In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Dogfish Head is teaming up with NIPYATA!, a company best known for drinkable greeting cards and boozy piñatas, to launch limited-edition adult Valentines, each featuring a 12oz can of Dogfish Head’s ready-to-drink Blood Orange & Mango Vodka Crush Canned Cocktail.
Vodka distilled over real blood oranges and mangos, then blended with orange juice, mango juice and a touch of lime, Dogfish Head’s Blood Orange & Mango Vodka Crush is sure to make any crush blush. Bursting with juicy sweet and tart flavors of orange rind and dried mango intermingled with citrusy aromas of grapefruit and orange make this Canned Cocktail light, refreshing and totally crush-able. As a bonus, each Canned Cocktail contains two full-proof shots of Dogfish Head Distilling Co. vodka, providing just enough liquid courage to let those sparks fly.
“Whether you’re confessing your feelings to your new main squeeze or reminding your longtime love just how much you care, there’s really no better way to sweep your crush off their feet than with a Crush Canned Cocktail from Dogfish,” said Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer, Sam Calagione. “I know my wife, Mariah, and I will be sharing some this Valentine’s Day as we reminisce on our decades-long love story.”
The icing on the cake to an unforgettable Valentine’s Day gift, Dogfish Head encourages folks to write their crushes an old school love letter. Feeling brave? The brewery will amplify drinkers’ heartfelt words by sharing them on its Instagram channel.
SweetWater adds lager to year-round lineup
SweetWater Brewing Co. is launching a new crisp lager to its year-round craft beer lineup. The new SweetWater Lager is brewed with a 100% pilsner grain bill for a crisp, refreshing flavor with low bitterness. Crystal and Hallertau hops distinguish the taste with mild notes of spicy floral. Lager will be on shelves beginning March 2023.
As demand for lagers continues to grow, SweetWater adds this approachable, low-ABV beer, to its quiver of heady beers like 420 Pale Ale, H.A.Z.Y. IPA, and Imperial IPA, to quench beer drinkers’ thirst whenever the occasion calls for something lighter.
“Crisp. Clean. Crushable. SweetWater’s new Lager is an easy thirst-quenching beer with a little SweetWater twist on the brew with some added hops that keep this beer tasting crisp and refreshing,” says Ty Gilmore, president of U.S. Beer at Tilray Brands. “This SweetWater Lager is the perfect go-to beer when you’re looking to crack a few cold ones after a long day — fishing, working, boating, and you name it. With the addition of its new Lager, SweetWater now has a beer for everyone, and these sure go down easy.”
Monday Night Brewing sneakily launches line of spirits
Monday Night Brewing Brewmaster Peter Kiley and the Monday Night team have been in cahoots on an exclusive line of spirits, officially released in their Atlanta taprooms. The line, aptly named Sneaky Pete, includes gin, bourbon, rye, vodka, and rum. These spirits are featured in a list of signature cocktails now being served at Monday Night West Midtown and the Garage.
“Sneaky Pete has been a quiet passion project for some time. Distilling is uncharted territory for Monday Night, but this new challenge falls in line with our ever-evolving ethos to grow and explore in beer and beyond,” said Kiley. “I’ve enjoyed learning from and collaborating with expert distillers, taking note of their methods and techniques to create a first-class line of spirits I’m proud to share with our customers.”
Drawing from his extensive experience in the brewing and wine-making industries, Kiley led the charge in the technical creation of the spirits. From selecting botanicals for the gin, to triple filtering the vodka, and aging, blending, and barreling the dark spirits, Kiley’s trademark craftmanship is imbued in each Sneaky Pete spirit.
The Sneaky Pete line features the following spirits:
• Sneaky Pete Gin/ American Dry Gin, infused with the finest blend of hand-selected, all natural botanicals. On the palate, lightly sweet citrus peels are framed by sharp, piney juniper and coriander, finishing with a blossom of orris, angelica, and licorice roots.
• Sneaky Pete Bourbon is a 7-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The first sips are laced with oak, vanilla, and clove, and accented with a hint of toffee and char on the finish.
• The 6-year Sneaky Pete Rye offers a straight-forward, classic rye profile. Rich vanilla aromatics give way to whiffs of toasted oak, dark chocolate, and clove. A dry, lingering finish proves most satisfying with a cube of ice or twisted orange peel.
• The Sneaky Pete Vodka is 6x distilled and triple filtered through charcoal. Immaculately smooth, this vodka is neutral on the nose and palate, flaunting an exceptionally silky finish.
• Sneaky Pete Rum is a velvety sipper made with a blend of rums from Trinidad and Barbados, subsequently aged in toasted American oak barrels. Lip-smacking notes of brown sugar, warm spices, and a hint of tart citrus make for a bold, flavorful rum.
“It was so fun to work with the Monday Night team on this project,” said Barriere. “I tasted all of the spirits in the Sneaky Pete line and was impressed with the balance and expression in each sip. I felt inspired to bring forward a curated collection of cocktails inspired by some classics, and also wanted to combine local and international ingredients that enhance the quality taste that comes through the spirits.”
Follow New Realm’s Psych Rabbit for a new kind of IPA
New Realm Brewing‘s Psychedelic Rabbit is a new kind of IPA that produces a tremendous tropical fruit hop presence to the palate. Using Cashmere, Mosaic, Azacca and Citra hops, along with a new Thiol-Active Star Party yeast, this IPA provides an atomic burst of Passionfruit, Pineapple, and Tangerine juiciness that could blow ones’ mind.
“Star Party yeast represents the latest wave of yeast science, during fermentation it acts upon compounds in both malt and hops to release thiols, which are intensely aromatic and results in a huge tropical aroma and flavor in Psychedelic Rabbit,” said Mitch Steele, Co-Founder and Brewmaster of New Realm Brewing. “We are psyched about this beer and the Star Party yeast.”
“IPA has been done in a million different ways, but never like this” said Brendan Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of New Realm Brewing. “Not only are our brewers excited about the transcendent and transformative properties of this beer, but our distributor and retail partners are also thrilled to see a new frontier for IPA heralded by such a trusted IPA brewer as Mitch and his team.”
Switchback jumps head first into DIPA with New Zealand hop
Vermont’s Switchback Brewing Co. announced the latest entry in its DIPA Cat Series: Wai-iti Cat! Meaning “little-water” in Māori, and a label that celebrates New Zealand’s classic rite of passage – bungee jumping – this New Zealand hop jumps headfirst into exhilarating notes of pink pineapple and sweet Galia melon. An extreme 9.1% ABV with a drop of tart sweetness that rebounds quick and fades away.
“While trekking in the mountains of New Zealand (Aotearoa) I met a wonderful group of intrepid women who hiked with me and taught me all about New Zealand fauna, some Māori language and culture, and their pride in the globally renowned hops grown near their hometown,” says Brewmaster, Bill Cherry. “We stayed in touch after I returned and while sharing a photo they sent from the Wai-iti region with our Brewer Morgan, who spearheads our innovative DIPA Cat program, we discovered that Wai-iti is also the name of an intriguing New Zealand hop variety. From there, the concept of “Wai-iti Cat” was born.”
The brewery’s new Quadrel Techline high speed labeler gives them the ability to create out-of-the-box labels that truly fit the personality of each DIPA Cat. A spot varnish finish on a matte base allows featured design elements to come alive as the can is rotated. The DIPA Cat designs are a collaboration between Switchback’s long-time Graphic Designer, Interrobang Design, and Artist, Sole Kitchen.
OMF uses experimental hop YQH-1320 in Wave Motion series
Our Mutual Friend Brewing Co. (OMF) has some awesome collaborations coming up and the second iteration of Wave Motion, the brewery’s experimental IPA series.
Liminal Reality, a collaboration with Bierstadt Lagerhaus, is a 8.2% ABV Cold IPA that is hopped with Centennial, NZ-214, and Strata hops. Liminial means “occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary of threshold,” not unlike the staying power of Cold IPAs in the beer universe. The two assistant brewers and best friends from their respective breweries created the recipe; the beer will be available on draft at both locations, as well as in 16-ounce cans at OMF.
A beer brewed among kindred spirits, Minilith, is a collaboration brew with Obelisk Beer Co. out of Astoria, OR. This 4.5% ABV Saison is dry-hopped with ADHA 218 hops, an early maturing variety of hops that produce flavors of berry and sweet fruit. The beer will be available on draft and in 16-ounce cans at OMF.
Wave Motion: Azure, the second beer coming out of OMF’s Wave Motion experimental IPA series, is a 6.5% ABV Juicy/Hazy IPA that is brewed with Citra and YQH-1320 hops.
“This is the first crop year for the experimental hop YQH-1320 so we had to try it for our experimental IPA series,” says OMF Co-Owner and Head Brewer Jan Chodkowski. “This hop was intriguing to me because it was discovered as a wild hop, which is a hop plant that cross-pollinated in the wild so you don’t know which hop plants it came from. It has high citrus notes that I love in an IPA.”
PRESS Premium seltzers with some mouth-watering new flavors
Despite recent declines in the seltzer category, PRESS Premium Alcohol Seltzer builds on outperforming sales and steady retail growth with the release of four new fruit-floral-spice flavors in its 2023 Synergy Variety 12-pack — the third variety 12-pack for the independent, woman-owned hard seltzer brand.
PRESS solidified its standing among the top 10 national seltzers with fruit-floral-spice flavor pairings, restrained sweetness, high-quality ingredients, low calorie and low ABV, and sustainable luxury packaging. The new Synergy flavors bring exotic global culinary notes to PRESS’s consumer-adored collection of sophisticated flavor pairings.
“PRESS was founded to offer an elevated luxury experience to consumers who want to drink responsibly without compromising extraordinary taste or refined aesthetics,” says PRESS founder Amy Walberg. “We believe elegance belongs in the touch points of everyday life, and consumers agree. That’s why PRESS outperformed some of our competitors by as much as 45% at the end of 2022 and ranks 6 in total sales—even with only 35% of total distribution. We are proud of our success, but our focus has always been on our consumer.”
River North goes to 11 with quad barrel-aged stout
Last year, River North Brewery celebrated 10 years, and this year they are turning it up to eleven for their 2023 anniversary celebration with a 23% QUADRUPLE BARREL AGED STOUT. The Anniversary 11 imperial stout spent time in four different barrels. After aging, the beer reached an unprecedented 23.15% abv. First matured in Colorado whiskey barrels, then Kentucky straight bourbon barrels, followed by Colorado bourbon barrels, and finished in Colorado single malt whiskey barrels, this monstrous stout will be one of the most memorable beers in the history of River North Brewery. There will be a limited number of bottles available for pre-sale via Eventbrite until February 15, or whenever bottles sell out. Bottles will also be available for sale at both taprooms during the anniversary party (limit of 2 bottles per person) on February 18. This will be the only chance to taste Anniversary 11 Stout on tap.
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