Beer | Mashing In

3 Sons Brewing Co. Schedules Bottle Release for Vanilla Big Sxxxy

Posted on December 3, 2019December 3, 2019 by mashingin

3 Sons Brewing Company (Dania Beach, Florida) has officially announced that it will hold a Limited Bottle Release for Vanilla Big Sxxxy at the brewery on Sunday, December 8.

Arriving as the latest variant of 3 Sons Brewing Co.’s Big Sxxxy Barrel-aged Barleywine, Vanilla Big Sxxxy is an English-style Barleywine that has aged in vanilla bourbon barrels for 22 months. This treatment results in a “creamy, thic and rich” Vanilla Big Sxxxy that supplies an experience that the brewery describes as “liquid caramel bourbon, crème brûlée,”

Vanilla Big Sxxxy will officially release in the taproom at 3 Sons Brewing Company (236 N Federal Hwy Suite 104 | Dania Beach, Florida) at noon on Sunday, December 8. This Limited Release offering will be available in 375ml bottles for the cost $24 each (limit of two bottles per person). 3 Sons Brewing Company will also have a limited amount of Big Sxxxy branded glassware available during the release for $10 each (limit of one glass per person). Vanilla Big Sxxxy is a brewery exclusive release that will not see distribution. Prost!

Vital Information for Vanilla Big Sxxxy from 3 Sons Brewing Company

Release – Limited; December 8, 2019
Style – English-style Barleywine
ABV – ???
Treatment – Aged for 22 months in vanilla bourbon barrels
Availability – 375ml bottles ($24 each, limit of two bottles per person)
Distribution – None. Brewery exclusive release

DuClaw Brewing Co. Expands Distribution to Tennessee

Posted on December 3, 2019 by mashingin

DuClaw Brewing Co. (Baltimore, Maryland) has officially announced that it has partnered with Advintage Distributing so that it can immediately begin distribution throughout the state of Tennessee.

Established in 1996, DuClaw Brewing Co. has since made a name for itself by “fearlessly innovating” and pushing the limits of what beer lovers expect from the craft beer industry. This clever approach has led the brewery to create a mind-blowing portfolio “including ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, and its ‘Sour Me’ series including ‘Sour Me Unicorn Farts‘.” With the addition of Tennessee, DuClaw’s beers are now in 19 states across the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest U.S.

DuClaw Brewing Co. will enter the Tennessee market with offerings such as ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, ‘Dirty Little Freak’ Coconut Caramel Chocolate Brown Ale, ‘Regular Beer’ Lager, ‘Haze Of Glory’ New England IPA, ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ Strawberry Tart IPA, ‘Apri-Caught Stealing’ Apricot Tart IPA, and ‘Sweet Baby Java’ Espresso Bean infused Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter.

“We’ve wanted to get our brews into the hands of Tennesseans for a while, so we’re very happy to announce our arrival,” said DuClaw Founder Dave Benfield. “It’s been a strong start, and we’re looking forward to building on that momentum.”

With the assistance of Advintage Distributing, DuClaw Brewing Co. is rolling out in Tennessee now. You can expect to find DuClaw offerings at craft beer-friendly retailers, bars and restaurants located throughout the state. Prost!

New Belgium Brewing & TRVE Brewing Co. Collaborate on Where I Live Dark Sour Ale

Posted on December 2, 2019December 2, 2019 by mashingin

New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, Colorado) has officially announced that Where I Live, a Limited Release Mixed Culture Sour Ale brewed in collaboration with TRVE Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado), is hitting select markets now.

Inspired by the “ancient Belgian tradition” of blending wood-aged Sour Ales, Lauren Limbach, New Belgium Wood Cellar Director and Blender, and Nick Nunns, Founder of TRVE Brewing, have “long dreamt of blending their sour beers” but such a project was not legally possible until December 2017 when the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform “legalized brewery-to-brewery tax-free transfers of beer.”

“When we first started talking about this collaboration at GABF 2016, it wasn’t even legal,” says Limbach. “U.S. brewers couldn’t send beer to each other for this kind of project. That changed in late 2017, paving the way for what we think is the first beer of its kind in the U.S. — legally, at least.”

To bring this “dream collaboration” to life, New Belgium started Where I Live with a base beer brewed with malts from Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins and fermented with Norwegian Kveik yeast. That base beer was then “blended with a foeder-aged dark sour, then further matured with TRVE’s mixed-culture in one of New Belgium’s French oak foeders.” To finish the beer off, the final blend was “circulated over whole-flower lavender grown on the Western Slope of Colorado by Two Bears Farms.” Clocking in at 6% ABV, Where I Live comes together to be “a floral-infused, malt-driven, crushable sour full of friendship and intent.”

Where I Live officially debuted on Black Friday, November 29 and will be available as long as supplies last. You can expect to find this Limited Release offering available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located in Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, Virginia, California, Nevada, Missouri, Connecticut, Kentucky and New York. Prost!

Vital Information for Where I Live from New Belgium Brewing & TRVE Brewing Company

Release – Limited; November 29, 2019
Style – American Sour Ale
ABV – 6%
Malts – Pevec, Ballad & Encore from Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado
Added Ingredients – Whole flower lavender
Yeast – Kveik
Availability – 4-packs of 16 oz. cans & draft
Distribution – Limited; Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, Virginia, California, Nevada, Missouri, Connecticut, Kentucky & New York
Beer Finder – https://www.newbelgium.com/beer/finder/

WhereILiveProcess — *Lauren Limbach, New Belgium Wood Cellar Director and Blender, illustrates the process for creating Where I Live. Photo Credit: New Belgium Brewing*

Founders Brewing Co. Reveals 2020 Availability Calendar

Posted on December 2, 2019 by mashingin

Brewery release calendar season is back once again and we are kicking of this year’s round with a look at the 2020 Availability Calendar for Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, Michigan).

As is the norm around here when it comes to beer calendars, we have published Founders Brewing Co.’s 2020 Availability Calendar in its entirety below so that you can examine it at your own pace. With that said, here are a few juicy tidbits that we would like to highlight before we turn you over to the calendar:

The Barrel-Aged Series kicks off with the 2019/2020 release of KBS Espresso – the first variant of KBS – which will have availability into February 2020. The original KBS will return in February as a Year-Round release. Más Agave (May – July) and Underground Mountain Brown (September – October) are both scheduled to return in 2020. Founders plans to add two new yet-to-be-named offerings to the series during the year – one of which will be a Más Agave variant.
The brewery’s Year-Round lineup will see the addition of Unraveled IPA in February. Unraveled IPA is an “incredibly flavorful and aromatic” Juicy India Pale Ale “dry hopped with traditional hop pellets along with lupulin powder, an innovative hop product that separates lupulin from the hop flower.” ABV – 6.6% IBUS – 50
Centennial IPA will get some new packaging options in 2020. Look for this Year-Round to have availability in 19.2 oz. cans and 6-packs of 12 oz. cans beginning in February 2020.
4 Giants IPA, “a mashup of [the brewery’s] four favorite imperial IPAs,” will be available April through June 2020 as a part of the Limited Series.
Speaking of the Limited Series, Frangelic Mountain Brown (January – March), Green Zebra (May – August), and Harvest Ale (October) are all scheduled to return. Founders plans to also add two yet-to-be-named offerings to the series in 2020.
The Mothership Series, the brewery’s “ultra-limited, brew team favorite beers only found at [Founders] taproom locations,” will kick off with the return of Devil Dancer on January 22. Founders plans to release five more Mothership Series offerings throughout the year.
The brewery will launch the MI-Exclusive Series in 2020 with the March release of Red’s Rye IPA in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans. As you may have already guessed, the MI-Exclusive Series will see exclusive distribution in Founders Brewing Co.’s home state of Michigan.

That should just about cover all the points we wanted to go over, but there is still a good amount of info left for you to discover on the calendar below. Give it a good look and start getting excited about all the tasty brews headed your way from Founders Brewing Co in 2020. Prost!

Tasting Notes: Coast Haste Imperial Hazy IPA from Rogue Ales

Posted on November 29, 2019 by mashingin

For this installment of Tasting Notes, we track down a new fresh hop experience by getting into a few cans of Coast Haste Imperial Hazy India Pale Ale from Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon).

Introduced back in September to take full advantage of the “bountiful time” that is the hop harvest, Coast Haste is an Imperial Hazy India Pale Ale “made with hops that are harvested on the Rogue Farm and quickly transported, while still wet, 71 miles to be brewed in Newport on the Oregon Coast.” These incredibly fresh hops ensure that Coast Haste (8.6% ABV, 51 IBUs) is jam-packed with “bold tropical, citrus notes.”

Coast Haste is available now and is scheduled to hang around through January 2020. You can expect to find this Limited Release available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Oregon and throughout the rest of Rogue’s distribution territory.

With all that background data now out of the way, let’s quickly move on to get our fresh hop fix over some Tasting Notes!

Tasting Notes for Coast Haste Imperial Hazy IPA from Rogue Ales

Appearance: Coast Haste pours a deep, vibrant orange in color (similar to if you mixed mango and orange juice) and is capped with a little over a finger of thick, creamy foam. The beer is quite hazy . . . like fully embraces the ways of the haze and is completely opaque. When held to direct light, the color holds and only picks up a slight tinge of added vibrancy. Head retention is decent, falling to a chunky ring that draws intricate webs of lace on the glass throughout the experience.

Aroma: An unmistakable fresh hop presence greets the nose with that indescribable green/fresh hop aroma that is laced with big citrus and floral notes. The hop character then goes super fruity with notes of peach, mango, passion fruit, and grapefruit. All of this is carried by a subtle undercurrent of spicy pine.

Taste: This brew is all sorts of tropical out of the gate with big notes of mango, papaya, mixed berries, passion fruit, pineapple and grapefruit. Tangerine, orange and lime then brings some citrus brightness to the mix while pine adds a nice little bite. Although it is not as “green” as some fresh hop offerings in flavor, it still leaves a really gorgeous floral fresh hop note behind to linger in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: On the heavier side of medium in body with a moderate carbonation level, this Hazy IPA is wonderfully smooth and has a pleasant creamy weight to it. Not too sweet and minimally bitter, this beer actually dries out and cleans up nice and quick. The 8.6% ABV does supply a touch of heat in the throat, but it is definitely appropriate for a Double IPA. The aftertaste is a mix of floral hops, papaya, mango and pine.

Final Thoughts: There seems to be a trend within the trend of Hazy/Juicy IPAs where those craft beer lovers who are devoted to the haze tend to avoid larger craft breweries when they attempt to tackle this wildly popular style. They claim that these breweries just cannot pull off the haze like you find in the small batch can releases coming out of New England. Although we too have noticed that some bigger breweries struggle a bit in this arena, Coast Haste is here to prove that a big player in the craft brewing industry like Rogue can absolutely nail the style.

Coast Haste has the look and all the big, juicy flavor and aroma you expect from a Hazy IPA, and then it gets bonus points for incorporating all the goodness that comes along with fresh hops. It possesses all you could want from such a mashup. So much so, it is actually memorable, and I cannot say that too often when it comes to the Hazy IPAs being pumped out on a regular basis by those hyped small batch breweries. Coast Haste is a standout brew and, if you enjoy the haze, you are selling yourself short if you avoid it just because a big-name craft brewery has its logo on the can. Be sure to check it out while you still have the chance. Prost!

Dogfish Head Introduces All Things Yet IPA with Release of IPAs for the Holidays Variety Pack

Posted on November 29, 2019 by mashingin

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Delaware) has officially announced that it is getting in the holiday spirit with the Limited Release of IPAs for the Holidays, a variety 12-pack that features the brand-new All Things Yet IPA.

Adorned with a special gift tag that makes it “a great gift for holiday parties and the craft beer lover in your life,” IPAs for the Holidays is a variety 12-pack of 12 oz. bottles that “celebrates an old-world style [Dogfish Head has] embraced, tweaked and reinvented over the years – the India Pale Ale.” This year’s installment of IPAs for the Holidays includes the all new All Things Yet IPA along with the following three more offerings (descriptions sourced directly from the brewery’s website and press releases):

All Things Yet IPA **New for 2019** – Spiced more like a spirit than an IPA, All Things Yet borrows from our distiller’s stash, marrying the intensity of a classic American IPA with the bright and citrusy sensations of Dogfish Head Distilling Co.’s Compelling Gin . . . The result is a singular drinking experience that evokes fine gin cocktails and good times. ABV – 6.5% IBUs – 45
60 Minute IPA – A continually hopped super-fantastic East Coast IPA brewed with a slew of great Northwest hops for a powerful, but balanced, citrusy hop character. ABV – 6.0% IBUs – 60
90 Minute IPA – A continually hopped Imperial IPA whose powerful malt backbone stands up to the extreme hopping rate for a pungent, not crushing flavor. ABV – 9.0% IBUs – 90
Sixty One – A marriage of two Dogfish Head innovations: beer-wine hybrids and continually hopped IPAs. Dogfish took its best-selling 60 Minute and added Syrah grape must to create an IPA with equal parts fruity complexity and pungent hoppiness. ABV – 6.5% IBUs – 60

IPAs for the Holidays is hitting shelves now and will be available as long as supplies last through the holiday season. You can expect to find this variety 12-pack at select craft beer-friendly retailers located in Alabama, Florida, Delaware and throughout the rest of Dogfish Head’s distribution area. Prost!

Vital Information for All Things Yet IPA from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Release – Limited; November – December 2019
Style – American India Pale Ale
ABV – 6.5%
IBUs – 60
Featured Hops – Centennial & Simco
Added Ingredients – A unique blend of botanicals, including juniper, coriander, lemon peel and green cardamom
Availability – Available exclusively in the IPAs for the Holidays Variety Pack
Beer Finder – https://www.dogfish.com/brewery/fishfinder

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. Set for Seasonal Return of Koko Buni Milk Porter

Posted on November 27, 2019 by mashingin

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) has announced that Koko Buni Milk Porter has officially returned to serve as the brewery’s Winter Seasonal.

Returning just in time for the holiday season, Koko Buni is a Milk Porter featuring toasted coconut, an Ethiopian coffee blend from 1000 Faces Coffee, Ecuadorian cocoa nibs from local bean-to-bar chocolatier Condor Chocolates, and Haitian cocoa nibs from Illinois-based Ethereal Confections. Coming in at a 6.5% ABV, the “rich and velvety” Koko Buni offers a balanced experience where “none of the flavors are overpowering or fatiguing on the palate.”

Koko Buni is pouring now in the Tasting Room at Creature Comforts Brewing Co. Cans will hit the brewery on December 3 and distribution is scheduled to follow shortly after the on-site release. You can expect to find this Limited Release available in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located within Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s distribution footprint in Georgia. Prost!

Vital Information for Koko Buni from Creature Comforts Brewing Co.

Release – Limited; late November/early December 2019
Style – Milk Porter
ABV – 6.5%
Added Ingredients – Toasted coconut, Ethiopian coffee blend from 1000 Faces Coffee, Ecuadorian cocoa nibs from Condor Chocolates & Haitian cocoa nibs from Ethereal Confections
Fun Fact – “The coconut and Ethiopian coffee used in making the beer inspired its name. ‘Koko’ translates to coconut in Papiamento, a language commonly used in the Caribbean. ‘Buni’ is derived from the word for coffee in Amharic, the primary language found in Ethiopia.”
Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. cans & draft
Distribution – Georgia

Jester King Brewery Set to Drop More Dots on Black Friday

Posted on November 27, 2019 by mashingin

Jester King Brewery (Austin, Texas) has officially announced that it will hold a Limited Bottle Release for More Dots, a Barrel-aged Wild Ale refermented with black currants, on Black Friday, November 29.

Here to put the black currant in Black Friday, More Dots starts with a blend of Das Überkind, the brewery’s “un-fruited barrel aged wild ale . . . fermented with [its] mixed culture of brewers yeast and native yeast and bacteria,” with an “average age of around one year.” The blended beer went on to be “racked . . . out of oak barrels and into a stainless steel tank, then refermented . . . with 2,000 pounds of black currants from Samson Farms in Everson, Washington.” Once it achieved “total dryness,” More Dots (5.8% ABV) was finally “packaged . . . into bottles and kegs for natural conditioning / refermentation.”

More Dots will release exclusively in the Tasting Room & Kitchen at Jester King Brewery at noon on Black Friday, November 29. This Limited Release offering will be available in 500ml bottles for the cost of $20 each (limit of four bottles per person). More Dots will not see distribution. Prost!

Vital Information for More Dots from Jester King Brewery

Release – Limited; November 29, 2019
Style – Wild Ale
ABV – 5.8%
IBUs – 10
Treatment – Blend of un-fruited Barrel-aged Wild Ale refermented with 2,000 pounds of black currants
Availability – 500ml bottles
Bottle Count – +/- 2,300
Distribution – None; brewery exclusive release

Highland Brewing Kicks Off New Barrel-aged Series with Release of Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch

Posted on November 26, 2019December 20, 2019 by mashingin

Highland Brewing (Asheville, North Carolina) has officially announced that it will launch the Southern Nouveau Series, a new barrel-aged beer program, with the Limited Release of Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch on Black Friday, November 29.

With a name inspired by “the architectural beauty” found in Highland’s home city of Asheville, the Southern Nouveau Series is a new lineup of carefully crafted offerings that will “encompass both clean and sour barrel-aged beers.” The first three offering in this series will be “bourbon barrel-aged stouts with exciting additions, like earl grey tea from local tea shop Dobra Tea and cacao nibs from Asheville’s own French Broad Chocolates. The first sour beers in the series will debut in the Spring of 2020 alongside the opening of Highland at the S&W Market.”

“There is such excitement and anticipation on our team about these beers,” said Highland Family-Owner and President/CEO, Leah Wong Ashburn. “The Southern Nouveau Series name was inspired by the architectural beauty of Asheville, which has been called the Paris of the South, and our connection to the history of this place. The beers showcase the innovation and quality at the Brewery Taproom in East Asheville and in 2020, they will shine in the Art Deco glamour of Highland at the S&W Market.”

Trace Redmond, Brewing Innovation Manager, said, “We have been building the barrel program for two years now and I’m excited to share the fruits of our labor. With the Southern Nouveau Series, we are exploring Southern ingredients and bringing together the beer, barrels and time to create something new. We want these beers to feel true to Asheville and Highland. You don’t get to be a 25-year-old brand without patience. You also don’t get great barrel-aged beers without patience, so these beers will reflect our past and the future we’re building.”

The first official release in the Southern Nouveau Series will be Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch, an amped up version of Black Watch Double Chocolate Milk Stout that has “aged in bourbon barrels for one year.” Weighing in at smooth-sipping 11.5% ABV, Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch “features the brownie batter character fans enjoy from Black Watch, but with spicy bourbon and oak notes that soften the mouthfeel.”

Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch will officially release at Highland Brewing during the Black Watch Release Party on Black Friday, November 29. Like all Southern Nouveau Series releases, Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch will be available in 500ml bottles and on draft for a limited time. Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch is a brewery exclusive release and is not expected to see distribution. Prost!

Vital Information for Bourbon Barrel-aged Black Watch from Highland Brewing

Release – Limited/Southern Nouveau Series; November 29, 2019
Style – Milk Stout
ABV – 11.5%
Treatment – Aged for over a year in Bourbon barrels
Availability – 500ml bottles & draft
Distribution – None; brewery exclusive release

Holiday Gift Guide 2019: ‘The Microbrewery Handbook’ by DC Reeves

Posted on November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by mashingin

The 2019 Holiday Season is fast approaching and it is time to start thinking about those unique gift ideas. The crew here at Mashing In is well aware that it is often difficult to find that perfect gift, so we have decided to compile a gift guide for anyone in your life that enjoys a well-crafted adult beverage from time to time. This installment of the gift guide is for the craft beer lover in your life who dreams of one day opening his/her own brewery: The Microbrewery Handbook – Craft, Brew & Build Your Own Microbrewery Success by DC Reeves.

Published by Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Hoboken, New Jersey), The Microbrewery Handbook is an “indispensable, first-of-its-kind book” written by DC Reeves, author and founder of Perfect Plain Brewing Company in Pensacola, Florida. Meant to be a useful “guide to the business of craft beer,” this new book “explains that while great tasting beer is important, there are many elements beyond the beer itself that go into creating, growing, and sustaining a successful microbrewery in today’s saturated market.”

“Gone are the days when opening a microbrewery and calling it ‘local’ equaled unrivaled success,” Reeves said. “What will define success in this new era of craft beer is how well a brewery does the other things besides beer: Hiring, customer experience, employee engagement, operations, cash flow. Our industry has graduated past the simple importance of merely making great beer and into a new fiercely competitive world.”

Synopsis (sourced directly from the publisher’s press release):

The Microbrewery Handbook offers real-world advice and proven strategies to help brewers thrive in the competitive micro and craft brewing industry. Based on his own experience as the founder of Perfect Plain Brewing Company in Pensacola, Florida, Reeves offers practical guidance for brewers covering everything from the basics of brewing and the financial and business side of opening a brewery to creating a company culture, getting the word out, and helping a brewery thrive in local communities. The book also includes interviews and insight with industry experts as well as owners of some of the nation’s elite craft breweries including Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King and Doug Resier of Burial Brewing.

Broken down into five sections, Reeves dives into the business of beer and explains:

The Basics – Understand the industry, focus and differentiate your taproom.
Build Your Microbrewery – Create a business plan and figure out the financials
Leadership & Company Culture – The keys to strong leadership, hiring well, and how to keep happy and engaged employees.
Creating an Incredible Customer Experience – How to build a taproom that both pleases customers and garners revenue.
Get The Word Out – Tips for branding, social media and public relations.
Love Your Local Community – Turn a taproom into a community anchor and attract and hold on to loyal customers.

The Microbrewery Handbook is available for pre-order now ($25) and will officially hit shelves on November 26. Look for this new book to be available wherever books are sold (in stores and on online). Prost!