One of the many breweries that I wish I had more of is Captain Lawrence. And they have a barrel select series that I wish I could get a bottle from each release. Now they have cherry AND raspberry coming after 4 years of resting peacefully in oak.
Galaxy Quest
Here is the press release for the latest Brothers Reserve…
“Since 1984, Kurt and Rob Widmer have been dedicated to creating the deliciously American and European-style beers. The Brothers’ Reserve Series is a showcase fo their innovative skills and creative passion for craft brewing.
Galaxy Hopped Barleywine is a new take on an old favorite. This beer pours a dark crimson, almost mahogany color. The yeast and Galaxy hops(TM) deliver a big bang of red and yellow fruit aromatics like banana, pineapple, cherry and strawberry. The experience begins with a taste of toffee and darkened sweet caramel overlaid on subtle tones of vanilla. All to be punctuated by the floral and citrus dry hop character.
I like the sound of a big barley wine that has hop fruity-ness to it.
Galaxy hops were bred in 1994 by Hop Products Australia. This company owns a hop garden called Rostrevor in North Eastern Victoria where they were grown for the first time. It’s now grown in both Victoria and Tasmania. It is a cross between an Australian female and a male Perle hop.”
This is the first I am seeing the Galaxy hop used unless it is hidden in another beer that I have. If you have tried it, let me know what you think.
LongShot
Here is the info on this year’s LongShot winners!
“With the 2011 Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest – Category 23 Variety six-pack hitting shelves this month, drinkers nationwide can taste the two innovative homebrews that triumphed over more than 700 competitors to win the 2010 Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest. Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch tapped homebrewers nationwide to think outside the box and develop a “Category 23″ style beer unlike any other. Georgia resident Richard Roper’s Friar Hop Ale and Illinois resident Rodney Kibzey’s Blackened Hops beer were named the 2010 winners at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).
In addition to Richard and Rodney’s winning brews, Samuel Adams also honors Employee Homebrew Winner Caitlin DeClercq for her Honey B’s Lavender Wheat beer. All three winning homebrewers had the opportunity to brew alongside the Samuel Adams brewers in Boston. Their recipes were bottled and are now available nationally in the 2011 Samuel Adams LongShot American”
Karl Strauss – Coastal Reserve series
I really enjoyed the Vanilla Porter that KS came out with and the BIPA is a style that I enjoy as well. Toss in the New Zealand hops and I am in.
“Blackball is a Belgian-inspired India Pale Ale with a robust West Coast hop profile. Belgian ale yeast, coriander, and Curacao lend a fruity and spicy character for an ale bolder than your average IPA. A blend of New Zealand and Cascade hops add a vibrant floral aroma and clean citrus hop bitterness that lingers through its crisp, dry finish. Drink up while it’s young, heavily hopped IPA’s are best enjoyed fresh.”
Black & Orange
I have to admit that I am not a baseball fan. Not in the least. But I am a fan of the specialty and one off brews done in honor of sports, people or places.
Especially if done with a little creativity, which brings us to…
A black ale made with orange zest. Makes you wonder what the beer would be if the Dodgers or A’s win a world series.
Rosemary Swamp Fox
I subscribe to Beer America TV which reviews some great beers and one of the on camera talents is brewer John Pinkerton who recently won gold at GABF!
“It was for his Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA in the “Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer” category. It beat out 90 other entries for the honor.
In addition to the normal amounts of Centennial, Chinook and Brewer’s Gold hops, Pinkerton dry-hopped the Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA with fresh rosemary. The beer’s assertive citrus hoppiness was complemented by a blast of the piney, aromatic rosemary. It tasted just like it smelled.”
Beer Bloggers + Brew Dog =
What happens when you get three of the leading lights of Craft Beer Writing and let them create a beer with the BrewDog?
“The result is a 7.5% ‘Imperious Pilsner’. Zak wrote some label copy that goes on about killing your ideals and worshipping your heroes and stuff, which is really good and adorns the bottle label. But basically it’s doing to lager what new wave brewers such as Brew Dog have done to pale ales, porters and stouts. (I’m not saying we’re the first – just that that’s what we did.) It features an insane amount of Saaz hops, and was lagered for a full six weeks before being dry-hopped with yet more Saaz.”
Kudos to Zak Avery, Mark Dredge and Pete Brown!
Dedication Series
This new special set of beers was brought to my attention by Mike Besser at Brewdad. You can re-cap his tweets of the event HERE.
This is what the brewery had to say about the beers: “The Dedication Series includes; Imperial IPA, Imperial Red Ale, Scottish Style Ale and what we call Double Danger, an Imperial Dark Ale. The Dedication Series will be available in 22oz bottles and also on draft starting April 1st, 2011. With each beer coming in at over 8% abv, and each with its own unique twist, we feel Dick would be proud.”
EXIT 9
I love breweries that really explore their place geographically and Flying Fish literally explores New Jersey with their Exit series. Exit 9 is for Rutgers University!
Here is their description of the brew: “To celebrate Exit 9, we brewed a richly flavored red beer crafter with a variety of domestic and imported malts and a classic American yeast strain. Assertively hopped with Amarillo, Centennial, Chinook and Citra, the bouquet has complex notes of citrus and tropical fruits, with an appropriate bitterness in the finish.”
Axe to grind
The ever growing Oakshire Brewing has a new Baltic Porter a brewin’: “Axe of Perun is strong dark lager with hints of chocolate and licorice in the aroma. It has a sweet middle with a touch of roast and chocolate flavors that keep it in balance. 7.4% abv.”
