Thursday, October 27, 2016

Rogue Ales & Spirits Releasing Annual Winter Favorite Yellow Snow IPA

Courtesy of Rogue Brewing Co
Newport, OR -- In a dedication to common sense, Rogue Ales & Spirits has canned Yellow Snow IPA for this winter’s release of its snow cult classic.

The pale-golden-hued ale features a hoppy, tropical-fruit-forward aroma complemented by a medium body and hoppyness mid-palate. Made with Oregon grown Rogue Farms hops and barley, Yellow Snow IPA returns for a long winter in bottles, on draft and now in 16-ounce cans for more thirst-quenching versatility.

“The new cans of Yellow Snow IPA are portable and lightweight,” says Rogue President Brett Joyce. “The only thing we want heavy this winter is the snowfall.” 
  
 
Yellow Snow IPA is available starting November 1 in 16-ounce can four-packs, 12-ounce bottle six-packs, serigraphed 22-ounce bottles, 64-ounce growlers and on draft featuring a distinctive ceramic tap handle. Find Yellow Snow IPA on Rogue’s own Beer Finder tool. 
 
For more information about the Revolution visit Rogue.com.

Firestone Walker Marks 20 Years With “XX” Anniversary Ale

Courtesy of Firestone Walker Brewing Co


Paso Robles, CA: Twenty years ago, brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker established Firestone Walker Brewing Company in a converted shed on the back-forty of the Firestone family vineyard on California’s Central Coast.

Ten years later, after moving up the road to Paso Robles, the brewery celebrated its first decade with X (or 10), a trailblazing barrel-aged anniversary ale blended with input from local winemakers, and offered for the then-audacious sum of $9.99 per 22-ounce bottle.

Now comes XX, which is both a celebration and a culmination, marking Firestone Walker’s 20th anniversary on California’s Central Coast.

XX is a limited release that will be available via individually boxed 22-ounce bottles ($23.99) at select accounts across all Firestone Walker markets starting in November.

Unlikely Origins

Firestone Walker’s Anniversary Ale program dates back to 2005, when Brewmaster Matt Brynildson took a random call from bourbon barrel broker Tom Griffin, whom Brynildson now calls “the Johnny Appleseed of barrel-aged beers.”

Said Brynildson, “Adam and David had approached me about making a special beer for the brewery’s 10th anniversary, and we were already doing test batches for it when Tom called me out of the blue. He knew I’d been at Goose Island during the early days of Bourbon County Stout, so he tracked me down and made me an offer. I wasn’t really thinking about barrel aging at the time, but when he called the light bulb went off, and I thought, ‘Holy s***, I need those barrels.”

After the different test batches were aged for nearly a year in 40 retired bourbon barrels provided by Griffin, Brynildson dialed up a handful of his local winemaker friends to help blend the final beer from what turned out to be a diverse range of component ales.

Ten, or X, was released in the fall of 2006. At the time, the $9.99 price tag raised eyebrows. “Back then $10 was a crazy price for a beer, and retired bourbon barrels were easy and inexpensive for brewers to obtain,” Brynildson said. “Times have changed.” 

The Lowdown on XX

Ever since the release of X, the blending of the Anniversary Ale has become an annual late-summer rite at the brewery, revolving around a reliable team of friendly local winemakers who come for the challenge and the camaraderie.

This year, 17 winemakers convened in late August to help create the blend for XX. As always, they were tasked with creating their own preferred blends, with all of these initial blends later being blind tasted on the group. After votes were cast, the blend by Scott Hawley of Torrin Vineyard was deemed the winner and became the basis for XX.

“It’s always a friendly but competitive gathering,” Brynildson said. “Collectively, the winemakers’ input is invaluable, because they are practicing experts in the art of blending.”

With XX, this proven process yielded a beer for the ages. “There is just so much going on in this beer,” Brynildson said. “It’s big and complex, with all of these different facets from our barrel-aged program that are so seamlessly integrated. We wanted to produce something really special for our 20th anniversary, and I think we did it.”

The Final Blend

“We blended together 250 oak barrels and five different beers creating something truly complex and exceptional.” Brewmaster Matt Brynildson                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Parabola / Aged in New Oak and Bourbon Barrels / 40% of Final Blend
-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Stickee Monkee / Aged in Bourbon and Brandy Barrels / 20% of Final Blend
-Central Coast Quad Brewed with Belgian Candi and Mexican Turbinado (brown) Sugar

Velvet Merkin / Aged in Bourbon Barrels / 17.5% of Final Blend                
-Traditional Oatmeal Stout

Bravo / Aged in Bourbon Barrels / 12.5% of Final Blend
-Imperial Brown Ale

Helldorado / Aged in Bourbon Barrels / 10% of Final Blend            
-Blonde Barleywine

Participating Winemakers
“These are my friends and brothers in fermentation science.” Brewmaster Matt Brynildson
·         Scott Hawley – Torrin (Winning Blend)
·         Sherman Thacher and Daniel Callan – Thacher Winery
·         Matt Trevisan – Linne Calodo
·         Connor McMahon and Kyle Jury  – Booker
·         Terry and Natalie Hoage –TH Estate Wines
·         Russell From and Philip Muzzy – Herman Story
·         Molly Lonborg and Kevin Sass– Halter Ranch
·         Brock Waterman – Brochelle Vineyards
·         Justin Smith – Saxum Vineyards
·         Mark Adams – Ledge Vineyards
·         Neil Collins and Chelsea Franchi – Tablas Creek Vineyard

Also thanks to friends Arie Litman and Ken Weaver for lending their expertise to the blending session.

Brewmaster’s Notes

“As a finished blend, XX is a beautifully textured and complex brew, with layers that unfold as the beer opens up. At first there is a burst of brandy soaked cherries, then chocolate cake combined with distinct boozy new American oak notes. The flavor develops full of molasses rich brown sugar and fruitcake with a touch of caramel and cinnamon spice. Overall the beer is silky smooth, incredibly balanced and finishes with a touch of kirsch filled truffle – a perfect blend of everything we love about our vintage barrel program! This beer is unfiltered and unfined, so there will be a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. XX is best enjoyed poured carefully into a half filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. As the beer sits and breathes in the glass the true complexity of this blend is revealed, so take your time. If you wait to open your bottle later, store it in a cool, dark place. I suspect, like our other Anniversary offerings, that this beer will age well and change favorably for years to come.”

Deschutes Brewery’s Street Pub Tour Raises $440,000 for Charity in 2016

Courtesy of Deschutes Brewing Co
Bend, Oregon– 27 October 2016 – Deschutes Brewery’s Street Pub finished out its second annual national tour this year by raising nearly $440,000 for charity. At each stop, the brewery partnered with local charities and donated 100 percent of proceeds to help those charities achieve their missions. With an estimated 140,000 beer fans who turned out to drink over 1,100 kegs of damn tasty beer, the Street Pub is collectively one of the largest beer festivals in the country.
  
“This was another epic year for Street Pub and we got to visit with fans in cities we love from one coast to another,” said Joey Pleich, field marketing manager for the brewery who runs the Street Pub program. “We raised $70,000 more for charity over last year’s numbers and saw twice as many in attendance. Success for this program means success for all the communities we visit and we are thankful to our many fans to coming out to support Street Pub.”
  
Here’s a look at how Deschutes Brewery’s Street Pub assisted the nonprofits it partnered with in each city:
 

  • Arlington, VA: $25,000 donation in conjunction with Ballston BID/BallstonGives Taste of Arlington festival to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center
  • Philadelphia, PA: $34,144 donation to the Vetri Community Partnership to cover costs for preparing healthy meals in public schools all over the Philly area and South Street Headhouse District to help provide a safer, cleaner, well managed business district
  • Columbus, OH: $43,000 to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank helping them achieve their goal of a hunger-free and healthier community. The Funds raised will provide Over 172,000 meals for needy families in greater Mid-Ohio.
  • Chicago, IL: $70,295 to Alliance for the Great Lakes to protect and restore the Great Lakes and Logan Square Preservation to protect and beautify its local neighborhood
  • Roanoke, VA: $81,000 to a wide selection of local charities including Roanoke Outside Foundation, Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and Feeding America Southwest Virginia
  • Minneapolis, MN: $104,723 to Second Harvest Heartland to provide more than 300,000 meals for needy families in Minnesota
  • Sacramento, CA: $80,000 to Runnin’ for Rhett to help fulfill its mission to nurture healthy communities by hosting both adult and youth fitness programs. Proceeds brought in will fund over 3,000 programs
 
Check out our wrap up video about this year’s Street Pub here: 


 
2017 tour dates and locations will be announced soon.

Courtesy of Deschutes Brewing Co
About Deschutes BreweryNamed as OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work (2013-2015) and winner of the 2015 Oregon Sustainability Award, Deschutes Brewery was founded in 1988 as a brew pub in Bend, Oregon. Still family and employee owned 28 years later, the brewery is known for brewing a diverse line-up of award winning beers including the popular Fresh Squeezed IPA, Black Butte Porter, and Mirror Pond Pale Ale. From the beginning, the focus has been on crafting the best beer and food using thoughtfully curated ingredients. With a second brew pub in Portland’s Pearl District that has become a popular destination for craft beer lovers from around the world, Deschutes Brewery now ships beer to 28 states, the District of Columbia, and internationally from its main brewing facility located on the banks of the Deschutes River.  To find out more, visit www.DeschutesBrewery.com.

Hopworks Urban Brewery Announce the Return of Organic Motherland Russian Imperial Stout

Courtesy of Hopworks Urban Brewery

Hopworks Urban Brewery is pleased to announce the return of their popular seasonal Organic Motherland Russian Imperial Stout. The release party for Motherland is on Wednesday, November 02 at 5pm at the Hopworks brewpub on Powell Blvd. In addition to Motherland, Hopworks will tap two seasonal one-off beers and serve up a Motherland-based food special.

Motherland is a deep black Russian Imperial Stout that sits at 9.8% ABV. Bittersweet chocolate flavors mingle with deep fig and plum fruitiness. The beer finishes with a lingering spiciness and heat. Motherland’s focus on a hearty organic malt bill will warm your heart during the upcoming rainy and snow-filled evenings. Motherland is available on tap and in 22oz bomber bottles throughout the Northwest.

Motherland Release Party
November 02, 5pm
Hopworks Urban Brewery, 2944 SE Powell Blvd. Portland, OR


Motherland will be released at the Hopworks brewpub on Powell beginning on November 02 at 5pm. For the release, the restaurant kitchen will serve up two beer-based food specials. The first is a Motherland braised beef brisket sandwich to be paired with Motherland Russian Imperial Stout. The second special is a traditional Vienna sausage platter with horseradish mustard and curried ketchup to be paired with Wave Train Amber Ale.

Additionally two new pub-only beers will be on tap:

Wave Train - With Wave Train our goal is to reinvent the Amber Ale. Influenced by Vienna-Style Lagers, we ferment the beer cold, gave it a beautiful caramel profile and subtle earthy and toasty flavors.

Cranberry Lemon Gose - Gose with a zesty zip from Jacobson’s Lemon Sea Salt and light tartness from Local Harvest Cranberries from Starvation Alley Farm in Long Beach, Washington.