So, get this. I was given exclusive one-time access to enter a doorway and go 20 years into the future. Knowing my time was limited, I made the most of it by logging into CBB and copying all of the Five Beers to Know columns I’d ever write. I then came back here, pasted them all and scheduled them on into the future. Now I can end all of my workweeks early! I know, I’m brilliant. This is actually the very first of those columns I grabbed from the future. Although … I do wonder … if I’m just pasting in the next 20 years of these columns, how did they ever get written originally? And by who? Hm. Maybe I didn’t think this through. Do these beers even exist? Oh well. Here they are anyway. See you in 20 years, suckers!
*Is immediately vaporized by a laser beam.*
Behold, humanoids! The Sun King’s power of collaboration!
Sun King Brewery, one of the leaders of the independent craft beer movement in Indiana, is celebrating a decade of award-winning beers, and the collaborative spirit of the brewing industry with the launch of 10-4 Good Buddy. This mixed four-pack of 16-oz cans, each one a unique collaboration crafted with one of four independent breweries from across the U.S. — including 3 Floyds, Austin Beerworks, Cigar City and Rhinegeist — is a first for Sun King and appears to be a first in the canned craft beer industry.
“Sun King Brewery began as a collaboration between two professional brewers and friends sharing ideas over a few pints about what they would want their own brewery to be like, and grew with the insights of our business partners, and the input and hard work of our team,” said Clay Robinson, cofounder of Sun King Brewery. “We have continued to share and create beers with so many of our respected peers along the way, and we wanted to create something unique and special for our 10th anniversary. 10-4 Good Buddy represents the creativity and camaraderie that is the heart of, not just Sun King, but the independent craft beer industry.”
10-4 Good Buddy features ….
- Collabergé in collaboration with Austin Beerworks (Austin, Texas) is an Imperial Brut IPA that brings the dryness of champagne with an assertive hop profile. “This collaboration was what it is all about,” said Will Golden, cofounder of Austin Beerworks. “A true friendship, complete with a lot of the bad jokes. The hospitality from Hoosiers is not just a saying y’all, they mean it. All I have to say is I can’t wait to come back.”
- Highway Queen in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, Fla.) is a sour golden ale with Zinfandel grapes, sour cherries and raspberries aged on oak. “Working with Dave and the Sun King team was a great, innovative experience that was in the planning process for months,” said Wayne Wambles, brewmaster at Cigar City Brewing. “The beer makes use of an experimental yeast strain that produces lactic acid combined with a combination of fruits that lend complex acidity as well as fruit harmony. It was a pleasure to celebrate Sun King’s tenth anniversary by creating this wonderful beer with them.”
- Hoppiness Jones in collaboration with Rhinegeist (Cincinnati, Ohio) is an IPA that was aged in both Tequila and Pinot Noir barrels, infused with hibiscus and is dry hopped. “We’ve known Sun King for a long time, since before we even existed as a brewery, and they have been a great mentor and a good buddy for us over the years,” said Bryant Goulding, cofounder of Rhinegeist. “We’re thankful to be able to work together on this high-powered collaboration alongside three other brewers for whom we also have much respect, and we’re excited to help celebrate this special decade milestone. Happy birthday Sun King! Mad respect!”
- Maximum Overdrive in collaboration with 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, Ind.) is a Baltic porter brewed with Indiana malt from Sugar Creek Malt, two different yeast strains and American and Slovenian hops. “It’s great to brew with Sun King on their 10th anniversary” said Nick Floyd, owner of 3 Floyds Brewing. “Being a part of a one-time four-pack was cool, as was hanging out with Clay and Dave. Congratulations to Sun King and the other brewers that participated. Looking forward to trying some at Dark Lord Day.”
Garage Brewing defies creation! Improves the combo of chocolate and peanut butter!
Garage Brewing Co. opened in Temecula, Calif., in 2013 with a focus on brewing quality craft beers on a 10-bbl system alongside a fast-casual pizzeria, wings, etc. In 2015, the brewing arm expanded to a production facility in Murrieta with a state-of-the-art 30-bbl brewhouse. Numerous Garage Brewing beers have won gold awards from Great American Brew Festival and other competitions, but its latest creation is its most to-die-for yet: Chocolate Peanut Butter Milk Stout.
This scrumptious stout touts rich, bold peanut butter aromas and a silky chocolate mouthfeel with flavors that will remind you of classic peanut butter cups — without the melty mess.
“Peanut butter beers are popular, and we’ve been researching the right combination that people will fall in love with,” Guy Bartmess, brewmaster at Garage Brewing Co. said. “I think chocolate definitely did the trick.”
Chocolate Peanut Butter Milk Stout will be available at Garage Brewing Co’s brewpub/pizzeria beginning April 26 and will soon be in 12-oz cans, 22-oz bottles and on draft at various restaurants and bars throughout southern California.
Nuclear winter delayed once again by a Wild Leap summer double IPA! Shazbot!
Wild Leap is kicking off the summer with the release of Bomb Pop, the second beer in the Truck Chaser Double IPA series. Brewed with a flavor combination containing notes of cherry, lime and raspberry, this beer is designed to take you back to the popsicle days of your childhood, or, if you’re being honest, last Wednesday when it finally got hot outside.
“We can all remember the excitement of hearing the ice cream truck coming down the road,” said Rob Goldstein, Wild Leap cofounder. “The nostalgic red, white and blue popsicle takes you back to those simple, joyful moments of being a kid, when you didn’t have a care in the world. We wanted to take these flavors of childhood and brew them into a juicy double IPA we can enjoy today.”
With the previous releases in their Alpha Abstraction series and the first edition of the Truck Chaser series, Wild Leap has developed a reputation as one of the industry-leaders of juicy double IPAs. Bomb Pop promises to fall right in line with a perfect blend of tart and sweet, coupled with a creamy, milkshake flavor. Bomb Pop Double IPA will be available in the market starting the first week of June.
Bonfire Brewing…. bleep blop bloop …. Apricot Blonde Ale …. zeeeeerrrrrg
Bonfire Brewing graces Colorado with a spring surprise from the Vail Valley. Fueled by the inspiration of their community and power of a new automated labeler, the brewery began brewing, packaging and distributing a line of new limited-release beers as part of their new Community Creator Series last month.
Bonfire is kicking off the Community Creator series with the limited release of Après-Cot, an Apricot Blonde Ale previously a draft-only offering. Après-Cot is a delicate, smooth American blonde ale brewed with nugget hops, munich and white wheat malts and real apricot purée to create a balanced and easy drinking beer perfect to throw back at the après of any activity.
Après-Cot is available in six-packs of 12-oz cans at Bonfire’s tasting room and select local accounts now, with limited statewide shipments by the end of May and through the summer.
Following the release of Après-Cot, Bonfire Brewing plans to continue the Community Creator series with the release of Pink-I Raspberry IPA, followed in the fall by GrapepHruit Kettle Sour IPA and the return of the Rope Drop Hazy IPA in 12-oz for a limited time. More creations are certain to follow.
MONDAY NIGHT BREWING must reformulate its flagship orange IPA! Or perish!
Over its history, Monday Night Brewing has proven that it is not afraid to make changes to its lineup. Today, they unveiled a reformulation of one of their flagship beers — Blind Pirate Blood Orange IPA.
“At Monday Night Brewing, one of our core values is ‘fight for excellence.’ That means we never want to rest on our laurels. If we can improve our beers, we owe it to our fans to make it happen,” said cofounder Jonathan Baker. “We’ve had the blood orange version of Blind Pirate in our lineup for several years now, but our brewing team believed they could make it better.”
Every week, the Atlanta-based brewery runs individual batches of beer through a sensory panel. The small, hand-picked team tests for consistency, effects of age and heat and overall quality. Over the process of several months, the team started picking up on patterns.
“We realized Blind Pirate wasn’t as juicy or balanced as we thought it could be,” said Brewmaster Peter Kiley. “So we adjusted our hop addition and fine-tuned our mash process. The result was a Blind Pirate with a bit more residual sweetness, more citrus notes and a more balanced hop profile. We’re really happy with how this turned out.”
The newer, juicier version of Blind Pirate has already started hitting the market in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee and should be available in most areas by mid-May.
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