Category: I would love to taste,,,

These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.

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8 Buffalo

Uh-Oh.  Now it’s getting serious, Beachwood Brewing is releasing 8 Buffalo Imperial Stout.

It is the kick-off for the 2014 series of barrel-aged Beachwood beers.

As Brewmaster and co-owner Julian Shrago explains, “We are so excited to finally release our first large scale barrel aged beer! It’s been amazing to taste 8 Buffalo along the way, we are very proud of the final blend.”

The limited edition 8 Buffalo Imperial Stout will be released on March 4th at 5pm at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

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A Beer for Michael Jackson, no the other one.

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There are some weird beers and weird named beers on the Bruery Reserve Society list.  But for the mere mortals who are not in that rareified group this looks like one that you should be on the look out for since it came out on the 10th.  It will be a big bruiser at 15% but I like when the Bruery goes English.

And then there are two more coming in the months ahead that sound really good.  6th Anniversary – Sucré and a chocolate dubbel with the hard to spell name of Couverteur.

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Anchor IPA

When I heard that Anchor Brewing was stopping their bock, I was a bit miffed.  Certain styles in the U.S. were being phased out it appeared.  Anchor had done such a good job adding a lager to their line-up that I felt a step had been taken backward.

That worry was amplified by what appears to be the replacement, another IPA.  I certainly hope it is good.  I will try it but I wish they could do it and the bock ½ and 1/2.

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Here is how Jay Brooks at the Brookston Beer Bulletin, described the new beer, “Anchor IPA is brewed with six different hops, including Apollo, Bravo and Cascade for bittering, and the five used in dry-hopping are Apollo, Cascade, an experimental hop still know as 431, Nelson Sauvin and Citra.”

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1/2 Cider & 1/2 IPA = gluten free

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I don’t know about this experiment but I really like that it is tabbed as an experiment.  So many beer releases have fancy, dressed up names but this one I may try because of the fact that they own up to their testing. Kudos to Harvester Brewing!

“Apple IPA features the wonderful characteristics of a dry cider crossed with a classicly-hopped Northwest IPA. It starts with an IPA base brewed with buckwheat and chestnuts and kettle hopped with three large aroma additions of Centennial hops. Then apple must is added to create a mixture of 51% IPA and 49% cider. The blend is fermented with an American ale yeast, and is finished by dry- hopping with 10 lbs. of Centennial hops.”

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The first part of the Trilogy

Revolves around a magical Crystal.  The Hop that is.  BridgePort Brewing Company is celebrating by brewing three different brews throughout 2014.

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Here’s more from the brewery press release, “, Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, will celebrate 30 years by releasing the “BridgePort Trilogy Series,” three limited edition beers. The first two beers in the series will honor pivotal moments in BridgePort’s history by highlighting the adoption of aroma hops and the IPA movement. In contrast, the third and final beer in the series will explore what’s still to come for craft beer in Oregon.”

Given that aroma hops ignited the Oregon craft beer movement, it only made sense for the first beer in the “BridgePort Trilogy Series” to honor one of Edgerton’s favorite, the Crystal Hop, a varietal known for it’s slightly spicy and citrus notes.

Trilogy 1 uses a big charge of Crystal Hops at the end of fermentation for a pleasant dry-hop aroma and flavor. The presence of Rye malt gives this beer a slightly spicy malt character and the Munich malts add a soft yet definite mouthfeel.”

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5 Years in One

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I could not believe it when I read the label for this new Cigar City beer.  Really?  They hadn’t brewed anniversary beers.  I don’t know if that is refreshing or dereliction of duty.  Either way good to see the New Zealand hops in force.

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Dry Hop that Saison – 2014

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One of my favorite beers from last year was a Belgian dry hopped Saison from the experts in Saison, Dupont.  Sadly, that particular beer will not be coming this year because…..”Every year Dupont’s Master Brewer, Olivier Dedeycker, makes a special dry-hopped version of the brewery’s world famous Saison Dupont. This lets him take advantage of different hop varieties each season. For 2014, he chose the famous English hop, CHALLENGER, renowned for its balance of bittering and aromatic qualities. Importantly, they were cultivated in Belgium by the farm that supplies Olivier’s Golding hops. Using only hop flowers (no pellets, please), he added them to the late boil and dry hopped in cold maturation. The result is “a super refreshing Saison with accentuated floral, spice and citrus hop notes.”

I have a feeling this might be one of the top beers of 2014.

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Post Hop

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A small beer version of an IPA? Do I smell a new IPA category in the offing?  Either way, maybe a stray Drakes keg of Post-Hopocalypse (small beer made from Black Label) will make it’s way to Los Angeles.