In June, Arches Brewing in Hapeville, Ga., released its their new mango guava sour called Head Held High, which was in celebration of LGBTQ+ pride month. Arches Brewing is known in the ATL Airport District for producing amazing traditional lagers and hosting a variety of community-oriented events. Arches teamed up with Hapeville Legends, Douglas and Dewey, to name Head Held High, which will be served on Nitro in the taproom for the remainder of the summer.
Douglas and Dewey own Douglas Dewey Creative, which produces a lot of shows at Arches – Drag Bingo, Stand Up Comedy, Immersive Theatre, Family Friendly Community Events, etc. They are a vital piece of the taproom identity, and they help hold up a crucial pillar of Arches’ ethos to be an inclusive and safe space for everyone.
“Head Held High’ is intentionally playful. Meant to both evoke the action of being proud of oneself by keeping one’s head up and an acknowledgement that every beer should have a great head,” says Douglas McGeoch (she/he), co-owner of Douglas Dewey Creative.
The beer has a tart bite with a smooth tropical fruity finish and is ideal for all the summer vibes from hanging in the backyard chilling in a hammock to watching the sunset with friends.
“Everyone in our community has something positive to share and we hope to spread the message to hold your head high in who you are,” stated Bradford Shoemaker, Brewer at Arches Brewing. “We also wanted to create a beer that is light and tropical for these scorching Atlanta days. Pouring sour beer styles on nitro is a little outside the norm, but we set out to soften the tartness and promote subtle sweetness from the mango and pink guava additions. Head Held High is brewed with generous amounts of wheat and a little lactose to further soften the mouthfeel and create a creamy appearance.”
Second Chance canning a Cold IPA, portion of sales to dog rescues
San Diego’s Second Chance Beer Co. released Easy Livin’, a 6.4% ABV Cold IPA that is being poured at its tasting rooms in Carmel Mountain Ranch and North Park. This is the first time the brewery is putting a Cold IPA in four packs of 16-ounce cans after offering several pilot batches on draft in its tasting rooms throughout the Spring. Easy Livin’ is a creation of Brewmaster Marty Mendiola and Head Brewer Thomas Mercado and features a blend of Idaho 7, Ekuanot, and Mosaic hops. It is crisp and clean with notes of peaches, blueberries, and tropical fruits like pineapple and mango.
“Easy Livin’ is a new interpretation of a core beer style that highlights everyone’s favorite beer ingredient of hops,” Mendiola and Mercado said jointly. “This Cold IPA is hopped aggressively for aroma and a bursting hop flavor. A muted malt ball was fermented using lager yeast to help make it crisp and clean.”
Second Chance donates a portion of sales to San Diego dog rescues The Animal Pad and Second Chance Dog Rescue, as well Friends For Life Animal Rescue in Gilbert, Arizona. Like Second Chance Beer Company, these charities are dedicated to saving homeless dogs and giving them a second chance at life.
Gin and tonic-inspired ale stands out in Short’s Brewing Q3 lineup
Hot on the heels of their first ever non-alcoholic release (a sparkling lemon-lime hop water, made in collaboration with Billy Strings) Short’s Brewing is keeping summer awesome for the next three months with a ton of interesting releases. The one I am most interested to try is July’s Melt My Brain: Gin & Tonic Inspired Ale, available in 6 pack cans and draft with distribution to Michigan and Indiana.
A true testament to Short’s Brewing innovation, Melt My Brain is a beer that’s made like a radler to drink like a cocktail.
“We take a Golden Ale and pack it full of two key gin botanicals: coriander and juniper berries, then add a crazy amount of fresh lime. We then blend that ginfully delicious brew with our own house-made tonic water, shandy-style, to brighten the whole thing up and add an extra level of effervescence.”
Original 40’s newest head brewer makes debut with tropical sour ale
The Original 40 Brewing Company Head Brewer Zack Kaplan joined Original 40 in May, returning to San Diego after serving as the head brewer at Bonfire Brewing in Eagle, Colo., and Migration Brewing in Portland, Ore. He recently debuted his first beer for Original 40: Hi Tiki, a 5.0% ABV tropical-inspired sour ale brewed with pineapple, coconut, and Sabro hops. It pours bright golden yellow and has a tropical taste with moderate acidity.
“Hi Tiki pays homage to some of my favorite surf trips in the tropics and the drinks enjoyed on the beach there,” Kaplan said. “I am really stoked to have this beer as my first release and to get it out just in time for these beautiful summer days in San Diego. I feel lucky to have the brewery support of owner Steve Billings, Assistant Brewer Janne Altonen, and the entire OG40 team while getting my new brews dialed in.”
Kaplan began his career in the craft brewing industry in 2011, working for Green Flash Brewing Company and subsequently Saint Archer Brewing Company. He left for Colorado in 2015 and enjoyed time with Denver Beer Company and Upslope Brewing.
Family Vacation time for Roadhouse Brewing Co.
July 4th calls for an easy-drinking golden ale, and Jackson Hole’s Roadhouse Brewing Co. delivers with a new 16 oz can of its popular Family Vacation. Crisp and delicately hopped, Family Vacation (5.0% ABV) is a crushable golden ale featuring floral notes, biscuity malts and a smooth finish. A perfect companion for the 4th of July, summer gatherings and, of course, family vacations.
“This easy-drinking beer just got better, and it was a no-brainer for us to consider putting Family into a 16oz can. We want to give our faithful customers a bit more beer in each can, and we are excited that this shift in package size will do just that. Family Vacation in a 16 oz? Yes, please!” says Brewmaster Max Shafer.
Epic Brewing Pineapple Creamsicle IPA
Ice cream truck meets Milkshake IPA as Epic Brewing presents the ultimate adult summertime treat in its rotating beer series. Buckets of pineapple puree and boat loads of milk sugar were dumped into this 8.5% ABV IPA to replicate the flavors of a classic creamsicle with a pineapple twist. “We would have saved it for ourselves but it started melting out of the fermentation tank, so we decided to can it and share.”
Ska Brewing and Manhattan Brewing Company debut 2 Tone IPA
Ska Brewing and Manhattan Brewing Co. debuted their collaboration IPA, 2 Tone, across Kansas Colorado and Kansas in late June. Jake Voegeli, who opened Manhattan Brewing in 2020 with Adam Kresbach and Garrett Paulmanwas, was formerly Ska’s Midwest Sales Manager in Kansas. Before that he was a starting center for the Kansas State University Wildcats.
“Jake’s a local legend football player around Manhattan, and now he’s a thriving craft brewer,” says Peter Archer of Ska Brewing. “2 Tone was a reason for Jake to visit us in Durango, and now it’s our unofficial re-launch in Kansas after a quiet two years of pandemic.”
In the true spirit of collaboration, 2 Tone IPA was made at Ska with a pitch of Manhattan’s house yeast strain that they brought to Durango from Kansas. The two brewing teams hopped this batch with modern hop selections Sabro, Sultana and Idaho 7, and chose a hopping schedule to create juice instead of haze.
“This beer was brewed with the philosophy and technique that we developed through our Checkered Future IPA,” says Archer. “The hop additions are late, and there’s no real bittering addition either.”
2 Tone IPA cans sport purple and silver, Wildcat colors, and they’ll be available at retailers across Kansas and Colorado at liquor stores and on tap while supplies last.
Hopcelot IPA brewed in honor of popular Vermont band
Lawson’s Finest Liquids announced the regionwide distribution of Hopcelot IPA (VT, CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI). Made with eight hop varieties from around the world, Hopcelot IPA is a delightfully complex brew with seemingly endless flavor notes inspired by legendary VT music.
“Hopcelot made its way from our Taproom fan-favorite to regional fan-favorite in its first distribution across the Northeast last year,” said Sean Lawson, CEO and Founding Brewer of Lawson’s Finest Liquids. “The beer is a truly unique combination of flavors and aromas, and we’re thrilled to bring it back this summer. It pays unique homage to music and the area that it’s brewed.”
Hopcelot IPA was first brewed in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the popular Vermont band, The Grift. The beer’s name is a nod to the legendary VT band, Phish, and its song “Ocelot.” Its musical inspirations led to the seemingly endless flavor notes resulting from its diverse hop profile.
At 7% ABV, Hopcelot IPA is brewed with a blend of hops from the US Pacific Northwest, Australia and New Zealand, creating a beer with a complex flavor profile boasting an aromatic punch of citrus and pine yielding to a fruity finish.
Hopcelot IPA is the latest specialty beer distributed across the Northeast as part of Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ 2022 limited-release calendar. Big Hoppy, a black IPA with five hop varieties, seven malts and a bold flavor profile will make its regional debut in September.
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