Black Friday | Mashing In

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

Catawba Brewing’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout Returns on Black Friday

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mashingin

Catawba Brewing Co. (Morganton, North Carolina) has officially announced that it will begin the Limited Release of Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout on Black Friday, November 29.

Developed to be the peanut-butter-centric wintertime companion to Catawba’s iconic Peanut Butter Jelly Time Brown Ale, Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout is an American Stout that has been “conditioned on locally-sourced cacao nibs, whole roasted North Carolina peanuts, and Madagascar vanilla beans.” Clocking in at just 5.4% ABV, Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout is a “silky smooth . . . decadent liquid dessert – like a peanut butter cup in a glass.”

This year’s batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout will debut at Catawba Brewing Co. locations on Black Friday, November 29 and is scheduled to enter distribution shortly after the on-site release. You can expect to find this Limited Release available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans (a new packaging format for 2019) and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, North Carolina and throughout the rest of the brewery’s five state distribution footprint. Prost!

Vital Information for Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout from Catawba Brewing Co.

Release – Limited/Specialty; November 29, 2019
Style – American Stout
ABV – 5.4%
IBUs – 52
Malts – Maris Otter Pale, Victory, Crystal, Chocolate, Midnight Wheat & Flaked Wheat
Hops – Magnum, East Kent Goldings & Fuggle
Added Ingredients – Cacao nibs, whole roasted peanuts & Madagascar vanilla beans
Suggested Food Pairings – “Banana split & vanilla bean ice cream”
Availability – 4-packs of 16-oz. cans & draft
Distribution – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia
Beer Finder – https://catawbabrewing.com/beer-finder/