New to Shelves and other Tidbits: Ruination, Twisted Pine, Boulevard, Tallgrass

March 31, 20151 Comment

Quite a few bits of info to pass along to the Iowa craft beer aficionado today. A few of these future releases have yet to be determined and I will try to get those dates to you folks as soon as I can. Onto the first bit of news:

*Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0 – Stone has officially retired their Ruination beer but fans of that beer can rejoice as they will replace it with Ruination Double IPA 2.0 and according to the folks at Beer Street Journal, Stone might have some techniques they will apply for this beer. Here’s more from Stone Brewing’s Blog:

OK, please come back off the ledge. Things aren’t as dire as we made them seem (purely for dramatic effect). We could never completely kill off this saintly imperial India pale ale. I mean, you didn’t really think we’d get rid of our liquid poem to the glory of the hop, did you? Yes, Stone Ruination IPA as we know it now will soon be gone, but only because we’ll be reciting the second stanza in our lupulin-laced ode, Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0. That’s right. We’ve taken this fluid paean and everything we (and our fans) love about it, and taken it a new, loftier level. Why, you ask? ‘Tis a good and inevitable question for any discerning hophead to pose. And we have not one, but many answers to this justifiable query. It’s because, when we first released Stone Ruination IPA…

A far smaller number of high alpha-acid hops were available compared to present day.

Myriad brewing techniques for extracting hop flavor and bitterness had yet to be invented.

Our palates were less used to onslaughts of lupulin and we felt like we’d maxed out the IBU possibilities.

The tastes of craft beer drinkers, like ours, hadn’t yet been turned up to 11 (something Stone Ruination IPA did for many of our fans).

According to Beer Street Journal this beer will feature Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Azacca and come in 22 oz bombers at 8.5%.

*Twisted Pine West Bound Braggot*- I’m not sure if we will see this beer on Eastern Iowa shelves or not but we do get other Twisted Pine releases so if you do see this in stores please drop me a line. Not sure what a Braggot is? Here’s what Beeradvocate tells me:

Braggot is simply made by blending spices and herbs with mead and beer, to produce a strong concoction with uncommon flavors. Many taverns would make this blend right at the bar though brewers would also blend them as well.

Here’s more on West Bound Braggot courtesy of Twisted Pine’s press release:

With two GABF medals now under its belt, West Bound Braggot has made a few small batch appearances on draft at the Twisted Pine ale house since its debut as part of the brewery’s 2012 Artisan Ale Series, but has not been bottled since that initial batch. The beer now returns to glass as a 22 ounce bomber offering, dressed in a newly designed label by Boulder-based Anthem Branding.

“With alcohol strength (8.5% alcohol by volume) suitable for any sporadic spring snows and a light, bright body and flavor that pairs perfectly with a sundrenched patio session, the timing of the release seems ideal.”

West Bound is brewed with a combination of malted barley and wheat plus orange blossom honey. This is where braggot traditions end as Twisted Pine’s brewers then add Citra hops, Tasmanian pepper berries and Buddha’s Hand citrus to the kettle before fermenting the beer with a farmhouse yeast strain.

After the beer’s release at Twisted Pine on Thursday, 22oz bottles and kegs will be made available to select accounts within the brewery’s distribution footprint the following week.

**Boulevard Brewing Company** one of the busiest breweries with new releases so far this new year has been Boulevard. Adding brews to their Smokestack lineup, new seasonals, and new year round beers has not gone unnoticed. Soon they add more to their Tasting Room series with a Blonde and a Red IPA. Along with those two Heavy Lifting cans will debut on shelves in April.

*Heavy Lifting – available this April in cans this brew comes in at 6.2%.

*Red IPA – a Tasting Room offering will be available in sample packs and checks in at 5.8%. Here’s more stats on this brew courtesy of Boulevard:

ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 75
Malt Bill: Pale, Munich, Amber, Cara 120, Cara 300, Chocolate Malt
Kettle/Whirlpool Hops:Chinook, Simcoe, Equinox, Exp 6300
Dry Hopping: Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra

*Blonde Ale – another Tasting Room offering along with the Red IPA this beer checks in at 5.8%. Stats courtesy of Boulevard:

ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 24
Malt Bill: Pale, Honey Malt
Flavor/Aroma Hops:Lemondrop, Saphir, Northern Brewer
Other: Orange peel

Tallgrass Brewing is expanding their portfolio with a few new brews using a couple of their staple beers. 16 Bit Double Pale Ale will hit the market soon as well as Wooden Rooster. Here’s more on these two brews, Both are courtesy of mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com:

I’ve seen this beer in blank silver test-cans, but now we get our first look at the real packaging for Tallgrass Brewing 16-Bit DPA. This Double Pale Ale will be packaged in 16oz cans and it comes in at 6.2% ABV. As a computer-guy, I can’t wait for the 32-bit 32oz triple IPA and the 64-bit 64oz Quad. As a bonus I’ve included the latest packaging for their original 8-Bit Pale Ale. This beer remains in 12oz cans and at 5.2% ABV.

Here’s your first peek at a big new can coming from Tallgrass Brewing Co in Manhattan, KS. This is Wooden Roster and it is a Belgian-style tripel aged in rye Whiskey barrels. This looks to be a 19.2oz can and stay tuned for AbV and release details.

Coming to Shelves and Tap Lines: New Belgium Lips of Faith Pear Ginger Beer + Boulevard The Calling

March 2, 20151 Comment

We will be seeing some new beers from familiar breweries hitting the shelves and tap lines in the near future. In fact, I believe The Calling has already been tapped at Parlor City in Cedar Rapids. According to Fleck’s Facebook post they will be having a tapping of this brew Thursday, March 5th, at 30Hop in Coralville. Hearing good things on The Calling and can’t wait for the Smokestack Series release.

New Belgium releasing a new Lips of Faith offering called Pear Ginger Beer and it looks to be coming in at 7% ABV. Here’s more on the LOF offering courtesy of beerstreetjournal.com:

This is Pear Ginger Beer and as you may have guessed this ale is brewed with pear juice, lemon and ginger. This Lips of Faith release appears to also be geared toward using it to make beer cocktails…as the label says, “Add fizz & flavor to the mix with this spicy ginger meets citrusy pear concoction. A tantalizing beer on its own, Pear Ginger is also eager to bring a crisp tartness to your cocktail creations. Recipes and mixology at newbelgium.com”

And here is more on The Calling from Boulevard Brewing:

Our most heavily hopped beer ever bursts forth with unmistakable tropical fruit and pine hop aromas and flavor supported with a slightly sweet malt character, tapering to a crisp, dry finish. Heed your call and enjoy.

Coming to Shelves: 2 New Beers from Boulevard, Gubna,, Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged?

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015Leave a comment

A few updates for this week has Boulevard releasing two new beers into their lineup. Boulevard has a very busy looking schedule for 2015 and with the successful release of Coffee Imperial Stout one can assume that the next two will be just as successful. Here’s what’s coming:

*Boulevard The Calling IPA – a new addition to the Smokestack Series, this beer will be released in 4 packs and comes in at 8.5% ABV.It will be available starting March 3rd. More from Boulevard:

The Calling, which will be available on draft and in four packs of twelve ounce bottles, is the result of several months of hard (delicious) work by our brewing team who sought to create an IPA with a juicy, tropical fruit aroma that leaps from the glass. A simple malt base composed solely of our two row base malt serves as a platform for giant, punchy hop flavor and aroma provided by a blend of Simcoe, Bravo, Topaz, Cascade, Mosaic, Equinox, Galaxy, and Amarillo hops. Read that sentence again. We are not messing around here, folks. The Calling also receives an addition of lemon peel during the last five minutes of the boil to add an extra citrusy punch. At 8.5 ABV and 75 IBU, The Calling is the IPA we knew we had to brew. As of this minute, our goal is to get The Calling out to you on draft in early to mid-February with bottles to follow soon.

*Boulevard Spring Belle Saison – this new Saison from Boulevard will be available in 6 packs and will be their new spring season offering. Using magnum and simcoe hops for bittering and lemondrop and calypso for flavor this beer also has flavor of roses, chamomile, and elderflower and checks in at 6.2%. More from Boulevard on this brew:

At 6.2 ABV and 35 IBUs, Spring Belle is composed of a fairly traditional saison malt bill of our two-row base pale malt and a touch of malted wheat. Magnum and Simcoe hops are utilized for bittering while late hopping with Calypso and Lemondrop lends bright, pear/citrus notes to the beer. During whirlpooling, the time when beer rests briefly after boiling before being cooled and transferred to the fermentation cellar, our brewers infused the wort with just over 70 pounds of a blend of rose petals, chamomile and elderflower. Infusing these flowers while the wort is still hot, but not boiling mimics the extraction you would see when brewing tea that incorporates these flowers. We find that this method lends subtle floral aromas and flavors that play nicely with the spicy phenolic notes contributed by fermentation with our house Belgian yeast strain.

*Sierra Nevada is releasing two new barrel-aged beers and according to mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com they will both be Bock style beers with one being aged in bourbon barrels and the other aged in whisky barrels. No word on whether or not these will be bottled or just keg release, or even if Iowa will see them at all. I’ll keep you posted on this.

*Oskar Blues Gubna- coming in March is this imperial IPA from Oskar Blues with a slight tweak to the hop profile. According to beerstreetjournal.com the 2015 version will have whole leaf Galena hops, Sorachi Ace, and Columbus and dry-hopped with El Doroado, Comet, and Chinook. It will check in at 10% ABV. More from the brewery:

Emphasizing that complexity of character can arise from simple elements, this ale is made with three malts and one hop. Its light amber color and slightly spicy malt character are derived from the use of German Dark Munich Malt and Rye Malt respectively. North American 2-row barley combines with the other grains to lay the foundation for the hop onslaught to come. Summit hops are used exclusively in the boil for bitterness, flavor and aroma but it doesn’t end there. Post-fermentation dry hopping allows the 10% ABV monstrosity to gently coax the citrus rind and grapefruit aroma to join the 100 IBUs already present. This beer should greet you with a pungent citrus blast, provide a spicy yet round middle and finish with a brisk, clean bitterness. Columbus in early and mid kettle.

Shelf News: Chocolate Ale, Chai Spiced RIS, Imperial Coffee, Hopvale, + Stone Discontinues 2 Brews

January 29, 2015January 29, 20152 Comments

Quite a bit a news this week, some great and some rather disappointing. Good news or bad news first? Let’s get the bad news out of the way.

According NewSchoolbeer.com Stone will be discontinuing two beers from seasonal lineup and they happen to be 2 very tasty beers. Their Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA and Levitation Amber Ale will no longer be produced. Very disheartening for me as I thought both beers were full flavored and delicious and Sublimely was one of my favorite Black IPAs on the market. With so many great beers to choose from, the market just became a bit thinner, but these two beers are still better than half of what is on our shelves. Either way, say goodbye.

Onto some good news. A few beers will be making their way to Eastern Iowa shelves in the next few weeks. We all know Hopslam is coming and Oskar Blues has hit Central and Eastern but just in time for Valentine’s Day will be Boulevard’s Chocolate Ale. The following comes from www.beerstreetjournal.com:

Chocolate Ale is full of surprises, beginning with a glowing amber hue. The aroma is given over to earthy, fruity cocoa, with just a hint of hops. Smooth layers of dark chocolate intertwine with threads of caramel, vanilla, and nutty malt as the flavor warms and rounds to a bittersweet finish.

Boulevard Chocolate Ale was first released in 2011. The demand has been so high since then, the brewery has increased the amount brewed and packaged every year. In both 2014, and again in 2015, Boulevard has brewed the maximum amount possible for the production schedule.

Style: American Strong Ale (w/ Chocolate)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Corked & Caged
Arrival: Early February, 2014 (Seasonal Release)

9.1% ABV

**Hopefully coming in March is the latest release from Stone’s “Odd Beers for Odd Years” lineup. This year it looks like it is going to be a Chai-Spiced Russian Imperial Stout. The ingredients list of this brew look stellar. Here’s more from http://www.beerstreetjournal.com:

As it stands, the classic version of Stone Imperial Russian Stout is deep, dark, rich, roasty and perhaps even a bit sinful. The ‘Odd Beers for Odd Years’ part of the journey means the coming of each odd-numbered year provides the opportunity to take this traditional beer to new and mysterious places, embarking on an exploratory odyssey enabled by strikingly flavorful elements applied to a lovely onyx canvas. This beer, the latest ‘Odd’ transubstantiation, takes inspiration straight from the spice aisle, incorporating array of ingredients assembled to emulate the flavors of authentic chai tea. Cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger, a dash of black pepper and a dose of black tea combine with Stone Imperial Russian Stout’s incumbent flavors to take it deep into exotic, previously unfathomed tenitory. Expect a touch of earthiness in combination with a warm, tantalizing aridness. Asa one-time brew with enduring character, Stone CHAI-SPICED Imperial Russian Stout is crafted to be contemplated fresh or cellared under proper conditions for many years so that it may live on not only in one’s memory, but on his or her taste buds as well.

Stone Chai-Spiced Imperial Russian Stout will be available in 22oz bottles, and draft. Typically arriving in March.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Clove, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Black Tea, Cinnamon)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft
Release: TBA

**Hitting the KC area first on February 10th and then to it’s distribution areas will be Boulevard Brewing’s Imperial Stout “X” Coffee. This will be part of the Smokestack Series and is the first of many new releases that we will be seeing from Boulevard. Seems Boulevard has really upped their game as their release schedule looks very promising in 2015. Here’s more on this beer courtesy of Boulevard’s Press release:

As a special treat for lovers of big, complex stouts, Boulevard Brewing Company offers the 2015 Imperial Stout “X” Series. The “X” factor stands for a key ingredient brewed into each of several limited releases plan throughout the year. This edition was infused with Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee from our Kansas City neighbor, The Roasterie, lending this robust Stout at subtle wine–like smoothness.

Boulevard Imperial Stout “X” Coffee will be available in 750ml bottles February 10th in Kansas City, other cities shortly after.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee)
Availability: 750ml bottles, Draft. Limited release.
Arrival: February 10th, 2015. (KC first)

11% ABV

**And the last bit of news comes from our friends up north, Summit Brewing company. A new year round can release called Hopvale Organic Ale is a session beer with lemon peel. According to mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com this beer will come in at 4.7% ABV and will be available in 16 oz cans.

Boulevard Beers Hitting the Canning Line

January 23, 20151 Comment

Boulevard Brewing’s twitter handle @boulevard_beer just announced that some of their beers will start hitting the canning line in 2015. Those pictured are Pop-Up Session IPA, Radler, Heavy Lifting IPA, and their Wheat Beer. Here’s the post from their website:

Boulevard Beer in Cans

January 23, 2015

It’s often said that brewers brew the beers they’d like to drink and hope that beer drinkers embrace them. We take that approach at Boulevard Brewing Company, but we also depend heavily on the feedback we receive from you, our loyal fans. Lately, the message, “We want Boulevard cans!” has been heard loud and clear. To this end, we’re excited to share with you that we’re currently in the planning stages of bringing canned Boulevard beer to reality in 2015.

Brewery leadership is finalizing details right now, but it’s our goal to release the following beers in six packs of 12 ounce cans:

You’re likely familiar with Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Pop-Up IPA, and Ginger Lemon Radlerand we hope you’re very excited to be able to enjoy these beers in places normally not accessible to glass bottles.

New to the lineup is Heavy Lifting IPA. Based on the wildly successful Tasting Room beer, Mid-Coast IPA, Heavy Lifting joins the family as a year-round offering available in both cans and on draft. Think of Heavy Lifting as a close cousin to Mid-Coast IPA. Coming in at 6.2% ABV and 80+ IBUs, Heavy Lifting features massive late and dry-hopping with Centennial, Amarillo, Topaz and Citra hops that leap from a minimal malt base composed of our base pale malt and a touch of Munich malt.

While some details are in the process of being finalized, we were just too excited to keep this news to ourselves any longer. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we hope to share more specifics with you.

– Jeremy Danner, Ambassador Brewer

Release Updates: Millstream, Surly, Prairie, Boulevard

December 23, 20141 Comment

A few updates on some beers and breweries hitting Eastern Iowa shelves:

*Millstream* – following up their successful release of Raspberry Latte Stout Millstream is going to try their hand on a double IPA. From my beerbuzz.blogspot.com:

Here’s a new bottle coming from Millstream Brewing in Amana, IA. This is Bitter End and it is a Double IPA. This beer will be packaged in 12oz bottles.

Haven’t read on the exact date of release so if you hear any info on that please pass it my way.

*Surly Brewing* – from various people in the industry that I’ve talked to, we can expect their full slate of releases to enter the state in February. I’m hoping we get to see a little Abrasive hit the state as that is an early 2015 release.
*Prairie Artisan Ales*- will be releasing Limo Tint. This milk stout, aged on chocolate, will be released in late January so keep your eyes peeled for this one. I believe it’s only a 4% stout, so very sessionable compared to what we are usually used to from Prairie.

*Boulevard Brewing* – coming in February will be a Coffee Imperial stout. Boulevard has a bunch of new beers added to their 2015 schedule which I will post very soon. They will still have their regular imperial stout, but the Coffee Imp comes soon!

Coming to Shelves: NB Rampant cans, Boulevard, Sierra Nevada, Bells Wheat Beer Glass

November 18, 2014Leave a comment

Payday coming up on Thursday and I’m looking forward to adding a few beers to my fridge this week. I still haven’t gotten my hands on Pirate Bomb! from Prairie yet and hopefully I can still find it, and I’m hoping Toppling Goliath makes an Eastern Iowa drop this week as well. I need to find some of Millstream’s Raspberry Latte Stout and stock up on that as well. Last week I was able to pick up some Bells Double Cream Stout which is a favorite this time of year and I was lucky enough to get a few more bottles of New Belgium’s fantastic Hop the Pond the IPA which would be a welcome sight if it went year round. Hoping to see a few of you Friday night at Blackstone’s Border War! Onto some news tidbits!

**New Belgium Brewing** – the can craze continues as New Belgium will be offering their Rampant IPA in cans. The following comes from beerstreetjournal.com:

The hop profile heavily features Mosaic and Calypso, bringing stone fruit flavors to the front seat. We’re talking peaches, apricots, things like that. Centennials are in there too, rounding out the aroma with a big citrus blast. Rampant also offers a sturdy malt backbone to balance the flavor in such wonderful way. It is a really great beer, like really great…

New Belgium Rampant IPA will be available in 12oz cans. Release date to follow.

Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Mosaic, Calypso, Centennial
Malts: Pale, Black

Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft. 12oz Cans (Soon)

**Boulevard Brewing** – Boulevard will be releasing “Last Splash” will be their 3rd release in their Backroads Beer series and this one is a wet-hopped ale. From Boulevard’s Instagram:

We’re bottling Last Splash, an upcoming wet-hopped Backroads beer, for an early November release today. This beer showcases Nugget hops that were shipped to us within hours of being harvested.

**Sierra Nevada**– this December Sierra Nevada Brewing will be sending out a wild hop IPA. According to their website these are southwest hops that were found “while scrambling down hillsides near their home in New Mexico”. This will be the 5th and final release of the Harvest series of 2014 and the hop varietal they are using is called “Neomexicanus” which has melon, citrus, and apricot aroma and flavor. Here’s some quick stats from the fellas thefullpint.com:

Quick stats on Harvest Wild Hop IPA:

ABV—6.5%

BU—55

Hop(s)—Neomexicanus

Malts—Two-row Pale, Caramel

**Bells Brewing** – Bells Brewing has released a glass designed specifically for wheat beers. Here’s the description of the glass from Bells.

Bell’s was approached by renowned Austrian glassware manufacturer Spiegelau with an exciting partnership opportunity to create a custom Bell’s Wheat Beer Glass. Knowing how big of a role wheat beers play at Bell’s, we were excited for the opportunity to give wheat beers some attention and elevate the experience of drinking this flavorful, complex style of beer. Designed to elevate the experience of drinking not only Bell’s Oberon Ale, Winter White and Oarsman Ale, the glass is poised to become the new standard for enjoying all wheat beers.

What makes the Bell’s Wheat Beer Glass enhance the enjoyment of wheat beers more so than a standard pint glass or hefeweizen glass?

• Raw quartz silica combined with Speigelau’s state of the art production methods help beer sustain head retention and carbonation

• Ultra-pure quartz material makes for unsurpassed clarity and flawless true color presentation of wheat beers

• Laser cut top lip of the glass resulting in crisp, clean delivery of the beer during each sip

• Larger body / bowl of the glass to capture and concentrate more of the delicate, complex aromas that are unique to wheat style beers

• Mouth opening delivers beer evenly across the palate to enhance the distinct mouthfeel, and harmony of sweetness and acidity that comes from the wheat malt in the beer

• Lip at the bottom of the bowl that results in a slight “slosh” after every tip of the glass, causing the carbonation to be re-activated, releasing more of the aromatics after each drink

• Thin walls maintain proper beer temperature longer

Boulevard Joins up with Brewery Ommegang for Collaboration #4 Saison!

September 15, 20142 Comments

The following information comes courtesy of the thefullpint.com:

Kansas City, MO – There is no sibling rivalry between Duvel Moortgat’s US-based Boulevard Brewing Company and Brewery Ommegang. The sister craft breweries recently partnered on Boulevard’s newest edition of its Collaboration series. Collaboration No. 4 is a Spiced Saison, which will be distributed in 750mL bottles and 1/6 barrel kegs throughout Boulevard’s distribution network later this month (Kansas City distribution begins on September 22nd for draught and September 23rd for bottles; other markets to follow soon after) .

Ommegang’s brewmaster Phil Leinhart traveled to Kansas City in July to make the beer alongside Steven Pauwels, brewmaster at Boulevard and his team of brewers. After the brewing process, the wort was transferred into two fermentation vessels. Boulevard’s primary Belgian yeast strain was added to one, and the other tank received Ommegang’s house yeast strain. The two batches were blended during the filtration process resulting in Collaboration No. 4. In addition to a variety of malts and hops, sweet orange peel, lemon peel, coriander and grains of paradise played key roles in the beer’s characteristics.

“Brewery Ommegang excels in using spices to add complexity and character to their Belgian-style beers while we’ve become known for our saisons at Boulevard,” said Pauwels. “The mutual admiration each brewery has for the other worked well as we combined our strengths into a complex, yet approachable beer that serves to reintroduce our breweries as Boulevard joins the Duvel Moortgat family.”

Previous beers in Boulevard’s Collaboration series include an “Imperial Pilsner” made in 2010 with esteemed Orval brewmaster Jean-Marie Rock, a “White I.P.A.” with Deschutes in 2011, and a “Stingo” with Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project in 2012.

Bikes and Brews with Boulevard; Sat. August 16th!

August 11, 2014August 11, 20141 Comment

Just received the following email from Reds Alehouse. If you are a beer enthusiast or bike enthusiast this could be perfect for you!

Reds, Joe’s Place and Blackstone will be holding a Boulevard Bike ride on Saturday the 16th. Meet us at Reds at 8 am to register for the 25-30 mile ride that’s filled with cool giveaways (see above), cool beer, and finishes with a party on the Reds patio! We’ll have live music and the grand prize giveaways. You have to stop at all stops to be eligible. Registration is FREE! Follow the links to check out the brews!

Featured Beers

Joe’s:

Grainstorm, Single-wide

Blackstone:

Tank 7, Imperial stout

Reds:

2012+2013 rye-on-rye, Pale Ale, Boulevard Wheat

All locations will feature the

Lemon-ginger Radler

WANT IN ON THE ACTION?

1st Boulevard Backroad Beer: Entwined Ale

May 11, 20141 Comment

The following information comes from http://www.beerpulse.com. Boulevard coming out with a “Backroads Beer” series and the first one to be released is Entwined Ale. Here’s more:

Glossy black six-packs trundled down the bottling line last Friday, signaling a new direction for the Boulevard Brewing Co. Entwined Ale, a malt beverage brewed with Muscat grape juice, will be the first release under Boulevard’s Backroads Beers.