News

(O’Fallon, MO) – O’Fallon Brewery is introducing a new line of beers designed to push the limits.

O’Fallon will release its first beer in the new series called the Brewer’s Stash Series this month, O’Fallon Wee Heavy. At least a few releases in four-packs will follow this one over the course of the year. The series is named after a stash of beers from all over that is kept at the brewhouse.

As for Wee Heavy, this is a 10.4% ABV behomoth. From Pitch.com, “‘The Wee Heavy is chewy, sweet and malty — that comes from the cherrywood-smoked malt we used. It’s definitely a sipping beer, but the alcohol is not hot,’ says head brewer Brian Owens.”

STL Hops has a pic describing the label concept: “Inspired by the Old-Tyme Snake Oil Labels, this concept gives homage to the ’strongman’ for O’Fallon’s introduction of Wee Heavy.”

With the help of Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin assuming responsibility for production of bottled beers, O’Fallon has been freed up to do some new things and this is just the beginning. The brewery is also working with barrels now and will be canning O’Fallon Wheach beginning this spring.

O’Fallon Brewery opens up Brewer’s Stash Series with Wee Heavy

[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!]

(Portsmouth, NH) – Redhook Brewery is ready to release a new summer seasonal this year.

Commercial description: “Rope Swing is a traditionally brewed Pilsner beer. As a style, Pilsners are typically the go-to beer for warm weather sessions. Rope Swing’s maltiness is offset by a medium dose of hops and finished with a clean, bright, thirst-quenching quality.”

Beer Stats: 5.3% ABV, 12.7 Deg. Plato, 25 IBU
Availability: all over the U.S. in 6-packs, 12-packs and on-draft in 1/6 and 1/2 barrels.

As with most seasonals, this beer will be released two months before the season it represents officially starts. This brew will round out Redhook’s seasonal rotation:

Mudslinger: January – April
Rope Swing: April – July
Late Harvest: July – October
Winterhook: October – January

If you missed it, check out Redhook Big Ballard IPA, announced just last week.

Redhook Rope Swing Summer Pilsner arrives this April

[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!]

Note: Shockwave is required to play the video above.

(Morrisville, VT) – Rock Art Brewery was featured on CNN’s HLN Network (formerly known as CNN Headline News) this past week. The network showcased Rock Art’s battle with Monster Energy Drink makers and the work that the brewery is doing to help push trademark reform. Hansen Beverage, understandably, wanted no part in the fiasco and having watched the video, don’t seem to recall their name being mentioned even once. It’s nice to see more mainstream media picking up the story.

In other news, the brewery just announced that it has a new beer coming out. From the newsletter, “A fresh new IPA! You may have already been by the brewery for your growler fill of this one. We are now sending it out to the restaurants to put in their draft line up. This wonderful brew comes in at 6% abv with 40 IBU’s. You’ll enjoy the aromatic combination of floral hops and zesty citrus flavors. The hops are balanced with notes of caramel flavors from the malt body. You will also be able to find it as our IPA offering in the Variety 12 packs this summer.”

Rock Art Brewery featured on CNN, releases new IPA

[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!]

From BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse – BJ’s Grand Cru – Silver Medal at 2002 Great American Beer Festival; Silver Medal at 2000 World Beer Cup BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse – Grand Cru 2009 – From ...

Today’s work of art was originally painted around 1790, when the English pub was a very different animal. It was created by Henry Singleton, a British artist who lived from 1766-1839. This painting, The Ale-House Door, is an oil on canvas painting roughly 10 x 12 inches, and the original can be found at the [...]

(Hooksett, NH) – Got an update from Bill Herlicka of New Hampshire’s White Birch Brewing recently.

Here’s the latest on what Herlicka has been working on . . .

“Bohemian Tripel – Our Tripel recipe made up with Bohemian Pilsner malts. We love our Tripels here at White Birch and we just thought it would be fun to make our Tripel with this different malt. Suffice to say we’re quite happy with how it came out and hope that our fans enjoy it as well.

Wrigian – A new belgian beer blending rye, oats, complimentary spicy hops and our house yeast to create a smooth tasty 10% brew.

Quad – still working on that one. I wanted to have the label done so that when I was happy with the beer I would be ready. Not coming this month.

Oak Aged Pilot – I did a test belgian strong ale and aged it with wine oak chips. We called it Pilot Project as we felt it was a fun combination, but at only a bit more than two cases it wasn’t a lot of beer. So, we put it out at two stores for people to try and let us know what they thought. The feedback was quite encouraging and we’ll be releasing a new label in the coming months with much more than a couple of cases for total quantity!”

Here’s a recent update on Beer Advocate as well. More barrels!

He hints on Twitter that he’s got ten of those barrels working on a new Russian Imperial Stout.

White Birch Brewing: more beers coming

[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!]

From Hoppin’ Frog – Rich, malty flavors of caramelized and toasted grains dominate this strong Scotch ale. A hint of rye adds a crisp, Scotch-like, old-world beer character, reminiscent of a simpler life ...

If you've been wondering when I was going to say something about the ludicrously over-the-top PLCB raids on Memphis Taproom, Local 44, and Resurrection Ale House...wonder no more. It seemed more appropriate to write it at the other blog.

From Left Coast Brewing - Here at Left Coast Brewing Co. we pride ourselves on being one of the first breweries to pioneer a Double IPA style beer. In 2003, we brewed our first Double ...

The eitgth Guinness poster by John Gilroy is of a Knight in shining armor trying to figure out how to drink through his helmet. The tagline is “Opening Time is Guinness Time,” but it looks more like Knight Time to me. Share and Enjoy:

Wow, this is one of those seriously WTF stories (thanks to Lisa Morrison for tweeting it). The Idaho Statesman has a disturbing little story entitled UPS, FedEx Side With Wine in Beer Battle by their beer columnist, Patrick Orr. To work yourself up into the proper lather, I recommend reading the whole column first. But essentially, [...]

Because I write for a living, I take it seriously and am always trying to be a better writer. For that reason, I subscribe to several twitter feeds that offer suggestions and advice for writers. One recently linked to an interesting list, the 100 Best First Lines of Novels. Number one, of course, is “Call [...]

Friday’s ad is for Whitbread beer, since that’s who I was writing about for this month’s Session post today. This one is from 1930 and fittingly features a boat on the water. “Ashore or Afloat WHITBREAD’S PALE ALE is the best Summer beverage.” The art has the same idealized look as the series that U.S. [...]

Our 37th Session is hosted by The Ferm and Sir Ron’s theme is The Display Shelf: When to Drink the Good Stuff, a dilemma many of us face. We’ve all accumulated “numerous bottles of beers that [were] subsequently cellared and designated as ‘to be opened on a special occasion.’ [The] dilemma, however, is matching an [...]

From Russian River Brewing - Supplication: Brown Ale aged in French oak Pinot Noir barrels with three strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and sour cherries . Russian River Brewing Co. – Supplication – Batch 004×3 ...

(Copenhagen, DENMARK) – Mikkeller is starting up his third self-proclaimed “educational” series of beers.

Here is the scoop from Mikkel: “The Yeast Series will be similar [to the Single Hop Series]. Identical beers – only difference is the yeast. It will be a ’strong pale ale’ – 8%, pretty well hopped but not oven the top. Malt, hops, water are identical. Only difference is the yeast. I am sure it will be even more educational than the Single Hop Series. They will turn into very different beers. Planned are a lager, regular US ale, Belgian Ale/Trappist, Weiss and Brettanomyces.”

Yeast Series beers will be sold individually in 330ml bottles similar to the Single Hop Series.

The third series mentioned is four versions of Black Hole, each aged in a different type of barrel.

By now, all ten beers in the Single Hop Series have now been imported to the U.S. and at least the latter ones in the series should still be available.

Mikkel hinted that the next four will probably be “Summit, Apollo, Bravo and Citra” and told me to add a fifth, Sorachi Ace. I prodded him as to why he wasn’t using Willamette since it was the third most heavily used hop in the U.S. according to a 2009 Brewers Association survey [ed: I realize he brews in Europe though I don't have worldwide hop stats and he's got a major fanbase in the U.S.]. His response: “Just don’t care for it very much.” Sorry, Willamette fans.

The first ten hops in the series are as follows (alphabetical, not chronological):

Amarillo
Cascade
Centennial
Chinook
East Kent Golding
Nelson Sauvin
Nugget
Simcoe
Tomahawk
Warrior

Mikkeller Yeast Series to debut, next Single Hop beers revealed

[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!]

World’s Most Expensive Beer? Carlsberg launches Jacobsen Vintage 3 in Denmark at ~$370

More on the artwork on the bottle: Radiant Copenhagen, the artist for Jacobsen Vintage 3

Upland Infinite Wisdom Tripel returns this weekend

Left Hand Good Juju is back

Press Releases: Expensive beer, Upland Infinite Wisdom, Left Hand Good JuJu

[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!]

(Copenhagen, DENMARK) – This week, Carlsberg is launching Vintage 3 in Denmark. It is the third and final edition of the world’s most exclusive beer trilogy – a trilogy that unifies first-class beer brewing with innovative art.

Under the leadership of Jacobsen Brewery’s brewmaster, Morten Ibsen, six Carlsberg brewers from Norway, France, Great Britain and Denmark dedicated themselves to developing and brewing Carlsberg’s ambitious beer trilogy, Vintage 3.

Meanwhile, three artists – Kaspar Bonnén and two selected artists from the project Radiant Copenhagen – joined forces to create six unique labels that point to the future and tell the story of what Carlsberg City may look like someday.

Quality and dedication take time and require an uncompromising approach. The basic recipe for Vintage 3 was developed in Copenhagen; it was then further developed at Kronenbourg Innovation Centre in France and is now the only currently available beer to be aged in French Côte d’Or oak barrels in J.C. Jacobsen’s original cellar from 1847. In the final cold days of February 2010, the approx 1,000 bottles were hand tapped, the unique labels were applied by hand and Vintage 3 became a reality.

Vintage 3 – something of a world sensation

Vintage 3 is a so-called Pale Barley Wine, and according to brewmaster Morten Ibsen, the taste experience is both full and nuanced. “The beer has a golden, bubbly appearance. It gives a warm feeling on the palate and has a nearly ‘fat’ fullness that reveals the beer’s close kinship with sweet desert wines.

The beer has a wealth of deep oak, vanilla and nutty aromas from the barrel aging, combined with sweet fruits from the fermentation; it is a perfect choice for sweet deserts and cheeses,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen. And Vintage 3 is something of a world sensation in beer, due to the fermentation process. Vintage 3’s alcohol content is around 15 percent, which is solely produced through natural fermentation and without added enzymes or surplus alcohol from the barrel, as is the case with other beers that have such a high alcohol content.

The price

And the price? DKK 2010 for 37 cl. “But it tastes as wonderful as the angels sing,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen immodestly.

With the Vintage trilogy, Jacobsen Brewery created a beer series that breaks the boundaries for what beer is and can be.

“The in-house brewery was founded to carry on the spirit of founder J.C. Jacobsen, whose goal was perfection. We promise that we will continue to do our utmost to deliver beers that transform views of the potential of beer,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen.

6 labels from Carlsberg City

But the Vintage trilogy is not only about creating a fantastic beer. It is also about delivering the ultimate, complete experience in a bottle. “People will also encounter a unique art experience in the Vintage 3.

It will not resemble other labels in terms of materials or format. We are playing with the conception of space and time, fiction and reality, and blending this with a narrative about Carlsberg City,” says Kaspar Bonnén, one of the three artists who decorated the approx 1,000 bottles.

The artists, who also include Anders Bojen and Kristoffer Ørum, made Carlsberg City the centre of fictive narratives on the labels, which take place in a distant future or a past that never happened. One label shows The Carlsberg Tower from 1914, an ambitious construction project that J.C. Jacobsen never realised before his death, while the label “The Carlsberg Dome” depicts a dome erected over Carlsberg City in the year 2047 to separate it from the surrounding slum.

The labels are works of art centring around Carlsberg City, but with a time horizon that stretches far into the future – just like Vintage 3.
In designing the labels, the artists used maps that are significantly more detailed than those available on the internet. These included maps from COWI A/S, one of the world’s leading suppliers of detailed digital aerial photos and maps.

Jacobsen Vintage 3 from Carlsberg launches in Denmark

[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!]

A collaboration between the art project Radiant Copenhagen and Vintage 3

Kaspar Bonnén and two selected artists from the project Radiant Copenhagen have contributed to concluding the world’s most exclusive beer trilogy with labels that point to the future and tell the story of what Carlsberg City may look like someday.

The art project Radiant Copenhagen, comprising artists Kaspar Bonnén, Kristoffer Ørum and Anders Bojen, created six different labels for Vintage 3, the third and final beer in the prestigious Vintage beer trilogy from Jacobsen Brewery. Vintage 3 marks the conclusion of the world’s most exclusive beer project, featuring labels, bottles and beer that point to the future. And Vintage 3 is a beer that can maintain its excellent taste for at least 50 years.

“People will also gain a unique art experience with the Vintage 3 label. It does not resemble other beer labels in terms of materials or format. We are playing with the conception of space and time, fiction and reality, and blending this with a narrative about Carlsberg City,” says the increasingly popular Danish artist and poet, Kaspar Bonnén.

Kaspar Bonnén was the first artist hired for the project, and he brought in his two artist colleagues, Kristoffer Ørum and Anders Bojen to develop not just one, but the six labels that are now featured on the approx 1,000 bottles of hand tapped and hand labelled Vintage 3.

Carlsberg City and the future
The artists utilised Carlsberg City as the centre of fictive narratives on the labels, which take place in a distant future or a past that never happened. One label shows “The Carlsberg Tower” (1914), an ambitious construction project that J.C. Jacobsen never realised before his death, while the label “Order of the Solar Temple (2011-2187)” describes the secret society founded by Carlsberg’s employees in an attempt to manage the chaos following the construction of The Carlsberg Dome over Carlsberg City.

The remaining four labels are: “The brainwave battery of memories” (2147), “Our Dome, or The Carlsberg Dome” (2047), “Galaxy Scriptures” (2213) and “The Age of Originality” (1876-2019). All six labels and narratives are also a part of the Radiant Copenhagen project and will be found in this universe after the launch on March 3. See more at http://radiantcopenhagen.net/index3.html

With the Vintage trilogy, Jacobsen Brewery created a beer series that breaks the boundaries for what beer is and can be. “The in-house brewery was founded to carry on the spirit of founder J.C. Jacobsen, whose goal was perfection. We promise that we will continue to do our utmost to deliver beers that transform people’s view of the potential of beer,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen.

And the price?
DKK 2010 for 37 cl. “But it tastes as wonderful as the angels sing,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen immodestly. In designing the labels, the artists used maps that are significantly more detailed than those available on the internet, including maps from COWI A/S, one of the world’s leading suppliers of detailed digital aerial photos and maps.

Radiant Copenhagen, the artist for Jacobsen Vintage 3

[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!]

To celebrate the release of our specialty Belgian-style ale, Infinite Wisdom Tripel, Upland is bringing world renowned artist Norton Wisdom and Chicago’s premier progressive bluegrass band, Cornmeal, to Bloomington (Click image to see large view ...