batch draft beers where each Full Sailor takes a turn at handcrafting their own single batch recipe, and a portion of the proceeds benefit a local charity of their choosing. Brewer’s Share beers are only available on tap at Full Sail’s Tasting Room in Hood River, Oregon, and at Full Sail’s Brewery at Riverplace in Portland, Oregon.
Red Sky Returns (Baltimore, MD) – It bears repeating that Heavy Seas Beer has brought back their popular summer seasonal – and if you’ve not yet had the pleasure, the time is now! Pale gold in color, Red Sky at Night takes its name from the mariner saying “Red sky at night, sailors delight,” and is brewed using ridiculous amounts of malted white wheat. Red Sky is a 7.5% ABV bright and spicy Saison that you’ll want to chase down.
Rogue’s Split Personality (Newport, OR) – We may not know what the hell it’s going to taste like, but we gotta admit, we’re curious! Rogue Ales has truly gone rogue this time with their new Crustacean Barleywineish Imperial India Pale Ale Sorta (yep – that’s the real name). A style-defying mix of their Old Crustacean Barleywine and an Imperial IPA, the only thing this brew may have in common with its brethren is its serious 9.6% ABV. Out now on draft, we recommend you keep an open mind when you see this one pop up at your local bar or when it eventually hits store shelves in 750ml bottles.
