We finish the Caldera Kettle Series with this provocatively named creation…
the Stone collaborations keep coming
San Diego County Session Ale is the latest in the lovely etched collaboration bottles to soon grace our ‘fridges. It was brewed over the course of the summer by Colby Chandler from Ballast Point, Mitch Steele from Stone and Kelsey McNair from a brewery I have yet to taste from called North Park Beer Co..
I am glad the session is taking over!
Late Harvest
Does this sound great? Yes, it does.
A farmhouse brown ale with…
-pomegranate seeds
-grains of paradise
-Tasmanian peppercorns
from Upright Brewing
Review – Caldera Hopportunity Knocks
Another curve ball from Caldera. Was expecting a hop explosion and this is what I got…
a smaller Chocolate Bock
Sounds good. Maybe not in the teeth of the summer, but I should let you decide from this description from the Sam Adams website: “Smooth, rich, and dark, with the robust flavor and creamy texture of chocolate.
To create Samuel Adams® Chocolate Bock, we wanted to take the flavor beyond the taste of dark roasted malt. We started with a complex selection of carefully roasted malts combined with hand selected Noble hops from Bavaria. After using a centuries old brewing process, we slowly aged the beer on a bed of rare dark cocoa nibs from Felchlin®*. Known for their quality these wild cocoa nibs, harvested from the rainforest of Northern Bolivia, impart complex aromas and flavors of chocolate, honey, and vanilla in the beer.”
New from Ommegang
That Belgian outpost in New York has a new Scottish inspired beer coming our way…
Pretty cool label outside. What’s inside, you ask? “This fine Ommegang ale uses heather tips and a wee bit of smoked malt to bring the taste and aroma of Scotland to the forefront.”
The name comes from a Scottish poem by Robert Burns, “An wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet, fir ald land syn.”
Shandy – American Style
Not a big fan of the frog on the label, but I thoroughly enjoyed the B.O.R.I.S. that I had from this great Ohio brewery. Now this summer news via their Facebook page, “We are preparing for the release of our Turbo Shandy Citrus Ale around mid June. Alcohol 7% by volume. – Born from European tradition, our Shandy is a refreshing combination of lemon and light malt flavors. Unlike traditional shandys, Turbo Shandy, revs it up a couple of notches with a high test, full flavored approach as only Hoppin’ Frog can do.”
With the addition of another shandy from Leinenkugel, you can have a mini shandy fest!
I know fruit ales get a bad rap but when done right it brings a whole new flavor palette to the game.
Victory Summer Love
We here on the west coast are lucky to get some of the offerings from Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing. I have enjoyed Yakima Twilight, Hop Wallop and Baltic Thunder in the past and considering the hearty response to this Philly Beer Week creation, I am sure I would enjoy Summer Love as well.
Here are the specs: “Brewed locally at the Victory Brewery in Chester County, the Summer Love Ale is a golden ale made with pale malts, German hops and Brandywine River water. This specific style of beer was chosen because it has a broad appeal and will be accessible for casual beer drinkers, but will still retain exciting hop notes.
The brew has a vibrant and refreshing pale color derived from its lean and refreshing malt body. And the initially floral aroma of hops segues into a well integrated, refreshing hop dryness of European heritage.”
Strawberry + Beer
From the inventive Shorts Brewery, the makers of PB&J beer comes a summer refresher of a golden ale with strawberries! If anyone can make this combo work, it would be Shorts. I can just imagine it on vanilla ice cream.
After the Strawberry Shortcake, Shorts might unleash the following creations Key Lime Pie, Smore stout, Pistacho and Bloody Beer. Now that would be a horizontal tasting!
Sweet Potato beer
I have had pumpkin beers and numerous fruit beers but this is the first sweet potato with milky cream that I have ever seen.
“Jefferson Stout, Lazy Magnolia’s original Sweet Potato Cream Stout, is Lazy Magnolia’s version of the ideal Southern-Style Stout. Jefferson Stout is brewed with sweet potatoes and lactose (milk sugar). The sweet potatoes provide the background to an impressive taste with added notes of roasted chocolate, coffee and caramel flavors.”
I love the inventiveness.