Sean Suggests for May 2025

This month the theme is unique and hard to find and I have three that will test your mettle as both a beer shopper and a beer drinker.

Homage Brewing The Flower Called Nowhere Barrel Aged Saison – 6% – “This marks the 5th blend of one of our favorite beers to make. A few years ago we conceptualized a Saison with delicate nuances of flowers. We trialed various flowers and settled upon Europe Rose for its soft and fragrant aroma, as well as Osmanthus, which has a unique fragrance of peach and apricot that compliments the stone fruit qualities of the wild yeast. Lastly, we added Chrysanthemum, which has a sweet, hay, and honey like quality that supports the aged hops in the beer, adding a rustic touch.”

New BelgiumTart Lychee – 7.5% – ” sour ale brewed with lychee and a hint of cinnamon that combine to create a beautiful balance between sweet and tart.”

The BrueryCire – 18.9% – “Produced through painstaking care and attention from our Bruers, Cire is more than just a beer; it’s our Solera Blended Anniversary Old Ale. Blended from the best of the Bruery’s stock each year & aged in Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels, Cire carries a deeply complex, layered flavor profile. The perfect way to commemorate 16 years of leadership in the industry.”

Essential

Two Belgian brewing pals have come together for a new collaboration.  Ommegang and New Belgium present Belgian Essence, a “Belgian-style Tripel Ale” which “is a blend of old-world tradition with a new-world twist! It’s bright, citrusy, effervescent, and incredibly drinkable.”

Know Yourself

You can’t miss the Frida Kahlo mural at Trademark Brewing but you may not have seen or remember the quote from her that is on it, “I am my own muse, I am the subject I know best.”

Obviously, they needed a Kahlo inspired beer so there now is My Own Muse, a “West Coast Pilsner that features this year’s exciting hop blend of Loral, Ekuanot, and HBC 586.”

Sub-Par

I have to applaud New Belgium Brewing for having fun with their 2023 Earth Day beer by enlisting the hilarity that is SubPar Parks.

If you haven’t heard of the latter, it is based on insane comments about our National Parks where people have taken actual time to write on the internet about what they found to be disappointing about mother nature, such as…

If it weren’t so bizarrely funny, it would be sad.

New Tires

It may have been past time for New Belgium Brewing to update the Fat Tire recipe. The VooDoo Ranger series of IPAs has been ahead of the iconic Amber ale for some time now.

And the inside and outside are now new for 2023.

“Today, Fat Tire blends a subtle malt presence with a slightly fruity hop profile and crisp finish, to create a bright and balanced beer that drinks easy, anywhere.”

I might have gone with seasonal versions and used this lighter one for summer and gone with something maltier in Winter.

Glowing

New Belgium has another holiday treat for us…

“Cinnamon & spice, and everything nice: that’s what Glühbier is made of. Just in time for your holiday gathering, our spiced dark sour ale will be the perfect centerpiece on the table. The name is a natural conversation starter in itself! A nod to the German word for glow, Glühbier is our take on the classic mulled-style beverage spiced with lemon peel, cinnamon, clove, allspice, orange and nutmeg.”

A Bell Ringing in Belgium

I haven’t had to weigh in with comment on the business side of brewing for quite a bit but yesterday breaking news arrived that Bell’s Beer was joining New Belgium which itself is part of Lion (aka Kirin).

I know that is a bit of a complicated flow chart but it boils down to the two iconic breweries becoming siblings of a sort.

And it doesn’t strike me as a bad thing. Then again, I am non-plussed when it comes to good breweries banding together. Sometimes it won’t work but it can produce a bigger company that can then do more.

My usual advice stands. Monitor both breweries beers and if the nothing changes, don’t worry, be happy.

Imperfect

I am not one to sign up for grocery delivery. I like to pick my own stuff and I stare at screens too much as it is. But I was intrigued by a company that was selling the not pretty but still perfectly fine food.

Now that company, Imperfect Foods has a beer made with New Belgium, a citrus IPA. No googly eyes included.