Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Heavy Seas Yule Tide Rum Barrel / Maryland
“Aged for 6 weeks in Jamaican Rum barrels, this Imperial Red offers a full malt body dominated by toast, chocolate, and caramel notes. Rum barrel aging imparts a rich buttery rum character along with oaken vanilla notes. Ginger offsets the overall sweetness by adding its own drying zing.”
Here is the Facebook announcement of this new beer series…..
“Heavy Seas Beer announces Plank – a series of beers showcasing unique wood ageing treatments to add flavor and nuance. Our first, Plank I, features an Olde Style English Ale.
Over a year in development, Plank boasts a new and revolutionary way of adding wood to the brewing process. The beer is allowed to mature on the wood during secondary fermentation. Combinations of many different woods, beer styles, yeasts and aging times were tested. We quietly gathered feedback at pint nights featuring Heavy Seas firkins containing ‘mystery wood’. Outside taste testers gave their reviews and a final recipe was written to bring out the unique essence of this wood.
Plank is the first beer to ever use yellow poplar. Prepared in a not so traditional way, it will change the how you perceive wood-aged beers. A revolutionary thermal process releases the compounds in the wood through controlled heat in a way that “toasting” cannot do. This thermal process can be applied to any species of wood, creating something truly unique. Have we created an entirely new genre for wood-aged beer? You decide.
Over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing more about this innovative way of wood aging beer and the crew who developed it. Plank I will be the first, but not the last of its kind as we continue to explore the possibilities. Watch for its release in the Mid-Atlantic area in time to celebrate American Craft Beer Week in May. Plank will join the Mutiny Fleet portfolio of beers available in 22oz bottles and very limited draft.”
Sneak previews will be available at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston next weekend. Look for them under the alias One Eyed Woody (Plank I) and Two Eyed Woody (an experimental recipe).
I love collaborations and I love these pro-am get togethers even more. Widmer has a great relationship with the Brew Crew in Portland and on the other side of the country you have this…
“Winners from our 2009 Letter of Marque Homebrew Competition will work along side our brewers to create this one time special release. Letter of Marque will feature a different beer every year selected from our national homebrew competition. Historically, a Letter of Marque was a document that made a Pyrate a legitimate professional. Hence, our Letter of Marque makes a home brewer a legitimate professional as well!”
The Holiday Ale category is the all encompassing category. Porter? Sure. Dubbel? Why not. Imperial ESB? Ya’ Sure, ya betcha’
Winter Storm “Category 5” Ale
“Our ‘winter warmer’ ale, brewed with copious helpings of English malts plus US and English hops making it a ruddy hued “Imperial ESB” in style. Full malty flavors dancing with powerful hop aromas and a lingering, firm hop bitterness. Seasonally available from mid October to February.”
Hops: Magnum, Fuggles, Cascade, Centennial and Chinook Hops
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Carapils and Munich malts
ABV: approx. 7.5%
