Southern Tier Brewing Company (Lakewood, New York) has officially announced that it will add Nu Juice IPA to its lineup of Year-Round offerings in March 2019.
After “more than a year of development” that had Southern Tier “[leveraging] the latest brewing techniques and ingredients”, Nu Juice is finally ready for widespread distribution as a Year-Round release. This Juicy India Pale Ale sees additions of “Mosaic, Ekuanot, and Simcoe hops over a multi-day period, creating a refreshingly juicy and approachable IPA.” Coming in at 6% ABV and a low 30 IBUs, Nu Juice “could be the smoothest IPA ever brewed.”
In an effort to keep this brand fresh and interesting in a constantly evolving beer scene, Nu Juice will serve “as a platform that will continually reinvent itself based on current IPA trends, maintaining relevance and intrigue among IPA consumers.”
“Southern Tier started with a passion for brewing and for pushing the boundaries of what craft beer can be. Experimentation has always been at the core of what we do,” explains Phin DeMink, founder of Southern Tier Brewing Company. “The Nu Juice concept pushes us to stay on the leading edge of IPA innovation.”
Nu Juice IPA will officially roll out in March with Year-Round availability in “a variety of packaged formats.” You can expect to find this new Year-Round offering at craft beer-focused retailers, bars and restaurants located in Alabama, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and throughout the rest of Southern Tier’s distribution territory. Prost!
Vital Information for Nu Juice IPA from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Release – Year-Round, launching March 2019 Style – Hazy/Juicy India Pale Ale ABV – 6% IBUs – 30 Featured Hops – Mosaic, Ekuanot & Simcoe
Fun Fact – Nu Juice IPA is a relaunch of Southern Tier’s previously released Nu Skool IPA Availability – Draft & a variety of packaged formats Beer Finder – https://www.stbcbeer.com/find-beer/
Ballast Point Brewing Co. (San Diego, California) has officially announced that Brut IPA, a new Limited Release offering, is hitting beer shelves now.
Arriving as the latest addition to the brewery’s adventurous Explorer Series that features “bold, exotic flavors and styles”, Brut IPA is Ballast Point’s take on the “emerging trend within the India Pale Ale category named after the dry Champagne style.” Light in body and bitterness, Brut IPA “explodes with citrusy hops and notes of grapefruit, lime and tropical fruits thanks to Citra hops added late in the brewing process.” This “very dry and refreshing” Brut IPA comes in at 7% ABV.
Brut IPA is rolling out now and will be available for a limited time. You can expect to find this new offering available in 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles at craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, Florida, California, Illinois, Virginia and throughout the rest of Ballast Point’s nationwide distribution area. Prost!
Vital Information for Brut IPA from Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Release – Limited/Explorer Series, launching February 2019 Style – Brut India Pale Ale ABV – 7% Featured Hops – Citra Fun Fact – “Known for their light body and dry finish, Brut IPAs have been described as the opposite of juicy, hazy IPAs. To create the crisp finish, brewers, such as Ballast Point, brew the beer with the enzyme amyloglucosidase, or AMG, which enables the yeast to consume nearly all the sugars present.” Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles
Wild Leap Brew Co. (LaGrange, Georgia) has officially announced that its OG Series, a new lineup of Limited Release Double IPAs featuring classic West Coast hops, will launch in late February with the release of OG: Cascade.
Developed as an homage to “the original hops that played critical roles in the evolution of the American IPA”, the OG Series is a chance for Wild Leap to kick it old school with the iconic hop varietals that used to blow our minds (and wreck our palates) back in the heyday of the West Coast IPA.
Serving as the inaugural release in the series, OG: Cascade is a “lighter, dryer Double IPA” that showcases the “spicy citrus profile” of the Cascade hop. Although its West Coast roots will make it a bit more floral than previously released DIPAs from Wild Leap, OG: Cascade (8.1% ABV) does feature a couple modern touches such as a reduced level of bitterness (49 IBUs) and “a juicy haze.”
“We wanted to do an East Coast take on the double IPA while using some of the old school hops that American IPAs were founded on,” explains Chris Elliott, Head Brewer. “These hops were the most popular aroma hops available when the American IPAs really began to take off, and we wanted to explore that while incorporating our own modern style.”
OG: Cascade Double IPA is scheduled to roll out in late February and will hang around as long as supplies last. You can expect to find this Limited Release offering available in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer establishments located within Wild Leap’s distribution footprint in Georgia. Prost!
Vital Information for OG: Cascade Double IPA from Wild Leap Brew Co.
Release – Limited/OG Series, late February 2019 Style – Double India Pale Ale ABV – 8.1% IBUs – 49 Featured Hops – Cascade Fun Fact #1 – “For the Alpha Abstraction lovers out there, how will the OG Series compare? Elliott explained that OG: Cascade will be a lighter, dryer double IPA than Alpha Abstraction, but still coming in at 8.1%. This beer will have a juicy haze but will be a little less sweet.” Fun Fact #2 – On the label artwork: “In true Wild Leap style, the OG: Cascade can is designed to prominently feature the Wild Leap buffalo. However, there is an old school twist with an analog television and retro typeface capturing the feel of the days when American IPAs were just beginning.” Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. cans & draft Distribution – This offering will be available in following areas of Georgia: Atlanta, LaGrange, Newnan, Peachtree City, Columbus, Athens, Gainesville & Augusta Beer Finder – http://www.wildleap.com/beer-finder/
Back in late August, the incredible folks at VisitPITTSBURGH invited the Mashing In crew to their city to partake in a Brew + Brew Press Tour, a guided three-day tour of the fine breweries and coffee roasters/shops located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We returned from the trip with the intention of writing an exhaustive, beer-travel-themed, “Where to go for a pint while in Pittsburgh”-style post, but something just did not feel right about that approach when we started putting pen to paper. After meeting with some truly amazing people that are actively impacting and uniting Pittsburgh communities through beer culture, we just knew that our time would be better served bringing a couple of their stories to light in this two-part series. The intention of these posts is to hopefully spark your curiosity and inspire you to go see for yourself how some amazing craft breweries are reshaping the areas in and around the city of Pittsburgh.
The Gentlemen of Braddock
Brew Gentlemen’s warm and inviting entry.
Our tour of Pittsburgh hit the ground running with a lengthy half day that eventually carried us out to Braddock, Pennsylvania to check out Brew Gentlemen. Since it is quite normal for breweries to be located in industrial parks or metal buildings far removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown, I was happily surprised to find myself standing on a main avenue when I exited the bus. With its inviting storefront entrance and muraled side wall, the initial impression of Brew Gentlemen from the outside was that it had the feel of more of a small-town hardware store than brewery.
Step through the front door and the surprises continue as you are greeted by an open seating area that has an incredibly clean, industrial chic motif – exposed brick, bare bulb-style lighting, metal ceiling fans, and an accent wall displaying an illuminated and stylized “BG” logo, minimalist shelves constructed from pipe and wood, and delicate floral touches. A quick right takes you into the taproom that carries on the industrial aesthetic with a long expanse of the building’s original brick proudly adorned with Braddock’s zip code (15104), a wood accented tap wall, digital tap list, vintage tin ceiling, a gorgeous L-shaped bar and additional seating at the back. The space continues as it snakes back to the left, taking you into a sitting room that has a view of the brewery and contains shelves filled with books and board games and a 3D printer that is hard at work on an undisclosed project. From the front of the building to back, everything has a sense of trend-setting style while still maintaining a high level of functionality and comforting warmth.
Matt Katase, Co-founder of Brew Gentlemen, accounts the history of his brewery.
After a brief look around the taproom, we returned to the bar to find Brew Gentlemen’s Co-Founder Matt Katase waiting to greet us. Once everyone was settled in with a beer in hand, Matt went on to tell the story of the brewery. The inspiration for Brew Gentlemen was found in 2010 when Katase and Asa Foster, friends and students at Carnegie Mellon University who shared a love for good beer, decided to alter their college path from degrees in Art and Math to “self-defined majors” that would ultimately help them open a brewery. Despite a brush with expulsion for brewing beer on campus, the duo graduated in 2012 and immediately sought out a location for the brewery.
That search led them to Braddock, a town that quickly established itself as the soul of Brew Gentlemen. You see . . . Braddock is a town that has fallen on hard times. With a history that dates back to 1755 and the role General Edward Braddock played in the French-Indian War, Braddock did not really flourish until a little over a century later when Andrew Carnegie showed up to build the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. This move made Braddock a prominent player in the steel industry, carrying the town at a great height through the majority of the 20th century. Sadly, the steel industry collapsed during the 70’s and 80’s, and Braddock fell with it. Buildings were shuttered, the people left in search of new jobs and opportunities, and the town was left dejected and directionless. A good deal of Braddock remains in this condition at present day.
Knowing that Braddock needed them as much they needed Braddock, Katase and Foster found a home in an old electrical supply store located at 512 Braddock Avenue. To make their dream a reality, they undertook an “18-month DIY renovation project” that included exposing and restoring the brick in the building, preserving the original tin ceiling, and even collecting the pallets that littered Braddock so that they could be repurposed as wood accents in the tasting room. Piece by piece, Brew Gentlemen gradually came together and finally opened in 2014 with a tight-knit crew dedicated to upholding the following core values:
MIYABI – An aesthetic ideal meaning elegance. Everything is just as it should be.
SHOSHIN – A concept from Zen Buddhism meaning “beginner’s mind.” Openness, eagerness to learn. Many possibilities.
KANSO – An aesthetic ideal defined as simplicity. Identifying that which is essential.
KAIZEN – A business philosophy for continual improvement. Thrive on change and making things better. Use every day as a chance for improvement.
**Core values sourced directly from Brew Gentlemen’s website**
After just ten minutes of hearing Katase speak about his brewery, it became quite clear that kaizen, or continual improvement, is at the very heart of Brew Gentlemen. Proof of this arose when a journalist in our group asked if Brew Gentlemen had any collaboration projects in the works. Collaborations are a very common, popular and lucrative practice in today’s craft beer community, and the beers coming out of Brew Gentlemen – from its flagship General Braddock’s IPA to its limited release Barrel-Aged Annuals and the experimental beers of the 15104 Series – have generated quite a bit of buzz for the brewery on a national level. This degree of hype would certainly have dozens of breweries from across the country clamoring for the chance to work with Brew Gentlemen, but Katase simply responded by saying that they do their best to avoid collaborations because they feel that their time could be better spent improving their brewery, their craft and their community.
Kaizen certainly drives everything at Brew Gentlemen, but we soon learned that it is not just limited to what is found within its walls. This realization came gradually as Katase led us into the brewery for a tour – a small to medium-sized operation that includes a couple small foeders and a space for barrel-aging – and then behind the building where he outlined some ideas concerning future expansion. Despite this portion of the visit being somewhat abbreviated, an excitement could be seen growing on Katase’s face and all made sense when he finally asked, “Do you guys want to go for a walk?” Katase explained that this is a walk that he attempts to do every day so that not only can he be seen taking an interest in Braddock but also so that he can be constantly reminded of its existing beauty and growing potential. After a long day on the bus, a chance to stretch our legs sounded fantastic to all of us, so we placed our beer glasses on the brewery floor and off we went.
A dozen or so journalists following Matt Katase through the streets of Braddock.
The building’s of Braddock now serve as a canvas for elaborate works of graffiti.
Braddock Farms brings hope and fresh produce to Braddock.
Fresh vegetables grow just steps away from city streets.
For Good PGH, founders of The Hollander Project, also place inspirational signs throughout Braddock.
Several blocks away, a building that nearly became the home of Brew Gentlemen still bears its name.
Braddock’s stately bank building falls into disrepair.
Graffiti overcome by vines and overgrowth.
Starting on the cobblestone side street that runs behind the brewery, our adventure took us southeast for several blocks. The industrial might of Braddock’s past dominated the skyline while numerous abandoned buildings adorned with elaborate graffiti displays were at our left and massive storage lots for construction materials sat to the right. Each building had a story – ranging from being once proud businesses to the offices of prominent figures in town to even a respected newspaper entity – and Katase was happy to tell them all. After about a half mile, the scenery morphed into an expansive green space that houses Braddock Farms, an urban farm that grows produce literally in the shadow of the area’s last remaining steel mill. After walking the farm, we looped back around to Braddock Avenue so that Katase could show us The Hollander Project, an innovative coworking space that offers local female business owners the crucial resources needed to succeed. He then took us by scaffolding-lined stately buildings that were having their facades – blackened after years of exposure to the soot supplied by local industry – restored to their original bright white. Eventually, as we drew closer to the brewery, this uplifting stretch that showed so much potential and improvement gave way to more desolation as abandoned buildings once again began to pile up on both sides of the avenue.
For so many, a situation such as this could easily be perceived as bleak and impossible, but it honestly looks like nothing but hope when seen through the eyes of Katase. He chooses to fixate on the positive things happening in Braddock and forces anything negative to translate as a blank canvas full of potential. It is obvious that he only sees a chance for improvement. He only sees another opportunity for kaizen.
It was then, in that moment, that everything suddenly became clear. Brew Gentlemen, from the high quality of its beer to the facility’s pristine appearance, is a physical embodiment of what Braddock once was and could be again. Hard work, dedication to a craft, and a vision of excellence – all noble attributes that so many steel workers once carried through that town – have earned this brewery a prestigious level of hype in the beer community. This buzz is powerful, and it is now making people across the country talk about Brew Gentlemen. It is making people talk about Braddock again. Now that beer tourism is a very real thing and at an all-time high, this tiny little brewery could just be the spark that lures visitors back to Braddock. Craft beer could replace steel and support this community.
Absolutely mesmerized by Katase’s passion for Braddock, I got back on the press bus with my mind already made up that I will be returning to Brew Gentlemen in the very near future. Sure, some of the motivation for a return trip is to enjoy more of this brewery’s world-class beer, but the majority of it is rooted in the chance to take that walk again and see how Braddock has thrived with the help of Katase, everyone else at Brew Gentlemen, and all the other like-minded visionaries determined to create change in that community. I left convinced that Braddock will recover from its lows. I left knowing that Brew Gentlemen will somehow find a way to fuel that rise.
TrimTab Brewing Company (Birmingham, Alabama) has officially announced that it will begin the Limited Release of Helix Rising, a double dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, on Friday, February 22.
Arriving as the latest installment in the brewery’s Light Visions Collection of small batch New England-style IPAs and Double IPAs, Helix Rising is a Hazy Double IPA that starts with “a complex grain bill consisting of clean Pilsner, copious amounts of sticky oats and a touch of flaked wheat to really tie the body . . . together.” To nail down the style’s juicy character, TrimTab’s brewers fermented Helix Rising with “a fruity expressive yeast and then pushed [it] to the limit with extreme Double Dry hop additions of fresh Chinook, Zythos, Simcoe and Simcoe Lupulin Powder.” The complex recipe and hop schedule yield a deceivingly drinkable Helix Rising (8% ABV) “[overflowing] with flavors and aromas of freshly juiced pineapple, honeydew melon, fruit cocktail and apricot purée, followed with just the right amount of sticky resin bitterness.”
Helix Rising will debut in TrimTab Brewing’s Tasting Gallery on February 22 and is scheduled to enter distribution shortly after the on-site release. You can expect to find this Limited Release offering available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer-focused retailers located within the brewery’s distribution footprint in Alabama and Georgia. Prost!
Vital Information for Helix Rising from TrimTab Brewing Company
Release – Limited/Light Visions Collection; February 22, 2019 Style – Hazy Double India Pale Ale ABV – 8% Grains – Pilsner, Flaked Wheat & Oats Featured Hops – Chinook, Zythos, Simcoe & Simcoe Lupulin Powder Availability – 4-packs of 16 oz. cans & draft Beer Finder – http://trimtabbrewing.com/beers/#beer_locator
Terrapin Beer Co. (Athens, Georgia) has officially announced that Golden Ale – the brewery’s second ever Year-Round beer – is getting an updated recipe, a new look and expanded distribution availability.
To modernize Golden Ale a bit while still remaining true to its “classic flavor”, the brewers at Terrapin took this long-standing brew’s “crisp and refreshing” nature to another level by adding “a subtle fruitiness from Mosaic, Idaho 7, and Azacca hops.” Coming in at a reduced 4.6% ABV, the new Golden Ale will have a “lighter body” and “fewer calories than before, making it an ideal beer for folks who are looking to make more health-conscious beer choices.”
“We wanted to lower the ABV just a little on Golden,” explains Dustin Watts, President of Terrapin Beer Co. “It’s an easy drinkin’ ale, and we wanted people to feel like they could have a few.”
Additionally, the Golden Ale refresh will include a new label that “still features the Terrapin turtle enjoying the great outdoors, but now it fits in with Terrapin’s other year-round packaged beers like RecreationAle and Up-Hi.” Also, after spending several years as a Georgia-only offering, Golden Ale will now be available in all 19 states in Terrapin’s distribution footprint.
“With a wide variety of industry-leading IPAs, we’re taking the opportunity to update and expand what has been a great Georgia only brand to the rest of our footprint. Golden ales as a style are one of the fastest growing styles in craft beer,” says Brian Sykes, VP of Sales and Marketing. (Source: Neilson Data)
The revamped Golden Ale is rolling out now with Year-Round availability in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft (16 oz. cans will turn up in Summer 2019). You can expect to find this brew at craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and throughout the rest of Terrapin’s distribution area. Prost!
Vital Information for Golden Ale from Terrapin Beer Co.
Release – Year-Round, new recipe launches late February 2019 Style – Golden Ale ABV – 4.6% Featured Hops – Mosaic, Idaho 7 & Azacca Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. cans & draft Beer Finder – https://terrapinbeer.com/beer-finder/
Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon) has announced that Rhubarb Schmubarb will officially join the brewery’s Seasonal lineup in March 2019.
Created with inspiration sourced from “the seedlings grown in the Rogue Farms Revolution Garden”, Rhubarb Schmubarb is a fruited ale that is “delightfully tart from the rhubarb, but balanced by the sweetness of Oregon strawberries.” Weighing in at an easy-drinking 5.9% ABV and 8 IBUs, Rhubarb Schmubarb is “a little sweet, a little tart and ideal for late-spring and early summer sipping.”
“We dedicate our farm-inspired beers to farmers and gardeners everywhere because we know the hard work and dedication that goes into growing incredible ingredients,” says Rogue President Dharma Tamm. “As farmers and gardeners ourselves, we believe the best beer comes from the best ingredients, and our beers are our way of toasting all the hard work that goes into the things we most enjoy.”
Rhubarb Schmubarb will officially launch in March and is scheduled to hang around through June 2019. You can expect to find this Seasonal offering available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Oregon and throughout the rest of Rogue’s nationwide distribution area. Prost!
Vital Information for Rhubarb Schmubarb from Rogue Ales
Release – Seasonal, March – June 2019 Style – Fruit Beer ABV – 5.9% IBUs – 8 Grains – 2-Row, Munich, Dextrapils Malts; Flaked Corn & Rolled Oats Hops – Mosaic Yeast – Pacman Added Ingredients – Rhubarb, Strawberries & Lactose Availability – 4-packs of 16 oz. cans & draft Beer Finder – https://finder.rogue.com/
Big Storm Brewing Co. (Clearwater, Florida) has officially announced that it and several other Pinellas County craft breweries have come together to brew A House that Beer Built, a collaboration Belgian Wit that will raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.
A House That Beer Built is a new program from Big Storm Brewing, Dissent Craft Brewing Company(St. Petersburg, Florida), Flying Boat Brewing Co. (St. Petersburg, Florida) and other local breweries that aims to raise $50,000 for Habitat for Humanity so that it can help a local family in need. The participating breweries hope to raise a portion of the funds with the sale of a collaboration beer created specifically for the cause.
Also named A House That Beer Built, this special collaboration is Belgian-style Witbier “brewed with white wheat and barley malt for a refreshing and flavorful, hazy golden-white ale.” The recipe is rounded out with additions of orange peel, coriander, and grains of paradise to impart “layers of sweet citrus and pleasant spice” and “a traditional Belgian wit yeast completes the perfect beer for a great cause.”
“Habitat is beyond excited to be working with the craft beer community here in Pinellas County,” said Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Marketing Alison Riley. “We are always looking for new and innovative ways to partner with businesses and individuals in the area as well as spread the word of the Habitat mission. We are thankful to Big Storm and all of the breweries who have made this project possible!”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to give back to the community and by working together we are crafting both a home and hope for a Pinellas family,” said Big Storm Brewing owner L.J. Govoni.
A House That Beer Built Belgian Wit is available now on draft at Big Storm Brewing Co.’sPinellas and Pasco taprooms. A portion of the proceeds raised from the sale of A House That Beer Built will be donated to Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County to build a house for a local family in need. Prost!
Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, California) has officially announced that Dark Swan Sour Ale will return for a limited time in mid-February as a part of the brewery’s OneHitter Series.
Developed to be Lagunitas’ take on the beer-wine hybrid, Dark Swan is a “uniquely deep and rich purple [hued]” American Sour Ale that has been “dry-hopped with some experimental Pekko hops from the Yakima Valley, then fermented with . . . house yeast on some of Sonoma County’s-own Petite Syrah grape juice from . . . Adobe Road Winery.” Swooping in at 7.9% ABV and 25 IBUs, Dark Swan promises to be “smooth, slightly sour, and superbly strange.”
Dark Swan is scheduled to release in mid-February and will hang around as long as supplies last. You can expect to find this “HIIIIGHLY limited” brew available in 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft at select craft beer establishments located in Alabama, Florida, California, Illinois and throughout the rest of Lagunitas Brewing Company’s distribution territory. Prost!
Vital Information for Dark Swan Sour Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company
Release – Limited/OneHitter Series, mid-February 2019 Style – American Sour Ale ABV – 7.9% IBUs – 25 Featured Hops – Pekko Added Ingredients – Petite Syrah grape juice Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles & draft Beer Finder – https://lagunitas.com/beer-finder
On Sunday, March 17 at 11 a.m., LOKO Cuisine will host a special St. Patrick’s Day edition of Eggs & Kegs at Hidden Springs Ale Works (1631 N Franklin St | Tampa, Florida).
Everyone knows that the most important – and fabulous – meal of the day is brunch, but there is one day of the year when your first meal of the day is absolutely crucial: St. Patrick’s Day. If you choose the right St. Patrick’s Day breakfast/brunch, you are setting yourself up success on the greatest of drinking holidays. On the other hand, if you choose wrong, there is a pretty good chance that you might end up a meme.
To provide you with the nourishment necessary to lay a foundation solid enough to support a day of festive drinking and merriment, LOKO Cuisine will be dishing up the following hearty, Irish-themed four-course menu at Hidden Springs Ale Works on St. Patty’s Day (served buffet-style):
To help you wash down the tasty Irish eats above, Hidden Springs will cover the “kegs” portion of this brunch by featuring the following brews:
Irish Car Bomb Deja Moo Milk Stout
Brawndo “The Thirst Mutilator” – a Green Gatorade-infused Berliner Weisse
Pilsner – a.k.a. “The Lite Beer” or “Beer Flavored Beer”
As an added bonus, if you find yourself in need of a caffeinated boost during the brunch, the Ginger Beard Coffee crew will be on-site pouring Nitro Irish Coffee – whiskey-infused coffee with fresh cream – and Nitro-infused Irish Breakfast Black Tea. **Ginger Beard offerings are not included in the ticket price.**
Tickets for LOKO Cuisine Eggs & Kegs events tend to sell out quickly and this one should be no different. Be sure to lock down some tickets now so that you can start your St. Patrick’s Day in proper fashion. Seriously . . . future you – clad in all green and wearing an oversized, floppy leprechaun hat – will appreciate you making this decision . . . so . . . don’t screw this one up. Buy those tickets and have an awesomely safe St. Patrick’s Day, folks. Prost!