Hitting Iowa shelves this week are a slew of beers from Bells and a few things from Founders and Stone as well. I can recommend the Double Cream, Expedition, Ruination, and the Pumpkin Patch. Get the pumpkin patch while you can and the only place I’ve seen it is at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

Starting with Bells you should be seeing the following:
Beer info credited to http://www.bellsbeer.com
*Double Cream Stout– Completely dairy-free, this stout blends ten different specialty malts to yield a remarkable depth of flavor. With only a touch of burnt notes, Special Double Cream Stout focuses on the softer, cocoa & espresso-like aspects of roasted malt.
*Expedition Stout-One of the earliest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout in the United States, Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.
*Third Coast- Third Coast Old Ale focuses on malt, offering notes of burnt caramel & other earthy malt flavors. Designed with vintage aging in mind, the malt aspect is matched to a heavy complement of hops. Sharply bitter at first, this will fold into the malt character over time and balance out the maltiness.
*Hell Hath No Fury -Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Blending a pair of Belgian abbey-style yeasts into a recipe more akin to a roasty stout, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale offers up warm, roasted notes of coffee & dark chocolate together with the fruity & clove-like aromas.
*Java Stout–Java Stout uses a custom blend of coffee beans, roasted locally for us by Water Street Coffee Joint, to generate its intense flavor. Possessing an unmistakable aromatic punch, Java Stout has long been one of our most popular stouts.

Onto Stone. From the website:
*Ruination 4 Packs – So called because of the “ruinous” effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew “a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA!

FOUNDERS

*Backwoods Bastard– Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice, and a scintilla of dark fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.

ROGUE

*Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale-The newest addition to the Chatoe Rogue series is Pumpkin Patch Ale, a beer made using fresh pumpkins grown in a patch that borders Rogue’s 42 acre hop yard. The pumpkins are picked, loaded into Rogue’s farm truck, driven immediately 77 miles to our brewery in Newport, quickly roasted, and pitched into the brew kettle to create a batch of Pumpkin Patch Ale.

Millstream Brewing out of Amana www.millstreambrewing.com has a couple of beers about to hit the shelves. Both are re-releases, although one was only on tap at the brewery a few years ago. The first one is their Hefe”r”weissen. Here’s Millstreams’ description of this brew:
“Our Summer Seasonal beer is about to be released in just a few short days.  June 6th we will be bottling this anticipated brew! Our German-styled Hefeweissen is quite sweet and fruity, with a full body and light in color.  Other flavors that can be savored are banana and cloves.  Hefeweizens are very lightly hopped so they have very little bitterness and harshness.  German wheat beer brewers do not add coriander or other botanicals and spices to their beer as Belgian brewers do. This is the main difference between a Hefeweissen and a Belgian Wit Style Beer.
 “Hefe” means yeast, “Weizen” means wheat.  Hefeweizen is a top fermented, unfiltered, bottle conditioned wheat beer with a noticeable yeast sediment and a cloudy appearance.  It is left unfiltered for extra flavor and aroma.”

Their other beer about to be released is part of their Brewmasters’ Extreme Series, it is Raspberry Trippel. From the brewery:
“For those of you anticipating our next high gravity beer, it’s about to be released.  On June 6th we will be bottling our Raspberry Tripel. This brew was first brewed and only available on tap at the brewery in 2010.  It was brought back into production at the request of our customers at Millstream.   This beer is brewed with real raspberries and has a big nose of fresh raspberry notes.  It is very smooth with a mellow raspberry  and whole grain flavor that has a subtle tartness in the end.  This unfiltered Belgian Tripel has a light yellow/pinkish color and carries the alcoholic warmth of a well done high gravity beer. “

Not a whole lot new coming out this week as all summer seasonals have been released already. But one beer that I am looking forward to try that should be hitting the shelves either this week or next, is Founder Cerise. Everything I’ve read about this fruit beer says that it is not overally fruity and is quite drinkable, especially for a summer brew.

From the brewer: “You’ll have a soft spot for this one. Using only fresh Michigan tart cherries, this beauty tantalizes with intense flavors combined with a no hesitation malt bill. Adding fresh cherries at five separate stages of fermentation achieves the ultimate balance between tartness and sweetness.”

EST CALORIES: 195 

Let me know if you’ve tried and what your thoughts are!

but…… no dates have been announced yet according to my source. It was thought that Stone would be in Eastern Iowa by July but that hasn’t been confirmed. Hopefully, by the end of the summer we can enjoy both breweries beers as much as we want. The good news is that they will be in Iowa, just no specific date yet. If anyone has any information on the date please let me know.

This week on the shelves we have some fun stuff from Samuel Adams. You have to appreciate the creativeness they show when sending out things like the Latitude 48 deconstructed and the Longshot series. This time they have taken all the IPA’s they created over the years and put it in their IPA Hop-Ology 12 pack mix.

*Sam Adams IPA Hop-ology – this 12 packs will consist of 6 different IPAs (2 each). Those included are:
– Grumpy Monk Belgian IPA
-Dark Depths Baltic IPA
-Third Voyage Double IPA
-Tasmen Red IPA
-Latitude 48 IPA
-Whitewater IPA

The next beer we have this week is Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale.
-Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale –  From the brewery: “Think classic seafaring ports, local pubs, and weathered old fishermen. This old ale is brewed with molasses and an insane focus on the malt bill, then oak-aged. The result is a strong, rich, malty delight that’s deceptively smooth and drinkable.”

New beers we will be seeing in Eastern Iowa on our shelves this week are:

*Big Sky Heavy Horse – Scotch Ale- brewery description:
“A full bodied, full flavored ale. Deep garnet red with a dense, creamy head of tan. Stone Thrower is fermented at a lower temperature and the brewing water is softened to be closer to that found in Scotland. Malts: Pale, Crystal Chocolate, Roast. Hops: Hallertau Tradition, East Kent Goldings.”

*Samuel Adams Longshot Series 2012
Brewery Description:
–A Dark Night in Munich – “a perfect combination of deep roasted malt character with a smooth, creamy finish. To develop his recipe and the rich color of the beer, Corey used a “staining” process in which he powdered the roasted malts and added them early on in the brewing process. The rich Munich malt sweetness comes through in the aroma of this traditional Bavarian wheat beer and the light caramel notes round out the brew.”
–Five Crown Imperial Stout – “a malt-forward Russian Imperial Stout style beer that combines the rich malt character with roasted barley and chocolate notes to balance the bitter hops undertones. Harnessing more than 20 years of homebrewing experience, Joe’s full bodied stout has a sweet aroma with fruit esters. This warming winter brew finishes with a malty complexity that lingers on the palate.”
–Derf’s Secret Alt – “Fred’s take on the traditional Düsseldorf Altbier style. It has a robust, full-bodied and well-hopped taste, with a surprising balance between bitterness and nutty-malty sweetness. Fred’s brew is packed with strong notes of chocolate and roasted malt and has the flavor complexity of an ale, with the hop makeup and creamy head of a pils.”

*Shipyard Smashed Blueberry–  brewery description:
“Smashed Blueberry is the newest beer in Shipyard Brewing Company’s Pugsley’s Signature Series line. This beer is a hybrid between a Porter and a Scotch Ale and has a rich mouth feel and a body of complex intensity. Upfront, there are distinct flavors of coffee and chocolate beautifully accentuated by the aroma of fresh blueberries. The finish features a delicate balance of sweet fruit and dry hops. This beer pairs well with glazed duck, ribs, barbeque, chocolate, and blueberry deserts. To fully experience all the flavors, Smashed Blueberry is best drunk at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. More about the beer: Malt: Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Light Munich, Torrified Wheat Hops: Summit, Tettnang, Cascade Yeast: Top-Fermenting English Color: Dark Brown OG: 1.087 ABV: 9.0% Availability: 22oz Bottles, Kegs”

*Breckenridge Cans- Breckenridge brewery has now released 3 of their beers in 6 pack cans. The three available are:
-Summerbright
-Amber Ale
-Lucky U IPA

Check these brews out and let me know your thoughts.

Hitting shelves in Eastern Iowa this week are 4 beers, one an Iowa brew, the other 3 coming from very well-known and established breweries.

*Boulevard Rye on Rye- 11% ABV- Commercial description:
“Why Rye? A fair question, given this assertively flavored grain is more often associated with whiskey than with beer. Even in that arena, it has largely been eclipsed by corn and barley, the sources of bourbon and scotch, respectively. But when we procured some seasoned rye whiskey barrels from our friends at Templeton Rye, we asked ourselves, “Why not?” Why not brew a rich, tawny rye ale, then mellow it in the warmth of charred oak rye whiskey casks? Thus, Rye-on-Rye: a marriage of very similar, yet very different embodiments of this unique, distinctive grain. Two kinds of malted rye provide a spicy sweetness, giving way to notes of caramelized wood and the citrusy tang of Perle, Magnum and Saphir hops before easing into a dry, lingering finish. Rye-on-Rye’s body and character make it the equal to any sort of hearty stew or aged cheese. At the risk of seeming redundant, might we suggest pairing it with a classic pastrami-on rye? A rye beer with a hint of rye whiskey aroma, alongside a rye bread sandwich. Why not?”    

*Angry Cedar Flash Flood Pale Ale– Nothing posted on their website but from my understanding this beer can only be purchased in a growler; correct me if I’m wrong.

*Ommegang Art of Darkness – 8.7% ABV- Commercial Description:
“Let us now acknowledge the dark arts of brewing. Our limited edition Art of Darkness Ale is deep, dark and magical, with champagne-like carbonation and rich matiness from a complex recipe of multiple barley and wheat malts, as well as flaked oats. Using no spices or flavorings, Art of Darkness gains all its rich aromas, tastes, and apparent spiciness from the malts and Ommegang’s proprietary house yeast. There are no secret ingredients or magical incantation. There is only Ommegang brewers’ creating the finest quality dark, strong ale of complex and deep character. Art of Darkness is a fine ale to enjoy immediately, and is excellent to cellar.”

*Bells Consecrator Doppelbock- 8% ABV- Commercial Description:
“Consecrator is a traditional doppelbock-style fermented with a Bohemian lager yeast. Reddish brown in color, with a mild hop profile, Consecrator is a well balanced, full bodied beer with hints of caramel and molasses in its smooth, malty finish. Brewed for a Fat Tuesday release. “

Let me know if you have tried any of these beers and what your thoughts are. Did I miss a new release? Please let me know! Thanks!

Will start of this weeks post updating the Founders release. There will still be the release parts at Reds Alehouse in North Liberty, (www.redsalehousenl.com) but Founders products won’t be in Eastern Iowa stores until the 20th. If you see it beforehand, please let me know. Onto what’s new on shelves.

Schlafly Irish Extra Stout– not really new, but I forgot to post on this last week. For this beer, think Guinness but with an 8% ABV. Sounds tasty! Here’s the brewer’s description:
“This full-bodied and full-flavored rich, dark ale has a malty sweetness balanced with plenty of hops to create the perfect stout.”

Available in 12 oz 6 packs.

O’Fallon B.D.S. Belgian-Style Dark– Brewer’s description:
“We brewed this Belgian-style dark ale (ALC:10% by VOL., SRM: 20, IBU:42) in July, 2010 and transferred it several weeks later into freshly drained Port barrels. For the next 11 months the beer worked in and out of the French oak barrels as the temperature in the brewery fluctuated with the seasons. In June 2011 we bottled the beer and put it aside to allow the flavors of the wood and the beer to marry and mellow. The result is spicy-sweet with hints of raisin and caramel that mingle with the dark fruit notes and oak from the barrels. We love this unique brew and hope you will too!”

Available in bombers.
*If you see anything new on the shelves please let me know or if you try ones that I have listed let me know what you thought of them. Drink up.