Oregon’s awesome Breakside Brewery is embarking on an innovative seasonal release series that will span four months, feature six variants and reflect the subtle changing of the season.
Every batch of LIFE Barleywine clocks in at 9.5% ABV and will feature specialty grains from a different maltster. Breakside’s brewmaster, Ben Edmunds, selected some of the most renowned British maltsters, as well as up and coming producers from the Northwest. Each recipe is built around the nuances of the malt from the following producers, respectively:
- Simpsons Malt — 5th generation maltster from Northumberland, England
- Thomas Fawcett — 7th generation family maltster in West Yorkshire England, operating for more than 200 years
- Crisp Malt — the 10th largest malting company in the world, established in 1870, with two facilities in England
- Minch Malt — Ireland’s oldest maltster, producing malted barley that is 100% Irish origin
- Bairds Malt — Malting for 199 years with facilities in Scotland and England
- Skagit Valley Malt — Malting sustainably grown grain from the Pacific Northwest, based in Washington
This LIFE Barleywine series replaces Salted Caramel Stout, Breakside’s collaboration with Salt & Straw, as a core seasonal release in 22 oz bottles.
LIFE’s color, flavor, and malt profile will vary batch to batch, matching the change of seasons. The initial release on Nov. 20 is autumnal in inspiration, copper in color, and toffee-forward. Closer to the Winter solstice, the next version will be darker with notes of roasted nuts and macerated raisins. As Spring approaches each subsequent brew will become progressively lighter in color with the nuances of the paler malts showing through.
The packaging for each batch of LIFE will also change colors with each release so that drinkers can easily differentiate releases. Labels feature a QR code that will send drinkers to a webpage detailing the differences between every variant’s malts and flavor profiles.
Pretty much every component of this concept rules. LIFE Barleywine can be found throughout Breakside’s distribution footprint on draft and in 22oz bottles.
Celebrate fresh hops with Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale is back. First brewed in 1981, Celebration Ale wields fresh hops from the first harvest of the season and notes of pine, citrus and malty caramel. It’s a wintertime classic and perfect for cozying up inside by the fire or celebrating the holidays with family and friends.
Atlas Brew Works debuts beer advent calendar
Atlas Brew Works is launching its first-ever beer advent calendar at a price point of $59.99, available to pick up at its taproom. While each box might have some repeats of the brewery’s most popular styles, every advent calendar will include a mix of Atlas’ core beers, seasonal releases, and other fan favorites. Beer fans are encouraged to get orders in quickly as there are a limited number of advent calendars available. Each box comes with a complimentary pint when picked up at an Atlas taproom location.
Schlafly Beer is bringing back its winter sampler pack, Stout Bout, which features four stouts, including two new stouts, one year-round and one returning favorite: Mexican Chocolate Stout (6% ABV), Chai Latte Stout (ABV: 6.0%), Coconut Coffee Stout (ABV: 5.7%), and Oatmeal Stout (5.7% ABV). The variety pack is now available to the public.
“The Stout Bout name is a play on the boxing term for a match, and every year, our customers wait to see what flavors or ‘winners’ make the pack. The sampler always features one of Schlafly’s classic stouts, Oatmeal, this year, and one variety that has to make a return appearance, which was Mexican Chocolate Stout,“ says Schlafly CEO Fran Caradonna. “We’re especially excited about two new beers entering the pack this year as they were submitted by fans last year.”
Just like in previous years, the 2022 Stout Bout Sampler includes a QR code to a ballot where beer fans can vote for their favorite Schlafly Stout. Last year’s Hall of Fame sampler pack included the top four beers and included a QR Code asking fans to send in suggestions that inspired this year’s pack.
Narragansett donations on National Lager Day
National Lager Day is coming up on December 10 and Narragansett is celebrating it in a cool way with a social media campaign / charitable donation. The Narragansett Lager has been around since 1890 and is brewed to be clean, crisp, refreshing and perfectly balanced to satisfy any and all imbibers. To celebrate its holiday, ‘Gansett is donating $1 to Toys For Tots for every photo of ‘Gansett posted with #LagerDay.
Sycamore Brewing has cookies for you this Christmas
Charlotte-based Sycamore Brewing announced the return of its seasonal Christmas Cookie Winter Ale (7.5% ABV) and limited supply of Barrel-Aged Christmas Cookie Winter Ale (8.1% ABV). Both beers are now available for purchase at select stores in eight states.
“Here at Sycamore, we love to spread holiday cheer, especially in the form of beer,” says Sycamore Brewing Co-Owner, Sarah Taylor Brigham. “This year, we’re thrilled to be bringing back the limited-edition barrel-aged version, too. Consider it our gift to beer lovers everywhere.”
Christmas Cookie Winter Ale is an ode to baked goods. The holiday-inspired beer tastes just like sugar cookies with deliciously comforting flavors of vanilla, caramel, butter and toffee that result in a sweet and malt-forward blonde ale. The barrel-aged version has all the same goodness of the original version, just with a stronger ABV and added notes of toasted oak and bourbon.
This year’s suggestive Christmas Cookie can art features elves packaging up risqué items for mom and dad amid items like teddy bears and scooters for the kids. The Barrel-Aged Christmas Cookie’s can art appears a bit more PG and shows elves packaging up barrels of beer in their holiday sweaters. Upon closer inspection, it turns out the elves are wearing sweaters that echo the artwork of Christmas Cookie’s past.
Rogue Ales, Santa team with Portland truffle bar maker for this year’s Private Reserve
Rogue Ales & Spirits knows Santa has a sweet tooth. This holiday season, Rogue teamed up with Honey Mama’s, the Portland-based maker of refrigerated truffle bars, to brew Santa’s Private Reserve and the result is exceptional. The 2022 release of Santa’s Private Reserve is a rich and flavorful tahini, tangerine and chocolate stout.
“Santa has always been convinced that all great confections come from the North Pole, so we reached out to our friends at Honey Mama’s to help us show him otherwise,” says Hagen Moore, VP of Creative. “The Honey Mama’s crew whipped up some of their favorite tasty treats and we sent them up to Santa in a care package. It’s safe to say he feels a bit differently now, for mere minutes after receiving the delivery Santa was on the phone with us gushing about the delicious goodies, begging us to recreate this in his annual Private Reserve. Per his request, we teamed up with Honey Mama’s to create this tahini, tangerine and chocolate flavored stout. You’re sure to love it as much as Santa.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Rogue, an Oregon icon, this holiday season,” added Jared Schwartz, CEO of Honey Mama’s. “Rogue and Honey Mama’s share a focus on creating exceptional quality and creative flavor profiles that stop you in your tracks. Our Tahini Tangerine Cocoa Truffle Bar starts with a roasted nutty taste that’s folded into rich cocoa with a finish of bright tangerine – perfect for this time of year and even better paired with a full-bodied stout. We’re thrilled to be Rogue’s first-ever recipe collaboration partner for the highly anticipated 2022 Santa’s Private Reserve and know Santa is too – he even told us that this year, he’d prefer chocolate and beer over milk and cookies.”
New Realm collabs with old friends for fresh take on Black IPA
New Realm collaborated with Stone Brewing and Firestone Walker Brewing for this 10.5% ABV (!), Obsidian Jam Triple Black IPA. This Triple IPA features Carafa III malt and Rye Malt, and its hop bill stars Citra, Chinook, Idaho 7 and Simcoe. Obsidian Jam is bursting with intense citrusy and piney hops balanced with rich dark maltiness.
For this very special collaboration, Firestone Walker’s Brewmaster Matt Brynildson and Stone’s Sr. Manager of Innovation, Jeremy Moynier travelled to New Realm’s Atlanta brewery.
“In my days at Stone, I had a blast creating what became one of the first widely distributed Black IPAs in 2007, and a few years later both Stone and Firestone Walker both released full time versions that became classic versions of the style,” says Mitch Steele, Co-Founder and Brewmaster of New Realm. “Jeremy and I went on to brew a few more, and Matt’s team did the same. In a sense, Obsidian Jam feels like getting the band back together to brew a beer that is a throwback to some of the best collaboration days we’ve had in craft beer while using more modern ingredients. It’s always fun when you get to hang out with your friends that you don’t get to see that often.”
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