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These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
Add this to your long term beer shopping list….
I will usually get a bottle of Delirium Tremens beer around Christmas because people see the elephant and fancy heavy bottle and see it as a good gift for the beer fan and I enjoy it each time. But this sour quad has me intrigued even more.
There are certain styles that I feel would work better than others within the non-alcoholic realm and one of those is the out of favor, Brut IPA and Athletic Brewing has tackled it…
…the dryness of Brut combined with hops should cover that N/A deficit that many low alcohol beers show even in great examples.
When stores put up Halloween items in July and Christmas sprouts up in October, you need to find a better marker for the end of year holiday season. Mine is the release of the Firestone Walker Anniversary blend.
This year the winning blend was done by the trio of Valia From and Emily Miller – Desparada Wines, Russell From – Herman Story Wines and Danny “Fullpint” Becker – Editor-in-Chief, of The Full Pint. And it has some fun additions to it.
Here is the final blend:
Parabola – Russian Imperial Stout – Aged in Bourbon Barrels (32%)
Velvet Merkin – Milk Stout – Aged in Bourbon Barrels (32%)
Bravo – Imperial Brown Ale – Aged in Bourbon Barrels (24%)
Heavy Things – Barley Wine Made in Collaboration with The Bruery – Aged in Brandy Barrels (6%)
Helldorado – Blonde Barley Wine – Aged in Bourbon Barrels (4%)
Wheat Wine -Strong Golden Barley Wine Co-Fermented with White Wine Grape Juice – Aged in Bourbon Barrels (2%)
I always buy one to age and one to drink now. It is pretty much the only beer I age now, it is that good.
And of course, as per BSP tradition, I will review 26 next to the blend from five years ago.
When I was a kid, my soccer team was named the Winterhawks probably in a homage to the minor league hockey team, the Portland Winterhawks. Fast forward to 2022 and the WHL Winterhawks have partnered with Backwoods Brewing Company partner on a West Coast IPA with the great name, Light the Lamp. If it was a soccer beer for my old team, it would be Wait for VAR.
Smog City Brewing has been a big proponent of 1% for the Planet and their next beer in community impact series benefits The Bay Foundation. It is Forgotten Forest Hazy IPA. Buy a 4-pack to help the environment.
As much as charity beers are my favorites, Smog has another beer coming soon that intrigues me even more, ” The creative masterminds (mad scientists?) behind our Wood Cellar collection of beers have done it again! With Dubbel Old Fashioned, our latest Wood Cellar beer, they’ve pushed the boundaries on what a beer can be.”
You will not see a lot of milkshake on this blog but this one from Stone Brewing has extra interest behind it…
“Stone Violetta Iris Mikshake IPA This beer is named for a breast cancer survivor Violetta Iris Dirkmaat, the mother-in-law of our Senior Manager of Brewing & Innovation Steve Gonzalez. It’s pleasantly sweet (like her!) with an unexpected combination of vanilla, blood orange and raspberry, and a lesser-known New Zealand hop variety called Moutere. Raise a glass of this rose-colored beer to the strength of survivors, and Violeta’s motto: Volharden.”
Well, not only was the Arroyo Parkway Shell station (yes, a gas station) a low key haunt for beer geeks looking for Bottle Logic and Great Notion beers, as well as other rarities but now they are getting in on their own brand, Replicant…
I like the crazy (and expensive) idea to have a brewery out of state send brewers to replicate a beer here in California. Long term might be more of a seasonal series. But if it doesn’t sell out, I would love to try.
There will be more replicants coming.
P.S. – You might also look for the Bottle Logic / Shell collaboration too, Fuel Up is a dark lager with Ethiopian wate gogugu coffee.
Far Field has released their first single-hop IPA in their new series named, Simple Creature.
“For each release, we’ll focus on a single hop, squeezing out every ounce of aroma and flavor as we can to showcase the unique characteristics of the species.”
“For this first release, the star of the show is Ekuanot, a hop brimming with unique fruity and citrus notes like berry and lime, and rounded out with a zesty, pepper finish.”
Sometimes you miss a beer the first (even second time) around the horn. Such is the case for KQ Express from Topa Topa Brewing.
Since SoCal receives extra weeks of sun while others get autumn temperatures, this could be that bridge from summer to fall beers.
NBA Season is fast approaching and as I fervently wish that my Trailblazers start strong one team in the Association has finished strong, the Boston Celtics (my Dad’s favorite team).
They also have a great beer partner in Jack’s Abby that has a Celtics beer with a great name….
Maybe a Portland brewery will be able to create a Second Banner Belgian Dubbel in the future.