(Pittsburgh, PA) – It would appear that East End Brewing Owner, Scott Smith, locked himself up in a basement for 24 hours…
…I’ve never seen such a lengthy newsletter update from a brewery owner. Sign up for the newsletter here to get these directly. He’s also a Twitter addict that updates his status frequently.
Note: Below is an excerpt from the newsletter. Oddly enough, there is no mention of this year’s East End Gratitude Barleywine which was bottled in mid-late September. No release date has been announced though Smith told me that he hopes that it will be ready before the end of the year (no guarantee). Onto the newsletter update…lots of new stuff here.
- SESSION ALE #40: Wood St. Kvass
We’ve brewed this downright weird beer so many times now, that soaking 60 loaves of stale rye bread in hot water overnight to make a liquid we ferment with bread yeast the next day… well it almost seems “normal”. So this time, we mixed it up a bit, brewed it a little starchier than usual and diverted a good portion of this batch to oak barrels for hot-aging this summer, in hopes of making some of that wonderful lactic sourness we saw in the early batches….and boy, did it deliver! We’re going to let this sleeper of a project finish out over the cold months of winter, so the beer can condition, clarify, and ready itself for bottles by Spring. We’ll release it under the name DEBASER which aside from the possibly obvious musical reference, is also a really bad pun about the incredibly high level of acidity and sourness in this beer. Yum!
- SESSION ALE #41: BlackberRye Ale
Yes, we brewed a rare FRUIT BEER! Usually they’re not my thing personally speaking, as they’re often too sweet, or have a really rough and astringent finish to them. But Brendan convinced me he could make a good one, and of course, he can. And now it’s all gone.
- SESSION ALE #42: Slartibartfast
Someone once said “Drink up. The world’s about to end.” So, we brewed a beer to answer the ultimate question. A nice English Style Best Bitter. It’s gone too.
- SESSION ALE #43 BluebeRye Ale
Okay, so they’re getting a little less rare around here. But this one’s gone too.
– SESSION ALE #44:”Weisse this beer sour?”(aka Big Pour Brew)
There’s a big push these days to brew the most extreme “beer” in the world, sometimes upwards of 50% alcohol. With an 11% barleywine in our catalog, we’re not shy about going big, but we try to balance that out with the idea of brewing a beer that you might actually want to drink. And while the humor and charm of a packaging a rare beer
inside a squirrel carcass is not lost on us (look it up), we will instead opt for non-extreme re-usable Growlers for our entry in the extreme category. Yes, we’re jumping on the “extreme” bandwagon, but I think ours may be rolling backwards, down the hill, in the other direction.
A stinky 3-day sour mash to make a champagne-like beer that’s just under 3% abv??? You bet! There’s still a couple kegs kicking around at the brewery for Growler fills, but it’s definitely winding down. Berliner Weisse is wonderful style of beer for people who are “Sour Curious”, but are maybe a little scared off by all the funk that an un-fruited Lambic can bring to the glass. So give it a try. I’ve said it before: SOUR is replacing STRONG as the new HOPPY. Any minute now…
- SESSION ALE #45: “Redd Up Red Ale”
Our very first Red Ale, quickly redd up into your Growlers, is now fully depleted. But I have a feeling it will come back around at some point. Maybe it was the crowd-sourced name we got from our GOOD FRIENDS on Twitter?
- SESSION ALE #46: Bitter End 2010
Our annual tradition of “Small Beer” brewed from the second runnings of our Gratitude Barleywine. It’s quite different this year from previous models, and it’s still on tap… for now.
- SESSION ALE #47: RaspberRye Ale
The third in our increasingly less-rare fruit beer series, just went on tap October 22nd weekend at the brewery and the Growler Shop in the Strip. Like its more-rare fruit beer predecessors, it’s been a big mover, so get some while the getting is good!
-T.R.A.S.H. HOMEBREW CONTEST WINNER: “EAST END SESSION BEER AWARD”
Dave Mutschler brewed a Pils and entered it into the biggest homebrew contest in town, and it scored quite well. So, we took his recipe, scaled it up, and brewed it on the big rig. “Czech Please!” is a nice hoppy (think “European hoppy”) lager that will go on tap in another week or two, once it’s finished lagering. But Dave gets the first Growler, okay?
- (the beer we can’t call) EYE OPENER COFFEE PORTER IS BACK!
Featuring our two favorite brewed beverages in the same glass, we did a double batch of this beer, and in addition to packaging a bunch of kegs, we bottled just over half of it in 1 liter swingtops so that itwill be around for a while. And this time, we used coffee from our newest, bestest, GOOD FRIENDS at Commonplace Coffee, a local roaster putting out some of the freshest, tastiest coffee I’ve ever had. They do their roasting in Indiana PA, but you can find their beans around town in all the better coffee joints, including their very own shop onForbes in Squirrel Hill. Plus, their website even sounds beer friendly: www.IPACoffee.com, so how perfect is that?
Look for the release in a few weeks, possibly draft coming out before bottles as we wait for labels to come through. Watch the website for an announcement.
-HOMEWOOD RESERVE 2010 RETURNS
I probably mentioned before that we’ve got a bunch of Bourbon Barrels in here, full of Black Strap Stout and aging for a few months. In a few more weeks, we’ll bottle it all up and release this beer as our special Homewood Reserve. You’ll also see the odd firkin or keg here and there as well, just to help get the word out. More on this beer as it progresses.
-FESTIVAL OF DARKNESS II:
With the return of Homewood Reserve, Coffee Porter, and Snow Melt Winter Ale, regular offerings like Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, and Black Strap Stout, and our current bottled beer, Illustration Ale (Belgian Dark Strong Ale)…it seems like we’re at a bit of a tipping point with darker beer offerings. So we’re going to add one more to the list, a big robust Oatmeal Stout that will go on tap only at the brewery, and call it our Festival of Darkness II.
While we don’t have the capacity to roll them all out at once, bit by bit we’ll let them sneak up on you, just like the short days of winter. Except this year, you’ll be properly prepared. Bigger than the F.O.D. we did two years back, we’ll feature a total of SEVEN DIFFERENT TREATMENTS (also known as BEERS) to combat your “Seasonal Affected Disorder” which comes on as the days get shorter and the nights get long. Wow. I know I’m already feeling better, just thinking about it.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
Denver, CO – Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado, LLC began distributing Lucky U IPA in cans this week.
The brewery has been canning Avalanche Ale since 2009. Lucky U IPA is a natural fit for the brewery’s second canned offering as the brewery wants to increase its ability to support the Tivoli Student Union in donating a portion of the proceeds of all Lucky U sales.
Lucky U IPA, Breckenridge Brewery’s “community ale,” was released in 12-oz bottles just over a year ago. A portion of the proceeds is set aside for the upkeep of the historic Tivoli Brewery building in downtown Denver. What was once a thriving brewery in the 1800s, The Tivoli Brewery building now houses the Auraria campus student center, serving University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Community College of Denver.
In the making of Lucky U IPA, the brewmaster combined four malts (two row pale, Munich, Carmel, and torrified wheat) with seven different hops (Amarillo, Magnum, Perle, Cascade, Apollo, Fuggle, and Goldings) to create this 6.2% ABV hoppy homage to the Tivoli Brewery.
Breckenridge Brewery celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The brewery was founded in 1990 in Breckenridge, Colorado. In the past two decades Breckenridge Brewery has grown from a small 3,000-barrels-a-year brewpub to one of the most successful craft beer companies in the nation. It now handcrafts nearly 30,000 barrels of fresh beer annually and owns and operates 4 pubs in the state of Colorado.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Houston, TX) – Saint Arnold Brewing sent out a newsletter update today with a few words on DR10…
“It’s up to you as to whether you vote first, then go get DR10 or do it the other way around, but if you vote first, do it early. And whatever you do, don’t sample DR10 and then vote!
Divine Reserve No. 10 is an English Barleywine, and an alcoholic one at that! It was inspired by Chris Landis’ winning entry in the 2010 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition. This is a beer that not only will age well, but we are recommending aging it. It is clocking in at 11% ABV and could use some cellaring time. When enjoying it, we recommend serving it at around 60¬∞F. This really brings out the malt and fruit character in the beer (there isn’t any actual fruit in the beer). We were concerned that we had overhopped the beer when first tasting it in the fermenter, but the hop bitter has mellowed quite a bit. Having said that, it is on the hoppy side for an English Barleywine.
This is the first Divine Reserve that we have brewed on our new brewhouse and it provided some technical challenges. Brewhouses are designed for brewing 5% ABV beers and we had to get quite creative in how we moved the wort around in our brewhouse to be able to brew such a high gravity beer. Also, we had hoped to make a much larger batch of DR10 – our goal was to make about 50% more than we did of DR9. Instead we only netted about a 20% increase. Thus, the supply is going to again be tight, and much tighter than we hoped it would be. We apologize for this and are already planning some changes to our brewhouse piping that will facilitate us making larger batches of Divine Reserve in the future.
By the way, while the release date is November 2, that doesn’t mean that every store will receive their shipment that day. Some stores have delivery days that will result in their receiving the beer later in the week.”
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
Michael Jackson’s Influence on Craft Beer Alive & Well…
[10/29 Update: Per RBC's Kris Calef, "We brought in 50 or so more cases on this one than we needed to for reorders and that shouldn't dwindle down for 2-3 months so if someone wants to try it, they can just call us at 800-625-8238 and we'd make sure they receive it in their first shipment."]
(Lake Forest, CA) – This month, The Rare Beer Club™ is featuring a craft beer from the Czech Republic that was made just once and is available exclusively to its members. Even more exciting is that it might represent the creation of a new beer style. Although “one-offs” don’t generally qualify as creating a style, we sincerely hope it to be the case here since “Czech IPA”, if anything like this beer, would be a welcomed addition to the various styles currently defined. So, who’s behind this very unusual brew? None other than Michael Jackson himself.
It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of gratitude that we first sampled Kocour IPA Samuraj as it was a beer Michael encouraged the brewer to create. Sadly, he never got the chance to taste what may be the Czech Republic’s first IPA, but we still feel a strong sense of respect and celebration with the feeling that Michael was reaching out from the afterlife to turn us all on to yet another great beer.
After his first visit to the Great American Beer Festival in 2001, Honza Kocka, former Czech Airlines steward turned acclaimed beer writer, beer tasting judge, blogger and journalist, decided that he must take beer more seriously. After spending time with other beer writers like Michael Jackson and Stephen Beaumont, he was encouraged to vocally broadcast the virtues of better beer back home in the Czech Republic. He enlisted the help of Michael Jackson and the owners of the Herold Brewing Company to assist him in that effort, holding a press conference to create a local buzz. In the process, Honza and Michael became good friends, with Michael apparently having total faith that if Honza started a brewery, it would put out top quality beer. In fact, Michael threw out an enticing offer—he’d purchase the first batch of Honza’s inaugural brew featured in The Rare Beer Club to help get them off the ground. They began discussing what that first beer should be, and the concept of a Czech IPA was born.
Why an IPA? Well, similar to the environment that fostered the US microbrewery revolution, the Czech Republic is still currently very much focused on lagers. Honza and Michael felt that it was time to introduce the nation to the beery bounty of ales and the glory of the hop. Honza founded The Kocour Brewery and committed himself to an uneasy task, “To persuade domestic conservative beer drinkers that beer does not equal a chilled bottle in the fridge, that beer means more than a Czech lager, that beer can go easily with gastronomy, that there is a beer for every season, for every state of mind……that beer is simply much more than is usually perceived.“
As a result, Kocour has the widest beer style portfolio in the Czech Republic, with several beers being developed with help of foreign brewers and friends. Kocour IPA Samuraj was created with the help of now legendary Toshii Ishii of Yo Ho Brewing in Japan. As Honza recently told us when asked to comment on this special release of Kocour IPA Samuraj, “Yes, we admire the US craft beer scene, it has certainly influenced us a lot. It is our pleasure to send an IPA brewed in the Czech Republic back to its US roots.”
We know Michael would have appreciated this beer, and we are beyond excited that this beer finally came to be, so that we can honor Michael’s original commitment to Honza and to developing the Czech beer scene, by sharing a great rare beer with our members.
Kocour IPA Samuraj Tasting Notes – This modest 5.1% IPA pours a hazy medium straw color with a massive, pillowy white head that laces wonderfully in the decay. Look for a great nose of clean pilsner malt, chockfull of fresh grains, biscuits and dough. These notes are embraced by a floral, perfume-like aroma of noble hops, gently supplemented by grapefruit. Despite using Amarillo and Simcoe hops, with only a “brewer’s pinch” of Czech Saaz hops, herbal, lemony, notes are prominent upfront. Expect a minor note of lager-like sulfur, akin to a pilsner. Take your first sip and look for a surge of extremely dry, earthy hoppiness. Notes of black peppercorns quickly follow. The malt backbone remains clean, yet aptly supportive, just barely holding up against the repeated strokes of bitterness that the high alpha acid content strikes upon the palate. At full warmth, the US-hops offer notes of orange zest and lemon meringue. So clean, it seems rather lager-like, a result of this ale having been cold-conditioned at pilsner/lager temperatures (37-39F) and made with locally grown Czech Pilsner malt. The beer finishes quite dry, and rather powerfully bitter, yet somehow delicate and demure. Expect an extremely lengthy finish with the floral bitterness hanging on for at least a few minutes.
For what we have become accustomed to as “IPA-like” in the states, especially those emanating from or inspired by the Pacific Northwest, you may not think the IPA label is appropriate—but we suggest you open your mind as that fact is that no one really knows what IPAs are “supposed” to taste like. Original versions sent to India in the days of colonial Britain are long gone and the versions that we now have in the US are probably not representative of the original style, since hops from the Pacific Northwest were not widely used to ‘hop’ British beers of the era. The point is, “IPA” is wide open to interpretation. This version on one hand evokes today’s British versions of the style, yet also has some severely bitter hop notes present in American IPAs—but beyond that, it introduces a clean, almost lager-like quality to the style, putting a Czech spin on things. It’s brash and refined at the same time, atop a base of clean, pilsner-like grains (appropriately as it is from the birthplace of Pilsner), and we hope it sets the standard for what would be a welcomed sub-style of beer: Czech IPA—clean malts, crisp flavor and girthed up hop bitterness. Great when partnered with a Ploughman’s Lunch, with the sharpest Cheddar or Blue possible, and some seriously pickled onions.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Chicago, IL) – To help reach a broader consumer base, the Lion Brewery has installed a new can filling line. Lionshead and Lionshead Light are now available in 12 oz. and 16 oz. aluminum cans, and Stegmaier Gold is on the market in 16 oz. cans, all of which are supplied by Rexam.
Previously offered only in glass bottles, the company chose to partner with Rexam to extend its packaging line-up into aluminum cans because they are easily portable and are the most recycled beverage package in the world. Aluminum cans can go many places that glass cannot – such as parks, beaches and golf courses. The new line is also part of Lion Brewery’s ongoing commitment to upgrade and expand its capabilities and capacities to meet the ever-changing demands of consumers.
“By expanding into cans, we are better able to meet the needs of consumers who want the flexibility to take their favorite brew with them wherever they go,” said Shelley Pheiff, contract sales manager. “We are confident that this investment will add value and help us expand and broaden our business base. Rexam has been an excellent partner, focused on delivering superior quality and outstanding customer service.”
The Lion Brewery was built in 1905, and is one of the largest American-owned breweries in the U.S. Lionshead is its flagship brand, selling over 750,000 cases annually.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Lion Brewery to bring their top-quality beer to market in this popular package,” said Andre Balbi, president and CEO, Rexam Beverage Can Americas. “It’s a great choice to help extend the reach of their brand while delivering superior recycling, sustainability and environmental benefits as well as filling and distribution economics.”
The Lion Brewery also worked with Rexam’s Graphic Art and Printing Plate Operation in Elk Grove, IL, to set the color and graphic tolerances for perfect reproduction of their brand on aluminum cans. Rexam has a company-owned, integrated graphic art and printing operation, complete with a manufacturing pilot line, to set these standards confidentially with customers, before mass production.
Lionshead, Lionshead Light and Stegmaier Gold in cans are currently available in more than 14 states on the east coast.
About The Lion Brewery
The Lion Brewery, Inc. is a contract beverage manufacturer, located in the Northeast region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Our location is within 300 miles of the largest cities in the U.S. The Brewery is known for its brewing reputation and expertise in making high-quality beverages and providing top-notch customer service. The Lion Brewery is the proud brewer and bottler of the popular brands Lionshead, Stegmaier, Olde Philadelphia Soda, and the Lion Brewery’s very own Root Beer. As one of the largest American-owned breweries in the U.S., we have a large portfolio of customers and pride ourselves on producing the best consumer beverages.
About Rexam
Rexam’s vision is to be the best global consumer packaging company. We are one of the largest beverage can makers in the world, and a major global player in rigid plastic packaging. We are business partners to some of the world’s most famous and successful consumer brands as well as young, entrepreneurial start-ups. We offer a broad range of packaging services and solutions for different industries, using different materials and technologies. Three things characterize us – leadership in our industry, our commitment to innovation and our passion to deliver exceptional value. Rexam’s sales from ongoing operations are approximately 4.8 billion pounds Sterling. We employ some 22,000 people in more than 20 countries and are a member of the FTSE 100. Rexam’s ordinary shares are listed with the UK Listing Authority and trade on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol REX. For further information, visit Rexam’s website at www.rexam.com.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
Making a return will be Fists of Feury, Victory’s joint effort with Pennsylvania restaurants, Fork Restaurant and Nectar. The beer that debuted on tap during Philly Beer Week will now be available in bottles. Victory Communications Coordinator, Anne Shuniak, confirms that the 12 oz. bottles will be exclusively sold at the two restaurants. Per the label, “Fists of Feury was brewed with Vienna and Pilsner malts with a few fistfuls of Tettnanger and Centennial hops thrown into the boil.” 5.5% ABV. The release date is unknown.
In addition, the brewery has been working diligently with One Village Coffee on a new draft-only beer called Victory Village. Shuniak says that this one will be available later this month in Pennsylvania. Limited distribution outside of PA will happen in late August/early September.
Victory Village will feature a brown ale base with One Village’s Smart Blend coffee. You can read all about the coffee here. Many beers that use coffee use a stout base so this experiment should produce some unique results. Check out Victory’s trip to One Village in the video below.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Chico, CA) – (08/06/2010) – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. announced a partnership with the Trappist-Cistercian Abbey of New Clairvaux to create the only authentic Trappist-style Abbey ales in America.
For nearly 1000 years, monks have been brewing ales behind monastery walls. Their closely guarded traditions and techniques produced styles of beer unlike anything else in the world. These unique Trappist-style Abbey ales are known for their uncompromising quality and compelling flavor. In 2011, Sierra Nevada and the Trappist-Cistercian Abbey of New Clairvaux are working to bring this centuries-old tradition to America with Ovila—the nation’s only authentic Trappist-style Abbey Ale.
This series of three Belgian -style Abbey ales is made in accordance with the centuries-old tradition of the monks. Each beer will be only be available for a limited time and will rotate through the seasons. The first beer in the series, scheduled for release in March, will be a Belgian-style Dubbel brewed with authentic Trappist yeast. The second beer in the series, scheduled for release in July, will be a Saison, the traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ale made in honor of the Monk’s dedication to labor in the fields surrounding their abbey. The third will be released in time for the holidays. It will be a Trappist-style Quadrupel rich with dark fruit flavors and the unique wine-like characters of these strong Abbey ales.
Proceeds from this project will benefit the monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in their efforts to rebuild an architectural marvel—a 12th century, early-gothic Cistercian chapter house—on their grounds in Vina, California a few miles north of Sierra Nevada’s home in Chico. The medieval chapterhouse—Santa Maria de Ovila—was begun in 1190, near the village of Trillo, Spain.
Cistercian monks lived, prayed, and worked there for nearly 800 years. In 1931, California newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased the abbey and shipped it to Northern California. Hearst’s plans were never realized, and the stones fell into disrepair. In 1994, the Trappist-Cistercian monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux, gained possession of the ruins, and began the painstaking stone-by-stone reconstruction of the historic abbey.
Located in Vina, California, the Abbey of New Clairvaux is a Cistercian Abbey of Strict Observance (Trappist). The abbey was founded in 1955 on 590 acres of Leland Stanford’s famed Vina Ranch. The monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict—Ora est Labora (Prayer and Work) and spend their days in prayer, meditation, and tending to the labor of the working farm located at the abbey.
Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s first microbreweries and remains highly regarded for using only whole-cone hops and ingredients of the finest quality. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for their line of beers and ales including the flagship Pale Ale, Torpedo, Porter, Stout, Kellerweis, four seasonal beers, Estate Ale, Harvest Ale series and a host of draft-only specialties.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Portland, OR) – MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co., recipient of the 2009 Great American Beer Fest Gold Medal for its near-mythic Amber Ale™, is poised to reveal its darkest thought yet: Inkblot Porter, the rich black liquid cipher whose mania of malts spills its secrets in every sensationally warming sip.
The latest beer to premiere in MacTarnahan’s Big Bottle Series of thankfully ample 22 oz. seasonal specialty beers, Inkblot is a deep, dark and delicious figment of brewing imagination whose smooth malt taste is ideal for blotting out autumn’s chill and warming conscious and subconscious minds alike. The brewer’s unique interpretation of history’s British Baltic Porters is created from Munich, Caramel, Special B, and Carafa malts as well as Perle variety hops, which provide a uniquely clean flavor and finish. What arrives in the glass at the start of your session is a picture worth a thousand words and a distinctively malt-focused abstraction of ale whose subtle notes of plum and cherry surround a round, velvety palate to provide the rich warmth demanded by cooler days.
Brewed as a public mental health service, Inkblot is scheduled to drive the psyches of Pacific Northwest beer aficionados mad with yearning from August through October at select social establishments and beverage agents in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii. The full Inkblot test may be taken only at brewery alehouses in Portland, Seattle, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, and Sacramento, where Inkblot will appear on tap in its freshest form. The journey to this dark place, however, must be undertaken soon for only 477 cases of this insanely delicious porter will see the light of day.
MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co. is the brewer of full-flavored specialty beers that come without regrets of any kind. Somewhat obsessively handcrafted at our brewery in Northwest Portland, Oregon, MacTarnahan’s ales continue to be venerated by consumers and experts alike. In 2009, MacTarnahan’s Amber Ale took the gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest, which named us America’s Mid-Size Brewer of the Year in 2008. (Nice laurels, but now is no time to rest on them…)
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Escondido, CA) – Coming soon from Stone Brewing . . . a session ale that is true to the spirit of the style.
[8/7 Update: Technically speaking, this would need to be 4% or below to qualify as a session ale.]
Ballast Point Brewing’s Colby Chandler, Stone’s Mitch Steele and Homebrew champ, Kelsey McNair (dba North Park Beer Co.), have collaborated on San Diego County Session Ale over the course of the summer. McNair’s been tweeting some of the process on his Twitter page. For more background info on the beer itself, I wrote up a blurb back in June.
Rough estimate for release is, “early September if all goes according to plan,” according to Stone Social Media Coordinator, Jacob McKean.
Click any of the photos to get a better look at the labels.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
(Chicago, IL) – Goose Island Christmas Ale will not be made this year.
A source confirms that the beer will be skipped over due to “capacity issues.” The news first surfaced yesterday with a posted on Beer Advocate:
“It sounds as if this is the case. I talked to an inside source today and he said that Goose Island won’t be brewing their Christmas Ale this year, which has been in 22oz. bombers. The reason? He said that Goose Island is expanding their sales market so much right now that they’re having trouble keeping up with the demand of their staples such as 312 and just don’t have the space.”
There’s no word on the beer actually being retired as the thread title suggests though. It will likely return once the brewery has a better handle on its growth.
In other news, as of last Friday, Goose Island has packaged one million case equivalents and is expected to have shipped that case sometime this week. Narragansett ran quite the promo on its one millionth case when it hit the mark this past spring but it’s not as big of a deal for some other brewers apparently.
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
