Looks like we will be getting another nationwide release on the newest batch of Stone’s popular Enjoy By IPA. You have 2 days to finish off the last batch and then on the 12th there should be more to come! Here’s more:
(Escondido,CA) – Stone Enjoy By 07.04.14 is set to turn back into a pumpkin in two days, but not to fret, a new batch is in the tanks and ready to hit the streets July 12th. This will be called Stone Enjoy By 08.16.14 IPA.
From our preliminary info, this will have the same hop blend as the past few batches:Ahtanum, Super Galena, Simcoe, Amarillo, Delta, Target, Calypso, Cascade, Citra, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Helga.
While a few batches have been limited to a few markets, we believe this to be another national release like the 07.14.14 batch.
We announced today that we’ll be releasing Dark Penance, an Imperial Black IPA, as a specialty release this October 2014 with availability through the end of the year. It’s replacing the TBA in ouravailability calendar that many of you noticed when we published it late in 2013. Dark Penance will be available throughout our distribution footprint both on draft and in 12 oz. bottles with a suggested retail price of $11.99 per 4-pack.
“We don’t just add beers to our lineup to have something new on the shelves,” said Dave Engbers, co-founder and vice president of brand and education at Founders Brewing Co. “OurBackstage Series is for experimentation and keeping things fresh, and we still only put those out a few times a year. Dark Penance, on the other hand, went through many recipe iterations before we were willing to put it up there with the other beers that we release again and again, year after year.”
The recipe for Dark Penance took about a year to develop, time that was mostly spent perfecting the beer’s balance and hop profile. It’s the first new beer to be added to our lineup since All Day IPA, which was released in spring 2012 following three years of development.
Dark Penance starts with a heavy malt foundation of Crystal malt for sweetness and just enough Midnight Wheat to push the color to black. The bitterness is huge (100 IBUs huge), but balanced by malt sweetness and alcohol burn. The hop flavors and aromas range from citrus to floral to pine—most everything that hops can be—thanks to a delicious blend of hand-selected Chinook and Centennial hops. The Imperial Black IPA is 8.9% ABV.
“Black IPAs are becoming more common, but Imperial Black IPAs aren’t, and imperializing things is what we do,” said Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki. “Plus, we thought this beer would fit in well with our specialty lineup alongside Imperial Stout, Curmudgeon Old Ale and Double Trouble.” Dark Penance will be available as the follow up to Double Trouble in our specialty calendar, from roughly October to December, dependent on distributor shipments. It will be released in our taproom on draft and in bottles as of October 2014.
I haven’t seen or heard anyone picking up or seeing bottles of this on the shelves, but according to a Ratebeer email this brew hit shelves the 27th. Still waiting on confirmation from a few beer retailers but it should be here soon. Here’s the press release:
26th Birthday Reserve Unavailable Porter Limited Quantities Alc. 10.8% 22 oz serving Our 26th anniversary Imperial Porter was aged in bourbon barrels and dry spiced with Theo Chocolate’s cocoa nibs, revealing hints of vanilla and chocolate. Pomegranate molasses and Oregon cranberries complement the robust flavor with a hint of fruit and just enough tart to make you smile.
Malt: Pale, Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal Hops: Millennium, Cascade, US Tettnang Other: Theo Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Pomegranate Molasses, Cranberries Barrel-Aging: 6 Months in Bourbon (50%)
Released June 27th, 2014 Pairings Toasted Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup Black-Pepper Crusted New York Steaks with Black Truffle Vinaigrette Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Prosciutto
Been too long since my last guest review. Time to shake off the cobwebs and get back at it! I’ll start it off by getting the word out on a fairly new dining venue in the Ingersoll corridor of Des Moines, located at 2932 Ingersoll Ave . The restaurant goes by the name “Eatery A”. Initially I thought I was going to be dining at an Italian Restaurant. But upon reading the menu, it appears they’re labeled as a Mediterranean. The first of which sLim has ever been to (I mean, would you ever expect a guy who goes by the name of sLim to eat at a place that didn’t have chicken-fried steak on the menu?).
The inner and outer décor suit the place very well. Very modern and artistic, their large, elevated patio overlooks quaint Ingersoll Avenue. The inside was upscale and welcoming at the same time. Think along the lines of a slightly more casual Cheesecake Factory.
Happy Hour-This establishment is really pushing their happy hour specials to bring in customers. It runs from 3-6, EVERY day of the week. At this time, you can get half-price pizzas and half-price wine and draft beers. The pizzas are roughly 12’’ which can easily feed one person or two people with moderate appetites. I was impressed by how many people were there at 5 on a Tuesday. While the restaurant was booming, it still gave off a relaxed atmosphere. I would highly recommend taking advantage of these specials the first time you go there, and with it being offered 7 days a week they are accommodating to nearly anyone’s schedule.
Beer-Their selection is respectable. Their wine selection is a bit more extensive but there are enough beer offerings to satisfy your typical craft brew junkie. It was good to see mostly Iowa breweries featured in their limited tap offerings (Confluence, Millstream, and Backpocket). The more notable beers are offered in bottles (Ommegang Abbey, Stillwater Statewide Saison, and Green Flash Double Stout). They did a good job of making sure all styles were covered so that virtually any food item on their menu would have a corresponding drink that would pair well.
Food-As I stated earlier, the pizza is what I came to try. While they have 14 different offerings, all priced at $13, they are not the types of pizzas you would see offered at Godfather’s. If you’re like me, you wouldn’t know what you were getting yourself into based off of the unfamiliar names of the ingredients. Rest assured, your server can clear things up for you and help you select one that would like. I went with the #5 which was somewhat of a gyro turned pizza conglomeration. I was impressed; the gyro meat combined with the white sauce is what stood out to me the most. Many of their other menu offerings look very worthwhile in addition to their well established wood-fired pizza.
All in all, this is a fine new restaurant to the Des Moines area, perfect for nearly any occasion. They are doing a lot of things right and I believe it’ll translate to success in the long run. There are several other places nearby so that you could make quite the experience out of a trip to this area. You could grab a post meal dessert/drink at Crème cupcake or a drink on the patio at the original Wellman’s. No shortage of options in this area but whatever the case, be sure to include Eatery A in on your next visit to the Ingersoll corridor.
The popular Founder’s Double Trouble will be making its way back to Eastern Iowa shelves and for a lot of liquor stores it should be hitting this week! I’m not sure on the allotment for many places so if you seek out and find some, let me know availablity please! Thanks and enjoy! More on the brew:
An imperial IPA that was brewed to turn your world upside down. Hops have got you coming and going. Pungent aromatics up front paired with a malt balanced backbone and a smooth bitter finish. 86 IBUs.
(Comstock, MI) – Following the successful launch of Two Hearted and Oberon Ale in 16 oz. 4-packs, we are proud to announce and share the look of the rest of our seasonal lineup in cans.
Best Brown Ale, Winter White and Smitten Golden Rye Ale will be available in cans for the first time later this year and early next year.
All three seasonal beers will continue to be available on draft and in both 6-pack and 12-pack bottles.
“We love being able to offer these brands in both cans and glass to suit the various lifestyles of our customers and fans,” said Laura Bell, Bell’s Brewery Vice President.
Best Brown Ale will be Bell’s third can offering and will be available along with bottles and on draft beginning around Labor Day. All three seasonal beers will be available in the same 16 oz. 4-packs. Cans of Winter White will be released in November and Smitten will return in February.
India Session Ales are defined as an IPA that has all the hop presence of a regular IPA but has a significant lower ABV level making it “sessionable”. Eastern Iowa shelves have seen a considerable jump in sessionable IPAs and with the warmer “lawnmowing” weather taking over and soon tailgating season begins, this is the perfect time for brewers and breweries to take advantage of this subcategory of IPAs. Let’s focus on what we can get strictly in Eastern Iowa, and the one that started the trend for us, I believe, is Founders All Day IPA. So let’s break this down a bit, cue the music:
**Founders All Day IPA**
ABV: 4.7%
Ratebeer: 96/100
Beeradvocate: 87/100
Founders started this strictly in 6 pack bottles and then made the genius move of putting it in cans allowing for easier mobility and also easier to dispose of (see Iowa Football tailgating). This was the beer of choice at the Beer Baron’s tailgates last fall and will probably be again this year. All the things you are looking for in an IPA is evident: great hop flavor, a bit of sweet resin, and bit of malt backbone. Founders is a top-tier brewery, and this brew helps solidify that.
Schlafly has really made their mark since hitting Eastern Iowa stores with various styles and last summer, their can sessions started showing up. Coming in 6 packs, this beer does a great job in giving you that initial hop flavor and maltiness to balance. This one seemed a bit sweeter to me than the All Day from Founders but still good.
**Stone Go To IPA**
ABV: 4.5%
Ratebeer: 97/100
Beeradvocate: 89/100
The newer of the sessionable IPAs, Stone gives us what Stone usually does, an intense hop forward beer that packs a punch! I got a lot of grapefruit and pine flavor from this beer with minimal to no malt balance. Stone starts putting this in cans and we might have a competition with Founders.
**Boulevard Pop Up Session**
ABV: 4.2%
Ratebeer: 94/100
Beeradvocate: 84/100
I recently had this for the first time at a local bar which shocked the hell out me that they actually had it on tap. Not really known for their great craft beer, and their options were limited, I went for the Pop Up. I honestly admit I’m not a huge fan of Boulevard’s IPAs, but I do really love their Smokestack stuff, but I thought I’d give it a go. Floral and citrus aroma with slight but evident citrus hop flavor.
**OVERALL** – If you are looking for a summer party brew you can’t go wrong with any of these beers. They are all very good sessionable IPAs. The cans from Founders and Schlafly make it easier to take to a BBQ or picnic and Founders recently introduced a 15 pack of All Day cans. I haven’t had Hop Rise from Central Waters yet and if/when Lagunitas gets here they will have Daytime IPA too. Either way, drinking any of these this summer or fall can easily lead to a (SLIM and Matt, this is dedicated to you)……..
MY PICK: If I had to choose one, gun to my head, I think I would go with Founders All Day IPA. I think it’s the most balanced but also has the great hop flavor. What’s your Session IPA?
The following post was received on Facebook via Abu Nawas Facebook Page.
We’re very excited to be bringing Iowa the good stuff from Rush River Brewing!
Another brewery bringing their brews to Iowa shelves and we are still waiting confirmation on a few others that we have been talking about for the past few months. If you want to know more about Rush River Brewing’s offerings please visit their website here: http://rushriverbeer.com/
A new member of the Green Flash Hop Odyssey series will be making its way to Eastern Iowa shelves this week. Green Flash Hop Odyssey White IPA will be showing up soon in the Eastern Iowa market. Here’s more on this beer from the Green Flash brewery website:
There’s a lot going on in this beer with two yeast strains, copious amounts of wheat malt, and a big focus on “C” hops to deliver a citrus explosion. In fact we lined up more than a dozen hop varieties in the brewery to select 3 hops with the biggest citrus character to dry hop the beer.
This golden beer pours with beautiful, fluffy white beer foam that lasts due to its bottle conditioning. Feel free to rouse the yeast that settles in the bottle for a fuller texture and a more cloudy white appearance. The citrus aromas that jump from the glass are largely tangerine up front with other types of citrus notes that mingle with the Belgian yeast esters. Hop flavors of bitter orange zest dominate the brew and linger to the finish with a nice play of American and Belgian yeast combo.
Looks like we will be getting another nationwide release on the newest batch of Stone’s popular Enjoy By IPA. You have 2 days to finish off the last batch and then on the 12th there should be more to come! Here’s more:
