Looks like Widmer is really kicking up their game a notch. So much so that my next Portland visit will most likely include a trip to see what they have on tap.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rotator series of IPAs so I am banking on these being good too.
Oatmeal Pale Ale
Following on the heels of Cavatica Stout and their Stout month, Fort George has started to can up their popular Sunrise OPA (Oatmeal Pale Ale).
Here is what the brewery says about it, “Nice and Creamy session-style American Pale Ale. Good beer for drinking anytime of the day, even when the sun is rising, due to its dry nature with Mild bitterness and lovely hop aroma. This beer is based on the first beer ever produced at the Fort George Brewery, Beer#1, We decided to add 50 lbs of Oatmeal to make it even better. Famous quote: “I’ll have just one more OPA, please.” This beer has become a staff staple.”
Next year’s Birthday beer (maybe)
Now for most people (including myself), mention Pretty Things Beer and Ale and you get, “yes, please”. But there is another reason why I REALLY want a bottle of this new beer. It has my birth date on it!
Plus it has noted beer historian Ron Pattinson’s name on it and then throw in the fact that it is a mild which is an oft ignored but often great beer style and I am completely sold.
23 Years is Old
Wow. Karl Strauss has been around for 23 years. That is amazing. And breweries do well with anniversaries. A lot of great beers are made for the yearly celebration. Like this one….
“The 23rd Anniversary Old Ale was aged for 12 months in American oak barrels and is the first Karl Strauss barrel-aged beer to be offered unblended. It’s loaded with complex layers of toffee, molasses, dried figs, and toasted oak. A pronounced warming bourbon flavor contributes to the beer’s 12.2% alcohol content—making this strong ale an ideal after dinner sipper or accompaniment to desserts like bread pudding. The company only bottled 413 cases of this beer, encouraging fans to enjoy one now and lay another down several years. “This beer is only going to get better with age,” says brewer Segura. “As time passes, the bourbon character will mellow and more of the dried fruit and vanilla flavors will come out.”
The 23rd Anniversary Old Ale will be available on tap at all six Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurants and select beer bars across Southern California, beginning February 2, 2012
North Coast Old Stock Ale Ōtsuchi 2012
Looks like North Coast is following up on the popularity of the Old Stock Ale with a version by the name of Ōtsuchi 2012.
A quick search on the interwebs says that Otsuchi is a town in Japan or a war mallet. What meaning that imparts into the beer is your guess until it arrives and we can taste it.
Art of Darkness
Ommegang has gone to the dark side. Putting their spin onto a dark Belgian ale. Might be one to put into the cellar to replace what I have taken out this month.
Zymaster
Anchor Brewing has unveiled a new line of beers going by the name of the “Zymaster Series,” which will have its coming out party during San Francisco Beer Week.
It will be a modern re-creation of a lager using California malt and cluster hops to match up with what may have been brewed back in the days before even Anchor Brewing started up. To read up on the research that went into creating this new beer check out the Brookston Beer Bulletin HERE.
Holy Mole
It seems like peppers are “hot” in the brewing world what with 11-11-11 from Stone and this from New Belgium.
“Cocoa Molé combines chocolate, cinnamon and plentiful ancho, guajillo and chipotle chilies for a sweet and spicy burst of flavor. Brewed with pale, caramel-80, chocolate, dark chocolate malts and a healthy dash of chocolate rye, Cocoa Molé presents midnight dark with a subtle reddish hue, lifting a pillowy, burnished head. It starts on the tongue with a swirl of chocolate malt that dissolves into the warm embers of a peppery heat. Alcohol by volume is nine percent and it will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bombers.”
Fargo Wood Chipper
“Four native sons are hoping that the name recognition generated from the 15-year-old Coen brothers flick will help launch their fledgling brewing company in North Dakota’s largest city. Their first beer is called Wood Chipper, a whimsical reference to the famous prop from the movie.”
I am surprised that that name hadn’t been appropriated earlier. It is perfect for a palate wrecking IPA. And now the Fargo Beer Company is sending it out to North Dakota (which could use more breweries, if for the only reason that I could knock it off my tried a beer from each state list)
Stone cannot stop collaborating
We all should be familiar with the brown bottle with a troika of names on it since Stone has gone full tilt with their collaborations.
And now a new one to add to the mantle….TBA. Looks like a brown ale with molasses and brown sugar and they have gone east coast / west coast just like the More Brown than Black by drafting in Bear Republic of California and Fatheads of Pennsylvania Ohio. Review to come later!