Beer labels are artwork in my opinion and this one from Southern Tier is even better than their Christmas Krampus…
It is for a new pale ale from the New York brewery that they dedicate to “… our farmer friends of today for cultivating the ingredients the are responsible for the beers we now enjoy. Their laborious days spent ourdoors under the hot sun earn them respect, as well as a mark of distinction: the farmer’s tan. Yes, the inevitable red and white hallmark of hard work.”
Parabola
“We present Parabola, the first-ever bottling of this barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Just 1,000 cases [22 oz. bottles] were produced. This bold beer features nuances of bourbon and tobacco aroma. Rich dark chocolate flavors meld with charred oak, dark cherry and espresso finishing smooth on the palate. Parabola is best enjoyed in moderation and is a perfect addition to chocolate desserts.”
Tobacco? Charred Oak?
Now dark cherry and espresso, I can understand. But will it make me swoon like Velvet Merkin does?
Alaskan Pilot brews
Alaskan Brewing is getting into the reserve series game. Actually, they have been in it for awhile. Us mainlanders just haven’t had access until now. Getting to market is a two step process according to the brewery, “Each new recipe is first created on our 1-barrel experimental brewhouse, perfected in our 10-barrel pilot brewhouse, then put to the test through our Rough Draft series of draft-only beers distributed in Alaska,” the most popular of the rough drafts take the leap to a limited release in the Alaskan Pilot Series.
“Years of local demand through Alaskan’s Rough Draft program of draft-only releases and a Silver medal from the 2008 Great American Beer Festival made our Raspberry Wheat the perfect brew to officially launch the ‘Pilot Series’.”
Two more Pilot Series beers will debut in 2010 — a black imperial IPA in October, and a re-release of the Alaskan Barley Wine— which just won a Bronze medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup on April 10 – in late December.
Batemans Mr. George’s Ruby Porter
In England the Ruby Porter is known as Batemans Dark Lord, but is has been re-named for the U.S. market due to a trademark conflict.
Dark Lord has a deep black color with reddish hints and is capped by rich creamy foam. The aroma features roasted grain notes with spicy-citrus hop notes. The palate is roasty with hints of coffee and licorice and an underlying fruit accent and long finish. A mere 5% alcohol by volume.
In both 2007 & 2008 it was named among “The World’s Fifty Best Beers” at the Drinks International Beer Challenge.
Redhook Eisbock
Both Karl Strauss and Redhook were craft pioneers who seemed to get passed by or considered too big and not micro cool.
Well now both are coming out swinging. Strauss with some good IPA bombers and Redhook with their 8-4-2 Expedition and now with this…
It is described on the label as, “Aged for months at temperatures well below freezing, Eisbock 28 is extraordinarily smooth and malt with a bittersweet complexity achieved by ice processing.”
Tripel Perfection
The Belgian beer keeps coming from the Cooperstown folks at Ommegang. I have been hearing about their new BPA for a couple of weeks but since I have a fellow beer geek whose first choice is always a tripel then the release of the Tripel Perfection is even better news.
This beer is three years in the making and clocks in at 8.9% alcohol. So it is not for the weak.
Hitachino Nest – Nipponia
Let’s talk more Japanese beer!
Even they are getting on the locavore bandwagon!
“Kiuchi Brewery succeeded in reproducing ‘Kaneko Golden,’ the first beer malt in Japan. This Nipponia is brewed using only this malt.
We use ‘Sorachi Ace’ as the hop, one which was once breeding in Hookaido and now is cultivated in Washington D.C.
The color Nipponia is gold, worthy of the name, and the flavour is like a lemon produced by Sorachi Ace.”
Wild Rice
The citra hop has worked it’s way to the east coast. I have had only a few rice forward brews and none have blown me away or shown something unique. Maybe this will prove different.
Take a read… “we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also used brown and white rice, as well as two malts.
Rice helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five different hops we’ve added. Lots and lots of them. We then dry-hopped this Double IPA with even more-generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops to create a nose that hints at tangerine, mango, papaya and pine.”
(sorta) new from Karl Strauss
It’s good to see Karl Strauss back in the game rather than resting on their laurels and it’s good to see a pale ale!
“Karl Strauss Brewing Company is releasing the next installment of their seasonal program, Pintail Pale Ale. The company has brewed Pintail Pale Ale for over nine years, however, this is the first time it will be available in bottles.
Pintail is a classic American Pale Ale, loaded with pine and citrus flavors from a blend of Newport and Cascade hops. After fermentation, Pintail is dry-hopped with a pound of Amarillo hops per barrel, for a distinct grapefruit aroma and flavor. The vibrant hoppiness of the beer is balanced by a blend of Carapils and caramel malts, creating a firm backbone to support the lingering, dry finish. Brewer Paul Segura says, “We’ve got a lot of hop heads who love this beer for its intense grapefruit flavors.”
yet ANOTHER Stone 3 Way
Stone has teamed with two brewers from around the country. AGAIN!
This time Victory from Pennsylvania and the esteemed Dogfish Head from Delaware to create a saison. A Buff saison. Each back label has a different spin from each of the three different brewers. Collect them all!
