Craft Beer | Mashing In

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!

Tasting Notes – The Classics: Dragon’s Milk from New Holland Brewing Company

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mashingin

For this special edition of Tasting Notes, we take a moment to revisit and appreciate a true legend in the craft beer realm, Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout from New Holland Brewing Company (Holland, Michigan).

Introduced 18 years ago to be the modern-day equivalent of a “knight’s reward for slaying a dragon,” Dragon’s Milk is an Imperial Stout “with roasty malt character intermingled with deep vanilla tones, all dancing in an oak bath” sourced from time spent aging in Bourbon barrels. With just one sip of this “true legend,” it will become clear why New Holland always believed that Dragon’s Milk (11% ABV) would become “the finest liquid in [their] house.”

Dragon’s Milk is a Year-Round offering available in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft. You can expect to find this iconic brew at craft beer-focused establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Michigan and throughout the rest of New Holland’s distribution area.

Now that we are all a bit more familiar with the story behind the beer, let’s pop open a few bottles and slay a couple of dragons for the sake of these Tasting Notes!

Tasting Notes for Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout from New Holland Brewing Company

Appearance: Dragon’s Milk pours an inky black in color and is capped with just over a finger of mocha colored foam. When held to direct light, the extreme edges of the pour hint at dark brown tones but the darkness holds fast for the most part. The beer is completely opaque, so there is really no visual indication of the carbonation level. Head retention is good, slowly slipping down to a creamy ring at around the halfway mark of the experience. The foam attempts to leave spots of lace on the glass after each sip, but the beer coats the glass with an oily slick that forces any lace to retreat back down into the top cap.

Aroma: The barrel character hits first with pronounced notes of bourbon-soaked grains, vanilla and wet wood/oak. That grain character eventually emerges on the other side of the bourbon to offer tones of dark roast, toast, toffee, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. A hint of dark fruit sneaks in at times to round everything out.

Taste: High quality dark chocolate (bittersweet), sweet cocoa, deeply roasted grains, and black coffee smoothly slide across the palate at the start of the sip. This sets the stage beautifully for the bourbon barrel’s notes of vanilla, oak, char, caramelized brown sugar and a hint of coconut. Just like in the nose, a slight presence of dark fruit, riding an extra wave of sweet vanilla, turns up to close the profile.

Mouthfeel: Leaning a touch toward the medium side of full-bodied with a medium carbonation, Dragon’s Milk has a wonderfully silky weight to it while the carbonation keeps the experience smooth by lifting and carrying away any residual sweetness. That sweetness is further tempered by a gentle bitterness sourced from the beer’s notes of roasted grains, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. The 11% ABV is pleasantly present, supplying boozy notes and a gentle warmth that rises from the belly. Aftertaste is all bourbon soaked dark fruit and cocoa.

Final Thoughts: There is absolutely no denying that Dragon’s Milk is a true classic in the world of craft beer. From top to bottom, this brew is one of the lasting original examples capable of providing a template for the basic characteristics one should expect from a well-crafted and balanced Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout. It has a solid Stout base that carries all the roasty, chocolaty goodness you could want while the Bourbon barrel is there to influence the experience – with deep notes of oak, vanilla and bourbon – in a way that complements rather than dominates. Although they both have an equal opportunity to show what they are all about, the base beer and barrel still come together to consistently provide a cohesive experience from sip to sip, pour to pour, bottle to bottle.

This level of consistency and quality is what makes Dragon’s Milk the legend that it is. A legend that we should all experience and revisit from time to time so that we can appreciate the breweries and beers that risked everything and eventually went on to shape what we now know and love about craft beer. It is part of American craft beer lore and should be respected as such. Prost!

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/

Stone Brewing & Sweetwood Films’ “The Beer Jesus From America” Now Streaming on Prime Video & Vimeo On Demand

Posted on November 22, 2019 by mashingin

Stone Brewing (Escondido, California) has announced that The Beer Jesus from America, a new documentary independently produced by director Matt Sweetwood of Sweetwood Films, has officially made its public debut and is available now for streaming on Prime Video and Vimeo On Demand.

Bearing a title inspired by a 2014 article in the Berliner Kurier – a German tabloid newspaper – where Greg Koch, Co-founder of Stone Brewing, was “somewhat [cynically]” referred to as “Der Bier Jesus aus Amerika,” The Beer Jesus from America is a 104-minute film that follows Koch and Stone Brewing as they set off on the “often tumultuous journey to becoming the first American independent craft brewery to build, own and operate its own brewery in Europe.” This film documents four years at Stone Brewing – Berlin and the brewery’s overall “mission to inspire a craft beer revolution in Germany.”

“When we set out to build the first American independent Craft Brewery in Europe, we did so with that same spark – that passion and intensity – that drove us to offer something different in the US back in 1996,” explained Koch. “This film captures the trials, challenges, roadblocks… and occasional triumphs of the project, but on a deeper level, it’s a story of following your heart and challenging convention.”

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

Stone Brewing’s rock ‘n’ roll co-founder, Greg Koch, who was nicknamed “Beer Jesus” by a Berlin tabloid newspaper, is taking his business to Germany on a mission to oppose the most beloved industrial beer in the world and join Europe’s craft beer revolution. Will he succeed? Greg must first challenge the established beer culture in a country where brewing has been restricted by the infamous 500-year-old beer Purity Law. However, in his quest to fight mass market beer, it turns out that Greg has even bigger obstacles to overcome, from struggles with bureaucracy to cultural differences and stubborn traditionalism.

Directed by Matt Sweetwood (Beerland, Forgetting Dad), “The Beer Jesus From America” takes us on a journey with Greg as he builds his European craft brewery from scratch in a sleepy corner of Berlin, Germany, where he faces seemingly endless challenges that threaten to end the entire project. Over four years, Matt captures the unexpected twists in a story full of blood, sweat, tears, and beers!

This is a story not just about the birth of a brewery and the fight against mass market beer, it’s about an inspiring character who understands the importance of sticking to your dreams, no matter how crazy they might seem.

The Beer Jesus from America made its debut on Prime Video and Vimeo On Demand this week . A commemorative DVD will be available for purchase in Stone Brewing’s online store in 2020. Prost!

Cherry Street Brewing to Release O.A.S.I.S. Imperial Stout on Black Friday

Posted on November 22, 2019 by mashingin

Cherry Street Brewing (Cumming, Georgia) has officially announced that it will hold a Limited Can Release for O.A.S.I.S. Imperial Stout during its Annual Black Friday Kegs N’ Eggs event on November 29.

Brewed to commemorate the 40th birthday of Cherry Street Brewing’s Head Brewer Chris, O.A.S.I.S. (also known as “Old as Shit Imperial Stout“) is a Russian Imperial Stout that has been dosed with “cocoa nibs and vanilla beans soaked in Jeremiah Weed Sarsaparilla Whiskey.” Weighing in at 10.5% ABV, O.A.S.I.S. promises a rich and velvety experience featuring “slight roast notes up front, followed by decadent chocolate in the middle, and a bittersweet vanilla/whiskey finish.”

O.A.S.I.S. Imperial Stout will officially release in the Tap Room at Cherry Street Brewing (5810 Bond St. | Cumming, GA) at 9:30 a.m. on Black Friday (November 29) and will only be available as long as supplies last. This Limited Release offering will be available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and the brewery will have O.A.S.I.S. t-shirts for sale as well. O.A.S.I.S. is a tap room exclusive release and is not expected to see distribution. Prost!

Vital Information for O.A.S.I.S. Imperial Stout from Cherry Street Brewing

Release – Limited; November 29, 2019 (Black Friday)
Style – Russian Imperial Stout
ABV – 10.5%
IBUs – 58
Added Ingredients – Cocoa nibs and vanilla beans soaked in Jeremiah Weed Sarsaparilla Whiskey
Availability – 4-packs of 16 oz. cans
Distribution – None; tap room exclusive

Funky Buddha Brewery Cozies Up to Winter with Release of Saint Toddy

Posted on November 21, 2019 by mashingin

Funky Buddha Brewery (Oakland Park. Florida) has officially announced that it will hold a Limited Bottle Release at the brewery for Saint Toddy Barrel-aged Belgian-style Tripel on Saturday, November 23.

Inspired by the warming, cold weather beverage known as the hot toddy, Saint Toddy is a Belgian-style Tripel that has been aged in both Bourbon and Apple Brandy barrels and infused with oranges, apples, raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla. The experience and flavors are so on point that Saint Toddy (8.1% ABV) “can actually be served warm. Slowly heat the beer in a double boiler topped with freshly ground cinnamon and serve hot for a traditional, luxurious experience or drink cold and savor the season.”

Saint Toddy is scheduled to release in the Tap Room at Funky Buddha Brewery on November 23. In addition to being served warm during the release event, this Limited Release offering will also be available in 22 oz. bottles ($20 each) and on draft as long as supplies last. There is no word at this time as to whether or not Saint Toddy will see distribution. Prost!

Vital Information for Saint Toddy from Funky Buddha Brewery

Release – Limited; November 23, 2019
Style – Belgian-style Tripel
ABV – 8.1%
IBUs – 30
Added Ingredients – Oranges, apples, raisins, cinnamon & vanilla
Treatment – Aged in Bourbon & Apple Brandy barrels
Fun Fact – “The hot toddy was our inspiration behind this complex brew. It’s a rich and rejuvenating elixir made with whiskey and/or brandy, citrus, herbs, spices and served warm. Traditionally consumed before retiring for the night, or in wet, cold weather. In classic funky fashion, we gathered all the natural ingredients we could to develop a recipe to match the flavor profile of this classic drink. Belgian ale, spirit casks, fruits, spices and voilà! We have Saint Toddy.”
Availability – 22 oz. bottles & draft
Distribution – Brewery Release; there is no word on whether this offering will see distribution

Monday Night Brewing Serves Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate as Next Limited Release

Posted on November 21, 2019 by mashingin

Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta, Georgia) has officially announced that it will begin the Limited Release of Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate Imperial Stout on Friday, November 22.

Arriving as the third release in Monday Night’s pastry-centric Fistful of Cake Series, Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate is a “rich and roasty” Imperial Stout “enhanced by toasted coconut and Ugandan vanilla beans.” Weighing in at 9% ABV, the decadent Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate Imperial Stout is here to satisfy any German chocolate cake cravings you have been enduring lately.

Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate Imperial Stout will officially debut in Monday Night Brewing’s West Midtown taproom on Friday, November 22 (cans can be reserved in advance by clicking here) and distribution is scheduled to follow 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 establishments located within Monday Night’s distribution footprint in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. Prost!

Vital Information for Fistful of Cake – German Chocolate Imperial Stout from Monday Night Brewing

Release – Limited/Black Tie Series; November 22, 2019
Style – Imperial Stout
ABV – 9%
IBUs – 45
Added Ingredients – Toasted coconut & Ugandan vanilla beans
Availability – 4-packs of 16 oz. cans & draft
Distribution – Alabama, Georgia & Tennessee

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. Set to Release The Curious No. 14 & No. 15

Posted on November 20, 2019 by mashingin

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) has officially announced that it will begin the Limited Release of The Curious No. 14 – Double Barrel-aged Barleywine and The Curious No. 15 – Barrel-aged Beer with Strawberries on Friday, November 29.

The Curious Series is a small batch lineup of beers that allows Creature Comforts Brewing Co. the opportunity to get creative and “continuously explore the flavors of its beers and how those interact with different processes, ingredients, and time.” The next two Limited Releases from this series are as follows (descriptions sourced directly from the brewery’s press release):

The Curious No. 14 – Double Barrel-aged Barleywine | In making the Curious No. 14, Creature Comforts set out to achieve fruity, rich, decadent complexity in this beer by using a traditional English barley base, all English ingredients, a long boil, and extended maturation in select, small-batch barrels. The beer aged first in bourbon barrels for eight months, and then in rye barrels for 19 months. ABV – 13.9%

The Curious No. 15 – Barrel-aged Beer with Strawberries | A celebration of early-season fruit, the strawberry. Creature Comforts partnered with two local farms to get organic strawberries and take its first foray into using whole strawberries. Once it received the strawberries from the farm, the brewery selected a single barrel to move onto the fresh fruit. After fermentation was complete on the fruit, the brewery moved the beer to a barrel to rest, where it aged for 10 months. The beer then bottle conditioned for six months. Creature Comforts sourced the strawberries from two local farms, Diamond Hill and Hickory Hill, who the brewery developed relationships with at the Athens Farmers Market hosted at the brewery. ABV – 6.4%

The Curious No. 14 and The Curious No. 15 will debut in the Tasting Room at Creature Comforts Brewing Co. on November 29. Both of these Limited Release brews will be available in 500ml bottles as long as supplies last. The Curious No. 14 & No. 15 are both brewery-only releases and will not see distribution. Prost!

Founders Brewing Co.’s Frangelic Mountain Brown Returns for a Limited Time

Posted on November 20, 2019 by mashingin

Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, Michigan) has officially announced that it will be bringing Frangelic Mountain Brown back for a limited, encore release in early December 2019.

Revived in large part due to the enthusiastic pleas of Founder’s Brewing Co.’s faithful following, Frangelic Mountain Brown is a “deliciously sweet and nutty” Imperial Brown Ale brewed with hazelnut coffee. Coming in at 9% ABV, Frangelic Mountain Brown is back to prove once again that “your new favorite coffee drink is a beer.”

“Finally, we get to bring back one of my favorite coffee beers of all time,” said Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki. “Frangelic Mountain Brown was last distributed in 2012 and, get this, was the very first brown ale we ever bottled! Not long ago, we asked our super amazing enthusiast club, the Cadre, what beers they’d like to see in the lineup and Frangelic Mountain Brown was one of their top picks. So, of course, we had to make it happen.”

Frangelic Mountain Brown is scheduled to hit Founders Brewing Co.’s Grand Rapids Taproom on December 6 and will enter distribution later that month. You can expect to find this Limited Release available in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Michigan and throughout the rest of the brewery’s nationwide distribution network. Prost!

Vital Information for Frangelic Mountain Brown from Founders Brewing Co.

Release – Limited; December 2019 – March 2020
Style – Imperial Brown Ale
ABV – 9%
IBUs – 40
Added Ingredients – Hazelnut coffee
Fun Fact – “Founders polled their enthusiast group, the Cadre, to help determine what beers should return to the lineup. Having made a splash in 2012, Frangelic Mountain Brown was an immediate front-runner and the decision was made to bring it back for 2019/2020.”
Availability – 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles & draft
Beer Finder – https://foundersbrewing.com/beer/find-our-beer/