This Easter I started thinking about how Judas got a raw deal. Sure, he rats out Jesus — his leader, possible savior and all around great dude — for 30 pieces of silver. Not a great look, but didn’t he have to do this? I mean, Jesus knew the prophetic score here. Judas would need to betray him to set the scene for him to die for our sins, be resurrected and then live forever. Not a bad exchange really. Imagine how many beers you could drink if you lived forever (and we know the J man liked his booze). Anyway, cut back to Judas, the destitute schmuck destined for ignominy from the start. He’s so racked by guilt over this whole deal that he kills himself. And does he get to live forever for his part? No. He’s just regular old dead. Smh.
Take it from Judas, friends: Life is short, and you don’t have forever to read about every beer released. This is why we do the thankless task of sifting through them all each week and select five that stand out. Here are your five craft beers to know this week.
Be sure to send us your beer news each week ([email protected]) for possible inclusion.
Lompoc Brewing’s Pilsner dedicated to Portland’s bike culture
Lompoc Brewing‘s upcoming release of Portland Parkways Premium Pilsner in six-packs of 12-oz cans will be marked with an event at Lompoc Sidebar from 4 p.m. to close on May 10. Lompoc’s Portland Parkways Premium Pilsner is an unofficial tie-in to the City of Portland’s monthly Portland Sunday Parkways, a series of events that offers traffic-free routes encouraging the community to explore Portland’s city streets and neighborhoods; the 2018 season will kick off with its first event on May 20. Lompoc Brewing will be donating money to the Sunday Parkways program from every case of Portland Parkways Pilsner sold.
A golden straw colored German style pilsner, Lompoc’s Portland Parkways Pilsner is clean and crisp, with a bready maltiness that is balanced by the spiciness of Saaz hops. It is a session beer, coming in at 5 percent ABV, and an ideal beer to sip during the summer months.
“Lompoc Oregon is knitted from the fabric of our local community, and we can’t think of a better way to support and celebrate our citizens,” explained Lompoc Owner Jerry Fechter. “We’re especially excited to host Lompoc beer gardens offering Portland Parkways Pilsner throughout the Portland Sunday Parkways events; look for us along the routes.”
The can’s artwork, which features a colorful and whimsical scene of bicyclists traveling through a Portland neighborhood, was inspired by the brewery’s “Lompoc Oregon” campaign, which emphasizes the idea that Lompoc, Oregon, is a state of mind. You won’t find Lompoc, Oregon, on any map, but you can find it wherever you go; if you’re here, then you’re already there.
Drake’s Brewing ties in fundraiser with year-round can release
Drake’s Brewing Co. is releasing Kick Back IPA, exclusively in 12-oz cans, or on draft, year-round, which will be the brewery’s first beer packaged in cans, just in time for the warmer spring and summer months ahead. The year-round release of Kick Back IPA in cans will also increase Drake’s fundraising partnership with the Regional Parks Foundation, a non-profit that supports the East Bay Regional Parks District. Part of Drake’s mission is to help build and support the local community, and the Kick Back Program has proven to be successful since its 2016 debut. Proceeds from the sale of Kick Back IPA six-packs over the last two years has generated nearly $20,000 for cleanup and restoration projects at over a dozen East Bay parks.
According to Juliana Schirmer, development director at the Regional Parks Foundation, “The money has been a huge plus. The Kick Back Program has also helped us branch out and engage the community in a new way. We’re attracting a younger demographic, a demographic we know loves and uses our parks, and many of them are beer enthusiasts! We even started the ‘What’s Brewin in the Parks?’ event series as a way to carry this success through the full year.”
Originally released in bottles as a summer seasonal in 2016, Kick Back IPA is loaded with citrus, floral, tropical and stone fruit flavors, from a blend of Cascade, Chinook, Mosaic, Simcoe, El Dorado and Pekko hops. The malt bill is primarily Two-Row and Pale Ale malt, with small additions of Golden Naked Oats and Hulled Barley Flakes.
Geary Brewing regionalizes the Hefeweizen
Based in Portland, Maine, Geary Brewing Co. stakes its claim as New England’s first craft brewery, dating to D.L and Karen Geary starting things off in 1983. D.L trained under Scottish and English brewers notably at the Traquair House under Peter Maxwell Stewart and also at the famed Ringwood Brewery in Hampshire, England, under Peter Austin.
Learning the traditional English brewing methods D. L built his brewery in that fashion with direct fired, brick isolated coppers (boil kettles), wood isolated infusion mash-tuns and open ferments. D.L and Karen sold the brewery to Alan and Robin Lapoint in March 2017, and the mission of the new ownership is to preserve the long held brewing methods, traditions and beers of this brewery while at the same time move the brewery into the modern craft era by exploring other non-English beers and traditional ales and lagers by bringing in closed unitank fermenters in addition to the open fermenters, a centrifuge for filtering, a new bottling line, canning line and other brewery investments.
Its latest release, the Hef’AH Bier Hefeweizen, is an authentic Bavarian Hefe recreation that comes in at 5 percent ABV and features Mt Hood hops and Bavarian Wheat Blend malt. Mostly, we really dig the name.
“Playing off the New England accent sound, we replace R sounds with AH sounds while also adding on an AH sound at the end of a word when it doesn’t need one,” explained Patrick Cairney, brewer for Geary Brewing Co. “So, around here someone wouldn’t say Hefe, they would say Hef’-AH, and so that’s how Hef’AH Bier founds it’s name.
“Hef’AH Bier is a traditional Munich Hefeweizen sporting aromas of banana and clove, and I selected five different known Hefeweizen yeast strains to complete this fermentation and flavor profile,” Cairney explained. “Hef’AH has a soft and silky mouth feel, at 4SRM it is golden straw in color. We at the brewery felt that summer was the perfect time of year to release this beer.”
Listermann Brewing brews an IPA for the Terracotta Army
Listermann Brewing Co. is partnering with the Cincinnati Art Museum on a beer to promote the upcoming Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China exhibition. A new beer, Terracotta Army New England Red IPA, will be sold at the Listermann Brewing taproom starting on April 21, a day after the exhibition opens. It will also be available at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Terracotta Army New England Red IPA is an ale fit for a warrior. Brewed with Galaxy and Citra hops, the beer has a red hue reminiscent of terracotta clay with hints of mango, tropical fruits, peaches and a mix of dank flavors. The New England Red IPA style gives this brew a smooth, creamy mouthfeel with little hop bitterness.
Listermann Brewing is generously donating 10 percent of the beer proceeds to the Cincinnati Art Museum. A launch party to celebrate the release of Terracotta Army New England Red IPA will be held at the Listermann taproom on April 21, starting at 10 a.m.
Great Divide adds new IPA to year-round lineup
Great Divide Brewing Co. is adding Heyday Modern IPA to its year-round lineup starting in May. Heyday will join Hazy IPA, Titan IPA and Hercules Double IPA in the ranks of Great Divide’s killer lineup of India Pale Ales. What will set this one apart?
“The intention was to use newer techniques developed for hazy IPAs to accentuate the light, tropical character associated with the style, but marry the quality and consistency that we are known for,” said Brandon Jacobs, brewing manager at Great Divide. “The end result is a drinkable beer that does not fit into the hazy, New-England, West-Coast or classic styles but offers something fresh, bright and full of flavor. It’s a Modern IPA.”
The recipe development for the brewery’s newest IPA has been in the making for over a year. Jacobs oversaw countless pilot versions of the modern IPA, hoping to find the perfect recipe to accompany Great Divide’s portfolio of beers. Coming in at 5.8 percent ABV, Heyday is an IPA for the modern Bold Character. Shining with notes of tropical fruit, berry and melon, the complex hop profile is complemented with a crisp malt character for an approachable IPA fit for any occasion.
D.L. Geary Brewing says
@Listermann @lompocbeer @greatdividebrew @DrakesBeer Thanks for the coverage! #mainecraftbeer… https://t.co/QAI7945fKy