This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday, which is cool because it is the nation’s greatest collective excuse to drink a beer. Even people morally opposed to the game of football will gather round with friends and crack a few open while mostly hoping to be entertained by commercials. Spoiler alert: This will be the 30th consecutive year your co-workers think “the commercials weren’t that good.” Also, the Patriots are going to win. Ugh, why are we doing this again? Oh right, beer. Here’s an idea. Gather with friends (well, maybe not Steve), drink the same amount of beer, but cut out the game and Big Beer commercials this year. Instead, watch the 1992 Royal Rumble (the best one). Have a discussion on why they named it Batman Forever. Stare in wonder at the mashup of Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Lawrence embedded above. Throw rocks at cars. Something! Anything other than watching another Patriots win, back dropped by slapstick propaganda for macro beers.
Here are some beers to accompany your big day of rock throwing and Batman talk. Please submit your own beers for next week at [email protected]. And, go Browns!
Jack’s Abby releases new Citra-hopped craft lager for spring
To prove we have nothing against Massachusetts or lagers after that intro, we start with Mass.-based Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, which challenges the idea that American lager belongs to macro brewers. Founded by three brothers, Jack, Eric and Sam Hendler, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers has been brewing world-class lager using traditional German standards and American innovation since 2011. Brewing lager, and only lager, has allowed American consumers to celebrate the rich history of German brewers and expand their palates at the same time. Its brand-new spring seasonal, hitting markets Feb 1, is a deep golden Pilsner-style lager bursting with aromatic American Hops. By using Citra Hops throughout the entire brewing process, Citra Brau has a tropical, fruity flavor and juicy finish.
Monday Night Brewing wins best beer name of the week with Don’t Call it Hotlanta
In anticipation of the Big Game, Atlanta-based craft brewery Monday Night Brewing has an important announcement: Don’t Call It Hotlanta.
“It’s become kind of a joke for people who live in Atlanta,” Cofounder Joel Iverson said. “Everyone here has a friend or relative who calls our city ‘Hotlanta.’ It’s one of those cringe-worthy nicknames that nobody ever uses except out-of-towners. So we brewed this beer as a not-so-subtle way for locals to get the point across.”
Don’t Call It Hotlanta is an unfiltered double IPA that pops with tropical notes on the nose, drinks dank and finishes with a bit of bitterness. Checking in at 8.5 percent ABV, it’s dry hopped four times with Columbus, Citra and Galaxy hops. This beer pairs well with grilled meats, chicken wings, an afternoon in Piedmont Park and your couch after a 90-minute long commute.
Upslope Brewing adds Rocky Mountain Kölsch to core beers
Upslope Brewing announced that its popular Rocky Mountain Kölsch is back in 2019 as a core-style offering. Formerly part of Upslope’s Limited Release series, Rocky Mountain Kölsch is layered in flavors inspired by the back country. Featuring the easy-drinking character of traditional German Kölsch yeast combined with Upslope’s innovative spin, Rocky Mountain Kölsch uses local Colorado honey, sage and Mosaic and Lemondrop hops to create a bright, lemon citrus character with a touch of hops.
“After a successful inaugural launch as a Limited Release last year, Rocky Mountain Kölsch has joined the ranks of our core, year-round lineup,” said Upslope’s Director of Sales and Marketing Henry Wood. “Back by popular demand, this beer merges the easy-drinking character of traditional Kölsch yeast with our innovative spin. Colorado honey, sage and Mosaic and Lemondrop hops create a bright, lemon citrus character that’s perfect anytime of year.”
Drink the beer from Alita: Battle Angel thanks to Three Weavers
Passport to Iron City is a new popup experience touring the country. The event aims to transport visitors directly into the retro-futuristic world of Alita: Battle Angel, the upcoming 20th Century Fox film by Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron and Jon Landau, in advance of its Feb. 14 opening. Guests can explore the movie’s Iron City, which has been recreated by the film’s production designers — even enjoying a replica of the Kansas bar, a pivotal location in the film, where visitors can mingle and learn more about the secrets of Iron City. Because, we must learn its secrets. In partnership with the studio, Three Weavers Brewing Co. created three custom brews specific to each of the three locations. Each Passport to Iron City event features an extremely limited beer themed around Alita’s world and inspired by the geographic and cultural nuances of each city.
Three Weavers crafted a big, double dry-hopped wheat IPA called Berserker for the New York City event. For Austin, Three Weavers collaborated with Oskar Blues Brewery to create an eclectic pomegranate lime gosé named Badlands, and for its home city of Los Angeles, brewmaster Alexandra Nowell developed a fashionable lemon basil brut ale dubbed Panzer Kunst. Additional beers are available, including Three Weavers’ Expatriate IPA and Seafarer kölsch-style ale in Los Angeles and New York and Three Weavers’ Seafarer kölsch-style ale and Oskar Blues’ Can-O-Bliss IPA in Austin. Jump over here to check it all out and maybe attend.
Alaskan Brewing Spruce IPA and iconic snow owl are back in our lives
Alaskan Brewing fans are starting to see a familiar friend on the shelves, as Alaskan Spruce IPA is back for its second year as the spring entry to Alaskan’s rotating series. Beer drinkers who enjoyed it last year will recognize the iconic Snowy Owl on the spruce-green colored label. The Snowy Owl on the label is symbolic of Alaska’s cold winter and early spring months and according to the press release “seemingly appearing from out of thin air on frosty cold days because of its ability to fly silently.” Sounds beautiful and horrifying. While typically a bird of the Arctic tundra, these solitary birds have been sighted in the Tongass forest on their migration southbound (that’s in southeast Alaska).
Sitka Spruce is the Alaska State Tree and is prevalent throughout Southeast Alaska, where Alaskan Brewing brews and packages its beers. Bordering the Tongass National Forest and surrounded by old growth spruce trees, Alaskan was a pioneer in the use of spruce tips, first in sweeter beers such as the iconic Alaskan Winter Ale migrating to more hoppy beers like IPAs, where the evergreen and wood character of the Sitka spruce tips became more prominent.
Slightly bitter and bracing, Spruce IPA is imminently drinkable, with aromas of pine and berries. The taste maintains a berry like, fruity, slightly floral and tart quality, but the bitterness in this beer brings out the piney similarities that spruce tips have with the hops we’ve selected. The beer won regional and international recognition, leading with a World Beer Cup gold medal in its first year as a seasonal product, and another gold in the Pacific Northwest’s Best of Craft Beer Awards.
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