Lazy Dog Beer Club is a quarterly membership subscription created by beer lovers, for beer lovers, devised by Lazy Dog Restaurant Founder Chris Simms. Timed perfectly with this feature on the benefits of beer clubs to your brewery we published today, Lazy Dog is introducing its 13th quarterly release: “Attack of the Brews,” which probably our favorite theme thus far. The theme is inspired by the superheroes and villains that come to life in retro comic books and on the big screen. And yes, each beer has its own backstory.
“We are thrilled to work with this passionate group of brewers,” said John Williams, chief marketing officer for Lazy Dog Restaurants. “We’ve loved seeing each brewers’ unique perspective shine through in this release and we can’t wait to get it in the hands of our members.”
The beers are packaged in a carrier that weaves in the theme with colorful comic book inspiration from all the characters. A zine provides an overview of each brewer and beer style, plus tasting notes, ingredients, look and suggested pairings for each beer.
The latest kit includes an eight-pack of four uniquely brewed beers inspired by different superheroes and villains from four breweries across the country. Lazy Dog Beer Club joined forces with Second Chance Beer Co. in San Diego; CraftHaus Brewery in Las Vegas; Casa Humilde in Chicago and Ritual Brewing Co. in Redlands, Calif., who created their own superheroes or villains inspired by their unique beer recipes and colorful, dynamic beer can artwork. The “Attack of the Brews” includes the following beers and storylines:
Pow Zappa! | The heroine of the group uses her “Pow Zappa!” vision to turn any hazy into a crisp West Coast IPA. As such, the beer is a West Coast IPA, a sparkling and refreshing brew with lemon peel aromatics. About the Brewer: CraftHaus Brewery, a regional favorite for Las Vegas craft beer fans, is passionate about building a community around quality-driven beers. Owners Wyndee and Dave Forrest helped change licensing for the city of Henderson and Las Vegas to be more craft beer friendly, and Wyndee is the current president of the Nevada Craft Brewers Association.
El Maracuman | An epic, everyday hero and luchador fueled by maracuya (Spanish for passion fruit) fighting for the freshest cervezas. This beer is a tropical, light-bodied wheat ale made with passion fruit, one of the many exotic fruits of Mexico. About the Brewer: Casa Humilde was founded by Javier and Jose Lopez, two Mexican-American brothers, after years of homebrewing in their hometown of Chicago. Each of their brews is infused with flavors and ingredients from their Mexican heritage.
The Sterling Pooch | A heroic Scotty Dog who fearlessly rescues pups and gives them a second chance at a “furever” home! This full-bodied Scottish-style ale has notes of molasses, raisins and dark cherries. About the Brewer: Second Chance Beer Co., a San Diego-based, award-winning independent craft brewery, was founded by Marty Mendiola, Curtis Hawes; and Virginia Morrison. In addition to making premium beer, Second Chance’s mission is rooted in charitable giving and sustainability, offering a second life and new opportunity to others in its community. The Sterling Pooch brew was inspired by one of their charitable passions — dog rescues.
Belgian the Conqueror | The villain of the pack seeks to restore order to the “brewerverse” by mutating beers at the atomic level and decimating all batches that disrupt the balance. This Belgian-style strong ale has a smooth texture with a mild effervescence. About the Brewer: Ritual Brewing Co. is a local, independent California brewery founded by Steve Dunkerken and Owen Williams, two friends with a true passion for great beer. Williams is a Certified Cicerone® and teaches Beer & Culture at The Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona. Dunkerken, a Redlands native, grew up on a small family farm not far from the brewery and has been a creative homebrewer for 15 years.
The “Attack of the Brews” beer was brewed in collaboration with Melvin Brewing for most locations. Those interested in signing up for a Lazy Dog Beer Club membership can register online or at any Lazy Dog Restaurant in California, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Illinois, or Texas. Once signed up, members get a first beer kit with Lazy Dog Restaurant house beer and a first kit glass in restaurant. Members will then receive a themed beer kit each additional quarter they are an active member and additional perks such as draft beer upgrades, monthly draft samplers in restaurant, 10% off takeout orders, beer-to-go discounts, priority seating when there’s a wait at the restaurant and more. Membership starts at $35 per quarter.
Fort Point explains its first hazy IPA
Say hello to Lobos Hazy IPA, a brand new year-round 6-pack from Fort Point Beer Co. Lobos presented the brewing team with a fun challenge, says Mike Schnebeck, Fort Point’s Director of Innovation: how to create hazy IPA that still reflected Fort Point’s signature focus on balance, nuance, and drinkability.
“For better or worse, hazy IPA has become a craft beer standard,” Schnebeck says. “It’s an inherently unbalanced style – typically featuring big bold hop aroma, rich mouthfeel, relatively little bitterness and of course the signature murky appearance. Through months of R&D, we’ve created a recipe that captures the intense hop aroma and flavor you’d expect from your favorite 16 oz can drop, but packaged in a 12 oz 6-pack format that’s consistent both in flavor and availability. No more paying proxies to stand in long lines in industrial park parking lots”
To develop the intense fruity flavors, the team started with a blend of Strata, Simcoe and Citra hops, then selected the Tropics yeast strain from Berkeley Yeast. A modification of a classic London ale yeast, it was designed with an ability to transform organic material. During fermentation, the yeast releases an enzyme which breaks the carbon-sulfur bond in thiol compounds found in the beer’s ingredients, transforming the once-odorless thiols, and unlocking additional tropical aromas you don’t get from hops alone.
Importantly, Fort Point draws its fresh brewing water from SF’s last remaining open waterway – Lobos Creek, which winds through our brewery’s home neighborhood in the Presidio until it pours out into the Pacific. The creek’s distinct water profile was key to crafting a beer with a soft, cloud-like mouthfeel which made naming it Lobos a natural choice.
Rogue gets you ready for Valentine’s Day
Instead of gifting candy or roses, Rogue Ales recommends giving the gift that everyone wants – alcohol. Here are a few seasonal sips to celebrate your loved one.
- Double Chocolate Stout: A luxuriously creamy stout with intense chocolate and dark roasted malts, Double Chocolate Stout comes in a gorgeous red can. This decadent stout is the ideal gift for the chocolate lover in your life.
- Chocolate Stout Nitro: The addition of a nitro charge to our classic Chocolate Stout blends up chocolate and malt flavors into a smooth creamy chocolate experience that you’ll never want to end. This unique twist on the traditional stout is perfect for all beer lovers.
- Espresso Martini Canned Cocktail: This brand new seasonal canned cocktail is inspired by Portland, Oregon’s incredible coffee roasting scene. Rogue vodka forms the cocktail’s base while lavish notes of coffee, caramel and chocolate delight the palate with a full-flavored espresso martini experience. Pick up a 4-pack of this canned cocktail for your favorite coffee aficionado.
Indeed Brewing Co. reveals 2022 brand calendar
Your year is set. Indeed Brewing Co. released its 2022 Brand Calendar. Highlights include new 12-pack offerings, including Pistachio Cream Ale and Flavorwave IPA. A Double IPA releases in March 2022 and a Hard Seltzer 12-pack is slated for Spring 2022.
“Pistachio Cream Ale and Flavorwave IPA were huge hits in 2021, so we’re thrilled to now offer them in a 12-pack option,” says Ryan Bandy, Sales Director, Indeed Brewing Company. “We’re also super stoked about further curating our beyond beer offerings, including perfecting our recipes for the already popular Boon Hard Kombucha and forthcoming Hard Seltzer.”
“We’re typically not the first to jump on a trend,” says Kelly Moritz, COO, Indeed Brewing Company. “But when we release something you can be sure we’ve put our unique spin on it. I’m excited to be releasing a few big new things soon, like our Hard Seltzer and a big, delicious Double IPA, because I believe we’ve got something a little different to add to the category.”
Oskar Blues is mutating the west coast IPA
IPAs were not born in the West, but they did evolve there in the 90’s with new American hop flavors of citrus and pine. West Coast IPAs featured an invigorating bitterness and a crystal clear appearance (imagine that). These vanguard IPAs soon traveled east, conquering the whole country and evolving along the way.
With Western Mutant, Oskar Blues set out to mutate IPAs back, while pushing the style forward with new, freaked-out hops. Western Mutant West Coast IPA, featuring spicy Akoya, zesty Saphir, citrusy, piney Simcoe and tropical, white-wine-like Nelson Sauvin hops, digs deep to find IPA’s roots while reaching new heights of hopped-up weirdness.
“Hops are life at OB. When your flagship is the voluminously hopped Dale’s Pale Ale, you better bring it when you’re developing a new IPA” said Juice Drapeau, senior head brewer at Oskar Blues Brewery’s Lyons, Colo. pilot brewery. “Western Mutant takes West Coast IPAs to another level with cutting-edge hop varieties taking you on an epic flavor journey with bitterness and balance.”
Western Mutant West Coast IPA is a new-school take on an old-school style. Its zesty bitterness, clarity, and flavors of grapefruit and pine will seem familiar to West Coast IPA fans, but deeper aromas of papaya, gooseberry and peach may surprise. These tropical notes are balanced with a honey-like malt sweetness that finishes clean with a clear crispness.
Ska Brewing has a new take on IPAs too with Checkered Future
Old school hops meet modern varieties and techniques in a new age IPA that Ska Brewing will debut in cans across its markets this month. Checkered Future IPA is here.
Long a house of IPA experimentation and the home to Colorado classic IPA Modus Hoperandi, Ska has released three hazy offerings in the past few years: Hazy IPA, Double Hazy IPA, and Tropical Hazy IPA. Now, Checkered Future bridges the gap from Modus to haze with this fresh style.
“Checkered Future employs a blend of everything we’ve learned and the hops we’ve experimented with over these last few years of IPA recipe development,” says Ska Brewing Co-Founder Dave Thibodeau. We chose very specific hop varieties for their myriad hop aroma compounds that showcase particularly well with these newer hopping techniques, which has allowed us to create a relatively clear IPA with bright, juicy tropical fruit aromas yet with a bit of the classic West Coast-style, citrusy, piney perceived bitterness we’ve been missing in the hazy era.”
If the checkered past is a compilation of the bright with the dark, then Checkered Future is Ska’s answer to uncertain times: moving forward with innovation and acceptance that what’s to come is unwritten. “We haven’t named a beer beyond stylistic designation in several years, but this new IPA called for a name with a story,” says Ska’s Sales & Marketing Director Kristen Muraro.
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